2008 in New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 2008 in New Zealand |
| Other years in New Zealand |
| 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 |
Contents |
[edit] Incumbents
[edit] Regal and Vice Regal
- Head of State - Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand
- Governor-General - The Hon. Anand Satyanand, PCNZM, QSO[1]
[edit] Government
The 48th New Zealand Parliament continued until the general election in November. The government was a Labour-Progressive coalition with supply and confidence from United Future and New Zealand First in exchange for two ministerial spots outside Cabinet.
- Speaker of the House - Margaret Wilson (Labour) since 3 March 2005
- Prime Minister - Helen Clark (Labour) since 5 December 1999
- Deputy Prime Minister - Michael Cullen (Labour) since 15 August 2002
- Minister of Finance - Michael Cullen (Labour) since 5 December 1999
Non-Labour Ministers
- Minister of Foreign Affairs - Winston Peters (NZ First) since October 2005
- Jim Anderton (Progressives) - Minister of Agriculture (within Cabinet)
- Peter Dunne (United Future)- Minister of Revenue and Associate Minister of Health (outside Cabinet)
The 49th New Zealand Parliament was formed after the general election, with the National Party governing with confidence and supply agreements with the ACT, Māori and United Future parties.
- Speaker of the House - Lockwood Smith
- Prime Minister - John Key (National) since 19 November 2008
- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance - Bill English (National) since 19 November 2008
[edit] Other Party Leaders
- National - John Key (Leader of the Opposition) since 27 November 2006
- Act - Rodney Hide, since 13 June 2004
- Greens - Jeanette Fitzsimons (since 1995) and Russel Norman (since 3 June 2006)
- Māori Party - Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples, both since 7 July 2004
After the November election, Helen Clark resigned as leader of the Labour Party. She was replaced as leader by Phil Goff, who also became Leader of the Opposition.
[edit] Main centre leaders
- Mayor of Auckland - John Banks, since October 2007
- Mayor of Tauranga - Stuart Crosby, since October 2004
- Mayor of Hamilton - Bob Simcock, since May 2007
- Mayor of Wellington - Kerry Prendergast, since October 2001
- Mayor of Christchurch - Bob Parker, since October 2007
- Mayor of Dunedin - Peter Chin, since October 2004
[edit] Events
- 22 January: State funeral for Sir Edmund Hillary
- 5 April: A huge propane explosion at a coolstore in Tamahere kills firefighter senior station officer Derek Lovell, and seriously injures seven others.[2]
- 5 June: A newly redesigned flag for the Governor General of New Zealand is flown for the first time at Government House, Auckland.[3]
- 1 July: Rail transport network is renationalised as KiwiRail
- 11 July: Police Sergeant Derek Wootton (52) is struck and killed by a vehicle fleeing police, while laying road spikes at Titahi Bay.[4]
- 1 August: Crown entities Land Transport New Zealand and Transit New Zealand merge to form the NZ Transport Agency
- 16 August: Dunedin Public Hospital is put in lockdown for a week after approximately 170 staff and patients fall ill to a norovirus outbreak, resulting in 2,300 appointments and procedures being delayed.[5]
- 5 September: Fonterra advise Prime Minister Helen Clark of the 2008 baby milk scandal.[6]
- 11 September: Undercover police Sergeant Don Wilkinson (47) is fatally shot in Mangere, after being discovered attempting to secretly fix a tracking device to a car.[7]
- 8 November: John Key and the New Zealand National Party win the General Election. John Key is able to form a Government and in Helen Clark's speech she resigns as leader of the New Zealand Labour Party
- 9 November: Michael Cullen resigns as deputy leader of the Labour Party.[8]
- 19 November: John Key is sworn in as Prime Minister
- 27 November: 2008 Air New Zealand A320 test flight crash. Air New Zealand A320 Airbus crashes into the Mediterranean during a test flight, killing five New Zealand and two German air crew.[9]
[edit] Holidays and Observances
- 6 February - Waitangi Day (Wednesday)
- 21 March/24 March Good Friday/Easter Monday
- 25 April - ANZAC Day (Friday)
- 2 June - Queen's Birthday Monday
- 5 June - Matariki (Thursday)
- 27 October - Labour Day Monday
[edit] Arts and literature
[edit] New Books
- Brower, Ann (August 2008). Who Owns the High Country? The controversial story of tenure review in New Zealand. New Zealand: Nelson: Craig Potton Publishing. ISBN 978-1-877333-78-1.
[edit] Awards
- BPANZ Book Design Awards - In association with Spectrum Print and the New Zealand Listener id=13
- BEST BOOK Title: Bill Hammond: Jingle Jangle Morning
- BEST COVER Winner: Bill Hammond: Jingle Jangle Morning
- NON-ILLUSTRATED Winner: Dear to Me
- ILLUSTRATED Winner: Bill Hammond: Jingle Jangle Morning
- EDUCATIONAL Winner: Astronomy Aotearoa NCEA Level 1 by Robert Shaw ISBN 978-0-7339-9261-2[10]
- CHILDREN’S Winner: The King’s Bubbles by Ruth Paul
[edit] Music
- May - New Zealand Music Month
- Nokia album of the year: Flight Of The Conchords - Flight Of The Conchords
- Vodafone single of the year: Opshop - One Day
- Steinlager Pure best group: Flight Of The Conchords - Flight Of The Conchords
- Best male solo artist: Liam Finn - I'll be Lightning
- Mazda best female solo artist: Anika Moa - In Swings The Tide
- Kiwi FM breakthrough artist of the year: Flight Of The Conchords - Flight Of The Conchords
- C4 best music video: Ian Hart - Her Hairagami Set (The Brunettes)
- Best rock album: Shihad - Beautiful Machine
- Best urban/hip hop album: Scribe - Rhymebook
- Best Aotearoa roots album: Tiki Taane - Past, Present, Future
- Best dance/electronica album: Recloose - Perfect Timing
- Best Maori album: Ruia - 12:24 Tekau Ma Rua, Rua Tekau Ma Wha
- Best gospel/Christian album: All Left Out - The Conquest
- Best classical album: Michael Houstoun - Inland
- The Vodafone People's Choice Award, voted by New Zealand music fans: Parachute Band
- Opshop also won Highest Selling NZ Single (One Day), Highest Selling NZ Album (Second Hand Planet), and NZ On Air Radio Airplay Record of the Year (Maybe).
[edit] Television
- Freeview|HD Digital television is launched.
- The country's first Chinese television channel, CTV8 (Chinese Television 8) is launched in early October.
[edit] Film
[edit] Internet
[edit] Sport
[edit] Cricket
- New Zealand men's cricket team, the Black Caps plays three test matches against England and draws the series, each team having won a game
[edit] Horse racing
[edit] Harness racing
- New Zealand Trotting Cup: Changeover[11]
- Auckland Trotting Cup: Gotta Go Cullen[12]
[edit] Thoroughbred racing
[edit] Netball
- The ANZ Netball Championship begins in April 2008.
[edit] Motorsport
[edit] Olympic Games
Main article: New Zealand at the 2008 Summer Olympics
[edit] Rugby league
- The New Zealand Kiwis won the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.
- The New Zealand Warriors finished 8th in the National Rugby League and in the playoffs made it through to the Semi Finals, beating minor premiers the Melbourne Storm in the progress.
- The inaugural season of the new Bartercard Premiership saw Auckland defeat Canterbury 38-10 in the grand final.
[edit] Rugby union
[edit] Sport rowing|Rowing
[edit] Soccer
- 30 October-16 November – New Zealand hosts the inaugural FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. Matches are held in Albany, Christchurch, Hamilton and Wellington.
- The Chatham Cup is won by East Coast Bays AFC who beat Dunedin Technical 1—0 in the final.[13]
[edit] Tennis
[edit] Births
 |
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. |
[edit] Deaths
- 1 January: Joan Dingley, mycologist
- 4 January: Bert Walker, former National Party politician, minister.
- 10 January: George Laking, diplomat and public servant.[14]
- 11 January: Sir Edmund Hillary, mountaineer and first person to climb Mount Everest.[15]
- 16 January: Hone Tuwhare, poet.[16]
- 12 February: Ron Chippindale, Chief Inspector of Accidents[17]
- 19 February: Barry Barclay, Māori film-maker[18]
- 21 March: Merv Wallace, cricketer and test match captain.[19]
- 6 April: Tony Davies, All Blacks rugby union player[20]
- 11 April: Fraser Colman, former Labour Party politician, minister.
- 12 April: Dame Augusta Wallace, former judge, first woman District Court judge.[21]
- 5 June: Colin Kay, Mayor of Auckland and New Zealand triple jump champion.[22]
- 25 August: Hardwicke Knight, Otago historian.[23]
- 7 September: Sir Hamish Hay, Mayor of Christchurch from 1974 to 1989.[24]
- 8 September: Ron Guthrey, Mayor of Christchurch from 1968 to 1971.[25]
- 13 September: Duncan Laing, swimming coach, trainer of 11 Olympic athletes.[26]
- 13 September: Sue Garden-Bachop, women's rugby international player and administrator.[27]
- 25 September: Brian Donnelly, politician and diplomat.[28]
- 2 October: Rob Guest, actor and singer.[29]
- 29 October: John Darwin, mathematician and statistician
- 8 November: Hedley Howarth, Test cricketer.[30]
- 27 November: Mike Minogue, Hamilton ex-Mayor and MP
- 13 December" John Drake, All Black.[31]
- 24 December: Ian Ballinger, Olympic bronze medal-winning shooter.[32]
[edit] See also
- List of years in New Zealand
- Timeline of New Zealand history
- History of New Zealand
- Military history of New Zealand
- Timeline of the New Zealand environment
- Timeline of New Zealand's links with Antarctica
For world events and topics in 2008 not specifically related to New Zealand see: 2008
[edit] References
- ^ [1]
- ^ Ihaka, James (23 September 2008). "Coolstore fire report calls for overhaul". New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/fatal-coolstore-fire/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501820&objectid=10533690. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
- ^ "The Governor-General’s new flag". http://www.gg.govt.nz/features/. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
- ^ "Full police funeral for Wootton". TVNZ. 14 July 2008. http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/423466/1906711. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
- ^ Schofield, Edith (22 August 2008). "Dunedin Hospital to lift lockdown". Otago Daily Times. http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/19034/dunedin-hospital-lift-lockdown. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ Yardley, Jim (15 September 2008). "Chinese Baby Formula Scandal Widens as 2nd Death Is Announced". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/world/asia/16milk.html. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
- ^ Milne, Rebecca (14 September 2008). "Single shot among many killed officer". New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10532087. Retrieved 18 October 2008.
- ^ "Cullen resigns after election defeat". New Zealand Herald. 9 November 2008. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz-election-2008/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501799&objectid=10542042. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
- ^ "Airbus A320 crashes into sea off France". CNN. 28 November 2008. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/11/27/airbus.france.crash/. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
- ^ "Astronomy Aotearoa". Archived from the original on 1 June 2009. http://www.astronomyaotearoa.net/. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ^ List of NZ Trotting cup winners
- ^ Auckland Trotting cup at hrnz.co.nz
- ^ Chatham Cup records, nzsoccer.com
- ^ "PM pays tribute to Sir George Laking". TVNZ. 11 January 2008. http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/1540066. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ "Everest hero Edmund Hillary dies". BBC News. 11 January 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7182376.stm. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ "Maori poet Hone Tuwhare dies". New Zealand Herald. 16 January 2008. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=252&objectid=10487191. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ "Erebus investigator killed in crash". New Zealand Herald. 12 February 2008. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10491998. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ "Film maker Barry Barclay dies". New Zealand Herald. 19 February 2008. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/feature/story.cfm?c_id=513&objectid=10493329. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ "Former New Zealand cricket captain Merv Wallace dead at 91". International Herald Tribune. 22 March 2008. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/22/sports/AS-SPT-CRK-New-Zealand-Obit-Wallace.php. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ "Former All Black Davies dies". New Zealand Herald. 9 April 2008. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10502846. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ "NZ's first female district court judge dies". New Zealand Herald. 14 April 2008. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=240&objectid=10503981. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ Falconer, Phoebe (6 June 2008). "Devotee of sport and politics". New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10514726. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ "Hardwicke Knight commemorative display". Dunedin Public Libraries. 10 September 2008. http://dunedinpubliclibraries.wordpress.com/2008/09/10/hardwicke-knight-display-1st-floor-city-library/. Retrieved 18 September 2008.
- ^ "Sir Hamish Hay dies". TVNZ. 8 September 2008. http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411319/2062527. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
- ^ "Former mayor and wife die within minutes of each other". The Press. 9 September 2008. Archived from the original on 9 September 2008. http://www.webcitation.org/5ahLqfM5c.
- ^ "Master coach Duncan Laing dies". Otago Daily Times. 13 September 2008. http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/22239/master-coach-duncan-laing-dies. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
- ^ "Former Black Fern dies". RugbyHeaven.co.nz. 13 September 2008. http://www.rugbyheaven.co.nz/4691691a22479.html. Retrieved 18 September 2008.
- ^ "Ex-NZ First MP dies". The New Zealand Herald. 25 September 2008. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10534248.
- ^ "Theatre star Rob Guest dies". New Zealand Herald. 2 October 2008. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/arts-literature/news/article.cfm?c_id=18&objectid=10535330. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
- ^ "Hedley Howarth dies at 64". CricketArchive. 8 November 2008. http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/newzealand/content/current/story/377401.html. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
- ^ "Former All Black John Drake dead at 49". The Age. 13 December 2008. http://news.theage.com.au/sport/former-all-black-john-drake-dead-at-49-20081213-6xuv.html. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
- ^ Mason, Ross (15 January 2009). "Ian Roy Ballinger". The Dominion Post. Archived from the original on 25 January 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5e553U1QT. Retrieved 25 January 2009.
[edit] External links
Media related to 2008 in New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons
