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2012 in New Zealand

The following lists events that happened during 2012 in New Zealand.

Population

  • Estimated population as of 31 December: 4,425,900.
  • Increase since 31 December 2011: 26,400 (0.60%).
  • Males per 100 Females: 95.7.

Incumbents

Regal and vice-regal

Government

2012 is the first full year of the 50th Parliament, which first sat on 20 December 2011 and will dissolve on 17 December 2014 if not dissolved prior. The Fifth National Government, first elected in 2008, continues.

Other Party leaders

Judiciary

Main centre leaders

Events

January

  • 7 January – A hot air balloon crashes near Carterton in the Wairarapa, killing all eleven on board.
  • 10 January – The stern section of the MV Rena, grounded on a reef of the coast of Tauranga since October 2011, sinks after splitting from the bow section on 8 January, spilling cargo along the Bay of Plenty coast.
  • 20 January – More than 70 police raid a $30 million mansion in Coatesville, north of Auckland, leased by Kim Dotcom, and arrest Dotcom and three others for internet piracy as part of the United States Department of Justice shut down of the file hosting site Megaupload.

February

March

  • 2 March – It is announced that the 131-year-old landmark Christ Church Cathedral will be demolished as a result of damage from the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and subsequent aftershocks.
  • 19 March – "Marmageddon": It is announced by manufacturer Sanitarium that the sole production line of the popular breakfast spread Marmite, of which New Zealanders eat 640 tonnes annually, had stopped in November due to earthquake damage at the Papanui, Christchurch, factory, and the company's own stocks had run out. It would be February 2013 before production resumed.
  • 25 March – The largest changes to the nation's road rules in 35 years sees two rules regarding priority at intersections change, including the unique left-turn verses right-turn rule.

April

May

  • 19 May – The remains of murder victim Jayne Furlong are found at Port Waikato, 19 years after she went missing in Auckland.
  • 24 May – Finance Minister Bill English delivers the 2012 government budget, described for the second consecutive year as a "zero" budget. The National government aims to record a $197m surplus in 2014/15, down from $1300m in the 2011 budget.

June

All Blacks vs Ireland rugby test matches.

July

  • 3 July – A magnitude 6.2 earthquake strikes off the Taranaki coast and is widely felt across the country. Only minor damage is reported to have occurred.
  • 27 July – 12 August – 184 New Zealand athletes in sixteen sports compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, achieving six gold, two silver and five bronze medals, including the nation's 100th Olympic medal.

August

  • 5 August – The Radio Network House in Christchurch which was damaged beyond repair in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake is demolished by implosion, becoming the first building to be demolished this way in New Zealand.
  • 6 August – Mount Tongariro in the central North Island erupts, spreading volcanic ash across the area and as far east as Hawke's Bay.
  • 30 August – Members of Parliament votes on three options for the national legal drinking age – the existing 18 years, 20 years, or an 18 on-licence/20 off-licence split. After the 18/20 split was eliminated in the first round of voting, Parliament votes in the second round to keep the age at 18 years, with 68 votes in favour to 53.
  • The payroll of 110,000 teachers and support staff in state and state-integrated schools is switched to the new Novopay system. The error-ridden system would ultimately cause thousands of pay errors, resulting in staff being overpaid, underpaid, or not paid at all, continuing into 2013.

September

  • 10 September – Weekday editions of The New Zealand Herald cease publication in broadsheet format after 150 years, switching to a compact format.
  • 26 September – The first New Zealand ShakeOut, a national earthquake drill, is held.
  • 30 September – Hawke's Bay and West Coast become the first regions to complete digital television transition, when analogue television signals are switched off at 3:00 am.

October

November

  • 5 November – The Royal Commission report into the Pike River Mine disaster of November 2010 is released, highlighting major health and safety flaws at the Pike River coal mine and New Zealand mines in general. Minister for Labour Kate Wilkinson subsequently resigns her portfolio.
  • 10–16 November – Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall visit the country as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
  • 12 November — The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Building Failure caused by Canterbury Earthquakes delivers its final report.

December

  • 6 December – A tornado hits the suburb of Hobsonville in northwestern Auckland, causing widespread damage and killing three people.

Holidays and observances

Arts and literature

Performing Arts

Television

  • C4 to be renamed FOUR

Films

Sport

Events

Olympic Games

  • New Zealand sends a team of 184 competitors across 16 sports.

Paralympics

  • New Zealand sends a team of 24 competitors across seven sports.

Shooting

  • Ballinger Belt – Brian Carter (Te Puke)

Births

  • 27 September – Beauty Generation, Thoroughbred racehorse
  • 29 September – Tarzino, Thoroughbred racehorse
  • 12 November – Lazarus, Standardbred racehorse
  • 21 November – Etah James, Thoroughbred racehorse

Deaths

January

  • 4 January – Bruce Irwin, botanist (born 1921)
  • 10 January – Harvey Kreyl, rugby league player (born 1925)
  • 11 January – Ross Wightman, rugby union player (born 1929)
  • 15 January – Ben Hana, aka "Blanket Man", vagrant (born 1957)
  • 19 January – Sir Maurice Casey, jurist (born 1923)
  • 30 January – Mary Yandall, singer (born 1949)

February

March

April

  • 5 April – Sir Peter Tapsell, politician, Member of Parliament (1981–96), Speaker of the House (1993–96) (born 1930)
  • 10 April – Michael Green, diplomat (born 1946)
  • 11 April – Grant Tilly, actor (born 1937)
  • 15 April – Peter McKenzie, conservationist (born 1952)
  • 28 April – Sir Fred Allen, rugby union player, former All Black captain (1949) and coach (1966–68) (born 1920)
  • 30 April – Les Hunter, politician (born 1927)

May

June

July

  • 1 July – Alister McLellan, mathematician and physicist (born 1919)
  • 2 July – Jeff Leigh, cricketer (born 1950)
  • 7 July – David Baldwin, lawn bowls player (born 1921)
  • 18 July
  • Aston Greathead, painter (born 1921)
  • Stuart Jones, golfer (born 1925)
  • 21 July – Vida Stout, limnographer and academic administrator (born 1930)
  • 23 July – Margaret Mahy, children's author (born 1936)
  • 27 July – Pauline Thompson, artist (born 1942)
  • 28 July – Colin Horsley, classical pianist and music teacher (born 1920)
  • 30 July – Jonathan Hardy, actor, screenwriter and movie director (born 1940)
  • 31 July
  • Jean Puketapu, Māori language activist, kōhanga reo pioneer (born 1931)
  • Reg Williams, Anglican priest (born 1914)

August

  • 3 August – Mama Tere Strickland, transgender advocate, politician (born 1963)
  • 6 August – Gregor Yeates, soil zoologist and ecologist (born 1944)
  • 11 August – Roger Sandall, anthropologist (born 1933)
  • 16 August – Evon Dickson, cricketer (born 1934)
  • 23 August – Col Campbell, television and radio gardening presenter (born 1933)
  • 29 August – Jeremy Pope, lawyer and activist (born 1938)
  • 30 August – Bill Kini, boxer, Commonwealth Games gold medallist (1966) (born 1937)

September

October

  • 12 October – Bob Aynsley, rugby league player (born 1922)
  • 15 October – Margaret Alington, historian (born 1920)
  • 18 October – Florence Akins, artist (born 1906)
  • 22 October – Sir Wilson Whineray, rugby union player and businessman (born 1935)
  • 24 October – Phil Bygrave, field hockey player (born 1929)
  • 25 October – Roger Gibbs, swimmer (born 1932)
  • 29 October – Valerie Davies, arachnologist (born 1920)
  • 31 October – June, Lady Blundell, community activist and charity patron, viceregal consort (born 1922)

November

  • 2 November
  • Annette Baier, philosopher (born 1929)
  • Greg King, lawyer (born 1969)
  • 3 November – Marie Bell, educationalist, lecturer, teacher (born 1922)
  • 7 November – Glenys Page, cricketer (b. 1940)
  • 16 November
  • Stuart Babbage, Anglican priest (born 1916)
  • Bob Scott, rugby union player (born 1921)
  • 19 November – Jim Weir, diplomat (born 1922)
  • 23 November – Diana, Lady Isaac, environmentalist and arts patron (born 1921)
  • 26 November – Vincent Orange, historian (born 1935)

December

  • 1 December – Marcia Russell, journalist and news presenter (born 1940)
  • 3 December – Eileen Moran, visual effects producer (born 1952)
  • 5 December – Geoffrey Clatworthy, community activist (born 1939)
  • 13 December – Rob Talbot, politician, Member of Parliament (1966–1987) (born 1923)
  • 16 December – George Duggan, Marist priest (born 1912)
  • 22 December – Gerald Melling, architect (born 1943)
  • 24 December
  • Guy Dodson, biochemist (born 1937)
  • Elwyn Richardson, educator (born 1925)
  • 27 December – Peter Anderson, cricketer (born 1950)
  • 30 December – Mike Hopkins, sound editor (, Transformers) (born 1959)

See also

References

External links