1 January: Changes to New Zealand citizenship laws mean not all babies born in New Zealand have a right to be citizens. Babies must have a parent who is a citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand or its dependencies.[3]
2 January: New Zealand's warm sunny New Year weather has come to a sudden end as gale-force winds and rain assault southern New Zealand. (Wikinews)
14 January:The Government announces a review of liquor advertising amidst concern over teenage binge drinking. The review will consider regulating sponsorship of sport by alcohol companies. Lion Nathan says there is no need for change.[4][5]
15 January: Review of David Lange's documents show that the United States threatened to spy on New Zealand if it did not back down from its 1980s anti-nuclear legislation.[6]
February
1 February: Don Brash, the leader of the New Zealand National Party gave his third state of the nation speech to the Orewa Rotary Club where he focused on the economy. Wikinews
6 February: The 166th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document, in 1840. This year the celebrations were peaceful, in contrast to other years where the day was the focus of protest by Māori activists. Wikinews
14 February: Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton announced that a draft agreement had been reached with fishing companies to ban bottom trawling in 30 percent of New Zealand's exclusive economic zone. Anderton promised to support a global ban on bottom trawling if that appeared a practical option.[citation needed]
16 February: Tokelau decides to remain a New Zealand territory after a referendum on independence. A 60 percent majority voted in favor of independence, but a two-thirds majority was required for the referendum to succeed.[9]
20 February: Air New Zealand is set to lay off another 507 workers as it outsources its wide-body aircraft maintenance. A union proposal to save some of the jobs failed to win a worker vote.[10]
23 February: Air New Zealand workers accepted a new employment package in a new vote. About 300 wide-body aircraft maintenance jobs will be saved in Auckland, although 200 will still be made redundant.[citation needed]
24 February:Air New Zealand announced that 470 corporate jobs, mostly in Auckland are to be axed over the next year.[11]
6 March: Fairfax purchases the New Zealand online auction site Trade Me for NZ$625 million.[13]
7 March: The 2006 New Zealand census is held. For the first time, respondents had the option of completing their census form via the internet rather than by a printed form.
17 March: DoC starts an emergency evacuation of Raoul Island after one of the island's volcanoes erupts. One person is missing.[citation needed]
17 March: A report on Auckland traffic congestion suggests charges of $3–$6 for a vehicle to enter the Auckland isthmus, or a $10 surcharge on all parking in the CBD.[14]
20 March: David Parker resigns as Attorney-General after publicity about an incorrect declaration he filed with the Companies Office. The following day he resigned from Cabinet.
25 March: Restaurant Brands, the franchise holder for KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks, have agreed to phase out youth rates. BP agreed to scrap youth rates earlier.
26 March: In the 2006 Commonwealth Games, New Zealand wins 31 medals, which puts it in 9th place. This is New Zealand's worst performance at a Commonwealth Games since 1982.
28 March: Farmers are unhappy with the new law that all dogs first registered after 1 July 2006 must be microchipped. They want farm dogs to be exempt, and have drawn a parallel to the Dog Tax War of 1898.
2 April: The Auckland City Council wins a Pigasus Award for granting $2500 to the Foundation For Spiritualist Mediums "to teach people to communicate with the dead".
7 April: Following acquittal of three men in the Louise Nicholas rape trial, pamphlets and emails about two of the defendants are widely circulated in defiance of previous court suppression orders.
10 April: Auckland rises to 5th place behind Zürich and Geneva in a survey of the world's top 55 cities for quality of life. Wellington places 12th.
26 April: David Parker is cleared of any misconduct by the Companies Office. He was granted an exemption in 1999 from the rules he had fallen foul of. He is likely to be reinstated to the Cabinet next week.
27 April:The Electricity Commission has rejected Transpower's plan to build a line of power pylons from Auckland to Whakamaru. The plan had drawn protests from landowners along the route.
30 April: Following acquittal of three men in the Louise Nicholas rape trial, several hundred people marched up Queen Street, in support of Louise Nicholas.
3 May: The New Zealand Government announces that it will require Telecom to unbundle the local loop to provide "access to fast, competitively priced broadband internet".
13 May: The trawler Kotuku sinks in Foveaux Strait on the way back from muttonbirding. Of the nine people on board, including three generations of one family, only three survive. It is New Zealand's worst maritime disaster since the sinking of TEV Wahine.[16]
15 May: After 40 days of climbing, New Zealander Mark Inglis became the first double amputee to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world.
16 May: Michael Ryan, a messenger for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet is named as the government employee who leaked the information to Telecom that the government is planning to "unbundle the local loop".
17 May: An attempt by the Green Party to repeal part of a controversial dog microchipping law was voted down 61–60.
24 May: The week-long festivities celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Māori Queen's coronation have ended.
25 May: The three men acquitted of rape in the Louise Nicholas trial now face a new trial for alleged sexual offences against another woman in the mid-1980s.[citation needed]
27 May: The Write4gold international graffiti art competition is held in New Zealand.[17]
10 June: The family of Richard Seddon remember his death 100 years ago.
10 June: A Yemeni man, linked to the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States, has been deported from New Zealand. It is only the second time that section 72 of the Immigration Act has been used to deport someone. Its use requires the consent of the Governor-General, and there is no right of appeal.
12 June: A blackout hits Auckland, lasting for several hours and affecting an estimated 700,000 people. The cause was found to be an earth wire which snapped off in high winds and fell across high-voltage transmission lines at a substation.
A severe storm lashed the country, bringing heavy snow to Otago and Canterbury Some isolated communities lose power for up to three weeks after the storm. Up to three feet of snow was recorded in inland Canterbury.
2 July: The Intellectual Property Office has turned down an application by Ngāti Toa to trademark Ka Mate, the haka used by the All Blacks.[citation needed]
3 July: Police Minister Annette King and Police Commissioner Howard Broad both deny that New Zealand Police have quotas for speeding tickets after a memo about such quotas is leaked.[citation needed]
4 July:An Italian Fiat advert draws criticism from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for having women perform the haka.[18]
10 July: Labour List MP Jim Sutton announces he is leaving politics on 1 August 2006. He will be replaced by the next member of the Labour Party list, Charles Chauvel.[citation needed]
11 July: Te Atairangi Kaahu, the Māori Queen, is taken to Waikato Hospital's intensive care unit after a possible heart attack and kidney failure.[14]
18 July: Tim Selwyn is sentenced to 2 months imprisonment for sedition in Auckland. He is also sentenced to a further 15 months for other offenses.[citation needed]
18 July: Former Cabinet MinisterTaito Phillip Field is cleared of any conflict of interest by an inquiry into allegations he had used his position for material gain, but his judgement was criticised.[14]
25 July: The Overlander rail passenger service will be withdrawn at the end of September, thus ending the last passenger service operating between Auckland and Wellington.[citation needed]
25 August An industrial dispute between supermarket company Progressive Enterprises and employees in the EPMU and NDU begins and lasts until 21 September
7 September: Four mayors in the Auckland Region meet with Helen Clark to discuss the possibility of amalgamating their city councils to a single body.[20]
13 September: Don Brash takes leave to sort out marital problems amidst rumours he had an affair.[21]
14 September: Stephen Tindall announces his intention of buying out the other shareholders in the retail chain he founded, The Warehouse. Tindall currently has a controlling share in the company.[citation needed]
18 September: The Prime Minister's husband Peter Davis is accused of being gay, after a picture is published of him kissing another man. Both Davis and Clark deny the claim; the picture later turns out to be a still from election night coverage.[22] See also:Investigate.
28 September: The Overlander train between Auckland and Wellington, due to be withdrawn at the end of the month, is to continue, but on a reduced schedule.[citation needed]
30 September: The New Zealand Government apologises to the Te Arawaiwi over Treaty of Waitangi grievances, and returns 500 square kilometres of Crown land and 19 areas of special significance to it.[26]
4 December: The Copyright (New Technologies and Performers' Rights) Amendment Bill, is introduced to update copyright laws due to the development and adoption of new technologies.
16 December: Three children are killed when a cliff collapses on them at a riverside picnic ground in the Manawatu region.
16 December: Nine experienced New Zealand fire-fighters are injured, one seriously, as they fought Bushfires in Victoria, Australia.[29]
22 December: The Government announces changes to the regulations governing the sale of consumer fireworks. Sales will now be restricted to 3 (previously 10) days of the year – 3–5 November and the age limit for purchase has been raised from 16 to 18.[citation needed]
28 December – The contentious Wellington Inner city bypass opens[30]
31 December: The 2006 road toll provisionally stands at 387, the lowest figure since 1963[31]
Dale Warrender wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:17:43 on 29 October in Auckland, while Tracey Clissold claims her second as well in the women's championship (2:50:47).
Basketball
Women’s National Basketball League was won by Auckland, who beat North Harbour 75–74 in the final.
Elizabeth II
Dame Silva Cartwright
Anand Satyanand
Gold
Silver
Bronze