2022 in New Zealand

Regal and vice-regal

• Head of State – Elizabeth II until 8 September, then Charles III
• Governor-General – Cindy Kiro

• 
  Elizabeth II
• 
  Charles III
• 
  Cindy Kiro

Government

Legislature term: 53rd New Zealand Parliament

The Sixth Labour Government, elected in 2020, continues.

• Speaker of the House – Trevor Mallard until 24 August, then Adrian Rurawhe
• Prime Minister – Jacinda Ardern
• Deputy Prime Minister – Grant Robertson
• Leader of the House – Chris Hipkins
• Minister of Finance – Grant Robertson
• Minister of Foreign Affairs – Nanaia Mahuta

• 
  Trevor Mallard
• 
  Adrian Rurawhe
• 
  Jacinda Ardern
• 
  Grant Robertson
• 
  Chris Hipkins
• 
  Nanaia Mahuta

Other party leaders in parliament

• National – Christopher Luxon (leader of the Opposition)
• Green – James Shaw until 23 July and from 10 September, and Marama Davidson
• ACT – David Seymour
• Māori Party – Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer

• 
  Christopher Luxon
• 
  James Shaw
• 
  Marama Davidson
• 
  David Seymour

Judiciary

• Chief Justice – Helen Winkelmann
• President of the Court of Appeal – Stephen Kós, then from 26 April Mark Cooper
• Chief High Court judge – Susan Thomas
• Chief District Court judge – Heemi Taumaunu

• 
  Helen Winkelmann
• 
  Stephen Kós
• 
  Mark Cooper

Main centre leaders

• Mayor of Auckland – Phil Goff, then from 28 October Wayne Brown^[1]
• Mayor of Tauranga – Anne Tolley (as chair of commissioners)
• Mayor of Hamilton – Paula Southgate
• Mayor of Wellington – Andy Foster, then from 26 October Tory Whanau^[2]
• Mayor of Christchurch – Lianne Dalziel, then from 25 October Phil Mauger^[3]
• Mayor of Dunedin – Aaron Hawkins, then from 26 October Jules Radich^[4]

• 
  Phil Goff
• 
  Wayne Brown
• 
  Anne Tolley
• 
  Paula Southgate
• 
  Andy Foster
• 
  Tory Whanau
• 
  Lianne Dalziel
• 
  Phil Mauger
• 
  Aaron Hawkins
• 

Events

January

• 23 January – COVID-19 in New Zealand: The whole of New Zealand moves to red under the COVID-19 Protection Framework at 11:59 pm, after the confirmation of multiple community cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.^[5]
• 30 January – COVID-19 in New Zealand: Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern enter isolation after being deemed to be a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case.^[6]

February

• 1 February – COVID-19 in New Zealand: Pregnant journalist Charlotte Bellis is offered a place in MIQ after initially being denied entry.^[7]
• 2 February – A state of emergency is issued in the Buller District as heavy rain continues to fall.^[8]
• 3 February – The West Coast Region receives a record-breaking amount of rainfall. State Highway 6 is closed.^[9]
• 4 February – Civil Defence orders evacuations for low-lying areas of Westport.^[10]
• 6 February
  • Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II's accession as Queen of New Zealand^[11]
  • Protests in Wellington start outside Parliament, and develop into an "occupation", which lasts until 2 March when police moved in.
  • Waitangi Day celebrations are cut back as COVID-19 restrictions force the closure of the Treaty Grounds.^[12]
• 7 February – A 21-gun salute is performed in Wellington for the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II's accession as Queen of New Zealand.^[13]

March

• 2 March – The protest in Wellington outside Parliament is ended by police.
• 23 March – A state of emergency is declared in Tairāwhiti due to severe weather.^[14]
• 14 March – A fuel tax subsidy is introduced to deal with the cost of living crisis.^[15]
• 31 March – The Transmission Gully Motorway opens to traffic, having been officially opened by Jacinda Ardern the previous day.^[16]

April

• 7 April – Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill passes its third reading in Parliament, establishing Matariki as a public holiday in New Zealand.^[17]

May

• 9 May – New Zealand's first emissions budgets are released by Climate Change Minister, James Shaw.^[18]
• 16 May – The first Emissions Reduction Plan is released.^[19]
• 19 May – The 2022 budget is delivered.^[20]

June

• 6 June – The 2022 Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours are announced.^[21]
• 8 June – The Supreme Court overturns the wrongful conviction of Alan Hall.^[22]
• 18 June – Sam Uffindell of the National Party wins the Tauranga by-election following the resignation from Parliament of Simon Bridges.^[23]
• 24 June – Matariki is observed as an official public holiday for the first time.
• 28 June – The Supreme Court rules that Family First does not qualify for charitable status.^[24][25]

July

• 9 July – The first case of monkeypox is detected in Auckland.^[26]
• 14 July
  • Christchurch City councillors vote in favour of building the $683m stadium, Te Kaha.^[27]
  • The Hamilton section of the Waikato Expressway opens to traffic, having been officially opened two days earlier^[28]
• 18 to 20 July – Severe winds, heavy rain and flooding cause chaos across the country, as well as leaving more than 100 people trapped in Lake Ōhau and closing a number of state highways.^{[29][30][31][32]}
• 20 July – The Court of Appeal overturns resource consents that allowed two water-bottling companies to extract billions of litres of water from Christchurch aquifers.^[33]
• 31 July – COVID-19 in New Zealand: The New Zealand border fully reopens to all travellers at 11:59 pm.^[34]

August

• 11 August – The remains of two children are found in suitcases in Clendon Park, Auckland.^[35]
• 12 August – COVID-19 in New Zealand: The first cruise ship since the beginning of the pandemic docks at Queens Wharf in Auckland from Sydney.^[36]
• 15 August – A 6.4 magnitude earthquake occurs south of the Kermadec Islands at 1:45am.^[37]
• 16 August
  • A state of emergency is declared on the West Coast, following a red-level alert issued by MetService due to heavy rain.^[38]
  • Labour's caucus unanimously decides to suspend Hamilton West MP Gaurav Sharma effective immediately in the wake of allegations of bullying of and by MPs.^[39]
• 17 August
  • Two restoration workers become the first people to enter the ChristChurch Cathedral since February 2011.^[40]
  • A front of severe weather hits the Nelson and Tasman regions causing record flooding and numerous slips. The heavy rain lasts for four days causing extensive damage to Nelson City and surrounding areas. Over five hundred people are evacuated and numerous homes are rendered unlivable. It is estimated that it will take years for the city to recover. Areas of the West Coast and Marlborough are also hit causing extensive flooding and damage. The severe weather heads north to hit Taranaki in the following days.^[41][42] The cost, according to Nelson City Council, is $60 million.^[43]
• 22 August – The government takes direct control of Kiwibank through the purchase of holding company Kiwi Group Holdings for an estimated NZ$2.1 billion from the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, ACC, and New Zealand Post.^[44]
• 25 August – Corporal Dominic Abelen is killed in Ukraine whilst on a period of leave without pay, and was not on active duty with the NZDF.^[45]
• 26 August
  • Fire and Emergency firefighters go on strike for a second time, lasting an hour.^[46]
  • Five people are taken to hospital after a gas explosion at a building site in Auckland's Wynyard Quarter.^[47]
• 30 August – A person is shot in the Christchurch suburb of Linwood, leading to a manhunt.^[48]

September

• 8 September – Accession of Charles III as King of New Zealand on the death of Elizabeth II.^[49]
• 11 September – Charles III is proclaimed King of New Zealand on the steps of Parliament House, Wellington.^[50]
• 12 September – COVID-19 in New Zealand: The COVID-19 Protection Framework ends at 11:59 pm, resulting in the removal of most pandemic-related restrictions.^[51]
• 19 September – New Zealand representatives attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London.^[52]
• 26 September – A state memorial service for Queen Elizabeth II with a national holiday is held at the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul.^[53]
• 28 September – The first Costco store in New Zealand opens in Westgate.^[54]

October

• 6 October
  • Heavy snow hits much of the South Island, Wellington, Taranaki and the Central Plateau, causing problems for farmers and viticulturists, and closing state highways.^[55]
  • The first community transmission of monkeypox in New Zealand is confirmed.^[56]
• 7 October – The Supreme Court posthumously quashes the 1993 child abuse convictions of Peter Ellis.^[57]
• 8 October – The 2022 local elections are held.^[58]
• 19 October – A digital security breach allows personal details about most University of Otago students to be viewable to others.^[59]
• 20 October – Tractors drive through city centres in a protest led by the farmer advocacy group Groundswell.^[60]
• 21 October – Minister of Transport Michael Wood announces a $1.3 billion public transport single payment system, to rolled out across the country in stages, starting with Canterbury in 2024.^[61]
• 25 October – Women make up 50% of MPs in parliament for the first time, as Soraya Peke-Mason is sworn in as a list MP.^[62]

November

• 2 November – The evacuation of 130 people from a holiday park at Woodend Beach north of Christchurch occurs due to a wildfire. About 50 firefighters battled the flames overnight.^[63]
• 8 November – A full lunar eclipse takes place.
• 21 November – The Supreme Court rules that current electoral legislation setting the minimum voting age at 18 years violates the Bill of Rights Act 1990.^[64]
• 23 November – 2022 Sandringham dairy stabbing^[65][66]
• 23 November – The Reserve Bank lifts the Official cash rate by 75 basis points to 4.25% while forecasting a "shallow recession" in 2023.^[67]
• 25 November – The New Zealand Government and Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri sign an agreement to settle historical Treaty of Waitangi claims relating to the Chatham Islands.^[68][69]

December

• 1 December – Graham Philip is sentenced to three years and one month in prison for sabotage, the first conviction for this crime in New Zealand history.^[70]
• 10 December – The Hamilton West by-election is won by the National Party candidate, Tama Potaka.^[71]
• 26 December – New Zealanders break retail spending record for Boxing Day, with consumers spending $100.5 million.^[72]
• 31 December – The 2023 New Year Honours are announced.^[73]

Holidays and observances

Public holidays in New Zealand in 2022 are as follows:^[74][75]

• 1 January – New Year's Day
• 2 January – Day after New Year's Day
• 3 January – New Year's Day observed
• 4 January – Day after New Year's Day observed
• 6 February – Waitangi Day
• 7 February – Waitangi Day observed
• 15 April – Good Friday
• 18 April – Easter Monday
• 25 April – Anzac Day
• 6 June – Queen's Birthday
• 24 June – Matariki
• 26 September – Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day (2022 public holiday only)
• 24 October – Labour Day
• 25 December – Christmas Day
• 26 December – Boxing Day
• 27 December – Christmas Day observed

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