The New Zealand Labour Party, also known simply as Labour, is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers describe Labour as social democratic and pragmatic in practice. The party participates in the international Progressive Alliance. It is one of two major political parties in New Zealand, alongside its traditional rival, the National Party.
Waitangi Day, the national day of New Zealand, marks the anniversary of the initial signing—on 6 February 1840—of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty of Waitangi was an agreement towards British sovereignty by representatives of the Crown and indigenous Māori chiefs, and so is regarded by many as the founding document of the nation.
Kiwiana are certain items and icons from New Zealand's heritage, especially from around the middle of the 20th century, that are seen as representing iconic New Zealand elements. These "quirky things that contribute to a sense of nationhood" include both genuine cultural icons and kitsch.
The Goodnight Kiwi is an animated short which has been used to signal the end of nightly broadcasts on Television New Zealand channels. The Goodnight Kiwi features two characters: the eponymous Goodnight Kiwi, and his companion, simply known as The Cat. The animation was introduced in 1975 on TV2, and used on South Pacific Television between 1976 and 1980. Between 1980 and 19 October 1994, the animation was screened again on TV2. This animation returned on 6 September 2007 for use on TVNZ 6 when the channel ended transmission at midnight. TVNZ U also used the Goodnight Kiwi at midnight before overnight service.
Foreign relations between neighbouring countries Australia and New Zealand, also referred to as Trans-Tasman relations, are extremely close. Both countries share a British colonial heritage as antipodean Dominions and settler colonies, and both are part of the core Anglosphere. New Zealand sent representatives to the constitutional conventions which led to the uniting of the six Australian colonies but opted not to join. In the Boer War and in both world wars, New Zealand soldiers fought alongside Australian soldiers. In recent years the Closer Economic Relations free trade agreement and its predecessors have inspired ever-converging economic integration. Despite some shared similarities, the cultures of Australia and New Zealand also have their own sets of differences and there are sometimes differences of opinion which some have declared as symptomatic of sibling rivalry. This often centres upon sports and in commercio-economic tensions, such as those arising from the failure of Ansett Australia and those engendered by the formerly long-standing Australian ban on New Zealand apple imports.
Hairy Maclary and Friends is a series of children's picture books created by New Zealand author and illustrator Dame Lynley Dodd. The popular series has sold over five million copies worldwide. The character Hairy Maclary made his first appearance in 1983 in the book titled Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy. He is the protagonist in twelve books in the series, and there are a further nine books about his friends.
Dame Lynley Stuart Dodd is a New Zealand children's book author and illustrator. She is best known for her Hairy Maclary and Friends series, and its follow-ups, all of which feature animals with rhyming names and have sold over five million copies worldwide. In 1999, Dodd received the Margaret Mahy Award.
My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes is a New Zealand children’s book by Eve Sutton and Lynley Dodd, who are cousins by marriage. The book was first published in 1974 and won the 1975 Esther Glen Award.
Mallinson Rendel Publishers Limited was an independent publisher based in Wellington, New Zealand, founded in 1980. Founded by Ann Mallinson and David Rendel, it concentrated mainly on children's fiction and picture books and also published a small number of popular new titles each year. Works published include Lynley Dodd's Hairy Maclary series. In December 2009 the company's assets were acquired by Pearson New Zealand Ltd with most of the works being marketed under the Penguin imprint.
Slinky Malinki is a fictitious cat who features in the Hairy Maclary children's stories written by New Zealand author Lynley Dodd.
Scarface Claw the "toughest Tom in town", is a fictitious tom cat who features in the Hairy Maclary children's stories written by New Zealand author Lynley Dodd. A large, black cat with big yellow eyes and chunks missing from his ears, Scarface has a reputation as the "toughest Tom in town".
"Hine E Hine" is a lullaby in Māori written by Fanny Howie in around 1907.
Dame Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern is a former New Zealand politician who served as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. She was a Labour member of Parliament (MP) as a list MP from 2008 to 2017, and for Mount Albert from 2017 to 2023.
Fanny Rose Howie, also known by her stage name Te Rangi Pai, was a New Zealand singer and composer. Of Māori descent, she identified with the iwi of Ngāti Porou and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui. The lullaby "Hine E Hine" is her most famous composition, and she was well known in Britain as a singer of opera and popular music from 1901 to 1905.
The Sixth Labour Government governed New Zealand from 26 October 2017 to 27 November 2023. It was headed first by Jacinda Ardern and later by Chris Hipkins, as Labour Party leader and prime minister.
Toby Morris is a New Zealand cartoonist, comics artist, illustrator and writer, best known for non-fiction online comics that often highlight social issues.
The dawn raids were crackdowns in New Zealand from 1973 to 1979 and then sporadically afterward on alleged illegal overstayers from the Pacific Islands. The raids were first introduced in 1973 by Prime Minister Norman Kirk's Labour government, who discontinued them in April 1974. However, they were later reintroduced and intensified by Rob Muldoon's Third National government. These operations involved special police squads conducting often aggressive raids on the homes and workplaces of overstayers throughout New Zealand, usually at dawn and almost exclusively directed at Pasifika New Zealanders, regardless of their citizenship status. Overstayers and their families were often prosecuted and then deported back to their countries.
Elizabeth Ann Mallinson is a New Zealand children's book publisher and co-founder of Mallinson Rendel, best known for Lynley Dodd's Hairy Maclary series.
Goodnight Kiwi is a New Zealand TV show where well-known New Zealanders are presented reading children's books. It is intended to be watched before bed, and is based on the TV sign-off animation, Goodnight Kiwi. Each episode is around three minutes long and available on TVNZ+. It includes animations, original illustrations and live performances. The episodes begin with a variation of the original Goodnight Kiwi animation, where the kiwi and cat jump into the satellite dish.
