The following lists events that happened during 2023 in New Zealand.
Incumbents
Regal and vice-regal Head of State – Charles III Governor-General – Dame Cindy Kiro
Government Legislature term: 53rd New Zealand Parliament until 8 September, then 54th New Zealand Parliament from 5 December.
The Sixth Labour Government, elected in 2017 and 2020, then the Sixth National Government elected in 2023.
Speaker of the House – Adrian Rurawhe until 5 December, then Gerry Brownlee Prime Minister – Jacinda Ardern until 25 January, then Chris Hipkins until 27 November, then Christopher Luxon Deputy Prime Minister – Grant Robertson until 25 January, then Carmel Sepuloni until 27 November, then Winston Peters Leader of the House – Chris Hipkins until 25 January, then Grant Robertson until 27 November, then Chris Bishop Minister of Finance – Grant Robertson until 27 November, then Nicola Willis Minister of Foreign Affairs – Nanaia Mahuta until 11 November, then Grant Robertson until 27 November, then Winston Peters
Other party leaders in parliament National – Christopher Luxon (Leader of the Opposition) until 27 November Labour – Chris Hipkins (Leader of the Opposition) from 27 November Green – James Shaw and Marama Davidson ACT – David Seymour NZ First – Winston Peters from 14 October Te Pāti Māori – Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer
Judiciary Chief Justice – Helen Winkelmann President of the Court of Appeal – Mark Cooper Chief High Court judge – Susan Thomas until 19 December, then Sally Fitzgerald Chief District Court judge – Heemi Taumaunu
Main centre leaders Mayor of Auckland – Wayne Brown Mayor of Tauranga – Anne Tolley (as chair of commissioners) Mayor of Hamilton – Paula Southgate Mayor of Wellington – Tory Whanau Mayor of Christchurch – Phil Mauger Mayor of Dunedin – Jules Radich
Events
January
4 January – Severe weather hits Coromandel and the upper North Island bringing thunderstorms and torrential rain. Holidaymakers are forced to evacuate and continuing severe weather causes numerous landslips. 9 January – COVID-19 in New Zealand: The "Kraken" subvariant of Omicron is detected in New Zealand for the first time after genome sequencing of two cases. Health officials are confident the current COVID-19 response is appropriate. 10 January – Cyclone Hale impacts the North Island, causing flooding and slips in Coromandel and Gisborne. 18 January – A Qantas flight travelling from Auckland to Sydney lands safely after issuing a mayday call. 19 January Jacinda Ardern announces her pending resignation as prime minister and Labour Party leader. A wild kiwi egg is laid in Wellington for the first time in more than 100 years. 22 January – Chris Hipkins is unanimously elected leader of the Labour Party. 25 January – Chris Hipkins and Carmel Sepuloni are sworn in as Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, respectively, at Government House, Wellington. 27 January – Torrential rain in Auckland causes widespread flooding, slips, evacuations, and the deaths of four people (from Cyclone Hale). 28 January – The Interislander ferry Kaitaki loses power in heavy seas and drifts near rocks off Sinclair Head on Wellington's south coast.
February
1 February – A second wave of severe weather and torrential rain hits Auckland, worsening the already catastrophic flooding. 5 February – Auckland begins a series of significant large-scale clean up operations in the aftermath of catastrophic flooding. Authorities believe the city is now out of danger. 8 February – Police Commissioner Andrew Coster announced the seizure of 3.2 tonnes of cocaine floating in the Pacific that was probably destined for Australia, an amount that represents 30 years of consumption in New Zealand. 12 February – Cyclone Gabrielle: Thousands of people are left without power as Cyclone Gabrielle makes landfall over the North Island. The regions of Northland and Auckland are put under a state of emergency. 14 February Cyclone Gabrielle: A national state of emergency is declared as Cyclone Gabrielle continues to impact the North Island bringing extreme weather, flooding and land slides. A national state of emergency will allow the Government to step in and handle the emergency response. The ngaro huruhuru (native bee) is named the inaugural New Zealand Bug of the Year. 15 February Cyclone Gabrielle: Anne, Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence arrive in Wellington for their tour of New Zealand. The pair's planned military duties in Palmerston North were postponed. Instead, they travelled to the National Crisis Management Centre at the Beehive to meet with staff from agencies involved in the cyclone response. They also conducted the Service of Remembrance at the National War Memorial and paid respects at the United Kingdom memorial. A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hits the lower North Island, north-west of Paraparaumu at a depth of 54 km. Shaking was felt nationwide and it caused cracks to form in the town's fire station. 16 February – Cyclone Gabrielle: New Zealand starts accepting offers of international assistance.
March 1 March – Protesters disrupt a Drag Queen Story Hour event at the Avondale Library in Auckland, forcing its closure. 3 March Large climate protests take place across the country as thousands march to demand immediate climate action from the government. The protesters make a number of demands and briefly stage a "sit in" at the Christchurch City Council. The Christchurch Schools Rebuild programme, which is rebuilding and repairing 115 earthquake-damaged schools in greater Christchurch, is given $301 million. This increases the total investment in it to $1.6 billion. 7 March – The 2023 census takes place. 14 March – Protesters picket the "Queens Telling Stories" event at Christchurch's Turangi Library. 15 March – Stuart Nash resigned as Minister of Police following revelations he asked the Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to appeal a decision he felt was too light, a breach of the expectation that the Government remains neutral in regards to operational Police matters. 16 March New Zealand enacts a ban of TikTok on devices connected to parliament citing cybersecurity concerns. Early childhood, primary, and secondary school teachers affiliated with the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) and Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) hold a nationwide strike following the breakdown of negotiations with the Government over salaries and work conditions. 17 March – Nash subsequently admitted to a third incident of misconduct where he contacted the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to advocate for a migrant health professional in Napier in September 2022. 25 March A rally organised by Posie Parker in central Auckland ends in chaos after counter-protesters, estimated to number in the thousands, make too much noise for her to speak. Parker later left by police escort. Marama Davidson, Green Party co-leader is hit by a motorcyclist and injured. On the same day, she made controversial comments about white cisgender men committing violence. Kea are spotted in Christchurch's Port Hills for the first time in many years. 28 March – A forth incident involving Nash reveals that in 2020, he emailed two of his donors, who were commercial property owners, about a commercial rent relief policy Cabinet was discussing. Nash is stripped of all his remaining ministerial portfolios. 29 March Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announces a review into Stuart Nash's communications with his two donors. Secondary school teachers stage a second national strike following the breakdown of negotiations with the Government. 30 March – New Zealand records its first case of rabies in a human. A patient who had been in hospital since early March died from the disease, which did not spread further.
April 10 April – A tornado sweeps through the Tasman Region damaging fifty properties. It tears the roofs off at least twelve houses, brings down trees and powerlines and leaves one person trapped in their car. 11 April – Prime Minister Hipkins and Minister of Health Ayesha Verrall confirm that the New Zealand Government would retain some COVID-19 restrictions such as the seven-day mandatory isolation period for positive cases and mask wearing requirements at health facilities. The New Zealand Government overhauls its Three Waters water infrastructure reform programme, renaming it the Water Services Reform Programme. 29 April – The Dominion Post is revamped as The Post. On 27 April 2023, Stuff confirmed that The Dominion Post would adopt its new name The Post on 29 April. Stuff also announced that it would launch a new subscription-based website for The Post that would co-exist with the free Stuff news website.
May 3 May – Meka Whaitiri resigns from the Labour Party and loses her ministerial portfolios, but remains in Parliament as an independent MP sitting with Te Pāti Māori. 4 May – Secondary school teachers affiliated with the Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) launch a series of nationwide rolling strikes throughout the month of May in response to a pay dispute with the Ministry of Education. 5 May Heavy rain hits the lower North Island and the upper South Island bringing surface flooding and landslips. Evacuations take place in Tasman District after a river bursts its banks and several other regions issue weather warnings. Elizabeth Kerekere resigns from the Green Party, but remains in Parliament as an independent MP. 6 May – The coronation of Charles III takes place in London. 12 May – Early childhood education teachers affiliated with the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) accept a pay offer from the Ministry of Education, which also increases sick leave by 15 days. Their primary school colleagues have voted to hold out on the Ministry's pay offer. 16 May – A fire in Loafers Lodge in Wellington kills five residents. 18 May – The 2023 budget is delivered. 22 May – The two main teachers' unions, the PPTA and NZEI, suspended strike action in response to progress in pay and work negotiations with the Education Ministry and Education Minister Jan Tinetti. 26 May – From that date bank transactions were processed every day, and weekend transactions (e.g. on Saturday and Sunday) would no longer held until the next "working day" i.e.. Monday.‘’The Dominion Post’’ (Wellington) 12 April 2023 page 17 26 May – Several school climate strike protests are held across New Zealand.
June 5 June – The 2023 King's Birthday and Coronation Honours are announced. 7 June – Primary school teachers affiliated with the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) voted to accept the Education Ministry's collective agreement offer, which increases salaries and work leaves. 9 June – Secondary school teachers affiliated with the Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) voted to reject the Education Ministry's collective agreement offer and to resume rolling strikes throughout the month. 14 June – Schools and public transportation in Ōpōtiki are suspended due to disruption caused by a tangihanga (funeral) for slain Mongrel Mob Barbarians president Steven Taiatini. 16 June – North Auckland's Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway is officially opened by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and other officials. The motorway opened to traffic on 19 June 2023. 21 June – The PPTA suspends strikes action after agreeing to an arbitration process to resolve its pay dispute with the Education Ministry. 22 June John Adams is appointed as the third bishop of Palmerston North by Pope Francis. He is consecrated on 30 September by numerous senior Catholic clergy. A state of emergency is declared in Tairāwhiti due to severe weather. 29 June – Primary school principals affiliated with the NZEI vote to accept the Education Ministry's pay offer consisting of progressive pay rises over the next two years.
July
1 July