2024 in New Zealand

← 2023 2022 2021 2024 in New Zealand → 2025 2026 2027
Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	History of New Zealand List of years in New Zealand Timeline of New Zealand history

The following lists events that have happened or are expected to happen during 2024 in New Zealand.

Incumbents

Regal and vice-regal

• Head of state – Charles III
• Governor-General – Cindy Kiro

• 
  Charles III
• 
  Cindy Kiro

Government

Legislature term: 54th New Zealand Parliament.

The Sixth National Government, elected in 2023, continues.

• Speaker of the House – Gerry Brownlee
• Prime Minister – Christopher Luxon
• Deputy Prime Minister – Winston Peters
• Leader of the House – Chris Bishop
• Minister of Finance – Nicola Willis
• Minister of Foreign Affairs – Winston Peters

• 
  Gerry Brownlee
• 
  Christopher Luxon
• 
  Winston Peters
• 
  Chris Bishop
• 
  Nicola Willis

Other party leaders in parliament

• Labour – Chris Hipkins (Leader of the Opposition)
• Green – James Shaw until 10 March and Marama Davidson
• ACT – David Seymour
• NZ First – Winston Peters
• Te Pāti Māori – Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer

• 
  Chris Hipkins
• 
  James Shaw
• 
  Marama Davidson
• 
  David Seymour
• 
  Winston Peters

Judiciary

• Chief Justice – Helen Winkelmann
• President of the Court of Appeal – Mark Cooper
• Chief High Court judge – Susan Thomas
• Chief District Court judge – Heemi Taumaunu

• 
  Helen Winkelmann
• 
  Mark Cooper

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

• 
  Wayne Brown
• 
  Anne Tolley
• 
  Paula Southgate
• 
  Tory Whanau
• 
  Phil Mauger

Events

January

• 3 January – The Waitangi Treaty Grounds and its museums are evacuated following a bomb threat received in an email.
• 6 January – Learner license driver tests are changed in order to drop high wait times. Testees must wait 10 days until attempting another test if they fail twice in a day.
• 9 January – A seven-year legal battle concludes, marking three and a half hectares of Titirangi bush to be removed for a water treatment plant.
• 10 January – Train lines in Wellington lose power at around 3pm. Power is restored about six hours later.
• 11 January – 10 hectares of scrub in Tītahi Bay, Porirua is lit on fire, starting at around 11pm. It is contained the following day.
• 14 January – The Auckland Light Rail project is cancelled by the government. The project oversaw building light rail system in Auckland.
• 15 January
  • Train stations on Auckland's Eastern Line between Ōrākei and Sylvia Park reopen after being closed for 10 months to allow tracks to be rebuilt.
  • Prime Minister Christopher Luxon meets with the Māori King, Kīngi Tūheitia. Their discussions include the government's plans to remove Māori names from public organisations.
• 16 January – Golriz Ghahraman announces her resignation as a Green Party Member of Parliament following three accusations of shoplifting in Auckland and Wellington.
• 17 January
  • Wellington enters level two water restrictions due to its ageing infrastructure during summer demand spikes. Almost half of Wellington's water is lost to over 3,000 pipe leaks. The restrictions enact a ban of residential sprinklers and irrigation sprinklers in Wellington City, Porirua City, Hutt City and Upper Hutt City.
  • 2023 NCEA results are revealed, showing a drop in secondary school pass rates for the third year in a row. This is attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • MetService issues a heat alert in Auckland due to night temperatures forecasted at 20–21 degrees.
• 19 January
  • Four separate wildfires break out in Amberley and Loburn, Canterbury, reaching an estimated area of 10 hectares. The fires are contained in the evening by over 100 firefighters. Three homes and a church are lost in the fires.
  • Celia Wade-Brown is declared elected a list MP for the Green Party following the resignation of Golriz Ghahraman.
  • Westland declares a state of emergency due to heavy rain.
• 20 January
  • A national hui is held at Tūrangawaewae Marae, called by the Māori King Tūheitia Paki, which has several thousand attendees.
  • A second wildfire on the north side of the Waimakariri River, by Swannanoa breaks out, reaching an estimated area of 12 hectares. Forty firefighters and four helicopters are used to fight the fire.
• 21 January – A pod of 40 false killer whales and bottlenose dolphins were euthanised after becoming stranded on a reef near Māhia Peninsula in the Hawke's Bay region.
• 22 January – The Commerce Commission launches investigations into pricing and promotional practices of the two supermarket chains Woolworths New Zealand and Foodstuffs.
• 24 January
  • Albert Park in Auckland is evacuated along with surrounding streets after a man made "concerning comments".
  • Waipukurau water supply drops to 26% due to a leak. Level four water restrictions are put in place, banning outdoor water use, and residents are asked not to use dishwashers or washing machines.
• 26 January
  • Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says that the government does not want to decrease the voting age to 16, after a similar comment was made on 16 January. This ends the previous government's intention to decrease the age.
  • Members of the Ngāti Kahu iwi (tribe) block access to Taipa ahead of the Doubtless Bay Fishing Competition to protest the Government's proposed Treaty of Waitangi Principles legislation and overfishing. Protesters vowed to continue their blockade over the weekend (27-28 January).
• 30 January
  • James Shaw, co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand announces his resignation, effective March.
  • New Zealand suspends its aid contribution to UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East) following allegations that at least 12 UNRWA workers had participated in the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.
• 31 January
  • The government announces that the ending of providing free COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits will be extended to 30 June.
  • A heat alert is issued for Auckland, and outdoor fires are banned in Canterbury.

February

• 4 February – A wildfire along the banks of the Waimakariri River near Kirwee reaches 80 hectares in size, leading to evacuations and the closure of Old West Coast Road.
• 5 February - Rangiora High School closes for one day due to a high COVID-19 infection rate among its staff.
• 6 February - Large crowds gather outside Treaty House in Waitangi, Northland to protest against the Government's Māori language policies and proposed Treaty Principles legislation.

Predicted and scheduled events

• Six new marine reserves in the southeast South Island are expected to be gazetted.
• 26 February – State Highway 1 will close over Brynderwyn Hills for repairs until 27 March.
• 9 March – The Hokitika Wildfoods Festival will take place.
• 15 March – World of Music, Arts and Dance will take place in New Plymouth.
• 1 April – The minimum wage will increase from $22.70 to $23.15 an hour.
• 3 June – The 2024 King's Birthday Honours will be announced.
• July – Elections for the Tauranga City Council will be held.
• October – King Charles III and Queen Camilla plan to visit New Zealand.
• 31 December – The 2025 New Year Honours will be announced.

Holidays and observances

Public holidays in New Zealand in 2024 are as follows:

• 1 January – New Year's Day
• 2 January – Day after New Year's Day
• 6 February – Waitangi Day
• 29 March – Good Friday
• 1 April – Easter Monday
• 25 April – Anzac Day
• 3 June – King's Birthday
• 28 June – Matariki
• 28 October – Labour Day
• 25 December – Christmas Day
• 26 December – Boxing Day

Sport

Cricket

January

• New Zealand defeats Pakistan 4–1 in a five-match Twenty20 International series.
• The 2024 Women's T20I Pacific Cup is played in Auckland, with New Zealand Māori losing to Papua New Guinea in the final.
• The 2023–24 Women's Super Smash is won by the Wellington Blaze, their eighth title.
• The 2023–24 Men's Super Smash is won by the Auckland Aces, their fifth title.

February

• South Africa and New Zealand will play a two-Test series in New Zealand.
• Australia will arrive to play three T20I matches and two Tests against New Zealand.

March

• The England women's cricket team will arrive to play five T20I matches and three ODIs against New Zealand.

Horse racing

Thoroughbred racing

• Wellington Cup – Mary Louise

Shooting

• Ballinger Belt – Mike Collings (Te Puke)

Tennis

The ASB Classic tournament is held in Auckland from 1 to 13 January:

• Women's singles – Coco Gauff
• Women's doubles – Anna Danilina / Viktória Hrunčáková
• Men's singles – Alejandro Tabilo
• Men's doubles – Wesley Koolhof / Nikola Mektić

Winter Youth Olympics

Main article: New Zealand at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics

New Zealand sends a team of 22 competitors across seven sports to the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics, being held in Gangwon, South Korea, from 19 January to 1 February.

Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	2	4	7

Deaths

January

• 1 January – Sandra Blewett, marathon swimmer (born 1949).
• 2 January – Richard Izard, Hall of Fame industrialist and philanthropist (born 1934).
• 4 January – Y. P. Reddy, Fijian businessman, co-founder of the Reddy Group (born 1934).
• 6 January
  • Tony Adeane, lawyer and judge, District Court judge (1993–2020) (born c. 1951).
  • Richard Wallace, Māori Anglican bishop, Pīhopa o Te Waipounamu (since 2017) (born 1945).
• 8 January
  • Michael Brown, Anglican clergyman, dean of Wellington Cathedral of St Paul (1985–2002) (born 1936).
  • Duncan Hales, rugby union player (Canterbury, Manawatu, national team) (born 1947).
• 10 January – Anaru Rangiheuea, Māori leader (Te Arawa) (born 1935).
• 11 January – Hugh Willis, volunteer bush-track builder (born 1934).
• 18 January – Louise Petherbridge, theatre actor, director and producer (born 1931).
• 22 January
  • Brien Bennett, snooker and billiards player and administrator, chair of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (1980–1990) (born c. 1937).
  • Jimmy Choux, Thoroughbred racehorse, New Zealand 2000 Guineas (2010), New Zealand Derby (2011), Rosehill Guineas (2011), New Zealand Horse of the Year (2010–11) (foaled 2007).
• 23 January – Bryan Nicholson, lawyer and judge, Distict Court judge (1967–1987), Chief Justice of Samoa (1976–1980) (born 1929).
• 24 January – Selwyn Muru, artist (Waharoa), broadcaster (Radio New Zealand, TVNZ), actor (Runaway), writer and educator, Te Tohu mō Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu (1990) (born 1937).
• 26 January – Peg Moorhouse, weaver (born 1917).
• 29 January – Ronnie Joyner, basketball player (Washington State Cougars, Wellington Saints, Northland Suns), NBL All-Star (1985, 1986) (born c. 1961).
• 30 January
  • Feau Halatau, drummer (The Radars) (born c. 1945).
  • Mary-Annette Hay, promoter of wool (New Zealand Wool Board), and watercolour artist (born 1925).

• 
  Richard Izard
• 
  Richard Wallace
• 
  Anaru Rangiheuea
• 
  Louise Petherbridge
• 
  Selwyn Muru
• 
  Mary-Annette Hay

February

• 2 February – Honor McKellar, operatic mezzo-soprano (New Zealand Opera Company, Glyndebourne Chorus, John Alldis Choir), singing teacher (Jonathan Lemalu, Patrick Power) and lecturer (University of Otago) (born 1920).
• 3 February – Ray Watters, geographer (Victoria University of Wellington), co-developer of the MIRAB model (born 1928).
• 4 February – Desmond Kelly, actor (Smash Palace, The Scarecrow, Dark Knight) (born 1928).
• 6 February – Don McKay, rugby union player (Auckland, national team) (born 1937).