New Zealand (/njuːˈziːlənd/ new-ZEE-lənd, Māori: Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses – that of the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu – and numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of animal, fungal and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.

Somewhere between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that were to become New Zealand, and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer, became the first European to sight New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the British Crown and Māori Chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, making New Zealand a British colony. Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 4.5 million is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is mainly derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening arising from increased immigration. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, with English predominant.

Population

A census was held in March 1926.

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

Government

The 22nd New Zealand Parliament continued with the Reform Party governing.

Parliamentary opposition

Main centre leaders

Events

The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005. The tournament was won by New Zealand, who defeated France 8–7 in the final. The defending champions, South Africa, were eliminated by Australia 11–9 in the quarter-finals. The result marked the third time that the tournament was won by the country that hosted the event (following New Zealand in 1987 and South Africa in 1995).

It was the largest sporting event ever held in New Zealand, eclipsing the 1987 Rugby World Cup, 1990 Commonwealth Games, 1992 Cricket World Cup and the 2003 America's Cup. Overseas visitors to New Zealand for the event totalled 133,000, more than the 95,000 that the organisers expected. However, there was a drop in non-event visitors, meaning the net increase in visitors over the previous year was less than 80,000.

Murray Smith is a former New Zealand politician. He was a member of the United Future New Zealand party caucus, having been elected to Parliament as a list MP in the 2002 elections.

Political career

Before entering national politics, Smith was a lawyer.

He was a founding member of the Christian Democrats, which later became Future New Zealand. Future New Zealand then joined with United New Zealand to form the modern United Future New Zealand.

For the 1996 election, the Christian Democrats formed a coalition with Christian Heritage New Zealand, and he was ranked 13th on the party list of the resulting Christian Coalition, but he did not contest an electorate.

Like his associates, Larry Baldock, Bernie Ogilvy, Paul Adams and Marc Alexander, Smith only served one term before he left Parliament at the New Zealand general election, 2005, given that his party polled only one-third of its previous electoral support.

In the 2008 election, Smith stood for United Future in the electorate of Hutt South.

Murray Smith may refer to:

See also

Murray D. Smith is a businessman and former provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1993 until 2004 sitting with the governing Progressive Conservative caucus. During his time in office he served as a cabinet minister under the government of Ralph Klein serving various cabinet portfolios from 1994 to 2004.

Early life

Smith took his post secondary education as the University of Calgary where he earned a B.A. (Economics & Political Science). He also attended London Business School’s Senior Executive Program and went to Notre Dame College in Wilcox, Saskatchewan.

After University he worked in the Alberta energy sector with a number of Alberta-based energy service companies including drilling fluids, service rigs, oilfield contracting and consulting. In addition to his involvement in the private sector, he was an active community volunteer. Political Career

Smith ran for political office on the provincial level. He ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the electoral district of Calgary-Varsity in the 1993 Alberta general election. He won the new electoral district winning a hotly contested race against Liberal candidate Carrol Jaques and three other candidates to pick up the district for the provincial Progressive Conservatives.

William Murray Smith (23 October 1930 – 1 October 2010) was a Progressive Conservative party member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was born at Cardale, Manitoba and became a barrister by career.

After an unsuccessful attempt in the 1957 election, Smith was elected at the Winnipeg North riding in the 1958 general election and served one term, the 24th Canadian Parliament, before his defeat at Winnipeg North in the 1962 election. He was also unsuccessful in his campaign at Winnipeg North Centre in the 1974 election.

During the 1990s, Murray Smith became a key player in Royal Club International and then Chateau World where he was named as the President of that corporation.

Smith died at the Agape Hospice in Calgary from cancer, aged 79.

References

External links