News & Achievements

We’re celebrating a big milestone this week – the return of international visitors.

New Zealand is open for business and our tourism destinations are among the world’s best.

We’ve delivered on our commitment to make Matariki a public holiday. It’s a chance for all New Zealanders to celebrate mātauranga Māori, and enjoy a mid-winter holiday with family and friends.

I was a child when the economic reforms of the 1980s and 1990s left many New Zealanders behind.

From today, the majority of New Zealand families, as well as many other households, will have more money in their pockets, thanks to a cost-of-living package designed to ease the pressure on low and middle income Kiwis.

Over the past two years, Kiwis have pulled together and pulled out all the stops to protect each other from COVID-19. Our response has saved lives and given us a head start on our economic recovery. Thanks to the hard work of New Zealanders, we’re now able to ease restrictions and move into a new way of managing the pandemic.

We’re ready to welcome the world back. As part of our work to accelerate our COVID-19 recovery, we’re bringing forward the next stage of our reconnecting plan: welcoming back tourists.

With the Ukraine invasion causing global petrol prices to spike, we’re taking immediate action to ease the pressure on Kiwi families. We’re reducing fuel tax by 25 cents a litre and cutting public transport fares in half, as part of a wider cost of living relief package.

To turn around New Zealand’s record on waste, we’re transforming recycling – with improvements to kerbside recycling, a new container return scheme, and nationwide food scraps collection.

This week, we’re taking the next steps in our plan to reconnect New Zealand with the world. Vaccinated Kiwis overseas are now able to return home without entering MIQ or having to self-isolate.