2026 in New Zealand

Incumbents

Regal and vice-regal

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

Government

• Speaker of the House – Gerry Brownlee
• Prime Minister – Christopher Luxon
• [Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand|Prime Minister of New Zealand|Deputy Prime Minister] – David Seymour
• Leader of the House – Chris Bishop
• Minister of Finance – Nicola Willis
• Minister of Foreign Affairs – Winston Peters

Other party leaders in parliament

• [New Zealand New Zealand Labour Party|Labour Party|Labour] – Chris Hipkins
• Green – Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick
• ACT – David Seymour
• NZ First – Winston Peters
• Te Pāti Māori – Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer

Judiciary

• Chief Justice – Helen Winkelmann
• President of the Court of Appeal – Christine French
• Chief High Court judge – Sally Fitzgerald
• Chief District Court judge – Heemi Taumaunu

Main centre leaders

• Mayor of Auckland – Wayne Brown
• Mayor of Tauranga – Mahé Drysdale
• Mayor of Hamilton – Tim Macindoe
• Mayor of Wellington – Andrew Little
• Mayor of Christchurch – Phil Mauger
• Mayor of Dunedin – Sophie Barker

Events

January

• 1 January – Manage My Health, provider of the country's biggest patient health information portal, confirms a data breach affecting "6–7 percent of the approximately 1.8 million registered users", around 120,000 people. The breach may have resulted from ManageMyHealth's outdated encryption software. A ransom demand for $60,000, for 108 GB of data, was reportedly made by a person or group named Kazu.
• 2 January:
• *Members of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union stage a one-hour strike at mid-day as part of a pay dispute with Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
• *The Mayoral Relief Fund is activated for Horowhenua residents in response to recent windstorm damage in late December 2025.
• 3 January:
• *Heavy rain causes flash flooding in Wairoa. MetService issues heavy rain and severe thunderstorm warnings in the upper and eastern North Island. Overnight flooding in Tolaga Bay leads to the closure of State Highway 35 between Tolaga Bay and Okitu, and the evacuation of local residents.
• * Social networking website Neighbourly confirms that 150 GB of data including usernames, emails, GPS coordinates, posts and messages were stolen during a data breach that occurred on New Year's Day.
• 5 January – The High Court of New Zealand grants an injunction filed by ManageMyHealth to prevent third parties from accessing patients' data obtained during a recent data breach. Health Minister Simeon Brown commissions a review in response to the ManageMyHealth cyber security breach.
• 7 January – High Court Justice David Johnston issues an injunction preventing anyone from publishing stolen data from Neighbourly.
• 8 January:
• *The MV Connemara is forced to return to Wellington due to a mechanical fault with its ramp. 200 passengers are stranded overnight.
• *55 pilot whales are stranded on Farewell Spit in the upper South Island.
• 9 January:
• *The Department of Conservation reports that the critically endangered kākāpō started breeding previous week for the first time in four years.
• *A 5.4 magnitude earthquake strikes Waverley, Taranaki at a depth of 107km.
• *Members of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union stage a second one-hour strike at midday during an industrial dispute. The strike coincides with a fire in Pakuranga that destroys a grocery store.
• *Six pilot whales die on Farewell Spit. They were part of a pod of whales that had become stranded yesterday.
• 11 January - 15 pilot whales restrand themselves in Farewell Spit despite efforts by Project Jonah volunteers to refloat them, with two dying overnight.
• 12 January - Project Jonah volunteers euthanize the 13 remaining stranded pilot whales in Farewell Spit following five failed attempts to refloat them.
• 13 January – Protesters expressing solidarity with the 2025–2026 Iranian protests gather outside the Iranian Embassy in Wellington. Police monitor the protests and arrest two people for willful damage.
• 16 January – Heavy rain causes landslides in the Waioweka Gorge, trapping several commuters and leading to the closure of State Highway 2 between Mātāwai and Waioweka. Police and helicopters evacuate 40 people overnight.
• 18 January:
• *Heavy rain causes flooding, travel disruptions and landslides in parts of the Northland Region including the Whangarei District, east and south of Kawakawa and south of the Far North District.
• *About 100 people march in Army Bay in the Whangaparāoa Peninsula to protest against the depletion of sea life in local rock pools by recreational fishers.
• 19 January – Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Kiribati Vice-President Teuea Toatu sign a statement in Tarawa renewing New Zealand's aid assistance to Kiribati.
• 20 January – A preemptive state of emergency is declared in the Whangarei District in response to an approaching heavy rain front.
• 21 January –
• *Christopher Luxon announces the 2026 New Zealand general election will be held on 7 November.
• *A precautionary state of emergency is declared in the Thames-Coromandel District in response to expected heavy rain and flooding.
• 22 January – Several people are reported missing after a slip crashes into a Mount Maunganui camp-site, and two bodies are recovered after a slip damages a house in Welcome Bay, seriously injuring another person. Multiple roads are closed in the Thames-Coromandel District after widespread flooding and slips.
• 24 January — Police confirm the deaths of six missing people during a landslip at a Mount Maunganui campsite on 22 January.
• 27 January:
• *New Zealand Post announces that it plans to close 142 retail stores nationwide.
• *Sky Network Television signs an exclusive content sharing agreement with Paramount Skydance.
• 28 January:
• *Cabinet minister Judith Collins announces she will retire as an MP in the middle of the year.
• *The Tauranga City Council evacuates 150 people in Pāpāmoa in response to a new landslip.
• 29 January:
• *The governing National and opposition Labour parties agree to co-sponsor new legislation targeting modern slavery despite opposition from the ACT party.
• *The New Zealand Parliament passes legislation formalising the New Zealand Crown's Treaty of Waitangi settlement with Ngāti Hāua; which includes NZ$19 million worth of financial redress, the return of 64 culturally-significant sites and posthumous pardons for Mātene Rita Te Whareaitu and Te Rangiātea.
• 30 January - Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters confirm that New Zealand will not join US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, which aims to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza.
• 31 January:
• *EB Games shuts down all of its retail stores in New Zealand, followed by the expected closure of its distribution centre on 28 February.
• *The Destiny Church-affiliated The Freedoms & Rights Coalition and Eru Kapa-Kingi's Toitū te Aroha movement hold separate protests in Auckland. Police establish a cordon at the Fanshawe Street motor ramps to prevent Coalition protesters from marching onto the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
• *A Black Cat Cruises passenger vessel capsizes in Akaroa Harbour, leading to the evacuation of 38 passengers and three crew members. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission launches an investigation into the incident.

February

• 1 February:
• *A change to the Government's fees prescription policy comes into force. People can pay $5 co-payments for 12-monthly prescriptions instead of having to pay $5 for every single prescription.
• *General practitioners and nurse practitioners are able to diagnose adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and prescribe stimulant medicines.
• 2 February:
• * The New Zealand Government launches a new five-point student achievement grading system focusing on reading, writing and mathematics.
• *The Tauranga City Council votes to commission an independent external review into the Mount Maunganui landslide.

Predicted and scheduled

• 30 March – The Greater Wellington Regional Council is expected to introduce contactless payment options alongside Snapper cards on public transportation, citing delays with the national ticket solution Motu Move.
• 31 March – One NZ is expected to shut down its 2G call network. Spark NZ is expected to shut down its 3G network.
• 12 May – A by-election triggered by the death of Dunedin City Councillor and former Mayor of Dunedin Jules Radich will be held in Dunedin.
• 28 May - The 2026 New Zealand budget is expected to be released.
• 1 June – The 2026 King's Birthday Honours will be announced.
• 1 July — Tiaka Wai is expected to assume the functions and responsibilities of the water services entity Wellington Water.
• 1 November – The New Zealand government is expected to end welfare assistance to 18- and 19-year olds whose parents earn over NZ$65,000.
• 7 November – The 2026 general election is expected to be held.
• 31 December – The 2027 New Year Honours will be announced.

Holidays and observances

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

Sport

Commonwealth Games

Horse racing

Thoroughbred racing

• Wellington Cup – Manzor Blue

Lawn bowls

• Men's singles champion – Rohan Ware
• Men's pair champions – Ethan Kelleher and Hamish Kelleher
• Women's singles champion – Mandy Boyd
• Women's pair champions – Mandy Boyd and Kirsten Edwards

Olympics

Paralympics

Shooting

• Ballinger Belt – Mike Collings

Tennis

• Women's singles – Elina Svitolina
• Women's doubles – Guo Hanyu / Kristina Mladenovic
• Men's singles – Jakub Menšík
• Men's doubles – Theo Arribage / Albano Olivetti

Deaths

January

• 1 January
• * Dame Karen Poutasi, public health administrator and public servant, Director-General of Health, chief executive of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, chair of Te Whatu Ora .
• * Leslie Snape, oral and maxillofacial surgeon, president of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England .
• 4 January – Jules Radich, businessman and local politician, Dunedin City Councillor, Mayor of Dunedin .
• 6 January – Justin Taylor, priest and historian .
• 7 January – Gus Gale. mathematics educator, principal of Hornby High School, B. H. Neumann award .
• 8 January – Sir Tim Shadbolt, activist and politician, Mayor of Waitemata City, Mayor of Invercargill .
• 12 January – Juno Hayes, local politician, Mayor of Clutha .
• 14 January – Aroha Awarau, journalist and playwright.
• 16 January
• * Grant Batty, rugby union player and coach .
• * Joy Tonks, writer, historian and archivist .
• 19 January – Richard Wixon, cricketer .
• 20 January – Alan Musgrave, philosopher, Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand .
• 23 January – Helen Leach, food anthropologist, Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand .
• 24 January – Iain Sharp, poet, librarian and journalist .