New Zealand is an island nation within the Oceania region. Due to its small size and lack of fundamental resources, the country has largely avoided the worldwide collapse and corruption of society within the Cyberpunk universe.
History[]
New Zealand is possibly the last refuge of free government and diplomatic society (pre-corporate domination) following the economic collapse and numerous corporate wars. While its closest neighbor, Australia, has very much been essentially purchased, due to vast resources and land holdings valued by corporate interests, New Zealand has maintained a position of relative peace and prosperity in the modern day. The country's government and people, adopted an anti-corp, anti-nuclear, and anti-exploitation stance against foreign corporate interests. Surprisingly enough, New Zealand still has social welfare in 2077.
Since the early 1970s, New Zealand had not allowed nuclear-powered ships to dock in their ports. During this time, environmental activist organization, Greenpeace, fully backing this ideology, built their headquarters in Wellington, and remnants of Amnesty International remain within New Zealand following the bombing and destruction of their London headquarters in 2014.
EcoAction is also known to be headquartered in New Zealand, but the organization is considered too "hot-headed" to be officially condoned.
New Zealand boycotted, alongside New South Africa, the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and, unlike it's neighbor, allows some refugees into the country, at the same time as it continues to promote the native Maori culture and language.
The government of New Zealand, when it came to refugees being considered legitimate, extracted such individuals from situations of danger or abuse. This has led to the population's number of conscientious scientists, corpos and political refugees being increased many times over. The Kiwi Defense Force was developed to ward off attacks from foreign countries or companies, never forgetting the French bombing of Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior in the 1980s.
Despite all of this, New Zealand maintains strong ties with the Federal Republic of Australia, who station diplomatic and peacekeeping forces within New Zealand as a further precautionary measure against further corporate-backed secessionist forces within Oceania, protecting both itself and it's satellite allies.
When the Food Crash began, New Zealand started exporting much of its food. This was until Martin Herbert, a priest from Christchurch, made it known that New Zealand's people were going hungry as a result. In an unprecedented move, the government halted all exports of foodstuffs.
Since then, the island nation focused on self-sufficiency. With the assistance of refugees, New Zealand maintained itself without corporate interference, especially in the realm of newly developed technology with the assistance of swathes of scientific minds under asylum in the country. Before the computer-lathes and other miniaturized factories, New Zealand would have likely followed in Australia's path.
Despite being reasonably well off in 2077, organized crime cartels have been quick to take advantage of New Zealand's relatively peaceful state and lack of corporate interference.
Government[]
The Government of New Zealand, or New Zealand Government, is the administrative complex through which authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifically to the collective ministry directing the executive. Based on the principle of responsible government, it operates within the framework that "the Queen reigns, but the government rules, so long as it has the support of the House of Representatives". The Cabinet Manual describes the main laws, rules and conventions affecting the conduct and operation of the Government.
Executive power is exercised by ministers, all of whom are sworn into the Executive Council and accountable to the elected legislature, the House of Representatives. Several senior ministers constitute a collective decision-making body known as the Cabinet, which is led by the Prime Minister. A few more ministers are part of the Executive Council but outside Cabinet. Most ministers have a portfolio of specific responsibilities such as departments or policy areas, although ministers without portfolio are sometimes appointed.
The position of prime minister belongs to the person who commands the support of a majority of members in the House of Representatives. The position is determined also by several other factors, such as support agreements between parties and internal leadership votes in the party that leads the Government. The prime minister and other ministers are formally appointed by the governor-general. Conventionally, the governor-general acts on the advice of the prime minister in appointing ministers.
Geography[]
New Zealand Map (as of 2020)
New Zealand is long and narrow, with about 15,000 km of coastline and a total land area of 268,000 square kilometres. Because of its far-flung outlying islands and long coastline, the country has extensive marine resources. Its exclusive economic zone is one of the largest in the world, covering more than 15 times its land area. The South Island is the largest landmass of New Zealand. It is divided along its length by the Southern Alps. There are 18 peaks over 3,000 meters, the highest of which is Aoraki / Mount Cook at 3,724 meters. Fiordland's steep mountains and deep fiords record the extensive ice age glaciation of this southwestern corner of the South Island. The North Island is less mountainous but is marked by volcanic. The highly active Taupo Volcanic Zone has formed a large volcanic plateau, punctuated by the North Island's highest mountain, Mount Ruapehu. The plateau also hosts the country's largest lake, Lake Taupo, nestled in the caldera of one of the world's most active super volcanoes.
The country owes its varied topography, and perhaps even its emergence above the waves, to the dynamic boundary it straddles between the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates. New Zealand is part of Zealandia, a microcontinent nearly half the size of Australia that gradually submerged after breaking away from the Gondwanan supercontinent. About 25 million years ago, a shift in plate tectonic movements began to contort and crumple the region. This is now most evident in the Southern Alps, formed by compression of the crust beside the Alpine Fault. Elsewhere the plate boundary involves the subduction of one plate under the other, producing the Puysegur Trench to the south, the Hikurangi Trench east of the North Island, and the Kermadec and Tonga Trenches further north. New Zealand is part of a region known as Australasia, together with Australia. It also forms the southwestern extremity of the geographic and ethnographic region called Polynesia.
Major Cities[]
Wellington - 1.2 million[]
Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, sits near the North Island's southernmost point on the Cook Strait. A compact city, it encompasses a waterfront promenade, sandy beaches, a working harbour and colourful timber houses on surrounding hills. From Lambton Quay, the iconic red Wellington Cable Car heads to the Wellington Botanic Gardens. Strong winds through the Cook Strait give it the nickname "Windy Wellington."
Auckland - 2.8 million[]
Auckland, based around 2 large harbours, is a major city in the north of New Zealand's North Island. In the centre, the iconic Sky Tower has views of Viaduct Harbour, which is full of superyachts and lined with bars and cafes. Auckland Domain, the city's oldest park, is based around an extinct volcano and home to the formal Wintergardens. Near Downtown, Mission Bay Beach has a seaside promenade.
Christchurch - 700 Thousand[]
Christchurch, known for its English heritage, is located on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. Flat-bottomed punts glide on the Avon River, which meanders through the city centre. On its banks are cycling paths, the green expanse of Hagley Park and Christchurch Botanic Gardens. In 2010 and 2011, earthquakes destroyed many of the historic center's stone-built buildings.
Reference[]
PASQUARETTE, C. Pacific Rim Sourcebook. 1st ed. Berkeley CA: R.Talsorian Games, 1994