What is New Zealand Now?

That's the question this website has been set up to help answer.

But before we start we need to ask, "why New Zealand Now?"

Here at the Department of Labour, we work to create a high performing economy where everyone can participate, where valuable work is done and which rewards people well.

People are the key to a robust economy and with around half a million Kiwis living offshore - and almost half of them with tertiary qualifications - it makes sense to start engaging them about the opportunities right here, right now. We also want to attract more skilled migrants here to live and work – we need more skilled people to fill more jobs so the time is right, take the plunge and check us out.

This website is to help connect people with what New Zealand is really like. It is designed to encourage conversations between family and friends, New Zealand employers and potential employees, advocates of all things New Zealand and people interested in New Zealand.

So, where does the conversation start?

New Zealand is globally connected but at the same time unique. It's the quality of life and, increasingly, the opportunities for a vibrant and exciting life that sets us apart. We are successful and cosmopolitan and have a growing sense of assurance and of our place in the world.

In recent times we have had some globally prominent cultural and business success. Wellington has become a movie city with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong and now Halo. New Zealand clothing brands are taking on the world - Icebreaker, Orca, World, Zambesi, Karen Walker and more. Our food and wine continues to excel and now 42Below Vodka has won critical and popular acclaim as one of the world's great vodkas, not to mention one of the world's great brands.

Then we have our music, with NZ hip hop, rap and rock music gaining increasing exposure, both at home and overseas - The Datsuns, Fat Freddy's Drop, Steriogram, the Finn Brothers, The D4, Scribe, and Evermore to name a few.

To put it simply, New Zealand is a great place to live and play.

But it's also a great place to work. On the economic front, there has never been a better time to work in New Zealand. High economic growth, a booming job market and the lowest unemployment rate in the developed world at 3.7% mean that it has never been easier to find a job. Wages are growing and the quality of working lives are also on the up.

This website is about New Zealand – it’s our site.

It's your portal to New Zealand Now.