Post⁃World WarⅡDevelopment
New Zealand has come a long way since World WarⅡin many areas.The economy experienced a gradual recovery after World WarⅡ.The government implemented a rehabilitation program which provided professional training for ex⁃servicemen.This provided the country with a professional labor force which helped future economic development.The population increased quickly after the war because people’s strong desire for family life after long years of separation resulted in a baby boom.In addition，the government realized that national defense required more people and renewed the policy of assisted immigration.
After a few years of post⁃war readjustment，the economy began to grow rapidly in the 1950s.Wool production increased quickly because of the sharp rise of prices on the international market.Farm output almost doubled between in the 1950s and 1960s，as major new technical improvements helped to increase the productivity of the dairy industry.
During the 1960s，industry began to play a greater role in the nation’s economic life.Meanwhile，a huge reserve of natural gas was found in 1963，and several years later，oil was discovered.In 1971，iron sand became an export commodity.
In the second half of the 1970s，the economy entered a period of recession.To combat the recession，the Labor Government introduced a major economic restructuring in 1984.It reduced tariffs，devalued the currency by 20％，and deregulated the financial markets.The government also reduced subsidies to agriculture and privatized former state enterprises.These policies transformed the economy from an agricultural one depending largely on British market to a more industrialized market economy capable of global competition.The economy subsequently recovered from the recession.
Socially，New Zealand experienced a period of conformity in the late 1940s and 1950s，as people were happy to enjoy the material wealth which they had lacked for almost 20 years.
Great social changes took place in the 1960s.Similarly to their counterparts in the United States，the young generation born after World WarⅡbegan to question their parents’quest for material wealth and rebelled against traditional culture.They began to wear long hair and experiment with drugs.The availability of contraception allowed young people to engage in sex much earlier than before，and premarital or extramarital sex became popular.In the late 1960s and early 1970s，student demonstrations against the Vietnam War grew in frequency and size until the government finally withdrew from the war completely.
Helen Clark，New Zealand’s first female Prime Minister elected in 1999
Women also experienced great changes during this period.The availability of household electric appliances reduced the amount of time needed for housework and thereby allowed more women to work at jobs outside the home.From the late 1970s on，more and more women received higher education degrees and made their way into the traditionally male⁃dominated professions.In 1998，more women graduated from university than men，and women also outnumbered men in law，business and medicine.They also became more active in politics.In 1999，Helen Clarke became New Zealand’s first female Prime Minister.In 2005 and 2006，women simultaneously occupied all of the important constitutional positions as Queen，Prime Minister，Governor⁃General，speaker of the House of Representatives，Attorney⁃General and Chief Justice.As of 2013，the proportion of women in Parliament had risen to 32％，from 13％ in 1984.
The Maori people also saw changes to their way of life in the second half of the 20th century.Their population increased quickly after 1945 due to improvements in healthcare and living condition.The Maori people also became more urbanized;by 1983，83％ lived in cities.They spoke English，and some married white people.This caused problem for Maori culture since there were fewer and fewer indigenous communities.By the mid⁃1970s，only 10％ of the Maori population could speak their language fluently，and the number is still dropping.However，in the early 21st century，there was a renaissance in the teaching and learning of the Maori language and culture.In 2004，a TV station named Maori Television began broadcasting in the Maori language.Today，the language enjoys the same status as English in government and law.The Maori have also faced high rates of poverty，unemployment，and crime.Influenced by the American Civil Rights Movement and provoked by 1967 land legislation which provided for the sale of more land，the Maori rose up in massive protest in the 1970s.The protests，which lasted sporadically until the 1990s，demanded that the government respect the Treaty of Waitangi and compensate the Maori people for the confiscation of their lands in violation of the Treaty.In 1995，Queen Elizabeth II made a formal apology to the Maori people and promised to compensate the Maori people for the“loss of lives and the devastation of property and social life.”By 1998，the government paid total compensation worth over＄400 million to the Maori people.However，to many，this was too little and too late.
In foreign policy，New Zealand exercised more independence from the United Kingdom after World WarⅡ.The fact that the United Kingdom had been unable to defend New Zealand caused a re⁃thinking of national defense strategy.The government established its Department of External Affairs in 1943 and signed the Canberra Pact with Australia in 1944.In 1947，the New Zealand Parliament ratified the Statute of Westminster and adopted formal independence.A year later，New Zealand citizenship was established.In 1951，New Zealand signed the ANZUS defense together with Australia and the United States.
New Zealand developed closer ties to the United States during this period because it was the only country that could provide effective assistance in case of an attack.New Zealand provided troops to support the U.S.in the Korean War.It became a member of the U.S.⁃sponsored Southeast Asia Treaty Organization（SEATO）in 1954 and sent troops to Vietnam in 1965 to support U.S.forces.
Despite of the fact that New Zealand increasingly depended on the United States for its defense，it was still closely tied to Great Britain economically，culturally and emotionally.Britain remained the most important market for New Zealand’s export until the late 1960s.New Zealanders still regarded the British Empire as theirs，and in the Suez crisis of 1956，New Zealand quickly offered military help to the British although the Americans criticized U.K.policy.
The special economic relation between Britain and New Zealand continued until the early 1970s when Britain joined the European Economic Community.After that，New Zealand lost its privileged access to the British market.This forced the government and businesses to explore other markets in Europe and Asia.In 1983，New Zealand signed a free⁃trade agreement with Australia.In the 1990s，the government liberalized trade by removing most tariffs and import restrictions.Since then，New Zealand has established close economic ties with Australia，the European Union，the United States，and many Asian countries.
The Labor government adopted a more independent foreign policy in the 1970s.It withdrew from Vietnam in 1972，recognized the People’s Republic of China in 1973，and sent a warship into the French Pacific in 1973 to protest against French nuclear testing there.Meanwhile，New Zealand nationalism also grew tremendously among the people.In 1977，“God Defend New Zealand”replaced“God Save the Queen”as the national anthem.
The trend towards an independent foreign policy continued in the 1980s，although New Zealand’s government supported the British in their 1982 war against Argentina over the Falkland Islands.The government stood firm on its anti⁃nuclear policy，even at the cost of endangering relations with its traditional allies.In January，1985，the Labor government refused to allow a U.S.warship to dock in New Zealand because the American government would not declare whether or not the ship carried nuclear weapons.New Zealand’s relationship with the Unites States and Britain further deteriorated when the U.S.and U.K.governments refused to condemn the bombing of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in New Zealand’s Auckland Harbor by French intelligence services.In 1986，ANZUS treaty arrangements between New Zealand and the United States were suspended.In 1987，the Parliament passed a law to ban all nuclear weapon on New Zealand soil.Nevertheless，the United States and New Zealand began a new strategic partnership in 2010 by signing the Wellington Declaration，which focus on political cooperation in the Pacific region and on issues such as nuclear proliferation，climate change and terrorism.
As of the 21st century，New Zealand is very different from half a century ago.It has become more confident and independent.Its population and culture are more diversified，with about 15％ of the population being Maori and over 19％ Asians and Pacific Islanders.Its economy no longer depends on Britain and is among the least regulated in the world.Although the country still faces its share of problems，New Zealanders are more confident today than ever before.