2. National circumstances
Geography
New Zealand consists of two large islands (the North Island and the South Island) and a number of smaller islands located in the south-west Pacific Ocean between 33° and 55° south latitude. New Zealand has a combined land area of 27 million hectares, similar in size to Japan or the United Kingdom. New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone is vast with the marine area covering 14 times the land area.
New Zealand is 1,600 kilometres long and spans 450 kilometres at its widest point. At 11,500 kilometres, it also has one of the longest and, in some places, most deeply indented coastlines in the world. The country straddles the boundary of the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates and is well-known for its active volcanoes, geothermal areas, and frequent earthquakes.
Mountains dominate much of the New Zealand landscape; more than three-quarters of the land area is higher than 200 metres above sea level. One obvious consequence of the intense mountain building in New Zealand's past is the deeply dissected landscape carved by numerous steep, fast-flowing rivers.
Population
New Zealand has a population of 4.1 million. The population is expected to reach 5 million by 2041. There are about 15 people per square kilometre in New Zealand; this compares with Japan (340 people per square kilometre) and the United Kingdom (249 people per square kilometre), countries of similar land area.
One-third of the population is resident in the Auckland region and three-quarters of all New Zealanders live in the North Island. The fastest growing cities are Tauranga, Manukau, and Hamilton - all in the North Island. Seventy-eight percent of New Zealanders live in urban centres of 10,000 or more inhabitants, with four centres - Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, and Christchurch - together being home to just over half the total population.
New Zealand has an ageing population. The 65 years-and-over age group grew by over 17 percent from 1994-2004, and now constitutes 12 percent of the total population. By 2051, 26 percent of the population is projected to be over 65. In 1971 the median age in New Zealand was 26, in 2004 it had reached 35 and by 2051 it is projected to be 46 years. The major factors behind this shift in population age structure are decreases in fertility, increases in longevity, and the ageing of a large post-World War II cohort. Increases in New Zealand's population are often attributed to in-migration; in 2004, 22,000 people immigrated to New Zealand.
Land use and land cover
Agriculture dominates land use in New Zealand, accounting for over 45 percent of total land use (4NC Figure 3). While the area under grazing, arable fodder, and fallow land has declined over the 1990s there has been a rapid growth in the area under horticulture. Despite this growth, horticulture accounts for only one percent of the agricultural land area. Most New Zealand agriculture is based on extensive pasture systems with animals grazed outdoors year-round.
There are 66,000 economically sustainable farms in New Zealand. Of this figure, about 44,000 are in the North Island and 22,000 in the South Island. In addition there are up to 120,000 small holdings in New Zealand that are part-time ventures, lifestyle properties or forestry investment blocks.
Indigenous forests occupy 6.256 million hectares, of which 5.187 million hectares are owned by the Crown. The vast bulk of the Crown resource is managed for its conservation values. It comprises 14 national parks and other conservation areas. A further 1.069 million hectares of natural forest are privately owned; half by Māori.
New Zealand also has a commercial planted forest resource, managed as a crop rather than a natural ecosystem. As at 1 April 2003, there were 1.8 million hectares of sustainably managed planted forest in New Zealand. These forests are planted with tree species introduced to New Zealand; the predominant species is Pinus radiata.
The early 1990s saw a significant expansion in the area of commercial planted forests due to many factors working in combination, including positive long-term market prospects, the current taxation regime, and the Government's commitment to removing unreasonable impediments to forestry and wood processing.
More recently, plantings of commercial forests have declined to historic lows. Prices received for logs have dropped due to a relatively strong New Zealand dollar, substantial increases in shipping costs, and tough international market conditions. Additionally, land prices have risen due to competition from alternative uses such as agriculture (largely dairy) and people buying larger home plots known as lifestyle properties.
Climate
As a long, narrow, mountainous country with the nearest large land mass (Australia) more than 2,000 kilometres away, New Zealand's climate is largely influenced by its location in a latitude zone with prevailing westerly winds, the surrounding ocean and the mountain chains that modify the weather systems as they sweep eastward. All these factors contribute to New Zealand having more variable weather compared to continental countries. Many parts of the country are affected by extremes of wind and rain, which, from time to time, cause considerable damage. 4NC Figure 4 shows sunshine hours, rainfall, and maximum and minimum temperatures across the whole of New Zealand.
4NC Figures 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4: New Zealand climatic conditions
Government structure
Central Government
New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy. There is one elected House of Representatives. The principal functions of Parliament are to enact laws, scrutinise the Government's administration, and approve the Government's allocation of tax income. Since 1996 Members of Parliament have been elected using the mixed member proportional representation system. There are currently eight political parties with parliamentary representation.
The executive arm of Government negotiates and takes binding treaty actions on behalf of New Zealand. All multilateral and some bilateral treaties are subject to a Parliamentary treaty examination process prior to binding treaty action, such as ratification or accession. This provides the House an opportunity to consider treaties.
The Government's financial year operates from 1 July to 30 June; the commercial financial year operates from 1 April to 31 March.
Local government
New Zealand has a system of 86 local authorities that, due to devolved decision-making, are largely independent of the central executive Government. Local authorities fall into two main categories, namely regional and territorial authorities. They have their own sources of income independent of central Government, including taxes on land and property, and council-owned enterprises.
The purpose of the Local Government Act 2002 is for local government to promote the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of communities and to enable democratic decision-making. A sustainable development approach and community planning are cornerstones of the Local Government Act, with its requirement to consult communities on their desired outcomes and prepare Long Term Council Community Plans. Activities of local government include provision of utility services, recreation assets, transportation services and land management.
Local authorities have primary responsibility for regulating resource use in New Zealand. The mandate for this is governed by a range of legislation, but in particular the Resource Management Act 1991. The Resource Management Act integrated the provisions of more than 75 earlier laws and is founded upon the principle of sustainable management of natural and physical resources. The use of the Resource Management Act in relation to climate change issues is covered in the chapter on policies and measures.
Economic profile
New Zealand has an open market-based economy with sizeable manufacturing and services sectors complementing a highly efficient export-oriented agricultural sector. Together, the agriculture and forestry sectors contribute 6.7 percent of New Zealand's gross domestic product (GDP). Energy-based industries (including dairy processing, and cement and steel manufacturing), forestry, mining, horticulture, and tourism have expanded rapidly over the past two decades.
New Zealand's economic performance improved significantly over the 1990s. From mid-1991, the economy grew strongly, with particularly buoyant output growth between 1993 and 1996. However, the latter half of 1997 and early 1998 saw the economy slip into recession with the joint impact of the Asian economic downturn and a summer drought occurring at the same time as the economy was slowing. The following year saw a recovery in broad-based growth, with the economy growing 4.4 percent in the 1999 calendar year and 3.5 percent in 2000. Economic growth slowed over 2001 as these supporting factors unwound, but rebounded through 2002 on the back of high world commodity prices, a low exchange rate and a robust labour market.
Real GDP over the year ended March 2004 was $NZ137.8 billion ($US84.5 billion). Recent economic growth has been strong, averaging 3.6 percent over 2004 and 4.6 percent over the previous year. This makes New Zealand currently one of the faster growing economies in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Real GDP per capita in 2004 was $US20,995. Growth in per capita incomes has averaged 2.1 percent over the past five years.
Exports of goods and services comprise over 30 percent of New Zealand's GDP. Australia, North America, the European Union and East Asia each take between 15 percent and 30 percent of New Zealand's exports. New Zealand remains reliant on exports of commodity-based products as a main source of export receipts and relies on imports of raw materials and capital equipment for industry. Key merchandise exports include dairy products, meat, wool, aluminium, iron and steel, and wood products.
New Zealand's economy has diversified over recent years, with the significance of the service sector relative to primary production and manufacturing continuing to grow. Some service sector industries, such as tourism, are likely to continue to expand. However, pastoral agriculture and commodity exports will remain important to the country.
Agriculture
The agriculture sector is New Zealand's largest export earner, earning 53 percent of New Zealand's total merchandise export value in the year to June 2004. When exports of services are included, the dairy industry alone (which is the single largest merchandise export industry) is not far behind tourism in its claim to be New Zealand's largest total export earner. New Zealand is the world's largest single-country exporter of dairy products and sheep meat, has the world's most profitable kiwifruit industry, and is a significant player in other areas such as pip fruit and wool.
From 1984, the Government's commitment to economic liberalisation, including the removal of most agricultural support, has impacted on agriculture by shifting production away from sheep to dairying, deer, and horticulture (fruit, vegetables, and vines), and shifting land use from pastoral land to forestry. As a result, from the early 1990s to the present, dairy cow numbers expanded by over 50 percent, deer numbers expanded by more than 65 percent, the area under horticulture and grape vines rose by over 20 percent, and forestry plantations increased by 40 percent. Over the same period, sheep numbers declined by 28 percent. Total annual nitrogen fertiliser use has increased by a factor of approximately six between 1990 and 2003 with phosphate fertiliser use remaining relatively static.
Agricultural productivity has improved substantially over the past fifteen years as a result of technological change; improved animal husbandry and breeding; effective targeting of investment, cost cutting, and efficiency gains; and scale economies through the expansion of the average size of farms and orchards.
The significant contribution from irrigated agriculture to the economy occurs via a range of land uses that, on average, are more productive than dryland production systems. Modern irrigated farming systems produce a wider range of higher-value crops and products that satisfy the quality and quantity demands of consumers. This is in contrast to the use, in the past, of irrigation primarily as a drought mitigation tool. However, irrigation is going to become a more important tool in the future with a projected increase in the incidence and severity of drought, particularly in eastern regions of New Zealand.
Forestry
New Zealand's timber industry is now based almost entirely on planted forests, which cover 1.8 million hectares, or 6.6 percent of New Zealand's land area. The timber industry has changed progressively over the past four to five decades from reliance on logging of indigenous forests, to the use of planted (exotic) forests first established in the 1920s. It is these planted forests that have enabled New Zealand to put so much of its indigenous forests into permanent reserves.
In 1990, forestry contributed 9.5 percent of merchandise export income. By 1995, that figure had increased to 13.1 percent. Today, as dairying, horticulture, and meat industries enjoy better times, forestry's contribution to export earnings has slipped to 11.3 percent of the total, but it remains the third largest merchandise export earner for this country and an essential and major contributor to earnings. The new planting rate, often a measure of the confidence in the forest industry, has fallen steadily from a peak of over 90,000 hectares in 1994 to around 10,600 hectares in 2004. This has occurred for a number of reasons, including competition for land with other uses such as agriculture, exchange rate movements, and the international market situation for forestry products.
In the early 1990s, when the prospect of a rapid increase in availability of timber from maturing planted forests, termed the "wall of wood," was first raised, the national harvest was just over 11 million cubic metres per annum, of which exports (in roundwood equivalent terms) were 6 million cubic metres. At the time it was considered that the timber supply would double over 10 years, with the harvest then growing to some 30 million cubic metres per annum by the year 2010. In 2000, the annual harvest had indeed nearly doubled as predicted to 19.1 million cubic metres, and by the year ended June 2004 the annual harvest was 20.4 million cubic metres of which 14.5 million cubic metres (in roundwood equivalent terms) were exported. The industry is currently forecast to achieve the predicted 30 million cubic metres per annum by 2012-2014, two years behind the original timing.
New Zealand is a small player in the international forestry market, accounting for 1.1 percent of the world's total supply of industrial wood and 1.3 percent of the world's trade in forest products. In comparison, Canada accounts for 18.8 percent, Sweden 8.2 percent, Russia 2.2 percent, and Chile 1.1 percent of trade.
Support for agriculture and forestry
Government support to agriculture is the lowest in the OECD. Agricultural producer support fell from a peak of over 30 percent of farm receipts in the mid-1980s to two percent in 2001-2003 (as measured by the OECD's producer support estimate) compared to the OECD average of 31 percent. New Zealand's agricultural and forestry producers do not receive price or production subsidies from the Government. Therefore, their incomes are directly influenced by the changes in international prices, exchange rates, market conditions, and other external and domestic factors. Support to agriculture is mainly directed at research, pest and disease control, agri-environmental measures, and climatic disaster relief. The only direct support for forestry is for land stabilisation planting on confined areas of the erosion-prone East Coast of the North Island, and for forestry research which includes research on biosecurity, pest, and disease control.
Energy
New Zealand is largely an importer of oil and oil products. The country's only oil refinery, at Marsden Point, is owned jointly by four oil companies and produces about 68 percent of New Zealand's oil-based fuels. There is also significant direct importing of refined products.
The gas industry is in private ownership. Gas is reticulated in the North Island only. A process of setting in place new governance arrangements for the wholesaling and distribution of gas was started with the establishment of the Gas Industry Company in December 2004. This body is currently developing systems and processes to meet the Government's requirements for the industry.
The electricity industry has gone through a long process of reform with competition in the generation sector first being introduced in 1996. Electricity is sold by generators and bought by retailers and direct (large industrial) users under governance rules that came into force in March 2004. The generation sector is dominated by five major firms, of which three are state-owned enterprises. The national distribution grid is operated by Transpower, also a state-owned enterprise, and there are a number of local distribution networks with a variety of ownership structures. Energy retailers, which were separated from the distribution companies in 1998, are a mix of independent firms and generators. The market is regulated by the Electricity Commission, which also has a mandate to promote efficiency initiatives.
Solid Energy, a state-owned enterprise, produces about 80 percent of New Zealand's coal with the rest being mined by smaller private firms. About 40 percent of New Zealand-produced coal is exported.
There are no subsidies for energy in New Zealand, with the possible exception of publicly-funded research both on renewables and fossil resource assessment and exploration.
Primary energy supply
New Zealand is currently self-sufficient in electricity and gas, and is a net exporter of coal. In 2003, New Zealand's primary self-sufficiency in oil was 24 percent. Imported oil was mainly from Australia, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Malaysia, Qatar, and Yemen. Total primary energy supply between 1974 and 2003 is shown in 4NC Figure 5. Energy supply by fuel type in 2003 is shown in 4NC Figure 6.
Electricity
New Zealand's electricity generation is dominated by renewable sources (Figure 7), with hydroelectric power producing around 60 percent of annual generation (depending on rainfall). Geothermal makes up around 7 percent with smaller contributions from other renewable sources such as biogas, waste heat, wood, and wind. The balance is made up of fossil fuel generation, predominantly gas, but with coal making an increasing contribution.
The electricity industry has four main components:
- Generation - there are five large generating companies (three state-owned enterprises [While owned by the Government, state-owned enterprises have the legal authority and operational freedom to make commercial decisions in accordance with their Statement of Corporate Intent. Ministers do not have a role in their day-to-day operating decisions.] and two private sector companies) and some smaller generation, most of which is associated with major industrial processes ("cogeneration"). At present, New Zealand has adequate generating capacity to meet its electricity requirements. Industry participants have committed to a range of additional generating capacity in coming years to meet growing demand, particularly gas, geothermal, and wind generation. Some new coal generation developments are also being investigated, including re-powering of an existing decommissioned station.New large-scale hydroelectric developments appear to be increasingly unlikely for economic and environmental reasons, although there is still an opportunity for small-scale, niche developments.
- Transmission - Transpower (a state-owned enterprise) owns and operates the national electricity transmission system.
- Distribution - there are around 28 distribution ("lines") companies that own the local distribution networks throughout New Zealand. The ownership of distribution companies is a mix of public listings, shareholder cooperatives, community trusts, and local body ownership, with most lines companies being owned by trusts.
- Retail - retailers compete to meet consumers' electricity needs. They provide a bundled service for most consumers by purchasing electricity at wholesale (spot and contract) prices from the generator companies and transmission/distribution services from distribution companies. There is a high degree of vertical integration between generation and retail in New Zealand, with the main retail companies also being the generators. Retail prices are set in a competitive market but include the cost of various safety and administrative levies on the industry, as well as levies to cover the cost of regulation by the Electricity Commission (which regulates the operation of the industry and markets - see below) and the Commerce Commission (which regulates transmission and distribution businesses).
In September 2003, following the inability of the electricity industry to establish an integrated self-governance regime, the Government established an Electricity Commission to take responsibility for governance and regulation of the New Zealand electricity industry under the Electricity Act 1992. The Commission regulates the operation of the electricity industry and markets, to ensure electricity is produced and delivered to all consumers in an efficient, fair, reliable and environmentally sustainable manner. The Commission also promotes and facilitates the efficient use of electricity.
The Commission has extensive powers to regulate to achieve its aims, although before introducing new regulations the Commission consults widely with stakeholders and uses influence to seek mutual solutions.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is required under the Electricity Amendment Act 2001 to assess the environmental performance of New Zealand's electricity sector. In particular, this assessment is to focus on the performance of the Electricity Commission against its required outcomes.
Gas
The gas sector in New Zealand is made up of six main producers, two main transmission lines companies, five distribution networks, and nine gas retailers, providing gas to commercial or residential customers, or to both. There is, however, a large degree of cross-ownership between and within these functions. Prices of gas throughout the supply chain are essentially set by contract.
In October 2004, the Government finalised its desired objectives and outcomes for the industry and amended the Gas Act 1992 in line with these objectives. A co-regulatory body was established to provide recommendations to the Government on how these objectives will be met. The Government has legislated for the establishment of a Crown regulatory body if the industry-led co-regulatory approach does not proceed in a timely manner.
In 2003, gross gas production in New Zealand equated to 190 petajoules. Around 130 petajoules were produced by the Maui field, 60 petajoules less than in 2002. At 2003 production levels, proven and probable New Zealand gas reserves would last a further 11 to 12 years (although it is worth noting that gas production has fallen since 2003). 4NC Figure 8 shows that electricity generation is the most significant use category of gas in New Zealand.
Oil
Current New Zealand crude oil, condensate, and naphtha production all comes from onshore and offshore fields in the Taranaki region. Indigenous crude oil and condensate production in 2003 was just under 50 petajoules, down from a peak of around 120 petajoules in 1997. This equates to under a quarter of total refinery intake. At current rates of extraction, known recoverable reserves are estimated to last another six to seven years.
Coal
Coal production in 2003 was about 5.2 million tonnes. Around 43 percent of this was exported. An increasing quantity of coal is being imported for electricity generation. The major end uses of coal in the year to September 2004 were electricity generation (50 percent), basic metal manufacturing (21 percent), other industries (17 percent) and commercial use (eight percent). It is estimated that New Zealand has around 8.6 billion tonnes of economically recoverable coal, 80 percent of which is relatively low-grade lignite.
Residential energy use
Currently in New Zealand there are around 1.6 million dwelling units. In 2003 there were around 2,000 houses demolished and 30,000 new houses built. The rate of new buildings is strongly dependent on immigration and household composition changes and is expected to drop slightly in the short term.
About 1.05 million houses were built before 1977 when thermal insulation was made mandatory. From Building Research Association of New Zealand surveys, it is estimated that about 650,000 pre-1977 houses have been retrofitted with ceiling insulation to the 1977 requirements. About 18 percent of existing houses have been retrofitted with hot water cylinder insulation wraps.
The percentage of double glazing supplied to the residential glazing market in New Zealand has risen from 9 percent in 1994 to 23 percent over 10 years. Of the consented residential glazing undertaken in 2004, 69 percent of the South Island market consisted of double glazing.
Transport
The nature of New Zealand's transport system has been influenced by the distribution of the small population over the two main islands. New Zealand's remoteness from many of its trading partners requires extensive use of shipping and, more recently, air transport.
Transport accounts for roughly five percent of GDP; road transport accounts for 3.3 percent. The road transport industry employs three percent of New Zealand's workforce. As with other developed countries, transport in New Zealand is energy intensive with a reliance on fossil fuels.
Road transport
There are around 92,800 kilometres of formed roads in New Zealand. [Figures taken from Transfund New ZealandAnnual Report 2003/04.] Transit New Zealand is the Government agency responsible for the management, maintenance and further development of the 10,800 kilometres which make up the state highway network. Local councils are responsible for the remaining 16,600 kilometres of urban local roads and 65,400 kilometres of rural local roads.
New Zealand has one of the highest rates of car ownership in the world. For a population of just over four million, there are around 3.6 million registered vehicles on New Zealand's roads, 69 percent of which are passenger motor vehicles. In the 2004 calendar year 234,100 cars entered the fleet from overseas, 154,042 of which were used imports. The average age of used imported vehicles is around eight to nine years. New Zealand roads carry about 37 billion vehicle kilometres of traffic every year.
Rail
The national rail network totals approximately 4,000 kilometres. Urban rail networks exist in Wellington and Auckland and provide approximately 12.3 million passenger trips annually, of which approximately 10 million trips are in Wellington and 2.4 million in Auckland.
The Government was the sole owner and operator of virtually all of New Zealand's rail infrastructure, passenger and freight operations until 1993 when the rail network and operations were sold to Tranz Rail Holdings Limited. (Toll Holdings took over as majority shareholder from 2003 and renamed the company Toll NZ.) The Government retained ownership of the land on which the rail assets were situated and leased the land to the rail operator.
In 2004, the Government re-purchased the national rail network (that is, the rail track). There had been low and declining investment in the rail network during the private ownership, with resulting problems with deferred maintenance, safety and declining service capability.
A National Rail Strategy has now been produced (May 2005) that outlines how the Government will ensure that the rail network is maintained and developed.
Maritime transport
Over 99 percent by volume of New Zealand's exports and imports are carried by sea (85 percent by value for exports and 75 percent by value for imports). The vast majority of this is carried by about 30 overseas shipping companies.
There are 13 commercial ports in New Zealand servicing international and domestic cargo trades and passenger transport. All port companies are majority-owned by local government, although six are partly privatised.
In the 2003/2004 financial year, around 8.6 million tonnes of coastal cargo were carried between New Zealand's commercial ports - 54 percent being containerised cargo.
Local operators, using mainly "roll-on roll-off" vessels, link Wellington, Auckland, Nelson, Lyttelton and Timaru and other ports as required. There are also specialist vessels operating around the New Zealand coast: livestock carriers, tugs, cement carriers and also oil tankers servicing New Zealand's oil refinery. Unlike many other countries, coastal cargo is also carried by international ships visiting New Zealand ports in the course of their international voyages.
Most domestic shipping cargo is carried across the Cook Strait between the North and South Islands. Daily ferry services are operated by two competing companies using a total of five vessels (rail and road ferries) transporting passengers and freight with a journey time of around three hours.
There are a small number of passenger ferries operating in the coastal cities - predominately Auckland. They provide commuter and recreational services.
Aviation
New Zealand continues to be a very aviation-oriented nation. Virtually all passenger travel to and from New Zealand is by air. There were 4,261,010 passenger arrivals into New Zealand in the year ended March 2005, an increase of 32 percent since the year ended March 2001. Of the total arrivals, 56 percent consisted of overseas visitors and 42 percent returning New Zealand residents. This growth has contributed to a tourism industry that is now supporting nearly one in ten New Zealand jobs. Jet and turboprop aircraft are used for international and domestic freight and passenger transport. Light aircraft, including helicopters, are used extensively in agriculture and tourism.
Twenty-one foreign airlines, including three all-cargo airlines, operate flights to New Zealand and 10 serve New Zealand on a code-share basis only.There are three operators providing a scheduled domestic service.
Since 1983, domestic air services have been effectively deregulated, there no longer being any industry-specific economic regulation. In 1986, the overseas investment restrictions on foreign ownership of New Zealand domestic airlines were lifted. The New Zealand Government has also pursued a policy of seeking "open skies" international air services agreements which notably now govern relations with Australia, the United States of America and Singapore. Cabotage rights have been exchanged with a small number of countries, including Australia.
In 2001, the New Zealand Government bought shares in Air New Zealand in order to prevent its financial collapse following the failure of its Australian subsidiary, Ansett. The Government remains the majority shareholder in Air New Zealand with an 80.4 percent stake.
New Zealand's three major international airports and a number of provincial airports have been progressively restructured as limited liability companies. In 1998, the Government's shares in Auckland and Wellington International Airports and a number of provincial airports were sold.
Air New Zealand has embarked on a major programme of fleet re-equipment replacing smaller airliners with new, large, and more environmentally friendly types. For regional international operations, nine A320 aircraft have replaced B737-300 and B767-200ER aircraft; for international long-haul services eight B777-200ER and two B787 aircraft have been ordered to replace B767 aircraft; and for domestic services a fleet of 17 Saab 340A aircraft is being replaced by 17 larger Bombardier Q300 aircraft. Projections out to 2012 show that Air New Zealand's current fleet replacement programme will reduce carbon dioxide emissions corrected for seating capacity and distance flown by approximately 20 percent.
Waste
Wastewater
Wastewater from virtually all towns in New Zealand with a population of over 1,000 people is collected and treated in community wastewater treatment plants. In 2002 there were approximately 317 municipal wastewater treatment plants. In addition there are around 50 Government or privately-owned treatment plants serving smaller populations between 100 and 1,000 people.
While approximately 30 percent of plants, which treat 75 percent of domestic wastewater, are aerobic and therefore produce no methane, there is a significant number of plants that use partially anaerobic processes such as oxidation ponds or septic tanks. Small communities and individual rural dwellings are generally served by simple septic tanks followed by ground soakage trenches.
Very large quantities of high-strength industrial wastewater (approximately 160 million kilograms of chemical oxygen demand, or organic carbon, in 2001) are produced by New Zealand's primary industries. Most of the treatment uses aerobic treatment; if anaerobic treatment is used, all the methane is collected and burned. There is, however, a significant number of anaerobic ponds that do not have methane collection, particularly serving the meat processing industry. Approximately 52 percent of industrial wastewater is treated this way. These are the major sources of industrial wastewater methane.
Landfills
In New Zealand, managing solid wastes has traditionally meant disposing of them in landfills. Based on the results of the 1995 and 2003 National Landfill Census, the number of legally operating landfills, or solid waste disposal sites, fell from 327 in 1995 to 115 sites in 2002, and is forecast to fall to just 43 sites by 2010. Per capita waste generation has fallen from 2.39 kilograms per day in 1995 to 2.081 kilograms per day in 2002. This is the latest actual figure available. A further landfill census will be carried out in 2006.
There have been a number of recent initiatives to improve solid waste management practices in New Zealand. These have included preparing guidelines for consent conditions and the development, operation, closure and management of landfills. As a result of these initiatives, a number of poorly located and substandard landfills have been closed and communities increasingly rely on modern regional disposal facilities, including transfer stations, for disposal of their solid waste.
Industry
The New Zealand economy is dominated by service industries that contribute over half of GDP ($123 billion in 2005) (4NC Figure 9). Primary industries account for less than 10 percent of GDP and secondary industries for about 30 percent.
In 2004, New Zealand had 324,000 firms employing over 1.6 million people. The number of businesses has more than doubled since 1987 (4NC Figure 10). This growth has been largely confined to the service industries where the number of businesses has grown by 115 percent between 1987 and 2002, mostly in property and business services. By contrast, the number of businesses engaged in primary and secondary industries has remained static (4NC Figure 11). [The number of enterprises engaged in primary industries excludes enterprises engaged in farming (approximately 71,000 enterprises in 1998).]
More than four-fifths (86 percent in 2002) of New Zealand businesses are "micro businesses" that engage five or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees (4NC Figure 12). Most of the growth in the number of businesses between 1987 and 2002 came from these firms. There were approximately 150,000 more "micro businesses" in New Zealand in 2002 than there were in 1987.
