Economics and politics
Find information on the government, economy, law and politics.
Featured Resource
BWB Critical Issues Collection
A deep analysis of New Zealand's big issues, social, environmental and political.
Politics
Politics
Politics blog posts
Anything could happen: Grant Robertson
Troy reports from a packed WORD session - Grant & journalist Philip Matthews talk about politics, politicians, Dunedin and more.
New to BWB Texts and packed full of fresh thinking
Just added to The BWB Texts collection, a series of short books on big subjects for Aotearoa.
Cross Party Lines: WORD Christchurch Festival 2026
Tom reports from the live WORD Christchurch show of Cross Party Lines, the podcast created by Phil Goff and Chris Finlayson.
Elections and census
Elections
Local body elections
Local body elections are taking place in 2025. Voting is open from Tuesday 9 September 2025 to 12noon Saturday 11 October 2025.
New Zealand General Election
Find out about where to view electoral rolls, and which libraries you can vote at for the 7 November general election.
New Zealand Census
Find census information for New Zealand and around the world
Elections
Government and legal resources
More government and legal resources
Te Tiriti o Waitangi - The Treaty of Waitangi
An agreement made between Māori and the British Crown in 1840, it is New Zealand’s founding document. Read our backgrounder to the Treaty.
New Zealand Gazette Archive
Access issues of the New Zealand Gazette and related publications from 1841 to 2011.
Māori Land Court Minute Books Index (MLCMBI)
The MLCMBI is an index to the volumes of Māori Land Court Minute Books produced by The Māori Land Court — Te Kooti Whenua Māori.
The Treaty of Waitangi Collection
A collection of searchable electronic reference books on the Treaty of Waitangi from leading thinkers on this foundational document.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi - The Treaty of Waitangi
An agreement made between Māori and the British Crown in 1840, it is New Zealand’s founding document. Read our backgrounder to the Treaty.
New Zealand Gazette Archive
Access issues of the New Zealand Gazette and related publications from 1841 to 2011.
Māori Land Court Minute Books Index (MLCMBI)
The MLCMBI is an index to the volumes of Māori Land Court Minute Books produced by The Māori Land Court — Te Kooti Whenua Māori.
The Treaty of Waitangi Collection
A collection of searchable electronic reference books on the Treaty of Waitangi from leading thinkers on this foundational document.
Local government
- Find out about our local government Christchurch City Council
- Digital Heritage Collection - Government and Public Service
- Christchurch City Council Publications
- Ordinances of the Canterbury Province 1853-1875
- Women in the Council Chamber
Public and Military Services
- Digital Heritage Collection - Wars and Conflict
- HMNZS Canterbury
- King Edward Barracks
- Military Personnel
New Zealand Legal Information
Law
Law
Economics
Economics
News and current affairs
News and other information
Papers Past
Digitised NZ newspapers, periodicals, letters, diaries & parliamentary papers from 1839 to 1945. Coverage incl The Press from 1861 to 1989.
The Economist Historical Archive, 1843-2020
The Economist archive presents the worlds political and business news, every weekly issue between 1843 and 2020 — from cover to cover.
NewsBank - Access New Zealand
The largest online collection of national, regional, rural, and local news sources from across the North and South Islands.
The Financial Times Historical Archive 1888-2016
Access the searchable digital archive of the world’s most authoritative daily business newspaper, from 1888 to 2016.