____________ 2  Letter of Expectations 2020 https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/publications/corporate-publications/letters-of-expectation/letter-of-expectations-2020  Ref #X567560 v1.17  IN CONFIDENCE EMBARGOED UNTIL 11.00PM 13 JUNE  Initial contact with European explorers was brief. A Dutchman named Abel Tasman is credited as the first European explorer to reach New Zealand in 1642. It would be another 127 years before the next recorded European foray into Aotearoa and encounter with Māori.
In a climate of heightened uncertainty, a severe fall in world trade volumes has been accompanied by a pronounced decline in domestic demand in the euro area. As a consequence, euro area real GDP contracted markedly in the fourth quarter of 2008, by 1.5% on a quarterly basis, according to Eurostat’s first estimate.