DeltaT
Really showing your ignorance there mate. If you look at the large group of pilots taken on by Air NZ in the last 3 years, you will see that they recruit based on merit. The points system basically tries to quantify people's desirable qualities so that comparison is easier and fairer. In saying that, I have no doubt that if one makes a name for themselves as an 'undesirable' for various reasons (and we all know how word gets around), no amount of points will get them interviewed.
I my experience, the people I've seen progress from regionals in the past year or so have all been the cream of the crop.
standardbrief
As stated by others, you will not be counted out because you aren't flying in NZ at the moment. I would say that you may be slightly disadvantaged, but on the other hand there are very few applicants from NZ who have medium/heavy jet time. Last I heard, most of the entry positions in 2006 would be 777 and 767 S/O, although piontyendforward probably has more up to date info on that.