Hi there, and welcome to your new addiction!
Don't forget about Kawasaki, unless they are priced very high like the Hondas... I like your licensing system over there. Granted, it may not work as well as planned, but at least it's not letting unholy 16 y/o terror on the road with liter-sized bikes.
I'll have to do some research into what options are available to you Kiwis under 250cc. Would the availability of bikes in Oz be indicative of the availability in NZ???