I ran every main NZ city against 34 destinations across 14 months of dates, then went back and checked the winners day by day. The standout is not a one date fluke. Gold Coast is sitting near NZ$210 direct for most of November and into early December.
Gold Coast, one way, direct, Jetstar:
Wellington → Gold Coast, NZ$208. 3h 40m. Cheapest on 25 Oct and 6 Nov, NZ$209 on 4 Dec.
Auckland → Gold Coast, NZ$214. 3h 30m. Same price on 10, 12 and 14 Nov, plus 2 and 6 Dec.
Christchurch → Gold Coast, NZ$228. 3h 35m. Same price on 17 Oct, 2, 14 and 26 Nov, 12 Dec.
Those are flat across a lot of dates, which means you can actually pick a weekend that suits instead of rearranging your life around one fare.
Do not book Brisbane from Wellington or Christchurch. This is the bit worth reading twice.
Wellington → Brisbane is NZ$331 and routes you through a 27 hour 30 minute connection.
Wellington → Gold Coast is NZ$208 direct in 3h 40m.
That is NZ$123 cheaper and roughly a full day of your life back, and Coolangatta is about 70km down the motorway from Brisbane. Christchurch is the same story, NZ$333 with an 8h 35m connection to Brisbane against NZ$228 direct to the Gold Coast. If Brisbane is genuinely where you need to be, fly into the Gold Coast and drive up.
Auckland is the exception. It has a proper direct Brisbane service, so from there it is fine.
Other trans-Tasman worth a look, all Auckland, all direct Jetstar:
Brisbane NZ$233, 3h 35m, holds that price across most of November.
Melbourne NZ$243, 4h 05m, on 29 Oct, 10 Nov and 20 Nov.
Sydney NZ$261, 3h 40m, most of November.
Return:
Auckland → Gold Coast return, out 12 Nov back 26 Nov: NZ$546. Jetstar, direct both ways, 3h 30m each leg.
Heads up that the return direction is the expensive one. Coming home from the Gold Coast to Auckland runs NZ$292 to NZ$340 depending on the day, against NZ$214 going over. If you piece it together as two one ways you can get down to about NZ$506, so the NZ$546 return is only NZ$40 off the best possible and saves you the mucking about.
Wildcard for anyone with leave to burn:
Auckland → Tahiti, 3 December: NZ$496 one way. Air Tahiti Nui, direct, 4h 55m. Papeete for under five hundred and no connection is not a normal price. The catch is coming back, returns price around NZ$1,935, so this only works if you are carrying on somewhere or hunting a separate fare home.
Worth knowing:
All prices NZD, sourced live tonight, and the site shows NZD automatically if you are browsing from New Zealand.
These are Jetstar fares, so bags, seats and food are all extra. At NZ$208 a checked bag is a real percentage of the ticket, so price it properly before you get excited.
Gold Coast at 3h 30m from Auckland is shorter than the flight to Perth from Sydney. It is a very easy long weekend.
Fiji sits around NZ$262 direct with Fiji Airways if you would rather islands than Australia, cheapest in early May.
The link opens the Auckland to Gold Coast fare and prices every Australian airport on that date at once, so if Brisbane or Sydney happens to undercut it that day you will see it side by side. Change the origin for your own city. skyspy.deals compares whole regions in one search instead of making you check cities one at a time. Free, no signup. Disclosure: it is my site and it earns a commission if you book through a partner link. All of these are bookable direct with Jetstar too, same flights.