Amy Satterthwaite scored 109 for New Zealand women to post a big first innings total. Australia women though put on 131 for the first wicket and went on to claim a four wicket win after 46.4 overs.
Meg Lanning and Rachael Haynes made their intentions clear from the start of the Australian pursuit, finding and often clearing the boundary regularly early on.
Lanning brought up her half century faster than a run a ball and took Australia past the 100 mark without losing a wicket.
New Zealand was in desperate need of a wicket and finally got one when Lanning was run out on 72. The introduction of Jess Cameron didn't slow the run-rate down though, with Australia cruising at 169 for one.
Four wickets for 30 runs put New Zealand women back in the match, but they weren't able to maintain that momentum, as Jodie Fields (31) and Sarah Coyte (51*) put on 60 for the sixth wicket.
Fields fell with Australia needing 30 further runs, but Erin Osborne came in and clubbed 15 off 11 balls to finish the match.
Morna Nielsen was both economical and a wicket-taking threat with the ball and finished with figures of three for 26 from ten overs. She found little support from the other end though, with the rest of the bowling attack going for more than six an over.
In contrast, the New Zealand batswomen had showed brilliant form to get close to 300.
Amy Satterthwaite and Suzie Bates once again proved to be difficult to dismiss for the hosts and put on a 115 run stand for the second wicket.
On the back of her century on Wednesday, Bates scored 59 before being run out to leave New Zealand women at 138 for two.
Sara McGlashan carried on where her skipper left off though, keeping the run-rate at around five and making sure the visitors stayed on top.
She brought up her 50 after 43.1 overs, but was overshadowed the very next ball when Satterthwaite brought up her maiden One-Day International century. Having fallen two short of a ton in the first match, it was a well-deserved milestone for the 26 year-old who reached triple figures off 113 balls.
A late flurry of wickets stalled the run-rate slightly, but an exciting cameo worth 31* off 15 balls from Katie Perkins added the finishing touches to the total.
The third match of the series is played on Monday, with the White Ferns needing a victory to keep their Rose Bowl hopes alive.
