''It was a really tough battle and to come away with a win is awesome for the girls," Punt said.
''It was definitely a pretty fast game and we're going to need to recover well after this."
Punt, whose goal made her New Zealand's leading scorer, going ahead of striker Katie Glynn and now-retired attacker Krystal Forgesson, said it was a case of keeping on fighting as the game wore on and she was confident if they did that ''it would fall for us".
Australian captain Madonna Blyth, playing her record 304th international, was disappointed her team didn't put their game plan into action as effectively as they had hoped.
''Credit to the New Zealand girls. They played well and at that pace we all know they can do.
''We've got a lot to do looking ahead to the quarter-finals."
Australia had a fine penalty corner conversion rate going into the match but today failed to find the net with any of their five attempts. New Zealand managed one from their four opportunities.
Australia's chief shooter Jodie Kenny had her radar on the blink today but New Zealand defended the set piece impressively, while goalkeeper Sally Rutherford pulled off a string of quality saves, including one from Jane Claxton with four minutes remaining, which would have given Australia impetus for a final late push.
Auckland defender Liz Thompson, a key figure in a strong defensive operation, admitted there were tired legs in the New Zealand dressing room but ''we're pretty over the moon to be honest".
''Our game plan is to go forward and attack a lot and I think Australia play a pretty similar style so these games finish up really fast and full on, so it's good to finally come away with a win."
Thompson reckoned the key was the team collective effort.
''The work ethic, chasing and running hard to put Aussie under a lot of pressure. We also turned over a lot of ball which helped keep the game in our favour."
Thompson acknowledged Australia had something of a habit of snatching late goals against the Black Sticks to either secure a draw or pinch a win.
''It was really good for us to keep on top of our defence, keep fighting and grinding to the end."
Punt and midfielder Stacey Michelsen were outstanding contributors for New Zealand, who maintained their 100 percent winning record at the tournament today.
In the other pool B game Belgium beat Poland 2-0 while in pool A Korea thumped France 11-0 and Japana nd Italy drew 2-2.
