BILLIONAIRES HIDE AWAY
New Zealand: The ideal spot to ride out the apocalypse?

Google's Larry Page has been granted New Zealand residency, boosting the country’s image as a refuge for tech billionaires. Is it all because the Pacific island nation is the best place to shelter from societal collapse?


A view of Lake Wanaka, close to where Peter Thiel's ranch is located on New Zealand's South Island

"Saying you're 'buying a house in New Zealand' is kind of a wink, wink, say no more." So said Reid Hoffmann, LinkedIn co-founder, in an article in The New Yorker that caused a stir in 2017.

Three years before the pandemic was defined, the article "Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich" outlined the extent to which high-net-worth people were preparing for an apparently impending apocalypse. "We're buying a house in New Zealand" was code for "we're gearing up for Armageddon."

New Zealand is the most isolated rich country in the world and just last month was named by researchers from the Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom as the best place to survive global societal collapse.

It has long held that status among those interested in such things. The idea that the country is laden with secret luxury survival bunkers is even an internet meme. So when a famous billionaire announces plans to move there, that does draw some attention.

Last week it was revealed that Larry Page, the co-founder of Google and the world's sixth-richest person with a fortune of around $122 billion (€104.1 billion), had obtained New Zealand residency. This under a special category for investors, which requires them to pump 10 million New Zealand dollars ($6.9 million, €5.9 million) into the country over a three-year period.
Thiel tales

Page's motivations may have nothing to do with apocalypse survival planning. But this story does recall the tale of New Zealand's most famous billionaire-investor-survivalist: Peter Thiel.


Many consider remarkable the story of billionaire Peter Thiel's road to New Zealand citizenship

Thiel made his name by founding PayPal, and his megafortune by buying 10% of Facebook for just $500,000 in 2004 — a stake he ultimately sold for more than $1 billion.

The bizarre story of his relationship with New Zealand is perhaps the main reason the country is so strongly associated with the idea of being a refuge for Silicon Valley's elite.

Thiel is known among other things for his unusual political views. He has spoken of how influenced he is by the 1997 book "The Sovereign Individual: How to Survive and Thrive during the Collapse of the Welfare State."

That book argues that democratic nation-states will ultimately become obsolete, and that a "cognitive elite," with vast wealth and resources, will no longer be subject to government regulation and become the primary shapers of governance. Thiel's own book, "Zero to One," expands on some of these ideas at length.

Shortly after Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election in the United States, Thiel's interest in New Zealand stepped up. He said in 2011 that "no other country aligns more with my view of the future than New Zealand."

Around this time, he was secretly applying for New Zealand citizenship. Despite having spent barely any time in the country, his application was granted. However, that all remained a secret for six years.

In 2016, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Sam Altman revealed in an interview in The New Yorker he had made an agreement with Thiel, that in the event of some global catastrophe, they would fly together to a property Thiel owned in New Zealand.


New Zealand's isolation, wealth, liberal democracy and apparent insulation from the ravages of climate change have fostered its image as a survivalist bolthole

This led New Zealand Herald investigative reporter Matt Nippert to look into what property Thiel owned. It turned out that Thiel had bought a 477-acre (193-hectare) former sheep ranch on New Zealand's sparsely populated South Island, as well as a luxury townhouse in nearby Queenstown.

Nippert's work ultimately revealed that Thiel had been granted citizenship — news that sparked major controversy in the country.
Thiel's Kiwi passion peters out

Yet by the time of that revelation in 2017, Thiel's interest in New Zealand had already cooled significantly. Thiel was a major Donald Trump supporter, and his election appeared to refresh Thiel's faith in the US.

His huge ranch at Damper Bay on South Island, far from being a survivalist compound, has been left largely untouched over the years. No planning applications have been made and Thiel has spent barely any time in the country in recent years. His townhouse has recently gone up for sale.

As part of his route to citizenship, Thiel had pledged to invest heavily in New Zealand's tech sector, which he has called underrated and underfunded.

He heavily and successfully backed local accounting software startup Xero and retail software firm Fend; but as New Zealand investigative reporter Nippert told DW, once his citizenship was granted, Thiel's financial commitment to New Zealand also cooled significantly and is dormant at present.
Bunker of the mind

For Nippert, Thiel's interest in New Zealand did not stem from a burning belief in the country's tech sector or necessarily from seeing it as an ideal apocalypse safe haven.


Larry Page, the world's sixth-richest man, has recently been granted New Zealand residency

"You don't need an actual bunker here because it is a legal bunker," Nippert told DW. "New Zealand is a great place [...] we don't have armed mobs or warlords. We have a fairly well regarded, uncorrupt public service. There is low firearms ownership."

"It's a bunker of the mind. It's a fall back plan if the IRS comes after you. I suspect that may be the motivation."
Escaping the apocalypse (or the taxman)

Precisely what Thiel's ultimate New Zealand plans are remain unclear. But the image of the country as an ideal bolthole for the American super-rich to escape to has been bolstered during the pandemic, with reports of well-heeled US citizens activating long-held Kiwi escape plans once the coronavirus hit.

The news of Page's residency adds to this mystique. Nippert suspects Page just wants easy access in and out of the country.

He has continued to investigate the extent to which overseas investors, like Thiel or Page, have established links to New Zealand. Nippert said that people he trusts say this continues happening, although he himself has found little evidence it is as widespread as reported.

Meanwhile, New Zealand continues to be seen as the place to be when the world finally comes crashing down.

"The way these guys operate, hedge fund managers [...] they assess risk and what will happen if certain unlikely events happen, and how can you be positioned to survive and make a profit from it."

"Does he [Thiel] have an inside line on the end of the world? I think anyone reading the news over the last few years would be concerned about the direction things are going."

COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES AND INDIGENOUS RIGHTS

New Zealand republic debate complicated by Māori treaty

By NICK PERRY, Associated Press - 

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The death of Queen Elizabeth II last week has reignited debate in New Zealand about whether it should continue recognizing Britain's monarch as its symbolic head of state or take the final step toward independence by becoming a republic.

People walk on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed between Maori and the British Crown on Feb. 6, 1840, in Waitangi, northern New Zealand on Oct. 5, 2020. The debate in New Zealand over becoming a republic has an unusual twist: Many Indigenous Maori support New Zealand sticking with the monarchy, unlike the Indigenous people in many other former British colonies. That's because Maori signed a treaty with the British Crown in 1840 that guarantees them certain rights, and some Maori fear a constitutional change could threaten those rights. 

(AP Photo/Mark Baker)

But there remains a significant complicating factor.

While Indigenous people in many of the 14 nations outside of Britain which recognize the monarchy want to ditch it because they see it as a symbol of colonial repression, views are more mixed among Indigenous New Zealanders. Some Māori leaders favor sticking with the monarchy, at least for now.


Visitors to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed between Maori and the British Crown on Feb. 6, 1840, inspect Te Whare Runanga, a traditional meeting house in Waitangi, northern New Zealand on Oct. 5, 2020. The debate in New Zealand over becoming a republic has an unusual twist: Many Indigenous Maori support New Zealand sticking with the monarchy, unlike the Indigenous people in many other former British colonies. That's because Maori signed a treaty with the British Crown in 1840 that guarantees them certain rights, and some Maori fear a constitutional change could threaten those rights. 

(AP Photo/Mark Baker)

That's because New Zealand's founding document, the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, was signed between Māori chiefs and the British crown. The treaty guaranteed Māori sovereignty over their traditional lands and fisheries, and some Māori worry those pledges could be threatened by eliminating the monarchy from New Zealand.



A sign on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed between Maori and the British Crown on Feb. 6, 1840, detailing the history, is seen in Waitangi, northern New Zealand on Oct. 5, 2020. The debate in New Zealand over becoming a republic has an unusual twist: Many Indigenous Maori support New Zealand sticking with the monarchy, unlike the Indigenous people in many other former British colonies. That's because Maori signed a treaty with the British Crown in 1840 that guarantees them certain rights, and some Maori fear a constitutional change could threaten those rights. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

For the past 33 years, New Zealand's government has been negotiating with Māori tribes and compensating them for historic treaty breaches with settlements of money and land. But the process remains incomplete, with some tribes yet to reach settlements.

Willie Jackson, the government's minister for Māori development, said the appropriate time for a discussion about becoming a republic would come after the period of mourning for Elizabeth.

“When we do have that conversation, I think the reality for a lot of Māori is the position of the treaty is paramount,” Jackson said. “There has been a lot of worry that the treaty will disappear. So, obviously, some people will be looking for some entrenchment with regards to that."

Peeni Henare, New Zealand's defense minister and another influential Māori voice in the government, said that from his perspective, there should be “no thoughts given to becoming a republic” until the treaty settlement process is completed.

Constitutional experts argue that the obligations of New Zealand's government to compensate Māori under the treaty wouldn't need to change if it became a republic, and a switch would be a fairly simple legal maneuver to pull off. That hasn't reassured all Māori.

Some, however, are advocating for New Zealand to become a republic immediately. The small Māori Party, which holds two seats in the Parliament, surprised some observers in February by advocating for a republic as part of broader changes that include setting up a separate Māori parliament.

“The only way this nation can work is when Māori assert their rights to self-management, self-determination, and self-governance over all our domains," said party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer at the time, adding: “This won’t mean the crown is off the hook. If a couple gets divorced, you don’t lose responsibility for your child."

Lewis Holden, the campaign chair of lobby group New Zealand Republic, said the treaty remains key to the republic debate in New Zealand. He said his group's position is the same as that of academics — that nothing changes about the treaty's constitutional powers if New Zealand becomes a republic.

When it comes to Indigenous rights, Lewis added, “There is a big question, I think, about that symbolism of staying connected to the monarchy."

He said that New Zealand likely lags behind Caribbean nations and Australia in the push to become a republic, but he hopes there might be a national referendum on the issue within the next five to 10 years.

“Very clearly there was a lot of support for the monarchy simply because of the good feeling that people had towards the queen,” Holden said.

He said the feeling of nostalgia people had for Elizabeth and her connection to historic events like World War II was now gone — or would be after a spike during the mourning period for Elizabeth — and that support in New Zealand for the monarchy would inevitably wane under the reign of King Charles III.

But over the years, New Zealand's political leaders have shown little enthusiasm for engaging in the republic debate, no doubt in part because of the thorny Indigenous issues it raises.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her government doesn't plan to pursue the issue following the queen's death.

She said she thought New Zealand will eventually become a republic, and it would probably happen within her lifetime, but that there were more pressing issues for her government to address.

Opposition Leader Christopher Luxon said much the same.

“I don't see any need for constitutional change right now. I think that it might happen at some point, but that could even be decades away,” he said.





Start the conversation

CHINA CHARM OFFENSIVE DOWN UNDER
China Premier Li backs 'dialogue, not confrontation' in New Zealand
AFP
Fri, June 14, 2024 


Chinese Premier Li Qiang visits the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research on Friday in Auckland (Brett Phibbs)


Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Friday he supported "dialogue, not confrontation" during a visit to New Zealand where he stirred up hope of new trade avenues.

Li is on a six-day tour of New Zealand and Australia, the highest-ranking official to visit either nation since his predecessor in 2017.

China accounts for 30 percent of New Zealand's export earnings, according to World Bank data, but there are fears this could evaporate if the world's second-largest economy continues to slow.

The Chinese premier praised "historic" developments in relations between the two countries over the past decade during a speech before a gala dinner in Auckland hosted by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

"We both emphasised that countries should live in harmony, engage in dialogue, not confrontation, and have cooperation, not conflict," Li said.

Luxon, who has raised sensitive issues such as foreign interference and recent escalations in the South China Sea with Li, said the pair had reached a better understanding of their "respective priorities".

New Zealand, long seen as one of China's closest partners in the region, has become increasingly bold in its criticism of Beijing's expanding influence in the South Pacific.

Business remains a priority, however.

Li met some of New Zealand's biggest exporters and most influential companies during the visit, which wraps up Saturday when he flies to the South Australian capital Adelaide.

- 'Big on collaboration' -

Mark Piper, chief executive of a top New Zealand government science institute, met the Chinese premier during a tour of an Auckland research facility earlier in the day.

"He was talking about more research collaborations and more people exchanges, which is what we're really interested in," Piper told AFP.

"He was really big on collaboration, the value that New Zealand can bring to China and that China can bring to New Zealand."

New Zealand was one of the first developed nations to sign a comprehensive free trade deal with Beijing.

Chinese consumers have a voracious appetite for New Zealand's premium meat, dairy and wine.

Li touted opportunities for trade, tourism and investment when he started his tour in New Zealand's capital Wellington on Thursday.

But he warned that emerging differences between the two nations "should not become a chasm that blocks exchanges and cooperation between us".

China's Li signals demand for New Zealand dairy and meat

Updated Fri, June 14, 2024


By Lucy Craymer

WELLINGTON (Reuters) -There is a growing demand in China for high-quality dairy, beef and lamb products from New Zealand, Premier Li Qiang said on Friday, the second day of his trip to the Pacific island nation.

Li's trip to the region, which also includes a four-day stopover in Australia starting on Saturday, is aimed at strengthening trade and diplomatic ties with the two Pacific nations. China is the biggest trading partner of both nations.


Li visited the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research in Auckland on Friday, a government agency tasked with promoting the farming, food and beverage industries, before meetings and a dinner with business people, academics and diplomats.

Li said more bilateral business opportunities would emerge in the areas of energy, information technology, biomedicine and other emerging industries, Chinese state media reported.

He reiterated that China would work with New Zealand to upgrade their comprehensive strategic partnership, and stressed the need for increased cooperation in services trade and cross-border e-commerce.

His comments came as Chinese firms formally applied for an anti-dumping probe into pork imports from the European Union, escalating tensions after the bloc imposed anti-subsidy duties on Chinese-made electric vehicles.Global food companies from dairy producers to pork exporters are on high alert for potential retaliatory tariffs from China.

New Zealand and China on Thursday signed bilateral agreements on trade and climate during Li's trip, the highest level Chinese visit to New Zealand in seven years.

BOOMING TRADE

Li has promised that Beijing will further expand market access, create a market-oriented and internationalised business environment, and he encouraged entrepreneurs to seize opportunities, Chinese state media said.

Beijing sees itself as a key part of New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's plan to double exports over the next 10 years.

China is already New Zealand's largest trading partner with bilateral trade totalling nearly NZ$38 billion ($23.27 billion).

New Zealand remains keen to further boost trade ties with China but has also toughened its stance over the last year, accusing Beijing of hacking its parliament and noting what it characterises as a growing Chinese threat to Pacific security.

After his meeting with Li on Thursday Luxon said that as well as discussing trade, he had also raised concerns about issues such as Chinese interference.

Li's meeting with New Zealand opposition leader Chris Hipkins was cancelled on Friday, due to Hipkins facing travel issues.

($1 = 1.6329 New Zealand dollars)

(Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Additional reporting by Liz Lee in Beijing; Editing by Michael Perry and Gareth Jones)

China's Li pays 'very positive' visit to Fonterra, New Zealand minister says

Reuters
Fri, June 14, 2024 

(Reuters) - Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra on Saturday, a stop Trade Minister Todd McClay called "very positive" after the Chinese leader had spoken of demand for New Zealand's agricultural products.

"Fonterra is an important part of the Chinese food supply chain, a lot of our dairy products go to China," McClay said in comments broadcast on Radio New Zealand after Li visited Fonterra's Auckland headquarters with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

Li said on Friday, the second day of his trip to the Pacific island nation, that there was growing demand in China for high-quality dairy, beef and lamb products from New Zealand.

China's second-highest ranked official is to travel to Australia on Saturday for a four-day stopover on a trip aimed at strengthening trade and diplomatic ties with the two commodities-exporting nations. China is the biggest trading partner of both countries.

Beijing sees itself as a key part of Luxon's plan to double New Zealand's exports over the next 10 years.

"I think it was clear there was a real appreciation on the part of the premier of China and their delegation just about how much that relationship has grown."

On Friday, Li visited Auckland's New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, a government agency that promotes the farming, food and beverage industries, before meetings and a dinner with business people, academics and diplomats.

Li met with Luxon in the capital Wellington on Thursday, signing agreements on trade and climate change, with human rights also on the agenda.

In the first visit by a Chinese premier to Australia since 2017, Li is to visit the South Australia state capital Adelaide, the national capital Canberra and the mining state of Western Australia.

(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by William Mallard)

Chinese Premier Li launches trade-friendly Australia visit

AFP
Sat, June 15, 2024 

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will tour a wine producer and hold talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on his trade-centred visit to Australia (Marty MELVILLE)

China's Premier Li Qiang embarked on a four-day trip to Australia on Saturday, dangling the promise of expanded trade even as the two nations compete for influence in the Pacific.

Li -- the second most powerful man in China after President Xi Jinping -- touched down in Adelaide at the start of a diplomatic mission across the resource-rich continent.

The premier waved from the plane's doors and was greeted on the airport tarmac by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, other government officials, and a group of photographers and TV journalists.

Flying in from a similarly trade-centred visit to New Zealand, Li is the highest ranking Chinese official to visit either country since 2017.

The premier will tour a South Australian wine grower and check in on two Chinese-loaned giant pandas in Adelaide zoo, hold talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese before tucking into a state lunch in Canberra, and then travel to a lithium mine in Western Australia.

His vineyard visit is a nod to China's recent lifting of swingeing trade sanctions on wine, timber, barley and beef exports imposed in 2020 during a diplomatic rift with a former conservative government.

The measures cost Australian exporters an estimated Aus$20 billion ($13 billion) a year.

Australia's rock lobster industry hopes Li will reopen its exports to China, removing one of the last sanctions in place since Albanese's government took power in 2022 and adopted a softer diplomatic approach to Beijing.

The Chinese premier's visit "reflects the improving tone," said Ryan Neelam, director of the foreign policy programme at Sydney-based think tank the Lowy Institute.

"The relationship is now more focused on the economic opportunities between them than it has in the past, which has been overshadowed by the political and security differences," he said.

"But at the same time, those differences haven't gone away."

Australia has tightened its defence alliance with the United States as it seeks to parry Beijing's expanding diplomatic and military influence on island states scattered around the Pacific region.

China describes the AUKUS security pact between Washington, London and Canberra -- a deal that would equip Australia with nuclear-powered but conventionally armed submarines to patrol the region -- as a divisive measure that raises nuclear proliferation risks.

- Wine and pandas -

In the most recent a sign of military tensions, Australia accused China of "unsafe and unprofessional" conduct after one of its warplanes fired flares in the path of a naval helicopter last month over the Yellow Sea.

Albanese has promised to tell Li the behaviour was "inappropriate".

Canberra also reacted with "outrage" when a Beijing court handed down a suspended death sentence to Chinese-Australian dissident writer Yang Jun earlier this year.

Such disagreements are likely to be aired behind closed doors, Neelam said.

Instead, Li sets a friendlier tone on the first full day of his trip Sunday -- visiting the famed Barossa winemaking region in Adelaide, hometown of Australia's foreign minister, who is credited with helping stabilise relations with Beijing.

China's punitive tariffs had effectively blocked premium Australian wine exports, worth an estimated Aus$1 billion a year, until just three months ago.

Even now, Australian vintners are hesitant to rush back into pre-tariff levels of trade with China, said Paul Turale, marketing manager at industry body Wine Australia.

"A lot of importers are probably taking a more conservative approach to bringing in new labels or new wines and are waiting to see it stabilise," he said.

"It will take some time to grow to what the industry was before."

First, though, Li will pop into Adelaide Zoo where giant pandas Wang Wang and Fu Ni have been on loan from China since 2009.

Hopes are high that the pair -- instruments of China's so-called panda diplomacy -- will be allowed to stay despite producing no offspring in their time together.

djw-bur/mtp



China Li’s Australia Trip Is ‘Significant’, Chalmers Says

Swati Pandey
Sat, June 15, 2024 


(Bloomberg) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s visit to Australia is a “really significant step” for the two nations’ relationship, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Saturday.

Li will land in Australia for a four-day trip on Saturday, heading to Adelaide, Canberra and Perth as part of the first visit by a Chinese premier since early 2017, when relations began to deteriorate.

This follows Li’s visit to New Zealand, where he pledged to strengthen economic ties with Wellington. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the two premiers had discussed issues such as foreign interference, the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

While the trip is the latest sign of warming relations between Australia and China, both countries are facing strategic and political tensions across a range of fronts, from strengthening security ties between Canberra and Washington to the global struggle over critical mineral supply chains.

Li’s visit “recognizes the key economic and broader relationship between Australia and China,” Chalmers said at a press conference in Queensland state. “We’re looking forward to engaging with Premier Li and his colleagues on this really important visit.”

Chalmers will also sign the Memorandum of Understanding on the Strategic Economic Dialogue with National Development and Reform Commission Vice Chairman Liu Sushe that was agreed last year.

“We believe that engagement is good for our people, it’s good for our economy and it’s good for our country more broadly, and that’s what this visit is all about,” Chalmers said. “We’ve made really encouraging progress stabilizing the relationship with China but in a way which is consistent with our values and our interests.”

When asked by a journalist if the Australian government will confront the Chinese prime minister on humanitarian issues, Chalmers said “we are prepared to speak up for those values and interests when that’s appropriate.”

“We don’t pretend that isn’t sometimes a difficult relationship to manage or a complex relationship to manage,” he said. “And so we disagree with the administration when we need to, we engage where we can and I think we’ve seen some of the fruits of that, certainly in terms of the economy over the last couple of years.”

(Adds Li’s NZ visit in third paragraph. A previous version of this story was corrected to clarify it’s the first visit by a Chinese premier in more than seven years.)

 Bloomberg Businessweek

Antarctic projects trimmed over virus fears

According to reports, the number of projects was being cut from 36 to 13 across the upcoming research season

By DAVE MAKICHUK JUNE 10, 2020

Antarctica New Zealand is committed to maintaining and enhancing the quality of New Zealand's Antarctic scientific research. Credit: Handout.

It may be the most desolate and uninhabitable place on the planet, but New Zealand is taking steps to ensure that Antarctica stays free of the deadly virus, Covid-19.

Antarctica New Zealand, the government agency that does environmental research on the desolate landmass and the Southern Ocean, said Tuesday it would reduce its scientific projects in Antarctica to keep the continent free from Covid-19, CGTN.com reported.

Limiting the number of people visiting was key to stopping the spread of the coronavirus, the agency said, addding it had decided to support “only long-term science monitoring, essential operational activity and planned maintenance this season” at its Scott Base.

According to reports, the number of projects was being cut from 36 to 13 across the upcoming research season from October to March, CGTN.com reported.

Antarctica New Zealand is committed to maintaining and enhancing the quality of Antarctic scientific research, chief executive Sarah Williamson stated.

However, current circumstances meant their ability to support science was extremely limited this season, she added.

Antarctica New Zealand said it was developing a managed isolation plan with multiple government agencies to ensure COVID-19 does not reach the continent, CGTN.com reported.

Scott Base is New Zealand’s only Antarctic research station and is 3,800 kilometres (2,360 miles) south of Christchurch and 1,350 kilometers (840 miles) from the South Pole, according to Antarctica New Zealand.

Usually, up to 86 scientists, staff and visitors can stay there at any one time, CGTN.com reported.

New Zealand has recorded a total of 1,504 confirmed and 22 deaths.

Meanwhile, more than 7.13 million people have been reported to be infected with the new coronavirus globally and 406,913 have died, according to latest data from Johns Hopkins University.

New Zealand cuts research to keep Antarctica virus free

Antarctica New Zealand said it was developing a managed isolation plan with multiple government agencies to ensure COVID-19 does not reach the continent

New Zealand said Tuesday it will reduce its scientific projects in Antarctica to keep the virtually uninhabited continent free from COVID-19.

Antarctica New Zealand, the government agency that does environmental research on the desolate landmass and the Southern Ocean, said limiting the number of people visiting was key to stopping the spread of the coronavirus.

The agency said it had decided to support "only long-term science monitoring, essential operational activity and planned maintenance this season" at its Scott Base after consulting other research programmes in the region.

According to reports, the number of projects was being cut from 36 to 13 across the upcoming research season from October to March.

"Antarctica New Zealand is committed to maintaining and enhancing the quality of New Zealand's Antarctic scientific research," Chief Executive Sarah Williamson said.

"However, current circumstances dictate that our ability to support science is extremely limited this season."

Antarctica New Zealand said it was developing a managed isolation plan with multiple government agencies to ensure COVID-19 does not reach the continent.

Scott Base is New Zealand's only Antarctic research station and is 3,800 kilometres (2,360 miles) south of Christchurch and 1350 km (840 miles) from the South Pole, according to Antarctica New Zealand.

Up to 86 scientists, staff and visitors can usually stay there at any one time

Antarctica's splendid isolation keeps coronavirus at bay

---

© 2020 AF

BILLIONAIRES HIDE AWAY

Google Founder Gets New Zealand Residency, Raising Questions

Friday, 6 August, 2021 - 09:00

Larry Page, CEO and Co-founder of Alphabet, participates in a conversation with
Fortune editor Alan Murray at the 2015 Fortune Global Forum in San Francisco,
California November 2, 2015. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage

Asharq Al-Awsat

Google co-founder Larry Page has gained New Zealand residency, officials confirmed Friday, stoking debate over whether extremely wealthy people can essentially buy access to the South Pacific country.

Immigration New Zealand said Page first applied for residency in November under a special visa open to people with at least 10 million New Zealand dollars ($7 million) to invest, reported The Associated Press.

“As he was offshore at the time, his application was not able to be processed because of COVID-19 restrictions,” the agency said in a statement. “Once Mr. Page entered New Zealand, his application was able to be processed and it was approved on 4 February 2021.”

Gaining New Zealand residency would not necessarily affect Page's residency status in the US or any other nations.

New Zealand lawmakers confirmed that Page and his son first arrived in New Zealand in January after the family filed an urgent application for the son to be evacuated from Fiji due to a medical emergency.

“The day after the application was received, a New Zealand air ambulance staffed by a New Zealand ICU nurse-escort medevaced the child and an adult family member from Fiji to New Zealand," Health Minister Andrew Little told lawmakers in Parliament.

Little was responding to questions about how Page had managed to enter the country at a time when New Zealand had shut its borders to non-residents in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Little told lawmakers the family had abided by applicable virus protocols when they arrived.

Page's residency application was approved about three weeks later.

Immigration New Zealand noted that while Page had become a resident, he didn't have permanent residency status and remained subject to certain restrictions.

Still, the agency on its website touts the “Investor Plus” visa as offering a “New Zealand lifestyle,” adding that “you may be able to bring your car, boat and household items to New Zealand, free of customs charges.”

Some local news organizations reported that Page had since left New Zealand.

Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Forbes on Friday ranked Page as the world’s sixth-wealthiest person, with a fortune of $117 billion. Forbes noted that Page stepped down as chief executive of Google’s parent company Alphabet in 2019 but remained a board member and controlling shareholder.

Opposition lawmakers said the episode raised questions about why Page was approved so quickly at a time when many skilled workers or separated family members who were desperate to enter New Zealand were being turned away.

“The government is sending a message that money is more important than doctors, fruit pickers and families who are separated from their children," ACT deputy leader Brooke van Velden said in a statement.

In 2017, it emerged that Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel had been able to gain New Zealand citizenship six years earlier, despite never having lived in the country. Thiel was approved after a top lawmaker decided his entrepreneurial skills and philanthropy were valuable to the nation.

Thiel didn’t even have to leave California for the ceremony — he was granted citizenship during a private ceremony held at the New Zealand Consulate in Santa Monica.

New Zealand 'uncomfortable with expanding the remit' of Five Eyes, says Foreign Minister


By foreign affairs reporter Stephen Dziedzic
Posted 4/19/2021

Nanaia Mahuta's speech at the NZ-China Council in Wellington reframed New Zealand's approach to China.

VIDEO https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-19/new-zealand-five-eyes-intelligence-sharing-china-australia/100078834

New Zealand's Foreign Minister, Nanaia Mahuta, has sent a clear signal that the country will chart a more independent foreign policy, directly criticising efforts to pressure China through the Five Eyes intelligence sharing group.

Key points:

Ms Mahuta says the Five Eyes group should focus solely on intelligence sharing

Beijing responded furiously to previous joint Five Eyes statements criticising China

Tensions have flared between Australia and New Zealand over how to handle China

The comments are likely to further inflame tensions in New Zealand's relationship with Australia, which believes the Ardern government is undermining collective attempts to push back against increasingly aggressive behaviour from Beijing.

The Five Eyes group – which includes the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand – was originally formed as an intelligence sharing network but has expanded its scope in the past few years.

Ms Mahuta on Monday said the group should focus on intelligence.

"That's a matter we have raised with Five Eyes partners. We are uncomfortable with expanding the remit of the Five Eyes relationship," she said.

"We would much rather prefer to look for multilateral opportunities to express our interests on a number of issues."

The comments come only days before Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne visits New Zealand for formal talks with Ms Mahuta and New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern.

Beijing has responded furiously to recent joint statements from the Five Eyes group criticising crackdowns on Hong Kong and Xinjiang, and threatened reprisals.

In the last six months New Zealand has joined many of those statements, but has been conspicuously absent from some.

Tensions have also flared between Australia and New Zealand over how to handle Beijing, although most of the frustrations have been kept behind closed doors.

Earlier this year New Zealand's Trade Minister, Damien O'Connor, irritated Australian ministers and officials after suggesting that the Morrison government should show China more "respect" in order to avoid campaigns of economic punishment.

WATCH
Duration: 58 seconds

New Zealand Trade Minister Damien O'Connor suggests Australia should "be cautious with wording" when dealing with Beijing.

VIDEO https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-19/new-zealand-five-eyes-intelligence-sharing-china-australia/100078834

Ms Mahuta has not held back from criticising China — including over its treatment of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang – since taking over the role.

But the Foreign Minister said Five Eyes had a "specific purpose" and New Zealand would issue its own statements – or look to "other partners" in the region – when it wanted to lay out its position.

"New Zealand has been very clear, certainly in this term since we've held the portfolio, not to invoke the Five Eyes as the first point of contact on messaging out on a range of issues," she said.

"They really exist outside of the remit of the Five Eyes. We don't favour that type of approach and have expressed that to Five Eyes partners."

The Foreign Minister's comments also cast doubt on moves to expand the diplomatic architecture of Five Eyes.

In recent years ministers from all five countries across several different portfolios – including defence, treasury and foreign affairs – have held Five Eyes meetings.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) called the Five Eyes "a vital strategic alliance and key to Australia's interests".

"Countries will choose to address issues of concern in whichever forum they determine appropriate and consistent with their respective national interest," the DFAT spokesperson said.

"We share common values and approaches to many international issues which have allowed us to deepen our cooperation during an era of strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific."

Minister outlines new approach to China

Ms Mahuta made the comments after giving a major speech designed to reframe New Zealand's approach to its relationship with China.

She said New Zealand wanted to diversify its exports in order to reduce its dependence on China, saying "in terms of thinking about long-term economic resilience … there is value in diversity".

"Resting our trade relationship on just one country, long term, is probably not the way we should be thinking about things," she said.

She said New Zealand wanted mutually respectful ties with China, comparing the relationship to a "dragon and taniwha", in reference to a water-dwelling serpent in Maori mythology.

The Foreign Minister stressed the two countries would not always agree, but needed to deal with each other fairly and honestly.

"There are some things on which New Zealand and China do not, cannot, and will not, agree," Ms Mahuta said.

"It is important to acknowledge this, and to stay true to ourselves, as we seek to manage our disagreements mindful that tikanga [culture, values or customs] or underpinning how we relate to each other must be respected."

She also issued a thinly veiled warning about rising debt levels in the Pacific, although she did not single out China.

"It's no secret there's a significant level of economic vulnerability across the Pacific," she said.

"New Zealand certainty invests in the Pacific … by way of grants, not loans."

"If we're really focused on regional stability and opportunity we need to tackle this particular challenge. I hope that conversation can take place with those who seek to invest in the region."

 

Kiwifruit’s 100-year odyssey from China to New Zealand

By

 Xinhua News Agency

June 26, 2024

When shopping in Chinese supermarkets, it is easy to find domestically produced Chinese kiwifruit, often called mihoutao by locals, and New Zealand’s brand — Zespri kiwifruit. They have a similar oval, brown shape and a refreshing sweet and tangy taste, making them a welcome delicacy pleasing to Chinese consumers’ refined palates.

However, many people are unaware that New Zealand kiwifruit originates from China. Over a hundred years ago, the fruit embarked on an adventurous journey across the Pacific from China to New Zealand. Its cultivation and development in New Zealand have since become a testament to the enduring bond and friendship between these two nations.

CROSS-PACIFIC ODYSSEY

The earliest record of the fruit can be traced back to 2,800 years ago, when the fruit was depicted in the “Shijing,” or the “Book of Odes,” the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry dating from the 11th to 7th centuries B.C. Its original name in Chinese, mihoutao or macaque fruit, refers to the monkey’s liking for it, according to the 16th-century Chinese medical encyclopedia, the “Compendium of Materia Medica.”

Its seeds were first introduced to New Zealand in the early 20th century by Isabel Fraser, a teacher from Whanganui on the North Island, who had visited her sister in China and brought back the seeds. The seeds were planted by a local farmer and the vines first fruited in 1910. People thought the fruit had a gooseberry flavor and began to call it the “Chinese gooseberry.”

The Chinese gooseberry’s rebranding didn’t happen until New Zealand’s merchants began to promote overseas market demand for the fruit in the 1950s. They decided to name the fuzzy, brown fruit after the country’s furry, brown, flightless national bird — the kiwi. In 1997, the Zespri kiwifruit brand was unveiled by the New Zealand Kiwifruit Marketing Board as part of a new global marketing strategy.

New Zealand growers spent many years to develop the first commercial variety of kiwi fruit. Selected by New Zealand horticulturalist Hayward Wright in 1928, the green-flesh variety is renowned for its delightful blend of sweet and tangy flavors and remains a household staple worldwide.

Later, it was brought back to China, “laying the foundation for the Chinese kiwifruit industry,” said Ivan Kinsella, head of corporate affairs China at Zespri International.

The gold flesh variety became famous in the last 15 years, followed by the ruby red variety in the last couple of years, he said. “China already accounts for about 50 percent of our total exports of the new red kiwifruit,” Kinsella said.

CHINESE MARKET

“The Chinese market is really important,” Kinsella told Xinhua in a recent interview. “China is by far the largest country market (of Zespri),” he said, noting that China’s imports account for approximately 27 percent of Zespri’s total exports, which should be around 200,000 tons this year.

“This year we will have probably around 23 chartered reefers, or refrigerated vessels, that are 100 percent with Zespri fruit coming directly from New Zealand to China,” he said. Without stopping, it takes about 12 days for the fruit to arrive in the best condition at a number of Chinese ports, including Shanghai, Taizhou and Dongguan, he added.

With the steady growth of kiwifruit exports to China, Zespri will continue the expansion and consolidation of its supply chain throughout China, Kinsella said. “That’s a major focus for us.”

Currently, the company has established an offline presence in over 60 cities in China and plans to double the number to 120 over the next five years as economic and trade relations between the two countries continue to flourish, he said.

China’s ever-improving customs clearance process allows kiwifruit to enter the Chinese market more quickly. For example, at the Shanghai Nangang port, where Zespri’s freighters frequently dock, Yangshan customs provides convenient clearance measures through advance declaration and other initiatives. Customs officers work around the clock to supervise the unloading and storage of goods, ensuring seamless clearance.

“We already have very rapid clearance of our fruit,” said Kinsella. With the implementation of a quarantine protocol between the two countries last year, the clearance rate has been accelerated even more, he added, noting “the big majority of the kiwifruit that arrives actually clears customs the same day.”

“So that’s been very successful, and a great outcome from the various free trade agreements that we have established,” he said.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest free trade deal comprising 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, entered into force on Jan. 1, 2022.

This monumental agreement not only underscores the importance of regional economic integration but also highlights the growing interconnectedness of markets. Such developments create a favorable condition for the ongoing cooperation and mutual benefits seen in the kiwifruit trade between China and New Zealand.

STRENGTHENED COOPERATION

Today, China is the world’s largest grower of kiwifruit, while New Zealand is the world’s largest exporter of kiwifruit. Experts believe that research and innovation in the kiwifruit industry offer immense potential for the two countries to cooperate and better meet the needs for high-quality kiwifruit among Chinese consumers.

In his recent official visit to New Zealand, Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited the China-New Zealand Belt-and-Road Joint Laboratory on Kiwifruit in Auckland. He said that the laboratories in China and New Zealand complement each other’s strengths and collaborate effectively. Through the empowerment of science and technology, the laboratories provide support for the further improvement and upgrading of the kiwifruit industry in both countries, and add momentum to the development of the kiwifruit industry in the Belt and Road countries.

In 2014, the China-New Zealand Kiwifruit Joint Lab was unveiled. In 2020, the lab was included in the list of Belt and Road joint laboratories by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology.

The lab established an international cooperation and exchange platform for Chinese and New Zealand scientists, said Li Mingzhang, former Chinese director of the joint lab.

It has facilitated extensive collaboration in kiwifruit germplasm resource development and utilization, industry standardization, food safety and talent cultivation, exploring a path of international cooperation in science and technology and innovation, said Li, who is also a senior researcher at the Sichuan Provincial Academy of Natural Resource Sciences.

Researchers from China’s Sichuan province have also independently cultivated a commercially viable red-flesh kiwifruit variety called “Hongyang” after years of efforts, Li said. “Currently, the new variety we developed has obtained variety protection rights in 14 countries and the European Union, and has been authorized for cultivation on more than 3,500 hectares of farmland in countries such as Italy and Chile.”

“China has got some fantastic varieties of kiwifruit, particularly the green kiwifruit. They’re a little bit sweeter than the New Zealand ones. The red varieties, like Hongyang from Sichuan, are also very tasty,” Kinsella said.

The two countries’ kiwifruit industries “are very complementary,” he said, as New Zealand kiwifruit began arriving in China at the end of March, filling a gap in the market when Chinese kiwifruit is not available.

China produces more than 2 million tons of kiwifruit annually. In comparison, New Zealand’s production is much smaller, estimated at around 700,000 tons this year, said Kinsella. “Despite our smaller industry size, New Zealand has made significant strides in developing the international market.”

Expressing hope to provide consumers with a year-round supply of kiwifruit, Kinsella said Zespri is actively exploring the cultivation of kiwifruit in China to leverage the New Zealand growing season in the Southern Hemisphere and the Chinese growing season in the Northern Hemisphere to better serve the Chinese market.

Airline CEO-turned-politician Luxon to lead New Zealand to the right

Christopher Luxon, Leader of the National Party arrives at his election party after winning the general election to become New Zealand’s next prime minister in Auckland, New Zealand, October 14, 2023. 

REUTERS/David Rowland


WELLINGTON - Just three years after entering politics, former businessman Christopher Luxon is set to lead New Zealand to the right as prime minister-elect, ending six years of Labour-led centre-left government.

The former Air New Zealand chief executive, Luxon became leader of the centre-right National Party at the end of 2021, boosting its popularity until winning Saturday's general election.

National won 50 seats and its preferred coalition partner, ACT New Zealand, won 11, securing a majority of one seat in the 121-seat parliament, according to provisional results from the Electoral Commission. Final results are due Nov. 3.

Luxon, who held senior roles at global consumer goods firm Unilever and delivered consistent profits running Air New Zealand from 2012 to 2019, has said he would use the skills he bought to managing businesses to improve New Zealand.

The 53-year-old has promised to curb historically high inflation and reduce government debt by cutting spending and narrowing the central bank's mandate to targeting inflation, in order to help financially stretched middle-income families.

"I want to bring the country together, I want to actually make sure that we are focussed on delivering outcomes for New Zealanders," Luxon told a press conference, dressed in an All Blacks jersey after watching the national rugby team win a dramatic World Cup quarter-final.

"I’m a person who likes to bring teams together and make sure that I get the best out of that team and use all the skills in that team, so that’s my mode."

In a country where almost half the people say they have no religion, Luxon has faced scrutiny for saying he was Christian and has had to defend stances such as personally opposing abortion. He has committed to maintaining legal abortion and supported same-sex marriage.

"Faith is deeply personal, but I am not there to act in the interests of one faith, one group, one person or one belief system. I'm there to represent all New Zealanders," Luxon told Reuters earlier this year.

A millionaire father of two with several homes across the country, Luxon is learning the Maori language and is a Taylor Swift fan, quoting her in televised debates and interviews.

Although well-travelled, he is largely untried on foreign policy. Luxon has strongly supported Ukraine in its invasion by Russia, in line with New Zealand's traditional allies. He has said there will be little change in New Zealand’s foreign policy. 

REUTERS

New Zealand PM elect Luxon expected to start coalition negotiations

Christopher Luxon, Leader of the National Party waves to supporters at his election party after winning the general election to become New Zealand’s next prime minister in Auckland, New Zealand, October 14, 2023.

 REUTERS/David Rowland

WELLINGTON - New Zealand’s Prime Minister-elect Christopher Luxon and his centre-right National Party are expected to start negotiations with the ACT Party Sunday, after the two parties won a slim majority in the general election.

Luxon, 53, a former airline executive who has only been in parliament for three years, said in his victory speech late on Saturday that the country had voted for change and that would be delivered.

"You have given us the mandate to take New Zealand forward," he said.

The conservative National Party won 50 seats and the ACT Party won 11, securing a majority of just one seat in the 121 seat parliament, according to provisional results from the Electoral Commission.

Chris Bishop, National Party Campaign Chairperson, said on TVNZ political show Q+A that Luxon had already spoken with ACT leader David Seymour and senior National members would meet this afternoon to discuss coalition negotiations.

While the two parties currently have the numbers to form a government, roughly 567,0000 of special votes or around 20% of the vote still have to be counted. The official result is due on Nov. 3.

Bishop said he expected National would lose at least one seat once these votes were counted.

If National and ACT do lose a seat they would not have enough seats to form a government and would need to reach an agreement with the populist party New Zealand First.

Under New Zealand’s mixed member proportional system it is very uncommon for a single party to form government, although Jacinda Ardern’s Labour government did in 2020.

 REUTERS

NZ opens door to most conservative government in decades

ByNatasha Frost

NYT
October 15, 2023 —

Auckland: After an election campaign of fits and starts, in which neither major party appeared to offer much solace to a weary nation, voters in New Zealand have ousted the party once led by Jacinda Ardern and elected the country’s most right-wing government in a generation, handing victory to a coalition of two conservative parties.

The new prime minister-elect is Christopher Luxon, a former CEO of Air New Zealand, whose centre-right National Party will likely lead a coalition with Act, a smaller libertarian party.

Prime minister-elect Christopher Luxon in Auckland on Sunday.CREDIT:GETTY

Addressing a euphoric crowd at his party’s victory event on Auckland’s waterfront, Luxon thanked supporters and promised a better and more stable future for the country.

“Our government will deliver for every New Zealander,” he said, to whoops and cheers. “We will rebuild the economy and deliver tax relief.”

The rightward drift ended six years of the Labour government that was dominated by Ardern, who stepped down early this year.

“She’s probably the most consequential prime minister we’ve had since David Lange [the Labour leader who came to power in 1984], and, from an international point of view, most charismatic,” said Bernard Hickey, an economic and political commentator in Auckland. “But this election is the landmark of her failure.”

Chris Hipkins (right) became NZ Prime Minister after Jacinda Ardern resigned. He served the rest of her term but failed to win the election on Saturday.CREDIT:BLOOMBERG

For many voters, Ardern and her successor, Chris Hipkins, failed to deliver on the Labour Party’s promise of transformational change. In the weeks leading up to the election, New Zealanders, buffeted by the currents of global inflation and its larger Asia Pacific neighbours’ economic woes, overwhelmingly cited cost of living as the primary concern driving their vote.

The coalition is a return to form for New Zealand, which since moving to a system of proportional representation in 1993 has had only one single-party government – the Labour government elected in 2020 under Ardern. But it is the first time National, which last governed alone in the early 1980s, has been in coalition with a more conservative partner.


With most of the Saturday vote counted, support for the Labour Party, which won 50 per cent of the vote in 2020, buoyed by the country’s strong response to the coronavirus pandemic, has collapsed to 27 per cent.


New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, centre, speaks to media after conceding defeat at a party event in Wellington, on Saturday night.CREDIT:AP

The National Party won 39 per cent of the vote, up from 26 per cent in 2020. Among the smaller parties, the Green Party took 11 per cent of the vote, and Act won 9 per cent. But those results could shift slightly after “special” votes were counted, including those of overseas New Zealanders. That could potentially force Act and National into coalition with New Zealand First, a longtime kingmaker that played a role in Ardern’s ascent, to push the right-wing coalition over the halfway mark.

Addressing party members in Wellington, Hipkins said he had conceded the election to Luxon and celebrated Labour’s accomplishments on alleviating child poverty and navigating New Zealand through the pandemic, the Christchurch massacres and the White Island volcano eruption.

“We will keep fighting for working people, because that is our history and our future,” he said.



The National Party had campaigned on a platform of tax cuts, saying it would offer relief to ordinary families. Critics have questioned the funding for those cuts, which rely heavily on foreign ownership of New Zealand property, and some have said that they disproportionately favour some 300 New Zealand landlords while cutting benefits for disabled people.

Inflation, which was at 6 per cent in July compared with 6.7 per cent a year earlier, appears to be easing, according to the most recent government data, although New Zealanders will most likely endure pain for some time to come, as the country weathers high house and rent prices, a high cost of borrowing and the effects of global shocks.

“When it comes to the economy,” said Grant Duncan, a political scientist in Auckland, “we’re a cork bobbing around on an ocean.”

The new National-led government, despite being more conservative, was unlikely to make significant changes on many social issues, said Ben Thomas, a former press secretary for the National Party.


‘Ned Kelly behaving badly’: Winston Peters blames Australian business for Kiwi crisis

“Nobody wants to re-litigate abortion or homosexual marriage,” he said. “Unlike the States, where there’s a constant battle to try and roll back progressive legislation, the conservative tradition in New Zealand is, ‘We’ve always gone just about far enough’.”

But Act may seek to push policy priorities of its own, including a referendum to reconsider the role of the Maori people play in policymaking.

“What they actually want is a referendum which defines away any kind of standing or rights guaranteed to Maori by the Treaty,” Thomas said, referring to an 1840 agreement that governs New Zealand legislation to this day.

He added: “What you might broadly call racial tensions – over race and policy, Maori policy, Treaty policy – are greater than at any point since 2005.”

At the same time, the country is still contending with a multibillion-dollar recovery from cyclone Gabrielle, which in February devastated swaths of the North Island, exposing dangerous infrastructure fault lines, said Craig Renney, an economist for the NZ Council of Trade Unions.

National had not announced any plans for how it would manage New Zealand’s climate vulnerabilities, Renney said.

“Where are we going to be in six years’ time? What are we going to do to tackle some of the really big issues, be it climate change, renting, employment security?” he said. “Those things haven’t been being debated because the country is tired.”

It was unclear whether the new government could easily solve these and other problems, said Duncan.

“I’m not saying they’re going to do a bad job,” he said. “I just don’t have any confidence in them doing a better job.”