Perspectives
Rt Hon John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand
“ Building up further our important relationship with the US is a core focus of this Government’s foreign policy We have an excellent relationship with the US. We are old friends facing new opportunities. New Zealand sees itself as a small but important partner for the US and with our shared values we believe New Zealand can work with the US on efforts to enhance global peace and security”.
Rt Hon Jim Bolger, Chairman, NZ US Council
"New Zealand and the United States are partners in the 21st century. To me this is an exciting and achievable proposition. Our partnership is based on the bedrock of shared values which both countries have been prepared to defend around the globe. We have defended the oppressed and advanced individual freedom in battles on land, sea and in the air. We have done this at great personal cost, testified by the fact that the bones of our people rest together for all time in distant seas and foreign lands. In other battles in the conference rooms of the world we have time after time lined up together to try to persuade reluctant countries that open trade is the only way for the world to help poor countries better provide for their people. The United States is a remarkable country and much is expected of it and its people. The 21st century is going to challenge all who support open democratic values, so we must continue to work closely together"
(Address to the Gateway to America Conference, August 2005)
Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton
"The United States and New Zealand have a long history of partnership. Five months ago, just as we were electing a new president, our friends in New Zealand elected a new government led by Prime Minister John Key. And we're off to a great start together. The U.S.-New Zealand relationship is the best it has been in 25 years, and we look forward to building on the progress we have already made. New Zealand is such a valued partner. It is a country whose values and interests coincide very often with ours" .
Dave Keegan, Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy Wellington
"The values President Obama highlighted - "honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism" - are the very same values I see in my dealings with New Zealanders every day. It is these shared values which give both countries what the new President described as an "enduring spirit"...
So let me say it plainly: America wants and needs friends like New Zealand. That's the message the President reiterated personally on his first day in office."
Hon Murray McCully, Minister of Foreign Affairs
In October New Zealand will participate in the annual New Zealand-US Partnership Forum in Washington. The Forum will look at the status of the bilateral relationship and the pace of progress in our Trans-Pacific partnership. I'm delighted that the NZ US Council will take the organisational lead, and I look forward to working closely with you as we prepare for, "participate in, and follow-up on, the October meeting. The United States can continue to count on New Zealand as an engaged, active and stalwart friend. And the Council will find the government open to regular engagement and a committed partner, particularly on the Partnership Forum event this October."
(Excerpt from an address to the UZ US Council meeting, 25 March 2009)
Stephen Jacobi, Executive Director, NZ US Council
"Every day of every year New Zealanders and Americans whether as business people, officials, tourists, scientists, students or, yes, even members of the defence forces, participate in a relationship which is one of New Zealand’s most advanced and active. The scale of the relationship is seen most actively in trade statistics, the flow of investment and the arrival of tourists. In 2006 Air New Zealand will celebrate 40 years of flying to the US, and Christchurch, gateway to Antarctica, will celebrate 50 years of close cooperation with the United States in that arena. There is already much to celebrate in a relationship which is broadly based, healthy and works well. The question is - is there more that can be done to ensure the relationship delivers on all it can be. That, in essence, is the role of the NZ US Council."
(Address to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, December 2005)
Kevin Roberts, Chief Executive Officer, Saatchi and Saatchi
"The role of business is to make the world a better place. Free and fair trade on multiple fronts is paramount to improving lives. There is no better place than New Zealand to advance this and, I believe, no better partner in promoting progress and abundance than the United States. History shows that New Zealand represents the very edge of human possibility. Pound for pound, our contribution to global creativity and trade liberalisation is simply top of the world. The invitation to bring this New Zealand Edge to the American Dream for sustained mutual benefit was irresistible.
The emotional links between New Zealand and the United States are woven by our shared defence and security history, love of freedom and opportunity, and incredible design, technology and creative capability. Our challenge is to unleash these synergies through advancing a comprehensive free trade agreement. In complementing government-to-government relationships, I will be representing the private sector in strengthening the connections, networks, understandings and agreements leading to this outcome."
Condoleezza Rice, Former US Secretary of State
"New Zealand and the United States, Kiwis and Americans, have a long history of partnership. It is one that is grounded in common interests, but it is elevated by common ideals. And it is always defined by the warmth and the respect of two nations, but more importantly, of two peoples who are bound together by countless ties of friendship and family and shared experience. We do not always agree on every point of policy. But we share our opinions in good faith, and openly, in the way that friends do. Our partnership is as strong and enduring today in this century, as it was when our citizens stood shoulder to shoulder throughout the last century to be on the front lines in defence of freedom, to expand the reach of peace and prosperity, and not just here in the Pacific, but indeed, across the globe."
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking to the NZ US Council reception, Auckland, 26 July 2008
Rt Hon Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand
"The US market is very important to New Zealand, and it has been since our early pioneering days. It is New Zealand’s second largest trading partner, with two-way trade worth more than $NZ8 billion per annum. The United States is also our third largest investment partner, both in terms of Kiwi investment overseas and US investment here. American companies operating in New Zealand account for more than NZ$12 billion of investment and many thousands of jobs.
New Zealand has welcomed the news of a free trade agreement between the United States and Australia. We are well placed to take advantage of any resulting economic growth and we will continue to work in Washington on opening bilateral negotiations between the United States and New Zealand. The US Administration is well aware of our interest, and we will continue to deploy our diplomatic and other resources to build on our already considerable support in the United States. An FTA with the United States offers potential economic benefits for both parties. There are also the broader strategic benefits to us of having strong links with not only the world's largest economy, but also with a great source of investment capital and innovation."
Excerpts from a speech by the Rt Hon Helen Clark to the American Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, 17 November 2004
William P. McCormick, former US Ambassador
"The Prime Minister's visit clearly shows that the relationship between the United States and New Zealand is now the strongest it has been in decades. And I see things getting even better. Bilateral cooperation and engagement have become more frequent now than at any time in the last two decades. These are clearly good times for relations between our two countries."
Excerpt from an address by former U.S. Ambassador William P. McCormick to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Wellington, 3 May 2007
Hon Phil Goff, former Minister for Trade
“Different histories, location, size and experience clearly produce different outlooks and create different responsibilities. But a shared western heritage, which has shaped common liberal and democratic values, has also produced a like-mindedness that draws our countries together.
We also have a common interest in a world that is stable, secure, peaceful and prosperous. It makes sense for us to work together in pursuit of these objectives, but that does not require the suppression of differences of viewpoints on specific issues. We are, after all, both countries committed to pluralism”.
(Excerpt from an address to the US-NZ Partnership Forum Washington DC 20-22 April 2006)
