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1 1 (January 15, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govebse0001 and id is 1 raw text is: New Zealand The United States and New Zealand work together closely in bilateral, regional, and global contexts to address common interests in the areas of defense, foreign affairs, and trade. Bilateral and multilateral military-to-military exercises involving the two countries, such as the 23 nation RIMPAC naval exercise, have increased in number since the signing of the Wellington Declaration of 2010 and the Washington Declaration of 2012. These declarations marked turning points in bilateral relations after differences over nuclear policy in the 1980s prompted the United States to suspend its alliance commitments to New Zealand (see below). The renewed strength of the bilateral relationship was also demonstrated by the 2016 visit of the USS Sampson, the first U.S. warship visit to New Zealand in more than 30 years. This strengthening of the relationship has been building since New Zealand's commitment of military forces to Afghanistan in 2003. In the view of many observers, this return to close cooperation puts to rest past differences over nuclear policy. Background New Zealand and the United States have common historical roots as settler societies of the British Empire. New Zealand, also known to New Zealanders as Aotearoa or the land of the long white cloud, was first settled by the Polynesian-Maori people around the tenth century. Dutch navigator Abel Tasman discovered the western coast of New Zealand in 1642, but it was English Captain James Cook who, over three expeditions in 1769, 1773, and 1777, circumnavigated and mapped the islands. The 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, between the British Crown and indigenous Maori Chiefs, serves as the basis for relations between the Maori and European communities. The British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is the constitutional head of state of New Zealand. Her representative, the Governor General, acts on the advice of the New Zealand Prime Minister's Cabinet. New Zealand attained Dominion Status in 1907 and gained full political independence from Britain under the 1947 Statute of Westminster Adoption Act. In 1893, New Zealand became the first self-governing country to grant all women the right to vote. Politics and Elections New Zealand is a unicameral, mixed-member-proportional (MMP), parliamentary democracy. MMP was introduced in New Zealand in 1996. Under MMP, Members of Parliament come from both single-member electorates and from party lists leading to a parliament in which a party's share of the seats roughly mirrors its share of the overall vote. New Zealand does not have a state or provincial level of government. The current government, first elected in 2017 and reelected in October 2020, is led by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of the Labour Party. Ardern's government, with 65 of 120 seats in parliament, is the first to rule in its own right since the institution of MMP. The Updated January 15, 2021 opposition center-right National Party is led by Judith Collins. The next election is scheduled for September 2023. Figure I. New Zealand in Brief Source: CIA World Factbook and the Economist Intelligence Unit. Ardern achieved high approval ratings as a result of her government's effective handling of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic as well as her earlier handling of the Christchurch massacre. New Zealand has the lowest COVID-19 mortality rate in the OECD with 25 deaths out of 2,162 infections. Ardern lifted all coronavirus restrictions except border controls after reporting zero active cases on June 7, 2020. Only New Zealand citizens and residents are currently allowed to enter New Zealand. New Zealand is scheduled to start receiving the Pfizer vaccine in March 2021. In 2019, a 28-year-old Australian described as a white supremacist attacked the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch and killed 51 people. Following the attacks, parliament passed legislation outlawing military style semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles. Climate Change In 2019, the Ardern government passed the Zero Carbon Act with cross-party support and committed New Zealand to reduce carbon emissions to 0 by 2050. Methane from agriculture and waste, which represents over 40% of New Zealand's emissions, was exempt from the zero emissions goal, but has a separate reduction target of 24%-47% reduction below 2017 levels by 2050. In December 2020, New Zealand declared a climate emergency and committed the government to become carbon neutral by 2025. New Zealand has a renewable electricity target of 100% by 2035. ittps://Crsreports.congress.gc

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