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1 1 (February 21, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govekqp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: New Zealand Updated February 21, 2023 Congress has taken an interest in how the United States and New Zealand work together in bilateral, regional, and global contexts to address common concerns 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 to visit New Zealand in more than 30 years. This strengthening of relations has been building since New Zealand's commitment of military forces to Afghanistan in 2003. New Zealand is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence group along with the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. 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, King Charles III, is the constitutional head of state of New Zealand. His 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 is led by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of the Labour Party, who became prime minister following Jacinda Ardern's resignation in January 2023. Elections are planned for October 2023. Figure I. New Zealand in Brief Arcern s government, with b> ot 1z seats in parliament, was the first to rule in its own right since the institution of MMP. The opposition center-right National Party, led by Christopher Luxon, had been gaining in popularity at the end of Ardern's term of office. Hipkins's popularity has, according to polls, closed the gap between Labour and the National Party. Hipkins has asserted that he will focus on the economy. He retained Nanaia Mahuta as foreign minister and made his first international trip as prime minister to Australia in February 2023. In Australia he stressed continuity, stating that our foreign policy position hasn't changed just because there is a change of prime minister. 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 zero 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% 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. Defense and Foreign Policy New Zealand places much emphasis on multilateral processes and regional economic institutions while Australia and the United States figure prominently in New Zealand's security affairs. New Zealand's commitment of troops and assistance in support of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Bamiyan Province, Afghanistan, from 2003 to 2013 demonstrated, according to observers, New Zealand's value as a diplomatic and military partner.

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