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Two referendums will be held alongside the election

At this year’s General Election, you can also vote in two referendums on whether the End of Life Choice Act 2019 should come into force, giving people with a terminal illness the option of requesting assisted dying and whether the recreational use of cannabis should become legal.

For more information about what is being proposed for each referendum please visit referendums.govt.nz

Who can vote from overseas?

You are eligible to enrol and vote from overseas if you:

  • are 18 years of age or older,
  • have lived in New Zealand for more than one year continuously at some time in your life, and
  • are one of the following:
    • a New Zealand citizen who has been in New Zealand within the past three years
    • a permanent resident of New Zealand who has been in New Zealand within the past 12 months

You can enrol, check or update your enrolment details online using your New Zealand driver licence, New Zealand passport or RealMe verified identity at vote.nz/enrol

Vote using our download and upload service

This year, the quickest and easiest way to vote from overseas is to download, print and upload your voting papers for the 2020 General Election and referendums.

You can download and print your voting papers at vote.nz/overseas from Wednesday 30 September. 

You must be correctly enrolled before you can download your voting papers.

If you are on the unpublished electoral roll you won’t be able to download your voting papers and will need to use one of the other options.

Upload your voting papers from overseas

You can submit your voting papers online using our upload service. This is the safest, quickest and most reliable way to return your voting papers. We don’t accept voting papers by email — it’s not secure enough.

Completed voting papers can be scanned or photographed and uploaded at vote.nz/overseas before 7pm on Saturday 17 October (NZ time).

Other ways to vote from overseas

You may be able to vote at an overseas voting place or request postal voting papers be sent to you overseas.  These options vary greatly and are highly dependent on the COVID-19 situation in your area.  Visit vote.nz/overseas for the latest updates on services offered by overseas voting places.

Vote before you return to New Zealand

New Zealand’s borders are currently closed to almost all travellers to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Arrivals are required to undergo either managed isolation or quarantine for at least 14 days.  If you will be returning to New Zealand from early October, it may be easier to vote overseas before you return.

People in managed isolation or quarantine

People who will be in managed isolation or quarantine in New Zealand and who won’t be getting out in time to vote in person will be able to vote by telephone in the general election and referendums.  The telephone service will be available to eligible voters from Monday 5 October till the end of voting on election day.

More information

For more information about voting from overseas:

WeWork Headquarters, Shanghai
WeWork Headquarters, Shanghai

How did Linehouse come about?

I moved from Wellington to Shanghai in 2009 with an opportunity to work for the international Architectural practice, Neri & Hu. I chose China, as I felt it was evolving rapidly. Shanghai had a progressive pace, with less design boundaries and entrepreneurs more willing to take risks. Eventually I felt I needed to pursue my own business to allow my design ethos to evolve and be recognised. So along with my colleague we started Linehouse.

One of those entrepreneurs who were willing to take a chance early on was WeWork. They were just starting out in Asia, loved our design ethic and flew us to NY. We ended up designing their China HQ in Shanghai, located in a historical building; an opium and ammunition factory. We  repurposed the building, revealing the history where appropriate, carefully balancing new and old. The design process and outcome was well received internationally and for a small company starting out the press was great.

This helped build our profile, but like any business there was still a huge amount of hard work ahead.

Why did you choose to focus on the Asian market?

As many Asian cities are modernizing there are a lot of opportunities, clients are willing to take risks, embrace new design and there is a sense of momentum in the design industry. Even amongst all the developing Asian countries, the sense of design, craft and the willingness to involve good design is very real which for the right designers provides opportunity.

In New Zealand there is often a lot of regulation that you have to work with to have your ideas realized, which sometimes makes the design process more challenging.

More recently in Hong Kong I saw a gap in the design industry which I wanted to pursue. Much of the city’s development is dominated by a few main developers and I wanted to offer a fresh young perspective on design. We got our first high profile Hong Kong project; a restaurant called John Anthony, a modern take on dim sum for a well established F&B operator, this project enabled me to make the move to Hong Kong.

The client backed our fresh approach, and saw it as a steer away from old world luxury design you see predominantly in Hong Kong’s hospitality industry. The international recognition in press and awards was again very helpful to have the design be seen and socialized what we as a design studio offer. This allowed us further opportunity to connect with the leading developers with projects that are aligned with our design ethic. With the move to Hong Kong proven successful, we now use Hong Kong and Shanghai as a base for working on projects throughout Asia, Europe and Pacific.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

I always want our work to be contextual and meaningful, we do a lot of research on the project and its context to establish the driving narrative. When starting a project we will investigate the site, location, history, local culture and craft to draw a concept from. In doing so I believe it brings an enriched experience.

There is a huge amount of history in craft in Asia / Pacific to draw from and I am constantly inspired by this. Working with local craftsman and localizing our projects in the sourcing of materials and workmanship.

From a design perspective, the studio operates as a platform to investigate the rituals of inhabitation and how these daily moments can be celebrated through design, transforming the mundane into performative acts.

What has been your greatest challenge throughout your career? What has been your greatest achievement?

It was challenging starting my own company at the age of 30 in a country like China, where nothing is straightforward. The language and the cultural sensitivities were very challenging. The pace of construction and time frames for projects are always demanding in Asia, often we have had to embrace a sense of flexibility in our processes and practice in order to get the best outcome. When I moved to Hong Kong, the challenge was again repeated, with the benefits of what I had learnt perhaps with the added pressure of bigger jobs and soon doubling the studio team and managing those responsibilities.

Perhaps my greatest recognition of achievement to date was being awarded the Dezeen Emerging Interior Design Practice Award at the end of last year (2019) in London. This is one of the top platform’s on an international scale for our practice to be recognized, and provides some satisfaction for the hard work we put in.

How do you stay connected to New Zealand whilst living abroad?

I grew up in a rural community in Gisborne. My background draws me close to the land and from that I am always conscious of introducing these forms into my work. Home remains New Zealand, that is where my heart is and I’m always drawn back there and for longer and longer periods with new family commitments and work opportunities.

What’s next for Linehouse?

I would like to see some of the NZ/Australia projects come live as I spend more time in Australasia so I can bring back my learning’s in Asia to the Pacific. There is a small pool of designers in NZ and I think I can offer a fresh youthful female perspective to the architecture and design space drawing from my experience across Asia and Europe with many top operators.

As a business we are fortunate to have navigated our way through different disruptions in the region especially in the last 12 months and are currently loaded with good projects. We have benefited in having diversification across the regions in terms of project locations especially more recently as the regions are impacted at different times.

So we need to continue to focus on keeping the right opportunities coming our way and this is especially important now when economic environment is challenging. At the same time always ensuring our design is relevant and fresh.

As a taste of our bigger projects that we are currently working on:

  • An architecture and Interior design of a 10,000m2 modern office building in Macau;
  • A large residential project with amazing views of Hong Kong south coast;
  • The design of the food market for the new Booking.com campus in central Amsterdam;
  • A restaurant in Osaka for W Hotel opening this year;
  • An upscale Foodhall in an iconic building in central Hong Kong just opened;
  • Two multi level commercial retail projects (45,000m2) in Bangkok.

CONTRIBUTOR

Briar Hickling

Co-founder

Linehouse

Kea member

WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO START THE ASIA HUSTLE PODCAST?

Whilst in lockdown I was thinking of ways to assist New Zealand’s response to the COIVD-19 crisis. Having lost my first business during the 2003 SARS epidemic whilst living in Beijing, I knew first hand the challenges an epidemic can present to a business owner. During that time I also kicked off my second business which is still thriving 17 years later, so that gave me insight into the opportunities that can subsequently arise from such events. The biggest lesson I took away from that time is that during a crisis, one needs to make critical decisions based on imperfect information.

I figured that given Asia accounts for 58% of our exports and that trade to China largely pulled NZ’s economy through the 2008 GFC relatively unscathed, Asia will once again play a key role in any COVID economic recovery. By providing up to the minute insights from those in the midst of the action of those fast changing markets I figured Kiwi exporters will be better informed when it comes to making the tough decisions that COVID-19 will present.

WHAT UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES DOES THE ASIAN MARKET PRESENT TO NZ COMPANIES?

The most unique opportunity that Asia provides compared to other markets is the rapid rise of their middle-class. This is a market opportunity unmatched by anything we have seen in our lifetimes, and will be one of the key forces to shape the 21st century at every level of global society, from global warming to economic prosperity. Due to the UK’s accession into the EC/EU, NZ was forced to greater understand this complex market place earlier than most, and now almost 50 years later we have gained a solid understanding and are better prepared than most of our competitors to deliver solutions to satisfy this enormous middle-class consumer demand.

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE NEXT STEPS TOWARDS AN ECONOMIC RECOVERY IN A POST-COVID WORLD?

Clearly there can be no meaningful economic recovery without a meaningful health recovery, so developing and deploying a vaccination will be the key factor in that. Until then we can make significant progress through adapting as quickly as possible to our “new normal” whatever that looks like. Restructuring government bodies, companies, organisations, education institutions and the like to be far more agile and able to adapt to any future changes will be critical for the resilience and prosperity of New Zealand going forwards.

We also have a unique opportunity as a nation to reflect on how we want to position ourselves moving forwards in the global market, being honest around where our inherent sustainable advantage lies and how best to embody that into the key decisions and actions that we are currently making.

DO YOU THINK CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR WILL CHANGE AS A RESULT OF COVID?

There will be change for sure. As to how much and how significant is too early to say. An obvious change will be the increasing uptake by consumers of digital technology. In comparison to Asian consumers, New Zealand consumers have been relatively slow in adopting online channels such as e-commerce, social commerce, new retail, etc. I feel the COVID lockdown has given Kiwis the impetus to greater explore these alternative commerce channels and will catalyse an increased uptake that will continue to build for years to come.

DO YOU BELIEVE NEW ZEALAND’S SWIFT REACTION TO THE PANDEMIC, AND OUR IMAGE AS “100% PURE” WILL HELP OUR RECOVERY IN THE ASIAN MARKET?

Absolutely. Asian markets have always seen New Zealand as one of their most trusted trading partners. This reputation has been built over decades of exemplary commitment by both our public and private sectors to remain transparent and forthcoming in our actions and communications. This was never more illustrated than the handling of the 2008 melamine baby formula crisis in China. With Asian consumers now more cautious than ever and New Zealand’s COVID response being one of those most heralded around the world, I can only see this playing well for our international image and subsequently our export offering so long as it is nurtured effectively.

ARE THERE ANY OPPORTUNITIES YOU CAN IDENTIFY THAT HAVE ARISEN OUT OF THE PANDEMIC?

I see the opportunity for New Zealand to position itself as the “Well-tech capital of the world” as the most exciting. We are already seeing a huge shift in global consumer spending towards wellness in all shapes and forms. There are the obvious categories such as healthy food and beverage and nutraceuticals that have seen an immediate boost, but as middle class consumers continue to re-evaluate their priorities in light of the pandemic we can expect to see this wellness trend significantly influence other key sectors.

In the future Asian parents will be looking to send their children to safer cities abroad, tourists will be looking for international destinations with proven health systems and governments will be looking to learn about advanced food traceability solutions. This all plays to New Zealand’s inherent strengths and is a once in a generation opportunity to build on our tremendously successful “100% Pure NZ” campaign of years gone by. Imperative to this will be our ability to integrate digital technology into these wellness solutions that will determine the level of value it creates and our capacity to defend it.

IF YOU COULD GIVE A PIECE OF ADVICE TO SME’S LOOKING TO EXPAND INTO ASIA, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Enjoy the ride. Asia is a vast region with countless cultures and sub-cultures. Whilst I encourage SME’s to research and learn about these fast growing markets, one should not rush into committing significant resources before gaining a solid understanding and some trusted partners. Dip your toe in the water in one or two niche markets and increase your engagement as you slowly build confidence. Take a long term view and enjoy the fascinating journey that comes with discovering Asia and the countless opportunities it offers Aotearoa.

CONTRIBUTOR

Jade Gray

Co-Founder & CEO

Gung Ho! Pizza

World Class New Zealander

A couple of weeks ago, President Trump issued a proclamation banning certain types of visas from being issued, including mine. This means that I can’t enter the US until 2021. Today I’m going to tell you how I’ve been feeling about that. I’m going to reflect on everything that’s happened these past few months, from the first whisperings of coronavirus in NYC. I’m doing this because I want to live in a society where it’s okay to be open about how you feel, even if that isn’t always pleasant. There have been some days where I’ve been able to stay positive and look on the bright side. But there have also been days where I’ve felt too depressed to do anything. If anyone else out there is riding that rollercoaster, I want you to know that you’re not alone. This post is for you.

What it’s like being in the heart of a global pandemic

In the beginning, everything happened slowly. It wasn’t like in the movies where impending disaster is obvious. The general feeling in New York during March was that coronavirus was overblown and everything would calm down in a week or two. My best friends were due to visit me from Down Under in April. One evening, we called each other to discuss the trip. I was walking through the Upper East Side in Manhattan and the luxury stores had been boarded up. It was eerily quiet, but it didn’t feel overly unusual. We discussed whether Qantas would cancel their flights and quickly wrote that off. The possibility seemed remote.

Mayor de Blasio announced a one-week lockdown of the city in mid-March. In my mind, this solidified the belief that coronavirus was only going to be a short-term problem. My colleagues and I decided to take the opportunity to head upstate for a few days to do some strategic planning we’d been meaning to get around to. We thought that maybe we could even make bit of a holiday of it.

Once you start driving north of NYC, the landscape becomes extraordinarily beautiful. The skyscrapers give way to rolling green hills and it’s easy to pretend that everything is fine. I woke up each morning surrounded by tranquillity and felt peacefully removed from the growing tensions in the city. There was never really a moment when the pandemic started to feel ‘real.’ I watched the COVID-19 case numbers in NYC increase from 300 the day we left to over 10,000 by the end of the week. I saw Central Park and the Javits Centre – places I visited often – turn into temporary hospitals. A doctor shared a video of body bags piling up in a basement.

People I knew got sick, but it didn’t fully connect. I understood that terrible things were happening and yet at the same time I didn’t know how to process it. There was no playbook for how to react. It was all totally unprecedented and dissociation became necessary to stay sane. As the number of infections continued to grow, the truth became harder to avoid. The restrictions on public life meant that I couldn’t do many of the things I enjoyed and I worried about the future of the live events industry that I was working in. Gradually, my sense of stability disappeared.

I think I was subconsciously waiting for someone to tell me what to do. Jacinda Ardern announced a total lockdown of New Zealand and I assumed decisive leadership would be coming in the US too. Surely Congress would figure out how to manage the situation effectively when so many people were dying. But that did not happen. Instead, the President told people to drink bleach and the federal government delegated responsibility to individual states. This led to a fragmented approach where stringent lockdown laws were offset by half-assed recommendations. While responsible leaders like Governor Cuomo shut down New York, states like Florida reopened their golf courses.

The consequence was that some people didn’t take the pandemic seriously. For every person who diligently followed the rules, another flouted them. Wearing a mask became a contentious political issue rather than straightforward medical advice. It wasn’t long before the US became, and still is, the world’s leader in COVID-19. For a long time, it felt like I was in limbo. I wanted to believe that everything was going to be okay, even though reality suggested otherwise. I spent weeks grappling with how bad things would have to get for it to hypothetically be the right time to go home.

As the weeks wore on, I realised that there was never going to be a ‘right’ time. There is no justice in a pandemic. I had to make the best decision I could in the circumstances, even if that meant choosing between multiple undesirable options. That was the only way I could face it.

Why I decided to leave New York

New York was my dream. After setting a goal of moving there, I spent two years pouring everything I had into making it happen. I’ve chronicled the highs and lows I encountered on my blog. There were plenty of times I wanted to give up. But I didn’t, and by February 2020, I was finally starting to find my feet. It felt like a world of opportunity was opening up in front of me.

When I contemplated going home, I felt a great sense of loss. I didn’t want to leave behind everything I had worked for. Even though I knew the pandemic was outside my control, it still felt like I would be failing. I was adamant that I did not want to make a crisis decision I’d later regret because I wasn’t tough enough to wait it out. At the same time, I longed for New Zealand. There was fantastic leadership and I would have access to healthcare as well as strong support systems. I felt ashamed for craving security when I knew I was in a fortunate position compared to other people. But that seems silly now. I think almost everyone is drawn to the familiar in times of uncertainty.

There were ultimately three main reasons that I decided to come home. I’ve thought carefully about whether to make these public. There is a lot of debate in New Zealand questioning the validity of people’s reasons and I don’t want to be attacked. But I’m going to put mine out there because I think it’s important to challenge the narrative that repatriates are selfish traitors who should’ve come home earlier. I believe Kiwis should be supporting one another (here’s a Stuff article I wrote touching on that).

My first reason was plain and simple. My visa was due to expire. I was already going to have to exit the US in June. While I was planning on applying for a new visa, I would still have to be in New Zealand to get the final paperwork signed off and go to a Consulate interview. To this extent leaving was unavoidable. I thought it made sense to bring the date forward in the interests of my safety. While I was lucky to be in a safe place at my friends’ house upstate, I knew that I couldn’t stay there forever. I would eventually have to go back to the city and was concerned about catching COVID-19 there.

Masks were practically impossible to come by. Even a simple trip to the grocery store would be risky because NYC is too densely populated for proper social distancing. I lived in a small apartment with four roommates, who were often coming and going. My travel insurance (which I was forced to buy as part of my visa) did not cover pandemics and I was scared of not being able to access the notoriously expensive healthcare if I got sick. My mental health was also a factor. As someone who has previously struggled with this, I worried how I would cope with being confined to my closet-sized bedroom. Working would also be difficult without the space to fit a desk in there. I was well aware of my own limits and did not want to put myself in a position where I would feel at risk.

The final reason was financial. Without wanting to go into too much detail on this, I didn’t think I could sustain the cost of living. I was burning through cash upstate while still paying rent on my apartment in NYC. I had been through that kind of stress before and did not want to do it again. If coming home was the only way I could live a dignified existence, then I was prepared to do it.

My first few weeks in NZ

Arriving in New Zealand was a relief. I had a good experience with managed isolation and couldn’t believe how much calmer I felt in the Grand Mercure than I did in New York. I knew moving home was going to present some challenges, but those paled in comparison to the stresses of being in the epicentre of a global pandemic. My overwhelming feeling was of gratitude to be welcomed back to a country where the government cared about me.

I was super excited to be released at the end of my 14-day stay. After a year abroad, I couldn’t wait to catch up with my friends and family. It was a bit surreal at first to actually be home but I soon slipped into a routine. I worked remotely during the week and spent the weekends hanging out with my mates. When the lockdown rules were lifted, it was a novelty to be able to resume some semblance of a normal life. But I was secretly worried. I followed the American news closely and the coronavirus situation did not seem to be improving. COVID-19 numbers were at an all-time high and people were rightfully taking to the streets in protest of a system founded on oppression.

I observed the Black Lives Matter protests erupt all over the nation. I believed in the cause and felt inspired by the mass participation. But the lack of change also made me feel powerless. I read Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl and the impunity she described in Nazi times didn’t sound very different from America today. I felt torn between missing New York and trying to accept that the city I love no longer existed as I knew it.

In mid-June, I started seeing rumours that President Trump was going to ban immigration. I tried not to panic. Similar rumours had circulated in April and the final proclamation was watered down from what was initially reported. I had to hope for the best.

A change of plans…

Trump issued Proclamation 10014 on 22 June. It was technically an extension of his announcement in April, suspending various kinds of visas from being issued until January 2021. The proclamation also contained a power to be extended further. Not only did this affect the J1 visa application I had submitted, it also covered every other type of visa that I could feasibly apply for. Going back to the US was no longer an option.

I didn’t really grasp the proclamation’s full weight at first. After so many life changes, I didn’t have the energy to confront another one. I went an entire week without thinking about it. I worked extra hours and spent a busy weekend with friends. It was only when I sat down at my desk the following Monday with this vast expanse of time in front of me that it sunk in.

I was devastated. I had no motivation to do any work and the worst part was that I felt guilty for even being upset. I kept telling myself that I had a lot to be thankful for, especially when people were ill with COVID-19. Six months in New Zealand wasn’t even that long! But deep down I knew that extension was likely. The proclamation meant the end of my dreams as I knew them, at least for the foreseeable future.

Making the best of things

Once I had digested everything, I called my team at work. The boys did the best thing they could have possibly done and told me that everything was going to be alright. They even cracked a few jokes, suggesting that maybe I should start the company in New Zealand. I left the call feeling a lot better. I felt glad to have their support. Later that day, I reflected on what they had said. Launching the business in New Zealand was a crazy idea, but the more I thought about it, the more it actually started to make sense.

New Zealand is often used as a test market for American technology companies. Historically, it was the first country to get Eftpos and it was also an early training ground for Uber. I think this is because it’s culturally similar enough to the US to gain valuable insights while also being small and isolated enough that the cost of mistakes isn’t sky high. There is comparatively far less red tape.

Plus, there is the added bonus that New Zealand is in a pretty unique position with zero community transmission of COVID-19. It’s one of the only places in the world where companies can operate with fairly few restrictions right now. Kiwis are open to innovation since coronavirus has disrupted our usual ways of doing things. This makes it an exciting time for anyone in business. So I’m now undertaking some market research. I’ve just signed up as a member of a co-working space and it feels really good to have a fresh sense of purpose. I can’t even begin to explain how revitalising it is to be in an office again. I miss my team in New York, but I’m excited to see what I can achieve here.

I think the next few months of my life are going to be interesting. There will probably be some days that will still be hard; where I grieve for the life I had in NYC. But I think there are also going to be good days. Those will be the ones where I feel driven about my work and grateful for the chance to reconnect with my country.

The one thing that’s struck me since I’ve been back in Auckland is how much it’s moving forward. With the opening of Commercial Bay and the entry of major companies like Google, AWS and Disney, it’s becoming a more global city. It feels like a good time to be here. Although I don’t know if or when I will be able to return to America, I’m happier in New Zealand than I thought I could be. I think that counts for something.

CONTRIBUTOR

Victoria Brownlee

Ambassador, North America

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

COMING HOME?

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Why is New Zealand negotiating a free trade agreement with the UK?

The UK is one of New Zealand’s closest and most important bilateral partners. We already have strong economic and people-to-people connections. We sell each other some $6 billion in goods and services each year and are substantial investment and innovation partners. But there is scope for us to do more through a free trade agreement (FTA) that removes tariffs, addresses non-tariff barriers, and provides improved access for New Zealand services exporters and investors and companies wanting to bid for UK government contracts.

Early conclusion of a high quality, comprehensive and inclusive FTA will:

  • be an important next step in growing New Zealand’s future relationship with the UK;
  • create new opportunities for New Zealanders to grow their business in the UK;
  • promote our sustainable development and inclusive trade objectives to ensure the benefits of trade reach all communities in New Zealand; and
  • contribute to New Zealand’s COVID-19 trade recovery strategy.

How will a free trade agreement improve our trade relationship with the UK?

The UK, a G7 economy with a GDP of $2.7 trillion, is already a close economic partner for New Zealand. Two-way trade with the UK was worth nearly NZ$6 billion in 2019, making the UK New Zealand’s sixth largest trading partner. It is our closest investment partner in Europe, with New Zealand investment in the UK topping NZ$15 billion last year.
An FTA will bring New Zealand and UK businesses, workers and consumers even closer together by providing a platform to grow trade, investment, and greater UK-New Zealand cooperation on sustainable development and inclusive trade issues. We will seek to do this by:

  • improving access for goods and services, cutting the cost of trade, and thereby offering consumers and businesses wanting New Zealand and UK products better choice at more affordable prices;
  • providing more certainty of access for investors and services exporters;
  • agreeing modern rules that facilitate and streamline trade, including for the digital sector; and
  • establishing new commitments, dialogue and forums for cooperation on sustainable and inclusive trade issues.

What are the economic benefits of a free trade agreement with the UK?

The free trade benefits we will be seeking through negotiations with the UK include:

  • reducing the costs for existing trade and creating new opportunities to grow our goods and services trade to the UK;
  • making it easier for companies of all sizes to do business in the UK, including through digital means;
  • establishing a ‘level playing field’ for New Zealand businesses trading, operating and investing in the UK market; and
  • strengthening collaboration with the UK across a range of trade and economic areas.

According to modelling undertaken by the UK government, an FTA is estimated to increase:

  • New Zealand’s GDP by up to £500 million; and
  • New Zealand exports to the UK by up to 40.3%.

UK exports to New Zealand are expected to increase by up to 7.3%. These estimates reflect potential gains in year 15 following the FTA entering into force, and examine the benefits of removing all tariffs and addressing some non-tariff barriers (other possible benefits such as the investment effects and dynamic efficiency gains of an FTA were not considered). Further details on this analysis, its assumptions and limitations can be found here.

What are New Zealand’s key exports to the UK?

Our trade is highly complementary and we benefit from strengths in different sectors. The UK is a leading supplier of vehicles, turbines and engines, and pharmaceutical products to New Zealand. The UK is one of the biggest global importers of food products and benefits from New Zealand’s counter-seasonal production of fresh produce and protein.

  • New Zealand’s main goods exports to the UK include meat, wine, fruit, some machinery, eggs, honey and wool and were worth NZ$1.4 billion in 2019.
  • The main goods imports from the UK include vehicles and parts, machinery, equipment, and pharmaceuticals and totalled NZ$1.7 billion in 2019.
  • There is also substantial services trade, worth NZ$2.7 billion in 2019. New Zealand services exports to the UK are dominated by travel, transport and business services.

What are New Zealand’s objectives in a free trade agreement with the UK?

Since launching the campaign at the start of the month, we have already got international jobs starting to come down the pipeline to NZ and we’d love to help more of these international screen production and creative technology projects get back up-and-running. And how fantastic if that global demand means we get more of NZ CreaTech businesses’ phones and emails ringing and pinging. Long term we want to build on our first-mover advantage by ensuring NZ can accelerate a strong robust CreaTech Sector that generates export earnings of $5billion+. This is achievable if we combine the screen sector, interactive media and games industries together and we don’t let this incredible talent and investment fall off a cliff.

How will a free trade agreement with the UK deliver on New Zealand’s Trade for All objectives?

We expect the UK will be a close partner on many of New Zealand’s Trade for All objectives and will be seeking to reflect these in our negotiations. The UK has indicated a shared interest in promoting sustainable development outcomes through the FTA, including with respect to environment, climate change and labour. It has also been clear that it wants to work with us to develop a trade agreement that will benefit our economies and communities more widely, including for small and medium enterprises.

For New Zealand’s part, we will also be looking to incorporate provisions to advance the economic and trade interests of Māori, women and to explore with the UK opportunities to work together to promote more open and inclusive trade as an enabler of development more broadly.

How can New Zealanders have their say as part of these negotiations?

In keeping with New Zealand’s Trade for All agenda, we will conduct this process in as open and transparent a way as possible. Our objective will be to draw on the expertise and views of New Zealanders to help shape the agreement’s outcomes. Alongside the launch of negotiations, MFAT are publishing an independent assessment of the views New Zealanders have already expressed in initial consultations on a UK- New Zealand FTA.

Moving forward, negotiators will undertake regular consultation and engagement with Māori leaders, business and sector groups involved in trade with the UK, civil society stakeholders, and interested members of the public. This will include regular updates on the FTA process, individual and group meetings on key issues in the negotiation, opportunities for engagement in the context of negotiating rounds, and an open-door policy for any New Zealander wishing to provide feedback and views throughout the course of the negotiations. Further details on the Ministry’s consultation and engagement plan for the initial stage of negotiations will be published before the first round.

A dedicated MFAT email address has been established for public enquiries and feedback at any stage during the negotiations. All feedback received will be shared with relevant negotiators and agencies involved in the negotiation, and will be used to help shape New Zealand’s approach and priorities in a UK FTA.

What does COVID-19 mean for the negotiation?

New Zealand’s efforts to secure a high quality, comprehensive and inclusive FTA with the UK have an important role to play as part of our wider COVID-19 trade and economic recovery plan. An FTA with the UK will provide a strong foundation to boost our trade and economic relationship with our sixth largest trade partner and will contribute to diversifying our international trade frameworks, at a time when the UK is doing the same post-Brexit. It will also send a strong signal about the importance both the UK and New Zealand attach to support for more open, rules-based trade, in promoting global economic recovery.

What happens next in the New Zealand-UK FTA process?

The first round of negotiations will be held virtually and will begin on 13 July. New Zealand is aiming to put in place an FTA with the UK as quickly as possible and we think rapid progress will be possible in many areas. Our priority though is a high quality and comprehensive agreement that addresses New Zealand’s key interests, rather than the speed of the negotiating process. 

Residing in Europe you have an external view of New Zealand and how we have been responding to Covid-19. What does New Zealand look like from the outside in?

To outsiders (non-New Zealanders), New Zealand as a somewhat distant and isolated island nation has been able to manage its response to the coronavirus pandemic well, in part due to those attributes. Conversely, I have a great fear that the extensive national and possible over-self-isolation is not going to play out well as we advance into 2021 and up until 2024. New Zealand’s standard of living is overwhelmingly dependent on being an integral part of the world economy. A far greater emphasis must be placed on trade which will require some increased risk-taking. But are we ready for that?

As a leader with a global perspective, what advice do you have for New Zealanders engaging in the changed global market?

The global market is going to become more competitive. In many sectors and especially manufacturing, there will be a re-deployment of the production means of critical supplies back to home markets. Pharmaceuticals and specialised equipment are likely to be the first examples. In my view, the conclusions New Zealand must draw from this are looking forward to focusing on improved productivity (more and better quality from the same input) added value and the supply of premium and distinctive products. The tourism and logging industries could do with attention in this regard.

What are the primary opportunities and challenges you see specifically in relation to the New Zealand agriculture sector arising from this situation?

Agriculture’s importance to New Zealand is a major source of foreign exchange earnings. As an industry, agriculture (which also includes forestry, hunting and fishing) employs some 6% of the total working population. The outlook for agricultural exports is probably relatively good and thus for employment would appear to be somewhat stable. After all, food is an essential and everyone needs to eat.

One possible adverse sign is that there is an excess of food appearing in many global markets. Reasons are various including the global shutting down of restaurants and food outlets, less throwing away of food (some one third of all food produced is estimated to be thrown away), lower available discretionary spending and disruption to logistics of supply chains due to employee lock-downs. New Zealand mostly exports premium agriculture products often in competition with domestic suppliers. A possible saving grace is that New Zealand is a counter-season producer in many of its markets.

What thoughts do you have on the way in which domestic leaders in New Zealand are approaching New Zealand’s recovery from the pandemic?

Managing the initial stages of immediately reacting to the pandemic while not easy, were accomplished well in New Zealand. The Government took some radical decisions all the while backed up by a team of scientific, health and other experts who provided the ‘cover’ for such a radical and rather risky approach of basically shutting down the country.

It is now clear from elsewhere in the world that exiting the shut-down, and at the same time managing the economic consequences, will prove far more difficult. My thoughts are that organising the exit will consist of two basic parts: public health and the economy. In terms of public health, the main focus during the exit should be on managing the inevitable resurgences of the disease. In terms of the economy, the Government is going to need huge amounts of help, including from the public, in achieving an exit with the minimum possible damage.

How might the recovery process best be managed, and what kind of timeframes would you envisage for this process?

My experience suggests that because of the complexity of this issue, this is going to take a group of people with a wide range of expertise. I believe it will be essential when attempting to get the country on board in a non-partisan way to create a National Regeneration Initiative with the recognition that things may not go back to the way they were.

A huge amount of planning, brainstorming and blood sweat and probably tears, will be required to get this underway. As to the time which will be required, the Christchurch earthquake rebuild although on a much smaller scale than the current crisis, gives some idea of the timeframe one is faced with. It is all doable and there are plenty of models from the past and around the world and the key is organisation and planning.

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