Geo-Political Situation

New Zealand is geographically remote, described as ‘the last bus stop on the planet’ and our hemisphere is dominated by vast areas of water and a couple of large land masses to the west and south. It is considered by many to be small; however, it just looks small because of all the water around it and in comparison to Australia and Antarctica. New Zealand, in terms of land area, is roughly equivalent to the size of the United Kingdom. Interestingly, there is a (small) school of thought that would suggest that New Zealand is twice the size of India, except the problem with this comparison is that 96 per cent of it is under the sea.

Putting the size argument aside, New Zealand does have a small population and relatively modest economy. New Zealand has a current population of 4.4 million and a gross domestic product of about US$130 billion. To provide some context, New Zealand’s population is equal to that of Sydney or the population of Queensland, and as far as gross domestic product is concerned New Zealand’s world ranking is 63rd whereas Australia is 18th. These comparatively modest numbers will be put in context when I come to discuss the challenges that New Zealand has in dealing with threats to security.

Through increasing levels of inter-connectivity and 24/7 access to the world’s financial institutions, globalisation has brought New Zealand as it has the rest of the world closer, in a virtual sense, to the global economic market and to that end in the digital age, we benefit to some extent by virtue of the fact that we are the first country to see the sun; but, the physical reality is that New Zealand remains geographically remote and highly dependent on trade routes in the air and on the oceans.

Moreover, as greater than 95 per cent by volume of New Zealand’s trade is transported by ship, the security of the international sea lines of communication that link New Zealand to her markets is very important to us. Equally important is the protection of the natural resources (fish stocks, oil and gas, and minerals) that are found in our exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

Regardless of geography, since the time of the great canoes, New Zealanders have long travelled to the four corners of the world: to the highest mountains, across broadest oceans and in so doing participated in world events. Whether they are costly wars, international engagement, scientific invention, innovation and leading social policy initiatives: isolation is not and has never been in our national interest.

Despite the importance of the sea to New Zealand’s economy, most New Zealanders view the sea that surrounds the country as a bulwark against external threats and a place to conduct recreational activities.

Unlike Australia, which was bombed during World War II and there are now almost daily reports of asylum-seeking boat-people heading to and/or arriving in your waters, the New Zealand public are generally blissfully unaware of the risks that exist in the maritime environment until an event occurs such as the grounding of MV Rena in the Bay of Plenty in early October 2011.

In terms of size, geography, resources and future opportunities, New Zealand’s maritime environment is an important strategic asset that needs to be understood and protected, in order that benefits can be realised now and in the future.

New Zealand’s maritime interests cover an immense area and include: the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf extension; the Southern Ocean to the south of New Zealand and the Ross Dependency; and we also have constitutional obligations for the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau.

We also have responsibilities under various international agreements such as search and rescue, and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.