Trump names next US ambassador to NZ
Saturday, 25 January 2025
US President Donald Trump has revealed via his Truth Social platform the next ambassador to New Zealand is Crest Sports and Entertainment Chair, Jared Novelly.
Trump posted that Novelly was a highly respected philanthropist and businessman and would work hard to protect America’s interests in the Indo-Pacific.
Novelly is also majority owner of Australian professional basketball team the Illawara Hawks and, according to an online profile, a shareholder in an Asian basketball league.
Shortly after Trump made the announcement on Saturday morning, Foreign Minister Winston Peters confirmed he had spoken with Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio.
“Based on today’s discussion and our experience of working closely with the first Trump Administration, we are confident that the New Zealand-United States relationship can go from strength to strength in the years ahead,” Peters said, in a statement.
“We are ambitious for our relations with the United States, including to advance Pacific priorities, build on our increasing and mutually beneficial bilateral trade, and expand collaboration in critical sectors such as space.”
Peters is understood to have congratulated the former Florida senator on his appointment as top diplomat, and talked of a desire to work intensively with the new administration to bring the US and New Zealand closer together.
The pair discussed how the Trump administration viewed security arrangements in the region, including the Quad (US, India, Japan, and Australia) and Aukus.
The New Zealand Government has been interested in participating in technology-sharing aspects of the Aukus agreement, which is primarily focused on the US and United Kingdom providing Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.
The pair discussed security challenges in the Indo-Pacific and the importance of US-NZ co-operation on this. They also spoke of security issues elsewhere, including North Korea, the war in Ukraine, and recent ceasefire in Israel-Hamas conflict.
Peters also told Rubio of his want to travel to Washington DC early in the year.
Rubio has replaced US President Joe Biden’s secretary of state Anthony Blinken, who visited New Zealand in July 2023.
If Novelly is confirmed as New Zealand and Samoa ambassador, he would replace Tom Udall, a political ally of Biden, who returned to the United States in January due to the change in administration.
As with other US ambassador appointments, Novelly will need to be confirmed by the senate, which holds confirmation hearing on such appointments.