User:Philtweir/New Zealand – United Kingdom relations

United Kingdom – New Zealand relations

New Zealand	United Kingdom

New Zealand – United Kingdom relations refers to international relations between New Zealand and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. New Zealand has maintained a strong and steadfast relationship with the United Kingdom, the former colonial ruler of the region.

Around 80% of New Zealanders can claim some British ancestry and some 17% (est) are entitled to British passports. New Zealand's relationship with the United Kingdom is comparable to that between the UK and Australia. In New Zealand however, the republican movement is somewhat smaller, and British sentiment stronger than that of Australia.

History

Pre-independence relations

During his first voyage, James Cook reached New Zealand on 6 October 1769, becoming the first British explorer to do so{cn}. Secret directives had been supplied to Cook for this portion of his expedition, instructing him to search firstly for the fabled Terra Australis and, if unsuccessful, to make instead as extensive an exploration of the New Zealand coast as resources allowed. The document that Cook was given declared that these missions were intended to further demonstrate Great Britain's maritime prowess, to bring honour to the Crown and to explore new opportunities for trade and navigation.

Almost sixty years later, formal British representation in New Zealand began with the posting of James Busby to the islands as the British Resident, who was sent in response to the concerns of a number of northern Māori leaders over the lawlessness of local European settlers. Since 1816, a number of Māori chiefs had travelled to England and the colonies to explore options for the establishing of a Māori government and, in 1834, Busby drafted the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand, ratified by a number of northern chiefs in 1835. As part of this process, King William IV recognised and agreed to act as protector for the newly formed state.

In 1839, the territory of New South Wales was extended to cover the whole of New Zealand, providing the first demonstration of Britain's intent to annex New Zealand. During the same year, the (second) New Zealand Company was formed in London, with the aim of formally colonizing New Zealand. Together with evidence of preparations for a French claim to sovereignty, the lawlessness of settlers and local tribal wars, this formed the impetus for the Treaty of Waitangi, which was signed by a number of Māori chiefs and representatives of the British Crown in 1840. British sovereignty was declared later that year.

New Zealand became a separate British Colony in 1841 and, eleven years later, the British Parliament passed the first fully-implemented Act to grant self-governance to the new colony. Formal British influence gradually diminished, as the power of successive Governors waned with respect to that of the nascent New Zealand Parliament. Dominion status followed in 1907, providing almost complete independence from the government of the United Kingdom and New Zealand separately joined the League of Nations in 1926. The Balfour declaration of 1926 emphasised the equal status of members of the Empire and their free association in the British Commonwealth.

With the 1931 Statute of Westminster, the complete independence of the Dominions was confirmed by the British Parliament, though this was not adopted in New Zealand until some time later, through the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act, 1947.

Settlers

Much of the migration to New Zealand took place from the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. This was facilitated from 1839 by the New Zealand Company founded for the purpose of colonization. The work of the Otago Association and Canterbury Association in establishing the primarily Scottish settlement in Dunedin and the primarily English settlement in Christchurch, respectively, encouraged further New Zealand-bound emigration from the United Kingdom.

Military

• Wars
• Military pacts? Does the SAS have relevance here?
• US, Aus?

Toponymy

Main article: New Zealand place names

From the anglicisation of the Dutch appellation Nieuw Zeeland onward, historical ties with the United Kingdom have contributed substantially to New Zealand's toponymy. James Cook's early map combined local Māori place-names with a number of his own coinages. Subsequent European settlers further contributed through references to places in United Kingdom, aristocratic sponsors, early British explorers, the Royal Family, battles in which the United Kingdom was involved and even notable institutions such as Christ Church College, Oxford.

Many of these names have been retained in common usage, sometimes alongside pre-existing Māori terms.

Law

through the first Act of the First New Zealand Parliament (in 1854), those applicable English laws that were enacted prior to the appointment of William Hobson, were adopted in New Zealand.

Enactments by the UK Parliament specifically and substantially relating to New Zealand include

• Canterbury Settlement Lands Act 1850
• Canterbury Association Act 1851
• New Zealand Constitution Act 1852
• New Zealand Boundaries Act 1863
• Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865
• Statute of Westminster 1931
• New Zealand Constitution Amendment Act 1947
• Taxation
  • The Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (New Zealand) Order 2004
  • The Double Taxation Relief and International Tax Enforcement (Taxes on Income and Capital) (New Zealand) Order 2008

A number of these acts were repealed through the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1989.

Trade & Investment

The UK has however tied itself somewhat to European trade in recent years, forcing New Zealand and Australia to seek new markets and trade with the Asia-Pacific region. New Zealand has a large influence over former British colonies in the Pacific and the British territory of Pitcairn. During the Falklands War New Zealand sided with Britain by cutting off all diplomatic relations with Argentina.

Up to about the 1960s, New Zealand also had extremely close economic relations with the United Kingdom, especially considering the distance at which trade took place. As an example, in 1955, Britain took 65.3 percent of New Zealand's exports, and only during the following decades did this dominant position begin to decline as the United Kingdom oriented itself more towards the European Union, with the share of exports going to Britain having fallen to only 6.2 percent in 2000. Historically, some industries, such as dairying, a major economic factor in the former colony, had even more dominant trade links, with 80–100% of all cheese and butter exports going to Britain from around 1890 to 1940. This strong bond also supported the mutual feelings for each other in other areas.

• • Frozen produce
  • US, Aus?
  • UK & Europe
  • Economy - Rogernomics somehow?

Culture

Identity

• • Monarchy
  • Flag (here?)

Education

• • maybe that ref in the Knox College, Otago article?
  • Scotland, England
  • Rupert Brooke quotations
  • Expat groups maybe?

Sport

• • Rugby, cricket
  • Tours?

See also

• France – New Zealand relations
• Culture of New Zealand
• Australia – New Zealand relations