US President Donald Trump has named the next United States Ambassador to New Zealand, as Foreign Minister Winston Peters makes first contact with the new administration.
Trump said Jared Novelly was a “highly respected philanthropist and chairman of Crest Sports and Entertainment and Crest Management”.
Novelly also owned the Illawarra Hawks basketball team who compete in the NBL alongside the NZ Breakers.
“He will fight hard to protect our Nation’s interests in the Indo-Pacific, and always put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump posted to his social media platform Truth Social.
Novelly would also serve as the United States Ambassador to the Independent State of Samoa.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters also announced today that he had spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying it was a “pleasure” to speak with the White House’s top diplomat.
“New Zealand and the United States are two great, long-running democracies united by shared interests and values,” he said in a post to X.
“Our strategic partnership matters a great deal to the security and prosperity of New Zealand and the Indo-Pacific region.”
He said he was confident based on the discussion and experience of working closely with the first Trump administration that the relationship between New Zealand and the United States would go “from strength to strength in the years ahead”.
“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.”
1News understands Peters discussed the common strategic and security challenges facing the two countries, in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world and the important of bilateral and regional collaboration.
Peters also sought Rubio’s views about strategic initiatives and groups the Trump administration was inheriting, including the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and AUKUS.
It is understood the pair exchanged views on issues including North Korea, the war in Ukraine, and the ceasefire in the Middle East.
Peters indicated a desire to travel to Washington DC early in Rubio’s term to help set the agenda for the US-NZ relationship.
In a statement, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Rubio “praised New Zealand’s commitment to defending our shared values and its proactive stance in aligning with like-minded partners to address these challenges”.
