This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

070410Z Jun 06

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 WELLINGTON 000436 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
STATE FOR EAP/ANP 
 
STATE ALSO PASS TO DEPT OF AGRICULTURE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2016 
TAGS: PREL ETRD EAGR NZ
SUBJECT: WASHINGTON STATE GOVERNOR SEEKS TRADE AND OTHER 
PARTNERSHIPS WITH NEW ZEALAND 
 
 
Classified By: Principal Officer, Siria Lopez, Reason 1.4 (D). 
 
(U) This cable originated from American Consulate General 
Auckland. 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire 
used an official visit to Auckland on May 12 to invite 
partnerships with New Zealand in the areas of science, 
technology, agriculture and energy.  In a speech to the 
American Chamber of Commerce, she also encouraged increased 
agricultural trade by stressing the potential complementary 
nature of Washington State and New Zealand fruit and 
vegetable exports.  Trade Minister Goff, who also spoke to 
the Chamber, echoed the theme of mutual interests and called 
for a bilateral Free Trade Agreement.  In a meeting later in 
the day, the Governor asked Prime Minister Clark about New 
Zealand's experience with the Kyoto Protocol.  The PM 
confessed that initial predictions New Zealand would have 
excess carbon sink credits had proven wrong.  It now faced an 
"expensive problem" during the first protocol commitment 
period.  The Governor and Conservation Minister Carter 
covered experiences with immigration and the environment. End 
Summary. 
 
AmCham Lunch Highlights:  The Governor and Trade Minister 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶2. (U) Speaking in Auckland at a May 12 AmCham lunch that was 
attended by New Zealand Ministers Phil Goff and Chris Carter, 
Washington Governor Gregoire highlighted the many 
similarities between her state and New Zealand. Both 
Washington and New Zealand, she said, were known for apples, 
wine, and beef, and both had the same economic philosophies: 
investing in infrastructure and 21st century technology and 
taking advantage of globalization. The Governor called for 
increased educational exchange, a priority for Washington 
State. She also suggested that New Zealand and Washington 
synergize their knowledge and efforts in developing, 
building, and exporting high-tech ferries to provide an 
environmentally friendly solution to transportation woes 
around the world. 
 
¶3. (U) Washington, the Governor noted, depended on foreign 
trade, making it "the most trade-dependent state in the 
Union."  She highlighted her state's international trade by 
citing the recent visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao and 
his $1.2 billion worth of purchases in Washington, and 
Mexican President Vincente Fox's upcoming visit to Olympia. 
The Governor went on to observe that the Southern 
Hemisphere's reverse seasonal climate provided Washington and 
New Zealand an ideal opportunity to trade in agricultural 
products -- "we can have the finest cherries and asparagus 
year-round."  Rather than compete, the two exporters' wine 
and beef products could complement each other in variety and 
taste.  And, while Washington and New Zealand's eco-tourism 
industries mirrored each other with their greenery, 
volcanoes, and water/island features, Washington also offered 
Kiwi travelers a diverse landscape, including desert. 
 
¶4. (U) The final thrust of Governor Gregoire's speech focused 
on potential partnerships in biotechnology, agricultural 
science, and energy. The Governor had asked her state 
legislature to invest $350 million in biotechnology that in 
collaboration with private funds like the Gates Foundation 
and with international partners could have great global 
benefits. The Governor invited New Zealand to join Washington 
"in global health and become leaders." She also called for 
Kiwi partnership in agriscience to provide safe, high quality 
food products worldwide.  The Governor asked New Zealand to 
partner up in developing alternative forms of energy -- such 
as wind or bio-diesel -- to help end dependence on foreign 
oil, on which Washington spends $25 million a day. 
 
¶5. (U) In his luncheon remarks, NZ Minister of Trade and 
Defense Phil Goff acknowledged his country's many affinities 
with Washington State.  He welcomed the Governor's call for 
people-to-people ties, saying New Zealand welcomed summer 
work programs.  He noted that Air New Zealand was set to 
purchase seven 777 and 787 planes from Washington-based 
Boeing.  Goff said it was important to restart the bilateral 
dialogue, as the United States and New Zealand shared a 
common heritage and many family links.  By beginning to look 
at our commonalities, Goff said, "we should move on a Free 
Trade Agreement that Boeing, NZ's Congressional caucus of 
60-plus members, and now, Richard Armitage, support." 
 
The Prime Minister and the Governor 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) In her meeting with the Governor's delegation, Prime 
Minister Clark described New Zealand's efforts to improve 
child health care and early childhood education -- areas of 
focus in Washington as well. 
¶7. (C/NOFORN) Following this discussion, the Governor asked 
about New Zealand's experience with the Kyoto Protocol.  She 
explained that several U.S. states were deciding whether they 
should attempt to meet its requirements, notwithstanding the 
federal government's position.  The PM replied that New 
Zealand had had "bad negotiators" in its 15 years of treaty 
negotiations.  These negotiators had argued that animal 
emissions should be included in carbon counts, not realizing 
that animals in New Zealand accounted for 60 percent of 
greenhouse gas emissions. Initial predictions had been that 
New Zealand would be a net credit country from 2008-2012. 
But the New Zealand economy had taken off and experienced 
high rates of growth.  Energy use had increased and so had 
levels of carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, forestry prices had 
"sunk and sunk" as the New Zealand dollar had grown stronger 
and stronger.  There had been "a lot of deforestation of New 
Zealand exotic trees" as more and more land was turned into 
dairy pasturage.  So what had originally qualified as a 
carbon sink was rapidly disappearing. As a result, the PM 
admitted, New Zealand faced "an expensive problem" for 
Kyoto's first commitment period. 
 
¶8. (C/NOFORN) She continued that a proposal to impose a 
carbon tax on petrol had been shelved, despite strong support 
in Parliament. But the rise in oil prices had been, in 
effect, a carbon charge.  The PM commented that a carbon tax 
on petrol would not have been "terribly sensible" given high 
oil prices.  Even so, because of the price rise, Kiwis were 
abandoning their cars and switching to public transport. 
Although the U.S. had not ratified Kyoto, the Prime Minister 
said "everyone had been encouraged" by President Bush's State 
of the Union statement that the U.S. needed to get over its 
addiction to foreign oil. 
 
¶9. (C) The Governor then informed the Prime Minister of 
Washington's efforts to find alternative sources of energy, 
including biofuels. During this discussion, the Director of 
Washington's Department of Agriculture, Valoria Loveland, 
briefed the Prime Minister on Washington farmers' experience 
with anaerobic digesters.  This simple, clean technology 
allowed farmers to produce energy and quality fertilizer. 
Farmers were even able to sell excess energy to local 
utilities.  Thinking that anaerobic digesters could be used 
in New Zealand, Director Loveland offered to send the PM more 
information, an offer that was accepted. With particular 
reference to beef cattle, Director Loveland also expressed 
interest in sharing research on animal identification, animal 
health, and growth techniques, among other areas.  She 
referred to side discussions on the subject held that day 
with New Zealand experts. 
 
¶10. (C) Transportation issues were another meeting highlight. 
 Ambassador McCormick pointed out the similarities of traffic 
issues in Washington and Auckland.  Both were confronted by 
numerous, outlying suburbs.  The big challenge was to get 
people out of their cars and into public transport. The 
Ambassador described an effort in San Francisco that, despite 
high hopes, had not succeeded.  Like New Zealand, Washington 
also had a problem in transporting people by ferry.  The 
Governor recalled that when she had been Attorney General, 
the state had been sued successfully for damage to the Puget 
Sound shore lane caused by a ferry. Realizing the importance 
of research, and taking advantage of their visit, the 
Governor's delegation had had discussions with potential New 
Zealand partners on a solution to this problem.  It was hoped 
that the two sides could come up with new ferry technology by 
next year.  If viable, the collaboration could result in a 
successful future partnership. 
 
¶11. (C) The meeting with the Prime Minister ended with her 
reply to a question on the New Zealand film industry, 
including the use of incentives to entice international films 
to New Zealand.  Except for the movie's priceless publicity, 
the PM noted that the GoNZ had paid out more to the "Lord of 
the Rings" producers than the production had brought into the 
economy. 
 
Meeting with Minister Carter 
---------------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Earlier in the day, Governor Gregoire met with 
Chris Carter, New Zealand Minister of Conservation, Housing 
and Ethnic Affairs. The meeting largely focused on areas of 
mutual concern -- immigration and conservation.  The 
principals discussed the impact of immigrants on the two 
societies.  Carter said PM Clark's approach was to enhance 
cultural understanding to help fuse immigrants with New 
Zealand's established communities.  He cited a NZ$6 million 
trust fund for enhancing Chinese culture and the celebration 
of Chinese, Indian and Muslim holidays in Parliament as 
examples of the Kiwi approach.  The U.S. immigration issue, 
said Gregoire, was currently focused on illegal aliens and 
the important role they played in agriculture.  President 
Bush, as an ex-governor of a border state, understood the 
complexities of illegal immigrants -- they formed the 
backbone of agriculture and services, yet violated U.S. law. 
The U.S. needed a guest worker program, and border state 
governors understood this.  The challenge, she noted, was for 
the Congress to understand. 
 
¶13. (U) On conservation, Carter commented that the key to 
environmental success was an effective sell, such as pitching 
biodiversity as a boon for tourism, recreation and economic 
activities.  There had been a groundswell of community 
interest in volunteer conservation groups and a willingness 
by business to fund conservation efforts.  In turn, the 
Governor cited a study that found environment and quality of 
life as the top two reasons businesses were coming to 
Washington.  The state's timber industry had been at an 
initial disadvantage when implementing conservation measures, 
but now it was ahead of other sectors because it already had 
the state's best practices.  Carter noted that New Zealand 
had negotiated a worker exchange with the California, 
Italian, Argentinean, and Chilean park services.  He and the 
Governor agreed to explore a similar scheme with Washington 
State.  The meeting also touched on the participation of 
Maori in conservation policy, the US-New Zealand 
relationship, and a recap of the governor's call for greater 
trade and cooperation on scientific research. 
 
¶14. (C) Comment:  Although her visit to New Zealand was at 
Governor Gregoire's initiative, the GoNZ took advantage of it 
to lobby for trade and other benefits at the sub-federal 
level. A meeting arranged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
and Trade with the Auckland-based biopharmaceutical company 
Protemix was intended to further such interests.  No doubt, 
the Governor's call for increased agricultural trade, science 
and technology collaboration, and people-to-people links was 
music to GoNZ ears.  As Minister Goff noted, enhanced 
cooperation could help build the case for a Free Trade 
Agreement with the United States. End Comment. 
 
¶15. (U) Note:  The Governor did not clear this message before 
her departure from New Zealand. 
McCormick