"Kia ora and Happy New Year from Aotearoa New Zealand!
At midnight, I gathered with family and friends outside my home near
central Christchurch to witness the fireworks erupting over Hagley Park
about 2 km away. We witnessed a splendid 12 minute aerial display
synchronised to the echoing strains of Beethoven's 9th Symphony.
As we watched the giant Council-funded display splashing over the rooftops
and treetops between us and the park, another neighbor enacted his own
competing and very entertaining display a few metres away. This
counterpoint production demonstrated the plucky and inventive style so
characteristic of this isolated island nation and reminded everyone
gathered that the best things in life are often found close to home.
As the new millennium dawns, Kiwis seem proud of the role they played
leading the world into the new millennium, even it if came upon us more by
accident than design. Not only are we glad to have come in first in
something after the humiliating losses our sports heroes endured this year
in cricket, netball and rugby, but we are also relieved to find the power,
telephones, television and water are still working just fine.
As I reflect on the significance of this New Year, I hope the values that
I
found when I came to New Zealand a few months ago from the United States
will be those that Kiwis help the world's peoples explore and adopt as
they
enter the new millennium together. The values of self-sacrifice,
enterprise and racial harmony distinguish New Zealand and its people.
These values were reflected by the industry and inventiveness of Lord
Rutherford, the first man to split the atom, and in the country's brave
and
pioneering decision to swear-off nuclear weapons and nuclear power. They
are also reflected in the country's willingness to undertake dangerous
military roles in East Timor and beyond promoting peace by demonstrating
an
appreciation of deep-seated racial distrust and a commitment to overcoming
it....
And
their meaning is reflected in the commitment to conservation demonstrated
by efforts to preserve native habitat and biodiversity by placing a larger
proportion of the nation's land and waterways in trust than any other
country on the planet."
