More on New Zealand’s Strengths and Weaknesses

I commend Corie Brown for her article on New Zealand (“It Reminds Them of California,” Oct. 26). Yes, New Zealand is a pretty nice place and I’m glad many Californians like it. But U.S. Ambassador Charles Swindells says, “There is no manufacturing base here at all”? New Zealand’s manufacturing sector is about 15% of the GDP [gross domestic product] and 25% of merchandise exports. These exports include anything from super-yachts to the machines that make silicon chips, and they have been growing at about 9% per year.

Darryl Dunn

Consul General

New Zealand Consulate General

Los Angeles

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I thoroughly enjoyed Brown’s article. Sadly, the magnificence of New Zealand’s physical beauty is matched only by the country’s unworldliness and insular thinking. Witness its anti-nuclear posturing and left-wing Prime Minister Helen Clark’s scrapping of the air force’s [combat] wing two years ago.

John Adeane

Christchurch, New Zealand

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I am physically ill after reading this story. Why do arrogant land builders have to spread their greed to a wonderful natural paradise and make it like south Orange County? They have ruined California by gobbling up every spare inch of land here and are starting to do it in New Zealand.

Joan Autry

La Palma