ALEX WORKER: New Zealand's future lies in strategic neutrality

As I write from Bangalore, a city vibrantly transformed since my first visit 15 years ago, I'm inspired by the possibilities that lie ahead for Aotearoa New Zealand in this rapidly evolving world.

As an entrepreneur developing food technologies that bridge New Zealand expertise with global needs, I see tremendous opportunity for our nation to redefine its place in the complex geopolitical landscape. My perspective isn't that of a politician or bureaucrat, but of someone in business passionate about creating new value, jobs, and sustainable growth for Aotearoa.

Our path forward is clear to me: New Zealand's future lies in strategic neutrality, building on our nuclear-free legacy from the David Lange era. Strategy for New Zealand then was defined by what we said no to, and it’s needed again today. We need not be caught between the USA and China - we can and should work effectively with both. Our position as a small Asia Pacific nation, often overlooked on the world stage, is now our greatest strength. Humility and irrelevance are country characteristics we should encourage. A neutral benchmark we could copy is Singapore.

During COVID, we faced pressure to prioritise US-Australian trade relationships, sometimes at the expense of growing Chinese and ASEAN trade. But recent global instability - accelerated by US politics - demonstrates we cannot rely on a single strategic alignment. If Ray Dalio's analysis is correct, America's global incumbency is waning - we shouldn't tie ourselves exclusively to any single power.

Instead of being cornered into defence commitments like AUKUS II or Indo-Pacific security strategies that drain our limited resources and focus, New Zealand can chart a neutral course. We can still support our allies through non-military contributions while maintaining a clear message: New Zealand stands for peace among all our trading partners.

Defence technology shouldn't be where our brightest entrepreneurs focus their talents. Our nation's future isn't in drones or space-focused military hardware—we can barely maintain our existing naval assets. This isn't defeatism, it's pragmatism.

The opportunities for a neutral New Zealand are boundless, but require tactful diplomacy and business partnership. We can deepen our relationships with the US and China while building on ties with ASEAN, India, Japan, Korea, the Middle East, South America, and Europe. We can be a better big brother with our Pacific partners. We can develop specialised partnerships that showcase our ingenuity - marine science collaborations with Samoa, Portugal and Norway, cutting-edge manufacturing technology with Germany and Korea, biomanufacturing with India - that leverage our unique advantages and open doors previously unimagined.

By positioning ourselves as a safe harbour for ethical investment, we are attracting both capital and skilled migrants who share our values and commitment to environmental protection. Importantly, more capital and skilled migrants are needed in New Zealand to help the acceleration of scalable Kiwi companies that are future-proofed and operate with ease across Asia Pacific.

This neutral stance would free us to address our pressing domestic challenges: funding infrastructure for future generations, addressing unsustainable property and farmland values, developing immigration targets aligned with infrastructure capacity, directing our KiwSavers toward non-harmful technologies, implementing capital gains tax and free tertiary education to give our kids a fairer start, and reinforcing New Zealand's reputation as a trust hub that prioritises people and environment.

The South Island alone, especially Westport, the West Coast, and Invercargill, could accommodate hundreds of thousands more residents without straining Auckland or Christchurch, provided we invest in the necessary infrastructure.

This neutral position need not be politically divisive but culturally embraced. We honour our ANZAC wartime history while reminding partners we won't fight wars that don't directly threaten our borders. We're up for trade and we send engineers and nurses - not weapons or military subsidies.

Achieving this future requires a smarter New Zealand political and business narrative, especially internationally, a clearer mandate to focus on directly relevant issues, deeper strategic relationships with the US, China, and Australia, and comfort with our evolving national identity: embracing multiculturalism and welcoming investors and migrants who align with New Zealand values.

We must invest in our natural strengths - food, environmental tourism, cleaner and greener agricultural technology - rather than chasing defence tech. Our strategy should look east, west, and south with equal emphasis, while streamlining bureaucracy that impedes this vision.

New Zealand's greatness lies not in military might or global incumbency, but in our ability to stand tall as a small, neutral, principled nation that values peace, sustainable growth, multiculturalism, our environment, and human connection above all.

Alex Worker is a food entrepreneur and Chair of Future Foods Aotearoa. He started his career in Fonterra and is now the principal in a Marine Whey startup, NXW.