United States President Donald Trump’s top diplomat in Aotearoa is one step closer to assuming office – more than a year after he was announced.
Billionaire businessman Jared Novelly is Trump’s nominee to be U.S Ambassador to New Zealand, Niue, the Cook Islands and Samoa.
Nearing the end of a year-long confirmation process, Novelly finally faced questions from the Senate Foreign Relations committee on Friday.
He told the Committee his top priorities in the role would be promoting a “free and open Pacific”, expanding a U.S defence presence, and promoting business opportunities, particularly in critical minerals.
“In advancing the President’s agenda, we have few better partners than New Zealand,” Novelly said.
“The government of New Zealand consistently supports our goals in the region and beyond.”
Novelly gave particular attention to China’s presence in the Pacific, with particular reference to naval drills carried out by the Chinese Navy in the Tasman Sea last February.
A year on, he called it “an example of alarming, even destabilising behaviour in the Pacific”, pointing to a need to counteract such behaviour with an increased U.S military presence.
“Few countries understand the darkening security environment in the Pacific better than New Zealand,” he said.
In the same vein, Novelly credited Samoa with what he called “a prudent approach” to accepting development loans from China.
“I would encourage the government in Samoa to continue this approach and ensure it is never pressured into a deal that would compromise its sovereignty.”
Novelly, previously based in Sydney, owns the Illawarra Hawks, an Australian National Basketball League (NBL) team.
According to BusinessDesk, his family has a net worth of US$1.2 billion as of March 2025.
The Trump administration has made no secret of its ambition for the U.S’ critical minerals sector, sparking a new contest with China for the deep Pacific seabed.
“One of the biggest shocks I received is to find that most of the world’s cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa, and is refined in China,” Novelly told senators.
He noted that under Cook Islands waters contained possibly the largest cobalt deposit in the world.
“The fact that the Cook [Islands] have opened up their EEZ (exclusive economic zones), expanding from their traditional industry base of tourism to exploitation of their minerals, I see that as an extreme opportunity for the U.S to play its part.”
Novelly said he was “impressed” by Pacific cultures.
“The oceans are sacred to Pacific Islanders, so the fact that the Cook Islands believe they can exploit this with a responsible method I think is the proper lens to look at it with.”
It comes nearly two months after President Trump signed an executive order declaring critical minerals a matter of U.S national security. The order indicated that the U.S would start issuing seabed mining permits in global waters, bypassing international regulators.
“The Secretary also suggested that it may be appropriate to impose import restrictions, such as tariffs, if satisfactory agreements are not reached in a timely manner,” the order read.
Manoeuvres to access Pacific Island EEZs have ramped up since Trump took office, with a focus on countries whose waters come close to the lucrative Clarion-Clipperton Zone. This includes the Cook Islands and Tonga.
In the case of the Cooks, formal relations with the U.S opened in September 2023, and a “Strategic Framework for Critical Minerals Research and Supply Chain Security” was announced last month.
Under the non-legally binding agreement, both sides agreed to scout locations together, and start initial negotiations with investors and contractors, under a “U.S-Cook Islands Working Group”.
Novelly said the partnership is good for all parties.
A year before, the Cooks struck a controversial deal with China along similar lines.
“I would expand our collaboration with local authorities to promote the responsible development of seabed mineral resources,” he said.
“A strong partnership with the Cook Islands means a strong supply chain.
Novelly now awaits Senate confirmation before his official appointment as Ambassador.
