With the November 2010 signing by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully of the Wellington Declaration, which affirms a new strategic partnership between the U.S. and New Zealand, the U.S.-New Zealand relationship has been restored to one that is once again largely defined by the many areas of bilateral cooperation between the two nations rather than past differences. Past differences over New Zealand's nuclear policy, which prevents nuclear armed or powered ships from entering New Zealand ports, had hindered the relationship despite deep common interests. At the time of the signing, Clinton and McCully discussed "shared interests in the Pacific, security interests including Afghanistan, the trade agenda, and U.S. engagement with the region." New Zealand Prime Minister John Key noted at the signing of the Declaration that the relationship is "the best it's been for 25 years." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton echoed this sentiment and stated that the initiative was part of a "concerted effort to restore America's rightful place as an engaged Pacific nation." This initiative, begun under the Bush Administration, sets aside most all residual areas of policy difference that date back to the mid-1980s. The Declaration is viewed as a tangible symbol of the restoration of the relationship which reportedly followed a 2007 U.S. decision to accept New Zealand's nuclear policy as permanent. In this way, the Declaration recasts the strategic partnership between the U.S. and New Zealand to enable the two states to continue to work together and expand their cooperation as they meet shared challenges in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. A continuing New Zealand ban on nuclear ship visits to New Zealand ports appears to be the only major remaining significant policy difference. The fourth U.S.-New Zealand Partnership Forum was held in Christchurch, New Zealand, from February 20 to 22, 2011. The first Partnership Forum was held in 2006. The Partnership Forum is a non-partisan, non-governmental forum which brings together key government, industry, and other leaders from both countries for off-the-record discussions which have reportedly acted as a catalyst for positive developments in bilateral relations. A large Congressional Delegation attended the 2011 Forum meeting. The 2011 meeting was organized by the U.S.-New Zealand Council and its counterpart the New Zealand-U.S. Council with the theme of "The Power of Partnering: Global Challenges and the Role of the U.S.-New Zealand Partnership." The meeting reportedly considered issues such as the TPP, food safety, sustainability, climate change, economic growth, security cooperation, and Antarctica. The findings of a joint Center for Strategic and International Studies and New Zealand Institute of International Affairs report "Pacific Partners: The future of U.S.-New Zealand Relations were also considered by the Forum. (See below for more discussion of this report.) On February 22, New Zealand's second largest city, Christchurch, which is located on the south island of New Zealand, suffered a powerful earthquake that killed 163 persons and left an estimated 200 missing. The quake, registering 6.3 on the Richter scale and occurring at a depth of only 3.1 miles below the surface, devastated the city center as well as much of the city's infrastructure. A previous 7.1 magnitude earthquake in September 2010 caused $3 billion in damages but left no fatalities due to its epicenter being at a greater distance from the city centre and deeper below the earth's surface. U.S. Ambassador David Huebner responded to New Zealand's request for assistance and helped coordinate approximately $1 million in U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) assistance. U.S. assistance also included USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and a 74-member team from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. This quake occurred just after a meeting in Christchurch of the U.S.-New Zealand Partnership Forum, attended by a number of Members of Congress. On March 7, Representative Donald Manzullo cosponsored H.Res. 139 , Expressing Condolences to the People of New Zealand in the Aftermath of the Christchurch Earthquake. President Obama also called Prime Minister Key to express his deep condolences over the devastation wrought by the earthquake. New Zealand's population of just over four million has many shared values with the United States that stem from common historical roots as settler societies of the British empire. New Zealand, also known as Aotearoa or "the land of the long white cloud," was first settled by the Polynesian-Maori people around the tenth century. Dutch navigator Abel Tasman discovered the western coast of New Zealand in 1642 but it was English Captain James Cook who, over three expeditions in 1769, 1773, and 1777, circumnavigated and mapped the islands. The 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, between the British Crown and Maori Chiefs, serves as the basis for defining relations between the Maori and Pakeha (European) communities. Subsequent conflict over land led to the New Zealand Wars between colonial forces and Maori fighters. New Zealanders are over 80% urban and the nation has a 99% literacy rate. New Zealand has a land area of 103,733 square miles, which is about the size of Colorado. It is 28% forested, 50% in pasture, and 9% under cultivation. New Zealand's principal exports are agriculturally based. New Zealand was a part of the British Empire until 1907 when it shifted from colonial to Dominion Status. New Zealand's demographic makeup defines it as an increasingly Pacific nation that is still largely European in national origin though with an increasing Asian population as well. New Zealand's Pacific identity stems from both its indigenous Maori population and other more recent Pacific island immigrants from Polynesia and Melanesia. Maori represent 14.9% of the population while Pacific Islanders comprise 7.2%. Together these largely Polynesian people account for 22.1% of the population. New Zealanders of European and Asian origin account for 76.8% and 9.7% of the population respectively. Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, is also the world's largest Polynesian city. The British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is the constitutional head of state of New Zealand. Her representative, the Governor General, acts on the advice of the New Zealand Prime Minister's Cabinet. In 1893, New Zealand gave women the right to vote. This made New Zealand the first country to do so. New Zealand gained full political independence from Britain under the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act of 1947 after attaining Dominion Status in 1907. New Zealand is a unicameral, mixed-member-proportional (MMP), parliamentary democracy. MMP was introduced in New Zealand in 1996. There are generally just over 120 seats in parliament of which 70 are electorate member seats including seven seats reserved for Maori candidates. The results of the 2008 election brought the total number of seats to 122. Fifty seats are selected from party lists. Each voter gets to cast both an electorate vote and a party vote. Under MMP a political party that wins at least one electorate seat or 5% of the party vote gets a share of the seats in parliament. This generally leads to the need for coalition government. The center-right National Party led by Prime Minister John Key and the opposition center-left Labour Party led by Phil Goff are the two main political parties in New Zealand. New Zealand's Mixed Member Proportional system gives smaller parties a key role in forming coalition government. The other political parties of New Zealand are: ACT New Zealand; Green Party; Maori Party; New Zealand First Party or NZ First; the Progressive Party; and United Future New Zealand. On February 2, 2011, Prime Minister Key announced elections for November 26, 2011. Prime Minister Key's performance in dealing with the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake will likely be a key issue in the election. The opposition will also likely focus on unemployment, cuts to social services and low wage growth. Key's handling of the earthquake and his pledge to rebuild Christchurch have maintained his popularity. Voters will be asked two referendum questions in addition to selecting a government. These questions are whether to keep the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system or change to another voting system and if so, which of four other voting systems they would choose. If more than half of voters want to change, parliament will decide if there will be another referendum in 2014 to choose between MMP and the most popular alternative in the 2011 referendum. The four alternative systems put forward are First Past the Post, Preferential Voting, Single Transferable Vote, and Supplementary Member. New Zealand has sought to become an influential voice in the international climate change debate. Former Prime Minister Helen Clark sought to push New Zealand to become a carbon-neutral nation and set an example for the world on climate change. Clark used the Prime Minister's Statement to Parliament on March 13, 2007, to declare her government's intention to make New Zealand the world's first truly carbon-neutral country, adding that "the pride we take in our quest for sustainability and carbon neutrality will define our nation." Clark stated that "traditional patterns of development and fast growing populations have put an intolerable strain on the planet. The future economic costs of doing nothing are dire." Clark pointed to renewable energy as a key component along with the importance of forestry to climate change mitigation as key to lowering New Zealand's carbon footprint. Renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectric and wind power, account for between 60% and 70% of total electricity output. New Zealand has undertaken a commitment to have 90% of its energy drawn from renewable sources by 2025. The New Zealand government has been keen to brand New Zealand as a "green producer" as it has already encountered difficulty with food exports over the "food miles" issue in Great Britain.