This year sees the world’s leaders travel the, now well-trodden, path south to New Zealand. They will be attending 2029 General Assembly session in the United Nations’ purpose-built southern headquarters situated in shadows of Aoraki. This small, distant, isolated South Pacific nation’s meteoric rise onto the world’s stage has been well reported. The origins of the rise of this nation of 8 million, however, continues to perplex northern hemisphere commentators.

Some point to 2005 when the search for targets and measurable indicators of New Zealand’s progress was in its prime. Particular focus at the time was the nation’s rank amongst its OECD peers on the per-capita GDP ladder of wealth. But the realisation that a 1 percent per annum growth in GDP per capita, even with the rest of its peers remaining static, would still require another 14 years before New Zealand’s rank rose from 20th to 19th, hit ambitions hard. This sobering discovery led to much navel-introspection, soul-searching and, of course, commissions of inquiry. Thereafter, the populace and its leaders pragmatically settled on a more diverse range of Key Achievement Indicators (KAIs).

For example, technology now establishes personal inter-active EWI-cells for each tourist on arrival. Suggested itineraries for the visitor’s next trip are progressively constructed during their initial tour. Upon departure each visitor simply submits their iris scan next to their chosen itinerary and pre-booking and deposit payment processes are initialised immediately. The KAI target of 75 percent of all non-Australian tourists submitting such a choice prior to their departure looks set to be bettered next year. Australian visitors were excluded from this KAI measurement because their recurring weekend vacations to New Zealand are no longer classified as international tourist arrivals.

On the health front, the suggestion that New Zealanders should visit their doctor not only when they are sick but also when they are healthy has led to a revolution in frontline medical practices. A KAI target that all 30-year-olds undergo a health check and assessment and develop personalised health/fitness targets met with the expected murmurings of nanny-statehood. But with health insurers offering premium discounts for those with pass ratings (and next to zero premiums for A+ passes) the initial cynicism of the few has given way to the pragmatism of the many. The KAI is soon to be radically extended to include a rolling cycle of 5-yearly health assessments (and associated targets) for all and sundry.

Perhaps symbolic of New Zealand’s progress though, has been the resurgence of the nation’s icon. The decline of the flightless Kiwi has not only been halted but the national emblem has become central to the lives of a growing number of New Zealanders. Helped by the corporate-funded Kiwi Recovery Roadshow, the initial KAI that every 10-year-old will have touched a live Kiwi by 2025 was spectacularly met three years early.

And replacing what used to be “collect bread wrappers and win your school a computer” competitions has been a new scheme that has captured the imagination of communities young and old alike. Instead of bread wrappers, dead possums have become a valued commodity. The annual “bring a dead possum to school day” has starkly brought home to many what environmental sustainability actually means. It has also stimulated an intense struggle for first prize - that of the location of the next Kiwi crèche. Last year’s efforts saw the opening of the first Kiwi crèche within a metropolitan centre - the three previous Kiwi crèches opened have all been in rural areas, who many said had an unfair advantage in such a competition. Now, in crossing the urban-rural divide, the scheme reflects the nationwide acceptance of the program - as well as signalling the growing value of the first prize. Benefits from possession of one of these iconic centres for fun, education, research and, yes, business, are expected to mount.

Across the education dimension, the revolution has been equally dramatic. The central role of the Careers Ministry is reflected in its KAI. This requires every 15-year-old to have in place a minimum of three and a maximum of 5 alternative career-study paths to be pursued. These medium-term plans for individual’s training and study are saved into their personal EWI-cell for on-going modification and, as appropriate, adoption and implementation. The KAI requirement has been met by many Middle Schools setting aside the first two-months of Year 10 for ‘planning retreats’. These career, skills and lifestyle choices workshops involve intensive participation by business, industry and skills providers alike. Many initially bemoaned the inevitable reduction in curriculum-associated academic activities at these institutions. However, the information gathered at these retreats - by both students and training institutes alike - has proved invaluable. Suitably collated, the information has allowed easier matching of personal requirements to courses and enabled more efficient pre-filtering of entrants to courses. Further, students exercising genuine choices have shown a hungry appetite for education that has translated to success ratios the envy of many a nation.

On the economic front analysis points to the investment surge of the late-2000s. The response to an acute skills shortage saw heavy investment in, and rewards for, training. This was coupled with constant upgrading and renewal of equipment and ensured on-going expansion of capacity. Clearly, the flagship is the impressive communications, security, accommodation, transport and energy infrastructure established to support the UN southern-HQ built at Latitude South 43°45’. However, investment in transport, communications and energy innovations across the country mean remote business operations are now more real than notional.

Other commentators point to the 2010 decision to abolish company tax - with all income taxable when distributed to shareholders. In the context of full imputation the change was actually not as dramatic as it sounded - but the effect of the perceived move to a business-friendly environment were profound. Some suggest the incentive to re-invest to ensure capital growth as opposed to the distribution of dividends assisted New Zealand’s achievements. Another dramatic measure - designed to introduce a savings-friendly environment - was the establishment of a tax-free level of interest income for all individuals of $5,000 per individual per annum.

Also of significance, many argue, was the replacement of the inflation rate as the sole legislative target for economic policy. The Economic Management Act of 2011 installed the misery index as the principal target of the Business Ministry. The legislated target for the misery index, which is the sum of the unemployment rate and the annual inflation rate, was set as “below 6 percent”. With the Pacific Central Bank continuing to keep inflation around 3 percent per annum, the effective target for unemployment of less than 3 percent has been easily met as the expectation of robust demand has ensured expanding capacity, growing demand for skills and employment opportunities.

Now, having just revelled in what seemed to be a year-long party associated with last-year’s Olympic Games victories, as well as the successful defence of the William Webb-Ellis trophy a year earlier, there is a growing sense of excitement as the country approaches what remains its biggest challenge yet - lifting cricket’s Chappell-Hadlee trophy from its almost permanent residence in Melbourne. Despite their achievements in leading the world across many dimensions, Kiwis seem destined to find the intense rivalry with their trans-Tasman cousins frustrating.