Hailing from a Missouri oil family, he is deep in an Australian basketball fight and eager to work with NZ amid China’s ‘destabilising behaviour in the Pacific’. Sixteen months after Donald Trump announced his nomination in a post on TruthSocial, Jared Novelly has been confirmed by the US Senate as the ambassador to New Zealand. A Republican donor and billionaire with interests spanning property, oil products and sports, Novelly is expected to take up the Wellington posting, which also covers Samoa, the Cook Islands and Niue, within the next two months.