BBC's man longs for a world just like New Zealand

Nick Bryant praises New Zealand for its cultural idiosyncrasies and finds it

New Zealand is "one of the great lifestyle superpowers of the world" says BBC's Sydney correspondent who wishes the rest of the world could be more like Aotearoa.

In a radio dispatch for BBC Radio 4's From Our Own Correspondent, Nick Bryant labelled New Zealand funky, fastidious and forward, and praised its cultural idiosyncrasies.

Bryant's thoughts, published on the BBC's website, were prompted by an encounter with "a middle-aged Customs official with a sense of humour".

He also noted that New Zealand had a 24-hour rugby channel on television, a funky arts scene and a "quaint fastidiousness" demonstrated by the way cricket commentators convene on the boundary during the tea break to enjoy a pot of tea - although this reference suggests he has mistaken a tea company's extended commercial for a local custom.

He points out too, that New Zealand could be be edgy and forward, citing the fact that it was the first country in the world to give women the vote.

"Best of all, perhaps, is how non-indigenous New Zealanders live in such harmony with their indigenous compatriots.

"Next year [New Zealand] hosts the Rugby World Cup," he concludes, "but for now I will leave this country with my usual parting thought: 'Why can't the rest of the world be more like New Zealand?"'

From Our Own Correspondent is BBC Radio 4's flagship foreign news programme.

But not all recent coverage of New Zealand in the international media has been positive.

Last November, Guardian columnist Fred Pearce said New Zealand was promoting itself as "clean and green" despite having greenhouse gas emissions "60 per cent higher than those of Britain, per head of population".

"In recent years a lot of Brits have headed for Christchurch and Wellington in the hope of a green life in a country where they filmed the Lord of the Rings," Pearce wrote. "But it's a green mirage."