Brand New Zealand?

Crowds gather on Takapuna beach for a vigil in memory of the victims of the Christchurch mosque terror attacks on March 16, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. Cam McLaren/Getty Images

New Zealand’s immigration agency has said that registrations of interest to live and work in New Zealand — the first step toward applying for a visa — had increased in the 10 days after the March 15 attack on two mosques, compared with the 10 days leading up to it.

According to a statement from Peter Elms, the assistant general manager of Immigration New Zealand, there were 6,457 registrations after the shooting, and 4,844 in the 10 days before. The largest increase came from the United States, which had 1,165 expressions of interest compared with 674 in the same period leading up to the attack.

This is an interesting, very revealing set of figures.

Think of why people want to move to New Zealand.

Think of the places they want to leave.

Despite the horrific Christchurch attack New Zealand is still seen as a peaceful place. And because of its response to the attack, it’s seen as a decent country, compassionate and just, caring about all who live within its borders. As for the rise in Americans applying to move to New Zealand, consider the atmosphere at home. Atop the federal government sits a poisonous vengeful individual, his unremitting focus on sowing discord. To live with hate and negativism must make for an unhappy environment, which has to breed general unhappiness.

And the Muslims who want to move to New Zealand obviously feel it’s the one part of the West that will not hate them for being who they are.

Brand New Zealand is pretty enviable.