The Greek government’s decision to close its Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand and not make provisions for a Greek Consulate in the country has caused an uproar in the Greek community living there. Greeks in New Zealand will be forced to travel 5 and a half hours to Canberra, Australia and pay around 600 AU dollars on airfares for any dealings they might have with the official Greek state. The members of many Greek-New Zealand organizations and groups have signed a letter requesting that a solution be found. Greeks living permanently in New Zealand are estimated around 6,000. In the letter they call the decision by the Greek government totally unreasonable.