IIRC a big benefit of having the rockets and launch pad in New Zealand is that it's possible to scale up and launch nearly-continuously from eastern New Zealand

IIRC a big benefit of having the rockets and launch pad in New Zealand is that it's possible to scale up and launch nearly-continuously from eastern New Zealand (if necessary) due to the lack of air traffic, while finding launch pad space in the US requires scrounging around and waiting. And the shipping cost of moving things to New Zealand by boat to put on a rocket is obviously a rounding error compared to that of moving those things to orbit.