If you call with enquiries about the Lounge, you'll get an Australian. I remember speaking with a lovely lady who suggested that (as a Red member at the time), it may be cheaper to look at getting an NZ Koru Club membership, due to the savings that are made from currency conversion. As you know, beyond Lounge access, paying for VA Lounge doesn't entitle you to anything - but with Koru you do get some benefits. Just be aware that if you choose to use those benefits it might re-assign your FF number to NZ (such as to take advantage of the free bag allowance for Koru on NZ flights) - which means you don't get points or status credits in your VA account.
The next time my Lounge membership come up, I was VA Silver, so it was WAY worth it paying for it at the reduced rate and without the joining fee, so I never carried on with Koru - but that was probably the only time I've spoken to an Australian on the phone when dealing with VA.