Pass me the brain bleach!

[trixtah]

Despite the fact I am quite enjoying living in Australia (while Canberra has its drawbacks, they're minor in the greater scheme of things), I DO NOT WANT TO BE AN AUSTRALIAN. *ahem*  Seriously, I do not. While the place is fairly similar to NZ culturally, there are still some significant differences (treatment of the indigenous population being a glaring example). Also, while NZ was in the 1950s politically up until the late 80s, and a lot of kiwis emigrated here to participate in a much more liberal lifestyle, that difference has done a 180 degree swap - Australia doesn't seem to be politically that far away from the US at present, while NZ is a bit like Scandanavia-in-the-South-Pacific. New Zealand is my home and my refuge, still.

Imagine my horror on learning that some Aussie MPs are suggesting that NZ unite politically with Australia. Ack! I don't have problems with the notion of a shared currency, if it's handled well. The current CER trade agreement works well (and is light-years better than any "free trade" agreement with the US, which the NZ government raises as a possibilty from time to time. God knows why). But as Idiot/Savant on No Right Turn points out:

... on the minus side there's the fact that our "shared values" aren't that shared. Quite apart from the obvious point of difference on race relations, there's also our divergant foreign policies and differing stances on Iraq, climate change, refugees, human rights, and the Pacific. Political union with Australia would mean losing our voice on the international stage, and would see our policy stance dictated by Texas-over-the-Tasman. And that's something I don't want a bar of.

Also, given the number of kiwi jokes that abound here (more than the other way round, I've noticed), why on earth would they want to have us? It's amusing there's still provision in the legislation that forms the Australian Commonwealth for the addition of NZ as another state. It's kind of sweet, in a way (ignoring the imperialistic aspect).

Comments

[ruth-lawrence.livejournal.com]

Much more than 1% of us are of Aboriginal descent.

The bad bits of Oz tend to be north of Newcastle and west of Adelaide.

Yup, Canberra's odd.

You know it's said that only Victorians ID firstly as Australians when at home (a big generalisation, but it's really noticeable actually).

[trixtah.livejournal.com]

Oh, hell, yes, I know that more than 1% of Australians are of Aboriginal descent - my OGF is one - but they are not identified as such in the official stats, unfortunately.

However, I'm not trying to go rah-rah and that NZ's is obviously superior (because I don't believe that); I've just highlighted the couple of the parts that I find tricky adjusting to - and a big chunk of that is Canberra. I find a lot of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and places like the Blue Mountains and the some coastal areas quite homelike. Our cultures have more in common than not, and we have quite a lot of shared Tasman history (despite the reluctance of historians in admitting that!). I think the relative differences in culture are similar to those between the English and the Welsh.

That's interesting what you say about just the Victorians IDing firstly as Australians - I hadn't heard that one before. Another thing I don't get here is the retention of the federal system with a relatively small population. There was certainly a rationale for it before modern communication and transport methods. Now... I can't see it, so much.

[ruth-lawrence.livejournal.com]

The states won't let go their power. It took two world wars for them to let go as much as they have.

Thank goodness, at the moment.

Also, the federal system means individual states can forge ahead socially for a while. In my lifetime it was SA, then NSW, then (amazingly) Tas.

I think people from Greater Melbourne are likely more like New Zealnders than we are Queenslanders (I see no reason ever to go there).

Certainly when I've travelled overseas, NZ folks seem more like 'my poeple' than to people from some other areas of Australia.

Quite emphatically.

But, yes, I do know there are still cultural differences.

[trixtah.livejournal.com]

Hah, good point about the individual states forging ahead socially their own fashion. Too true.

And yeppers, I love Melbourne, and I would happily live there - ahead of plenty of places back home, it must be said. Maybe we could encourage you Victorians to split off, and the Tassies (they have certainly redeemed themselves in the last decade or so), and the other bits 'n' bobs in SA and NSW, and we could form the trans-Tasman Southern Cross Republic. Or something like. :-)

[ruth-lawrence.livejournal.com]

With your numbers the hoons would be overwhelmed, actually.

I suspect that's why the topic arose amongst the pollies!