The trans-Tasman relationship
August 21st, 2009 at 7:28 am by David FarrarWhile I have reservations over aspects of the EU, I love the fact they have a common currency and almost no borders. Hence I am a fan of New Zealand and Australia removing as many barriers as possible.
I don’t see much merit in political union (unless both islands gained statehood giving us more grunt in the Senate) but am persuadable on a joint currency etc.
The possible revival of the ANZACs could be hugely popular, as ANZAC Day on both sides of the Tasman becomes more and more hallowed by the public. The Herald reports:
New Zealand and Australian defence chiefs will soon begin discussions on setting up a joint Anzac rapid-response force.
The shape, size and operations of the proposed force – disclosed by the Herald in May – have yet to be considered, but Prime Minister John Key and his Australian counterpart, Kevin Rudd, believe the close ties between the two defence forces should be formalised in a new transtasman unit.
Whether it is practical or not has to be worked through, bu the principle is exciting. It may also give opportunities for NZ soldiers to serve on missions they previously could not.
Colin Espiner also reports on the travel plans:
Trans-Tasman travel is about to get easier, but passport-free visits are unlikely.
Travellers between New Zealand and Australia will be able to use electronic passport control and bypass queues for baggage screening from the end of this year, under changes to New Zealand airport arrangements announced by Prime Minister John Key in Canberra yesterday.
Electronic-passport kiosks, called smart gates, will be installed at Auckland International Airport’s arrival hall in December and in Wellington and Christchurch from the middle of next year.
The kiosks will be available to departing passengers in Auckland from late next year and in Wellington and Christchurch by mid-2011.
They allow travellers aged over 18 with an electronic passport containing a biometric chip to be able to scan their own passports and use facial-biometric technology to identify themselves and go to departure gates without going through immigration control.
Most New Zealand and Australian passengers arriving in New Zealand will no longer automatically have their baggage screened under changes announced by the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry.
I like self service kiosks. Air New Zealand has done a brilliant job with its technology and the e-pass and m-pass. Queues are almost a thing of the past. If this can be extended to security checks, all the better.
Related posts:
- The trans-Tasman productivity report
- True Trans-Tasman Mateship
- Trans-Tasman on Key
- Trans-Tasman relations
August 21st, 2009 at 7:54 am
Key-Rudd seems to be delivering much more than Clark-Howard. In fact PM Key seems to be delivering a whole lot more in international relationships than did Clark.
Vote:August 21st, 2009 at 7:55 am
I always got the feeling under Labour/Howard that we were drifting away from Australia, but great to say that trend being reversed.
Vote:August 21st, 2009 at 8:09 am
It may also give opportunities for NZ soldiers to serve on missions they previously could not.
In most jobs, having more places to pop over to do a bit of work would probably be great. However in this case it would seem like they now have more opportunities to go to places where people would happily shoot them?
Vote:August 21st, 2009 at 8:33 am
It’s good to see so called left/right governments working together for the common good.
Vote:August 21st, 2009 at 8:38 am
With the coming climate / resources wars NZ doesn’t want to be hooked into defending Australia.
NZ defense requirements: be able to destroy a range of big enemy surface vessels and mop up lesser vessels. NZ can be defended in the main by batteries of anti ship missiles.
Compulsory military training should start immediately as climate change is now almost at the point of no return. It has been at the point of no return for the last 10 years now so umm it must really be the go at this time. It is probably too late for the planet but we can save NZ but we cant save Australia.
Vote:August 21st, 2009 at 9:02 am
The Romans are about to leave our lands we must defend our island against the Angles, Jutes and Saxons. Ireland can look after itself.
Vote:August 21st, 2009 at 9:18 am
what does Aussie get out of the defence deal? its good for us no doubt.
a common currency would be outstanding! cant happen soon enough.
id be happy to become part of aussie, as long as we can keep our sporting identity
Vote:August 21st, 2009 at 9:31 am
Cerium: “It’s good to see so called left/right governments working together for the common good” 8.33am
OR Two left of centre governments working together?
Vote:August 21st, 2009 at 9:36 am
what does Aussie get out of the defence deal? its good for us no doubt.
Speculation: it’s possible that if we were part of a formal/semi-formal deal that we would be obliged as part of the deal to start pulling our weight a bit – surely the Aussies would like that.
Vote:August 21st, 2009 at 10:32 am
Our problem is that New Zealand may be below minimum viable size for a modern Western economy. Our persistent current-account deficit and slipping relative wealth within the OECD suggest this.
DPF’s idea of North and South Islands as separate states of Australia is good.
We could still have separate rugby and other sports teams, just as the Scots and Welsh and English do. Waitangi Treaty rights could be delegated to states. In the not too distant future there will be as many Maori living in Australia as NZ, and I think the Ngai Tahu’s O’Regan now spends more time across the Tasman than in NZ. Even Maori language could be supported at a state level, on the lines that Welsh is regionally supported. So Maori may eventually support statehood(s) of Australia.
Vote:August 21st, 2009 at 10:44 am
I wondered how we would compare for size. Tasmania is a bit larger (68k cf 58k) than the South Island but with about half the population. So two states here wouldn’t be too much out of kilter
Vote:August 21st, 2009 at 12:18 pm
I don’t really buy that arguement. The likes of singapore seem to do well with similar population; granted they are positioned more centrally and have advantages from extremely dense polulation, however at the same time we have far more natural resources and (at least at the moment) get away with far less defense spending.
Inept policy from successive governments (RMA, bad tax system, low infrastructural investment, wasteful expenditure and bloated welfare system) are probably more directly relevant to NZ’s current situation.
Vote:August 21st, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Paradigm quote Singapore in answer to the suggestion NZ may be too small to have a viable modern, Western economy.
Singapore differs in being semi-democratic. Lee was able to mould the state like a (beneficial) dictator.
Government support from citizens is concentrated by being a non-Muslim and ethnic enclave (Chinese overwhelmingly) within a Muslim, Malay-Indonesian heartland. It has also been helped by the poverty that surrounded the city republic in the 1950s. People were enthusiastic to work, save, and postpone material pleasure. The fact that Chinese culture reveres learning helps, too.
In contrast we are an increasingly multicultural, multiracial democratic country with a cultural predisposition towards leisure rather than work, towards sport rather than industry, towards expenditure rather than saving, and to education in “soft” subjects like social sciences rather than maths, languages, and sciences.
Singapore is helped by sitting on one of the world’s great sea routes. This and its geographic position makle it one of the world’s great ports.
On a social leve, we sometimes sneer at Singapore’s harsh anti-narcotics and anti-vandal measures, but we let our tradition of nuclear families fray away, while this tradition remains strong in Singapore.
Singapore is a special case. To see the benefits of being part of a bigger economic unit for a country of NZ’s size you are better to look at Denmark, Finland, and the Irish Republic (at least until very recently) and note how much they have benefited from being in the EU.
Vote:August 21st, 2009 at 3:51 pm
The amount of red tape / ignorance still exisiting between NZ and Australia is ridiculous.
For instance, while Australia has negotiated prisoner / parolee exchange arrangements with all sorts of places, including many of the far stricter regimes in Asia, it hasn’t with NZ. So any NZer imprisoned in Australia can’t serve their term close to their families in NZ, and vice versa. Latest reports are that neither country “seems particularly interested in signing”.
Then there’s the fact Australians can get to parts of Asia for less than they can in NZ, so spend their time ducking bombs in Bali rather than enjoying, say, the Bay of Islands or the Mount. And that it’s often easier for me to find French wine here than a decent bottle of NZ Pinot.
And that, were it not for the net, I wouldn’t know if NZ had finally sunk under the oceans due to global warmening, since the Australian media never mention the place other than at Bledisloe Cup time, and maybe if there’s a trans Tasman cricket game on.
It matters less to Australia, of course, which looks more to Asia because China in particular is such a significant trading partner. That means NZ has to make the running, and yet no government to date (bar Muldoon, amazingly enough, with CER) seems to have bothered to do anything significant.
Vote:August 24th, 2009 at 1:35 am
I think NZ would do well to monitor this situation for a few more years before drawing conclusions regarding ceding control of monetary policy to Australia.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/5912682/Icelands-krona-proves-the-magic-wand-as-Europe-ails.html
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