Life partners or just good mates?
Shouldn’t we just be part of Australia? That’s a question we’ve all heard. We have an ongoing debate about how much we integrate with Australia. While most of us aren’t in a hurry to pull on the green and gold – can we find a more mature relationship?
Conferences about uniting parts of Australia, then British colonies, began in the 1860s and New Zealand took part. When the Australian Commonwealth was formed in 1900, we were invited to sign on. For many decades, they left a little slot in their constitution – and the Canberra street grid – for us.
Our then PM, Richard Seddon, wasn’t that keen to give up our independence. The feeling was we were superior to convict colonies. A 10-man royal commission reported unanimously that New Zealand should not become a state.
While most submissions opposed union with Australia, there was support from our agricultural sector, concerned about trade barriers emerging. Most of our traded product was competing with Australia in the British market.
The British move into Europe as their empire ended made the other side of the Tasman a more important trading partner. The first form of a free trade agreement was signed in 1965 and was replaced by the ambitious Closer Economic Relations (CER) agreement in 1983 which allowed open and free trade.
Over 7000 firms are exporting goods across the Tasman today. And we use Australian products and services in our daily lives.
The joint goal is a single economic market designed to create a seamless trans-Tasman business environment. We share rules, institutions and brands. We don’t share a currency – which allows us to escape the oscillations caused by the changing value of Australia’s vast mineral wealth.
Recently, the Australian Trade Minister caused a stir, saying New Zealand rather than the USA was Australia’s best mate. He felt the two countries were nearly always in the same camp, from free trade to human rights and democracy.
Senator Don Farrell did the equivalent of revealing we were more than just flatmates at this end of the planet.
Polling shows Aussies actually quite like us. Lowy Institute polling showed that in 2023 we were by far the highest-rated nation when Australians were asked what countries they had warm and favourable feelings about. At 85%, we were well ahead of the Poms and the Yanks. We crushed them in the Bledisloe Cup that year, so we couldn’t expect 100%. And when push comes to shove, we actually quite like them… Just don’t mention cricket.
While our economies and cultures are intertwined, we operate an open gate when it comes to immigration. People largely move freely between the two countries. When our economic growth lags Australia, we tend to start losing people to the higher wages across the Tasman Sea.
But the exchange works both ways. They like our doctors, our cops and we gave them their best criminals. We even take a few Aussies to heart and must admit that we quite like some of the brilliant people that sneak across the Ditch.
We maintain our independence. But we do have a lot of agreements and arrangements with Australia, which grant various rights in a diverse range of areas. From defence, film, banking, health… pretty much everywhere with a policy, we give each other a better deal than other countries.
But it’s a de-facto relationship. We don’t really want to get married, but we need to realise that we share a lot of stuff. And we tend to do it without formal recognition that its part of a bigger relationship, preferring an ad-hoc, issue by issue approach. That’s messy.
Other countries have detailed treaties and form unions and councils. They build grand buildings to house secretariats and hold big parades to show their unity. Being Antipodeans, we tend to just give each other a nod. We honour them by admitting they are not a bad bloke (or sheila). One of the reasons both countries get on well is that neither side goes for a lot of formality.
We should stop pretending we’re just good friends and come out as a loving couple of nations. That we have a special relationship. Create a formal Treaty of Mateship which confirms that we will always give our mates a fair go.
CER probably comes closest to providing a framework. But there are many more ring binders of treaties, memorandums, addendums and minutiae.
We should give formal recognition of the depth and strength of our political relationship and set up ways to keep it strong. Create order and structure to rights and rules we give to each other.
It’s time to codify our political relationship. On the back of a beer mat. Nothing fancy.