THR

I have a couple of questions regarding NZ in relation to your a bit larger neighbour Australia. Well, three actually as the third one just came to my mind and that is that do people in NZ consider Australia as "a neighbour" or rather as the "nearest country" as even Australia is a 2h flight away from NZ?

The original two questions were as follows:

Do NZ and Australia still continue to talk about merging their currencies?

If so then take heed from Europe where the common currency-area is just about to break down. Well, perhaps NZ and OZ are so similar countries that they could have a workable single currency but IMO an independent country must have its own currency which it can adjust when need be.

Do you need a passport to travel between NZ and Australia?

If you need one this question may sound absurd but here in Europe we have a continent-wide passport-free travel area, which in my opinion is a bad system. If youare an honest person, showing apiece of plastic for 10 seconds at a border is little trouble to you but may keep a lot of undesirables out.

Budawang

Speaking as an Australian I would say we feel a certain kinship with New Zealand. Most Australians view New Zealand in a positive light and feel they have a lot in common. Perhaps in the same way the Danes and Norwegians feel about each other? A 2-3hour flight in this part of the world isn't much and it takes longer to get to Perth and Darwin from where I live.

There has been talk of currency union, but this hasn't progressed far. I tend to agree with you that it's better for each country to have its own currency. Even in Australia where we have a two-speed economy where the mining sector is booming and tourism, education and manufacturing are in a slump, having one currency for the whole country causes problems.

Everyone needs a passport to travel between the two countries even though we don't need to obtain visas before we depart. Personally, I would like to get rid of this requirement as well as customs/quarantine checks so you could fly directly to domestic airports. The main problem here seems to be Australia's concern about New Zealanders with criminal convictions coming here and taking up residence - for some reason there's a high proportion of New Zealanders who've been convicted - I'm not sure why this is. I suppose this stance is a bit ironic given our history.

southerner

As one NZ Prime Minister would say, such emigration helped to raise the average IQ of both countries.

chippy64

saoghalbeag

Speaking also as an Aussie I agree with the poster above about Australia's perception of NZ, but living in NZ I have been surprised by the amount of vitriol that is dished out to Aussies/Australia over here. At first I thought the Oz - NZ relationship was comparable to England and Scotland, ie: anomosity felt north of the border that the south know nothing about.

Yet it occurred to me recently that although Scotland has a looooooong history of being shat on by England and it stands to reason that there might be some lingering distaste, wtf has Australia ever done to NZ????

Day to day Kiwis aren't that bad, but there really is a strong media bias towards Aussie bashing, ie: the mocking coverage of the Aussie election, the whole Hobbit saga - all we kept hearing was how the instigator was an "AUSTRALIAN union leader", as if they're playing to some deep seated antagonism towards the West Island. And although I'd expect ribbing in sport, I've always felt there's a sort of grudging respect for the All Blacks in the Oz media, but here the Aussie sportspeople are portrayed as nasty, poor losers etc etc.

Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's just The Press??

Never mind the passports, it makes it more exciting, but I would like to get rid of the $25 departure fine - how's that for 'thank you, please come again!'???? Bloody stupid idea!

londonescapee

I hate to say it but that's because they are poor losers and certainly some of us in the northern hemisphere find it annoying too! there is a history of antagonism in sport because as I understand it there have been a few instances of unsporting behaviour in Australia against NZ. Underarm bowling anyone?

Totally agree that the press is pretty bad here, on a par with the UK media I'd say. But when I've spoken to people on an individual level I haven't noticed much antagonism against Australia, just a sadness that many Kiwis live there and not here. But there is also a recognition and understanding as to why people make the move over. I've also noticed that people are grateful that the economy is on the whole tied quite closely to Oz rather than anywhere else. This of course has its own dangers but on the whole I've found the Na attitued to Oz very positive.

Departure tax - very annoying but also very common in quite a few countries. I think in the UK it is tied up in the airport fees you pay with your ticket so one way or another they get you!

THR

It is common for smaller countries to compare themselves against their bigger neighbours and envy the achievements of that neighbour and mock the failures of that neighbour. Petty minded perhaps but human nature. It happens all over the world.

Buzzy--Bee

I find that Kiwis view of Australia is that it is a comparable country which they constantly have to prove is worse than NZ in some minor way. My Kiwi FIL is always pointing out to me something in the newspapers that demonstrates how much better NZ is than Australia for something (real life examples he has pulled out of the hat include electric fences and storm water drainage.....)

Whereas the Australians (read Melburnians from my own personal experience) view of NZ is that it is a nice place to visit for a holiday.

BB