Let's all become like Australia!

In case you haven't taken notice of New Zealand political news in the past week to month, you would not have noticed that Don Brash came out of the woodwork, spouting how we can bridge the gap between the Australia and New Zealand. The gap Don Brash was refering to is not the gap that is the Tasman Sea but the economic gap between Australia and New Zealand.

There is quite a significant idea floating around those with National and/or Act feelings, that Australia has good quality stuff that we small poor New Zealanders should strive and get, that we should bridge the economic gap between the Australia and New Zealand and that we would be just rich and powerful as Australia.

Such negativity towards one's own country really bugs me. When one country trys to become like another country, you just get a cheap imiation with a whole bunch of trouble lying not very far under the surface. I firmly believe, like individual human being, each country has their own characteristics and follibles that make that country unique and giving it an identity. If you tamper with that, you end up with a whole raft of problems. Just ask the citizens of country with a dicatorship.

I know New Zealand has some problems that we need to fix, but we should not try to to fix these problems by becoming a lesser version of country that some of us, have a love affair with.

Besides, briding the gap between Australia and New Zealand is impossible, there will always be a gap between us. Why?

New Zealand and Australia are two completely different countries. Australia has a population that dwarfs us, New Zealand has a population similar to the size of Sydney. On the economic scale, Australia is mineral based-gold, uranium, iron etc... whereas New Zealand economy has a agriculture look to it.

On the comparison front, Australia is not a good country to compare ourselves with, after all, you don't determine what's a good quality apple by using a kumara has a reference guide. You compare ourselves with countries like Ireland (they have the same population numbers, plus their next door to a dominant country and have similar policies to us) and Scandinavian countries and we're not that bad. Plus in order to be like Australia, we have to give up stuff that we hold dear. Anyone for not helping poor people or elderly?

Okay, rant's over. Bye now.