Editorial: Trans-Tasman ties

OPINION: When international cricket teams tour Australia, a standard fixture is the match against the Prime Minister's XI, at Canberra's Manuka Oval.

The naming, early last century, of this ground with a Maori shrub name is significant. It reflects the optimism that New Zealand would ultimately join the fledgling Australian Federation, despite the invitation having been earlier rejected by this nation.

At periodic intervals since then debate has arisen over whether a new trans-Tasman nation should be formed and a recent poll has prompted the issue to resurface this week. This survey found significant opposition in New Zealand to becoming the seventh Australian state, far more so than across the Tasman, where the view of the proposal was more relaxed. But a majority of New Zealanders did believe that our economy would be better off, or at least no worse, if we merged with Australia.

Although former deputy prime minister Sir Don McKinnon has said that at some point a merger is inevitable, current Prime Minister John Key says the debate is pointless, as a merger is simply not going to happen.

Clearly, opposition to New Zealand losing its status and identity as an independent sovereign nation would be a formidable barrier to merging with Australia in the short to medium term.

It is more likely that this prospect will be seriously debated when both nations consider whether to move from being constitutional monarchies to republics – and there appears no huge groundswell for this to occur in the near future in either country.

In the meantime, the priority should be continued efforts to harmonise the two economies, including further developments that will bring a common border, a common currency and more consistency in our tax systems. On the latter front, there could, of course, be developments in this year's New Zealand Budget.

Why not also consider a more novel approach? Across the Tasman there is one state above all others which would be a good fit for New Zealand, and that is Tasmania, with a similar population to Canterbury.

Many Tasmanians have a sense of grievance that their island state is the poor relation of the other Australian states. They were thoroughly insulted when their state was left off the "map" of Australia formed by school children at the opening of the Brisbane Commonwealth Games in 1982.

Like New Zealand, Tasmania has major economic interests in forestry, apples, seafood, dairying and wine, and both are also gateways to the Antarctic. And as a duty-free destination, it would be of huge weekend appeal to the four million Melburnians just across the water.

Of course, the prospect of Tasmania ever joining New Zealand is about as likely as this nation merging with Australia any time soon. But it would be a tantalising development. Had it occurred in the past, New Zealand, not Australia, might have gained the services of one Tasmanian who, incidentally, scored 36 as a teenager for the Prime Minister's XI in 1993 at Manuka Oval. That was Ricky Ponting – although many New Zealanders might regard him as the epitome of the brash Australian, he certainly can bat.

- © Fairfax NZ News