We might as well seeing as we have so many New Zealanders over here on welfare anyway.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Australia-NZ-hold-common-market-talks/2007/01/29/1169919246131.html

Federal Treasurer Peter Costello has started talks with his Kiwi counterpart on creating a common economic market.

Greens co-leader Russel Norman reportedly has said New Zealand businesses are at a disadvantage because Australia has not signed up to the Kyoto Treaty on climate change.

Mr Norman said New Zealand businesses effectively were subsidising Australia which did not have to pay the cost of cutting emissions.

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http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Australian_MPs_suggest_Australia_and_New_Zealand_unification

A committee of Australian MPs have suggested that Australia and New Zealand become a single nation in the future. The suggestion follows an investigation into harmonising the countries' legal systems.

The two countries are separated by 1900 Km (1200 miles) of sea. Australia has a population of 20 million, while New Zealand has a population of 4 million.

Prior to 1901, New Zealand was considered one of the seven British colonies of Australasia, six of which united to form Australia in 1901.

The committee, which had representatives from both sides of Australian politics found that there were close ties between the two countries. People are free to move between the two countries without visas and there is a high-degree of co-operation between governments. The committee's report said "While New Zealand ultimately chose not to join the federation, it is still included in the definition of the states in the Australian constitution.

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http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/&articleid=292364

Australia and New Zealand have been urged to put national rivalries aside and do what many say is unthinkable -- merge to form a single nation.

A cross-party committee of Australian lawmakers said in a report that the Tasman Sea neighbours should consider legal and monetary union with a view to eventually becoming one country.

You will find as many Kiwis as you will Aussies on the Northwest Coast,all working too.My mate is called NUK now because the Kiwis cant say NICK.No we shouldn't merge because the buggers steal our thongs and women,drink all our beer and nearly beat us at cricket

Looks like it's not just our thongs that they steal  ;D

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Kiwis-worstbehaved-visitors/2007/02/02/1169919520667.html

It's official - New Zealanders are the worst behaved visitors to Australia.

Department of Immigration statistics show that over a recent three-year period more New Zealanders were deported or "forcibly removed" from Australia than guests from any other nation.

All of those shown in these statistics as having been deported had also served jail sentences in Australia before being shown the door.

You'll find that generally the misbehaved ones are the maouri's because of their lack of education.
I've known many white New zealanders and they are very laid back like we are.
I support the idea of incorporating UNZUD into Australia in principle,but there will need to be rules for permanent migration to prevent NZ from losing its population and AUS from being flooded with kiwis.
We will also be absorbing NZ's debts and economic short comings.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Limit-western-immigration-to-NZ-Maoris/2007/02/26/1172338535004.html

New Zealand's Maori Party has caused a stir after calling for limits on the number of Western immigrants to the country.

The Dominion Post newspaper quoted Turia as saying she was most worried about migrants from Australia, Canada and Britain.

However, New Zealand government figures show the net number of Australians in the country has gone down by more than 42,000 in the past two years.

The net number of migrants from the United Kingdom has increased by about 20,000 in the same period, while the number of people from the United States and Canada has risen by 2100.

Maori people in New Zealand are allocated a number of seats in parliament based on their percentage of the population.

Statistics New Zealand recently said the allocation would not increase from seven to eight because too few people had signed onto the Maori electoral role, relative to the overall population.

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Australia, NZ currency 'decades away'

http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking-news/australia-nz-currency-decades-away/2007/03/01/1172338774555.html

A single currency between Australia and New Zealand could be decades away even though both countries are working towards closer economic ties.

Treasurer Peter Costello said that a trans-Tasman currency could happen given there is one in Europe covering a much more diverse range of countries.

But he told AAP that it was very much up to New Zealand to want it, rather than Australia.

"I have made it clear that we're not interested in a new currency here, so the ball is in New Zealand's court, but as I understand it they are not interested in a new currency there," he said.

"But who knows in 20 years time."

Thats because they are all over here! im surprised NZ still has maori's. ;)

http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking-news/single-australianz-market-nearer-govt/2007/04/22/1177180470796.html

Australia and New Zealand are edging closer toward a single economic market despite traditional sensitivities between the neighbours, foreign minister Alexander Downer said.

At the opening of the Australia-New Zealand Leadership Forum in Sydney on Sunday, Mr Downer said the two economies were already benefiting from close relations, but a single market would make them both stronger.

I dont see any benefit to merging Auss and NZ. NZ society is quite different, as is the economy.
NZ has banned nuclear ships from there, make their own decisions.


originally i came from there (25 years ago).

If people had paid attention in History classes, they might have found out that the proposal to merge the colonies of Australia and New Zealand (and Fiji) were made at the time of Federation.   Indeed, both refused but they are still mentioned in the Preamble to the Constitution as possible, additional states.

Now, personally, I have nothing against the Kiwis but I doubt I'd like to see us stuck with what would be essentially another Tasmania - a drag on our economy.  Let them remain independent.  We can become closely integrated without being amalgamated.

A number of good things have come out of Tasmania, like cascade beer and quality timber :D

freediver wrote on Apr 23^rd, 2007 at 1:29pm:

A number of good things have come out of Tasmania, like cascade beer and quality timber :D

Well, until they up production, they'll still remain a drain on the Oz economy.

Do you have any stats on that? For example the revenue which the federal government gets from Tassie vs it's spending. Is that the only way in which they drain the economy?

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What a dumb idea. What's wrong with "Dollar"

Trans-Tasman currency should be 'ZAC'

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/TransTasman-currency-should-be-ZAC/2007/04/23/1177180535270.html

Former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer says any common currency between Australia and New Zealand should be called the ZAC, not the ANZAC.

"ZAC would stand for Zealand Australia Currency merged, and it is inevitable that would be what the term ANZAC would default to over a short period of time," Mr Fischer said.

Merge?----NO!! :o

freediver wrote on Apr 23^rd, 2007 at 3:35pm:

Do you have any stats on that? For example the revenue which the federal government gets from Tassie vs it's spending. Is that the only way in which they drain the economy?

Correction.  Since 2000 the Tasmanian economy has seen a boom with increased oil/gas exploration/exploitation on the southern edge of Bass Strait and increased tourism.  However, before that it was a significant drain on the federal economy.  Even today, the largest employer on the island remains the Public Service - state and federally.

[quote[hr]

What a dumb idea. What's wrong with "Dollar"

Trans-Tasman currency should be 'ZAC'

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/TransTasman-currency-should-be-ZAC/2007/04/23/1177180535270.html

Former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer says any common currency between Australia and New Zealand should be called the ZAC, not the ANZAC.

"ZAC would stand for Zealand Australia Currency merged, and it is inevitable that would be what the term ANZAC would default to over a short period of time," Mr Fischer said.[/quote]


Anybody can have a "dollar".  Only we could have the ZAC though.   :D

Anyway, being down to one's "last zac" is an old 'strine colloquialism.  This would merely mean it could now literally be true!   ;D

http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking-news/maori-attitudes-to-immigrants-harden/2007/07/22/1185042919892.html

The attitudes of New Zealand's Maoris toward immigrants are hardening, a university survey shows.

"New Zealanders generally were still quite ambivalent about immigrants," Prof Spoonley said.

"We like the diverse food and we like what they're doing to our economy by contributing skills and capital but [we] also see immigrants as sticking together rather than integrating, and that is seen as a negative thing."

He added attitudes to immigrants and various aspects of immigration were usually more negative among Aucklanders than other New Zealanders.

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Work ethics don’t fit cultural moulds

http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.html?article=12593

The Western work ethic of rewarding individual hard work is at odds with the cultures of many indigenous groups, according to UQ social science graduate Dr Ruby Welch.

Dr Welch spent the last 10 years studying the work ethic, and the social structure of New Zealand's Maori people and compared her findings with those of mainstream New Zealand society, or the Pakeha system.

“Although some Pakeha argue that Maori are lazy, my findings prove that Maori are hard workers albeit for different goals and purposes than their Pakeha counterparts,” Dr Welch said.

“Governments in Western societies such as New Zealand and Australia have assumed that all actors in the market, irrespective of cultural background, aspire to the same rewards and outcomes for their individual activities.

“Consequently, policymakers tend to put in place legislation without considering the differences in the value and belief constructs of the various actors who participate in the workforce.

“The regulations of Western labour systems are, therefore at odds with many indigenous concepts of work and my findings equally apply to the Australian Aboriginal people as they would to the various Indian tribes of North America.”

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Australia, NZ seek closer economic ties

http://news.smh.com.au/australia-nz-seek-closer-economic-ties/20080117-1mkv.html

Australia and New Zealand have agreed to seek closer economic ties in the first meeting between federal Treasurer Wayne Swan and his NZ counterpart Michael Cullen.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Australia New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (ANZCERTA) signed by the Hawke government in 1983.

He said future work would include the renegotiation of the Australia-New Zealand bilateral tax treaty.

If we merged could we ship the abos over there?

Australia is a part of Sahul.
Australia, Tasmania, PNG, Micronesia, Melanesian Islands (but not Fiji) and half of Indonesia up to the Wallace Line.

New Zealand is a part of Oceania which is also the Pacific Islands, Hawaii (seeking independence from North America to join Oceania), Central America and the Caribbean Islands including Cuba.

Oceania is the opposite of the Middle-East.
One has many little oasis's in a desert of sand.
The other has many little islands in an ocean of water.
One has Religion, the other has Music.
New Zealand is nothing close to Australia - culturally.

Gordon wrote on Oct 22^nd, 2023 at 12:20am:

If we merged could we ship the abos over there?

Landlords, I think. Auckland has some of the highest property prices in the world.

They should get our Canadian Yids, dear. You could paddle over on that surf ski you never use.

Lock up your Boongs, Kiwis. Gordon's coming.

Karnal wrote on Oct 22^nd, 2023 at 2:02am:

Gordon wrote on Oct 22nd, 2023 at 12:20am: If we merged could we ship the abos over there? Landlords, I think. Auckland has some of the highest property prices in the world. They should get our Canadian Yids, dear. You could paddle over on that surf ski you never use. Lock up your Boongs, Kiwis. Gordon's coming.

It's a SUP

https://i.ibb.co/tpPFhTR/Screenshot-20231022-031016-Connect-copy-600x1108.jpg
upload

All the economic blah blah aside, do Kiwis want to give up national independence to become a state of Australia, in a world where devolution is a growing force in several societies?