We’ll be Kanga-riwi’s yet?

A voice from the political past, ex Australian Prime Minister
Bob Hawke has recently re-stated the case for Australia and New
Zealand to join forces as a single trans Tasman economic market.
For those who remember, it was Bob Hawke and then NZ Prime
Minister Rob Muldoon who signed the ‘Closer Economic
Relations Agreement’ (CER) in 1983. The underlying
rationale still seems clear:

• 60,000 Australians live in NZ, and 450,000 NZ’s live in
  Australia
• Australia is NZ’s largest export market, and NZ is
  Australia’s fourth largest
• Australia is the biggest investor in NZ, and NZ is the sixth
  biggest in Australia

Citing the original imperatives that drove CER more than 20
years ago, Hawke says "I would suggest that any sensible
consideration of this new international environment must lead to
the conclusion that it is even more important now to accelerate
that process with the goal of fully establishing a trans Tasman
single economic market."ⁱ

Meanwhile Trans Tasman banking has taken another step toward a
single economy with discussions around ‘harmonising’
banking regulations. Necessary steps to proposed integration
include: Harmonising consumer protection and competitive
regulations, formalising Government dialogue over regulation of
competition and improved information sharing.

With Australian-owned banks holding 87.5% of New
Zealand’s banking assets (ANZ, National, ASB, Westpac and
BNZ) it is only a matter of time before the
‘co-operation’ of the two nations becomes a fully
integrated financial system.

The Word of God speaks about a one world Government –
controlling the world’s monetary system, and therefore the
Worlds populous. CER was/is but one example of the gradual shift
from national sovereignty – to interdependence in the
global marketplace.

ⁱ The New Zealand Herald 04.03.05