Every time a new refugee boat arrives at Christmas island it sparks a huge cost to the Australian community. The processing of asylum claims is a long and tedious process and in the interim the new arrivals need to be fed and housed. Our reception facilities are bursting at the seams - and this procession of new arrivals seems endless !
What is surprising is that we have a similar flow of new arrivals setting foot on our shores - from across the Tasman - and this passes virtually unnoticed !
New Zealand is a country of just 4.4 million people - and about fifteen percent of them live permanently in Australia. It is a fact of life that we do not consider Kiwi's as foreigners. They speak the same language. They look remarkably the same as Australian citizens, and the ties between the two countries are so strong that they are welcome guests.
While stringent plans are being put in place to stem the arrival of " boat people " to our north, there are no moves to even slow the arrival of New Zealand citizens looking for a better life in this country. In many cases, these " economic migrants " are the very people that New Zealand needs to inject the skills to improve that country's economy. New Zealand's loss is very much our gain.
It seems to be a matter of " economy of scale. ". New Zealand is deemed to be a " low wage country " because it's smaller population can not support the type of industries common in Australia. The average New Zealand salary is just $ 47,000 and a high proportion of that is necessary to provide housing in that country.
At the time of Federation, New Zealand seriously considered joining Australia to bring together a union of eight states. The Kiwi's decided to remain independent and the migration policies of the two nations diverged. New Zealand welcomed settlers from Britain long after Australia opened it's doors to refugees from Europe after the end of the second world war. As a result, Australia became a more " multicultural "country - with a rapidly expanding population.
It seems inevitable that this affinity that exists between the people who live on either side of the Tasman will continue - and that in all but a legal sense - they have become one country. The freedom of entry and exit is more like the customs that prevail between Australian states than a relationship between nations - and any sort of change is unlikely.
In all probability we may see a reverse flow of citizens develop as Australians discover that New Zealand offers a tranquil place for retirees to settle, far away from the clamour of big city life. The advantages of two countries that share a common language and customs is yet to be fully exploited !
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