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The answer is Coronation Street. Geoff Dickson is mystified as to why the show is still on prime time TV here. "You guys love it. I've never watched an episode, but I've watched the promos and know I would absolutely hate the show." Coro moved off prime time in Australia in the early '80s and Dickson is convinced the reason why it has endured here goes to the heart of the differences between the two countries.
It's a good argument which may, in part, be explained by Neighbours, the country's quintessential home grown soap, which began its sunny, silly, brash and unashamedly Australian run in 1985. New Zealand's equivalent, the tortured, "is it you or is it me", angst ridden Shortland Street, didn't begin until 1992. But while having the confidence and capability to express ones' essential identity through a TV show may be a sign of a nation growing up, Dickson thinks royalist forces are at work too.
He notes there is no strong push in New Zealand for a constitutional break with mother England, whereas in Australia they have, at least, had a referendum on the issue. And although the1999 remit was defeated, it did ask the question whether Australia should become a Federal republic. As he points out: "Australia has been trying to separate itself and stick it back up the motherland for the best part of 200 odd years."
Apart from our Street obsession, Dickson finds New Zealand culture quite similar to Australia. "There is nothing that you look at in New Zealand and say 'I don't understand' - nothing that you put into the incomprehensible category."
Except, perhaps, the OE. Before he came here, Geoff and his wife Jo had never heard the term. Sure, young Australians travel a lot, but it's not viewed as institutionalised rite of passage - a return to the mother country - as it is here. But they're familiar with it now - their daughter has just set off on her OE with her Kiwi fiance.
Geoff and Jo moved from Rockhampton in central Queensland to Auckland with Rachel (17) and Ben (16) in 2003, largely to advance Geoff's academic career in sports management. Four and half years later, they face an unusual dilemma. When they decide to respond to the call of returning home, it's likely their two children will stay put in Auckland. "You don't expect that one day you'll move away from the kids, you expect they'll move away from you," says Jo.
Geoff was lured to Auckland by a job offer at AUT University where he's now associate dean at the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences. It was a step up from his position at Rockhampton's CQ University. "The job was better, but the money wasn't. At best it was a financial break even, despite being promoted up the food chain," says Geoff. " It was very much an investment in my long term future."
But it wasn't a straightforward decision. There were questions about taking Rachel and Ben away from their friends and how it was going to impact on their schooling. As it turned out the children were quite keen to leave small town Australia and have since formed long term relationships with kiwis. "It was certainly a very good move. I don't regret coming over here at all," says Jo who works for a special needs service provider. But for the first 12 months Geoff was stressed. "I was full of worry about how happy my wife and kids were." It wasn't until Jo pointed out to him that everybody else was happy except him that he finally breathed a sigh of relief and started to enjoy the place himself. Geoff's job in sports management research provides an informed perspective on the countries' different attitudes to sport. "I think Australia left behind its rivalry with New Zealand 20 odd years ago. Once upon a time it was all about beating New Zealand. At some stage Australia shifted its view to taking on the rest of the world. In many ways New Zealand is still stuck in the as-long-as-we-beat-Australia mentality."
While he knows New Zealand as a nation has a healthy ego - "they don't mind strutting about the place" - Geoff sees a flipside. "New Zealanders sometimes come across as the angry little man who wants to be taken notice of."
What he does find odd is that New Zealanders regularly talk about their passion for sport, yet it has never translated that into significant levels of government funding. "Somewhere in the evolution of the Australian sport system, the sport managers were able to convince government that investing and spending a lot of money on sport is a good thing."
New Zealanders also confuse a passion for rugby with a passion for sport. "It's not the same thing. I've often said the biggest problem with New Zealand sport is rugby union." As Geoff sees it, rugby absorbs a disproportionate amount of resources - "hogs the best athletes"- and puts other sports with second tier athletes at a disadvantage. In contrast Australia doesn't have code dominating the sports landscape - rugby union comes fourth in terms of participation behind Australian football, soccer and rugby league.
Yes, he does get a fair bit of ribbing for being an Australian here, but mostly he doesn't mind. "As, one, an Australian; two, a Queenslander; and three, an ex footballer, the idea of the sledge is something I'm pretty comfortable with. There is a time and place for every good sledge and a time and place when it's not appropriate." He takes the verbal rivalry between Australian's and New Zealanders as evidence of a strong bond and deep respect for one another. "It's important to realise how much in common we have and, in the grand scheme of things, how much we get along."
What does he miss? Home and the ABC's The 7.30 Report - hard nosed political analysis which has no equivalent in New Zealand. What would he miss if he went back? "My job - I work with good people, it's a great university." Where does New Zealand have it over Australia? Difficult for an Australian to answer. But Dickson is quick to highlight race relations and Helen Clark. "I can't remember anyone in Australia arguing the case where they wanted to identify as being aboriginal. I think most people would sweep that aside or conceal it. Here people are encouraged to identify it, embrace it and celebrate it. New Zealand has really got something going with its female prime minister. I think that says something about the two places and the standing of Kiwi women."
Jo says her overriding first impression of Auckland was how friendly everybody was. But she has, at times, found the Australian baiting tedious. "The first comment I received from a taxi driver on a visit to Dunedin was 'bloody underarm bowlers'." She wanted to say: "Come on, that was how many years ago? Can't you drop it?" She thinks we are also way too obsessed about losing in rugby. "I don't think we're like that as much. It's a sport - you win some and lose some."
School - Takapuna Grammar - was a bit of shock. Both children had come from private schools in Rockhampton and were surprised by the more relaxed dress code and liberal attitudes towards things like mobile phones, makeup and hair length. They also struggled to come to grips with the NCEA system and couldn't believe how far behind the school was - particularly in maths - compared to what they had been taught in Australia.
Both Jo and Geoff say their earning capacity is about twenty per cent less than in Australia. Jo says she was surprised to find dairy products more expensive, but notes that some things, like the cost of cars and car registration tip the balance the other way. Overall she's been very happy with move and how it has worked out for Rachel and Ben. "I love it. Auckland is a beautiful city. It probably rains a bit too much and is a bit too cold sometimes. But apart from that I enjoy the season changes - where we're from it's hot nearly every single day of the week."
