KEY POINTS:
This week, I ventured to a place thousands of Kiwis call home - that land of milk and honey, Australia. Unlike my compatriots, I'm not looking to bail. I was there for four days to MC a conference in Coolum and when I handed over my arrival card
to the nice man at Brisbane Airport, I was half expecting some sort of crack like, "Did you turn off the lights, love?" But he was polite and pleasant and wished me a good time.
It's ages since I've been to Aussie - probably about five years. And given all the hoo-ha about the number of Kiwis upping sticks and moving across the ditch, I half expected to see the streets paved with gold. But the streets are actually mud and rubble.
The drive from Brisbane to Coolum was punctuated with several go-slows as we negotiated road crews and road works. The Queensland state government is investing heavily in roading infrastructure - last month, the premier Anna Bligh announced the state had struck a $4.8 billion deal with a private consortium to build what she is touting as the nation's largest roading project.
It is mainly to deal with congestion to and from the airport and will feature a 7km tolled road tunnel that will bypass 16 sets of traffic lights. Work has already begun and it should be finished by 2012. And they may well finish on time, given there were crews working in the 30km zone - as opposed to New Zealand where the 30km signs stay up for weeks without a glimpse of a hard hat or an orange reflective vest.
So, an hour-and-a-half later we arrived at the resort and were met by professional staff and a tropical deluge. I hadn't seen rain like it since I was in Vietnam. You couldn't breathe in it if you went outside. Apparently, it had been like that for days. So I stayed inside and watched a bit of telly.
And you would have thought you were back in New Zealand in terms of what was making headlines. Petrol price increases were concerning householders; food prices were at a record high; a major report into housing affordability showed that people in the caring professions - firemen, policemen, nurses, and the like - were unable to afford homes in the areas they worked; global warming - especially in light of the storm that gouged away 40 thousand tonnes of sand along Noosa's coastline - and a police shooting. Of a disturbed Kiwi.
The Aussie cops seem dodgy - a New South Wales crime commissioner with a gambling habit and a mistress 30 years his junior was arrested and charged with being part of an international drug-smuggling ring, and another top cop pleaded guilty to accessing child pornography.
Eventually, the rain stopped, and I ventured out to meet the locals. Those I met - mostly people working in cafes and restaurants - were so positive. Chatty and friendly and upbeat and forward looking. They couldn't have been more helpful.
But after five days there seemed to me to be no obvious reason to go and live in Australia. It's a nice place, sure. The people are great. But even after the big dump, water restrictions were still in place and the concerns of the public appear to be the same as ours.
But like all migrants, when you've made the move to another country, you go with a positive attitude and a willingness to do whatever it takes to ensure you've made the right decision. You leave your negativity behind and choose to accentuate the positive. And in that respect, the Kiwis who've jumped the ditch have made the right choice.
I would rather have people living here who believe in its future and if that means we have to import them, so be it.
What earthly use is a sixth-generation New Zealander if they are a whining useless waste of space? Give me a new New Zealander with a positive outlook any day.
