Wave of outrage forms across Tasman

The Anzac spirit is dead.

A once-strong bond formed in a mutual heritage, forged in wartime and built on by following generations has been destroyed.

Killed by an inexplicable and out-of-control wave of hatred that has exploded against the Australian national side, the Wallabies, and their fans at the Rugby World Cup.

While every other team has received a gracious welcome here, those in the gold and green have faced a hostile, abusive time.

Why such hatred?

It used to be a strong, but good-natured rivalry, leading to plenty of ribbing on the millions of Kiwis and Aussies who live in the other's countries.

But that has long gone.

Forget the Australian Government's $5 million cash sent as aid for Christchurch, or the other millions sent by ordinary people themselves.

Forget the hundreds of Aussie experts who came over to help that stricken city.

Or the assistance and equipment given by Australia in the Pike River Disaster.

No, it's "bloody Aussies" this and "bloody Aussies" that.

I have seen it building for some time, although you guys probably don't notice. It is too pervasive and comes too naturally to Kiwis nowadays.

If you wish, start really listening to TV, radio, other conversations.

I think you'll be surprised at the level of anti-Aussie comments that pop out.

Remember the ad with three kids in the sandpit and the one with the Wallaby jumper didn't want to help out. Ad bosses know it's an easy target and tap in on Kiwi desires to try to bash the big boy on the block.

But it happens all over the show. My daughter once borrowed my Wallabies jumper and Akubra hat to wear on an international float during the Christmas by the Beach Parade in Papamoa. A bloke behind me got stuck into her for being an Australian. She was 8, he was middle-aged and very lucky to get to old age.

To Aussies living here it's usually water off a drake's back, but to tourists it can be insulting and upsetting. This is where those abusing Australian tourists are harming the country they profess to love.

About 40 per cent of tourists here come from the Great Brown Land, about 1.1 million of them a year. Each one spends about $190 a day. All up tourism brings in $15billion a year so just under half of that will be coming from Aussies.

Yet Kiwis go out of their way to insult them. Not what I would call clever.

I know by raising this issue I'm going to cop a tsunami of bile, but I don't care. Wake up to yourselves.

The damage caused by an imbecilic need to win a sporting trophy - that's all the World Cup is - has probably wrecked this country's tourism trade with Australia. That's jobs gone.

From what I have been reading online the wave of outrage forming across the Tasman Sea is huge and many are saying they will never visit here again. Remember one happy customer may tell a couple of people of their experiences. An unhappy one will tell everyone who will listen.

It isn't just the rugby neanderthals causing problems for people working in tourism.

Even the Tourism Minister - Prime Minister John Key himself - has not helped matters. Key gushed: "The international media is saying how friendly and welcoming it is. People are supporting other teams and just not their own."

What?

Bearing in mind how pissed off the Aussies would have been at the Wallabies loss it wasn't very bright of him to blurt: "There were 4.4 million New Zealand Irish supporters last Saturday night. Wasn't it great to be an Irish supporter?"

In the same breath the Prime Monster said the country would get a $700 million economic stimulus from the cup as "People will go back home and tell friends it is a great place to visit and they will come to New Zealand on holiday."

They won't be coming from across The Ditch, bucko, that's for certain. And Cup supremo Martin Snedden is also deluded when he says that abuse of Aussie fans is out of character for New Zealanders.

Bollocks. It has always been there, as any Aussie here will tell him, now it's just being dragged into the spotlight.

Mind you I want to thank the woman at Bayfair last Friday who noticed my subtle bright gold Aussie shirt and wished my boys good luck. Thank you for your grace. If other Kiwis spent as much time and energy on education and hard work as they do on trying to denigrate Aussies, this country would be leaps ahead of where it is now. Maybe there wouldn't be 600,000 Kiwis taking advantage of life in The Lucky Country.

Go the Wallabies!

richard@richardmoore.com