Aussies have a bit to learn from us

Books about architecture laud the old and historical. Venerable but crumbling facades are extolled as representing history and experience, but for some reason society has decided that old people with life's stories written on their faces and bodies are not so worthy.

There are organisations dedicated to the preservation of old buildings. This is a good thing. Without the past to remind us where we have been, we cannot go forward with confidence.

The sight of a lovely church dwarfed beneath a towering office block tells us that new does not always equate with respect. Elderly people are, like those charming buildings trapped between the steel and glass monoliths, becoming hidden and lost from view.

If we don't notice our elderly in the constant mad rush toward all things modern and youthful, we will miss out on their experience and wisdom.

Both New Zealand and Australia are young nations, wobbling about on their constitutional training wheels. But there has always been sibling rivalry.

The Beehive has watched the economic growth of Australia wide-eyed with envy, forgetting that Sydney alone has more people than New Zealand and that sheer numbers do make a difference.

In the past week it has become increasingly evident that New Zealand is, in fact, well ahead of Australia on many fronts. Media coverage of one player punching another during a State of Origin rugby league game has suddenly brought the issue of violence in sport to the fore, with many noting that if it had happened on the street it would have been a police matter.

NZ went through this issue some time ago deciding that punching people is bad for sport and undermines the work being done to reduce domestic and street violence.

It has been through sport again that many Australians have been forced to recognise that their understanding of the aboriginal place in the land lacks maturity. A youthful heckler called a player a racially offensive name and then a high level sports administrator added insult to injury with another jibe, resulting in much navel-gazing and thought being given to the way Australians treat aboriginal people.

New Zealand still has those who cannot see past bigotry, but the place of indigenous Maori has been socially and politically acknowledged with a social contract in the form of the Treaty of Waitangi. It seems that Australia is still recovering from the historical colour blindness of colonial leaders who officially deemed the continent to be uninhabited, ignoring thousands of years of indigenous tradition.

The recent, tragic, drug-related death of a young man has got Australian politicians all fired up to ban synthetic drugs. There has been mention of the NZ approach of putting the onus back on manufacturers and retailers to prove the ingredients of their products are actually legal and safe - as with the issue of same-sex marriage, we have trumped the Aussies completely.

Watching recent Aussie political and economic manoeuvring is like experiencing deja vu. Coalition government - tick; first female PM getting stick for being a woman - tick; housing bubble (Oz is one of the most expensive places to buy a home in the world) - tick; tumbling Oz dollar - tick; cuts and unemployment in both the private and public sector - tick; cuts in public spending plus falling retail returns and companies going bust - tick.

It may be that the cocky Aussie is about to get a taste of the medicine that New Zealanders have been forced to swallow for the past five years. As we have learned in New Zealand under the destructive policies of the National Government and its coalition partners, sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.

Terry Sarten is a musician, writer and social worker living and working in Australia. Email: tgs@inspire.net.nz