Joanne Kim: Where is the Queen?

Photo/File

When I first saw our new banknotes I felt something was not quite right.

I was distracted by the bright colours, the new security features and graphic designs. I finally figured it out this week - Queen Elizabeth II's holograph is missing on our $5 and $10 notes.

This subtle disappearance seems rather timely with the flag debate and TPPA controversies in the midst of our conversations these days.

As insignificant as the Queen's holographic image may have seemed previously, erasing her presence did feel rather definitive. While it seems we have once again cemented and celebrated our identity through the All Black's back-to-back win, another traditional part of us has quietly diminished.

It reminded me of something I learned at university. Anita Brady, my lecturer, first introduced to me the concept of banal nationalism, and it has been one of the most eye-opening lessons into the media industry I have had thus far.

Banal nationalism is the most common, yet paradoxically the most hidden, form of promoting national identity to citizens. It exists everywhere and anywhere, but these symbolic representations are often overlooked.

Next time you walk down a street have a closer look at the rubbish bins, the business stickers on cars, and random posters. I bet you will find at least one thing that illustrates something representative of New Zealand; maybe it's a kiwi, a silver fern or the NZ flag. The aim is to bring together a community and helps identify it.

So, subtly losing the Queen on our banknotes means that this form of banal nationalism, the "commonwealth" we once identified with and held close to our hearts, has shifted. The very public debate of getting rid of the Union Jack on our flag also signifies the change of mindset and discourse in our nation today.

New Zealand is now truly taking advantages of its location and region. Gone are the 1939 days where it cost $1,315 to post one page of print to the UK. Instead, as NZ became the first OECD country to tie a Free Trade Agreement with China in 2008, and having the TPPA rekindle our relationship with the USA, we're finally making our own individual and autonomous decisions.

Or are we really?

I guess in today's global and capitalistic world it is difficult to know the Government's true intentions. Even having departed from our traditional ties, NZ seems ever more reliant on other countries' markets. Our exports to China have more than trebled since 2008, and Tim Groser, Minister for the Economy, said we need "not to shut up shop, to be fearful of foreigners."

While as someone with a migrant background, I agree with the latter statement, I suppose it's this next Groser quote that makes me sceptical of the Government:

"Making laws and making sausages are very similar. The public will generally consume the final result, but you won't want them to watch exactly how they're made."

Where are we headed? Are we truly recreating our separate identity or are we, more than ever, intertwined in a global market where we'll forfeit our power to other countries and corporations?

-Joanne Kim is a Whangarei journalist. She replaces Thinking Out Loud this week.