Sheep jokes abate

Trans-Tasman relationships have warmed in recent times with Australia becoming “far more inclusive” of New Zealand, “no longer pretending we’re not really here” according to the head of the New Zealand Australia Research Centre Professor Philippa Mein Smith. During a recent visit to Canberra, the New Zealand-based historian said she was impressed with the increased presence of New Zealand in different forms. “There’s the wine, of course. New Zealand wine was everywhere. But the country was getting a mention in other ways too, on the news, on the street. Australians are just talking and thinking about us more than they were even a few years ago and I think that’s great.” In the past, Smith says the trans-Tasman relationship had a tendency to be superficial, based around sheep jokes, endless sports related ribbing and petty sibling rivalries. New Zealand was too often viewed as, in the words of TV comedian Rove McManus, the cousin at the party in the short trousers.