VJMP Anzac Day Address 2020: The Federalisation Imperative

The original proposed articles of Australian federation stated that voting rights were to be restricted to white people and Maoris only. The founders had assumed from the beginning that New Zealand would join the Federation, but they also knew that white New Zealanders were unwilling to see Maoris as lessers. Therefore, they were unable to restrict the franchise to white people only.

Given that the Australian representatives were willing to go to such lengths to accommodate the colony of New Zealand, they were surprised by the decision of the New Zealand representatives to not join the Federation. It seemed obvious that, as all the other British colonies in the Southeastern corner of the world were joining together, New Zealand would follow suit. But they did not.

Although the century that has passed since then has seen the thousands of kilometres between us reduced to a few hours in a plane, the Mistake of 1901 has never been repealed. Australia and New Zealand have continued to insist on their own differences, despite that no differences are apparent to outsiders. Although the whole world sees us as one, we do not – at least not officially.

To be fair, there was little pressure to unite while the West was so far ahead of any competitors. Even as recently as 1980, the combined Anzac economy was greater than that of China (according to World Bank figures). India and Indonesia were even further behind. The possibility that these countries could ever get it together enough to pose a military threat to us seemed remote.

Because China was so poor in 1980, they had a much greater potential for further development than Australia and New Zealand had. As such, their economic growth over the last 40 years has been much greater than ours. Over the last 40 years, China has transformed itself from an Africa-tier level of poverty to having a higher GDP per capita than either Argentina or Iran. The total Chinese economy is now over seven times the size of the Anzac one.

Currently, the Indonesian economy is smaller than that of the Anzac Empire, reflecting the fact that their GDP per capita is less than a twelfth of ours (some $4,000 per year). However, if they also underwent a 40-year stretch of relentless turbocharged economic development, as China did, then their economy would become five times bigger. And that would be a power right on our doorstep.

These growing Asian powers present us with a dilemma. The easy dominance that Australia and New Zealand has taken for granted for two centuries no longer applies. It’s no longer certain that the other Anglo powers have enough spare resources to keep the South Asian sealanes open. If not, then the burden falls necessarily on us.

Some have suggested a “Big Australia” in response to these challenges. This strategy involves opening the borders to all kinds of immigration, social consequences be damned. But there’s an easier way to add five million people to the population of Australia: welcome New Zealand into the Anzac Federation.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently mooted the idea of open borders between New Zealand and Australia, arguing that such a measure would help restart the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic was over. He is entirely correct, as is evidenced by the fact that previous measures to integrate the two economies have resulted in increased wealth. However, open borders don’t go far enough.

The Anzac Empire needs to unite to meet the challenges of this century, one in which the continued Anglo dominance of the seas might not endure. New Zealand needs to formally become part of the natural ruling power of the Southeast corner of the world stage.

We must accept the federalisation imperative.

Becoming one, united Anzac Empire would necessitate a change of thinking for New Zealanders. We are used to thinking of ourselves as a small, isolated and meaningless part of the world occupying a tiny corner of the world. A united Anzac Empire would belong to the second tier of world powers – with a future as a first tier power beckoning.

This realisation is perhaps best conveyed in raw numbers. As of 2019, Australian GDP sits at $1,376 billion (USD), while New Zealand GDP sits at $204 billion. The Australian population is 25,500,000, while the New Zealand population is 4,800,000. The Australian land area is 7,682,300 and the New Zealand land area is 263,310.

Therefore, the Anzac Empire would have a GDP of $1,580 billion, making it the 13th largest economy in the world, just behind Russia. It would have a population of over 30,000,000 and a land area of 7,945,600 square kilometres. Having won 17 Nobel Prizes, it would belong to the same cultural and intellectual tier as nations like Italy and the Netherlands.

Perhaps most importantly, the Anzac Empire would have the world’s single largest Exclusive Economic Zone. The EEZ of Australia is over 10 million square kilometres, and that of New Zealand over 4 million. The combined EEZ of 14 million square kilometres would be larger than that of America. This fact underlines the degree to which the Anzac Empire will be a maritime power.

Commensurately, the first priority of the updated federation must be to assure our territorial independence through developing a number of Trident-style nuclear submarines. An arsenal of a few hundred submarine-launched nuclear ballistic missiles would ensure the Anzac Empire’s place among the top rung of global powers, and safeguard our future prosperity.

The second priority must be to ensure that each province of the empire have its own culture. The spirit of the Anzac people is one of independence – therefore, the federal government must govern with a light touch. The vastness of the Empire must be recognised, and this means that the constituent states must be allowed to develop unique cultures that impress the others.

The Anzac Empire is today where Rome was in 300 B.C. We have enough might and culture to impress barbarians and minor nations, but our time in the Sun is yet to arrive. If, as seems true, the Spear of Destiny has leapt from the Atlantic to the Pacific, it means that the Anzac Empire is as entitled as anyone else to contest for the leadership of the world. Let us lay the foundations for it then.

An Anzac Empire based around the Tasman Sea, and with the expanses of the Australian continent as imperial possessions, would inevitably become one of the world’s foremost powers. Just an inevitably, it seems like it’s fate for Australia and New Zealand to combine in this manner. The Mistake of 1901 shall be repealed, and this will loose the Anzac Empire upon the world stage.

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If you enjoyed reading this essay, you can get a compilation of the Best VJMP Essays and Articles of 2019 from Amazon for Kindle or Amazon for CreateSpace (for international readers), or TradeMe (for Kiwis). A compilation of the Best VJMP Essays and Articles of 2018 and the Best VJMP Essays and Articles of 2017 are also available.

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