David Elliott: No better friends or neighbours this Anzac Day, lest we forget
If the Trump v Canada stoush can teach us anything, writes David Elliott, it’s that the bond between Australia and New Zealand is one of true mateship.
Opinion
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It was a very different Anzac Day for me 25 years ago.
Serving as a peacekeeper alongside 300 soldiers from mostly Australia and New Zealand meant that we had a brief collegial peek at what it would have been like in 1915 as the two nations landed on that fateful Turkish peninsula half a world away.
One of the friendships I made on the military operation in Bougainville was with the Kiwi Army’s Catholic Chaplain. We were a microcosm of the whole Anzac story.
In his sermon at our dawn service the Padre said two things that would remain with me to this day.
His first observation was that the horror of war is first and foremost defined by the absence of justice. He concluded that this was particularly evident when you consider the innocent civilian victims that we have seen lose everything, including their lives, being caught up in every war since the dawn of mankind.
The padre’s second point was just as pertinent.
He reminded us that the “NZ” in Anzac stands for New Zealand.
I doubt any of us on that solemn parade ground needed to be reminded of this historic fact, but it did allow me to reflect on how lucky we are to have a mate like New Zealand.
In fact I’d be struggling to find any two neighbouring countries that have such an agreeable relationship.
It even took until 2006 for us to loosely define a maritime boundary because, well, no one saw the need to make any formal border such was the trust between the two peoples.
Like siblings, Australia and New Zealand have always stood side by side, without question. Sure, we’ve had the odd disagreement over what defines a legal delivery on the cricket pitch and there are some ongoing arguments as to who made the first pavlova, but when it comes to family matters we stand shoulder to shoulder.
When in 1985 the Kiwis copped a dose of domestic terrorism when the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior was sunk by French agents in Auckland Harbour, it was then-Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke who immediately called it out and demanded justice for our Kiwi brethren.
People on both sides of the Tasman deemed the matter even more horrific, given the level of Kiwi blood that had been spilt defending France by the previous generation.
Likewise, on October 12, 2002, and despite having two of their own murdered by Islamic extremists in Bali, one of the first planes in the air to evacuate Australians out of Indonesia was a Royal New Zealand Air Force C130 Hercules.
That’s mateship.
Compare this to the relationship between the other two bordering English-speaking nations. Quiet political observers across Australia and New Zealand must be looking on in horror at the way the United States is treating its Canadian neighbours.
Whilst most people appreciate the frustrations the White House has faced after decades of tariff inequities, the reality is that previous administrations all saw fit to shake on a deal and, even more alarming, the Presidential campaign was relatively silent on the need for a trade war save some loose commentary on Making America Great Again via a revitalisation of inefficient industries, begging the question as to what else is in the President’s bottom drawer?
But that’s not the real issue here. The real issue is the tone of the debate.
I reckon that if any Australian politician spoke about New Zealand and New Zealanders the way Trump is talking about Canada they would be torn down before they could say “Phar Lap”.
How is it that the narrative out of Washington was allowed to descend into petty name calling between two so called mates?
Surely the bond between the USA and Canada is as special as that which we enjoy with the mob over the ditch?
That’s what makes April 25th this year so unique. It gives us the added opportunity to focus on what we may have been taking for granted in our isolated corner of the world.
Normal Australians, and Kiwis, see today as the most sacred on our secular calendar.
And yes, there is a delicious irony that, unlike the American celebrations around Independence Day, we come together to reflect on a battle that we actually lost, but 110 years after our two young nations lost so many at the landing on Anzac Cove it’s fair to say that Anzac Day has evolved into something a lot bigger than that one event.
As we reflect on the world in 2025 we can draw on the Anzac story for strength on so many other challenges facing modernity.
In 2025 Anzac defines courage, endurance and fraternity.
And, dare I say it Mr President, Anzac also gives us a new definition of neighbourhood diplomacy.
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