Why we should be proud of our man in Washington

Scott Morrison’s state visit to the White House is testament to the enduring bonds between our country and the United States, and should be a source of pride for all Australians, writes Paul Murray.

As if the road from Cronulla to Kirribilli wasn’t a big enough journey for Scott Morrison.

Tonight the daggy dad from the Shire will walk into the White House. The White House! And you can hear him, can’t you, our Prime Minister, as he looks around the most famous digs on the planet: “How good is this!”

There he is, on the biggest of stages, in the company of the leader of the free world, President Donald Trump.

The quiet Australian and the loud American, cementing the unique ­alliance between our nations.

It’s an alliance first forged in battle, in World War I. A century on, and Australia and the United States are much more than brothers in arms.

We’re trading partners, doing business worth $75 billion a year. We’re cultural cousins. Most importantly, we are mates.

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Turn on the TV, there’s an Aussie. Turn on the radio, there’s an Aussie. Walk into a casino in Vegas or stroll the streets of New York. There’s an Aussie.

It’s a big call, but for so many Americans I’ve met in the past couple of weeks, and over a decade of coming here, ours is the country they would most like to emulate.

G’day maaate. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison with US President Donald Trump during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Buenos Aires. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

We are a nation forged in debate, not battle. Not having those battles to become a nation, or a civil war to unite us, means we don’t have the surge of guns that they do here in the States.

I understand the bond between guns and freedom here in the States. But thankfully we exercise our right to freedom through spirited debate. Even if that comes under daily attack from people who want to shut down anybody and everybody who disagrees with them.

There is a palpable sense of pride you have seeing the Australian flag anywhere when you are overseas. But to see it lining Pennsylvania Avenue, as it does this week, makes you walk tall and smile wide.

Not because of some cultural cringe, but because it is a physical ­reminder that we matter in the rest of the world, and are centre stage in the ultimate capital of western values.

No matter their politics or mine, Americans search for a common language when they learn you are an Aussie. For some, it’s the wide open spaces of Queensland. I tell them it’s like Texas without the guns.

Others mention our public health care system. And our proud military brotherhood in the Pacific is always a topic of conversation.

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I spent a long night talking to a veteran from South Carolina. He regaled me with stories of Australian soldiers he served with in Iraq.

He spoke in awe of their bravery, as well as their fun-loving attitude during down times at the base.

How good is this? Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and wife Jenny arrive in Washington, USA ahead of their State dinner with President Trump. Picture: Adam Taylor

A New Yorker was so proud to show me the work of an Australian graphic designer they admire. A rancher shared his dream of visiting a cattle station in the NT.

Now you may think they were just being polite, but they had very specific and detailed fondness for the Australians they had met and the country they came from. Every time, it made me proud of who and what we are.

To some it’s all still Crocodile Dundee and Steve Irwin. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But so many Americans can put a name to the Aussies they’ve actually met, and tell you why they liked meeting them.

There are plenty of distractions in a country of 300 million people. To be its President must be a whirlwind of demands, every single day.

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So it says everything about our mateship that ScoMo isn’t just meeting President Trump for a moment or two at a world leaders’ meeting. It’s not just a quick photo opportunity. Our PM is the main game here for a few days.

I’ve been to the White House this week, and make no mistake, the place is buzzing with preparation for little old Australia. Military bands are rehearsing. The first lady is putting the finishing touches to the State Dinner.

Paul Hogan and Crocodile Dundee continue to cast a long shadow in terms of how Americans perceive Australians, but for many Yanks their affection for the land Down Under goes a lot deeper than that.

And President Trump will share the Oval Office with Scott Morrison for hours.

They will also travel together to Ohio, to the official opening of a factory built by Aussie packaging giant Visy. They will meet up again in New York next week, when world leaders are at the UN.

I know that there is so much news and noise about this President. But it says everything that we are one of only a couple of countries to get this kind of focus from Trump’s administration.

Lots of leaders pop in to the White House. But President Trump doesn’t just want to meet with our leader. He wants to impress him and honour him.

Take it from me, he’ll do that in spades this weekend and we should all smile wide watching on. That’s the difference between being ‘friends’ and being ‘mates’.

Paul Murray is a Sky News presenter.

https://www.instagram.com/PMOnAir/

Originally published as Why we should be proud of our man in Washington