American-Australian alliance: As great mates, we both carry our weight

Australia’s former ambassador to the US, Joe Hockey. Picture: Supplied

When a recent Australian ambassador to the US was asked by an American counterpart what Australians were really like, the diplomat replied: “Aussies are just like Californians … except we like America.”

I used the line irregularly and the response of Americans is always an immediate look of confusion before the inevitable hearty shared laughter.

America is bewildered by its own complexity. Its history of revolution, civil war and civil disobedience sits in stark contrast with Australia’s evolution as an obedient society that doesn’t like authority but is reluctant to fight it.

Many Americans were aghast that there was not an armed uprising in Melbourne as a reaction to 262 days of lockdown. Even in the most conformist American cities, massive civil unrest would have been inevitable. Michigan state had the longest lockdown of 80 days.

Despite our historical differences, Australians share much with our American siblings. Our language, culture, business, sport and love of community are the foundation stones for our friendship. And despite the proximity of New York and Washington DC to Europe, the US is very much a Pacific neighbour.

Of course as a nation made up of 50 different states, each one thinking of itself almost as a separate country, America is complex and often unwieldy.

Social cohesion relies heavily on the compassion of individuals towards the poor and disadvantaged. Americans donate more money per capita to help their community than any other people on earth. Seven of the top 10 most generous people in the world are Americans. And despite spending more on social welfare as a percentage of GDP than Australia, extreme poverty in America is on display in every town and city across the country.

And America still welcomes the world to its shores with about one million new migrants every year. Despite this, racial tension is still obvious across the community. African-Americans represent some 10 per cent of the population but the scars of slavery will still take generations to heal. It is 160 years since the end of the US Civil War and only 54 years since the end of the Jim Crow laws that legislated permission for racial segregation.

Today there are twice as many Hispanic and Asian Americans as there are African-Americans. And it is a fair bet that by the middle of this century, white Americans will be a minority. Greater ethnic diversity can either mean conflict or harmony so much depends on what’s in the hearts of everyday Americans.

I am a great optimist about the US. Its energy, creativity, generosity and enterprise is without parallel. Americans are intrinsically good people. They care about each other, their community and others in the world.

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the outpouring of grief was universal. Yet the US has delivered four times more military support for Ukraine than the rest of the world combined. Its humanitarian aid dwarfs all except the entire European community combined.

All this and the US is expected to deliver world peace and prosperity from the Pacific to Africa and from the Middle East to the Caribbean. It seems Americans are expected to solve everyone else’s problems, not just their own.

This is one reason why Americans love Australians. We carry our weight. There is nothing Australians would ask Americans to do for us that we wouldn’t do for Americans. That’s mateship.

In every single major conflict since the Battle of Le Hamel on Independence Day, July 4, 1918, Australians and Americans have fought side-by-side in defence of freedom.

And while other nations with larger populations have supported the US in battle, pound for pound Uncle Sam has never had a more loyal friend than Australia.

In turn they always reciprocate. When more than one million American soldiers came to our shores to defend Australia and the Pacific in World War II, it was a totemic moment for our nation but it wasn’t all beer and skittles. Aussie men, fearing the flight of Aussie women to the US after the war, described the American GIs as “overpaid, oversexed and over here!”

While 40,000 Australian women did follow their GI loves back to the US, the generations that followed have kept the affection real. The bonds of friendship have never been stronger than they are today.

America is our most trusted business partner, our best ally, our best friend. Now more than ever, as mates we stick together.

Joe Hockey was federal treasurer and ambassador to the US. He has just released a book entitled Diplomatic (Harper Collins).