"Australian MPs want a full union, or at least a single currency, with New Zealand. A committee of the Federal Parliament in Canberra says the strong ties between Australia and New Zealand suggest a merger could be desirable and realistic."
Mayhap... mayhap. There might be serious constitutional problems, though:
"Australian lawmakers acknowledged the hurdle posed by national pride, not to mention the problems any union would cause for rugby World Cup organisers who stood to lose a powerhouse participant in New Zealand’s All Blacks."
'Cause, like, Wales can never field a separate football team against England in the World Cup again, now they're both part of the United Kingdom.
One other aspect of the report kind of falls into the "Shouldn't that go without saying?" category:
"However [the Australian parliamentary committee's] chairman Peter Slipper says it is not an attempt to annex New Zealand or to mount a compulsory takeover. He says any change would have to be voluntary..."
Well, uh, yeah. I can't see Howard drumming up Australians as cannon fodder for a trans-Tasman war of imperial conquest... especially not against regiments of Maori soldiers chanting the haka. No blood for sheep!
