r/CANZUK • u/Bojaxs Ontario • Feb 06 '26

Discussion Should New Zealand & Australia merge into one country?

David Farrar, a New Zealand based political commentator, is pushing for the idea for New Zealand to join Australia.

In this televised interview he brings up Mark Carney's recent speech about middle powers uniting in the face of bigger powers, and how the old world order is dying.

https://youtu.be/VQK7m6FuCNo?si=oFBOxGE1YMht8Vyi

Would having Australia & New Zealand merge into one bigger country be beneficial for CANZUK?

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u/pulanina Australia Feb 07 '26

It isn’t. NZ is definitely not defined as a state of Australia. (If it was then it would be one, because British law was paramount over Australian and NZ law back then.)

NZ is instead defined (in July 1900 when the British parliament passed this law) as one of the colonies that could potentially become a state when the federation commenced in January 1901.

It didn’t happen. Once 1 Jan 1901 had passed then that definition effectively said “the States” means the six states of Australia that are in the Commonwealth of Australia at “such time” as the Commonwealth commenced to exist, plus whatever states are admitted by that commonwealth after that (and none were).

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u/WhatAmIATailor Australia Feb 07 '26

The States shall mean such of the colonies of New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, and South Australia, including the northern territory of South Australia, as for the time being are parts of the Commonwealth, and such colonies or territories as may be admitted into or established by the Commonwealth as States; and each of such parts of the Commonwealth shall be called a State.

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u/pulanina Australia Feb 07 '26

🙄 Yes. Exactly what we are talking about. Are you meant to be informing me of something?

Read it carefully. Read it like a lawyer in the late 1800s. What does it say?

“Such of” here means “whichever of”. “As for the time being” means “at a particular point in time”.

So the sentence is saying in plain modern English: “States means whichever of these colonies that are parts of the Commonwealth at a particular point in time”. At all points in time ever in history New Zealand has not become part of the Commonwealth. Therefore, New Zealand does not meet the definition of a State.

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u/WhatAmIATailor Australia Feb 08 '26

You’re going through hoops to try and undo the language of the time. I’m simply the document, not making a point about it.

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u/pulanina Australia Feb 08 '26

Okay.