World Cup 2015: Kiwis look to tame 'elder brother' in their backyard - Times of India

MELBOURNE: He's the taxi driver you call to head to the nightclub on weekends. He's up in time every morning to prepare your breakfast at the nearby cafe. He's the plumber and the electrician at your beck and call. He's the one bringing you fresh towels after an afternoon of surfing the sea. You'll find him feeding pigeons at the park after another graveyard shift at your favourite convenience store. He won't forget to ask you if you've been enjoying your cricket.

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He's everywhere in Australia, doing everything to survive. He's the quintessential Kiwi fluttering in the Big Brother land.

Australia is the motherland of immigrants, the destination for drifters and settlers, those from far and near who have flocked to this inherently rustic country over centuries and continue to do so. For New Zealanders, though, for a very long time, moving to Australia was just a matter of applying for the social security number. They could fly just like that from Auckland to Adelaide and start living here the way Aussies do. They weren't Aussies but once upon a time nobody here bothered reminding them. That's how it was until the 90s when perceptions began to change.

A chat with a first generation New Zealander here will reveal how no love exists between the neighbours any more. "The Howard government changed everything," says Irina Anderson, a leading lobbyist for the ordinary New Zealander's social rights in this country.

Crossing the Tasman now requires a non-protected special category visa which, in simple terms, means nothing 'special'. "That's not how the Aussies get treated in New Zealand. They have access to all social services available. But we need to have certified skills to be here," says Maggie, Irina's colleague and friend.

There are ways of figuring a New Zealander from an Aussie here in Australia. The easiest is to just ask. Neither would spare a second in letting you know how proud he is about where he belongs.

A good ounce of wanting to prove themselves in this land of big opportunities and bigger attitude comes from the rivalry in sport. The New Zealanders, usually quite reticent, find rugby and cricket among the best available arteries to vent their angst. The Kiwis - who live the life of just another immigrant here in Australia, as opposed to what they used to decades ago - yearn for occasions like the one today. Today, the proud Maori won't mind giving his All Blacks-loyalty a rest. Today, he won't mind switching to New Zealand's second favourite sport and cheer, simply to have a go at the 'pompous' Aussies.

They feel the need to give it back to the Elder Brother. The cabbie and the plumber, the electrician and the waiter, the old man who has an ageing son and daughter who don't really know if they belong here anymore. The Trans-Tasmanian rivalry goes way beyond Chappells' underarm blunder but it'll be fun if they're left with four to get off the last ball this one time again.

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