Waltzing with Matilda: the Gateway to Australia trade summit in March was a chance for exporters,...

It's tempting for New Zealanders to take Australia for granted as an export market. After all, it's only just over the ditch, we have that lasting monument to free trade called CER (Closer Economic Relations), and there are moves afoot for us to integrate economically, if not politically.

So why then, would the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the NZ Herald see fit to organise a conference which looked at Australia, Australia, and nothing but Australia, and string it out from eight in the morning until 6.30 at night.

There were a few clues in the little prom