Nonetheless we have our contribution to make, and our UK partners have always been welcoming in hearing it. And this has to be because there is so much in common today, in the modern world. The ties that bind are not just history.
They extend beyond a fascination and affection among Australians for the royal family – strong though that is – or the longcontested rivalry between “old enemies” for one of the world’s smallest sporting trophies. There is a real sense in which the UK and Australia share an outlook, at a very basic level, on how an economy should be organised and governed.