Australia’s call if Key gong dinkum

OPINION: Even in his more selfcongratulatory moments, it’s unlikely Sir John Key ranks himself as a statesman alongside Nelson Mandela or as saintly as Mother Theresa.

Neither would he have tickets on himself as a peer of Jacques Cousteau when it comes to ocean exploration – although he did go kayaking with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

But yesterday he stepped forward to receive the same gong as those other illustrious luminaries – an honorary Companion in the Order of Australia. In his case, for services to trans-Tasman relations.

Key himself made the point that the top Australian honour is given at two levels – the Mandelas of this world, and ‘‘myself’’.

Other Kiwis to receive it have included former prime minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer and former deputy PM Sir Brian Talboys, opera singer Dame Kiri te Kanawa, and eminent planetary scientist Stuart Ross Taylor.

Turnbull was no doubt pivotal in arranging for Key to get the medal; he clearly held Key in high regard, reacting to his resignation with the text message ‘‘say it ain’t so, bro!’’

There will be those who point to Australia’s treatment of Kiwis across the ditch, from the deportation of prisoners to denying welfare and other rights to long-term residents.

But it would have been churlish of Key to reject the honour on that basis.

Sure, Australia’s high-handed ‘‘diplomacy’’ towards New Zealand and its attitude to our expats sticks in our craw – as does its treatment of refugees in detention centres.

But there is far more to the New Zealand-Australia relationship than that, including a close trade deal, military and sporting links, plus our shared history.

You could cavil at whether Key has done sufficient towards improving that relationship to deserve the high honour bestowed on him.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott flew into a firestorm of criticism that saw him fighting to keep his job when he awarded the Duke of Edinburgh the country’s highest honour – Knight of the Order of Australia. And that to a man who in 2002 asked an Indigenous Australian: ‘‘Do you still throw spears at each other?’’

Somehow, it seems unlikely Turnbull will suffer the same fate over Key’s gong. His harshest attacks were usually tongue-incheek or sporting jibes, unless you count his mild comment on the treatment of Kiwis: ‘‘There is an Anzac bond and an Anzac spirit ... that surely means we might get some treatment that’s different from other countries.’’

But If the Aussie public think it’s fair dinkum, why should we complain?

Hey, it’s their medal. They can set the bar as high or as low as they like.