ABC Radio National has an all news station - located at 630 AM here in Sydney. (For my Yank readers, ABC means Australian Broadcasting Corporation and is a national, taxpayer funded broadcaster.) At 10:30 am I was on the Harbour Bridge crossing to a meeting when the half-hour news flash played. Headline three for the bulletin was, “Australian sheepdog beats New Zealand rival on its home turf - for the second year in a row.”

Now I’m sure this was one hell of a dog. Clearly a prize winner. But Australian radio is not so desperate for news that they broadcast nationally the results of state fair competitions. (”And Bill Chadd’s prize Angus took the blue ribbon at the Wagga Wagga Beef Invitational today!”)

Instead Australians were indulging in a bitter national rivalry. Australia versus New Zealand. It’s the Hatfields versus the McCoys all over again. (These West Virginian families entered American folklore with a multi-generational feud.)

New Zealand is to Australia as Canada is to the United States - a nearby neighbour that we pretend to embrace while saying disparaging things when they’re not in the room.

The fact a sheepdog trial got national radio play shows the depths we’ll go to to show Australians are better than New Zealanders. It’s a bi-national sport!