Australia becoming the 51st state.

[Wryan]

Or collection of states to join the USA.

What do you all think? Would this be in the interests of both countries?

Just a couple of things off the top of my head. Australia depends heavily on the ANZUS security treaty. The geography of Australia is useful to the USA for Pacific presence.

If Australia joined the union, would any Americans want to move and work there? Would any Australians want to move and work in the USA?

[Xar226]

I'd love to move there. I have a really good friend in Sydney I'd love to spend more time with.

Would it be in their interests? I don't see why. We're already allies, what are they getting to give up a large degree of their autonomy?

[Independent voter]

I wouldn't mind Australia joining the US, but I don't think the Australian people would want that. Australia is as big as the continental US btw. It has many provinces.

[Ghostpanther]

Will never work. For one thing, they would have to give everyone there the right to possess firearms. Can not have their cake and eat it too. :P

[Wryan]

I wouldn't mind Australia joining the US, but I don't think the Australian people would want that. Australia is as big as the continental US btw. It has many provinces.

This is true, but like Canada a lot of Australian land is quite unsuitable to live in. A very large percentage of Australian people live along the coastline; much like a very large percentage of Canadian people live along the US-Canada border.

- - - Updated - - -

I'd love to move there. I have a really good friend in Sydney I'd love to spend more time with.

Would it be in their interests? I don't see why. We're already allies, what are they getting to give up a large degree of their autonomy?

With a defence treaty, Australia is trusting that the USA would come to its need in a catastrophic event. If providing assistance to Australia in such a case provided no economic or strategic advantage to the Americans, the US could choose to not intervene. It'd be a dick move, but this is not implausible.

If Australia was a part of the USA, security would be guaranteed.

I do not know what economic or trade implications this would have on both parties.

[endersblade]

Will never work. For one thing, they would have to give everyone there the right to possess firearms. Can not have their cake and eat it too. :P

But then the place would be cleared of all the wildlife that wants to kill and/or eat us. Where's the down side to that? :-)

[Rennadrel]

No. Dems would get triggered if the Aussies called them 'cunts' for being stupid, which is usually the way I have heard it projected.

[Moralgy]

I wouldn't wish that curse on anyone. Lets not destroy Australia.

[AeneasBK]

But then the place would be cleared of all the wildlife that wants to kill and/or eat us. Where's the down side to that? :-)

Thankyou for the mental image of cowboys yeehawing across the Australian deserts firing revolvers at the venomous spiders

[Argarock]

Why does the OP think that this in any way shape or form benefits Australia?

[LedZeppelin]

Every country belongs to America.

[Ghostpanther]

But then the place would be cleared of all the wildlife that wants to kill and/or eat us. Where's the down side to that? :-)

Did not happen here. We still have wildlife that can kill us here. lol!

[Kaleredar]

Will never work. For one thing, they would have to give everyone there the right to possess firearms. Can not have their cake and eat it too. :P

But I'm sure they'd love to return to having mass shootings and a higher firearm homicide rate like they had before they instated the tough gun laws they have now.

[schwarzkopf]

Technically speaking it would need to be 6 states.
In addition it would need to be via an Australian referendum - which is pretty much the hardest test in any world political system

That is - there is less than zero chance of this ever happening

[Crackleslap]

I'll happily decline, thank you!

[yetgdhfgh]

Never happen but a closer union of all the English Speaking Countries is possible especially now Britain has broken away from Europe.

[Ghostpanther]

But I'm sure they'd love to return to having mass shootings and a higher firearm homicide rate like they had before they instated the tough gun laws they have now.

Yeah. For a country which has less than 10% of the population , no land borders to defend and not the same social issues or a Constitutional right to posse firearms, you can see why.

But here we debating a fantasy event. lol!

[Wryan]

Why does the OP think that this in any way shape or form benefits Australia?

Security and free movement of people to the largest economy in the world.

Mostly security.

[Moralgy]

What curse? Shitty healthcare and a man-child President?

Guns would return in number as well as our gun obsession slowly seeped into the "new state". I think Australia is just fine without my culture infecting it.

[Wyrt]

Why would Australia even want that? Their country is doing better in a lot of metrics than the US. Joining the US would drag them down, not benefit them.