Ten years ago my other website had a story about tests showing New Zealand’s broadband network performance was pulling ahead of Australia.

It’s faster to download an Australian web page in New Zealand than in Sydney

There’s a danger that reporting this kind of story plays to base nationalistic instincts, but the reality is that it makes sense to benchmark local performance against Australia. Not only is Australia our closest neighbour in a geographic sense, but it’s the nation that’s more like New Zealand than almost anywhere else in other respects.