Bordering on the absurd for students

I can, however, blame this country for possessing such petty and nonsensical laws.

A few weeks ago I arrived in New South Wales by air. I intentionally left my passport at home for this journey because I knew I wouldn't be needing any foreign visas. After all, last time I checked, Sydneysiders shared the same national flag as I do.

Now I'm feeling like a second-class citizen in my motherland. I feel discriminated against because of a purely artificial characteristic - my state of origin.

Why are Australia's state transport authorities so determined to make me pay full fares for using 'their' public transport? Do they believe I've achieved financial independence and security at some point between leaving Melbourne and arriving in Sydney? Or are they determined to punish me for my decision to reside in enemy territory, south of the Murray?

If this seems like a petty whinge, it's because you don't receive concession benefits.

While the difference between an adult and concession transport fare might be nothing to a middle-class commuter, it all adds up for the struggling student. Each year students save over $500 on necessities such as public transport because of this equitable system.

This saving, equivalent to roughly 40 hours of part-time work, is an invaluable financial benefit to undergraduate learners, whose top priority should be education instead of juggling multiple part-time jobs to pay the bills.

Remarkably, the Northern Territory is the only Australian state or territory that is willing to accept a 'foreign' student card. In fact, those lovely folks up north are not only willing to give youth concession discounts, but will let them ride their buses free of charge.

This isn't the only example of state governments failing to see eye to eye.

Back in the days before Federation, New South Wales rail engineers and government authorities were too short-sighted to use the same rail gauge as neighbouring Victoria. In 1885, New South Wales decided to persist with the implementation of their 1435mm rail gauge. This came despite reports from across the border that Victoria was using a thicker version.

When the two states became part of the one nation less than fifty years later, I imagine there was a lot of face-palming taking place.

To this day, engineers still have immense difficulties figuring out what to do about Australia's assortment of ill-fitting rail gauges. Looking into the future, it's difficult to see a viable way of solving that farce, caused by a lack of foresight and an underestimation of the value of standardisation.