Yet, despite Scotland's strengths, there is a fear campaign being waged by the British government, the media and, of course, other Scottish politicians who don't want to cut the apron strings from the Mother Country. The onslaught of scare campaigns would make Dick Cheney blush. Unfortunately the lack of belief that Scotland could prosper does not just exist in the big newsrooms in London. Of the 37 newspapers in Scotland, only one supports independence. This is despite the fact that recent polls put both the "Yes" and "No" sides neck and neck. This is a direct result of a culture Scotland has only started to grow out of recently.

I was perplexed when I first arrived in Australia to hear friends talk about a cultural cringe. It seems strange that a confident country such as Australia could have anything to cringe about. While there was a time when Australia was controlled from afar, patronised and made the butt of jokes, barring the occasional Ashes defeat or the odd dodgy Fosters advert, there is not much that England can throw at Australia now. So it seems natural to me that having battled through the phenomenon of cultural cringe, Australia would support Scotland in trying to be its own country.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott's recent intervention inthe independence debate, in support of the "No" vote, therefore was a surprise. I suppose anyone who wants to bring back the Honours system and who studied at Oxford is going to have an Establishment perspective, but the question remains; why should any Australian really object to Scotland being its own country?

The attitude of most people I speak to in Australia is usually supportive of independence and our countries make natural allies. The mateship and informal culture of Australia could come straight out of Glasgow. The general disdain for authority and putting on airs and graces is a strong part of Scottish culture. Cultural arrogance, the mocking of how other Anglophones speak, is not Scotland. When you have recruitment consultants in London refusing to hire Aussies that speak with an inflection, you know you have an attitude problem. Australia's fair-go attitude goes hand in hand with egalitarian Scottish values. There's no reason our countries couldn't be the best of mates on the world stage.

Hesitant voters in Scotland only need to look to Australia to witness how at ease with itself a country becomes when it takes control of its own affairs. We don't need to swallow the lie any longer that we are a poor country. And we don't need an out of touch elite in London deciding how much of our own money we should have to spend. We just need a bit of Australian confidence.