Anzac Day sticks out on the calendar of New Zealanders and Australians as a reminder of the sacrifices and futility of war, as well as mateship, courage and our trans-Tasman bond. 

While the travel bubble is now open, it is fitting we remember the close ties we have with our cousins across the ditch. 

The lessons of World War I, and every war before and since, remind us of the futility of war. 

With Russia currently rattling its sabre in Eastern Europe and massing its military on the border with Ukraine, the US sending ships to the Black Sea in a sign of NATO reassurance, and growing fears of China extending its reach, these lessons should be remembered more than ever. 

In World War I, what started out as an intricate web of alliances in Europe become a bonfire lit by the assassination of an Austrian prince - Crown prince Franz Ferdinand - at the hands of a Serbian nationalist who wished for an independent Serbia. 

With the Austro-Hungarian Empire then declaring war on Serbia, Russia sided with the small Balkan nation, which dragged Germany into the fold to protect its ally in Austria. 

Then, France got involved through its alliance with Russia, Belgium was invaded by Germany on its way to France and that caused England to get involved. 

England then called on its Commonwealth of nations to take up arms.

As the Ottoman Empire saw a chance to grab some spoils for themselves they sided with Germany and Austria-Hungary, which is how our Anzacs found themselves storming the beaches of Gallipoli. 

A war on the other side of the world, kicked off by the death of an Austrian Prince meant kiwis climbing the shores of the Bosphorus. 

Just like over 100 years ago, as geopolitics plays out in today’s modern world it is becoming increasingly hard to understand the intricacies of what is involved and unfurling each day. 

The Cold War may have ended but the alliances and the deep-seeded wounds of history never went away, and probably never will. 

Global spending on military equipment is increasingly up, with more spent on weapons and warfare than ever before. 

More conflicts are ongoing right now than at any other stage of human history. 

More people are refugees, migrants and slaves right now than at any other point in history. 

Anzac Day serves to remind us of those brave sacrifices of our men and women who have served in conflict. 

I choose to remember Anzac Day as a day when I remember how blessed and privileged I am to enjoy a nation of freedom and democracy, free of conflict and pains. 

I choose also to remember to continually strive to keep those freedoms, and as a journalist, fulfil my obligations as the Fourth Estate in democracy. 

While members of my family picked up a rifle to fight in wars for the Commonwealth, I pick up my pen to continue the longevity of our democracy.

Paper poppies are widely distributed on Anzac Day by the Returned Services Association and worn as symbols of remembrance. 

This tradition follows that of the wearing of poppies on Remembrance Sunday in other Commonwealth countries. I’ll be popping a poppy on my collar. 

Anzac Day continues to promote a sense of unity, perhaps more effectively than any other day on the national calendar. 

People whose politics, beliefs and aspirations are widely different can nevertheless share a genuine sorrow at the loss of so many lives in war.