obviously there is no logical reason why north is up. and in many ways, considering the shiraz to be enjoyed post or not post golf in the southern hemispere, south is currently up.
i think the question has to do with who drew the maps, doesn't it? i notice maps from the u.s. show that country in the centre. this is the "customer" issue again. once people get used to the shapes of countries - australia is such a distinctive shape north up! - it's hard to change it.
the political question is really "should we change maps to reflect our "global village" ideas?" (whatever that means), or at least get greenland into size.