KEY POINTS:
Better weather, hustle and bustle, more money - the reasons Kiwis cross the Tasman are familiar and oft-heard.
And there's no sign of those claims disappearing any time soon.
Latest Statistics New Zealand figures show that an average of 100 Kiwis packed up and moved to Australia each day last month, 3081 in all.
In the year to March 31, 30,219 people crossed the Tasman, close to the record figure of 31,938 recorded in 2000/01. And a Fairfax-Media Nielsen poll released yesterday shows a massive 10 per cent of us are considering making the switch across the ditch in the next year.
Dr Stephen Burnell, head of economics and finance at Victoria University, said the obvious reason is more money. "People can work in Australia and get a far better income as well as a great lifestyle. " The more skilled you are, the more international your marketplace is and the further you can go."
The number of Kiwis leaving for Australia last year was 28,000 more than those heading in the opposite direction, the highest difference since 1988. According to the latest Australian Census, Kiwis were the second largest overseas-born group there after the British, 2.1 per cent of the population.
So what of the claims?
Well, the weather would seem to be better. The average number of sunshine hours last year was 7.9 a day in Brisbane and 8 a day in Sydney.
That compares to 5.7 in Auckland and 6.1 in Wellington.
And if hustle and bustle's your thing, Oz has it in spades. Sydney, has a population of about 4 million, almost four times that of Auckland, and Melbourne's not far behind.
On the face if it, people really do seem to be better off, with the average weekly pre-tax wage in Australia $1162 ($1388) in the year to last November.
That compares with a New Zealand figure of $957.
Finance Michael Cullen yesterday pointed out inflation was higher in Australia. And not everyone thinks higher wages go further.
Former Aucklander Catherine Scullin thinks the price of meat is more expensive in her Brisbane supermarket than back home.
She's been paying AU$50 a kilo for lamb and eye fillet. Here, lamb is about $24 a kilo and eye fillet $22.
Petrol is cheaper across the ditch, with a litre of unleaded fuel costing from AU$1.44 in Brisbane to AU$1.54 in Adelaide and Melbourne.
Burnell said home ownership obstacles, such as high interest rates, were another factor in Kiwis moving to Australia, where first time buyers get a one-off grant of up to AU$7000.
"If people are finding hard to buy a house here, they will probably start looking at options in Australia."
There are differences in health care too, with Australia's Medicare providing access to free treatment for everyone in public hospitals, and free or subsidised treatment from GPs and some specialists, optometrists and dentists.
In New Zealand, people on low incomes are entitled to a community services card, which subsidises GP visits. The threshold is $23,712 for a single person living alone, $35,420 for a married, civil union or de-facto couple or $57,880 for a family of four.
Back in Australia, new mothers women get a cash payout of $4133 for each eligible child and all eligible families receive the maternity immunisation allowance. Kiwi mothers get paid parental leave equal to their normal pre-tax pay up to a maximum of $391.28 a week for 14 weeks.
Richard Bedford, professor and director of Waikato University's population studies centre, said we move to Aussie because it's our closest neighbour, they're bigger than us and there are no problems with visas.
He said it was natural professionals would go somewhere to advance their career. "That's not a negative thing, that's just a matter of scale."
Burnell said the mass exodus was no different from the traditional Kiwi migration from south to north.
"Only now more people are moving to Sydney instead of Auckland."
LIFESTYLE LURES LAWYER
Lawyer Antony Cahn used to travel to Melbourne every year to take in the shops and nightlife.
After starting a masters degree at the city's university, the lifestyle became so addictive he made the move permanent.
Now a family lawyer for Middletons, Cahn works in the Southern Hemisphere's tallest office building and gets to go shopping every day.
"The calibre of family law over here is higher because of the population. It would be very, very difficult for me to step back on the same pay."
The 29-year-old says the cost of living is about the same as in New Zealand but he earns up to $40,000 more.
His apartment is an easy half-hour tram ride from work or a 15-minute drive.
But he says the public transport system is so good compared to Auckland he hasn't had a car since he moved.
MEDICARE SYSTEM 'FANTASTIC'
Former Aucklander Jane Eyles-Bennett moved to Australia to lead a quieter lifestyle.
Now a single interior designer in Noosa Heads, Queensland, the 35-year-old revels in the beaches around her new home. She lived in the City of Sails for about seven years but moved last year when she realised she'd had enough.
"I didn't want to bring up a family there. For me the environment was really important."
She estimates the cost of living in Noosa is about the same as Auckland but said there were other benefits, such as the "fantastic" Australian Medicare system.
Eyles-Bennett will soon head to hospital for a routine allergy check.
"In New Zealand I would have to wait probably months. Here it's costing me nothing and I get to go in two weeks."
Eyles-Bennett says it is too soon for her to see if her business would be more lucrative in Noosa, but she is hoping to take advantage of the building boom in Queensland.
BRISBANE BOUND
Deirdrie Bushett smiles as she packs up the contents of her Auckland apartment - she's going on an adventure.
Bushett and new husband Bruce are leaving for Brisbane - fulfilling the long-held "dream" held at bay by her high-pressure HR job.
"I've just worked three years of 12-hour days and it's expected."
The 45-year-olds were lured by the sunshine and the chance for Bruce to more than double his salary.
Earning $35,000 as a property manager in Auckland, he'll be on AUS$72,000 when he starts his new career in Queensland's mining industry. And for the Bushetts, that's simply too tempting.
"We feel that we needed to have this adventure," says Deirdrie.
HOME NOT WHERE THE HEAT IS
The lucky Country's not for everyone.
The dream move of property investor Rustica Lamb and her husband Garry Butler to the Gold Coast lasted just three months.
The couple, who have a 21-month-old daughter, Sophie, had hoped to try their luck in the Queensland property market with a set of like-minded friends. "Nothing was happening so we decided to come home," Lamb said. Differences between the property markets stopped her trading as succesfully as she had here.
When trying to buy three apartments off plan, she was told by the developer there would be no automatic valuation.
And Butler learned he was unlikely to match the $100,000 salary he had as an Auckland insurance broker. He was told his income would be half that and he would have to do a nine-month training course to meet Australian requirements.
Lamb said she and her husband went out for their daily run at 7am, but even then it was as warm as noon on a summer day in Auckland.
"It was hot. The humidity was a killer."
Now living in Nelson, Lamb laughed as she told the Herald on Sunday: "I miss nothing."
