Government hopes Kiwis answer call of the catchline

These slogans (see above) are part of a $400,000 advertising campaign being launched by the Government in Australia today aimed at luring expat Kiwis home.

The ads will run on radio, the back of buses, at train stops and on "mobilites", big illuminated posters that will be driven around on scooters at likely Kiwi gathering places such as the Hurricanes/Warratahs game in Sydney on Saturday.

There will also be an email-based "viral campaign" aimed at getting people to pass on a video clip about New Zealand or a link to the website, newzealandnow.info.

"We'll get people talking about it, don't you worry," said Immigration Minister David Cunliffe.

The campaign started in Britain last year and has had 11 million website hits from the estimated 60,000 Kiwis in Britain, and potential immigrants.

But Labour Department communications and marketing director Richard Ninness admits that Australia is a much tougher market, with more than 450,000 New Zealanders who can be hard to distinguish from the natives.

"New Zealanders do try hard to assimilate into the culture," he said. "They wear their heart on their sleeve for New Zealand, but not overtly. The one time that all of that comes out is around sport."

He said polling this week showed that Kiwis in Australia still had an emotional attachment to home but did not have hard information about jobs, housing and so on. The website gives them data about New Zealand's low unemployment rate, low top tax rate and living costs.

The campaign launch, planned around upcoming sporting events, comes as the National Party used Tuesday's Australian Budget to renew its warning of a continuing Kiwi exodus unless this country matches Australian economic growth and tax cuts.

The net outflow of New Zealanders to Australia almost doubled from 11,034 in 2003-04 to a peak of 21,439 in the year to last January. It has slowed slightly since then, to a net 20,713 in the year to March.