Wages, tax and climate mean many more Kiwis are 'off to Oz', says Steve Hart
KEY POINTS:
Boy racers, low wages and high taxation are some of the reasons IT expert Damien Bateman left New Zealand for a new life in Australia.
He was "sick" of living in Christchurch and feels it has been going downhill for the past five years.
"It is overrun with boy racers and New Zealand - as nice as it is - is still a backwater country," says Bateman. "It is just not a world player where things happen."
The software engineer moved to Melbourne in August last year with partner and website copywriter Grace Harman and says the chance to earn more and pay less tax was compelling. Even with this month's tax changes, Bateman says he will still be better off.
"You just can't get ahead in New Zealand, that is something I hear quite often.
People are overtaxed and underpaid."
In Australia, a person at his level can earn A$92,000 ($112,300) but, in New Zealand, they would get only $60,000.
Bateman says that as he and his partner started to become less content in Christchurch they looked at their options. Australia seemed an easy choice because as a New Zealand citizen
"you can enter Australia with a New Zealand passport and driving licence and you don't have to do anything special to live and work here. And once you have proved you are here to work you get your Medi Card for health care."
Bateman, a minority shareholder in Kiwi software firm Lakros Technologies which makes foreign exchange software, continues to work for it in Melbourne as a contractor. He says the skills shortage is just as dire in Australia as it is here, with IT people among those that are highly sought after. But there appears to be plenty of opportunity to earn good money for those with manual skills too.
"In Western Australia, people are being paid A$85,000 a year to drive dumper trucks," says Bateman. "It's a mind-numbing job - but if you just want to get some easy cash then it is great for a year or two."
He says moving to Melbourne is like moving to another part of New Zealand. And while Auckland is like Sydney, Melbourne has a strong arts focus, like Wellington.
He and Harman live in a two-bedroom apartment in the desirable eastern suburbs, paying $450 a week rent and public transport is excellent.
Bateman says: "There is just so much more to do over here. And I am certainly trying to get out there and enjoy it. Coming here forces you to expand your horizons."
Despite everything, Bateman says he misses the New Zealand scenery. But with it being just a three-hour flight away he now sees his homeland as a holiday location.
"It is a beautiful place, but that isn't enough to keep me there," says Bateman. "I can't really see any reason to return to live and work in New Zealand under the current tax regime and cost of living - which is a shame."
Many food items are cheaper in Australia than in New Zealand. Bateman points to dairy products as a good example, with milk, cheese and butter being significantly cheaper. He says electricity is also cheaper.
The cost of rental accommodation is starting to rise though as more people arrive to live in the city.
Statistics New Zealand says the number of people leaving our shores for Australia was 30,600 in the year to April. That is just under 600 people a week and an increase on the comparable 2007 figure of 461 a week.
People heading for Australia is spread across age and occupation groups. Migrants aged 15-29 years accounted for 40 per cent (12,100), those aged 0-14 years and 30-44 contributed 23 per cent (7100), 45-59
13 per cent (3800) and those 60 and over 1 per cent to the outflow.
Migration to Australia was recorded in each broad occupation group, led by professionals (2100), service & sales workers (1900) and trades workers (1800). There was also a net outflow to Australia of 12,600 people without an occupation, of which most were children or students.
Another of those that has left New Zealand behind is Mary Young (not her real name). She worked at an Auckland engineering firm as a draughtswoman but says she couldn't earn enough to pay her mortgage and live a decent life.
"I knew something was going wrong when I moved out of my home so I could rent it out," says Young.
"Then I rented a place I could afford to live in."
A friend in Australia sent her a job advert and Young discovered how much she could earn by moving across the ditch.
She sent her CV off to the recruitment firm in Brisbane one morning and, within an hour, got a call back asking when she was arriving.
"I told my boss hoping he could come close to matching what I thought I could earn in Australia," says Young. "He said they couldn't compete on the salary and that it wasn't even worth discussing it.
By moving to Brisbane, Young has almost doubled her income. She says her employers were sad to see her go but said there would always be a job open for her should she return.
Young - who moved to New Zealand eight years ago - says the country is a lifestyle choice and not a place to make your fortune.
"New Zealand is a stunning place," she says.
"I didn't want to leave - I was in a great comfort zone working for a good company, with good colleagues, I just loved it."
She says finding work was easy having been given four interviews in three days, followed by two firm job offers. All within her first week in Brisbane.
"My skills are in demand here, in fact they are in demand in New Zealand - but Kiwi firms just can't pay the money," she says.
Young says her theory is that business premises are more expensive in New Zealand than in Australia - meaning companies here have less money to pay their staff due to higher overheads.
"I am living in the city and enjoying it very much," says Young.
"It gives me lots of options and saves me having to buy a car as public transport is really good - especially the trains."
A poll by Research New Zealand reinforces some of what Young and Bateman say. The April survey of 501 people found that 38 per cent of Kiwis found the idea of moving to Australia appealing. When the survey is narrowed down to those aged 15-29 year-olds the figure is 50 per cent.
Research New Zealand director Emanuel Kalafatelis said:
"What the poll does show is why Australia appeals to Kiwis. We usually assume it's the job opportunities and for 40 per cent it was, but this is probably the first poll that shows what a major role warmer weather plays. We found that for 36 per cent of those considering the move, Australia's climate was a major drawcard."
ON THE WEB
http://movetoaustralia.net/
Contact Steve Hart via his website at www.stevehart.co.nz
