Olympics gold for Northland jobless

Australia has proven to be the land of opportunity for Northland job seekers who crossed the Tasman for the Sydney Olympic Games.

Work and Income New Zealand say 35 of the 44 unemployed people recruited to work in the hospitality and construction sectors in September have not returned to New Zealand, or reapplied for the community wage.

The result has pleased acting Northland commissioner Debbie Power.

"It was an opportunity, there was a demand, we tried to meet that demand. The fact that 35 people haven't come back and are still overseas and in employment is a great result for us as an agency."

Nine people have returned, including one man who came back to organise shifting his family to Australia.

Others included single parents who had always intended to treat the Games as a one-off earning exercise.

Those recruited were a mix of long and short-term unemployed and domestic purposes beneficiaries.

Australia has long been a popular destination for New Zealand migrants.

Statistics New Zealand figures show that in the five years to last January, the net outflow to Australia included 4530 sales and service workers, 4280 tradespeople, 3860 professionals, 3840 technicians, and 3070 managers and administrators.

In the year to August, New Zealand's net loss to Australia by permanent or long-term migration totalled 26,030.

- NZPA