Money better but Australia is not all beer and barbies, says Steve Hart
KEY POINTS:
When it comes to work and the cost of living, where are we better off - at home or in Australia?
Speak to expats living across the ditch and most say they earn more, pay less tax and enjoy a cheaper cost of living than in New Zealand. Many prefer Australia's warmer weather too - but we can't blame our Government for the weather.
A cost of living survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting shows that Sydney is the most expensive city in the Australasian region, coming in ahead of Melbourne and Adelaide. Way down the list is Wellington, which is cheaper to live in than Auckland.
Rob Knox, principal at Mercer, says expatriates in Australia continue to face higher living costs than their counterparts in New Zealand. But it is worth factoring in that Aussie workers have to pay 9 per cent of their salary into the Australian Government's compulsory super scheme.
So how do the wages stack up? According to Hays' 2007 salary survey (the latest available) people generally have more scope to increase their pay in Australia than in New Zealand.
An HR director in Auckland can expect a salary range of between $120,000 and $200,000. In Sydney, the range is $182,315 to $455,736, with average salaries at $175,000 and $242,985 respectively.
Salaries for that same job across Australia also vary. An HR director in Canberra can expect a range from $145,814 to $303,779. Flit across to Adelaide and the range is $145,814 to $279,501.
Those in IT appear to have little to gain by moving to Australia, says the survey. It shows that a junior business analyst can expect to earn - at most - $55,000 in Auckland and $72,903 in Sydney.
A credit controller appears to be able to get a marginal increase by moving from Wellington to Melbourne, raising their average $40,000 salary to $59,536. And business development managers in insurance, working in Christchurch, can expect to increase their average $70,000 a year salaries to $121,502 in Sydney. Go to Perth and you'll get an extra $10,936.
The New Zealand Vice-Chancellors Committee chairman, Roger Field, says university academics in Australia now earn 44 per cent more than their Kiwi counterparts.
Jason Walker, regional director of Hays in New Zealand, has looked at the latest data available and reckons it is the country's young people who are hopping across the ditch to cash in on the skills shortages there.
He says plenty of people are heading to Western Australia to drive trucks, with novices earning $85,056 after training and more experienced truckies picking up $145,814 or more a year.
"But it is a hard life out there," says Walker. "There is red dirt everywhere, the heat is blistering and when the temperature drops it is like an ice rink after the rain. It's ... not something too many people can handle for a long time."
But being in a remote area means there's little opportunity to spend money. Walker knows of one person who managed to buy two rentals after five years' hard yakka driving trucks for mining companies.
He says it is the people aged 30 and under who can't get work here that are moving across to Australian cities where their skills are in demand.
"Over there, they are looking to bring on board a lot more younger talent," he says. "And Aussie firms are more than happy to look at people with transferable skills.
"We have seen a lot of movement of younger people moving to Australia over the past six months. They have fewer commitments, they can move from their rental property quickly and rent another one - they are fairly nomadic.
"As soon as there is a sniff of unemployment here, or that people are worried about their jobs, then that is when oversees firms come here and strike. They come here and promote themselves as a great place to work."
He points to our housing market as a good example of what happens when interest rates go up and people slow down on renovating their homes or building new ones.
"Six months ago a survey was released that showed that one company in Australia needed 20,000 builders," says Walker. "And the owners said, 'What better place to get them than New Zealand?'.
"Australian firms see Kiwis as a good fit because we have the same sort of culture, the same language skills and the talented people they want. Australian firms are saying, 'Why go too far offshore when you have people on your doorstep?"'
Walker has a warning for firms who are thinking of letting people go.
"Everyone knows our economy will pick up and when it does we'll need those people," he says. "And getting them will cost considerably more to get them back into your business in 18 months' time.
"We are always going to lose people to Australia and I can't see that stopping, particularly in the short term.
"But we have to look and see what skills we are losing and decide if we need them. It could be argued that the people that move to work abroad are doing so because they can't find work here."
However, he says although Australia is marketing itself as a lifestyle country, the strength of its dollar means that the cost of living is not as good now as it has been.
Contact Steve Hart at www.stevehart.co.nz
