Is the coast sandier on the other side of the sea? Given the popularity of a story about NZers crossing the Tasman to live in Australia, that may be the case. With Duncan Garner’s column about the cost of holidays in NZ, this was one of the Listener online’s most read stories. Readers also enjoyed learning about 100 of Aotearoa’s most intriguing people.
Duncan Garner: Take a holiday in NZ? You’ve got to be kidding me
“The people aren’t holidaying any more. The Reserve Bank is winning. We haven’t got the disposable income to afford a great Kiwi long weekend. That hurts everyone. The Covid hangover continues to affect us. The inflation sledgehammer is brutal. It doesn’t help with morale that you seemingly have to extend your mortgage to go on a short break here in Godzone.
If we do travel, maybe overseas is better bang for your buck. New Zealand is a rip-off. My best mate, who now lives in Ireland, is horrified at our supermarket prices every time he returns.
Nothing is cheap, it seems there is nowhere you can get a bargain, and last weekend, most of us appeared to stay home because of it. Why pay $400 one way to Christchurch when I can get a cheap ticket to Rarotonga for $500 return?
Yes, we have some good sights and great attractions but so does the rest of the world. And, remember, we are miles away. Are we really good enough any more? Are we worth the effort? We are ignorant and arrogant beyond belief if we think we have the most beautiful and best tourism offerings worldwide…
“Tourism is a bit confused right now. It needs a coherent strategy, it needs money, it needs staff, it needs to make itself attractive to foreigners and accessible to Kiwis.
And it needs a new minister of tourism who understands the sector and pushes for better outcomes.
It’s obvious, isn’t it? It’s the PM. Christopher Luxon ran an airline. He now runs a country. He gets tourism.”
You’ll find the rest of Duncan Garner’s column here.
New Zealanders may be leaving for Australia in droves, but they’ll be back
By Paul Little
“Are New Zealanders voting with their passports? The message in a slew of recent stories about people moving overseas is that the government is failing so badly, they have no choice.
The mantra seems to be getting through. “The health system’s completely stuffed. It’s Third World. I’ve got this mole my doctor says looks a bit odd and I need to see a specialist but there’s a two-month waiting list on the public health. So that’s it. We’re going to move to Noosa. Everything’s better over there.
Anyone moving across the Tasman will find themselves facing many of the difficulties they thought they were leaving behind. They deserve to know what they’re getting into.”
To read about the pros and cons of a trans-Tasman move, see here.
Listener’s top 100 list: New Zealand’s most intriguing people
By Paul Little and Listener writers
“Intriguing, influential, not always admirable, and in some cases downright inexplicable – here are 100 New Zealanders who are making a difference or at least getting noticed. For good, and occasionally ill, each has their own vision and mission. Some you’ve never heard of, others you’re sick of hearing about, but all are worth your attention ... (especially No.100).”
To find out who made the list, go here:
