A very good cover story in the latest North & South (Feb. 2013) on the respective benefits of Australia or New Zealand.
- Nov. 2012 net loss to Oz ex NZ of 2800.
- 2012 net loss of 38,800
- 600,000 Kiwis now live in Australia (almost 647,000 in mid 2012)
- 1976-1982 103,000 Kiwis made the transition.
Pay is the biggest factor in the trans-Tassie movement. Average weekly pay packets:
- NZ $860.62 (min. wage $13.50)
- Oz $1047.20 (min wage $15.96)
But is it that simple?
Financial improvement Oz-NZ depends entirely on WHAT kind of job and where. The harsher climates of the Northern Territory (gas and oil) and Western Australia (mining) attract compensatory salaries. So you get paid more to live in hell and work 12 hour shifts. Wage gaps are highest in low-skilled jobs, but Wellington and Auckland compare with many Australian cities.
A business analyst will be better off in Auckland than Sydney on average.
The big money skews the averages overall in Oz’s favour, and is generally a distortion.
You can pay up to $2500 a week to rent an unremarkable house in some big earning parts of Australia. One tenth of that in NZ.
Australia is also recruiting aggressively in Australia (Kiwis understand and survive well in Oz conditions) and that has grown emigration figures, on the back of attractive incentives to export Kiwis. The NT for example, needs 25,000 workers.
Economists compared Oz -NZ average family incomes and adjusted them with all the variables on tax, welfare benefits etc. They struck a mean of a dad in telecommunications and mum in retail bringing a double income:
- NZ $56,430
- Oz $63,304, so a $7000 difference.
They concluded an average family was better off financially in Australia.
But again, it’s not that simple.
Cars and houses are much more expensive in Australia than NZ. Affordability works out at:
- NZ 5.2%
- Oz 5.6%, so its much harder in Oz.
Of world cities (325) rated in terms of affordability, Oz centers do not do well compared to NZ:
- Sydney 323/325
- Melbourne 320/325
- Gold Coast 316/325
- Sunshine Coast 317/325
- Auckland 299/325
- Christchurch 298/325
- Wellington 255/325
Cost of living, Oz-NZ are about equal:
- Perth 13th
- Brisb. 14th
- Auck 15th
- Well. 17th
Other factors to note:
- Australia has the 11 most venomous snakes in the world. This makes camping and tramping a different prospect than in NZ where the most dangerous thing is a bee sting.
- Australia has a big stamp duty ($20,000 on a $500,000 house).
- Oz Super is compulsory, an automatic deduction on wages, not in NZ.
- Oz has more red tape around business, so setting up can be expensive.
- Tertiary study and private schooling is much more expensive in Oz.
I recommend the full article.
