Aardvark

Bruce Simpson · Site Admin Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 6061

This column is archived at: http://aardvark.co.nz/daily/2010/0209.shtml

The demand for good, skilled ICT workers is about to increase, both here and across the ditch.

What will that mean to NZ's economic future?

Will we (again) find ourselves with a skills crisis that hinders our economic growth and almost totally scuttle any hope of creating more knowledge-based industries?

Instead of creating an environment that attracts the world's best and brightest to our shores, we seem to be happy for our own tech-heads to vanish in a cloud of jet-smoke straight after the capping ceremony -- to be replaced by immigrant taxi-drivers with useless medical degrees.

Is there something seriously wrong with this picture?

And why is it that, when in government, MPs claim that the skills exodus is just "the great Kiwi OE" while, when in opposition, it's all down to bad economic management?

Perry · Joined: 15 Jan 2005 Posts: 538 Location: Hastings

miket · Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 41

I moved to Australia. Here are a summary of benefits if you are a kiwi:

Rent is not subject to tax. I can salary sacrifice for up to 4 years. Thats a grand in the hand a month!
Once that time is up, first home buyers grant and first home building grant.

I can offset my car use through tax even though I am a salaried employee.

It's warm and finally I have a tan Smile

I can buy exotic things that are just down the road.

The things that Suck:
Water - While there is plenty of rain, it's not in the dams.
Residual apathy toward Kiwis (mainly from ill-informed people)
Distance - It used to take me 6 minutes to drive to work in welly
Cost of housing: Inner Sydney suburbs are circa $800k for a 2 bedroom, you really need to move further out to afford housing now.

Overall I am better off here than in NZ. Even my wife doesn't work but we seem to have more money here.

staytrue09 · Joined: 09 Feb 2010 Posts: 1 Location: Wellington

As a young professional (29) in the telco industry. Moving to australia is something i am definitely considering. After several years in the industry I am getting the impression I am close to hitting the glass ceiling here and I know several other highly skilled telco professionals who have come to the same conclusion (especially considering that similiar positions in australia can earn me 10 - 15k pa more with greater potential for advancement).

barryl · Joined: 21 Nov 2009 Posts: 254 Location: Canterbury

Alan Bollard was on Q&A this week with a very good interview and made the point that (in his opinion) we can never catch up with Oz. I'd agree with that.

If the consumer lifestyle is your choice, maybe there's a bit going for it.

But OTOH (and I have lived there) there's

SFA water
Just about everything that wants to kill you also lives there: snakes, crocs, kangaroos, spiders, jellyfish, etc.
Flies galore and even more
Unbelievable heat and humidity for a fair chunk of the year
Outrageous house prices and/or trade price for commuting time
And the thing that I found depressing more than anything, was the dreadful ozz "we know best" bureaucracy. One example is enough: Try doing your own electrical wiring.
Bush-fires, and despite it happening every year, there's a fair amount of shock, horror, where did this come from ? each time another bunch of ockers get smoked. And then the aforementioned bureaucracy, in many cases, will not let you cut down the eucalyptus trees (aka flaming torch waiting to happen) right next to your house !!

What's all this talk of a "lucky" country??

No, there's several other countries I would MUCH rather re-locate to.

Greg · Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 6:25 pm Post subject:

barryl · Joined: 21 Nov 2009 Posts: 254 Location: Canterbury

Greg · Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 8:40 pm Post subject:

Slovenia!!!???

What about one of the great Carribean island territories?

If I had as little as a hundred grand I'd be there in a flash! (well sort of... I have too many family here in NZ)

johntech · Joined: 31 Aug 2009 Posts: 3 Location: Brisbane

I've been in Oz since 2003 and been very happy. I have a shorter commute and a better house for the money, but then I'm in Brizzie not Sydney. I have not come across any anti-kiwi stuff, even in jest. When I was in Auckland, there were plenty of Pommie comments, though all in jest.

Like NZ, Oz is not one place, it has a lot of variety. If I were to live in NZ again I'd choose somewhere like Napier - problem was as I remember that I lived in Aucklnand since that's where most of the jobs were.

johntech

barryl · Joined: 21 Nov 2009 Posts: 254 Location: Canterbury

edwin · Joined: 05 Jan 2005 Posts: 1230 Location: Wellington

France has topped the list for the fifth year running.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1240988/France-tops-list-best-places-live-world-fifth-year-row--Britain-languishes-25th.html

The top 5 are:

1. France
2. Australia
3. Switzerland
4. Germany
5. New Zealand.

I'd happily live in any of those.