The Great Australian Escape used to be a 10-day holiday on the Gold Coast. It is now taking on new meaning, with record numbers of New Zealanders purchasing one-way tickets across the Tasman in search of better opportunities for them and their families. About 53,000 New Zealanders - equivalent to a city the size of Invercargill - moved to Australia in the year ending February. More than 400,000 people born in New Zealand now live in Australia. And there were reports this week of 6000 people, including many disillusioned immigrants, attending an Australian job expo in Auckland at the weekend.
The prospect of better pay rates, the dream of owning their own home and Australia's warmer weather are significant factors for those who choose to depart long-term. An online survey late last year of New Zealanders working overseas showed more than half of the 15,000 who responded were earning more than $NZ100,000 a year. Considering house prices in many main centres, particularly Auckland, are prohibitive, coupled with lower pay rates compared with what is on offer overseas, and it is hard not to sympathise with those wanting more financial security.
In reality, Australia's booming mining industry is the carrot being dangled in the faces of New Zealanders. Indications are that it will remain a temptation for the foreseeable future - despite some concerns about the likelihood of at least a slowdown in world demand for Australia's natural resources - with the Reserve Bank of Australia predicting up to half of all new jobs created in the country during the next few years will be related to the mining industry. But Australian economists and some expats have warned moving to Australia is not all beer and barbecues.
There is a distinct "two-track" economy and, while mining has prospered, the retail, construction and manufacturing industries continue to struggle. Some people who have made the move bemoan the cost of living, a lack of jobs in some sectors and accommodation shortages in high-density mining areas.
Nevertheless, the feeling of being underpaid is no doubt making many New Zealanders think seriously about a move, even if only temporarily. Some large Australian companies are laying out the welcome mat by head-hunting New Zealand jobseekers. Mining company giant Rio Tinto has advertised in New Zealand calling for more engineers, tradespeople and project managers as it continues to expand.
If more incentive was required, last week's Australian Budget, dubbed "the Budget for the Battlers", provided a raft of tax cuts and school benefits to further boost pay packets. And, as part of the Australian Government's policy to spread the benefits of the mining boom, the tax-free threshold will treble from $A6000 ($NZ7766) to $A18,200 ($NZ23,559).
Those earning less than $A80,000 ($NZ103,556) will receive tax cuts and parents with children at school will be paid.
The latest migration figures should hardly surprise Prime Minister John Key. In 2008, Mr Key, as opposition leader, used the transtasman exodus as an election issue. He campaigned on plugging the "brain drain" with promises of making New Zealand's economy more competitive with Australia, bringing wages and job opportunities into line with our neighbours.
Migration numbers appeared to drop early in National's first term in Government, but the floodgates have well and truly reopened.
Certainly, Mr Key had the global financial crisis to contend with, but clearly more must be done to keep young, ambitious and hardworking folk at home.
The Australian Budget provided great fodder for our own Labour leader David Shearer, who expected the number leaving New Zealand to increase further: "These are the people who are, as in New Zealand, working hard, making all the choices trying to get ahead and this will mean that they have more incentive to get ahead. I don't think that will be lost on New Zealanders here ... [They'll be thinking], maybe I can get a bit more of a break in Australia because I'm not getting one here."
When pressed on whether New Zealand could afford similar tax cuts, Mr Shearer said he would look at the Australian figures but declined to comment further. Mr Shearer's comments perhaps highlight one of the issues - plenty of rhetoric from politicians, but few solutions.
