Australians are going to New Zealand in droves…and staying there

It may seem like it’s “opposite day” but no, we are not living in a topsy turvy world: Australians are flocking to New Zealand in droves.

We Australians know that New Zealanders have been migrating to the land down under for years but now, it seems the tide has changed – New Zealand is looking more and more appealing.

But why? Well, it’s never been a better time to move to New Zealand. The once discarded little brother of Australia has been standing on its own two feet of late, and as the New Zealand dollar soars, so does it’s population. We cannot deny any longer that NZ is a land of immense beauty and culture, and has unfairly been dismissed for too long – in short, it’s New Zulland’s time to shine.

Today in The Australian, they pose the question “is it better being a Kiwi than an Aussie?” – What do you think?

It is truly a strange feeling to know that New Zealanders are doing better than us – their Prime Minister is more popular than ever (into his third term), their economy is strong, and more and more of us Aussies want a slice of it.

So why has the tide turned in New Zealand’s favour? According to Colin James, a New Zealand political analyst, “For about 20 years, wages were roughly 30 per cent higher [in Australia], so you just got on a plane. Jobs were plentiful and you just made money. It was just an assumption for so long that we in New Zealand were stuck with a net outflow of people so what has now ­happened has become quite a talking point”, he told The Weekend Australian.

Australia was like a big pot of gold for Kiwis and they wanted to bask in our gold. That was, until 2001 when the Howard government took away welfare and health care benefits for New Zealanders. And now, Australians are realising just how unstable our country has become and are looking for a way out. And Professor Paul Spoonley from Massey University told The Weekend Australian that 33,653 Kiwis moved to Australia in 2013 and 12,823 moved in 2014. That is a huge difference.

So what do you think? Do you think New Zealand is looking better than ever for Australians? Or should we be staying put in our own country?