Posted on 12/21/2025 9:25:36 PM PST by SeekAndFind
“DITCH the winter chill” and “expand your horizons in sunny South East Queensland!” reads one newspaper advert, luring New Zealand’s health-care workers towards a new life in Australia. “Warmer days and higher pays”, enthused another, last year, from the Australian state’s police service. Kiwis who chose “policing in paradise” could look forward to 300 days of annual sunshine and a A$20,000 ($12,500) relocation bonus, it declared.
For many New Zealanders that is an easy sell. They are leaving their country in record numbers. Almost 129,000 residents emigrated last year—40% above the pre-pandemic average for this century. It is not a case of last in, first out. The majority of those leaving were New Zealanders, rather than immigrants returning home, creating a net loss of 47,000 citizens.
New Zealand, though a settler country, is also shaped by emigration. Its small economy and relative lack of opportunity have long driven young New Zealanders towards what they call the “overseas experience”, fanning fears of brain drain. Proportionate to its population of 5.3m, it has one of the largest diasporas in the OECD, a club of mostly rich countries. Emigration ebbs and flows: the last spike occurred in 2012, near the end of the financial crisis. As the pandemic raged, many expats returned to hunker behind closed borders, but the outflow quickly resumed. Recently, New Zealand has been in a rut. The economy is in recession and unemployment has risen.
Outgoing Kiwis grumble about costly housing and a crime surge.
Unlike most, they have an alternative when times get tough: they are free to live and work in Australia, and vice versa. Almost 15% of them are now based “across the ditch”. It is not just that Australia’s economy has weathered the cost-of-living crisis better. The income gap between the pair has been growing for decades.
Adjusted for purchasing power, Australia’s per person GDP is about a third higher than New Zealand’s. Its pensions are more generous, and its centre-left Labor government has made it easier for Kiwis to get passports and benefits. By comparison, New Zealand is “a sinking boat”, says one transplant on a Facebook group for Kiwi expats. Australia is “best for [an] easy life”, writes another.
In the past, fears of brain drain have proved overblown. Young expats have generally returned, and governments have offset losses by letting in immigrants from countries such as India and China. The result was a “brain exchange”, says Paul Spoonley, a sociologist at New Zealand’s Massey University. But there is a risk of that changing, he argues.
First, he says, it is no longer just young New Zealanders who are leaving, but more experienced professionals and extended families. Second, inward immigration is now slowing. After a post-pandemic spike, it plunged by around a third last year, though the population is still growing. Christopher Luxon, the prime minister, says the solution is “to build a long-term proposition where New Zealanders actually choose to stay”. But that has not proved easy. In 2009 John Key, then prime minister, set out to “match Australia by 2025”. In Wellington, the capital, some now joke that a more realistic goal would be to “beat Fiji by 2050”. ■
Even the Prime Minister Jacinda Arden bailed out of New Zealand to take a job a Harvard University.
I know the billionaire set wants New Zealand for their own, because of its climate and its remoteness where they can control the world without the world being able to get them.
Last I knew. my former lib congresscritter owned homes in NZ.
I met an American down there who moved because he thought there would be a nuclear war.
Then there’s Michener’s book Tales of the South Pacific. 2nd chapter on the Coral Sea battle. New Zealanders were scared the Japanese would invade. Through radio broadcasts they promised the indigenous Maori all the benefits at the expense of the Kiwis. Made me think if Islam had a bigger foothold in this country they could appeal to blacks.
Escaping a nuclear war is not the answer. It’s leftism.
Just like in America.
Going from one leftist country to another. Sheesh. If you’re a conservative down under, come to America and become a citizen and vote.
We should invite all the hospital workers here. Crime would probably scare them away but this article suggests the have the amended thing down there.
It’s the same thing throughout the Anglosphere
They’re moving from one insane asylum to another. During Covid, Australia turned itself back into a penal colony.
I've been to Aussie seven times and have always enjoyed brief stays but a more agreeable lifestyle with shorter drives to anywhere can be found in New Zealand. Additionally, New Zealanders accept immigrants easier than Australians, overall.
Ardern stacked each New Zealand household with $NZ60k of debt resultant of the covid episode. She went from working in a fish and chip shop to gaining a degree in communications, rose through the Labour Party ranks and became Prime Minister on the basis of charisma. Stacking billions of dollars of debt on the Treasury's balance sheet and overseeing the covid military operation instantly increased her personal wealth to over $NZ25m. She's in self imposed exile and wisely hasn't returned. The present coalition government has had to mop up the mess and when they took office, they found $642m that couldn't be accounted for. That's quite a lot of money in a country of just over five million people.
,,, before Trump was President the difference between Republicans and Democrats seemed to be just a matter of degrees on many issues, like it is in New Zealand. The two main Parties here National and Labour, agree on over 75% of policies [in place or to be legislated]. The headlines are made by fringe Parties with leverage under a MMP environment, much like the German electoral process. This system makes the large Parties which chase centre voters, work a bit harder. I've been to the US five times and thoroughly enjoyed each visit. When I was younger I told Americans I knew that I'd learn Spanish and sneak in over the southern border LOL! Not now. The US isn't what it was - I think we can all agree the golden days have passed.
Daughter and friend had a wonderful cruise around Australia, New Zealand, and other nearby islands and countries. Had the most fun in New Zealand and brought me a terrific possum fur sweater there where they have possum farms and the animals are treated well. . I’m wearing it to Christmas dinner at her house.
If billionairres want NZ, I hope they still have a thriving tourist trade.
i like your comment here its interesting.
last srntence? the muzxies do appeal to blacks
WHEN THEY ARE INCARCERATED TOGETHER... Iats kind of a first step...
Think of hostage situations involving Americans(Iran-’79). The blacks were let go early. It works for our enemies. When you look at how riots can start over anything with no notice you can be sure that moozlems know which button to push.
129,000 emigrants? That’s 2 1/2 percent of the population! At that rate, New Zealand will be empty in 40 years!!!!
It’s the same thing throughout the Anglosphere
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Politicians in the Anglosphere are often a major threat to the health and welfare of the “hoi polloi”! Of course, uninformed citizens are themselves to blame for that because they elect shysters and fraudsters to run their countries!
“letting in immigrants from countries such as India and China.”
To these maggots settlers predators NZ looks woefully un-populated. NZ seems OK to me except for all the lame asses doing the Haka dance, threats, whatever. I remember a national geographic on NZ 1990 or so. Lawn bowling was featured. How Anglo is this!
VERY misleading article.
In 2024, there was a POSITIVE net migration. Of the 129,000 emigrants, the majority were people returning to their homeland, or who were otherwise non-native New Zealanders. This still means a replacement of 45,000 New Zealanders, in addition to the 12,000 net migrants.
But even of the 57,000 net migrants, 20,000 were from Australia, Europe or America.
That’s not all she’s up to. From 2023...
https://earthshotprize.org/news/jacinda-ardern-joins-the-earthshot-prize-as-trustee/
From 2025...
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