Yesterday, RNZ reported:
Number of New Zealanders leaving for Australia reaches highest level in more than a decade
The number of New Zealanders who left for Australia last year was the highest in more than a decade, according to Stats NZ.
Just under 30,000 New Zealanders left for Australia in 2024, which Stats NZ said was "marginally higher" than in 2023.
It was the highest level of emigration to Australia since it peaked in 2012 at nearly 44,000.
Traditionally, there had been a net migration loss from New Zealand to Australia. This averaged about 30,000 a year during 2004 to 2013, and 3,000 a year during 2014 to 2019.
Stats NZ data had also shown the number of migrants in New Zealand fell to a two and a half year low in May.
It said there was a net gain of 14,800 in the year ended in May compared to more than 84,000 the year before.
The slowdown was driven by fewer non-New Zealand citizens settling and record levels of people leaving the country, it said.
Let’s be clear: the Kiwi exodus isn't a lingering symptom of Covid-19, as Seymour would have us believe. The pandemic’s restrictions lifted over three years ago, and the world has moved on. New Zealand, however, remains stuck in a quagmire of economic stagnation, thanks to the National-led coalition’s myopic policies.
Unemployment has climbed to 5.1%, a four-year high, while real GDP per capita continues to decline, leaving Kiwis poorer in real terms. The cost-of-living crisis, far from easing, is squeezing households with rising food prices and unaffordable housing, with 46% of renters now spending over 30% of their income on rent.
Meanwhile, Australia boasts higher wages, better job prospects, and a per-person GDP a third higher than ours when adjusted for purchasing power. Is it any wonder young professionals are packing their bags for the lucky country?
Policy Changes Driving New Zealanders Overseas:
- Scrapping of housing intensification reforms
- Rejection of a capital gains tax
- Changes to interest deductibility for rental properties
- Cancellation of the foreign buyers tax
- Sacking of thousands of public sector workers
- Delays in infrastructure projects under the National Land Transport Fund
- Introduction of the Regulatory Standards Bill
- Funding cuts to Family Start (25% reduction)
- Repeal of fair pay agreement legislation
- Changes to the Employment Relations Act to constrain collective bargaining
- Reduction in funding for public transport initiatives
- Repeal of the Affordable Water Reform (Three Waters) increasing rates
- Reduction in support for vocational training programs
- Changes to the Residential Tenancies Act reducing tenant protections
- Reduction in funding for cultural and arts programs
The National-led government’s slash-and-burn approach to the public sector is a key driver of this downturn. Since taking office in 2023, they’ve sacked thousands of public sector workers, from healthcare professionals to educators, under the guise of “fiscal responsibility.” These cuts have not only gutted essential services, hospitals are overstretched, schools underfunded, and infrastructure projects delayed, but also sent skilled workers fleeing to Australia, where their expertise is actually valued.
The coalition’s austerity obsession, coupled with their failure to invest in high-value sectors like technology and renewable energy, has left New Zealand’s economy languishing. Low R&D investment, 1.47% of GDP, ranking us 26th in the OECD, further stifles innovation, ensuring our economy remains tethered to overseas products and volatile markets.
Seymour’s attempt to blame Labour’s supposed “economic mismanagement” is a tired trope that collapses under scrutiny. Labour’s Covid response was one of the best in the world, keeping New Zealanders safe and cushioning the economy with wage subsidies that preserved jobs. Their investments in housing and infrastructure laid a foundation for recovery, which National has systematically dismantled.
Yesterday, RNZ Reported:
(Megan) Woods said it was "somewhat surprising to hear them now claiming that that is the cause of the economy that they are presiding over".
She said the government could be doing "so much more".
"At the very time that we're seeing people struggle to find work, we're seeing a government that has scaled back on its own building program, for example, and it's no surprise we're seeing construction jobs disappear and those workers leave New Zealand."
She said the whole government needed to "front up" and "do the job they were elected to do".
"That is making sure there are good jobs for Kiwis, providing that cost of living relief for Kiwi families, and we're just not seeing that."
Seymour’s claim that we’re still “digesting” a Covid hangover conveniently ignores the coalition’s own policy failures, like scrapping Labour’s housing intensification reforms and delaying critical infrastructure projects under the National Land Transport Fund. These moves have exacerbated the housing crisis and choked economic growth, pushing Kiwis to seek greener pastures.
The coalition’s deregulatory zeal, led by Seymour’s ACT Party, is another nail in the coffin. His Regulatory Standards Bill, dressed up as a fix for red tape, risks prioritising corporate profits over public welfare, further alienating workers. Meanwhile, the government’s refusal to address wealth inequality, through minimum wage and welfare increases to match inflation, ensures people continue to struggle.
But one of the main problems, which has been further exacerbated by the current government's pro inequality policies is the housing market remains a playground for speculators, locking young Kiwis forever out of homeownership.
Seymour’s finger-pointing at Labour is a desperate distraction from the coalition’s own failures. New Zealanders aren’t leaving because of the Covid pandemic, now a distant memory for all except the most cooked of cookers; they’re leaving because this government has prioritised austerity over opportunity, cuts over investment, and rhetoric over results.
If National and ACT want to stem the tide, they must abandon their ideological crusade and focus on creating jobs, boosting wages, and making New Zealand a place where ambition can thrive. Until then, the Kiwi exodus will continue unabated.
