Five young New Zealanders lay down the truth about what it’s really like living across the ditch.
Last year more New Zealanders left for Australia than there are people living in Taupo. While this figure (23,700) is only half the number that departed in 2012, when the equivalent of the population of Invercargill made the move, the steady stream of migrants across the ditch attests to the continuing allure of Australia.
Despite a strengthening economy at home, Australia still embodies the promise of something more, particularly for young New Zealanders on the verge of life after school or university.
Even in the lucky country, however, times can be tough. A survey conducted last year by researchers from Monash University found that New Zealanders were among the least satisfied of recent migrants to Australia.
With regard to their financial situation, recent migrants from New Zealand were the least happy of any group with 40 per cent describing themselves as “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied”. Nearly half of Kiwi respondents said they were “poor”, “struggling” or “just getting along.”
While Australian newspapers saw this as simply New Zealand’s problem - The Courier Mail pondered whether “Carping Kiwis” had become “Australia’s hardest-to-please migrants” - the survey’s findings jarred with the usual expectations of life across the ditch. Monash University’s Professor Andrew Markus said this finding reflected that New Zealanders in Australia were a special group.
Unlike migrants from other countries, New Zealanders are able to live and work in Australia indefinitely, but legislative changes introduced in 2001 have excluded Kiwis from many welfare benefits, quietly removing much of the safety net for New Zealanders who call Australia home.
At the very least, the survey signalled that the reality of life for Kiwis in Australia is more complex than migration statistics alone can tell.
To get a sense of that reality, Ollie Neas talked to five young New Zealanders living in Sydney and Melbourne about why they made the move and what surprised them when they did.
Video shot and edited by Ollie Neas.
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