Aussies launch jobs raid on NZ
27 May 2006
By KERI WELHAM

Australia's raid on New Zealand talent is set to continue as a massive public service expansion has created 7000 highly paid new jobs. Of those new positions, about 3000 will be in the Australian capital Canberra where statistics reveal average pay rates are more than 50 per cent higher than in Wellington.

Canberra-based Recruitment Management Company said Wellington was a 'fairly obvious' market when hunting staff with the appropriate skills to work in the Australian public sector. Acting managing director Catherine Andrews said the company was banking on the recent Australian tax cuts creating a 'possibly attractive income differential' for New Zealand public servants.

Canberra-based Australasian IT recruitment company Icon Recruitment said it would look to Wellington to fill public sector positions in Canberra, after exhausting the Australian market. 'One hundred per cent we would,' regional director Balder Bedi said. 'Most definitely. New Zealand is always high on the list.' A recruitment source in Wellington said people working in policy in this city were constantly being headhunted for much higher paying jobs in Canberra. 'Everyone has their price. We just can't compete.'

Of the 450,000 New Zealanders living in Australia, 4000 are in Canberra. The average annual income in Canberra is $A62,088, while in Wellington it is $NZ40,400. Canberra's job market is suffering a long-term shortage and is desperate for staff. Public sector agencies have begun trawling Canberra universities to try and recruit under-graduates for part-time work.The city already has the lowest unemployment rate in Australia, at 3.4 per cent, and observers say the 3000 jobs being created in the 2006-07 financial year will further stretch the labour market.

New Zealand's National Party warned of a raid on this country's 'best and brightest' when Australian treasurer Peter Costello revealed tax cuts of $A37 billion ($NZ45 billion) in his May 9 Budget. New Zealand's 2006-07 Budget, delivered by Treasurer Michael Cullen on May 18, showed a record operating surplus but no tax cuts.

Cabinet minister Steve Maharey encouraged Kiwis to explore the opportunities offered overseas but said, in the end, many people brought their new-found skills home. 'For the usual, natural reasons, people want to explore. New Zealanders and Australians do go back and forth (between the countries). It's a good way to build your career. There is no evidence of an exodus other than what you'd expect.' However, Statistics New Zealand figures show Kiwis continue to surge across the Tasman in greater numbers than they come home. In the year to April 2006, the net permanent outflow to Australia was 20,040, up from 18,200 the previous year. This was, however, down on the net figure to January 2006, which was 21,400.

Mr Maharey accepted Australian wages were higher but said other expenses, such as childcare costs, were sometimes up to three times the rate of New Zealand. And the Wellington environment, with a small government sector able to move at a faster pace than larger bureaucracies, offered a stimulating work environment for public servants. 'I think Wellington is one of the greatest cities in the world. It's staggeringly beautiful and interesting,' Mr Maharey said. 'If you live in Wellington, how could you not feel good about yourself?'

Canberra has more household waste, half as many organ donors, and a higher level of terrorism threat. However, it is renowned for quality education in the public schooling system, with Canberra secondary schools having a ratio of just 12 students to every teacher. In Wellington, the average teacher has 25 students.