Even Government agrees we're poor cousins

[KiwiHopeful]

Even Government agrees we're poor cousins - 13 Dec 2007 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news

New Zealand is lagging behind every state of Australia except Tasmania in what a senior Cabinet Minister calls the "holy grail" of economic indicators - gross domestic product per person.

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The report's comparison of New Zealand with Australia drew particular interest because it showed that the average weekly earnings of full-time workers in New Zealand were below those seen in every state of Australia.

Migration of New Zealanders to Australia had now reached a level where the equivalent of almost 10 per cent of New Zealand's population lived across the Tasman.

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HOW WE STACK UP

* In 2006 the average weekly earnings of full-time workers in Australia ranged between:

* NZ$1025 in Tasmania to NZ$1248 in Western Australia.

* New Zealand's averaged NZ$906.

* The wage gap has widened over time:

* In New Zealand, real wages grew on average 1.1 per cent each year from 1997 to 2006.

* Australian state real wage growth ranged from 1.3 per cent in Western Australia to 1.7 per cent in Tasmania.

* The equivalent of 9.7 per cent of the New Zealand's population were living in Australia in 2006. They made up 2.1 per cent of the Australian population.