I'm Beached Bro. Beached As...

Garrett,

Something else they need to know...

Before they can start work they need to do the State's Safety Course.

In Queensland this is known as a Blue Card. NSW has a Green Card. Victoria has a Red Card. Western Australia also has a blue card and also a mine induction called Marcsta.

Bosses will NOT pay for new guys to get their relevant cards. They need to get them off their own bat. And no construction site will allow you on unless you have the particular state's card.

Such "Cards" normally entail sitting a 2 hour course. But there are some places you can do them online. Like http://www.bluedogtraining.com.au or http://www.allenstraining.com.au/ for Queensland.

And even though the cards are Supposed to be recognized from state to state, that's not always the case. So do the card course for the state in which work is intended to be done.

Michael Ross

Originally Posted by MichaelRoss

Fred,

Thanks for asking.

Short answer?

Money, Bro.

Even though NZ is a different country, the Kiwis are allowed to fly on over and get work, buy land, etc., without any kind of special visas. Almost like NZ is just another State of Aust. Aussies can do likewise with NZ.

A Lot of scaffolders are Maori - native NZers (pronounced mow-ree, and that's mow as in cow). Probably because of the physical strength needed. There is a joke... why hasn't NZ landed anyone on the moon? Because there's not enough scaffold in the world to go that high.

Anyway. Speaking with a Scaffolder he said... back in NZ he was getting like $9 an hour (which doesn't mean much if you don't know their cost of living, right). But when he came over to Aust, he walked straight into a $20 an hour scaffold job. Now he gets even more.

In essence, the NZ economy is borderline socialist. A welfare mentality by its leaders. Wages are low, taxes and living costs are high.

Quick example... Petrol (gasoline) is around $2 a liter while in Aust it's dropped down from around $1.60 to around $1.45 a liter. NZ prices found here http://www.pricewatch.co.nz/

So they earn $9 an hour while gas costs $2 a liter, while in Oz they earn $20 an hour with gas at $1.45 a liter.

Here's a website with other NZ costs http://www.backpack-newzealand.com/costs.html - higher than in Oz

You can compare car prices in NZ here http://www.autotrader.co.nz/ and in Oz here http://carsguide.news.com.au/ - prices in some areas are higher in NZ or pretty close to Oz prices. But considering people in Oz earn more money, it's effectively cheaper to live in Oz.

Understand also, that NZ really only has around 4 million people. Much of their wool industry - I've been told - has fallen by the way side. And even their meat business closes down plants. While Oz's population is around 20.6 million. And even though the NZ unemployment rate is supposedly low at 3.8%, I've been told they have problems with Cheap Labor coming in from outer lying islands - think USA and Mexico.

In essence, the old Oz saying... Aust, the land of opportunity (which the article Phil linked to uses as its headline)... is how NZers see it.

And, depending on where in Oz they moved to... the weather is warmer. From cold and windy Wellington on the southern tip of NZs north island, to sunny and warm Brisbane or Gold Cost on Oz.

Most of the Kiwis I speak to will Never go back. Some will go back to visit family. Some plan to go back to retire in 40 years - homes are cheaper to buy. But most are here to stay - even the Maoris.

Michael Ross

i dont think ill turn off the ligths i love christchurch its a beatiful city ive viewed the city online i think this place is one of the wonderful place on earth its unique land scapes and tourist attracting area no wonder it was chosen for the filming of the movie the lord of the rings
from workaholicvictor

It would be great to hear some thoughts and comments from a local perspective. The news on both New Zealand and Australia economies don't sound so great, although some people seem to be happy regarding the US dollar situation...

As per Gordon's famous words... The winds of change...

Exodus of skills to NZ...
http://news.google.com/news?ie=UTF-8...54795800&hl=en

Phil

Originally Posted by Phil

It would be great to hear some thoughts and comments from a local perspective. The news on both New Zealand and Australia economies don't sound so great, although some people seem to be happy regarding the US dollar situation...

Phil,

Thanks for bringing this to notice.

We have talked about it - a bit - at work. And here's some stuff into the mix.

Aussies (pronounced Ozzies) can freely move to NZ and Kiwis (pronounced Kee Wees) can more freely to Oz. No need for lengthy Immigration stuff. Just pack your bags and go. Get a job - no need for Residency Permits or Work Permits.

The NZ economy is... let's just say, Slow. Heavily Socialist in nature. Wages are quite low. E.g. A Kiwi Scaffolder (why hasn't NZ sent anyone to the moon? There's not enough scaffold in the world to reach that high ) told me, in NZ he was on $9 an hour. He came to Oz and walked straight into a $20 an hour unskilled laboring job. So it's easier for Kiwis to come here, earn the big bucks and use that to pay off mortgages back in NZ, then move back to NZ after many years.

With England, Oz has special deals with people with English Ancestry - seeing as Many people have English Ancestry, a high number could make the move. For instance, if you have a Grandfather who was English, you can enter England on an Ancestry Visa. This comes with residency permission and work permission - just as if you were born in England - and is good for Four years. AND, that same Visa is extended to your spouse, as long as, the person with Ancestry enters the country first - is in the entry queue in front of their spouse.

Those two places are the Easiest for Aussies to move to are the two highest countries of destination for those leaving.

Last time I checked, to move to the USA for an Aussie required either... a skill not readily available elsewhere in the US coupled with a Job Offer - your employer had to fill in paperwork for you; or to start a business requiring $1,000,000 in funding and employing 10 local people; or to retire with an income source not dependent on you working in the US - proof shown. (Note, this applied to people over 30 as it is considered those over 30 are not backpacking and are more likely to Reside.)

As for the Aussies economy... I don't know of any downturn. So the stock market has taken a bit of a hit. But the stock market is Not the economy that underlies it. The stockmarket is just a representation of what panicky people Think a stock is worth at any point in time so they can either cash in their chips or hold em for a Bigger Fool to come along and offer them more for their chips.

My point being, regardless of what the price of Coke stock says, people still buy Coke, right?

Having said that... I do feel for those who bought into the Sock Money Away In The Stock Market For Retirement line - we call it Superannuation and you'd call it 401k. Because they could put in $100 today and tomorrow it's only worth $80 - would have been better to have it in a shoe box under the bed. And in Oz, money put into those account Can NOT be accessed before retirement (yes there are exceptions, but for the vast majority of people, no, they cannot access them). The Oz Govt has Forced your employer to put money into this account for the employee - and the employee can also put money into it if they wish. *I* put nothing into such accounts and prefer to control my money myself and invest Outside Of the stockmarket.

But I digress. I don't know why you don't think our economies don't sound too good. I posted before that all I see around me is a Boom, people coming from interstate and overseas to make up the workforce void. And i still see it - there are Scots, Poms, Irish and Kiwis all over the place down here. And plenty of Indians and Pakis - all driving cabs

And as a side note... interesting how the newspaper headlines say Aussies are moving to New Zealand, when there are close to 7 times more moving to England. So while the headline is Technically correct, it is misrepresenting.

Michael Ross