Phil
GOFF
Labour Leader

22 November 2011 MEDIA STATEMENT
100 Kiwis a day off to Oz

John Key has been given a resounding vote of no confidence with one hundred Kiwis leaving New Zealand for a ‘brighter future’ in Australia each day over the last month, Labour Leader Phil Goff said.

“In 2008 John Key said the exodus to Australia was a ‘vote of no confidence’ in Labour’s management of the economy. Today the shoe is surely on the other foot.

“Figures released today by Statistics New Zealand show the number of Kiwis crossing the Tasman is now at an annual high with 44,349 leaving the country in the last year.

“Despite John Key promising to stem the tide, a total of 106, 050 Kiwis have fled to Australia since he became Prime Minister,” Phil Goff said.

“In October, a total of 3,264 or 100 Kiwis each day packed up and left.

“Not only are wages better across the ditch, but unemployment is consistently lower, meaning there are more jobs up for grabs. The whole process will be made even easier with news today that the Australian Government has opened two immigration offices in New Zealand to fast track visa applications.

“Ironically, Aroha Ireland, John Key’s poster girl for closing the gap with Australia, is one of those going, as is outspoken National supporter and former candidate Paul Henry.

“Employers, who traditionally back National, have also expressed grave concerns about losing local talent to opportunities overseas. With no plan to get the economy moving or to up-skill the local workforce, the situation is unlikely to improve.

“John Key has suggested people are leaving New Zealand for their big OE. In my experience the great Kiwi OE is about backpacking for a year, not working permanently for higher wages in Australia,” Phil Goff said.

© Scoop Media