Primaflora,
Kiwis can pack up and move to Aussie any time…and vice versa of course. What makes you think it’s getting harder?
I’m old ;). I remember the days when moving between countries was very easy in terms of access to government services and the like. The two year stand-down for welfare benefits which came in 2000 FE. There’s still access to medicare for Kiwis over here but other than that you’re very much having to be self-funding or know that you will get work because there’s no safety net.
I’m not arguing that Kiwis or Aussies should have access to welfare in the country they are moving to but it is a change which means that emigrating from country to country is harder than it was. I remember when you didn’t need a passport to go between Australia and NZ.
So while movement between the countries is still open, access to services is harder. Clearer? My stepdaughter and her partner are thinking of coming over here and they do need more substantial financial backing than I did when I was in my 20’s and going back and forth. My sister after living here for 28 years still holds NZ citizenship and has no intention of taking out Australian citizenship. She works for the government and technically she needs to be a citizen (she’s also a twit IMO because I can see no reason why she can’t just do what the rest of us did and get dual citizenship). When I worked for the federal government 20 years ago, my citizenship was not an issue.
So, yeah overall from my perspective of lo these 28 years of moving between both countries it’s tougher than it was.
The competition for seasonal work is fierce, as a lot of uni students and travellers want it. The pay is also awful (I know, because I used to pick fruit and do farm labour in my uni vacations to tide me over). They are also very strict about you having the proper permits/visas because the government keeps a close eye on them.
Brisbane is fantastic, and reasonably priced. It certainly isn’t boring if you know where to go.
Cairns is too hot for my taste, and full of rednecks.