Aussie wages outstripping NZ

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, March 9th, 2010 - 19 comments
Categories: john key, slippery, wages - Tags: ,

Last week I wrote about how the total sum of all wages paid to workers in Australia grew 2.5% last year while the national pay packet shrank by 0.4%.

On a similar note, the Sunday-Star Times had a piece on the average full time equivalent ordinary time wage. In NZ, that rose 2.86% after inflation – from $891 to $934 – over the past year. In Aussie, it was 3.6% above inflation – from$1159 to $1226.

Now, I wouldn’t use the full-time equivalent ordinary time wage because it is too narrow. It only looks at FTE, so it misses the effect of people working fewer hours, doesn’t count overtime, and fails to account for all the people losing their jobs and either becoming unemployed or leaving the labour-force. That’s why I looked at the total national pay packages. They give a more complete picture of the situation, and it’s worse for New Zealand.

Nonetheless, the article is right – the wage gap with Australia is widening – and it points out that there’s no sign of a turnaround on the horizon with unemployment still rising here (it’s now 2% higher than in Aussie) and businesses here remaining negative on wage increases compared to their counterparts across the ditch.

When will John Key admit that he sold us a lie? When will the media call on him to resign if no progress is made on the one substantial promise of a ‘brighter future’ at he made?

19 comments on “Aussie wages outstripping NZ ”

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  1. mickysavage 1
    9 March 2010 at 8:12 am

    You mean he was just making it up?

    I like Mallard’s nickname for him, “Smile and Wave”.

    • Cnr Joe 1.1
      9 March 2010 at 9:24 am

      the finesse in his approach is to just write smile and wave with no frills
      heh – captcha affected

  2. gitmo 2
    9 March 2010 at 9:15 am

    Yawn as commented previously there is only one thing that will close the wage gap with australia, monetary and governmental union.

    • IrishBill 2.1
      9 March 2010 at 9:35 am

      Nah, an award system would increase wages and claw back some of the billions of dollars shipped across the Tasman every year.

  3. Fisiani 3
    9 March 2010 at 9:20 am

    As everyone knows, New Zealand was economically kneecapped by the outgoing Labour government in 2008 in a near treasonous and spiteful scorched earth spending blitz as the nation turned against their waste of nine years in office. When Michael Cullen gleefully boasted at his final Budget that he had left the cupboard bare it’s pathetic to blame the recipient of such a hospital pass. When we are faced with a decade of massive deficits and having to borrow $240,000,00 every week to pay the bills racked up by Labour it’s pathetic and desperate. Brighter times are indeed ahead. Real rises in wages obviously requires a healthy economy and Budget 2010 and 2011 will hopefully be the CPR to resuscitate the moribund victims of Labour’s legacy.

    • Cnr Joe 3.1
      9 March 2010 at 9:32 am

      No Fisiani, everyone doesn’t know. Waste of nine years in office? $240 000 00 ?
      “We’d like to see wages drop.” Who said that Fisiani? Say one thing- do another.
      No asset sales? No rises on GST. Tax cuts north of $50. Look what you fall for oh Nactional one. A new fall every day for you lot.
      Not sure if I want to be there to catch you before you hit the ground and Wake Up.

    • IrishBill 3.2
      9 March 2010 at 9:33 am

      Is this some kind of parody?

    • lprent 3.3
      9 March 2010 at 9:56 am

      No everyone doesn’t know. It is just something the idiots like you want to believe, because you’re basically stupid economically.

      There had been a demand from the right from before 2005 that taxcuts should be given. Politically it had become an overwhelming requirement of any government – regardless of how economic it was (and it wasn’t – they should have just moved thresholds earlier). There were a series of earlier tax benefits designed to reduce the costs of having kids (WFF) which were required to sustain the population in the future (and therefore help allow the country to sustain a taxpayer base).

      The reason that Cullen said that statement was because after resisting the political pressure for so long, he was overruled, and gave the best taxcuts it was feasible to give. In my opinion, far too much because it was unsustainable.

      NACT after the election, rather than acting responsibly, made even more unsustainable taxcuts. Consequently they are now running us into debt.

      • luva 3.3.1
        9 March 2010 at 10:05 am

        Lprent

        Are you really arguing that if National, or Labour reverse the the most recent tax cuts we will run ourselves back into surplus?

        Is it really that simple?

        • mickysavage 3.3.1.1
          9 March 2010 at 10:20 am

          Of course it depends on the circumstances at the time but it will certainly help.

          George Bush did the same in the US. He gave tax cuts to the uber wealthy and the deficit ballooned out of control. It is not rocket science, enough money has to be raised to pay for public services.

          Cullen understood this and NZ used to pay its way. Thanks to him the state was effectively debt free when Labour left office.

          How times have changed.

    • BLiP 3.4
      9 March 2010 at 1:01 pm

      As everyone knows, New Zealand was economically kneecapped by the outgoing Labour government in 2008 in a near treasonous and spiteful scorched earth spending blitz as the nation turned against their waste of nine years in office.

      Jeeze – what is it with the trolls and their constant refrain that Blinglish is a liar. Is it really just over a year ago the Blinglish said:

      Having condemned his predecessor for many years for paying off debt too quickly, English said: “I want to stress that New Zealand starts from a reasonable position in dealing with the uncertainty of our economic outlook.”

      “In New Zealand we have room to respond. This is the rainy day that Government has been saving up for,” he told reporters at the Treasury briefing on the state of the economy and forecasts.

      But, hey, since when has reality been of concern to the Right?

  4. tc 4
    9 March 2010 at 9:27 am

    History Repeats…….the next labour gov’t like the last will inhereit an economy with high unemployment, low confidence, numerous R&D/rehabilitation/education schemes gone, numerous privatisations in place that cost the consumer in order to line directors/shareholders pockets.

    Will it be 2011 or, heaven forbid, 2014 because if it’s not 2011 there will not be anything of value left in 2014 after Johnny Clown and his mates asset strip NZ further in true banker style.

  5. gitmo 5
    9 March 2010 at 9:31 am

    Comments 3 and 4 are a perfect example of why this country is politically fucked.

  6. tc 6
    9 March 2010 at 9:46 am

    Gitmo’s finally woken up to the political groundhog day that is NZ….MMP’s softened it a bit but the nat’s remain unchanged as ideological neanderthals at heart while Labour still can’t seem to get tough/get an edge/get a simple message and wrest control back before it’s too late.

    I’m no huge fan of any of them but we do better as a whole under labour.

    • gitmo 6.1
      9 March 2010 at 11:28 am

      I have always been firmly in the camp that poli’s are all cast from the same mould. It’s only the munters posting that their side is better than the other that live in the land of the bewildered.

      • Draco T Bastard 6.1.1
        9 March 2010 at 12:07 pm

        The evidence is that we do better under Left leaning governments than under Right so I’d say at least one side is right.

        • gitmo 6.1.1.1
          9 March 2010 at 1:32 pm

          All ‘the evidence” shows is that governments have the control of the treasury during different economic climates.

  7. Bill 7
    9 March 2010 at 12:01 pm

    On a brighter note!

    As some fella on the tragic lantern last night pointed out; there is a housing shortage in NZ, but as Kiwis leave to take up jobs or higher paying jobs in Oz the housing shortage will become less extreme…I think the piece continued by pointing out that tradespeople are usually the first to bail abroad looking for a better wicket…so maybe there will be a skill shortage as well as a housing shortage. And I think the bright note bulb just popped.

    Oh, well.

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