Record exodus of Kiwis to Australia
The Kiwi exodus to Australia continued in March, even though the "lucky country" looks vulnerable to an economic slowdown.
Hot Topic
Summer features
BUSINESSDESK: The exodus to Australia continued in March as more Kiwis look for a better quality of life, even though the "lucky country" looks vulnerable to an economic slowdown.
Some 5000 departures last month left a net loss across the Tasman of 3928 last month, says Statistics New Zealand.
That took the annual net loss to a record 39,456, with 53,237 people leaving in the year ended March 31.
It has continued a trend of record annual outflows to Australia since November 2011, the department said.
The overall loss of migrants in March was 1300 for an annual outflow of 3400.
That annual figure was made up of 84,400 arrivals and 87,800 departures.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, there was a net gain of 130 migrants in March, the second monthly gain since the February earthquake last year.
That was bolstered by new migrants from India, China and the Philippines.
Short-term visitor arrivals rose 11% to some 240,000 ilast month, with a 35% surge in Asian visitors.
Annual visitors climbed 4.4% to 2.6 million, and were bolstered by the Rugby World Cup between July and October last year.
The government is hoping to attract an extra 200,000 visitor nights from a proposed Auckland convention centre.
The deal has sparked staunch opposition, as it would see casino operator SkyCity Entertainment Group foot the $350 million tab to build and operate the venue in exchange for an extension to its gaming licence, which would let it underwrite the expense with more pokie machines.
Paul McBeth
Tue, 24 Apr 2012
Tue, 24 Apr 2012
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
Record exodus of Kiwis to Australia
20265