Quote Originally Posted by Panda-NZ- View Post
What's funny is the wages are higher AND the rents are lower (vs auckland and wellington) in Aus.

Though we have a coalition which wants to make both worse.
Wages are higher in Aus yet they have strong unions - strengthening unions in NZ would be the death knell says business.
Fair Pay Agreements (FPA) here would be a disaster for NZ says business yet works fine in Aus.
We are told that higher wages here would lead to higher prices yet they have higher wages and lower prices (we're told) in Aus.
By the way, I have found prices in cafes and restaurants similar in Aus to here except on the weekends when you can expect to pay a 10% surcharge on Saturday and 15% on Sunday and public holidays.

Currently the coalition seems to be trying to make NZ a lower wage economy than it already is - helps business profits!