Aussies arrive on staff search

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The Australian Government is rubbing salt in the wound of a nation struggling to keep its skilled workers by enticing more Kiwis at this weekend's careers exhibition.

Government departments, local councils and health boards were among 48 Australian companies which sent representatives on recruiting missions to Auckland this week

The Oz Jobs Expo - which ends today - comes at a time when the exodus to Australia has been a challenging issue for political leaders in the upcoming election. About 45,000 New Zealanders migrate to Australia each year in search of higher-paid jobs and a better quality of life.

Oz Jobs Expo producer Jason Clayton said 7000 people attended last year's event, which had only half the number of exhibitors. He would not speculate on this weekend's attendance but said their website had at least 77,000 page views and the average visitor had scoured the site for more than six minutes.

All of last year's exhibitors found workers: mining giant Rio Tinto hired nine people on the spot and later received 1482 applications, Clayton said. Other recruits included nurses, doctors, bus drivers, tradesmen and senior engineers.

He said that the governments in ACT and Tasmania were eager to promote their regions because they were often left off the list of options by New Zealanders contemplating making the move.

"Most of us Kiwis know about Queensland and Western Australia but we don't know much about ACT and Tasmania, which are actually Australia's little gems," he said.

Labour leader Phil Goff said he didn't blame the Australian Government for wanting "our people", because they were known for their strong work ethic.

"We need them here to contribute to growing our economy. Perhaps we should take a leaf out of Australia's book if we want to keep Kiwis at home, by lifting wage rates and creating a national savings scheme that will allow us to invest in local businesses as well as guaranteeing New Zealanders a secure and comfortable retirement," Goff said.

Prime Minister John Key did not respond to Herald on Sunday's request for comment.