E-mail plea on brain-drain widens its net

By KATHERINE HOBY

An international e-mail campaign urging decision-makers to stop New Zealand "sliding backwards" goes to print today with an open letter to politicians on behalf of a "lost generation."

The group involved with the campaign, started by 27-year-old Aucklander Richard Poole, has placed a full-page advertisement in the Herald.

It says: "The reality is the big OE has now become long-term loss which the country's decision-makers cannot ignore.

"New Zealanders around the globe have united in an attempt to reverse the brain-drain in this country."

Mr Poole said the idea stemmed from his experiences.

Many of his friends were overseas and showed no sign of wanting to end their "OE" - overseas experience - and come home.

The message spread via e-mail and about 1000 people responded.

Of those, 700 put their names to the letter. Some had given money for the advertising costs.

But a senior Government minister last night lashed out against the campaign, accusing the Business Roundtable of being behind it.

Energy Minister Pete Hodgson released an e-mail from Mr Poole soliciting support for the ad in which he refers to Roger Kerr of the Roundtable.

The e-mail dated September 25 refers to a letter Mr Poole sent to Prime Minister Helen Clark about the state of "our once-wonderful country," and says: "To get to the point, Roger Kerr, who used to be the head of the Business Roundtable and is currently executive director, would like to use this letter to Helen Clark as a catalyst for a newspaper ad that makes the Government realise that us NZers are worried about our direction and the future of the place ...

"It's easy to see why people don't want to be here at present, particularly with the introduction of the Employment Relations Act, which gives virtual power to unions." . .

Mr Poole said there was no political party or big business group behind the advertisement.

References to Business Roundtable backing in the e-mail he sent seeking support no longer applied.

"If politicians or businesspeople want to come on board and do something proactive then great, but it's not coming from them."

Mr Poole, a marketing manager for a stevedore company, said: "Really this is a message of 'hey' to all political leaders.

"It's to say we are losing our future leaders and teachers of people so let's stop talking and try and put some ideas together."

The number of responses he had received from young Kiwis around the world suggested there was a strong level of feeling about keeping talented people in New Zealand.

"I know so many people who want to come home and are looking for a reason to come home," he said.

"People have always gone on OE but now when they look to settle, New Zealand is just not an option. We want to make this a catalyst to finding out what we can do to make it an option - a favourable one.

"We don't want to be the lost generation."

But Mr Hodgson said New Zealanders were tired of "endless negative publicity about their country being generated by the Business Roundtable.

"The Roundtable's devotion to bad-mouthing New Zealand's prospects makes it the hypochondriac of public debate in this country," he said.

Mr Kerr could not be contacted last night.