Premium subscribers have their say about civil works sector talent heading to Austrailia. Photo / Alex Cairns
OPINION
Road workers and drainlayers are ditching New Zealand for Australia, where they can make more money and work all year round, industry figures say.
The “exodus” adds to fears for the roading and civil works sector as “massive infrastructure deficit and massive maintenance issues” plague the country, with two councils in the fast-growing Bay of Plenty saying shortages are affecting projects.
Graham Rodgers, of recruitment agency Success Group, said in winter, the civil workforce dropped as many projects were weather-dependent and “if it’s wet, they can’t work”.
Some employers tried to keep half of their staff and used labour-hire companies or people on short or fixed-term contracts as needed.
The civil sector was busy, but so were many other industries, “who all want to grab them, or they have gone to Aussie, where they get paid much more and can work all year”.
Read the full story: Civil works industry losing talent to Australia as New Zealand battles “massive” infrastructure catch-up.
Have your say by going to bayofplentytimes.co.nz or dailypost.co.nz and becoming a Premium subscriber.
It’s simple. Reduce the ridiculous over-provision of traffic management trucks and staff. The amount of trucks, staff, road cones and plastic barriers for just simple jobs or for workers working well off the road is simply a waste of taxpayer and ratepayer money.
On the open road, cones are placed for half a kilometre before mainly minor roadworks or even workers working off the road.
The cost is horrendous and out of kilter with reality.
Migration is not a new thing for Kiwis — they have been going overseas for years and to Aussie for years. Some stay permanently but most come back at some stage when they realise NZ is not that bad after all
Chill out NZ — let whoever wants to migrate, migrate. Who cares.
Tim F
Another article proving the story of the flight of the productive part of our society: The people who strive, want to better themselves and their families, want to achieve in life.
When do all the “jobseekers” who are able to work (should be all, by definition) understand that mankind has to work to survive?
An easy principle. Lay down, sit, do nothing and die.
A healthy society is where people work, for their and the common good.
Sadly, here more and more people don’t live by that; thus antisocial, criminal attitudes are becoming more and more prevalent.
Very sad, our future.
Alexander G
Spending money is seen as the solution. However, no solution and no money is the result. Politics are effective by making the right decisions. New Zealand still has the best potential. The decision-makers have to go for it. I can see heartbreaking apathy in my areas of expertise — IT, education, health.
Lothar B
Not just leaving the country for better opportunities in Australia, but also leaving the mindset of a growing proportion of entitled NZers who consistently act the victim and expect the government and taxpayer to pick up the tab for the consequences of a lack of personal responsibility.
David S
Getting rid of the over-the-top road cones and safety trucks at road works where safety staff outnumber people doing the work would help the shortfall of actual workers. Having recently driven 15,000km from Melbourne to Cooktown and back the Australian approach to safety management around roadworks could not be more different. Not several trucks with one or two people sitting in them all day and masses of road cones but a few signs warning of roadworks and a large digital sign on the back of a trailer that displays an ugly face to any driver travelling above the speed limit. May or may not have a camera to capture speedsters. Very effective. Just enough cones to mark the work site. Job done.
Dawn M
The medical practice I go to has recently lost five nurses from a total of nine.
Four went to Australia to nurse and the fifth left nursing altogether.
Warren B
No government in our history has been warned by officials about so many things and chosen to ignore that advice, this included.
Paul E
“We are having to do programmes to prepare young Kiwis to go to work. A lot of them don’t understand what it means to get up every day, get dressed and go to work.”
What can one say?
Neil Y
Yes, people are leaving for work. But I think just as many people or more have moved because of co-governance and the divided community New Zealand has become
Peter H
Many Kiwis are still hurting from Covid decisions. This is just another link in the chain reaction.
Mark H
So workers are moving to Australia which has higher wages and people on here are blaming the government, which is fair enough. Then on another article, which touches on the IMF commenting on wages in NZ rising slightly quicker than in Australia, people are also blaming the government for that saying it’s causing inflation, so I’m confused as to what most on this site actually want? Do you want higher wages to keep workers from leaving, or do you want lower wages to cause inflation to drop? You can’t have both
Luke P
The quickest way to solve our housing and infrastructure shortfall/crisis might be for a million people to leave for Australia.
John B
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