from the BBC :
New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, has been ranked one of the least affordable cities in the world for buying a property. The picture is also grim for renters, with a 12% rise in prices in the past year. That, along with increases in petrol and food prices, has led many to consider moving to nearby Australia — where they have the right to live and work.
Chris, a builder, his partner Harmony (pictured) and their four daughters recently left Wellington to start a new life in the Australian city of Brisbane. Despite owning their home and earning reasonable salaries, they were still struggling.
“We have four kids, so it was expensive. We’d notice Australians saying you know the cost of living is going up — but that was the cost five years ago in New Zealand,” says Chris.
Leaving New Zealand and the rest of her family was a difficult decision for Harmony. But she says the move was necessary for the children.
“You can’t make a living in New Zealand. There is no living. You just go backwards. You don’t get a choice if you want live, you have to move, or New Zealand has to change. I want a future for my children and there is none in New Zealand,” she says.
The New Zealand government has tried to increase some short-term measures like fuel subsidies and halving the cost of public transport — but for many, it’s not enough.
Strictly it’s not a fuel subsidy, the Jacinda government has simply reduced the tax on petrol to where it was when National left office. —Eds
Congratulations Ardern. You must have just about capped it by now. Your achievements will never be equalled. The country is decimated, last one out turn off the lights as they say. Only many can never leave because they are sick, injured or dead from the vax. Or dead from your mental health legacy. Your legacy will be unequalled for the devastation it has caused. How unacceptable even, that this decimation should come from a woman, supposedly the “fairer sex”, the nurturers, the mothers, the carers. Not so it appears. How true it is: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice. When the wicked bear rule, the people mourn”.
Proverbs 29:2