Why should young Kiwis stay in NZ when Australia pays more?

About this episode

The episode discusses the wage gap between New Zealand and Australia and its implications for young Kiwis.

Australia has just handed its lowest-paid workers a 4.75% pay rise, lifting the minimum wage to just over $25-Australian-dollars an hour – which is about $32-New Zealand-dollars.   That means a full-time worker across the Tasman will now earn nearly $1004-Aussie-dollars, before tax. -- or $1216- Kiwi dollars.  Here, the minimum wage went up just 2% this year to $23.95 an hour. Even our voluntary Living Wage, at $29.90, falls short of Australia’s legal minimum.   At a time when rent, groceries, petrol, and power bills keep climbing – the comparison is stark.  So, what does this say about how New Zealand values its workers? And, why on earth would any young person want to live and build a life here?  Today on The Front Page, New Zealand Council of Trade Unions president Sandra Grey is with us to talk about the growing wage gap, what it means for workers here, and whether New Zealand is in danger of pricing itself out of its own future.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Host: NZ Herald

Guest: Sandra Grey

Topics covered

• wage gap
• minimum wage
• cost of living
• young Kiwis
• employment
• New Zealand economy

Keywords

• minimum wage
• Australia
• New Zealand
• wage gap
• cost of living
• young workers
• employment

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New Zealand Council of Trade Unions

Places: Australia, New Zealand

More episodes of The Front Page

• The RSV delay exposing NZ’s child health gap · June 12, 2026 · 30 min
• Do the All Whites stand a chance at the World Cup? · June 11, 2026 · 23 min
• What does the fare cap policy tell us about Labour's campaign strategy? · June 10, 2026 · 25 min
• Why the Government dropped its power bill levy · June 9, 2026 · 20 min
• Why Auckland’s economic recovery seems continually out of reach · June 8, 2026 · 25 min
• Why Taiwan is testing New Zealand’s relationship with China · June 5, 2026 · 19 min