Midwife Sian Redman says she’s now earning two to three times more money in Queensland than she ever could have working in a hospital in New Zealand.
Since crossing the Tasman, Redman told Breakfast her lifestyle has also improved.
She’s worked as a midwife for the past 10 years, four of those in New Zealand, which included a stint as a self-employed lead maternity carer (LMC). Before that, she worked in the UK's NHS and initially came to New Zealand seeking better pay.
She said her work conditions are better in Australia, and her food and accommodation costs have dropped.
“The biggest shame is that 30 years ago midwives thought this kind of model of care we’ve got in New Zealand is unique and [something] that the whole of the world looks up to as the gold standard.
“Now midwives are choosing to leave that voluntarily for better pay and conditions,” Redman said.
In New Zealand, she said LMCs often had to work alone and sometimes acted as the sole professional carer for a mother. In Australia, doctors and other professionals were “more involved” in the mother’s care.
Despite the increased level of work in New Zealand, though, Redman said: “Midwives in New Zealand are not paid as well. The conditions aren’t as good [and] there is more autonomy and more responsibility.”
There are growing concerns that the New Zealand health sector could be hit with a shortage of skilled workers as Australia aggressively headhunts Kiwis.
A brazen half-page ad by Queensland’s state government has been appearing in the New Zealand Herald the past few days. The ad asks midwives and nurses to consider an opportunity to “expand [their] horizons” in “sunny South East Queensland” while “ditch[ing] the winter chill”.
The nurses’ union, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, is worried the ads are tapping into dissatisfaction among the Kiwi workforce.
Yesterday, NZNO’s members voted overwhelmingly to strike another three times as pay negotiations continue with DHBs. Nurses are planning to walk off the job between July 29 and 30, August 19 and September 9 and 10 to protest poor pay and working conditions.
Sense Partners economist Shamubeel Eaqub said analysis by the consultancy showed the average nurse in Australia earns, on average, 50 per cent more than their Kiwi counterparts.
The cost of food and housing relative to incomes is roughly 50 per cent higher in New Zealand, he said.
“It’s not suited for everyone, you might have family and other commitments in New Zealand that stops you, but half a million New Zealanders choose to call Australia home.”
With few opportunities for global travel amid the pandemic, Eaqub said it “made sense” for Australian businesses to target Kiwi workers.
Sense Partners estimated as people get vaccinated for Covid-19 and borders re-open, there will be a pent up demand in people to leave.
Eaqub said this would end up hurting numerous industries.
But there were “no quick fixes” to New Zealand’s issues considering it had relied on immigration for so long, he added.
“In some ways, we need to have this pain and this realisation we cannot afford to pay people peanuts and expect to have great profits and great service.”
National leader Judith Collins said the Government could be using spare spots in MIQ to bring nurses into the country to address skills shortages.
The National leader says Australia offers better pay and working conditions.
She said better staffing ratios and training local staff would also help improve the situation.
“The Australian Prime Minister and I spoke a few weeks back. He’s very open about the fact that Australia is going to take those people that we don’t look like we’re valuing.
"Ultimately, that’ll be some who came here under visas and who haven't been able to bring their families to NZ as they were promised, or it will be New Zealand-trained Kiwis.”
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