Catching up With Australia?

What’s all this nonsense about catching up with Australia? And where are they going that we should need to catch up?

I hadn’t noticed that we here in NZ are any worse off than our cousins across the ocean. They may be able to earn bigger pay packets in some circumstances but they generally have to pay more to keep a roof over their heads.

Don’t you love the ‘Don Brash panel’ suggestion that lowering the minimum wage would improve our average income? Note how a figure like the ‘average income’ can distort the truth. It’s not your average person’s income, it’s the ‘average income’, which can be seriously distorted by a few big earners. So one has to presume that if lowering the minimum wage will raise our ‘average income’ then someone is going to earn way more than their share while many others are left struggling. Sure, we all understand that some will do better than others financially as we ride the merry-go-round of capitalism; but making things worse for those at the bottom of the heap by lowering the minimum wage and reducing social services can hardly make for a healthier society. Thanks for your suggestions, Don, but fortunately it looks like no one is taking them seriously - yet.

I reckon we’re doing all right over this side of the ditch; and we don’t have to mine uranium - only gold and coal and cows.

Speaking of cows, dairy farming has become a huge industry in Aotearoa, but I do wonder who’s really making a buck out of it. Given that the average dairy farm will be carrying a million bucks or more of debt, I suspect it’s the Aussie banks which are making the biggest gains from our commitment to milking thousands and thousands of cows. I’ve worked in both Oz and NZ, mostly in NZ I have to say, and I haven’t spotted any advantages in working over there.

Though… They do have a standard agreement they work to in the screen production industry.

Things I like about working in this industry… I started a bit of a list in this column a couple of issues back.

Did I mention the occasional trip to Australia?

I should add having long spells with no work. I’ve really come to appreciate those spells that we get as freelancers, whether we want them or not. Those spells, though sometimes difficult financially, have allowed me to pursue all sorts of interests other than film-making. I can’t even imagine going back to working at a regular job. Ahhh, the joys of uncertainty.

The year is nearly over. In fact, it could well be 2010 by the time you read this rant. I hope everyone is having or has had a Ho, Ho, Happy Christmas and a jolly merry and safe transition into the New Year. All the best for whatever lies ahead.

… Albol