Fixing problems may be harder than identifying them

[Rich80105]

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350183890/watch-state-nation-fragile-christopher-luxon-says

Chris Luxon identified quite a few issues from the perspective of the
new government, but one in particular deserves more attention:

"Conditions were "rough" due to the "economic mess" left behind by the
Labour government, and New Zealanders were "voting with their feet",
with a record net 44,500 New Zealanders leaving the country last year,
he said."

We have been partially successful in attracting some doctors and
teachers (both identified as critical by National in the past), but
clearly not enough. The reality is that Australia pays more than we
do, and despite their having higher income tax rates than us, and the
need for Australians to have medical insurance, still we are losing
doctors and nurses and teachers.

The drop in the top tax rate may make us a little bit more attractive
to the lower paid teachers and nurses, but clearly pay scales need to
be moved upwards. We have known that we need to train more of our own
people for twenty years, and National did indicate they would consider
a new medical school for Doctors in Hamilton, but we also need more of
our own teachers and nurses, and in any event increasing training does
not produce qualified people for some years. The previous government
made some changes to pay rates, but clearly that was not enough.

In the short term, there is a need for pay rises for critical
professions - and the sooner the better.

The government have identified a significant problem; it is however up
to them to also find a solution . . .

[Gordon]

On 2024-02-18, Rich80105 <Rich...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350183890/watch-state-nation-fragile-christopher-luxon-says
>
> Chris Luxon identified quite a few issues from the perspective of the
> new government, but one in particular deserves more attention:
>
> "Conditions were "rough" due to the "economic mess" left behind by the
> Labour government, and New Zealanders were "voting with their feet",
> with a record net 44,500 New Zealanders leaving the country last year,
> he said."

This high number needs to account for the lockdowns, and the fact that many
Kiwis returned home.

>
> We have been partially successful in attracting some doctors and
> teachers (both identified as critical by National in the past), but
> clearly not enough. The reality is that Australia pays more than we
> do, and despite their having higher income tax rates than us, and the
> need for Australians to have medical insurance, still we are losing
> doctors and nurses and teachers.
>
> The drop in the top tax rate may make us a little bit more attractive
> to the lower paid teachers and nurses, but clearly pay scales need to
> be moved upwards. We have known that we need to train more of our own
> people for twenty years, and National did indicate they would consider
> a new medical school for Doctors in Hamilton, but we also need more of
> our own teachers and nurses, and in any event increasing training does
> not produce qualified people for some years. The previous government
> made some changes to pay rates, but clearly that was not enough.
>
> In the short term, there is a need for pay rises for critical
> professions - and the sooner the better.

Remember PM John Key saying that the aim is to increase the wages of NZ up
to the level of Oz?

It is very clear that while going to Oz means a better income than staying
in NZ is going to result in people leaving NZ.

One fix would be to become the seventh state of OZ.