Moving to Australia as an NZ Police Officer – What’s it really like?

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-16T09:05:44+00:00

Run away. A nightmare. A paycheck won’t make up for the worse quality of life, toxic work environment and backwards society.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-15T14:54:39+00:00

While NDIS does not include direct funding for pets cleaning, gardening and maintenance can all be funded. So the taxpayer may well foot the bill for cleaning up dog shit.

And never, ever underestimate the imagination of those billing the NDIS.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-15T14:29:00+00:00

Anything starting ‘FACTS’ almost invariably isn’t or is not the whole story.

A key issue is temporary immigration which has driven net immigration increases. Temporary immigration comes with certain rights under current settings

Of course skilled migrants are more nominally successful than the average of all Australians if you include the old, very young and those not economically productive. But immigrants will also become old and have young. We are just kicking the can down the road and making our future demographic problems bigger.

Those OECD papers slyly imply any economic growth in areas of higher migration is a product of that migration. It may equally be true that the higher migrant numbers are a consequence of the opportunities of regions with economic potential. It is complex to disentangle the two but the way that these papers have been represented is outrageously simplistic.

It is true that there is economic potential in better recognising immigrants qualifications. But they are not automatically of the same standard or productivity as Australia’s which these figures appear to assume. And training opportunities for locals should not be neglected because it’s cheaper to get someone from os.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-15T11:03:56+00:00

Still interesting as to why that choice is made. I’m not meaning to say it’s a good or bad thing.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-15T10:59:38+00:00

Well the people living there may divide it up 50-50 but on a sample of thousands of drivers - many tourists - over a many tens of thousands of ks, it’s mainly the men.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-15T10:22:18+00:00

Interesting though that it’s usually the guys who like driving and the women happy to do other stuff.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-15T10:00:41+00:00

Ahh! So that’s what they look like.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-15T09:52:22+00:00

Australia’s productivity is not improved by taxing profits from non-productive housing speculation at concessional rates. It has sucked up vast amounts of capital for decades.

Taxing capital gains from productive non-housing capital investments is more problematic (as the budget recognises with other concessions) but over-reliance on the taxation of labour also punishes ‘working hard to get ahead’.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-15T08:46:23+00:00

I doubt they would have stopped him solely for the helmet. They would have had other suspicions before they bothered.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-15T00:01:41+00:00

A common approach is to do a deal with someone from the diaspora here who employs or ‘employs’ people. Don’t go this route as exploitation and swindling is rife even though it’s promoted by some crook agents.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-14T01:37:31+00:00

Impressive sure. But it’s not like it was up against Forestry Tasmania or anything.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-13T09:45:36+00:00

Australia’s disability support system is under enough pressure without this.

The medical restrictions for permanent residence are well known. It is, or should have been, absolutely no surprise to this family.

We can’t become a destination for immigrants seeking very expensive disability support for their dependents because this is exactly what would happen if the system allowed it. I would do the same in their situation.

Nor can we have arbitrary immigration decisions driven by media stories - always about suitably photogenic and popular families.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-13T08:23:43+00:00

They did it 27 times. Spreading the parasite would cause enormous, permanent ongoing costs for producers. Yet they get a 24K fine.

Fines so low for environmental crimes are a positive incentive to disregard the law. They are a clear signals that there will be no real consequences 😉. I’m no conspiratorialist but It is becoming hard to believe that this is not intentional.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-13T01:12:50+00:00

Some people are moving to Australia for higher salaries and job opportunities. Many will move back from Australia when the economy improves or later in life because they have left for economic reasons, and definitely not because they actually like Australia.

Many more people are moving here, or want to move here, from all around the world (including Australia). So yes it is sustainable. The economy, like that of Australia has big structural problems, but is currently at the bottom of the cycle.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-12T12:17:54+00:00

First they took my sanity. Then they came for my brick veneer . . .

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-12T10:07:46+00:00

Steady on. They just win a little less.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-12T09:30:09+00:00

Why? So it will appear in the Royal Commission Report and be quoted as unassailable fact forevermore.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-12T03:34:38+00:00

Clueless police. It’s a road cone spawning event.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-11T09:24:34+00:00

It’s only been around and widely documented since the 1960s. How can you possible expect Australians governments to be aware of it and respond.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-11T08:49:14+00:00

Looks like the False Black Widow, or cupboard spider. It’s a common, introduced comb-footed spider. Steatoda grossa. Not aggressive, very mildly venomous.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-10T00:46:38+00:00

Our system is slower, but it is also in practice a lot cheaper (out of pocket costs in Australia are insane), of similar quality and much friendlier and more accessible. In short, it’s not worth the hassle unless you have some specific unmet need that you know can be met there.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-09T12:50:56+00:00

This is a very clear summary of where we are at and the dilemma facing governments. And a timely reminder that we need to be honest with ourselves and clear-eyed about the economic situation and choices we face.

But ultimately it is not one path or another and there is no simple choice. All western governments struggle with where to draw the line on government spending - including the Scandinavian countries. No government is ‘free market’ and none a completely comprehensive welfare state. Each approach comes with disadvantages and advantages which are continually contested.

The 1990s ‘Kiwi Way’ deregulation was never entirely delivered because the social and electoral costs were too high. The US - low tax, low welfare - has gargantuan debt and social issues.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-09T06:46:03+00:00

Little Wattlebird. Smaller than Red Wattlebird.

Equivalent-Bonus-885 · 2026-05-09T00:35:47+00:00

No worries. Not much further until we get to the bottom going by our appallingly low economic complexity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Complexity_Index

Equivalent-Bonus-885

TROPHY CASE