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Speaker 1: Is the trans Tasman fight back on. We've got new

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Speaker 1: numbers around the income gap between US and them when

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Speaker 1: it comes to the construction industry, the infrastructure industry generally,

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Speaker 1: and is it well, it's shrinking the Construction and Infrastructure

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Speaker 1: workforce Development Council Chief Executive Philip Aldridge is will it, Philip?

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Speaker 1: Very good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Mike.

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Speaker 1: So how much variability have you found? I know, for example,

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Speaker 1: wages comparable for electricians and telecom workers except if you

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Speaker 1: happen to be in Victoria in New South Wales. So

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Speaker 1: what do you have to be? Where do you have

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Speaker 1: to be before you start getting all these weird and

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Speaker 1: wonderful comparisons?

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Speaker 2: The user's context might it is quite hard? So reality

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Speaker 2: is the free occupations looked at well, lots of occupations

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Speaker 2: looked at the lecture Tech was the same, but for

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Speaker 2: mobile plant operators, construction workers do it with quite a

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Speaker 2: big difference. Australia is paying more. I think the key

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Speaker 2: thing is that it's a lot more in salaries. It

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Speaker 2: involves house prices. US takes income, school fees, medical fees,

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Speaker 2: those other things. We're trying to bring a wider pitch

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Speaker 2: good and trying to bring an update information from employers

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Speaker 2: and workers.

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Speaker 1: I'm very glad you're doing it because life stage, I note,

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Speaker 1: plays an interesting role. So when you're young, you're a

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Speaker 1: bit frustrated. You were working in the meat works in

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Speaker 1: the middle of the North Island. You got laid off

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Speaker 1: the other day. Why wouldn't you go to Australia. But

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Speaker 1: by the time you have some children, look at education,

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Speaker 1: et cetera. It all changes, didn't it.

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Speaker 2: Exactly What we found is that when people are young

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Speaker 2: and just being traditional oe to Australia's tradeing oe. They

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Speaker 2: can go and live on Bondo Beach and work lots

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Speaker 2: of ours, get lots of overtime. But as they get

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Speaker 2: older and they want to settle down, then come the

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Speaker 2: housing gap is shrunk. Sopecially, it's more attractive in New

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Speaker 2: Zealand to raise a family, buy a house and go

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Speaker 2: from there. So it's also Australia. One thing, Mike is

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Speaker 2: Australia seems to be a lot more misogynistic and our

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Speaker 2: culture is better here. So if you're a female worker,

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Speaker 2: is better to work in Zealand.

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Speaker 1: How do you measure that?

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Speaker 2: Well, that's through the through the quality of the feedback

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Speaker 2: we got. We did both quantitative minstrative startup, so lots

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Speaker 2: of interviews and that was one of the things that

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Speaker 2: came through quite strongly that Australia has a harder culture,

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Speaker 2: my satistic from both male and female.

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Speaker 1: There's no question that's true. I'm just interested. I mean,

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Speaker 1: if you look at the reporters Channel Line the other

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Speaker 1: day and the media in general, I mean, it's shocking

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Speaker 1: what goes on in some parts of that sort of.

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Speaker 1: But then you come back to the question why do

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Speaker 1: you move to Australia in the first place, and how

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Speaker 1: much of it's about beer and sunshine and just good vibes,

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Speaker 1: And you can tell me a million different things. I

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Speaker 1: don't care because I'm going.

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Speaker 2: That's true. Well as you know, as you said, your

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Speaker 2: chums and doors are over there as well in terms

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Speaker 2: of England and Australia, and so we always get that.

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Speaker 2: The key thing is how do we beak people back

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Speaker 2: and how do we make sure there's up to date

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Speaker 2: information because people aren't always spending lots of money in

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Speaker 2: the mind anymore, so you'll make sure it's up to

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Speaker 2: date information. And also, I know, within sort of fifteen

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Speaker 2: eighteen months twenty twenty six and twenty seven, we're going

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Speaker 2: to start to big up take in construction and infrastructure.

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Speaker 2: Any workers here to deliver that.

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Speaker 1: That's an interesting part of your report. People need to

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Speaker 1: think about New Zealand's long term potential. Do you think

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Speaker 1: they do?

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Speaker 2: Probably not, to be honest, I think they're probably thinking

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Speaker 2: if they got a job, if they're making money, the

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Speaker 2: opportunity to make a start a business. But I'm thinking

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Speaker 2: about that. I'm thinking, how can we have the labor's

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Speaker 2: skilled labor to twenty sixty threenty seven when we get

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Speaker 2: out of this sort of doldrum and start seeing major

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Speaker 2: works come on line over next two or three years.

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Speaker 1: Fantastic. Good on you, Philip. I'm glad you've done the work.

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Speaker 1: I appreciate it very much. Philip Aldridge, the Construction and

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Speaker 1: Infrastructure Workforce Development Council CEO. And he's right. Our sign's

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Speaker 1: just moved to Edinburgh, by the way, Not that you care,

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Speaker 1: but I'm just telling you this because he raised it

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Speaker 1: interestingly enough. It's the question will they ever be back?

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Speaker 1: One won't. I'm almost certain they won't. The other one

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Speaker 1: I couldn't tell you, but he's moved from London to Edinburgh,

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Speaker 1: and he's loving Edinburgh. He thinks Edinburgh is a fantastic place.

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Speaker 1: It is warm, not literally it's freezing, but it's kind

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Speaker 1: and it's friendly and it's open. And he tells us

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Speaker 1: the Scots have the best sense of humor going, which

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Speaker 1: is nice night.

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Speaker 2: And it's a long way away from you. Of courses,

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Speaker 2: it is.

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Speaker 1: A long way away from us. That is, that is

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Speaker 1: indeed correct, it is nineteen.

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Speaker 2: For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to

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Speaker 2: news talks that'd be from six am weekdays, or follow

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