Ok so I seem to have struck a nerve talking about Kiwis getting their super out of Aus.
Yes Ed, last time I worked here, 15 years ago, I took my super with me back home when I left. It was about $500!! After a year's worth of toil over a hot keyboard.
Not this time .. at least, will find out. It's more like $5K now and I don't wanna wave it goodbye when we get on the plane home next year.
It's true I certainly have the time to explore this further right now and it will do me good to be using my brain. Because I'm sure it's going to get weird. I fear it will involve complicated equations about tax and things.
Whatever, it's got to be worth doing if there is a way to get the money back to NZ. It's no use having money sitting here because you can't borrow against it in NZ. It just sits here and costs you money.
ON a completely different subject .. I was just interrupted by a young man calling on the phone to tell me he was doing a "survey" about internet use. And when he eventually got to the part about saving me money on my mobile phone ... I said thanks but no thanks. Now I've made a few cold calls in my time so I always try to be nice, but firm. This guy used the line "but can I just say one thing" and then he told me about saving money ... and I said 'NO' and than he said again 'but can I just tell you one thing" ... and I waited and he said "you have a very beautiful voice"!!
Good try! I don't think I ever used that line myself. Didn't work tho. I'm not buying yet another mobile phone plan, no matter how nice I sound on the damn phone!
PS. And no, I will not be providing audio clips of my voice on this blog. Although, podcasting might be fun ...
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Trans-Tasman Irritation
At the best of times, it annoys me, but right now it really pisses me off.
New Zealanders constantly compare themselves to Australians and conditions in Australia. I hate it.
Australians get paid more, Australians drive bigger cars, Australians all have plasma TVs, Australians pay less tax ... on and on it goes.
I don't know where it comes from and I certainly haven't conducted any research of my own, but a lot of these statements are completely without foundation. They must be. I just don't see people in Australia - as a whole - enjoying a better life style. And I see a lot of people much worse off than you see in NZ.
The single one thing that is better in Australia, than in NZ, is the weather. And that's only if you like it hot and clear and don't mind sitting in air-conditioning for hours.
The constant comparisons are foolish and at best, unhelpful. At worst it is destructive and it undermines the efforts of New Zealanders, in New Zealand. It might even have something to do with the brain drain - young people actually think it is better to be in Australia. They hear these mythical comparisons all the time as they grow up.
Now I am not someone who regularly blames "the media" for misrepresenting or highlight issues that would otherwise not get attention. In fact I'm the opposite. Usually I'm the one saying, 'it's not the media, they just write what they see'. But in this case, I can't help thinking it is too easy for journos to run out the "Australia is better' angle, on just about any story.
New Zealand is constantly comparing itself to the rest of the world, always looking for reliable benchmarks. Do we have enough superannuation savings? Do we have better after-school childcare? Do we have safe hospitals? Do we have higher property taxes?
I know from my time as a journalist it makes sense to use comparisons in a story like that, so it has relevance to the reader. You can decide if you really think our lack of savings is a bad thing, if only three other countries in the world save more, per head. Maybe our mental health system isn't so bad, if we spend more on mental health, per head, than any other country in the world?
That I understand. What peeves me is the media - and the general population - use Australia as a benchmark for everything! It's like saying everything in Australia is better so we should compare ourselves to where they are at.
Here's a newsflash - they ain't better.
Here's an example: Did you know it is impossible for a mature student to get into a university in New South Wales? It doesn't matter what your marks are, or how much money you've got. There are no places. You can not get an education. You don't hear about that in NZ. I was a mature aged university student in NZ. I have a degree because my country let me get one.
I've just finished reading a story in the NZ media about retirement savings. It's about how NZers are saving less. Various economist types are saying that Australians save more, and the super system in Australia is better. It's just not that simple!
For a start it's compulsory in Australia. At least 9% of your pay disappears before you even see it. Into a super fund. Very recently the system has changed so you can choose which super fund your money goes to. Up until now the employer decided. Of course there are people now wandering around with at least half a dozen super funds on the go, cos they have changed employers and not shifted over their super.
These are not the kinds of people who will now fill out all the forms and do all the research and move their super into one place. So straight away the system starts to magnify itself. Huge companies are now sitting on ever growing piles of cash, basically given to them - no questions asked - by law. And the person who actually owns the cash can't get it til they are 65.
And of course all those little accounts have fees and charges on them ... it's a great scam for your average finance company or bank.
And as for the "employer contribution" this is pretty much non-existent in the circles I move in. Occasionally you see a job advertised where the employer kicks in another couple of percent, but the salary is usually lower to off-set the higher contribution. And you can say, 'actually I would like to be paid all that money now please, cos I want to invest it myself' but it involves setting up your own investment fund ... and the advice from all the super advisors is that it's too hard. They would say that wouldn't they!? And it is hard, because the government doesn't want to have to monitor them. It would require yet another government department of say 1000 people!!
And there's a nice little catch for us Kiwis. You can't take the money when you leave. I'm struggling to find anyone who can advise me on this, but what I do know is that we can't take our super when we go back to NZ. It stays here, sitting in a fund with fees coming off it every year, til we are 65. I've heard a rumour it is possible to shift it back to NZ - to another super fund - but I can't find any info about this. The search continues.
Next time I get pissed off about this "But in Australia ... " thing I will write here about property taxes. And the great "better pay" myth. And the Kyoto Protocol. And Baxter Detention Centre. And racism. And burning coal for electricity. And Medicare.
One day NZ will grow up, and we won't need to measure ourselves anymore. We will look back at people like David Lange and we will know we have always been strong enough to say what we think and work together to figure out what is best for us.
I fear that day is some way off.
New Zealanders constantly compare themselves to Australians and conditions in Australia. I hate it.
Australians get paid more, Australians drive bigger cars, Australians all have plasma TVs, Australians pay less tax ... on and on it goes.
I don't know where it comes from and I certainly haven't conducted any research of my own, but a lot of these statements are completely without foundation. They must be. I just don't see people in Australia - as a whole - enjoying a better life style. And I see a lot of people much worse off than you see in NZ.
The single one thing that is better in Australia, than in NZ, is the weather. And that's only if you like it hot and clear and don't mind sitting in air-conditioning for hours.
The constant comparisons are foolish and at best, unhelpful. At worst it is destructive and it undermines the efforts of New Zealanders, in New Zealand. It might even have something to do with the brain drain - young people actually think it is better to be in Australia. They hear these mythical comparisons all the time as they grow up.
Now I am not someone who regularly blames "the media" for misrepresenting or highlight issues that would otherwise not get attention. In fact I'm the opposite. Usually I'm the one saying, 'it's not the media, they just write what they see'. But in this case, I can't help thinking it is too easy for journos to run out the "Australia is better' angle, on just about any story.
New Zealand is constantly comparing itself to the rest of the world, always looking for reliable benchmarks. Do we have enough superannuation savings? Do we have better after-school childcare? Do we have safe hospitals? Do we have higher property taxes?
I know from my time as a journalist it makes sense to use comparisons in a story like that, so it has relevance to the reader. You can decide if you really think our lack of savings is a bad thing, if only three other countries in the world save more, per head. Maybe our mental health system isn't so bad, if we spend more on mental health, per head, than any other country in the world?
That I understand. What peeves me is the media - and the general population - use Australia as a benchmark for everything! It's like saying everything in Australia is better so we should compare ourselves to where they are at.
Here's a newsflash - they ain't better.
Here's an example: Did you know it is impossible for a mature student to get into a university in New South Wales? It doesn't matter what your marks are, or how much money you've got. There are no places. You can not get an education. You don't hear about that in NZ. I was a mature aged university student in NZ. I have a degree because my country let me get one.
I've just finished reading a story in the NZ media about retirement savings. It's about how NZers are saving less. Various economist types are saying that Australians save more, and the super system in Australia is better. It's just not that simple!
For a start it's compulsory in Australia. At least 9% of your pay disappears before you even see it. Into a super fund. Very recently the system has changed so you can choose which super fund your money goes to. Up until now the employer decided. Of course there are people now wandering around with at least half a dozen super funds on the go, cos they have changed employers and not shifted over their super.
These are not the kinds of people who will now fill out all the forms and do all the research and move their super into one place. So straight away the system starts to magnify itself. Huge companies are now sitting on ever growing piles of cash, basically given to them - no questions asked - by law. And the person who actually owns the cash can't get it til they are 65.
And of course all those little accounts have fees and charges on them ... it's a great scam for your average finance company or bank.
And as for the "employer contribution" this is pretty much non-existent in the circles I move in. Occasionally you see a job advertised where the employer kicks in another couple of percent, but the salary is usually lower to off-set the higher contribution. And you can say, 'actually I would like to be paid all that money now please, cos I want to invest it myself' but it involves setting up your own investment fund ... and the advice from all the super advisors is that it's too hard. They would say that wouldn't they!? And it is hard, because the government doesn't want to have to monitor them. It would require yet another government department of say 1000 people!!
And there's a nice little catch for us Kiwis. You can't take the money when you leave. I'm struggling to find anyone who can advise me on this, but what I do know is that we can't take our super when we go back to NZ. It stays here, sitting in a fund with fees coming off it every year, til we are 65. I've heard a rumour it is possible to shift it back to NZ - to another super fund - but I can't find any info about this. The search continues.
Next time I get pissed off about this "But in Australia ... " thing I will write here about property taxes. And the great "better pay" myth. And the Kyoto Protocol. And Baxter Detention Centre. And racism. And burning coal for electricity. And Medicare.
One day NZ will grow up, and we won't need to measure ourselves anymore. We will look back at people like David Lange and we will know we have always been strong enough to say what we think and work together to figure out what is best for us.
I fear that day is some way off.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Side Effects
One of the nastiest side-effects of redundancy is an immediate lack of cash flow.
When I lost my job, it halved the amount of cash coming into our household. This means we will have to cut back. Although I've noticed another odd side-effect of not having a job, is that I spend less money. I eat almost all my meals at home, which is about twice as many as I ate at home a month ago. This is Sydney - that saves a lot of money. I don't buy coffee anymore either.
And I haven't bought drinks. Funny thing, but I needed to drink a lot more alcohol when I was working back at "that place". I used to be a big fan of 'Monday Night Drinks'. Getting through even one day, after being away for two, required an alcohol softener.
As John Irving says in his latest book, "it was a good job to lose". I'm starting to realise this more and more.
With the halving of the income comes the need to find another place to live. This was already on the cards before, now it's just become something I have to do, sooner rather than later.
Looked at a place on Saturday. It was fine. Would be perfectly ok. But I didn't like it. So I'm not taking the first thing I see. That's a huge step for me.
I didn't take the first job I was offered either ... I appear to be becoming a lot wiser, or at least more patient. Shit I must be getting old!
One of the main reasons I didn't like the place was because it didn't have a dishwasher. I like having a dishwasher. My husband said 'we don't need a dishwasher'. He doesn't.
The place had a pool as well but it was a bit exposed and looked a bit dank. The building we are in now has a pool and I've used it many times, but I wonder if I would use one that was outside surrounded by a block of about 50 flats.
The search continues. I've noticed these places seem to go very fast too, so when I get the hang of the competitive battle for an apartment I might be better equipped to handle the competitive battle for a job.
When I lost my job, it halved the amount of cash coming into our household. This means we will have to cut back. Although I've noticed another odd side-effect of not having a job, is that I spend less money. I eat almost all my meals at home, which is about twice as many as I ate at home a month ago. This is Sydney - that saves a lot of money. I don't buy coffee anymore either.
And I haven't bought drinks. Funny thing, but I needed to drink a lot more alcohol when I was working back at "that place". I used to be a big fan of 'Monday Night Drinks'. Getting through even one day, after being away for two, required an alcohol softener.
As John Irving says in his latest book, "it was a good job to lose". I'm starting to realise this more and more.
With the halving of the income comes the need to find another place to live. This was already on the cards before, now it's just become something I have to do, sooner rather than later.
Looked at a place on Saturday. It was fine. Would be perfectly ok. But I didn't like it. So I'm not taking the first thing I see. That's a huge step for me.
I didn't take the first job I was offered either ... I appear to be becoming a lot wiser, or at least more patient. Shit I must be getting old!
One of the main reasons I didn't like the place was because it didn't have a dishwasher. I like having a dishwasher. My husband said 'we don't need a dishwasher'. He doesn't.
The place had a pool as well but it was a bit exposed and looked a bit dank. The building we are in now has a pool and I've used it many times, but I wonder if I would use one that was outside surrounded by a block of about 50 flats.
The search continues. I've noticed these places seem to go very fast too, so when I get the hang of the competitive battle for an apartment I might be better equipped to handle the competitive battle for a job.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Suing the Bastards
Isn't the internet grand?!
I love it. This afternoon I've been reading up on the Industrial Relations Commission and I've downloaded one of their forms. I'm all set to go now when my lawyer gets back next week and we go to work on my old employer. Bastards.
The law says I have the right to compensation if their decision to make me unemployed was "harsh, unjust or unreasonable". And I reckon it was. Mainly because it was very sudden and there was a distinct lack of interest in finding me something else, despite the fact I'd worked there for two and a half years in a sales role, and there were sales positions available. Classy people.
Anyway it's going to cost money but hopefully they will be encouraged to soothe my pain with enough to pay off the lawyer and maybe give me enough left over to invest in a new computer.
This one does okay but it's struggling under the weight of our new iPod and the digital camera.
Right now I'm listening to the mighty Wellington Lions trying to beat those evil men from Canterbury in the New Zealand provincial rugby competition. It's a top-of-the-table clash, and even more importantly it's a Ranfurly Shield game. Real important.
I wish I could watch it, but I guess I should be grateful I can even hear it!!
Internet radio is not perfect tho .. I have to suffer through some longish silences.
13 minutes to go. Canterbury's ahead. Come one Wellington, get the bastards.
I love it. This afternoon I've been reading up on the Industrial Relations Commission and I've downloaded one of their forms. I'm all set to go now when my lawyer gets back next week and we go to work on my old employer. Bastards.
The law says I have the right to compensation if their decision to make me unemployed was "harsh, unjust or unreasonable". And I reckon it was. Mainly because it was very sudden and there was a distinct lack of interest in finding me something else, despite the fact I'd worked there for two and a half years in a sales role, and there were sales positions available. Classy people.
Anyway it's going to cost money but hopefully they will be encouraged to soothe my pain with enough to pay off the lawyer and maybe give me enough left over to invest in a new computer.
This one does okay but it's struggling under the weight of our new iPod and the digital camera.
Right now I'm listening to the mighty Wellington Lions trying to beat those evil men from Canterbury in the New Zealand provincial rugby competition. It's a top-of-the-table clash, and even more importantly it's a Ranfurly Shield game. Real important.
I wish I could watch it, but I guess I should be grateful I can even hear it!!
Internet radio is not perfect tho .. I have to suffer through some longish silences.
13 minutes to go. Canterbury's ahead. Come one Wellington, get the bastards.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Activities for the Unemployed No. 1
Visit An Art Gallery
There's something about wandering around in an art gallery that makes you feel ... smart. You have the right to be there. Your opinion of the art is as valuable, or valid, as the next person's.
And usually it's quite cheap, probably free, therefore making it an ideal activity for the unemployed.
Sydney is blessed with a bunch of public art galleries, and of course a pile of pretentious swanky ones as well, in places like Woollahra (posh eastern suburb). A Google search on "woollahra art gallery" returns 22,000 results.
Of course there's nothing to stop you popping into a bunch of posh eastern suburbs galleries and pretending you have $5K to spend on a picture of ... yes, well whatever it is. Something "topographical". Two pieces of wool stuck to a white canvas with red enamel paint and bird feathers around the edges. Lovely. Just right for the landing on the second staircase, just underneath the Aboriginal bark painting series.
In reality, the art gallery visit is about expanding one's mind, and distracting it. Useful pursuits for the unemployed, when your ego's been shattered by restructuring and rejection. You can still appreciate art. And it just hangs there, doesn't care who you are or what you do. Some of it challenges you to approve of it, other pieces try to make you love them.
Like a pile of resumes on the recruitment consultant's desk - some are better than others and the selection of the "best" is entirely subjective.
There's something about wandering around in an art gallery that makes you feel ... smart. You have the right to be there. Your opinion of the art is as valuable, or valid, as the next person's.
And usually it's quite cheap, probably free, therefore making it an ideal activity for the unemployed.
Sydney is blessed with a bunch of public art galleries, and of course a pile of pretentious swanky ones as well, in places like Woollahra (posh eastern suburb). A Google search on "woollahra art gallery" returns 22,000 results.
Of course there's nothing to stop you popping into a bunch of posh eastern suburbs galleries and pretending you have $5K to spend on a picture of ... yes, well whatever it is. Something "topographical". Two pieces of wool stuck to a white canvas with red enamel paint and bird feathers around the edges. Lovely. Just right for the landing on the second staircase, just underneath the Aboriginal bark painting series.
In reality, the art gallery visit is about expanding one's mind, and distracting it. Useful pursuits for the unemployed, when your ego's been shattered by restructuring and rejection. You can still appreciate art. And it just hangs there, doesn't care who you are or what you do. Some of it challenges you to approve of it, other pieces try to make you love them.
Like a pile of resumes on the recruitment consultant's desk - some are better than others and the selection of the "best" is entirely subjective.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Knowing
To start the redundancy story from the beginning, it makes sense to start with the premonitions.
There were two. One was mine, the other was my friend MD's dream. Or nightmare?
Sometime in the middle of August I saw a guy interviewed on morning tele about his book "Fat, Forty and Fired". He's a Englishman who came to Australia for the good life, got himself a high-powered advertising job, and then was made redundant. Unlike me, he had a fair bit of warning and a huge payout. Also unlike me he had four kids and a wife, and had to tell all his employees they were redundant also.
So I went out and actually bought the book. About a week before I was made redundant myself. I hadn't even started reading it. Have now!
Now I think "damn, I could have written "Fat, 39 and Fired"!
The second premonition I found out about, the day after "R Day". I had made plans to visit a former work mate, to see her new baby, on the Saturday after I was laid off. It was very hard to front up not just to my friend, but to the two workmates I went with. They are great women, they were very good for me.
At about this time I was starting to feel physically quite ill, I'd had no sleep and had taken rather a large amount of Arnica drops! But there was no way I was going to miss seeing MD's baby! Gorgeous creature she is too.
Turns out my friend had dreamt I was made redundant. About a week earlier. This made us all shiver. Apparently she's done this sort of thing before. I never remember my dreams, and I'm often thankful for that. But this was weird. Now I wonder if I would have wanted her to tell me or not? If we'd been still working together, she easily could have.
When she told me I said "What happened next?"! Spooky.
There were two. One was mine, the other was my friend MD's dream. Or nightmare?
Sometime in the middle of August I saw a guy interviewed on morning tele about his book "Fat, Forty and Fired". He's a Englishman who came to Australia for the good life, got himself a high-powered advertising job, and then was made redundant. Unlike me, he had a fair bit of warning and a huge payout. Also unlike me he had four kids and a wife, and had to tell all his employees they were redundant also.
So I went out and actually bought the book. About a week before I was made redundant myself. I hadn't even started reading it. Have now!
Now I think "damn, I could have written "Fat, 39 and Fired"!
The second premonition I found out about, the day after "R Day". I had made plans to visit a former work mate, to see her new baby, on the Saturday after I was laid off. It was very hard to front up not just to my friend, but to the two workmates I went with. They are great women, they were very good for me.
At about this time I was starting to feel physically quite ill, I'd had no sleep and had taken rather a large amount of Arnica drops! But there was no way I was going to miss seeing MD's baby! Gorgeous creature she is too.
Turns out my friend had dreamt I was made redundant. About a week earlier. This made us all shiver. Apparently she's done this sort of thing before. I never remember my dreams, and I'm often thankful for that. But this was weird. Now I wonder if I would have wanted her to tell me or not? If we'd been still working together, she easily could have.
When she told me I said "What happened next?"! Spooky.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Silver Lining
It's time I took this blogging thing a bit more seriously.
And as luck would have it, I find myself right now with a great deal more time on my hands. I'm time-rich and cash-poor - the ideal place from which to start a long and rewarding relationship with blogging.
I was made redundant very abruptly three weeks ago - August 26 to be exact. Yes it was a huge shock. Didn't see it coming, no warning, no announcements, nothing. Just "thanks, but goodbye". All very weird and honestly, I guess I'm still working through it now. The therapeutic benefits of blogging are about to be tested.
I haven't felt like writing about it til now, and really, I've been too busy.
For about a week it looked like I was going to get another job virtually straight away - I would have started today. But I changed my mind and turned them down. A friend said I was just on the rebound - like a boyfriend! Good analogy.
Anyway plenty of time over the next days, weeks, months for my dissection of this "turning point". Stick with me, I fear it's going to be quite a long ride, maybe a little bumpy, but if nothing else it will make me sit down and write every day.
That's the goal, to write every day. Not much. Just enough to keep the brain lining up the words in my head and the fingers tapping them out. Long enough to make myself think about what it is I'm actually doing with all this time, and come away at the end of every 24-hour block knowing I've at least achieved one of the things I set out to do today.
I might not go to the gym. I might not email my mother or call my grandmother. I might not cook my husband a meal. But I will write something. Every day. Right here.
This is my silver lining.
And as luck would have it, I find myself right now with a great deal more time on my hands. I'm time-rich and cash-poor - the ideal place from which to start a long and rewarding relationship with blogging.
I was made redundant very abruptly three weeks ago - August 26 to be exact. Yes it was a huge shock. Didn't see it coming, no warning, no announcements, nothing. Just "thanks, but goodbye". All very weird and honestly, I guess I'm still working through it now. The therapeutic benefits of blogging are about to be tested.
I haven't felt like writing about it til now, and really, I've been too busy.
For about a week it looked like I was going to get another job virtually straight away - I would have started today. But I changed my mind and turned them down. A friend said I was just on the rebound - like a boyfriend! Good analogy.
Anyway plenty of time over the next days, weeks, months for my dissection of this "turning point". Stick with me, I fear it's going to be quite a long ride, maybe a little bumpy, but if nothing else it will make me sit down and write every day.
That's the goal, to write every day. Not much. Just enough to keep the brain lining up the words in my head and the fingers tapping them out. Long enough to make myself think about what it is I'm actually doing with all this time, and come away at the end of every 24-hour block knowing I've at least achieved one of the things I set out to do today.
I might not go to the gym. I might not email my mother or call my grandmother. I might not cook my husband a meal. But I will write something. Every day. Right here.
This is my silver lining.
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