Justin Dufty and Vanessa Thomas bought two New Zealand beach properties with money saved while working in London.
Wednesday, February 2nd 2005, 11:26PM
by The Landlord
But the couple – and the estimated 800,000 other expatriate New Zealanders living overseas – may soon be lured home if Government plans to reverse the brain drain are successful.
Prime Minister Helen Clark announced plans to focus on attracting New Zealanders overseas back home during her State of the Nation speech at Parliament's reopening yesterday.
But Thomas, 27, said there was little apart from a substantial cash payment on returning to New Zealand which could persuade the couple to trade their substantially better wages and busy lifestyle to return home.
"There's lots to do over here and we have made friends here. We get so much better pay here than we would in New Zealand and there's such a lot of things here you don't get at home," she said.
Dufty, 30, said while he could earn 600 a week working as a foreman on a London building site, in New Zealand he would earn about $600 a week.
