damn right! i have friends who, because they were under 16, were getting rates like $4.50/hr...that is slave labour, they should raise the wage for under 16's for sure.
there's this young woman at my work right, and she's a really inefficient worker so I would probably get a lot more done than her in an hour, yet she gets paid so much more...
its so unfair!!!

also alot of 18 year olds go out flatting if they are in work, now honestly does $5 per hour or $200 p/w cover there living exp??? Absolutely Not. considering the average pric eof a flat in Wellington is $160 (sometimes as high as $200 p/w) Youth Rates are a scam, Youth workers are the future of our labour force, its about time we treat them with more respect rather than give them rates that The Khmer Rouge paid the "New People" (which was practically SFA Except 45g of rice every 3 days but Youth Rates by comparison is exactly the same.)

well consider alot of areas ie. oriental pde, heretaunga west (bartons rd area), Churton Park, yooz know the rich areas.

but thats not the point $200 bucks aint gunna cover the cost of an under 20 living on his/her own. on top of the $110 average, youve got grocery, power, telephone, internet and Sky bills to pay, youd be lucky to even have a few cents left over in profit.

my brother lives on oriental pde with an unearthly view and pays 120 .. i live in grass st (oreintal bay) and pay 120 too... but yeah .. i get your point .. just straightening out the facts... i always exagerate too

When I was at Uni the first time in Auck, I got $190 a week, paid $110 a week in rent and still managed to live quite nicely, admittedly with a few top-ups a couple of times a year. Now I work full time and pay $50 a week for board, and yet I'm still struggling for pennies at the end of every fortnight. Man I need some self control. I blame going straight into a 40k job right after graduation - even though I haven't had that job for a very long time now, I still haven't adjusted my spending habbits to match.

another thing is a lot of companies can afford to pay higher wages but choose not too.

Brash and Prebble want the minimum wage abolished... remember this when you vote. $9/hour what level of performance and what respect for the job to you expect the employee to have for their and their co-workers poistions? So how to improve your hrly rate? Collectivise is a good first step, find out about the trade union servicing your workplace. Nothing workers have recieved is from the grace of their employer, only a collective, struggle based union can improve the lot of the working peoples of NZ. Tabled amendments to the ERA are at select committe phase, it is imperitive that these amendments are not watered down as Brash wants. Workers need more laws protecting their rights and in particular, preventing freeloaders getting the payrates and conditions that the collective fight and paid for. 4 weeks annual holiday is a direct result of the Unions work, not the flybynighters who want join up, yet will happily take the extra weeks leave. Business already recieve subisided wages in form of negilant company tax laws, top up for employees with kids, training schemes, and other assorted scams. As with most things its rich vs. poor and only through collective workers action can we hope to have a equitable, free society.

A school friend of mine was in australia doing the same thing, $18(AU) an hour for an unskilled job in a factory. He'd left school without even completing School C. NZ's pay in comparison is just a joke

Yeah, I'm in Australia and I'm laughing. You guys are hoping to get $9 an hour minimum. You're all slaves. I mean, you have my sympathy, but clearly you're too apathetic to make any serious protest, so you probably deserve your $9 an hour.

btw. minimum wage here is $12.50. but most starting rates for low skilled work is usually around $14.

//but clearly you're too apathetic to make any serious protest
heard of the employment contracts act where nz's have to "negotiate" their wages, as in "we'll pay you minimum wage... take it or leave it". national has a lot to be proud of.

Well, you've got all that money rope - surely your working conditions are good enough that you can duck out for ten minutes to buy a toothbrush? Your workmates will thank you for it.

//I'd run the risk of getting latched onto by a Kiwi girl.
could be. the girls in oz are filth, is it true they prefer a man with 'colourful' breath?

I dont think insulting Rope is the answer. Take a glance at Aussie employment relations history, strong unions equals good conditions and pay. And to really inflame trans-tasman relations, in compatible/ comparable industries our Australian brethern do tend to work "harder". Again I say it , good conditions of employment only arrive to the workers from a strong collective.More info? www.labourstart.org

At least your parents came to the party.

Prebble and Brash do understand Rdor, they just dont care.

If you're going to make valid comparisons, you have to compare apples with apples as it were. I went to the supermarket and my local fruit market (and butcher) yesterday, and whoa nelly, the fruit and veg at the market was about half the price of supermarkets here as well. So maybe that's something to do with supermarkets. Likewise, last place I rented was $74 a week for a place about 10 mins walk from the middle of the CBD, and one house from the edge of campus. I believe that you can get Chardon for about $5 a bottle, but I was comparing the same wines in oz and nz.

//I found living in Melbourne FAR easier financially than living in Wellington.
Quite possibly. I suspect the cost of living comparison may be somewhat swayed by the price of a house or some other item you weren't paying for.

I'm sure you're the only one who would think that was rude. The rest of us plebeians would just assume, Dr. Green, that you're being scientific as to your nature.

damn, limegreen beat me to it.