- Where's the choice, bro? Kiwis in Australia get a raw deal
- Is the Maori-Australian dream all it's cracked up to be?
Australia might be the lucky country but it seems fewer Kiwis are willing to take a chance across the ditch.
New statistics show just 30,500 people living in New Zealand opted to move to Australia in the 2013/2014 financial year, down from 48,000 in the previous year.
On top of that, the number of people relocating to New Zealand from Australia rose to 22,200 from 16,800 for the previous period.
New Zealand citizens were responsible for most movement in both directions.
"They've had improvement in their employment growth, in their incomes, more job opportunities, and also New Zealand's done some free trade agreements with Australia, but also China, so as a trading nation they've done quite well,” said economist Tim Harcourt.
“It's more about the pull of New Zealand rather than anything negative in Australia."
The figures confirm past monthly statistics indicating New Zealanders are opting to stay home or come home as Australia faces tough economic times.
Migration has slowed to such a point that there was no net migration of New Zealanders to Australia in June, the first time this had happened since August 1991.
Statistics New Zealand also released figures showing visitor arrivals for June were 162,100, the highest on record for a June month.
Population statistics manager Vina Cullum said growth was driven by visitors from Asia, especially Japan and China, who were opting to holiday in New Zealand.
Visitor arrivals numbered 2.79 million in the year to June 2014, up six per cent from the previous year. Most flew in from Australia, China, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Annual migrant arrivals were 100,800, the first time this figure has exceeded 100,000 in New Zealand's history.
Migrant departures numbered 62,400, down 22 per cent on the previous year, leaving a net gain of 38,300 migrants, the highest annual gain since the October 2003 year.
Ms Cullum said net migration has been positive and mostly increasing since September 2012.
New Zealand’s High Commission First Secretary Matthew Aileone said it's all part and parcel of what's become a very integrated relationship with Australia.
"If you look at the numbers generally over the last 30, 40, 50 years, you're always going to see an increasing number of New Zealanders leaving at one time, but then ten years down the track they return.”
Earlier this year, SBS reporter Sylvia Varnham O'Regan looked into the high number of New Zealand Maori moving to Australia, to find out whether the "land of opportunity" was all they had hoped:
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