New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[WrightJnr]

Another example.

 

I go off to apply for my NZ drivers Licence, fully prepared for the armageddon and mad max style license centres in RSA.

 

Go to the AA, fill in form, get eyes checked. Card in mail 4 days later.

 

That took 4 days to process my application, print a card and post it 600km away.

 

First world living!

LOL. You had to drive somewhere? In Dubai, you go to any optometrist (one in every mall) and have eye test. Optometrist is linked to RTA (Road Transport Authority) so test results are automatically uploaded. Next, at your leisure you download app, apply, pay and done. Virtual card in wallet. Done. Electronic everything accepted here now, no paper, no post.

[Wayne Potgieter]

So I see today that Tourism comprises 5 - 6% of NZ GDP.  I had expected it to be more. 

Explains why the wheels didn't indeed fall off when the borders closed.

yep.

 

They are not even in the top 10 of industries contributing to the GDP.

[Wayne Potgieter]

LOL. You had to drive somewhere? In Dubai, you go to any optometrist (one in every mall) and have eye test. Optometrist is linked to RTA (Road Transport Authority) so test results are automatically uploaded. Next, at your leisure you download app, apply, pay and done. Virtual card in wallet. Done. Electronic everything accepted here now, no paper, no post.

gotta love the first world right?

[WrightJnr]

gotta love the first world right?

Sometimes things are so easy I think I’m being scammed!

 

Another example, car insurance is paid annually. I sold my car 6 months in. Took out new insurance with a different company on new car. Next day I call old insurance and see if I am eligible for a refund (taking a chance) and was informed, “sir, we were notified yesterday that you had sold vehicle and have already processed refund”. I hung up. 48 hours later money was in my bank. Gobsmacked.

 

So yes, we lucky to be able to experience “the other side”.

[coppi]

Sometimes things are so easy I think I’m being scammed!

 

Another example, car insurance is paid annually. I sold my car 6 months in. Took out new insurance with a different company on new car. Next day I call old insurance and see if I am eligible for a refund (taking a chance) and was informed, “sir, we were notified yesterday that you had sold vehicle and have already processed refund”. I hung up. 48 hours later money was in my bank. Gobsmacked.

 

So yes, we lucky to be able to experience “the other side”.

Yes, it is really a pleasure to live in a country that runs properly. I hope you are saving / investing as much as you can ( I do not know your age ) since you cannot make the middle-east your home after the age of 60. I have a few friends who made the mistake of living life to the full when in Dubai and had to leave after 60 with nothing, back in the same hole they where stuck in before...........

[WrightJnr]

Yes, it is really a pleasure to live in a country that runs properly. I hope you are saving / investing as much as you can ( I do not know your age ) since you cannot make the middle-east your home after the age of 60. I have a few friends who made the mistake of living life to the full when in Dubai and had to leave after 60 with nothing, back in the same hole they where stuck in before...........

Yip, great advice that and see daily the consequences of people falling into “the trap”. Not only can this not be your “forever home” the compensation structure puts nothing (zero) into retirement/future planning. So it’s up to you to make sure your provision. Literally, your job has salary X and X AED is deposited every month, no a single deduction for tax, savings, etc..

 

I’m extremely privileged and been able to move 50% of my salary offshore every month and have done so diligently since day 1. I drive a Golf, not a Porsche, ride a Scott and not a S-Works and don’t live in the Marina. I have been here a few years, don’t plan on being here past 50, so 5 more years before I need to uproot everything again with my wife and kids and onto hopefully our “forever home”....

 

I have a lot of family in Aus and also in the U.K now. Some also in Ireland, my heart though is Africa, I’d love to end up back in SA somewhere along the coast but who knows. Right now, living to your wise words, enjoying first world privilege and being able to save for my future. I count my blessings every single day..

[patches]

So I see today that Tourism comprises 5 - 6% of NZ GDP.  I had expected it to be more. 

Explains why the wheels didn't indeed fall off when the borders closed.

 

 

yep.

 

They are not even in the top 10 of industries contributing to the GDP.

 

A little while back I was at a braai with at my partner's former boss' house. He used to be head of HR at companies like Starbucks (global) and Fonterra. (Now he's an executive director at EY).

 

Anyway, he's a very smart and connected man and during a slightly beer fueled conversation he said something like 22% of all shipping containers leaving NZ are for Fonterra products. That's nearly 1/4 of all exports (by volume). 

 

He went onto say that the 2 most powerful people in NZ are the Fonterra CFO and some other Fonterra board member. as they are able to make decisions that will affect the whole country's economy, and ultimately kept NZ relatively stable during the lockdowns.

 

As I said, this conversation happened after he was a few beers in, but there is likely a large amount of truth to it.

[Shebeen]

https://web.facebook.com/100044610751418/videos/682061219024427

 

good

bad

ugly

 

or all three?

[Kranswurm]

Another example.

 

I go off to apply for my NZ drivers Licence, fully prepared for the armageddon and mad max style license centres in RSA.

 

Go to the AA, fill in form, get eyes checked. Card in mail 4 days later.

 

That took 4 days to process my application, print a card and post it 600km away.

 

First world living!

Yes sunshine,there are more people in the Johannesburg metropole than the whole of New Zealand.You are a bunch of hobbits living in a proverbial backwater of the world,no wonder you can get it in 4 days

[Kranswurm]

... Did you just read through the last couple of pages to take a dump on someone for A 15 day old post about where they're geologically located?

 

Just wondering

Its called catching up

[Kranswurm]

cool thanks for clarifying

I have never liked that expression "taking a dump".It's so uncouth.

[Wayne Potgieter]

Yes sunshine,there are more people in the Johannesburg metropole than the whole of New Zealand.You are a bunch of hobbits living in a proverbial backwater of the world,no wonder you can get it in 4 days

if you don’t like what you read on this thread, rather stay off. You seem very sour.

[davetapson]

Yes sunshine,there are more people in the Johannesburg metropole than the whole of New Zealand.You are a bunch of hobbits living in a proverbial backwater of the world,no wonder you can get it in 4 days

Because population size has everything to do with it? Oh, ok, gotcha. 

[patches]

Yes sunshine,there are more people in the Johannesburg metropole than the whole of New Zealand.You are a bunch of hobbits living in a proverbial backwater of the world,no wonder you can get it in 4 days

 

It's about scalability and proportion isn't it though?!

 

A better comparison would be to compare how many motor vehicle license administration staff per licensed driver.

 

If NZ has a higher ratio (due to the small population or whatever one wants to attribute it to), then it's possibly an issue that requires additional resource on SA's front to improve the outcomes. We all know how the SA government loves job creation so that shouldn't be a hard sell.

 

If NZ has a lower ratio, then it's possibly a question of efficiency.  Whether NZ is more efficient because they have allowed private entities (like AA and other motor vehicle testing centres) to administer the process, or they process itself is less bureaucratic, or the administration staff just offer better customer service. My guess it could be a combination of all 3 as we all know how little the average Department of Transport or Home Affairs employee actually cares about helping people out (a generalisation I know, but those services have a bad rap for a reason).

 

Either way, I acknowledge that larger populations bring additional challenges, but they also provide a proportionally bigger resource pool. Most good practice models should be scalable. 

 

I once asked a seasoned pilot why a return flight from AKL to JHB costs 1.5x what a flight from JHB to AKL return does. He said it was because the pricing was based on the markets and what people were willing to pay.

 

I see the principle of public services in a similar light. It's often based on what people are willing to endure/accept. If the provider can get away with it, then why change.

Edited February 25, 2021 by patches

[NotSoBigBen]

Just an observation, of my family (my brother, both his daughters and their families) and a few mates that have gone to NZ, most of which were pretty keen cyclists here in SA, only 1 has actively kept up his cycling at least to what he did here.

 

Those of you that have moved, have you found something similar? Have any theories why that might be .....

[Wayne Potgieter]

Just an observation, of my family (my brother, both his daughters and their families) and a few mates that have gone to NZ, most of which were pretty keen cyclists here in SA, only 1 has actively kept up his cycling at least to what he did here.

 

Those of you that have moved, have you found something similar? Have any theories why that might be .....

 

In RSA I cycled because it was a good way to stay fit that was relatively safe. There were purpose built bike parks and I was faster than the average crim trying to nab my bike (calculated risk)

 

In NZ, I have access to so much more SAFE activities. Running, walking, hiking, skiing, paddleboarding, surfing, trail running...the list goes on.

 

So i suppose, for me at least, my cycling has taken a back seat to a whole new set of adventures. I still ride occasionally and my son is getting better and we are now hitting some trails together, so its likely to increase again.