David Seymour has rejected calls for “pay parity” in early childhood education but promised an increase in funding in the upcoming budget to tackle the “mass exodus” of teachers to Australia. 

New Zealand’s early childhood teachers are being lured to the Australian state of Victoria with promises of incentives and financial relocation support. 

Location incentives for Victoria range from $9000 to $50,000, depending on the early childhood education [ECE] location and services. 

Seymour, Associate Minister of Education, told TVNZ’s Breakfast that, across many sectors, people are leaving for roles overseas. 

“Wages and productivity are lower in New Zealand than the countries people are going to, that’s what this government has inherited. 

“However, over the last year, we’ve also seen a 3 per cent increase in the number of ECE teachers ... in the country. 

“While a lot of people are leaving, the number of people coming into the country is greater.” 

Seymour said he thinks there is low morale in the ECE sector, and the lack of money is one of the reasons for that. 

Act leader and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour. Photo / Michael Cunningham 

“We put about $2.7 billion worth of taxpayer money into ECE each year and we’ll increase that in this budget.” 

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A survey conducted by NZEI Te Riu Roa shows that over the past six months, 68 per cent of workers in the sector have considered leaving. 

The fears Kiwi ECE teachers will move comes after NZME revealed New Zealand healthcare workers are eyeing-up Australia, with a promise of relatively higher pay and better working conditions, with the backdrop of public service reform happening in Aotearoa. 

Seymour claimed there was an “enormous inflexibility around the funding formula”. 

“NZEI say they want pay parity right across the sector, but let’s just be clear what that means, it means an inflexible scale of union-negotiated payments for every single worker in the sector.” 

Seymour said the amount of money offered to centres “per hour per kid” doesn’t take into account the rates that centres have to pay. 

Seymour said teachers from overseas “actually end up getting paid more than somebody who is at a lower pay grade but from New Zealand”. 

He claimed that pay parity means that you have to pay recently graduated New Zealanders less than someone from overseas who is “less useful to the kids”. 

Seymour also said “we need to wake up and face the reality” that it is “attractive for people to leave New Zealand”, which he blamed on successive governments. 

Council of Trade Unions economist Craig Renney believes it “makes perfect sense” for Australia to try and pinch Kiwi workers, with support for people wanting to make the move and additional funding promises for families. 

Additional reporting by Azaria Howell