Internationally recognised pharmaceutical scientist and philanthropist Sir Ray Avery is joining thousands of Kiwis people leaving New Zealand for Australia.
The estimated number of people migrating from New Zealand to Australia was 31,300 in the year ended June 2019, Stats NZ says. This is half the peak of 62,800 in the June 2012 year.
A former UK street kid, Sir Ray has become an internationally established scientist and entrepreneur and in 2010 was named New Zealander of the year and knighted for his services to charity.
He says there are many reasons why he is leaving New Zealand.
“We have the highest teen suicide rate in the developed world. We are high up in domestic violence in the OECD with police receiving a phone call about it every four minutes.
“One in four of our kids live in poverty. We have the second highest rate of child obesity and bullying in schools in the developed world.
“We have institutional racism in our healthcare and education systems. Many of our water supplies are laced with toxic heavy metals and E coli such as people in Northland who have to boil water first.
“Housing is unaffordable to so many and the cost of living is causing the poorest of the poor to beg outside supermarkets and resort to stealing to feed their families. Food banks are the new norm and gang violence is on the increase.
“Our hospital system is almost broken, and people are waiting more than a year in pain for so called elective surgery.
“Of 52 countries surveyed, New Zealand has been ranked second-worst place in the world to move by immigrants. The expat networking organisation InterNations surveyed nearly 12,000 respondents of 177 different nationalities, living in 181 countries.
“In a resulting ranking of 52 countries, Aotearoa rated 51st. It was beaten to the bottom by Kuwait. Australia was ranked ninth best overall.”
Since arriving in New Zealand in 1973 Avery has made a major contribution to New Zealand’s pharmaceutical industry and his philanthropic enterprises have improved the lives of millions around the world.
A founding member of the Auckland University department of clinical pharmacology and former technical director of Douglas Pharmaceuticals Sir Ray has made a major contribution in the development of New Zealand’s pharmaceutical industry.
He has helped many local manufactures such as Eco Store launch safe environmentally friendly products onto the world stage.
Working throughout Africa and Asia and exposed to raw shortcomings in healthcare, Avery was determined to use his knowledge to tackle big health issues endemic throughout the developing world.
As technical director of the Fred Hollows Foundation he has made high-quality low-cost cataract lenses available to the poorest of the poor, restoring the sight of millions of people around the globe.
“But New Zealand has a tall poppy syndrome culture which pervades every aspect of a parochial society which punishes individualism and unfairly calls out its fellow Kiwis if they don’t live up to their expectations.
“The media assaults and character assassination of All Blacks coach Ian Foster is one example.
“The pivotal moment in my decision to leave New Zealand was when I tried to put on a concert at Eden Park to raise funds for ground-breaking low cost Lifepod infant incubator, but local residents prevented it going ahead.
“I am following in the footsteps of the wonderful Fred Hollows by moving to Australia where they far more supportive of their high achievers.”