It's estimated around one million Kiwis live abroad, but since New Zealand entered the alert level 4, just over 23,000 have returned. Photo: Supplied / Air New ZealandJob uncertainty, no access to welfare, and concerns over Covid-19 are some of the drivers behind the flood of New Zealanders abroad coming back to Aotearoa. In Australia, while some have been able to access job support, not all are able to tap into the social welfare system. Since that date, and despite enormous disruption to air travel, 23,424 Kiwis have made the return trip. On top of that, 25 percent of their website inquiries were coming from abroad - normally it was around 10 percent.

Source: Otago Daily Times July 08, 2020 21:00 UTC