Australia has always been stable in their economy, they never went into a recession, however household budgets were tightened. Julia Gillard is a ginga, comb-over, beak-nose, mono-tone, head shaky, Prime Minister, that is going to get voted out at next election. Money wise Australia is good, however the people are pretty stupid. If you come live here I warn you to be careful at the supermarket, your trolley seriously has a mind of it's own it has steering wheels at the back and front... I mean how stupid can that get?
In New Zealand, things are getting worse money wise, the country is going more into debt, and taxes are increasing = in petrol rises = in everything else rising. However NZ is a beautiful county worth visiting!