Former National party leader Don Brash is to head a taskforce trying to close the income gap between New Zealand and Australia.
Mr Brash will be joined by four others to improve productivity, with the panel costing the taxpayer almost half a million dollars.
"There are a number of things that need to be changed and I don't think anybody thinks that simply continuing business as usual will do the trick," Mr Brash told media today.
Mr Brash's taskforce has until October to come up with its first plan a for lifting productivity and then it will report annually.
Last year the average Kiwi wage after tax was $32,000 a year, while in Australia, the average wage was NZ$49,000 - around 38 percent higher.
Last year, over 48,000 Kiwis left New Zealand for Australia to experience its brighter beaches and bigger pay packets.
The panel will report to Rodney Hide, who is normally against taskforce reviews. However, the opposition warns that Mr Brash will come up with just one idea - privatisation.
Mr Brash was rolled by John Key in 2006 for National's leadership and it is usual practice to hand former leaders cushy jobs.
But it won't be until 2025 when it will be known whether the committee made any difference.
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