Welcome and good luck with all the very tough decisions that is lying in front of you!
I must say, I have to agree with Colleen and the rest and if it was me, I would try and find a job in another part of Australia first, before moving to NZ. After 5 years, you should be familiar with most things Ozzie and moving to another part should not be as traumatic as moving from one country to another. Worst case scenario, you do not like that part of Oz either and by then you should have citizenship and can move over to NZ in a much "easier" way -- immigration wise.
Just because Perth is terrible for you, does not mean the whole of Australia is terrible. Remember how many of us came from different parts of South Africa and, being a "Kapenaar", I can tell you exactly what I think of Gauteng. You would not get me living there in a million years!! So maybe moving to another part first might be a wiser economic decision.
I also have friends all over Australia, some who recently moved over from NZ and this one couple is now moving around from town to town with a caravan, trying to determine what place they like best. By the sound of things, people seem to favour Queensland and Adelaide. But once again, that is individual preference talking, so whatever you do, I would also suggest to do lots and lots and lots of research, whether you decide to come over here or whether you move to another part of OZ.
The reason I am saying all of this is not to discourage you, but to make you realise that NZ in general has a lot less to offer you than Oz and once you here, you might be stuck here. The best option from my perception is to make sure you have the explored ALL your options within one country, before moving about.
If I absolutely have to move elsewhere, I would certainly explore other towns and cities around NZ first and wait it out until I have my citizenship before exploring Oz or other countries. For now, I am happy here, but only after deep introspection during tough times and I know that if I get unhappy or irritated with certain people or situations, I have to look at myself first. A lot of stuff in NZ is certainly not perfect and we have a very small economy, but I have made a conscious decision to accept these in favour of other less acceptable options elsewhere.
I hope you understand what I am trying to say, otherwise we would absolutely LOVE to have you over here!
