It's mildly interesting to check the CPI-deflated series and one indexed to average wages.
NZ youths in their first 200-hours of work are now eligible for a new-entrant's wage that's 80% of the adult minimum wage: $11. That's 40.3% of the average wage (not the median, the average) for a new 16 year old worker with no experience.
Australia allows a youth minimum wage of $7.55 for 16 year olds.
Maybe there are reasons in the behavioural economics literature for nominal wage rigidity. But government does seem to like to turn that into real wage rigidity for the bottom of the wage distribution.
If National can't countenance holding the minimum wage steady when inflation is below 1%...
Eric, I wonder if referencing against the average is fair. Between 96 and now how has the distribution of wages changed? I thought it was a skewed distribution – is it more skewed? What would a comparison to the median wage look like?