NZ is a small country with a lot of highly experienced native pilots. Australia, PNG & Canada are all full of kiwis who have gone overseas to work, & a lot of them have done so due to the lack of opportunity in NZ compared to the number of pilots. The government there has introduced a loan scheme which student pilots can access to finance their pilots licence, so the schools will have picked up a bit but I can see a larger glut of hopefuls coming & a lot of them are heading for Australia. Australia has more opportunity for low time piston pilots, but operators there are very anal about the coveted turbine time & therefore it can be difficult to make the break from reciprocating to turbine.
NZ would no doubt be a good place to do your licence, but if you make it your base be prepared to either spend a lot of time away from home or to pack up & move again as the opportunities arise. It is possible to settle in one place, be home most of the time & fly helicopters but in my experience those types of jobs are either minimum wage or coveted by those of us who have travelled the world & are now looking to settle so our kids can get to know their teachers name.
You've made a good start enquiring on Pprune as there is a lot of experienced kiwi members, so keep up the research, be prepared to change your mind a few times & at the end of the day do whatever will make you happy. Unfortunately for you & fortunate for the removalist companies is that what makes you happy today won't keep you happy tomorrow, or is that just me?!?!