Fleeing Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 12:34 pm, August 24th, 2016 - 71 comments
Categories: articles, housing, uncategorized - Tags: , , ,

Online magazine The Spinoff (recommended!) has a widely quoted piece up today:

One in three Aucklanders has recently considered quitting Auckland because of house prices – poll

The Spinoff/SSI survey reveals the extraordinary impact of housing crisis on residents of New Zealand’s biggest city – and the extent to which Aucklanders blame foreign speculation.

There is a housing crisis in Auckland, and it has already bitten hard across the city, according to the latest results from polling conducted by SSI for the Spinoff in association with Jennings Murphy.

One in three of those surveyed – or 32.2% if you insist on being absolutely precise – answered yes to the question, “Have you in the last two years considered moving away from Auckland because of house prices?” A further 36.3% selected the option, “No, but it’s a good idea”, and the remaining 31.5% said it’s not something they’d considered.

Spinoff-poll

When those who believe Auckland faces a housing crisis were asked to identify reasons, “foreign investors” was selected by 55.7% of respondents (respondents were allowed to select more than one answer). “Government inaction” was selected by 39.6%, “developers and speculators” by 38.5%, “incompetent Auckland Council” by 28.8%, “selfish NIMBY baby boomers” by 9.1%, “over-cautious Reserve Bank” by 7.8%, “ungrateful spendthrift Millennials” by 3.9% and “too much immigration” by 3.3%. …

Plenty more – go read the full piece on The Spinoff.

71 comments on “Fleeing Auckland ”

  1. save nz 1

    Yep, guess who those poorer Auckland’s will be replaced with and I don’t think the answer is Labour or Green voters… Judging by the unitary plan with zero provision for affordable houses, and state houses being sold off as quickly as possible…

    Saying that, Havelock North does not sound like a nice place to move to either…

    • TC 1.1

      Another good outcome for the nats who thought they had the 05 election in the bag till akl results came in and sunk Dons dogwistling efforts.

      They are very good at this, the best their backers money can buy.

    • Chooky 1.2

      +100 save nz

  2. Keith 2

    Small businesses at least are now feeling the property crisis effect. “Homeless” as in no premises business people is becoming a reality!

    • Sabine 2.1

      we have been feeling it for a while now thank you very much.

      and yes, if my partner and I will loose our rental in akl, i will close my business, my shop girls will be unemployed and my suppliers loose another of their customers.

      ain’t the free market great.

      and btw. yes, businesses have already closed all over akl as commercial properties are too expensive and land banking on commercial properties is so much more fun when the thing is emtpy. There are a lot of the smaller fringes that are not leased all over town, but some are ‘lived’ in.

      and again to those that say fuck Auckland who cares about them, this issue is going to come to a place near you.

      • BM 2.1.1

        Didn’t you just recently buy a house somewhere small and rural?

        • save nz 2.1.1.1

          Sabine is part of the exodus..

          • Sabine 2.1.1.1.1

            Actually i was not intending to buy, and no i will continue living and working in Auckland as in my little slice of NZ is not really a possibility.

            I was able to buy a house because i had no debt , a bit of money safed and enough semblance of stability to get a loan for the rest, and now am settled with a very small mortgage for a relatively short time. But then I am also closer to retirement age then middle age and my decision making is influenced by other things then jobs, schools, public amenities and did i mention jobs? I was lucky that a house that i had liked for a few years now was made available to me. I was very very lucky in all of this.

            but i am not leaving Auckland, not unless i loose my rental – and we could get our ‘leave’ letter any day to be honest, not unless my customer stop shopping with me, not unless my partner would loose the job.

            but yes, there is an exodus, an economical exodus and it should scare everyone else anywhere in NZ. The Shock Doctrine from Naomi Klein comes to mind.
            We have been shocked and awed into homelessness in a City many many of us have lived for decades and it seems that absolutely no one gives a fuck. Cause its just Auckland.

      • weka 2.1.2

        “and again to those that say fuck Auckland who cares about them, this issue is going to come to a place near you”

        Not sure what you mean there Sabine. The housing crisis isn’t just in Auckland. And the provinces have known for a long time about small businesses having to close and the impact of that.

    • save nz 2.2

      There are so many vacant retail around Auckland too, what’s going on?

  3. Ad 3

    Isn’t this exactly what the country needs?

    Plenty of people complain about the provinces not having enough immigration.
    Well, here they are.

    • weka 3.1

      Depends which Aucklanders it is. If it’s the ones with the dosh and higher equity because of the property boom in Auckland, then what do you think happens to rents and property prices if they sell up and move to somewhere cheaper? It’s not that different to overseas immigrants coming in with the advantage of a good exchange rate.

      • Ad 3.1.1

        So you only want the poor ones?

        This isn’t The Grapes of Wrath redux.

        • Anno1701 3.1.1.1

          “So you only want the poor ones?”

          the wealthy will ruin the place

          small town NZ simply cannot afford the leeches….

        • weka 3.1.1.2

          You think that anyone who doesn’t have high house equity is poor? What would be wrong with having the poorer people? Do you have anything to say about the issue I raised re impacts of immigration?

          • Ad 3.1.1.2.1

            Internal migration is different to external migration, yes.

            It’s about time people stopped treating New Zealand citizens from Auckland as if they were foreigners.

            • weka 3.1.1.2.1.1

              Of course they are different. But there is still an effect. Are you saying there isn’t, or that the effect is irrelevant?

            • b waghorn 3.1.1.2.1.2

              They come down taumarunui way if the want , a few doctors would be good.
              I won’t even hold it against them that their house has made $100k a year while mine has made none.

            • Nic the NZer 3.1.1.2.1.3

              “It’s about time people stopped treating New Zealand citizens from Auckland as if they were foreigners.”
              If we setup a passport control and immigration procedures with the rest of the country we could collect statistics and find out how many had actually acted on their opinions and moved (and therefore didnt get counted in the survey) couldn’t we? Sounds good to me anyway.

    • adam 3.2

      I was thinking this already happened in Nelson, and did nothing good for house prices there.

      • Ad 3.2.1

        New Zealand is the exemplar of uneven development. It always will be incredibly uneven while much of it relies on bulk commodity exports.

        But I do declare, within three years, you will be able to get a coffee fit to drink anywhere in this place.

        The next Mayor of Auckland will ensure all those Aucklanders arriving in Temuka, Bluff, and Owaka wear a little bell that dangles from a pom-pommed hat, just to let the locals know they can put their prices up.

  4. weka 4

    I like the finesse of the questions that were asked. A bit more elucidating than general polls.

    This was interesting too,

    When those who believe Auckland faces a housing crisis were asked to identify reasons, “foreign investors” was selected by 55.7% of respondents (respondents were allowed to select more than one answer). “Government inaction” was selected by 39.6%, “developers and speculators” by 38.5%, “incompetent Auckland Council” by 28.8%, “selfish NIMBY baby boomers” by 9.1%, “over-cautious Reserve Bank” by 7.8%, “ungrateful spendthrift Millennials” by 3.9% and “too much immigration” by 3.3%.

    • miravox 4.1

      I thought that was a really interesting result. Not much immigrant, baby-boomer or gen-x bashing there, the majority of respondents put the blame squarely where it belongs – policy, greed and planning, not that some politicians and mainstream news sources would have you believe that was the case.

      I’m beginning to feel a bit more kindly towards my fellow Aotearoans after seeing that.

      • mac1 4.1.1

        miravox, the 55.7% who said that foreign investors were a problem was 55.7% of the 84% who agreed there was a crisis. Therefore, it’s not a majority, but some 46.7% of all the respondents. Very significant, all the same.

        • miravox 4.1.1.1

          The distinction between foreign investors (as developers and speculators, I take it) and immigration generally (3.3%) seems to have been made by the respondents. I thought that was quite positive. People seem to be seeing the problem as a systemic one, not one for individual blame and that makes a change too.

  5. Colonial Viper 5

    I’ve said for ages that people need to be given practical ways to quit Auckland and start decent lives somewhere else.

    Seems like quite a few Aucklanders are thinking exactly the same thing.

  6. Anno1701 6

    “Class” cleansing in effect

    • miravox 6.1

      +1.

      Even more social separation, that’s the worry. It’s not like the realativels well off have a fair understanding of how others live even now.

  7. TC 7

    it works well if you compromise and accept a rural/smaller town way of life which is where most just dont think it through.

  8. b waghorn 8

    The irony is that a large amount of those 84% have and will vote national, why do kiwis except leaders who can’t lead.?

  9. Adrian 9

    One in three Aucklanders has recently considered quitting Auckland because of house prices…so does the survey differentiate between ‘because house prices are too high’ and ‘because house prices are so high I can sell up and buy a home and a rental in the provinces’ ?? Both reasons are ‘because of high house prices’…but two entirely different scenarios.

    • BM 9.1

      That’s a very valid point

      Just say half want to leave because they think that if they cash up and move else where they’ll be a lot better off.

      All of a sudden we’re only talking 16.5% of people in Auckland have a major issue with the cost of house prices., the other 83.5% not that fussed or probably quite happy about it

      If you think about how many Aucklanders are currently looking to buy their first house, 16.5% is probably quite a bit on the high side.

      Maybe people in Auckland are thinking house prices could collapse and they want to cash up and leave before the arse falls out of the market?.

  10. Righty right 10

    A city. Can’t function with only lords of the manner the whole economic system is broken only a major crash can solve the problem Auckland is in an illogical freezey something happen and music will stop I just hope those speculators get wipped out

    • Draco T Bastard 10.1

      The speculators will be protected by this government and the bill will be put on the taxpayers, i’e, the bottom ~90% of the population.

      • maninthemiddle 10.1.1

        “More than one in four households are contributing nothing to New Zealand’s tax take.”

        “A table from Finance Minister Bill English’s office shows 663,000 households – or 40 per cent – receive more in tax credits and other benefits than they pay in tax. Thousands more are neutral contributors, or are close to it.”

        “By comparison, the top 3 per cent of individual income earners, earning more than $150,000 a year, pay 24 per cent of all tax received.”

        http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/81429047/Small-number-of-taxpayers-bear-the-brunt-of-New-Zealand-tax-bill

        • Draco T Bastard 10.1.1.1

          Yeah, that’s one of the lies that National trots out every now and then.

          It’s the top few percent that are dodging ~$7 billion in taxes every year.

          And, of course, capitalists only get rich by stealing from the poor.

          • maninthemiddle 10.1.1.1.1

            It’s not a lie, thee are official statistics. Again, left wing denial is alive and well in the face of hard data.

          • framu 10.1.1.1.2

            is there any point in explaining the difference between income tax and all forms of tax to “man on the extreme fringe”?

            or that net tax isnt a collected stat?

            or that the article he links to is full of holes?

            or that bills chart isnt included in the article so its actually just a claim from bill with zero data?

            or that the net tax argument has been debunked over and over again?

            • maninthemiddle 10.1.1.1.2.1

              Is there any point arguing with someone who doesn’t understand ‘net tax’.

              • framu

                its not an official stat.

                thats all im going to say – you can have your little macho tough guy contest by yourself

                • maninthemiddle

                  It is a statistic that is used an awful lot. It also seems to have you exercised.

        • Craig H 10.1.1.2

          Those families also pay GST and excise tax (mostly on petrol, but also on any alcohol and tobacco they purchase), but none of those stories ever seem to look into that.

          • maninthemiddle 10.1.1.2.1

            We all pay GST, Craig. And when it comes to those on benefits, this is the first government to increase the real value of benefits in 30 years.

  11. whispering kate 11

    In today’s Herald there is an article about Westpac closing down many branches over a series of small towns and/or suburbs throughout NZ. It would seem fleeing Auckland might not be such a good idea if you are escaping for a quieter life. Shamubeel Eaqub was stating, hopefully, tongue in cheek that the reality is that people may have to get used to living off the grid in these smaller places as the banks and other utilities like sewerage and water pack up shop as everything today is about profit and it doesn’t pay for them to stay around. . So much for encouraging people on benefits to get out of Auckland for a better and cheaper life . Sounds like the country is going to the dogs, businesses won’t be able to get staff in Auckland because of high rents and house prices and life in provincial NZ will be lacking in amenities for life. So much for life choices.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11699902

    • Ad 11.1

      Middlemarch is complaining about not having a bank branch.
      Banking is done on the phone, or through a mobile lender. Not semaphore.
      Bank staff are paid crap, and treated crap.
      Why defend Westpac, the worst customer service bank in New Zealand?

      Middlemarch is right on the Otago Rail Trail. The locals are perfectly entitled to protest, but there really are more upmarket bricks and mortar shops to stick into a village.

      • marty mars 11.1.1

        “Banking is done on the phone, or through a mobile lender. Not semaphore.”

        Well noddy here in our rural corner of the world we like bank branches with people in them and people to put the shopping in the bag and so on.

        Your privilege (and attitude) has blinded you to the real Aotearoa.

        Thank the Goddess – stay in your illusions, in your city, with the rentals and holiday home in Wanaka. Please I insist.

      • whispering kate 11.1.2

        Ad where did I ever defend Westpac in my post – if anything I think its a disgrace how these provincial towns are dying through lack of care and attention. Bank staff are paid crap and are on pressure all the time to sell services. I know of a person on a benefit who is constantly pressured to get a credit card – am not sure what bank it was but they are all tainted by the same drive to squeeze money out of people who cannot afford it.

    • BM 11.2

      How often do you need to go into a bank?

  12. s y d 12

    My voice from a region being severely and negatively impacted by the Auckland property bubble. I hesitate to call this internal migration as in my experience this is internal speculation.
    We went to sell our family home (private sale) in early 2015. Well over half the people we had coming through were Aucklanders – many were only looking to buy a property and rent it out, while continuing to rent a house in Auckland. Just trying to get onto the ‘ladder’ I guess.
    Trouble is the prices they were willing to pay have meant that:
    local people who don’t have a house/mortgage were rapidly priced out
    rents for housing have skyrocketed, without any basis other than paying a mortgage and covering a rent out of Aucklands market
    There is now a desperate shortage of affordable or indeed any rental housing locally.

    In my work I also see that many new builds here are sold to cashed up retiring Aucklanders – some of the building firms I deal with specifically target this market – after all they are the only people who can now afford to buy locally. Again, with a clear case of land banking, section prices have basically doubled in the last 18 months. Latest release that comes to mind is 325m2 for $420k.

    It’s madness and it is only getting worse by the day.

    • Sabine 12.1

      this is by far the most sensible comment in this whole thread.

      sadly no one will listen.

  13. Nessalt 13

    free market economics at work. If 1/3 of aucklanders leave because they can’t enter the market then house prices crash to a point where they are affordable. this is labour policy, enrich the regions and make housing more affordable. yet you criticise?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 13.1

      Government is responsible for ~33% of the economy. Why do you right wing gimps attempt to pretend that government policy isn’t a market force?

      It’s because you’re useless at governance, because you’re incompetent, and that’s most likely a consequence of your low IQ. Just saying.

  14. whispering kate 14

    Another thing which should be thought about with these mature Aucklanders who are fleeing the city for smaller communities and to escape the traffic – the hospitals will be miles away, there probably isn’t a doctor for miles either, for surgery you will have to go to a major centre for it, certain major surgeries in Hawkes Bay have to go through to Wellington, Bay of Plenty people have to travel to Hamilton, I know of people in Whangarei who have to travel down to Greenlane in Auckland for their eye specialist appointments.

    This Government doesn’t consider the implications of their cost cutting. Young children who need major surgery have to come miles from everywhere to Starship – the burden for families is immense. To make a really great society money has to be spent to implement it, healthy kids with great schools and teachers, people in secure work and paid a living wage at least, homes that are not temporary places of abode – simple really and just common sense, then society becomes cohesive and productive. Not bitter and combative like it is today. Why can’t this simple formula be seen and accepted and acted upon. This country is badly in need of moral and spiritual guidance to get back on track again.

  15. Lloyd 15

    Auckland is expanding too quickly.
    Auckland needs to spend lots more on infrastructure, parks etc.
    Rates in Auckland are lower than much of New Zealand.

    Wouldn’t one of the best ways to solve a lot of problems be a really big increase in rates in Auckland? How about multiplying the present rate by 4? If that doesn’t help slow house prices, crank up the rates in 2018. Keep doing it until the house price stops going up. I am sure the average Aucklander will be less hurt by the rates going up than by the house prices rocketing up at the same sort of rate that has happened in the last to or three years.

    • Sabine 15.1

      how about a full stop to migration into Auckland?

      Anyone who wants to move to NZ can but needs to settle anywhere but Auckland? This could be done for something like 5 – 10 years. I wonder what the house market in AKL would look like if there would be 50.000 people less a year moving in.

      Never mind.

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    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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