What happened Wednesday

Business / news

A review of things you need to know before you sign off on Wednesday; retail rates rise almost immediately the OCR rises, last OCR rise in a while says RBNZ, pain in housing extends, retail sales shrink, swaps drop, NZD drops, & more

24th May 23, 3:58pm by David Chaston

Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today (or if you already work from home, before you shutdown your laptop).

MORTGAGE RATE CHANGES
ASB moved rates up almost immediately the OCR decision was announced, adding +25 bps and taking their floating rate to 8.64%. Even before the OCR was announced, ANZ added +25 bps to their business overdraft and business indicator base rates.

TERM DEPOSIT/SAVINGS RATE CHANGES
ANZ added +10 to +25 bps to its TD offers for all terms 3 to 9 months. ASB added +25 bps to their SavingsPlus and Savings on Call rates. They added +35 bps to their Headstart rates for children's accounts taking it to 5.00%..

ONE LAST ONE, & DONE
The RBNZ has raised the Official Cash Rate by 25 basis points to 5.5% as expected - but has surprised by indicating that this will be the peak, with no more rate rises seen. The surprise drove the NZD lower.

SPLIT DECISION
For the first time since the OCR decision has been made by a committee, there was a split decision. Two committee members voted for no change.

MORE PAIN, NO GAIN
The number of homes selling at a loss is increasing and it could get worse, CoreLogic says. More pain and less gain in the housing market is what is ahead they see. These judgements were made before the RBNZ called 'time' on this rate hiking cycle today, however.

RETAIL SALES SHRINK
Retail sales volumes dropped for a second consecutive quarter to March. Stats NZ says decreased volumes in hardware and vehicle retailing helped drive a fall in total retail sales in the latest quarter.

FHBs HOLD MORTGAGE LENDING FROM EVEN LARGER FALLS
Total monthly new mortgage commitments were $4.3 bln, down -$1.7 bln (-28%) from $6.0 bln in March. The value of new commitments this month was the second lowest on record for an April, with only April 2020 (during the first COVID-19 lockdown) recording a lower value. Records began in August 2013. The monthly decrease was largely driven by drops in lending to owner occupiers who were not FHBs, which fell -$1.1 bln or down more than -30% to $2.5 bln, and lending to investors, which fell by almost -33%. On the other hand, lending to first home buyers only fell by -$200 mlnto $1.0 bln.

JAPANESE FACTORY MANGERS TURNED POSITIVE
After four months of negative sentiment, Japanese manufacturers are feeling positive again with a sharp mood change. Ditto in South Korea.

SWAP RATES DROP
Wholesale swap rates are likely sharply lower today after the unexpected OCR signals (? -20 bps ? possible more). However, the real action in swap rates comes near the close. Our chart will record the final positions. The 90 day bank bill rate is up +4 bps at 5.87% and 62 bps above the OCR prior to its rise. But it is likely this will correct sharply lower tomorrow. The Australian 10 year bond yield is now at 3.63% and down a mere -1 bp from this time yesterday. The China 10 year bond rate is unchanged at 2.72%. And the NZ Government 10 year bond rate is now at 4.36% which is down -11 bps, and now below the earlier RBNZ fix at 4.46% which is up +6 bps from yesterday and was recorded before the OCR decision. It could drop as much as -15 bps tomorrow. The UST 10 year yield is now at 3.69% and down -2 bps from this time yesterday.

EQUITIES ALL LOWER - EXCEPT HERE
In New York, the S&P500 ended its day down -1.1% on Wall Street as markets are still waiting on progress from the politicians on the debt limit. Tokyo has opened its Wednesday session down -1.1% too. Hong Kong is down -1.1% in their early Wednesday trade. Shanghai is down -0.6%. The ASX200 is down -0.6% in afternoon trade today. The NZX50 was looking at a -0.6% loss until the OCR, then that drop evaporated.

GOLD FIRMS
In early Asian trade, gold is up to US$1974 and up +US$13 from this time yesterday. Earlier the gold price closed at US$1976/oz in New York, and earlier still at US$1969/oz in London.

NZD DROPS SHARPISH
The Kiwi dollar dropped sharply on the OCR decision, down -75 bps on the announcement and down a full -1c from this time yesterday to 61.8 USc. Against the Aussie we are down -½c at 93.8 AUc. And against the euro we are down more than -½c at 57.4 euro cents. That means the TWI-5 is down -90 bps at 70.4.

BITCOIN ON HOLD
The bitcoin price is marginally higher today, now at US$27,158 and up a mere +0.4% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just over +/- 0.8%.

Daily exchange rates

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Source: RBNZ

Source: CoinDesk

Daily swap rates

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Source: NZFMA

This soil moisture chart is animated here.

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85 Comments

by chebbo | 24th May 23, 4:11pm 1684901506

The RBNZ has raised the Official Cash Rate by 25 basis points to 5.5% as expected - but has surprised by indicating that this will be the peak, with no more rate rises seen.

I'm still trying to figure out where this is coming from. Where did they say no more rate rises? If this is being implied from the OCR projection then it shouldn't have come as a surprise. The OCR was already projected to peak at 5.5% back in the February MPS.

by WellingtonInvestor | 24th May 23, 4:23pm 1684902233

I agree, I can't see it either, even reading between the lines. IMO they should give a % for the possibility of a rise.

by chebbo | 24th May 23, 4:47pm 1684903655

The only "surprise" I can think of is that the OCR peak projection remained unchanged from the previous MPS, despite markets pricing in higher. But if it's such a "surprise" that it stayed the same, why would we assume that this one won't change?

The mind boggles.

by rjn1 | 24th May 23, 6:13pm 1684908812

Maybe watch the press conference.

by ChrisOfNoFame | 24th May 23, 5:15pm 1684905308

Two indicators ... My emphasis added.

The Committee was comfortable with the projected forward path for the OCR. The Committee discussed the suitability of keeping the OCR on hold at 5.25% or increasing it to 5.50%. The Committee agreed that neither decision would cause unnecessary instability in output, interest rates, or the exchange rate.

And

The case for keeping the OCR at 5.25% with the same forward projections rested on the recognition that monetary policy is having a sufficiently moderating effect on demand and inflation, and that we are yet to see the full effects of past tightening on the economy. A pause would also allow more time to assess the impact of the significant tightening, and the timing of any further increase that might be needed.

So perhaps not exactly "no more hikes" but a pause because they "haven't seen the full effects yet". Those effect are working their way through and soon it'll be obvious that the RBNZ has overcooked it.

by rjn1 | 24th May 23, 6:14pm 1684908885

The text you've quoted refers to the case that was made for a pause at 5.25%, before ultimately achieving the terminal rate of 5.5% (which would've been communicated through the dot plot). From the MPS and subsequent press conference, it is clear the committee don't envisage the need to raise rates further from here.

by chebbo | 24th May 23, 6:16pm 1684908987

Yeah but they didn't envisage the need to raise rates past 4% at the MPS in May last year either.

by Justa comment | 24th May 23, 7:27pm 1684913228

As expected and clearly signalled by RBNZ. Step one: OCR to 5.5% quite quickly. Step two: watch the inflation number and wait. Well done Orr.

by chebbo | 24th May 23, 8:02pm 1684915355

I don't mind Adrian Orr. He's composed, and responds well to the questions handed him at media conferences. Whether or not I agree with the decisions of the monetary policy committee is another matter, but I think we have a decent Reserve Bank governor.

by Justa comment | 24th May 23, 9:21pm 1684920096

As long as they have learned their lesson as to what happens to asset prices when the OCR is less than 2%..................

by Eschaton | 24th May 23, 4:11pm 1684901486

Ohh gummon ASB - what about your deposit rates?

by Zwifter | 24th May 23, 4:14pm 1684901694

Looking good they already went up a week ago, question is will they now hit the magic 6% ? I think so but it may take a few weeks to kick in. Good times to have a TD thats for sure.

by SimonP | 24th May 23, 5:09pm 1684904964

Not if the CPI > 6%. That's a real loss plus you're paying tax on the nominal gain.

by kiwimm | 24th May 23, 5:14pm 1684905243

What’s the alternative right now? Losing leveraged multiples of the investment per week in property?

by JimboJones | 24th May 23, 6:34pm 1684910096

There probably isn’t a better alternative. But don’t be fooled into thinking that term deposits are more profitable now than they were 2 years ago just because the rate is higher. After tax and inflation term deposits are doing much worse now.

by Independent_Observer | 24th May 23, 7:15pm 1684912531

Depends....

Some of the people I've talked to/provided advice to have $500,000 + cash. e.g. retirees.

Their yearly expenses have increased by $5,000 or so due to the higher inflation over the last few years....but the higher term deposits have increased their income by $10,000+.

So overall, they are far better off because their gain from higher rates vastly exceeds their increased costs from inflation. It comes down to how much you spend (that has been inflated in your consumption) relative to how much your income has increased with higher TD/cash rates.

So saying that everyone is worse off due to inflation is limited thinking. People loaded up with debt and like to consume a lot are significantly worse off - that is for sure. But those who are sitting on a pile of cash (hundreds of thousands or millions) are doing just fine as long as their consumption isn't excessive and their TD returns have gone from 2% to 6% (3 fold increase).

by Zwifter | 24th May 23, 8:57pm 1684918637

Correct. Actually 1% to 6% shortly, that's a 6 fold increase.

by Zwifter | 24th May 23, 8:55pm 1684918538

Not for me the rates went from 1% to 6% in 2 years. Those with a decent TD are now easily offsetting inflation on what they actually buy. Totally depends on your financial position and how much you have invested.

by Independent_Observer | 24th May 23, 9:04pm 1684919072

Yip - if you don't have much cash and you consume a lot, this is bad. Costs rising much higher than income.

If you have a lot of cash and you don't consume that much, life is good. Income rising much more than expenses.

by lonewolfnz | 24th May 23, 4:16pm 1684901784

" and lending to investors, which fell by almost -33%"

At a time when immigration is surging.

Here comes the rental property crisis. Mind you, who wants to be a landlord these days?

by Galloleous | 24th May 23, 4:41pm 1684903296

It really isnt worth it, and getting less and less worth it every year.

The removal of interest deductibility, coupled with a likely jump in the mortgage repayments, and not to mention the usual increases in insurance and rates is going to bring a lot of pain to investors.

Add to that the fact that we have no way to remove a tenant (other than moving into it ourselves) and can not insure against them trashing the place, it really is a terrible investment.

And.... a lot are highly leveraged or were not running profitably in the first place, before house prices have dropped up to 30%.

But the issue is, first home buyers, who every one says there is an infinite amount of and they are all supposed to somehow have a deposit sitting there, are more than likely unable to afford the repayments either.

Ah well, I have just written my house off as a loss until I sell it in 10 years for high density development, which is needed in Hamilton.

by ChrisOfNoFame | 24th May 23, 5:17pm 1684905450

And to add to that ... People are beginning to realise that a CGT might actually be a good thing for NZ.

by Pragmatist | 24th May 23, 5:54pm 1684907677

Nope, a straight land tax is a much better idea. Also a CGT without inflation relief can just GTFO.

by J.C. | 24th May 23, 4:25pm 1684902303

Jaw dropping stuff from across the Tassie. The private company of the man who was CEO at PwC during the entire tax leaks affair has received over $6.2 million from Aussie taxpayers in just 24 months - including a $55,000 "consultancy" contract just last week.

This is taking the proverbial pis.

Stunning journalism from Anthony Klan. Unfortunately, we don't have journos of this ilk.

Sayers was PWC Australia CEO from 2012 until May 2020, and so boss of the company for the entire relevant period it was illegally selling Federal Government tax policy secrets, the scandal roiling the company and making international headlines.

Just like PwC, Sayers Group cashes in on government “outsourcing”, making large sums of money from government contracts by providing services that were previously undertaken by the public service.

In just the past five weeks, three new Sayers Group contracts totalling $330,550 have been disclosed on AusTender, the Federal Government’s tender register.

https://theklaxon.com.au/ztem-28/

by bw | 24th May 23, 4:37pm 1684903041

And the interesting thing to see will be if any of that Consultancy payment(s) went back to anyone who awarded the contracts in the first place. Would any of us be surprised?

by J.C. | 24th May 23, 4:50pm 1684903812

And the interesting thing to see will be if any of that Consultancy payment(s) went back to anyone who awarded the contracts in the first place. Would any of us be surprised?

That would be pushing it too far IMO. Any kickback corruption would involve some sleight of hand. More damage for the PwC brand. Surely this guy should not be taking govt contracts after leaving PwC so soon.

F'more, the relationship with Frydenberg stinks to high heaven.

by Nellbell | 24th May 23, 8:07pm 1684915621

Are you sure that there are not a lot of consultants ( including PWC) running the public service in Wellington? Folks I talk to say there are.

by J.C. | 24th May 23, 8:16pm 1684916172

Definitely. But this is far too cosy in light of what's happened in Aussie.

by titans1350 | 24th May 23, 4:38pm 1684903097

Anyone re-fixed for 2 years recently? Wondering how far I can try and drive them down compared to carded rates.

by Galloleous | 24th May 23, 4:42pm 1684903367

Let us know the outcome, good luck!

by Richardfromauckland | 24th May 23, 4:58pm 1684904303

Yeah, would be good to know.

interest.coers, a penny for your thoughts: I've got a refix coming up in 10-11 months. Would you a) save as hard as possible to pay off as big a chunk as possible. b) save moderately, pay a bit off, but continue to put a bit into other investments (basically shares, and maybe one of those trek cycles talked about this morning). Just thinking ahead.

by Galloleous | 24th May 23, 5:09pm 1684904954

I have a refix coming up in December.

My mortgage terms with ANZ allows me to pay back up to an additional 5% of the mortgage amount each year with out any penalties.

With my current rate of ~4.3%, this means any investment needs to return about 6.2% before tax to make it more profitable than just saving up a chunk and dumping it on. And looking ahead, once it jumps to 6.7% that investment needs to be returning about 9.6%!! So once I get my pay check in July I will have the max amount I can put in and will do so. After that ill just live like normal and see how much spare cash I end up with on the date.

I am still dollar cost averaging into my investments, as I expect these to out perform the interest expense in the long term, I will likely just cut back my cash buffer for a month until the next pay check comes in.

by Richardfromauckland | 24th May 23, 5:21pm 1684905715

Thanks Galloleous, seems like a sensible approach. I'm loath to halt a the small investments that I'm making, and agree over the longer-term there should be some decent upside.

by solardb | 26th May 23, 7:58am 1685044683

You can just go to floating for a week, and pay off as much as you like.

by HSL | 24th May 23, 5:54pm 1684907660

The lowest risk strategy is to attack the debt. Shares and investments can crater if there is a meltdown, and although it will recover you just don’t know how long it will take. Also, you never know how high interest rates will go in the meantime. That’s my thinking anyway.

by Zwifter | 24th May 23, 9:02pm 1684918944

Correct, people should have been smashing their debt while interest rates were low. The money you could have paid back and didn't is now costing you 3 times as much in interest.

by KH | 24th May 23, 9:51pm 1684921894

Yes Zwifter. I worked on smashing debt for over thirty years. AKA building equity. It's done me well. Actually magnificently.

by rjn1 | 24th May 23, 6:19pm 1684909183

I'd put excess savings into fixed interest investments (bond funds) and some high quality stocks to capitalize on steadily reducing interest rates from here (and this is in fact what I'm doing). You should have sub-5% rates available to you when you refix.

by Richardfromauckland | 25th May 23, 6:21am 1684952473

Thanks for the thoughts folks.

by bw | 24th May 23, 5:05pm 1684904742

It will depend upon the value of your collateral.

If the V bit of your LVR has fallen since the last roll-over/drawdown, expect some pointed questions ahead of any negotiations you might want to engage in. Renegotiation Time isn't the fait accompli it used to be a couple of years back. (Don't be surprised if you're asked to cut the limit of your credit card, for instance)

by Zack Brando | 24th May 23, 6:44pm 1684910680

A 5.5 OCR peak combined with current government fiscal policy will see a slow grinding down of the poor.

The decision today not to break-the-back of the housing market, combined with mass immigration will be great for those employed in the justice and social-service industries.

Will the RBNZ consider reintroducing a 'Funding for Lending Programme'?

YOU think my question sounds preposterous!? Well, consider this: She's ALL Done, the RBNZ believes it's taken the necessary steps to curb inflation (in general) and doesn't want large house price falls..

After Labour's largest wealth transfer in NZ history and the OCR decision today - NZ will become a nation of renters - it's baked into the cake. Immigration (larger households to service rents) and generous government subsidies will see spec-mortgages are serviced.

The expectation is that ever more people will rent, house prices are irrelevant as they're a commodity the majority will never purchase. Those that can purchase/borrow will be doing so for additional properties and WILL be happy because prices Will increase. The RBNZ will conditionalize the next Funding for Lending Programme and tack on a word like 'targeted'.

The failed KiwiBuild programme was originally for 'owner occupiers' and has morphed into (here I go) soviet styled housing/thinking. You can see how the thinking has changed. NZ will continue to have declining homeownership rates.

Obviously all this is terrible for living standards, not to mention the dollar.. yet that's the decision that was made today.

Good Luck

by bw | 24th May 23, 5:11pm 1684905079

As you may be suggesting, there was an element of "The RBNZ has got this under control" until today. And if so, whatever they (collectively) might want will be irrelevant in the face of larger issues ; offshore economic influences.

What the RBNZ did today, was surrender control. And whether they know it or not, that spells trouble for them and for us.

by Middleaged | 24th May 23, 5:49pm 1684907370

Generally agreed, but I don't see house prices going back up for a while. There's still the issue of servicing the 6.5%pa mortgage.

And not a hint of any innovation from the major parties to meaningfully change the situation.

by ChrisOfNoFame | 24th May 23, 5:07pm 1684904871

As per normal ... NZ Banks raise floating rates way beyond acceptable levels to force those re-mortgaging onto fixed term rates while knowing full well that those fixed rates are going to look damn awful when the OCR falls fast because the RBNZ has over cooked it.

by Galloleous | 24th May 23, 5:15pm 1684905348

Absolutely, I wouldnt be taking anything longer than 18-24 Months personally. I luckily enough have until December to wait and watch to see which way things are going.

by kiwimm | 24th May 23, 5:20pm 1684905636

Hard to overbook something by applying a lower temperature than the thing being cooked.

by bw | 24th May 23, 5:15pm 1684905331

This is looking ominous.

Since 2pm ...NZ$/Gold 3,208.01 +52.80 +1.67% ( almost entirely because NZ$ is falling. And we have some probably disappointed European and US traders to mull over the OCR coming up tonight)

by J.C. | 24th May 23, 6:14pm 1684908880

Yes. TBH, didn't expect this with a 25 bpts move. Interest rate differentials still in NZD's favour.

by Zack Brando | 24th May 23, 6:41pm 1684910485

It might catch a bid in overnight trading, though it's probably a dumpster fire overall.

by Zachary Smith | 24th May 23, 5:22pm 1684905737

The soil moisture map looks quite dramatic.

by Middleaged | 24th May 23, 5:51pm 1684907470

And we're not even properly into winter yet!

by Officebound | 24th May 23, 6:11pm 1684908672

Remember, summer is rainy season in the tropics, June-October is now the best time to visit New Zealand

by JimboJones | 24th May 23, 9:48pm 1684921715

Can get a nice tan in your 3 layers of clothing.

by Zachary Smith | 24th May 23, 5:30pm 1684906200

I'm going to declare a semi victory in the OCR prediction competition. I thought it would be zero and two of the people on the committee that decides these things wanted it that way too.

by Audaxes | 24th May 23, 5:54pm 1684907698

Sour grapes?

Commercial bank economists have to speak more diplomatically.......but by their standards the highlighted observation on the RB's treatment of the Budget is pretty pointed. Link

by Audaxes | 24th May 23, 5:56pm 1684907800

For J.C.

【Breaking: 144,256kg of silver was delivered today from SFE silver vaults】 After a slight increase in inventory yesterday, a big outflow of 144,256kg was seen from SFE silver vaults today. This is the largest single day outflow in the 10 years since the silver was listed. Link

by J.C. | 24th May 23, 6:10pm 1684908645

Thank you Audaxes and that is stunning. People taking custody as I'm sure SFE would not hold allocations for industry.

Be interesting to see where this goes. The sheeple are not in the trade yet.

by Averageman | 24th May 23, 6:00pm 1684908021

Govt pours gasoline on the wage and price spiral. All imports plan on a price hike.

I guess election year is a bad year to allow financial reality to occur. The longer Orr bauks at doing his duty the more likely we will have an extreme event. Being either hyper inflation devistating all but bank profit and speculation, or, an ever bigger property reset at some stage.

What to do indeed.

by Audaxes | 24th May 23, 6:02pm 1684908129

Some are trying to make a big deal out of debt ceiling resolution. T-bill deluge and a jump in feds' TGA which will lower bank reserves. Who cares! There's $2.2T in reverse repo right now along with an "extra" half trillion in GC repo (how much more in other safety bids). Link

by Audaxes | 24th May 23, 6:01pm 1684908117

Falling rates in GC repo markets along with high volumes indicate massive safety bid. As deposits leave banks for interest rate reasons MMFs and the like are relending but only to the safest, most liquid borrowers. Why? Rate hikes aren't it. CRE is just a start. Link

by Audaxes | 24th May 23, 6:06pm 1684908376

I've been saying all along #bankingcrisis isn't about rate hikes/deposit flight not really. Banks should be able to borrow funds back in wholesale because the funds sure showed up there (repo). Hundreds of billions did; from before SVB, too. Why didn't it or First Republic? Link

by IT GUY | 24th May 23, 6:26pm 1684909561

The comb property insights

Investors are increasingly net sellers of property.

by JimboJones | 24th May 23, 6:40pm 1684910427

Some of them have sense.

by Independent_Observer | 24th May 23, 7:07pm 1684912052

Short term swaps down 30bps in response to the OCR announcement today. 1 year swap still 25bps above OCR.

30 and 90 day bankbill rates up today - not down. 90 day up to 5.87%.

Can imagine Orr and the team will now be hoping these market rates comply with their desires over the next 6 weeks or so.

Fascinating times in history to be interested in finance/economics.

by HouseMouse | 24th May 23, 7:43pm 1684914221

National potentially flip-flopping on MDRS. Any legal people know if there would be legal recourse for people who have invested on the basis of extra development rights conferred by MDRS?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/housing-density-national-party-l…

by mfd | 24th May 23, 8:22pm 1684916533

I wonder if his evidence that "we’ve got the MDRS wrong" is the reduction in value of his portfolio.

Why is it an either/or on this vs Greenfield development? Why not both and let people decide?

by HouseMouse | 24th May 23, 8:24pm 1684916699

Luxon has said several things over the past week that has helped my election voting decision. It most certainly won’t be for his party.

by JimboJones | 24th May 23, 8:50pm 1684918247

You were anti MRDS not so long ago.

I find it funny that we all think this election has anything to do with the performance of the politicians. It’s all about the media, they were all for Ardern, then they turned against her, then they liked Chippy, now they seem to be on an anti Luxon vibe. The media will decide which team gets those swing votes, democracy is dead.

by HouseMouse | 24th May 23, 9:02pm 1684918927

I still am in many ways. It’s more the flip flopping that is a joke. Whether or not I like the MDRS, it’s in play and a whole lot of work and investment has been done on that basis. I don’t think his motives are sincere.

by JimboJones | 24th May 23, 9:47pm 1684921660

It won’t matter anyway, development will be dead for a fair while. Maybe the odd place being developed, but nothing like what we’ve seen the last few years.

by HouseMouse | 24th May 23, 9:53pm 1684922016

You don’t say. You were doubting my DGM predictions on construction.

by JimboJones | 24th May 23, 10:06pm 1684922795

No I think it’s been on the cards for a while, I know many who were shafted in 2008 or so and this was the obvious repeat. I just pointed out that construction was performing much better than expected a few months back, the doom and gloom hadn’t hit then. Even now I’m amazed how much is being built, who is buying it?

by dumbthoughts | 24th May 23, 9:33pm 1684920829

Luxon is a terrible campaigner, and he doesn't help himself. His flip-flopping is out the gate at the moment.

But reading the article about the greenfields proposal (I think the OP is referencing) there was some paragraph about Luxon's comments on Waka Kotahi, agriculture and spending that literally read like some kind of Reddit "clap back" in a very snarky tone.

There is 0 chance you'd see an article with the same tone about a Labour/Green politician - it just wouldn't happen.

Luxon should be smarter and know better but you are on the money that there seems to be a clear attempt in mainstream media at shaping the narrative.

by JimboJones | 24th May 23, 9:45pm 1684921516

The funny thing is that I don’t like many in National but I quite like Luxon. I thought Bishop was also good but he seems to be on the property investor bandwagon these days. The rest of National are pretty awful IMO, not sure what people see in Willis.

by HouseMouse | 24th May 23, 9:47pm 1684921628

Yes not a fan of Willis. Not awful, just pretty average.

by JimboJones | 24th May 23, 10:05pm 1684922701

Willis is just the anti everything politician. Easy for National to be anti Labour’s policies, but I’m not certain what National are actually proposing themselves.

It’s hard I guess, they took a stand against giving out free prescriptions and the media turned against them (maybe paid for by pharmacies). If $5 is too much for user pays then we must be becoming pretty socialist.

by KH | 24th May 23, 9:57pm 1684922254

I quite like Luxon. The Party less so. Very wishy washy on politics. And pandering to the landlord lobby and employers who want cheap import workers.

by NZGecko | 24th May 23, 10:11pm 1684923099

Yes National tying their flag firmly to becoming the Landlording party......will surely sink them. Stupid!

It is putting me off as the Finacial exploitation of housing is repugnant to me.

Guess what!! - I've voted National mostly in the past!!

by IT GUY | 24th May 23, 8:50pm 1684918237

Lucy on is in bed with the big build to rent investors he is throwing average investors under the bus here

by JimboJones | 24th May 23, 8:56pm 1684918580

Is Lucy on some new nickname I’m unaware of? A Taxinda type thing?

by E46 | 24th May 23, 11:57pm 1684929442

My expectations were low, but somehow they keep surprising me.

"Greenfields development", so let's turn our valuable, irreplaceable farmland into single-story sprawling low-quality housing that requires a massive amount of new infrastructure, rather than focusing on building near our existing arterial infrastructure that is surrounded by massively underutilized properties.

It's backward myopic thinking that got us into this mess and they're just going to repeat the exact same mistakes all over again. It's insanity. Clearly, something we were doing wasn't right but they're just going to take us down the same path all over again.

What on earth is wrong with our politicians, where is the vision, the leadership? The bureaucracy behind them doesn't achieve a damn thing except diluting responsibility to a point where nobody is held accountable to anyone. Change is desperately needed but none of the current parties are offering anything that will help the country at all, the only thing on offer is different options that screw us over in unique but significant ways.

arghhhhh.

by MLSmith1 | 24th May 23, 7:44pm 1684914283

Slippery slope:

https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/mike-hosking-breakfast/audio/roderick-mulgan-lawyer-on-nz-law-society-proposal-to-introduce-statutory-duty-for-lawyers-to-perform-in-accordance-with-treaty/

by nktokyo | 24th May 23, 9:23pm 1684920192

The retail sales is the interesting one. The downturn is gaining traction.

by nktokyo | 24th May 23, 9:57pm 1684922222

The MDRS change makes some sense but it will implode spectacularly for National because cities have invested so much in it. Luxon is a liability.

by HouseMouse | 24th May 23, 10:12pm 1684923179

There’s also quite a few investors and developers - typical Nats voters - who have put a lot of stock in MDRS.

At the same time, plenty of Nats supporters in leafy central suburbs dead against MDRS. People like Yvil who said people on the North shore were NIMBYs for opposing intensification, then submitted against it when it was proposed in his backyard. Hypocritical NIMBY!

It’s just not a great look on a bipartisan initiative. Flip flop.