Skip to main content

Editors choice comments

.. if our GDP growth depends so heavily upon the most massive increase in immigration since the first shabbily attired sea-sick Brits tumbled off the wooden boats and onto our shores 200 years ago ... then there's something seriously wrong with our underlying economy ...
Why isn't the GDP growing off increases in production , services , and exports earnings ?

by: Gummy Bear Hero

on Harbour Asset Management's Christian Hawkesby sees some scope for policy to be more adventurous over time under the new government
The new government is already making progress, Lol

by: Yvil

on Statistics NZ figures show the lowest net migration gain for a September month since 2014
Poor old Hosking looks like he is going to cry...trying to spin any negative angle he can come up with. His poor national mates must be in shock.

by: frazz

on Peters says NZ First will go into coalition with the Labour Party to turn around New Zealand capitalism in the face of economic slump which is already here: Arden says 'it's an exciting day'
FB status update today :
The Queen to New Zealand...
Better get a government going quickly, else I am sending Charles to rule over you.
#Thejokeisonus

by: SmoKey

on Peters says at 1pm: Decision in a few hours; Pros and cons relating to both policy packages; Very, very anxious time for himself and caucus; Will do one final look over each policy offering
In 1965 they started to worry about robots taking over - since then I spent a working life programming and have been retired a while. So after a lifetime of thinking:
(a) the experts usually get it wrong
(b) computers used to take the really simple jobs - 40 years ago I remember programming a stocktake that had been done manually - most stocktake sheets balanced with reality and the program remove the bother of adding them up and just left the interesting ones where there was no balance (mistakes in counting, mistakes in selling, breakages, etc). So my code destroyed boring work and left the...

by: Lapun

on Worrying about the potential downside of smart machines can blind us to the exciting possibilities they may open up for us in the future, argues Darl Kolb
“Sir John Key’s strong international career in banking and his understanding of and contacts across the Asia-Pacific – where many Australian and New Zealand companies are increasingly trading - will add great value to the governance of ANZ,
Interesting to mention JK's contacts in Asia=Pacific when ANZ has sold its retail and wealth business in S'pore. ANZ has no presence in Japan anymore. It has recently sold its operations in Vietnam to Shinhan Bank. Vietnam never ever happened for ANZ, a country where there is a extreme wealth among a few, but ANZ could never tap into that. The ANZ "brand...

by: J.C.

on ANZ NZ, the country's biggest bank, to have ex-PM John Key as its chairman from January 2018
Sales feeds staff and pays business overheads. Not a good time to be an agency supplier. Ill bet they have all been asked to do the same for 20% less.
Agents that have banked their money should be ok...tui But theres the car lease, trophy house and batch, school fees, and rentals for tax offset. Hard to prop up loss making rentals with no income though.
Perhaps they can start cutting costs with everyones favorite .....coffee and squashed advo.

by: Averageman

on New Zealand real estate agencies' commissions down an estimated 22.5% on a year ago, and down 30.5% in Auckland
Over recent weeks we've heard our politicians telling us how amazingly well they've handled our economy.
Here's the reality.
In 1900 New Zealand was the richest nation on the planet (per capita GDP). Now we’re between 30th and 50th, (depending upon who does the sums, and how)
1900 #1
1950 #5
1970 #10
1980 #19
2016 #50
We got rich in the 19th century using technology - refrigerated shipping.
We’ve made bugger all progress since. Farming and tourism = low paid jobs.

by: Alan Henderson

on Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy argues NZ is looking less like a developed nation and more like a pretender as well educated young people flock overseas
Coming from someone who is very early 30's; getting a head in this country sucks. My entire working career has basically been post GFC meaning companies down sizing, targets too high to realistically achieve (ie no bonus) little to no pay rises, house prices exploding this list goes on.... The fact that the % isn't higher surprises me.

by: An_Observation

on Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy argues NZ is looking less like a developed nation and more like a pretender as well educated young people flock overseas
I can resonate with the article, I'm 25 and made a rather spontaneous decision last week to move to Sydney in Feb next year. Recently also had 2 mates who moved across in the last 6 months so decide there's nothing to lose to join them. Life is short, gotta make the most of what's out there otherwise i know i'll regret it in my 30s. For me, the move is a combination of lack of job opportunity/ promotion and that I want to experience the city life. Everyone in the office tends to be 40+ with overseas experience, I work in Finance/ Investment so decide to follow the wise's advises and go abroad...

by: Goterence

on Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy argues NZ is looking less like a developed nation and more like a pretender as well educated young people flock overseas
The truth is, the rules and regs in this country seriously favour people using housing as a never lose casino. I have everything crossed this will change very, very soon.

by: PocketAces

on Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy argues NZ is looking less like a developed nation and more like a pretender as well educated young people flock overseas
Great article thanks Ryan. God, its depressing isn't it. What does the future hold for this country?
As previously mentioned, our businesses complain of not being able to fill skilled jobs, so promote immigration, while no effort is put into retaining our young (and even not so young) skilled people.
Personally, I cannot see a future in this country while house prices in areas I can find work remain so unaffordable. What may have kept me here in the past (clean rivers, high quality food, unpolluted land for growing vegetables etc) now also looks like a distant memory.
I guess basing your...

by: Ngrrk

on Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy argues NZ is looking less like a developed nation and more like a pretender as well educated young people flock overseas
'With so many of us tenants in our own country, with a quarter of our kids growing up in poverty ... we are looking less and less like a bona fide developed nation, and more and more like a pretender'
Perfect summary.

by: thenewguy

on Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy argues NZ is looking less like a developed nation and more like a pretender as well educated young people flock overseas
You have been wrong since 2008 on inflation, but like a stuck clock I suppose its possible you might be right one day, if briefly.
Simple as I keep saying, until we see wage packets "inflating" there is just no way we'll get inflation across the board. Until then any inflation in one sector will rob off other sectors which will see deflation. Rinse and repeat until those sectors in deflation collapse, and the real bugbear is these are probably the productive sectors.

by: steven

on Roger J Kerr says an inflation rate over 2% looks likely next year
I hope the microwave contamination doesn't get in the way of a good decision.....

by: bw

on NZ First will hold joint caucus and board meeting on Monday to discuss government formation, Winston Peters says
A seller would be well advised to play the agencies off against each other and negotiate a reduced commission. Put the selling process up for tender with three different agencies and play hardball. Should be quite good fun.

by: Zachary Smith

on Westpac launches 4.94% three year fixed home loan rate, lower than all its main rivals, nearly as low as HSBC's three-year 'Premier' rate
Amazing it can be so bad considering we have massive net migration and super low interest rates eh!

by: bigblue

on REINZ's national median selling price down in September as sales volumes slump to lowest level in six years
Thrilled you have raised this - my master research was on the feasibility of this. And the questions that I recently asked Treasury - if we suggested moving the naval base to Oriental Parade in Wellington - everyone would say we are idiots - but how come keeping it on real estate at twice the price makes more sense

by: ex socialist

on Winston Peters says we're now in compromise territory; National wasn't a fan of the Auckland Port to Whangarei move, but something has to be shifted up there; Is the answer across the water?
Committee? But first things first:
determine the membership needed
determine the rates of remuneration for aforesaid members
find the next calendar slot available to accommodate a meeting with aforesaid members
determine the scope, diversity and cost of the catering for that first meeting
determine a place for that meeting and the cost thereof
determine the legal limits of the meeting's powers
convene a prior working party to set the agenda for that meeting
repeat items 1-5 for that working party
draft ToR for the working party
acquire secretarial and administrative assistance for both the...

by: waymad

on Auckland Council eyes using property development arm Panuku Development Auckland to help establish more affordable housing
Previous councils in Auckland must take a big part of the blame for this mess.
Did bugger all rezoning in the 2000s, with high population growth and bugger all zoning to enable housing - what do you expect will happen with house prices.
Having said that, central government equally culpable with immigration, foreign investment rules, and taxation.

by: Fritz

on Auckland Council eyes using property development arm Panuku Development Auckland to help establish more affordable housing
I liked their housing policy best, given it places the design/build responsibility on the first-home-buyer - ridding us of the problem of covenants - and restricting the purchase of freehold land to permanent residents and citizens. Common sense :-).

by: Kate

on NZ First leader Winston Peters discusses overvalued & volatile NZ dollar, housing affordability and coalitions - with the media at least
Sideways is not good enough , we need a serious adjustment to 2010 to 2012 price levels before there is any value in this overpriced Auckland market .
Of course this will not happen to that extent , but a reversion to a 36 month average would be good .
And its a truism that markets do eventually revert to their long term average.
Quite simply if we hit the immigration pause button , this will happen quite quickly
Winston will ensure this

by: Boatman

on Prices at latest Barfoot & Thompson auctions ranged from $286,000 for a character bungalow to $2.41m for a brand new house in Epsom
... simple soul that I am ; I remember that Chinese consortium who applied to the OIO or whatever it's called , seeking permission to buy a huge block of land from the Stewart family ... and they had a detailed proposal to create an industrial park ... and the site would have created 5000 new jobs ... but they were knocked back ...
And yet , foreigners can seemingly buy up as much of our housing stock , no questions asked ... and the net effect is no new jobs created , just more upward pressure on the prices of the existing housing stock , pushing it further out of reach of FHB's who live and...

by: Gummy Bear Hero

on Foreign ownership rules, post-1984 economic paradigm up for debate in NZ First talks with National and Labour; Peters still not a fan of HNA-UDC deal
Although it is amusing at times, his dismissal of perfectly reasonable questions gets a bit tiring.
Whilst there are plenty of morons in the media there are also a few good ones

by: Fritz

on Foreign ownership rules, post-1984 economic paradigm up for debate in NZ First talks with National and Labour; Peters still not a fan of HNA-UDC deal
Yeah but
Policy should matter. It's what fundamentally distinguishes one party and it's raison d'tre from another.

by: Fritz

on 'Policy is everything,' Kingmaker Winston Peters says after first heavy round of talks held Sunday; English and Ardern say talks were positive, set to carry on through Monday