What happened Wednesday

Economy / news

A review of things you need to know before you sign off on Wednesday; dairy prices recover some, C/A deficit smaller, Auckland Council bond issue popular, swaps rates rise further, NZD holds, & more

[updated]

20th Sep 23, 3:59pm 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/LOAN RATE CHANGES
No changes to report today so far.

TERM DEPOSIT/SAVINGS RATE CHANGES
Update: ANZ raised its 6 month rate to 5.85% and their 1 year rate to 6.00% Both are +5 bps increases.

HOPEFULLY THE START OF A RECOVERY
Dairy auction prices rose for the second successive auction overnight. Both overall prices and key whole milk powder prices rose +4.6%. But these tow increases don't really move the trend higher. positive evidence will be required from more auctions. And the signs of rising demand in China are not there yet. Fonterra is reported to have 500,000 tonnes of WMP in storage there awaiting an upturn. The 2023/24 season is still very uncertain. More here.

SMALLER DEFICIT
The current account deficit shrank to -7.5% of GDP in Q2-2023 from -7.9% a year ago, which was more than economists expected. Shifting the dial was a higher level of exports, including much better service exports. Slower imports helped too.

FEWER LIABILITIES
Our net international liability position was $189.3 bln (-47.8% of GDP). A year ago it was $184.8 bln or -50.8% of GDP. Net external debt was -47.5% of GDP compared to -49.5% in Q2-2022

HIGH DEMAND, HIGH RATE, LOW MARGIN
Auckland Council attracted high levels of demand for its secured, unsubordinated five year fixed rate green bonds and took $300 mln, the top of its indicated range. The high demand meant it could price them at the bottom of its indicated pricing range, 65 bps, meaning it will pay 5.734% for this funding (or $47,100 in interest per calendar day, just for this bond).

RESILIENCE ACTIVITY
Budget 2023 allocated $100 mln for flood protection and resilience. Today $15 mln was released to raise the ~200 homes, about half of them in Te Karaka, Tairāwhiti, in a locally-led project. Another $10 mln package targets nine projects which will support economic recovery in Hawke’s Bay, Tairāwhiti and Northland.

TAXING AIR BNB
In Victoria, the State Government said (page 20) it will tax short-stay rental platforms 7.5% from 2025. There are more than 36,000 short-stay accommodation places in Victoria and almost half of these are in regional centers. More than 29,000 of those places are entire homes. The goal is more affordable long-term rental accommodation. But their tourism industry is livid.

LESS IN JAPAN
After a good surge in 2021 and 2022, Japanese exports slipped -0.8% in August from a year ago, a second month of no expansion. Their exports to China dropped -11%. But at least overall they are holding on to their earlier gains. And the August slip was less than feared. Imports however fell more than expected, the most in three years. But most of this can be attributed to big falls in oil products (-33%), and it is encouraging that Japan is learning how to do with significantly less oil.

HOLDING AT RECORD LOWS
China held its Loan Prime rates in its monthly review today. This is what analysts expected. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR), which is the medium-term lending facility used for corporate and household loans was kept unchanged at a record low of 3.45%; and the five-year rate, a reference for mortgages, was held at 4.2% for the third straight month.

"STAY, WE ARE LISTENING"
China is worried about the outflow of funds by foreign investors. Today it held a 'symposium' for JPMorgan Chase Bank, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, UBS Securities, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Tesla, BASF, Trafigura, Schneider and other foreign financial institutions and foreign-funded enterprises to hear of their concerns, and provide reassurances.

SWAPS FIRMER
Wholesale swap rates probably pushed a little higher yet again today across the whole curve. But the real reaction will come at the close. Our chart will record the final positions. The 90 day bank bill rate is little-changed at 5.67%. The Australian 10 year bond yield is up +7 bps to 4.16%. The China 10 year bond rate is unchanged at 2.69%. The NZ Government 10 year bond rate is up +6 bps to 5.14% which is almost back at its August high, but still well above the earlier RBNZ fixing of 5.08% which was up +7 bps today. The UST 10 year yield is now almost at 4.37% which up +7 bps from this time yesterday and more than a 15 year high (back to levels pre-GFC.

EQUITIES UNENTHUSIASTIC AHEAD OF THE FED
The NZX50 is down -0.2% near today's close. The ASX200 is down another -0.5% in afternoon trade. Tokyo is down -0.4% in early trade. Hong Kong has opened its Wednesday trade down -0.6%, and Shanghai has opened down -0.4%. On Wall Street, the S&P500 ended its Tuesday session down -0.2%.

GOLD EDGES DOWN
In early Asian trade, gold is at US$1930/oz and down -US$2 from this time yesterday. It closed earlier in New York at US$1931/oz, and earlier still in London at US$1935/oz.

NZD STILL STUCK IN TIGHT RANGE
The Kiwi dollar is little-changed from this time yesterday at 59.4 USc. Against the Aussie we are firmish at 92.1 AUc. Against the euro we are firm at 55.6 euro cents. The TWI-5 is however little-changed from yesterday at just under 68.6.

BITCOIN MOVES UP AGAIN
The bitcoin price is higher again and now at US$27,193 and up another +1.5% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just over +/- 1.3%.

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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89 Comments

by blobbles | 20th Sep 23, 4:07pm 1695182859

Great move Victoria. Pity we aren't anywhere near as bold.

by Advisor | 20th Sep 23, 4:31pm 1695184267

Lines from an article in the SMH that perfectly explains the housing obsession in this country:

when we direct our tax concessions to property owners rather than workers, we make two significant related statements: 1. having assets is better than working; 2. passive income is better than income from productive activity.

And then we wonder why wealth inequality is rising in NZ and our economic productivity is in the toilet.

Both major political parties have completely ruled out taxing wealth/capital gains, which means the situation will only worsen going forward.

by J.C. | 20th Sep 23, 4:38pm 1695184704

Both major political parties have completely ruled out taxing wealth/capital gains, which means the situation will only worsen going forward.

Unless you go the whole hog and eliminate / minimize tax on all wealth and capital gains, not just "propadee as a business".

by Te Kooti | 20th Sep 23, 7:28pm 1695194907

Or alternatively they could get serious about preserving the $'s value and not engage in loose MP and QE. I will never sell property as it's a perfect hedge against the circus in Welly. Immigration and QE, I'll have some of that.

by Roelof | 21st Sep 23, 6:16am 1695233780

Tk... I think U r spot on.

A wealth tax or land tax without addressing monetary inflation, would be a travesty.... with some unintended consequences.

by Zwifter | 20th Sep 23, 4:44pm 1695185075

Nobody with 1 house let alone 7 houses wants a CGT mate, move on. Maybe when you finally get some assets that you have paid for through the nose already then someone asks you for yet more tax, maybe you will get it.

by Albert2020 | 20th Sep 23, 4:49pm 1695185363

Take it from that attitude you bought at the peak?

by Zwifter | 20th Sep 23, 5:04pm 1695186299

What's that got to do with anything ? Bought the house 3 years ago today as it happens, having a bit of a party tonight to celebrate.

by Albert2020 | 20th Sep 23, 5:23pm 1695187397

So a year before the peak. So your probably sitting at even. I get the resentment.

by Flying high | 20th Sep 23, 9:42pm 1695202956

Dick comments Albert

by HughJorgan | 20th Sep 23, 5:29pm 1695187752

I hope you bought well and have some good equity in there.

As a homeowner I am not opposed to CGT. I’d like my kids to live in NZ and in order for that to happen house prices need to follow a different path for the next 10 years or so.

by Nzdan | 20th Sep 23, 5:36pm 1695188195

I'm on the fence about CGT, rather than taxing the outcome why not tackle the source/reason for that outcome?

Say the market appreciates 50% in 4 years. I need to move for work purposes. I sell my house and look to buy in a similar market, paying CGT could put me backwards when all I'm trying to do is go sideways.

by HughJorgan | 20th Sep 23, 5:49pm 1695188966

That’s a fair point. I feel CGT in this country will only work if it is not on your immediate residence.

Then, maybe, we won’t build so many dam baches and second homes that are under-utilised.

by mfd | 20th Sep 23, 6:20pm 1695190813

Yes that's tricky. I think there are better ways to encourage efficient use of housing. How about rolling the FIF regime currently used with overseas share holdings onto second properties? Deemed return of 5% (adjustable as a policy lever), if you have a rental your tax is as if you'd made income of 5% of the property value, so likely 1.5-2% of the value paid in tax. No deductions, nice easy tax calculation.

If you want a batch or second home, knock yourself out, but you'll be paying the same tax without any associated income.

by Murray Falconer | 20th Sep 23, 7:40pm 1695195643

Exclusions are a problem, why should someone with a 5m 'home' get a free ride on that when someone with a 1m home and 1m rental has to pay?

We have enough rentals, that 'aren't rentals' for tax purposes already - time to stop sticking it to the honest and make things fairer with a low LVT on all land. Those 'family' staying in that house which is 'not a rental' will not be able to avoid it.

Time to stop pretending everyone follows the rules (look no further than current immigration debacle) and accept we have a vastly different culture now. It's well past time we wrote rules to cover those that 'won't do the right thing' and an LVT is the perfect example of how to do it.

by Te Kooti | 20th Sep 23, 7:32pm 1695195149

Oh the horror, people buying and building holiday homes. Let's rise up Comrade....

by Murray Falconer | 20th Sep 23, 7:48pm 1695196082

Oh the horror, people buying and building holiday homes.

I say let them build, holiday in style and pay an LVT on the section value. That LVT will then be given to those that work via a 15k tax free threshold (per The Opportunities Party policy).

by JimboJones | 20th Sep 23, 6:31pm 1695191513

I agree, they need to tax the gain yearly not at sale.

by Nzdan | 20th Sep 23, 8:03pm 1695197019

Maybe that's how it works. Defer the tax bill for 'x' calendar months (maybe 12?) so that it falls into the next tax year, otherwise you'd get the odd OO with a sale settlement in the last week of the tax year followed by a purchase settlement in the first week of the new tax year that gets stung.

by Murray Falconer | 20th Sep 23, 7:28pm 1695194933

A really thorough CGT is one that hits all property and is calculated and paid each year. At that point, you realise it is very similar to an LVT in a slowly rising market.

I know people like the idea of paying when selling, but that creates an unfairness and disincentive to those that need to shift for work as they would be asked to pay it when those that don't move delay paying the tax. Mobility of labour helps with productivity and a CGT only payable on sale mean people make choices based on tax rather than productivity - eg I would take that job paying 5k a year more, but not worth it due to having to sell and buy houses. Only taxing the land also encourages development/building (CGT often is on the land and house).

Summary, a LVT offset by a 15k tax-free threshold per TOP's policy is the way to go for your children if you want them to have maximum flexibility on home ownership and be able to move location as careers develop (compared to a CGT).

by Te Kooti | 20th Sep 23, 7:35pm 1695195341

Are you really suggesting an annual CGT on the family home, do you have a book of bad idea's? Do you realise just how throroughly unworkable that is? That sounds like a Green communist fantasy to run the nation into the dirt.

by JimboJones | 20th Sep 23, 7:45pm 1695195943

It’s as crazy as charging tax on every dollar a person earns.

by Te Kooti | 20th Sep 23, 8:03pm 1695197035

Aren't the houses bought with already taxed income though? We don't tax the family residence because we want to encourage familys buying and owning houses, it creates a positive society. You need to look elsewhere - investment property's sure let's tax those as they are a business. But we are about to elect a party into power who is very prop-property.

by Nzdan | 20th Sep 23, 8:12pm 1695197528

If an owner occupied house doubles in value over 10 years, and that owner releases the equity into a deposit for a rental property while borrowing the rest, how much of that rental property was paid for by their "taxed income"? Maybe the taxed income of the various renters, so do we give the tax break to the renter instead?

by E46 | 20th Sep 23, 8:42pm 1695199335

The food I buy is bought from already taxed income yet I pay GST on it.

by Tallmantim | 20th Sep 23, 10:13pm 1695204812

You pay gst when the house is built too.

by E46 | 20th Sep 23, 11:40pm 1695210031

Not if it was built before 1986, and the majority of housing transactions would not include any GST component apart from new builds as most people are buying existing houses not new builds.

by Nzdan | 20th Sep 23, 8:10pm 1695197415

It's very crazy. If someone works a full time job, they incur expenses to provide shelter, food, fuel, maintenance etc to ensure they can turn up to work and "derive an income". If that cost exceeds their income they don't receive any sort of tax break, no matter how big their mortgage is.

Yet someone (not a company, someone) who "derives an income" from other people living in a surplus house, can pretend they're a business for tax purposes while running at an effective loss for tax free capital gains further down the line. Well, Labour partially fixed that one by removing interest deductibility.

by Murray Falconer | 20th Sep 23, 7:55pm 1695196521

Are you really suggesting an annual CGT on the family home

No.

do you have a book of bad idea's?

No, but since you're looking try these sites: www.labour.nz  www.national.nz 

Do you realise just how throroughly unworkable that is?

Yes. That's exactly why I advocate for a simple Land Value Tax (LVT).

That sounds like a Green communist fantasy to run the nation into the dirt.

Agree their wealth tax is awful, that's why I advocate for TOP's tax switch (take with LVT, give 15k tax free on income).

by Chaosinflesh | 20th Sep 23, 8:03pm 1695196983

I almost spat out my tea at the links ... ha ha ha ha!

by Murray Falconer | 20th Sep 23, 8:06pm 1695197169

I don't know if they work or not - but it sounds like you got the point anyway!

by Te Kooti | 20th Sep 23, 8:05pm 1695197132

Great responses MF, they actually made my laugh out loud.

by Murray Falconer | 20th Sep 23, 8:06pm 1695197209

Cheers TK

by EdwardD | 21st Sep 23, 6:43am 1695235428

I'm not sure about today, but several years back (when I was living in the US), CGT was charged upon sale (only when the property sold was not replaced, or the replacement property was of less value).

by Baywatch | 20th Sep 23, 8:59pm 1695200390

Celebrating your rapidly depreciating asset..and hoping against hope for The Luz to turn it around...all the best!

by mfd | 20th Sep 23, 4:51pm 1695185465

I have a house, recently sold my second (and paid CGT as it was overseas). I'd love to see taxation shifted away from income, bring it on.

At what point can I expect to 'get it'? Can I expect to become more narrow-minded and self-interested with age?

by Advisor | 20th Sep 23, 5:35pm 1695188125

You are missing my point completely. We should be using CGT to discourage speculation and divert investments into more productive assets, not as another tax grab.

Alas, the entire conversation has been infiltrated by speculators and powerful FIRE sector lobbies who have no issues using mom-and-pop investors and FHBs as human shields to block tax reforms by spreading misinformation.

by Murray Falconer | 20th Sep 23, 8:04pm 1695197075

mom-and-pop investors

I watched Luxon's shameless appeal during the debate yesterday for these people that were just trying to provide for their retirement. Where was the follow up question about the retirement prospects of those that rent from them! Useless.

Equally useless was the non-questioning of the supply side ONLY answers to housing affordability both leaders gave. Supply and demand, how hard is TVNZ? You could ask a 3rd form (showing my age) economics student what determines price and get a better answer than the next PM gave last night.

by vman | 20th Sep 23, 8:08pm 1695197334

And what about mom & pop owner occupiers who have no way of recouping mortgage interest ...and when rates rise,the investors tax rebates will be even larger.

by Murray Falconer | 20th Sep 23, 8:48pm 1695199710

History will repeat, investors will be able to outbid FHB's again. Must, tilt, the, field, towards, investors!

by Rob Reid | 20th Sep 23, 9:02pm 1695200572

Luckily it's a tipped field lubricated by popcorn.

Still clinging to shreds of hope that we see negative interest rates in one last desperate (lubricated) ponzi pump. Would be awesome story for incredulous grandkids.

by RickStrauss | 20th Sep 23, 8:09pm 1695197376

I have property, and I've also bought and sold in a country that has CGT. NZer property investors just need to grow up and stop being so entitled. A CGT is fine.

by rastus1 | 20th Sep 23, 4:30pm 1695184202

Taxing AIR BnB, the extra holding costs associated with housing plus general belt tightening will bring more homes onto the market.

It is not just building homes that increases supply.

Even without the tax it will happen in NZ.

by morepork | 20th Sep 23, 5:06pm 1695186379

We're probably going to do the opposite with National planning to reverse the change by the current gov to have AirBNB automatically apply GST to all listings

by mfd | 20th Sep 23, 5:09pm 1695186569

Nats are laser focused on removing any policy that could inconvenience property owners.

by JimboJones | 20th Sep 23, 7:10pm 1695193846

Unless those property owners want to develop their property (and it’s in a rich area)

by IT GUY | 20th Sep 23, 4:10pm 1695183043

The UST 10 year yield is now almost at 4.37% which up +7 bps from this time yesterday and more than a 15 year high

then add a suitable risk premium for NZ......

by David Chaston | 20th Sep 23, 4:13pm 1695183227

Yes. As noted above, the RBNZ reported the NZ 10yr yield is currently 5.08%, so that premium is 71 bps..

by IT GUY | 20th Sep 23, 4:17pm 1695183461

Its an amazing change considering you could borrow RBNZ printed money for 5 years at high 2's only 3 years ago....

by Justa comment | 20th Sep 23, 7:31pm 1695195065

Swaps still rising..........

by J.C. | 20th Sep 23, 4:19pm 1695183562

Wolfie Richter unpacks the mess that is Canada. Very much the same narrative that is happening here and in Aussie. While all the pointy heads cry 'look over there' at energy prices, it's all about the bubble. Perfect storm for socio-economic destruction and they have no answers. Just like Nu' Zillun.

The scary part is the red-hot inflation in housing: Inflation in rents has been shooting up and raged at the highest rate since 1983; and inflation in homeownership costs also surged.

Rent inflation, hottest since 1982. In August, the CPI for rents spiked by 6.5% year-over-year, the highest since 1983. This is another sign that housing – rents and ownership costs – started to fuel inflation, and that inflation isn’t going to just vanish unless housing stops fueling it.

The Bank of Canada is now in a pickle of its own making, after having repressed interest rates for many years and after unleashing a massive QE program during the pandemic, that it is now rapidly unwinding. These erstwhile policies had the effect of creating one of the biggest housing bubbles in the world, that is now deflating.

https://wolfstreet.com/2023/09/19/worst-rent-inflation-since-1983-red-h…

by nz-it-worker | 20th Sep 23, 4:27pm 1695184070

No mention of Canada running one of the most aggressive immigration policies anywhere in the developed world then?

by J.C. | 20th Sep 23, 4:49pm 1695185345

No mention of Canada running one of the most aggressive immigration policies anywhere in the developed world then?

No. But Aussie is just as bad. And we are not too far behind. But the busloads of Chinese with suitcases of cash willing to pay a king's ransom for suburban hovels does not fully rub with me. Even in Canada.

by nz-it-worker | 20th Sep 23, 4:56pm 1695185760

Maybe Trudeau upsetting the Indians will bring a bit of rent inflation relief down the line.

by HouseMouse | 20th Sep 23, 4:50pm 1695185428

Fake lefties in charge there, like here. They genuinely don’t give a toss for the middle income working people (teachers, nurses, police, carers etc) that a country relies on so much for its functioning. Much more interested in image and minority interests.

by JimboJones | 20th Sep 23, 6:42pm 1695192124

You reckon teachers nurses etc got better pay rises under National? Most have done pretty well out of this government.

by MLSmith1 | 20th Sep 23, 6:53pm 1695192823

Most have done pretty well out of this government.

must be why Labour is leading in the polls… keep drinking that cool-aid jimbo

by JimboJones | 20th Sep 23, 7:00pm 1695193202

leading the polls is as simple as giving teachers and nurses pay rises?

by HouseMouse | 20th Sep 23, 6:58pm 1695193110

They had to fight extremely hard for it, rather than Labour proactively doing anything.

And Labour has contributed significantly to the cost of living crisis, and the house price boom before it.

by mfd | 20th Sep 23, 7:04pm 1695193453

In my speciality, we had to fight tooth and nail to get an inflationary pay rise under national. Under labour, we fought tooth and nail to get a small pay cut after inflation. We are relatively well paid, high skilled specialists, and all the money has flowed to lower income groups.

Not saying this is philosophically wrong, but it is true to say we have found negotiation harder under labour.

by JimboJones | 20th Sep 23, 7:04pm 1695193484

House prices had levelled off under labour prior to Covid. The cost of living crisis exists in right wing lead countries too, eg the UK.

I do agree though that Labour are too focussed on poverty and National are too focused on property, leaving most of the middle unrepresented by either of our two centre parties.

by J.C. | 20th Sep 23, 4:39pm 1695184792

Heaps of chatter about possible China capital flight - we know $CNY has depreciated almost 15% YTD. So, some possibilities:

1. China is buying a lot of gold

2. China is paying down USD offshore debt of its banks and corporates

3. Wealthy people getting out

China is not buying U.S. treasuries. We don't really know where this money is going. If you do know well, chances are you will make out like a bandit.

by rastus1 | 20th Sep 23, 4:32pm 1695184348

Zeihan latest on China.

Don't Be Surprised by China's Collapse || Peter Zeihan - YouTube

by J.C. | 20th Sep 23, 4:42pm 1695184923

Zeihan latest on China

I find him annoying and his voice overrated. But that's perhaps because I think he believes that he's more knowledgeable than he really is (even though he is incredibly knowledgeable).

by HouseMouse | 20th Sep 23, 4:53pm 1695185603

Bit of a ‘Jonny comes lately’ in terms of China skepticism.

by IT GUY | 20th Sep 23, 4:40pm 1695184834

IMHO They are buying gold

by J.C. | 20th Sep 23, 4:42pm 1695184975

IMHO They are buying gold

I reckon that's not a bad reckon based on what we can see.

by IT GUY | 20th Sep 23, 5:10pm 1695186635

Its a great strategy as they can be secretly selling treasuries via rolling shorts

by Audaxes | 20th Sep 23, 4:43pm 1695185014

Probably, to create a squeeze.

It appears that all the US Treasury gold in the West Point depository (1681 tonnes) is still in a location swap with Bundesbank (Buba) gold at the NYFED vault (1236 tonnes) and at the Bank of England (445 tonnes). So Germany has claim on all the gold in West Point. Link

by IT GUY | 20th Sep 23, 5:11pm 1695186717

There is no way in hell that the physical settle ever occurs......

by nigelh | 20th Sep 23, 7:47pm 1695196068

As far as I'm aware all of Germany's gold has been repatriated. Need to do some research.

https://www.bundesbank.de/en/tasks/topics/bundesbank-completes-transfer…

by Galloleous | 20th Sep 23, 6:32pm 1695191538

Arthur has some ideas:

https://twitter.com/CryptoHayes/status/1704331260108431594?t=W6HWVM76yT…

Some possibilities:

1. China is buying a lot of gold

2. China is paying down USD offshore debt of its banks and corporates

3. Some wealthy comrades are fleeing the coop

Most importantly what China is not doing is:

BUYING MORE US TREASURIES!!!!!

by Roelof | 20th Sep 23, 7:38pm 1695195504

JC...

One of my favorite economists has the view that alot of Chinese entities had cheap short term dollar debt ...and have been "caught out".

https://economicperspectives.co.uk/2023/09/is-china-sucking-the-life-ou…

by Audaxes | 20th Sep 23, 4:41pm 1695184887

Alarm on reserves? Yeah, no. Liquidity buffers are rising because big banks can see what's coming and it isn't more QT. Link Full Bloomberg article link

by Audaxes | 20th Sep 23, 5:54pm 1695189295

FHLB advances currently account for over 45% of banks borrowing, the highest level since 2006, excluding the fourth quarter of 2022 and first quarter of 2023, according to Citi.

In other words, nothing less than, communism.

by streetwise | 20th Sep 23, 5:18pm 1695187138

Who would have thought that Albany is now the murder capital of New Zealand and Queenstown now has the worst public hygiene (slum-like) in the country.

My intuition has always told me that these two towns were always over-rated. Who would want to live there?

House values in them should now be taking a tumble.

by IT GUY | 20th Sep 23, 5:25pm 1695187529

You been to Hawkes Bay, Hamilton, Kaitaia, or almost anywhere in NZ, ITS EVERYWHERE, kids walking out of shops with bags full of stolen kit etc etc, until we kick these lefties out nothing will change..... In Albany case it was a mentally ill 501 that was murdered, by a gang prospect I suspect....

by JimboJones | 20th Sep 23, 6:28pm 1695191318

Will be interesting to see if the blue team can do any better. Do they plan on getting rid of all these discounts the judges give to people who are obviously going to reoffend?

by KBKIWI | 20th Sep 23, 6:58pm 1695193123

And yet National has announced no plans to combat the rising crime, except to cut back the support workers in police HQ.

Looking forward to seeing all this retail and 501 crime magically disappearing in New Zealand because National fired some Wellington bureaucrats.

yeah right.

by Te Kooti | 20th Sep 23, 7:38pm 1695195526

Our police need a rocket up them, crime is out of control and an absolute disgrace. Genuinely thinking of some, ahem, additional security tools.

by RickStrauss | 21st Sep 23, 11:01am 1695250901

Police wages don't make sense vs housing costs. We'll probably face more shortages and worse outcomes so long as we pander to to property speculators.

by vman | 20th Sep 23, 10:18pm 1695205136

The Nats didn't throw much cash at the police last time they were in;

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/67840387/3-million-savings-fr…

The closure of 30 police stations throughout New Zealand has saved a cash-strapped police force $3 million, but the police union is warning of trouble ahead.

The Police Association says funding is nearing a critical point and "re-centralisation" could see public confidence erode to levels not seen since the early 1990s.

And as a five-year budget freeze continues to bite, the force has been quietly been reviewing its 400 "public facing" properties - which includes stations and community policing centres.

while the entire Auckland Downtown Station was relocated to Auckland Central.

A budget freeze, which has been hanging over police since 2010, is unlikely to thaw when Finance Minister Bill English delivers his seventh Budget on May 21.

by Flying high | 20th Sep 23, 10:08pm 1695204500

Taxes are misdirected and not going to essential services

We are going backwards but expectations are for what we had or better

by Albert2020 | 20th Sep 23, 5:26pm 1695187577

Since when is Albany a town?

by HouseMouse | 20th Sep 23, 5:53pm 1695189221

It’s a nothing

by IT GUY | 20th Sep 23, 6:19pm 1695190777

good luck collecting this..... https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/failure-to-settle-116m-manurewa-hou…; though he looks an idiot not making an offer via a company he could fold....

by JimboJones | 20th Sep 23, 6:36pm 1695191771

I think they should limit sale and purchase agreements to the deposit. Everyday people are signing these on a daily basis, having to fork out $400k if you get it wrong is very harsh. I can’t get my bank to top up my very safe mortgage by a few k without them analysing my every move, yet I can sign myself up to an almost unlimited realestate debt.

by HouseMouse | 20th Sep 23, 7:04pm 1695193477

Another wannabie developer / wide boy who fell for the ‘get rich quick through development’ nonsense that ran rife throughout the Indian community in South Auckland from 2020-2021. It was an unsustainable feeding frenzy.

by JimboJones | 20th Sep 23, 7:07pm 1695193669

The barbers I use (mainly Indian) were all talking about buying investment properties in south Auckland for crazy prices. I hope none of them did. Some of those prices were eye watering for what and where they were buying.