Alex Tarrant | interest.co.nz

About

Alex is interest.co.nz's political journalist based in the Parliamentary Press Gallery in Wellington. He previously spent four years in London as a journalist and assistant editor at global financial newswire Mergermarket, which was part of the FT Group. Alex worked for interest.co.nz between 2008 and 2012, returning at the start of 2017.

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Member for

15 years 5 months

Latest articles

Nationwide govt house-building focus

Govt-led house building focus to be nationwide, greatest pressures are in Auckland, PM English says as Cabinet puts final touches on Budget

1st May 17, 6:08pm

by Alex Tarrant

Govt-led house building focus to be nationwide, greatest pressures are in Auckland, PM English says as Cabinet puts final touches on Budget

Work visas: A short tale

The episode when Alex and his political advisor Sandy try to dig through the numbers in an attempt to come up with a coherent immigration policy

30th Apr 17, 6:02am

by Alex Tarrant

The episode when Alex and his political advisor Sandy try to dig through the numbers in an attempt to come up with a coherent immigration policy

EQC levies ‘may be affected’

EQC levies may be affected by changes to disaster fund set to be announced after drawn-out review, Joyce says; Flags changes to reinsurance excess, operational detail

29th Apr 17, 6:02am

by Alex Tarrant

EQC levies may be affected by changes to disaster fund set to be announced after drawn-out review, Joyce says; Flags changes to reinsurance excess, operational detail

Private sector funding for National's house building plans

Private sector set to help fund National's large-scale house building plans, Joyce says; Adams to announce policy in lead up to Budget; Migration may have peaked, but set to stay high as construction demand amps up

28th Apr 17, 7:34am

by Alex Tarrant

Asset price inflation has been a concern – Joyce

Asset price inflation has been a concern; Global adjustments will need careful management as interest rates increase, Finance Minister Joyce says

28th Apr 17, 5:02am

by Alex Tarrant

Asset price inflation has been a concern; Global adjustments will need careful management as interest rates increase, Finance Minister Joyce says

Govt tax talk is thresholds, not rates – Joyce

Budget tax changes would focus on thresholds, not rates, Finance Minister Joyce says; Families package might target transfers in bid to help incomes

27th Apr 17, 3:05pm

by Alex Tarrant

Budget tax changes would focus on thresholds, not rates, Finance Minister Joyce says; Families package might target transfers in bid to help incomes

Govt announces new debt target

Finance Minister Joyce announces new govt net debt target of 10-15% by 2025, announces increase in new capital infrastructure spending over next four Budgets

27th Apr 17, 12:41pm

by Alex Tarrant

Finance Minister Joyce announces new govt net debt target of 10-15% by 2025, announces increase in new capital infrastructure spending over next four Budgets

'Large scale' govt house building role goes to Adams

Govt Ministerial responsibility for house building programmes shifted to Amy Adams from Nick Smith as PM English reshuffles Cabinet

24th Apr 17, 2:05pm

by Alex Tarrant

Govt Ministerial responsibility for house building programmes shifted to Amy Adams from Nick Smith as PM English reshuffles Cabinet

Govt 'concerned for young home buyers'

Finance Minister Joyce says govt concerned about young people's ability to save for a house deposit while being hit by 48k tax threshold and student loan repayments; Prods Auckland Council on transport spending

24th Apr 17, 11:16am

by Alex Tarrant

162

Auckland’s purple housing supply election

National is gearing up to announce a big Auckland housing plan. It has been dubbed 'KiwiBuild-lite', but even that implies too wide a gap from Labour

23rd Apr 17, 6:02am

by Alex Tarrant

National is gearing up to announce a big Auckland housing plan. It has been dubbed 'KiwiBuild-lite', but even that implies too wide a gap from Labour

Immigration NZ: 57% of SMC requests below median wage

An Immigration NZ sample of 600 live Skilled Migrant Category applications in March shows 57% were for jobs offering less than the new median wage threshold

21st Apr 17, 7:50am

by Alex Tarrant

An Immigration NZ sample of 600 live Skilled Migrant Category applications in March shows 57% were for jobs offering less than the new median wage threshold

Inflation surprise turns focus to OCR hike track

CPI inflation of 2.2% in year to March beats expectations, with housing-related and transport prices on top of cigarette tax rise driving it

20th Apr 17, 10:59am

by Alex Tarrant

104

CPI inflation of 2.2% in year to March beats expectations, with housing-related and transport prices on top of cigarette tax rise driving it

Immigration changes: What you need to know

Government changes to New Zealand immigration settings: Questions and Answers on skilled and temporary visa categories

19th Apr 17, 12:08pm

by Alex Tarrant

Government changes to New Zealand immigration settings: Questions and Answers on skilled and temporary visa categories

Govt announces skilled migrant pay floor

Govt announces skilled migrant median pay requirement to sit alongside qualification and occupation requirements; Proposes tweaks to temporary migration settings and South Island residency path

19th Apr 17, 11:44am

by Alex Tarrant

Govt announces skilled migrant median pay requirement to sit alongside qualification and occupation requirements; Proposes tweaks to temporary migration settings and South Island residency path

Govt to 'tweak' immigration settings

Govt to tweak immigration settings to 'better control the flows and better match skills shortages', PM English says

18th Apr 17, 5:06pm

by Alex Tarrant

Govt to tweak immigration settings to 'better control the flows and better match skills shortages', PM English says

NZ debt-to-income ratios a risk...to Australia

NZ's rising debt-to-income ratios for new property lending presenting additional risks; New DTI restriction tool could help - Reserve Bank of Australia

18th Apr 17, 2:36pm

by Alex Tarrant

NZ's rising debt-to-income ratios for new property lending presenting additional risks; New DTI restriction tool could help - Reserve Bank of Australia

Why houses in NZ have become so expensive (and big) and change will be so hard: Part II

Land price & house size jumps: How NZ’s 1989 tax experiment ignored the potential impacts on land values, house sizes and property prices as govt chased a short-term revenue kick but doomed future generations

16th Apr 17, 6:02am

by Alex Tarrant

Labour touts Hutt Valley land for KiwiBuild

Labour says empty Housing NZ land in Wellington's Hutt Valley region enough for 400 Kiwibuild and state homes; One-to-three-bedroom Kiwibuild properties at $200,000 to $350,000

12th Apr 17, 12:26pm

by Alex Tarrant

Labour says empty Housing NZ land in Wellington's Hutt Valley region enough for 400 Kiwibuild and state homes; One-to-three-bedroom Kiwibuild properties at $200,000 to $350,000

'House prices can't drop' - Labour

House prices need to remain stable while tens of thousands of new houses come on-stream, Labour Party leader Andrew Little says; Defends $600,000 Kiwibuild price as affordable in Auckland

12th Apr 17, 7:32am

by Alex Tarrant

192

House prices need to remain stable while tens of thousands of new houses come on-stream, Labour Party leader Andrew Little says; Defends $600,000 Kiwibuild price as affordable in Auckland

A lesson on interviewing Winston Peters

NZ First has long sought changes to how the RBNZ runs monetary policy. So Alex Tarrant attempted to ask Winston Peters what he thought about Labour's monetary policy proposals

11th Apr 17, 4:29pm

by Alex Tarrant

NZ First has long sought changes to how the RBNZ runs monetary policy. So Alex Tarrant attempted to ask Winston Peters what he thought about Labour's monetary policy proposals

'We need time to catch up,' Labour's Little says of immigration

Labour's immigration policy to focus foremost on whether people entering NZ on work visas can be cut, and those roles filled by locals, Andrew Little says

11th Apr 17, 2:11pm

by Alex Tarrant

Labour's immigration policy to focus foremost on whether people entering NZ on work visas can be cut, and those roles filled by locals, Andrew Little says

On NAIRU, and time inconsistency

Labour's monetary policy employment target met by questions on how to measure success (NAIRU?) and whether people will continue to trust the Reserve Bank. Time Inconsistency anyone?

11th Apr 17, 7:38am

by Alex Tarrant

Labour's monetary policy employment target met by questions on how to measure success (NAIRU?) and whether people will continue to trust the Reserve Bank. Time Inconsistency anyone?

Govt reviewing 'technical' RBNZ changes

No possibility of govt legislating before election for 'technical' changes to Reserve Bank operations stemming from Treasury review, PM English says; Joyce requests review on OCR committee, Bank legislation overview

10th Apr 17, 4:36pm

by Alex Tarrant

Labour announces monetary policy employment goal

Labour formally announces monetary policy 'full employment' mandate alongside price stability for Reserve Bank; New OCR-setting committee would allow Treasury input but no vote alongside RBNZ Governors and three externals

10th Apr 17, 5:27am

by Alex Tarrant

A Labour/Green/NZF/Mana govt?

Election 2017 could be decided by the Maori seats, Alex Tarrant writes; While National is clearly looking to boost the Maori Party as its preferred partner over Peters, it's the Maori/Mana alliance that could have the biggest impact

9th Apr 17, 6:02am

by Alex Tarrant