Politics đź—łď¸Ź NZ Politics

Something is seriously wrong with New Zealand’s public wealth. We rank near the top globally for per-capita resources and assets - ahead of most OECD nations. On some measures, only Saudi Arabia eclipses us. Yet our public services are crumbling and we cannot afford to fund or maintain critical infrastructure.

The scale of our natural wealth may come as a surprise to many. But our endowment spans an extraordinary range. World-class agricultural land stretches across both islands. Our renewable electricity generation ranks among the highest in the OECD. Our fisheries rank among the world’s most extensive, while forests blanket 37% of our land. We even possess significant mineral deposits, though these remain largely unexplored.

Despite our wealth - both public and private - we languish at 22nd place in the OECD for GDP per capita. Our prosperity trails far behind comparable nations like Australia and Ireland. Treasury has estimated our infrastructure needs $210 billion to reach adequate levels. Our productivity growth remains dismal.

We have settled for being passive custodians rather than making these resources work for us. The result is billions in capital tied up in an underperforming Crown and local government balance sheets while critical infrastructure crumbles.

Our infrastructure spending efficiency ranks in the bottom 10% of high-income countries, with construction costs rising one-third faster than prices elsewhere in the economy. Infrastructure productivity growth lags at just one-third the rate of the overall economy. We are not just spending too little – we are getting poor value from what we do spend.

This systemic inefficiency helps explain why New Zealand faces a $210bn infrastructure deficit despite spending 5.5% of GDP on infrastructure - more than both Australia and the OECD median. It is a problem of management and delivery, not merely funding.


having major businesses hidden under tax free charities doesnt help. End that rort
 
having major businesses hidden under tax free charities doesnt help. End that rort
I think the data shows the economy has huge potential to grow. Bigger potential than most countries.

The focus on tax is misplaced. If we grew and doubled GDP (which the per capita resources and assets stats says we’re capable of) we would double tax take with the same population.

Game changing big picture stuff. This is how you close the gap to Australia and pay for first class services - not trying to get more blood out of a stone.
 
having major businesses hidden under tax free charities doesnt help. End that rort
Before Christmas, the Sallies did their usual rant about how much less than private landlords they charge for rent. Of course, they can charge less... they don't have to pay a cent in tax on any of that rental income.

And then there's the SDA's who own Sanitarium. The Open Brethren who have huge beef, dairy and Kiwifruit holdings. The Anglicans with all the money their leasehold properties in Parnell and St Johns earn. Charities don't pay rates on their properties. Density Church earns huge money from the gym in their Manukau facility.
 
ASB have now joined the other big trading banks by offering a 6 month mortgage rate below 5.99%..... and that's before the next RBNZ announcement next month.

There's a lot of speculation about at the moment that the declining Kiwi dollar against the US will mean that the RBNZ may only announce a 25 basis point drop in the OCR next month and not the 50 basis point drop people were expecting prior to Christmas.

 
ASB have now joined the other big trading banks by offering a 6 month mortgage rate below 5.99%..... and that's before the next RBNZ announcement next month.

There's a lot of speculation about at the moment that the declining Kiwi dollar against the US will mean that the RBNZ may only announce a 25 basis point drop in the OCR next month and not the 50 basis point drop people were expecting prior to Christmas.

I’ve heard talk about a 100bp drop, as the GDP figures were well-below what was contemplated

anyway, plenty of water to go under the bridge in the next month
 
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