General New Zealand Election 2020
- Thread starter Sup42
- Start date
Agreed. The poor conditions obviously aren’t deterring anyone as the cells seem to stay full to the extent of double bunking.
Prisons are the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.
Over 50% of inmates are Maori. Maori are not natural criminals which indicates something is wrong in our society. Prison is not going to solve it but there has to be a consequence for serious crime.
Maori people respond to leadership, they are not getting it. Raving on about breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi isn't going to solve it either.
Many if not most of our politicians are very ordinary people and so are our heads of departments. That mixture will never solve the complexities of the social breakdown that has affected rural Maori. Add to that the growth of gangs and meth and we are sitting on a social time bomb.
I know for a fact there can be a lot more done to prevent Maori youth from slipping into crime. The governments, both Labour and National haven't a bloody clue.
Rant over.
New Zealand's housing crisis poses big test for Jacinda Ardern
When Janet was forced to move out of her rental property in Auckland in 2019 because of asbestos contamination, she joined tens of thousands of New Zealanders caught in the grip of a chronic housing crisis.
"We stayed in a leaky caravan for a bit and on friends' couches and were only able to access emergency accommodation following a referral from an MP," said the mother of three.
Janet, who does not want her full name published for fear of being blacklisted by landlords, says rents are sky high and there is not enough social housing to meet soaring demand.
More than three years after Jacinda Ardern was elected prime minister on a platform of tackling the housing crisis and inequality, many experts say the situation has only become worse.
"We've probably seen the biggest widening of wealth distribution that we have ever seen in New Zealand between people who own houses and those who don't," said Arthur Grimes, professor of public policy at Victoria University of Wellington.
Ms Ardern was re-elected in a landslide in October, as popular support surged for her adroit handing of the coronavirus pandemic and other crises. But analysts warn a failure to deliver on earlier promises could alienate voters.
"The Labour government came in fully intending to build houses. I'm not sure if it was naivety but it hasn't happened," said Jan Rutledge, general manager of De Paul House, an emergency housing service in Auckland.
New Zealand's social housing waiting list has more than tripled to 21,415 since the 2017 election and rental prices have continued to outpace wage growth, with median rents climbing by 30 per cent since 2015. The homelessness rate is the highest in the OECD, although definitions of homelessness vary among the 37 member club of wealthy nations.
House prices have surged almost 20 per cent in the 12 months to the end of October, when the median cost of a home in Auckland surpassed $1m (US$721,000) for the first time, according to Real Estate Institute of New Zealand data. Record-low interest rates, a housing supply crunch and an economic rebound following the nation's success suppressing Covid-19 have fuelled the increase, say analysts.
Census data published this month show home ownership rates fell to a 70-year low of 64.5 per cent in 2018, with more than half of new mortgage holders in Auckland this year borrowing more than five times their incomes.
The rise in house prices has alarmed the Ardern government, which asked the Reserve Bank of New Zealand last month to consider adding housing costs to its monetary policy remit.
Adrian Orr, RBNZ governor, rebuffed the request, warning that adding house prices could lead to below-target employment and inflation. Instead, he asked the government to hand the central bank the power to set debt-to-income limits on mortgage lending — a tool that could ease prices but would make it even more difficult for first-time buyers.
Prof Grimes said low interest rates and stimulus were short-term drivers of the crisis, but longer-term challenges such as insufficient housebuilding and high immigration have not been adequately addressed. Planning regulations in most cities are strict and it is hard to get land released, which makes it costly to develop new houses. In addition, successive governments of both main parties have balked at introducing land taxes or capital gains taxes for fear of alienating middle-class voters.
"Planners run the show and they don't really think about the economics of what they are doing," he said.
Ms Ardern's Labour party has rejected calls from the Greens, its coalition partner, to take more radical action to cool house prices, including comprehensive tax changes.
The prime minister has even suggested that the public bears some responsibility, noting her government has attempted to introduce tax measures such as a capital gains tax but gained little public support. "The appetite for some of these policies also needs to come from the public," she told TVNZ.
Grant Robertson, finance minister, defended the government's stance, saying Labour had inherited the housing crisis and was always clear it would take longer than a single term to fix it.
However, flagship initiatives such the Kiwibuild policy have failed to meet expectations.
The $2bn scheme was launched in 2017 to build 100,000 affordable homes within a decade for first-time buyers. But the target was abandoned within 18 months and the scheme "reset" because of poor take-up and the need to pursue alternatives focused on low-income families, including "rent to buy". Just 602 homes were delivered by August 2020.
"Clearly the place the housing market was at didn't perform to the expectations. But we have reset that and are working closely with developers and others to see mixed development take place and build new partnerships," said Mr Robertson.
That includes demand-side measures such as banning foreign buyers and requiring investors to pay capital gains tax on properties sold within five years of acquiring them. The coalition is building more homes than any government since the 1970s, he added, noting a target to build 6,400 social homes by 2022.
For the 39 families living in emergency housing at De Paul House, a solution cannot come fast enough. Analysts say the same is true for Ms Ardern's Labour party, which will face voters again within three years — and this time may be punished for failing to deliver.
New Zealand's housing crisis poses big test for Jacinda Ardern - NZ Herald
Err...it was naievity..at best. Probably just plain stupid.
When a bureaucracy discovers the reality of its systems in practice...
I know I am a National voter, which colours my view of Cindy, but her and the team are just lightweight dreamers looking for good clickbait.
However, I still prefer them to the other mob. Anybody, and I mean any farker who has ever shown a semblance of respect for MAGA or Trump can get stuffed for my vote in future.
I know some on here are not impressed by my anti communist attitude.
Maybe it is a sign of the times but as I have said before in the 1950s,1960s and 1970s especially NZ was full of both pro Soviet and pro Chinese Communists. This was especially in the Trade Unions, which still are tied to the Labour Party.
In the 1970's a prominent civil servant, and Labour Party associate, Dr. Bill Sutch was arrested and charged with supplying information to Russian agents. He was acquitted but it later transpired he probably was a Russian spy.
His wife was due to be announced as NZs first woman Judge, by the Labour Government, just about the time he was arrested, and that got stopped very quickly.
However Paddy Costello, who died years before in 1964, had also long been suspected by both the British and Merkins of being a Soviet spy.
Here is an article from the NZ Herald yesterday that confirms what everybody knew, long ago, the guy was a Russian spy.
www.nzherald.co.nz
So the moral of the story is that Russians are not nice guys, they have an asset in the White House which many stupid Trumpers ignore and we have a Prime Minister who liked to call people Comrade.
Of course I don't think she is a spy, just stupid.
Just saying like.
Maybe it is a sign of the times but as I have said before in the 1950s,1960s and 1970s especially NZ was full of both pro Soviet and pro Chinese Communists. This was especially in the Trade Unions, which still are tied to the Labour Party.
In the 1970's a prominent civil servant, and Labour Party associate, Dr. Bill Sutch was arrested and charged with supplying information to Russian agents. He was acquitted but it later transpired he probably was a Russian spy.
His wife was due to be announced as NZs first woman Judge, by the Labour Government, just about the time he was arrested, and that got stopped very quickly.
However Paddy Costello, who died years before in 1964, had also long been suspected by both the British and Merkins of being a Soviet spy.
Here is an article from the NZ Herald yesterday that confirms what everybody knew, long ago, the guy was a Russian spy.
Kiwi diplomat was a Russian spy, says NZSIS, author and historian - NZ Herald
The unmasking of a Russian spy - Kiwi diplomat Paddy Costello branded traitor.
So the moral of the story is that Russians are not nice guys, they have an asset in the White House which many stupid Trumpers ignore and we have a Prime Minister who liked to call people Comrade.
Of course I don't think she is a spy, just stupid.
Just saying like.
A boring clip, but what it says is dynamite. It is an Australian analysis of our housing market.
Did ya know the average house price in Auckland is more than anywhere in Oz, except Sydney, and then not by much in Sydney.
Did ya know the average house price in Auckland is more than anywhere in Oz, except Sydney, and then not by much in Sydney.
I believe there needs to be severe penalties/taxes for purposefully leaving rental properties empty just for the capital gains. At the same time I believe the very strict regulations and rules for property owners of rentals has caused the median rent price to shoot up (This point I actually came to after listening to a talkback caller that made a decent point and changed my outlook on the whole situation).
Last edited:
Biggest tenancy law reform in 35 years: 'I'll keep my places empty'
A landlord has expressed fear about the biggest tenancy law reform in 35 years, threatening to empty his homes when New Zealand's 1.5 million renters get much more power early next month.
From February 11, major changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 become law, embedding tenants more firmly and making it harder for landlords to evict, with a far more limited range of reasons.
Investor John Kenel, who runs an investment business specialising in housing, said there was no question about what he would do in response.
"This means I'll be keeping more property vacant, unfortunately. I buy older houses for development and in the past I could rent them out at low costs until I wanted to develop them. Now, it will be just too hard," Kenel said.
New Zealand has around 1.5 million tenants in about 600,000 properties.
Others say the reforms will make being an investor untenable and predict rental properties will go up for sale from next month.
But economist Shamubeel Eaqub doubted landlords would sell en masse: "So the homes will be bought by renters or already-occupiers."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says an increasing number of New Zealanders are renting.
"The changes we've made as a Government have been about creating balance and making sure that a renter's home is warm and dry. My view is that some of the statements we've seen made publicly does a disservice to landlords. The majority of landlords have good, stable tenants," she said.
From the middle of this year, further new housing standards come into force to ensure homes are fit for purpose to rent. From July 1, further health home standards become mandatory.
Tougher laws mean landlords will need to comply with new heating insulation, ventilation, moisture and drainage and draught-stopping standards.
Kenel said other housing developers he knew would also not rent their places.
"The Government just doesn't understand cause and effect," Kenel said, refusing to say how many properties he owned but indicating it was many.
After the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act was passed last August, the Real Estate Institute said it would do more harm than good. Bindi Norwell, outgoing chief executive, said a survey found 46 per cent of landlords and investors said it was likely or highly likely they would sell their rental property if removal of the right to issue a 90-day notice went ahead.
That is now law and from February 11, landlords will be more restricted from evicting tenants.
"Given we already have a shortage of quality rental stock across the country, this is problematic as it will further reduce the pool of rental properties available and likely push up rents even further," Norwell said.
"With median rents in Auckland having risen 9.8 per cent in the last three years from $510 to $550/week and in Wellington by 20.2 per cent from $420 to $505/week, it will be interesting to see how much higher rents go as more landlords withdraw from the market," she said.
Tenants without an excellent rental history might now find it even harder than they already do, given how hard it will now be to remove tenants who end up significantly in arrears, she said.
Accountant Anthony Appleton-Tattersall, who specialises in property, said the February 11 changes were sweeping.
"These changes really will result in some pretty serious unintended consequences for this Government. While I'm reasonably sure that most of the 'landlords will quit the market' rhetoric is just that, I am certain that tenants whose records are more marginal will no longer be given that shot," he said.
"The downside risk of renting to a problem tenant will now be so huge that most landlords would see a vacant property as preferable to a chance at being stuck with a tenant from hell," Appleton-Tattersall said.
"Short term these changes are awful for landlords. Long term, the unintended consequences will just push rents and property prices up, and landlords who stick with it, win eventually. They always do."
He was unaware of the 14-day notice landlords will be able to issue for assault, a further change but not due to come into effect until August.
"But in what world should a person charged by police with assault against their landlord have the right to live there for a further 14 days? They should be put out overnight if the police took notice," Appleton-Tattersall said.
One of the most controversial and biggest changes is an end to no-cause terminations: landlords won't be able to axe tenancies without lawful reason from next month, meaning they can't just give the 90 days' notice without any cause.
The tenancy can still be ended if the landlord proposes to sell but instead of the landlord giving 42 days, it becomes 90 days.
Landlords will be able to give other reasons but they will need to be real such as demolishing or changing the premises' use. Three notices for anti-social behaviour is one reason under the changed law, or if the tenant is five days late with the rent on three separate occasions.
Landlords will have to issue a tenant three written notices for separate anti-social acts within 90 days then apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to terminate the tenancy.
Other reasons to seek eviction are:
• if the tenant has been at least five working days late with rent on three separate occasions within 90 days;
• where the landlord will suffer greater hardship than the tenant if the tenancy continues;
• where the landlord or a member of their family or employee requires the premises as their principal place of residence.
From last August, it became illegal to raise rents every three or six months and instead is now limited to annually.
Biggest tenancy law reform in 35 years: 'I'll keep my places empty' - NZ Herald
Already happening. I was waiting on a consent and kept a property empty for almost 18 months because of the cost and hassle of making it habitable. It’s easier empty to have architects, engineers, council people and tradesmen visit to price, measure up, etc - you need to give tenants notice every time you visit...
Ended up having a problem with squatters using it so I guess we provided some social housing???
I was recently looking at buying property in my old home town in regional NZ 1 to help out family, 2 as an option for later in life. I was shocked at how much prices had risen! I’m talking only $150ish k to just buy a little further out than we currently live in Sydney- and the quality in build in NZ was substantially older property vs brand new.
Most of the capital cities in Aus have the advantage of just the sheer amount of land available to build and pretty decent public transport to connect them. Auckland unfortunately struggles with geography (as does central Sydney) however there is a massive push in Sydney to centralise around Parramatta freeing up a lot of development north and west.
I see a guy who was arrested after taking an Axe to the glass façade of Parliament has been directed by a Judge to go to what the media are calling a secure mental health unit for assessment.
The report says he was too unwell to attend court so court was held at his Cell in the Court cells.
Some dude in his thirties, who the Judge says made comments that concerned the Judge and prompted the decision to send him for assessment.
The concerning remarks were not racist nor politically motivated the Judge says.
If you think about it, these incidents are rare, they happen, where someone unwell takes an Axe say to the prime ministers home address, but thankfully, none the less they are very rare.
Media coverage tends to be muted (the attack was on Wednesday last week I think) so the media tend to show some sensitivity in these matters.
Part of the reason for that, is that a person under the mental health act, or as in this case the criminal justice act and likely mental health act, is protected under law in terms of strict confidentiality.
Usually they will be sent to a Forensic hospital like Kenepuru Porirua, although the article does not say Forensic specifically, it says secure, which could be an intensive care unit like Wellington hospital.
I think it was appropriate for the Judge to comment that the concerns were not political nor race related....given the current climate.
Ordinarily the Judge would never use their discretion to disclose any detail around what the man is saying and also take the extra ordinary step to clear the media to publish.
The report says he was too unwell to attend court so court was held at his Cell in the Court cells.
Some dude in his thirties, who the Judge says made comments that concerned the Judge and prompted the decision to send him for assessment.
The concerning remarks were not racist nor politically motivated the Judge says.
If you think about it, these incidents are rare, they happen, where someone unwell takes an Axe say to the prime ministers home address, but thankfully, none the less they are very rare.
Media coverage tends to be muted (the attack was on Wednesday last week I think) so the media tend to show some sensitivity in these matters.
Part of the reason for that, is that a person under the mental health act, or as in this case the criminal justice act and likely mental health act, is protected under law in terms of strict confidentiality.
Usually they will be sent to a Forensic hospital like Kenepuru Porirua, although the article does not say Forensic specifically, it says secure, which could be an intensive care unit like Wellington hospital.
I think it was appropriate for the Judge to comment that the concerns were not political nor race related....given the current climate.
Ordinarily the Judge would never use their discretion to disclose any detail around what the man is saying and also take the extra ordinary step to clear the media to publish.
Last edited:
Not a good time to be trying to buy any property anywhere in NZ atm bro. (even disregarding covid etc)
We are literally in the middle of a housing shortage crisis that, barring a miracle, will only get worse.
And the property market in this country is ... for lack of a better term ... fucked!!!
I actually have friends who lived happily in Aus for many years, then after having kids they came back home to NZ to try & raise their kids here.
Within less than a year they both said "fuck this shit" & packed up & went straight back to Aus where they found the housing, the cost of living & the work life to home life ratio to be far FAR superior.
What's really sad is that exact scenario is far more common than many Kiwis even realize.
Last edited:
Fourth month in a row NZ house prices set record: Real Estate Institute December data
National house prices set records for the fourth month in a row in December, according to the Real Estate Institute which released new data this morning.
Sales in the Christmas month set a new median house price of $749,000 which chief executive Bindi Norwell said continued the pattern. In December 2019, the national median house price was only $628,000.
But the number of houses on the market has plummeted, putting further pressure on the stretched sector.
"As the total pool of properties available for sale falls to record lows, this is continuing to put pressure on house prices, with the country seeing a new record median house price for the fourth month in a row," REINZ said of its new data.
National house prices could rise by as much as 13 to 16 per cent in the next few months.
Economists at Westpac, ASB, BNZ and Kiwibank say low interest rates and high demand will continue to have an impact in the new year.
The economists' predictions vary, but they agree that 2021's housing market will build on records set last year. These predictions come despite the Reserve Bank's scheduled introduction of tougher lending rules for investors in March.
Norwell said 8935 properties were sold nationally last month, up 2392 sales on December 2019.
"That's an additional 77 properties sold every day in December, which is a pretty remarkable result and shows what a strong position the property market finished 2020 in," Norwell said.
Norwell said low listings pressured the market.
"We have half the inventory levels of December 2018, therefore, there just isn't enough choice for people looking to purchase which has meant that there is significant pressure being placed on house prices in most parts of the country.
"When you add into the equation the fact that there are record low interest rates, it means that people are more willing to compete to secure the property they want," she said.
Lack of choice and high confidence levels resulted in properties being sold at the quickest pace in 17 years.
The median number of days to sell is just 27 days when it is usually above 30.
Owen Vaughan, editor of NZME-owned property listing site OneRoof.co.nz, said buyer demand outstripping supply has been big challenge for the market since the country came out of the Covid lockdown.
"Summer is traditionally a quiet time in real estate but OneRoof figures show buyer enquiry for December and the first two weeks of January significantly up on the same period last year.
"Buyers are scrambling to make the most of low interest rates and there's been huge interest in the limited stock that is available, with agents in Auckland reporting packed open homes last weekend," Vaughan said.
"This will put upward pressure on prices, and buyers should expect that heat won't leave the market any time soon," he said.
The REINZ House Price Index, which measures the changing value of property, rose 17.3 per cent annually to 3417 a new high.
Eleven regions had double-digit annual growth, the first time in 15 years the index had been that strong, REINZ said.
Auckland's median house price jumped 17.4 per cent annually from $886,000 in December, 2019 to $1,040,000 last month. That was a new record and the fifth consecutive month where Auckland has seen a new record median house price, she said.
Gisborne's median annual house price jumped 43.9 per cent annually, from $410,000 in December 2019 to $590,000 last month.
West Coast's median rose 31.9 per cent from $216,000 to $285,000, Manawatu/Wanganui is up 31.3 per cent from $402,000 to $528,000, Hawke's Bay up 27.3 per cent from $520,000 to $662,000, Northland up 25.2 per cent from $539,000 to $675,000, Taranaki up 19.6 per cent from $418,000 o $500,000, Wellington up 18.6 per cent from $685,000 to $812,251, Waikato up 17.4 per cent from $575,000 to $675,000 and that is the eighth month in a row of record high medians for that city.
Canterbury's median jumped 16.5 per cent annually from $460,000 to $536,000, the fifth consecutive month of record median prices.
Nelson's median rose 12.7 per cent from $605,000 to $682,000.
On January 6, Auckland's biggest agency released its December data which showed 1479 sales for an average $1,092,518 and median $1,005,000 Barfoot & Thompson said.
That was almost a record December and the sixth month the agency had sold 1000 homes.
"Only once before have we sold more than 1000 homes in a December and that was in 2014 when the market was building towards the peak of the last price cycle," said managing director Peter Thompson.
On January 5, CoreLogic said the market showed no signs of letting up with near-record growth registered nationally in December.
National annual house values rose 2.6 per cent in that month alone and the final quarter was up 6.1 per cent, a rate not bettered since the three months ending February 2004, that business said.
ASB Bank economists noted today that residential consents for the November 2020 year rose to 38,604, the highest since 1974.
Consents were issued for 16,293 Auckland projects in the year, the highest on record.
"Strong construction activity and slowing population due to the border restrictions should act to bring the housing market more into balance and help cool house prices," ASB said today.
New Zealand now also has 2.3m paid jobs in the year to December, a record which illustrated our economy's resilience, ASB said.
Fourth month in a row NZ house prices set record: Real Estate Institute December data - NZ Herald
I'd like to move but am in the process of getting more capital together along with needing to get some rennovations done on the current house. Brought in the last boom period a few years ago, second house wasn't suppose to be a do up or need any work but how competitive the market was that didn't work out.
An example of how competitive the market was circa 2014 my wife went to an auction while I stayed home with the baby. We missed out on a lot of houses so was expecting to miss out again. She rings me in surprise that we brought a house, even though that was our goal for the last 3-6 months.
Also around that time I was joking we should buy some empty property in my home town which were going for $45k. At the time the town was often listed as one of the lower markets in the country I think they bounced up to $70k and now might be around $120k. My thinking was either to build a holiday home when we come down to visit family or ready for retirement. That idea is well gone.
I was also looking at the next town over by the beach where my mate stays I'd hate to look at the prices now.
Not looking forward to when we need start looking again. The kids are currently 5 and 7 and the rooms aren't ideal for teenagers and room to study. Or the next part after that when they start looking for their own places.
An example of how competitive the market was circa 2014 my wife went to an auction while I stayed home with the baby. We missed out on a lot of houses so was expecting to miss out again. She rings me in surprise that we brought a house, even though that was our goal for the last 3-6 months.
Also around that time I was joking we should buy some empty property in my home town which were going for $45k. At the time the town was often listed as one of the lower markets in the country I think they bounced up to $70k and now might be around $120k. My thinking was either to build a holiday home when we come down to visit family or ready for retirement. That idea is well gone.
I was also looking at the next town over by the beach where my mate stays I'd hate to look at the prices now.
Not looking forward to when we need start looking again. The kids are currently 5 and 7 and the rooms aren't ideal for teenagers and room to study. Or the next part after that when they start looking for their own places.
Growing kids and space are always a challenge, not to mention finding the money to extend and or renovate, as you are currently doing.
You will find a solution because you have put a stake in the ground and are already looking ahead.
That place at the beach you mention could be very affordable once you cash up where you are one day.
I know one of the experts often quoted in those articles.
No name, but he is highly respected as a corporate economist. He is very honest, and conservative with no political leanings as far as I know.
About 4 years ago when everybody was predicting the bubble was about to pop I bought my current place. He raised his eyebrows. giving me the impression he thought it a brave move.
I had come back from overseas and had a bit of dosh in the bank. My bank kept on leaning on me to take out a loan, and I mean really kept at me.
However he said to me as long as your interest payment is the same or cheaper than rent you will be ok.
Since then my property has increased in value by almost 40%. That is based on nearby sales, bank and real estate valuations.
Just saying like.
I would hate to be back in my 20s buying a house.
My first house that I bought in 1976 for $25000 is now worth over a million.
The social consequences of that are very sad.
Also, if you leave Auckland for somewhere else in New Zealand, don't expect it to be easy to come back.
No name, but he is highly respected as a corporate economist. He is very honest, and conservative with no political leanings as far as I know.
About 4 years ago when everybody was predicting the bubble was about to pop I bought my current place. He raised his eyebrows. giving me the impression he thought it a brave move.
I had come back from overseas and had a bit of dosh in the bank. My bank kept on leaning on me to take out a loan, and I mean really kept at me.
However he said to me as long as your interest payment is the same or cheaper than rent you will be ok.
Since then my property has increased in value by almost 40%. That is based on nearby sales, bank and real estate valuations.
Just saying like.
I would hate to be back in my 20s buying a house.
My first house that I bought in 1976 for $25000 is now worth over a million.
The social consequences of that are very sad.
Also, if you leave Auckland for somewhere else in New Zealand, don't expect it to be easy to come back.
I bought my first home in West Auckland around 1967 for about 15000 dollars and when transferred to Wellington a few years later sold for $23000 .Now the last sale as I googled was 2 years ago for $1.7 million. A very ordinary 3 bedroom home with a garage. Good area in those days but not now
Last Game
27 Sep
40 - 28
6.5
Total Avg Rating
0.0
Your Avg Rating
Highest Rated Player
Lowest Rated Player
Compiled from 19 ratings