Depending on China
A new study has found that despite Covid, New Zealand’s economic dependence on China has grown over the past four years. China is now nearly...
Grant Robertson’s dilemma
Spare a thought for Finance Minister Grant Robertson as he goes through the inflation figures released yesterday by Statistics NZ. They show annual inflation running...
Orr needs mates
The first shots were fired last week when Infometrics Chief Economist Gareth Kiernan accused the Government of fuelling inflation with its high spending. Then yesterday,...
Inflating our way back to Muldoon
The economy appears to be in danger of heading back to the 1970s and the Muldoon years. A series of economic indicators yesterday and now...
The growing gap between young and old troubles Treasury
As part of the leadup to the Budget (set for May 19) the Treasury has unveiled its latest set of Living Standards Framework statistics. The...
Government may say no to farmgate emissions levy proposal
The Government may have to retreat from an ambitious proposal to have farmers account for their greenhouse gas emissions and pay “at the farm...
IMF says no room for tax cuts
The International Monetary Fund warned yesterday that now was not the time for New Zealand to reduce taxes. That is a direct challenge to National...
National gets stuck in
There was a certain irony in the fact that National, which lost its Finance spokesperson on Tuesday with the resignation of Simon Bridges, appeared...
Cutting petrol tax raises questions
The Government decision yesterday to cut duty on petrol raises questions about the whole future of the way our roads are funded. Currently, the petrol...
The Maori free trade trap
Trade Minister Damien O’Connor is now on his way to Brussels to try and move a free trade agreement with the European Union along. But...
Who is to blame for the Reserve Bank having to raise interest rates?
The Reserve Bank yesterday warned that some homeowners could find they had negative equity as it begins to raise the Official Cash Rate to...
Treasury Secretary busts political myth
Treasury Secretary Caralee McLiesh and her officials yesterday more or less demolished one of the sustaining political myths about house prices that has driven...
Government looks set to do u-turn on foreign investment rule
The Government looks set to reverse one of its signature policies from 2018. The policy is an exemption it granted overseas investors to invest...
Robertson breaks Labour’s “no new taxes” pledge while Luxon breaks with business
Grant Robertson realised his political dream yesterday with the unveiling of proposals for a Social Unemployment Insurance programme. It is the most significant social reform...
OECD points out where the government is failing
The OECD’s Economic Survey of New Zealand published yesterday may have congratulated the Government on its management of Covid and the current state of...
