Subject: 27 October, 2008 ----- WYSIWYG NEWS ------------------------------ Copyright, Brian Harmer.
Based on my theory of sunshine as a producer of happiness, I ought to be feeling pretty miserable, but somehow I'm not. With the exception of Sunday last (when we did the trip to Wanganui described in the previous issue), there has been no day (until today) without rain and wind. Grey, and bleak, albeit with the occasional narrow shaft of bright sunshine. One of the season's first cruise ships came on Monday, and out at the harbour mouth, its vast white hull was picked out like some luminous space craft arriving on a new planet. I suspect most of the passengers elected to stay aboard rather than brave the struggle along the uneven footpaths of Jervois Quay into spiteful rain flung by a stiff Southerly. Nevertheless she was a fine sight, moored between the container vessels and the interisland ferries. Today, which is the Labour Day holiday in New Zealand, is fine at last, but with a fairly stiff cold Northerly to dispel any illusion that summer is yet here. Mary and I went over the hill to Wainuiomata and thence down the coast road to the sea, since Mary needed some driftwood for artistic purposes. I haven't had such a clear view of the Seaward Kaikouras for a very long time. A measurement on Google Earth shows those lofty peaks to be 150 km from the beach where we sat. With the high peaks covered in snow from the preceding weeks of cold weather, they were truly spectacular against the deep blue of the Cook Strait and the Pacific Ocean. Close to the steeply shelving stony beach, the wind whipped great sheets of spray from the tops of the thundering surf and hurled it Southward at high speed. To the Western end of the beach, sheep were grazing on the salt laden grass around the mouth of Wainuiomata River, and as we sat on our rug in a sheltered spot below the road, I saw a dog bounding towards the sheep. It was a woolly hearthrug of a dog, of indeterminate breed, clearly not a farm dog with any legitimate purpose other than to harass the animals. A family group which had turned this stupid dog loose were meandering along the beach oblivious to the panic in the flock by their pet, and without thinking about it I let out a bellow that I haven't used since parade ground days as Squadron Warrant Officer in the Air Training Corps at school. The owner became aware of the problem and sprinted after the errant hound, which, to its credit, responded to his call. With the dog properly on its leash as it should have been to begin with, the pair slunk back down to the beach. They were lucky , I think, that it was me and not the owner of the sheep who saw the incident, or the dog would have been shot out of hand, and no court in the country would have upheld any complaint. We are now in the last two weeks leading up to the election (in NZ) and I am daily more disappointed in the conduct of most candidates. I shall just try to ignore everything until the election day comes, and then try to figure out how to live with whatever the result is. I have to say that there are no foregone conclusions here, and that is surprising me. ---- Any text above this point, and all subsequent material in parentheses, and concluded with the initials "BH" is the personal opinion of Brian Harmer as editor of this newsletter, or occasionally "GS" will indicate an opinion from our editorial assistant. In all cases they are honest expressions of personal opinion, and are not presented as fact. All news items (except where noted otherwise) are reproduced by kind permission of copyright owner, Newstalk ZB News. All copyright in the news items reproduced remains the property of The Radio Network Limited. Sponsorship this week is courtesy of Chip Chenoweth, president of Prater's Foods Inc, Texas. Many thanks Chip. ---- On with the News. Monday, 20 October 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ REPORT PUTS "TOO MUCH EMPHASIS" ON MARRIAGE ------------------------------------------- Relationship Services says the importance of marriage is being overstated. It comes after new figures suggest family breakdowns and decreasing marriage rates cost taxpayers an estimated one billion dollars a year. Relationship Services says the report by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research puts too much emphases on marriage. The counselling service says peoples' commitment to a relationship is not dependent on their marital status. National practice manager Cary Hayward says the making any relationship work for the long haul is hard and people should feel confident to seek help if they strike problems. (While I disagree vigorously with Relationship Services on this, I recognise that both positions are likely to bee entrenched. I think it is impossible to over-emphasise the value of a good marriage - BH) CAMERA FINDS NEW MARINE LIFE ---------------------------- There is excitement about the discovery of a whole range of unknown marine species off the Northland coast. The Department of Conservation has been using a remote-operated camera in the Poor Knights Marine Reserve. It can survey depths of up to 300 metres. Marine scientist Dr Debbie Freeman says very little is known about New Zealand marine life at depths below 40 metres so the technology opens a new frontier. She says they have found a tropical fish never seen before in New Zealand waters, a new sea slug, and other sponges and organisms which they have no idea what they are. FIRE AT WELLINGTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ---------------------------------------- Wellington International Airport's terminal has been evacuated due to a fire. A Fire Service spokesman says the fire started just after 2pm on an escalator near the Qantas Lounge. He says six appliances are at the scene, although the fire has been brought under control. Special devices have been brought in to hunt out additional hotspots. An airport spokesman says flights have been delayed. GREENS PICK LABOUR AS PREFERRED PARTNER --------------------------------------- The Green Party says Labour is its preferred coalition partner, because its policies are more aligned with its own. However the Greens have not completely ruled out working with National. Co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons says the party's analysis shows it that on the whole, National would take New Zealand in the wrong direction. She says many of its policies head off down a dead end street. "This means that we can not form a government with National, or support them on confidence and supply, although we could work with them in areas where we have common ground." Ms Fitzsimons says Labour also seems to be heading off in the wrong direction in some areas, while in others they are on the right track. "Whether we could form a government with them would depend on reaching a policy agreement that advanced green policies on a number of fronts." The party's other co-leader Russel Norman says the Greens are a strong and independent voice. "We don't exist to prop up anyone else's government." (On Saturday, Peter Dunne who is a cabinet minister in the present Labour-led government has announced that he (and his party) will no longer support Labour and instead will support National next time round. I have never warmed to Mr Dunne, though I believe him to be a conscientious electorate MP. However, this latest piece of "waka-jumping" brings back ugly memories of the disastrous Alamein Kopu. - BH) NATS PROMISE MORE POLICE OFFICERS --------------------------------- National is promising to increase police numbers and put more new officers on the front line. Leader John Key says National will add an extra 220 officers to the 1,000 more currently promised by the Government. He is also promising to boost the number of serving police staff in South Auckland, saying 300 extra officers will be assigned there by the end of 2010. National says the policy would cost $18.5 million a year. (It will be a good trick if they can do it. I believe that the shortage of numbers at present is not due to the unwillingness of the police to recruit. Rather, there is a shortage of suitable qualified people willing to take on the task of being involved in everyone else at their worst. - BH) PM'S NON-SPENDING "A SMART MOVE" -------------------------------- The Listener's political columnist, Jane Clifton, believes the Prime Minister made a smart move by promising Labour will make no more big spending policy announcements before election day. Ms Clifton says the government was expected to promise more in the childcare area, but the current economic crisis has prompted her to say 'there is no more money, we can't do it.' "It's pretty clever politics I think to say, OK, we're going to be really responsible, whereas National is likely to have more spending in the policies it announces in the coming weeks." Ms Clifton also says National leader John Key's call for a bi-partisan approach to the economic crisis was worth a try. "Funnily enough, Michael Cullen is not buying it. His view is 'thanks for the advice sonny, but run along we're managing it.'" National wants to work with the Government on the $150 billion deposit guarantee scheme and is particularly keen to see it follow Australia's lead by including cover for wholesale lending. CLARK TURNING FOCUS TO LEADERSHIP --------------------------------- Labour leader Helen Clark is turning the focus of her party's election campaign towards who is best to lead New Zealand through the financial crisis. Miss Clark says that during the campaign, Labour will not announce any more significant spending initiatives. She says instead, she is looking at an economic stimulus package, which will come in the first 40 days in office if Labour is re-elected. She says strong leadership is becoming increasingly important. "It is not a time for someone with the learner wheels on, it's a time for the people who have proven that they can lead, that they do have strength of purpose, consistency to get on and do the job." Miss Clark suggests a change to a new leader no longer seems as interesting as it might have even a few weeks ago. NATS WANT ACTION OVER WHOLESALE GUARANTEE ----------------------------------------- National is adamant wholesale deposits must be covered by the bank deposit guarantee scheme as soon as possible. Under the scheme, the Crown guarantees retail bank deposits up to a total $150 billion but has not gone as far as the Australian Government, which also guarantees wholesale deposits (the money lent to Australian banks by foreign banks). National leader John Key wants a bi-partisan approach from Labour. "I'm concerned that officials will be distracted by the political process. I'm concerned that the Australians themselves might not be sure about what's happening because of the political uncertainty in New Zealand because of the election." Mr Key says not only do the Reserve Bank and Treasury believe the issue should be handled swiftly, but trading banks and other stakeholders also want action. Prime Minister Helen Clark says National is being briefed on developments. "Michael Cullen has been keeping Bill English fully abreast of the work that's being done by the Reserve Bank and Treasury to look at this issue." MARRIAGE BREAKUPS COSTLY ------------------------ Marriage breakups are costing taxpayers at least $1 billion a year according to a lobby group. New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) has completed a report commissioned by Family First entitled "The Value of Family - Fiscal Benefits of Marriage and Reducing Family Breakdown in New Zealand." It found that over the past decade, family breakups have cost taxpayers approximately $8 billion. Family First spokesman Bob McCoskrie says the study shows that the decline of marriage, the high teenage fertility rate and the rate of solo parenthood is not just a moral or social concern but should also be of concern to government and policy makers. Mr McCoskrie says more must be done to strengthen marriages and help family succeed. He claims the investment will pay for itself. ?The report states that even a small reduction in family breakdown and increases in marriage rates could provide significant savings for taxpayers. ?The focus has been on ?child poverty? but this misses the real issue ? that is, poverty among families with children, and the way that divorce, unwed childbearing, teenage pregnancy and sole parenting contributes to that poverty. For example, sole parents have the lowest average living standards of all economic family unit types.? Senior economist Dr Patrick Nolan says he took quite a moderate approach to the figures. He says the $1 billion sum reflects spending on welfare benefits, Working for Families tax credits, justice and health. He says it is based on assumptions about the relationship between family breakdown and poverty. Tuesday, 21 October 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STOLEN MEDALS BACK ON DISPLAY ----------------------------- The Waiouru Army Museum's stolen war medals are back on public display. The 96 medals, including nine Victoria Crosses, were returned to the museum in a celebration which started at 7am. They were taken in a smash-and-grab in December and have been in police custody since their return in February. During the ceremony Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Bensemann was awarded a special commendation for the Chief of Army for the police's efforts in restoring the military honours. Mr Bensemann says he is very honoured and it is a day that he is proud to be a detective. Two men were last week charged over the medal burglary. BNZ RECORDS $657 MILLION PROFIT ------------------------------- BNZ has announced an after tax profit of $657 million for the year ending September, a nine percent increase on 2007. Chief executive Andrew Thorburn says the bank is well positioned in the current challenging economic environment. He says the BNZ has a conservative approach to lending and that means it has a quality loans book. Mr Thorburn says lending volumes continue to be strong, although they are slowing from the historical highs of recent years. NATIONAL WILL NOT FLOAT KIWIBANK -------------------------------- National has responded with a firm no to New Zealand First's proposal to float Kiwibank on the stock exchange. Winston Peters is proposing the bank be opened up to investment, restricted solely to New Zealanders. National Leader John Key says National will not sell Kiwibank. He says asset sales are off National's agenda until 2011 Mr Key also believes it would be impractical to adopt Mr Peters other proposal, that Kiwibank pick up all the government's business, as he does not know if it has the capability to do that. Progressive MP Jim Anderton, who fought to see Kiwibank established, is aghast at the proposal. He says selling Kiwibank would destroy it. PIG CELL TRIAL COULD HELP DIABETES SUFFERERS -------------------------------------------- Type 1 diabetes sufferers could have an alternative to injecting themselves with insulin, if an approved trial is successful. The Ministry of Health has agreed to let Living Cell Technologies carry out a trial where eight patients will receive insulin producing cells from pigs. Living Cell Technologies medical director Professor Bob Elliot says the pigs are specially bred in ultra clean conditions, and the cells will be coated with a material to make sure they are not rejected by the body. He says the cells will be injected into the tummy cavity where they will set up shop and produce insulin similar to how a pancreas would without diabetes. Professor Elliot hopes it will make a huge difference to sufferers, who can hopefully reduce the amount of insulin they would usually inject into themselves. He says many sufferers are living on a knife-edge, not knowing where their levels will be each hour. Professor Elliot hopes the trial could begin after Christmas. INFLATION AT 18 YEAR HIGH ------------------------- The Consumer Price Index, which is a measure of the price of goods and services purchased by households, rose 1.5 percent in the September quarter bringing annual inflation to 5.1 percent for the quarter. The Reserve Bank aims to keep inflation between one and three percent over the medium term. The increase is the highest annual increase since the year to the June 1990 quarter. The transport group made the most significant contribution to the annual increase, rising 11.3 percent. Higher prices for petrol (up 29.3 percent) accounted for just over a quarter of the rise. If petrol prices had remained unchanged from the September 2007 quarter to the September 2008 quarter, the CPI would have risen 3.7 percent. Grocery food also recorded a significant increase of 12 percent, housing and household utilities were up 4.67. For the September quarter, food prices increased 3.7 percent. The main driver was an increase in vegetables prices (up 20.0 percent), as a result of unusually wet weather. Prices for the housing and household utilities group were up 1.4 percent, with the most significant contribution coming from local authority rates and payments (up 4.7 percent). The transport group increased 2.0 percent, mainly due to higher prices for petrol (up 4.6 percent), which were offset by lower prices for second-hand cars (down 8.0 percent). GLOBAL TURMOIL BITES STH ISLAND BUSINESSES ------------------------------------------ A new survey shows worldwide upheaval in financial markets has eroded significant value from South Island business. The Deloitte's South Island index, which tracks the progress of 30 South Island listed companies, has recorded a 15.2 percent decrease in the third quarter of this year. In contrast the NZX50 was down 3.3 percent. Deloitte's spokesman Paul Munro says September proved to be a particularly challenging month and the decline means significant value has been taken off the shares of South Island companies. "Overall, the Index's value decreased by $676 million to a total market capitalisation of $3.78 billion." Mr Munro says until now, the South Island has proved to be relatively well-insulated against tightening market conditions but the resilience gave way in the past quarter. He says it is a tricky and unpredictable market and the volatility and uncertainty has started to bite. ?The nervousness that has swept through the market should provide the catalyst for companies to undertake sensible planning in areas such as the management of cash flow, liquidity, and debt/equity positions. There's no better time than now to put some effort into getting this right.? Despite the reduction in the South Island index, 53 percent of the companies recorded an increase in their market capitalisation during the quarter. In previous quarters, the declines were mainly being felt by the smaller companies but in the past quarter the larger companies such as PGG Wrightson, Pike River Coal and NZ Farming Systems Uruguay have felt the heat. "Their relative significance in the South Island Index has meant their declines in market capitalisation have had a major impact.? Notable percentage increases in market capitalisation were achieved by Pacific Edge Biotechnology (+63% in the quarter), Connexionz (+50%), Apple Fields (+38%), and Scott Technology (+29%). Homeware company Smiths City (+25%) also had a positive quarter, bucking speculation about pain being felt at the retail counter. "As with the second quarter of 2008, five of the eight South Island sectors experienced declines in Q3. Primary (-30.5%) and technology (-16.1%) led the falls, while the best performed was the port sector (+3.5%). "With a 1% increase in market capitalisation, Ryman Healthcare enjoyed the largest increase in dollar terms and remained the South Island's largest listed company ($805.0m) as at 30 September 2008. It was followed by PGG Wrightson ($462.9m) and new entrant Pike River Coal ($431.5m)." HOMEOWNERS ANGRY ABOUT CHARGES ------------------------------ The Banking Ombudsman is looking into the fees banks charge when customers want to pay off their fixed mortgage early. There has been a flurry of complaints over the charges in the past month. It is the first time in several years the issue has been raised with such vigour. Deputy Banking Ombudsman Susan Taylor says the complaints cover a range of issues. "People have been taken aback by the size of the fee and are questioning how it has been calculated. Some of the complainants have been saying that they only found out on the day of settlement what exactly they were going to be charged." Ms Taylor says the banks' calculation processes and disclosure policies are being investigated. But better news for homeowners is likely later in the week. Economists are tipping the Reserve Bank will cut the official cash rate by one percent on Thursday, which should bring down mortgage rates further. The OCR is currently 7.5 percent. ANZ's Chief Economist Cameron Bagrie says a substantial cut is needed to help moderate the flow-on effects of the carnage in international financial markets. "While it's encouraging the Reserve Bank is cutting the official cash rate, in New Zealand, that's going to pull the rates down, it's going to be partially offset by higher international funding costs. So, it's good news to households, but it's certainly not the full story." Mr Bagrie says an OCR of 6.5 percent is still too high and there is plenty of scope for further substantial cuts. PRIVATE WORKPLACE SUPER SCHEMES THREATENED ------------------------------------------ A retirement policy specialist fears private workplace superannuation schemes outside KiwiSaver are in danger of becoming extinct. Michael Littlewood from Auckland University says research shows 75 percent of employers operating super schemes would in retrospect not start one again and the sentiment seems to be increasing due in part to KiwiSaver. Mr Littlewood says the government is effectively setting the rules as to what employers should provide and so employers are asking what competitive advantage is gained by doing something different. He says in regard to KiwiSaver, employers are tiring of the undue clumsiness of the scheme and the constant changes taking place. He fears that further changes to the scheme under a new or revised government might cause "terrible harm" to employers' confidence in workplace superannuation. Mr Littlewood says there is a risk confidence will be undermined and infrastructure supporting workplace superannuation outside KiwiSaver will disappear. "If this happens, it could take a minimum of five to ten years before enthusiasm returns, given that a stable economic environment eventually prevails. That is unlikely at the moment, and we could see a completely new superannuation scene in the future as one that may not cater for retirement savers like those currently in existence do now." Mr Littlewood says superannuation is particularly ill- suited to the kind of politicised treatment it is currently attracting and New Zealand should have learned from the "superannuation mess" of the 1975-1993 period in preventing the subject being haggled over to score political points. He is calling on political parties to de-politicise superannuation. "Superannuation is one of New Zealand's most important pieces of social and fiscal policy and in this current climate of uncertainty, the issue has to be considered out of the political limelight in an apolitical and rational way." Private superannuation schemes cater for 290,000 current and retired workers with $14.2 billion in assets. Wednesday, 22 October 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RETAINING MAORI SEATS KEY FOR MAORI PARTY ----------------------------------------- The Maori Party has today left National in no doubt that the retention of the Maori seats in Parliament is the bottom line for any coalition deal. National has signalled it wants to abolish the seats. The Maori Party has released a policy priority statement saying the seats will stay as long as Maori want them to and that they want them entrenched. Entrenchment means that it would take 75 percent of Parliament to vote for their abolition. The Maori Party wants the billion dollar spending cap on Treaty settlements to be abolished and the Foreshore and Seabed Act scrapped. It also wants compulsory heritage studies to be taught in schools and immigrants to complete a course in the history of the country. National seems prepared to possibly remove the fiscal cap on Treaty settlements. Leader John Key says it is important there is enough money to make sure claims are settled on a relatively fair basis. Mr Key says his understanding is possible to achieve the bulk of settlements without going beyond the cap, but it is something National would have to look at. NEW PRESCHOOLS FOR SOUTH AUCKLAND --------------------------------- The Government has announced $9 million of spending over the next two years for nine new early childhood education centres in South Auckland. The centres will be built on existing school sites. Education Minister Chris Carter says they will provide places for up to 450 children currently not participating in any pre-school education. He says early childhood education participation rates are lower in the Counties Manukau region than in any other part of the country. CLAIMS OF MASSIVE OIL DISCOVERY "MISLEADING" -------------------------------------------- Reports of a massive oil discovery in the East Coast Basin are being described as misleading. Canadian oil explorer Trans- Orient Petroleum believes there are 12.6 billion barrels of oil in the Waipawa and Whangai Shales. It intends to start drilling late next year. The Petroleum Exploration and Production Association says the assessment of the prospect is an estimate of potential and not a discovery of oil. It says while there is potential, there is no guarantee that amount of oil is underground. The association says the only way of confirming there is oil is to drill a well. (Trans-Orient have reportedly been in trouble before for exaggerated claims. We shall have to reserve judgement on this one. There is plenty of scepticism in the industry. - BH) NATIONAL MP "REGRETS" REMARKS ABOUT WORKERS ------------------------------------------- National's immigration spokesman Lockwood Smith says he regrets remarks about Asian and Pacific Island workers. Dr Smith says he was taken out of context when he said Asian workers are more productive because they have small hands and some Pacific Islanders need to be taught how to use toilets and showers. Dr Smith made the comments while campaigning in Blenheim, where he was speaking about expanding the Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme to include workers from Asia. He says he was simply reporting strong concerns voiced to him by many employers. National leader John Key says Dr Smith understands his comments could be considered offensive. "I think it is possible the statements he made yesterday could be offensive and I think it's totally appropriate for him to apologise this morning." Mr Key believes voters will look at the context of the event, the comments made by Dr Smith and the apology he has given. HOUSING MARKET STILL GOING DOWN ------------------------------- A real estate company expects the housing market to continue to slide due to the uncertainty of the global credit situation. Figures released by Harcourts show sales across New Zealand are down by 11 to 15 percent for September but in Auckland, they have plunged 35 percent on the same time last year. Bob Hargreaves, Professor of Property at Massey University, says people have lost confidence in the market and banks have become tougher in issuing credit. "People are finding it harder to get mortgages. It looks like house prices are continuing to slide, so from the point of view of a buyer I suppose, people are thinking, well, we may as well hold on. There's no hurry." Mr Hargreaves believes the property market has not yet bottomed out. CONTACT DIRECTORS CRITICISED FOR FEE RISE PLAN ---------------------------------------------- The Energy Minister is sending out a warning to Contact Energy, describing as "extraordinary' the company's plans to increase directors' fees and bring two more onto the board, while at the same time raising power prices by 10 percent. The Australian-owned company wants to boost the board to six directors and raise the current directors fee pool which is split among four directors from $770,000 to $1.5 million. The company's deputy chairman Phil Pryke is already paid fees of $1,000 a day. The issue will be discussed at Contact's Annual General Meeting in Auckland tomorrow. Minister David Parker says the Commerce Commission inquiry on competition in the market, designed to ferret out unfair business practices, is imminent. "It's an inquiry that's been going on for some two years. It's very technical. There's a lot of information that experts at the Commerce Commission have to wade through, but they're expecting that report within weeks." Mr Parker says cost structures such as high directors' fees give weight to the view that companies are not being constrained by competition and people are being charged more than is proper. Bruce Sheppard from the Shareholders Association says the fees hike is obscene. He believes the increase will be shared between just three of the six directors, giving them $500,000 each which he say is absolutely ridiculous for a part time job. "On top of all of that, you have the fact that the company economically has underperformed for the last three years, profits are flat and are not rising." Mr Sheppard says it becomes even more insulting when Mr Pryke's earnings are taken into account. He says last year, he earned $330,000 in fees from Contact, making him the highest paid non-chairman director in New Zealand. He says Mr Pryke is paid more than Roderick Deane who chairs Fletcher Building. (Not bad for part time positions in an under-performing company. Where does one apply? - BH) NURSES UNION WANTS MORE AGED CARE SPENDING ------------------------------------------ Labour and National are being accused of not committing enough funding to the aged care sector. Prime Minister Helen Clark is promising an additional $13 million for the next financial year, and National leader John Key has committed $18 million. Nurses Organisation industrial advisor Lynley Mulrine says caregivers' pay has not been mentioned by either party. She says workers barely earn more than the minimum wage. Ms Mulrine says people working in the public sector are paid $3 or $4 more an hour than those in the private sector. She believes Labour has a long term strategy for the aged care sector and appears to have a better understanding of the issues than National. LABOUR'S BOOKLETS "SMART USE OF LOOPHOLE" ----------------------------------------- A legal expert believes Labour has made smart use of a loophole in the electoral law. The party has issued around 64,000 booklets for people aged over 60, which give advice about government entitlements and the impact of this year's tax cuts on the pension. Associate Professor of Law Andrew Geddis from Otago University says the electoral law still allows MPs to communicate with their constituents. "Labour has just chosen to do that around election time to remind everybody of what their MPs are doing. If they had used the word 'Labour' or they'd even used the colour red, that may have fallen foul of the election spending rules." Mr Geddis says the way Labour has crafted the pamphlets means the money spent on them is kept outside the Electoral Finance Act rules. But National is accusing Labour of dipping its finger back in the public purse in a bid to round up votes. MP Gerry Brownlee claims the booklets are a twisting of the rules. He says the intention is to have the candidate photograph sitting on the coffee table with the subliminal message that they should be voted for. Labour was caught out at the last election for spending $800,000 on its pledge card. (Smart uses of loopholes are not admired in the light of other recent abuses. - BH) FAMILIES STRUGGLING AS INFLATION SOARS -------------------------------------- The Salvation Army says inflation figures show just how much families are hurting. Inflation is running at 5.1 percent, an 18 year high. For the year to September, food prices rose 10.8 percent, petrol prices were 29.3 percent higher, electricity was 6.9 percent higher and housing rents rose 3.1 percent. The Salvation Army has distributed around 30,000 food parcels in the year to September, a 5,000 increase on the previous 12 months. Social policy spokesman Major Campbell Roberts says it has been increasingly tough for those on low incomes to provide for their family. He says children are suffering the most, as one in five live below the poverty line. Poverty is defined as living in homes earning under half the national median income. In Christchurch, Steve Lapslie from the Salvation Army's budgeting centre in Linwood says there has been a 15-20 percent increase in the number of people asking for help in the last six months. He says the essentials are getting more expensive and many people find they do not have enough money to pay their bills. He says the best piece of advice he can give, is to keep purchases to the essentials and keep track of spending, no matter how small the amount. Mr Lapslie says typically people on lower incomes ask for help, but the Salvation Army is now seeing more middle income earners struggling. Thursday, 23 October 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NATIONAL ACCUSED OF DANCING TO BANKS' TUNE ------------------------------------------ The Finance Minister is resisting calls from National for urgency in guaranteeing wholesale deposits with banks. Michael Cullen says the public could be forgiven for thinking John Key and Bill English have become the spokespeople for the Australian-owned banks. He says he will proceed with the deposit guarantees at an orderly pace. "We are not going to be stampeded by the Australian banks into hasty decisions. That doesn't mean to say there's an indefinite wait at all, but I am actually getting quite concerned at the sign that Mr Key and Mr English simply dance to a tune played by the Australian banks." Dr Cullen says he is not going to be rushed and would prefer to reply on the advice of his officials before finalising anything. The Australians are expected to move on the wholesale deposits any day now. PETROL PRICES FALL AGAIN ------------------------ A big drop in crude oil prices is said to finally be flowing through to the pumps. BP has joined Mobil, Shell, Caltex and Gull in dropping prices by 4c a litre. That makes 91 $1.72.9 a litre, except for Gull where it is $1.71.9. In total, oil companies have dropped petrol by 16c a litre over the past week, cutting 4c on Friday, 8c on Monday and another 4c today. Caltex spokeswoman Sharon Buckland says the price of crude fell significantly a short while ago and that has now flowed through to refined prices. She says there is often a lag between a drop in crude and a drop in refined. Ms Buckland says the other factor is that the New Zealand exchange rate, which was plummeting, seems to have stabilised. (Sounds good. How long until the cartel decides to push back? - BH) NATIONAL TO INCREASE MEDICINES FUNDING -------------------------------------- National is planning to establish unilateral agreements with certain countries to provide New Zealanders greater access to medicine. Leader John Key has made the announcement at a Grey Power meeting in Hastings this afternoon. He says National is planning to boost the funding for medicines by an extra $180 million over the next three years. He says this will expand the availability of subsidised medicines. Mr Key says National will also set up a process of unilateral recognition of medicines that have been registered and approved in countries like Australia and the US. The National leader is also pledging to restore the Hawke's Bay District Health Board to democracy. The board was sacked by Health Minister David Cunliffe in February. Mr Key says many Hawke's Bay residents feel a sense of injustice about the sacking, and National wants to restore the region's input into the health board as fast as possible. He says National will invite the seven sacked board members to assist the commissioners in the DHB's governance. Mr Key says National also wants to ensure fair analysis of the board's performance at the time it was dismissed, and to release as much information as possible on their sacking, including material that is being withheld by the minister. SHAREHOLDERS LASH CONTACT'S "CRIMINAL GREED" -------------------------------------------- Contact Energy is getting a grilling from shareholders at the company's annual general meeting. Contact wants to increase the money pool for its directors' fees from $775,000 to $1.5 million. Shareholders at the AGM at the Hyatt Regency in Auckland are accusing the company of corporate and criminal greed. One shareholder compared the directors with those responsible for America's crumbling economy. Another shareholder said the directors are corrupt, should be ashamed of themselves and should all be fired - which was met with loud applause from the hundreds of shareholders. Director Tim Saunders was asked if he felt he was underpaid, his response was "yes I am". (If I was with Contact, I would have swapped suppliers - BH) PRICE REGULATOR WANTED FOR ENERGY COS ------------------------------------- Progressive Party leader Jim Anderton says it is time energy companies were made to justify any power increases to a price regulator. As Contact Energy prepares to raise customers' power bill by ten percent, shareholders at the company's AGM in Auckland are being asked to vote on a resolution nearly doubling the pool for directors' fees to $1.5 million. The proposal is likely to be adopted due to the support of 51 percent owner Origin Energy. Mr Anderton accuses energy companies of making consumers pay for directors' fees set at greedy levels. He says Contact is guilty of rapacious behaviour and pillaging consumers by raising the fees while increasing prices and making a profit of $232 million. Mr Anderton believes Contact should never have been privatised. KEY WANTS BRAIN DRAIN ADDRESSED ------------------------------- National leader John Key says slowing down New Zealand's brain drain is critical to the country's future. Statistics New Zealand figures show more than 47,000 people left for Australia on a permanent or long-term basis during the year to September. Around 13,000 came back. Mr Key says the numbers have to be slowed down, especially because young people are fleeing to Australia. He says the worst departure figures since records began are a reflection of our low wage problem. "One of the really worrying things is one in four people who have been to university have now left New Zealand and live overseas. That is the worst brain drain of any country in the developed world." Mr Key does not accept the argument that Australia is so attractive, New Zealand cannot compete. He says New Zealand is incredibly well-placed to take advantage of the growth coming out of Asia. He says with ultra-fast broadband services, businesses such as niche manufacturing, can be successfully run out of New Zealand. OFFICIAL CASH RATE SLASHED -------------------------- The Reserve Bank has slashed the official cash rate by one percent. It has gone from 7.5 percent to 6.5 percent, its biggest ever single reduction. ALL MAJOR BANKS CUT INTEREST RATES ---------------------------------- All the major banks have cut mortgage interest rates today after the Official Cash Rate was reduced by one percent. Kiwibank and Westpac have dropped their variable interest rates by one percent. They are now 8.7 percent at Kiwibank and 9.45 percent at Westpac. ASB has left its variable rate unchanged but dropped other term rates, with its six monthly mortgage rate going down to 7.99 percent from 9.25 percent. The biggest drop for ANZ and National Banks has been their one year fixed rates, they are both down from 8.99 percent to 7.90 percent. UNCERTAIN TIMES FOR HOTEL INDUSTRY ---------------------------------- Credit card company American Express says the global economy is creating an environment unlike anything seen before in the hotel industry. The American Express 2009 Asia Pacific Corporate Hotel Rate Projections and Market Forecast has found that the double digit room rate increases of the past two years cannot be sustained and some cities around the world are more exposed than others. It says many factors are at play including political instability, oversupply of hotels in some cities, under supply in others, contracting leisure and corporate demand and emerging new markets and industries. It suggests Auckland will escape the worst of any downturn as occupancy has been running around 75 percent this year the highest rate in New Zealand, few new hotels are planned and forecasts predict more in-coming visitors. It says demand for hotels should be strong for 2009 onwards as improving inbound arrivals are forecast for 2009 onwards and preparations are already underway for the city to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup. It is a similar situation in Wellington where occupancy rose to around 70 percent at the beginning of the year. American Express says Wellington boasts the biggest events calendar in New Zealand. In Asia, the expansion of low cost airlines should help keep hotel occupancy in many areas stable. The survey says Beijing made considerable investments in hotels due to the Olympics which may result in discounting post-Olympics. In Hong Kong, many new hotels scheduled to be built over the next two years face increased competition from new casino resorts in Macau. Hotel occupancy is Adelaide is expected to remain static until Crowne Plaza opens at the end of next year but demand growth will be driven by domestic business over the next few years. In Brisbane, occupancy rate will continue to rise over the next few years, although there are no major new hotel openings until 2011. A slowing economy may result in softer demand in Melbourne over the next 18 months and Sydney may be vulnerable to any softening in corporate travel this year. The survey says corporate clients should be nimble and negotiate rates with hotels. Friday, 24 October 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ POLLS REMAIN VOLATILE AS ELECTION LOOMS --------------------------------------- The opinion polls continue their volatility a fortnight out from the election. The latest Roy Morgan poll puts the gap between National and Labour at nine percent. Two weeks ago the same poll was showing a gap of just three percent. Other more mainstream polls are showing the same volatility, with the gap at between 10-20 percent in National's favour. The constant result has been the Greens' strong polling, with their average solid above the crucial five percent. The Morgan poll puts the Greens at its highest ever rating for the party - 11.5 percent. GREENS PUSH FOR ORGANIC FARMING ------------------------------- Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons wants 15 percent of New Zealand's farming production to be organic by 2015. Ms Fitzsimons says it would help maintain the country's clean green image. She insists making common sense changes towards sustainable farming techniques would be a pivotal investment for New Zealand. Ms Fitzsimons says the other crucial part of the Greens' agriculture policy is to keep farming GM free. PEOPLE SPENDING LESS ON POKIES ------------------------------ Figures released by the Department of Internal Affairs show spending on gaming machines has dropped off in the past year. Director of Gambling Compliance Mike Hill says the total annual spend to the end of June was $927.1 million, compared with $938.3 million in 2007. He says given people are spending less at restaurants and bars, the drop off does not come as a surprise. The number of pokie machines in operation has remained at around 20,000. INTEREST RATE DROP BRINGS RELIEF FOR HOMEOWNERS ----------------------------------------------- A property analyst says the cut in the Official Cash Rate is a big help for those with mortgages greater than the value of their house. All the major banks cut mortgage interest rates yesterday after the OCR was reduced by one per cent. Property Professor at Lincoln University, Chris Eves, says because of the slowdown in the property market around 130,000 homeowners are facing negative equity, where their mortgages are greater than the value of the home. He says the drop in interest rates will help. "It's meant that people may have been on the brink and in a situation where their home loan repayments were getting too much for them, where they may have had to think about selling, it's probably given them a breather." Kiwibank was the first of the banks to react yesterday, lowering its floating home loan to 8.70 percent. Prof Eves says the lower interest rates coupled with the steady decline in the property market could restore housing affordability to levels not seen for several years. MINISTER PLEASED ABOUT PARTIAL BACK DOWN ---------------------------------------- Energy Minister David Parker is endorsing a partial back down from Contact Energy over its directors' fees. After an at times stormy annual general meeting in Auckland yesterday where shareholders called directors "pigs in a trough" the company decided not to proceed with its original plan to increase the amount it pays its board's directors. However, the scheme to raise the directors' fees pool from $770,000 to $1.5 million had the backing of Contact's majority shareholder Origin Energy and was approved. Contact chairman Grant King said the company would not be using the funding straight away and came to the decision after consideration of the current economic climate. Energy Minister David Parker says he is pleased that Contact has responded to public concerns by not raising directors' fees. The company's plans had also been criticised by both Prime Minister Helen Clark and National Party leader John Key. Contact's share price fell 29 percent to $7.02 yesterday. SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian Harmer does NOT administer the mailing list. Please do not send subscription related messages to him. Instead, visit the website listed below, where you can make changes as required. If you want to send a personal message to Brian, change the country code to nz and send a message [EMAIL PROTECTED] If you do choose to comment on something in these posts, please don't send the whole newsletter with your message. Just trim it back to the relevant bits. Thanks. Brian. _______________________________________________ WYSIWYG News mailing list News@wysiwygnews.com If you wish to unsubscribe, please visit http://wysiwygnews.com/mailman/listinfo/news Mailing List services provided by OneSquared <http://www.onesquared.net/>
