Subject: 7 December, 2008 ----- WYSIWYG NEWS ------------------------------ Copyright, Brian Harmer.
One of Canterbury's best kept secrets, Geraldine, is a picture perfect little town with a population of just under 2,500. Regrettably, after a single night's stay, we had to move on in order to reach Queenstown as early as possible. With the sun barely above the horizon, we set out along SH 79 towards Fairlie. Early geographers in New Zealand had a talent for the obvious when they named places. North Island, South Island, they must have figured that they were on a roll. And so Beautiful Valley was named. Lovely farming country, especially in the bright light of early morning. The next valley is more prosaically named cattle valley, though to my eye, it was no less beautiful. Fairlie was reached just as the school buses were leaving their depot to begin their rural pickups for the day. We turned right onto SH8 on the road to Tekapo and Aoraki/Mt Cook. And suddenly the roadside was aflame with lupins, not the common yellow variety that can be found anywhere, but the riotously coloured Russell variety. These are a joy to the eye and a pain in the neck to conservationists who want them eradicated (see http://www.doc.govt.nz/publications/conservation/threats-and- impacts/weeds/russell-lupin/). A friend said they are not native and don't belong here. Oddly, much the same can be said of almost everyone who has told me that. Blissful in my ignorance at the time, I enjoyed them anyway. Mary was driving and we almost bypassed Lake Tekapo's most famous scenic spot, but she caught sight of it from the corner of her eye, and we did a swift U-turn and went back to the Church of the Good Shepherd on the Southernmost shore of the lake. It was still too early for tourism so we couldn't see inside (except by peering through the panoramic window behind the altar at the back. The lake levels were low and vast expanses of gravel were apparent, or would have been were it not for the stunning display of lupins. It made for good photo opportunities with the snow capped peaks of the alps across a mirror calm lake. Being in something of a hurry, we didn't linger too long and carried on down that colourful highway until we reached the Southernmost edge of Lake Pukaki across whose glassy waters we had a clear view of the Aoraki/Mt Cook (and other only marginally less majestic peaks). Another pause for photographs, and we noted the proliferation of rabbits among the lupins. Every step we took as we walked down to the lakeside caused more bobbing tails to flee through the flowers. Looks like the Calicivirus has lost its power. We paused at Twizel for a morning coffee break, and then carried on across the wide braided Ahuriri riverbed, through Omarama under suddenly threatening skies towards the Lindis Pass. I don't know how, but this is another road I have never previously travelled. Spectacular is an overworked word, and few of the adjectives that come to mind do justice to the scale and grandeur of this landscape. The wildness of the Lindis Pass lasts pretty much 80 km from Omarama in the North to Tarras in the South West. Even in heavy overcast weather, this is scenery to treasure. From Tarras, we carried on SH 8 beside Lake Dunstan to the bridge at Cromwell where we crossed over to Join SH6 near the entrance to the Kawarau Gorge. More rugged landscape, though of a totally different sharper edged character that that which had gone before. The river tumbled through the Gorge, with occasional stretches of white water, and past the tumbling outlets of the Roaring Meg Hydro scheme. Soon, we bypassed the Crown Range turnoff and the road to Arrowtown, and from there it was a straight run to Frankton and Queenstown. Enough for now. More of Queenstown and the Wedding next week. ---- 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 Margaret Ritchie in Canada. Thanks Margaret. ---- On with the News. Monday, 1 December 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MAF CONCERNED ABOUT WATER ON FARMS ---------------------------------- Water availability for the farming sector is being identified as a pressing issue by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. A briefing paper to incoming Agriculture Minister David Carter says freshwater allocation faces significant policy challenges and the water footprint of farming will come under increasing consumer scrutiny. The paper says farming generates some of the biggest environmental impacts on water supply, and water quality is declining to below acceptable standards in some areas. The ministry report recommends greater use of water storage and that the current water management system be better integrated. GREENS ATTACK ETS PLANS ----------------------- The Government is being told it has got its priorities wrong on the Emissions Trading Scheme, as it plans to axe the $1 billion Green Home Fund. The fund, aimed at improving the warmth and energy efficiency of residential homes, is set to be discarded under the National led Government's plans to re- address the ETS. Greens Health spokesman Kevin Hague says, that is flawed thinking, given a recent report that shows, substandard housing is making owners ill. He says the benefits to health, and the energy savings from the Green Home fund are clear. (I wonder how long it will take for the Greens to realise that they have little or no influence on the new government, and for the media to stop reporting on ineffectual protests - BH) AIR NZ POSTPONES BIOFUEL TEST ----------------------------- Air New Zealand has postponed a biofuel test flight following the Airbus crash off France. Of the seven people onboard the Airbus when it crashed on Friday, four were Air New Zealand employees. The airline had planned a two hour flight on Wednesday using a 747-400 powered by a 50-50 blend of jet fuel and a synthetic kerosene. The airline says the biofuel test flight has been put on the backburner as all of the company's resources have been focused on the tragedy. It says it is concentrating on supporting the families of those missing and the investigation into what caused the plane to crash. A new date for the test flight will be announced later this week. UNION CLAIMS NATIONAL'S TAX CUTS UNFAIR --------------------------------------- The Council of Trade Unions is calling on the Government to re-jig its tax cut plan, to provide what it calls a more balanced package. CTU Economist Peter Conway says he understands National will be pushing the cuts through under urgency before Christmas, but he says that does not mean there is not time to look at the unfair parts of the proposal. Mr Conway says a low income worker on $20,000 a year will actually pay $300 more tax in 2010, while someone on $500,000 will pay $9,202 less. He says the CTU realises the Government is committed to a certain level of tax cuts but believes there is still time to make the system fairer. The CTU says the National Party and Act have agreed to catch up with Australian income levels by 2025. He says he presumes that this is an ambition for all New Zealanders not just those on top incomes. Mr Conway says the first piece of legislation by the new National Government is to make those on low incomes worse off and that is not a good start. (Likewise, the unions need to come to terms with the immediate post victory mentality of the new government. It seems unlikely to me that the National Party is likely to adopt any proposals from the left at this stage of their term in office. - BH) SCIENCE AND RESEARCH MERGER --------------------------- The Government is endorsing the merger of two of the country's largest science and research institutes. Crop and Food Research and HortResearch have joined forces and will be known as the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research. The new organisation will have around 900 staff. Research, Science and Technology Minister Wayne Mapp says the merger is a milestone and will combine the knowledge and expertise in the important areas of sustainable production and food and health. NEW RESEARCH ON ABORTIONS ------------------------- New research may have implications for the legal status of abortions in this country. Otago University researchers have found women who have an abortion face a 30 percent greater risk of developing depression and anxiety. In New Zealand over 90 percent of abortions are authorised on the grounds that proceeding with the pregnancy will pose a serious threat to the woman's mental health. The researchers say they do not support either side of the abortion debate, and that the effect of abortion on the overall mental health of the population is very small. It raises the risk of depression and anxiety, but accounts for between just 1.5 percent and 5.5 percent of overall mental disorders in the general population. HOW MUCH WILL OCR DROP? ----------------------- All eyes will be on the Reserve Bank again on Thursday to see the extent to which it will cut interest rates. Money markets are speculating about whether governor Alan Bollard will cut the official cash rate by one percent from 6.5 percent, or go the whole hog and chop it by 1.5 percent. Business correspondent Roger Kerr says some business groups are calling for a two percent cut, but he doubts that will happen. "Mr Bollard is not renowned for being bold and brave but the world economic situation continues to deteriorate although in recent weeks the markets have settled somewhat which is reassuring." Mr Kerr says analysts are looking for another drop in the OCR early next year. GOVT WORKING TO HELP NZERS STRANDED IN THAILAND ----------------------------------------------- Foreign Minister Murray McCully says the Government is doing all it can to get stranded New Zealanders out of Thailand, although there are no safety concerns for them at present. Thai police are in talks with anti-government protesters occupying Bangkok's two main airports. A grenade blast wounded more than 50 anti-government protesters in Bangkok yesterday, fuelling fears of clashes ahead of a major rally in the Thai capital planned by government supporters. Mr McCully says the Government is talking to the Australian Government to help rescue those stuck in Bangkok but he says it is a very complex process. The flights of up to 30,000 passengers are being disrupted daily because of the closures of Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Don Muang domestic airport, where a temporary state of emergency has been declared. Airports elsewhere in Thailand remain open. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's advice to New Zealanders in Thailand is to avoid all political rallies, protests and demonstrations as there remains the possibility of further violence. Tourists are being advised to stay in touch with their airlines, travel agents and family members and to monitor developments via the media. NO CHRISTMAS PARTY BETTER THAN REDUNDANCY ----------------------------------------- Workers across the country are being encouraged not to get bitter, as companies find cheaper alternatives to Christmas parties. Wellington Chamber of Commerce CEO Charles Finny says some companies are being forced to spend less on their employees as the recession starts to bite and some have even cancelled this year's Christmas parties. But Mr Finney says disappointed workers should keep things in perspective. Mr Finny says it is better to have a toned down Christmas function, than receive a letter of redundancy. He believes it is good that companies are taking a conservative approach to spending given the current financial turbulence. Mr Finny says workers like to be rewarded for a year of hard work, but at the moment, some companies have no choice but to cut back. "It is starting to hit hard. I really don't think we'll see the full impact until after the Christmas break. Companies can see the writing on the wall and it's good that people are actually thinking of ways in which they can use their scarce funds more efficiently." Tuesday, 2 December 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CRITICISM OF DELAYS IN OIA REQUESTS ----------------------------------- The Office of the Ombudsmen is criticising Government departments and some ministerial offices, for ignoring provisions of the Official Information Act. The report says there is a regrettable tendency by some agencies to game the system and delay information releases. The Ombudsmen say this subverts the purpose of the OIA and is unacceptable. They have provided fresh guidance to departments and agencies and say they expects to see improvements. However it is police who have topped the list for being the subject of most Official Information Act complaints. The annual report of the Ombudsmen's Office shows 97 complaints were made last financial year about the way police handled OIA requests. It is more than double the number of complaints made about educational institutes. District Health Boards, the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour all ranked highly for being the subject of OIA complaints. (As a letter to the editor of the Dominion Post pointed out this week, the OIA requires that any agency receiving a request must render a decision within 20 days as to whether or not they will provide the information, and thereafter, if the information is to be provided, they are merely required to deliver it as expeditiously as possible. The real surprise to most people, though, is that the Act is toothless. There are no penalties for non-compliance. - BH) ACC $1 BILLION SHORTFALL UNCOVERED ---------------------------------- The Government has been given a shock, with revelations of a billion dollar shortfall in the ACC account. Prime Minister John Key has ordered a ministerial inquiry into the organisation, which he says only has enough money to get it through until March. Mr Key is assuring ACC recipients that their care will continue, but says the Labour-led Government has some answering to do. He says previous ministers knew of the serious funding issue as long ago as last May. He says there are serious questions to be answered about what he calls a "ticking time bomb". Mr Key says the desperate situation at ACC was not revealed when Labour opened the books before the election, even though they knew about it. NOT A GOOD TIME TO SELL BUSINESSES ---------------------------------- Business owners hoping to sell up are thinking twice. The first ASB Succession Planning Monitor shows 82 percent of respondents think it is not a good time to sell their company. Survey spokesman James Mitchell is not surprised by the results. He says people have lost confidence in the market and have lower expectations of what it is likely to deliver. He says the focus for private business owners is shifting more towards sustaining rather than expanding their business. SHOCKING TIME FOR GROCERY SHOPPERS ---------------------------------- A Wellington supermarket is trying to fix a problem that has caused several customers to receive mild electric shocks from new store shelving. Johnsonville resident Vivienne Hill raised the issue with the duty manager at her local Countdown shop on Sunday after being zapped while doing her shopping. She says she received two electric jolts when she went to reach out for packets of biscuits. Ms Hill says the duty manager informed her the shop had received a number of complaints from staff and shoppers about static shocks which seemed to be caused by a problem with the trolley wheels and new flooring. A spokesman for the supermarket's owner Progressive Enterprises says the company is working on a solution and customers are not in any danger. ECONOMY EXPECTED TO PICK UP NEXT YEAR ------------------------------------- The economy is expected to pick up steam next year as tax cuts, lower petrol prices and a drop in interest rates help to pull New Zealand out of recession. The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research has released its December 2008 Quarterly Predictions. Senior economist Johannah Branson expects the lowest point to be the year ending March 2009 when economic activity will contract 0.1 percent, after which, things should improve. Dr Branson expects modest growth for the four quarters of 2009, leading to 1.6 percent growth in the year to March 2010. She says economic growth should accelerate to 3.3 percent in 2011. Dr Branson says from the first half of 2009, the recovery will be led by an upturn in private consumption and strengthening global economic growth. However uncertainty in the housing market and job security may temper the recovery. IMPORTERS WORRIED ABOUT PORT STRIKE ----------------------------------- The Importers Institute is urging the Ports of Auckland and the Maritime Union to sort out its dispute with staff. More than 300 workers will walk off the job for 24 hours tonight over pay and conditions, which is expected to cause frustrating delays for importers. Daniel Silva, secretary of the Importers Institute, says importers are already struggling in harsh economic conditions and the strike will only make things worse. He says importers are getting their last shipments of goods before Christmas and the strike action is making them very nervous. Mr Silva is disappointed the two parties could not reach an agreement after two weeks of negotiating. NZ ARGUES AGRICULTURE CASE AT CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS -------------------------------------------------- The government looks set to mount a special case for New Zealand's agricultural sector at United Nations climate change talks in Poland but the Green Party fears it will back away from targets aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The two weeks of talks which began overnight, involve more than 10,000 delegates from nearly 190 governments and business groups. Prime Minister John Key says representatives at the Poznan meeting are arguing very strongly that New Zealand has a different position to other countries, in that many of New Zealand's emissions come from agriculture. He says it has to be recognised that New Zealand does not have technological solutions to the problem and to cut production could have unintended consequences. STREETS HIT THE INTERNET ------------------------ People should soon be able to walk the length of the country without leaving the comfort of their home. Google is launching 'Street View' in New Zealand which allows internet users to navigate 360 degree street level imagery of cities, towns, regions and remote areas. Google spokeswoman Annie Baxter says people worldwide will be able to explore parts of New Zealand they have never seen before. She says camera equipped cars have been driving the length of the country for the last 12 months taking pictures. Ms Baxter says the images are not in real time and anyone in the pictures cannot be identified. (It's a fascinating tool, albeit a bit clunky in its execution. Navigation within the image view is clumsy. There are still gaps in the coverage but the extent of it is surprising. - BH) Wednesday, 3 December 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ACC BLOWOUT NOT AN EXCUSE FOR PRIVATISATION - GOVT -------------------------------------------------- National is dismissing claims from Labour that the billion dollar blowout to the Accident Compensation Fund is being used to prepare the way for privatisation. ACC Minister Nick Smith says former Minister Maryan Street was obliged to make the shortfall public when she became aware of it in May. But Labour says it was under no obligation and has broken no rules. Prime Minister John Key has said he is annoyed that National only found out about the problem after the election and says it should have been disclosed in Treasury's pre- election fiscal update. He has ordered a ministerial inquiry. There have been suggestions that the shortfall gives National an excuse to privatise the fund but Dr Smith says that is scurrilous. He is confident the ministerial inquiry will pinpoint who is to blame. ACC needs $297 million more this financial year and the same amount the next two years to cover its non-earners account, which deals with claims from children, the elderly and students. FARMERS JOIN CALL FOR BIG INTEREST RATE CUT ------------------------------------------- Federated Farmers is joining the chorus of people calling on the Reserve Bank to cut the official cash rate by 1.5 percent tomorrow. Economics spokesman Phillip York says a big reduction in interest rates is essential, particularly in the light of the Reserve Bank of Australia's move yesterday to cut its rate to 4.25 percent. Mr York says even with a 1.5 percent cut tomorrow, New Zealand's interest rates will still be higher than those in Australia, its biggest export market. He says, with farmers facing a rapid cooling in commodity prices and a potential drought over summer, the cut is needed to provide a stimulus for the economy. In October, the Reserve Bank cut the OCR by one percent to 6.50 percent. AIRPORT COMPANY REORGANISES TEAMS --------------------------------- Auckland Airport is putting in place a new organisational structure and leadership team. The company says it will comprise three profit-centre divisions of Aeronautical, Retail and Property, supported by a new aeronautical business development unit and a lean corporate centre. Responsibilities of the former engineering division have been incorporated into other divisions. Chief executive officer Simon Moutter says the focus in recent years has been very much on building infrastructure and capacity. He says the new leadership emphasis will ensure the company makes the most of its recent infrastructure investment and enhances services to airline customers and passengers. The company says the shift in focus away from building infrastructure and capacity to building customer and passenger experience has meant realigning leadership team resources. This has seen the introduction of several new faces and new roles and the departure of general manager engineering, Steve Reindler. Andrew Pirie will join the company as communications advisor, Glenn Wedlock has been appointed as the general manager aeronautical business development and Adrian Littlewood as the general manager retail. Mr Moutter says that with tougher global economic conditions and volatile fuel prices influencing likely passenger and airfreight demand, it is critical that Auckland Airport puts significantly more focus on business development activity, partner support and working on new growth strategies. He says it will also be essential to focus on productivity gains through all levels of the business. SANTA'S HOTLINE OPEN -------------------- Telecom's hotline to the North Pole is open. Last year Santa received more than 650,000 messages from excited children and some adults. Telecom is advising well-behaved children to get their wishes in quickly this year, before Santa is overwhelmed by the numbers calling. The phone number is 0800 222 222. Santa can also be emailed from the Telecom website. SWIMMING SKILLS SINKING ----------------------- The ability of young people to swim and survive is sinking and drownings are forecast to soar. New Zealand already has one of the highest rates of drowning in the developed world, averaging 114 per annum between 2003-2007 and Water Safety predicts the death toll will exceed 150 each year within the next 12 years and will rise to 180 by 2030. Matt Claridge, general manager, says the underlying basis to enjoying aquatic environments and recreation is the ability to swim and survive but he says the decline can be directly attributed to inadequate opportunities to develop the skill. He says swimming lessons used to be an integral component of the education system, but that is no longer the case as changes to the school curriculum and reduced funding have resulted in swimming lessons having a lower priority. Only 50 percent of year six children are able to swim 25 metres. ? Unsurpisingly we have found that it is schools with a high decile rating that are able to provide adequate opportunities. These are also the kids who are also most likely to be involved with additional instruction outside of the school. Sadly, there is a direct correlation between socio-economic status and access to learn to swim opportunities and it's just not good enough.? Mr Claridge says schools need to start teaching swimming again and it should be a compulsory component of the curriculum. ?In Australia and Great Britain the issue has been identified and action taken to ensure school aged children learn to swim. It's remiss that we do not ensure our children develop these fundamental skills. The Government and its Ministries need to consider the priority and level of resource provided to schools in this area. Perhaps most important of all is that communities recognise the importance of the issue and coordinated action is taken to improve the situation. (One of the things that impressed me in Australia was the number of kids being taught to swim from the age of six months and up. Classes of tiny little kids floundering through the water are amazing. No wonder there are so many Olympic gold medals in Australian homes. - BH) Thursday, 4 December 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INTEREST RATES SLASHED ---------------------- The Reserve Bank has slashed the official cash rate by 1.5 percent, bringing it five percent. Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard says further small rates cuts are possible in the coming months. ANZ AND NATIONAL JOIN IN WITH RATES CUTS ---------------------------------------- ANZ and National have joined other major banks in cutting their mortgage and fixed term rates. They have responded to the Reserve Bank's slashing of the official cash rate by 150 basis points. ANZ and National have made cuts across the board, cutting fixed term rates as much as 0.66 percent and their variable rates half a percent. ANOTHER ACC BUDGET BLOWOUT -------------------------- The Government has found another budget blowout in an ACC account. ACC Minister Nick Smith has revealed the earners account has a shortfall of $1.3 billion. The news comes just days after it was discovered the non-earners account will need a $1.2 billion top up from the Government. Dr Smith says the earners account is funded from employer-levies, which it is now being recommended the Government increase in the coming years. Labour leader Phil Goff says ACC will be under pressure from poor return on investments and rising medical costs. He says that would have happened regardless of whether ACC was state funded, or privatised, which he believes National intends to do. OCR CUTS HURT THE ELDERLY ------------------------- People reliant on income derived from deposits will be hit by the drop in interest rates. Banks have cut their mortgage rates today following a 1.5 percent drop in the official cash rate. They say interest paid on deposits will fall as well. The Director of the Centre for Banking Studies at Massey University David Tripe says people reliant on deposit interest will be faced with a drop in income. He says New Zealanders tend to deposit for relatively short terms, which means in many cases as interest rates come down there will be an impact on their income relatively quickly. Age Concern chief executive Ann Martin says many older people rely on income from interests on deposits to top up their benefit. She says many of the older people have moved investments to their banks, which are being seen as safer than other parts of the finance sector. Ms Martin says now with the lower interest rate it will have a negative impact on their income. (With due respect to Ms Martin, I wonder what mechanism she suggests that would protect the elderly or any other group from the vagaries of the world financial system? - BH) TREASURY SHAKES HEAD AT STIMULUS PACKAGE ---------------------------------------- Treasury is advising the Government not to go ahead with an economic fiscal stimulus package. In briefing papers to Finance Minister Bill English, Treasury says the current budget already incorporates stimulus of almost three percent of GDP in 2008-09, through tax cuts and spending plans. It says it is already larger than moves by other OECD countries with stimulus plans. Treasury says using fiscal stimulus will be costly in the short term and may require savings later to avoid deterioration in the fiscal outlook. SUPERGOLD CARD HOLDERS ON THE BUSES ----------------------------------- The number of elderly people riding buses around Auckland has almost doubled since the SuperGold card scheme came in. The card, introduced by New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, allows senior citizens to travel for free during off-peak times. Figures from the Auckland Regional Transport Authority show 97 percent more senior citizens have travelled on public transport in October this year compared with last year. Spokeswoman Sam Rich says it is great to see people taking advantage of the scheme and using public transport. Friday, 5 December 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CHINATOWN PLANNED FOR AUCKLAND SUBURB ------------------------------------- New Zealand may get its own Chinatown, in the West Auckland suburb of New Lynn. Waitakere City Council is investigating a development, including the possibility of buying ornamental Chinese gates and other related items from the council's sister city of Ningbo in China. Mayor Bob Harvey wants to develop an area reflective of both traditional and modern China. He says it is an exciting idea that stacks up in cities like Melbourne, London and Seattle and would dramatically distinguish New Lynn. The council has not yet considered a budget for the proposal. WHOLESALERS SEE DROP IN SALES ----------------------------- Wholesalers are feeling the pinch with a $219 million drop in sales for the September quarter. Statistics New Zealand says it is the largest quarterly drop since December 2005. The biggest fall was in motor vehicle sales, which were down 11.3 percent. Petroleum-products were down 6.9 percent and primary product food wholesaling declining 3.3 percent. It was partially offset by a 5.6 percent rise in the sales of unprocessed primary products. RED INK ALL OVER GOVERNMENT'S BALANCE SHEETS -------------------------------------------- There is red ink all over the Government's balance sheets in the latest Crown Financial Statement. The Crown now has an operating balance deficit of $3.5 billion, instead of a forecast $1.5 billion surplus. Treasury says this is due to investment losses by the Superfund, ACC and the Earthquake Commission. There has also been a revaluation of long term liabilities for ACC and the Government Superfund. The Crown's sovereign issued debt is $3.7 billion higher than anticipated at more than $33 billion, which is almost 19 percent of GDP. That has been caused by a stronger than expected demand for Government-issued assets and the weaker New Zealand dollar. PETROL PRICES FALL AGAIN ------------------------ Shell has kicked off another price drop at the pumps. Petrol and diesel is four cents cheaper. The price of 91 is now $1.39.9c a litre and octane is $1.44.9c. Diesel is down to $1.16.9c. Shell says the price drop is due to the continuing fall in the cost of crude on international markets. REAL ESTATE AGENTS HOPING FOR MARKET BOOST ------------------------------------------ Auckland's largest real estate company hopes the drop in the official cash rate will help buyers overcome their concerns. Banks have started passing on the benefit of the Reserve Bank's 1.5 percent reduction in interest rates by cutting fixed and floating mortgage rates. The reduction in rates coincides with new figures showing house prices in the Auckland region dropping last month. Figures from Barfoot and Thompson show the average price for November declined 3.7 percent to $500,840 from the same month last year, but managing director Peter Thompson says it is no great surprise. ?The average sale price has been moving around within a band between about $495,000 and $525,000 all year, so I wouldn't read too much into an individual monthly result. The average price for the year to date is $514,000.? Mr Thompson says Barfoot and Thompson's auction rooms were full last month, but buyers were very cautions and held back. "Buyers seem to be waiting to see what price is set in the auction room and are then willing to negotiate post- auction.? He says the auction clearance rate during November was about 35 percent under the hammer and more than 50 percent by the end of the week following auction day. The average weekly rent for November was $381, down from $385 in October. Mr Thompson hopes the interest rate reduction will be the impetus needed to generate fresh activity in the urban residential and rural property markets. ADJUSTMENT WANTED TO ROAD USER CHARGES -------------------------------------- The Government is being challenged to review road user charges. The AA Energy Wise Four Day Rally shows motorists how they can slash their fuel bills by choosing a fuel efficient car. The Supreme winner was the Honda Civic Hybrid which cost $111.72 to run over 1641 kilometres. Hyundai executive director Philip Eustace says if the Hyundai i30 were exempt from diesel road user charges, it would have cost $96.66 to compete. He says the results show that road user charges penalise owners of the most fuel-frugal vehicles. It costs the driver of a private vehicle $370.26 to buy 10,000km of road user charges. Earlier in the year, truck drivers held protests through towns and cities throughout New Zealand to demonstrate against the Government raising the road user charges without warning. (Challenges to the government are in my opinion, premature. - BH) COMPANIES GETTING LITTLE RELIEF FROM BANKS - BERL ------------------------------------------------- An economist believes it is critical that banks cut interest rates for businesses. Major banks have reduced their mortgage rates following a 1.5 percent drop in the official cash rate. Ganesh Nana from the independent Business and Economic Research group, BERL, says the move will make life easier for people with home mortgages, but he says in recent times companies have been offered little relief from banks. He says to ensure jobs remain in place and economic activity continues, businesses need interest rate relief. Dr Nana says the world economy is in serious strife and the situation should not be underplayed. He says anyone who does paint a positive picture is either selling a line, or is very very optimistic. Dr Nana says Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard could have cut the OCR even further, but will be waiting to see what happens to the economy down the track. Yesterday, Dr Bollard said New Zealand went into a very shallow recession early on, compared with its trading partners. He said the recession has now ended. 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/>
