Economy
Under 65 and Healthy Individuals Must Be Able to Get on With Life
Jeremy Harris Jeremy Harris is a businessman and investor from Auckland, New Zealand. Dear Prime Minister, I supported the initial national lockdown and move to quarantined borders. Over the last 5 months the situation has changed markedly in four respects: * Firstly, the Infection Fatality Ratio can now be calculated to
Why We Can’t Keep Going Into Lockdown
This was going to be a boring little article about the government’s new rules about provisional tax penalties. I was going to recommend you read it after 11.00 tonight, particularly if you are having trouble sleeping. But I am going to have to leave that for another day
Letter From the North: Financial Dark Skies Ahead
Taking time off from writing my letters from the North I managed to do some work for my day job. During my busy week, I had some interesting face time with managers of second-level funding institutions. These are participating in and advising on the Government protection devices attempting to
What Is New Zealand’s Coronavirus End Game?
Jeremy Harris Jeremy Harris is a businessman and investor from Auckland, New Zealand. As we emerge bleary-eyed from hiding behind our couches and under our beds, into the level-1 sun (or rain), with the fear subsiding we are now able to appraise objectively where we find ourselves as
Policy Paper | Back to Work
Julian Wood maxim.org.nz Nations around the world are expecting low or negative growth and higher unemployment rates as a result of fighting COVID-19. The supply side shock means that parts of the economy are in hibernation or struggling with a lack of demand, while other parts of
Investing in a Resilient Workforce
Julian Wood maxim.org.nz When the Government closed New Zealand’s borders in response to COVID-19, flaws in our labour market were exposed. Not only was tourism and accommodation brought to a grinding halt, a massive temporary workforce was removed from the New Zealand labour market, leaving many
A Quick Analysis of the Unemployment Numbers
I am no statistician. Ask anyone who knows me. Statistics was the only paper I struggled with when studying accountancy. But when I heard yesterday that the unemployment figures for the June 2020 quarter had actually fallen to 4%, I decided that the old adage is true. There are most
A Reality Check
Sir Bob Jones nopunchespulled.com John Key is 100% correct. The economic crisis lying ahead is immensely greater than the health (COVID) threat. The latter can be managed but requires realism which is sadly lacking. For months numerous different experts have claimed a vaccine will be found/won’t be
NZ’s Ballooning Debt Crisis
We need to talk about New Zealand’s ballooning debt crisis that the mainstream media seem to be ignoring. The only hope we have for political change in New Zealand is if people learn the truth about the bankrupting of our country. For the last 30 years, New Zealand has
Ardern Is Adversely Ambitious
Jacinda Ardern is digging a COVID hole for herself, a hole that gets bigger with each passing day. The strategies she has put in place for eliminating the virus are not sustainable in the longer term. The reality is that at some point, she is going to have to face
A Government of Drunken Sailors
There was a lot to admire about the Australasian banks during the GFC. While the USA had its Freddie Macs and Fannie Maes, and the Bank of Scotland just about went broke, the banks in Australia and New Zealand never faltered. They had never really joined in the global party
Tax is Love?
Luke Redward nzinitiative.org.nz In a predictable statement earlier this week, the Green Party co-leader declared her party’s undying love for taxation. A rather Orwellian take on the libertarian war cry of “tax is theft,” Marama Davidson said those who fork out money to the state are
Bank Economists – Wrong Again
Sir Bob Jones nopunchespulled.com Last Saturday’s Dominion Post front-page story was about the local red-hot housing market. Lower Hutt’s biggest residential real estate firm’s boss, John Ross, was quoted saying he’d never seen a market with so much demand pressure. To various extents
Why Empty Airports Are an Ominous Sign
Jacinda Ardern might (falsely) boast about her self-aggrandised “hard and early” response to COVID-19, but she is much less voluble about its economic effects – which are set to be just as hard, but much, much longer-lasting. With tourism (formerly) providing a sizable proportion of New Zealand’s
Don’t Write National Off Just Yet
Now that we have had a more realistic political poll from Colmar Brunton, we can start to see the lie of the land regarding the upcoming election. Labour has a clear lead at 53. National is on 32. ACT is on 5%, and looks like it might hold it. NZ