What happened Wednesday

Economy / news

A review of things you need to know before you sign off on Wednesday; more me-too rate cuts but SBS Bank goes lower, dairy prices rise, credit card data tame, listeds make news, swaps stable, NZD firm, & more

21st Aug 24, 3:59pm by David Chaston

Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today (or if you already work from home, before you shutdown your laptop).

MORTGAGE/LOAN RATE CHANGES (ALL CUTS)
Kiwibank has cut its fixed rates today, but only to where its main rivals have already settled to. SBS Bank also cut all its fixed rates, with their 2 year down to a market-leading 5.89%. In addition, they announced their floating rate reduction. ICBC cut all its fixed rates today All rates are here.

TERM DEPOSIT/SAVINGS RATE CHANGES (ALL CUTS)
Kiwibank also cut its term deposit rates hard as well, but again, only matching the cuts from its main rivals. ICBC also cut its term deposit rates for terms 4-18 months. SBS Bank cut its TDs and savings account rates. Rabobank cut all TD rate for terms 1 year and longer. They also reduced their savings and Notice Saver rates. All updated rates less than 1 year are here, for 1-5 years, they are here.

BRIGHTER OUTLOOK FOR DAIRY INDUSTRY
Dairy prices rose +5.5% in USD terms. Even though this just takes us back to levels just a few weeks ago, it has changed the view of many analysts who now see upside potential to their farmgate payout forecasts. In fact BNZ nudged their up slightly today. The NZX's seasonal calculator is now running higher than all the analyst forecast levels. Maybe one aspect encouraging analysts is the strength of the return of Chinese demand in today's auction.

UNCHANGED
Fitch Ratings said it has affirmed New Zealand's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'AA+' with a Stable Outlook. That remains just one notch below AAA.

RBNZ CONSULTING ON DEPOSITOR STANDARDS & CRISIS MANAGEMENT
The Reserve Bank is consulting on policy proposals for a range of standards under the Deposit Takers Act, and has released an issues paper on the crisis management framework in the Act. The RBNZ notes the DTA, passed last year, modernises NZ's crisis management framework by formalising the RBNZ's role as the resolution authority, establishing a Depositor Compensation Scheme, and providing additional powers and tools to deal with entities in distress. Both consultations are open until Friday, November 22.

CREDIT CARD INDICATORS TAME
Credit card transaction and balance data for July reinforce the stunded nature of consumer demand, but also that this data isn't going backwards. And the stress indicator - the proportion of credit card debt incurring interest - isn't worsening materially either.

DOMINANCE HAS ITS REWARDS
IAG NZ's annual gross written premium surged +15% to $4 bln and their insurance profit jumped to $500 mln. in the year to June 2024. Defensively, their local CEO says insurers need to ‘balance out the bad years with the good’. IAG is a dominant general insurer. Based on ICNZ data, IAG's local; $4 bln premium income means it has at least two-thirds of the market, possibly more.

A WEALTH ADVANTAGE
The Sam Knowles-chaired Wellington fintech Adminis has signed up with BNZ to use their API on their platform, one that focuses on wealth managers, fund managers, self-directed investment platforms, and wealthy private individuals as clients. This FX dealing API allows Adminis clients 24 hours a day, 5½ days a week - from the opening of the NZ market to the close of New York - to trade currencies and manage risks even when local markets, such as those in New Zealand, are closed overnight. This access spans major FX markets across the USA, Europe, and Asia. Adminis main shareholder is Somers Ltd, a Bermuda investor in financials and one of these is Resimac.

EARNINGS SEASON UPDATES
Our NZX50 profiles have been updated today with the recent release of full year results to June 30, 2024 for EBOS (EBO, #8), SkyTV (SKT, #46), and Fletcher Building (FBU, #17).

NEW FEATURE
Check out our new quick update of how the NZX is faring today, as at 3pm. We welcome comments on that update story.

STRESS MEANS HIVING OFF THE GOOD BITS
Construction giant Fletcher Building (FBU, #17) said it is seeking 'capital partnership' options for its residential development business. It has retained Jarden to look at options for this business division as the group reports a larger-than-expected -$227 mln loss for the June financial year. FBU shares were down as much as -7.6% and one point but are now down -3.9% near the end of trade. So far in 2024 they are down -31% with most of that big fall happening by May.

SWAP RATES HOLD
Wholesale swap rates are probably little-changed today. Our chart below will record the final positions. The 90 day bank bill rate is unchanged at 5.25%. The Australian 10 year bond yield is down -4 bps at 3.92%. The China 10 year bond rate is down -3 bps at 2.13% and Beijing can't seem to halt the rally. The NZ Government 10 year bond rate is down -4 bps at 4.22% and the earlier RBNZ fix was at 4.16% and down -5 bps from yesterday. The UST 10yr yield is down -6 bps from yesterday at 3.82%. Their 2yr is now at 4.00%, so that curve is now inverted by -18 bps.

EQUITIES ALL EASE LOWER
The NZX50 is down another -0.4% in Wednesday trade. The ASX200 is also down -0.4% in afternoon trade. Tokyo has opened down -0.7%. Hong Kong is down -0.8% at its open. Shanghai is down -0.2%. Singapore is down -0.3% at its open. The S&P500 ended its Tuesday session Wall Street down -0.2%.

OIL EASES
The oil price is down -50 USc from yesterday at just under US$73/bbl in the US, and at just over US$76.50/bbl for the international Brent price.

CARBON PRICE STAYS UP
Today the carbon price is still up at $60/NZU today in reaction to the Government announcement that future NZU releases will be sharply trimmed back. See our new daily chart tracker of the NZU price for carbon, courtesy of emsTradepoint.

GOLD FIRMER
In early Asian trade, gold is up +US$19 from yesterday, now at US$2518/oz and a new high.

NZD FIRMER AGAIN
The Kiwi dollar is up another +40 bps from this time yesterday, now at 61.5 USc. Against the Aussie we are up +20 bps at 91.2 AUc. Against the euro we are also up +10 bps at 55.3 euro cents. This all means the TWI-5 is up +20 bps from yesterday at 69.4.

BITCOIN SLIPS
The bitcoin price has fallen -1.8% from this time yesterday, now at US$59,408. Volatility of the past 24 hours has been moderate at just on +/- 2.3%.

USE OF AI
No articles on this news service are produced with AI. Occasionally we use AI to derive images. They are always identified in the attribution.

Daily exchange rates

Select chart tabs

Source: RBNZ

Source: CoinDesk

Daily swap rates

Select chart tabs

Source: NZFMA

This soil moisture chart is animated here.

Keep abreast of upcoming events by following our Economic Calendar here ».

We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment

Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.

72 Comments

by Pa1nter | 21st Aug 24, 4:00pm 1724212856

If Bo Jogan won't interview Trumpy

Theo will

https://youtu.be/vC5cHjcgt5g?si=fqSdxtQLW8vUh4Fl

by dumbthoughts | 21st Aug 24, 5:24pm 1724217857

Amazing how he can go from interviewing a lunch lady to a former president, and there's no real difference in how he talks to them.

Also never thought I'd hear the line "cocaine will turn you into a damn owl homie" used in the interviewing of a president.

by talking sense | 21st Aug 24, 5:21pm 1724217706

and in the popcorn show that is the presidency, we get this ... written in all seriousness

"A quick recap of today’s proceedings: After being given a rockstar welcome, former president Barack Obama praised Joe Biden and urged decency before launching into Donald Trump’s character failings."

https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/democratic-national-conve…

by Pat.T | 21st Aug 24, 4:04pm 1724213058

A bit of an overview of the economy by T.A

https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/tony-alexander-rock-star-economy-more-li…

by John from Bunnings | 21st Aug 24, 4:05pm 1724213147

NZD about to break the 0.62 barrier again

by J.C. | 21st Aug 24, 4:18pm 1724213911

Don't want to steal your thunder but DXY is down almost 2.8% for the month. Currently at 101 and down from its Covid high of 113.

Cheering for the Kiwi peso is all very well but remember it's also down 3.1% against the basket case JPY in 2024.

by IT GUY | 21st Aug 24, 4:26pm 1724214414

fed cuts being priced in, sell the rumour going on

by ChrisOfNoFame | 21st Aug 24, 7:08pm 1724224090

What does "sell the rumour going on" mean?

Could you translate to a sequence of events for us? Thanks.

by Flying high | 21st Aug 24, 7:28pm 1724225331

Sell the usd. Strangely we are higher now than before we cut ocr, can anyone explain that

by ChrisOfNoFame | 21st Aug 24, 8:37pm 1724229443

I have already.

Seems few read what I say. Or maybe few understand it? Don't know. Don't care.

by Pa1nter | 21st Aug 24, 8:42pm 1724229770

Maybe if you were using your words better

People might be more receptive to what you have to say.

by IT GUY | 21st Aug 24, 7:48pm 1724226519

OK in markets the sayingis

buy the rumour, sell the fact

it means that most buy the rumour but when it becomes true they sell to cash in, they where never long term holders.

Re the kiwi going up, its not the kiwi, the USD is losing against its TWI... ie everything is rising because the market is betting that the fed will cut next month, and when they do the short term bottom in in for the usd, as then kiwi cuts then fed, it becomes a range trade UNTIL

suddenly people either believe that it is the goldilocks soft landing or wake up to the nightmare that the plane has no wings and this sucker is going down...

IMHO FX trades at all times with most of the information baked in and defining the range. its the stats releases and unexpected geoploitical news that kicks a currency between range trades... seems to me right now the interest is does the US fed cut next meeting on 17/18 sept, its going to be the biggest trade going until then (or geo blows up), what ever happens on that day we probably see the short term low for USD as the next few cuts will then be priced in, then the market turns and trys to see how high it can push USD up. As macro says bad news may really be bad news here.

They are not cutting for shits and jiggles with inflation at these levels

by ChrisOfNoFame | 21st Aug 24, 8:53pm 1724230400

"buy the rumour, sell the fact" I understand.

I thought "sell the rumour going on' was some new lingo.

Thanks for your reply. I am aware of what the US economy & USD is doing.

"IMHO FX trades at all times with most of the information baked in and defining the range."

I tend to agree. But their longer positions are opaque.

by IT GUY | 21st Aug 24, 9:11pm 1724231476

I saw real money sell kiwi in 3 x 600mil clips one night and it moved like 5 pips... it totally depends on positioning , options expires etc etc, its all about liquidity. the best money to be made is when everyone is on one side of the boat, but needs to get to the other side at the same time. like if the RBA hike on the 24th sept just after the fed cut.... AUDNZD go nuts

you would think that the big four trading banks in NZ should NAIL the widow maker but I have seen traders handed there ass getting kiwi aussie wrong. How hard should it be?

by RookieInvestor | 21st Aug 24, 4:11pm 1724213474

The Government talk about about KiwiBank being the competition but all they do is follow their competition.

If the big 4 really do have such high margins, why can't Kiwibank beat them?

by WellingtonInvestor | 21st Aug 24, 4:18pm 1724213898

Economies of scale perhaps since they only have about 7% of the market.

by Pa1nter | 21st Aug 24, 4:30pm 1724214613

I find it hard to gauge how big the profits are.

BNZ made something like $1.5 billion net profit.

They have lent out $100 billion+

1.5 billion seems like a lot of money. But not a good return if you lent out $100 billion+

How much cheaper could Kiwisaver hope to be?

by Te Kooti | 21st Aug 24, 4:43pm 1724215438

The big banks have much broader revenue streams, Institutional and Corporate being the main ones. Probably higher average net worth customers as well so more card revenue.

Your not going to bank with Kiwibank if you're a baller.

by bw | 21st Aug 24, 4:52pm 1724215926

"not a good return if you lent out $100 billion+"

It depends on what it cost to create that lending?

"the reserve requirement does not act as a binding constraint on banks’ ability to lend and consequently, their ability to create money. ..."

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/022416/why-banks-dont-n…

by RookieInvestor | 21st Aug 24, 5:33pm 1724218402

Is the amount they lend based of their earnings or their capital?

i would think it was based off of their capital, correct me if i'm wrong.

Otherwise are you saying the big margins aren't too high?

by IT GUY | 21st Aug 24, 5:37pm 1724218656

Correct they lend against capital , the profit is the net profit margin or different interest you pay vs what they pay after expenses

the more interesting question is why is this margin so high in NZ compared with other similar economies

by Pa1nter | 21st Aug 24, 6:04pm 1724220258

The same reason our supermarkets make 4-5% net, and overseas it's more like 3%. Lower volumes, margin needs to be higher.

But even if the margins were zero, still not going to fundamentally improve the price of food, or mortgages.

by JimboJones | 21st Aug 24, 6:30pm 1724221808

Honestly we’re better off paying that bit extra. When I lived in the UK the food was cheap but horrible. Coming back home was like a treat for the tastebuds. Their life expectancy is also suspiciously lower.

Most of the reason that the supermarket is so much cheaper in the UK is due to no VAT on food. So it’s 15% cheaper before you even start.

Also their banking was absolute shite and their insurance was both expensive and never paid out. Be careful what you wish for.

by dumbthoughts | 21st Aug 24, 6:36pm 1724222208

Your comment re: UK food is an interesting one. I've recently come back from a business trip to the UK. At first glance, supermarket food (particularly in the lower priced chains - i.e. not Waitrose or M&S) is astoundingly cheap compared to NZ. However, I agree that much of it seems totally devoid of any real nutrition or quality. It reminded me more of American-style supermarket food, which is once again cheap by our standards but everything seems so artificial and processed. You can buy very nice food in the likes of Waitrose but I didn't find it massively cheaper than NZ. I'd argue that Pak N Save, for example, sells better quality food on average than Tesco.

I think Australia is a better deal for supermarket food - when factoring in quality.

Of course if you just need calories as cheaply as possible then the UK is a better deal. Also we shouldn't excuse our rip off duopoly either.

by JimboJones | 21st Aug 24, 7:00pm 1724223650

Again no GST on many foods in Aus, so it’s very hard to compare. People always say milk is so much cheaper (I used to too), but of course it is if it’s exempt of GST.

And yes pak and save food is very high quality by international standards IMO. Do we really want processed crap but a few cents cheaper? I don’t normally shop there, but when I do it’s a big price cut from Countdown or New World with the same quality food.

by IT GUY | 21st Aug 24, 7:03pm 1724223824

If you live rural (I hear BogSide is good...) you can have your own chickens, sheep and beef... vege gardens are easy as well ...

You save so much money its insane.

by Pa1nter | 21st Aug 24, 7:17pm 1724224652

Beef owes me $3.50 a kilo.

Chickens are a pain in the arse.

by IT GUY | 21st Aug 24, 7:51pm 1724226664

yeah i hate chickens, you cannot make biltong out of an older chicken,

wet or draie

by Pa1nter | 21st Aug 24, 8:00pm 1724227221

Eating them is totally pointless.

Eggs are also questionable.

by Baywatch | 21st Aug 24, 8:07pm 1724227667

Just add salt and heat the fat and it actually tastes like something...like most meat.

by Pa1nter | 21st Aug 24, 8:13pm 1724228026

The ROI is bad.

Raise the chicken

Kill the chicken

Pluck the chicken

Prepare the chicken

Frozen or roast chook is like $10-12 down the road.

by Flying high | 21st Aug 24, 8:11pm 1724227909

Horses for courses, I know people who own them. One has 6 hens for himself and friends and has done this for at least 5 years. The other has 30 hens he sells the eggs, wants to increase the hens so must be working

by IT GUY | 21st Aug 24, 9:05pm 1724231150

I reckon old chicken ladies and old cat ladies are a common thing, not just in US Politics.

by JimboJones | 21st Aug 24, 6:19pm 1724221193

Agree, Kiwibank have pushed the current price of banking down (I remember paying stupid fees on everything before KB), but now the Aussie banks are pretty competitive. There are plenty of options like SBS, Heartland, TSB, etc

by Justa comment | 21st Aug 24, 7:32pm 1724225578

Many people are lazy with their banks. The online savings account rate for the last 18 months has been Kiwibank 4.5% ANZ 2.8% ASB 2.7%. There are many millions in these call accounts. Kiwibank at 4.5% was offering a 60% better return yet most do nothing and leave their savings at the big 4. 2.8% was very poor from the big 4 at a time when their OCR funds were costing 5.5%.

by JimboJones | 21st Aug 24, 8:09pm 1724227769

They can hardly complain though if they don’t care.

Kiwibank used to compete on mortgages, but these days they are much the same.

by Pa1nter | 21st Aug 24, 8:11pm 1724227876

There might be millions in them but if it's all small amounts the depositor isn't going to care if they make $100 a year in interest or $120. Not even worth the time changing bank.

by ThoughtsAndTorts | 21st Aug 24, 4:13pm 1724213622

> Fitch Ratings said it has affirmed New Zealand's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'AA+' with a Stable Outlook. That remains just one notch below AAA.

I don't know why anyone bothers paying attention to these rating agencies and their letters. They completely missed the trick in the GFC and more recently gave high "investment grade" ratings to SVB right before it defaulted.

In finance it doesn't matter if you get the little calls correct if you miss the big ones. And these ratings agencies consistently miss the big ones. The idea that prior to any sort of currency crisis of a major trading currency they will be steadily downgrading their rating with any relevant lead time is fanciful.

by ChrisOfNoFame | 21st Aug 24, 7:17pm 1724224648

"I don't know why anyone bothers paying attention to these rating agencies and their letters. "

Consider it this way: Overseas institutional investors have $10,000 to invest. They do a scan for where to invest just 1 cent. The first part of scan is "must be of a rock solid investment grade, triple AAA".

Do you get it now?

by Eschaton | 21st Aug 24, 4:11pm 1724213467

The NZX link isn't working

by David Chaston | 21st Aug 24, 4:55pm 1724216140

Gulp!. Thanks. It is now.

by J.C. | 21st Aug 24, 4:13pm 1724213580

Bloomie highlights that in gold terms, the S&P 500 is exactly where it was in August 1971 - .the year when President Richard Nixon cut the link between USD and gold.

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/in-gold-terms-the-s-p-500-is-e-TlqI7q4…

by ThoughtsAndTorts | 21st Aug 24, 5:13pm 1724217192

All fiat experiments historically have gone to zero. Just an empirical fact.

I think crypto will be the new money, the better money, and will enable the world to create fairer and wealthier economies. But even if crypto were to fail completely, fiat will go to zero.

by Zwifter | 21st Aug 24, 5:27pm 1724218021

I think you have summed up the way crypto holder thinks in a few lines. They think fiat will go to zero and crypto will be the new money and they will be overnight trillionaires. If you apply logic to that thinking it can never happen because a new digital currency would be created to replace fiat, fiat doesn't need current Crypto offerings. If fiat goes to zero, your Bitcoin will go to zero long before that and a new digital currency will emerge.

by IT GUY | 21st Aug 24, 5:33pm 1724218430

Gold is money, everything else is credit

by J.C. | 21st Aug 24, 5:55pm 1724219741

I think you have summed up the way crypto holder thinks in a few lines.

What's a "crypto holder" Z? What does it actually mean?

The idea that fiat trends towards zero existed long before "crypto" existed. Let me explain it you like you were an elderly relative.

While fiat currencies like USD may appear stable to the sheeple, they constant lose their purchasing power because of inflation (increased money supply) and may lose trust. If a government and central bank fail to manage monetary policy effectively, the currency can indeed approach a value of zero, illustrating the inherent risks of a system reliant on trust rather than tangible backing

by Zwifter | 21st Aug 24, 6:44pm 1724222657

Cannot wait to see what happens to Bitcoin if there is ever a sudden "Trust" issue. Any form of run on it by one of only a handful of top owners will see it crash so fast you better have an alert setup on your mobile so you can hit the exit in time.

by IT GUY | 21st Aug 24, 7:05pm 1724223927

Thank god pooperty is such a simple concept, you would be crap at spruiking crypto. You have to understand it.

The whales are getting bigger they have the best holding record.

by ThoughtsAndTorts | 21st Aug 24, 5:56pm 1724219783

Who would trust a new digital currency issued by the very same people who were in charge of the now defunct one? Currency precedes the state, it is a social technology that emerges organically amongst human societies.

People (including yourself) will be rushing to get into crypto of many kinds once the writing is on the wall. That is how money works. Look into the transition from the silver to gold standard in Imperial China and many other places to see how these things occur outside of the states ability to control it (they are often the last to accept the reality on the ground and money is a bottom up phenomenon).

The history of the bimetallic monetary standard and shift to gold standard is very informative in general for the fiat-> crypto shift occurring.

by J.C. | 21st Aug 24, 5:27pm 1724218072

All fiat experiments historically have gone to zero. Just an empirical fact.

Historical fact perhaps. Because it seems to me that something happens to make it appear like money is trundling along as normal when in fact things have changed dramatically. Like 1971.

by ChrisOfNoFame | 21st Aug 24, 7:20pm 1724224815

"All fiat experiments historically have gone to zero. Just an empirical fact."

Really?

Got any evidence to back that up?

by ThoughtsAndTorts | 21st Aug 24, 7:36pm 1724225770

Start with the fiat money Wikipedia page. If you need more examples just ask an AI (I use Claude) and validate.

Spoiler alert: they all end the exact same way. Loss of acceptance due to inflation.

by ChrisOfNoFame | 21st Aug 24, 9:03pm 1724231015

I took your advice and read the fiat money Wikipedia page.

It does not back up your assertion. It only reports a few examples, from before the creation of modern central banks as we know them now, as to how a fiat currency can fail. It does NOT support your assertion that all fiat currencies must fail. And sorry, won't be using A.I. for a subject like this where experts laugh at the nonsense A.I. comes up with.

Anything else?

by Yvil | 21st Aug 24, 4:15pm 1724213705

Check out our new quick update of how the NZX is faring today, as at 3pm

Sorry but the link is not working.

by David Chaston | 21st Aug 24, 4:56pm 1724216192

Thanks. Fixed now

by Audaxes | 21st Aug 24, 8:48pm 1724230082

In early Asian trade, gold is up +US$19 from yesterday, now at US$2518/oz and a new high.

by jt_nzl | 21st Aug 24, 5:19pm 1724217541

"IAG New Zealand is the largest general insurer in the country, trading under the AMI, State, NZI, NAC, Lumley and Lantern brands, as well as providing the general insurance products sold by ASB, BNZ, Westpac and The Co-operative Bank."

Sounds like the product of a competitive market to me...

(edit: sorry, this was meant to be a standalone comment, not a reply the parent)

by IT GUY | 21st Aug 24, 5:30pm 1724218248

Maybe we could start a kiwisure ….

by ChrisOfNoFame | 21st Aug 24, 7:22pm 1724224977

"Sounds like the product of a competitive market to me... "

You forgot the /sarc tag.

by JamesM | 21st Aug 24, 6:27pm 1724221659

Word on the street is Cabinet voted to put Du Val into statutory management today. First company since South Canterbury Finance.

Sounds like lots of people are going to jail.

by HouseMouse | 21st Aug 24, 7:04pm 1724223888

Good riddance

by ChrisOfNoFame | 21st Aug 24, 7:25pm 1724225119

"Sounds like lots of people are going to jail."

You've lost money then? Or just piling in?

by Pa1nter | 21st Aug 24, 7:32pm 1724225557

Friend of mine lost $200k.

They're shonkey, hard to say how convictable though.

by IT GUY | 21st Aug 24, 7:54pm 1724226853

a few young lawyers at FMA will make their careers out of this, send them down.

by JamesM | 21st Aug 24, 10:14pm 1724235251

They are going to jail. The only question is how many of them? Word from an inside source is that they can see 6 individuals being charged with crimes that (if convicted) will result in jail time.

by JamesM | 21st Aug 24, 10:11pm 1724235073

No I have never invested in Du Val. Whilst I’ve made plenty of investments over the years that I’ve regretted that was one that I saw coming a mile away.

by kiwikidsnz | 21st Aug 24, 7:32pm 1724225532

Christopher Luxon Speech to LGNZ SuperLocal conference today, link below

including this extract:

"First, Cabinet has agreed to streamline the purpose provisions in the Local Government Act to get councils back to basics.

For Councils, that means abolishing the four wellbeing provisions in legislation and restoring focus on local services and infrastructure.

For ratepayers, it’s simple. The central government focuses on must-haves, not nice-to-haves, and we expect local government to do the same.

Second, Cabinet has agreed to investigate performance benchmarks for local councils, similar to the approach some Australian states apply to their local authorities.

In theory, the Local Government Act establishes the accountability of local authorities to the communities they serve. But in reality, it’s difficult to get consistent, easily accessible and comparable information about how councils are actually performing.

The performance measures we’re looking to introduce are in areas councils should already be monitoring closely, such as financial performance and customer service delivery.

But sunlight is the best disinfectant – and ratepayers deserve to know exactly what they’re getting for their rates.

Third, Cabinet has agreed to investigate options to limit council expenditure on ‘nice-to-haves’.

In some Australian states, revenue caps are applied to non-core activities to control rates increases.

We’re interested in how a similar approach could work here in New Zealand, ensuring the right balance between ratepayers' interests and councils' financial positions.

Yes, councils need adequate revenue to fund core responsibilities like roads, rubbish and water, but the value-for-money proposition is more questionable in a range of other areas.

Councils need to examine those areas more closely, and I’m up for any tool – like revenue capping – that makes them do so.

Fourth, Cabinet has agreed to review the transparency and accountability rules that apply to councils.

It’s unacceptable that the rules as they stand today allow unelected officials, in many cases, to prevent elected members from accessing the information they need to represent their communities. We will review those settings.

There have been too many absurd scenarios in which ratepayers are effectively shut out of decision-making because elected members’ rights to access information are treated as a secondary consideration.

My expectation is we find a way to end those practices. "

Speech to LGNZ SuperLocal conference | Beehive.govt.nz

by IT GUY | 21st Aug 24, 7:59pm 1724227145

Amen

I have to be careful what I type or I will be banned, better news then the HPI data.

its enough to say I have had enough of the wasteful leftie council agenda

I might head over to a few leftie blogs to listen to the screaming

by Pa1nter | 21st Aug 24, 8:06pm 1724227611

If you haven't got water working.

And you're kinda broke.

Should you spend a cent looking at spending hundreds of millions on a new library.

by IT GUY | 21st Aug 24, 9:02pm 1724230936

only after you ban cars from the cbd to destroy your rating revenue pool....

by Let me be Frank | 21st Aug 24, 7:42pm 1724226124

"The federal government is poised to reveal that the US economy created as many as a million fewer jobs than previously thought in the 12-month period that stretched through the end of March."

https://nypost.com/2024/08/20/business/wall-street-banks-brace-for-down…

by IT GUY | 21st Aug 24, 8:02pm 1724227329

All eyes on 5,667 S&P 500, a double top is a double top.... its like watching the Warriors in extra time now, the index lives to play another week or goes home