A review of things you need to know before you sign off on Wednesday; TD rate cuts extend, market to constrain mortgage rate cuts, CPI back in target band, dairy prices hold, Tower into the NZX50, swaps lower, NZD soft, & more

At least the politicians can still say we all got a tax cut.  Because, you know, ACC levies are not a tax.

As rude as it sounds, have you also seen the condition of so many people out on the street? If you're unfit, carrying a lot of excess weight on the frame etc then it can be harder to recover from injury (I'd know as I used to be overweight and unfit and bouncing back from any injury seemed much more challenging than it is now). I appreciate maintaining a healthy weight is made more challenging by issues such as financial difficulties limiting food options, but at a macro level you've got to wonder just how much burden or healthcare and recovery systems e.g. ACC face from those for whom many problems may be 'self-inflicted'. 

Combine that with an ageing population and you've got a recipe for disaster. Or some enterprising politician to float the idea of a totally not mandatory (but there's consequences if you say no) Ozempic passport ... in fact I see they are already talking about that in the UK to help the overweight who are unable to work to be able to get back into the workforce. 

The biggest costs to ACC in an injury are the earnings-related compensation i.e. income protection insurance which could be expected to track changes in wage growth.  The amount that ACC pays to rehabilitation providers (Physios, chiropractors etc.) has failed to keep up with inflation for the last 20 years and has certainly failed to anticipate the Te Whatu Ora pay equity agreements that went through over the last couple of years.  Private rehabilitation providers (those are the people at the coalface) are struggling to attract staff as they cannot match what the hospital system is offering for salaries.

For example:  Media Release: “Insulting” service pricing increase : PNZ

Why is rehabilitation performance declining? has that got to do with our aging population as well?

Pretty common now for oldies to have a whoopsie, which you're more prone to as you age, go on ACC and never come off. And get in home care, meals, etc.

Which isn't inherently a bad thing, it's just that it seems abundantly clear no one has provisioned for so many people to get so old, and for the wonders of science to keep them alive as long as possible.

With a declining number of levy contributors.

There's no easy answer. There's either less coverage, or higher levies. Or some form of debt.

From first hand experience - they don’t want to work

He could buy some of the rental portfolio that Luxon is selling off. 

Has Albo tried telling them that's he's wealthy and he's sorted?

All that coin made in left-leaning politics. Making out like a bandit. 

That's well written and expressed. This gave me a chuckle:

His name was Albo, he was a battler



Grew up with public housing blues



Now he's gone for ocean views



Maybe he'll rent it, and do the cha-cha



Look it won't be all that weird



If it's negatively geared



(chorus: Aaaat the Copa… Copacabana



Take it up with my financial planner)

LOL ... Might I remind of our guy - He says he's "wealthy and sorted" while enjoying tax free capital gains he ensured passed into law.

KiwikidsNZ - You know what they say about throwing stones in glass houses? I guess not. You might want to look it up.

Using that nickname I see. No fears about being targeted for misogyny. 

You forgot to mention the extra fuel consumed driving at an extra 10km/h. (You're slipping. ;-) or just a tough day? Either way, you're forgiven.)

Also let's lower the levies on massive Utes and SUVs as these are more likely to kill people crossing the road due to the bonnet height, especially children and the elderly neither of which work or pay taxes and are therefore unproductive.  

Increasing to 110kmh on well separated and designed motorways is bad but not super bad, the safety benefits are fairly marginal compared to the other things he's doing. Increasing the speed limit to 110 is more of a pointless energy waste.

The big safety rollbacks Simeon is progressing are:

• increasing speeds around schools back up to 50kmh,
• increasing speeds in urban areas and town centres back up to 50kmh,
• refusing to fund interventions that are proven to reduce risk and actively fund the removal of those interventions,
• reinstating the speed limit on poorly designed rural roads back up to 100. 

There is clear and unambiguous evidence that these actions will increase the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads and there is no evidence that they will increase productivity, they will also cost a shit load to implement. 

They also cancelled the improvements to Brougham St, so you save 30sec on the motorway to sit for 5min more at the end of it

Bright colours don’t necessarily assist. Some years back and admittedly in another field, but not altogether so as far as some driving on display here, hunters in the USA were obliged to wear high visibility tunics. Numbers of hunters getting shot increased markedly. 

But this is state-level debt Jfoe. Surely this has to be approached differently. The NSW government utilizes the revenue generated from stamp duties primarily to fund essential public services and infrastructure. Stamp duties and payroll taxes are necessary and the most important sources for the NSW govt to operate. 

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-state-budget-in-seven-charts-20…;

Alternatively, their governments could tax mining companies harder and not burden future generations with public debt.

Australia exported as much gas as Qatar in 2023 but earned one-fifth in taxes and royalties. That's about tens of billions left on the table each year.

60% of gas produced in Australia goes untaxed due to major loopholes that both major political parties choose to ignore.

"Aus households are increasingly wealthy in aggregate". Yes. But only if they cash-in today. The notional value of that wealth tomorrow could be anything. But the Debt that created it, no matter by whom, remains. How wealthy will most of those Australian households be if property price halve, for instance? "Won't happen" It has before and it can again

Are you suggesting that our debt is a hedge against debt levels in China or the US? Seriously? Far better hedges elsewhere, and with a far better margin, and with far lower risk.