April 1 is the date for the implementation of Tax Cuts. This was a major plank in the National parties election manifesto. There now seems to be a large number of low income earners who will get no tax cuts and may even face tax increases (perhaps 65%). The tax cuts are aimed at middle and high income earners and are meant to stimulate the economy.
People in Glass Houses Shouldn’t Throw Stones
The leader of the opposition has been less than forthcoming over his ownership of Tranz Rail shares..
“(A One News interview once again had Mr Key faltering when he was asked about the shares, initially saying his family owned 25,000-50,000 shares, then shifting to “sometimes 50,000, sometimes 100,000” then finally “yeah, sorry, it was 100,000 in total”.Asked why he had only ever admitted to the 30,000 shares owned by the family trust, Mr Key said: “No one’s ever asked me the number I owned.”)”
As we move towards the election we need to consider……Is the polish starting to come off? Are the cracks starting to show?
NZ economy insulated from the worst effects of the global financial crisis
Due to the care and attention the government has paid the economy over the last nine years it would seem that New Zealand is in better shape to weather the global economic storm than it could well have been.
Just imagine if the opposition had been in power, NZ would be in the same position we have been in during every other recession, the government would have owed billions to overseas banks and our exposure would be so much worse.
With an election now scheduled for the 8th of November it will be critical that people look long and hard at how they use their vote.
New Zealand OCR drops to 7.5%
With the announcement that the OCR has dropped to 7.5% Kiwi Bank has already dropped fixed term mortgage interest rates. West Pac has also dropped interest rates and it is expected that other banks will follow in due course. This will assist home buyers and assist many people in the community. The real estate industry should also make some gains and the present decline should be relieved. This should also have flow on effects for the New Zealand economy.
New Zealand Medal at the Beijing Paralympics
Is the recession over or just on hold?
The economists, who comment for the news media, today stated that “there are indications that the current down turn in the economy is over”. They predict the New Zealand economy will move in a positive direction from now, on gradually recovering in the medium to long term. The more stable price of oil, the expected change in the weather, and the pending tax cuts all being contributing factors. Perhaps the main factor that is holding things back, is the imminent general election. Polls to date have suggested that a new right government will be elected. The recent lack of political acumen on the part of opposition members and their new leader have tended to shadow this inevitability. MMP means that unless the governing party gains a very large portion of the vote they can not govern alone. For the right to form a coalition may be difficult particularly now the leader has ruled out one of the more significant minority parties…..
Is all Publicity Good Publicity?
With the New Zealand General Election just around the corner the minority parties are doing every thing they can to raise their public profile. One of the minor party leaders even going as far as wearing a yellow sports coat. The same party leader has been vigorously attacking and probing at every session. If one tries to look beyond the obvious you have to wonder what the real story is. There seems no doubt the yellow jacketed leader had been in the in the public eye both for the yellow jacket and for his attacks on the other minor party that has been singled out for not declaring donations and gifts. I don’t have any evidence at this time on which to base a personal opinion and have not formed one. There are two inquiries under way one of which is the SFO who I am sure have some very qualified and experienced staff to undertake such an inquiry.
Some questions that need to be considered are- Is MMP achieving the lofty ideals it is intended for? Are we ever likely to know all the facts of just what the powers that be want us to know? Is there some grand master plan which is now starting to evolve?
There is certainly a serious political situation/crisis that needs to be rectified and perhaps this will happen sooner then we all expect.
Is there a Secret Agenda?
As the New Zealand election campaign hots up it seems that the opposition may not be revealing all that they intend to do if they are elected to government. Over the last week ent the opposition held their annual conference. Some IT savvy individuals recorded parts of conservations that took place during the conference. The audio was made available to the main TV news links.
The audio was played in the news listening to the audio which was also captioned it was not difficult to infer that
· There will be major asset sales at some stage
· The opposition is not as unified as it purports to be
· Some of the present legislation currently in place may well be repealed.
All this despite giving many reassurances to the contrary in recent weeks. The spin doctors have been busy trying to counter the “damage”. The incident must leave a lot of doubt in the voters mind.
Storm will cost tens of millions
During the recent storm in New Zealand the P&O cruises ship Pacific Sun was hit by 7 metre swells and 50 knot winds when it suddenly rolled 600km north of Auckland. Forty-two people on the cruise have received medical treatment.
The storm has continued to lash New Zealand as it has moved down the country towards the South Island. It has been confirmed that the person lost has drowned while trying to cross a river and it seems likely that her husband who is also missing may have also drowned. Some initial estimates of the damage caused by the storm put the costs at millions of dollars.