Robertson downplays poll showing 76% want house prices to drop; says Govt wants stability & admits it will take 'a long period of time' to solve housing affordability problem 'decades in the making'
When you talk about a percentage of disposable income going on rent or a mortgage, this isn’t total income right? Can you explain a little bit about what this means?
Thanks so much! Love your daily emails and pods and have learnt SO much!
Scary Kaka IMO, your final graph highlights the difference between NZ’s and AU’s rental affordability which surely makes Australia a far more attractive destination for the workers we desperately need? I feel our politicians have their heads in the sand on this matter!
Great job, thanks. It is clear labour have no interest in actually solving housing, instead they will nibble around the edges to avoid making difficult decisions. People should be outraged at Grant's nonsense gesturing to taking action when it has amounted to fuck all.
Someone in the last day or two (sorry, can't find the comment to attribute the credit) observed that in addition to land banking there is also house banking.
If you've got a spare million dollars or so earning less than 1% in the bank then why not buy a new build and just park it for a year and get a 20% return.
And you don't want any of those poor people tenanting it because they will damage something and maybe lower the sale value by $10,000.
Maybe we need something along the lines of TOP's Deemed Rate of Return tax. A house un-occupied for more than x months in a year is subject to a tax set at the average rental return had it been rented out.
And let the councils enforce it and keep the tax collected.
Bernard, thanks for the great Kaka! Do they push you out to the peripheries on purpose at these press gatherings? Is because they know your going to ask the intelligent awkward questions they don’t want to answer?
Governments and councils have created the housing price inflation,we bought a house/property in 1981 for$59k now worth $3m..you seem to be saying it is our fault and TAX us.
I'm so disappointed in this Government's lack of courage to address housing affordability. It certainly doesn't bode well for making the tough calls required to properly address the climate crisis. With a majority government they have no-one else to hide behind. While their Covid management has been good, the multi generational impacts of the increasing inequality that their policies have created will be a terrible legacy for Labour in the long term.
Must admit, Robertson does play a solid poker face in the scene of great adversity. Suppose the government is buying time and waiting for the moment housing does crash, or face serious correction, and can then scapegoat out and say it was external factors out of their control. Nothing great was ever achieved in comfort zones, so why are they still comfortable? How can we make the government uncomfortable?
So by the government previously saying: "We are pulling all of the leavers", they were lying outright? The problem was in the too hard box from the start. The good news is, we are kiwis and we aren't very good at sitting back and letting problems like this get in the way of innovating our way out of them. If we can't rely on the government, what can we all be doing to make an actual difference? Where do we even start?
Hi Bernard,
When you talk about a percentage of disposable income going on rent or a mortgage, this isn’t total income right? Can you explain a little bit about what this means?
Thanks so much! Love your daily emails and pods and have learnt SO much!
Hi Bernard,
Scary Kaka IMO, your final graph highlights the difference between NZ’s and AU’s rental affordability which surely makes Australia a far more attractive destination for the workers we desperately need? I feel our politicians have their heads in the sand on this matter!
So Robertson has essentially confirmed that gross inequality is the government's genuine policy. Is that what we voted for?
Great job, thanks. It is clear labour have no interest in actually solving housing, instead they will nibble around the edges to avoid making difficult decisions. People should be outraged at Grant's nonsense gesturing to taking action when it has amounted to fuck all.
‘Voters’ being the operative word.
You couldn't make it up
We learnt nothing from the Great Depression and what Aussie banks and uk bankers/government did to us then. Same thing again.
Someone in the last day or two (sorry, can't find the comment to attribute the credit) observed that in addition to land banking there is also house banking.
If you've got a spare million dollars or so earning less than 1% in the bank then why not buy a new build and just park it for a year and get a 20% return.
And you don't want any of those poor people tenanting it because they will damage something and maybe lower the sale value by $10,000.
Maybe we need something along the lines of TOP's Deemed Rate of Return tax. A house un-occupied for more than x months in a year is subject to a tax set at the average rental return had it been rented out.
And let the councils enforce it and keep the tax collected.
Bernard, thanks for the great Kaka! Do they push you out to the peripheries on purpose at these press gatherings? Is because they know your going to ask the intelligent awkward questions they don’t want to answer?
Bernard.
Governments and councils have created the housing price inflation,we bought a house/property in 1981 for$59k now worth $3m..you seem to be saying it is our fault and TAX us.
I'm so disappointed in this Government's lack of courage to address housing affordability. It certainly doesn't bode well for making the tough calls required to properly address the climate crisis. With a majority government they have no-one else to hide behind. While their Covid management has been good, the multi generational impacts of the increasing inequality that their policies have created will be a terrible legacy for Labour in the long term.
"Breaking Points" is a youtube show with hosts from both left and right of politics.
Here is a good 12 minute example on dark money funding:
https://youtu.be/rv5vxoEXVRk
Why would they want to slow it down; they're all making far too much themselves: https://thenzwitness.substack.com/p/do-mps-make-more-from-capital-gains
Please continue to help the electorate understand tax reform is the only lever left and we can't go another cycle without it
Must admit, Robertson does play a solid poker face in the scene of great adversity. Suppose the government is buying time and waiting for the moment housing does crash, or face serious correction, and can then scapegoat out and say it was external factors out of their control. Nothing great was ever achieved in comfort zones, so why are they still comfortable? How can we make the government uncomfortable?
So by the government previously saying: "We are pulling all of the leavers", they were lying outright? The problem was in the too hard box from the start. The good news is, we are kiwis and we aren't very good at sitting back and letting problems like this get in the way of innovating our way out of them. If we can't rely on the government, what can we all be doing to make an actual difference? Where do we even start?