TL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that I wrote and spoke about via The Kākā for paying subscribers this week included:
PM Chris Hipkins ruling out a wealth or capital gains tax for his time as PM Friday’s email;
two political opinion polls showing support for Labour dropping, which is increasing the chances of a National/ACT victory in the General Election on October 14, or a hung parliament Thursday’s email and Friday’s email;
statistics showing nearly 3,000 New Zealanders a month are migrating to Australia, more than double the number a year ago and the highest in 10 years – also recently-arrived residents are bouncing on to Australia at a higher rate than the rest of the population, now Australia has opened the door fully for New Zealand residents to become full citizens Friday’s email;
New Zealand signed a trade agreement with the European Union that writes in a commitment to meet our Paris Accord emissions reductions or face trade sanctions for the first time Monday’s email; and
a highly-respected central banker in Britain called on western governments to raise taxes on the wealthy to help central banks cool down inflation Tuesday’s email.
What we talked about on ‘The Hoon’ last night
In this week’s podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers at 5pm on Friday night:
5.00 pm - 5.15 pm - Bernard and Peter Bale opened the show with a summary of the news domestically and internationally, including a chat about the wealth tax article.
5.15 pm - 5.35 pm - University of Otago Professor Robert Patman talked about the grumpy Chinese reaction to Hipkins’ speech on security policy at NATO, along with a closer look at the Ukraine war.
5.35 pm - 5.55 pm - Walkleys Senior Manager for Programs and Education Corinne Podger on solutions journalism.
5.55 - 6pm - Bernard and Peter wrapped the show with a chat about plans for election coverage, with 95 days to go.
The Hoon’s podcast version above was produced by Simon Josey.
This is a sampler for all free subscribers. Thanks to the support of paying subscribers here, I’m able to spread the work from my public interest journalism here about housing affordability, climate change and poverty reduction around in other public venues. I’d love you to join the community supporting and contributing to this work with your ideas, feedback and comments.
Other places I’ve appeared this week
My podcast for The Spinoff this week
What does a just transition look like? - This week on When The Facts Change on The Spinoff, I talked to Troy Baisden from the University of Auckland and Catherine Leining from Motu about their guide to achieving a just transition in Aotearoa that was released this week. They say it won’t be easy and won’t work without lots of early talk and solutions from both the top down and the bottom up.
Why Labour ruled out a wealth tax - I talked about Hipkins ruling out a wealth tax on RNZ’s First Up with Nathan Rarere.
Quote of the week
“NZ used to be a property owning democracy – now it is a property-OWNERS’ democracy.” Comment from a subscriber via email to me.
Chart of the week
Almost half of UK first home buyers need parental help
Milestones
Most deadly heatwave - European health institutes estimated that more than 61,600 people died from heat-related causes across 35 European countries from late May to early September 2022, during Europe's hottest summer on record. Reuters
‘Too hot (and stormy) for us’ - Farmers Insurance announced this week it was pulling out of covering homes and cars for over 100,000 customers in the state of Florida to “to effectively manage risk exposure.” CBS News
People moves
Coming back quietly - Hipkins announced Kiri Allan would return to work on Monday and resume her full duties as a minister. “When she returns to work Kiri will receive extra coaching to support her to create the positive working environment both of us are committed to," Hipkins said.
(Very profitable) musical chairs - Former Mercury CEO and Transpower CEO Patrick Strange stepped down as a director of Mercury Energy. Former Meridian Energy CEO and Fletcher Building Construction CEO Mark Binns was appointed as a director of Mercury, along with former Auckland Airport CEO Adrian Littlewood.
When you get it wrong publicly - Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe was not reappointed for a new term after he incorrectly reassured Australians their mortgage rates wouldn’t rise for years. He is being replaced by his deputy, Michele Bullock, who will be the first women to head the RBA.
Supplier turned gamekeeper - The Government announced the appointment of Pierre van Heerden as the Grocery Commissioner for a five-year term. Van Heerden was the General Manager of Sanitarium Health and the Chair of the Food and Grocery Council, which represents suppliers, from 2012 to 2016.
Power switched - The Government appointed former journalist and PR person Anna Kominik as the new chair of the Electricity Authority (EA) for a five-year term to replace Nicola Crauford, who lasted just three years. Kominik had been the chair of the Electricity Retailers' Association, having now resigned that role.
One-term ACT MP Damien Smith announced he would not seek re-election.
Reports, reviews and academic papers of the week
Michael Heron KC has issued a scathing official review of dawn raids this year of over-stayers from the Pacific Island in the wake of PM Jacinda Ardern's 2021 apology for dawn raids in the 1970s.
The business-backed thinktank, the NZ Initiative, published a 20-page report recommending more widespread use of Business Improvement Districts and special purpose bonds to fund smaller local infrastructure.
The Consumer Advocacy Council, that was set up after the May 2019 Electricity Price Review, concluded in a 46 page report the EA had not done a good enough job protecting consumers.
MFAT released its once-every-three-years Strategic Foreign Policy Assessment in a 36-page report.
Comment of the week
On Hipkins ruling out CGT
So totally depressing. New Zealanders will not grasp the epic failure of our lack of CGT policy. De facto, we're the sixth Australian state exporting our young people to the other five, who will mostly never return. For the price of a modest airfare they can buy socioeconomic mobility and hope. Labor is going to lose this election anyway, they could have stood for something historically critical for New Zealand's future, instead they've cringed and whimpered and let everybody down. It's harsh I know, but I call cowardice. Tony Laver comment in the ‘Jump on the Hoon post.
Chat thread of the week
A fun thing
Gurdeep Pandher of the Yukon has some advice
It's normal to feel anxious when we're uncertain, but excessive worrying can harm our well-being. To manage anxiety, practice daily breathing exercises and gratitude. Aim to balance your worries with taking actionable steps towards progress and work towards building trust. These simple practices can help you lead a more fulfilling and peaceful life. Keep it up! Gurdeep Pandher of the Yukon via Twitter
Ka kite ano
Have a great weekend
Bernard
The Hoon around the week to July 15