The Kākā by Bernard Hickey

TL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:* The new National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government completed the 49 tasks it set itself in its 100-day plan on Friday, using urgency in Parliament more than any recent Government to pass repeals of RMA, Smokefree, Three Waters, Auckland Fuel Levy, Clean Car Discount and RBNZ employment mandate legislation, and to introduce

TL;DR: A CTU analysis of Government spending and investment has found already gaping holes in promised public services and infrastructure will widen by as much as a further $22.1 billion over the next four years if the population keeps growing at recent rates, and as the new Government screws down a real spending sinking-lid even tighter.I spoke with CTU Economist Craig Renney about the Investing in a Growing Population report released this morning. The full interview is available for all in video

TL;DR: In an effort to save $340 million a year, the new Government plans to slash the number of motel vouchers given out to homeless families, arguing many could and should stay with friends and family instead. Critics said the moves would just push people out onto the streets and living in cars and sheds unless more social homes are built, which the National-ACT-NZ First coalition is considering in the Budget due on May 30.Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Social Development Louise Upston

TL;DR: The new coalition Government’s zeal in its first 100 days for freezing and cutting spending and investment at the central Government level is having an unintended and unpromised effect. It’s pushing more inflation out and up into the wider economy through new fees, user pays charges, rates hikes, higher rents and a slather of hidden taxes from both councils and Government agencies. This week’s transport funding shifts showed how cost cutting centrally is turning into higher fees, fares, rates

TL;DR: Aotearoa-NZ’s utterly broken, expensive and unhealthy housing market is at the heart of our economic, social and political problems. It distorts our behaviour, dominates our aspirations and complaints, and has again taken centre stage in our political economy in the most personal and stark way.PM Christopher Luxon’s decision to claim $1,000/week in expenses from taxpayers for living in his own apartment in Wellington when he could have lived in Premier House has again illustrated how our

TL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:* Newsroom’s Marc Daalder reported on Friday PM Christopher Luxon was claiming $52,000 a year in rental costs from the taxpayer for living in his own apartment in Wellington when he could have lived in Premier House , as previous PMs from outside Wellington have done. After saying he was fully entitled to claim the expense on

TL;DR: Housing, Infrastructure and RMA Reform minister Minister Chris Bishop gave the new Government’s most important and ambitious speech of its first 100 days yesterday, pledging to flood cities with land for homes and help give councils new revenue to pay for the water and transport infrastructure needed to build on that land.In the process, Bishop set the most substantial housing affordability goal by any Government in a decade, saying he wanted house-price-to-income multiples to more than halve