The Government and Reserve Bank target property investors, and there's new hope for another Covid vaccine as new locations of interest are revealed in Auckland's latest cluster.
Property investors and speculators be warned – the Government and Reserve Bank are coming for you.
With houses now their least affordable in 17 years, Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced the Reserve Bank will now have to consider house prices as part of its decision-making.
It comes as CoreLogic’s housing affordability report reveals mortgage payments now make up 33 per cent of income.
There are concerns people taking out larger debts in relation to their income is risking the stability of the whole system. The Reserve Bank has therefore also been asked to look at the risk of “interest only” mortgages and introducing debt to income ratios for investors.
Meanwhile, some iwi are calling for the Government to invest more funds into papakāinga housing (a collective of homes on Māori land) in a bid to combat the housing crisis.
Builders, architects, Government and non-government agencies attended a conference this week to look at getting more Māori in quality affordable housing.
Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson says the Government is committed to delivering houses for Māori on their whenua and that they’re open to new models.
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New locations of interest
Health officials have released more details about the movements of Auckland’s latest Covid-19 community cases.
Lil Abners Takeaway and Choice Food Bar, both on Great South Road in Papatoetoe, have been identified as locations of interest . A confirmed case visited both establishments last Friday. Anyone at those locations during that time is being told to isolate and get a Covid test.
It comes as more than a thousand other people are forced into isolation following their visit to Botany Kmart. Customers who were in the store at the same time as a worker who later tested positive for the virus are now classified as close contacts.
That change has led to confusion, with those lining up for a swab yesterday telling RNZ they were largely unclear on what was expected of them.
Meanwhile, officials have also been following up with people who attended an open home at the residence of the latest family to have tested positive for Covid-19 last weekend. The house is not being treated as a location of interest as the identities of everyone present is known.
And as officials continue working to contain the Auckland February cluster, the country is approaching its first full year of dealing with the virus.
This Sunday will mark one year since New Zealand’s first confirmed case of Covid-19, “a person in their 60s recently returned from Iran”.
Three health experts have written about some of the lessons learned in the year since here .
New hope for another vaccine
Of course, one of the remarkable advances from the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the speed in which several effective vaccines have been developed and rolled out. And another of those vaccines, which is the easiest to use yet, is about to be rubber-stamped by US officials.
The Johnson & Johnson jab is just one shot, which makes for a faster rollout. The vaccine is also a cost-effective alternative to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and can be stored in a regular fridge.
It’s performed well in US trials , offering strong protection against severe illness.
New Zealand has ordered up to five million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Meanwhile, Kiwis continue to receive the Pfizer vaccine, with workers at Waikato’s managed isolation facilities receiving their jabs from today.
Border closures still bite
It will also soon be a year since New Zealand closed its borders to contain the spread of Covid-19 and several communities are still struggling without their usual horde of international visitors.
A new report has found Whataroa, Franz Josef, Fox Glacier and Lake Moeraki are on the verge of collapse if the Government doesn’t intervene.
The report projects two-thirds of the towns’ businesses will have shut up shop within the next six months, prompting fears that the communities will unravel around the closures.
Ski field operators are also scrambling ahead of the upcoming ski season.
The industry reports they’ll be short 1200 seasonal workers as half the workforce is traditionally from overseas.
They’re now encouraging young Kiwis to consider working a winter in a mountain town like Ōhakune, Ōhau, Queenstown or Wānaka while their options for a traditional OE remain off the table.
The effects of the closed borders on airlines were also laid bare yesterday, as Air New Zealand announced a loss of $185 million for the second half of 2020.
CEO Greg Foran says the airline has burnt through more than $1 billion in cash reserves since the pandemic began.
Meanwhile, Australia's flagship airline Qantas revealed it’s suffered a billion dollar-plus loss in profits in the first half of its trading year. Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce says the results are "stark but not surprising" .
Bridges grills top cop
The stoush between National MP Simon Bridges and Police Commissioner Andrew Coster continued yesterday with the two facing off at the Justice Select Committee .
As the two discussed the police’s handling of gang activity, Bridges asked Coster, “Commissioner, do police still arrest criminals in New Zealand?”
Those comments come days after Bridges described Coster as a “wokester Commissioner” .
National leader Judith Collins says she spoke to Bridges following the wokester jibe to make it clear “the focus needs to be on the Government and the Ministers” rather than the Police Commissioner.
Early KiwiSaver access granted
People with the life-shortening conditions Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Huntington’s disease and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder will be able to get early access to their KiwiSaver funds.
The rules were altered after advocate Tim Fairhall, who has Down syndrome, went into battle to access his KiwiSaver money .
He says the requirement for people to be 65 to do so "puts those born with life-shortening conditions at a significant disadvantage".
The new KiwiSaver regulations will kick in from March 26.
Other news of note this morning:
- A man is in critical condition after being shot by police during a stand-off in South Auckland's Papatoetoe last night.
- The NZ Herald reports Auckland's Harbour Bridge can't take any more strengthening work and traffic over it could be restricted.
- Potentially lethal doses of bath salts have been found in tablets being sold as MDMA or ecstasy in Christchurch , according to drug monitoring group KnowYourStuff.
- Records show disgraced former National MP Hamish Walker claimed thousands of dollars in travel and accommodation costs after he stopped turning up to Parliament .
- Vodafone is set to cut around 200 jobs from its staff of 2000 in New Zealand.
- A doctor says Tiger Woods is “very unlikely” to return to golf following his car crash.
- A marine mammal sanctuary is being proposed for the Bay of Islands after a dramatic decline in dolphin numbers.
- Two of Lady Gaga's dogs have been stolen after a gunman shot her dog-walker in Los Angeles.
- And I guess it’s not technically news, but it’s Friday, so please enjoy this latest episode of Re:’s Comedians Cook series, where Liv McKenzie makes gnocchi with spite , not love.
And finally...
Have you ever dreamed of chucking in the corporate gig to go and chase your dreams?
Sarah and Ben Bonomas did, so they quit their jobs and began their own gin distillery in Takaka, despite their only experience being drinking the stuff.
In just five years, these Willy Wonkas of the gin world have won 50 international awards, so Seven Sharp’s Julian Lee went along to taste test some of their more unusual creations – and I have two words for you: Breakfast gin.
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