Subject: 2 November, 2008 ----- WYSIWYG NEWS ------------------------------ Copyright, Brian Harmer.
Summer, according to the National Institute of Water and Atmospherics, will be warm and settled. Of course, the same experts predicted an average to warm spring. I was away for most of spring but my spies tell me it was cold and characterised by rain and gales. Ah well. Since our trip to the South Coast last weekend, there has been no good weather, with rain and strong winds on most days. Today, Saturday, as I write, rain is flying past my window, impelled by North West winds gusting to 120 km/h. The house is shuddering under the onslaught, and the flap in fume extractor over the stove is thrashing itself to death. Despite the weather, we needed to go out this morning to the local builders supply store. As usual, the car park was full, and the only visible concession to the weather was the relocation of the usual fundraising sausage sizzle stall to the Eastern side of the entrance portico. Inside, people were cheerfully buying all manner of goods from Christmas lights to garden tools. I am not sure whether there was any evidence of the economic downturn, though perhaps that might have been more measurable at the cash registers. We were babysitting our two Hutt Valley grandchildren, so I took them to the children's play area in the store where they clambered up, over and through the equipment provided, until that palled. Fortunately, Mary completed her shopping about then. So we could return home for morning coffee. (Continuation on Sunday) Pursuant to a recent health scare, I have resumed some form of exercise. Today was walking along the Hutt River Bank. No wind to speak of, though there is a heavy overcast. The river is high and brown, and judging by the wreckage in the foliage at the edges, it was a few metres higher overnight. Muddy pools remain in various folds in the landscape, but apart from that it is a reasonable, if somewhat cool day. As we walked Northwards from the Ewen Bridge, we could hear pleasant melodies from a spool wind instrument. I guessed a recorder, but on our way back down the other side of the river a bit later, after crossing the Melling Bridge, we discovered a merry flautist, practicing his music in the shelter of the gazebo which is part of Govind Bula park opposite the public library and St James Church. My guess is that he needs a place to practice, but could not reasonably do it at home. His gentle music certainly enhanced the pleasure of our walk. This afternoon, as I bring this week's edition to its conclusion, the weather has changed again. A perfectly clear blue sky and the lightest of breezes presents a perfect picture. Perhaps our lone flautist conjured it up. ---- Any text above this point, and all subsequent material in parentheses, and concluded with the initials "BH" is the personal opinion of Brian Harmer as editor of this newsletter, or occasionally "GS" will indicate an opinion from our editorial assistant. In all cases they are honest expressions of personal opinion, and are not presented as fact. All news items (except where noted otherwise) are reproduced by kind permission of copyright owner, Newstalk ZB News. All copyright in the news items reproduced remains the property of The Radio Network Limited. Sponsorship this week is courtesy of long time reader and occasional correspondent, Ivan Rowe. I remember getting strong encouragement from Ivan back when I was starting out on my doctoral thesis. Thanks Ivan for your support over so many years. ---- On with the News. Monday, 27 October 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FREE HEALTH CHECK UPS ON DUNNE'S AGENDA --------------------------------------- United Future leader Peter Dunne will highlight his party's free annual health check up policy in Auckland tomorrow. Mr Dunne will be in Onehunga Mall at lunchtime with a large political pressure chart, showing where his party sits on the pressure spectrum. As he talks with people on the street, he will be hooked up to a big pressure kit that connects to the graph and shows what his political blood pressure measurement is. The public will be offered free blood pressure checks. (Mr Dunne is, I regret to say, my MP. He is one of the very factors that would raise my blood pressure. - BH) OYSTERS AND COUNCIL REACH COMPROMISE ------------------------------------ Bay of Islands oyster farmers and the Far North District Council have reached a compromise over the bill for court costs. Twelve oyster farms in the Waikare Inlet were closed in 2001 because of water pollution. The farmers sued the Far North District Council for sewerage system failures but lost their case and were ordered to pay the council more than $300,000 in court costs. Bill Guest from the group Farmers of New Zealand says the farmers offered $200,000 and mayor Wayne Brown and his council have forfeited the rest. Mr Guest says the next step will be to find the cause of failures and get the oyster farms reopened. KEY DEFENDS PLAN TO HELP REDUNDANT WORKERS ------------------------------------------ National is responding to criticism of its soon to be revealed assistance programme for people caught out by the financial downturn. Full details of the policy will be outlined later this week but it will provide financial support to workers who lose their jobs and face problems meeting their financial commitments. The Greens believe the plan will be flawed and create inequities among beneficiaries, but National leader John Key says it is aimed at giving confidence to those temporarily unemployed to ensure they maintain their commitments. He says the plan reflects a compassionate government. LABOUR PLANNING CHANNEL FOR PACIFIC ISLANDERS --------------------------------------------- A new television channel is planned for Pacific Islanders. Labour released its Pacific Policy this afternoon and says the free-to-air network will be a priority for Labour. It will feature Pacific-focussed programmes and be a mixture of English and Pacific languages. Pacific Affairs Minister Winnie Laban says the Pacific identity is very central to New Zealand's identity and the channel is a hugely exciting step forward. The new Pacific channel could run on the TVNZ Freeview network, or as a free-to-air channel on Sky. (Anyone who doubted the contribution of the Pacific Islands to NZ need only examine the list of names of the All Blacks for the last twenty years or so. Of course there's much more, but they are very much a part of our society. - BH) RMA IN KEY'S SIGHTS ------------------- National leader John Key says his party's plans for infrastructure spending will include measures to cut down on the Resource Management Act's red tape. The party's 'Building for a Brighter Future? infrastructure plan makes $8.6 billion available for new infrastructure projects over the next six years. Mr Key says National would spend $3.6 billion more than Labour over that time. He says $1.5 billion will be spent on broadband, $700 million on the Waikato Expressway and $500 million on schools. "New Zealand needs better-quality infrastructure to strengthen our economy and to deliver New Zealanders and their families the jobs, quality of life, and financial security they deserve. "National's policy is clear. More capital funding balanced by more efficient approvals to give Kiwis better bang for their buck." Mr Key claims Labour's budget for new capital spending is not enough to future-proof New Zealand or strengthen the backbone of the economy. He says too much time and money is being wasted on government processes and the RMA. "A Labour-Green government spells infrastructure paralysis by analysis. Those parties are wedded to the bureaucratic processes of the RMA and have categorically ruled out the legislative reforms needed to get New Zealand moving again. They simply cannot deliver the step up in infrastructure investment that New Zealand needs." Mr Key says National will set a target to invest at least 40 percent of the Superannuation Fund in New Zealand to further increase the pool of capital available for developing infrastructure. He says National's infrastructure plan will create jobs and growth opportunities for businesses while providing in the medium-term, the conditions and assets to put the economy on a strong growth path. Mr Key plans to announce more specific infrastructure projects before the election. MORE DOCTORS UNDER LABOUR'S HEALTH POLICY ----------------------------------------- Labour is promising to increase the number of doctors being trained, fight obesity and the diseases caused by tobacco and alcohol, and strengthen regulation of the aged care sector. The party has released its health policy in east Auckland. Leader Helen Clark told people at a Tongan community event that as soon as economic circumstances permit, Labour will look at reducing the cost of doctors' visits further, focusing on the over 65s and those aged between six and 17. Health Minister David Cunliffe said Labour will increase the number of training places at medical schools, creating an extra 50 places in 2010 and a further 50 places in 2011. The policy, which has no costings attached, also sets out Labour's plans to target waiting lists, making its priority shorter waiting times for treatment in cardiac, cancer and orthopaedic services. It proposes establishing a one-stop-shop for primary health care in rural areas and addressing staffing issues in maternity care and the aged care sector. The party is also promising to provide free annual health checks for intellectually disabled people with high support needs. Labour says it is committed to screening and wellness programmes including new initiatives such as the B4 school checks for four year-olds, bowel cancer screening and HPV vaccination against causes of cervical cancer The party says it will strengthen work force development and regulation in the aged care sector and ensure that the audits of facilities are publicly available. RACE FOR MAORI SEATS NOT OVER YET - HOROMIA ------------------------------------------- Labour's Maori MPs are vowing they are not going to give up the Maori seats without a fight. Polls show the Maori Party could pick up possibly all seven of the seats, effectively becoming king-makers after the election. But Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia has had enough of all the talk. He says Labour is committed to the Maori seats, and the Maori members will not be rolling over. The race for Parekura Horomia's own seat - Ikaroa Rawhiti - is almost neck-and-neck, with the latest poll showing Maori Party candidate Derek Fox with a slight edge. (In fact the latest reported poll from that seat shows Mr Horomia being about 4% ahead. - BH) LABOUR GETS BACKING FROM MARITIME UNION --------------------------------------- The union for sea and port workers believes Labour's employment relations policy will go a long way to help protect its members. Among the policy's promises, Labour wants to introduce new statutory minimum standards for redundancy compensation. Maritime Union general secretary Trevor Hanson says the employment outlook appears to be worsening because of the international economic situation. He says there will be a lot of workers who do not have redundancy protection, especially those not in unions. Mr Hanson says the union also supports Labour's retraining policy. (Now there's a surprise - Not! - BH) NATS ASSISTANCE PLAN RIDICULED BY CULLEN ---------------------------------------- Labour has slated National's plans for New Zealanders who get caught out by the current financial crisis. National Leader John Key is due to release details this week of a Government assistance plan for people who lose their jobs and face financial difficulties. He has indicated it will be targeted at those likely to get back into the workforce quickly. Finance Minister Michael Cullen says he will have to see the details but the announcement seems odd and he suspects it will be some sort of mortgage repayment under-writing arrangement. He says it would need an army of bureaucrats to administer. PACIFIC ISLANDS TO BE DESERTED BY AIR NZ? ----------------------------------------- Air New Zealand is holding the axe over services through South Pacific islands to the US, saying it needs bigger subsidies to keep them going. The Cook Islands Government is being asked to come up with an extra three million dollars, on top of the two million dollar subsidy it already provides. Routes to Los Angeles via Tonga and Samoa are also at risk. If the service to Samoa is dropped, tuna exported to the US would have to be shipped through Auckland, costing the country millions. Air New Zealand says the flights' performances have been declining and it is seeking the advice of Governments on whether the services should continue. (This has the look and feel of blackmail. The government of Western Samoa has apparently taken the initiative to seek alternative providers. - BH) GLOBAL CRISIS TURN INVESTORS OFF RENTAL PROPERTY ------------------------------------------------ Interest in rental properties continues to wane, according to the latest ASB Investor Confidence survey. The number of people buying them as investments has dropped almost 10 percent since 2003. It is now sitting at 15 percent. ASB's Head of Investment Services, Jonathan Beale, says rentals have slipped into third place behind term deposits and savings accounts. He doubts the popularity of rental properties will drop much more, as they re usually seen as a long term investment. Term deposits now account for just over 20 percent of investments held -the first time they have topped the survey since it began eight years ago. Mr Beale believes the global financial crisis has spurred the change from traditional favourites like savings accounts and rental properties, because they are seen as a safe bet. Tuesday, 28 October 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ACC CHANGES WOULD CUT CAR REGISTRATION COSTS -------------------------------------------- Labour says its planned changes to the ACC scheme would see car registration costs drop by $80 by next year. Helen Clark and ACC Minister Maryan Street have released the party's policy in Motueka this afternoon. They say Labour would introduce an immediate law change to push the full funding of residual claim accounts back from the planned 2014 deadline to 2019. Ms Street says it is become increasingly clear the 2014 date, together with the increased cost of claims, will place too high a burden on the public. The result will mean lower payments on some ACC levies, including a drop by an average $80 for the cost of registering a vehicle. That is due to come into effect by the middle of next year. NO PAROLE FOR NON-WORKING INMATES - KEY --------------------------------------- National is vowing to have parole denied to prison inmates who refuse work or training programmes. Leader John Key says currently one in 20 prisoners capable of work refuse to do it. He believes they should not be eligible for parole. He does not believe the move would lead to a boost of inmates in the prison system and is confident most inmates would ultimately end up in work. Mr Key says National would increase the number of inmates in industry skill programs from 2,500 to 3,500 at a cost of around $7 million. He also wants to double the current number of prisoners on drug and alcohol rehabilitation programmes, which would cost $3.4 million. NEW MOBILE COMPANY ENTERS MARKET -------------------------------- A new mobile company is promising to undercut Telecom and Vodafone. In an unconventional launch, the company called Black and White staged a fake protest outside Telecom's headquarters in Auckland. A handful of student protestors holding up signs saying "no more long term contracts" yelled and cursed Telecom for having expensive prices. Telecom staff looked out their office windows expressionless as Black and White's CEO promised cellphone users better deals The company is offering no term contracts with international roaming in more than 120 countries. TELECOM TO DITCH FLY BUYS ------------------------- Telecom will finish its relationship with rewards programme Fly Buys on December 31. Telecom general manager of marketing David Craig says the decision is based on a range of factors. He says it is not a reflection on the Fly Buys programme. Mr Craig says Telecom will focus its investment in bundles of calling access and broadband services. He says Telecom is spending more money in its new services than it was on Fly Buys. POLICE BACK REGISTERING PREPAY PHONE USERS ------------------------------------------ The days of criminals hiding behind the anonymity of prepaid cell phones could be numbered. Police are supporting a proposal for all prepaid customers to be registered on a national database in a bid to trace criminal activity. Detective Senior Sergeant Darrin Thomson says the criminal use of prepaid cellphones is on the rise and a register of cellphone users would make life much easier for police. He says if a national database base helps police catch more offenders, then it would be good for the community. Mr Thomson says creating a database of cellphone users is no different to being on the White Pages or Yellow Pages. (Being in the white or yellow pages is not yet compulsory, as far as I know. - BH) AXA FREEZES MORTGAGE FUNDS -------------------------- AXA has frozen three mortgage funds worth $225 million. The company has suspended withdrawals from its Mortgage Distribution Fund, Mortgage Investment Fund and AXA Investment Portfolio. Interest.co.nz managing director Bernard Hickey says it is due to uncertainty around the Government's deposit guarantee scheme, which does not cover managed funds. He says there is fear people will take everything out of mortgage funds and invest in guaranteed banks or finance companies. CONTACT "REAPING WHAT IT SOWED" ------------------------------- An advocate for shareholders says the consequences of Contact Energy's actions should send a warning to other companies. Investment banking company Forsyth Barr has downgraded the company's share value and is predicting it will lose 30,000 customers and $80 million by Christmas after the decision to raise prices by 10 percent and the failed attempt to almost double directors' fees. Bruce Sheppard, chairman of the Shareholders' Association says it was not difficult for shareholders to join the dots between the fee increase and higher power prices. He says it is a lesson in what a company should not do. "They (Contact Energy) lost 5,000 customers on Friday, being the day after the meeting. Now that could be either the beginning of the run or it could be the spike of anger." Mr Sheppard says the association warned there would be a negative backlash and believes Contact is reaping what it sowed. He says when times are tough, people are more likely to vote with their feet. (Regrettably the attempt to raise directors fees did not fail. It was passed. For now, under the harsh glare of intense public scrutiny the company have chosen not to implement it, but with a clear legal mandate, are free to do so at any time in the future with no requirement to tell anyone. I predict it will get implemented by stealth. - BH) EMISSIONS SCHEME FIRES UP LEADERS' DEBATE ----------------------------------------- The televised debate for the leaders of the minor parties is being described as an interesting exercise in how politicians may or may not work together. The leaders of the Greens, New Zealand First, Act, United Future and the Progressive Party lined up for the discussion on TVNZ last night. Political commentator Richard Griffin says Act leader Rodney Hide seemed to be largely out of step with the others when it came to discussions on the economy. He says the other leaders believed the ideas Mr Hide was putting forward to fix the financial crisis would not work. During the debate on the emissions trading scheme, Act and New Zealand First locked horns with Mr Hide demanding the scheme, which passed into law just a few weeks ago, be abolished. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters argued the country will pay a hefty price if it does not meet its international obligations. "If we get rid of the emissions trading scheme we'll be out of Australia's market, we'll be out of the EU, we'll be out of Japan. This country will be in a far worse crisis than we currently are." But Mr Hide said the economy will suffer anyway as companies move offshore to escape additional costs imposed by the emissions scheme. Wednesday, 29 October 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PLAN TO WIDEN TUNNELS FOR FREIGHT TRAINS ---------------------------------------- Prime Minister Helen Clark has announced a plan to enlarge tunnels on railway lines north of Wellington to allow more rail freight in and out of the capital. Miss Clark says the project could be brought forward under Labour's economic stimulus package and much of the widening would take place on the Kapiti Coast between Paekakariki and Pukerua Bay. The tunnels are currently too small for some freight containers, meaning they are having to be removed at Palmerston North and driven into Wellington by truck. Miss Clark says the project will cost around $150 million and will improve journey times, reliability and capacity for freight trains in the North Island. FARMERS WANT ACTION ON WATER ---------------------------- Federated Farmers wants all political parties to focus far more on the productive sector. President Don Nicolson says several political leaders who took part in this week's debate on TV One said that in the current international financial crisis, the government should spend more money on infrastructure as a way to stimulate the economy. But Mr Nicolson wants to see that spending on dams rather than cycle lanes. Mr Nicolson says water grows grass and grass produces food which can be sold to pay the nation's bills. He says if New Zealand's enormous water resources were structured to capture water in the right place at the right time, farmers would be able to convert more grass into food and fibre with the result of more export receipts. Mr Nicolson says while building new houses, classrooms and cycle lanes may be helpful for some, it is not going to increase exports to set up the country for greater success. He says storing water now as part of the response to the financial crisis will reduce risk for at least the first half of this century. FED SETS UP CURRENCY SWAP ARRANGEMENT ------------------------------------- The US Federal Reserve and New Zealand Reserve Bank have set up a temporary reciprocal currency arrangement. The swap line aims to address ongoing elevated pressures in US dollar short- term funding markets by providing US dollar liquidity to New Zealand markets in amounts of up to $US15 billion in exchange for New Zealand currency. The reciprocal currency arrangement has been authorized through to April 30, next year. Reserve Bank head of communications Mike Hannah says while there is no need for it right now, it is another tool with which banks can use to access cash if markets become dysfunctional. The Fed has similar arrangements with other central banks including Australia's. NZ'S TRADE DEFICIT RISES ------------------------ New Zealand's overseas trade deficit climbed to $1.18 billion in September. Statistics New Zealand figures show it is the biggest monthly deficit since November 2005. For the year to September, the deficit is $5 billion, or 11.9 percent of exports. The value of imports rose by 24.1 percent or $845 million to $4.4 billion, out striping the $3.2 billion of exports. The largest increase was in petroleum and products which increased 35.3 percent of $162 million to $522 million. The largest contributor to the category was diesel. Fertiliser imports also jumped 293.7 percent to $130 million. The figures also showed that the New Zealand dollar fell 2.5 percent in September compared with the previous month. ACT WANTS TO REPLACE DHBS WITH COMMITTEES ----------------------------------------- ACT wants the nation's district health boards disbanded and replaced with smaller committees in each region. MP Heather Roy says it is a farce to have 21 DHBs replicating services nationwide. She says they are elected under a phoney democratic process, where their only job is to implement the Government's health policy. ACT would cut in the number of managers working at hospitals and return the General Medical Subsidy, whereby doctors are paid a fee for service. There would also be a one-off $500 million payment to clear the waiting lists. Thursday, 30 October 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LABOUR UNVEILS REDUNDANCY ALLOWANCE ----------------------------------- Labour says it will give workers who are made redundant during the recession a job search allowance for up to 13 weeks. Unemployment is forecast to rise as the international financial crisis hits home, and both major parties are planning similar policies to help workers. Labour says people who are made redundant after at least five years in the workforce will receive a weekly allowance. The amount will be similar to the unemployment benefit. It will not be available to people who are unemployed for reasons other than being made redundant. Labour estimates the policy will cost no more than $50 million a year. National is due to release its job allowance policy tomorrow. KIWIS BECOME "JUSTIFIERS" AS ECONOMY BITES ------------------------------------------ In the face of recession, New Zealanders are justifying, Britons are crash dieting and Aussies have their heads stuck in the sand. Advertising company M&C Saatchi has studied attitudes to recession across New Zealand, Australia and UK and identified eight consumer types. CEO Nick Baylis says the biggest group in New Zealand is justifiers, who want to spend but need a good reason first. He says the justifiers are followed closely by scrimpers, who want the same lifestyle at a lower price. Mr Baylis says Australia has a lot of ostriches with a "head in the sand, I don't care" approach. He says the UK's biggest group is crash dieters - people who are taking the downturn seriously, bargain-hunting and cutting costs. Mr Baylis says while 64 percent of Britons and 36 percent of Australians are feeling pessimistic about recession, only 25 percent of New Zealanders are. He says traditionally New Zealanders believe they are quite insulated and protected from the world given the nation's geography and self-sufficiency. PHARMAC TO BE MORE OPEN ABOUT DECISIONS --------------------------------------- More information about how Pharmac makes funding decisions will be available to the public from now on. The committee which makes recommendations to the drug-buying agency about which medicines to fund has made changes to its operations following an internal review. Chief executive Matthew Brougham says more information on pharmaceutical funding applications and the minutes of subcommittee meetings will be published. He says it should give the public and stakeholders more confidence in the committee's operations and Pharmac's decisions. (More confidence? First you better get some. Any organization that screws down public access to medications on the grounds of cost but then announces annually underspent budgets is unlikely to win a lot of friends outside of treasury. - BH) GREEN HEALTH POLICY FOCUSES ON PREVENTION ----------------------------------------- The Green Party is pledging to move the focus on health spending to prevention, rather than treatment. The party has launched its preventive health strategy at Wellington Hospital. It is promising to introduce a levy on soft drinks, insulate all cold and damp homes in the country and introduce free wellness checks for all New Zealanders. It would also get rid of ads for unhealthy food before 8.30pm and have gardening and cooking taught in all primary schools. Green Party health spokeswoman Sue Kedgley says there needs to be a fundamental shift to focus on the root causes of illness, like poor diets and poverty. (I suppose that might make sense if indeed there were any excessive focus on cures. The self righteousness of some of the Greens' policies nauseates me - BH) TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES SET TO THAW -------------------------------- The ASB's quarterly economic forecast suggests there is light at the end of the economic tunnel. Chief economist Nick Tuffley says during the last quarter, the events overseas took everyone by surprise, dramatically snowballing and culminating in large falls in equity markets and the freezing up of credit markets in the US and Europe. He says while the markets have calmed to some extent, volatility will remain a fact of life. Mr Tuffley says governments have responded swiftly to the chain of events with US and European governments and their central banks developing comprehensive rescue packages to stimulate credit markets and restore confidence. "The commitment from the governments involved has demonstrated that they have the willpower to do whatever is necessary to restore order.? But he says it is likely to be some time before markets start to function entirely normally and there will continue to be vulnerabilities. Mr Tuffley says New Zealand has weathered the storm better than many other countries, but many have still felt the pinch. He says one consequence is that global credit will be more difficult to obtain and lower consumer demand through the weaker US and European markets will flow through to lower demand for New Zealand's exports. "Although New Zealand cannot completely escape these global impacts, we have some buffers to help absorb the impact. The New Zealand dollar lost considerable ground this year, providing insulation against weaker global demand." But Mr Tuffley says recent tax cuts, interest rates drops and falling oil prices also set the scene for a better new year. "Bit by bit we will have more money in our pockets and the dollar will go slightly further than it has been recently." Mr Tuffley says it will be a very slow recovery with many challenges ahead on the global front that have not yet emerged. He says that key to the recovery will be managing cash flows and business relationships. He says it will also be a good opportunity to look at personal financial affairs and examine what can be done to come out on the other side fitter and stronger. Friday, 31 October 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CHANGE IN CHILD RESTRAINT LAW MOOTED ------------------------------------ The Government is being urged to amend the child restraint law, which is being described as inadequate, out of date and unsafe. Drivers are required to ensure children under-five are properly restrained in an approved child restraint when travelling in a vehicle. Paediatric Society president Rosemary Marks says children older than five only need to use a seat belt or restraint if one is available. She says while seatbelts offer some protection in the event of a crash, they are designed to fit the anatomical structure of an adult. Dr Marks says child car restraints and seat belts are essential for children. NATIONAL OUTLINES REDUNDANCY POLICY ----------------------------------- Workers made redundant will under a National government get an accommodation allowance of $100 a week and a $60 boost to their Working for Families tax credits. National has unveiled its answer to Labour's plans to help out workers who lose their jobs because of the global recession. National's offer will run for four months and is slightly more generous than Labour's, which allows workers to go on the unemployment benefit immediately for up to 13 weeks. To qualify for National's package, workers will have had to have been in the same job for six months. VECTOR & POWERCO ORDERED TO DROP GAS CHARGES -------------------------------------------- Vector and Powerco have been ordered by the Commerce Commission to further reduce their gas distribution charges. The commission is accusing them of "earning significant excess profits". Powerco has been ordered to reduce its price by 11.1 percent and Vector by 3.7 percent. The cuts are on top of a 9 percent reduction imposed on Powerco and 9.5 percent for Vector ordered by the commission in October 2005. The commission says it is concerned about the potential for abuse of market power by suppliers of monopoly services where competition is limited. SURVEY SHOWS BUSINESS CONFIDENCE PLUNGE --------------------------------------- Business confidence plunged in October to record its largest- ever one month fall. The National Bank's Business Outlook survey shows a net 42 percent of respondents expect business conditions to deteriorate over the coming year. There has been a 44 point turnaround from September. Every sector is gloomy about the future with retailing recording the biggest drop in business confidence, down 50 points, Construction -33, manufacturing -31, agriculture -30 and services down 55 points. Firms' own activity expectations fell from plus 17 to minus 11, the second lowest on record (the all time low is minus 19 in April 1988) and the largest intra-month decline. Chief economist Cameron Bagrie says a growing number of employers intend to have fewer staff with employment intentions dropping to an historical low (a net 21 percent of respondents expect fewer staff, down 15 points). He says investment intentions are also at an historic low at minus 13 and profit expectations fell to a net minus 32 percent. Export intentions went from plus 29 to plus 11. The survey says policymakers are working hard to stabilise the economic environment and there have been unscheduled coordinated interest rate cuts, liquidity injections, government guarantees and bailouts. Mr Bagrie says such stabilisation is critical. "Credit ? the creation, facilitation, circulation - is the life-blood of the global economy. "None can be blamed for not knowing what to make of it all, or what to do next. A large chunk of the hand-wringing in this month's survey is due to uncertainty itself, which brings no good to anyone. Facing exceptional times we should hardly be surprised to see exceptional movements in confidence." Mr Bagrie says the figures unfortunately suggest the New Zealand economy over the next 12 months will head backwards. SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian Harmer does NOT administer the mailing list. Please do not send subscription related messages to him. Instead, visit the website listed below, where you can make changes as required. If you want to send a personal message to Brian, change the country code to nz and send a message [EMAIL PROTECTED] If you do choose to comment on something in these posts, please don't send the whole newsletter with your message. Just trim it back to the relevant bits. Thanks. Brian. _______________________________________________ WYSIWYG News mailing list News@wysiwygnews.com If you wish to unsubscribe, please visit http://wysiwygnews.com/mailman/listinfo/news Mailing List services provided by OneSquared <http://www.onesquared.net/>