Bank CEO worries home ownership 'preserve of the rich' as migrant arrivals hit record high
Migration data points to a record high net migration gain. A bank CEO is worried about the impact on housing affordability and Auckland classrooms are bursting at the seams
Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Thursday, November 16, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: judicial recounts in three electorate races completed; doctor shortage in NZ causing shortage in Pacific; the rise and rise of the cost of streaming subscriptions; but first, record numbers of migrants arrive in New Zealand
ANZ Australia CEO warns home ownership ‘has become the preserve of the rich’
ANZ Australia and ANZ New Zealand released their profit results this week. In Australia, the bank unveiled a $7.4b profit, while here, it increased its cash profit by 10% in the year to September 30 to $2.262b. Speaking to The Australian (paywalled), Australian CEO Shayne Elliot said lending regulations had helped make it the most difficult environment in 30 years to get approved for a mortgage and warned the Australian dream of home ownership “has become the preserve of the rich”.
‘I hope it doesn’t mean you have to be rich or have well-off parents to be able to own your own home in New Zealand’
In a subsequently reported email to BusinessDesk (paywalled), ANZ NZ’s CEO, Antonia Watson, said she shared Elliot’s concerns about New Zealand. Watson cited many factors, including high immigration, high construction costs and tight lending regulations, that she says risk creating “a tipping point for home ownership” in New Zealand, just as was occurring in Australia. “I hope it doesn’t mean you have to be rich or have well-off parents to be able to own your own home in New Zealand,” Watson said. “This is a serious issue about the social and economic fabric of New Zealand that I hope the incoming government addresses.”
Migrant arrivals hit record high
Stats NZ released international migration statistics yesterday. The 237,100 migrant arrivals are the highest on record for an annual period. People are leaving New Zealand in record high numbers (118,200) too, likely heading off on OEs after the pandemic restrained travel plans. Overall, though, the net migration gain of 118,800 people in the September 2023 year is also a record high. Migration-driven population growth has more than doubled compared to pre-Covid levels. interest.co.nz’s Dan Brunskill has a good report this morning on the now-familiar $100b infrastructure deficit, housing and our increasing population.
Auckland schools gain more than 8000 pupils this year
As RNZ reported a fortnight ago, Auckland schools have gained more than 8000 pupils this year, the biggest jump in 20 years. The Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) is concerned about high immigration putting pressure on the education system. Most of the new students in Auckland have parents on residence or work visas. Rangitoto College principal Patrick Gale says that the Ministry of Education had failed to warn schools of growth. The extended interview on Nine to Noon with Gale and PPTA acting president Chris Abercrombie is worth a listen too. It’s a good insight into the issues roll unpredictability creates and our frustrating inability to plan for the future.
The University of Otago's new residential college, Te Rangihīroa, has opened
Otago alumnus Te Rangihīroa (Sir Peter Buck) was the first Māori medical graduate from a New Zealand university in 1904. Chairman of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Mutunga, Jamie Tuuta, said the new college in his name advances the aspirations of Te Rangihīroa to see rangatahi thrive in higher education, in a safe and supportive environment. The cultural design of the building is intended to “encourage and inspire our rangatahi to overcome adversity and to soar to great heights”.
Learn more about the new Te Rangihīroa residential college here (sponsored)
New Zealand’s drive to hire more doctors and nurses contributing to staff shortages in the Pacific Islands
Good story from the Herald’s Issac Davidson yesterday (paywalled). As he reports, medical staff leaving the Pacific Islands to work elsewhere has been a longstanding issue, but the trend has “dramatically accelerated” since the pandemic. New Zealand’s drive to hire more doctors and nurses is contributing to medical staff shortages in the Pacific Islands region. Fiji National University’s Dr William May says that medical workers were drawn to New Zealand by the large Pasifika population, career opportunities and higher incomes. Since 2018, 300 doctors have left Fiji, half of them leaving in 2022. Similar increases have been reported in the Cook Islands and Kiribati.
Recount results are released and a photo is shared
The judicial recounts in three electorate races have been completed, with no changes to the overall outcome. Labour’s Helen White has had her 20 vote margin against Melissa Lee in the Auckland seat of Mt Albert shaved down to 18 votes. Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Tarsh Kemp retained the Tāmaki Makaurau seat, increasing a four-vote margin to a 42-vote margin over Labour’s Peeni Henare. Results in Nelson, where Labour’s Rachel Boyack retained her seat, were released last week. The round of exit interviews with outgoing MPs continues. Newsroom’s Matthew Scott spoke to Labour’s Michael Wood, who reflects on losing the Mt Roskill seat and his political future.
Regarding the progress of forming the new government, unless you’re specifically interested in the sticking points (they remain the same - tax and treaty), the comings and goings from the Pullman Hotel yesterday, or more assurances from David Seymour that things are progressing well (“Hakuna Matata!”), I suggest you read Toby Manhire’s close analysis of the photo from yesterday’s meeting between Seymour, Winson Peters and Christopher Luxon and be done with it.
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The rise and rise of the price of streaming and NZ’s bid for a streaming levy
A lovely email from Apple arrived this morning to tell me the cost of Apple TV+ was rising by $2 p/m. I will watch the last episode of the habit I can’t quit, The Morning Show, and “savvy switch”. Again. Apparently, this behaviour is one reason streamers are hiking prices, trying to recoup the loss incurred when we subscribe to watch something specific and then cancel. Virtually every single streaming service has lifted prices this year. The Verge has been tracking it in the US. My second-favourite morning newsletter, the NYT’s The Morning, covered some of the existential issues facing streaming companies today. Here in New Zealand, the Screen Production and Development Association (SPADA) are pushing for the government to levy international streamers to help keep the local industry healthy. Duncan Greive covered this in Rec Room a couple of weeks ago and he spoke with The Detail about it yesterday.
Click and Collect
The promised monthly inflation tracking from Stats NZ has landed, and it suggests the rate of inflation in the current quarter may be slower than expected
Little progress on fire safety six months on from the Loafers Lodge fire in Wellington
Simon Bridges says Auckland congestion charge is imminent (paywalled, BusinessDesk)
Auckland beaches finally safe to swim at after sewage leak
John OliverPūteketeke crowned Bird of the CenturyAxl Rose the star at this year's NZ Agriculture Show
Stewart Sowman-Lund assesses the state of play as we head into a fifth Covid wave. Shanti Mathias attends two writers festivals redefining what they can be and who they're for. Artistic director of Auckland Writers Festival Lyndsey Fineran recalls her favourite encounters with authors for The Spinoff Books Confessional. Tommy de Silva reports on a contract change that will leave residential advisers at halls of residence struggling to get by. Alex Casey meets the New Zealand mastermind behind a world-first Taylor Swift symposium.
Sporting snippets
A miracle seemed briefly possible as the Black Caps chased India’s 397 runs, but I am sorry to inform you that they lost their Cricket World Cup semifinal against India
Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina to play at ASB Classic
Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.
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So, ANZ’s NZ CEO, Antonia Watson, is concerned that young Kiwis might be priced out of the housing market. “I hope it doesn’t mean you have to be rich or have well-off parents to be able to own your own home in New Zealand’” she says, as the bank profits from increasingly high house prices.
Like me, you must have choked on your breakfast cereal when you read that quote, Anna.
Don’t we just love how the banks always do well (at the expense of their customers), no matter what? When times are tough, they take healthy profits while crying crocodile tears for Kiwis doing the hard yards. When times are better, they take excessive profits and say they need a buffer for when times get tough.
Yes and all created by the banks.