Should the Reserve Bank pay attention to climate change?
The government will soon release the first part of the national plan on how we adapt to climate change. Despite a push from large insurance companies, we’re still in love with buying coastal property
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Wednesday, August 3, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: 780,000 fewer people than estimated receive cost of living payment; applications for tourist and student visas up; Coll through to men’s squash final but first, the business case for climate adaptation.
The government will soon release the first part of the national plan on how we adapt to climate change. (Image: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King)
What happens if your house has a 30-year mortgage term but becomes uninsurable?
With all the criticism of the Reserve Bank’s (RBNZ) split focus swirling around, interest.co.nz’s Gareth Vaughan argues that the RBNZ should be paying attention to climate change. What that potentially looks like beyond the saying of the words is for economists and experts to debate, but it's safe to say climate change risk is now an embedded issue within some of our largest businesses. Vaughan details things I’ve never thought of as an average punter, like the mismatch between long home loan terms and the insurance industry’s annual policy renewal cycle. If the bank has lent you money on a property on a 30 year term, what happens if that property becomes uninsurable because of flooding risk at any point over that time, or loses value because it’s too close to the sea?
$200m paid out in extreme weather damage claims over last year
Vaughan quotes Tower Insurance's chair, Michael Stiassny who recently said: "The biggest challenge we collectively face is how we help protect our world in the face of climate change.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, in the face of the $200m paid out in extreme weather damage claims in the year to June 2022, the insurance industry is now at the forefront of raising awareness of the risk of failing to adapt to climate change. Up against the many warnings we’ve had about climate change over the years, sea level rise seems to have had a cut-through. The sea level data released in May was described as a “bombshell”. It might be cynical to suggest this, but the country’s love affair with property probably helped.
We still like to live beside the seaside
Despite all the warnings and raised consciousness, Stuff’s Miriam Bell asks why we’re still buying property by the sea. There has been very little impact on property values in areas at risk of being impacted by sea-level rise, with coastal properties a prime example. A study of property prices in South Dunedin found they dropped 15% on average immediately after severe flooding in the area in 2015 but they recovered over the next 12 to 18 months. Stuff’s Sinead Gill has a feature on the community-led effort in South Dunedin to get to grips with the information about their area, and find hope and practical solutions.
National Adaptation Plan to be released soon
The government will soon release the first part of the National Adaptation Plan, which will mark the beginning of concrete plans to adapt to our changing climate. RNZ’s Hamish Cardwell has spoken to engineers, scientists and local residents in at-risk areas about what our options might be and how we coordinate efforts across central and local government and within our own communities. In Thames-Coromandel, the regional council is consulting on shoreline management plans. The plan’s conclusions will be shared with Waka Kotahi to be considered in roading decisions for the district. Meanwhile, the Coromandel has overtaken Auckland as the second most expensive place to buy property in the country.
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Demand for student and tourist visas on first day of applications opening
As RNZ’s Gill Bonnett reports, 3559 people applied for student and visitor visas on August 1, the day our borders opened to those from non-visa waiver countries. The number of student applications were double that of a similar time in 2019, while visitor visa applications were up by more than 70% on the same time in 2019. The University of Auckland's Ainslie Moore is asking for Immigration New Zealand to prioritise visa applications from students who want to come soonRepresentatives of the tertiary education sector have said it will take several years to rebuild the $5b international student industry.
780,000 fewer people than first predicted have received cost of living payment
I feel a bit like Winona Ryder at the 2017 SAG awards trying to summarise cost of living payment news at the moment but as it stood yesterday, 1.45m people had been confirmed to meet the criteria and 1.32m had been paid. Initial estimates suggested 2.1m New Zealanders would be eligible and the IRD expects the payments to go to 2.1m people, eventually. It will check eligibility each day, but there are still plenty of people who haven’t had their income for last year assessed or completed tax returns. The National Party has called for an inquiry into the payments that have gone to people living overseas.
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Click and collect
Gerry Brownlee will not contest the Ilam electorate at the next election, an indication he may want to be Speaker if National wins the election in 2023.
The firearms prohibition order law, aimed at curbing gang gun ownership could be through by the end of next week.
The government announces $15m in funding for climate change initiatives in Sāmoa.
House prices are falling at the fastest rate in more than a decade and at the fastest pace since the Global Financial Crisis.
Government taking a second crack at changes to the consumer lending laws.
Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.
If you liked what you read today, share The Bulletin with friends, family and colleagues.
Linda Jane Keegan wrote what's thought to be the first New Zealand picture book featuring non-heterosexual parents. But when she tried to use the correct pronouns for a real non-binary person in her latest book, her publisher pushed back. Gabi Lardies looks at the increasing number of women receiving breast augmentation procedures. In an excerpt from his new book, Harrison Christian tells a remarkable story of survival in the New Guinea jungle during WWII. Chris Schulz meets the architect responsible for designing the Sky Tower and asks him to explain himself.
Bronze for our women’s bowls team, Coll through to men’s squash final
The New Zealand women’s four lawn bowls team beat Fiji this morning to pick up a bronze medal. That’s our 25th medal at the Games in the bag. Paul Coll is through to the finals of the men’s singles squash medal after beating India’s Saurav Ghosal 3-0. Unfortunately defending women’s singles squash champion and New Zealand flag bearer, Joelle King was beaten in her semi-final against Canada’s Hollie Naughton.
More broadly, The Detail this morning asks whether the Commonwealth Games are still relevant, quoting John Oliver who has questioned how you can take them seriously “when the best sprinters are from Wales”. Have to say, I’m with Phil Gifford on this who says “I still love the Commonwealth Games" and "Of course they're weird”.
The Government has built a data colossus - is it playing with fire?
A couple of feature pieces today that I’ve been meaning to pop in this week. Stuff’s Charlie Mitchell have taken a look at the vast amounts of personal data the government holds on nearly every New Zealand resident, that is linked up by what’s called the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI). His follow-up looks at the Data and Statistics Bill, which is in the final stages of its journey through parliament. I’ve mentioned this before but the bill has its opponents, including the former government statistician, Len Cook and there are calls for it to be scrapped or sent back for a rethink.
