What We Need is Another Report

[Davo36]

Houses are expensive. What to do about it? Yep, let's all pay for yet another report!


Govt orders investigation to housing cost



MARTIN KAY


A DRAG: Finance Minister Bill English says the cost of housing can hurt the economy.


The Government has ordered a new body aimed at boosting economic performance to investigate the cost of housing. The Productivity Commission, set up under National's governing agreement with ACT, has been asked to report on issues including the cost of building a home, the efficiency of taxes, levies and charges and the impact of Government regulations.
The commission has also been told to inquire into international freight transport services, including transport costs and port charges.
The areas are the first two to be investigated by the commission, which is closely modelled on a similar body in Australia.
Finance Minister Bill English said the areas had a bearing on New Zealand's export competitiveness.
The cost of housing could have implications including higher interest rates, which in turn could lead to a higher dollar, making New Zealand's exports more expensive to overseas buyers. Freight charges also impact on the cost of exports.
English said the Government was concerned about the sharp rise in house prices during the past decade and the resulting decline in housing affordability and home-ownership rates and large increases in household debt.
''That accumulation of debt has made the New Zealand economy more vulnerable to external shocks like the global financial crisis. It has also most likely contributed to higher interest and exchange rates, raising the cost of capital for businesses and reducing exporters' returns.''
The inquiry into international freight would look at issues including the effectiveness and efficiency of existing infrastructure and rules and regulations.
Regulations Review Minister and ACT leader Rodney Hide said boosting export returns was critical to greater productivity in New Zealand and increasing economic performance.
English and Hide also announced the appointment of two new commissioners to work alongside commission chairman Murray Sherwin.
They are former Treasury secretary and past ACT candidate Graham Scott, who is now executive chairman of Southern Cross Advisers Ltd, a company specialising in public sector reform, and Victoria University management school head Sally Davenport.
The commission formally begins its work tomorrow.
The housing inquiry report is due by February 1 next year and the freight inquiry by April 1, 2012.



Source

[TheLiberalLeft]

What makes this a laughable exercise is that the people who should be happy are moaning b/c they see it as report for the Act boys.

I'll go out on a limb and say there'll be no discernable change as a result of this report. You heard it here first.

[Keithw]

Oh great, another committee with no members on it that actually relate to the subject
"lets see now, its an election year, so if we make it look like we are doing something but not get the results until after the election, that should score us some votes."

& just to be sure we will have committee members that have totally screwed things up in the past (Treasury),

someone that really knows their stuff about the public sector - ie not in any way related to the private sector housing market or export market, except in that they know how to be totally obstructive to it, - oh & be sure not to get any council "Planners" involved

& an expert in management because our high cost of housing must be due to mismanagement of the building industry & high transport costs must be due to mismanagement of freight companies !!!!

[PeterEmpowerEd]

I saw a comment in discussion on another site which must remain nameless ...

Next up ... a commission to investigate where the sun goes at night.

Funny!

[cube]

Oh great, another committee with no members on it that actually relate to the subject
"lets see now, its an election year, so if we make it look like we are doing something but not get the results until after the election, that should score us some votes."

Don't worry, there will be a leaked 'preliminary findings' report in October that will say that high property prices are the fault of 'investors' (i.e. speculators') and that a CGT should be considered - a recommendation that will then be quietly dropped from the final report.

[cube]

And by the way, the NZ Freight Industry is one of the lowest margin industries around - only economies of scale allow the likes of Mainfreight, Freightways and CourierPost make any money!

[egan123]

I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SAY THIS, BUT, I GIVE UP, What a load of tripe, and waste of OUR money. Someone, please, shoot the messanger. I WANT OUT. Oh My G, Oh also, don't forget to give the committe large salarys, then drop the rate, and wait for them to go to court to argue that they need the rate agreed to, SOUND FAMILIAR, LIKE THE MAORI BOARD.

[Keithw]

Time to retire I think Egan123
I must confess to having similar feelings of contritian, dispair, disbelief (although I should know by now that we should never be surprised at the idiocy of Govt actions )

[SwissKiwi]

No new building + leaky building + more people + earthquake = expensive houses.


Hows that?


They will take a year and loads of money - so I'm sure their conclusions will be quite different...

[Perry]

Well, Yet Another One

A great time of revelations, eh what?

Cut Tax And Spending Says Treasury
01/04/2011

A Treasury paper out today argues for lower tax and less government spending.

The paper - Government and economic growth: Does size matter? - said
the size and the structure of government played an important role in
economic performance.

''There appears to be scope to lower the tax take as a share of the
economy or, alternatively, to better position the Crown to deal with
long-term expenditure pressures without increasing the tax take,'' the
report said.

''This could be achieved by reducing or limiting growth in
expenditures that do no measurably contribute to raising the economy's
potential economic growth rate.''

Doubtless Treasury will take the lead, suggesting
internal attrition via sinking lid policies.

Makes one wonder, when a perusal of this thread is pondered.

Govt To Axe Non-Essential Services
29/03/2011

The squeeze on public spending will mean service cuts,
Finance Minister Bill English has warned in a speech that
has mapped out years of austerity measures.

Report writers in W'gton need have no fear, it seems.

[Viking]

Here is a question.
What part do you think developers covenants play in creating expensive housing.

Reason for asking. Can anyone tell me of a new subdivision that is not covered with covenants that require builders to build a mansion.

[artemis]

Actually, I don't have a problem with a report per se. Taking an in depth look at an issue and proposing recommendations can be an excellent way of initiating change. And using a group with broad expertise, who will certainly draw on research and experts is not a bad thing either. The likely alternative is to get the public servants in the field to do that work. Do we really think they will be clear thinking? OK, a few will, but most will be entrenched in a point of view and a long term job.

I've worked extensively in the public and private sectors. Advice [reports] was often astonishingly bad, plenty of 'evidence' to support the favoured options, little serious risk analysis and a once-over-lightly to 'other options'. I blame the managers mainly, who accepted the reports unquestioningly for the most part. The reports made good doorstops though.

[Perry]

And using a group with broad expertise, who will certainly
draw on research and experts is not a bad thing either.

One of the few bright spots in Comrade Commissar Clark's
views on such things was what she referred to as:
"the baggage of experts."

On the face of it, a 'panel of experts' seems like a good
thing. What's likely to be more helpful is a group of sound,
common-sense-endowed ordinary people, who listen to
all the experts' views and weigh them.

This in no different to a jury trial. The jury is not required
to have expertise in any specialist field. Rather, to present
a common sense perception of the peers of the accused.

However, as Keithw put it:

Oh great, another committee with no members on it
that actually relate to the subject

Experts, anyone?
.

[flyernzl]

plenty of 'evidence' to support the favoured options, little serious risk analysis and a once-over-lightly to 'other options'.

It all depends on what conclusions they are told they must reach at the time they are appointed.

[Perry]

Oh, you cynic!