19 January 2003
The consumer price index rose 0.6% in the December quarter to a 2.7% annual rate but the food price index fell 0.7%, and has risen by only 0.6% over the year. Main CPI drivers were housing & transport. House prices rose 1.4% on rises in the purchase & construction of new homes, which were up 1.8%. Adjustments have been made to remove the impact of quality changes such as higher-specification cladding systems or framing timber. Also contributing were rents, up 0.6%, & local body rates, up 1.7%. Rises on some routes raised international air travel 10% overall, but domestic prices fell 9%. In the household operation group, household contents insurance rose 3.3%, electricity 1.1%, but household appliances & equipment fell 3.1%. Government Statistician Brian Pink said this was the largest quarterly decrease in appliances & equipment prices since 1982, attributable to several factors, including the dollar’s rise, more competition and falling prices for goods such as dvd players.
North Shore mayor & regional mayoral forum chairman George Wood said on Friday the region’s 10-year integrated transport plan had a $1.2 billion funding shortfall, and the Land Transport Management Bill introduced in December wouldn’t deliver the difference. The mayors & regional land transport committee held a workshop on Friday and decided their chief executives should draw up a funding & action plan — something you might have thought the regional committee could have been working on. And, in fact, it was: the chief executives will draw on work already under way by a regional transport executive group. Mr Wood said the new bill would put too many conditions on funding options. Submissions on the bill close on 28 February and the select committee will report back to Parliament on 9 June. Mr Wood said toll & public/private partnership provisions could be applied to very few of the Auckland projects. The mayoral forum will get a report back from the chief executives at its next meeting, on Friday 31 January.
Auckland City Council outlined how it dealt with its Auckland International Airport share sale earnings just before Christmas. It netted $185.1 million after $5.7 million costs from selling half its stake. Initial investment is in short- to medium-term deposits & investments — $36.2 million in overnight bank deposits, to be used to retire the council’s local authority stock when it matures; $68.2 million in floating-rate investments, to be rolled over until it’s offset against bonds maturing in August 2006; the balance in short-term overnight deposits, bank bills, treasury bills & high-quality commercial paper. Finance & corporate business committee chairman Douglas Armstrong said the $80.7 million remaining after debt repayment, $54 million capital repayment proceeds & $83 million from the council’s housing sales would be set aside for long- & short-term commitments, including the indoor arena at Quay Park and Britomart.
15 January 2003
New Zealand ran a $434 million trade deficit in November, which Government Statistician Brian Pink was a normal November occurrence. Provision exports value for the month was $2.465 billion, imports value $2.898 billion, giving a merchandise trade deficit of 17.6% of exports compared to an average 15.1% over the previous decade. Updated merchandise exports value for the November year was $31.2 billion, down 4.8% on the previous year.
Website: Statistics NZ