February 2004

Larger than Average January Trade Deficit
The provisional value of merchandise imports for January 2004 is $2,591 million, 8.3 percent higher than January 2003, according to Statistics New Zealand. The estimated value of merchandise exports for January 2004 is $2,020 million, resulting in an estimated trade deficit of $571 million or 28.3 percent of exports. This is the largest January trade [...]

New Dwellings Trend Continues Steady Rise
Consents were issued for 2,385 new dwelling units in January 2004, according to Statistics New Zealand. The trend series for the number of new dwelling units has been steadily rising since March 2003. For the year ended January 2004, consents for 30,191 new dwelling units were issued, the highest total for a year ended January [...]

Farm Expenses Price Index Unchanged
The Farm Expenses Price Index (FEPI) including livestock showed no change in the December 2003 quarter, following a 0.4 percent decrease in the September 2003 quarter. The FEPI registered a 2.6 percent fall between the December 2002 and December 2003 quarters. The most significant upward contributor in the December 2003 quarter came from a 2.2 percent [...]

Output Prices Rise, Input Prices Unchanged
Output prices in the Producers Price Index (PPI) rose 0.4 percent and input prices remained unchanged in the December 2003 quarter, according to latest figures from Statistics New Zealand. The most significant upward contribution to the PPI outputs index in the December 2003 quarter came from a 2.7 percent increase in the electricity generation and supply [...]

Haines Sells Nzjobs.co.nz to Seek.co.nz
The #1 and #2 employment websites in New Zealand are to merge, creating an even greater incentive for businesses to advertise job vacancies online. Haines NZ Limited's employment website nzjobs.co.nz has been sold to SEEK (NZ) Ltd, the companies announced today. The nzjobs website will eventually be merged with seek.co.nz, currently the largest employment website in [...]

1984 – 2004: Twenty Years On - Roger Kerr Speech
This year is the 20th anniversary of the change of government in 1984 and the beginning of a period of radical economic reform. It should be a time to take stock of what the country has achieved in the last two decades and to debate the agenda for the next 20 years. Last year saw such [...]

Increase in Spirit-based Drinks Available
The volume of spirit-based drinks available for consumption increased to 34.5 million litres in the December 2003 year, according to Statistics New Zealand. This is an increase of 3.1 million litres, or 9.8 percent, compared with the December 2002 year. The demand for spirit-based drinks (with an alcohol content of no more that 23 percent) has [...]

VINTAGE 2004: Record Grape Crop Expected
The 2004 New Zealand vintage has commenced amid expectations by growers and wineries for a record grape crop. Commenting on the harvest prospects Philip Gregan, Chief Executive Officer of New Zealand Winegrowers said, "Industry vintage expectations are very positive. Crops appear to be at normal levels in most areas, which is a welcome change after frosts [...]

District Health Board Deficit Increases
The combined deficit of New Zealand’s 21 district health boards (DHBs) was $39.3 million for the December 2003 quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand. This was a $34.2 million increase on the $5.1 million deficit recorded in the September 2003 quarter, and is $23.4 million lower than the deficit in the December 2002 quarter. Total DHB [...]

Reigniting Reform in Australia and New Zealand
Hugh Morgan President, Business Council of Australia. It’s a great pleasure to be here to share with you some thoughts, and to participate in a discussion concerning our common predicaments. Going back over the long history of the Australian-New Zealand relationship, which in the 19th century was much closer than it is now, I recall one [...]

Harcourts Enjoys Strongest Market in Over a Decade
Harcourts Enjoys Strongest Market in Over a Decade Australasia's fastest growing real estate group, Harcourts International Ltd, was on track to exceed a record $12 billion in sales by the end of this financial year, up 50 percent on last year, and 40 percent on the previous year, according to Managing Director, Mike Green. Speaking [...]

Ports of Auckland Volumes Index Update
Total container volumes* were up 6% to 665,157 TEUs for the 12 months to end-January 2004 (as compared to the 12 months to end-January 2003) and up 12% on January 2003. Full import and full export container volumes increased 6% and 2% respectively for the 12 months to end-January 2004, and 23% and 16% respectively for [...]

Give exporters a fair go
Giving with one hand and taking with the other is a poor deal for exporters and an expensive way to recycle tax dollars, says Business NZ. Business NZ Chief Executive Simon Carlaw says the Finance Minister’s planned assistance for exporters in this year’s Budget is likely to be announced at the same time as a [...]

No Change in Sheep Numbers
There has been no significant change in sheep numbers since 2002, according to provisional results from the 2003 Agricultural Production Survey released today by Statistics New Zealand. At 30 June 2003, there were 39.7 million sheep in New Zealand compared with 39.5 million at the same time the previous year. This is the first survey [...]

Tax Deadline Waived For Flood Farmers
Federated Farmers of New Zealand (Inc) has received assurances from the Minister of Revenue that flood-affected farmers who cannot meet their tax filing and payment deadlines do not need to worry, said Federation President Tom Lambie. “Federated Farmers is aware that some farmers have lost all their paper and electronic records,” he said. “Others cannot access [...]

Capital Goods Price Index Rises 0.9 Percent
Capital goods prices rose 0.9 percent in the December 2003 quarter, when compared with the September 2003 quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand. On an annual basis, the Capital Goods Price Index (CGPI) rose 1.5 percent from the December 2002 quarter to the December 2003 quarter. The most significant contribution to the overall increase for the [...]

Driving Rules Relaxed In Flooded Areas
Drivers of trucks carrying livestock in flood-affected areas of the lower North Island are allowed to work longer hours under a temporary exemption from government rules. The exemption was sought by Federated Farmers of New Zealand (Inc), as part of a range of measures to help farmers cope with devastating floods. Federated Farmers and the Road Transport [...]

International Arrivals & Departures Exceed 7.1mil
Annual total passenger arrivals and departures (consisting of overseas visitors, New Zealand residents and migrants) reached 7.12 million in the December 2003 year, according to Statistics New Zealand. There were 3.58 million arrivals and 3.53 million departures, up 4 and 5 percent respectively, compared with the December 2002 year. Overseas visitor arrivals totalled 2.11 million in [...]

Births Continue to Rise
There were 56,130 live births registered in New Zealand in the December 2003 year, 2,110 more than in the December 2002 year (54,020) and the highest number since the December 2000 year (56,600), Statistics New Zealand reported today. Annual birth rates for the December 2003 year suggest that New Zealand women average 1.96 births per woman. [...]

Ports of Auckland Half Year Results Announcement
Welcome to this briefing on the financial and operating results of Ports of Auckland for the six months to December 2003. Once again, thank you for coming down to our offices. We prefer to hold our results briefing here at the port because it provides a less formal venue and also allows us to arrange port [...]

Authorisation of Futures Dealers in New Zealand
Proposals for a new regime for futures dealers in New Zealand were announced by New Zealand Exchange Limited (NZX) in September 2003. The Commission welcomed this proposal. Further details were announced today by NZX. The Securities Commission is the statutory regulator of futures dealers. Under the proposed regime NZX will be the frontline regulator of futures [...]

Binding Tax Ruling On Proposed Capital Return
Auckland, 13 February 2004 – Fletcher Challenge Forests advised today that it had received a binding ruling from the Inland Revenue Department, confirming that the proposed return of capital to be made in March 2004 will not be a dividend for New Zealand tax purposes. As a result of this binding ruling, the Company is not [...]

December Quarter Retail Sales Up 1.5 Percent
Seasonally adjusted total retail sales increased 1.5 percent in the December 2003 quarter, compared with the September 2003 quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand. On a monthly basis, seasonally adjusted total retail sales decreased 0.2 percent in December 2003, compared with November 2003. Excluding motor vehicle related industries, seasonally adjusted retail sales increased 0.2 percent [...]

Proposed Legislation Undermines Property Rights
Legislation amending the Resource Management Amendment Act in the case of the Waitaki catchment fails to recognise existing property rights and undermines incentives to invest, New Zealand Business Roundtable executive director Roger Kerr said today, presenting the NZBR’s submission on the Resource Management (Waitaki Catchment) Amendment Bill. “The NZBR supports the government’s initiative to review water [...]

Building Bill: Using Sledgehammer To Crack Nut
The Building Bill extends way beyond its goal of stopping leaky-building syndrome and has serious flaws which will add to construction costs and push up inflation, said Federated Farmers of New Zealand (Inc) President Tom Lambie. The bill as drafted will require building work worth more than a prescribed amount to be supervised by licensed building [...]

Food Prices Stable in January
Food prices recorded no overall change in January 2004, according to the latest figures released by Statistics New Zealand. Price rises were recorded for grocery food, soft drinks and confectionery; meat, fish and poultry; and restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food. These were offset by a fall in fruit and vegetable prices. Grocery food, soft drinks and [...]

Guest Nights Trend Increasing
The underlying trend in total guest nights in short-term commercial accommodation has been increasing since June 1998, according to Statistics New Zealand. In December 2003, the trend level in total guest nights was 3 percent higher than the level in December 2002 and 8 percent higher than in December 2001. Actual total guest nights were 3.1 [...]

Half Year Results Announcement To 31 December
Fletcher Challenge Forests today reported operating earnings prior to forest revaluation for the six months ended 31 December 2003 of $23 million, compared with $47 million (prior to unusual items) recorded in the corresponding six months to December 2002. A challenging foreign exchange environment, high shipping costs, reduced sales from owned forest estates and loss of [...]

Growth policies not looking good
More growth-promoting policies are needed to get back into the top half of the OECD, Business NZ said in select committee today. Addressing the Government’s most recent Budget Policy Statement, Business NZ Chief Executive Simon Carlaw said the policies in the Statement would not provide enough growth to raise New Zealand living standards. “Our research and regular [...]

Unemployment Rate at 4.6 Percent
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stands at 4.6 percent, according to Statistics New Zealand’s December 2003 quarter Household Labour Force Survey. Results show an easing in the strong employment growth seen over the past two quarters, but still reflect tight labour market conditions. Seasonally adjusted figures show quarterly employment growth of 0.1 percent. Seasonally adjusted employment [...]

What Does US/Aust FTA mean for NZ Meat Exporters?
"The US market is very important to the New Zealand meat industry with returns running at approximately NZD $1 billion annually. Of that, beef exports are a significant component", Caryll Shailer, Chief Executive of the Meat Industry Association said today. New Zealand beef exports in volume to the USA commenced in 1957 and our beef [...]

Quarterly Exports Value Remains Unchanged
The seasonally adjusted value of exports for the current quarter remains unchanged for the second consecutive quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand. The quarterly exports trend is now flat after declining for eight quarters following a peak in the June 2001 quarter. Over the same time, the exchange rate has generally appreciated, which has a [...]

New Zealand Left Behind by US/Australia FTA
“The US/Australia free trade agreement will benefit Australia and New Zealand should redouble efforts to match its benefits”, Roger Kerr, executive director of the New Zealand Business Roundtable, said today. “”Too much local commentary has focused on the limitations of the agreement for access to the United States of a few agricultural products. “Its significance is far [...]

Rain Rain Go Away
The rain that broke the summer dry is good news for pastoral farmers, but bad news for cropping farmers says Andrew Gillanders, Vice Chairman of the Grains Council of Federated Farmers of New Zealand (Inc). The Canterbury region produces 80% of New Zealand’s arable crops and has had three weeks of damp humid weather causing mature [...]

Free trade deal pegs NZ beneath Oz
The comprehensive free trade deal between Australia and the US will make New Zealand more dependent on Australia while pegging our growth rates below theirs, the Employers & Manufacturers Association (Northern) says. “We might have been cousins with Australians yesterday but now we’ve just been consigned to second cousin status,” said Bruce Goldsworthy, EMA’s Manufacturing Services [...]

Small rise in January vehicle registrations
Vehicle registrations for January were up 3.4 percent on last year, according to figures released today by the Land Transport Safety Authority. There were 23,217 first-time registrations of new and used imported vehicles this January, compared with 22,443 in January 2003. Total first-time car registrations rose by just 0.6 percent, from 17,725 in January 2003 to 17,829 [...]

NZ?s Population Growth Remains High
New Zealand’s resident population was estimated to be 4,038,900 at 31 December 2003, according to the latest population estimates released by Statistics New Zealand. The New Zealand population reached the four million milestone in late April last year. The estimated population growth in the December 2003 year remained high at 63,000 and was marginally lower than [...]

Australia/US FTA - Confirms TLN?s Worst Fears
Reacting to the conclusion of a “free trade” agreement between the United States and Australia, Trade Liberalisation Network Executive Director, Suse Reynolds, said it confirmed the Network’s worst fears for agriculture.Having recently been in Washington, Reynolds congratulated Australia for concluding an agreement in an incredibly tough political environment.And she commended negotiators for the high level [...]

Continued Growth in Wage Rates
Figures released from Statistics New Zealand’s Labour Cost Index (LCI) and Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) continue to show strong growth in salary and wage rates, accompanied by continued growth in demand for labour. Salary and wage rates (including overtime), as measured by the LCI, showed the largest annual increase since the September 1997 quarter, rising 2.4 [...]

Telecom Half Year Earnings Increase
Telecom today reported net earnings after tax for the half year to 31 December 2003 of $NZ365 million – an increase of 21.3 % on the $NZ301 million reported for the corresponding half year. Reported net earnings included a $NZ28 million gain on the sale of Telecom's 12% stake in Sky Network Television. Net earnings for [...]

Visitor Arrivals Up 12 Percent
There were 297,300 short-term overseas visitor arrivals in New Zealand in December 2003, up 31,600 or 12 percent on December 2002, according to Statistics New Zealand. This is the highest monthly figure ever recorded for overseas visitor arrivals. (The previous record of 265,700 was set in December 2002.) In December 2003, there were more visitors from [...]

Domestic Postal Rates Set For Change In April
New Zealand Post announced today that the price of the standard domestic postage stamp will rise by 5 cents to 45 cents from April 5. The increase is the first since 1991, when the price was originally moved from 40 cents to 45 cents. It was subsequently decreased in 1995. Peter Fenton, New Zealand Post Group Manager [...]

Briscoes 4th Quarter / Full Year Sales
The directors of Briscoe Group Limited announce that unaudited sales for the three months ended 31 January 2004 were $106.2 million, being 3.04% higher than the $103.1 million reported for the fourth quarter of last year. Briscoes Homeware sales increased 2.90% to $74.5 million and Rebel Sport sales rose 3.36% to$31.7 million. On a same store basis, [...]

Wine Company Shares Issue Fully Subscribed
The Waipara Hills Wine Estate Ltd issue of $1.3 million of convertible preference shares has closed fully subscribed. The company¹s shareholders subscribed for in excess of $700,000 of the issue before Christmas and the remaining shares have been taken up in the past month by the public. Syd Bradley, the company chair, said the positive response will [...]

CHH Negotiates Greenhouse Agreements With Govt.
Carter Holt Harvey manufacturing businesses to negotiate Greenhouse Agreements with New Zealand Government Carter Holt Harvey today announced that a number of its major manufacturing units will enter negotiations with the New Zealand Government on Greenhouse Gas emissions. CEO Peter Springford said the business units to enter the Negotiated Greenhouse Agreement (NGA) process with the Government are [...]

Strokes For Folks On Employ. Law Lacks Good Faith
‘Different strokes for different folks’ on employment law lacks good faith The process for considering the 103-page Employment Relations Law Reform Bill is plainly in breach of the good faith provisions it is legislating to strengthen, the Employers & Manufacturers Association (Northern) says. By not allowing a reasonable timeframe for the new bill the Government is weakening [...]

Workplace freedoms on the line
An official information request* revealing the union movement’s stage management of the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill comes as no surprise, says Business NZ. “Even a cursory reading of the bill reveals a desperate attempt to rescue unions,” Business NZ Chief Executive Simon Carlaw said. “Trying to bring back national awards under the guise of multi-employer agreements [...]

Laid Bare at Last: The Real Union Agenda
Papers obtained under the Official Information Act lift the lid on the real agenda that the union leadership has in store for New Zealand employers and workers, according to New Zealand Business Roundtable executive director Roger Kerr. Mr Kerr was commenting on proposals outlined in a submission by the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) entitled NZCTU [...]