P Goff Article

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#1628108 12-Sep-2016 19:21

Geektastic: A further infrastructure example is commonly found in France: when they build a road bridge you will often see that the bridge is built to accommodate 2 lanes in each direction even when the road it serves is a single lane in each. This is so that in due course when traffic flows require converting that road to a dual carriageway, they do not have to tear down and rebuild an expensive bridge!

I think there's a lot of merit in this idea but it also needs to be balanced by how soon the extra pre built infrastructure will be needed and the lifespan of said infrastructure. How often would the extra spend be wasted?

Tearing down to expand dosen't always occur. They very successfully added extra lanes onto the Pukete Bridge here in Hamilton without tearing down the bridge first

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#1628263 12-Sep-2016 23:08

Linuxluver:

SepticSceptic:

Just as a comparison, a member of my family and her husband have purchased a new 4 bdrm, 2 bath, 2 story brick veneer home, double entry garage, complete with driveway, fences, lawns etc, for US215,000 (just under NZ300,000). 450sqm land. North Carolina

10 mins away from a major shopping centre.

A rental on the same street is US$230 ($NZ314)weekly. Same specs.

We're stuffed ..:-(

What property taxes do they pay?

Usually when house prices are low, you find the property taxes are three or four times what they are in NZ.

For example, my sister owns a house in Ottawa that was worth about $325K 2 years ago. At that time, her rates on that house were about $3,500 / year....whereas my rates in Auckland on a house worth twice as much (2 years ago) were half what she was paying.

My father in Toronto owned a house there worth over a million...and his rates were about $10,000 / year.....whereas a house in Auckland worth a million then (2 years ago) were about $2,500......if that.

One factor limiting house price inflation is how taxes, in particular, soak up disposable income. So even if the mortgage interest rates in Ontario (Canada) are 2.5%, house prices don't rise as much as here because the property taxes there are 400% of what we pay.

Thinking about that.....I'd much rather the money went the Coucil for services than to a bank for returns to overseas shareholders. People who moan about high rates are clueless, in a way. if they really were high, housing prices would be much lower.

For a real-world example.....look at the homes on lease land at Cornwall Park. Beautiful homes. Worth $2 million on one side of Wheturangi Rd. But on the leased land side of the road the same home is worth maybe $230,000. Why? Because the land lease costs $40,000 / year.

The mechanics are simple. Housep rices are too high because our rates are far too LOW......not too high.

Worth noting also is that in the USA, mortgage interest and property taxes are tax deductible on the family home and they can fix at pretty low rates for 30 years.

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#1628266 12-Sep-2016 23:12

Technofreak:

Geektastic: A further infrastructure example is commonly found in France: when they build a road bridge you will often see that the bridge is built to accommodate 2 lanes in each direction even when the road it serves is a single lane in each. This is so that in due course when traffic flows require converting that road to a dual carriageway, they do not have to tear down and rebuild an expensive bridge!

I think there's a lot of merit in this idea but it also needs to be balanced by how soon the extra pre built infrastructure will be needed and the lifespan of said infrastructure. How often would the extra spend be wasted?

Tearing down to expand dosen't always occur. They very successfully added extra lanes onto the Pukete Bridge here in Hamilton without tearing down the bridge first

I expect they evaluate it before they do it.

The French don't muck about with 'consulting' that much: they have a quick round of it, make any changes that are easy wins and then simply get on with the plan. This tends to lead to a transport network that goes where it needs to because if anyone gets in the way with the family farm and won't sell the State writes them a cheque for a reasonable premium over market value and says 'bon voyage', here are your compulsory purchase papers - please be out by next month!

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#1628267 12-Sep-2016 23:14

Technofreak:

Geektastic: A further infrastructure example is commonly found in France: when they build a road bridge you will often see that the bridge is built to accommodate 2 lanes in each direction even when the road it serves is a single lane in each. This is so that in due course when traffic flows require converting that road to a dual carriageway, they do not have to tear down and rebuild an expensive bridge!

I think there's a lot of merit in this idea but it also needs to be balanced by how soon the extra pre built infrastructure will be needed and the lifespan of said infrastructure. How often would the extra spend be wasted?

Tearing down to expand dosen't always occur. They very successfully added extra lanes onto the Pukete Bridge here in Hamilton without tearing down the bridge first

Puts me in mind of the fact that we still have numerous one lane bridges on the principle tourism route down the West Coast on the South Island!

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#1628315 13-Sep-2016 08:02

wally22:
eracode:

I know a guy who is a senior manager in a major residential building company. Last year he and his wife were shouted a trip to the Rugby World Cup in the UK - by Fletchers. They were in a group with other Kiwis from similar circs - all shouted by Fletchers. Presumably this was a 'reward' for specifying Fletcher building materials in the homes they build.

Surely this is bordering on corruption.

Fletchers (through PlaceMakers) operate a loyalty points system similar to the likes of Countdown, then offer them the cash out rate OR a Cheeeeep excursion like you mention. Its only cheap as they use their leverage to get it that way by booking 100 or more people at once. And the builders use their points to "buy" the trip.

IMHO there is no corruption operating on this. Its just that the sums that the builders spend with PlaceMakers are vast, so the rewards accumulate more rapidly than they would doing a weekly $200 shop at the supermarket.

Reward schemes add cost to the consumer, the companies giving them are not giving freebies.

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#1628515 13-Sep-2016 13:08

MikeB4:
wally22:

eracode:

I know a guy who is a senior manager in a major residential building company. Last year he and his wife were shouted a trip to the Rugby World Cup in the UK - by Fletchers. They were in a group with other Kiwis from similar circs - all shouted by Fletchers. Presumably this was a 'reward' for specifying Fletcher building materials in the homes they build.

Surely this is bordering on corruption.

Fletchers (through PlaceMakers) operate a loyalty points system similar to the likes of Countdown, then offer them the cash out rate OR a Cheeeeep excursion like you mention. Its only cheap as they use their leverage to get it that way by booking 100 or more people at once. And the builders use their points to "buy" the trip.

IMHO there is no corruption operating on this. Its just that the sums that the builders spend with PlaceMakers are vast, so the rewards accumulate more rapidly than they would doing a weekly $200 shop at the supermarket.

Reward schemes add cost to the consumer, the companies giving them are not giving freebies.

Wonder if that is why standard 2x4 (50x100mm) framing timber is nearly 3x the cost here than it is in the USA ?

Treated framing timber is around US$1.00 per meter.

And here we are in NZ as a primary producer of timber ...

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#1628518 13-Sep-2016 13:14

I believe our prices subsidise exports

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

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#1628522 13-Sep-2016 13:16

Geektastic:
Technofreak:

Geektastic: A further infrastructure example is commonly found in France: when they build a road bridge you will often see that the bridge is built to accommodate 2 lanes in each direction even when the road it serves is a single lane in each. This is so that in due course when traffic flows require converting that road to a dual carriageway, they do not have to tear down and rebuild an expensive bridge!

I think there's a lot of merit in this idea but it also needs to be balanced by how soon the extra pre built infrastructure will be needed and the lifespan of said infrastructure. How often would the extra spend be wasted?

Tearing down to expand dosen't always occur. They very successfully added extra lanes onto the Pukete Bridge here in Hamilton without tearing down the bridge first

Puts me in mind of the fact that we still have numerous one lane bridges on the principle tourism route down the West Coast on the South Island!

Most NZers have never been on that road let alone most overseas tourists

I'm sure if there was demand the bridge would become dual

Doesn't even the SI east coast still have a single lane bridge shared road/rail around Blenheim

Linuxluver

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#1629176 14-Sep-2016 11:37

eracode:

I know a guy who is a senior manager in a major residential building company. Last year he and his wife were shouted a trip to the Rugby World Cup in the UK - by Fletchers. They were in a group with other Kiwis from similar circs - all shouted by Fletchers. Presumably this was a 'reward' for specifying Fletcher building materials in the homes they build.

Surely this is bordering on corruption.

It's a kickback for helping Fletcher maintain it's 94% market share for GIB. But the Commerce Commission, political poodle that it is, never sees any problems with the big guys playing these games, but they will clamp down hard on a dairy owner charging too much for bread.

NZ has always been softly corrupt....back to the days when National Party ministers handed out exclusive import license to their cronies and donors. We know the names of these people very well. Their families remain on NZ's rich list to this day. They were handed a license to print money for a generation. Nothing remotely entrepreneurial in any of it. NZ's business class have been almost entirely monopoly rent-takers (look it up - it's a real thing) with pretensions.

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#1629183 14-Sep-2016 11:44

nathan:
Geektastic:

Puts me in mind of the fact that we still have numerous one lane bridges on the principle tourism route down the West Coast on the South Island!

Most NZers have never been on that road let alone most overseas tourists

I'm sure if there was demand the bridge would become dual

Doesn't even the SI east coast still have a single lane bridge shared road/rail around Blenheim

Northland is full of one-lane bridges. There are two on SH 12 on the way to Dargaville from Kaiwaka. The one closest to Mangaturoto looks like the next truck will fall through it. There is another one on SH12 between Rawene and Kaikohe. There is even one on SH1 between Kaitaia and Okaihau. SH1 !!!!

There is no excuse for them. We spent $100m selling off 49% of state power companies......an amount that would replace every one-lane bridge in NZ with a two-lane bridge with $75m left over.

The money wasted on the flag referendum could have done the job. It's pathetic.

#changethegovt

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#1629190 14-Sep-2016 11:55

mattwnz:

Not only that but they charge such huge amounts. I know someone who just wanted to get their gas heater checked/services. The plumber/gas fitter came, and used an air compressor to clean it out. Was literally a 15 minute job, and cost $120 bucks.

I can relate about roofers. Tried to get a quote for a high spec new roof. One said they couldn't quote due to too much work, okay fair enough. Another quoted 3 times more than the only other quote I got. I am still waiting to hear back from another company, as I required 3 quotes. It is such hard work.

We're paying for the traffic the tradies have to fight their way through. Those basic fees are intended to cover the lost time to driving around at any time in any traffic conditions.

I'd like to see a tradie who worked my area and could turn up on an electric 3-wheel bike with his kit. Able to use the footpath then the road stop being roads and turn into parking lots.

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#1630170 14-Sep-2016 12:09

Linuxluver:

TeaLeaf:

I like the quotes re building infrastructure well before housing like Germany and building satellite cities, which I personally think is the ultimate way to avoid Aucklands demise. But whether he does anything about the housing bubble or how to get it back to a figure resembling the pre bubble yearly averages I dont know. Tiring watching the government, first the GFC, avoid the crash by inserting $, we should have accepted the fall then and there like everyone else imo. Secondly this concept of immigration boosting house prices, where is the guy earning $600 a week to keep your sewerage working meant to live? Ie industries already priced out of living in Auckland like they say has happened to London. I like to hear his thoughts on these kinds of issues.

Will he be a good Mayor? I know nothing of him as I avoid reading the political news, but this article did spark an interest.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11706915

Goff will be far better than any of the low-tax, city-rotting, privatising, public-asset-grabbing proxies of the right (Palino, Thomas, Crone).

Oh Yeah. Another great tax and spend mayor like Lefty Len.. If Goff gets elected just watch the spending and your rates bill go up..

Regards,

Old3eyes

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#1630175 14-Sep-2016 12:17

old3eyes:

Oh Yeah. Another great tax and spend mayor like Lefty Len.. If Goff gets elected just watch the spending and your rates bill go up..

I don't mind that if something actually happens with the money they take and spend. But all that seems to happen is they take and spend and there is nothing to show for it.

I don't really think there will be any difference between Victoria, John or Phil. They all pretty much seem to want to do what is happening. I will be voting for Chloe because that is kinda a big F U to the current lot.

Richard rich.ms

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#1630196 14-Sep-2016 13:05

Linuxluver:
nathan:
Geektastic:

Puts me in mind of the fact that we still have numerous one lane bridges on the principle tourism route down the West Coast on the South Island!

Most NZers have never been on that road let alone most overseas tourists

I'm sure if there was demand the bridge would become dual

Doesn't even the SI east coast still have a single lane bridge shared road/rail around Blenheim

Northland is full of one-lane bridges. There are two on SH 12 on the way to Dargaville from Kaiwaka. The one closest to Mangaturoto looks like the next truck will fall through it. There is another one on SH12 between Rawene and Kaikohe. There is even one on SH1 between Kaitaia and Okaihau. SH1 !!!!

There is no excuse for them. We spent $100m selling off 49% of state power companies......an amount that would replace every one-lane bridge in NZ with a two-lane bridge with $75m left over.

The money wasted on the flag referendum could have done the job. It's pathetic.

#changethegovt

It's all about priorities. Taking MSDs outgoings on benefits for a 1/2 day would pay for those bridges too.

nathan

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#1630200 14-Sep-2016 13:08

old3eyes:
Linuxluver:

TeaLeaf:

I like the quotes re building infrastructure well before housing like Germany and building satellite cities, which I personally think is the ultimate way to avoid Aucklands demise. But whether he does anything about the housing bubble or how to get it back to a figure resembling the pre bubble yearly averages I dont know. Tiring watching the government, first the GFC, avoid the crash by inserting $, we should have accepted the fall then and there like everyone else imo. Secondly this concept of immigration boosting house prices, where is the guy earning $600 a week to keep your sewerage working meant to live? Ie industries already priced out of living in Auckland like they say has happened to London. I like to hear his thoughts on these kinds of issues.

Will he be a good Mayor? I know nothing of him as I avoid reading the political news, but this article did spark an interest.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11706915

Goff will be far better than any of the low-tax, city-rotting, privatising, public-asset-grabbing proxies of the right (Palino, Thomas, Crone).

Oh Yeah. Another great tax and spend mayor like Lefty Len.. If Goff gets elected just watch the spending and your rates bill go up..

Goffs going to win, so look forward to your rates bills increasing at over 3x the rate of inflation.

You get what you vote for. Funny how politicians always know how to spend your money better than you do.

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