Kerre Woodham: As far as Budgets in tough times go, this was a pretty good one

As far as Budgets in economically precarious times go, I thought it was a pretty good one.  And save yourself the 20 cents, anonymous texter. I can see you typing from here. "Well, you would say that, Tokyo Rose, wouldn't you?"  Well yes, come on, be fair though – what on Earth were they supposed …

Kerre Woodham: Was holding the OCR the right decision?

So what would you rather? A little bit of pain now or a whole lot more later? The Reserve Bank yesterday opted to keep the official cash rate at 2.25%, but the decision to hold was a close-run thing. And we know that now because of the transparency around the decisions being made and a jolly good t…

Jess Strange: Southern Cross Travel Insurance Chief Customer Officer on what travel insurance covers, the cost of not having it

No matter how meticulously you plan, there’s always a chance something will go wrong while travelling.  New data from Southern Cross Travel Insurance shows it’s often the small moments that end up costing the most, whether it’s a simple fall on a walking track or a broken bone before even leaving …

Kerre Woodham: Have you crunched the numbers with your new rates bill?

Have you done the sums yet to work out how much more you're going to have to pay, how much more you're going to have to find to pay the rates bill? We were talking before the show, for some of my colleagues it's an extra $45 per fortnight, they're in an apartment out of the main city. I can't even …

Hannah McQueen: Age Brightly Founder discusses options for those with fixed incomes struggling with rates increases

Fear the cost of living crisis may be getting worse for Aucklanders following the super city's largest ever rates increase.   The 7.9% rise will see the average ratepayer's bill increase by $320 a year.   The Auckland Ratepayer's Alliance says the council's budget is bloated and it needs to focus…

Andrew Dickens: Gas rationing and transition schemes

Thirty years ago, I was the station manager and breakfast announcer at a very small experimental talk station in Auckland called ‘The Point’ on 1476 AM. It lasted for about three years. It was a lot of fun. Now I mention this because I clearly remember 30 years ago a morning when we discussed what …

Andrew Dickens: Local council amalgamation could see less say for smaller towns

I was in the Coromandel over the weekend and I was reading their regional paper which still exists, The Informer, and in it was an article by Jeffrey Robinson, who's a local affairs reporter with decades of experience, and he points out the debate that is happening all over the country. The governm…

Andrew Dickens: The social housing overhaul creates both winners and losers

The Government has unveiled a major overhaul of social housing, creating both winners and losers.  So what is social housing? Social housing provides subsidized rental properties for those who cannot afford private rentals. Homes are managed by Kāinga Ora or various Community Housing Providers (CH…

Andrew Dickens: Should there be incentives to increase our EV fleet?

Let's talk EVs. And I better make the declaration straight away; I am an EV driver. There is a new state of the nation report from an organisation called Drive Electric which has been released. It's calling for consistent cross-party support. The report shows just 11% of new vehicles registered in …

Andrew Dickens: Is the Government counting its chickens before they hatch?

Let's start with the big story of the day: the Finance Minister yesterday unveiling a major plan to shrink the public service. It's putting thousands of jobs on the line, but it is booking, potentially, billion-dollar savings into this year's Budget. So the interesting thing about her announcement …