The Prices of Goods and Services in New Zealand: An International Comparison

Author(s):  
Norman Gemmell
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trudie Walters ◽  
Neil Carr

This article examines the potential of utilising representations of luxury in second homes to chart the changing patterns of conspicuous consumption. It is situated within a New Zealand context and based on the analysis of representations of luxury in second homes in an architecture/lifestyle magazine from 1936 to 2015. A qualitative thematic analysis was carried out on the written and visual text of 305 second home articles. The findings are divided into time periods which relate to distinct socio-cultural, political and economic events and ideologies that have influenced New Zealand society. The analysis reveals a change from ‘quiet luxury’ during the war years to the luxury of imported products, reflecting a fascination with first American and then European style in the mid-century. It also shows a change from a reputed cultural reticence to display one’s wealth to the flagrant conspicuous consumption of luxury goods and services in the 1980s which aligns with the rise of new wealth after the introduction of neoliberalism in the country. Finally, the variance between representations of luxury during recessionary times in the 1970s and 2000s demonstrates a change in attitude towards conspicuous consumption.


2009 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine McCarthy

The 1980s in New Zealand started with Robert Muldoon as Prime Minister: "Think Big," the Springbok Tour, the price freeze, and the establishment of Kōhanga Reo. These conflicting messages of expansion, contraction, and of race and politics were contextualised by high inflation (15.7% in 1981, 17.6% in 1982) and increasing unemployment (over 70,000 in 1981; c130,000 in 1983). In 1983 the CER (Closer Economic Relations) agreement with Australia was signed. In 1986 a GST (Goods and Services Tax) was first introduced. In October 1987, the sharemarket crash devastated many and reduced the number of cranes dominating the skylines of New Zealand's major cities. Building sites became car parks, and a new era of economic rationalisation would occur. In 1988 Broadcasting was de-regulated, NZPost (now an SOE) closed 432 post offices, and the selling of state assets to private interests was put in train. In 1989 GST increased to 12.5% and the Serious Fraud Office was established.It was also a decade of drama in New Zealand architecture. Significant controversies arose over buildings being built or being demolished, the economies of land value and building worth were in constant comparision. Of note were the discussions around the unrealised National Art Gallery, Roger Walker's now demolished Wellington Club the Aotea Centre in Auckland,the destruction of William Pitt's His Majesty's Theatre, and finally the National Museum of New Zealand, known these days as Te Papa. Controversies included protests against the recurring lack of open competitions for major public buildings, as well as the dominant disregard for architectural heritage.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Mark J. Greening

<p>All countries that have adopted Goods and Services Tax (GST) or Value Added Tax (VAT) employ a ‘change-in-use’ mechanism to distinguish consumption from the stages of production and distribution. New Zealand’s former change-in-use rules were unique. Unlike the ‘use’ based apportionment approaches employed in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, New Zealand employed an adjustment approach that utilised a ‘principal purpose’ test and deemed supply mechanism. While Canada has also employed an adjustment approach for capital property, the New Zealand rules have operated differently to those in Canada. In response to criticism for being overly complex and confusing, the New Zealand change-in-use rules will adopt a new ‘use’ based apportionment approach, together with a new mechanism to constrain the number of adjustments, from 1 April 2011 for a number of taxpayers. Applying criteria identified by the Tax Working Group the performance of New Zealand’s change-in-use rules are examined, in comparison to those applied in Australia and Canada. In addition, the comparative readability of the change-in-use provisions in all three jurisdictions is examined. The paper concludes that New Zealand should adopt an apportionment approach and that the Goods and Services Tax Act should be rewritten for improved readability.</p>


2010 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 28-40
Author(s):  
Clare Kelly

The Acheron House of Refuge built between 1863 and 1864 near the junction of the Guide River with the Acheron River in the South Island high country was one of a chain of accommodation houses on the Inland Stock Route between Nelson and Canterbury. In 1865 the Nelson Provincial Engineer John Blackett wrote to the Nelson Provincial Government that he feared "the entire destruction of the house without the possibility of it being prevented" and blamed "the character of some of the travellers who pass this road." By the end of 1865, it was destroyed without trace. This paper considers incidents of lawlessness at the accommodation houses in the mid 1860s and the brief existence of the Acheron House of Refuge. It questions whether its demise was the result of "frontier chaos," a term which was first used by historian Miles Fairburn in 1989 to describe how rapid frontier expansion in New Zealand had scattered settlers and engendered transience, loneliness and lawlessness. Using settler diaries, letters and manuscripts this paper considers Fairburn's "frontier chaos" theory. It examines his assertions that in the New Zealand settler world prior to 1890 "seldom ... were goods and services exchanged," and that an atomised New Zealand settler society had "no institutions ... to facilitate mixing and meeting" (Fairburn "Local Community or Atomised Society?" pp 169-170,192,195,206,217). This paper concludes that incidents of lawlessness at the accommodation houses were linked to the South Island gold rushes, were short term and often the result of ill-prepared men desperate to survive in an unforgiving climate. At the accommodation houses on the Nelson to Canterbury Inland Stock Route travellers, keepers and neighbours shared an unwritten code of reciprocity. These accommodation houses formed the unofficial nuclei of small, loose-knit high country communities.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raúl Aparicio-Arias ◽  
Jenny Moreno

Purpose This paper aims to explore public procurement frameworks during disasters in Chile and New Zealand, identifying the factors that affect government procurement performance in disaster response. Design/methodology/approach This research adopted a case study methodology following a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with government officers from Chile and New Zealand who had practice-relevant knowledge of public procurement and disaster management. Data was complemented by document reviews, including government reports and the records of disaster management organizations. Findings This paper finds public procurement to be negatively affected by several factors during disasters, including celerity and flexibility of response; market and supplier restrictions; pressures over procurement teams; centralism of procurement structures; lack of technical knowledge; competition and crossover of agreements; corruption; and price variations. Practical implications This paper includes policy recommendations on how to increase the effectiveness of disaster management and public procurement systems in countries at high risk of earthquakes and other disasters. Social implications This paper can help public procurement officers to provide a better response during disasters, supplying the goods and services required to the affected population in a timely and effective manner. Originality/value This paper addresses a gap in research by identifying factors which negatively impact government procurement and response during a disaster.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document