The Indian Weekender, 28 May 2021

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10 NEW ZEALAND Friday, May 28, 2021 The Indian Weekender More train services, new sustainable homes scheme approved Waikato Regional Council will be rolling out more Te Huia train services and sooner in response to public feedback on its long term plan. Its one of a number of decisions made during deliberations on the councils 2021-2031 Long Term Plan | Mahere Whnui … Waikato Regional Council will be rolling out more Te Huia train services and sooner in response to public feedback on its long term plan. It’s one of a number of decisions made during deliberations on the council’s 2021-2031 Long Term Plan | Mahere Whānui in Hamilton on Tuesday [25 May]. More than 80 per cent of all submissions were on the proposal to extend the new Waikato to Auckland passenger rail service. Of those 1240 submissions, 95 per cent were in favour of improvements to the service with many wanting it to happen sooner than the proposed 2023/24 timeframe. Councillors decided an inter-peak service will be trialled for 12 months, starting no sooner than December 2021 due to lead in times to complete the required work to implement the service, including confirmation of the operating cost, 75.5 per cent government subsidy and timetable. “This is on the back of a zero per cent increase in rates revenue from current ratepayers last year, which recognised the impact of COVID-19 on our communities. But there’s work we simply must do and at pace, like meeting the central government’s new Essential Freshwater regulations which makes up just over 2 per cent of the rates increase in year one.” It would have been a rise of 8.4 per cent in year one if councillors had opted to bring forward the start of biodiversity work to the 2021/22 financial year. “Our communities told us there is a biodiversity crisis so we should bring work to protect it forward a year. We wanted to do this too,” Cr Rimmington said. “But we had a very good discussion about it, and at the end of the day we agreed to stick with the preferred option we consulted on. We need to see the detail of government direction on indigenous biodiversity first, but we’re poised to respond with a bold plan to increase biodiversity support from year two.” Chief Executive Chris McLay said the council had stepped up its engagement approach for this year’s long term plan, which showed in the number and quality of submissions. Councillors also approved an extension of Saturday Te Huia services to The Strand in Auckland’s have really good social outcomes and be great for the environment too,” Cr Rimmington said. CBD for a cost of $10,000 per Further work is required to annum. A start date for the extended service is to be confirmed, pending develop the final scheme, with a launch expected in the latter half of completion of the necessary 2021/22. Initially $5 million will operational requirements. During the meeting councillors be available, with each application capped at $15,000 and operational considered the feedback of reviews after 50, 100 and 200 submitters ahead of voting in favour of establishing a sustainable homes scheme and to increase funding to Te Waka, the regional economic development agency. Chair Russ Rimmington described the scheme being set up to help applications have been approved. The lending rate to homeowners will be 5.5 per cent over 10 years, to be paid through a voluntary targeted rate levied on individual properties from 1 July 2022. All up, the decisions mean a 7.9 homeowners make sustainable per cent rates increase to existing improvements as “different and visionary”. “Everyone deserves to have a warm, dry home. This programme will enable people to do that, and to make other improvements that will ratepayers in year one of the long term plan – 0.6 per cent more than proposed when the council opened for consultation on 1 April. For threequarters of Waikato ratepayers, it’s an increase of less than $50 a year. Content Sourced from scoop.co.nz First home buyers losing hope Nationally, first home buyers’ (FHB) market share in Q1 2021 was 21.5%, down from 24.8% six months ago and also the lowest since Q1 2018, according to the latest CoreLogic First Home Buyer Report. This hints at fatigue, with a growing struggle to keep up with other buyer groups, ever-rising deposit requirements and property values. Perhaps contrary to popular belief, the average age of FHBs has not risen markedly in recent years. After dipping from 35 to 34 in 2017, the national average has held steady at that figure ever since; FHBs in Auckland are 35 years old on average, 34 in Wellington and Tauranga, and even younger – 31 – in provincial areas like Manawatu, Masterton, Rangitikei, and Timaru, where property values are generally lower and affordability measures therefore less stretched. Among the possible reasons for the average age of FHBs holding steady, despite growing affordability pressures, are earlier access to larger KiwiSaver pots, a willingness to move further afield or look at different or cheaper property types, as well as help from parents or family. FHBs may also have begun to save earlier than in the past. We know that historically FHBs share of purchases has been affected at certain times by loan to value ratio (LVR) restrictions. Owner-occupiers are currently required to have a 20% deposit, although the banks can of course make use of the Reserve Bank-mandated speed limit and allow up to 20% of owner-occupier loans (including FHBs) to be made at less than a 20% deposit. On that note, there is evidence that some would-be FHBs have become so disenfranchised or discouraged that they are giving up on buying, but based on mortgage data showing that about one-third of FHB loans in March 2021 were done at less than a 20% deposit, many would be well advised to pursue their options with a mortgage adviser or bank. There is more flexibility in the lending market than many may think. Yet Century 21 New Zealand Owner, Derryn Mayne says the housing market remains too hot for most young Kiwis. “Eyes will now be on Budget Day to see what action will be taken for desperate first-home buyers. “More needs to be done if the Finance Minister is to ‘tilt the balance more towards first-home buyers’ as he has long promised.” Mayne says the Government could establish partnership models such as ‘rent to buy’ schemes or act as guarantor for eligible first-home buyers’ borrowing. “Another initiative could be interest-free government loans for deposits on first-homes – with borrowers paying them back over time via Inland Revenue. Those in tertiary study can get interest-free student loans as education is rightly seen as a good investment and asset. That same logic could be applied here.” Shift in types of property being purchased and median prices being paid by FHBs Across NZ, houses accounted for 75% of FHB purchases in Q1 2021, down from 77% in the calendar year 2020, but still higher than the latest figure for all buyers of 72%. Flats account for 16% of FHB purchases, versus 13% for all buyers, while lifestyle for all buyers (7%) outweighs that category for FHBs (3%).Even with Government intervention potentially freeing up opportunities for FHBs to access existing properties with less competition from leveraged investors than before, FHBs may face more competition for newbuilds, a segment they have shown interest in recently. In Q1 2021, FHBs paid a median price of $650,000, higher than the 2020 calendar year figure of $576,500, but less than the Q1 2021 all-buyer figure of $725,000. That said, the FHB median in Q1 2021 of $650,000 was still well above the all-buyer lower quartile ($510,000), illustrating that FHBs don’t always start at the bottom and work their way up. As was the case at the national level, each of the main centres saw FHBs pay a median price in Q1 2021 that was lower than for all buyers. Reflecting the fact that it has the highest prices to start with, the gap was largest in Auckland, with FHBs paying a median in Q1 2021 of $877,000, $133,000 less than the figure for all buyers ($1,010,000). The gap was also more than $100,000 in Tauranga, although the median price actually paid by FHBs was higher in Wellington ($770,000 versus $699,000 in Tauranga). The standout centre is Christchurch, where the FHB median price paid is still below $500,000, lower than in many provincial areas. The relative affordability in our second-largest city is so much better than anywhere else, and especially appealing for FHBs because the city’s business community is established and jobs are on offer. - Scoop Media Waikato DHB attack a wake up call on cyber security Hackers of Waikato District Health Board (DHB) are believed to have gained access to their systems via an email attachment opened by a staff member. They have caused disruption to all clinical services in a bid to extort a ransom payment. This follows a similar attack on the Irish health system in the form of ransomware, just a few days ago. AUT Computer Science Professor Dave Parry explains that in this sort of attack, the attacker manages to get some of their software onto the victim’s network and this encrypts files, making them unreadable. The attacker then offers to give the victim the key to unlock the encryption in return for money – usually in the form of bitcoin or other cryptocurrency. Melbourne’s Eastern Health was also targeted back in March. Vectra APJ Director of Security Engineering, Chris Fisher says that while the organisation was quick to reassure and confirm that patients were not at risk, the incident highlighted major security vulnerabilities, resulting in significant disruption to the hospital’s network including the cancellation of elective surgeries. Ransomware activity has risen steeply recently, causing significant impact to a number of organisations around the world including the high profile attack on the Colonial Pipeline in the US. The company reportedly paid the hackers $5 million for the restoration of their IT services. Parry says this will probably have encouraged more attacks. “Attackers are proving increasingly bold in targeting large scale infrastructure like hospitals, wreaking havoc on overburdened healthcare systems at time when they are needed most,” Fisher says. “The vectors of attacks have remained the same, however the speed at which the attackers can pivot through an organisation’s network and the coverage they are able to achieve has greatly increased. This highlights that current prevention tools are no longer enough to mitigate risk.” Recognising the risks In today’s digitally driven environment, smart technologies are crucial in improving operational efficiencies. One of the largest containment measures implemented globally during the pandemic was the massive shift to remote working, which rapidly accelerated the adoption of hybrid cloud to improve business agility and respond to changing customer needs. Technology and collaboration tools, such as Microsoft Office 365 applications, meant work and life could continue. “Unfortunately, the speed and scale of cloud adoption has also presented transitional gaps and opportunities for adversaries to exploit,” Fisher says. - Scoop Media
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