Briefly in my Picks ‘n Mixes and Daily Chorus on Tuesday August 26, Wednesday, August 27, the top news, scoops and deep-dives in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate are:

* The Lead: The Government has announced a new ‘Business Investor Visa’ (BIV) that awards residency to migrants who buy a business for at least $2 million, and a three-year fast-track work-to-residency for buyers of businesses worth over $1 million.

* The Sidebar: The Government has yet to announce if these new BIV residents will be able to immediately buy homes, although the existing Active Investor Visa, which awards residency to business and bond investors putting in $5 million and $10 million respectively, is expected to be upgraded wit a right to buy homes within weeks.

* The Quote of the Day: Auckland Chamber of Commerce CEO Simon Bridges has welcomed the news of the new BIV, saying: ‘It will really help Auckland’s economy, bringing in desperately needed cash.’

* The Number of the day is ten-fold. That’s the amount home insurance premia have risen in the last 20 years. Consumer NZ called this morning for an official investigation into home insurance pricing. Interest

* My Scoop of the day is by Derek Cheng for NZ Herald-$ (gift link): 'Rotten to the core': Govt banks $151m by ending ‘double-dipping’, wiping $100 a week for struggling households

* My Deep-Dive of the day is from Laura Tupou for Stuff: Why information about hazard risks to your home is behind a paywall

Paying subscribers get more detail and analysis below the paywall fold and in the video and podcast above. The email and video is sent later in the day to all subscribers and can then be read, watched and shared publicly.

Quote of the day: ‘Excellent. We need the cash.’

“It’s (BIV) and excellent addition to Active Investor Plus. Both policies will be real helpers to Auckland’s economy, which is behind other parts of the country, bringing in desperately needed cash. If Auckland were a business, it would have cashflow issues right now.” Auckland Chamber of Commerce CEO Simon Bridges via Jamie Ensor for NZ Herald.

Number of the day: Ten fold

Chart of the day: Moar migration please

Picks n’ Mixes for Wednesday, August 27

Scoops & Breaking news this morning

* Amy Williams for RNZ: Boarding house evicts 26 people with two days' notice

* Thomas Manch & Kelly Dennett for The Post-$: Two-hour North to South Island ferry service? This consortium says yes. After Rail Minister Winston Peters said no, a consortium of iwi and global construction groups are taking their pitch to the national infrastructure fund

* Mihingarangi Forbes for RNZ: Is the Ministry for Women about to vanish?

* Catherine Hubbard for The Nelson Mail-$: Peanut butter boss hits out at supermarket ‘mafia cartel’ As Nelson-based Pic’s sells a majority stake to an Australian firm, both the founder and chief executive have hit out at the Kiwi supermarket duopoly: “I get the feeling that they think that any money that we make is money they’re not making.”

* Reuters: Fed Governor Cook will sue to keep her job as Trump mulls replacement

* The Daily Beast: Trump and RFK Jr. to Ban COVID-19 Vaccine ‘Within Months’

Hot topics in the last day

New Business Investor Visa

* Jamie Ensor for NZ Herald: This is not an Oprah-style, everyone gets a visa': Stanford on new investor visa as speculation rises over foreign buyer settings

* RNZ: New visa for business investors launched

* Jamie Ensor for NZ Herald: New investor visa announced, speculation heats up over foreign buyer settings

* Immigration Minister Erica Stanford release via Beehive: New Business Investor Visa to support growth. Immigration NZ release

Consumer NZ report on home insurance

* Mandy Te for Interest: Consumer NZ report highlights danger of New Zealanders losing access to insurance

* Jenee Tibshraeny for NZ Herald: Are Aussie insurers ripping us off? Call made for more transparency over premiums

* Doc: Consumer NZ release: Rising cost of insurance prompts call for action on affordability and climate risks and full report: Will you be able to get home insurance by 2035? How climate change is affecting your house and contents bill.

The Best of the Rest

Politics & Geopolitics

* RNZ: Willis to make 'series of announcements' on supermarkets

* Anusha Bradley for RNZ: Secrecy over private hospital contracts draws fire

* Susan Edmunds for RNZ: Are relationship property laws working?

* 3News via Stuff: Justice Committee backs referendum on four year parliamentary term

* Ethan Manera for NZ Herald-$: The city suffering as 177 businesses shut – does Nicola Willis accept any blame?

* Interest: 'Practical changes': Revenue Minister introduces new tax bill

Economy, Business, Media & Tech

* Column by Craig Renney via his substack: On the cusp. Nearly there. All the time. Our recovery from the 2024 recession keeps being delayed

* Column by Martien Lubberink via his blog: How Media Helps Banks Win While Claiming to Help Borrowers

* David Hargreaves for Interest: Fonterra 'a much better business without Mainland Group', say analysts

* Imogene Bedford for NZ Herald: 'Evolving challenges': Zespri announces significant job cuts

* Column by Martien Lubberink via his blog: From Fortress to Mainstream: RBNZ Dials Back its Capital Ambitions

* RNZ Morning Report: Trump tariffs make shipping to US 'complex' - NZ Post

Housing, Transport & Infrastructure

* Bernard Orsman for NZ Herald-$: 'Planning by firing squad': The Auckland suburbs facing three-storey housing

* Column of the day: Hayden Donnell for The Spinoff: Newly sober nation begs for one more hit of high house prices. Please bro, just one more house price rise will fix it. I swear.

* Lilian Hanley for RNZ: Government touts $30 billion increase in total value of infrastructure projects in last quarter

* Mary Argue for RNZ: 'It really ruined me': Builder takes thousands and vanishes

* Natasha Gordon for NZ Herald: 'Lives at risk': Union warns Aucklanders as only aerial fire truck fails

* Interest: Big banks cut fixed mortgage rates, challenger banks go even lower

Councils

* Tom Hunt for The Post-$: Airport defies council and grants itself wide-ranging building height powers.

* Hamish McNeilly for Stuff: City cans plan to put cycleway through student quarter.

* Ellen O’Dwyer for RNZ: Wellington Council reveals plan for Newtown

* Andrew Ashton for ODT-$: Waitaki residents could lose homes over ‘astronomical’ jump in water charges to as high as $200 a month, Mayor says.

* David Long for Stuff: Dust, trucks and fury: locals rage at giant dump plan

* Ross McNaughton for RNZ: The battle against illegal parking on new bike path

Poverty, Health, Education, Living Costs, Incomes & Crime

* Anneke Smith for RNZ: Lake Alice redress 'rotten to the core', court told

* RNZ Morning Report: Elderly renters, women struggling with cost of living

* Bella Craig for RNZ: Landlords accused of doing healthy homes checks themselves

* RNZ: Parents say schools getting opening hours wrong for years

* RNZ Nine to Noon: Carolyn Cooper says govt has no plan for ageing population

* RNZ Nine to Noon: Huge unmet demand for hearing treatment

Climate & Environment

* Eloise Gibson for RNZ: Will road user charges help or hurt the climate?

* Jonathan Leask for LDR via Stuff: What does the future hold for the people who’ve made homes in this lakeside settlement?

* Deep-dive by Paddy Gower for Stuff: The new Kiwi DIY: homeowners building walls around their property to keep rising water out

* Deep-dive by Laura Tupou for Stuff: Why information about hazard risks to your home is behind a paywall

* 3News via Stuff: House insurance bills soar, more ditch cover

* Sharon Bretkelly for The Detail: An industry-killing crisis As the natural gas supply falls, a tomato grower fears for its future, and for growing food here

Docs of the Day

* MSD Supplementary Analysis Report on Including Boarders’ Contributions in the Calculation of Housing Subsidies.

* Westpac NZ special report by Satish Ranchod: Trading Places. Comparing economic conditions in New Zealand and Australia.

* IRD announcement: New taxation Bill introduced

* Te Waihanga-The Infrastructure Commission published its June quarter update of its Infrastructure Pipeline, showing a total of $17.5b in projected spend in calendar 2025, up $0.9b relative to the March 2025 update. The projected spend for calendar 2026 is currently forecast to fall to $16.6b.

* Roy Morgan NZ survey showing collapse in print readership for Stuff titles.

Timeline-cleansing nature pic

Ka kite ano. Bernard

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