Friday, 2 March 2007

House construction costs skyrocket - house prices spiral

Carter Holt Harvey, one of the countries two biggest timber producers, are to hike timber prices by around 15%-20% to the Carters, ITM and Fletchers owned Placemakers outlets according to industry insiders. This rise will fuel an already overheated housing market and could see existing property prices rise by as much as 5%. Price rises are to be announced by CHH in the next two weeks.

Carter Holt Harvey, after purchasing the ITM builders supplies chain recently have effectively doubled their market share to 40%. CHH also supply 50% of their timber to Placemakers, giving CHH a very large footprint in the New Zealand market place. Any price increase by CHH is likely to be mirrored by Fletchers seeing flow on house price inflation hit an already overheated and increasingly toppy market.

Thursday, 1 March 2007

Labour legitimise Harawira' political platform

Recent events in the Coromandel at Whenuakite have given a much needed fillip to the Maori party and no doubt their ratings. Landcorp, after having their offer to surrender the 1100 hectare farm to the State for treaty settlements declined, put the block up for sale to the highest bidder.

An enterprising group of local Iwi have occupied the farm causing a huge political embarrassment to the Government. Mallard and Clark have been backpedaling furiously to make this go away. So much so there has been another set of press releases heralding Helen's much publicised meeting with 'Jethro' George Bush. Rather testily Helen quickly pointed out to an interviewer that her meeting with George was not to be as short as 20 minutes but upwards of an hour, well, imagine the chit chat.

Both Mallard and Clark have gone out of their way to note that 'due process' must be followed in matters treaty implying that these pesky Maori party people are encouraging the peasants to revolt. Come on, if due process had been followed by the Labour Government the land would be sitting on the table for treaty settlements by now.

Big Trev, as we like to call him after his appointment as Rugby World Cup Minister, dredges further towards the bottom of the barrel with his musings on LabourFM that 'we need a new set of policies for the new millennium' or some such tosh. Trev, the new millennium dawned 8 years ago mate (but lets not split hairs over 1999 v 2000).

Labour has single handedly given the Maori party and Hone Harawiri a call to arms. Watch this space.

And Hone, good on ya mate, I don't give a stuff what Helen and Trev reckon either.

Human ass fat drives sustainability

Labour party sustainability wonks will be salivating (or should that be gagging?) over their soy lattes by news that Earthracer, the New Zealand sustainability awareness raising boat journey around the globe, is powered by liposuctioned ass fat.

Go Earthracer!

This is surely a sign to the faithful that, in order for the new dawn of sustainability in New Zealand to shine over the rising underclass, legislation is needed immediately to allow starving plastic surgeons to perform emergency mandatory liposuction on fat kids and obese lard ass parents across the nation.

Perhaps the Government should have helped Earthracer with its fund raising a year or so ago when various government bods (Tourism NZ and Jim Anderton) did their best to distance themselves and New Zealand from Earthracers bloody exciting and leading edge expedition. I suppose the photo opps weren't as good as poncing around the Antarctic or grandstanding on carbon credit trading.

Go Labour, get Tourism NZ to sponsor the guy.