The Reserve Bank has cut its benchmark interest rate, to support the economy against the impact of the Covid-19 virus. The central bank cut its official cash rate to 0.25 percent from one percent. Governor Adrian Orr says the cut is necessary to support businesses and employment. The last time the Reserve Bank made such a big cut was in March 2011 after the Canterbury earthquake. Last week, the bank outlined a range of unconventional monetary policy tools such as negative interest rates, special loans to banks, and buying bonds to put money into the economy. Cameron Bagrie is an independent economist. He speaks to Susie Ferguson.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Aftermath of Christchurch earthquake as residents start to clean up. City Council surveyors Michael Croucher, left, and James Anderson check stop bank levels along the Avon River in Dallington/Burwood".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Schools around Christchurch return after a week off due to the earthquake. Banks Avenue School is situated in one of the worst hit areas. Jordan Preston, aged 5, heading into school".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Aftermath of the earthquake in Christchurch where the clean-up has begun. People are evacuated from ASB Bank on the corner of Riccarton Road and Rimu Street, after whole blocks of buildings on Riccarton Road were sealed off".
Shows a graph illustrating the 'Growth forecast' for the economy. A large finger representing the 'Reserve Bank' squashes the growth arrow as though it is a fly and it starts to zig-zag crazily downwards. The statement made 16th September looked a shadow of the bright one the Reserve Bank published three months ago. With its forecasts finalised the day before the Canterbury earthquake struck, the Bank has taken secateurs to its economic growth track, and a carving knife to its interest rate path. Instead of GDP growth pushing 4% this year and next, for example, it now struggles to reach 3% in each. It's tempting to think this has been driven by the wobbling international news over recent months. In fact it's been because of a suddenly sombre view around NZ consumer spending and the housing market. (Interest.co.nz) Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The Canterbury earthquake could force up the cost of building in the region by five percent but the Reserve Bank says it'll ignore that kind of inflation unless it affects the whole country.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "The Deutsche Bank education ensembled an opera singer and a brass quartet to entertain and enthuse schools that have been badly hit by the earthquake. Pupils of Halswell School listen to the quartet play a variety of tunes".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "The Deutsche Bank education ensembled an opera singer and a brass quartet to entertain and enthuse schools that have been badly hit by the earthquake. Pupils of Halswell School listen to the quartet play a variety of tunes".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Aftermath of the earthquake in Christchurch where the cleanup has begun. USAR teams assess the parapet on the National Bank on Riccarton Road as staff look on from inside. It was deemed to be safe".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Schools around Christchurch return after a week off due to the earthquake. Banks Avenue School is situated in one of the worst hit areas. Bradley Farrant, aged 10, on patrol allows Shaima Rabani, aged 10, to cross".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Schools around Christchurch return after a week off due to the earthquake. Banks Avenue School is situated in one of the worst hit areas. Bradley Farrant, aged 10, on patrol allows Shaima Rabani, aged 10, to cross".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Engineers from ECAN and other areas in New Zealand have been inspecting the Waimakariri River stop banks on the coast side of State Highway 1 after the September earthquake. Ian Heslop, ECAN Design and Operations Engineer".
A video about the Student Volunteer Army delivering chemical toilets and building sandbag walls in Avondale after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The sandbag walls are being built along the banks of the Avon River to prevent flooding caused by land subsidence.
A 150 metre memorial wall will be unveiled on the banks of the Avon today six years after the devastating earthquake hit Christchurch. Bruce McEachen says it is an inspiring place and the wall will perform every function the families need it to.
A 150 metre memorial wall will be unveiled on the banks of the Avon today six years after the devastating earthquake hit Christchurch. Bruce McEachen says it is an inspiring place and the wall will perform every function the families need it to.
A video of the removal of the earthquake-damaged Medway Street bridge from the banks of the Avon River. The video shows members of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team removing the bridge and preparing it for transport to the Ferrymead Heritage Park. It will remain at the park until a permanent home can be found for it as an earthquake memorial.
Tourist operators in Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula hit hard by the effects of the Christchurch earthquake are making a desperate push to lure back the tourists.
The state of emergency in Christchurch has just been extended until midday on Wednesday. In latest developments Canterbury Civil Defence is now warning people to prepare for potential flooding, only two days after the major earthquake that caused widespread damage to much of the region.
A civic memorial service was held at 12.30pm on the north bank of Oi Manawa, Canterbury National Earthquake Memorial.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Aftermath of the earthquake in Christchurch where the cleanup has begun. Teams of building inspectors gathered at the Linwood Service Centre before heading into the eastern suburbs en masse. Jeanette Banks, centre right, shares the relief of having had her property inspected with sister and Red Cross member Sandie Horne, down from Nelson. Napier building inspector, Gary Marshall, left, and City Council planner, Kent Wilson at right".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Aftermath of the earthquake in Christchurch where the cleanup has begun. Teams of building inspectors gathered at the Linwood Service Centre before heading into the eastern suburbs en masse. Jeanette Banks, centre right, shares the relief of having had her property inspected with sister and Red Cross member Sandie Horne, down from Nelson. Napier building inspector, Gary Marshall, left, and City Council planner, Kent Wilson at right".
A digitally manipulated photograph of broken windows on Shadbolt House. The photographer comments, "This was close to the start of the demolition of the earthquake damaged Shadbolt House building in the Port of Lyttelton, New Zealand. In the bright sun the glass reflected the blue sky, but the broken windows only reflected the blackness of the interior of the empty broken building".
Principal of Banks Ave School, Murray Edlin, and Canterbury Primary Principals Association president, John Bangma, discuss the issue of earthquake damaged schools in property repairs funding shock.
The Australian-owned, ANZ Bank, is betting small and medium sized firms will drive earnings next year, bolstered by the Rugby World Cup and rebuilding of the earthquake-hit Canterbury region.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 14 September 2012 showing the site of the Harbourlight Theatre on London Street. The retaining wall at the rear of the site collapsed and part of the adjoining land eroded. Also visible in the photograph are the side walls of the Bank of New Zealand and the former Westpac Branch, now Himalaya Desi...
The Canterbury Civil Defence Duty Manager, James Thompson, says the Waimakariri River could breach its banks just south of Kaiapoi, and as a preacaution they have evacuated the Riverlands Holiday Park.
This thesis presents an assessment of historic seismic performance of the New Zealand stopbank network from the 1968 Inangahua earthquake through to the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake. An overview of the types of stopbanks and the main aspects of the design and construction of earthen stopbanks was presented. Stopbanks are structures that are widely used on the banks of rivers and other water bodies to protect against the impact of flood events. Earthen stopbanks are found to be the most used for such protection measures. Different stopbank damage or failure modes that may occur due to flooding or earthquake excitation were assessed with a focus on past earthquakes internationally, and examples of these damage and failure modes were presented. Stopbank damage and assessment reports were collated from available reconnaissance literature to develop the first geospatial database of stopbank damage observed in past earthquakes in New Zealand. Damage was observed in four earthquakes over the past 50 years, with a number of earthquakes resulting in no stopbank damage. The damage database therefore focussed on the Edgecumbe, Darfield, Christchurch and Kaikōura earthquakes. Cracking of the crest and liquefaction-induced settlement were the most common forms of damage observed. To understand the seismic demand on the stopbank network in past earthquakes, geospatial analyses were undertaken to approximate the peak ground acceleration (PGA) across the stopbank network for ten large earthquakes that have occurred in New Zealand over the past 50 years. The relationship between the demand, represented by the peak ground acceleration (PGA) and damage is discussed and key trends identified. Comparison of the seismic demand and the distribution of damage suggested that the seismic performance of the New Zealand stopbank network has been generally good across all events considered. Although a significant length of the stopbank networks were exposed to high levels of shaking in past events, the overall damage length was a small percentage of this. The key aspect controlling performance was the performance of the underlying foundation soils and the effect of this on the stopbank structure and stability.
Text top left reads 'Downsizemic activity' and a seismic graph zigzags wildly but gradually tails off into the words 'Interest rates' which take a serious downwards trend. Context - The Christchurch earthquakes of 4 September 2010 and 22 February 2011 which have had an impact on an already stagnating economy. The Reserve Bank has made a relatively large 50-point cut in its benchmark interest rate, the Official Cash Rate (from 3% to 2.5 per cent). Critics say that inflation is already running unacceptably high and there is a threat of much higher inflation in a year or two when the rebuilding of Christchurch begins to put pressure on limited resources. The Reserve Bank acknowledged these factors, but it has chosen instead to focus on the immediate impact of the earthquake on the economy and particularly on all-important business and consumer sentiment. (Press editorial 12 March 2011) Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The Reserve Bank Governor says he has acted pre-emptively in cutting the official cash rate to guard against the risk that the economic impact of the Christchurch earthquake might become especially severe. Are we in for an oil shock or not?
Finance Minister Bill English scratches his head with frustration as he stands up to his chest in earthquake rubble that represents the 'economy'. Allan Bollard the Governor of the Reserve Bank appears in gumboots asking if he can 'help with rebuilding..? by making an 'OCR cut'; he holds a collection box labeled 'OCR cut'. Context - Two earthquakes and hundreds of aftershocks have hit Christchurch, the first on 4 September 2010 and a second more devastating one on 22 February 2011. The Reserve Bank has made a relatively large 50-point cut in its benchmark interest rate, the Official Cash Rate (from 3% to 2.5 per cent). Critics say that inflation is already running unacceptably high and there is a threat of much higher inflation in a year or two when the rebuilding of Christchurch begins to put pressure on limited resources. The Reserve Bank acknowledged these factors, but it has chosen instead to focus on the immediate impact of the earthquake on the economy and particularly on all-important business and consumer sentiment. (Press editorial 12 March 2011) Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).