Luxon says he always expects healthy debate.
Costly crossings
Auckland’s pedestrian crossings come at a far higher price than those in the capital.
Figures from the 2021/2022 financial year show Auckland Transport chewed through $6 million on 12 signalised crossings, at an average cost of half a million dollars.
Meanwhile, Wellington City Council built four cheaper, non-signalised raised crossings for just under $120,000.
But AT has defended the local cost of crossings, saying they are fundamentally different from those in Wellington.
Inflation expected to fall
The falling costs of offshore products are set to leave a mark in today’s inflation figures.
Consumer Price Index data for the December quarter will be released this morning.
Kiwibank is picking annual inflation will come in at 4.6 per cent, below the 5 per cent forecast from the Reserve Bank.
It was at 5.6 per cent in the previous quarter.
Chief economist Jarrod Kerr says we have seen some big declines in imported inflation.
Reserve Bank’s proposal
The Reserve Bank has a new proposal for banks to help households weather different interest rate environments.
It is launching consultation around activating debt-to-income restrictions.
This means households will have a limit on how much they can borrow - relative to their income.
The restrictions are designed to safeguard borrowers by ensuring they have a sufficient income to service their debt into the future.