Though I say it myself you couldn't have better help

6.40am

Chloe Damn Swarbrick is on the radio just owning this morning’s round of the Battle of the Property Ladder.

Yeah, sure. She's saying everything I want to hear so I would say that wouldn't I.  But all the same, these are some killer arguments. And sound bites. And talking points.

Thirty percent of the homes in this country are owned by people who own between four and more than 20 homes

I will realise later as I’m recounting it to other people, it’s a bit cute, the way that one’s formulated.

A more direct way of saying: between four and more than 20

would be: more than 4

But between four and more than 20 kind of conveys the sheer volume of blackbirds all those kings of property are getting stuffed into their pie.

But I digress. Big guns are being levelled with unerring accuracy.

Less than a third of New Zealand houses are owned by people who only own one house.

My concern is actually not just just mums and dads around the country, but mum and dad renters particularly those who are older and are consistently being locked out of the market.

Crisp, clear, all a forceful denunciation of the wholly unacceptable status quo.

We reach the best part when Corin says yes yes we want to see things get fixed but what if we go so far that heaven forbid prices fall? That could produce all kinds of unhappy economic fallout: recession, unemployment, who knows where it could end.

Chloe Goddamn Swarbrick calmly unloads a counterfactual on Corin’s ask:

Yes, but let’s say we just let the bubble keep growing, which has been the inevitable consequence of the tacit message for so long from both major parties: don't worry, we won't  let prices fall. Let’s say this grotesque bubble reaches a point where nothing can hold it up any longer, not the ever-lending banks, not the ever-outbidding buyers. Well, what then, what if the prices come crashing down in a cascading torrent of economic carnage and misery? You imagine it can go on forever but you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

I’m so old I can indeed remember what happened when prices actually did fall and the government could do little to stop them. Or, at least: the prices just stayed stuck where they were, and nothing sold, unless someone had to sell up and was then forced to take a fallen price. This was in the years following the ‘87 crash. It wasn't nice, not at all, but for a while it made things more viable for buyers.

And then the government of the early ‘90s, led by those sainted economic geniuses Birch and Shipley and Richardson, ushered in two dismal trends: doors thrown open for immigration for easy economic growth; and the pitching of Housing NZ into a demi-monde of competition and a kind of privatisation, leaving the nation with insufficient capacity to house people of limited means.

But no worries! We’ll give them money to pay private landlords!

Landlords duly made out like bandits and bid the prices of property ever higher and the banks all went along for the ride and that subsidy built to a figure nearing 2 billion a year and boy what a shame we didn't have 2 billion  a year going into building state housing all that time eh.

But I digress. Chloe GD Swarbrick is telling Corin: so now Corin, what do you choose? A runaway absolute exploding shitshow of a burst bubble or a prudent staged,  managing down of the market by a strongly intervening government, giving us a softer landing?

The answer to the question: who might be up to mobilising enough of those young people and alerting them to the possibility that their combined  voice and vote might be big and powerful enough to get a managed correction to a clusterfucking omnishambles is…

Chloe Damn Swarbrick.

The answer to the question are there any other assholes in the Battle of The Property Ladder thinking along these lines but not in a good way is…

8.10am

Small chunks of ice spotted in Hell.

Declaration:

Recent Twitter comments by, er, me may have given an impression of disaffection or even disdain for Auckland’s morning newspaper.

For example

Newspaper of scratched record still churning out columns of thuddingly bad reckons 

and

Well that goes neatly with the equally myopic selfish dimwitted contribution by HDPA. What is that paper good for apart from mopping up kitchen messes? Absolutely nothing.

And 

Well the good news is you're Covid-free, but you've got an awful case of NZME

It is now my feeling that the 150 year old newspaper established by a buccaneer of commerce to lend support to the invasion of Waikato is not all bad.

High five to whomever wrote such fine and insightful words.

8.15am

Am I still banging on about that wretched Harbour Bridge? Yes, I am still banging on about that wretched Harbour Bridge.

Readers of yesterday’s newsletter will have seen the fine work done by MTAF reader Neil Coleman, suggesting a lovely design for a second separate structure to wrap around the present one. We invited the minister to take a look.

Exciting news! The front page of the morning newspaper reports that a second crossing under consideration will be...a structure that would complement, or run alongside or, if you will, wrap around the existing one.

Boy that was fast! Glad we could help. Congrats, Neil.

8.35am

We were actually shaking is a pretty captivating opening to a story about possibly discovering the key to how the universe works. The story is here in the, yes, I’m really going all in today, Herald.

11.30am

The good news just keeps coming. Cousins, as previously enthused about in this newsletter is wonderful. Maybe all of Aotearoa will go to see it. Hope so.

12.15pm

MTAF reader Debra reminded me the other day that we have until Sunday to make a submission to the Climate Change Commission and now MTAF reader Mary-Margaret is reminding me too.

An electric vehicle in every garage is the slowest and most resource-intensive way to decarbonise transport

Been meaning to do a CCC submission? Bike Auckland has a really easy way for you to do it. Ride on, citizens of a better tomorrow.

Also related, here’s something I wrote earlier on the same topic.

2.00pm

What MTAF reader Mark said. All kinds of great thoughts, Also I got to introduce Xi’an number 37 to more friends.

4.20pm

Cheers to other MTAF reader Mark - Hi Mark! -for the perfect tableau to end the day. Now let’s find some music of this land to go with it.