Political commentators Tim Hurdle and Neale Jones
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NZ Herald
2 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Why banning surcharges may hike prices for all
Massey University Associate Professor from the School of Accountancy, Economics and Finance, Claire Matthews, told The Front Page she doesn't think banning surcharges is the right move. 'Because what will happen is the business is still going to incur that cost. So, if they haven't been able to absorb it up till now, then I don't see that they're going to be able to absorb it. What they will have to do is build it into their cost structure and, therefore, into their prices. 'Rather than individual customers paying, we will all end up paying higher prices. So, it's not like it gets rid of the cost to the business; it just changes who pays for it. 'Even if you're paying with cash, you're going to end up paying a higher price because some consumers are paying via PayWave or credit card. So there's a question as to whether that's fair,' she said. Matthews thinks the Government would be better placed to make sure businesses are only passing on the actual cost of fees to consumers. 'I believe that the Commerce Commission was doing some work in this regard to make sure that, for example, if a business is being charged 50c, then that's the charge they're passing on to the customer. They weren't taking the opportunity to say, surcharge you a dollar and make an extra 50c. 'The Government could also be looking at costs that the credit card companies and the banks are charging businesses to make sure that those are reasonable and that the costs they're passing on, again, reflect the costs to them for those transactions,' she said. Theoretically, society could return to cash to avoid such fees, but Matthews said it's become increasingly difficult to even get cash. 'There aren't the number of ATMs around, certainly not bank ATMs, anymore. And if you go to a non-bank ATM, there are fees associated with those, quite large fees actually. 'The reality is that businesses don't actually want you to deal with cash because if they're collecting cash, then they've got to do something with it, and that becomes a hassle, particularly in smaller communities because they don't have access to bank services to be able to offload it easily,' she said. 'There's a justification for arguing that if businesses are going to accept cash that they should be able to surcharge for that because it's actually quite expensive for them to manage it.' Listen to the full episode to hear more about what would happen if the Government banned all charges. The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016. You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Scoop
7 hours ago
- Scoop
HTP Change Aimed At Stopping Smoking
Hon Casey Costello Associate Minister of Health The Government's move to reduce the excise on Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs) is about getting more people to quit smoking, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said today. 'The Labour Party and some people in RNZ are fixated on tobacco companies,' Ms Costello says. 'What Ayesha Verrall has said about the cost and benefit of this policy is completely untrue. 'We want people to stop smoking, and the contingent liability forecast by Treasury will only happen if a lot of people quit smoking and the Government's revenue from tobacco excise reduces significantly because of this. 'Obviously if that happens it's a good thing for smoking rates and peoples' health. Last year, a change was made to halve the excise duty on heated tobacco products (HTPs) to see if that might encourage cigarette smokers to switch to a less harmful product. There was to be an evaluation of the change after a year, but because of vaping regulation changes, HTP devices were withdrawn from the market for some of the year. HTPs are now back on the market and the review has been extended to July 2027 as there will be more data available. Last year's cabinet paper included preliminary modelling from the Ministry of Health showing 7,200 people quitting smoking in the first two years from the excise change. It also included estimates of the potential costs from reduced revenue from tobacco excise from people no longer smoking, and from the excise reduction on HTPs. These were included in the Budget documents as contingent liabilities to recognise the potential impact on the Government's accounts. 'What Labour and RNZ are saying is incredibly misleading,' Ms Costello says. 'To be absolutely clear, this is no 'tax break' for the industry. 'I said at the time and continue to say that our drive is to stop smoking. We are trying to see if HTPs can play a similar role to vaping and provide an alternative product and way to quit for smokers. 'We've made great progress in reducing smoking rates and with particular groups like young people and most smokers are now long-term and older and we need to try different ways to help them. 'While a full evaluation of this policy is two years away, I have asked the Ministry of Health to ensure that the excise reduction in HTPs continues to be passed on to consumers.' The Ministry of Health has also established an expert advisory group to look at improving the regulatory regime around all nicotine and tobacco products. The group includes representatives from Health Coalition Aotearoa, ASH, Vape Free Kids, Cancer Society, Heart Foundation, Hāpai te Hauora, the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, Auckland and Otago Universities and other experts and is due to report to the Minister before the end of the year.
RNZ News
12 hours ago
- RNZ News
Graham Bloxham drops out of Wellington mayoral race
Graham Bloxham. Photo: Supplied Wellington mayoral candidate Graham Bloxham has announced he is quitting the race. It appears Bloxham has announced he is quitting before submitting his nomination, which has not appeared on the Wellington City Council website. Bloxham runs the Facebook page WellingtonLive and has faced controversy in recent months after being arrested for failing to stop for police , and being told by the Employment Relations Authority to pay a former employee $30,000 . In a LinkedIn post, Bloxham said he will not be running for the mayor of Wellington. "After much research 'talking to the neighbours cat over the fence', I feel I can do a much better job outside of council." He said his family did not want to deal with personal attacks on him. "I have looked back and tried to imagine what it might look like, and reflected on the impact on my family. Neither want to deal with the personal attacks on their father." Nominations for the mayoralty close midday on Friday. Other candidates include Andrew Little, Ray Chung, Diane Calvert, Karl Tiefenbacher, Rob Goulden, Josh Harford, William Pennywize, Donald McDonald, Alex Baker and Kelvin Hastie. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
