Budget 2021…"The wellness budget"

Last week's budget had some positive news for Otago with additional funding for the Hospital rebuild and expansion at Hillside. Also, some good news for beneficiaries with a $55.00 increase, albeit not all at once.

Leaving aside the usual announcements around Health and Education spending, there was little of any real note for the pundits and commentators to work with. With respect to the Housing Crisis, the Government had already made its policy announcements back in March with the changes to the Brightline test and interest deductibility.

We spoke with Tony Alexander last week for his take on Budget 2021 and he gave it a 6 out of 10 if you were a beneficiary and a 2 out of 10 if you were in business. Some of his key points were:

The Treasury forecasts all looked pretty good, with the exception to unemployment (will get lower) and the Housing Market. His expectation was the housing market would continue to grow at 5% to 10% in the next year, as the March changes would not deter investors in the long term. There are few other opportunities for them as housing is one of the few investments that  allows them to borrow to invest. No bank will lend for you to invest in the share market or Bitcoin!

With respect to unemployment, he expected it to continue to fall (below Treasury forecasts) as the labour shortage grows. New Zealand is not alone in experiencing a housing boom, both Australia and the USA are experiencing them as well. This means as the borders reopen and we are vaccinated, the lure of higher wages overseas will put increasing demand on both skilled and unskilled Kiwi labour to work overseas.

Whilst Tony did think it was a strong possibility that the Government would return to surplus by 2027, that was partly because the Government would not be able to spend as much as budgeted. The labour shortage will simply mean that it is not be possible to build everything they intended.

If you would like to see the full discussion with Tony, you can view the video below:

Opportunities for Tomorrow's Leaders

Polson Higgs is focused on supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs in business and agriculture. We are very excited to be involved with both The Young Enterprise Scheme and Young Farmers as they create opportunities for tomorrow’s leaders.

Young Enterprise Scheme (YES)

Polson Higgs have been the local sponsor for the YES for the last four years. The 2021 candidates are in the final stages of their projects as they prepare for the Polson Higgs Pitch Days at the beginning of June.

YES is focused on inspiring young people to discover their potential in business and in life. Young Enterprises challenges teams of Year 12 & 13 students to create a “product” and take it to market over the course of the year.

As sponsors we are excited to provide:

• The Polson Higgs Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Training sessions. Where we provide training on XERO and budgeting / forecasting for the CFO’s of the teams.
• The Polson Higgs Pitch day. The teams each present a “pitch” to a dragon den of judges in the Anderson Room at our offices in Moray Place.

Polson Higgs is passionate about supporting the Young Enterprise Scheme because it provides a pathway for the next generation of entrepreneurs within our local community.

Follow us on Facebook for live updates.

Polson Higgs Innovation Competition

Following our experience with the Young Experience Scheme Polson Higgs decided it wanted to create a similar opportunity that focused on the rural / agriculture sector. With that goal in mind we have partnered with Young Farmers to sponsor the Polson Higgs Innovation Competition for Year 12 or 13 Teen Ag Members or studying Agriculture in School.

Startup Dunedin - Mini Showcase

Start up Dunedin extends an invitation to any of the below people to attend a mini-showcase and witness some of the current startups in incubation. 

Meet the people behind the amazing companies from all of Startup Dunedin’s programmes and learn about their big, bold ideas. There will be pitches, a chance to ask questions, the opportunity to meet the manager of Mainland Angel Investment network, and see the newly renovated Startup space!

When: Thursday, 27 May 2021, 4pm - 6pm
Where: Startup Dunedin, 20 Leithbank, North Dunedin 

Jamie Reidie, our newest Partner, and member of the Startup Dunedin Board, will be there to support the event. 

If you're interested, please register here and come along for drinks, nibbles and startups.

Webpage - Check out Polson Higgs Covid-19 for our COVID-19 resources for you to use.

If you have a question about anything, please don’t hesitate to ask on info@ph.co.nz.

Stay safe and keep in touch.

Kind regards

Polson Higgs Team

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