OECD stories
Higher building costs and rates rises are set to force developers to shelve projects, threatening new home supply and affordability.
New Zealand's GDP is set to rise by 3.8% this year, according to new OECD research, but challenges remain for the country's economic growth and stability.
Poor maintenance is costing firms billions through outages, water failures and transport disruptions, the G20 says in a new policy agenda.
House prices could be kept artificially high, worsening inequality and locking buyers into the cost of poor policy, Infrastructure New Zealand says.
Australia’s recovery risks being blunted unless governments shift spending towards social infrastructure, housing and renewable energy.
Lockdowns have exposed costly staffing risks in water and wastewater plants, strengthening the case for remote monitoring and automation.
Access to global markets should widen for small Kiwi firms as the new digital economy pact is expected to lift trade and growth.
Australia faces a 1 percent of GDP infrastructure gap as rapid city growth, labour shortages and slower productivity strain new projects.
The OECD says labour productivity has fallen 15 per cent against Australia and other rich economies over 25 years, threatening incomes.
Excluding asset recycling from the review could leave councils without a key option to fund roads, water and housing as costs rise.
The OECD's Global Forum issued the rating after examining NZ's laws and practices on the exchange of information with other tax authorities.
Over 5,000 exporting SMEs globally were asked to consider the online tools that help them sell internationally.
Rising housing pressure and ageing assets are forcing councils to seek new funding tools as LGNZ urges election contenders to back infrastructure renewal.
Limited housing growth in Auckland is being blamed on poor infrastructure funding, with the OECD urging new ways to pay for public works.
High-speed fibre internet continues to be the most significant player in OECD countries, with growth rates still powering ahead of DSL.
High-speed fibre internet subscriptions have overtaken copper-wire DSL connections across OECD countries, according to new data.
The crisis has accentuated our dependence on digital technologies and exposed the reality of the digital divides between and within countries.
Overall, fibre broadband connections have increased 3% from 24% to 27% in the space of one year, indicating that it is still a slow process for many countries.
In 2018, broadband subscriptions rose by 8%, or 108 million subscriptions, resulting in mobile broadband penetration reaching just under 110%.
The report shows how Australia, New Zealand and other OECD countries are pushing ahead in developing new digital technologies.
