According to Auckland police, a recent video was reposted on social media showing a group of teenage girls brutally assaulting another teenage girl next to the Henderson bus stop in the West End.
The video, which was filmed last Saturday afternoon, shows a group of girls surrounding another girl, two of whom knocked her to the ground.
After the victim fell to the ground, four teenagers began punching and kicking her, and one of the girls filmed the entire violent assault.
The titles of the videos are: "We're not sorry" and "The girls attack...... They're all from Waitak."
Multi-person attacks in the West End
A woman, who asked not to be named, told reporters she believed the group had assaulted her daughter at Henderson Mall earlier in the day.
A police spokesman said police responded to the incident on Saturday afternoon and arrested two young men.
"We have been conducting an investigation in recent days and the identities of the other two young people have been identified," the police said. ”
It is reported that this incident is another in a recent series of violent attacks at or near Auckland bus stops.
Police confiscated a knife from one of the criminals on Tuesday after two teenage girls were unprovoked by six young people on a bus in Albany, Auckland.
North Shore Bus Attack
The attack left one of the victims traumatized, and she said she was afraid to take the bus again.
"I'm still shocked, I can't believe this is happening," the victim said. ”
The girl added that nowadays she is nervous because the bus is her main means of transport, but she will now be afraid to take the bus for a while.
It has been reported that crowd intimidation and violence against young people are common at Albany station, and last year, a young man was stabbed to death at the station in broad daylight.
In the 1970s, the 1970s, the 1970s and 1970s were all over the world.
As a result of these incidents, Auckland Transport and police have stepped up security measures at the North Shore bus station.
AT announced increased daily security
Rachel Cara, General Manager of Public Transport Operations at Auckland Tf, said: "Aucklanders want and deserve a safe transport network where everyone has the right to feel safe, especially children and vulnerable people, no matter how they get around. ”
"Our staff have contacted the police to ensure they increase their patrol presence in the vicinity," she said. We have deployed additional traffic officers and security personnel at the station. ”
"Following a police investigation, we also welcome any suggestions for safety improvements and are working to implement them where possible – not only at the Albany bus stop, but also at our other transport facilities," Cara said. ”
In addition to the social issues that have attracted attention, the economic environment and the outlook for inflation can have a significant impact on people's livelihood this year.
Today, Reuters released a new survey of economists, which showed that optimism is spreading and that the RBNZ is likely to cut interest rates in August.
Optimism spreads, with economists predicting a rate cut in August
According to a Reuters poll of economists, the global economy is expected to remain strong for the rest of the year and into 2025, contrary to the expected slowdown.
The shift in the growth outlook presents a series of challenges for central banks, and their projected rate cuts may now have to be postponed.
A Reuters survey of 500 economists conducted between March 27 and April 25 showed that among the larger economies, the United States and India are expected to contribute the most to growth, with no deterioration in the outlook consensus for the eurozone and China.
Global economic growth is expected to be 2.9 percent this year, up from 2.6 percent in the January survey and 3.0 percent in 2025.
Nathan Sheets, Global Chief Economist at Citibank, said: "We were surprised by the resilience of the global economy. This is partly due to our conservative expectations at the start of the year, when we thought there would be a deceleration this year. ”
On the other hand, strong growth is expected to keep inflation and interest rates at high levels for longer.
Economists still expect major central banks to cut interest rates this quarter or next, broadly in line with financial market pricing. But due to high inflation, most people predict fewer rate cuts by the end of the year.
Yesterday's data showed that inflation rebounded in the first quarter in the United States, and GDP growth slowed sharply.
According to the survey, economists expect the Fed to start cutting rates in September and cut rates twice in the fourth quarter, while the earliest forecast was to start in March and cut rates six times throughout the year.
The ECB is still expected to cut rates by 25 basis points in June and then two more in the second half of the year, with the region likely to grow at an average of just 0.5% in 2024, so a rate cut is needed to stimulate the economy.
The Bank of England will wait until the next quarter to start a rate cut cycle.
Economist: The RBNZ will cut interest rates as early as August
New Zealand, which experienced a contraction in GDP in the third and fourth quarters of last year, is expected to grow slightly in the first quarter of this year, and the GDP data for the whole year remains weak.
The Reuters poll also showed that economists surveyed expect the RBNZ to cut interest rates in August for the full year by 50 basis points, down from the 75 basis points forecast in January.
Although the RBNZ has not made a clear statement in recent months, it set the start of interest rate cuts at the beginning of 2025 at the end of last year.
However, economists now generally expect a rate cut to be announced in November this year, while inflation will fall back into normal range in the third quarter.
Domestic inflation remains a major concern for central banks, particularly the stubbornly high rent rises. Data from the start of the year suggests that rental inflation remains high.
New Zealand weekly rents have soared for the third month in a row
According to the latest rental price index published on the Trade Me website, the national median weekly rent was $640 in February this year, up 1.6% from January.
Weekly rents for one- and two-bedroom units reached an all-time high of $550, while weekly rents for three- and four-bedroom units reached a new high of $720.
Hawke's Bay saw the biggest increase compared to January, with local weekly rents up 5.6 per cent and the median weekly rent in the area now stands at $655.
According to the report, the national rent increase was mainly driven by Napier and Hastings, where the median weekly rent rose by 11.7% and 3.1% respectively. The median rent in both cities is $670 per week, just $10 less than Auckland.
Meanwhile, Southland remains the cheapest rental area in New Zealand, with a median weekly rent of $450.
Gavin Lloyd, director of real estate sales at Trade Me, said the increase in rents across the country was more pronounced than a year ago.
"The median weekly rent has risen by 6.7 per cent compared to February 2023, with an annual increase of more than $2,000, or $40 per week," he said. ”
The plight of tenants has deepened
According to housing market expert Tony Alexander, tenants' current predicament is deepening.
Alexander asked investors how much they plan to increase their rents in the coming year, and the answer was an average increase of 5.6%.
This result is unchanged from a month ago and down from 6.3% reached in July last year (a three-year peak).
Why hasn't rental growth accelerated?Alexander believes it may be because research shows that the main factor that determines the trend of rents in New Zealand is people's income.
Given that renters have been hit hard by the cost of living in recent years and are now struggling to afford higher rents, landlords are left to consider rental pricing based on market conditions.
Still, the 5.6% rent increase is still higher than the current inflation rate of 4.7%, which could be below 3% a year from now.
Alexander also believes that New Zealand needs more rental supply.