Recent shootings and murders of young men in English cities have caused a great deal of angst in recent weeks. Events in Vancouver – often identified as one of the world’s most desirable locations - show the phenomenon is not restricted to the UK.

Vancouver’s outgoing Chief Constable has made a plea for 65 more police officers to counter escalating gun violence.

“Despite our best efforts, property crime remains at one of the highest levels in North America, gang violence is increasing and guns are being fired more often within our city limits than ever before,” said Chief Constable Jamie Graham.

“The people of Vancouver deserve to live in the safest city we can provide for them. They deserve the level of police service and safety that most other cities our size enjoy.”

Mr Graham, who is also Commanding Officer of the world famous Vancouver Police Pipe Band, added:

“We can combat this crime wave, but we need the tools to do it. Everyone wants to see more uniformed police officers on the street and so do we. We know that the sight of police walking the beat gives citizens a sense of well being and criminals a sense of foreboding.”

A curious claim was made by New Zealand’s Maori party a few days ago. Party leader, Tariana Turia, claimed New Zealand’s immigration policies were stifling the “browning” of New Zealand.

Ms Turia is unhappy that the proportion of Maori in New Zealand’s population is not rising as rapidly as she had hoped because, she says, of immigration from “white” countries such as the UK. Ms Turia said:

“The prediction is that by the year 2050 we are going to see a considerable browning-up of New Zealand with Maori, Pacific and Asians - and maybe this is the way the Government combats it.”

Prime Minister Helen Clark said the suggestion was ridiculous.

“Our country has been built on migration. You’re part of it, I’m part of it, our forefathers were part of it.”

National Party leader John Key said the Maori Party was correct to say the population increase had diluted the growth of the Maori roll.

“But that is a very small issue in my view in relation to the bigger one of what not having those people coming to New Zealand would represent.”

New Zealand – like many economies - has a shortage of skilled workers. New Zealand’s immigration policies, summarised here, have their basis in bringing skilled people into New Zealand’s economy. People who have in-demand skills and who speak English fluently are given priority in the country’s immigration programme.

In a masterful display of illogical thinking, Ms Turia went on to say that her views were not racist because they were aimed at immigrants from Great Britain, Europe, Canada, and Australia and were not aimed at Asians.

Even in other English-speaking countries, the way things are run can be very different from the UK. In Canada, the neighbouring provinces of British Columbia and Alberta have negotiated a trade agreement due to start on – of all dates - April 1. I couldn’t help picturing councillors from Yorks and Lancs sitting around a table thrashing out trans-Pennine black pudding and yorkshire pudding quotas. (I plead guilty to watching The Goodies on DVD last night.)

Each Canadian province has its own government, sets its own tax rate and makes its own laws. Provinces have more autonomy than the Scottish Parliament within the UK.

According to the Conference Board of Canada the British Columbia/Alberta trade deal will create about $4.8 billion in business and generate 78,000 new jobs in B.C. alone.

The Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) is intended to harmonise standards, regulations, licensing and certification between member provinces. It creates a market of 7.7 million people. The governments in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, however, have said they’re not interested in joining the agreement.

Nancy Hughes Anthony, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, told The Brooks Bulletin;
“We’re looking for trade all around the world and yet we can’t have free trade between our own provinces. It’s absolutely shocking.”

Barry O’Neill, of the Canadian Union of Public Employees said;

“The deal is being oversold. Potential benefits are just not that big.”

Bev Dick, of the 23,000 member United Nurses of Alberta, said;

“It makes sense that you should be able to move from province to province without a tremendous amount of bureaucracy.”

Yesterday’s Money Programme looked at the increasing numbers of Britons making their homes abroad and commuting to work in the UK. Commuting in the UK can be a tortuous process and many people are now finding that a commute from Europe is preferable.

Justin Saunders, his wife and two daughters used to be crammed into a two-bedroom house in West Sussex. He commuted for three hours each day. They now have a five-bedroom house with pool in the beautiful village of Albas, South-West France. The house cost £180,000 price and included a separate cottage that was the same size as their old house in West Sussex. He now commutes by budget airline back to his work in Hampshire.

Gary Wheeler is a farrier who moved from Herne Bay to a farmhouse in an acre of land in Pas de Calais, which he bought for £60,000. He commutes daily to Kent through the Eurotunnel and says his commuting time has increased by one hour daily.

When the St Pancras high-speed rail terminal opens in November the travel time from Lille to London will be 80 minutes. The idea of daily commuting from Northern France suddenly becomes very practical.

According to the think tank Future Forum, within a decade there will be more than 1.5 million people working in the UK while living abroad.

Commuting From New Zealand To The UK

Perhaps the most extreme example of long distance commuting was a story that surfaced in The Sun in 2004. PC Chris McKee moved his wife and their five children to Dunedin, New Zealand in 2000. He paid £150,000 for a five-bed house with large grounds in a smart suburb. His family benefits from high-quality schools and health care, cheap food, a low crime rate and congestion-free roads.

PC McKee makes the 26-hour flight home three times a year and stays for two months, while keeping digs in London. He works enough overtime to spend half the year with his family in Dunedin.

“It’s a long way but it’s worth it to give my family a standard of living we could only dream about in England. I used to take stress home. Now I’m a lot more fun with the kids. I can also be totally focused at work.”

The Sun believes that many other members of the police force are commuting from abroad.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We are committed to providing flexible working arrangements. This officer has a London home in accordance with the rules.”

The average price of a house in Australia’s major cities ranges from £134,200 (A$243,871) in Adelaide to £212,600 (A$526,158) in Sydney.

Australia’s average house prices are not directly comparable with the UK’s because:

• UK average house prices include all types of dwelling, including flats.
• Average house prices in Australia are just for houses and do not include flats/units.

House Prices in Australia
December 2006

* Assumed exchange rate is £1 = A$2.47

Commenting on the figures, Michael McNamara, Operations Manager for Australian Property Monitors said:

“The headline figures for all eastern capitals indicate that those markets are in a stabilisation phase of their property cycles. However, closer analysis shows that within cities there is more volatility than at first glance.

“Premium markets are outperforming strongly. For instance, affluent suburbs in Sydney such as Palm Beach, Waverton and Bellevue Hill achieved double digit growth at the expense of mortgage belt outer suburbs such as Macquarie Fields, Lakemba and Narellan. Strong migration patterns, wage growth and a weak new housing industry will all intensify the divide between premium and more outer suburban markets in 2007.

“In some areas the outlook is bleaker. The near doubling of auctions in Sydney’s west will, at least in part, reflect an alarming rise of mortgagee in possession sales. As the three interest rate rises in 2006 take full effect, the impact will be felt more deeply by lower to middle income earners creating weak property markets in the mortgage belt areas of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Sadly, forced sales will continue to create an oversupply and flat demand in these areas as a declining market will most likely persist. This will improve affordability in outer suburban markets.”

Source: HomePriceGuide