Australians are going to have to get used to New Zealanders going on about how much better their economy is.
Paul Bloxham, the HSBC economist who first called New Zealand a rock star economy, says the New Zealand dollar is going to be strong for some time because the NZ economy is strong.
The New Zealand dollar was at 98.27 Australian cents on Friday from 98.18 cents on Thursday and it is expected to reach parity.
The last time the New Zealand dollar passed the Aussie dollar was on October 18, 1973 and it only managed it for a few hours, Mr Bloxham said on TVNZ's Q+A programme on Sunday.
The New Zealand economy is out-performing every other OECD economy.
"That's why we've been describing New Zealand as a rock star."
It was the fastest growing of the 34 OECD economies in the last year.
"And, we think that situation's going to continue this year as well," he said.
The Australian economy, in contrast, is at the end of a mining boom. Mining investment is falling and the rest of the economy is "so-so".
"So it makes sense that the New Zealand dollar is strong relative to the Aussie dollar, and we expect the situation to persist for some time," he said.
In New Zealand, there is an upturn in construction from the Canterbury rebuild and the housing market is booming in Auckland.
He acknowledges dairy prices have fallen sharply but says dairy production is still rising and the domestic economy is doing very well.
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