The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The Fonterra Shareholders Council says farmers are taking a long-term view when deciding whether to sell off brands like Anchor and Mainland. Voting closes today, on a proposal to sell Fonterra's consumer arm to French company Lactalis for 4.2 billion dollars. Fonterra's targeting a capital return of about 400-thousand dollars to the average farmer. But Council Chair John Stevenson told Mike Hosking that farmers are thinking well beyond short-term benefits. He says farmers are also thinking about their long-term livelihoods, as they'll be continuing to supply milk well after any capital return. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is clamping down on arriving travellers at the border. It's making several biosecurity law changes including doubling the fine for people who don't declare fresh fruit and meat, to 800 dollars. There'll be new penalties and fines up to half a million dollars for breaches of controlled area notices. Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard told Mike Hosking that they want to deter behaviour that puts New Zealand at risk. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday the 29th of October, Education Minister Erica Stanford discusses the new curriculum and the ACC CEO finally seems to have found 8,000 people who can immediately come off full taxpayer support. Sir Peter Beck celebrates 20 years of Rocketlab and we get an exclusive radio chat with our space genius. Ginny Andersen comes into the studio with gifts and Mark Mitchell joins from Christchurch for Politics Wednesday. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Silver Ferns face Australia tonight in game four of the Constellation Cup.  The series currently sits at 2-1 to Australia, but a win from the Ferns tonight could force an extra game to decide the series.  Silver Ferns Head Coach Yvette McCausland-Durie told Mike Hosking that, 'it's gonna be hard work, but really confident, based on the way they played the other night, they've got the potential there.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rocket Lab is celebrating 20 years in operation this week.  The company has become the fastest in history to launch 50 rockets into space.  Now valued at over $20billion, Rocket Lab's portfolio includes missions for NASA and the U.S. Air Force Space Command.  Founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck told Mike Hosking that, 'the company continues to grow really, really strongly, but it always seems like it's going to take a shorter period of time than it really does.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACC is removing more people from its long-term claims pool. It's being reported nearly eight thousand clients have had their payments stopped in the year to June – a 20 percent lift on the previous year. ACC says these people were ready to work, or were no longer injured - despite many claiming otherwise. Chief Executive Megan Main told Mike Hosking that they want to get people back into the workforce. She says if people can't get back to work, they at least want to help them become more independent so they can return to living their life. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Education Minister's hoping the new curriculum will close the education equity gap.  Erica Stanford has unveiled proposed changes to content for Years 1-10 on top of the English and Maths refresh announced earlier.  The key changes include financial education, and compulsory consent education. Stanford told Mike Hosking that no matter where a child goes to school, they will learn the same thing.  She says a consistent curriculum means no matter where or what family kids are from, they get the same knowledge they need to be successful.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An economist says Labour's proposed capital gains tax won't stop house prices rising. The party wants gains on commercial and residential property to be taxed 28 percent, with revenue going into the health sector including free doctor visits. It excludes the family home and inheritances.  Opes Partners Resident Economist Ed McKnight told Mike Hosking that the tax is often thought as a house price killer, but that's not the case. He says in Australia since they introduced the tax, house prices went up 6.5 percent on average and in the UK they went up by 8 percent a year. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday the 28th of October, we talk to the Trade Minister and Prime Minister (out of Malaysia) as Luxon tries to get a handshake and chat with President Trump. After Liam Lawson had another DNF in Mexico is his future looking a little shaky? Bob McMurray on the call Red Bull have to make. Andrew Saville and Jason Pine talk the long weekend of sport - F1, Joseph Parker, Dame Noeline Taurua and the NPC final. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

First, a quick question on the Oxford Union. We thought it was a thing when David Lange turned up all those years ago, but since then Willie Jackson, David Seymour and now Winston Peters have appeared. So does that diminish its exclusiveness? Anyway here's what Winston Peters argued - that courts here undermine democracy. God bless that man and may he spread that message far and wide. Just last week's Marine and Coastal Amendment Bill is your latest and classic example. We had a law that came in in 2011. Some people didn’t like it, and you're allowed to not like laws. But hijacking democracy by trying your luck in interventionist courts is not helpful to a country looking for a bit of peace and harmony. Courts are good for a bunch of stuff; deciding either by judge or jury whether Mr Pollock was in the library with the candlestick i.e crime. They're good for deciding whether another judge erred in an initial finding i.e appeals. They're good for deciding whether there is a gap in law and, if there is, how that gap could be filled i.e the Supreme Court.   What they're not good at, although I'm sure given their operations of late they would argue otherwise, is taking an already established law and upending it because they  believe they are superior to the ultimate court, which of course is the Parliament. And the Parliament is the ultimate court because the group of lawmakers are put there by us, the voter. Peters, a lawyer himself of course, is doing a great service on our behalf because too many people, including people in the Parliament, are afraid to calls things out when they need calling out. They were afraid to call out the Reserve Bank when it butchered the economy, afraid to call out the Speaker when he failed to properly deal with the clowns in the house and afraid to call out judges at places like the Waitangi Tribunal when they very clearly overstep their mandate and look increasingly like little more than troublemakers. Winston Peters - a good foreign minister and good at telling it like it is. Buy the man a beer. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Liam Lawson endured another tough weekend at the Mexican Grand Prix.  After narrowly missing marshals who were stood on the track, he was forced to retire on the opening lap following a collision with Williams driver Carlos Sainz. This marks Lawson's 5th DNF of the season, and it comes as Red Bull are expected to make an announcement on their driver line-up next year. Bob McMurray told Mike Hosking that all the junior drivers can do is wait for the announcement.  'To be in, when Red Bull holds all the cards, they have your contract, you can't do anything else...it's got to be the worst situation for junior drivers.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is throwing it's weight behind aged care reform.  A ministerial advisory group has been established to review the outdated funding model, which currently costs $2.5billion a year.  Chief Executive of the Aged Care Association Tracey Martin told Mike Hosking that the government is ready to make progress instead of writing more paperwork.  'The announcement that has been made recently is the first true action. This is not another review.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister's set to finalise a deal strengthening our diplomatic and trading ties with 11 South East Asian countries, as he meets with leaders in Malaysia. Chris Luxon is in Kuala Lumpur for the ASEAN summit and will finalise a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the association. He's then off to South Korea, for the APEC summit later this week. Luxon told Mike Hosking that we will be only one of seven countries with this relationship, which is the highest level of diplomatic partnership possible. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Arrests have been made following last week's Louvre heist.  Thieves stole an array of valuable jewels, worth $177million NZD, including a crown belonging to the wife of Napoleon III. Newstalk ZB reporter in Paris Catherine Field told Mike Hosking that the thieves arrested were not masterminds, and were known to police.  'They knew that these two were part of the gang, but they knew that they weren't the mastermind.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's set to get easier for New Zealand businesses trading in South East Asia, as the Prime Minister's in Malaysia to finalise a regional deal. Chris Luxon is in Kuala Lumpur for the ASEAN summit and will finalise a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the association. ASEAN has 11 member countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Laos. Trade Minister Todd McClay told Mike Hosking that it can be difficult for kiwi businesses to deal in South East Asia, with often complex and prohibitive rules. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Queenstown is now just 5% shy of pre-COVID levels.  Records show that there were 192,000 international arrivals between January and August, up 14% on 2024. Australia continues to dominate the market, making up 40% of all visitors to the region.  Chief Executive of Tourism NZ Rene de Monchy told Mike Hosking that, 'the outlook for summer is actually really positive is what we're hearing from operators across the board.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big-ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all. Judith Collins: 7/10 Her open letter to all of us this week revealed a few excellent home truths about unions, with the prize going to their obsession with Palestine over kid's education. Labour's election policies: 2/10 It seems almost impossible to believe you could roll some simple ideas out as badly as that. Joe Parker: 8/10 Is it just me or do we love Joe Parker? One fight away from the belts. Kevin Rudd: 6/10 In being humiliated he seems to have saved his job. Putin: 2/10 Honestly, what does he has over Trump? Trump looks like a punching bag on this war. The sports academy charter school: 8/10 Is it just me or is that like a dream school for kids who hated school? LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday the 24th of October, Sir Brian Roache on the so-called "mega strike" and whether it changed anything, at all. Joseph Parker joins from London ahead of his fight against Fabio Wardley. Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson talk changing careers at a late age and the strike. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heavyweight boxing moves to London on Sunday morning. Joseph Parker is back in the ring taking on Fabio Wardley, a boxer from London who only took up the sport at age 20. A win would put Parker firmly in line for a shot at the undisputed world heavy weight title against Oleksander Usyk. Parker told Mike Hosking, 'I'm in proper good shape for a good fight this weekend.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Attack coach Jason Holland will be stepping down after the northern tour, when his contract ends.  This is the second high-profile exit under Scott Robertson, following Leon MacDonald's departure after just three test matches last year.  Former All Black Justin Marshall told Mike Hosking that the departure was a personal decision, not something motivated by back-stage scandals.  "Jason has his reasons for moving on, and those reasons could be the fact that he's not happy with the workload or he wants to move on to other things." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahead of the long weekend let's give the Labour Party a report card for their policy week. It will be one of the few report cards this week because we actually turned up to work. So overall a 'C-' for presentation. They had two years to organise this, to make a splash, to grab the headlines and run with them. Policy one didn’t have any detail so it was just a thought bubble. Policy two was forgotten about, or sneakily given to a magazine ahead of time, or a combo of both. And policy three was fine but it was just an extension of an already existing idea and the problem with the existing idea is the existing idea isn't used, or needed. So a drone-type view of the “themes” is we have a lot of overarching Government control, a Government picking winners on the future fund, a Government telling doctors how much they can charge and some freebies for gaming. Now that’s left-wing politics and some people like that and that’s fine and that’s democracy. That’s why we have elections. So a 'B' for the theme. On specifically the future fund they get a 'C' because at no point can they escape the fact that whatever they give to the fund it won't go to debt repayment and, given we have less than no money, that must be a priority. And that’s before you get to the bit where the world is awash with money for ideas anyway. The GP's committee gets a 'D'. A 'D' for dumb and dunce and fail. Telling already struggling GP's what they can and can't charge is a recipe for frustration, anger and resignation. It's got administrative cluster written all over it. The gaming subsidies get a 'B-'. Because it's already running. But here's the clue - gaming is booming. Is it booming because of subsidies? No. The subsides aren't used. They set aside $160 million but less than half has been applied for. It’s a classic Government-looking-to give-away-money idea. They can't even give it away. But the truth is, as artificial as it is, Government's do offer tax deals on gaming and film, so you've got to compete. So of the three policies this was their best idea of the week and by quite some margin. Overall if this is them, if this is the sharp and ready to rock-n-roll alternative to run this country, they need to majorly sharpen up. Or if you're looking at this week and going "man that Hipkins is one slick operator", well I'll see you at the airport. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A view Australia's recent military alliance with Papua New Guinea could be the springboard for a wider 'Pacific Eyes' alliance. Australian think-tank Lowy Institute's proposing an intelligence sharing agreement between us, Australia, PNG and Fiji to counter China's influence in the region. It claims it'd also help tackle trans-national crime and climate-related disasters. Former Defence Minister Wayne Mapp says it would be a tough deal to negotiate, but it's feasible. He says Australia's alliance is about sharing more intelligence and cooperating more, like this proposed deal. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Public Services Commissioner Sir Brian Roche is keeping focused on the push for a deal with the thousands of health, education, and public sector strikers.  Thousands downed tools across the country yesterday, taking to the streets demanding better pay and working conditions.  Roche told Mike Hosking he wasn't moved by yesterday's scenes, adding they saw what was expected and people got it our of their systems. He says it's now time to get back to the negotiating table, and find a solution as New Zealanders deserve better.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's economy could look to benefit from Fonterra’s proposed sale. The proposed sale of Anchor and Mainland brands to French company Lactalis could unlock around 4.5 billion in additional spending. ASB Chief Economist Nick Tuffley says they estimate around 60 percent of shareholding farms could receive at least 200-thousand dollars. He says the likely pay out would happen in the first half of next year, so after then,  the impacts on farm investments or consumer spending would be seen. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ah the lament. Poor, old RNZ's obituary of the climate-related disclosures (CRD) makes you weep. "New Zealand guts climate policy it bragged about to the world". That's their headline. What's misleading about the headline is the Government who “gutted” it isn't the Government who bragged about it. As for the gutting and the world leading - "world leading" in what sense? We were simply the first to the line with a pointless idea. The first country, if you believe it, was the previous Government that made it increasingly hard to get foreign money invested in the country because they had just produced another hurdle. It included all banks, insurers and listed companies - what for? It's very labour to just rope everyone in whether its relevant or not. Why didn’t they make us all write climate reports? We all have a footprint. Airlines? Sure, they have a lot of emissions. Tell us about them in your annual report. Issues for insurance companies? Surely they would have done it anyway, given that’s their business? But Turners, as in cars and Tina, raised relevant issues; 1) It wasn’t similar to Australia, 2) They opened themselves up to prosecution, 3) It cost a fortune to get someone to write all the mumbo jumbo that for many companies wasn’t remotely necessary. Even MBIE wrote a report saying the costs of all this nonsense were prohibitive. But don't worry - as long as we are "world leading"! What Labour never understood, and I doubt they do now, is putting the cost of business up is counter productive. Having our competitors outpace us because we are bogged down is counter productive. Even if we all wrote glorious page after page after page about our footprints and climate intent, what difference did any of it make to the environment? What got changed? Or saved? Or solved? The tragedy was too much of the media got sucked in, and clearly still does, to the “feels”. All you had to say was "look, it's a world first! A climate world first!" And you had them hook, line and sinker. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday the 23rd of October, deputy Prime Minister David Seymour takes questions on the mega strike today. The European Union Ambassador to New Zealand Lawrence Meredith talks a new business summit to explore more FTA options with the EU. New Air NZ CEO Nikhil Ravishankar gives his first interview as CEO and details how he will handle the top job and turn the airline around. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the North Island, Red Wind Warnings are in place for Wellington and southern Wairarapa. There are extensive public transport and flight cancellations. Air New Zealand says it's already cancelled almost 100 flights today. CEO Nikhil Ravishankar says told Mike Hosking that it will only operate flights if it's safe to do so. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland's playing host to a landmark business summit between New Zealand and the European Union. Minister of Trade and Investment Todd McClay will meet with senior European Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and 400 top business and political leaders. It's the first high-level business summit between New Zealand and the EU. EU Ambassador to New Zealand, Lawrence Meredith says there are plenty of meaty issues on the table. He says Agritech is definitely on the agenda, along with infrastructure. Meredith says they'll also discuss investment in areas like clean tech, deep tech and AI, and aerospace and defence. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has released a new energy plan.  The 'Wood Energy Strategy and Action Plan' aims to fire up the bioenergy sector. The strategy claims would energy could replace 40% of fossil-fuelled process heat by 2050, displacing 300,000 tonnes of coal at Huntly.  Executive officer of bioenergy association Brian Cox told Mike Hosking that 'what the government did yesterday is a little step in the way, but we've got to do a lot more.'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zespri have won a legal battle on the intellectual property front.  They won a legal battle in Chinese courts against two defendants involved in the unauthorised production, sale, and marketing of their 'GOLD3' Kiwifruit. Zespri CEO Jason Te Brake told Mike Hosking that China are getting better at protecting intellectual property rights.  'It really does show that China is starting to move around protecting IP rights, not only for trademarks, but also plant variety rights.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The final farewell for former Prime Minister takes place today.  His funeral is being held at his local Catholic parish in Kapiti today at 11am, and thousands are expected to attend. Bolger served as Prime Minister from 1990 to 1997, and passed away last week aged 90.  Sir Don McKinnon served as Deputy Prime Minister to Bolger, and joined Mike Hosking to pay tribute to Bolger and his legacy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Deputy Prime Minister says health and education unions need to be realistic about their pay demands. Tens of thousands of workers across health and education are walking off the job today today in their fight for better pay and conditions. It could be the largest strike action in the country in a generation, but a number of events are expected to be affected by the weather. David Seymour told Mike Hosking that there isn't a single member of the Cabinet who wouldn't like to pay nurses, doctors and teachers more, if they could. He says there seems to be a disconnect between what some of these unions are demanding, and the reality most New Zealanders are actually facing. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our default to futility worries me. It's the same sort of thing as the "No Kings" march over the weekend in America. What actually is the point of waving placards, or in the "burn the bill" case, lighting fires on beaches? The bill they want to burn is the Marine and Coastal Area Amendment bill. The amendment part is the bit where it is being returned to what it was a few years back. It got messed with in court, given the courts are increasingly interventionist, and all that is happening is the law is being returned to what it was. And what it was is, have you had ongoing access to the bit of water or coastline since the 1800's? If you haven't, you might not have an argument. It is of course all angsty because it's race-based. David Seymour calls the lighting of fires on the beach "unenlightened" and "anti-intellectual". He is a mixture of right and, I suspect, slightly antagonistic. But here is my question - to what point? To what end? I get that there are those who are exercised and don’t like it, fair enough. But guess what? Lighting a fire at a beach isn't going to change it. The petition, because they had one of those too, had 20,000 signatures. That’s not even a big petition. 76,000 signed one to stop me hosting the election debates on TV in 2017. If 76,000 doesn’t stop a TV host then 20,000 doesn’t stop a law. Trump won the election in America easily. He is doing nothing he said he wouldn’t do. It's as mad and unhinged as his biggest critic feared, but he is doing it because he has the support of enough people to do it. The same way this Government is amending a law because they said they would and they won the election. We must always retain the right to protest, unless its over the Auckland Harbour Bridge. But that’s about geographics, not rights. But protest loses, and has lost, a lot of its impact because it's become a habit. It’s a default. It’s the pastime of the bored and obsessed. It's become a cottage industry. If we put the same energy into productive outcomes then this country could be amazing. So you lit a fire on a beach last night - how did that work out for you? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday the 22nd of October, the foreshore and seabed law change has passed and the Government has smashed their youth offending target four years early - completing two things they said they'd do. The debate is back about whether you should be leaving your KiwiSaver alone until retirement or getting it out for a house deposit. Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen talk Labour's first election cycle policy, Netball NZ and Mark's discussions with them and why Duncan Webb is retiring. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The number of complaints going to the Office of the Ombudsman is soaring to record heights. Its annual report finds more than eight thousand Official information complaints - a 30 percent increase. The office also received 278 protected disclosures under the whistleblower law - up 26 percent. Chief Ombudsman John Allen told Mike Hosking OIAs are an attractive option for people trying to raise issues with the Government. He says public confidence in Government generally is on the decline and people are under a huge amount of pressure with cost of living.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new report reveals the importance of contributing to Kiwisaver after buying a first home.  The Retirement Expenditure Guidelines from Massey University and Fin-Ed Centre suggests Kiwisaver is great for funding retirement - if utilised correctly. It finds a modest retirement goal can be reached by age 65 even after withdrawing funds for a first-home at 35.  But report author Associate Professor Claire Matthews says there is an emphasis on using it for a home. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Knowledge of tougher consequences is thought to be keeping more young people away from crime.  The Government has achieved its goal of a 15% reduction in serious and persistent youth offenders - four years early.  Children's Minister Karen Chhour says it's partially down to young people believing they can't avoid accountability for their actions.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Treaty Negotiations Minister's standing by amendments to foreshore and seabed legislation, which has passed its third reading.  The aim of the Government's Marine and Coastal Areas Act amendments was to restore the legislation to its original intent. But it's been criticised for making it harder for Māori to gain customary marine titles. Treaty Negotiations Minister and Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith told Mike Hosking most New Zealanders recognise balance is needed in accessing these resources. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alliance has reached a $270million deal with Dawn Meats.  2,600 farmer-shareholders voted 87% in favour of selling 65% of the company arm to the Irish-backed company.  The new investment is expected to strengthen Alliance’s balance sheet, pay down debt and enable greater capital growth.   Spokesperson for Alliance shareholders Jeff Grant told Mike Hosking that ‘The company was forced into a position of having to find new equity.’  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Praise for the Government's loosening of climate reporting rules. It's proposing to lift the climate reporting threshold for listed companies worth 60 million dollars to one billion. The changes would also see directors no longer have personal responsibility if their company breaks climate reporting rules. NZX Sustainability Manager Simon Beattie told Mike Hosking that they're common sense changes. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It seems the labour party has not learned a thing about running a country. Their first policy for next years vote is out, so congrats on that. The first cab off the rank is a wealth fund. The idea is not necessarily a bad one. You take money from dividends and distribute it out about the place to create jobs. The obvious questions though …were not answered. How much does it cost? …don't know. What industries or entities or businesses are involved? …don’t know. How many jobs will it create? …don't know. Who decides who gets what? …don’t know. Those are the specific  faults in what really is just a very broad brush sort of thought bubble. The more pressing issue economically comes in the form of a simple truth. And the simple truth is, given you haven't magicked up the money it has come from a business, lets say it’s a power company, the company pays the government a dividend...that already happens...currently that dividend goes into the consolidated fund i.e. the government's coffers. That money pays bills, currently one of the biggest bills is the interest on our debt. That bill is getting close to 10 billion dollars a year. Now if you aren't using the dividend money to pay bills because you have siphoned it off to pay for your wealth fund, where is the money for the bills going to come from? At all points you only ever have a finite amount of money. If some of those dollars go one way, they cant go another. And unless you can explain  how you cover the gap, you are merely prioritising one thing over another. Its like increasing the car payment, but doing it by paying less on the mortgage Which in this case brings in labours attitude to debt. Given they are the ones who dug our current debt hole, It looks like they still haven't worked out that it wasn’t a very smart move. If they are to stand a chance next year, they will need to sharpen their policy act up considerably to something a lot better refined than some blue sky psycho babble. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 21 October. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Armageddon Expo is taking place this weekend in Auckland.   Several actors such as Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis and John Boyega will be attending the convention, along with voice actor Alan Tudyk.   Alan Tudyk told Mike Hosking that his knack for voice acting came from a play, where he played 20 different characters.   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's first sports school will open next year, in a partnership with Wellington Phoenix. The New Zealand Performance Academy in Upper Hutt will operate as a charter school for serious aspiring sportspeople. The academy will initially offer elite football training alongside the Wellington Phoenix Academy, as well as rugby training. Other sports will be added over time. The school will teach a nationally recognised curriculum along with key skills such as leadership, mental health and nutrition. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The country's second-largest electricity gentailer says rising electricity prices are the result of rising lines charges. Inflation's now back up at three-percent. The single biggest driver is electricity prices - which have increased 11.3 percent in the past year. Contact Energy Chief Executive Mike Fuge says electricity firms are having to pass on the fixed lines charges that cover the cost of infrastructure. He says they rose by about 20-percent last year and about 16-percent this year. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Experts now say it's unlikely the jewels, most recently stolen from the Louvre will ever be seen again. The thieves rode a basket lift up the museum's facade, forced a window and fled with France's Crown and Napoleonic jewels - in just seven minutes.  The museum had just opened on Sunday - local time. Newstalk ZB's Paris correspondent Catherine Field says it's already been 24 hours, and authorities have no idea who they're looking for. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A balancing act is underway to decide which Roads of National Significance will begin construction next.  The Government's funnelling $1.2billion into the programme's 17 projects - which includes highway sections in Northland, Nelson, Hamilton, and Wellington. Transport Minister Chris Bishop told Mike Hosking they're now going through a prioritisation exercise as a Government.  He says they have all the investment cases, and they're working out a rough order of sequence.  Bishop says they can't build them all at once, noting they want to ensure a regional spread.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are concerns that Labour's trying to fix a capital problem that kiwis don't have.  The party's pitching a $200million Future Fund that re-invests dividends from specified Crown assets,  into businesses and infrastructure projects. It'll invest solely in local projects.  Icehouse Ventures CEO Robbie Paul told Mike Hosking the policy is agreeable and directionally correct,  but wonders if there's a gap in the capital market.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Monday 20 October. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jason Pine and Andrew Saville join Mike Hosking this morning to discuss the weekend's sports. On the table today: The US Grand Prix is underway, and Liam Lawson is sitting in 11th.  The LA Dodger's Japanese superstar continues to impress. And the NPC final, who's taking home the trophy? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.