The Mike Hosking Breakfast

New research by ASB economists suggests the country faces a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill over the next three decades. The report states New Zealand will require up to 700-thousand additional dwellings and associated infrastructure in 30 years as our population balloons. It says climate-change pressures are becoming more pressing, with the country’s infrastructure lacking resilience and being heavily exposed to natural disasters. The report suggests trade-offs may need to be made, including increased taxes, council rates or user charges. Geoff Cooper, Strategy GM at the Infrastructure Commission, told Mike Hosking that we should view this number more as motivation than a credible funding number. He said we have to think smarter about the infrastructure investment decisions we make, as we can't afford to keep paying these big numbers. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Building Industry Federation's top boss says cutting-red tape around building supplies will bring down costs. The Government is changing the Building Act to address a shortage of supplies and long wait-times for new products to be approved. That includes by green-lighting products with a reputable overseas certification and recognising approval schemes used in countries like Australia. Julien Lays told Mike Hosking that there’s hundreds of thousands of products out there that could be used. He said that it provides far more competition, which is what we need. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shift workers are being warned about the impact on their health. Research shows irregular work hours in young adulthood can have a negative health impact later in life. Shift workers are more likely to have fewer hours of sleep per day, lower sleep quality, and lower physical and mental functions. They have a higher likelihood of reporting poor health and depressive symptoms at age 50. Sleep expert Dr Alex Bartle told Mike Hosking that consistency is key, and you need to be disciplined. He says it's challenging on the body and mind when you go backwards and forwards from a day shift to a night shift. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former health boss believes there are too many managers at the helm of the Health Ministry. Newstalk ZB can reveal the Ministry of Health considered trimming executive salaries but eventually landed on a job cutting proposal. The ministry's looking at a net loss of 134 roles as the public service has been ordered to trim the fat by the Government. Ex Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora Chair Rob Campbell told Mike Hosking that he believes management numbers will likely be whittled down. But he says if you get the quality of what you do up, you don't need as many people. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government says it's fully aligned around the coalition commitment to make a U-turn on Māori wards. A new bill requires the provision of Māori wards to be decided by community referendum, beginning with the next local body election. It reverses legislation from the previous Government that brought Māori wards into line with other wards and protected Māori seats from being disestablished or vetoed by referendum. Local Government Minister Simeon Brown told Mike Hosking that the Government's working as quickly as it can to instate the legislation from 2028. He says some councils that don't wish to poll ahead of the next local election, have the ability to reverse the decision to establish Māori wards in the interim. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pressure is being heaped on Israel after their airstrike killed seven aid workers in Gaza. UK Correspondent Rod Liddle says that the mood and temper in the UK is changing when it comes to Israel. Previously the support for Israel has been fairly steadfast, with the Labour Party leader refusing to be too critical of their refusal to demand ceasefires. However, Liddle told Mike Hosking, the attack has sparked anger even within the conservative government. He said that while they have been offered a profuse apology and Rishi Sunak has demanded an explanation from Netanyahu, they were told there won’t be one due to an ongoing investigation. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The forecasts were right. The sales of electrified cars were bad in March. They said it would be after they were bad in January and bad in February. The next question is - will they be bad in April? There is a good piece in the Financial Times, and re-printed in the NZ Herald, with the headline "The big worry for car makers: what if the EV slowdown is not a blip?" I can answer that. It isn't a blip. If you want to give me any credit, I have been saying this for several years. All this is going to end badly for car makers who, rightly or wrongly, responded to legislative heft, mainly from the European Union policy wonks who were determined to make enough rules around petrol engines to drive them out of business. Now, there two things going on locally at the moment. One is that sales are down generally because that is what happens when you have a double dip recession. The second thing is a specific slowdown in electric type cars. It's important to remember EV's are not all EV's and most coverage doesn’t differentiate, I suspect, because most people who do the covering don’t actually understand the differences. You have three sorts of cars; the hybrid, the plug-in hybrid (often called a PHEV) and the full battery electric, or BEV. The BEV and the PHEV's are the ones with the trouble. Next problem is all the acolytes who now claim that the RUC rules, the road user charge changes, have damaged the market. I can assure you they haven't. A few hundred bucks a year is not going to scuttle a market. The previous Government's subsidies making PHEV's and BEV's cheaper has had an impact. But my bet is that was a false economy, given there was always a small, early adopter, greenie-type group who were keen no matter what. The taxpayer just made it cheaper. Once you soaked those people up the real world was always going to arrive and arrive it has. My best advice to the acolytes is: flag it. Stop looking for excuses. EV's, for most people, are too expensive, have range anxiety issues and are a pain to charge outside your garage. Lord knows what the secondhand market will do. That’s the really big question - will it ever and, if it does, when? Until that changes the hype machine that’s driven the story to this point is over. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gen Z is proving to be a pain in the workplace. Overseas employers say they’re a nightmare to hire, they can barely get through an interview, are unwilling to pick up the phone, and have even ghosted companies completely on the first day of their jobs. Meanwhile, Gen Z say they’re struggling with managers who don’t understand their slang. Sharon Davies, Managing Director of Talent Propeller, told Mike Hosking that every generation brings with them a wave of changes. She said that Gen Z’s expectation is that their work fits around their life, which is a fundamental change to anything that’s been seen before. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 4th of April, Education Minister Erica Stanford joined for a discussion about New Zealand’s curriculums and how, according to an ERO report, we aren't teaching worldwide history. More drama has arisen when it comes to the future governance of rugby in this country, and Sharon Davies explored the hiring and work ethics of Gen Z’ers. Nadia Lim and Carlos Bagrie popped into the studio for a chat about season two of Nadia's Farm. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More drama has arisen surrounding the NZ Rugby board. The NZ Rugby Players’ Association is calling for the entire board to quit immediately and for an interim group to be put in their place for the next two years. Association CEO Rob Nichol told Mike Hosking that they’ve simply outlined what they feel they need to do, which is adopt the best practices the expert panel has put forward. He said that everyone agrees on the need for change, and to restore confidence and trust in the board and governance of NZR, the honourable thing for them to do is step down. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A huge win for commercial fishing after a temporary ban on US exports was lifted. Following a case brought before US courts by Sea Shepherd in 2022, a trade ban was placed on nine fish species caught in Maui dolphin habitat off the West Coast. It's since been lifted after dolphin protections were assessed as sufficient. Seafood New Zealand chief executive Jeremy Helson told Mike Hosking that it's lost them up to two-million dollars in exports but getting the endorsement here was more important. He says having the US government and courts agree we're implementing robust management is a win. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been about five years since Nadia Lim and Carlos Bagrie took over Royalburn Station, their endeavours growing the 485-hectare farm into the agricultural powerhouse it's become. Founded in 1887, Royalburn Station has a lengthy history filled with grains; barley, wheat, sunflower seeds, peas, and clover seeds quickly becoming the backbone of Lim and Bagrie’s business. When they bought Royalburn in 2019 neither of them had any experience with running a farm. Bagerie may have grown up on a southland sheep farm but he’s a marketer by trade, and while growing up in dense cities influenced Lim’s cooking, it left little space for farmwork. Needless to say, it was a learning experience for both of them. “What I’ve learned is that you’ve got to be someone that’s okay with not being in control, because things never, ever go your way,” Lim told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking. “That’s probably one of the biggest skills you kind of need to have if you’re gonna go into farming.” Royalburn Station sits on the Crown Terrace between Arrowtown and Wanaka, surrounded by mountains, a view Lim describes as ‘paradise’. 485-hectares is quite a significant amount of land but all of it is in use, Royalburn Station even having its own abattoir. “You don’t need one,” Bagrie said. “But if you want the very best meat, you kind of want one.” The pair’s vision for their farm is to create the most beautiful farm in the world, a quality that goes deeper than aesthetics as they aim to be a leader in regenerative, diverse, and ethical food production. ‘The very best’ in every area they produce. “We actually won the New Zealand Food Producers Award last year for our lamb,” Lim revealed. Moving down from Auckland, they weren’t met with the kindest reception, rumours and gossip going around calling them ‘pretend farmers’. “But I think now people get it that actually, it is a proper working farm.” Bagrie and Lim have diversified the farm quite significantly over the years, producing not only grains and lamb, but also honey, free range eggs, and produce from their organic market garden. They’ve found success with their model but according to Bagrie, it’s not a model that would work for everyone, their location highly influencing their success. “I think out model works because of, I mean, to be really frank, because of our ability to be able to supply those restaurants and have those direct relationships.” Building an agricultural powerhouse is not an easy task, but they’ve now settled into something of a rhythm. “We’ve been doing so many new things, this year is all just going to be about not doing anything new, just solidifying what we’ve got,” Lim told Hosking with a laugh. Diversifying to the extent they have has a certain amount of risk, as if they’re not careful they can spread their production too thin. “You’ll see when you watch the show, there is a lot of simplification happening.” The show in question is the second season of Nadia’s Farm, the first episode having premiered last night. While reality TV tends to be dramatized for entertainment purposes, Lim said that this show is 100% real. “I’ve done quite a bit of TV now and this show is like, unlike any other show I’ve ever done.” “There’s no scripting, like no makeup, no team. We just go out there and film it,” Lim revealed. “It’s as natural, and organic, and unpanned as it gets.” Bagrie and Lim don’t want to shy away from the reality of farm life in this show, showing both the pleasantries and the nitty gritty. “I feel like a lot of the problems we’ve run into now with how food gets to your plate, and a lot of, a lot of it has become taboo and people don’t want to talk about it or know about it.” “The more you hide, the worse that knowledge gap becomes.” ‘Nadia’s Farm’ is out now on ThreeNow and Three. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mixed reports from electric vehicle dealers following a further softening of the market. It took another plunge in March with just 9% of passenger car sales being EV, falling from about 27% for all of 2023. Vehicle Import Association Chief Executive Greig Epps told Mike Hosking that some dealers are doing better than expected while others are having a tough time. He says there was a real rush, with the incentive helping to create demand. But in the aftermath to that —and with cost-of-living impacts and interest rates— we're now seeing a tail off. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Teachers are feeling overwhelmed by the scale of change needed to teach the new Aotearoa Histories Curriculum. An Education Review Office report finds it's being taught in three quarters of schools up to Year 10, but in varying amounts. Many teachers are taking time to develop their own resources and could benefit from more clarity and "off the shelf" content. Education Minister Erica Stanford told Mike Hosking the curriculum as a whole is vague and lacks specificity. She says we've shifted away from a centralised curriculum that lays out what kids need to know, to schools themselves having to create the content. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tauranga commission chairwoman Anne Tolley has revealed she would prefer a “hybrid” local governance model as democracy sometimes “fails”. It comes as the Tauranga City Council prepares for its local body election in July, which will bring the Government-appointed commission’s term to an end. Tolley told Newstalk ZB host Mike Hosking this morning there could be skill “gaps” in elected councils and the appointment of people to work with councillors in the future could help address this. The interview follows the Bay of Plenty Times report that Local Government Minister Simeon Brown ruled out making any changes to the commission’s role, despite increased calls from local ratepayer groups to have it demoted to a “caretaker” status. Five Tauranga ratepayer and advocacy groups called on Brown to step in and prevent Tauranga City council’s Government-appointed commission from committing ratepayers to what they believed were pricey “non-essential” projects, echoing similar requests in January. Tauranga City Council commission chairwoman Anne Tolley. Photo / Alex Cairns Hosking asked Tolley whether she felt the “angst” and whether there had been much “agitation”. “Well, there’s angst of different sorts,” Tolley said. “There’s angst in the community that the elections are coming up, the city’s on the move and we’re going to go backwards because all of the old guard are preparing themselves to be reelected, so there’s various angst but the city’s in good heart. There’s a lot of reconstruction happening and things are moving and, I think you know, people are feeling pretty good.” Hosking referred to the previous council, giving his view that, from the outside, it seemed was “dysfunctional” and “a mess”. He said it appeared the city had “moved forward” because the commission “just got on with it”. Tolley agreed, saying “that was our job”. The commission – made up of Tolley, Shadrach Rolleston, Stephen Selwood, and Bill Wasley – was appointed to govern Tauranga City Council in February 2021 after former Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta discharged the elected council of its duties in December 2020. The commission’s term was later extended until July 2024 to provide stability and deliver complex projects - preventing the city’s participation in the 2022 local body elections. On July 20, Tauranga voters will have their first chance to elect representatives to their city council since 2019, and that group will serve New Zealand’s first four-year council term. In February, the Bay of Plenty Times revealed the commission had called for a Crown observer to be appointed to the city council after the election, but was denied by then-Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty. Tolley told Hosking she believed in democracy but, at times, it failed. Newstalk ZB host Mike Hosking. Photo / Michael Craig Hosking said the commission “appears to have worked” and questioned how Tauranga could bring that kind of governance model into effect again “without killing democracy. “I think, personally, I quite like a hybrid model where you have some elected and then you are able to appoint some skilled people. “You know, you assess who’s been elected and what gaps there are … It can be a big job in a city, in a metro city.” Tauranga has a population of 162,000 and is growing rapidly. “It’s a big complex beast for council and, so, you know, it takes special sort of people to be able to run it,” Tolley said. Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. Photo / Michael Craig Tolley said the council or local government minister could potentially make such decisions. She also said she was delighted the new council would have four years before the next elections, instead of the standard three. Hosking said there appeared, outwardly at least, there were a lot of councils around New Zealand that were “fairly dysfunctional”. Tolley agreed. “Sometimes they are. Tauranga City commissioners: L-R Shadrach Rolleston, Bill Wasley, Stephen Selwood, Anne Tolley. Photos / File “There’s a lot more than just the dysfunction of councils and the whole process around consultation can be hijacked by small groups of people who don’t want things to happen. “Most people who make submissions you know, formal submissions to council, are generally people who don’t want something to happen and so you end up playing a numbers game. Many, many councils and councillors when they are consulting make an effort to get out and talk to a whole range of people. “We’ve done that as commissions because if you just rely on the submission process, you end up with more negative than positive, and that’s not really where your community is.” Nominations for Tauranga’s election open on April 26. The election will be held on July 20. Kiri Gillespie is an assistant news director and a senior journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, specialising in local politics and city issues. She was a finalist for the Voyager Media Awards Regional Journalist of the Year in 2021. LISTE

The only mistake Shane Jones made in cancelling the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary was he did it on a Thursday, and as a result the news would have been missed by many. We do of course already have a Kermadec marine reserve with a 12 nautical mile radius around its various islands, but the one he cancelled would have made it 620 000 square kilometres. It would have taken 15 % of our exclusive economic zone and cut it off to all commercial activity, and a country that is broke can make no such grandiose moves. I am sure the same people who would rather have a hectors dolphin untroubled by a yacht than a commercially successful event piling millions into the local economy will not be happy with Shane. They will be the same people who involved themselves in the consent process that NZ Salmon went through for their operation in the Cook Strait that cost them millions and took nine ridiculously long years. Shane Jones is worth watching in the Parliament at Question Time by the way, the Greens tie themselves in knots asking him about mining, and fossil fuels, and drilling, and scraping, and sifting, and he stands up answering their questions with an open honest assessment of the modern realities of our economy. As much as we would all like to return to Gondwanaland without a tourist, or grader, or road or drill, none of it is real. We like to turn lights on, drive cars, make stuff, sell stuff, and enjoy the outworkings of the 21st century. He also delivers the message with a theatrical and verbal flourish I am sure is designed to enrage those asking the questions. A big reason economically, socially, and indeed morally we are where we are, why there is such a malaise, such a stalling of progress, and a lack of entrepreneurial spirit, and zest to get on with stuff, is we have lost what Shane Jones has: zeal, and vigour, and bluntness. Our niceness and desire to offend no one has made us apologists. And apologists, instead of saying no, say maybe, and stall, and discuss, and set up a committee, then stall some more. No one is to be offended, and worse the woke causes of the day which include not advancing economically because it will dent hurt or kill something are to be given lip service even if we don't believe a word of it, heaven forbid we should stand out or stand up for something. Shane never got that memo, and for that we can be eternally grateful. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The day before the verdict would be announced, Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Network Ten has been reopened. Channel Ten has won their bid to present additional evidence in its defence, delaying the verdict until next week. Australian Correspondent Steve Price told Mike Hosking that the evidence relates to the interviews Lehrmann gave to the Seven Network, and subsequent payments. He said that a disgruntled producer has gone to Channel Ten with a 2000-page affidavit that details what was occurring during the series of interviews. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Widespread shock and calls for an investigation after seven aid workers were killed in Gaza by Israeli air raids. World Central Kitchen is suspending its aid operations and has turned around a ship carrying 240 tonnes of food which had been heading to Gaza. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admits that Israel responsible for the attack but says this happens in war. US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that the Biden Administration has been in direct contact with Israel about this. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has said that you shouldn’t have a situation where people who are simply trying to help their fellow human beings are themselves at grave risk. Arnold said that José Andrés, the founder of the aid group, said that they coordinated the shipment with Israeli defence forces before the attack, and is now urging Israeli authorities to “stop restricting aid”. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New data suggests most people are managing their cash flows quite well. The latest Centrix credit report shows the number of people behind on their payments is down 23 thousand, month-on-month. About 12% of people are in arrears for any missed payments, but only 2% are more than 90 days behind. Centrix Managing Director Keith McLaughlin told Mike Hosking that this is in line with what’s expected for this time of year. He believes that the numbers are going to stay about where they are as far as consumer arrears are concerned, and doesn’t see any relief coming in the short to medium term. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's challenging time for dairy company Synlait. It's had a $96.2 million loss for the six months to January compared to a $4.8 million profit in the previous corresponding period. It's won an extension on a $130-million debt repayment and is reviewing North Island assets including the extensive Pōkeno facilities. Willy Leferink, Synlait Supplier and former Chair of Federated Farmers, told Mike Hosking that the current model is unsustainable. He said this is a result of when Synlait's board decided that they bet on a horse that wasn't allowed to race. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 3rd of April, Kerri Nuku of the Nurses Organisation joined for a chat about security in EDs and Sue Barker dug into how the charity sector is faring during these tough economic times. Plus, an op-ed about why Shane Jones is the politician we need more of right now. Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell joined for Politics Wednesday and a bit of a chat about the new Beyoncé album and shepherding. 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 Police Minister says permanent security guards in hospitals may be something the Government will have to look at. A Wairarapa Hospital visitor suffered a skull fracture after being struck with a machete in the emergency department on Saturday night. A 62-year-old man's facing charges as an incident team is reviewing what happened that evening. Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking that front-line staff need some support. He says they do need to have a wider look at it, adding it's 'just sad.' Labour's Ginny Andersen said that if this continues, people who need medical attention may not seek it because they're afraid to go to the emergency department. She said that people shouldn't be afraid to go to our hospitals. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The nurses union fears more violent incidents will take place unless something changes. A Wairarapa Hospital visitor suffered a skull fracture after being attacked with a machete in the emergency department on Saturday night. In December, the Government temporarily boosted security staff at a number of hospitals til the end of February. Nurses Organisation President Kerri Nuku told Mike Hosking that de-escalation training needs to go across the board. She wants nurses involved in conversations around what to do. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A grim picture is being painted of the state of the country's charities. It follows an urgent financial appeal from disability youth charity StarJam, which is facing closure after more than 20 years. Charity lawyer Sue Barker told Mike Hosking that the situation for similar organisations is dire during the cost of living crisis. She says with more people are reaching out to charities for support, volunteer pressures, and declining revenue streams, it is the perfect storm. Barker says it is not a case of New Zealand having too many charities, as they are still needed. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JK Rowling has waded into the argument surrounding Scotland’s new hate speech laws. The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act is intended to consolidate existing hate crime laws along with creating a new offence of “threatening or abusive behaviour which is intended to stir up hatred” on the grounds of age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and variations in sex characteristics. UK Correspondent Enda Brady told Mike Hosking that Rowling has been extremely trans-critical or gender-critical in recent years and has effectively dared Police to enforce this law in regard to her. With the legislation coming into effect today, Rowling made several tweets naming transgender women and ending the thread by calling them all men. Brady said it’s going to be fascinating to see if the police will actually step in and question Rowling. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ukraine will be receiving a boost from the French. Tuesday will see the French Defence Minister joined by the US Secretary of State to show off some of the equipment they’ll be sending out to Ukraine. This comes at a time where France is facing criticism that they haven’t stepped up to the plate with their support. European Correspondent Catherine Field told Mike Hosking that it isn’t state of the line equipment, but rather the armoured personnel carriers are used. She said that it’s equipment the French have since upgraded, so they’re sending the older stuff to Ukraine. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 2nd April 2024, we talked to former Cabinet Minister Peter Dunne and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on the government's quarterly action plan and what they will achieve by the end of June. Plus, Mike dived into the numbers showing there are more standdowns in our schools. Andrew Saville and Guy Heveldt covered the long weekend of sport and the great win for the Warriors. 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.

There seems to be some debate, or at least questions, around when the Government are going to address the business of Māori seats at local council level. There is a claim of a leak from within Cabinet that the whole idea is on the back burner. ACT deny it. Mixed in with that issue is the issue of universities and their various segregated areas depending on race. Even the Prime Minister told us how disappointed he was that this sort of practice takes place. The irony appears to be that it not only takes place, but has been taking place for a while, and in many institutions all over the country. And they defend it in a defiant, sort of, middle finger way. Why this is important is not just because it’s a wrong that needs to be addressed, but it’s a specific issue that this Government, and indeed all three parties within the Government, have made a big deal of. And at least in part, to this point, they have done nothing about it and that goes to delivery and delivery goes to reputation. The council move in particular was one of the most egregious acts of the previous administration. To refresh your memory, when a council decided they wanted Māori wards or seats you were allowed to organise a petition and if you got 5% of the locals on board it was put to a vote. When this happened, the vote was one way and in large numbers. People did not want it. Now, you might want to ask the councils about their intent in the first place, given they never made it part of their manifesto when they were looking for your support. But when democracy played out it always played out one way. So given that, there was rich pickings for National, Act and NZ First to promise to address these race-based wrongs. It involves everything from Māori signage, to Government department names, to wards to segregated areas. As much as they might talk about it, tut tut about it and express dismay about it, as we sit here this morning, they haven't actually addressed it. Now we have leaks, or rumours, suggesting it's not happening any time soon. Why? Surely the last Government got famous for all talk, no delivery. Why would you be looking to follow that up with more of the same? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Saville and Guy Heveldt joined Mike Hosking to discuss the plethora of sport that took place over the long weekend and dive into the great win from the Warriors. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A top lawyer is highlighting the merits of the jury system in the wake of concern from the Justice Minister. Official data shows defendants are increasingly choosing to go for jury trials rather than a judge-only trial, potentially adding strain to the court system. Minister Paul Goldsmith says it's a factor impacting court delays. Law Association Vice President Julie-Anne Kincade KC told Mike Hosking that there's no guarantee a judge can hear every case, every day. She says jury trials take a lot more organisation, but those with that option are more likely to get their case on rather than it being adjourned. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister says his new action plan isn't just an announcement of an announcement. The 36-point action plan includes reintroducing three strikes, creating a school attendance plan, and delivering tax relief by June 30. Christopher Luxon told Mike Hosking that the actions have a tight focus. He's concentrating on rebuilding the economy, improving law and order, and delivering better public services. Luxon said that it’s breaking the bigger goals into smaller steps, providing clarity on what the Government wants to achieve. He told Hosking that people need to know what they’re working on in the short term in order to make more major changes. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s rising concerns new school stand down figures are a symptom of a report on classroom behaviour. New Education Ministry data shows around 22,000 stand downs last year, up from 18,600 in 2022, higher than pre-pandemic figures. It comes after a new report last week found disruptive classroom behaviour has worsened in the last two years. PPTA President Chris Abercrombie told Mike Hosking that schools tend to use stand downs as a last resort. He says unfortunately sometimes it's the only way for schools to get extra support, triggering certain things in the ministry to route support. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new Government priority list is being described as a gimmick. The checklist includes reintroducing three strikes, delivering tax relief, and creating a plan to tackle school attendance problems by June 30. Former United Future leader and Political Commentator Peter Dunne says some of that will take real work to accomplish. He told Mike Hosking that part of it is building public perception. Dunne says the Prime Minister wants to be seen as a man of action who's constantly making progress. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An agricultural expert's hopeful that China's growing dairy industry isn't all bad news for New Zealand. China is on track to become the third biggest milk producing country, with its imports falling 15.7% year on year in 2023. Lincoln University Honorary Professor of Agri-Food Systems Keith Woodford told Mike Hosking that China's Agricultural and Rural Affairs Ministry believe agricultural imports will decrease over the next decade. However, Woodford says the Chinese themselves predict dairy imports are going to increase about 25% over the next 10 years. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I've been surprised this week by the amount of coverage Chris Hipkins managed to get himself around tax. If you think about it, he didn't say anything specific, and certainly nothing new. The left generally argue the tax system is not fair. The trouble is he had a chance to do something about it but, living up to the ongoing reputation of his and Ardern's Government, failed to deliver. Part of the story about the story is, I suspect, two things were at play. The first is that it has been a very quiet week locally for news. And two is the media, in general, are still sympathetic to the Labour cause. The Labour Party have also moved onto the Disability Minister Penny Simmonds, who made a hash of the detail around funding and has since apologised. But she's also been humiliated by her own party, who now require decisions in the area to be passed by Cabinet. That has led to Hipkins calling for her to be sacked, which of course isn't going to happen. Simmonds is the new target after the original target, Casey Costello, basically stared Labour down over tobacco by turning out not to be the shambles in terms of information requests they tried to make her out to be, then announcing that crackdown on vapes last week that basically put Labour to shame, given it's exactly the sort of thing they should have done but, once again, failed to deliver on. Which brings us back to tax. Whether because of a quiet week, or by sympathy, surely someone other than me needed to ask themselves why you would give the level of coverage you did to a thought bubble, given the thought bubbler was the abject failure who failed to introduce and make law the very thing he is now bubbling about? Talk about a hypocrite. You long for Government to make the changes, to espouse, only to fail to do so, then in the first major speech you give you re-espouse the core topic that you did nothing about, by moaning about it some more! What's worse, the media cover it as though it's worth a discussion, despite the fact it got discussed and has been discussed for several elections in a row and still nothing has been done. It's like there is an industry in hot air. See 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. Donald Trump: 7/10 He floated and made a fortune and got a bond reduction with more time to pay. Stormy turned out to be a bit of an issue, but all in all he's had worse weeks. The Chinese: 3/10 The US, the UK and New Zealand all say essentially the same thing and the Chinese deny it all. It redefines the term 'high farce'. The Russians: 3/10 ISIS blow up a hall, kill people and get arrested. The Americans told them about it, but still it’s a Ukrainian conspiracy? Princess Kate: 8/10 Done sadly for the wrong reasons, given she got flushed out a bit, but an astonishing piece of raw emotion that hopefully made the conspiracy peddlers and jokesters sick to their stomachs. Russell Coutts: 7/10 Hero of the week. He laid it out plain and simple and told a few home truths. The budget update: 4/10 Man, do we need the money. This lot really have inherited the most astonishing fiscal incompetence. The Warriors: 7/10 We are underway. Beating the top side in the competition is but a sign of things to come. LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Easter cutting the week short Tim Wilson and Kate Hawkesby joined Mike Hosking to wrap this week. This week's agenda covers everything from real estate and travel costs to expensive pies and wicking beds. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NZ Rugby is aiming to overhaul its governing structure. The board released a proposal aiming to change the sport’s leadership structure and create generational change for the game. It comes off the back of the Pilkington report, which found that the current structures aren’t fit for purpose and would see them transition to a fully independent model. The Provincial Unions want to ensure that at least three board members have at least two years of experience on a provincial board, but Chair Dame Patsy Reddy said that she’ll resign if the proposal is altered. NZ Rugby Players’ Association CEO Rob Nichol told Mike Hosking that the game is suffering challenges, but also has fantastic opportunities from community grassroots, global engagement, and high performance. He said that everyone’s accepted the findings of the report and the need for change, but the board is set up in a way where the best interests of RNZ need to be answerable to the stakeholders. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Easter break could see the retail sector get a much-needed boost. The sector has seen eight quarters of declining sales, kiwis tightening their spending as the cost-of-living crisis continues. Retail NZ’s CEO Carolyn Young told Mike Hosking that 85% of stores are struggling, 15% doing okay. She said that small pockets of businesses will be doing well over the weekend, those with exemptions to the Easter trading regulations. Regional areas for example, Young said, will have higher and more consistent trading as they’re going to be open all weekend versus other stores that are closed for Friday and Sunday. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 28th of March, Finance Minister Nicola Willis joined to discuss the vagaries of yesterday’s Budget Policy Statement. Mike talked to the Education Evaluation Centre’s Ruth Shinoda about the report saying our kids are among the worst behaved in schools in the OECD. The latest news and analysis on Liam Lawson continues to point to good things to come. Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson joined to wrap the short week with everything from $14.50 pies to wicking beds. 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.

Another sport is finding its way to free to air TV. TVNZ has signed a multi-year partnership with Hockey NZ, the first long term deal between the two. Men’s and Women’s games will both be broadcast live, free to air, kicking off with the Women’s team versing Japan on April 13th and 14th. Hockey NZ CEO, Anthony Crummy told Mike Hosking that their biggest objective is getting in front of as many people as they can, and TVNZ is a great partner for that. He said that when they’re on the world stage the Black Sticks capture the hearts and minds of the country, they just need to get it in front of people. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Switching up your internet provider could save you hundreds. NZ Compare has found that households could save up to $360 a year by changing their broadband providers. While the cost of living has six in ten people struggling with household finances, the study found that only two in ten would consider switching providers. Gavin Male, CEO of NZ Compare, told Mike Hosking that it’s often due to apathy or a perceived complexity. Broadband is often tied to other services, he said, so customers —rightly or wrongly— think that it’s complex to get out of. Male said that while the convenience of the bundles is lovely, the savings aren’t necessarily as good as they look. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The behaviour of our kids in the classroom continues to be a problem. New research from the Education Review Office shows disruptive behaviour has become worse over the past two years, despite New Zealand ranking among the worst in the OECD for the last 20. A quarter of principals are seeing students physically harm others and steal property at least every day. Education Evaluation Centre Head Ruth Shinoda told Mike Hosking that there's evidence to show prevention helps. She says there's great schools in the report who have clear expectations and consistent consequences to ensure behaviour doesn't escalate. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking this morning, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said she wants to stick to her $3.5 billion promise for her budget. ”In terms of the economy, we’ve got the treasury forecasts still coming in. ”In terms of discussions with coalition partners and ministers, I’m still having budget bilaterals.” Willis said the economy was very slow, and that makes things “tough.” ”It’s fair to say the shape of the budget is shaping up, it’s looking good, I’m confident it’s all coming together well.” Hosking disagreed and said he thought it was looking dreadful because we are in a recession. ”The budget is looking like a budget that will bring together the small crumbs we have at the back of the cupboard.” Willis said her priority was tax relief for “working people.” ”We are a country that is finding it very hard for businesses to grow.” Hosking asked Willis if she was surprised by criticism of her government’s planned tax cuts. “Some people just do not like tax reduction, they can see a long list of things they’d like to see the government spending money on and they think that’s more important than something I think is a basic principle, which is that New Zealanders get up, they work hard and they deserve to keep more of their own money.” Willis said New Zealand hasn’t “had any changes to tax brackets or thresholds in fourteen years.” This isn’t true, last year the Labour government introduced new top rate of 39%, but only on income earned above $180,000. Nicola Willis has conceded she won’t be able to get the Government’s finances back in shape as quickly as expected, while delivering tax cuts, which may not end up looking as attractive as National promised before the election. Hosking asked Willis why she wasn’t going harder on the surplus. ”The numbers are the numbers,” she said. ”We could choose to overreact to them, and do incredibly dramatic things... but we don’t want to be radical in that way.” Releasing her Budget Policy Statement yesterday afternoon - a preview of the May 30 Budget - the Finance Minister emphasised the extent to which economic growth is expected to be slower than expected in December. Consequently, the Government’s tax take is likely to underperform, meaning the Government won’t get its books back in surplus by 2026/27 as expected in December, and as National campaigned on before the election. In fact, the books are still likely to be in the red in 2027/28. While Willis highlighted her commitment to being a prudent manager of the country’s finances, she said she wouldn’t chase a surplus at any cost - particularly if that cost was borne by frontline public services. Willis didn’t do what finance ministers tend to do during Budget Policy Statements and unveil the likely size of the upcoming Budget. She didn’t include her expected operating allowance in the statement - the figure that’s typically seen to be the centrepiece of a Budget Policy Statement. Rather, she kept things broad, saying her operating allowance would be less than the $3.5 billion figure pencilled in by the previous Government. In other words, she will increase expenditure on day-to-day operating costs by less than $3.5b (net) in Budget 2024. As for capital expenditure, on things like infrastructure, Willis said the Government will top up the multi-year capital allowance by up to $7b, with the final number to be confirmed at the Budget. Coming back to the income tax cuts, Willis avoided confirming whether these would look the same as what National campaigned on ahead of the election. She said they would be targeted at lower and middle-income earners and take effect on July 1 - as previously signalled. Act Party leader David Seymour said the income tax changes hadn’t gone through Cabinet yet. “We’re always jostling with our coalition partners, but on the tax issue, I think we’re at a reasonable place,” he said. Willis assured the Government wouldn’t need to borrow more to deliver tax cuts. “Tax reductions will be funded by reprioritisation, savings and new revenue measures, and this package will not add to debt,” the Budget Policy Statement said. Willis didn’t believe the “new revenue measures” (which could include taxes, levies, fees, etc) would surprise the public. Taking a step back, the Budget Policy Statement said the Government aimed to put net core Crown debt on a “downward trajectory towards 40 per cent [of GDP]” over the next four years. In the year to June 2023, net core Crown debt was worth 39 per cent of GDP. In December, the Treasury forecast it rising to a peak of 44 per cent of GDP this year. Longer term, Willis said her goal was to ensure net core Crown debt sits between 20 and 40 per cent of GDP - a fairly wide range. Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson got net core Crown debt to below 20 per cent before Covid-19. Jenee Tibshraeny is the Herald’s Wellington business editor, based in the parliamentary press gallery. She specialises in government and Reserve Bank policymaking, econo

It was hard to watch the China spying coverage yesterday without wondering what all the fuss was about. It had an air of breathlessness about it, as though this had come as some sort of surprise. Does the fact China spies on people honestly come as news to anyone? I guess hacking, as the PM suggested, is new, but spying and hacking... it's all nefarious skulduggery, isn't it? Have a look at the 60 Minutes Australia piece over the weekend, or the associated coverage in the Sydney Morning Herald or The Age on the story of the plane landing in Fiji loaded to the gunnels with police from China, who then went and rounded up a bunch of people and took them back to the mainland. Have a look at the Chinese in places like the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea with their security services. Have a look at the ongoing tit for tat between the United States and China, or the UK and China. China are bad actors all over the world and have been for years. And I would be equally surprised if those that had the wherewithal, like the Americans, like the British, like any major player in Europe, weren't doing exactly the same thing. When the GCSB or SIS speak, which isn't often, the cyber activity of all sorts of people raises a lot of eyebrows. Not by the fact it's happening, but the fact it's so common. The ASIO head in Australia is a bloke well worth listening to given he pops up periodically and tells the same story with real flourish, his last report just a month or so back revealed there was an ex-MP who was busy undertaking nefarious activity. He refused to name them, much to the chagrin of all MPs who claimed to have been tainted by association. The simple truth in all of this is the Chinese are not to be trusted, but then I assume they would say the same about us. But beyond that we are happy to be friendly in each other's company and exchange a serious amount of goods which is the two way street that is trade. For a country like America they can make much of the spying activity. They can call the Chinese out, they can threaten and impose sanctions. People like Trump collect votes on the rhetoric. Poor old New Zealand? No such luck. We are between a rock and a hard place. We have no choice. Which is why you have seen the Government do nothing, because they can do nothing. Aus got up Chinese noses by posing embarrassing questions about Covid and the sanctions got slapped on so fast it was only last week the last of them around wine looked like they were getting lifted. China spies. China has a big global ideology and a desire to influence a lot of the planet. This is not new. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australian Labour Party is making an effort to clean up an immigration “mess”. Moments before question time yesterday the party introduced a bill that would have noncitizens who have been convicted of a crime but refuse to return to their country of birth jailed for one to five years. Australian Correspondent Steve Price told Mike Hosking that this was prompted by a case in which 150 detainees were freed from detention, many of them convicted criminals, and they’re now out in the community. The bill was rushed through the lower house and will be debated by the Senate today before Parliament goes on a six week break. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Finance Minister will today unveil the Government's long-awaited Budget Policy Statement. The document will shed important light on the fiscal situation ahead of May's full Budget. Nicola Willis has told Kiwis for weeks the financial situation is much worse than expected, and today she'll give clues on how bad it really is. Darren Gibbs, a Senior Economist for Westpac, told Mike Hosking that they’ve very much telegraphed the economic situation, which is weaker than they envisioned at the half-year update. He said that they’re not expecting to get explicit fiscal figures, but rather tea leaves they can sift through to get an idea of what to expect. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The question is being raised of whether Winston Peters is owed an apology after the Serious Fraud Office's case against the New Zealand First Foundation failed. The SFO took the party's foundation to the Court of Appeal over two men —who have continuing name suppression— who handled the party's donations. Peters wants an apology from the SFO, but one legal professional says he shouldn't get one. Constitutional law expert Andrew Geddis told Mike Hosking that the office did the right thing. He says they had to act, and the foundation's actions were unlawful. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Placing warning signs ahead of all permanent speed cameras would be a quick win for road safety. Of the 10 new cameras added to Auckland and Northland roads last year, only one, on State Highway 1 in Kawakawa, is set to have signage. But the AA says signs remind people who are unintentionally speeding to slow down in high-risk locations. AA Road safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen says this would be an easy measure for the Government to action. He says within a couple of months, all 60 permanent cameras across the country could be signposted, costing a tiny fraction of what we spend in the transport space. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is red tape harming our country’s event industry? Christchurch’s SailGP event has been overshadowed by CEO Sir Russell Coutts suggesting the event is unlikely to return to Lyttelton. Saturday’s race was called off when dolphins were seen on the course, the race taking place in a marine mammal sanctuary. Labour’s Ginny Andersen told Mike Hosking that it’s unfortunate since the event was such a big deal for New Zealand, but at the same time Coutts was aware that it was being held in the middle of a reserve. National’s Mark Mitchell said that we need to find ways of attracting and supporting international events in this country. He told Hosking that we don’t have the luxury of cherry picking, and we need to find a way to successfully hold these events. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.