The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The Wellington mayor went out, not really in a blaze of glory yesterday, but more a fireball of misery and bitchiness.  Tory Whanau is probably the local body poster child for ineptitude. She's given her bye-bye speech.  She was a shambles. She may still be back, as she is standing in the Māori ward.  She seems like a person who if she wasn’t in local politics, might have trouble finding work.  She admitted, after it was too late, that she really should have done her homework before chasing the big mayoral job.  She won because too many people stood for mayor and split the vote, so by the time you deal with the appalling turnout and split the vote several times over, you need not a lot of support to get a job you weren't even qualified for any way.  But that’s local body politics, isn't it, at least at national level. Whether list or electorate, a group of experienced operators give you the once over.  Locally literally anyone can have a go and that, if you haven't worked it out yet, is a problem.  It wasn’t all her fault of course. A mayor is not a president and is but one vote. But a mayor's job shouldn’t be a "funsies" party trick because you are bored or unemployable.  There were the personal issues. That is another problem in the lack of vetting. Some people are basically just a shambles and she is clearly one of those.  That's not a crime, we all have issues. It's just advisable not to have them on display while you are trying to run things like a city.  The city is pretty much a reflection of her leadership – a mess.  Infrastructurally it's an embarrassment; level one water restriction when we are barely out of autumn, a devastated CBD and angst, fury and backstabbing having been a feature of decision making. That particular trait aired yet again in her farewell speech.  We seem to be in an era where quality in so many parts of life has gone by the wayside.  Tory Whanau is certainly an example of that. She came, she cocked it up, she flailed and flapped about like we were her psychologists as she aired her many and varied problems, then poof! She's off! Until she wasn’t.  They, sadly, rarely are.  But honestly, in a city of Kitts, Fowler, Belich (maybe even Wilde and Prendergast), ol' Tory is hardly one for the record books. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The time has nearly come for Jeffrey Archer to put down the pen.  The prolific author and former member of Lords has sold over 350 million copies of his books, and has just wrapped up the William Warwick series with the release of the eighth book ‘End Game’.  He has one more book left to write, which he’s aiming to finish by Christmas and release in September next year.  But although this will be Archer’s final book, he’s not stepping back from writing altogether, telling Mike Hosking that he still plans on writing short stories and perhaps a screenplay.  “This book is, frankly, bigger than ‘Kane and Abel’ as a story,” he said.  “I’ve got to see if I’ve been able to write it, and frankly, I won’t want to follow it.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 9th of October, the Reserve Bank did what the market, and the Government, wanted and cut the OCR by 50 basis points. Is this the move Nicola Willis needs for growth?  The CEO of the International Rugby Players’ Association Omar Hassanein talks the threat of R360.  Author and former member of Lord's, Jeffrey Archer is back to talk the last book in the William Warwick series and second last novel he will ever write.  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.

A landmark deal has been announced for sports sponsorship in New Zealand.  Crypto company Swyftx has signed a new partnership with the Warriors, the first of a multimillion dollar spend across the sporting landscape.  Crypto sponsorships are surging globally, up 20% over the past year to US$565 million.  Warriors CEO Cameron George told Mike Hosking they were approached by Swyftx, who want to grow their hold in the New Zealand market.  He says both parties believe there is a lot of credibility in their growth and opportunity, and the Warriors are there to help them get there.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could R360 take legal action against the eight unions who will deem any player that signs with the Saudi-backed league as ineligible for international rugby?  New Zealand, England, Ireland, France, Scotland, Australia, South Africa, and Italy have joined forces against the competition, which is set to launch next year.  While NZR has a policy to avoid selecting overseas-based players, other countries regularly pick from outside their domestic competitions.  International Rugby Players' Association boss Omar Hassanein told Mike Hosking this precedent is likely to be explored by R360's lawyers.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fears a proposed bylaw to combat freedom camping in the Queenstown Lakes District could be a headache for Kiwis.  The new bylaw goes before councillors this week and proposes 15 designated freedom camping sites for the district following a surge in freedom campers.  People freedom camping in other areas could face fines of at least $400.   New Zealand Motor Caravan Association's James Imlach says there was consultation from the council, but it wasn’t done well enough to get a plan that both protects the community and allows law-abiding people to camp in the district without causing harm.  He told Mike Hosking it seems to have been a bit of a token gesture, as the proposed bylaw is very similar to what they’ve been trying to push for a number of years, and it seems like the council’s just trying to find a new way to get the same outcome.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a push to make the wool industry the backbone of New Zealand again.  A cross-sector alliance has been formed between four major organisations, aimed at driving economic growth and consolidating efforts.  It wants the industry to deliver decent returns and remove existing duplications.  Independent Chair John Monaghan told Mike Hosking the price of wool is substantially increasing right now.  He says synthetics have been the biggest opposition to wool, but thinks the time is right for the natural product.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Finance Minister says she's okay with a short spike in inflation.  The Reserve Bank has slashed the cash rate 50-basis-points to 2.5% and is leaving the door open to further cuts.  It expects inflation to reach or surpass 3% in the short term but believes the economy is weak enough to push inflation back down again next year.  Nicola Willis told Mike Hosking we won't see another long-period of sustained much-higher inflation.  She says a little blip's okay, but the three years of high inflation under the last government is not okay.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The biggest upshot of the latest OCR cut is likely to be the boost to consumer confidence.  The Reserve Bank's slashed the cash rate by 50-basis-points to 2.5%.  Major banks are responding by lowering floating and flexible rates after already lowering their fixed-term rates in recent days.  ABC Business Sales Chief Executive Chris Small told Mike Hosking businesses will benefit more indirectly from increased consumer spending, than directly from falling interest rates.  He says interest costs are only a small portion of a person's actual business costs, and businesses will always prefer for revenues to rise than for costs to fall.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I would have thought the NZIER numbers yesterday sealed the deal for the Monetary Policy Committee and today's call. The NZIER was the last substantive look at the economy, and what it shows is we have real trouble. Quite possibly recessionary trouble. They think Q3 was certainly flat, if not in contraction. If it is contraction, you can add that to the Q2 contraction and that, once again, is a recession. How many of these do we want? In the Reserve Bank's case how many do they want, given they can actually do something about it? They are two particularly poor, if not concerning, parts of the data. 1) More jobs are being cut. So that’s your unemployment rate heading higher still, shattering the idea that we may have reached peak. 2) Inflation expectations are heading north of 3% – remember the band is 1-3%. The trouble with that is the 3% isn't coming from growth, which is traditionally what you want. The term for no growth but increasing inflation is stagflation. We could re-litigate, again, how badly the bank have handled this, how they missed Q2 despite that being their job, how they kept telling us the stimulatory effects of lower interest rates were here, or just about here, or here any day now, and if in fact they were ever here they got swallowed by the councils, power companies and insurances giants. Anyway, surely 50 basis points is a given. It isn't of course. There remain those who argue 25 points should do it today and another 25 next month and we can all head off to Christmas, fingers crossed. My argument today is about more than stats and numbers, it's about the psychology of an economy and a country. The Government have tried, but largely failed, to jolly us along and to sell us the story of recovery. The Reserve Bank have spectacularly failed. But they can help today with 50 basis because it says we got it wrong, we missed it, we need to fire this joint up and here is our shot. And it’s a big one. Go on Christian – be bold.  It's your second last time. Don't die wondering.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People are making tough choices at the supermarket to keep costs down.  A new report reveals the average weekly spend per household is now $240 – an increase of only $2 from 2023.  To cut costs, 31% of are buying less groceries, 48% are downgrading on brands, and 30% are looking for specials.  Head of Sustainable Business Development at Rabobank, Blake Holgate told Mike Hosking the results are unsurprising, as wage inflation has not increased at the same rate as food inflation.  He says people have had to make cuts or choices, and that’s what they’re seeing come through in these results.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Police Minister says officers don't have the laws they need to move protesters from MPs' homes.  The Government introduced the legislation to ban protests outside homes in August, and it's now before a select committee.   A 29-year-old man's turned himself in and been charged, accused of smashing a window at Foreign Minister Winston Peters' house earlier this week.  Minister Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking every single Kiwi would agree the one place they should feel safe is in their own home.  Labour’s Ginny Andersen agreed, but says the law as proposed is really unclear in terms of detail.  She says people have the right to protest but if they’re breaking the law, then they should get prosecuted, just as the person who was charged with smashing the window was.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 8th of October, what is the Reserve Bank going to do today? Cut 25 basis points or 50?  If I told you that on average we're only spending $2 more per week on groceries compared to 2023, would you believe me?  Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen talk the Government's benefit policy and protesting outside MPs’ homes on Politics Wednesday.  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.

Students' attitudes towards truancy are said to be turning around.  A new Education Review Office report has found six out of ten students attend regularly – back to pre-Covid levels, but still down on 2015.  It also found 80% think education is important for their futures, and 75% think attending every day is important.  Deputy Chief Executive Ruth Shinoda told Mike Hosking there's still more work to do.  She says seven in ten children went to school regularly in 2015 and the government wants to increase that to eight in ten by 2030.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than 300 people in Auckland have been ordered to re-sit their practical driving tests.  It followed allegations VTNZ officers took money in return for giving passes.  Five officers at VTNZ's Highbrook branch have been sacked and police have launched an investigation into potential fraud.  The wrongdoing's alleged to have taken place over a few years.  President of the Institute of Driver Educators Mark Revill-Johnson told Mike Hosking there can't be any faith in the results of the tests.  He says it's unknown if they were properly conducted tests according to the rules.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Economists are split on how far the Reserve Bank will go with slashing the Official Cash Rate.  The central bank will reveal its latest monetary policy decision this afternoon.   There are strong expectations of a cut from three percent, but debate over its size.   ANZ says a 25 basis point cut could be strategic at this point in the cycle, with the OCR near its bottom.   But ASB Chief Economist Nick Tuffley told Mike Hosking he favours a 50 basis point cut.   He says you can make a case either way, but he thinks it's time to give it a firmer nudge than what we've seen recently.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The stars are aligning for the red meat sector with record returns and global demand.   Rabobank's latest report suggests two-million underutilised dairy calves are born each year, at a time when beef prices are hitting record highs.   It's calling for a coordinated effort across breeding, rearing, and value chains to add an alleged $1.2 billion to the economy.  Meat Industry Association Chair Nathan Guy told Mike Hosking there's a lot of system change that needs to occur.   He says farmers know the demand is there, so it's an exciting time.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi Chef Chelsea Winter is all about making a practical resource for Kiwi families, having written nearly ten cookbooks over the years.  Her last few books have been focused on plant-based recipes, many of them dairy-free, egg-free, and refined sugar-free, but her 8th book, ‘Nourish’ is a return to the basics.   “My books have always been created with the intention that they are to be used,” she told Mike Hosking.  “It’s not a coffee table book.”  ‘Nourish’ is filled with recipes designed not only to taste good, but to feel good, Winter says, adaptable recipes that allow a family to thrive.  “It’s a culmination of everything I’ve learned over the last 13 years, but also the person I’ve become.”  “There’s a purpose behind this book now, it’s not just like, oh look, I won MasterChef, I’m going to put out a book,” she said.  “I’m doing it to empower people in the kitchen, to uplift and inspire them, to help them nourish their families in a way that’s accessible and useful and joyful.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 7th of October, there are new measures from the Government to improve attendance rates, with dozens more schools signing up for support.   Health NZ’s buying thousands of vapes —including flavoured products— for those trying to quit smoking, and Mike is incredulous.   Chelsea Winter discusses her new cookbook and answers questions on that wellness retreat.  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.

A researcher says all she can do is laugh about the Government ordering more vapes for those wanting to quit smoking.  Health New Zealand's been providing vape kits to smokers for almost a year as part of a pilot programme, initially ordering three thousand kits.   Newstalk ZB has revealed it's ordering more, including flavours like cinnamon and blueberry.   Auckland University researcher Kelly Burrowes told Mike Hosking the Government seems to be promoting and supporting vaping as a healthier product.  She says there's many studies coming out showing there are negative short and medium-term impacts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.