The Mike Hosking Breakfast

AI has gotten two start-ups in hot water.  Their use of AI for music creation has resulted in them being sued by three of the world’s largest record labels: Sony, Universal Music Group, and Warner Records.  They say that the AI firms are making money from copied songs, and want $150,000 in compensation for each song that has allegedly been copied.  The New Zealand Chair of the Intellectual Property Society, Kate Duckworth, told Mike Hosking that this is likely to be the first of many cases.  She said that the defence is likely going to be that it was fair use —a strong defence in the United States— or that the songs were transformative works, as was claimed in a case about Andy Warhol.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand Rugby is on shaky ground.  It made a loss of almost $9 million in 2023, the second loss making year in a row after 2022’s loss of $47 million.  NZR CEO Mark Robinson said that further work is needed to achieve a sustainable financial model, but he was positive about the organisation’s future.  He told Mike Hosking that the way things developed over the last 20-25 years means they’ve got a really high fixed cost base, and they’re working really hard with shareholders to try and alter that.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have our first agree to disagree clause of this new coalition.  First point to make - what a mature look it is.  New Zealand First has invoked the clause, which is probably not the surprise.  The surprise is that in previous coalitions this would be described as a crack. "Coalition cracks forming" was the headline from Newshub. Yet in 2024 if it is as it seems, it’s a clause, that's life and we move on.  That is to the credit of Christopher Luxon, who stitched this thing together with the view of it holding long term. So far, so good.  As regards who is right, it is to do with the ACT-led decision that the Covid inquiry will now be in two parts. Part one is the bit that’s on now, headed by Tony Blakely. They will finish their work and report in November.  Then we get part two with a new chair, new commissioners and wider terms of reference.  Now, if Brooke van Velden argues it's worth keeping the current inquiry because they are underway and stopping it would be wasteful, then I have an element of sympathy.  Although it was a jack up from Labour, it will elicit some things that are of value.  As much sympathy as I have for the wastage argument, I have more sympathy for New Zealand First, who on this question, are more right than ACT is.  Blakely should never have been appointed and the terms of reference are a joke. It was classic Labour - stack the deck and pretend it’s a proper game.  The stuff we desperately want investigated isn't part of the inquiry; vaccine procurement and efficacy and all the wider economic and social issues that we are still wading through.  Personally, I'd like to see people called and compelled to turn up, but that is wishful thinking.  The other bit is the second part won't report back until 2026, which is election year. Covid started in 2019 and the report is due seven years later? That’s not pace or progress.  Act will have their reasons, but on this Winston Peters has read the mood better and I think ultimately is on the right side of it.  But the fact he can invoke a clause and not spit the dummy is massive progress in the collegiality of a multi-party arrangement running the country.  And the success of that is not to be underestimated. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A security intelligence analyst says the US has got what it needed from Julian Assange.   The Wikileaks founder has struck a deal with the US and will soon plead guilty to an espionage charge before being sentenced to time already served.   Paul Buchanan told Mike Hosking that Assange has spent the last 14 years in some sort of confinement.   He says the US has won its pound of flesh out of him, adding that he's a broken guy and this sounds like a fair way to end the entire thing.   Buchanan doubts Assange will get the pardon he is seeking.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's claims continued Houthi strikes in the Red Sea are to blame for high shipping costs in this country.  Another vessel sank last week after being struck, killing three people in the shipping channel and putting strain on the global supply chain.  It's caused shipping costs in New Zealand to rise by three times last year's levels.  Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation former president Chris Edwards told Mike Hosking that geopolitics play a huge role in international shipping.  He says that now, shipping vessels need to travel further to avoid the Red Sea which increases costs.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 26th of June, Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden joined to discuss the next stage of the Covid Inquiry.  The CRL CEO Sean Sweeney is resigning and the job he's done has been described by the CRL as "successful leadership". Mike has other thoughts...  Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell covered boot camps, the Covid inquiry, and whether there are cracks in the coalition after Winston Peters involved the Agree to Disagree clause.  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.

The invoking of the Agree to Disagree clause doesn’t indicate a cracking coalition, the Police Minister says.  Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has invoked the first Coalition Agree to Disagree over the second phase of the Covid-19 inquiry.  Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking that the coalition agreement has that clause so that the things parties don't agree on can be dealt with in an adult way.  He said that it’s a strong coalition and thinks that all the ministers are enjoying working inside it.  Disagreements are normal in any part of life, Mitchell said, but the reality is that every party recognises the perilous state the country is in, and they have to be united and have a strong government that is focused on delivering.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Internal Affairs Minister says the second phase to the Covid Inquiry will expand the terms of reference.   It's due to start in November and will continue until February 2026.   Minister Brooke van Velden says phase one centres mostly on the health response and the Government's communication.   But she told Mike Hosking that phase two will focus on factors like vaccines and lockdowns as well as any disruptions to health, education and business.   She says it will be a bit broader in range and will answer more of the questions that are top of mind for people.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Supporters and sceptics of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange are speaking out at news of his release.   The 52-year-old is a few hours away from pleading guilty to a US espionage charge and will be sentenced to time already served.   US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that there's been condemnation but also celebration from those closest to him.   Assange's wife and lawyer, Stella, says it's been a whirlwind of emotions, and she is elated.   However, Richard Arnold says, some media commentators are still suspicious over allegations of Assange's ties to Russia.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

66% of New Zealand's mayors have signed a letter against the Government's Māori ward changes but one mayor says it's a good thing.  A Parliament select committee's recommended the Māori Wards Bill go ahead.  It will force councils which established Māori wards since 2021 to hold a referendum in next year's local election on whether they should stay.  Timaru Mayor Nigel Bowen didn't sign onto the letter and told Mike Hosking that the Government's proposal makes sense.  He says if councils want to make changes to local democracy by adding the wards, they should have to go to the people.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reform may have hit its peak but it’s position in the polls is a cause for concern for the Tories.  The party had a surge over the weekend, leaving it ahead of the Conservative Party in the polls, but their lead is “nowhere near enough” to concern Labour, UK Correspondent Rod Liddle said.  He told Mike Hosking that it’s enough to ensure the Tories are down to between 50 to 70 seats at most.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So it seems we have ended up with three stories.  But all three stories have the same outworkings - we look like a basket case of a country, but we got there three different ways.  First is the plane.  That’s on the Government, and indeed various Governments, who failed to take defence expenditure seriously and it's caught them out.  Like NATO, member countries promise to spend 2% of their GDP on it, but don’t. Until Putin rolls into Ukraine and then they panic.  We talk it up here as vital, but make the same mistake until it gets too embarrassing to ignore.  Second is the ferries.  That seems to be on KiwiRail. KiwiRail don’t seem to be up to much.  Yes, they have been mucked around over the years by various Governments. But as I said yesterday, read the paperwork between them and Grant Robertson over what they were looking to do and what it was costing and how clearly they had no control over what was going on and the bill blowing out.  Governments can't run literally everything on a daily basis and it is KiwiRail who have let the Government down, and badly.  The third story is the power tower.  “Inconceivable” was the word.  Given it took us about three and a half minutes to work it out and given it only took them less than a weekend to join a few dots, they really shouldn’t have been so defensive on Friday.  Idiots were in charge of spanners. Why they have launched a further inquiry baffles me.  Once you have worked out thick people don’t follow instructions, what else is there to investigate?  So, all in all, a shocking week for a country that is having a tough time of it anyway.  All of it was avoidable, but we arrived here through different channels - indifference politics and lack of vision for a plane, laziness and contempt over other people's money and lack of discipline for a ferry, and then people you wouldn’t hire to walk your dog over a tower.  All of it was avoidable. All of it is more expensive now because of actions not taken at other times.  So the trick is, have we learned anything and, if we have, do we put it into action?  Do we get better?  Do we work harder? Do we try harder?  Do we want to improve? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Total exports reached an all-time high in May despite a continued downward trend in the Chinese market.  Last month's exports were valued at $7.2 billion for the first time.  China was the number one market, but beef exports dropped 45% compared to last year.  Export NZ advocacy director Catherine Beard told Mike Hosking that she believes Chinese demand will come back because they are so large.  She says the growth won't be as big as it's been for the last five-to-ten years, as their economy is re-balancing.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 25th of June, we finally got the cancer drugs and what a haul! It’s set to help tens of thousands more people.  We could have had an hour with the Prime Minister but in the time we had, we talked cancer drugs, the various infrastructure issues, and whether there is a hiring freeze for frontline doctors and nurses.  The Scott Robertson All Blacks era has begun! He joined Mike to talk the season ahead and what the team will look like under him.  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.

The Scott Robertson All Blacks Era has officially begun.  Yesterday saw him announce his first squad, with Scott Barrett taking the captaincy and Ardie Savea and Jodie Barrett filling the role of deputies.  Robertson told Mike Hosking that it was good to get on with it as they’ve been tracking the players for a long time, so it felt to goof to finalise the squad and put it out there.  He’s not yet sure how different his era of the All Blacks is going to be, but a big part of what he’d like to do is bring a bit more insight and connection to who they are and how they do things to the public.  “A big part of what I have to do is bring the past and legacy with us, so that’s what you’ll see off the field, but on the field a team that can adapt, play different ways, play the team in front of us to be connected and find ways to win.”  “You know, good Kiwi DNA, find ways to be connected and find ways to win.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's praising himself for finally getting there with the cancer drug funding.   The Government's committing $604 million to Pharmac, taken from next year's Budget.   It will cover the funding for 54 new medicines, including up to seven of 13 drugs the Government promised last year.   The cancer medicines funded would treat cancer of the lung, liver, skin, bowel, kidney, head and neck, and bladder. The Government has also promised some of the drugs would combat breast and blood cancers.   The 28 non-cancer-related drugs would address a range of conditions likely to include infections, respiratory conditions, osteoporosis, sexual health, dermatology, inflammatory conditions, and mental health.   The spend was double what National proposed in 2023.  Luxon told Mike Hosking that he's proud of the investment and ultimately for delivering more than promised initially.   He says it's different from what was proposed but he's more interested in the outcomes, and he's now surpassed them.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a belief that regular check-ins for beneficiaries will result in more people working.  People on Jobseeker are now required to attend the Ministry of Social Development's 'work check in' seminars.  The first will be after two weeks of signing on and another after six months.  Former WINZ boss Christine Rankin told Mike Hosking that there's a huge need for the entry-level jobs in question.  She says it's a Jobseeker's responsibility to find a job that pays more than a benefit, which Rankin says isn't hard to do.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Someone will be paying the price for last week's power outage in Northland.  A pylon toppled over on Thursday after too many nuts were removed from the legs, letting it tip over.  Transpower says it's an inconceivable and unprecedented situation, and consumers can apply for compensation through their retailer.   Whangarei District Mayor Vince Cocurullo told Mike Hosking that they will need to wait until the incident is fully looked into.  He says they need to know who's liable for the insurance claims.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An excellent outcome from a terrible process.  That's Medical Oncologist Chris Jackson's summation of Pharmac's latest funding boost.   The Government's committing $604 million to cover funding for 54 new medicines, including 26 cancer treatments.   Jackson says we have to be careful about implementation because dumping 26 cancer medicines into the system at once could create a capacity demand issue.   He told Mike Hosking that a number of cancer services around the country are already stretched.   Jackson says if we don't fund the infrastructure for them like chemo units, nurses, and the like, we'll end up with more waiting lists.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The river Seine isn't as clean as officials would've hoped ahead of the Paris Olympics.  Many have expressed concerns over the state of the waterway which will also play a major role in the opening ceremony, where teams will float downstream in barges.  Europe correspondent Catherine Field told Mike Hosking that there's twice the maximum volume of e-coli in the water.  She says nearly $2.4 billion has been spent trying to clean up the river in the past decade.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.