The Mike Hosking Breakfast

David Seymour's shrugging off food poisoning concerns at a Christchurch school, saying its principal is often complaining about Government policies.  Haeata Community Campus recalled all lunches yesterday after discovering some boxes contained rancid and "dead" looking food.   Some children had already eaten their lunch.  Minister-in-charge Seymour told Mike Hosking a previous batch has likely been re-served to students.  He says they're keeping an open mind while looking into how meals from last week got in front of children this week.  The School Lunch Collective, Ministry of Education and MPI are all investigating.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's an expectation a rates cap will prove challenging and require teaming up with central Government.   The Government's proposing to stop rates increases at 4% a year, excluding water and other non-rates revenue.  Councils wanting to go beyond this will need approval from a government-appointed regulator.  Nelson Mayor Nick Smith told Mike Hosking he's not surprised councils have been targeted by the Government as it aims to reduce costs across the board.  But he says delivery will require the Government to work with them to get costs down, especially in the construction sector.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Monday the 1st of December, Local Government Minister Simon Watts speaks on what councils will be spending on 'Water Done Well' over the next decade. The Prime Minister speaks about our maths results, whether EU countries are worried about our climate targets and the City Rail Link being delayed until late 2026. For the final time Andrew Saville and Jason Pine speak to Mike for the year about the F1, Supercars and Auckland FC. 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 UK the Justice Secretary has suggested the end of the jury trial, except for rape, murder, manslaughter, or what he calls "cases that pass a national interest test". The idea has received the sort of reaction you would expect from the usual quarters you would expect it from. My hope is we might want to look at something similar here. The wait, like in the UK, for a trial is absurd. The system is overwhelmed. Getting a jury is hard work and will never get any easier. So if we accept the system doesn’t function in a way we would want, judge-alone would be an immediate improvement in efficiency. Could I be controversial and suggest the reality also is that most people who end up in court are in fact guilty of what they are accused of doing? Which is not to change the idea that you are innocent until proven otherwise. It's just that you can mount a fairly solid argument that a jury is made up of a collection of people who may or may not want to be there, may or may not know what's really going on, may or may not get nuance and minutiae of certain aspects of the law and, therefore, as a collective be a fairly weak representation of the justice you seek. In a way it's like democracy. We love the idea but at local body level we literally can't be bothered. We don’t even turn up so is the idea still a sound one, even if it doesn’t work? Being judged by a jury of your peers - what a wonderful 1800's style thought. But here in the real world it's got a very stale, arduous vibe to it. Why is it important that 12 people agree on something? Well, it isn't if they can't because in some cases we then make it that only 11 people need to agree. So you see, rules are malleable. In some places it's 10 needed. So lets not get all rigid, because the law has been around a while. If the basic premise is justice being seen to be done then the “doing” has to have an element of pace about it. Not rushed, not rubber stamped and open to skullduggery, but an efficient system seen to be working well. You can't argue we have that, or anywhere close. Lammy of the UK has been bold and good on him. Let's hope the same boldness resides somewhere here as well. LISTEN ABOVESee 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: Auckland FC suffered a loss at home amid monsoon-like rains. Should the game have been called off?  The F1 Driver's Championship is headed to the final race of the season, with three contenders for the title.  And the V8 Supercars Championship has changed up their format, but is it too confusing?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Donald Trump's working to force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro out of office. Trump's warned airlines and travellers to avoid the country on social media - and says land strikes on Venezuela could come 'very soon'. The Trump administration has pinned illegal migration and drug trafficking on Venezuela's Government - amid a crackdown on the issue. Foreign Policy Institute Senior Fellow Jeffrey Price told Mike Hosking that it's hard to tell what the strategy is from here, but it's clear Trump wants Maduro gone. He says it's not clear how he'll do this - but the US is willing to do it with force. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An anti-smoking group says young people don't think vaping is as cool as it used to be.  Action on Smoking and Health has released the results of its survey which asks more than 30-thousand Year 10 students about their smoking habits.  It shows 7.1-percent of the age group vape daily - down from the 10-percent peak in 2022 - and less than a third have ever tried it.  ASH Chair Robert Beaglehole says Government policy has played a big role in the change.  He says it took some time for the regulation to catch up with the issue - but it is clearly working now.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Luxon says banks need to be passing on their OCR cuts to customers - and customers should be switching banks if they don't. Mortgage rates have been falling significantly, following recent OCR cuts. But the Reserve Bank says the banks still have room to move, to be cutting the rates further. The Prime Minister says [told Mike Hosking] banks should be competing for customers, and customers should be trying to get the best deal they can. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Local Government Minister is pleased to see councils joining forces under the new water infrastructure model. The Department of Internal Affairs expects councils to spend nearly 48-billion dollars on Local Water Done Well over the next decade. The reforms could create more than 40 water entities, with some councils joining multi-council-controlled organisations. Simon Watts told Mike Hosking that 38 councils have already combined to form 12 entities. But he says it's never been about the number of entities - the critical part is whether it's financially sustainable. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Repeatedly low wheat prices are driving more farmers to turn to dairy. The Canterbury Regional Council says up to 25-thousand more dairy cows could be added to the region this year - with 32 new farms given the green light. Federated Farmers' confidence survey in July found 81 percent of dairy farmers surveyed were making a profit, compared to just 40 percent of arable. National Dairy Chair Karl Dean told Mike Hosking that dairy has a more consistent cash flow. He says arable farmers are the ones with the land to convert. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.