The Mike Hosking Breakfast

I have at least partially changed my mind on charging tourists.  The idea that you can wander around our conservation estate for free is, of course, nuts.  Like the various charges that we have placed on tourists, whether it be at the border, or potentially in a hotel with a bed tax, the simple truth is if we got our act together in terms of marketing and seat capacity to the country, people would be happy to pay them.  Why? Because everyone pays for everything all over the world and if post-Covid travel has taught us anything, it's that you can basically rob a tourist blind and they are still happy to pay.  That’s before you get to the bit where our dollar is so pathetic that most people coming here can't believe what they get on the exchange rate.  But as part of the conservation announcement over last weekend what we also got was New Zealand's other great problem – the negative reaction.  As much as we love our open spaces and clean air and national parks you have never seen a group of people more determined not to have anyone touch them.  God forbid we should open the place up to a bit more business. We have seen it for years in the RMA and groups like Forest & Bird, who must have spent millions on lawyers in the environment court looking not to change anything.  The Quiet Sky group at Waiheke and various other locations are determined never to see a chopper polluting their environment ever again.  There is this default position whereby we are happy to be left alone, we don’t like interlopers, intruders or *ick* tourists. And we certainly don't want them tramping over our stuff, far less *ick* landing a helicopter and then tramping over our stuff.  We don't like cruise ships either so we have made them ruinously expensive to park here. So, they don’t.  Yay, a win for the greenies.  What we do like though is lots more pay, lots more hospital beds, much better education, lots of welfare and generous dollops of free stuff, all paid for by the money tree in Wellington.  The fact tourism, the conservation estate, ships and rich Americans in E130's pay for a lot of it doesn’t seem to have registered. 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.    Sheds: 8/10  The new garden shed rules are what good governance should be about – simple and common sense. How hard can it be?    Local body elections: 4/10  Nominations close and, once again, a whole bunch of races are not being run because we don’t have enough candidates.    15% tariffs: 1/10  Biggest blow of the week in an economy that needs it like a hole in the head.    Coal: 7/10  Good cooperation with the gentailers, some cold, hard reality at last, and a good kick in the pants for the idiots who closed the oil and gas.    Downtown Auckland: 3/10  Wake up call of the week from the real estate bloke who said we look more like Suva than Sydney. Ouch.    Jobs: 4/10  Because the simple truth is this aint over. There is more where that came from in a year that was supposed to be showing real signs of recovery.    LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I said earlier this week that the Government will be re-elected next year because, all things being equal, history tends to show you get two terms.  Plus, the Opposition remain the same people who stuffed the place a year and a half ago and the pain of that, the closeness of that, is still real for too many of us.  Unless of course they rejuvenate the party or say sorry – none of which is going to happen.  This was all backed up by Treasury who, in one of their latest papers which is well worth reading, basically says the Government overspent. They were told not to overspend.  And whatever spending they were doing should've been targeted and directly linked to Covid. None of that advice was followed.  They sprayed money at a rate that equated to $66billion, or 20% of GDP, and when the worst was over they kept spraying.  And here we are a couple of years later bogged down in their economic incompetence.  The politics of it all is in full swing as Labour tried to blame the current Government for the mess. What's making that argument slightly complicated is the ongoing criticism, which is justifiable if you ask me, that for all the announcements and noise, this is a timid Government that really had licence to go for broke and they have largely chickened out.  They have dabbled and poked and prodded and done some decent, common sense stuff. In just the past few weeks we've had changes to building products, garden sheds, speed limits, RUC's and NCEA.  There is no shortage of bits and pieces but it's not transformational, hence the slow progress and the opening for Labour to have a crack.  Labour are praying you forget all this is on them. But it is and the Treasury paper very clearly says so.  They told Grant Robertson to tighten it up, to be disciplined, but socialists with majorities and egos are not for turning and so the ruinous money party was on.  Writing about it doesn't fix it. But it is proof positive that this lot inherited one of the most ill-disciplined, ill-advised, arrogant, bungling, fiscal messes of the modern age and if you don’t believe the National Party, believe Treasury.  Labour don’t have a leg to stand on.  And the same people who did that to us are still there wanting you to forget and give them another crack in a years time.  That is why they will not win. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s Friday, which means Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson are back with Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that was.  They discussed Mike’s potential career in reality TV, car troubles, and AI in language learning apps.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Warriors are just holding onto their position in the top four.  Saturday will see them face off against the Bulldogs – a must win match after their last two losses.  But the question remains, with the spotty performances from the New Zealand team, will they be able to defeat a top four side?  Former Warriors Captain Monty Betham told Mike Hosking the Warriors have yet to lose three matches in a row this year, and experts believe that pattern will hold true.  He says both teams will be looking to bounce back in this clash, vying for a higher position in the top four.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An exception to normal procedure at the Crusaders in bringing Richie Mo'unga back to the Super Rugby franchise. The 56-test All Black has signed an 18-month contract to return in July after three seasons playing in Japan.  Crusaders boss Colin Mansbridge says they're stoked Mo'unga is returning to his home franchise.  He told Mike Hosking this type of contract is probably the way of the future – athletes gaining experience elsewhere before returning to the game.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 8th of August, Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour joins to talk about the huge number of kids leaving school without a single qualification.  In sporting news – Richie Mo'unga is coming back so there's cause for celebrations for Canterbury and All Blacks fans. And we look at a massive make-or-break weekend for the Warriors to see whether they are serious contenders this year.  Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson Wrap the Week and talk about whether Mike is going to feature on reality TV in the very near future.  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 prospects of a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin may be crumbling faster than they've formed.   The Kremlin says the US President and his Russian counterpart have agreed to meet in the "coming days".   But the New York Post is quoting Trump's officials, saying this is not the case.   Foreign Policy Analyst Jimmy Rushton told Mike Hosking Putin is burning through astonishing amounts of manpower for relatively little strategic progress.    He says Putin thinks he can outlast the West, but Ukraine would rather fight than accept poor peace terms.  Rushton says many people have taken what Moscow's selling and run with it, and it shows desperation from the Kremlin for it to pretend it is ready for peace.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a view we're an international outlier with our labelling regulations.  The standards are under review from the Ministry for Regulation in its latest attack on red tape.  Minister David Seymour says the labelling codes seem overly restrictive.  He says for example, Chemist Warehouse has someone employed full time to check labels.  BusinessNZ CEO Katherine Rich told Mike Hosking it's an issue for overseas companies having to deal with regulations here that are nowhere else.  She says if you buy a bottle of French or Spanish wine, it'll have an ugly white sticker on it – that's because of rules that only apply here.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The effects of Donald Trump's tariff hikes are already being felt in the US and around the world.   The US President's updated trade policy is now in effect for more than 90 trading partners.   New Zealand goods are grappling with a 15% tariff at the American border.   US Correspondent Charles Feldman told Mike Hosking the income will pay for Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy at the cost of consumers.   He says prices for almost anything Americans get as an imported product will rise.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.