The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Researchers say the Vape industry and regulators needs to show they're taking consumer safety seriously.  A study in today's Medical Journal shows more than half of vape juices have incorrectly labelled how much nicotine they contain.  Most of the mislabelled products had significantly less nicotine than advertised – some by over 50%.  Otago University Senior Research Fellow Jude Ball told Mike Hosking this is suggestive of widespread issues in manufacturing quality.   She says New Zealand has strong regulations about what can and can't be in vape products, so the fact nicotine levels are way off raises concerns.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inland Revenue's cracking down on unpaid tax bills.  It's been allocated an extra $35 million in Budget 25 to boost its tax compliance and collection activities.  The tax department expects to return an additional $4 for every dollar in the first year, and $8 in year two.  IRD Commissioner Peter Mersi told Mike Hosking it's hard to estimate how much tax is owed across the board.  He says they don't really know the size of the gap, but believes it's around $9 billion.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A focus on boosting our gas supply in the short-term from the Resources Minister.  New Zealand's gas reserves have dropped by 27% over the past year.   Last month, the Government committed $200 million to new gas projects following removal of a ban on offshore oil and gas exploration last year.   Shane Jones told Mike Hosking there's a lot of interest in the South Island, but new projects need to be well-thought out.  He says so if people make a commitment, their investment is protected from the return of unicorn, fairy-head ideas.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Satisfaction the Privileges Committee stood its ground over Te Pati Māori's viral haka in Parliament.   The harshest sanctions in Parliament's history have been handed down, with co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi suspended for 21 days.    Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke's been suspended for seven.   Privileges Committee Chair Judith Collins told Mike Hosking the committee was almost universally appalled by the demonstration and six months’ worth of hearings.  She says the committee's work was worth it, and it's about time Parliament realised the public is appalled by the antics. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Keir Starmer has signalled a potential U-turn regarding the winter energy payments.  Back in March, the UK government changed the rules for the Winter Fuel Payment, so that from winter 2024/25, it was only available to households that received the Pension Credit or certain other means-tested benefits.  This made it so that only 1.5 million pensioners received the payment, down from 10.8 million.   UK Correspondent Rod Liddle told Mike Hosking reinstating them looks like a defeat for Starmer, as it was his government that axed the payments in the first place.  He says the Prime Minister’s in a difficult position.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There seems to be increasing reportage, based around some new research, that our dream of being smokefree is up in smoke.  2025 is the year when we were aiming to be smokefree. By smokefree, it would have been reduced to 5% left smoking.  To meet that goal, the research says about 80,000 more people need to quit. They won't.    As always, the fact they haven't, or won't, is somehow the Government's fault, who haven't done enough. Or worse, this particular Government, who they say have been shocking, led by New Zealand First and Casey Costello who is a devil and in the pocket of the tobacco companies – or some such gibberish those like the Labour Party spend a lot of time trying to suggest.  Where it went wrong was twofold.  The first was the belief, and this was classic Labour under Helen Clark, that you could force people to do something they didn’t want to, and there were always going to be people who didn’t want to.  Where it worked, and we can be grateful, was in the public space part of it. No longer are you forced to inhale if you don’t want to, or smell like a smoker, or stand in a group, or be trapped by it.  But beyond that, once the hardcores were on the footpath, some were never giving up.  The second thing that went wrong was vaping, a shocking miscalculation that it was a cessation tool, when what it really was a gateway for kids. A whole new generation got easy access, and the slippery slope was never going to get stopped.  Governments could have nipped it in the bud but didn’t. They could have made vapes script only like Australia, but didn’t.  The Labour Party under Ayesha Verrall, a medical professional from the party who invented smokefree, hurled their best wet bus ticket at the vaping market. So nothing happened.  History will show they were out of the gates, Clark-style, with gusto. There was early progress on public spaces and a general change in attitude to the habit, followed by the predictable malaise and hardcore resistance, leaving us 25 years on with a change in society but well short of what was envisioned.  Good crack, failed on the follow through.  I'd give it 7 out of 10. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi Supercars driver Matt Payne has had a dream start to the season.  He’s been racing under Grove and Penrite, and has already racked up three wins for the season.  It’s had fans and former drivers raving about his prospects as a future champion and considering he’s currently sitting third on the overall ladder, he’ll be hoping it’s the very near future.   Two of his wins so far came in the same weekend, on the home track at Taupo.  “I think that was a pretty special weekend for, for all of us,” Payne told Hosking.  “Y’know, two wins in one weekend is pretty cool, and I think for me, winning at home, especially in front of the New Zealand crowd, it couldn’t have been any better.”  His other win came in Tasmania, Payne moving from his starting position in 10th to claim the victory.  “That was a pretty special race,” he said.  “Just how everything played out, as the tyres were going away, and just how close it was at the end... it definitely stayed with me for a while.”  “Pretty awesome race.”   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 5th of June, we're finally making ground when it comes to clearing the backlog in our courts. And when it comes to competition in the supermarkets, we might have good news too.  The NZR have their sponsor to replace INEOS - it's Gallagher, an insurance broker out of the US. NZR CEO Mark Robinson discusses the good news.  Kiwi Supercars driver Matt Payne has had a stellar start to the year, and joins ahead of the next race weekend in Perth.  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.

New Zealand Rugby have secured a new sponsor.  They’ve partnered with American company Gallagher Insurance, who’s logo will appear on both the training and match day shorts of all our national teams.  It comes two months after Ineos terminated their $21 million a year contract with the union.  NZR CEO Mark Robinson told Mike Hosking Gallagher’s got a deep connection with the sport, having been involved with World Rugby and the English Premiership, as well as already being involved in NZ rugby at the provincial level.  He says they’re connected to the values and ethos of the game, and they obviously feel that there’s a strong opportunity for branding, as well as business opportunities.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Commerce Commission's making moves to level the playing field in the grocery sector.   It's found the big supermarket players are shovelling in billions of dollars a year through supplier charges and promotional pricing, which largely isn't reaching consumers.   It's proposed a simplified grocery code that limits the range of payments supermarkets can charge suppliers.   Grocery Commissioner Pierre van Heerden told Mike Hosking it's about taking away all the carve-outs.   He says smaller suppliers currently have difficulty pushing back against large supermarkets because of the power imbalance.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.