The Mike Hosking Breakfast

To give you an insight into just how hard Christian Hawkesby's job is today, have a look at what the shadow board says.  The NZIER has a monetary policy shadow board. It’s a bunch of economists and their view as to what should be happening.  Some say drop by 25 basis points, one says 50, and some say don’t do anything.  How do you deal with that?  These are experts. They know what they are doing. Or do they?  So no matter what Christian does some of them are going to go "what on Earth was he thinking?"  Think about the difference between 50 basis points and nothing.  50 basis points is a lot. 50 means things aren't good, and we need to fire the place up a bit.  If we don't move it means things are just where we want them.  Are they where we want them? No, is my answer. But then I'm not an economist.  Most of them say things like "boy this is tricky". My word is "uncertainty" – the watch word of the day.  It's through this murky mix of "who the hell knows what's going on" that Christian has to wade and produce something that will see us head into a half decent Christmas.  Of course that’s part of the mess we are in. There is a lot of water to go under our beleaguered bridge before Christmas, and a number of decisions from the Reserve Bank, along of course with the much-dissected commentary.  What does 25, or 50 basis points, or nothing, mean? What's old Christian thinking?  I'll tell you this for nothing – a big part of this equation is mood. It’s the same with the Budget last week and the depreciation measures.  You have to want to get amongst it. You have to take your mortgage rate cut and do something with it. You have to want to buy your tractor, or ute, and depreciate it by 20%.  If you are in a funk and you're not spending, then depreciating 20% of zero is nothing and no one gains.  Christian, or Nicola for that matter, can't do it all. At some point we have to believe. We have to have our arm twisted. We have to see a bit of light.  The most powerful factor in any economy is us, and mood.  At some point a switch has to go off, a decision has to be made, and we need to look forward to better days.  Let's hope today is a part of that story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new horticultural initiative is set to transform New Zealand into a commercial catnip producer.  Kiwi startup, Muttley's Estate, is believed to be the world’s first manufacturer of catnip-based 'pet wine', that can be stored for up to 12 months.  The garden herb's estimated to positively impact mood in about two-thirds of cats while helping to soothe anxiety in dogs.  Muttley's Estate Director John Roberts told Mike Hosking catnip's currently not very widespread or commercially used.  He says they're trying to grow that market segment, as it's a relatively easy crop to grow.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on Politics Wednesday, Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen joined Mike Hosking to discuss the biggest topics of the week so far.  They discussed the shoplifting directive issued to Police – will officers still be attending retail crime incidents if the value of the theft is less than $500?   And why is Labour against the use of private hospitals to lower the public surgery backlog?  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 28th of May, what will Christian Hawkesby and the Reserve Bank do today? We look ahead to this afternoon's announcement and, perhaps more importantly, the forecasts for the rest of the year.  Do we need to do something about this 'Run It Straight' game now that someone has died? Or is that leaning too much into being a nanny state?  Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell discuss the police directive regarding shoplifting and why Labour seems to be against private hospitals easing the public surgery backlog 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.

The Trade Minister says New Zealand's hustling on the world stage, looking for every opportunity.   KPMG's latest Agribusiness Agenda suggests New Zealand can't rely on our usual global customers and needs to look for new markets.   Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says this is a priority, with free trade negotiations in full force with India   He told Mike Hosking we also have to keep growing the value of our exports, something our primary sector's already seeing success with.   McClay says there's growth across the board because our farmers produce the highest quality and safest food.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's changes happening in the construction sector.  Construction Minister Chris Penk is launching the country's first fully independent residential building consent authority - with approval subject to certain conditions being met. The privately-owned company, supported by the government, promises to issue building consents within 10 working days for eligible residential projects.  Penk told Mike Hosking it's another option alongside local councils.  He says initially it will be too small to take on all the work council does, but it might be able to scale up depending on what the appetite is.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Access to the Port of Auckland is going to get more expensive for truck drivers.  Peak access charges for trucks entering the Fergusson Container Terminal will increase from $130 to $180 in January.   It will be followed by a further increase to $230, six months later.    Port of Auckland CEO Roger Gray told Mike Hosking they've given transport operators plenty of notice.  He says one of them happens in seven months and the other in 13 months, taking the port in the right direction.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BNZ's the latest bank to drop its home loan rates, anticipating a change to the Official Cash Rate this afternoon.   The Reserve Bank's expected to cut the OCR 25 basis point to 3.25%.  Already BNZ's cut its fixed rates to as low as 4.89%, and its standard variable rate to 6.44%.   BNZ chief economist Mike Jones told Mike Hosking today's decision should indicate the Reserve Bank's general direction, but it probably won't reveal anything too specific.   He says that seems to be the playbook offshore, allowing it to take its time and assess the lay of the land at the next meeting.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a belief official 'Run it Straight' events are trying to mitigate head injuries, but has risk written all over it.  Ryan Satterthwaite —a 19-year-old— has died after suffering a serious injury during a private version of the aggressive tackling game in Palmerston North on Sunday.  A championship league final has been blocked from Auckland's Trusts Arena.  Former Kiwis captain Richie Barnett told Mike Hosking the official events are a controlled environment, but heads can end up in the wrong space.  He says it's still impact, which is the problem, as you don't need to have a concussion to have a brain bleed.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A day of celebrations has turned violent in the UK after a car collided with pedestrians at Liverpool Football Club's victory parade.  Authorities say a 53-year-old white British man has been arrested and the area has been evacuated.  47 people were injured – 27 were taken to hospital, two with serious injuries, and 20 treated on scene.  UK Correspondent Rod Liddle told Mike Hosking it doesn’t appear to be connected to terrorism at this stage.  He says the motives are a complete mystery.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.