The Mike Hosking Breakfast

A census sent out to all government workers is wider reaching than simply identifying cost cutting advice.   Thousands of public servants across all agencies have been asked in a census to identify taxpayer value in their work and any changes needed, with results expected in July.   The survey's done every five years.  Public Service Minister Judith Collins told Mike Hosking how to save money is just one of many focuses.   She says it also asks about concerns people have around any unacceptable sexual harassment and bullying, adding it's therefore a two-way exercise.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Negotiations on a free trade deal with India have been launched.  Representatives across defence, tourism, and trade are home after travelling with the Prime Minister's delegation.   New Zealand Trade & Enterprise Chief Executive Peter Chrisp told Mike Hosking there's good-will on both sides to make it work.  He says there's was considerable warmth and engagement between the Prime Ministers, and strong interaction with the delegation.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Winston Peters says Donald Trump's team is "well-informed" about what's happening in our part of the world.  The Foreign Minister met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and key officials in the US last week.  The visit comes as New Zealand waits to see if we'll get any exemptions from Trump's tariffs.  Peters told Mike Hosking Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and the others he met with, were very aware of developments in our region.  He says they were seriously well-advised and much better-prepared than some people he's met from previous administrations.  LISTEN ABOVE 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.    GDP: 7/10  Or should that be 0.7? It’s a bigger number than they thought and an indication that we have finally turned the corner.    The Covid loan deadline: 3/10  A sad, sad, sad reminder of why the 0.7% in GDP has taken so long to get here. Close to $1 billion owed and what do you reckon the chances of it all coming back are?    Whangarei and their fluoride meeting: 2/10  Read the Spinoff blow by blow account. It's gold, unless you live there and pay for it. Then it's farcical.    The wars: 3/10  Dreadful week. The Trump call to Putin was a joke and the ceasefire fell to bits.    Ted Lasso: 8/10  Another series when they said there wasn’t another series.    F1: 7/10  New Zealand ratings show half a million of us watched. That would make it the most watched programme of the week, or close to it.    LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you accept that the Government are struggling in the polls, you may well accept the general notion that part of what is driving that is the lack of runs on the board.  Perhaps an impatience is frustrating some of us.  We voted to get rid of the last lot on the understanding that things had been wrecked and destroyed, and there was this new lot that were going to put it right.  The trouble has been, as they have tried to explain, that things like fiscal cliffs were a lot worse than anticipated and the problem with too many voters is we vote and move on, and then when we re-engage, we expect fixes to problems that are more complex than we gave them credit for.  This Government has announced a lot and changed a lot. But the simple to read “runs on the board” are only starting to trickle through.  The downturn on crime would be one of them. The police focus on rounding a few people up, so we feel safer on the streets is tangible.  The targets on emergency housing being met years ahead of schedule is another one.  Then yesterday the Gross Domestic Product, the GDP, which is surely one of the most important of all.  It is the economy and the economy is everything. It pays the bills, retires the debt, forks out for the programmes and sets the mood of the nation.  If you are growing, and as it turns out (thank the good Lord) we are, you are moving forward and moving forward is what gets Governments popular and re-elected.  Everyone, as in the experts, had the number at anywhere between 0.3% and 0.5%, still importantly in the right direction.  So the actual figure of 0.7% is better than expected and must be the best of news.  For a country that has spent more time in recession than virtually anyone, certainly anyone we compare ourselves to in the OECD, this cannot be overstated in terms of importance.  0.7% surely comes with a sense that there is more where that came from. So maybe, just maybe, we can turn our backs on the dark days, or years, that have dragged this country to places economically it has never really been.  No, it is not over and, yes, there is much left to do.  But such a decent and, dare I suggest, better than expected number will tell you that the current Government might have got a grip on the worst of it and turned the tide. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s more uncertainty about who will be and won't be included in Donald Trump's upcoming agricultural tariffs.  Here in New Zealand, we're still in the dark about whether we'll receive an exemption for things like our growing exports of hamburger meat.  Over in Australia, analysts believe they're very unlikely to get an exemption.  Correspondent Murray Olds told Mike Hosking US farm lobbyists are accusing Australia of creating an unequal trading relationship – something Australia disputes.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson are back with Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that was.  They discussed Mike’s unexpected sick day, Wordle, and the youngest person to break the 4-minute mile, Kiwi runner Sam Ruthe.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday the 21st of March, we have growth! 0.7% is higher than everyone predicted, and Finance Minister Nicola Willis is optimistic this is just the beginning.  We've got a new rare car and country music festival at Ayrburn - is that the best pairing, or is that the best pairing?  Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson discuss Mike's sick day and Sam Ruthe as they Wrap the Week.  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.

Fonterra has delivered a strong interim result for the 2025 fiscal year.  It's reported a half year Profit after Tax of $729 million, with earnings of 44 cents per share.  It's alongside a Farmgate Milk Price midpoint of $10 per kilograms of milk solids for the season ending 2025.  CEO Miles Hurrell says it’s pleasing to be able to deliver these results for farmer shareholders and unit holders.  Dairy Insights Consultant Stu Davison told Mike Hosking the entire industry is fizzing.   He says it’s a pretty uncommon result to see a strong milk price and a strong dividend in the same season, and they’re going to ride the wave while they’ve got it.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's move out of recession is being felt by some much earlier than others.  Latest figures show our economy's grown by 0.7% between October and December.  But some sectors are faring much better than others, with construction and IT contracting about 3%, and transport and warehousing growing almost 2.5%.  Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Vice President Paul Koch told Mike Hosking some businesses are doing even better.  He says some businesses he knows of have seen growth of about 10% during the quarter.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.