The Mike Hosking Breakfast

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 23rd of July, red meat continues to go gangbusters, but we could be doing better, and the industry has some warnings.  Lester Levy is moving from the Health NZ Commissioner to the new board chair, and gives us an exclusive on what he has, and hasn't, achieved.  Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen discuss pay transparency, the butter meeting between Nicola Willis and Fonterra, and the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election on Politics Wednesday.    Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Retailers across the country are surprisingly optimistic in the face of ongoing economic challenges.  The latest Retail NZ report reveals nearly 70% of retailers are confident their business will survive the next year, up from 57% for the same period last year.  This comes despite 62% of retailers failing to meet sales targets for the same period.   Retail NZ CEO Carolyn Young told Mike Hosking that optimism is stronger in the provinces and rural areas than it is in major cities like Auckland and Wellington.  She says that the success the rural sector is experiencing is putting funds back into the local economies, which is creating more buoyancy.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Don’t expect lower levies as a result of ACC’s “accounting change”.  The Government has approved a change that reduces the amount of money the insurer would need to pay out in claims by $7 billion.  It would see the risk margin reduced from 12.7% to zero, shaving down the outstanding claims liability, which is used to calculate how much it may have to pay out in the years to come.   ACC lawyer and researcher Warren Forster told Mike Hosking in effect, there will be no real change to how it operates in peoples’ lives.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health New Zealand is moving into its next chapter after a year under a commissioner.  The board's making a return today, with outgoing commissioner Lester Levy taking up the role as chairman for the next 12 months.   Levy told Mike Hosking that although the agency's reached a turning point, the challenge isn't over.   He says they need to involve clinicians and those on the ground in decisions and provide modern tools to the workforce.    But Levy says the organisation's financially on track and has a very stable platform to move forward.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sky TV's purchase of TV3 could lead to a change in sports viewing, but not for a while.   Sky New Zealand Chief Executive Sophie Moloney says for the next 12 months programming on TV3 will stay largely the same.    She says she expects TVNZ to put up a good fight for free-to-air rights for different sports, including rugby.   Moloney told Mike Hosking they'd also like to try to acquire them.   She says it will ultimately be up to New Zealand Rugby.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The red meat sector remains positive despite significant trade barriers.   The Meat Industry Association and Beef + Lamb New Zealand have revealed non-tariff trade barriers are costing the industry an estimated $1.5 billion every year.  MIA Chair Nathan Guy told Mike Hosking they've lost an estimated billion dollars of stock in the last three years.   He says it's unfortunate but the demand's still incredibly strong, so they're in good shape.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s the sort of theoretical nonsense you would expect from a bunch of wonks like the Labour Party, but blow me down if National hasn't clambered on board as well.  Camilla Belich has a Member’s bill. Member's bills don’t normally get to where hers has, given if they did, the party would have already run with the idea.  But her Employee Remuneration Disclosure Amendment Bill has passed its second reading and given National have turned up, it seems it will become law.  "The underlying reason for the bill is to ensure that people who are discriminated against, have the ability relative to other employees doing the same work and allows them to discuss that."  Discuss it? Are you serious? “Jenny told me she earns $76,000 a year and we all know she is useless, so how come I'm on $69,000?”  Obviously the room for interpretation here, or misinterpretation, is immense.  What you think of yourself versus what the person handing out the money thinks might be very different things.  Jenny might have been there longer, might have been hired away from another employer (hence they needed a sweetener to get her across the line), or she might have been employed by a different person in the same company.  None of this leads anywhere productive.  This is a “sticky beak” law that will lead to resentment, anger, and/or fury, about who does what, gets what and what they're really worth.  It will be office gossip. It will lead to people ganging up on others, to rumour, to spread innuendo. It will lead to backstabbing and a general sense of unease.  Not to mention the fact that if you have an arrangement with your boss, that’s between you and your boss. There is a privacy issue.  Obviously unionised jobs of mass pay are different. But a lot of the world is on a contract and that contract is a legally binding understanding between you and the other party.  I'm not sure Camilla or her party, or now National, quite get the fallout that’s coming.  If I told you my income it would be a headline in Stuff this morning and a national debate would ensure, and 10,000 keyboard warriors would have a field day.  Under this new law there is nothing stopping me.  So watch this space. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People are becoming increasingly more interested in living longer.  Health, wellness, dieting, and fitness are more and more prominent on social media, and health monitoring technology are becoming increasingly popular.  Cardiologist Dr Eric Topol has been researching longevity for decades, and is considered to be one of the top five voices on the subject.  He’s just released his latest book, ‘Super Agers’, a detailed guide to living a longer, healthier life.  Topol told Mike Hosking it’s not necessarily about living longer, but rather extending the years someone lives with intact health.   He says living to 90 and being perfectly health throughout ought to be more important than trying to live to 110 and having many years of dementia, or profound frailty, or poor quality of life.   Although there are revolutions happening in regards to anti-inflammatory and hormonal medications, Topol says it’s never going to be as simple as a pill.  Things like lifestyle factors, environmental pollution, microplastics, and forever chemicals also need to be controlled, he explains.  Listen to the full interview for a detailed explanation of health, longevity, and the new developments in the medical sector.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Construction will begin this year on a new medical school at Waikato University.   The Government's chipping in $83 million, alongside $150 million from the University and philanthropic investors.  It'll have a strong focus on primary care and rural health and offer a graduate-entry programme.  Health Minister Simeon Brown told Mike Hosking they’ve gone through a rigorous process to ensure it’s as efficient and cost-effective as possible, so they can build the long-term pipeline that New Zealand needs.  The postgraduate course element is already a successful model in Australia, he says.  Brown told Hosking that it's about attracting people who are already living in rural communities, giving them opportunities to train and stay in place so we can attract and retain graduates.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 22nd of July, a new medical school in Waikato has finally been greenlit – the Waikato University Vice Chancellor and Health Minister discuss the course.  Netball New Zealand is changing the eligibility rules to allow players to play in Australia for the domestic season and still represent the Silver Ferns.  Longevity expert Dr Eric Topol talks our health habits, red wine, chocolate, and if blue zones are fact or fiction.  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.