The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Petrol prices could be lower in the coming days as the price of oil slumps and the Kiwi dollar stabilises.  Waitomo Group Chief Executive Simon Parham told Mike Hosking global supply is increasing, while demand is decreasing.  He says prices are going to hover about where they are, creating a period of good value for Kiwi consumers.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former High Commissioner to the UK says while they feel bad for Phil Goff, Winston Peters was right to sack him.  The Foreign Minister stepped in to fire Goff over comments made questioning Donald Trump's understanding of history at a public event.  Sir Lockwood Smith was in the role from 2013 to 2017 and told Mike Hosking those kinds of comments aren't acceptable.  He says the High Commissioner acts as the voice of the New Zealand Government and so needs to be very careful.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a belief outgoing Air New Zealand boss Greg Foran's lack of aviation experience may have hurt his career.  He's announced he'll leave the company in October.  Foran's told his board the time's right to step down, and the airline is well set up for the future.  Forsyth Barr head of research, Andy Bowley told Mike Hosking Foran's had to deal with Covid, a national recession, and engine maintenance issues throughout his tenure.  He says it's also been the biggest period of inflation seen in a generation, which added up, has been pretty challenging.  The company will also have little trouble finding a new CEO.  Bowley told Hosking the company has a history of attracting talented people for the role from around the world.  He says they're typically Kiwis, who have learnt their trade offshore.  The CEO before Foran was none other than now Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fact Adrian Orr is leaving is excellent.  It shows a level of accountability and responsibility for what has been a ruinous period for the New Zealand economy.  The receipts and reviews are in, and the story is stark.  We have been hit harder than any other country in the OECD.  We had three recessions while most countries, as a result of the Covid plan, had none.  Grant Robertson carries some blame for encouraging and endorsing Orr but, more dangerously, reappointing him so close to the last election.  The new Government could have/should have sacked Orr, although that would have set a fairly disturbing precedent given the Governor is supposed to be neutral.  Orr made the Governor's job a household fascination. Yes, Don Brash got well known, but really only when he went political. The others came and went.  I might have interviewed Allan Bollard a couple of times. Before Spencer Russell, who you also never heard of, the job was called the Chief Cashier. Russell was your first Governor.  Anyway, the upside of Covid and Orr was we at last took an interest. We had a view, and we know about cash rates and inflation and quantitative easing.  But we learned the hard way. We paid an enormous price and are in fact still paying the price.  Orr has years to run on his contract and clearly the pressure was on. The Government is currently negotiating a budget with the bank, and I assume they were twisting arms, hard, behind the scenes.  By the way, the bank staffing numbers have ballooned.  Orr has come across as haughty and arrogant, unable to really express any level of regret, if in fact he has any, for all the damage he has done.  Giving banks money for free and not putting restrictions of where that money went was the height of incompetency.  Still handing out money when we knew a lot of what we thought would happen during Covid didn’t, was a scandal.  The onerous banking restrictions he placed on the retailers with his “just in case” thinking was needlessly restrictive.  The conclusion has to be that although everyone flew blind during Covid, no one flew more blind than us.  And no one was led by a more ideologically driven, fiscal ransacker than Adrian Orr. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Northland has a bit of a problem – a horse poo problem.   It’s enough of an issue that a bylaw is being considered that would hold riders accountable for their animal’s droppings.  However, riders have expressed concern over the risks of collecting the manure near busy roads.   Far North Deputy Mayor Kelly Stratford told Mike Hosking the bylaw wouldn’t impact people riding on roads, just those in public spaces like town squares.   She said the consultation is making a mountain out of a molehill.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 6th of March, Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr has quit, so what is his legacy? And what's next for the Reserve Bank?  We fact check the almost two hour long speech from Donald Trump to Congress yesterday.  Kiwi chef Peter Gordon gives an insight into the current state of the restaurant industry - and tells us how to make a good meatball!  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.

An urge for Kiwis to not worry about market impacts from Donald Trump's tariffs on their KiwiSaver.  The US President's slapped import levies on Canada, China, and Mexico, and has signalled more for other countries.  Trump says he's spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over easing tariffs on the auto sector.  But Milford Asset Management head of KiwiSaver Murray Harris told Mike Hosking it's a long term investment, and markets always go up and down.  He says their advice is to ignore the market fluctuations, stay the course, and not panic.  Harris says when markets go down, contributions are buying more value, and when markets recover, KiwiSaver users will benefit from those extra units, bought more cheaply.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our air traffic management provider's signalling its own prices will soar, come July.  Airways NZ's proposing a 7.7% price rise for airlines – a per seat increase of up to $2.80.  Air New Zealand warns it could bring detrimental impacts, while the Aviation Industry Association struggles to see how it could be justified.  Board of Airline Representatives Executive Director Cath O'Brien told Mike Hosking she's not a fan of the proposal.  She acknowledges Airways have projects to invest in, but says it's the latest in a long list of price increases for airlines flying here.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Education Minister says there's no argument for getting rid of some NCEA tests over fears some students will end up with no credits.  RNZ reports principals from some of the country's poorest communities, want the Government to scrap new reading, writing, and maths tests.  They say a number of Māori or Pacific students could end up leaving school without a qualification.  Erica Stanford told Mike Hosking she is aware of every single student in that situation and is doing everything she can to turn it around.  She says they've put in millions of dollars of targeted support to get them across the line.  Stanford also says she’s cut through the bureaucracy to building school property after a ministerial inquiry found the old model was inefficient and unfit for purpose.  The Education Minister says since then, there's been a 35% increase in the number of standard buildings delivered, and a 28% reduction in the average cost of each classroom.  She told Hosking the results of the new model have been obvious.  Stanford says at Wellington Girls they built four two-storey blocks with 14 classrooms in 12 weeks, for $50 thousand each.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi Chef Peter Gordon is a staple of New Zealand’s hospitality industry – but he’s had a bit of a change in focus recently.  Hawke’s Bay is set to host New Zealand’s first ever Meatball Festival, with up to 25 vendors filling the city’s CBD on March 14th.  Gordon will share his years of experience with students at the newly reopened Eastern Institute of Technology Culinary School, rolling out a special recipe he’s created and perfected for the occasion.  His meatball offering consists of First Light Farms wagyu beef meatballs with kawakawa salsa verde – a slightly more creative choice than the standard recipe most would be familiar with.  Gordon told Mike Hosking that there’s going to be a real variety of things at the festival, with seafood to pork and everything in between.   “I thought it’s just got to look really pretty, be tasty, and sort of, y’know, do a good service, not a disservice.”  He told Mike Hosking the numbers of students enrolled in culinary schools around New Zealand have dropped off, which is a shame.  “Hospitality is one of our big earners here, and y’know, we export really good kitchen people around the world,” Gordon said.  “It should be a really appealing job.”  Although the hospitality industry is currently struggling, Gordon says there’s always a give and take when it comes to opportunities and new ventures.   “Every day there’s something, y’know, you read in the paper an institution or something is shut down, but at the same time, there are lots of new places opening.”  “There’s always lots going on.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.