The Mike Hosking Breakfast

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.    Andrew Bayly: 3/10  It’s a sad business. Was it a sackable offence? No. Does it put people off entering politics? I would have thought so. But when you call someone a loser and grab an arm, can you survive? It was the re-offence that was sackable.    Law and order: 8/10  The violent crime stats and new detainment powers are tangible evidence of progress in the right direction.    Marsden and the rebuild: 2/10  That’s what is wrong with coalitions. They indulge folly.    Temu: 3/10  We are spending more there and less domestically. Never underestimate the power of cheap crap.    Tory Whanau: 1/10  Cancelling her Newstalk ZB slot is the beginning of the end. Cancelling Newstalk ZB slots doesn’t tend to go well for voting patterns – I speak from experience.    The Warriors: 7/10  Unbeaten in the offseason and some fairly ordinary, blow-up bat-wielding Raiders to tackle first up.    LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There were two hardcore reality checks this week as a result of the arrival of the Trump sequel.  BP summed up the climate dilemma very succinctly when he said they got it wrong on net zero.  Net zero has become an unobtainable obsession. It's a business decision for many thousands of companies all over the world, driven not by clear-sighted intelligence, but woke nonsense and a desire not to stand out from the crowd.  It's that mad, insecure feeling you have when you are 10 years old in the schoolyard not to look different, say anything unusual, or attract attention. As it turns out, it stays with you all the way up to the boardrooms, who got sucked into believing that spending billions, cutting jobs and forgoing growth would somehow lead to saving the planet.  "We got it wrong on net zero". So, BP are back in the oil business because Trump said "drill, baby drill".  That was a campaign slogan in an American election with a flow-on effect for the whole world.  Then you come to aid. There's nothing wrong with aid, but a Labour Prime Minister in Britain cut the aid to pay for the defence.  The polls say he did the right thing, as 66% of Britain think they spend too much on aid. When they hear a transportation system for refugees in Eastern Europe uses a Porsche dealer and they are paying for it, who can blame them?  Our aid in the Pacific, until recently, remained largely unaudited.  The idea of helping the helpless is worthy. But the reason it never ends is because aid becomes an industry and the helpless rarely get actual help. UNRWA is a UN aid agency. Have a look at their record and see how keen you are to keep giving.  It is human nature. Most ideas start off well but blow out into a combination of madness, waste, expansion and slackness, until someone comes along and says enough is enough.  The core principles of aid and a cleaner planet remain laudable goals and ideals.  But until we can bring some discipline to the execution, some rigour to the containment, parameters of the targets and some realism around what's actually practically achievable, it will always be hijacked by tryhards, do-gooders and zealots.  We will always make the same mistake.  It will end up needing a German election-type result, or a Trump-type victory, to bring us back to our senses.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson joined Mike Hosking once more to Wrap the Week that was.  They went through the list of MPs’ credit card expenses, discussed school lunches, and the latest conflict between Hosking and the ZB Afternoons hosts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 28th of February, we talk to both the energy sector and Minister Simon Watts on the new recommendations that could level the playing field.  We've got the list of MPs credit card expenses – who's buying Carl Jr's and who’s buying the magnum of red wine?  Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson discuss whether the producer of this show needs to fired and school lunches 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.

The Prime Minister's shifting his focus from politics to business during the final leg of his trip to Vietnam.  Luxon is aiming to drum up as much support as possible for Kiwi businesses operating in the Vietnamese market.   Earlier in the week, he signed a new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement with Vietnam, making New Zealand just one of 10 counties to have such an agreement.  Newstalk ZB Political Editor Jason Walls told Mike Hosking that Vietnam’s government structure is inextricably linked with the business side of things, and to get anything done on the business side, you need to get things done on the political side.  He says the consensus within the business delegation is that the agreement will help drive business and get Kiwi businesses into the Vietnamese market.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions have been raised over how US actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa died, with the situation deemed suspicious, despite no signs of foul play.  The pair have been found dead with their dog in their New Mexico home.   Carbon monoxide poisoning has been ruled out.  The couple's front door was found unlocked, with no signs of forced entry.  Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking the pair's bodies were found in separate rooms.  He says they'd been rarely seen since they quit Hollywood decades ago.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Local Government New Zealand is making its support known for four-year terms extending to them.  The Government's proposing to keep the standard three-year term, but allow it to be broadened if the opposition of the day is better represented at select committees.   Local Government New Zealand President & Selwyn Mayor Sam Broughton told Mike Hosking it makes sense for councils to adjust as well.   He says there's only one good year for doing work, with the other two disrupted by elections and setting up.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Horowhenua district councillor is under fire for working remotely – from the other side of the world.  Councillor Rogan Boyle left the country in October and is said to currently be in Scotland with no plans to return any time soon.   Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden told Mike Hosking while Boyle has been attending council meetings on Zoom, it's not good enough.  Wanden believes Boyle should resign.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Energy Minister says new rules for the electricity sector can't come soon enough.  The Electricity Authority's proposing changes to give independent power companies the same access to prices and hedge contracts.  Simon Watts hopes that will create a more level playing field.  Power companies are hiking prices, and Watts told Mike Hosking things could get worse as we head into winter.  He says conditions are dry, lake levels are lower than they were this time last year, and we still have a gas shortage.  Watts says the situation is acute and he's worried.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

High hopes for proposed changes to the electricity sector.  The Electricity Authority is proposing new rules, giving independent power companies the same access to hedge contracts and access to the same wholesale prices.  Electric Kiwi was forced to turn away new customers last winter due to surging wholesale prices.  Chief Executive Huia Burt told Mike Hosking these changes will be a game-changer.  She says this is what they've been fighting for – a level playing field, for sharper pricing, more investment, and more affordable energy.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.