The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Despite the destined backlash, ACT Party leader David Seymour still fronted up to Waitangi.  Greeted by turn backs, waiata, and protest - he spoke on behalf of the ACT Party, tapping into parts of his Treaty Principles Bill.  Apart from a microphone getting taken away on two occasions, it seemed to go relatively well by Waitangi standards.  LISTE ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

America's tariff tiff with Canada and Mexico may have cooled, but tension with China is escalating.  Beijing has announced a package of economic measures targeting the US after President Donald Trump imposed 10% tariffs on Chinese imports.  The response includes a 15% tax on coal and liquefied natural gas, and 10% on crude oil and types of vehicles.  US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that United States depends a lot on China for critical materials like gallium and germanium among others, and limits could cause serious harm to the US economy.  He says that prescription drugs are also a point of concern, as about half the generic drugs used in the US are manufactured outside of the country.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hawke's Bay apple growers are reaping the rewards of their recovery after Cyclone Gabrielle.   The region grows two-thirds of the country's apples but was badly affected by the cyclone in 2023.  They say a warm and dry spring has led to one of the earliest picking seasons in decades.   Hawke’s Bay Fruitgrowers Association President Brydon Nisbet told Mike Hosking that everything is set for a fantastic harvest.  He says there’s a huge volume of fruit of good quality, size, and colour.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Buckle up, it looks like I might agree with a trade union.  CTU policy director Craig Renney is worried about the same thing I am, and I think he is right to be worried.  What he is worried about is the possibility that we will become a net exporter of population.  Oh the irony that as an exporting nation, one of the growth industries is people.  If you have followed the migration story these past few years a couple of large, and some would argue alarming, things have happened:  1) A huge number of people arrived.  2) A huge number of people have left.  Things are sort of starting to settle. The arrival numbers are tailing off.  But the departure numbers, although not breaking records the way they were, are still large.  The key part of that numeric equation is we are at a tipping point. It is more than possible that if the arrival numbers drop just a bit more, but the departure bit doesn’t stop, we will have more people leaving than arriving.  We will be a net exporter of people.  The really scary thing about that is the one in, one out idea isn't in and of itself a good thing if the “out” is a brain surgeon and the “in” is an uber driver.  The overall picture, i.e. a shrinking population, is a disaster as well because for every person who thought too many arrived and they had no houses etc, having a shrinking population is as bad, if not worse.  Reputationally it's catastrophic. We are the country no one wants to live in. That's not normally a portrait of a robust, successful, prosperous nation, is it?  What it says is those looking to move here don’t fancy it. They pick somewhere else.  In the meantime, those already here look to leave for brighter, more appealing pastures.  We are the ugly girl in the corner of the school dance.  It’s a reminder, as if we needed it, that this country has a series of problems of size and severity that we have not faced in many a long decade. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellington's feeling the property slump, with new figures showing a dramatic dip in house values.  The council's QV rating valuations show the average house has dropped in value of nearly 25% since 2021.  Pipitea was the worst hit neighbourhood with a 29% average drop.  Labour’s Ginny Andersen told Mike Hosking that the feeling in the central city is that it’s had the guts kicked out of it.  She says that when the public services were culled, the local economy went down with it, which has had a real impact on confidence in the local economy.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 5th of February, Housing Minister Chris Bishop has a plan to shake up Kainga Ora, and we take a look at what our unemployment rate is likely to show today.  A real estate agent is likely be banned from working for five years after refusing to do a Tikanga Māori professional development course – Janet Dickson joined the show to explain her stance.   Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell talk Waitangi Day and the bloating of the public service 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.

Unemployment's expected to peak in the middle of the year.   Stats NZ will release the labour market data for the final quarter of last year at 10.45 this morning.  It's widely thought the unemployment rate will rise to about 5.1%.   ANZ economist Henry Russell told Mike Hosking it's a lag statistic, so we'll see last year's economy reflected in the unemployment numbers today and into this year.  He says their current forecast is for it to peak at 5.5% in the middle of this year.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Schools are preparing for a dip in student attendance the day after Waitangi Day.  Westlake Girls High School's holding an online learning day this Friday, requiring students and teachers to work remotely.  Other schools like Westlake Boys and Auckland Grammar are closed.  Secondary Schools Principals' Association's Vaughan Couillault told Mike Hosking they've seen abysmal attendance on days like Friday in the past.  He says that's parents turning those days into a long weekend.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A real estate agent who refused to take a compulsory Tikanga Māori course now faces a five-year ban after a failed court bid.  The High Court's turned down Janet Dickson's request for a judicial review of decisions about agents' professional development requirements, which required taking a 90-minute class.  Those who don't complete the module risk having their licences cancelled.   They then can't reapply for five years.   Janet Dickson calls it brainwashing and told Mike Hosking it has nothing to do with her work.  She says she's grown up amongst Māori, and taught in a Māori school, so does not need to take the course.  Dickson told Hosking that as a Christian, no one can make her worship Māori gods.  She says after the legal approach failed, she's tooling up to fight for a law change, and won't be stepping back.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Briscoes Group says despite a difficult retail environment, it's had positive sales results.  The owner of the Briscoe Homeware and Rebel Sport brands says sales reached $245.3 million in the three months to January – up 0.96% annually.  Homeware sales went up 1.27%, and sporting goods rose 0.44%.  Managing Director Rod Duke believes tough trading conditions will continue and be especially challenging in the first six months of this year.  Duke told Mike Hosking he believes the second half will be better, hopefully driven by initiatives from the government.  He says it will be marked seriously if nothing is seen by the end of March.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.