The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The good people at OneRoof were hinting at it the other day.  They were reacting to what I know to be a bit of a buzz within the real estate community that the Government are going to move on foreign buyers this year.  I talk to a lot of agents. They range from telling me it's on, to those who hope it's on, to those who want it to be on but aren't holding their breath.  Currently you can buy a house if you are Australian or Singaporean. Apart from that there are hoops and hurdles for some foreigners, but mainly you are blocked.  This of course is nonsense and National had a very elegant solution that carved out houses under $2m, which is the vast majority of sales, so the American who wanted to open a company and invest in jobs and expansion could also fork out $9m for a lovely place at Lake Hayes.  Winston was having none of that, so we are stuck.  The hope is Winston can be moved. The rumour grows that Winston might be about to be moved.  I hope so.  The latest word is $5m. If you have $5m or above anyone is welcome.  What we have to fear from that I have no idea.  What we know for sure is we are desperately short of money. We have a pile of work that needs doing and we need all the help we can get.  In my area right now are a handful of $10m+ houses that have been on the market for over a year. They haven't sold because no one here has that money for a house and those who do already have houses.  If you open the foreign investment door they would be snapped up.  We either want to do business or we don’t. We are either open to the world or we aren't.  The irony for me is Winston Peters of all people in his role as Foreign Minister seems to get that, as much if not more than anyone else and yet on housing he remains the xenophobic old relic he played so well 20 years ago.  Let's hope the year brings a bit of enlightenment and we can at last get on with it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 29th of January, the Police force is set to see change in their middle management – Commissioner Richard Chambers shared the details.  Privatisation is back on the minds of the Government, so Sir John Key gave his thoughts as to whether it’d serve New Zealand well.  Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen round out the A-team, returning for 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.

Today on Politics Wednesday Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen joined Mike Hosking to wrap the political week thus far. They talked the new jury duty bill, the increasing speed limits, and where the Government is at heading into 2025.  The Police Minister is welcoming a member's bill that could see more seniors serving on juries.  National's Whanganui MP, Carl Bates, has proposed raising the age when people can be automatically excused from jury duty from 65 to 72.  People could still be excused for other reasons like health issues or career experience.  Police Minister Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking it would unlock lots of talent that the jury service needs.  He says there are many in that age bracket who would make outstanding jurors and have the time to dedicate to it.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s less optimism from Mainfreight over the impacts of global shipping changes.   Two of the world's largest shipping companies Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk are joining forces, a move some commentators believe will reduce freight prices and provide arrival time reliability.   But Mainfreight Managing Director Don Braid told Mike Hosking he's not sure it will mean cheaper freight rates, adding it mostly operates on the East to West corridors anyway.  He says it's possible for cheaper freight to result from the Red Sea opening, meaning quicker shipping.  However, Braid says, the chances of this happening are low.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sir John Key doubts asset sales would achieve much.  The former Prime Minister says cutting bureaucracy and allowing better foreign investment would have more of an impact.   National says it may campaign on state-owned asset sales next election, a policy New Zealand First is dead against, while ACT's floating privatisation of health and education.  Key told Mike Hosking people are opposed because of what he thinks is ideological mumbo jumbo.   He says they just want to say everything is fantastic when its run by the state and you can't trust the private sector, but most things are done by the private sector already.   Sir John Key says there's nothing much left to sell, anyway.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sky says its satellite headache will be solved by early April.  The broadcaster's apologised after hundreds of customers complained of repeated outages and technicians failing to show up.  An ageing key satellite is said to be to blame.  Sky TV Chief Executive Sophie Maloney told Mike Hosking it will be replaced in the coming months.  She said the team has been working very hard to ensure they’re managing the signal interruption as best they can.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Police Commissioner says a loss of 17 executive-level roles will have no impact on Police delivery.  Richard Chambers is opening consultation on a proposal to disestablish 37 executive and support service positions and create 20 new roles.   He says a restructure will result in a stronger police leadership which is fit for purpose and delivers on his priorities.   Chambers told Mike Hosking police executives are important, but there are too many of them.   He says trimming the number will make those left more visible and connected.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk has continued to weigh into German politics ahead of next month's election.  The billionaire has made a video appearance at a rally for far-right party Alternative for Germany.  Musk has previously written an op-ed supporting the party, and hosted its leader Alice Weidel in an interview on X.  Europe Correspondent Catherine Field told Mike Hosking that it looks as if Musk is having an effect, primarily due to his actions being rebroadcast on his X, which has a far greater reach than German mainstream media.  She says that there has been an acceptance among the mainstream parties that far right votes wouldn’t be accepted to pass legislation, but the leader of the centre-right CDU said he was prepared to accept far-right support in his crackdown on migrants.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have to talk about Donald Trump.  He is fantastic.  What I like about what he has done so far is none of it’s a surprise. He actually does what he said he would do.  The mainstream media still can't get their head around it. I watched CNN twisting themselves into a knot over the pardons and the fact a lot of what he says isn't true.  It's as though they still think by moaning about it anything is going to change.  The Trump era is the most legitimate democratic thing you will see anywhere in the world.  He won the presidency by way of the college vote and the popular vote, he has the House, the Senate, and he has the Supreme Court, but that was more luck and not tied to an election.  So what he has is a mandate. You can't argue with that.  He said he would deport - he is.  He said he'd get out of the Paris Agreement - he has.  Not all of what he said he would do will happen, because some of it like birthright citizenship is constitutional and changing that takes a lot of court and more than four years.  Melania has clearly had a come-to-Jesus moment, given she seems front and centre. I watched them in Carolina and Los Angeles on Saturday and Las Vegas on Sunday, and she said nothing but seems keen this time around.  I watched the inauguration. Kamala couldn't hide her misery; Barron couldn't hide his sense of humour. Who knew?  Much is being made of the fact he doesn’t have to face the voters ever again, as though that doesn’t apply to every President who gets a second term, so he'll go nuts.  He won't go nuts. He is already nuts, but a lot of people like that kind of nuts.  He comes off the back, as the Wall Street Journal so decisively portrayed, one of the great crime families of modern America: the Biden's. The senility hidden from day one, all the family pardoned, and Hunter singled out, despite Joe saying he wouldn't. What a liar. What a crook.  As I said last year, the first time Trump came and went the world didn’t end. It won't this time either.  But so far it's going to be a hoot watching and I, for one, am loving it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're being told not to be scared of the latest retirement savings figures.  The latest Retirement Expenditure Guidelines have found less than $500 thousand in savings is enough for most retirees.  Massey University Associate Professor Claire Matthews told Mike Hosking that research consistently shows that the amount people need to save for retirement is less than other people would suggest.  She says that if you start early, the amount you need to save isn’t as daunting, since you’re saving for a much longer time frame.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.