The Mike Hosking Breakfast

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 24th of January, Resources Minister Shane Jones tells Ryan Bridge the Government wants to open up conservation and stewardship land for mining.  The Government is establishing a new agency to attract a foreign investment - but an expert tells us there's much more to do to make New Zealand attractive again.  The Oscar nominations are out, but Ryan has something to say about the growing show-time of movies.  While Wrapping the Week, Tim Wilson and Trish Sherson discuss whether New Zealand has a growing culture of saying ‘no’.  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.

There's belief a new agency focused on driving up foreign investment is well overdue.  The Government is creating Invest New Zealand to attract overseas investors into infrastructure and other key sectors.  It aims to streamline overseas investment by providing tailored support.  Queen City Law Managing Director Marcus Beveridge told Ryan Bridge it was what New Zealand Trade and Enterprise was always meant to do.  He says if they do adopt an all of government approach, it could put the country back up to where it should be in terms of OECD rankings.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Seymour is making it clear the country can't just wait around for change.  The ACT party leader is delivering his State of the Nation address in Auckland today.  Our newsroom understands he will use his speech to ask whether New Zealand should move towards privatisation in the health and education sectors.   Seymour told Ryan Bridge it's time to be asking the bigger questions.  He says the government owns $570 billion worth of assets and yet can't afford the core infrastructure to build more homes for the next generation.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The largest snow sports event in the southern hemisphere is no more.  The Winter Games have been held annually in Queenstown and Wanaka over the last 15 years.  But organisers have announced it can no longer continue in its current format, due to escalating costs.   Snow Sports NZ Chief Executive, Nic Cavanagh told Ryan Bridge it shows sport isn't immune to the current economic woes.  He says everyone in the industry is finding it incredibly challenging to raise commercial partnerships and sponsorships.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane Jones says Kiwis need to get over themselves as he looks to open mining on Department of Conservation land.  The Prime Minister yesterday defended his intention to grow the mining sector.  Resources Minister Shane Jones told Ryan Bridge if we want to boost the economy, we need to utilise conservation land.  He says the DOC estate is large and suitable for mining.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So we have an inflation number, which is better than not knowing, but it doesn’t tell us much. 2.2 percent for the year to December, no change from the quarter before it and crucially non-tradable inflation, the stuff we should have more control over domestically is sticky at 4.5 percent. Two main problems here, one for us and one for the Government. If the exchange rate keeps tanking, the stuff we buy from the rest of the world - like fuel and food - will get more expensive. And if that stuff gets more expensive, you know what that means, more inflation. Add that to your sticky domestic number and you may have a problem. If that happens, you watch the Reserve Bank get the jitters and hit pause on rate cuts. And then we all get the jitters and pull back on spending. Then we're riding this seemingly never-ending rollercoaster ride that is the cost of living crisis. The gift from Labour that keeps on giving. The other problem in these numbers is for the Government. At the election they promised rents would come down once they delivered landlord interest deductibility relief. I agree with them doing that - it was mad that Labour took it away. But they were wrong to claim it would bring rents down when rents are, by-and-large, dictated by supply and demand. How much the market is willing to pay for a 3-bedroom place in Mount Victoria is what the market is willing to pay. So now 80 percent deductibility has kicked in and guess what? Rents are up 4.2 percent in yesterday’s numbers. So not exactly what was promised. Now, to be fair, they’ll be hoping once the full landlord deduction kicks in and it’s given more time it may help. But it would only be at the margins. It is not and won’t be the main driver of slashing rents - and yesterday’s numbers proved that. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A strong relationship is being forged between Italy and the United States.  Donald Trump has called Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni a “fantastic woman”, and says she’s taken Europe "by storm”.  Meloni was the only European leader present at Trump’s inauguration as President, and had also visited him at his Mar a Lago retreat in Florida a couple of weeks ago.   Italy Correspondent Jo McKenna told Ryan Bridge that she's positioning herself as the “go to” leader of Europe.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Kiwi actress is making waves on international screens.  Luciane Buchanan began her rise to fame in her teens, but it was the last few years where her career really took off.  The 31 year old was cast in Netflix and Apple TV+ shows in 2022, but her lead role in Netflix’s ‘The Night Agent’ made her a household name.  ‘The Night Agent’ was the most watched show on Netflix around the world in 2023, reaching number 1 in 87 countries.  Buchanan told Ryan Bridge that the sheer number of people watching the show kind of freaked her out, as totalled up, there’s been over 100,000 years worth of viewing for season one.  “It’s a little bit overwhelming, but it’s also exciting to be a part of something that a lot of people enjoyed, so I can’t complain.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Toyota Aqua has held onto its title for the third year in a row.  The hatchback is New Zealand’s most stolen car, making up 8% of all stolen vehicle claims in 2024.  New figures released by AMI today show the company received almost 12,000 vehicle claims last year, including those related to attempted vehicle theft.    Driven Deputy Editor David Linklater told Ryan Bridge that it’s likely down to numbers.  He says that they’re a hugely popular used import, so there’s tens of thousands of them on the road.  Linklater says they’re quite anonymous, very familiar cars that aren’t really noticed on the street.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 23rd of January, Kiwibank CEO Steve Jurkovich tells Ryan Bridge the OCR and mortgage rates will continue to drop after yesterday's inflation number.  We get expert analysis on Donald Trump's threat of tariffs and sanctions against Russia and Vladimir Putin unless a deal is done to end the war in Ukraine.  Ryan finds out why Canterbury is leading the way in new home builds.  And the second season of Netflix's The Night Agent drops today - Ryan speaks to the Kiwi star, Luciane Buchanan.  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.