The Mike Hosking Breakfast

There’s encouraging evidence that the "cool" component of vaping among young people is shifting.   The 2024/25 New Zealand Health Survey shows smoking prevalence is at 6.8% – a slight decline on last year, with 12% of adult Kiwis vaping daily.  Associate Health Minister Casey Costello told Mike Hosking the Government's cracked down on enforcement for vaping that wasn't in place before.  She says the last two years have seen youth vaping coming down and the drive to keep under 18s out of the vaping environment is paying dividends.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Minister for Rail Winston Peters believes the binned iRex ferry plan would have meant major infrastructure issues that are no longer a worry.  He's announced the two new Interislander ferries are expected to come in on time and under budget, for less than $2 billion.  Peters told Mike Hosking Tasmania is struggling with two new ferries and no infrastructure and he doesn't want to see the same problems here.  He said he got a really hard-nosed, tough, experienced team to sort out the ferry plan, and they’ve done a marvellous job.  “In less than 11 months they have put together a solution at all ends.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A registered GP has concerns about the issue of puberty blockers being handled by politicians. No child or young person experiencing gender dysphoria or incongruence will be able to start taking gonadotropin-releasing hormones from December 19.  Health Minister Simeon Brown says Cabinet has agreed to new settings until the outcomes of a major clinical trial in the UK – expected in 2031.    Dr John Cameron told Mike Hosking he commends the move but is unsure about the motivations.   He believes it has been made on health grounds, but still thinks it needs to leave the political arena.   Cameron says the safety of puberty blockers has been a topic of discussion in medical circles for a long time.   He told Hosking, if they weren't safe, they would be banned across the board.   But he says there is uncertainty on their long-term safety and effectiveness.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 19th of November, BusinessNZ is calling for cross-party vision and a solid plan to strengthen New Zealand by 2050 in order to avoid a dire economic future.   It’s been revealed that the Ministry of Social Development has handed out $38 million in business start up grants for seemingly very little return. Welfare expert Phil O’Reilly discusses the situation.   Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen discuss the Hutt Bridge scandal, the Greens wanting to repeal the mining plans, and Hipkins' engagement 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.

Today on Politics Wednesday, Mike Hosking was joined by Labour’s Ginny Andersen and National’s Mark Mitchell to delve into the biggest political stories of the week thus far.   They discussed the Hutt Bridge situation, whether Labour backs the Green Party’s mining policy, and the anniversary of the Pike River tragedy.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A big turnaround for fisheries company Sanford with the reveal of their latest profits.   They’ve reported an after-tax profit of $63.7 million – a 224% increase for the year to September.   Cash flow was also up 85%, helping cut debt by nearly half to $93.4 million.  Sanford Managing Director David Mair told Mike Hosking that by focusing on customers, they’re turning the business around.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New game-changing headgear has been developed to protect junior rugby players.  After more than a decade of study into the causes and consequences of head collisions by rugby players, Canterbury University researchers have developed new soft shell protective headgear for juniors.  It could be on sale early next year.    Professor Nick Draper told Mike Hosking that all the money they generate from sales will be reinvested into research.  He says their focus is on how they can make the game safer for young people.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bold, bipartisan centred planning is key to ensuring New Zealand doesn't succumb to the effects of a dwindling population and economic growth.   A new BusinessNZ report's calling for a cross-party vision and long-term goals to strengthen the country by 2050.   It notes a labour shortage of at least a quarter of a million is expected before then, and there's also a one in four chance the population doesn't grow.  Advocacy Director Catherine Beard says businesses are sick of political u-turns and flip-flops.  She told Mike Hosking we’re currently stumbling towards the future in a blindfolded fashion, and the report is designed to get everyone to think outside of the box.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A welfare expert says one of the Government's grants is a good idea in principle.   The Taxpayers’ Union has revealed the business start up grant has dished out $38 million with little to show for it.   Documents retrieved through the Official Information Act show hundreds of the recipients struggled and returned to a benefit within two years.   Former Welfare Expert Advisory Group member Phil O'Reilly told Mike Hosking the execution was woefully bad.   He says the problem is MSD spent far too much and there wasn't enough mentoring or measuring of outcomes.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are concerns overseas opioid abuse trends are taking hold here.   The Drug Detection Agency's data for the three months to September finds opioids showed up in 18% of positive tests.  It warns opioid detections are stabilising at this high level, while some regions like Gisborne recorded a sharp increase of 41%.  CEO Glenn Dobson told Mike Hosking the test results are a good oversight of what’s happening in our society in relation to the supply of drugs.   He says there's more of those drugs being sold illicitly globally, so it could be picking up here too.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.