The Mike Hosking Breakfast

There are calls for more discussion around genetic modification.   An Institute of Economic Research report, commissioned by Organics Aotearoa New Zealand, reveals genetic modification could reduce the value of primary sector exports by up to $20 billion a year.   It estimates GMO-free branding adds an extra 59% on the value of our exports.   Organics NZ chief executive Tiffany Tompkins told Mike Hosking there's a range of opinion on the subject.  She says the Government should slow down, open up the conversation and include farmers more proactively so we can understand the cost-benefit analysis.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Grisham is no stranger to success, having written 50 consecutive number one best sellers.   When he’s not writing, he works for the Innocence Project and Centurion Ministries, helping get innocent people released from prison.  A majority of his work are legal thrillers, but this time he’s taking a step into a realm he’s less familiar with: nonfiction.  ‘Framed’ is Grisham’s second nonfiction book, detailing the true accounts of ten people who were wrongfully convicted.  He told Mike Hosking that he and Centurion Ministries founder Jim McCloskey have been considering writing this book for a number of years.  “The stories are so, they’re so terrible, but they’re also very compelling, and really gripping stories.”  Grisham says that he’s trying to make a change with this novel, and raise awareness for the issues within the criminal justice system in the United States.  “Trying to raise awareness, trying to raise a few bucks for the innocents, for advocates in the country,” he said.  “There’s a purpose behind it.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 26th of November, a new 24/7 police station is opening in Auckland CBD – Police Commissioner Richard Chambers joined the show to discuss.   The Prime Minister joined Mike live in studio for a chat about the economy, Waikato Hospital, and when we will get details of the new ferry deal.  Arguably one of the greatest ever authors, John Grisham has a new book out and specifically requested to talk to Mike about it - so how do we turn that offer down?  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.

Universities are seeing increasing interest from students wanting to study courses in artificial intelligence.   Multiple universities now run Masters of Artificial Intelligence degrees, with many other courses and related papers at various levels also available.   Victoria University launched a masters in 2021 and last year began an undergraduate major in AI.   Senior lecturer Andrew Lensen told Mike Hosking there’s certainly a big change in society when it comes to AI, and students are onto that and want to study it.  He says that that although developments in the AI space are unfolding quite rapidly, there are a lot of core fundamentals that have been around for the last few decades.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A capital gains tax is a no-brainer, according to a former Labour Party leader.  The topic is understood to be on the agenda at the party's conference in Christchurch this weekend, with members deciding whether to continue work on the proposal.  David Cunliffe told Mike Hosking he believes most in the party would be keen on the tax.  When it comes to voters, he says that capital gains taxes have actually polled really well in the last couple of elections, and one could say that its polled better than the Labour Party.  Cunliffe says that it’s unlikely to be a net vote loser.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new top cop says Aucklanders will be feeling better about a police station in the city's centre.   Police plan to have the new Federal Street base open to the public by the middle of next year.  It will sit close to Aotea Square and the new CRL station, making it easier to deploy officers right across the central city.   Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told Mike Hosking that soon we'll have 51 beats working 24/7 around the community, increasing visibility and safety.   He says it's back to basics policing, with officers walking the beat and getting to know the people around town.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the “more tax, more borrowing” of the last Labour Government hadn’t worked.  “The decision for New Zealand is really about getting this country growing,” he told Mike Hosking.  One of the areas they’ve been focusing on in order to do so has been education.  Luxon said he was unaware of schools not getting necessary maths resources, and disagrees with the teachers unions, who say the Government has rushed the new curriculum through.  “We got a set of results that said four out of five of our kids going into high school are not where they need to be. I’m sorry, we can sit around having consultation and kumbaya all year, but we actually need to make an intervention. We did that within a week.  “[Education Minister] Erica Stanford has done an exceptionally good job to make sure they’ve got the [resources] they need to teachers.”  He touched on how “abysmal” NCEA is, saying that whether you’re a parent or an employer or a teacher, it’s not working.   “And it’s no surprise when kids show up for third form and four out of five aren’t at the standard they need to be in maths,” Luxon said.  When it comes to the economy, he says there’s still “a lot of turbulence” to navigate before it gets better. He pointed to reductions in inflation as achievements.  “I think every quarter you’ll start to see growth improve. We’re still not out of the woods. The last thing that gets sorted is employment, and there’s a lag effect.  “We did it pretty tough. We had monetary policy where we were printing a lot of cash.”  Luxon confirmed there would be an announcement on the Cook Strait ferries by the end of the year.  “We’ve made a commitment; we’ll talk about the ferries by the end of the year. We’re going to get a solution in place.  “There’s always ongoing conversations. You’ll know [the details] when you know.  “It’ll be rail compatible, as it is today. I can tell you it’ll be done a lot cheaper than $3.2 billion.”  He said there was no stoush between himself and David Seymour over the Waikato medical school plans.  “All respect, David’s not the Minister of Health, he’s the Minister for Regulation. He needs to focus on that,” he said.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More schools are dropping NCEA Level 1.   An Education Review Office review has found it's not a fair or reliable measure of knowledge and skills, and needs substantial change.   Less than three-quarters of schools plan to offer NCEA Level 1 next year.  ERO's Ruth Shinoda told Mike Hosking that in more affluent communities, it's less than half.   She says three quarters of school leaders say the credits students receive don't reflect an equal amount of work or degree of difficulty.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian police arrested 170 climate activists over the weekend after their floating blockade briefly disrupted activity at one of the world’s largest coal ports. The fleet of kayaks, paddle boards and inflatable boats blocked the entrance to the Port of Newcastle, which exports millions of tonnes of coal each year. Police said on Sunday evening 156 adults and 14 youths had been arrested and charged with offences including 'disruption of a major facility'. Australian correspondent Steve Price says shipping was temporarily paused as the group blocked at least one major vessel from entering the port.  "The Greens leader was there, looking like a fool, they were called 'numbskulls', and it was dangerous - really, really dangerous. We'll wait and see what happens in court." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Surely the TJ Perenara performance is a sign of the times? How far back (small clue, not far) do you need to go to think that this sort of extra curricular activity would never have even been close to being countenanced by an All Black squad? Not long ago, essentially, sport was sport. It got political in the Springbok apartheid era, but that was politics from the outside in, not the other way around. It was Perenara's last time in the jersey, so why not leave with a message? I think that would be the argument for many but, what sort of message? If one of the blokes from rural New Zealand decided to slip in some support in the post match interview for the current gun reform, or the gang patch laws, how do you think that would go down? David Seymour, who quite sensibly asked in response to the Perenara views just what bit of equal rights do you not support, is kind of on a hiding to nothing. We have entrenched camps on this one. No one is in the middle. You either believe in the idea that we are all equal, or you don’t. Perhaps more worryingly Perenara's performance was spoken about with management and supported by them, so credit to him that it wasn’t some mad, spur-of-the-moment outburst. For the record, when he says it's important to him, no one doubts him. But lots of things are important to lots of people. But within all our lives are constraints. One of the constraints around being an All Black is you represent the country as an elite athlete, not a politician or an activist. As we saw in a much lesser way last week, the woman who may well head up content and news for the state-owned TV station took leave to go on the Treaty protest. Quite rightly, many asked whether that was wise. We can ask the same question of Perenara and, given he had All Black mangement blessing, we can ask that question of them too. If the criteria for protest as an All Black is passion, then we are asking for trouble. What we want in All Blacks are sports people of integrity, professionalism and, preferably, an ability to win a lot. The rest of it risks damaging the brand, insulting fans and distracting us from the main point of the outing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.