The Mike Hosking Breakfast

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 12th of November, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers responds to the damning IPCA report into the handling of complaints against Jevon McSkimming.  Did we get anything out of the Arms Act announcement?  Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen give their thoughts on the police and their culture and how much damage has been done to their reputation 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.

It seemed like a thing, until it wasn’t.  Guns are like fluoride and the MSM – they get people angsty.  Out of the Christchurch mosque attack came the idea that gun law needed amending. The amending got another look when ACT came to power because they are libertarians and people with, broadly speaking, a common-sense view of the world.  The idea that the more you restrict weaponry the less likely you are to have a massacre is, of course, nonsense.  Like so many things the Ardern and Hipkins era was responsible for, real world policy for real world behaviour wasn’t one of them.  Nutters get guns. The fact Brenton Tarrant got his legally didn't change the equation, and that’s before you get to the bit that this is not a country of hot-head crazies with a long list of violent massacres.  It's true that we have a lot of guns per head of population. But that reflects our outdoors and rural lifestyles, as opposed to an American-type view of defending yourself.  Anyway, Nicole McKee, straight from the gun side of the equation, was going to have a look and from that came the expectation that some sort of major liberalisation was coming.  But it was not to be. Yesterday was more dabble than revolution.  The fact McKee and ACT have invoked the agree to disagree is either a sign of political maturity, seething anger, or possibly both.  If you listened to Mark Mitchell around the Police's role and the Firearm Safety Authority, National were never budging.  There is some stuff there about 3D printing, which makes sense. But overall, it puts this whole exercise into the category of a review, not an overhaul.  I personally never thought a loosening of access to these so-called "mass weapons" was a major, but I get a lot of people would have.  In a way it’s a good example of the disconnect between the country and city. The city would be aghast because the city doesn’t use guns or get it.  Most gun owners are regular people, burdened by the irregular thinking of the Arderns, who wouldn't know one end of a gun from the other.  McKee was from the other side of the argument but ultimately lost.  So carry on then. The angst was wasted. Nothing to see here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Division within Democrats as US Senators approve the final version of a Bill that could end the weeks-long Government shutdown.   The deal from a group of Democrats and GOP leaders will go to the House of Representatives, then will need signing into law by the President.   Under the deal, the Government will reopen in exchange for a future vote on extending Affordable Care subsidies.  Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley told CNN it's unlikely that vote will go anywhere, because Republicans have vastly different healthcare ideals.  US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that the Democrats who flipped say that they’ve at least set the table for the debate in the midterm elections.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transporting New Zealand warns increases in Auckland port fees will be passed on to consumers.   Fees per container at peak times will increase from $130 to $180 in January 2026.   They'll then jump to $350 in January 2027.   Transporting New Zealand CEO Dom Kalasih told Mike Hosking that it would be one thing if the port was seeing productivity gains from the increases, but they’re not.  He says there comes a point in time where you have to wonder if this is just a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The implementation of roadside drug testing is being hailed as a huge step in the right direction.  From December, Police across Wellington can do random roadside saliva tests – screening for cannabis, methamphetamine, MDMA, and cocaine.   They'll spread to cover the whole country by mid-next year.  Drivers testing positive will need to do a second test that checks for 25 substances.  Drug Detection Agency Chief Executive Glenn Dobson told Mike Hosking data shows 30% of all road deaths now involve an impairing drug.  He says it’s not going to be a game changer, but it is a massive move in the right direction.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A damning report into the handling of complaints against Jevon McSkimming reveals interference and cover-ups during the "Commissioner-appointment" process.   The former Deputy Police Commissioner is awaiting sentence after pleading guilty to having child sexual exploitation and bestiality material on his work devices.  A watchdog report finds some of the nation's highest ranking officers ignored a young woman's anonymous complaints against McSkimming and prosecuted her for harassment.  Gagging orders were put in place to ostensibly protect the reputation of McSkimming - who was a top candidate to replace outgoing Police Commissioner Andrew Coster.  It has been revealed that emails regarding the subject were also sent to the office of Police Minister Mark Mitchell, but he was blocked from seeing them.  “They put a protocol in place whereby I was not to have visibility on it, or any of my political staff, and they were going to be handled by PNHQ,” he told Mike Hosking.  “So I had no visibility on any emails that I received, you know, that came through my office.”   When asked who is the bigger criminal in this case, McSkimming for his behaviour or Costa for covering it up, Mitchell told Hosking they’re as bad as each other.   "It’s atrocious behaviour,” he said.  “They have put the rest of our outstanding police officers in an awful position – who turn up every day and quite simply do outstanding work.”   The concern for Labour’s Ginny Andersen is the impact this situation will have on public trust and confidence in the Police.  “New Zealanders should have every confidence that if they take a complaint to the Police, that it is investigated fully,” she told Hosking.  “It does erode public trust and confidence that taking a complaint forward will be taken seriously and investigated.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland businesses are gearing up for a busy Wednesday next week - as hotel occupancy reaches 100%.  Forty thousand are expected from Metallica fans alone, with the rock band set to perform at Eden Park.  Meanwhile, nearly 3,800 international delegates are gathering at Aotea Centre for New Zealand's largest ever academic conference, celebrating Indigenous education over five days.  Auckland Unlimited Destination Director Annie Dundas told Mike Hosking the city will probably average 80-85% occupancy over the summer.  She says these nice big event spikes lift them up for certain parts of the year, giving the accommodation and hospitality sectors a boost.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a belief New Zealanders are no safer than they were before changes to the gun laws.  A rewrite of the Arms Act simplifies rules for licensed owners for storage, repairs and visitor use, and adds harsher penalties.  Gang members also won't be able to own a gun and semi-automatics will stay banned.   Council of Licensed Firearms Owners spokesperson Hugh Devereux-Mack told Mike Hosking they were promised overwhelming reform but have only got a re-tweak of the existing law.  He says the things that are mentioned are pretty good, but it’s what is absent that is going to annoy a lot of licenced firearms owners who were expecting more.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Police Commissioner says he only became aware of an investigation into Jevon McSkimming two days before taking up the top job.  The former Deputy Police Commissioner is awaiting sentence after pleading guilty to having child sexual exploitation and bestiality material on his work devices.  A watchdog report finds some of the nation's highest ranking officers ignored a young woman's anonymous complaints against McSkimming.   They then went after her for digital harassment.  The Government has installed an Inspector-General of Police to ensure there is stronger oversight than the IPCA alone.  Commissioner Richard Chambers told Mike Hosking the report points out about five top cops who are at fault.   He says most of them have departed the organisation, but he is also launching employment investigations for other members.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm trying to work out what the ratio would be.  How much squeaky clean, beyond doubt, rock solid truth would the BBC need to deliver to offset the one gargantuan cock up that has seen the Director General and Head of News quit?  Or in this day and age, where doubt and mistrust is so high, is it a futile exercise and the damage is permanent?  Like all these stories you can dilute its seriousness – the Panorama programme wasn’t actually made by the BBC, it was a contract company, so was the bias external not internal? Obviously I am clutching at straws.  Does a resignation mean the organisation is no longer biased, or perceived as biased? I would have thought not.  How do you prove inherent bias? Which is an ongoing charge not just at the BBC but a number of public broadcasters all over the world.  I cited the Radio New Zealand example yesterday, out of the boot camp report, their headline read the conclusion was of a ‘rushed’ exercise.  That wasn’t the conclusion. It was an observation, not a conclusion. But even if you argued the observation was a conclusion, that would mean there were many conclusions. Why pick that one when there were positive ones to choose from as well? And is that inherent bias or just a busy journo looking to publish a story?  Are we the punter inherently biased and therefore whatever we see and we don’t like must be biased?  The BBC bit is of course indisputable. It's not about inference or emphasis, it is about making something seem real which factually wasn’t – they made it up.  Why would you do that unless you had an agenda? Why would the BBC not spot it? Too busy or too biased?  The Culture Secretary said now more than ever the need for trusted news is essential to our cultural and democratic life. Which is what they say when they have carnage to deal with using taxpayers' money.   The BBC were already booked in this week, ironically, for a parliamentary inquiry into their coverage of trans rights and Gaza, cementing in many people's minds what they already suspected.  My summation is basically: it's over. The jury is in, the verdict is guilty, and the people are always right. Whatever the media might once have had by way of respect and trust is largely, if not completely, gone.   And two resignations cemented any remaining doubt. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.