The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Today on Politics Wednesday, Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen are calling in from airports in Italy and Auckland to delve into the biggest topics of the week so far.  Local body elections are looming – how can we raise the involvement rate?  Plus, a raft of changes to both the earthquake-prone building system and the energy sector were announced in the last two days.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 1st of October, we get an insight into whether Hamas is likely to accept Trump’s proposed peace plan.  The Government has announced their plan for energy reform – boom or bust? Energy Minister Simon Watts unpacked the announcement.   Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen join us from airports in Italy and Auckland for Politics Wednesday, discussing local body elections, changes to the earthquake-prone building system, and the electricity announcement.  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.

The Government’s opting to provide capital to Crown-controlled power companies instead of reshaping its role in the energy sector.  Genesis, Mercury, and Meridian have been assured funding is available for major infrastructure projects.  A procurement process for a Liquefied Natural Gas facility has also been launched, which Energy Minister Simon Watts says will start on Monday.  He told Mike Hosking Cabinet will aim to make a decision by Christmas to get supply into the country as soon as possible.  Watts says their shortest timeline has supply arriving by Winter of 2027, but if a more traditional route is used, it’s more likely to come by 2028 or 2029.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's revealed progress is being made towards their mental health and addiction targets.  The latest data shows 80.3% of New Zealanders are accessing specialist mental health and addiction support within three weeks.  However, that percentage is carried by eight of the 20 regions, leaving behind Northland, Gisborne, and Canterbury.  Clinical Psychologist Dr Dougal Sutherland told Mike Hosking the access to specialist services was a positive surprise, as it’s not necessarily what he’d heard.  He says he’s cautiously optimistic about the progress, but there is still room for improvement.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A fresh blueprint has been developed to boost Dunedin's future.   Business South's new targets include delivering more than 15 thousand high-value jobs by 2034, welcoming 150 new businesses a year by 2029, and growing Māori-owned businesses by 129% in four years.   CEO Mike Collins says the goals may be stretched, but are going to be remarkable, with many motivated people backing the growth.   He told Mike Hosking they're firing up some wraparound support services that would identify the gaps in a business’ practices and match them up to what they need.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pharmac believes it makes sense to leave the day-to-day stuff to Health NZ.   The Associate Health Minister and Minister Simeon Brown have jointly announced the national agency and drug-buyer can both procure medical devices.  Pharmac will focus on more-technical equipment —due to its level of clinical input and assessment— and Health NZ on bulk-buying standard items.  Pharmac Chair Paula Bennett told Mike Hosking it clears up uncertainty around who does what.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Trade Minister says uncertainty around Donald Trump's tariffs is most concerning, following threats he'll impose a 100% tariff on all movies made outside the US.  The US President didn't confirm when or how it could be enacted in a post on social media, which followed an initial threat on foreign-produced movies in May.  Todd McClay told Mike Hosking he was in Malaysia last week with other trade ministers, who are all dealing with the rolling wall of announcements with no clarity.  He says Trump's social media announcements are creating a lot of uncertainty, and Hollywood won't know what's going on.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump's proposed peace deal for Gaza is bringing some hope and optimism.  The deal would end the war, and requires all hostages to be returned, Israeli troops to be pulled out of Gaza, and would allow Trump to lead an interim Government.   It's being supported by our Foreign Minister Winston Peters as well as European and Middle Eastern leaders.  The Economist Middle East Correspondent Greg Carlstrom told Mike Hosking it's good to see a serious proposal.  He says it's an actual plan to end the war, unlike Trump's wild suggestion in February to depopulate Gaza and turn it into a beach resort.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's hopes that investment will flow into the energy sector once Government reforms are announced.  Energy Minister Simon Watts will unveil the changes this morning, targeting issues the market hasn’t been able to resolve on its own.  The Government ordered the review last year after gas supply issues and soaring wholesale prices.  Contact Energy CEO Mike Fuge told Mike Hosking the industry needs support for renewable investment already under way as no one wants that momentum lost.  He says the most important thing for the country is continued investment.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a move you could have seen coming from the moment it was first announced, or if you couldn’t see it coming you hoped it would come, Auckland University has decided its Waipapa Taumata Rau course will now be optional instead of compulsory.  For a generation who have been appallingly let down over the Covid period by Government and education decisions, the Auckland University desire to force you into Māori courses seemed not just ill advised, but cruel.  Kids of the past half dozen years have been soaked, to the point of drowning, in Māori issues and doctrine in their schooling and they are sick of it.  The Labour Government's obsession with race has had the opposite effect intended. It didn’t cajole and encourage, it rammed and forced and overwhelmed us with condescending overlord-type instruction.  University is not about being told what to learn, it was supposed to be the opposite.  From our personal experience this year it appeared to us that the course was not just ill conceived, but shonkily run by people barely qualified to deliver a curriculum that seemed largely made up with no real focus or discipline.  Students hated it, resented it, and were dragged kicking and screaming through it.  Not just that, but to add insult to injury you had to pay for it. They forced you into it, then sent you a bill.  As in all these areas of race the trick has always been that if you seek it, want it, desire it, whether broader study or the specific language, it's freely available and fill your boots.  But the determination to square peg it only ever led to pushback and resentment.  The last thing I would have thought universities wanted to do was put people off study.  Once again from personal experience, we know people who not only avoided Auckland University, but in fact ended up studying offshore. None of this is a desirable outcome for the country.  The upside is when asked by the university the feedback was as you would have expected. And to their credit they have at least read the room and backed off.  But not before another year for thousands has been lost in a whirlpool of woke-enforced nonsense that never had to be. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.