The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Shane Jones says the Government's new Fuel Security Plan will ensure there's a reliable source of fuel in case of global or domestic disruption.  The plan focuses on four key areas centred around resilience against supply shocks.  Fuel importers will be required to hold minimum levels of diesel and jet fuel, and the Government will support domestic fuel alternatives.  Jones, the Associate Minister of Energy, told Mike Hosking it's vital people and businesses can continue to access fuel, no matter what challenges the future brings.  He says there needs to be a plan to ration and move the economy forward in case there's a big geopolitical event.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former US Vice President Dick Cheney has died at the age of 84, from the complications of pneumonia, and cardiac and vascular disease.  George W Bush says his VP's death is a "loss to the nation".  Cheney's family say he taught his children and grandchildren fly-fishing, to love their country, and to live lives of courage, honour, love and kindness.  US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking he was the most powerful vice president in American history, pushing for the war on terror and the invasion of Iraq, among other things.  Cheney gained the nickname Darth Vader for his role as well as his health, Arnold said, the VP experiencing his first heart attack at 37, with four more following before he got a heart transplant at 71.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland's central business association is backing a ban on homelessness in city centres – with conditions.  During Question Time in Parliament yesterday, Labour suggested the Government was planning to introduce such a ban.  A Heart of the City survey has found 90% of operators are affected by rough sleepers and begging.  Chief Executive Viv Beck told Mike Hosking there needs to be change.  She says most central businesses would support the move as long as there are really good solutions available for vulnerable people.  However, she isn’t sure what the Government has decided to do, or whether an announcement is coming.   But Beck told Hosking she's been making "good progress" in her talks with relevant ministers.  She says they've discussed addressing economic risks and looking after people who need support.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Unemployment's set to edge higher despite signs of the job market improving.  Stats NZ data, due out this morning, is expected to show the unemployment rate reached 5.3% in the September quarter.  That's up from 5.2% in the June quarter.  Westpac Senior Economist Michael Gordon told Mike Hosking the unemployment rate would be even higher if more young people were in the labour market.  He says they've been first on the chopping block as the economy slowed, so many have gone back into school and aren't seeking work.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government wants more concerts at Auckland's Eden Park.  RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has written to Auckland Council seeking feedback on allowing up to 20 medium-sized concerts a year, on top of the 12 concerts it currently hosts.  An economic report warns current restrictions could cost the city $432 million in lost income over the next decade.  Bishop told Mike Hosking these changes will be good for Auckland.  He says the zoning and rules are holding the city back, even if there's demand for more concerts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An increase in car sales could be a sign of consumer confidence returning.  More than 14-thousand new vehicles were registered last month – up 13.5% on October last year.  It was the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year growth.  Motor Industry Association Chief Executive Aimee Wiley told Mike Hosking the last few months have brought some encouraging signs.  She says there's been a rise in private and business buyers, and a particularly large rise in rental buyers.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Louvre heist seems to have been carried out not by an organised crime syndicate, but by petty criminals.   Four thieves last month raided the world’s most-visited art museum, in daylight, stealing crown jewels worth an estimated $178 million in just seven minutes.  French police arrested two men the following week and over the weekend a man and a woman in their 30s, living in a northern Paris suburb.  France Correspondent Catherine Field told Mike Hosking the criminals allegedly left behind a fair bit of DNA evidence.  Those who were arrested, Field says, already had criminal records, which meant Police were able to locate them. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here's a question for you, about us:  Are we chronic pessimists? Just when will it be a good time to buy a large household item?  The ANZ Consumer Confidence figures came out Friday, and we have sunk again. Unlike business, which went up eight points while punters went down another two points.  What about household items, like a fridge? We haven't felt good about that for any month in four long years.  48 months. Month after month we think it's not a good time to be sticking a bit of Samsung or Sub-Zero or Miele in your house.  Yet how can business feel half-decent given the people they deal with are miserable? And how is it, as the bank pointed out, that the stats don't actually align with our mood?  Spending is up – no, not by a lot, because this isn't a gold rush.  But spending is up and the job ads are up. There are more jobs being advertised. My bet is when the unemployment stats arrive this week at 5.2% or 5.3% that will be it. It will get no worse. The layoffs are over.  There are genuine, tangible, indisputable signs in the economy that things have turned. Call them whatever you want, flickers or green shoots or better days, but they are there.  Like all economies, the tide doesn’t rise and bring everyone with it. But it has to bring some, and some must be feeling better, or good, or (God forbid) upbeat.  Is there a determination among some that we will simply not be happy? We refuse to accept the light at the end of that tunnel. Where once a trip to the seaside and an ice cream on a sunny day lifted the spirit, now we want the whole circus and a merch bag as well before we dare utter anything remotely upbeat.  I have no doubt the tide has turned. I see too many data points, stats, and results to feel any other way.  But New Zealand has caught a disease. You see it in Britain (they have it bad) and also Australia (but a bit less). There's a refusal to accept good news the way we used to.  Where once the possibility was enough to lift a spirit, now you need a tsunami to bowl you over.  The early bird, as always, will catch the worm on this. By the time we hit February or March of 2026 and a lot of people join the bandwagon, the early adopters will have been having a good time for months.  It's only negative if it's actually factually negative.  Being determined to be that way is a state of mind, not a reality. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 4th of November, we've got good business news when it comes to lending and spending, as well as the building market.  Erica Stanford is removing the requirement for school boards to "give effect" to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, saying it’s made no difference to kids' learning.  F1 driver Liam Lawson joins for an exclusive chat about his future and his nerves heading into the end of the season with his job on the line.   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.

Liam Lawson says his future in Formula One remains unclear and he expects performance over the final five race weekends to decide his fate.  In an exclusive interview with the Mike Hosking Breakfast, the Racing Bulls driver talked about the pressures of Formula One, his demotion from the Red Bull team and what needs to be done to secure a seat for the 2026 season.  The Kiwi is in a battle for a seat alongside Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda, teammate Isack Hadjar and Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad.  Only four-time world champion Max Verstappen is confirmed at Red Bull next year, signed through to 2028. He is expected to be partnered by Hadjar, who is the next best driver on the organisation’s books so far in his rookie season.  And with Red Bull understood to be eager to promote 18-year-old Lindblad after one season of Formula Two, Lawson and Tsunoda have effectively been left in a shootout for that final place to partner the junior at Racing Bulls.  Lawson heads into this weekend’s racing in Brazil, which includes a sprint race, on 30 points and 15th place on the driver standings, two points and places ahead of Tsunoda.  He told Mike Hosking that his future in the sport remains unknown and he just has to keep performing on the track.  “At this point right now, the decision is not clear and hasn’t been made and has us in a position where basically I’m still working towards trying to secure that seat,” he said.  “I think the pathway or the guide is to perform. And if you perform, you stay in the sport. That’s just how it’s been since I was 16 years old. That’s how it’s been since I joined the programme. That’s just how it is. And that’s basically my guide,” Lawson said.  “It’s at the point of the year where obviously the decisions are being made around the four seats that are in our camp for next year. It’s something that obviously I’m very aware of. But at the same time, it doesn’t change really anything I’m doing. It doesn’t change the approach to each race weekend. All that stays the same,” he added.  “I think all of the hard stuff makes you better anyway,” he reflected on the season.  “And if I come out of this year, which is what I’m trying to do, I’ll be in a much better place because of sort of the hard stuff that’s been on this year.”  Lawson is readying for this week’s Brazilian Grand Prix after a disappointing outing in Mexico, where his race lasted only a few laps and he was lucky to avoid two marshals who ran across the track.  Last year he finished ninth in both the sprint and Grand Prix races in Sao Paulo, with an impressive fifth placing in qualifying for the main race. This year’s season culminates with race weekends in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, after which Red Bull will make their decision on the 2026 drivers.  Lawson started the season in the Red Bull car with defending world champion Verstappen as his teammate but was demoted to the Racing Bulls team just two races into the season. His replacement Tsunoda has also struggled in the car and sits behind the Kiwi on the points standings.  Lawson said he reflects more about his lack of time in the Red Bull car than how the Japanese driver has performed since replacing him.  “It’s not something I think about directly with him. I think that, at the end of the day, I had two races on two tracks I’d never been to. We didn’t do pre-season, we didn’t do a load of testing last year and pre-season testing to get it ready for this season. So, I would never be able to compare because I just didn’t do the races. I did two and then I was out. He’s had the whole season in the car.  “I could never compare because, obviously, as a racing driver, we always back ourselves, right? And I’m always going to sit here and go, ‘hey, after the amount of time, I feel like I would have got my head around it and been somewhere’. But I think, to compare … we didn’t get given the same amount of races."  Hosking also asked Lawson how he would score himself this season, to which he responded: “Not high enough, not as high as I wanted to.”  “I think it’s very rare to look back on stuff and think I did everything exactly as I wanted to do. For me, as long as I look back on this year and learn from things that I feel like I could have done better. I think we’ve done a really good job through a good part of this year. The second half of the year has been a lot stronger. I think we were trying to play catch-up for the first part, because of the way the start of the year unfolded.  “And I think that we definitely got there, but in a sport where there’s just so many variables and you don’t put one piece of the puzzle together on a race weekend and, especially in a season that’s so close, you just get knocked out and you’re fighting where you don’t want to be fighting. I think that trying to do that every single weekend and have everything go right is very tough, but those are the things that I look back on and learn from.”  The 23-year-old said a key lesson has been the pace of the Formula One season off the track.  “It’s crazy how you leave a race weekend and just straight away switch on to the next one. I think that’s been something that has been a learning process this year … the things that I can learn from and just straight away move on to the next one, you don’t really have time to dwell or think about what’s happened.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.