The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Issues around potential defamatory claims on social media are in the spotlight - after false accusations against a Kiwi richlister.  Mat Mowbray's been incorrectly named on Tiktok as the member of a wealthy family convicted of having child abuse material.  The real person convicted has permanent name suppression.  Auckland University Senior Law Lecturer Nikki Chamberlain says false rumours on social media are a real problem. She told Mike Hosking platforms do have time to respond to complaints.  Chamberlain says the horse has already bolted to some extent, because it's been up for a period and shared by various people.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government has announced a climate adaptation plan to help handle floods, cyclones, and other natural disasters.   Councils will now have to draw up 30-year plans, and a national flood map is due in 2027.  Climate change minister Simon Watts told Mike Hosking that the current system lacks a coordinated approach to respond to natural hazards.   “We don't have good data to make decisions, we don't have clear roles and responsibilities...we don't have a clear framework to deal with that reality.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In one of life’s small ironies as the teachers spend another week immersed in industrial action, I got an email yesterday from a bloke who was taught by my mother in the ’90s. My mum was a teacher. I’m pretty sure she never went on strike. I certainly don’t remember a picket line, a placard, or days at home when I was a kid. In fact, even as a student, I don’t remember having a day off school because of strikes. I do remember a lot of kids in the class — one of today’s great complaints — wasn’t an issue then. Or if it was, we still got on with it. I also remember we didn’t have a lot at home. Given teachers didn’t get paid all that much — didn’t then, sort of don’t now — but you have to say, many a teacher these days is earning a six-figure salary. So we’ve reached a point where at least some are pretty well rewarded. Anyway, the email. Out of the blue, he writes and tells me he was taught by my mum, who had inspired him into teaching — which is where he is now. He’s back in the old hometown for a week or so and was hoping to catch up with Mum so he could buy her a coffee and thank her for her inspiration. And that, to me, is the essence of teaching. You were in it for the right reasons, and as a result, you were passionate about what you did. And because of that passion, it rubbed off on some of those around you. It’s not a bad thing, don’t you think — to think back 30-odd years and remember why you’re doing what you do, and pin it, in part, down to a single person or motivation. And then, having done that, reach out and want to in some way pay it back. How many teachers today do it for the right reasons — are genuinely passionate and want others to carry the torch? How many know the pay is never great, but that’s not why you do it? How many on the picket line, out of the classroom today, will get an email in 30 years’ time thanking them for their hard work and wanting to acknowledge the influence? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The rock band Good Charlotte has announced a tour down under ahead of the release of their new album. After five albums, the band split up in 2011 but decided they weren’t done – coming back after four years and dropping more albums, including one this year in August called Motel du Cap. Joel and Benji Madden told Mike Hosking that they didn’t know how the record would turn out, and didn’t have any set plans to release it. ‘We were like, let's just make the record and then we'll see what we got. And then we'll figure out what we should do with it.’ LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 16 October. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the great myths of the modern economy is the idea that young people can't afford a house. Now, the facts are that for every house sold, about a quarter of them, sometimes a little bit more, about 27% are in fact first-timers. That figure has been remarkably solid over any number of years in any type of market. Can it be expensive? Yes. Do some people miss out? Yes. Are some areas better or worse than others? Yes. But in a world where the negative sells, if you can convince people that the young are victims, it can become very political very fast. Of course, no government can manipulate the market, and for all the governments that are promised a solution, it more often than not ends and tears. And for every lever you pull, there is a counter reaction elsewhere, which is why it is often best to leave the market to its own devices. Australia though is dabbling in housing as we speak. The latest scheme involves getting first buyers or first time buyers into their own place with a 5% deposit. Any first timer, any salary. Personally, I've always liked the idea of getting, young people into housing, easier entry, the better often the real impediment, and it's true here, of course, is not the mortgage, but the down payment. I mean, 20% of a million bucks, which is basically the equation in a lot of New Zealand is $200,000. That's a mountain for most and an insurmountable one. Even $100,000 is hard work, but what about 50? $50,000 5%, that's not hard. Small town New Zealand, you go to a cheaper place. $600,000 house, $30,000. That's doable. That's your average Kiwi saver. Why aren't we doing that? Do you lose on housing? Really? Is it a good long-term investment? Yes. In Australia, they kept the price to a first home type level. So for example, at the moment in Sydney, it's 1.5 million less in Melbourne, but what it will do is get more people into houses. Do people want that? Yes, they do. The Reserve Bank worries about a price surge, but this is being done ironically in the middle of a price surge. Australian housing is often running. The debate about affordability is raging hot, and yet the government is all for it. And note, it's a labour government. So what about us? Does our housing market need a boost? Yes, it does. The first timers need a leg up, see? What's stopping us? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new owners of the Cardrona Hotel jumped on the investment to keep it in Kiwi hands. Central Otago's 162-year-old heritage-listed hotel and restaurant has sold, after being on the market since July. Wanaka local, Warren Barclay, will run the business - and says the new owners are high net worth Kiwis and good sorts who see potential. He says business is solid and we don't want to do anything that changes that.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) has issued a provisional decision claiming jurisdiction over a complaint about an online radio show.  They said that the complaint fits their formal definition and requirements, meaning that they have to act.   Chief Executive of the Broadcasting Standards Authority Stacey Wood told Mike Hosking that the BSA had long been debating expanding the boundaries of their jurisdiction.   ‘Transmission of a programme by means of telecommunication includes the internet.’  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Prime Minister's backing the view that large-scale government housing ownership like Kainga Ora is problematic. A report by The New Zealand Initiative finds the Government's ownership of 77,000 state houses, has maintenance costs nearly twice that of a private landlord. It finds it also doesn't respond quickly enough to issues like rent arrears, and troublesome tenants. Sir Bill English told Mike Hosking his independent review panel into the agency found similar issues. He says the point of social housing is to improve the lives of the tenants, so it means focusing on the people,  and who owns the houses,  is less important. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health Minister Simeon Brown's bracing for tension at a meeting with 200 senior doctors, ahead of strike action.  Their walkout - after rejecting a $160million pay offer - will see 6,300 elective procedures cancelled, and almost 13,000 specialists assessments delayed.  Brown's slamming what he says is unethical, and a case of politics over patients.  He told Mike Hosking that the unions haven't been acting in good faith.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.