The Mike Hosking Breakfast

US President Donald Trump's confident the momentum will continue beyond the first phase of a Gaza peace plan.   The Israeli Government's voting this morning on whether to implement the terms agreed with Hamas yesterday.   It would see hostages released early next week and Israeli troops withdraw to agreed lines.   US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking the remaining hostages are believed to be held by splinter groups, so getting them all together will be challenging.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I argued it because I thought it was the right thing to do.  Winston Peters entered the Fonterra brands sale debate yesterday, I suspect because he thinks there are points to be scored.  Not because he is wrong, because he isn't, but if you really cared about the sale that Fonterra has been involved with for some period of time, you might have stumped up a bit earlier.  In a way it's none of our business, neither mine nor Peters’. We aren't farmers and we don’t have a vote.  The people who do have a vote are in that process as we speak.  My guess is it will romp home and each farmer on average will be several hundred thousand dollars better off.  But there is also, as it's always been, the Fonterra social licence. Although the average punter doesn’t own them, or have a say, they are so big that their role in the New Zealand economy is outsized to the point that what they do has national implications.  I have always argued that their argument for sale is wrong.  There is, and never has been, any reason they can't and don’t run their brands successfully. They say it's not their core business.  Isn't it?  Milk turns into cheese and ice cream. Cheese and ice cream are the brands they are selling.  The French company, also in the same business as Fonterra, doesn’t seem to see it that way either, otherwise they wouldn’t be stumping up over $4 billion for it.  There is an agreement, and this is Peters' main point, that the new owner uses Fonterra products. But, says Peters, how long for, and when the clock stops, which it will, our milk will be in just another in a long line of milk jugs.  Peters tosses in a bit of conspiracy about Fonterra executives and bonuses. But that’s the politics of it all.  But then that’s always been the Peters way, hasn’t it?  At its core he makes sense. He values New Zealand and New Zealand products, so his view is consistent. But then there is always a little conspiratorial spice for the headlines.  If this sale was to be debated properly, far less halted, he needed to be front and centre ages ago.  So overall, the Peters' foray – good point, just too late.     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s Friday, which means Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson are back with Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that Was.   They discussed Dolly Parton’s not-dead announcement, the art Mike and Kate bought over the weekend, and whether or not they could pass a practical drivers test nowadays.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Bathurst 1000 returns this weekend.  The first practice has seen New Zealanders Ryan Wood, Matt Payne, and Andre Heimgartner sit first, fourth and eighth respectively.  Brodie Kostecki is the current champion, looking to obtain back-to-back victories.  Former Supercars driver Paul Radisch told Mike Hosking at the end of the day, everything just comes down to luck.  He says that even if you’re leading the race and make all the right preparations, someone else could still claim the win.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 10th of October, the first stage of a peace deal in the Middle East is in progress. Whether it holds is the next question.  We announce the winner of our brilliant trip to Melbourne – you won't want to miss her reaction!  Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson talk about the art bought over the weekend and whether or not they'd pass their driving test these days as they Wrap the Week.  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 Public Service Minister believes cuts within the sector aren't the slash and burn they're made out to be.  The Government has reduced its contractor and consultant spending across the public service by more than half its target.  It says spending has fallen $915 million, compared to its goal of $400 million, and frontline roles in the public service have also increased.  Judith Collins told Mike Hosking redundancy costs from job cuts also need to be seen in the context of overall savings.  She says some agencies immediately got rid of some jobs because they realised they were coping without them.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's thought there are fundamental issues with the new methamphetamine contamination laws.  Properties with meth residue exceeding 15 micrograms per 100-square centimetres will be considered contaminated and require treatment.   Landlords and tenants will be able to quickly end tenancies with excessive levels.  Residential Property Managers Association Chair Tony Mitchell told Mike Hosking it's great to have clarity, but it's out of step with the rest of the world.    He says we shouldn't be accepting any meth in properties, and we now don't have the ability to enforce a zero-tolerance policy.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An ACC lawyer says there's a simple answer to the insurer's deficit problem.   The Scheme's recorded a net deficit of $1.5 billion, blowing the total out to $13.8 billion.  ACC lawyer and researcher Warren Forster told Mike Hosking tackling this issue requires looking at it over a generation.  He says they need to be careful about value for the money they collect and stop changing how they calculate the amount needed.   Forster says ACC did really well with its return on investment this year.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The next phase of the Gaza peace talks could test Benjamin Netanyahu's loyalty.   His Government's voting today on approving the first phase of a ceasefire plan, agreed with Hamas.   It involves Israeli troops retreating to agreed lines, a cessation of fighting, and the release of hostages.   Israeli journalist Haggi Matar told Mike Hosking the Israeli Prime Minister has effectively promised his base he'll continue the war and eradicate Hamas.   He says it's pretty certain that's not what Qatar and the Trump administration are after, so hopefully they will continue to press both sides to agree.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wellington mayor went out, not really in a blaze of glory yesterday, but more a fireball of misery and bitchiness.  Tory Whanau is probably the local body poster child for ineptitude. She's given her bye-bye speech.  She was a shambles. She may still be back, as she is standing in the Māori ward.  She seems like a person who if she wasn’t in local politics, might have trouble finding work.  She admitted, after it was too late, that she really should have done her homework before chasing the big mayoral job.  She won because too many people stood for mayor and split the vote, so by the time you deal with the appalling turnout and split the vote several times over, you need not a lot of support to get a job you weren't even qualified for any way.  But that’s local body politics, isn't it, at least at national level. Whether list or electorate, a group of experienced operators give you the once over.  Locally literally anyone can have a go and that, if you haven't worked it out yet, is a problem.  It wasn’t all her fault of course. A mayor is not a president and is but one vote. But a mayor's job shouldn’t be a "funsies" party trick because you are bored or unemployable.  There were the personal issues. That is another problem in the lack of vetting. Some people are basically just a shambles and she is clearly one of those.  That's not a crime, we all have issues. It's just advisable not to have them on display while you are trying to run things like a city.  The city is pretty much a reflection of her leadership – a mess.  Infrastructurally it's an embarrassment; level one water restriction when we are barely out of autumn, a devastated CBD and angst, fury and backstabbing having been a feature of decision making. That particular trait aired yet again in her farewell speech.  We seem to be in an era where quality in so many parts of life has gone by the wayside.  Tory Whanau is certainly an example of that. She came, she cocked it up, she flailed and flapped about like we were her psychologists as she aired her many and varied problems, then poof! She's off! Until she wasn’t.  They, sadly, rarely are.  But honestly, in a city of Kitts, Fowler, Belich (maybe even Wilde and Prendergast), ol' Tory is hardly one for the record books. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.