The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Donald Trump's latest tariff deadline is rapidly approaching.  The US President has reached 11 deals, and agreed to pause tariff increases for Mexico, ahead of his deadline of 4pm today.  He's indicated he'll raise the baseline tariff faced by most countries, including New Zealand.  US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that at the same time, the trade wars are facing a critical court test within the United States.  The Trump team is being sued by a coalition of states and businesses who claim Trump has been overstepping his powers when it comes to some of the steepest tariffs.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Plenty has happened this week, so Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson joined Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that was.  They discuss Mike's interview with Jeremy Piven yesterday – was it awkward or just realistic?   Plus, they talk about Kate’s pickleball league and the Government’s decision to axe card surcharges.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The opening of a standalone FBI office may be putting New Zealand in a bit of an awkward position.   The bureau's establishing a permanent presence in Wellington, focusing on trans-national crime like terrorism money laundering, child exploitation, and foreign intelligence threats.  FBI Director Kash Patel has also said it would counter China’s influence in the Pacific.  Geopolitical Analyst Geoffrey Miller told Mike Hosking Patel’s statement has ruffled feathers at the Chinese Embassy in Wellington, who put out a statement condemning “groundless assertions and vilification of China”.   He says the Government is loath to upset the apple cart when it comes to China and our trading relationship with them, but they also have to take the United States’ desires into account.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 1st of August, New Zealand has yet to receive an updated tariff rate from the US as the deadline looms. Trade Minister Todd McClay joined to discuss the situation.   The FBI is setting up an office in Wellington – citing concern over China’s increasing influence in the Pacific.   Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson talk awkward interviews and paywave surcharges being dropped 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.

An announcement on the future of NCEA is imminent and the whole system could be in for a shakeup.   A Government briefing from June shows an over-reliance on internal assessments and suggests students are gaming the system to accumulate credits.  It's also revealed NCEA doesn't support coherent pathways for students into the likes of trades or hospitality.  Tertiary Union National Secretary Dr Sandra Grey told Mike Hosking there’s no doubt that all systems can be tweaked and made better, but it needs to be done carefully.  She says that we need to make sure teachers and students are at the heart of the review process.  When it comes to vocational pathways, Grey says that schools don’t have the capacity to show kids what they're like, so we need a coherent, working system that gives kids a taste of what things like trades are like.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Food Minister's backing the move to remove the labelling of genetically modified food, despite concerns.  Andrew Hoggard's given the green light to rules meaning food produced using new breeding techniques, including gene editing, will not need to be labelled as genetically modified unless it contains new DNA.  The change will see New Zealand mirror the genetic technology legislation in Australia.  Group GE Free says it's unfair for consumer choice.  Hoggard told Mike Hosking mandatory food labels should only be for safety concerns.  He says adding more labels adds cost, and everyone is concerned about the cost of food right now.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The country's largest music festival, Electric Avenue, has been bought by Live Nation.  The multinational entertainment company announced the acquisition of festival producer Team Event, which owns the two-day summer festival held in Christchurch's Hagley Park each February.   Promoters Association President Layton Lillas told Mike Hosking that given the tough environment festivals are facing, this is good thing for New Zealand.   He says Live Nation is going to put some financial might behind the event and secure big name acts.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The number of people behind on payments in June fell slightly from May, but is largely unchanged compared to the same time last year.  Latest Centrix data shows there were 478 thousand people in arrears, representing more than 12% of the credit-active population.  Managing Director Keith McLaughlin says they'd normally expect the figure to fall further over winter - but people are being impacted by things outside their control.  He says the costs of insurance, rates and power are leaving their mark, and that's why arrears are a bit sticky at the moment.  He told Mike Hosking there will be an ongoing improvement in household budgets as interest rates continue to fall.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand has yet to hear from the US ahead of Donald Trump's latest tariff deadline – 4pm today, New Zealand time.  The White House says all countries will have heard from the US by that time.  The US President has indicated he'll raise tariffs, including the 10% baseline tariff imposed on goods from New Zealand and most other countries.  Trade Minister Todd McClay told Mike Hosking our Government is still waiting to hear what that increase will be.  He says there are indications that the new minimum base line tariff rate will be 15%, and it's an anxious time for exporters.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you want to talk about doing stuff that matters, this week will produce one of the great ones.  Repealing the oil and gas ban, as the Government are about to do, puts right an egregious wrong – possibly the most egregious wrong of the last Government.  What gives this current Government a better than even chance of a second term is the fact the damage done to the economy was done by the very same people who are still in Labour, still running Labour, and presumably will still argue for the same recipe of destruction next year.  Megan Woods drove the oil and gas ban under the instruction of you-know-who. There was no warning, no consultation. Just a fateful announcement in Taranaki.  It was idealism at its very worst. If we had all the windmills and solar panels and batteries in place it might have made more sense.  But as we have seen and felt for the past handful of winters, we don’t. Not even close.  What has made it particularly galling is that Australia has doubled down on gas. It understands gas is the transition fuel, while the so-called renewable transformation takes place.  Australia's gas industry is run out of Western Australia, which is run by a Labour Government, and fed to the rest of Australia, which is run by a Labour Government.  And that, as I have said before, is what can make Labour palatable. A centrist Labour party is electable i.e. Albanese's version or Hawke's.  The Ardern and Hipkins version look like a bunch of wonks who never met an economy they couldn't wreck.  Now, the repeal won't solve everything overnight. Our reputation is so damaged that a lot of face time and explaining has had to be undertaken with potential investors, hence the Government's $200m stake in the game fund.  If you ever wanted a living, breathing, tangible example of a Government that simply didn’t get it, think back to your last couple of winters where the coal pile is a mile high, the rain may or may not have come, the gas reports keep getting worse, the spot price heads to the stratosphere and your power bill continues to head to the roof.  That is Labour's energy policy.  That is the Labour Government's idea of a fun winter.  Getting that repealed is rectifying a shockingly shallow, ill-conceived idea and a monumental mistake. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.