The Mike Hosking Breakfast

There seems to be increasing reportage, based around some new research, that our dream of being smokefree is up in smoke.  2025 is the year when we were aiming to be smokefree. By smokefree, it would have been reduced to 5% left smoking.  To meet that goal, the research says about 80,000 more people need to quit. They won't.    As always, the fact they haven't, or won't, is somehow the Government's fault, who haven't done enough. Or worse, this particular Government, who they say have been shocking, led by New Zealand First and Casey Costello who is a devil and in the pocket of the tobacco companies – or some such gibberish those like the Labour Party spend a lot of time trying to suggest.  Where it went wrong was twofold.  The first was the belief, and this was classic Labour under Helen Clark, that you could force people to do something they didn’t want to, and there were always going to be people who didn’t want to.  Where it worked, and we can be grateful, was in the public space part of it. No longer are you forced to inhale if you don’t want to, or smell like a smoker, or stand in a group, or be trapped by it.  But beyond that, once the hardcores were on the footpath, some were never giving up.  The second thing that went wrong was vaping, a shocking miscalculation that it was a cessation tool, when what it really was a gateway for kids. A whole new generation got easy access, and the slippery slope was never going to get stopped.  Governments could have nipped it in the bud but didn’t. They could have made vapes script only like Australia, but didn’t.  The Labour Party under Ayesha Verrall, a medical professional from the party who invented smokefree, hurled their best wet bus ticket at the vaping market. So nothing happened.  History will show they were out of the gates, Clark-style, with gusto. There was early progress on public spaces and a general change in attitude to the habit, followed by the predictable malaise and hardcore resistance, leaving us 25 years on with a change in society but well short of what was envisioned.  Good crack, failed on the follow through.  I'd give it 7 out of 10. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi Supercars driver Matt Payne has had a dream start to the season.  He’s been racing under Grove and Penrite, and has already racked up three wins for the season.  It’s had fans and former drivers raving about his prospects as a future champion and considering he’s currently sitting third on the overall ladder, he’ll be hoping it’s the very near future.   Two of his wins so far came in the same weekend, on the home track at Taupo.  “I think that was a pretty special weekend for, for all of us,” Payne told Hosking.  “Y’know, two wins in one weekend is pretty cool, and I think for me, winning at home, especially in front of the New Zealand crowd, it couldn’t have been any better.”  His other win came in Tasmania, Payne moving from his starting position in 10th to claim the victory.  “That was a pretty special race,” he said.  “Just how everything played out, as the tyres were going away, and just how close it was at the end... it definitely stayed with me for a while.”  “Pretty awesome race.”   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 5th of June, we're finally making ground when it comes to clearing the backlog in our courts. And when it comes to competition in the supermarkets, we might have good news too.  The NZR have their sponsor to replace INEOS - it's Gallagher, an insurance broker out of the US. NZR CEO Mark Robinson discusses the good news.  Kiwi Supercars driver Matt Payne has had a stellar start to the year, and joins ahead of the next race weekend in Perth.  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.

New Zealand Rugby have secured a new sponsor.  They’ve partnered with American company Gallagher Insurance, who’s logo will appear on both the training and match day shorts of all our national teams.  It comes two months after Ineos terminated their $21 million a year contract with the union.  NZR CEO Mark Robinson told Mike Hosking Gallagher’s got a deep connection with the sport, having been involved with World Rugby and the English Premiership, as well as already being involved in NZ rugby at the provincial level.  He says they’re connected to the values and ethos of the game, and they obviously feel that there’s a strong opportunity for branding, as well as business opportunities.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Commerce Commission's making moves to level the playing field in the grocery sector.   It's found the big supermarket players are shovelling in billions of dollars a year through supplier charges and promotional pricing, which largely isn't reaching consumers.   It's proposed a simplified grocery code that limits the range of payments supermarkets can charge suppliers.   Grocery Commissioner Pierre van Heerden told Mike Hosking it's about taking away all the carve-outs.   He says smaller suppliers currently have difficulty pushing back against large supermarkets because of the power imbalance.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Courts Minister is chuffed at improvements to the backlog in Auckland's criminal district courts.   The latest Government figures show a 26% reduction over the past year, with an 11% reduction nationally.  Since April 2023, the number of jury trials awaiting hearings in Auckland has dropped by 8%.   Minister Nicole McKee told Mike Hosking she's confident they're making good changes for victims and people entering the court system.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Good news for tourism operators in Milford Sound, as the Government rejects plans to ban cruise ships  More than $15 million has been invested into infrastructure and conservation upgrades in Milford Sound.  Cruise ships will also be allowed back in the area, rejecting the 2021 master plan advising against their access to the sound.  Cruise Association Chief Executive Jacqui Lloyd told Mike Hosking Milford Sound is an icon of a New Zealand itinerary by land or sea.  She says the option to lose Milford cruises would've impacted the industry in New Zealand.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parliament's picking up where it left off last month, debating proposed sanctions on three Te Pāti Māori MPs.   The Privileges Committee's suggested Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer be suspended for 21 days, and Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke for seven.  The three had performed a haka during a vote on the Treaty Principles Bill last year.   Leader of the House Chris Bishop told Mike Hosking he just wants the debate over and done with.   He says we need to deal with the issue, but it's a distraction from the need for economic growth, and he hopes it's dealt with swiftly at Parliament this afternoon.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Insurance Council's highlighting the tough balancing act facing the Government, over the Natural Hazard Commission insurance fund shortfall.   The Government is signalling a home insurance levy increase to help bolster the Commission's kitty.   Cabinet is set to decide on the changes in the coming months.   Insurance Council Chief Executive Kris Faafoi told Mike Hosking it's a tricky task when money is tight.   Faafoi says funds are necessary, as the commission provides the first payout, but increases will be tough given the current cost of living.   Levies could increase between $200 and $300 a year.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christmas came early for Tiwai Aluminium Smelter.  They get to do business. In fact, they get to do business in a country where you would have thought doing business is to be encouraged.  They have been prevented from doing all the business they can because they have a deal with their power company, Meridian, whereby they have to contain themselves if things are a bit tight in the old power department.  It is indeed a weird, old world where we revel in ideas like AI and crypto and data centres, and yet we don’t have the slightest idea where the power to make it all work is coming from.  Big tech is under pressure globally. It is claimed they have data centres running and using things like water in areas of the planet where water is scarce.  New Zealand wants to be a data centre hub, and yet we can't allow an aluminium plant to run to its capacity because it didn’t rain enough.  The good news is it has rained a bit lately so the southern lakes look solid, which means, they think, we might not be as pinched as we have been in other winters.  The idea that you aspire to run a power grid that is reliant on things you have no control over is a very modern version of insanity.  We need it to rain, we need it to blow, and we need the sun to shine. We have no control over any of these things so we convince ourselves we aren't idiots by thinking we will build options.  So if the sun isn't out, the wind will be. Or if it doesn’t blow, at least it will rain.  But when it doesn’t do any of those things, which it hasn’t, we need Tiwai and your average punter to take it easy on the cold mornings.  And that's with, right here, right now, hardly any AI, crypto not really being a thing here, and data centres at a minimum. Imagine how stuck we would be if we had actually got any of these things up and running?  Gas would help. But Labour stopped all that and our re-opening of the market is only just beginning. We really do look very 1987.  In the meantime, the coal comes in from Indonesia, defeating the entire purpose of the climate exercise of renewables.  Cart before horse, anyone?  They say it will all work out, eventually. We will have so much renewable capacity, and we will have all bases covered, apparently. Do you believe that?  Do you believe a country that makes its biggest power user limit its capacity every time winter comes around, really is a country that deals successfully in big picture thinking? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.