The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Today on Politics Wednesday, Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen joined Mike Hosking to discuss the biggest topics of the week so far.  They discussed the shoplifting directive issued to Police – will officers still be attending retail crime incidents if the value of the theft is less than $500?   And why is Labour against the use of private hospitals to lower the public surgery backlog?  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 28th of May, what will Christian Hawkesby and the Reserve Bank do today? We look ahead to this afternoon's announcement and, perhaps more importantly, the forecasts for the rest of the year.  Do we need to do something about this 'Run It Straight' game now that someone has died? Or is that leaning too much into being a nanny state?  Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell discuss the police directive regarding shoplifting and why Labour seems to be against private hospitals easing the public surgery backlog on Politics Wednesday.   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 Trade Minister says New Zealand's hustling on the world stage, looking for every opportunity.   KPMG's latest Agribusiness Agenda suggests New Zealand can't rely on our usual global customers and needs to look for new markets.   Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says this is a priority, with free trade negotiations in full force with India   He told Mike Hosking we also have to keep growing the value of our exports, something our primary sector's already seeing success with.   McClay says there's growth across the board because our farmers produce the highest quality and safest food.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's changes happening in the construction sector.  Construction Minister Chris Penk is launching the country's first fully independent residential building consent authority - with approval subject to certain conditions being met. The privately-owned company, supported by the government, promises to issue building consents within 10 working days for eligible residential projects.  Penk told Mike Hosking it's another option alongside local councils.  He says initially it will be too small to take on all the work council does, but it might be able to scale up depending on what the appetite is.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Access to the Port of Auckland is going to get more expensive for truck drivers.  Peak access charges for trucks entering the Fergusson Container Terminal will increase from $130 to $180 in January.   It will be followed by a further increase to $230, six months later.    Port of Auckland CEO Roger Gray told Mike Hosking they've given transport operators plenty of notice.  He says one of them happens in seven months and the other in 13 months, taking the port in the right direction.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BNZ's the latest bank to drop its home loan rates, anticipating a change to the Official Cash Rate this afternoon.   The Reserve Bank's expected to cut the OCR 25 basis point to 3.25%.  Already BNZ's cut its fixed rates to as low as 4.89%, and its standard variable rate to 6.44%.   BNZ chief economist Mike Jones told Mike Hosking today's decision should indicate the Reserve Bank's general direction, but it probably won't reveal anything too specific.   He says that seems to be the playbook offshore, allowing it to take its time and assess the lay of the land at the next meeting.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a belief official 'Run it Straight' events are trying to mitigate head injuries, but has risk written all over it.  Ryan Satterthwaite —a 19-year-old— has died after suffering a serious injury during a private version of the aggressive tackling game in Palmerston North on Sunday.  A championship league final has been blocked from Auckland's Trusts Arena.  Former Kiwis captain Richie Barnett told Mike Hosking the official events are a controlled environment, but heads can end up in the wrong space.  He says it's still impact, which is the problem, as you don't need to have a concussion to have a brain bleed.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A day of celebrations has turned violent in the UK after a car collided with pedestrians at Liverpool Football Club's victory parade.  Authorities say a 53-year-old white British man has been arrested and the area has been evacuated.  47 people were injured – 27 were taken to hospital, two with serious injuries, and 20 treated on scene.  UK Correspondent Rod Liddle told Mike Hosking it doesn’t appear to be connected to terrorism at this stage.  He says the motives are a complete mystery.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pressure is on the new Reserve Bank fill-in Governor tomorrow.  Although given it’s a committee, in theory he is more of a messenger.  It's reported that we have increased calls for a 50 basis point cut.  Why? Because things aren't flash.  If you read business results in the current reporting season, a lot of commentary tells us the recovery is underway. Things are looking better.  We can certainly see that, for example, with retail spending. The numbers produced just last Friday for the opening quarter of the year are up, and in some parts of the sector they're up quite a bit.  We have seen manufacturing expanding for several months in a row now.  So those are the fact-based statistics. The other measures, like confidence, have dropped. We see people in the doldrums.  But that is a vibe.  Can you find people who are in the doldrums? Of course you can. But does a vibe lead to a lack of action or a lack of spend? Or do we say one thing and do another?  We also read a lot about this “uncertainty”. The uncertainty is of course Donald Trump, because Trump is increasingly seen as insane.  It may well all end in tears, threatening tariffs on Europe one day then delaying it all until July the next.  Against this, the Reserve Bank Governor has to work out whether to drop the OCR by 25 or 50 basis points. If it's 50, does that gee us all up and out we go and fire things up? If so, then next thing you know inflation is sparked up.  Does he go 25 and hint at another 25, and may even another 25?  What does he say about inflation and its uptick already, not just here but globally? Do we have the growth to support any such uptick? Is the uptick driven by actual activity, or still people just putting their prices up?  As someone said, who on Earth would want to be Reserve Bank Governor? And our one isn't even under the constant threat of being fired.  Thank the good Lord that we indisputably have an export-led recovery of sorts. Meat and wine and kiwifruit are doing the business.  But that’s over there, over here we are still in a funk.  So, what to do? Your move Christian.  No pressure then.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A common deficiency could be holding you back.  Iron is the most common nutritional deficiency, both globally and in New Zealand, and it plays a role in everything from energy to brain function and development, thyroid function, and anxiety prevention.  Dr Libby Weaver is biochemist, nutritionist, and author, and her latest book ‘Fix Iron First’ delves into the role of iron in the body, and how a deficiency could be impacting your life.  She joined Mike Hosking to discuss her research.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.