This country needs fewer people like them and more people wanting to get on with it, get ahead, dream big, be bold, work harder and generally look at life in a more upbeat way. 

The latest problem for the union is they want facilitated bargaining. I bet they do. 

Unlike just about everyone else union based who has signed a deal, the primary teachers lot think they are so special and so different that the fact they can't reach a deal like everyone else must be someone else's fault. 

My line, and it's always been this way, is have a structure, a couple of cracks, a bit of back and forward, a best and final offer and then if you can't agree go to compulsory arbitration. Not facilitated. Make it compulsory. 

You argue your case, the decision is made and that's the end of that. 

These cases we have seen of late all go on for literally months, and all end up literally the same. In the recent cases everyone has got about 2% this year and 2% next. That is not a result that required that amount of angst and anger and walk outs and placards and TV news stories with moaning unionists talking about unfairness and shortages. 

What the unions have never quite gripped is social licence. 

The broad idea of unions representing the most vulnerable of workers is not a bad one. 

But like so many of these things, it's turned into an industry where hundreds of people on large salaries rely on division and upset to have a job. 

Happy workers do not make happy unionists and teachers especially are not vulnerable. Cleaners are vulnerable. Teachers are largely on six figure salaries. 

On a bang for buck basis unions don’t pull their weight. They are not worth it. Stalling is not a productive tactic, and placards are last centuries technique. 

Compulsory arbitration – I dare them to give it a go. It's short, it's sharp, it ticks a box and we can all move on. 

But why would you want to solve an issue quickly when your very existence relies on the opposite? 

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The war: 6/10 

As much as you want to give a war a number, this is not World War III, it is not going to last four years. It most likely won't last four weeks. 

Helen Clark: 2/10 

Everything that is wrong with ideological jibber-jabber. From Hipkins to Starmer to Clark, their theory is less relevant in this modern chaotic world than ever. 

Dairy: 9/10 

Honestly, is it now close to being ridiculous? Five auctions from five. The protein surge is real and we are making bank. 

Bill “I saw nothing” Clinton: 4/10 

Overshadowed by his wife who looks as feisty as ever and, all things considered, came out of it pretty well – almost as though they were called as a political stunt. 

Dave Rennie: 7/10 

Got there at last. How low-key was that? Is it possible we just aren't as invested as we once were in All Black rugby? 

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Ambrose Evans-Pritchard makes a very compelling case that this thing is over in four weeks because that’s about when the petrol reserves in America get drained. The Strait is closed, no LNG is getting through, Trump cannot tolerate $100 a barrel and so he will capitulate. 

China can hold out. The Iranians, if they have kept a bunch of attack drones back, can hold out too, then go for some fuel sites in Arab states. You see his theory? It's not to be dismissed. 

But that’s not the only scenario. Bluster aside, and there is plenty of that from the White House, it does seem, as far as these things go, to be going well. 

The navy is gone, commercial planes are slowly flying again, Israel seems devastatingly effective in Lebanon, and the Kurds are in place with CIA-supplied weaponry, ready to jump the border. 

Whether the people rise up, when that happens, I have no idea, which could lead you to believe that what we end up with is not a complete transition but more a half-baked mess with vacuums and disorder. But a country that looks radically different to what it looked like a year ago, and with a decimated ability to be a nuclear threat, could be sold by Trump as a win. 

Of course, the people could rise, alongside the Kurds, storm the barracks, get the Shah's son ensconced and it's what, loosely, you would call a complete victory, which would be historic if you’ve followed the story of American interventionism. 

The cold, hard truth though is Trump in election year cannot afford to lose. So as make-shift and spontaneous as this may appear to some, he is not an idiot and never underestimate his passion for self-preservation.  

It's why, by the way, for those who worry, Russia and China are nowhere to be seen for their Iranian friends. 

Self-interest is the greatest weapon and motivator of all. 

If this works though, as in the Iranian regime we have known with its killing and evil is wiped off the face of the Earth, then everyone from Macron to Starmer to Clark to Hipkins will be working hard to explain why sitting around for decades gasbagging about how unacceptable it is and yet achieving nothing, is somehow a more effective strategy than actually taking the problem and solving it. 

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He's told Axios that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son is a lightweight and unacceptable to him.  

Meanwhile, the death toll in Iran has risen to 1200, multiple Gulf countries are continuing to intercept missiles, and in Azerbaijan, an airport and a school were hit by Iranian drones. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that Iran is firing fewer drones and missiles as the US and Israeli forces expand their control of the air and sea. 

He says the Pentagon says they’re finding and destroying Iran’s mobile missile launchers. 

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Recent numbers show farmers’ markets around the country now support over a thousand food producers – attracting more than 50 thousand shoppers every week. 

Tony Cato, owner of Pirongia Mountain Vegetables, told Mike Hosking that the industry’s been doing nothing but growing. 

They’ve been in the markets for nearly twenty years, he says, and especially after Covid they’ve seen an increase in customers wanting to know exactly where their food comes from.  

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Could New Zealand become a powerhouse when it comes to medicinal cannabis? David Seymour thinks so. 

Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson go down memory lane as they Wrap the Week. Well, Mike and Tim do anyway. 

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They discussed the Warriors’ upcoming clash against the Roosters, those stuck in the Middle East, and took a trip down memory lane. 

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The Ministry of Social Development is pairing with the Chambers of Commerce to form ChamberWorks, in hopes of plugging a gap in the market. 

Data from December shows over 223 thousand people on the benefit, and the programme intends to connect employers with pre-screened, work-ready candidates.  

Auckland Business Chamber CEO Simon Bridges told Mike Hosking many unemployed people are fairly recently out of work, are highly skilled and experienced, and absolutely ready to get back into the workforce.   

He says the connections the Chambers of Commerce have puts them in a good position to be the glue between MSD and businesses seeking good employees.  

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Worldline NZ’s payments network shows spending reached more than $3.6 billion, up 2.2% on February last year. 

The Auckland and Northland regions saw a lift of 2.8% year on year – the most growth the area has seen in a single month in nearly two years. 

Infometrics Principal Economist Nick Brunsdon told Mike Hosking consumer confidence is continuing to grow. 

He says December saw a 4.9% in retail trade, so it's all pointing in the same direction. 

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The ACT Leader's looking at further improvements to speed up processing for exports of the plant, which he believes could one day rival the wine industry.  

He's open to improving regulation domestically as well. 

David Seymour told Mike Hosking they want to simplify the process it takes to get a licence. 

He says regardless of what people might think of the plant, there's a market for it, it's worth several hundred million dollars to the economy, and creates jobs.  

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Auckland's hosting a plethora of events, as the Warriors take on the Roosters today, the Blues face the Crusaders tomorrow, and Round the Bays kicks off Sunday. 

The city's newest golf tournament will also run across the weekend. 

New Zealand Events Association General Manager Elaine Linnell told Mike Hosking they’ll be able to see and feel the financial impact of the weekend after the fact. 

She says with events like this, hotels are full, restaurants are booked – it's busy, and it flows through every part of the city.  

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A Select Committee endorses a social media ban for under 16s and calls for an online regulator and tougher controls on harmful apps and algorithms. 

National's lead MP on the committee, Carl Bates, says some recommendations mirror moves overseas, while others are unique to New Zealand. 

He told Mike Hosking transparency around algorithms hasn't been done elsewhere. 

Bates says the committee recommends the Government explore it before putting any measures in place. 

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The Prime Minister dug himself a hole over Iran. 

Barbara Edmonds dug herself a hole in the NZ Herald. 

As far as holes go, I regard the Luxon hole as slightly less problematic, given the war is not in our direct purview and there is nothing we can do about it. 

But it does display the ongoing issue the Prime Minister appears to have with many New Zealanders: he doesn’t look like he is confident and he doesn’t tell it like it is. 

In a world where people who tell it like it is generally succeed, he is still playing 'Mr Nice Guy' and getting trapped by a media pack who love the smell of blood. 

Edmonds is a real worry. She too, is nice. So nice, she told us quite openly getting a surplus isn't happening anytime soon and she doesn’t have a clue how to pay for the most expensive promise they have made – restoring pay equity. 

You can argue around the dual mandate for the Reserve Bank but that’s wonk's territory. Dollars and cents are real and it's our back pocket that is affected. 

A sad outworking of MMP is we have an increasing number of inexperienced players in the game of running the joint. 

Luxon knows business, which ties into the economy, which is why things are starting to turn for us. This Government has done a decent job on it. 

He is an amateur on foreign policy. You only had to listen to Winston Peters yesterday on this show to know that people who have been there, done that, have seen the world change therefore, can explain it. 

And Winston doesn’t take crap from juniors, which is what too much of the Press Gallery is made up of. The nuance and sophistication of reporting is largely gone and replaced by clickbaiters and Luxon, being too nice a guy and too inexperienced in certain areas, walks right into it. 

Barbara on the other hand is entitled to her views. But this is why Labour won't win the election. She has clearly learned nothing from watching Grant Robertson butcher the place and because that was only three years ago the memories of the voters are still sharp. 

So in a guns at dawn, Luxon wins because foreign policy jibber-jabber isn't as serious as economic sabotage and incompetence. 

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US President Donald Trump yesterday described the UK's war effort as disappointing and Starmer was 'no Winston Churchill'. 

US and Israeli forces have bombed more than 2000 targets and killed close to 800 people in Iran since first launching attacks on Saturday. 

UK Correspondent Rod Liddle told Mike Hosking it’s difficult for Starmer because this is the one area where he was successful in treading the line between keeping Trump on side and staying sane, and that’s now gone. 

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NZ Rugby Chair David Kirk pops into studio after Dave Rennie was named as the new All Blacks coach. 

Warriors Coach Andrew Webster explains why it's our year as we kick off our NRL season against the Roosters Friday night. 

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The Government's intelligence agencies have told a Parliamentary Select Committee the attack helped to feed extremist views. 

Fifteen people were fatally shot in the December attack on a Jewish celebration in Australia's Sydney, with others wounded. 

NZSIS Director-General Andrew Hampton says anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are diseases. 

He told Mike Hosking they’re seeing increased polarisation in society across the board – lots of ‘us and them’ narratives and people with a sense of grievance. 

Hampton says those people look online for others who may share that view, and the risk is that grievance can move to viewing violence as the answer pretty quickly. 

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They start their campaign tomorrow against the Sydney Roosters at Mount Smart without co-captain Mitch Barnett and halfback Luke Metcalf, as both are returning from knee injuries. 

Webster told Mike Hosking that last year's opening match serves as a reminder of over evaluating a pre-season. 

He says they’re comfortable where they are, but until you get punched in the face round one, you don’t really know where you’re at. 

The Warriors finished sixth last year, exiting in the first round of the finals to Penrith. 

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Westpac modelling shows if it was to stay closed for a month, it would put inflation over 4% and knock half a percent off GDP. 

Senior Economist Kelly Eckhold told Mike Hosking we're much more vulnerable than Australia when it comes to energy.  

He says we only have a few weeks of key petroleum products sitting in the tanks, and after that we’re relying on boats turning up to meet our needs. 

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Their union —the NZEI— has turned to the Employment Relations Authority after three days of talks failed to resolve disputes over cost-of-living increases and recognition for major curriculum changes. 

The union's rejected three offers, with teachers missing out on around $50 extra per week since January. 

Sir Brian Roche told Mike Hosking it's disappointing teachers don't know the details of each offer. 

He says the last time teachers were asked was in December, and he doesn't know what the percentage of the vote was. 

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New trade figures show exports surged to $29.2 billion dollars in the December quarter – up $2.2 billion on a year earlier. 

Two-way trade also leapt to just over $61 billion. 

Business NZ CEO Katherine Rich told Mike Hosking the country produces enough food to feed around 50 million people. 

She says these products need to be sold for the highest value possible, which is what we're seeing for meat. 

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Dave Rennie is succeeding Scott Robertson in the role, beating out the other top contender, Jamie Joseph.

Rennie's first test at the helm will be in the July series against France, Italy, and Ireland, but his assistants have still yet to be named.

NZ Rugby Chair David Kirk told Mike Hosking that the panel spent hours discussing the merits of the two candidates, and were very rigorous and analytical in discussing their strengths and relative weaknesses. 

He says they concluded quite firmly and certainly unanimously that Rennie was the person they wanted to appoint.  

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He has made a twofold mistake. 

Mistake number one is being a Labour MP obsessed with esoteric, wonky subjects like United Nations treaties and charters. 

The second mistake is being obsessed with making a global issue all about New Zealand, when in reality we have nothing to do with it. 

The Prime Minister has kind of got trapped by it as well. The reality is the attack on Iran will affect us all, whether through petrol prices or possibly some inflationary issues and our ability to travel to Europe through Dubai. 

Outside of that it is not our war, we did not start it, we are not participating in it, and we are a world away from it. 

The Prime Minister and the Government can answer questions, as far as anyone can answer questions, on what it might mean for our economy, or our travel, or our petrol bill. 

But what they can't do, and yet are being asked to do, is explain why the Americans did what they did and how that may or may not tie into the United Nations and various charters. 

Luxon got bogged down in the legalities of it on Monday and walked back some of his comments about all actions to eliminate a regime being good actions. 

But then Hipkins started banging on about the UN as though New Zealand is the boss of the UN, New Zealand was exclusively given details of the material the United States acted on and has insight that no other country has as to whether there is a so-called "imminent threat". 

Labour, Hipkins, and the media do this every time. They try and place New Zealand, a tiny, insignificant country at the bottom of the world, into the centre of all global action as though we somehow affect it, can change it, explain it, participate in it or stop it. 

Esoteric international law is of little interest to most of us on a daily basis. Arguing over United Nation's charters is the stuff of chardonnay and Thorndon and people far removed from regular New Zealander's lives and thought patterns. 

It’s a dumb game trying to trap a government into saying random stuff in the hope they get a headline, or an apology, or a scalp. 

This has nothing to do with us. Like the weather, it will affect us, but we don’t drive it, influence it, or even know a lot about it. 

Also, for what it's worth, by arguing the way Labour does they are hopelessly out of step with your average New Zealander who I suspect, if you asked the simple question "is getting rid of the crazies in Iran a good idea", the answer would be yes. 

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He's spoken from the White House alongside the German Chancellor who is visiting.  

New strikes have been targeting Iranian leadership after claims the first wave killed 48 of its highest ranking officials, including the Supreme Leader.  

Trump says Iran now has no navy, air force, or air detection. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking Trump has yet to make a formal statement to the American people, or the rest of the world, about what’s happening. 

But, he says, the US President continues to indicate this could go on for weeks. 

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Things could deteriorate faster for the airline amid instability in the Middle East.  

Morningstar Research is now forecasting a $125 million pre-tax loss this year following a $59 million loss in the first half of the year. 

Forsyth Barr Head of Research Andy Bowley told Mike Hosking there’s little disagreement that the second half of the year will be similar or worse, the concerning aspect is how bad it could be. 

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Plus, they discuss the Government's books and Labour's pledge to restore the pay equity scheme. 

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Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters speaks on meeting Javier Milei in Argentina and his thoughts on the situation in Iran and criticism from Helen Clark and Phil Goff. 

Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen talk about Kiwis stuck in the Middle East and balancing the books on Politics Wednesday. 

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Sydney’s Kyle and Jackie O Show has collapsed after Kyle Sandilands reamed out his co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson in a seven-minute-long exchange she later described as an attack. 

It led to the program being taken off-air and Henderson quitting the show, and a 14-day suspension and potential contract termination for Sandilands. 

Australia Correspondent Steve Price told Mike Hosking the company is probably going to be very happy they can get out of the $200 million contract. 

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Gill's leaving after 18 years in the role to take up a newly created position at the Baltimore franchise. 

He told Mike Hosking that while his work will largely be the same, he'll operate in a money-is-no-obstacle environment. 

Gill says the facilities are ridiculous and mindblowing – they have everything one could need, and not just one of them, they have ten.  

He has told the Herald he wanted to announce his job change before the new All Blacks coach is appointed, but is willing to help NZR find a successor. 

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Harvesting has begun in most of the country's hotspots, with Northland kicking off the season in late January.  

It's the earliest harvest yet as the industry adapts to changing weather patterns.  

New Zealand Winegrowers Chief Executive Philip Gregan it is early, but it’s a continuation of a trend they’ve seen in recent years.  

He says there’s research currently under way to ensure the vines they use will continue to produce grapes with the same great flavours in a world with an earlier harvest. 

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He told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking this morning that “serious international legal experts” should decide whether their actions were legal - not people who were “not qualified”, including former PM Helen Clark, who has called New Zealand's response "a disgrace". 

“The rule of law on the streets of Auckland is the same as the rule of law internationally. To make it stand, somebody has to enforce it,” Peters said. 

“Some countries are kicking back and saying no, we are dealing with a bunch of religious fanatics and they cannot be trusted.” 

Peters denied he was backing America whether or not the country’s actions were legal. 

“[Iran] have been financing proxies all around the world, even as far as Australia, in major terrorist activities. They've been doing it for decades. 

"But all of a sudden now you've got a sort of a concertina of concern where some countries are saying enough, we are going to stop you right here, right now. 

“And then all of a sudden all those geostrategic experts in history and what have you in foreign affairs are saying, oh, we should have the rule of law,” he said. 

“Well, my point is you're not looking at the same circumstances now. It's not a matter of backing anybody or opposing anyone. We are facing new circumstances…and we have to look at them with new eyes.” 

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Stats NZ says it shows tourism spending in New Zealand has hit $46.6 billion, up 3.3% on last year. 

International visitors spent $18.1 billion – a 7% jump. 

Tourism Industry Aotearoa CEO Rebecca Ingram told Mike Hosking this set of data runs until March 2025, and there’s been a tremendous amount of effort invested since then. 

She says they’re anticipating that the data they get next year will be even better. 

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The authority will introduce a set of new rules from October 30th which will force power companies to tell customers if they're on the best plan they provide.  

Power company Electric Kiwi's Chief Executive Huia Burt told Mike Hosking that won't be enough for most. 

She supports customers having more information but says they will need to compare plans from different providers to get the best deal.  

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The allied health workers have signed off their deal. That’s 12,000 physios, social workers, etc. There was more work to do, she said. 

I bet there is. Unions are dreadful things and they're full of people who are full of hate and misery. 

The health workers got about 2.5% this year and a bit over 2% next year. 

The principals got something similar and the secondary teachers got the same thing. The primary teachers are holdouts, but that’s over the Treaty. Money wise they appear to have been offered what everyone else has. 

In other words, all the angst and upset, hot air, back and forward, the strike, the stop-works and the waving of placards on picket lines has resulted in, pretty much, the same for everyone – two point something percent this year and a bit less next year. 

Months and months and months' worth of aggro for the same result. 

What is the point in that? 

At all times the state had no money. We are in debt. When you have a collective that covers thousands, the offer will always be affected by the scale of the outcome. 

Sir Brian Roche would appear to be the unsung hero, quietly and patiently beavering away with a bunch of myopic ideologues who believe that threats and withdrawals of labour is a good way to do business. 

If one of them had got 8%, if one of them had been able to point to a material gain by their seemingly never-ending barrage of industrial action, they may have had a point. 

But they can't. In a nutshell, they got pretty much what they got offered. 

The state were never looking to rip anyone off. Good people and good order is a valuable asset in the public service. But in a country with no money you can't magic up riches. 

So all that union apparatus for what? All those fees for what? All those days off for what? 

2% this year and 2% next year for everyone. How much time, energy and noise could have been saved if the approach was less adversarial and more adult? 

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It will also significantly intensify nuclear weapons cooperation with eight European allies, French President Emmanuel Macron announced. 

He says the “period of geopolitical upheaval” means France, the EU’s only nuclear power, must strengthen its deterrent in the face of multiple threats. 

France Correspondent Catherine Field told Mike Hosking that in the past, France maintained a policy of “strict sufficiency” for its nuclear warheads, but that policy has been removed. 

She says they’re not sure how many warheads will be in the supply, as the details have been light. 

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Marlborough’s Wairau River 2025 Sauvignon Blanc has made the World’s Best Sommeliers’ Selection for 2026 – chosen by top sommeliers from 17 countries across six continents.  

It’s the only Australasian wine to make the list.  

Rose Family Estate CEO Lindsay Parkinson told Mike Hosking this award is all about balance, and some sommeliers have very specific requirements, so they’re chuffed to meet those.  

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A New Zealand wine company is the only Australasian brand named in the World’s Best Sommelier Selection for 2026. 

And Liam Lawson joins the show ahead of the first race of the season this weekend and his second full season in Formula 1.   

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Some of Iran's retaliatory strikes have been targeted at key energy infrastructure in the region, including an oil refinery and natural gas plant.  

The Iranian Red Crescent says at least 555 people have been killed in attacks on the nation. 

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under the Obama Administration, Joel Rubin told Mike Hosking that while Trump had a plan for the first days of the strike, there’s not much of a plan beyond that.  

He says there’s aspirational goals, such as the people of Iran rising up, but Trump hasn’t explained exactly how that will be implemented. 

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Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson is not having “fun” in his new car, but is excited to see what the new Formula One season brings. 

Melbourne hosts the first Grand Prix of the year this weekend, and the Kiwi driver had some productive practice sessions ahead of his second full season in the competition but is still getting to grips with his car. 

Speaking on Mike Hosking Breakfast, Lawson said his new car is not “super fun” to drive yet. 

“In some ways the car moves around quite a bit more and it depends on how you look at it - that can be more enjoyable. 

“But obviously we’re trying to extract every bit of lap time out of the car and in some ways it feels like you can’t attack as much as you could in the past when you had a lot more downforce.” 

The cars have become smaller and lighter in an attempt to enable improved racing. 

Racing Bulls' 2026 Formula One car in pre-season testing. Photo / AFP 

“They do feel a little bit smaller,” Lawson said, “a little bit more playful to drive. 

“But I think the main reason for that is just because we have a significant amount of aero taken off the car. 

“When you have a car that’s extremely high downforce, it’s designed to push through the air in a straight line. As soon as you start sliding the car, you lose a lot of that downforce because you start to hit the air on an angle with your yaw and it basically upsets the car massively.” 

The Kiwi driver said his team was surprised at how good the power units have been, but felt engine reliability is going to play a big factor with some teams struggling at the start of the season. 

Liam Lawson for Racing Bulls in Formula One's pre-season testing. Photo / Red Bull 

When asked about his own chances, Lawson felt he had learned a lot from last year and felt it was important he was able to “survive” it. 

“I’m grateful to have done that and feel a lot better going into this year, but just because of new cars and new regulations it sort of throws a whole new thing in there that is quite unknown.” 

Despite the issues with the cars, Lawson said he was looking forward to the new season starting. 

“On a personal level, I feel very comfortable and excited for the season, but, in a lot of ways obviously with these new cars, there’s a lot of unknowns.” 

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Thousands of Kiwi containers are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, with more than $3 billion worth of goods headed for the Gulf each year. 

Trade and Associate Foreign Minister Todd McClay says New Zealand would only look to alternative markets if the conflict drags on. 

He told Mike Hosking it's interesting US stock markets haven’t reacted significantly, which shows they've likely factored something like this in. 

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The system was introduced in August 2024 and uses traffic light colours to help beneficiaries stay on track with their obligations. 

An evaluation has found nearly 99% of Ministry of Social Development clients are fulfilling their obligations, and the number of sanctions issued has dropped 10.6%. 

Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston told Mike Hosking 83 thousand people have left the benefit into work. 

She says people are more clear of the expectations, and the consequences if they aren't filled. 

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The latest Centrix data shows the number of people behind on their payments in January was 491 thousand. 

That was up 20 thousand from December, largely expected due to seasonal trends. 

But Chief Operating Officer Monika Lacey told Mike Hosking that despite the seasonal increase, arrears are still down on last year by almost 1%. 

She says overall, Kiwis are managing their money quite well. 

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The Prime Minister is in and gives his thoughts on the legalities of the strike, airport charges the highest in the world at Auckland and the Air NZ result.

Andrew Saville and Jason Pine talk the NZ Open, the first race of the Indycar season and whether it's the Warriors year as they have their first game this weekend.

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The report actually uses the word "hardship".

Kids in hardship, roughly, is flat. About 14% of kids allegedly live in some form of hardship.

Hardship is often replaced with the word poverty. They are different things and, also, the measure of hardship is open to real inquiry.

The stats department interviewed 18,000 families and "hardship" is a house that goes without 7 of 18 necessities e.g paying the power bill on time, feeling cold etc.

Now, without getting too picky, a seven-year-old who lives in a house who's power bill is overdue has nothing to do with hardship, unless the power is cut off, which mainly it is not.

i watched a press conference last week with the Prime Minister and police and justice ministers on crime and the poverty question came up. You note the word they used was "poverty", not hardship.

The question, inferred as they so often do, was what the Government were going to do about it.

The answer was one of only three;

1) Is a Labour view, which is hand out more money,

2) A current Government view, which is grow the economy,

3) The answer that is rarely used - get the parents to pull their finger out.

My read of these stats is that given the number is steady at 14%, you are essentially dealing with the same people, many of whom are hopeless.

Under Ardern her personal project was to reduce child poverty. It didn’t happen. Under this Government it hasn’t either. So approaches one and two haven't worked.

There are rightly or wrongly (obviously wrongly) a group of people who struggle. Their circumstances will be little different to many who have it tough as well, but get by. They have kids that aren't in hardship but face the same fiscal issues.

It will be benefit related. It will be about decisions, about priorities, what bill gets paid first, how far down the food chain, literally and figuratively, are the kids.

Within the same fiscal envelope, some kids are fine and some will be a statistic.

That, sadly, is not the Government's real problem. Government's can only do so much. Sometimes parents might have to do a bit more and be a bit better.

The child, as always, is innocent. You don’t choose to be born to some of the parents who masquerade as parents.

But these stats tell a sad truth. I don’t think there is an answer.

Whether its 14% or 15% or 11%, there are no miracles.

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NZ Open Tournament Director Michael Glading says that the Government gets a return on it's investment, and that the NZ Golf Open is one of their top earners. 

'Certainly right up there in terms of return for dollar spent, and the money that flows into this event is phenomenal.'

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Christopher Luxon told Mike Hosking that it's a regime which has brutally repressed it's own people, killed tens of thousands, and sponsored terrorism around the world. 

He also said that the missile strikes were 'independent attacks' from the US and Israel, and that New Zealand was not informed of the attacks before they happened. 

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20% of the world's crude oil travels through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has threatened to close and it has already heavily restricted access to the region. 

AA Principal Policy Adviser Terry Collins told Mike Hosking that prices hinge on the ability to move oil through the Strait, but that won't be an easy task.

"it's easy to target vessels within it, and it's what the response will be from the Americans around protecting those vehicles"

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Coordinated strikes have killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and multiple senior officials, resulting in Iran launching counter strikes across the Middle East. 

Iran officials say almost 150 people have been killed from a strike on a girls school. 

The Iranian President has appeared on state television claiming its armed forces are crushing enemy bases. 

The Economist's Middle East Correspondent Gregg Carlstrom told Mike Hosking that this is not true. 

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Farm workers, rural teachers, police and defence personnel can now use KiwiSaver to buy their first home, or even a farm, due to the Government lifting a long-standing restriction.

Previously, these workers were blocked because their jobs required living in employer-provided housing.

Federated Farmers' Dairy Chair Karl Dean told Mike Hosking that there's about 50,000 farms nationwide, most with just one or two staff living onsite.

He expects 10 to 20% to take this option.

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New Zealand: 8/10 

It really has been quite the week. From the dairy to the spending, the turnaround, without question, is real. The confidence is up and the roll could be close to being on. 

Kiwifruit: 9/10 

The forecast and plan released this week is a good example of how you think big when you are bullish. 

Mitch Barnett: 4/10 

We wish him well, obviously, but the geography of the Warriors cannot be escaped. And we get a swap. And more importantly, this is our year. 

Air New Zealand: 3/10 

In an industry awash with profit, they still can't find one. 

Cash: 7/10 

The banks are, rightly or wrongly, out of step with this one. We like cash. We may not use it all that often, but enough do. Reserve bank - 1. Retail banks - 0. 

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In a week of company reports, the vast majority contained good news. Air New Zealand was a glaring exception. 

A national airline losing money in an industry that is booming doesn’t make sense. 

They have engine issues – that is real and it's not over. 

They have eight grounded planes and planes that don’t fly don’t make money. 

They have issues getting planes, but that has been applicable to everyone. 

So it's a perfect storm of sorts. But if you read the report the engine compensation was $55 million, but the bottom line would have been $90 million if the engines were on the plane. 

But add $90 million to the loss and you still aren't making a lot of profit. 

They blame domestic demand, or lack of it. 

They blame increased charges and they are real. The cost-plus-accounting of landing charges and so on is not only material, but criminal, and the Government as a main shareholder needs to do more. 

Then enter David Seymour in election year who says we should sell the thing. "Go woke, go broke" and "they are too politically motivated," says Seymour. 

Seymour is wrong. We need a national airline. Just imagine the sale to a private operator and the thing tanks. A country needs an air network and Jetstar isn't it. The Government has saved Air New Zealand before, they could do it again as a country with no airline is not a country. 

But that doesn’t mean Seymour is completely wrong; Air New Zealand is woke and it does have reputational issues. 

It has focused on uniforms and departure videos to a degree that is laughable. The great airlines like Emirates, Singapore, and Qatar have ordinary uniforms and ordinary videos, but world class product and a shedload of profit. That is where Air New Zealand is badly missing. 

Too often they charge first-world prices for budget services and domestically the services are not reliable enough. 

There is a line between their genuine issues and their brand issues. They do have problems, but they also don’t look like all they could be and haven't for years. 

Some of it is a small country with a small population. Some of it is too much purple and too much PR around Cassava crisps and $800 flights to small towns. 

The CEO has a hell of a job. The turnaround, they say, is coming. 

If you read this week's report, I don’t see it yet. 

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A third round of indirect talks has just concluded in Geneva, with further discussions to take place in Vienna next week.  

The pressure's on Iran, with the US deploying its biggest military build-up to the Middle East in decades. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking the debate about whether an attack is viable is spilling out into the public now. 

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Air NZ CEO Nikhil Ravishankar discusses their half-year financial loss in a world of airlines making huge profits. 

And Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson talk speeding tickets by the kids and Sam's final bill for the dinner at Cibo as they Wrap the Week. 

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They discussed children and speeding tickets, and the final bill from Producer Sam’s dinner at Cibo. 

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45 thousand punters are expected to attend each day of the Hagley Park event, with a further two thousand working on site. 

Last year's festival produced $10.5 million in visitor spending. 

Managing Director Callam Mitchell told Mike Hosking about 45% of their attendees travel from outside of Christchurch, so the $10 million includes things like accommodation, bar spend, and retail in the city.  

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ASB's latest survey shows confidence has lifted sharply this quarter, with respondents who expect house prices to rise over the next year jumping from 17% to 30%. 

Chief Economist Nick Tuffley says it's a buyer's market and advises caution when it comes to banking on strengthening house prices. 

But he told Mike Hosking the affordability factor is quite good currently, with plenty of supply, reasonably stable prices, and debt servicing rates from banks remaining very low. 

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The national airline's announced a $40 million half-year loss. 

The new Chief Executive says airlines are a cyclical business, and New Zealand is disproportionately exposed to local inflation.  

Nikhil Ravishankar told Mike Hosking some of the other airlines making more money are the ones that have recently gone through a downturn. 

He says it's partly nature of the business, but there are also things we're exposed to locally that some of our competitors aren't. 

They’ve also been struggling with aircraft being grounded due to global engine issues, a slower than expected recovery, and rising costs. 

Ravishankar told Hosking he took on a business grappling with a post-Covid rebuild. 

He says up until now, they've been playing not to lose, but now they're building a business that can play to win.  

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Data from the latest Crime and Victims Survey shows there were 49 thousand fewer victims of violent crime in the year to last October, compared to the two previous years. 

It's reduced to 136 thousand.  

Paul Goldsmith told Mike Hosking that number is still too high.  

He says the obvious place to start reducing it is with locking up the people who create multiple victims. 

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Labour argues homelessness is up dramatically and there is nowhere for these people to go. 

New numbers released today show that simply, in Auckland anyway, is not true. 

Advocates working in the area tell us numbers are down 29%. 

Part of that drop is due to Government funding in October of last year to improve outreach, as well as the provision of 207 housing places in the Housing First programme. 

So, like a lot of other issues being raised as being disasters, the truth tells a different story. 

As I have said, Labour is going to lose the election anyway. But their growing problem is reality is smashing directly into their ideology. 

Their plan to this point, and it was reflected well in the Hipkins so-called "State of the Nation" speech, is to tell you everything is a mess, it's all broken, it's all been cocked up and is going backwards. 

The theory is if they set the mood right what they have to offer doesn’t need to be a thing, hence they have no policies outside their capital gains tax. 

You're in a funk and you vote the Government out because they have convinced you life sucks. 

Except the evidence that it isn't, is starting to arrive, and in some volume. 

Growth is up, spending is up, confidence is up, performance in schools is up, kids are actually turning up to school, large industrial relations deals are being signed so strikes are off, crime is down, and now homelessness is down as well. 

By November employment will have turned and the picture, broadly, will be complete. 

It's hard to compete against good economic news and it's hard to compete against positive social news like the homelessness stats. 

And it's really hard, and this is where Labour and the Greens are blowing it, against the wider will and view of the populous. 

On move-on orders, like the gang patches and like the ram raids, crack downs are popular. 

Defending crooks and drug addicts and trouble makers is not a vote getter. 

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Scott Dixon, Marcus Amstrong, and Scott McLaughlin are all lining up on the streets of St Petersburg for the first race – the same streets where McLaughlin got pole last year.  

However, McLaughlin has admitted that 2025 was a frustrating year, as he finished 10th in the Championship with three podiums.  

He told Mike Hosking that it was really the lowest of lows for him in many cases, and he’s trying to turn that negative into a positive. 

McLaughlin says he doesn’t have to do too much differently, he just has to execute it better. 

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Kiwi Alex Kendall is CEO of Wayve, a self-driving tech firm that just secured $1.5 billion to support the commercial rollout of their tech.  

Kiwi Indycar driver Scott McLaughlin lays out his prospects ahead of the first race of the 2026 season this weekend. 

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UK self-driving company Wayve, spearheaded by Alex Kendall, has secured $1.5 billion in capital to support to the commercial roll out of their ‘Robotaxis’.  

The funding round also includes backing from Mercedes, Nissan, Microsoft and Nvidia, while local VC Icehouse Ventures is contributing $12.5 million to the capital raise. 

Kendall told Mike Hosking there’s a couple of different ways to commercialise self-driving technology – creating your own cars, running your own fleets, or licensing the technology. 

Wayve is using the third option, and he says the AI they’ve built is so flexible that it will be able to bring self-driving technology worldwide. 

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Stats NZ data shows the volume of all alcoholic beverages made last year fell by 8.3%, with beer dropping by 10%.  

It follows the beer excise tax rising more than 20% in five years. 

Garage Project Brewery co-owner Jos Ruffell told Mike Hosking the multi-billion-dollar industry is feeling the pain of this bizarre tax.  

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His 107 minute address is the longest since records began in 1964. 

The US president also spoke directly to invited guests, including the US Olympic champion men's hockey team, victims of crime by illegal immigrants, and a 100-year-old World War Two veteran.  

Political author and pollster John Zogby told Mike Hosking aside from the veterans, there weren’t really any other heroes sitting in the seats, which is a reminder of how degraded US politics have become.  

He says that Trump made a good attempt to paint a rosy picture in his speech, but early polls indicate it hasn't persuaded anyone.

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It's approved funding for Ohakea Air Force base, near Palmerston North, to run round-the-clock air traffic control so planes can divert there if needed.  

Associate Transport Minister James Meager says this opens up an easier option for long-haul flights that may run low on fuel.  

He told Mike Hosking Qatar Airways downgraded its services to New Zealand last year because of how much fuel its planes had to carry.  

Meager also says they’re hoping regional airlines can refinance their debt and make some upgrades as loans are dished out. 

Golden Bay Air will receive a government loan of around $1.1 million from a $30 million package. 

Fund administrator, Kanoa, says it's working to fully allocate the rest of the funds quickly, processing loan applications from other airlines. 

Meager told Hosking loans will be low-interest and paying them back will be a priority.  

He says if these airlines can't make it work, they've got to find a way to ensure the country has reliable regional connectivity in the long run. 

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Dairy NZ's annual state of the dairy nation report shows farmers produced an unprecedented 21 billion litres of milk in the 2024/2025 season.  

The sector smashed export records – raking in more than $27 billion. 

Dairy NZ Chief Executive Campbell Parker told Mike Hosking it reflects the good work farmers have done over a long time. 

He says this injection into the economy can be invested back, meaning it's especially good for New Zealand.  

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The Reserve Bank's proposing opening more branches and hubs to provide cash services, costing the sector $104 million a year.  

It says cash continues to play an essential role for small businesses and communities.  

But Banking Association Chief Executive Roger Beaumont told Mike Hosking customers are moving towards digital payment methods.  

He says they're using apps or online banking, rather than going to punch in a pin at an ATM to buy an icecream from the dairy. 

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Once an activist always an activist. 

Marilyn took it upon herself to form her own select committee and she and a bunch of other MPs and interested parties opened their doors for submissions on pay equity and the changes the Government made that they didn’t like. 

When doors like that get opened, people of like minds tend to wander through, and they sit around all agreeing with each other about how bad things are. 

The ensuing report, which has just been released, tells you exactly what you would think it would. 

The problem with pay equity is it's an unsolvable problem, unless you take on a North Korea/Cuba type view of the world and simply get the Government to make all the rules. 

The simple truth of it is different jobs have different values. 

Another truth is some women choose work that doesn’t pay as much as other work. Men do as well, but not as much. 

Some of the work that doesn't pay as much is predominantly done by women. 

The most famous case involved a woman called Kristine Bartlett and the aged care sector. Rightly or wrongly jobs of compassion and care tend to be done by females. I would argue that’s largely because they tend to be nicer people overall but that would probably lead to a charge of me being sexist, which I'm not. 

What I am is a realist and you can see the issue. Should age care workers be paid more? Probably. 

But if they were, who would foot the bill? The people paying the age care bills of course. 

Could we artificially boost their pay? Well, that is where we got into dreadful trouble. They ended up comparing age care workers with mechanics and got a massive pay rise. 

Trouble is it was always false. Mechanics are not age care workers any more than air stewards are. You can look for commonalities, twist logic all you want, but you either artificially mess with it, or you let the market be the market. 

Most jobs have a rationale as to why they pay what they do and at all times, all jobs are open to all people, depending on desire and skill. 

So essentially Marilyn and her mates have wasted their time. 

Logic wins. The market wins. If you want more money, do a job that pays more of it, male or female. 

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Anthony Albanese was moved from The Lodge to another location around 6pm, as the police investigated a bomb threat. 

He was able to return once a search has been concluded, after 9pm. 

Australia Correspondent Steve Price told Mike Hosking information is currently limited, but he’s never heard of an Australian Prime Minister being evacuated from an official residence.  

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‘Forever Harvest’ has raised $1.2 million to grow fruit and nuts in a lab, all year round. 

The project uses cellular agriculture, removing the need for orchards or soil and making production climate resistant.  

Co-Founder Mick Riley told Mike Hosking they’re not looking to replace things like bulk cherries or bulk nectarines, but rather they’re creating a whole new kind of high value ingredient. 

The products would be for commercial use, he says, as they’re not looking to compete in the consumer market. 

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They discussed how effective such measures would be, whether or not they have anywhere else to go, and whether the wider public agrees with the orders. 

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Warriors CEO Cameron George speaks on co-captain Mitch Barnett’s departure at the end of the year and whether or not the Warriors are just seen as a stepping stone team. 

Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen bicker and argue about move on orders on Politics Wednesday. 

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The UK Government is hoping to release files on why former UK Ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were appointed to their high-profile roles despite ties to Jeffrey Epstein. 

Royal Correspondent Robert Hardman told Mike Hosking because of the ongoing legal case, no one wants to prejudice it. 

He says generally the view is, regardless of the outcome of the legal process, Andrew has behaved so appallingly they don't want him anywhere near the throne. 

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Co-captain Mitch Barnett is departing after the upcoming NRL season – a year ahead of his contract expiring. 

Barnett has a child that requires medical support and he wants to be closer to family. 

Warriors CEO Cameron George told Mike Hosking it’s unfortunate because he’s been such a great leader for the club.  

He says the situation only come to light in the last month or so, and they’d even had some discussions about possibly extending his contract before this. 

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People driving in bus lanes are Wellington City Council's biggest money grabber, raking in around $6 million in fines. 

A new bus lane on Cambridge Terrace caught tens of thousands of people exceeding the 50 metre maximum, worth a penalty fee of $150. 

Andrew Little told Mike Hosking he doesn't want bus lane cameras to be seen as a source of revenue for the council. 

He says there's a genuine question on whether they need to be designated bus lanes for 12 hours a day seven days a week. 

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The platform's widely used across the country, especially in aged care, disability, hospice, and community health. 

Director Geoffrey Sayer says there've been unauthorised changes to some demographic records. 

Sayer told Mike Hosking the person hasn't used brute force to infiltrate the system, they've somehow gained access. 

He says there's no reason to believe this is a cyber-attack, they've simply used credentials of an existing user to cause harm.  

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Primary principals have accepted a cumulative 2.5% immediate pay rise and another 2.1% next year. 

It introduces a $15 thousand curriculum-change allowance, recognising their work implementing reforms. 

Education Minister Erica Stanford told Mike Hosking teachers want the Treaty of Waitangi acknowledged and increased learning support. 

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Well-known economist Shamubeel Eaqub has crunched a few figures. It turns out if you want to see it, being a student at university is a miserable experience. 

And boy does the media love a story of misery. Being a student is pricier than ever, they tell us. "Does it pay off?" was your headline. 

The answer, and this isn't from the story, it's from me, is yes. 

Yes, if you have a plan. Yes, if you are careful. Yes, if you are driven in a specific direction professionally. 

Our most recent graduate at our house is fully immersed in her first job and loving it. She owes a shed load of dough, but wouldn’t for a minute have it any other way. 

But back to the numbers. All we really learn, when you compare the cost of stuff from Shamubeel 20 years ago versus the cost of stuff now, is the cost of stuff has gone up. That's got little to do with university and a lot to do with life because all our bills have gone up. 

Student support has gone up 86% but essentials have gone up 220%. In 2005 the allowance was $160 while essentials were $140 and you had $20 left over. 

These days you're in the red to the tune of eight bucks, which I wouldn’t actually have thought was that bad. 

University fees have gone up 113%. You might want to ask why. 

But here is a reality check: the story tells us 35,000 students received some form of assistance. That number on the last quarter is up 5%. 

But the amount they get is down 3%. So more get money, but not as much. Surely that’s good? 

But here is the real number: how many students are there? ChatGPT tells me almost 400,000, so less than 10% get any assistance at all. 90% don’t need help. Isn't that the real story? 

Too many stories and too many headlines are about what's wrong, not what's right, who is doing badly, not who is doing fine. 

You can play with numbers forever. Palmerston North rents have gone up more than Auckland rents, so it's not as cheap to be at Massey as it once was, and so it goes. 

But the big picture, the real story, surely is what you got out of university. What did the qualification do for you? 

If it changed your life, set you on a path, set you up, got you a career and opened the doors then the bill is immaterial. 

Like life, university is how you see it. Like life, the choices are yours. 

So does it pay off? Guess what, if you want it to, you are already there. 

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It relates to his alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein. 

The former UK ambassador to the US and Labour minister has been accused of passing on information to the sex offender when he was business secretary. 

UK Correspondent Rod Liddle told Mike Hosking while this might deflect heat off Keir Starmer in the short term, it’ll likely come back around to him in the end. 

He says that Mandelson was a Labour appointment, and it wouldn’t surprise him if he himself was almost directly responsible for appointing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as Trade Envoy in 2001.  

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He’s the co-creator and executive producer of the show, which has been seen by over 350 million people around the world.  

And when Top Gear came to a close, he was in charge of The Grand Tour, the show that picked up right where its predecessor left off, and now Wilman is running Amazon’s record-breaking show Clarkson’s Farm.  

More than two decades later, he’s written a book about how it all came to be, looking behind the scenes in ‘Mr Wilman’s Motoring Adventure’. 

While it may have started out as an ordinary TV show, Top Gear quickly became a phenomenon, and Wilman told Mike Hosking there were dozens of tiny moments that made them realise it. 

“Richard [Hammond’s] crash, obviously, we were, I think we were already big by then, but Richard’s crash stunned us at how we were part of the nation’s TV watching fabric.” 

“I think the, the things, the elements that were inevitable were because we were making things up as we went along, because we had no plan,” he explained. 

“So you surprise yourself ... those moments in turn generate new material, which keeps you fresh.”  

But as the viewership grew, so did the pressure, and the combination of a smaller crew size, ideological differences within the BBC, and the team getting “too big for their boots” started to cause problems. 

“Those three elements were the perfect storm that led to our demise.” 

A little further down the line is Clarkson’s Farm, which despite being a smaller production, Wilman says is more rewarding. 

“[It’s] a far more challenging and rewarding show to make, simply because they shoot all the time.” 

Since Clarkson is at work from the moment he steps out his front door, the filming has to cover everything. 

“We just shoot and shoot and shoot and then we’ll see what sticks to the wall.” 

And a large part of the show’s appeal is its supporting cast, which Wilman says was like catching lightning in a bottle for the second time.  

“A bit like Jeremy, Richard, and James – you couldn’t plan that.” 

“Magic happened.” 

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The EU Ambassador to NZ Lawrence Meredith speaks on the 4th anniversary of the Ukraine war and what it will take for it to end. 

Andy Wilman, the creator of Top Gear, Grand Tour, and Clarkson's Farm, joined to discuss the decades he’s spent behind the scenes and what it’s like to be the right hand man of his best friend, Jeremy Clarkson.  

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Airways New Zealand has raised the issue during an address before a Parliamentary Select Committee, warning that there’s a global shortage of controllers. 

General Manager of Commercial James Evans told Mike Hosking that New Zealand is currently positioned very well to cope with tight numbers. 

But, he says, there’s definitely a problem globally, and they are having overseas Air Navigation Service Providers approach New Zealand controllers.  

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Peace efforts to date have yielded little results, with casualties climbing day after day.  

EU Ambassador to New Zealand Lawrence Meredith told Mike Hosking Europe's recognising it needs to do more in terms of defence.  

He says the Ukrainians are not just fighting for their own peace and freedom, but for that of the free world.  

Meredith says this is a global conflict and it's important the right side wins.  

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More than 30 thousand tools, garden, and household items will be available on the delivery service sometime this year, claiming to be at your door within 60 minutes.  

Takeaways, groceries, and pharmacy items are among the products currently available 

Gorilla Technology Chief Executive Paul Spain told Mike Hosking it's a move to compete with Amazon. 

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The Crown's directing $200 million towards new shares to retain a 51% shareholding in the company, following a $400 million capital raise.  

Nicola Willis told Mike Hosking if we don't take part in this raise, we'd be breaching the law requiring the state to maintain majority ownership – something the coalition's committed to.  

She says we don't want to be a barrier to these energy companies growing in the way New Zealanders need to secure electricity supply. 

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Stats NZ data shows sales jumped by $239 million in December, compared to the September quarter – up nearly one percent. 

The growth was driven by pharmaceuticals and other store-based retailers, as well as electronic goods and hardware supplies. 

First Retail Group Managing Director Chris Wilkinson told Mike Hosking some of this is discretionary spending which is a great sign. 

He says potential interest rate rises could have an impact in future, but they're hoping the momentum will continue. 

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Health New Zealand's free vape programme has given out more than seven thousand devices to smokers, despite Newstalk ZB revealing last year's trial had a success rate of less than half.

Now, a half-million-dollar contract has been signed to provide the devices through New Zealand-owned company, Alt.

Auckland University vaping researcher Kelly Burrowes told Mike Hosking it isn't recommended as a quitting tool, due to the risk associated.

She says that's why other countries aren't doing this.

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The Prime Minister comments on the tariffs, the surcharges bill and the public sector vs what the Government want to achieve.

Jason Pine and Andrew Saville cover off the sport and concerts over the weekend.

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Move-on orders.

Clear lines of responsibility and delineation for police to actually fix a problem that has existed for too long in our central city areas.

As the debate bounces back and forward this week have a look at those who ask "where do they go?"

They ask that because it’s the easy question to ask. It’s the point-scoring question to ask.

It’s the question you ask when you don’t actually have to deal with the problem.

The previous Government, who will be one of the people asking that very question, stuck them in motels and ruined entire towns like Rotorua.

They stuck them in social housing and ruined entire neighbourhoods, as the agency responsible evicted exactly zero people despite antisocial, and often criminal, behaviour.

In other words they gave greater priority to troubled menaces than they did to wider society that simply wanted to get on with life.

Downtowns, whether Wellington, Christchurch or Auckland, need help and have needed help for years.

We were at lunch a couple of weeks ago in the central city for a birthday. The drugged-out woman screaming her head off on the bench outside was doing her best to ruin everyone's Saturday.

The music in the restaurant had to be turned up to a level that you could no longer hear each other talk. But what was the proprietor supposed to do?

What is any business supposed to do when you have to step over the down and out, the drugged out and the violent, simply to unlock your door?

The apologists paint these people as harmless. They are not.

They paint them as lost and wayward. They are not.

They are law breakers who cause a disproportionate amount of trouble to people who don't deserve it.

As a result of an apologist mentality no one has known what to do, like retail crime and Yaris' through windows a few years back.

Toughen up the laws and you'll be amazed how quickly the problem gets solved.

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Following a 5-0 loss to Auckland FC, coach Giancarlo Italiano resigned from his role as coach.

The team still faces eight games before the playoffs, with the team currently placed 10th in the A-League. 

Former Wellington Phoenix and All Whites coach Ricki Herbert told Mike Hosking that time will tell if this is the right decision. 

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The Government's introducing "move-on" orders - allowing Police to order people begging and sleeping rough,  to leave a public space for up to 24 hours. 

They'll be slapped with a $2000 fine or up to three months’ imprisonment if they refuse.

Chris Luxon told Mike Hosking that in Auckland alone, the City Rail Link will be up and running later this year - and the International Convention Centre's already bringing in visitors.

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The Government is moving to give Police the power, to order someone sleeping rough, or begging, to leave a public space for up to 24 hours. 

They could face fines of up to two thousand dollars or spend three months in jail if they refuse.

President Steve Watt told Mike Hosking that they know there's a problem there - but Police will have a lot of other call-outs.

He says they don't have the staff to deal with this issue - as this is yet another job they'll have to do with already stretched resources.

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The President's introducing temporary 15% tariffs to replace those enacted last year, after the Supreme Court outlawed them. 

It's unclear if the mechanism he's using to justify the new levies stacks up, as it applies when the US faces a balance of payments deficit.

Trade Minister Todd McClay told Mike Hosking that we were facing mostly 15% tariffs already, so not much has changed for our exporters. 

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ABC's quarterly market report shows business sales are up 28 percent on this time last year, with average prices up three percent.

It finds 507 completed sales over a 12 month period - a new historical high.

ABS Business Managing Director Chris Small told Mike Hosking that there's a link between sales and the current state of the economy across the country.

He says in line with the economy, the South Island is up 70 percent year on year in business sales, while Wellington is down 10 percent. 

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One job supposedly had 2500 applications. One headline added that the company boss was shocked. 

Oppo is your company and in the story of their job they are looking to fill is some good news. Mainly, that the job is here and not long ago it wasn’t. 

It’s a call centre job and the call centre has been relocated back to New Zealand, which is one of those weird job things. 

I thought we went through this years ago when it was broadly accepted that call centres offshore did save you money, but language and actual help on the phone generally was so bad they gave up. 

Anyway, they must have advertised the job globally through international sites because only 44% of the applicants were actually from New Zealand, so 2500 becomes a pretty misleading number. 

44% is still a lot of applicants. But here is the other thing you will have learned in this tight job market of late. 

A lot of people apply for literally everything, whether they want it, can do it, or not, they apply. They waste people's time, are not genuine applicants and are a nightmare for HR.   

Just for the record, this is not to say jobs aren't tight because we all know they are. 

But the inference in these stories is that times are desperate, and they are not. Jobs are available if you're determined. 

Which is the next point – those who have dealt with call centres, and that is most of us, don’t get what you would loosely call a world class experience. 

Like a lot of jobs that are front facing, they are filled with —how do we put it nicely— gormless people, people who have bad attitudes, don’t want to help, don’t know how to help, don’t know what you're asking, don’t have answers and are not empowered to basically do anything. 

A lot of useless people have work. It’s a frightening fact. Are all the people without work better than the useless ones with work? Or are they even worse? 

Also, tragically, that many applications for a low skill job tells you the decay of our economy; too many people with too little to offer. 

Answering a phone is not a career path. 

So 2500 people and shock. Like too many stories, it's not the real story.   

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Red meat: 9/10 

It's so good, so record breaking, you honestly start to wonder just where is the ceiling? 

Dairy: 9/10 

Ditto. Four auctions, four runs batted in. We are rolling. 

Warriors: 6/10 

Early days, good crowd in the Bay, bad injury already, but the seeds of success are there. 

India: 3/10 

This is the stuff that ankle taps us. Between Labour and Winston, doofuses and xenophobes, we are a two step forward, one step back country. 

F1: 8/10 

The fact testing is being covered on New Zealand TV tells you how far that sport has come. 

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The Infrastructure Commission report was profound in its nature this week. 

Chris Bishop was dead right on this programme when he talked of its importance and, yet, its dryness. 

Big picture, infrastructure building and planning and funding isn't sexy. It never has been and that in some respects is why we are where we are. 

And what a place that place is. 

We, in parts, are a broken down, tragic, second-hand little nation that has let ourselves go. 

We were fighting fit once. We paid our way, had cash in pocket, did the job properly and had big dreams. 

In 2026 we are in hock up to our eyeballs, bitching, moaning and complaining, wanting everyone else to wipe our bums and solve our problems. 

But the fish is your real clue. 

The fish is in Rakaia and it's the town's mascot. It was in the news this week for being defaced and yet, in another irony, that wasn’t actually the story, or it shouldn’t have been. 

The other problem with small-minded, myopic New Zealand is a defaced town mascot is what passes for news these days, when the real story was the fish that was defaced had just had a $200,000 renovation job. 

$200,000 thousand dollars to polish up a fish?! 

Now, if Rakaia has perfect water and footpaths of gold and record low rates and a spare few hundred grand lying about looking to do luxury jobs, no problem. But guess what? It doesn’t. 

It will be like a lot of small-town New Zealand; in the hole with big picture issues that have been ignored for years. 

Yet a group of people who clearly aren't up for the real work thought it was appropriate to rejuvenate a fish. 

Did they have the dough? No. 

Was there a shed load of proper work to be done? Yes. 

But all that can wait because doing a fish up is easy, it’s a headline and you can bang on about civic pride. 

Until of course it gets defaced, at which point the media can't get hold of it fast enough and you can complain some more about crime and the irony that you now need even more money to fix the fish up again. 

When fish are the news the country's real issues don’t stand a chance. 

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They discussed intermittent fasting, after a global review found it might not be the magic bullet it’s said to be, the earlier chat with Angela Strange about Te Huia, and how much you spend when given an unlimited restaurant voucher. 

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Hundreds of vehicles will be on display, from vintage to luxury, plus the new additions of motorbikes and boats. 

They’re also hosting New Zealand’s largest live car auction, adding a bit of serious money and competition into the mix. 

Director of Sunday Drive, Taylor Campbell told Mike Hosking the event is now in its second year, and has grown about three times the size.  

He says it’s almost sold out to capacity, and the stunning setting, the hospitality, and the cars make for a great mix.  

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Te Huia is getting another year of funding to prove itself and Angela Strange tries, and fails dismally, to defend it. 

Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson talk intermittent fasting, the Angela Strange interview, and how much you spend when you get given an unlimited restaurant voucher as they Wrap the Week. 

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Chaz Mostert is defending his title in the Sydney 500, now in the new Toyota GR Supra. 

Ryan Wood and Matt Payne are leading the Kiwi charge, with five rookies also entering the fray. 

Kiwi motorsport legend Greg Murphy told Mike Hosking that last season was competitive and very, very close, and no doubt it will be the same this year. 

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The service, which connects Auckland and Hamilton will run at least until June next year, with NZTA picking up 60% of the bill.  

It's been criticised in the past for low passenger numbers and revenue. 

Waikato Regional Council Transport Committee Chair Angela Strange told Mike Hosking that in terms of farebox recovery, the service is actually doing really well when compared to other public transport in New Zealand. 

She says they’re sitting at close to 16%, and it’s closer per kilometre than the metro trains and ferries in Auckland.  

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The trial allows Chinese and Pacific travellers with a valid Australian visa to enter New Zealand for up to three months. 

Arrivals have nearly tripled since December, with Chinese tourists injecting about $210 million into Kiwi businesses. 

Tourism Holdings Limited Chief Executive Grant Webster told Mike Hosking the trial is absolutely working and New Zealand's responding faster to growing demand from Chinese visitors. 

He says this just gives more options for these travellers, adding we're fortunate to have this system as it doesn't work the other way around. 

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The Government's revising the city's housing capacity number in its new plan from just over two million to 1.6 million.

It is focusing more on building in the city and by transport hubs, rather than suburbs.

Mt Hobson Group Director Hamish Firth told Mike Hosking you're creating fear from something that people don't get.

He says you create paper capacity, but also community backlash, land value distortion and probably not any extra homes.

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Act MP Todd Stephenson wrote to Judith Collins about the cultural skills framework with concerns it went beyond normal expectations of the Public Service. 

She says the force hadn't raised it with her, but after speaking with army leaders they had decided to pause implementation.  

Collins told Mike Hosking a soldier's ability to serve their country has nothing to do with their ability to recite waiata. 

She says it would be nice for people to do it, but as evidenced in her visit to the Munich Security Conference there's more pressing concerns, like ending up speaking Russian. 

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But as someone who well remembers the Employment Contracts Act and Bill Birch, what is being offered is merely a righting of a badly out of whack employment market. 

The usual whining from unions has ensued. In a nutshell, there is a limit on personal grievance procedures. It defines what a contractor is, as opposed to an employee, and the 30-day trial rule is gone. 

If you earn a lot i.e. over $200,000 you can't go to an employer for wrongful dismissal. 

I have experience in this area. I was effectively sacked by TVNZ about 25 years ago and I was on over $200,000. Under this new law I couldn’t have gone after them. 

But guess what? I didn’t go after them anyway. Why? Because who wants to work for people that treat you that way? 

And in that is a lot of what the workplace is about. 

There are bad employers and good employers and a lot of employers in between. Rules are based on worse-case scenarios. 

It has never been a better time to be a worker in this country. Yes, jobs are tight as of late. But if you're good and determined you can get work, because good people are hideously hard to find, and you can succeed quickly. 

Most people, and I cite 45 years in the workplace here, at the very least mean well. Many are actually quite good. 

Work should be about enjoyment and learning and development of skills and the climbing of ladders. If you are bogged down in worse-case scenarios, you go nowhere. 

Equally as an employer, how do you grow your business when you are ankle tapped by a mindset that infers you are bad news, so all sorts of guard rails need to be enacted in law? 

Bill Birch's law was not the end of the world. Brooke van Velden's won't be either. 

The workplace recipe should not be complex; if you work hard, you do well. 

If you're slack and entitled, you need to be sacked. If you're young and inexperienced you don’t get to be the boss in your second week. Not all your personal problems are your employers' problems, and not all employers are out to get you. 

By and large unions are trouble, negative, and potentially ruinous and I have yet to see one that has the country's best interests at heart. 

We're all in this together. Too much employment law pits us against each other, and no one wins. 

Brooke van Velden's laws are fine. No one is going to die. 

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Jason Aldean is performing at Spark Arena tonight, and he’s bringing with him Corey Kent – the latest Red Dirt star, according to Rolling Stone.  

Despite having been performing since he was a kid, it was a bumpy road to reach this point, complete with a happenstance performance with Willie Nelson, a change in jobs, and a lot of dedication.  

Kent’s since gone triple platinum, released four albums, and had over a billion streams. 

He joined Mike Hosking for a chat about his career to date, and regaled him with stories of country legends Willie Nelson and Paul Simon.  

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Reserve Bank Governor Anna Breman explains her OCR call and whether she or the economists got it right.   

Country music star Corey Kent is in the country with Jason Aldean, and popped in to regale us with stories of Willie Nelson and Paul Simon. 

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Governor Anna Breman says inflation should be back within target this quarter. 

She says the economy fundamentals are consistent with inflation falling to, and remaining at, 2% over the medium term. 

Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Mike Hosking the Governor is playing with a pretty straight bat. 

He says it’s a tricky balance, as the economy doesn’t quite feel like it has recovery momentum, and they don’t want to cut that off at the knees by spooking anyone, but they do have to be focused on inflation. 

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Its review shows carers killed 24 children between December 2021 and June 2025. 

It finds no improvement, despite recommendations in a review of the murder of five-year-old Malachi Subecz in 2021. 

Children's Monitor CEO Arran Jones told Mike Hosking that while there are deep-seated issues that go beyond what the agencies can respond to, there are certainly things that can be improved.  

He says the lack of progress up to this point is an issue of prioritisation, and it’s about making sure the problem is front of mine not only for Oranga Tamariki, but for all the agencies that have a role to play. 

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The Drug Detection Agency's results for the three months to December show cocaine was present in 3.7% of positive tests – more than double the amount from last quarter. 

Bay of Plenty, Auckland West, and Waikato were identified as the regions with the sharpest rises. 

Chief Executive Glenn Dobson told Mike Hosking that New Zealand already has a strong use base of methamphetamine, and now they’re starting to see a real increase in cocaine usage, which is a real concern for them. 

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New Seek data shows job ads have grown by 1.5% since October and are now 11.7% higher year on year.  

Gisborne's led monthly growth with an almost 4% increase, while Marlborough's the only region with a record annual decline in ads, at -6%.  

However Seek Country Manager Rob Clark says the fact growth stretches across regions and industries is a marked improvement on this year. 

He told Mike Hosking they’re hopeful the growth will continue. 

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The Monetary Policy Committee, chaired by Anna Breman, has decided to keep the OCR unchanged at 2.25% for now. 

It says while inflation is above the target band, the economy still needs some time to recover. 

Breman told Mike Hosking the committee will make the best decisions it can, based on the data and forecasts it has access to at the time. 

She says something might look obvious in retrospect, but they're dealing with lots of global shocks constantly hitting the New Zealand economy. 

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Hipkins is no Helen Clark and in that is a great sadness. 

For all those who occasionally contact me and ask of the possibility of a so-called “grand coalition” —a relationship between the Labour and National parties— before you ask, next time look at the way Hipkins plays these games and there is your answer. 

Even in areas of broad agreement, they still can't act like grownups. 

It's also a lesson in name vs substance. 

The Labour Party of the past few years is nothing like Labour of the late 90's and early 2000's. That was a centrist version. 

Yes, they still handed out free money to people like students to bribe them in election year. But the rest of the time they actually ran the economy in growth. Compared to Barbara Edmonds, Michael Cullen was a conservative. 

In the early parts of 1984 Labour, with David Lange, was similar, and here is your irony that Hipkins fails to recognise: when Labour are, broadly speaking, middle of the road they are actually popular. 

Ask Bob Hawke or Paul Keating or Tony Blair – centrist Labour is successful Labour. 

By the time you take modern Labour with Hipkins and Sepuloni, and add the Greens in the mix, you are seeing the left wing “group think” that not only keeps them out of office, but leads to the sort of game playing we have with an FTA. 

Yes, the Government probably shouldn’t have to rely on them and for all the games Labour plays, New Zealand First is just as bad with their xenophobic nonsense. But Labour once had a global view. 

It's not like the Chinese weren't thought of with great suspicion prior to 2008. But the bigger picture was at play. The realisation that large countries and their economies could be good for everyone was a driving force. 

What Labour would do well to do is put this country first. Not score points, not look like children, and not pretend they actually had anything to do with negotiating this thing at all. 

FTAs are big picture, not a three-year electoral cycle game.  

I don’t think I'm alone in wishing there were more adults in the room. Labour 1999-2008 put the current lot to shame. 

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The famed US civil rights campaigner has died aged 84.  

In a statement posted to social media his family say he died peacefully surrounded by family. 

After being mentored by Martin Luther King Junior he went on to become one of the most influential African-American leaders. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking Jackson was a singularly powerful speaker.  

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Backed by $35 million in government funding, they’ve successfully levitated a half tonne superconducting magnet, confining a cloud of ultra-hot plasma.  

It’s a key milestone in recreating the same process that powers the sun – ultimately producing carbon-free energy. 

CEO Dr Ratu Mataira told Mike Hosking now they’ve proven the engineering can be done, it’s time to push for performance and see just how hot they can get the plasma. 

He believes they’ll definitely be able to reach nuclear fusion within his lifetime. 

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They discussed the details Labour’s seeking from the India Free Trade Agreement, the National Infrastructure Plan and the possibility of tolling the Auckland Harbour Bridge, and the latest political polls.  

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Netball NZ's chair Matt Whineray is resigning from the board, along with three other members, in an end to a tumultuous time at the organisation. 

Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell debate the India FTA, tolling the Auckland Harbour Bridge, and the latest polls on Politics Wednesday. 

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The central bank's expected to keep the OCR unchanged at 2.25%. 

It's likely to show when inflation should start easing, and when the economy should recover from last year's downturn. 

BNZ Chief Economist Mike Jones told Mike Hosking today’s announcement will likely see them swap out the mild easing bias the bank had in November and replace it with a mild tightening bias.  

He says they believe the Reserve Bank will probably want to signal a hike by around December this year. 

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The Infrastructure Commission’s 30-year plan makes 10 recommendations for what should be prioritised over the next decade, with hospital investment topping the list.  

The plan suggests the extra crossing in Auckland, tunnel or bridge, gets a $9 toll, but the Government is still weighing up whether the existing bridge should also be tolled. 

Chris Bishop told Mike Hosking ultimately, roads have to be paid for. 

He says the second harbour crossing will be the biggest infrastructure project ever built in New Zealand, and they think it will wind up being tolled as it’s a fair way of paying for the project.  

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Whineray is ending his eight-year tenure alongside three others at board level. 

The governing body came under scrutiny last year for their handling of the standing down, and eventual re-instatement, of Dame Noeline Taurua. 

Whineray told Mike Hosking they had the right intentions. 

He says they were trying to balance the obligations they have with the need to keep people informed, but they know their communication could be better.  

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The infrastructure Commission has laid out a 30 year plan, with 17 recommendations for how to strengthen our delivery model.  

Downer Managing Director Murray Robertson believes Auckland and Northland are exposed due to lack of electricity which other infrastructure sectors rely on. 

He told Mike Hosking power largely comes from hydro in the south, to it's important to try get that reticulation closer to those key networks. 

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Latest Stats NZ data reveals the rate's risen to 4.6% – well up on 4% a month ago. 

Fruit and vegetable prices have jumped 6.3% in the last year, and meat, poultry, and fish rose by 8.9%. 

Grocery Action Group Chair Sue Chetwin told Mike Hosking there's been a lot of uncontrollable factors impacting prices, like recent storm damage affecting crops. 

She says fresh fruit and vegetables should be at their cheapest at this time of year. 

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Aitken was on the stand, so to speak, yesterday, remembering none of this is criminal. 

In fact, I would describe it as outrageously political. 

Judge Aitken shouldn’t be here. No one should. It’s a storm in a judicial teacup. 

Should she have had a pop at Winston at the Northern Club? Of course not. 

The incident, much disputed in terms of angst, animosity, and volume, shows the judge in a poor light. 

It was none of her business and you don't go around running commentary on other people's evenings. 

Then again you don’t go dobbing interlopers in to the Attorney General, which is what has happened, and next thing you know you have a legal circus where a person's career is potentially about to be blown up. 

Also disturbing for me as the casual observer, is the Chief District Court Judge's role in the apology by Judge Aitken. He involved two media advisors and amended Aitken's wording so it wouldn’t offend New Zealand First. 

At all times the Chief Judge seemed to be obsessed with not offending political parties. His overt weakness worries me, not to mention Judge Aitken's inability to have her voice heard. She's not 13-years-old, she's a judge. 

My sense of where we are at is we will never get to know the full story because the versions vary. Therefore, the panel doing the deciding won't come to a definitive conclusion, therefore whatever they put before Paul Goldsmith will go nowhere. 

So maybe what we are seeing currently is the actual punishment. In other words, a judge, her reputation, her drinking habits, her words all being dissected, is the punishment. It is the humiliation. 

Overall the insight in the legal fraternity, not forgetting the good judge's celebratory doctor partner and the KC on video, does not come off reputationally well. 

If you wanted to think of them broadly as a bunch of champagne-swilling, self-serving snobs, they haven't done a lot to dissuade us. 

But then New Zealand First look like a petty, point score-y, loser group of narks, who don’t mind wrecking peoples lives. 

The hearing continues. 

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Once you get past ‘The Chase’, the likes of MasterChef Australia is consistently within the top watched shows, both on TV and online.  

Recognisable from her four seasons on MasterChef Australia, Melissa Leong has moved on to host Dessert Masters, and is now fronting a new Kiwi cooking show. 

She’s partnered up with Aimsfield Head Chef Vaughan Mabee for ‘Taste of Art’, a show that pits ten Kiwi chefs against one another, aiming to create visually stunning food.  

Leong told Mike Hosking the reason food and cooking related shows tend to do well is because of the element of human connection. 

“You know, the stories that food allow us to tell about culture, about time and place and connection, all of these things are just so very enduringly human,” she said.  

"We are always going to find that compelling.”  

She says there’s something there for everyone, whether it’s a show like MasterChef that heroes the humble, homegrown cooks and recipes, or something like ‘Taste of Art’, which showcases imagination and incredible possibilities.  

“There’s something in it for everyone ... being able to share a little bit, a little part of who they are in the form of food.” 

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Researchers analysed 22 global trials and found no clear advantage over standard dietary advice. 

Weight loss was broadly similar to traditional dieting, and there was no strong evidence of extra metabolic benefits. 

Body Torque Gym Founder Alex Flint told Mike Hosking intermittent fasting is just a really good method for portion control, but it has a much better marketing department.  

He says if you can stick to it, it’s a fantastic tool, but it’s not superior to regular calorie control methods and eating patterns.  

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Hamish Kerr pops in after winning the Supreme Award at the Halbergs last night. 

And former MasterChef Australia judge Melissa Leong discusses her new show with Kiwi chef Vaughan Mabee.   

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It was instrumental in shaping in a food and fibre sector that’s become a backbone of the New Zealand economy – worth $60 billion.  

The UK remains one of our most important, and premium, markets for lamb.  

Kiwi Chef and NZ lamb ambassador Melanie Brown told Mike Hosking that like other New Zealand products, including wine, New Zealand lamb is a product people return to regularly. 

She says they know they’re going to get consistency and quality, and you just cannot beat the quality story.  

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Energy company Contact, courier company Freightways and dairy producer a2 Milk all announced results yesterday. 

Contact's recorded a 44% rise in net profit and has gone into a trading halt while it begins a major capital raise to fund more renewable energy projects. 

CEO Mike Fuge told Mike Hosking the primary reason for the increase in profits is the investments they’ve made and the acquisition of Manawa Energy.  

He says it’s a fine balance – no one ever appreciates the power bill, but they also have to invest and build more generation to meet the growing demand. 

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He soared above sportswoman victor Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, the Black Ferns sevens team winners, and dominant para-athlete Danielle Aitchison. 

Dame Valerie Adams and Richie McCaw have been inducted into the sports hall of fame. 

Hamish Kerr's mentor James Sandilands took out the coach category. 

Kerr told Mike Hosking it’s a great honour to be put on a trophy with a bunch of absolute Kiwi sporting legends. 

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A Business Events Industry Aotearoa report reveals the sector delivered $925 million for the economy last year.  

It shows international delegates here for conferences spent $645 daily on average – higher than holiday visitors. 

CEO Lisa Hopkins told Mike Hosking they’re in growth mode with the new convention centre coming online.  

She says they now have a strong suite of convention centres across the country, which gives them a broader opportunity to take businesses of different sizes, different needs, and different requirements. 

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A report by Retail NZ shows almost 77% of retailers surveyed in the fourth quarter of last year are confident their business will survive the next 12 months. 

The proportion of retailers with low confidence has almost halved since the third quarter of last year to just 6.6%. 

Retail NZ CEO Carolyn Young told Mike Hosking businesses are now focusing on making small gains on last year. 

She says retailers have lowered their levels of stock as demand levels are lower, but they're now selling through it. 

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The Prime Minister responds to his coalition partner's ideas of getting rid of the Maori seats and dropping some MP's from Parliament, plus these cultural leave entitlements in the public sector.

Jason Pine and Andrew Saville cover off the chaos of the SailGP, the beginning of Super Rugby and F1 testing.

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He seems to say a bunch of interesting and insightful stuff.

Last year he warned about our growth rate, our debt and our inability to grow our way out of our troubles. He advocated for asset sales.

This past week he was at the Waikato University Economic Forum where he talked about our problem of exporting our best and brightest.

Ironically the latest migration stats came out at the same time.

The worst might be behind us. Our net migration gain is still small, but the stampede out of the door by New Zealanders has petered out.

At Waikato Rennie talked about how it is unique to this country that we export so many young people. His suggestion is the frontier companies aren't good enough and they don’t adapt or adopt or invest fast enough compared to other countries.

The gap between the frontier companies and lagging firms isn't as big as it should be. In other words the rock stars don’t actually rock that much and if you are skilled and bright and determined, offshore seems the place to be.

He also talked of confidence and that, to me, is what's missing in this country.

Of our four kids who are actually working two are offshore. One other could be, but for now, isn't.

We will never be a London or New York. But the fizz we had half a dozen years ago is gone. Immigrants have replaced our kids.

We have been dumbed-down. Our brightest haven't been replaced with America's brightest or Europe's brightest, but from countries like India and the Phillippines. We are exporting scientists and doctors and bringing in nurses and baristas.  

Immigration is awesome. I love immigration. But not if it's not of our choosing. We are being forced into it.

The good news is this happened comparatively fast. Not long ago our net gain was over 100,000 people a year. We brought them in and the good ones didn’t leave.

We can recapture all of that, but a mindset shift is needed.

We need to want to be better. I'm not sure enough of us are of that mindset, hence Rennie's concern.    

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Their F50 Catamaran crashed into the French team, leaving Kiwi grinder Louis Sinclair with two broken legs.

Race organisers then shifted to a split-fleet format for the remaining races over safety concerns. 

AUT Sailing Professor Mark Orams told Mike Hosking that it's time for SailGP to 'crank up' the safety measures. 

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On the table today: The second State of Origin game is coming to Eden Park, how many Kiwis are going to go see the Aussies play?

The guys review the Super Rugby from the weekend,

and a number of F1 drivers are unhappy with the rule changes, are we in for a slow season?

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Labour's saying they want the un-redacted advice about the deal and greater protection for migrant workers. 

In a letter to Chris Luxon, Chris Hipkins wants more clarity about the clause which requires New Zealand business to invest $33billion into India. 

Luxon told Mike Hosking that none of their concerns are real problems. 

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It wants to cut government departments from 41 down to no more than 30. 

The number of ministers would be reduced from 28 to 20, with all of them sitting around the cabinet table.

Act leader David Seymour was asked by Mike Hosking whether it's a non-negotiable.

He says it's easy to say something will never happen if something isn't a bottom line..but everyone has to negotiate a position, and this is their's. 

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The Government's announced new settings, lifting the number of concerts allowed each year to 32 - 12 large and 20 medium-sized - without the need for resource consent. 

Night-time sport will also be allowed on any day, as long as games are over by 10.30pm - and New Zealand's first ever State of Origin match will be held next year.

CEO Nick Sautner told Mike Hosking that his team's been committed to getting to this point.

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The former Air New Zealand boss, if you have missed it, is off to Kroger, which is America's second biggest grocer behind Walmart.

I have never met a New Zealander who has worked in America that belongs in America more. It was evident from the first time I met him that he was American.

You can spot them in their shirts and ties. They are conservative and yet impeccably pressed. He looked like he had starched himself getting out of bed each morning.

The last time he was in here, his farewell interview, we talked off air about where now. He didn’t say specifically, but I knew it was America.

The bit he never explained, probably because he either couldn’t for commercial reasons, or couldn’t because he hadn't quite worked it out for himself, was what the hell he was ever doing back in New Zealand.

I asked him any number of times in a sort of non-direct way, what on earth was it about a small airline at the bottom of the world that would drag you out of Walmart to come and run it?

Possibly given he wasn’t running Walmart, it was a job in which he was running something so his CV would show a Kroger in years to come that he was ready to be boss.

At Walmart he lived in Arkansas and flew in private jets.

In New Zealand he kept having to explain why the Wellington to Taupo plane never took off.

The Covid thing must have been the nightmare from hell and it wasn’t his fault.

But even without it and the myriad of problems he faced, including the inexplicable cluster around engines that no airline anywhere seems to have encountered the way Air New Zealand has, you always got the impression he was either here for a short time, or it had all been a patriotic mistake driven by a laudable desire to return to home base and make some sort of contribution.

But I can tell you this, of all the Air New Zealand CEO's I have known - business legend Ralph Norris, marketing genius Rob Fyfe, Prime Minister Chris Luxon and Greg Foran - no one looked less at home and more bewildered than Greg.

Some people loved him because he was often at the airport checking their backs in, so work ethic was never the issue.

The issue was Air New Zealand wasn’t American. I bet you he has never been happier, or more relieved.

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Karen Chhour answers questions about why there is Maori leave entitlements at Oranga Tamariki and whether it is more widespread than one Government department.

Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson on concert reviews, adult kids back at the house and Kiwis bed times.  

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This is the date that the changes to foreign buyers of expensive houses comes into play.

This date, in a way, is like the LNG announcement.

The idea of foreign buyers for houses isn't new. It's been part of the Government's plan ever since the Government became the Government.

The LNG idea got floated in the winter of 2024, not long after the Government became the Government also.

This proves one of two things - either it's hard work being in Government and things take longer than you think, or this lot aren't that flash at getting things done despite the rhetoric to the contrary.

The foreign buyers rule is a righting of a horrible, myopic, narrow-minded wrong from the previous Government.

House prices were never driven by Germans buying $15 million homes in Herne Bay, nor the Chinese buying $19 million homes in St Heliers.

And Auckland is essentially where they were all bought.

Queenstown has joined the party a bit lately. But the vast swathe of New Zealand never saw a mega purchase from a filthy, rich foreigner.

Why it's important is we should see foreigners as good people who want to improve their lives, while improving ours via the improvement of the country.

People who have money do things with it, like buy or build business, they invest, they grow, they employ and they pay tax.

They bring knowledge and expertise and they, more often than not, fall in love with our piece of paradise and end up doing far more than they ever set out to do.

I think a lot of Julian Robertson, an American who built lodges and golf courses here that bring in millions. He enhanced the place. And next time you're at the Auckland Art Gallery, go see one of his Picasso's. He gave them a fortune in art.

What drives bans is envy, shallowness, fear and, often, stupidity.

We have at last made it right. Yes, it will help the housing market, but more importantly it will help the country and this country needs to pull every trigger in its arsenal to fire it up.

Nine years ago we were a place of pride and growth and global admiration. Labour 2017-23 destroyed that.

March 6th is a small step back towards redemption and better days.

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LNG: 7/10

An example of the times. A decent idea to help solve a genuine issue and yet too many miss the point and bitch about tax vs levy vs fee.

Greg Foran: 7/10

Back where he belongs. There is a book there. What he thought it might be and what it was, is several chapters worth.

OT and cultural leave: 2/10

When you promise something as this Government did, especially around emotive issues like this, you've got to deliver. The fact this is real and still exists speaks to the angst around the race issues this country battles with.

The Covid review: 8/10

I don’t care if it's political. It's good its political. We all need a reminder of the damage and pain that results from incompetence and arrogance.

Super Bowl: 8/10

The second most watched TV event ever, only behind the most watched TV event ever, which was also the Super Bowl. Spot the sport going places.

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Round one is full of derbies, as the Highlanders host the Crusaders tonight, then the Blues take on the Chiefs at Eden Park on Saturday. 

Super Rugby Pacific CEO Jack Mesley told Mike Hosking that there's a focus on improving the pace of play to maintain viewer interest.

'We want to see close matches, we want to see fast games, and we want to continue to see a reduction in static time.'

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Organisers have boosted capacity with a grandstand that is 30% larger than last year as demand continues to grow. 

Sir Russell Coutts told Mike Hosking that, "the growth has been incredible, I think we've expanded our audience way beyond the avid sailing fan."

The Black Foils will be looking to bounce back after a rough start to the campaign in Perth.

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Business Canterbury, The Canterbury Mayoral Forum and the private sector have come together to form shared goals for the region.

Business Canterbury Chief Executive Leeann Watson told Mike Hosking that everyone agrees they need to invest in what makes the region unique - which is better infrastructure, housing, affordability and the environment. 

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This follows confirmation of the existence of a clause which allows for 'discretionary paid cultural leave', which is self-defined and not subject to managerial scrutiny. 

Children's Minister Karen Chhour said that the clause was added prior to her becoming minister in 2023, and although she can't get rid of the contract, she intends to make her feelings known. 

"I can't scrap signed contracts, but what I can do is make my concerns about this known."

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The tariff hit is now expected to be just $2.5million this year - about half of what they originally feared. 

Chief Executive Graham Leaming told Mike Hosking that the company has made an effort in the US, and says the company's actions have helped prepare for the tariffs. 

"We have a strong presence on the ground in the US. We've got 50 people over there, so we understand our customers well and we understand the market well."

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That’s politics when you are in Opposition, especially when you have no policies yourself. 

What I despair about is yet another chapter of myopic nonsense around dumb words for cheap points. 

The truth is comparatively simple and most of it is indisputable: we need more power supply than we have. 

We need more reliable power supply than we have. We got caught dangerously short in the winter of 2024. 

Labour, in turning off the gas, wrecked the industry and caused untold damage. 

The Huntly coal deal is part of the solution. 

An LNG importation facility is another part. We need a power supply tap because hydro, wind, and solar isn't it. Even if it's the bulk of supply, it's reliant on things we can't control. 

So far so good, we all agree. 

The cost of LNG is a billion-ish. Someone has to pay. The Government could pay by borrowing more but, wisely, they choose not to. 

The industry could pay through a levy. That is what we have chosen. 

Will they pass it on? Yes, why wouldn’t they? 

Do you like that? No, why would you? 

But at all times we come back to the basic issue: do you want heating in winter, every winter, like a first world country? 

Do you want business to be able to operate at full capacity like a first world country? 

So it isn't a tax. A tax is a forced payment by Government, that’s not what this is. 

It's an increased power bill to eventually get a power bill that wouldn’t have been as high if we hadn't built a back stop for supply. 

It's the cost of rectifying an embarrassing wrong. You might want to remember that when you vote. 

Fixing broken stuff costs money. It's human to want others to pay for stuff but that’s not how life works. 

If you want a spot price of $800 in the dead of winter, the highest price in the world, then doing nothing will work well. 

We need more emphasis on the future, and on improvement, and less on the petty and the political point-scoring. 

I wouldn’t have thought any of that is complicated. 

You might not be thrilled, but it's not complicated. 

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After starting at just 15 years old, her 20 year career has seen her break boundaries, win numerous awards, and producing multiplatinum and gold certified music.  

Morris is a few shows into her ‘Dreamsicle’ tour, having performed in Australia and Auckland, with one more show in Christchurch before she hops over to the States.  

She told Mike Hosking headlining her own tour has been incredible.  

“We’ve only done a handful of shows, but the crowds are so energetic, and they’re also a listening crowd,” Morris explained. 

“They really want to hear the stories behind the songs and how they were written ... it’s a great balance of like, y’know, they want to hear the backstories, but they’re also having fun and dancing.” 

“It’s a perfect crowd.” 

Morris’ career started early, but that doesn’t mean her success came early as well, which she says made the transition easier to handle.  

“Nothing of my career has happened overnight, or has been like, too quick to digest.” 

“The saying in Nashville is that it’s a ten-year town, so it takes ten years for most of the successful people to even have a song or album that resonates,” Morris told Hosking.  

“I think there’s obviously with any big success, there is a dose of timing and luck, all of those things.” 

“You just have to keep going and keep your eye on the target because it is ever moving.” 

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A new report from MYOB reveals that 33% of SMEs polled have more work or sales lined up for the first quarter than usual, and a further 40% say they have the amount they’d normally expect. 

The green shoots are showing up in sectors that have struggled of late, including manufacturers, retail, and construction. 

ABC Business Sales CEO Chris Small told Mike Hosking the vibe is incredibly positive, especially in comparison to the last two years. 

He says that this time last year they had high volumes of business owners saying their earnings were down and they weren’t going to take their business to market, but now those business owners are reporting strong previous quarters. 

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The All Whites have secured a game against England just before the World Cup – their highest-profile game in decades. 

And country-pop singer Maren Morris is in the country and joined for a chat about her career, from starting a 15-years-old to winning a Grammy. 

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The match will be held on June 7, New Zealand time, at an as yet unconfirmed venue. 

New Zealand Football boss Andrew Pragnell told Mike Hosking they've earned the fixture. 

He says every team is looking for fixes ahead of those critical world cup games, but over the last few years the All Whites have been attracting stronger and stronger opposition from around the world. 

It's the highest ranked opponent the All Whites have secured in 17 years, and the first time they've played England since 1991. 

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Nicola Willis announced an independent review this year of the monetary policy the Reserve Bank delivered during the pandemic. 

It'll be released just weeks before the election, and Labour's Chris Hipkins claims the Government's aiming to revive pandemic conspiracies. 

Willis told Mike Hosking she suspects it wouldn’t have mattered what the timing is, the reaction would’ve been the same – their political opponents saying they shouldn’t be asking these questions.  

But she says when the Reserve Bank did its own review, the results showed there hasn’t been enough examination into their decisions.  

The Finance Minister is also insisting she's keeping an eye on the banking space as ASB reports higher margins.  

The bank saw modest growth in the second half of last year, reporting a net profit of $765 million.  

Its net interest margins ticked up six basis points to 2.35%.  

Willis says told Hosking more people are already looking for better banking deals, and she's working to improve competition.  

She says she's comparing our regime internationally, especially with the banks' Australian counterparts, and looking at whether we're getting our settings right.  

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Australia's Government is stopping further tax increases landing on beer poured in venues from kegs. 

Meanwhile, excise tax continues to rise automatically in New Zealand every year. 

Brewers Association executive director Dylan Firth told Mike Hosking fewer people are going to the pub because the tax is driving up the cost of a pint. 

He says if hospitality businesses have their own keg rate, venues wouldn't have to push their margins as much to stay open, and people won't lose those socialised spaces. 

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Leading economists, business leaders, and public sector officials are gathering at Waikato University's Management School to talk economic priorities, challenges, and opportunities.  

Former Finance Minister Steven Joyce told Mike Hosking they'll discuss the benefits of MMP and the influence of big players like the US.  

He says they'll explore how the modern political world encourages nations to think tribally, and how social media is influencing people to think this way. 

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The bank printed $55 billion worth of digital money, costing taxpayers more than $10 billion.  

The review's findings will be released just weeks before the election – a move that's cast speculation of an underlying political motive by the Finance Minister.  

Former Reserve Bank senior staffer Geof Mortlock told Mike Hosking the Government's taken too long to get on with it.

He says he's been advocating for it, including to Nicola Willis, for at least two years, so it's well overdue.

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Origin's Westport to Wellington flight is in jeopardy. It's not the first small airline in the first small town to face this trouble. 

In fact, as a result of this trouble, the Government set up the Regional Infrastructure Fund for essential air services. 

I suppose the key is the word "essential" – is Westport to Wellington essential? 

The fund, it is suggested, is going to turn the airline down. Why? I don’t know. 

So we seem to have a rock-and-a-hard place scenario. 

Is life on the Coast about Hokitika? You can fly from there so is that good enough? 

Add the insurance issue on the Coast in and how many hurdles does a region need before it becomes a bit hard? Before you essentially just need a lot of Government support to keep the lights on? 

Of course it's the cold, hard reality of a small country with a small population that has decided, rightly or wrongly, to spread themselves out all over the place. 

Numbers matter. Planes need to be full, businesses need demand. The equation has to make sense. 

How much air connectivity is the right amount? 

What about freight vs people? What about product to market that requires speed, not the volume of a train or truck? 

How far should you have to drive? Hokitika is not far away. In fact, it could be quicker to go from Westport to Hokitika than it is from the North of Auckland to the South of Auckland where the airport is. 

We do, once again rightly or wrongly, expect a lot in small town New Zealand. We love the quiet of the country and rural New Zealand, just with all the first-world services and conveniences, if you wouldn’t mind. 

It's also true to say that small towns all over the world have the same issues. Places like Australia with its size, even more so than us. 

But if you don’t have an air link and you don’t have insurance and you can't find a GP and the dentist is in the city on the other side of the alps, you get to a tipping point where it all starts to become a bit hard. 

Is the Coast, or parts of it, in danger of that very scenario? 

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The Government's scrapping its Ministerial Advisory Group several months early after three members resigned last month, leaving just two. 

Labour's Ginny Anderson told Mike Hosking it's been a disaster since day one with zero outcomes, lead by the group chair Sunny Kaushal.  

She says he was a political appointment that backfired. 

But National’s Mark Mitchell says they wanted to make sure New Zealand’s small and medium businesses had a strong voice, which Kaushal has been.  

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Zoi Sadowski-Synnott discusses the success New Zealand is having at this year’s Winter Olympics, and her Big Air silver medal.  

Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen talk the success, or not, of the Retail Advisory Group, the LNG facility and whether it's a fee or levy, and the latest in the House on Politics Wednesday.  

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Incrediballs is the world’s first plastic-free, effervescent drink tablet, which dissolves in water to create a flavoured drink. 

Created by Ethique founder and former CEO Brianne West, it hopes to offer an alternative to single-use plastic. 

She told Mike Hosking it's a game changer as normal effervescent tablets are fundamentally unstable and must be sealed in plastic or metal. 

She says scientists have been working on stabilising these elements. 

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