Episodes
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I feel there should be a rule, and the rule is around balance.
Part of the media's demise is its unfairness in coverage, the latest example of which is the school lunch programme.
We have a smattering of coverage. When I say smattering, I have found two things.
One is by Radio NZ, who have the same stats as story number two by the Herald.
Radio NZ, once they produced the stats, clearly couldn't help themselves, given it was good news, so they went and found a miserable principal to moan some more about the lunch programme.
Their moan was, given the previous moaning didnât work and things aren't going back to the way they were, they must have given up.
By the way these are the numbers: 99%+ delivered each day, complaints down by 92% and students positive feedback through the roof.
The Herald's story contained the term 3 testing news: new meals, with students in the trial posting 73% positive feedback.
By any standards these numbers are a success story. Where there was trouble at the start, the trouble has been fixed.
So, to fairness. Very little the Government did this year got more media spotlight than school lunches. The TV news in particular went to town on it, night after night, after night, melting plastic, burnt kids, shots of mush, finger pointing, union representatives and delivery delays. It was a feeding frenzy, and the media were in, boots and all.
So where are they now?
Apart from two stories, where are they now? We have stats and detail, we have a fix, we have happy kids and, do remember, the reason for it all in the first place, we have money saved and a lot of it.
And not just money saved, but more kids actually getting fed.
So as an exercise we are doing more with less and the recipients are happy.
So where are the stories? Where is the balance? Where is the fairness?
The rule should be minute for minute, column inch for column inch. If you loved the pile on, you have to be back to present the end result.
You have to do the right thing. You have to provide the other side, the balance and the outcome. If you donât then the charge of bias sticks.
You look like an attention seeking, clickbait warrior and your pleas for the value of journalism fall flat.
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The scorching heatwave sweeping Europe has claimed lives.
Six people have died as temperatures top 40C, with three deaths in Italy, two in Spain, and one in France.
In parts of Italy, admissions to emergency units has risen by 15-20%, with a majority of patients being elderly.
Italy Correspondent Jo McKenna told Mike Hosking that the government is issuing alerts saying that those working in construction or working outdoors should be out of the sun between 12:30 and 4pm.
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New Zealandâs property values are ticking back up again.
New data from Cotality has revealed a 0.2% national increase in June, reversing the 0.1% falls that came in April and May.
The medium house price remains around the $815,000 mark, with Tauranga and Christchurch both increasing by 0.6%.
Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson told Mike Hosking property values are fairly flat when averaged out over a few months.
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There wonât be many in the world who would argue that Jason Aldeanâs not a country music superstar.
He moved up to Nashville at age 21, and after signing and being dropped by a couple of agencies, he got picked up by Broken Bow Records, launching his debut single and album in 2005.
From there the rest is history â 30 number 1 country singles, almost 20 billion streams, 20 million albums sold, multiple platinum records, as well as being named ACMâs Artist of the Decade, among other things.
Itâs all culminated in his âFull Throttle Tourâ going international, and Aldean will be making his way to our shores early next year.
He told Mike Hosking the music industry is a tough business to break into.
âWeâve been around for twenty years, so itâs been a good ride, but itâs definitely a tough business,â Aldean said.
âNot for the faint of heart, for sure.â
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On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 3rd of July, ACT and NZ First have shut down the proposal for a publicly funded body to cost election policies.
Remember when the previous Government gave Proceeds of Crime funds back to the Mongrel Mob for a meth program? This Government is changing it so that can never happen again.
Country music superstar Jason Aldean is heading to our shores and with Mikeâs love of the genre, we had to get him on for a chat.
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The Government hopes to further separate itself from its predecessor with new changes to the Proceeds of Crime Fund.
The latest round of funding has granted three programmes a collective $5 million to address youth offending and meth harm.
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says recent changes mean there's a clear and consistent assessment for new initiatives.
She told Mike Hosking they want to ensure the projects are workable as opposed to throwing taxpayer money at the sky and hoping for results.
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A nine-year fight to create a publicly funded election policy-costing unit has come to an end.
Act and New Zealand First have shot down Finance Minister Nicola Willis's proposal to create one.
Metiria Turei, then-Green Party co-leader, first proposed the idea in 2016.
Former Finance Minister Steven Joyce told Mike Hosking Willis's proposal was different from those that have come before.
He says to cost individual policies at the request of parties would have dealt with a problem that happens when you're in Opposition.
Joyce says that's when you don't have access to the information.
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A clear message from the Government: New Zealand can't succeed if Auckland doesn't succeed.
The Government's agreed to negotiate with Auckland Council on a 10-year deal to boost housing, infrastructure, and economic growth in our largest city.
It's also agreed to negotiate similar deals with Western Bay of Plenty and Central Otago.
Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop told Mike Hosking the deal will align local and central government on up-zoning, rapid transit, and innovation precincts.
He says Auckland is New Zealand's main international city and is a big driver of economic growth around the country.
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A watchful eye is on the $41 million allocated to upskill staff working in youth care homes.
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has announced the boost, which aims to improve support to kids in care.
It follows a review of Oranga Tamariki in 2023 that found parts of the workforce relatively unskilled.
Chief Children's Commissioner Claire Achmad told Mike Hosking she'll be watching how the money's used to ensure good outcomes for young people.
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It's only the start of Wednesday so let's be honest we've only had two days of news, and we already have two stories around power.
The first was Transpower saying we need to find more avenues of power generation and we need to do that quickly, because until all the promised transition stuff comes online, we are going to be short of capacity.
No kidding.
They said we have a lot of promises on renewables, but the delivery isn't happening all that quickly.
No kidding.
The second was Genesis saying they are looking at what they call a fast-start generation plant at Huntly.
Hasnât Huntly become quite the âthingâ? A while back Huntly was the ugly girlfriend of the power generation family.
Poor, old, ugly, fat Huntly. That was when promises around wind and sun were flying and the future was renewable, and we would all save the planet.
What a gargantuan cock-up that turned out to be. Now for at least the third winter in a row the industry is falling over itself to tell us what's not right, what's not delivered and drumming up new ideas that, dare I suggest, should have been drummed up a long time ago.
As regards Huntly gas and coal, could I ask why is it now that they are dreaming up these ideas?
The coal pile, by the way, has never been larger, but gas and coal take 12 hours to get going. In short, fast start, it says what it does, and you turn it on like a light.
Can I ask why is it now that all the power companies are cooperating around Huntly to keep it going for years to come?
Why is it we wait until we are broken to actually find a few solutions?
When Jacinda made her captain's call to kill the gas industry, why did no one in power go âhold on, we aren't ready"?
Why are so few proactive? Why is so little preventative planning done?
Why do we have winters of angst around rainfall and businesses cutting production and Methanex selling their power to others?
Why is it we wait until we donât have it to think of what to do about getting it back?
NZ Inc, eh? Very 1986.
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The US President is facing questions over health coverage cuts in his tax and spending bill, which just passed the Senate
The casting vote of Vice-President JD Vance was needed, but it still needs House approval before it can be signed by Donald Trump by July 4th.
The Congressional Budget Office says 11.8 million people could lose health coverage if it becomes law.
US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that Trump originally said they wouldnât touch Medicaid, which has turned out to be a lie.
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A Kiwi start up has been going gangbusters across the ditch.
Medsalv remanufactures single-use medical products, cleaning and disinfecting them so they can be safely reused.
After eight years in business, their products have been approved by Pharmac for use in New Zealand.
CEO Oliver Hunt told Mike Hosking it's been done in America for a while, but theyâre really bringing it to the rest of the world, Australia and New Zealand in particular, now.
The range of products they can remanufacture is pretty substantial, he says, and they can clean products up to 14 times at a significantly lower cost than the original products.
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Crime is at the forefront this Politics Wednesday, with multiple new measures and harsher punishments being announced.
Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen joined Mike Hosking to discuss the new developments, along with the other major stories of the week thus far.
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On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 2nd of July, we've got the retail crime crackdown promised at the start of the week. Will it work, or does it look better on paper?
Jaffas have been 86'd, along with the likes of snifters, tangy fruits, and smarties. Could someone else come onboard and save our iconic sweet?
Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell debate whether youth MPs are being repressed, the various crime announcements, and whether Mike should be a patron for a police college wing on Politics Wednesday.
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Consents keep dropping but the energy in the building sector may be beginning to turn.
Stats NZ figures show new home consents fell 3.8% in the year to May and plunged 8.6% for multi-unit dwellings.
Stats NZ says it's levelling off, but NZIER's latest Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion shows only 3% of building firms expect conditions to improve, down from 6% three months ago.
But Combined Building Supplies Co-Op CEO Carl Taylor told Mike Hosking that building consent data is only a small part of the industry, and as a whole, itâs starting to feel better across the board.
He says that some stats are normally three or four months behind, and instead they track what their members are spending across their merchants, which has seen a 10% increase on the previous month.
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A slew of justice announcements this week.
The Government's rolling out harsher punishments for theft and new fines for shoplifting â including a proposed infringement fee of up to $1000, based on item value.
Maximum penalties for shoplifting less than $2000 will be one year behind bars, and seven if worth more than that.
They also made coward punching a specific offence, which could carry a life sentence if fatal.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith told Mike Hosking all of their measures are to send the clear message that if you commit a crime, there will be consequences.
He says their primary goal is to reduce the number of victims of crime, which theyâre making good progress on.
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The end of an era for one of our most iconic sweets.
Levin confectioner RJ's has discontinued production of Jaffas, due to poor sales.
The orange-coated balls of chocolate were previously produced by Cadbury in Dunedin and have been on our shelves for almost a century.
Mike Hutcheson, former Managing Director of Saatchi & Saatchi, told Mike Hosking that a competitor would pick up Jaffas in a heartbeat.
He says itâs not just a sweet, itâs a symbol, and itâs possible to turn it around and make Jaffas a brand that means something.
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The company overseeing the new infrastructure and ferries for Cook Strait is confident it can deliver by 2029.
Winston Peters has announced agreements to build and modernise ports in Wellington and Picton for the arrival of new Interislander ferries.
Ferry Holdings Chair Chris Mackenzie says there will be robust discussions between KiwiRail, Ferry Holdings, and ports on delivering the project.
He's feeling positive, despite New Zealand's track record with infrastructure.
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The shakeup to shoplifting laws continues to be seen as a good first step among retailers, but the boss of Briscoes and Rebel Sport believes the devil will be in the detail.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith's unveiled the latest crackdown proposals, including speeding ticket-like infringements, and up to seven years prison time for theft more than $2000.
Briscoe Group Managing Director Rod Duke told Mike Hosking it's a terrific start and guesses there will be enforcement guidance to come.
He's hoping there will be consequences embedded in the legislation but given it could be a year in the making, they will have to wait to see what happens.
Duke also believes theyâll need to be strengthened down the line - the latest proposals may only deter some, as he says there are very experienced thieves around.
He says losing the money is catastrophic, but the bigger issue is the fact staff are abused, injured, and threatened in these situations.
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Records have been set in Spain and Portugal as extreme heat continues to roast Europe.
Temperatures at or above 38C are expected through the week, rolling eastward to encompass France, Italy, and eventually portions of Eastern Europe.
A record number of heat alerts are in place across France, with 16 regions on red alert, and 68 others on orange alert.
Europe Correspondent Catherine Field told Mike Hosking while heatwaves arenât uncommon in summer, thereâs never been temperatures this high, this early.
She says Monday was the hottest June day in France ever, and itâs only going to get worse by Tuesday lunchtime.
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