The Mike Hosking Breakfast

One of the more memorable days of my life was spent at Michael Hill's house at Lake Hayes in Central Otago.  He showed me his art. There was a lot of it and it was eclectic.  He had his own nine-hole golf course, and it was all par 3s. This was in the days before The Hills, which in many respects was what Michael was all about – vision.  He took his par 3s and then turned it into one of the best golf courses in the country. Watching the New Zealand Open each year is worth it just for the views of his course.  When I was there, the charity event he ran started at Millbrook just across the way. Millbrook was new then and you wondered whether it was one of those investments that would grow to be the success it has or turn out like Formosa or Gulf Harbour.  I had won the pro-am that day. He presented me with a ticket to Australia, a few thousand dollars, and various bits and pieces from his jewellery business, that I ironically couldn't accept, given I wasn’t a pro, and amateurs were banned from winning stuff.  But I had beaten Sean Fitzpatrick, Andrew Mehrtens, Peter O'Malley, and Greg Turner, so what did I need prizes for?  Michael never forgot the day and reminded me each time I talked to him that I should give golf a go again and to come and play at his place anytime I liked.  I first interviewed him in the 80's. He was newish then. The story of the Whangarei shop, the fire, setting up his own business, it became New Zealand business folklore.  I did one of those motivational events with him, where I hosted. He and other success stories told paying guests how they did it, what the tips were, and how to never give up.  He was big into classical music and was a philanthropist in that area.  His company became a household name, expanding into Australia, Canada, and the US.  The advertising was genius.  He revelled in the personality thing. He was a health nut, doing a lot of juicing, probably before his time in that sense.  Like most success stories, he had a magnetism about him. He was very likeable, had good stories and was funny with it.  He was in many respects the quintessential New Zealand success story – hard working, self-made, and deprecating.  He was a memorable, inspiring Kiwi. He will be missed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sir Michael Hill's being remembered for his love of the arts.  He died yesterday aged 86, after a cancer battle.  Hill's chain of self-named jewellery stores began in Whangārei, before becoming a global brand.   Former Queenstown Mayor Jim Boult says he's well-known for his Queenstown golf course 'the Hills', and the international violin competition he founded.  He was also a cartoonist, publishing a weekly cartoon in the local newspaper, 'The Mountain Scene'.  Boult told Mike Hosking Hill was one of those people who was never satisfied until they’d actually achieved something.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With a wide range of announcements and figures coming out over the last week, Labour’s Ginny Andersen and National’s Mark Mitchell joined Mike Hosking for Politics Wednesday.  They discussed Brooke van Velden’s consultations on children collecting eggs, clamping the cars of court fine dodgers, and scrapping surcharges.  Plus, they delved into the changes around voting – is axing same-day voting the right choice?  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 30th July, nurses are on strike today and gang numbers are up – a double blow for the Government.  Netball NZ has secured its broadcast deal – a one year deal with TVNZ. Is it the solution, or just a band aid?   Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell talk gang numbers, the House performances, and Brooke van Velden and eggs on Politics Wednesday.  Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Short term loans, minimal or no break fees, and cash-back incentives are driving a record number of mortgage holders changing lenders in June.  More than 3,500 holders switched nearly two and a half billion dollars of debt between loan providers last month.  It's the highest since records began in 2017.  Squirrel Mortgages CEO David Cunningham told Mike Hosking it’s a bit of a pass the parcel exercise for banks.  He says that rather than pass on a lower interest rate to everyone, they just give them to those who go searching.  Cunningham told Hosking it’s a good way to seemingly compete with each other without really impacting their profits.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Netball New Zealand will dip into its own pocket to keep the ANZ Premiership afloat in 2026.  A one-year broadcast deal with TVNZ has been confirmed, with the competition to remain in the current two-round format.  Chief executive Jennie Wyllie has not revealed how much the deal is worth or whether players will take a pay cut.  She told Mike Hosking there is a change in economics, but they feel it’s the new deal is aligned with the vision they have for the game – that Kiwis can see it with ease.  Wyllie says the broadcast is different and there’s more risk in the market, but they’re willing to step into it as they know the game has a future.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nurses are fed up over chronic short-staffing, despite graduates seeking jobs.   More than 30 thousand nurses and heath professionals will be off the job from 9am, withdrawing labour from all Health New Zealand services for the next 24 hours.   Strikes are taking place in over 30 locations across the country, with thousands of procedures and appointments postponed.  Nurses Organisation Chief Executive Paul Goulter told Mike Hosking Health NZ doesn't realise the risks its staff and patients are under.  He says you need nurses for a safe health system, and we don't have that, so it's a political choice.   Goulter says their pay gap needs to be improved by a matter of a few percent, and at the moment they don’t even come close to the cost of living.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has begun looking for possible areas for cutbacks for next year's Budget.  Associate Finance Minister David Seymour said he hopes the Government can equal or exceed the savings achieved in its first two Budgets.  He says the Government's trying to reduce its spending from about 35% of GDP to about 31%.  Seymour told Mike Hosking it's an ongoing process of "looking behind the couch" for savings.  He says it's a matter of every year, every Budget, finding things that the Government would never have started and stopping them.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the gang numbers grow police say they're keeping a better check on their behaviour.  Gang numbers have climbed past 10 thousand, up from 9,270 in 2023.   Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Basham says since the Gang Act was passed, they've launched more than nine thousand charges against gang members.   He told Mike Hosking they have a laser focus on gangs.   Basham says part of the increase could be attributed to police keeping a closer eye on them.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you want to get a bit angsty about the voting changes, the one everyone seems to have missed is the one about how it's being changed because we are so hopeless.  On the “disenfranchised” side of the equation, I have little, if any, time for it.  An election is held every three years. Between the last one and the next one that’s a lot of days to, at some point, stick your name down for another crack.  The fact you can't rock up on the day is only going to “disenfranchise” you if you are a bit disorganised.  Everyone loves a conspiracy theory so a few jumped on the old "it will favour the right" line. It won't.  But here is the bigger question: why can't you enrol on the day? Because we can't cope.  Why can't we cope? Because we are a small island backwater with a technological mentality to go with it.  I asked Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith last week why we aren't like the Germans. The German elections have their results as the polls close. Watch them next time, it's awesome.  We don’t, he said, because they're efficient. Why aren't we efficient? He laughed, as well he might.  Elections, technologically, are the thing time forgot. Years back we talked of phones and votes and electronic registration. None of it has happened and none of it will.  We can't conduct a Census properly, we make a marae a polling station where the CEO is also the candidate and we still have rules being changed around food and drink, despite the fact that got first raised as an issue 100 years ago when they called it treating.  We have mail votes at local body elections, despite the fact no one uses mail, so the post office is besides themselves.  Our rules around political donations are constantly tinkered with.  Elections just appear a bit hard for us. It's true there are issues elsewhere - we don’t seem to have the waiting times many do, we are corruption free, and participation is high.  But the fact you can't execute a fairly simple and logical idea like same-day registration does remind you that when it comes to modern day efficiency, it's not a “disenfranchising” scandal that did us in.  It's the gliding-on nature of how we run things. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.