The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The Acting Prime Minister says judges need to hear the message when it comes to tougher sentencing. The Government's increasing maximum sentences for several offences and isn't ruling out more minimum, or mandatory, sentences in the future. David Seymour told Heather du Plessis-Allan judges need to think outside their position of privilege. He says someone who has been attacked, or has had their car or property stolen, wants the perpetrator to be punished.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Education Ministry data shows three and a half thousand kids have been missing from the education system for more than a year since 2022.  Lead Principal of the Manurewa Attendance Service Cathy Chalmers told Heather du Plessis-Allan having to find these kids is part of the problem.  She says a multi-agency approach is needed, as there are normally other issues that contribute to disenrollment or low attendance.  The Government says it's putting information-sharing agreements in place, between agencies like Kainga Ora and the Health Ministry See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A law expert says the court system can be fixed by understanding facts - not mandatory sentences.  Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith hasn't ruled out the policy which would see a minimum standard set for various crimes.  Judges currently have discretion to give discounts based on aggravating or mitigating circumstances.  Former High Court judge Sir Ron Young says New Zealand has a lot of people in prison as it is.  He told Heather du Plessis-Allan the courts are already on the heavy end of sentencing, with people serving up to 20 years for murder compared to just ten, 30 years ago.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The second phase of the Covid Inquiry starts today, with vaccine mandates proving to be a hot topic.   The hearings will be held in Auckland, available to watch online and will be chaired by KC Grant Illingworth.   Phase two is focused on aspects of the Covid response like vaccine mandates, the approval process and vaccine safety.  Illingworth told Heather du Plessis Allan that there are 31-thousand submissions, with a fair chunk focused on the mandates.  He says there's a number of people who think the mandates protected them, and many others who have an opposite view. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There appears to be a feeling we don't like the fact that banks make money.  Inland Revenue's digging into the tax settings being applied to banks at the Government's request - as it seeks to ensure they're paying their fair share.   But Massey University banking expert Claire Matthews told Heather du Plessis-Allen she believes it's motivated by a general bad attitude towards banks.   She claims the Government's looking to take more money off them, as they're perceived as big organizations that make a lot of money.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What we need is an "are we sure we know what we are doing before we rush into this" catalogue or guide.  The EV story might turn out to be one of the world's, and certainly the transportation industry's, biggest headaches as company after company admit they leapt in way too quick to electric, bought into all the Government-led madness on climate and invested, God-knows how much to transfer to a mode of movement the world wasn’t ready for, or wanted.  EVs were sold as way more than they ever were.  Now even the scientists are waking up. There's a good piece of reading from Dr Caroline Shaw published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, whereby they do what we really should have done at the start and look at the EV in totality.  It said don’t get all hyped and hooked up on emissions. Yes, emissions in an EV vs petrol debate do drop. But what about the rest of it? They looked at all sorts of things like the extra weight, therefore the extra wear and tear, the weight and therefore the potential for injury, the cheapness of driving, therefore you drive more, therefore our fitness drops as we drive and don’t walk.  They looked at a myriad of things that should have been thought about and scoped out on day one and weighed up.  Because here is the end result: when you add all that stuff up, the good, the bad and the ugly, electrifying cars would lie somewhere between harmful and neutral.  Are you serious?  Going electric could be harmful? Would it have not been useful to crunch a few of those ideas to understand this at the start of the obsession that drove the thinking?  Or, like so much ideology, do the details not matter as long as we can leap on the old bandwagon, take a small piece of the bigger picture and then milk it for all its worth, knowing that we can leave the reality and the clean-up for another day?  This by the way is not anti-EV.  It’s the realisation that like most things, what was the answer, and the obsession, and the next new thing, actually turns out to be just another piece in a way bigger, more complex, picture than the obsessives ever care to learn about.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big-ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all.    July 1st: 7/10  A lot of cool stuff started, including higher speed limits on roads where higher speed limits make sense and increase efficiency.    Helipads: 8/10  Amazing for so many reasons; well-known rich people, a ridiculous number of submissions, a massive waste of energy and, finally, they won.    Offensive to girls: 3/10  The fuss over the Warehouse and the backpack is pathetic. It was a joke. It was light-hearted.    The All Blacks: 7/10  A new season, new hope, new excitement and an easy opener.    Wegovy: 7/10  That was a lot of publicity in the news for a product next to no one can afford.    School lunches: 7/10  Because with the new stats, the new meals, and the new feedback, that is a good example of a problem solved. Now, are the media going to give the same amount of coverage to the answer as they did to the problem?    LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Republicans are celebrating after US President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" bill crossed the line.  Trump is expected to sign his sweeping domestic policy bill tomorrow as he celebrates the Fourth of July at the White House.  House Speaker Mike Johnson claims everything was a disaster under the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris administration.  US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking there was a lot of drama throughout the entire process, but eventually, Trump bullied the vast majority of House Republicans into signing onto the bill.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There was a survey out last week that broadly supported the Government’s moves around KiwiSaver, as in the 3% and 3% going to 4% and 4%.  But they wanted the Government to do something about the cut in contribution from the state.  Small hint – if you rely on the Government for any consistency around long term projects, forget it.  From the very beginning of KiwiSaver, the Government were always going to be the weak link.  When it comes to big picture stuff, dedication and focus from a government is a casualty of the three year political cycle. They were never going to be our friend on retirement savings.  The best advice I offer anyone, including our kids, is do it yourself. It's your life, your decision and your future, so do it yourself.  To show you how hopeless we are at saving in this country, figures released last week in America showed their KiwiSaver, what they call their 401k, hit a record high at 14.3%.  So while we are mucking around on 3-4% they are up to over 14%.  Here is the kicker – the industry says it really should 15% if you want to be comfortable.  A psychological step change is required and I'm not sure we will ever get there.  Whether its employer contributions that get offered instead of more pay, or whether it’s the Australian style compulsion, a lot of countries do it a lot of different ways and most of them have dealt with the age of retirement as well.  We basically are stuck with 65-years-old, and angst around even a debate about changing it, and far too many people who get to retirement and are stuck with a state-funded payout that has never been good and will not serve you well, if it's all you have to live off.  There is of course no reason for this to even be a problem. Lee Kuan Yew many years ago in Singapore took a third world country, told them to save, forced them to save, and now they are rich.  The answers are all there. Australia has it sorted, the Norway fund is famous, and even the Americans at 14.3% seem to have it solved.  We need to look and learn and then get our act together and apply a bit of basic discipline to our long-term futures that don’t rely on a government. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson are back with Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that was.  The historic Cardrona Hotel has been put up for sale – is Mike personable enough to run a hotel?  Tim and Kate offer up some programming advice, and the three delve into various athletics and racquet sports.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.