The Mike Hosking Breakfast

A massive new power user could put extra pressure on the South Island’s electricity system.  Datagrid has just received resource consent for a $3 billion, 78 thousand square metre data centre north of Invercargill.  About 1,200 jobs will work on the construction and about 50 people will staff the facility.  It will be the second-largest power user in the country behind the nearby Tiwai Aluminium Smelter.  Auckland University computer science lecturer Ulrich Speidel told Mike Hosking it's going to shift the power balance in the South Island quite a bit.  He says in terms of power use, that’s about 70% of what Christchurch consumes, and you can’t just add major power users without eventually running into generation limits.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A tourism surge is putting pressure on Christchurch’s hotel capacity.  Hotels reached 96.4% occupancy last month – the highest February in a decade, and well above the national average.  ChristchurchNZ credits events like the Electric Avenue music festival and increased airline capacity.  Head of Destination Kath Low told Mike Hosking more hotels are needed, with several developments in the pipeline.  She says a Sheraton Hotel is opening next year in the former Noah's Hotel building, which will add 240 rooms.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government admits its walking a fine line between being prepared and causing panic.  It's considering a raft of possible measures like car-less days, limits on petrol sales, and the introduction of fuel coupons if oil prices continue to rise.  Iran's threatening to keep the critical Strait of Hormuz closed for the foreseeable future.  Nicola Willis told Mike Hosking New Zealand's still in a good place right now, with a secure 50-day fuel supply.  She says they're proactive in case the situation changes, further down the track.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Question six, the House of Parliament Question Time.   Winston Peters to Simeon Brown. The mandate for 12 to 17 year olds and the double dose of the vaccine – seek it out, it’s a fascinating exchange.  Tuesday, Chris Hipkins and Ayesha Verral denied the concerns raised by the Ministry of Health ever reached their desks.  Peters presented evidence it did, and even after it did it took a very long time for anything to be done about it.  So a couple of issues out of that. Firstly, it is potentially a misleading of the House – a very serious issue. More importantly, a misleading of us.  There is little more egregious for a number of New Zealanders out of the Covid experience than the vaccine issue.  Sadly, a lot of the noise around it was tin hat material driven by Ouija board thinking, but some of it, not much, but some of it was real.  The risks became a lightning rod. All vaccines carry risk, but concerns were raised about rushed development. And then making that risk higher, mandating of that rushed development into the arms of New Zealanders.  Also making this complicated is the line between politics and health, politics and expertise.  The government has a right to ignore advice – they do it all the time. But can you ignore health advice – an area you are not expert in?  Part of what Peters raised, that may well be a longer term issue, is legal. Is there a case to be heard, whereby a government knew of a problem around a vaccine and yet did nothing with that knowledge until later. Meantime any number of young people were exposed to a risk they didn’t have to be.  Associated with the stance is the broader, but not legal aspect of this. If that is the sort of approach a government can take, then how does that dovetail with the overarching view that governments want vaccine rates in the high 90s – in other words, they want public trust.  A lot of the Covid response and report is about interpretation and ideology. This appears much more specific, worrying, and potentially dishonest. Watch this space. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Italy’s Prime Minister has joined other EU leaders in criticising the US-Israeli war on Iran.  They’ve reportedly bombed nearly ten thousand civilian sites, killing well over a thousand in Iran and hundreds more in Lebanon.  Giorgia Meloni described the conflict as part of a growing and dangerous trend of interventions that fall “outside the scope of international law”.  Italy Correspondent Jo McKenna told Mike Hosking Meloni is walking a tightrope between not wanting to be too openly critical of Donald Trump, but also being mindful of the polls.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a successful summer circuit in New Zealand, Kiwi shot-putter Tom Walsh is gearing up for a year of international competitions.  The Diamond League is only a few weeks away and the Commonwealth Games are set for July through to August in Glasgow.  But Walsh told Mike Hosking that despite performing well over the summer, his results weren’t quite what he wanted them to be, distance-wise.  “This is kind of the part where you’ve really got to trust what you’re doing,” Walsh said.  “Sometimes you’ve kind of got to, y’know, take a few hits early season to help you line up later in the season when, when things really count.”  “The Commonwealth Games is what we’re really working towards, and sometimes you’ve got to step back, and remind yourself of that.”   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 12th of March, the Government is offering a pay rise to non-union primary teachers as the union’s negotiations continue.   Air NZ CEO Nikhil Ravishankar discussed the price hikes and how long they’ll last, fuel issues, and whether the airline is panicking or not.   Kiwi shot-putter Tom Walsh is back after dominating the summer circuit in New Zealand and talks his KPIs and prep ahead of the Diamond League season and the Commonwealth Games.  Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The exercise industry is making gains.  New data shows the industry is defying economic headwinds, with 96% of adults —around 2.67 million people— exercising.  Nearly a million are regularly using structured facilities like gyms and studios, making up 26% of adults – up from 22% in 2024.  Exercise NZ CEO Richard Beddie told Mike Hosking whereas traditional sport is on a decline worldwide, recreational fitness such as the gym, dance, and martial arts are growing.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Keeping the Marsden Point refinery open would not have helped the current fuel supply situation, as the crude oil it refined would have come from the same choke points as overseas refineries, a senior economic advisor says.  It follows Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones’ statement yesterday that the closure of Marsden Point under Labour had “fatally wounded” New Zealand’s fuel security.  But according to a 2025 fuel security study for the Government, keeping the privately-owned Marsden Point open would have been the mostly costly resilience option, and would only have bought a little more resilience, Heuser Whittington partner Andreas Heuser told Mike Hosking this morning.  “There are much better resilience options such as increasing the tankage in New Zealand, and our transition to EVs will also help us.”  Heuser was confident New Zealand currently had the right settings in place, although it may need to look at updating the minimum stockholding requirements for diesel.  However, if the situation became more serious and led to rationing, the Petroleum Demand Restraint Act 1981 may need updating to reflect that New Zealand no longer had a domestic refinery.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heinz Wattie's says it's just not viable to continue selling frozen vegetables, Gregg's Coffee, and several dips.   It's proposing to close manufacturing facilities in Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin, packing operations in Hastings, and cut 350 jobs.   Managing Director Andrew Donegan says the past five years have been tough for the company.   He told Mike Hosking it includes big increases in the price of gas, energy, diesel, and coffee.   Donegan says it's meant an almost 40% increase in the cost of producing a ton of vegetables.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.