The Mike Hosking Breakfast

A small tip on news coverage.  The media can go some small way to redeeming its reputation by asking more questions.  One of the current obsessions is the closure of hospitality outlets.  A café only needs to announce their closing, and the media can't swoop fast enough with a doom and gloom headline.  To be fair, The Hospitality Association doesn’t help. They roll out no shortage of misery stories.  Ruby in Auckland got headlines the other day after they announced they were leaving downtown Auckland. Now, Ruby isn't hospitality, but the same fetish for bad headlines applies.  Get into the detail and, yes, the Auckland vibe isn't what it might once have been, but the real reason they were leaving is the space didn’t suit them anymore. They were off elsewhere and days later their original space was snapped up by a business that was keen to expand.  Fast forward to this week and it’s the Rice Bowl Burger Bar in Wellington.  Cue the Stuff headline: "Another Wellington hospo business announces closure".  Here is what I know: every story has a story. It is not always the economy. In fact, often it isn't the economy. In some cases, it's wrong place i.e. they took the car parks away, or sometimes it's bad luck i.e. they built the CRL around you and didn’t compensate you.  Sometimes it's because you aren't very good at your job i.e. your food is crap and there are better places down the road.  Sometimes it's about migration. Hospo is an easy way to buy work for you and the family, but that doesn't mean you're any good or understand the culture. But it is a ticket to work and a visa.  The evidence, for those who want to look at it, shows hospo for those who work hard, offer good food and good service, does well. The country, sadly, is over hospo-ed.  And irony of ironies, despite the closure and woe and misery headlines, we actually have more hospo outlets than we ever have.  One closes, but at least another one, if not more, open. But they don’t write about the start-ups.  Because that would be just a bit too upbeat, wouldn't it? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 3rd of February, Education Minister Erica Stanford unpacks the new reporting system for junior education.  Meta VP and Global Head of Safety Antigone Davis is in the country and discusses what they're doing to protect kids online and her thoughts on the social media bans gaining traction around the world.  9News Finance Editor Chris Kohler puts both our and Australia’s financial concerns in humorous light and discusses his book ‘How They Get You’.  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.

Fresh allegations have emerged linking former UK-US Ambassador Lord Mandelson to Jeffrey Epstein.  Newly released files suggest Mandelson shared internal government information with the convicted sex offender.  The revelations follow the release of photographs showing Mandelson in his underwear.  Mandelson was sacked as the ambassador last year and is now stepping down from the UK Labour Party entirely.  UK Correspondent Rod Liddle told Mike Hosking the Labour Party’s leadership is tainted, as Sir Keir Starmer made him the Ambassador having known he had connections with Epstein.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finances can be a bit of a struggle.   Costs are constantly rising, and in an era of auto-payments and forgotten subscriptions, it can sometimes be difficult to keep on top of everything, or even know that you’re getting the best deal.  9News Finance Editor Chris Kohler is becoming increasingly popular on social media for incorporating dry wit into usually boring economic news and has written a book called ‘How They Get You’.  ‘How They Get You’ covers “sneaky” everyday economics and what you can do to outsmart the systems and save your money.  Kohler told Mike Hosking the intent of the book is to take a good thorough look at something that tends to be boring and is often pushed to the side.  “I think people are really smart actually, I think that they just are presented with information in a way that makes them feel like it’s nebulous, or it’s above their heads, or they don’t have the right education.”  “For most people, they’re, their radar of when something isn’t fair, and when something is a bit off is really good, but I think that they’re not given the tools to argue with financial institutions in a way that might help them.”   Kohler very much subscribes to the mentality that if you look after the pennies, the pounds will take care of themselves, though he says it’s more than pennies at the moment.  “The difference between the best and the worst mortgage rate out there at the moment is a couple hundred a month for people.”  “I think it’s very important to, to have a good hard look at the money that we’re spending and whether or not we can be spending less.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New entrants are needing more help than ever.   Primary schools are reporting record levels of children arriving without basic skills such as talking, eating and toileting.  Data from the Auckland Primary Principals’ Association shows 92% of schools report new entrants don’t know the letters in their own name.  Director of New Shoots Children's Centre Kelly Seaburg told Mike Hosking there isn't good data on what kids have learned prior to attending school.  She says they know whether children have attended Early Childhood Education, but they have no idea how many hours they’ve spent there.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Current liquor licensing rules are overzealous, according to Nelson's Mayor.  Nick Smith says it felt odd that he was unable to buy a bottle of wine at the Ready to Roll concert on Sunday, at Neudorf Vineyards in Nelson.  Patrons were only able to buy it in cups.  Nelson Mayor Nick Smith told Mike Hosking the licensing authority would make the organisers of the event agree to strict conditions if they want bottles, which is a bit over the top.  He says he's gone to similar events for decades and he's never seen any trouble.  Smith told Hosking it's not just concerts where this is happening – earlier in his term as Mayor, they had to use a screen to block people being seen drinking at tables on Trafalgar Street.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meta's Global Head of Safety is calling a social media ban a bit of a fool's errand.  More than five million social media accounts have been deactivated or restricted in Australia since its world-first ban for under 16s took effect in December.  Our Government's been mulling its own ban, with a parliamentary select committee investigating the issue.  Meta's Global Head of Safety Antigone Davis told Mike Hosking parental controls are the better approach.  She says teens will find a way around a ban, as you can't restrict the whole internet.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many Kiwis re-fixed their mortgage last year and will be re-fixing their mortgage again this year too.  Four in five borrowers have re-fixed in the past year – a 13-year high.  And more than two-thirds of fixed rate loans are due to come up for renewal this year.  Westpac Chief Economist Kelly Eckhold told Mike Hosking most people have been opting for one-year or 18-month terms, instead of longer periods.  He says those terms have the best interest rates and would have allowed people to benefit from any further OCR cuts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's keeping a closer eye on kids' achievement across primary and intermediate school.  It's announced nationally consistent assessments and reporting will be rolled out this year for reading, writing, and math.  Reports are also planned to give advice to parents on how they can help out at home.  Education Minister Erica Stanford told Mike Hosking the reports will be filled with intense detail, for example, the maths report will actually show results in algebra, geometry, and measurement.   She says parents will now know in detail exactly where their children are at.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Monday the 2nd of February, as of today GP's can now diagnose people with ADHD. We speak to a man who has worked on this for over 10 years. The Prime Minister joins Mike Hosking to talk Winston and his immigration issues, the Board of Peace and our critical minerals talk with the U.S. Jason Pine and Andrew Saville talk Sam Ruthe, the Australian Open and the motorsport over the weekend.   Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.