The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Auspicious timing with one of New Zealand’s best chefs returning to our shores as excitement around Michelin Stars continues to build.   One of only two Kiwi chefs whose restaurant earned a star, Matt Lambert held one between 2013 and 2020 with his New York restaurant ‘The Musket Room’.   He’s now decided to return to New Zealand with a new culinary venture, ‘Return’, a restaurant described by Lambert as ‘The Musket Room 2.0’.   Having experience with the guide, Lambert believes the arrival of Michelin Stars in New Zealand will be amazing for the country’s tourism and dining scene.  “It basically tells the rest of the world we have restaurants as good as the rest of the world,” Lambert told Mike Hosking.  “A lot of people travel through Europe, and they’ll just use the guide verbatim to go to all the restaurants they go to ... now, if they’re coming here, it opens the door for a lot of restaurants.”  Earning a Michelin Star was a long held goal for Lambert, and it was one of the reasons he moved to New York in the first place.  “The goal was to get a star within three years,” he told Hosking.  “It was one of the most special things I’ve done in my career, because I’d had that sort of vision for a very long time, and having the opportunity to be able to achieve a goal like that, [it] was a special moment.”   Despite all the doom and gloom that seems to surround the sector, Lambert doesn’t believe things are as bad as they seem.  “I love the hospo scene – I think it’s vibrant, I think it’s great ... there’s a lot happening and it’s all pretty good.”  And while some might look at the economy and the conflict over in the Middle East and decide to hold off on opening a new establishment, Lambert has no such qualms.  “What am I gonna wait for, do you know what I mean?”  “I'm aware of all the negative things that are kind of happening, but y’know, this is a place of celebration, a place to come and feel good,” he told Hosking.  “I feel, maybe now more than ever, that’s what we need.”   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 31st of March, new economic forecasts have been released amid the uncertainty of the war.  Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour responds to Labour’s hesitance towards the India Free Trade Agreement and Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones offers reassurances around the country’s fuel and diesel supply.   Michelin Star winning Kiwi chef Matt Lambert is opening a fresh venture in what most would describe as a tough environment, so what does he see in our sector that others don't?  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.

With so much uncertainty in the Middle East, people should focus on preparing for different scenarios that could affect their businesses, ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley says.  ASB’s revised outlook forecasts inflation to climb further this year and GDP growth contracting for the second quarter thanks to higher fuel prices hitting consumers.  Tuffley told Mike Hosking that Q2 was when the peak impacts of the oil shock would ripple through and affect people’s spending power.  The ASB forecast —of GDP growth at 1.3% and inflation at 4%— was “not the end of the world” but would delay New Zealand’s economic recovery, he said.  Inflation had hit 5% before, when oil prices were high before the financial crisis. That level of inflation was still possible this year, but the Reserve Bank had time to wait, given New Zealand’s economy wasn’t overheating.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

French intelligence services believe an attempt to plant a bomb outside the Bank of America in Paris is linked to a pro-Iran group, Europe correspondent Catherine Field says.  Police in Paris foiled the bombing and arrested the suspect – a 17-year-old immigrant who said he had been recruited via Snapchat for €600 (NZ$1202).  Field told Mike Hosking the attempt bore the hallmarks of previous Iran-linked attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands as well as an arson attack on four Jewish–run ambulances in London.  “That is what's got the intelligence services and the anti-terrorism police here particularly concerned,” she said.  “It's possibly a group they've not heard about before and they're using social media in a way that they've seen before, that's very difficult to monitor.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are concerns poor planning has contributed to the tsunami of demand on kidney disease treatment.  Hospitals across New Zealand are struggling to keep up with life-saving dialysis treatment.  Health New Zealand told 1News there's been a lack of funding in some parts of the country.  General Practice NZ Chair Bryan Betty told Mike Hosking this problem was predicted 15 years ago, but no one planned ahead.  He says it's driven primarily by a surge in diabetes, and if it’s not addressed it will undermine the health system going forward.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand’s fuel suppliers will be “substantially punished” legally and financially if they don’t live up to their word in supplying fuel, Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones says.  Those international companies had asked for the current just-in-time supply model, and “rightly or wrongly I took them at their word”, Jones told Mike Hosking.  “I said, okay, you guys know how to keep New Zealand afloat, but the political downside is that the national security question always remains with the Government, not just the commercial companies.”  There was no suggestion of any problem with supply, he said. But the issue was even if the Government were to underwrite additional fuel imports —as Australia plans to do— there was not currently space to store added fuel volumes.  “We could have a ship bobbing off the coast of Marsden Point for a while, then someone's got to pay for that ship to sit there and do nothing while we draw down.”  He repeatedly blamed the closure of the Marsden Point oil refinery for leaving New Zealand with inadequate storage.  Jones said he had been warned that refineries in Singapore, Malaysia and Korea were set up specifically to deal with oil from the Middle East. While they would be seeking oil from other regions, they would need work before they could process that oil.  He also revealed more details about the unsolicited proposals the Government is receiving to increase New Zealand's offshore fuel supplies.  Jones says both the Government and MBIE officials have received approaches from either New Zealanders, people already known to them, or people who have lived in New Zealand.  But Jones he told Hosking the offers they're making don't last long, with ships usually being snapped up within 72 hours.  He says many Kiwis don't appreciate how serious the situation is in Asia.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Economic headwinds coming out of the Middle East could set back the labour market. The number of filled jobs across the country lifted 0.3% from January to February. But where public safety, healthcare, and education hiring improved in the past year, construction and manufacturing jobs slumped. Employers and Manufacturers Association's Alan McDonald told Mike Hosking we're yet to see the impacts of this war on business confidence and hiring intentions. He says they're keeping a watchful eye on what happens with fuel supply and prices which could lead to difficult decisions, if it continues. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's support for an India Free Trade Agreement remains tentative as it digs through the details.   Leader Chris Hipkins has written to Trade Minister Todd McClay concerned the deal's contents don't line up with the version he's presented.   Hipkins is warning it would be recklessly irresponsible for McClay to sign onto it without majority backing across Parliament.   But Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour told Mike Hosking Labour needs to look at the broader benefits to exporters.   He says the Government has a sea of red ink stretching out for decades looking at Treasury's accounts.   Seymour says Labour needs to man up and put the best interests of the country at heart.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Monday the 30th of March, apparently red tape could be getting in the way of solving our fuel issues so Simon Parham from Waitomo magic wand's it for us. The Prime Minister is in to talk our fuel situation, help for those who need it and opening the Christchurch stadium. Andrew Saville and Jason Pine talk Tiger Woods' arrest, the F1 and the Warriors first loss. 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.

Christchurch is so awesome. I told the room that on Friday. It was a fun hour with a bunch of Christchurch businesses and a panel of local experts and, basically, we just chatted about what an amazing story Christchurch is. It's not perfect and a few issues remain. I note on the same day I was there Winston Peters was there promising money for the cathedral, which as I drove through the square is a shame beyond shame that it remains in the state it's in. Just a few blocks down, also on the same day, was the Prime Minister opening the stadium. That's Christchurch - so forward thinking and successful, and yet, bits remain that remind you that if you want to be bogged down in drama and angst you will be left behind. Anyway, interesting part of our discussion, which by the way was at the Town Hall which remains to my mind one of the great architectural triumphs of modern New Zealand artistry, was when I asked the room about the war. I said give me a number around angst. We settled on six or seven out of ten. The angst is real. As much as the day was filled with the joy of the stadium, and as much as Canterbury as a region is booming, no matter how good life is there is nothing like the prospect of running out of diesel to send shivers up a collective spine. By the way Canterbury is a good study in the art of remembering your blessings. They told me traffic is bad - it isn't. They told me they need more positivity and they need some spending decisions. Do they? I mean everyone probably does. But from a person who flew in from another city, outside looking in, it's easy to simply enjoy your success so much and to become possibly even complacent in your “up-beatness”. Yes, there is always more to do. But my word, if I was the Government I would look at handing out day passes to Christchurch for everyone who wants a blueprint on what the future looks like. For every town, suburb or city that is stuck in some sort of infrastructural quagmire, spend time in Christchurch. Drive it, look at it, soak it up and talk to a few locals. Yes, they want more. But that’s what happens when you're on a roll. Cheap-ish housing, good education, decent weather, access to city and country, open spaces, international air connections, new facilities everywhere you look and you're already in the South Island. Christchurch is what New Zealand can be. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.