The Mike Hosking Breakfast

United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will not confirm whether the video footage of a strike on a Venezuelan boat will be released. Critics have called the strike a war crime.  President Donald Trump is reportedly considering the replacement of long-time ally and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. And, self driving car company Waymo has recalled software after its cars repeatedly failed to stop for school buses. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thousands of Police issued 'formal warnings' have been scrapped after findings that 63% were issued unlawfully.  'Formal warnings' are used as alternatives to prosecutions where the offence is deemed unworthy of going through the courts.  Last week, Police told all staff that compulsory training will be rolled out and an updated policy for formal warnings would be issued by the end of the year. Defence lawyer John Munroe joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to chat about how this happened, and what it means.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another major shake up is coming to the streaming sphere as Netflix agrees to acquire Warner Bros Studios. The $125B acquisition includes HBO Max - giving them the rights to shows like Game of Thrones, Succession, and Euphoria.  Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has said theatrical releases will become more limited, as Netflix sees them as not 'consumer friendly'. Wall Street Journal media and entertainment reporter Joe Flint told Heather du Plessis Allan, "generally Wall Street and Hollywood already felt Netflix was the king. So yes, if this goes through, not only are they the king, but they've probably extended their reign by 100 years or so." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday the 5th of December with Heather du Plessis-Allan, Mark Mitchell responds to Andrew Coster's allegations and the police are having to do away with thousands of formal warnings because officers haven't followed protocol. Prime Minister Chris Luxon responds to Coster's allegations and the taxpayers expected campaign against the Government. Andrew Saville and Jason Pine take us through Lando Norris winning the F1 Championship, Lawson getting the nod for next year and why Bazball is failing England in the Ashes series.   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.

Signs of a brighter economy in the year to come.  ASB's forecasting annual growth of more than two-and a half percent in 2026. It points to an accelerated housing market, more resilient exports, and a renewed willingness to spend. Chief Economist Nick Tuffley told Heather du Plessis-Allan we can expect inflation to soften further,  with the Reserve Bank seeing more stimulus in the pipeline.  He says it's in wait and see mode - but seems fairly confident it won't have to cut interest rates any further.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Mitchell, New Zealand's Police Minister and MP, confronts controversial claims made by former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster regarding the McSkimming allegations. Mitchell insists he was first informed about the situation on November 6, 2024, dismissing Coster's narrative as "utter nonsense." He emphasizes his expectations for transparency from senior staff and critiques how McSkimming has been portrayed, expressing concerns about the power dynamics involved. Mitchell also discusses his immediate actions to ensure the welfare of those affected.

It's the definition of madness. And stupidity.  How many times do you have to do the same dumb thing with no result, thus proving your system doesn’t work, before you admit your system doesn’t work and give up?  The last of the carbon auctions was held this week. You know where this story is going.  I first got interested in this a couple of years ago when it struck me that this auction malarkey might be one of the better examples of the sheer, ideological madness that drives so much of the climate policy.  One of the reasons so many people have got into forestry is it's free money.  It's on land and land, generally, is a good investment and free money isn't a bad deal either.  Also, after a while, they might pay you some good dough for your wood.  So if trees get carbon credits why would you turn up to an auction? You wouldn’t, and indeed this week they didn’t.  Not one person. Not one bid. Not one credit sold.  There are four of these each year for the past two years. No one has bought a thing. Ask yourself why.  They have tried to price the units, to no avail, but what is really causing the issue is the Government.  To buy something you must believe it has value. It has to have worth.  Why would you buy into the Government carbon narrative when they keep changing the rules?  This Government is doing their best to do as little as possible to meet their climate emissions. I applaud that because it’s the right thing to do.  But given the rules keep changing I'm certainly not turning up to buy stuff like a credit I may not need.  The minister, as I told you the other day, took the unprecedented step of offering commentary about the auction and telling us how committed the Government is to climate in the hope we would go "well that’s OK then, see you at the auction".  It didn’t work.  The auction didn’t work, again. Eight down and zero sales, no revenue.  How long before they pull the pin on a gargantuan embarrassment?  The longer this goes the more foolish they look. 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.      Consumers: 7/10  Confidence at a 6-month high.    School lunches: 3/10 This is the stupidest story of the week. Four days it lasted – we've become myopic. We fixate on triviality. It’s got a small village idiot vibe to it, don’t you reckon?     Social media ban: 6/10 Mainly for effort, because it’s not real, it’s not practical – it’s got idealism all over it.     Pete Hegseth: 3/10  Between the narco boats and the Signal report, what odds are you running that he doesn’t make Christmas?     Rates caps: 7/10  Move of the week from the central government.  If local government just stopped whining for a moment and asked themselves who the architects of the mess actually are and why, they might not have as much to moan about.   LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 5th of December, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Mike to wrap the year before he takes off on holiday.  They also exchanged gifts, and both of them were hugely impressed with each other's loot.  And for the final time of the year, Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson Wrapped the Week, talking about the gift exchange and Mike's reaction.    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 New Zealand retail experience, as summed up by a frustrated Katherine Hawkesby as of yesterday.  She visited half a dozen shops - one was decent and the rest were useless.  They were useless for a variety of reasons, but the common theme was service, or lack of it.  How is it continually possible that we have a sector crying out for support and yet so unable to offer something worth spending money on, and a country with a lot of people allegedly happy to go find a job and yet the people with the jobs are so fantastically incompetent?    We all know the story. It's not unique to Katie yesterday, on the early burst of Christmas shopping. Retail, tragically, is filled with hopelessness, lack of stock, lack of desire and a lack of professionalism.  Which is why the good ones are so welcome and why I have been able to tell you many times in the past few months, and can name you a decent number of operators in a variety of fields, that have weathered these past few years with no real issues at all.  They are good at what they do. They want to do well. Word of mouth and reputation travels far and fast and they are fine, thank you very much.  Yesterday's highlight was at a liquor shop. It's a large one and is part of a chain.  The woman behind the counter, slovenly, full of tattoos and on the phone with no interest in service or acknowledging a customer.  When asked, because she didn’t offer any help, she didn’t know what Prosecco was.  How can you work in a shop that sells nothing but wine and spirits and not know what Prosecco is, or where in the shop you find it?  Who employed her, and why? And why was there no training? This is a big brand and a brand, I would have thought, that would be interested in reputation and a decent customer experience.  How does a person with clearly no knowledge or interest in the thing they are selling actually get work?  Are you telling me the people who can't get work are even worse than her?  The resentment, Katie fumed, is based on the idea that we all work hard for the dollars.  Handing them over would be easier, nicer and more fulfilling if you thought the recipient, just for a moment, was even slightly grateful. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.