Mike Hosking Breakfast

Some positive signs for consumer confidence. Economist Tony Alexander has been polling New Zealanders on whether they're planning to cut down how much they're buying. Last month, 27 percent of people said they were planning to do so. Alexander told Mike Hosking this month, only 18 percent are looking to cut back. “Maybe we’ve past the worst speed of decline in many things; it doesn’t mean there’s improvement yet, but at least maybe we’re past the worst.” LISTEN ABOVE

New Zealand's most successful Commonwealth Games has been capped by the country's most successful athlete. Joelle King and Amanda Landers-Murphy have triumphed in straight games over England's Sarah-Jane Perry and Alison Waters, winning New Zealand's 20th gold medal in Birmingham. That number eclipsed the previous record of 17, set 32 years ago in Auckland, while the final total of 49 medals surpassed every previous edition of the event held overseas. Commonwealth Games Chef de Mission Nigel Avery joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE

There's no doubt Bryan Brown is Australian acting royalty. He started his career back in the 1970s and has gone to have plenty of success at home and abroad. His credits include Cocktail, Along Came Polly, Australia and The Thorn Birds. Brown was inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame in 1989, but certainly hasn't stopped there. Now he's back with a new drama, Darby and Joan, which is out on Acorn TV now. Bryan Brown joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE

I note the some of the media have reacquainted themselves with crime. The Government to their credit managed to quieten the whole mess down for a while by disposing of Poto Williams who, although spectacularly useless, was really just a sacrificial lamb to get the heat off the Government over an issue they have been woefully found wanting on. Chris Hipkins announced he would visit every police district in the country. We had the Police Association on telling us they liked Hipkins and he had read his briefing papers, so things were looking up. Meantime the ram-raids, abuse, violence, and lawlessness rolled on given thugs aren't really interested in political appointments. Fast forward to this past weekend, and suddenly it's back. One headline: "Auckland at a tipping point." There was another suggesting the Prime Minister found all these break-ins atrocious. And then yet another saying she rejected the idea that nothing happened to the people who commit the crimes. So upside of

Staff reporter and RNZ Under-fire National MP Sam Uffindell has been stood down from the party's caucus, pending an investigation into further "very concerning accusations" surrounding his past behaviour. In a statement late on Tuesday night, National Party leader Christopher Luxon said he had been made aware of new allegations about Uffindell's behaviour toward a female flatmate while Uffindell was at university in 2003. The woman has told RNZ Uffindell was an aggressive bully who once pounded on her bedroom door, screaming obscenities, until she fled through her window. Uffindell has denied any accusations he was involved in bullying or intimidatory behaviour while at university. This morning National Party leader Chris Luxon told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking the situation was very concerning. "You got a situation where a young woman, a flatmate has made serious allegations. It is a concerning situation for a father whose daughter is flatting, it's very real. They a

The Police Minister says a new law change will give Police another tool to combat gun crime. The Firearms Prohibition Order Legislation Bill has passed its third reading in Parliament overnight. It means anyone with a serious conviction like murder, serious assault or sexual violence can be banned from having a gun, or being in places where guns are likely to be, for ten years. Chris Hipkins told Mike Hosking the new law will give police the powers to follow up with offenders. He says if offenders are around firearms or possessing firearms, then police have an extra power they can use to prevent further offending. LISTEN ABOVE

The AA says higher fines for wealthier drivers won't necessarily lead to safer roads. Transport officials have been giving the Government advice on potential changes to the system of fines, which have mostly remained unaltered for two decades. Potential changes could include linking fines to people's incomes. AA Speed Policy Advisor Dylan Thomsen told Mike Hosking we need a smarter approach, than income-based fines. He says suspended sentences, where a fine may jump up if a person is penalised more than once, has had success overseas. LISTEN ABOVE

There are encouraging signs that students are heading back to school across the country. New figures show daily attendance reached as high as 84 percent in the first week of Term Three, following lower attendance rates last term. Secondary Principals' Association President Vaughan Couillault told Mike Hosking many schools had been struggling with student disengagement. He says there is some serious disengagement by senior students who need to work, to help support their families. LISTEN ABOVE

The FBI's unprecedented search of former President Donald Trump's Florida residence ricocheted around government, politics and a polarized country Tuesday along with questions as to why the Justice Department — notably cautious under Attorney General Merrick Garland — decided to take such a drastic step. Answers weren't quickly forthcoming. Agents on Monday searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, which is also a private club, as part of a federal investigation into whether the former president took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence, people familiar with the matter said. It marked a a dramatic escalation of law enforcement scrutiny of Trump, who faces an array of inquiries tied to his conduct in the waning days of his administration. From echoes of Watergate to the more immediate House probe of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, Washington, a city used to sleepy Augusts, reeled from one speculative or accusatory headline to the next. Was th

Cancer symptoms are more likely to be missed by GP’s during video consultations, a study by Oxford University suggests. Its research says that remote consultations can hinder doctors from noticing subtle clues that could point to serious illness. Dr Samantha Murton, President of the Royal New Zealand College of GPs, joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE

Despite Sam Uffindell's denials on this show yesterday that there was nothing else to disclose, turns out, at least in some people's minds, there is something else to disclose. But exactly what is the key and how out of control this gets is another major part of the equation.   The claim is that in a flat in 2003 he was a bully and he was verbally aggressive towards a female flatmate. Uffindell is now stood down as the obligatory QC is called in to investigate. So, what is a bully? What is verbally aggressive? And how, given it happened, allegedly, he denies it by the way, 20 years ago, does anyone really get to the bottom of it? And even if they come close, what is the fallout? What is the penalty? This is a mess. But then it was always going to be a mess, because this is who we are, sadly. Despite all the hypha-looting talk about forgive and forget, rehabilitation, youthful indiscretion, moving on, and growing up, we don't actually want that, we want revenge. At least it

Labour is insisting it would have handled the Sam Uffindell saga differently. The new National MP for Tauranga has been stood down while the party investigates new allegations about his behaviour at university, allegations which he denies. Uffindell had already been under fire, over revelations he was involved in an attack on a younger boy while he was at high school. Senior Labour Cabinet Minister Megan Woods told Mike Hosking while Luxon wasn't told about the allegations; the Labour Party always informs its leader about such matters. National’s Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking Luxon is right to be taking the matter seriously. LISTEN ABOVE  

The Agriculture Minister says it's important all New Zealanders understand the risks posed by foot and mouth disease. Fragments of it have now been found on meat imported to Australia. And staff from MPI have been working with officials in Indonesia, to help contain an outbreak there. Damien O'Connor told Mike Hosking the Indonesian outbreak is different, as the country hasn't had the disease before. He says there are now a lot of people travelling between Bali and Australia, and then making their way to New Zealand, so we need to be cautious. LISTEN ABOVE

Of course, there's been a spotlight on law and order, crime, and our justice system in this country. Police have admitted some crimes are on the up - as ram raids, drive by shooting and violent attacks spike. But one of the questions that's remained unanswered - is where does our judiciary fit into this? Rosemary Riddell was a Hamilton District and Family Court judge for 12 years - and has written a book about her time on the bench called To Be Fair: Confessions of a District Court Judge. Rosemary Riddell joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE

The number of school students dropping completely off the radar has doubled over the pandemic. Latest truancy data shows just 46 percent of students attended school regularly in term one, down from 65 percent in term four last year. However, Te Ora Hou Otautahi data shows 766 Canterbury students are out of the system completely, up from 400 pre-pandemic. Project Manager Simon Britten told Mike Hosking things are hard at the moment. “That is a real worry, the numbers are significant and every child out of school is a concern.” LISTEN ABOVE

Business leaders want an end to Covid-19 isolation rules for household contacts, to help ease staff shortages. Instead, they want a test, pass, work protocol so people who aren't sick are able to carry on working. The Employers and Manufacturers' Association's Alan McDonald told Mike Hosking it would be helpful, but thinks it's unlikely the Government will agree anytime soon. "Just with the pressure that's on the hospitals because of both the flu and the pandemic I just don't think the Government will go that way." LISTEN ABOVE  

More than 100 former rugby players are taking legal action over what they say was a failure to protect them from permanent injury caused by repeated concussions during their careers. Many players in the group suffer from neurological impairments like early onset dementia, epilepsy, Parkinson’s Disease and Motor Neurone Disease. The group is represented by Rrylands Legal, which says the claim isn't just about financial compensation, but also about making the game safer. Dr Bill Ribbans is a professor of sports medicine and has more than 25 years of experience assessing and managing acute head injuries in elite sport and he joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE

Claims the outbreak of inflation in many economies is due to mistakes made by central banks. It comes in the form of a new paper, co-authored by former governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Graeme Wheeler, and the New Zealand Initiative's Dr. Bryce Wilkinson. They say central banks overall were too confident about their monetary policy framework and thought they could control output and employment. It also points out central banks were distracted by extraneous political objectives, like climate change. Dr. Bryce Wilkinson joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE

There has never been a worse time to be on the Jobseeker benefit. And yet 100,000 are. Tens of thousands more than were on it when the current government arrived in power. How on Earth is that possible? And when are enough hard questions going to be asked about a government that protects the lazy, those without ambition, and a belief that the state, i.e you and I, should be paying their bills while they do nothing. Traditionally, they have been able to hide behind excuses like geography. Small towns struggling, no jobs to be had, jobs that were too highly skilled, too many people went for the job and they missed out. But here in 2022 one of the very few upsides of the current economic mess we are in is that there are jobs everywhere. Look at the windows of the shops and tell me, in your lifetime have you ever seen so many people looking to fill so many gaps? And yet, despite the myriad of opportunities over 100,000 can't seem to find a single one of them. That's welfare abuse.&#x

National says an independent review of the Reserve Bank is crucial to ensuring mistakes from the past aren't repeated. Governor Adrian Orr has acknowledged interest rate decisions he has made during the Covid-19 pandemic, have contributed to inflation reaching the level it has. It follows criticism from his predecessor, Graeme Wheeler. National Leader Christopher Luxon told Mike Hosking the central bank's work needs to be reviewed. He says New Zealand's been outside inflation targets now for 15 months straight, so an after-action inquiry is a must to learn from the last two years. LISTEN ABOVE