Podcasts about Mike Hosking

More growth out of the new vehicle market, with September the strongest month of the year so far. Over 13 thousand new passenger vehicles were registered —up nearly 28% on a year ago— while total light vehicle registrations neared 25 thousand. Toyota led the market with over 3,000 sales, with BYD, Tesla, and MG, all sitting between 500 and 1000 new registrations. Motor Trade Association CEO Lee Marshall told Mike Hosking stubbornly high fuel prices are still driving many people's decisions. He says there are fairly large savings on the table when you compare a hybrid or electric car with one that costs $300 per 1000 kilometres to run. Sales are also driven by rental companies, who are boosting their stocks ahead of summer. Companies and rental businesses accounted for 68% of the total registrations. LISTEN ABOVE 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. The campaign: 4/10 Is it just me or has the mental stuff with ice cream and dumb questions started so early that we will be suicidal by November? PREFU: 7/10 Confirmed widely held suspicions that our economy is on the way back in a material way. Labour: 4/10 Bad first week. Got busted on equity and the CGT promise appears problematic now that housing isn't growing. The EU FTA climate mess: 1/10 It's one thing for a bunch of Dutch losers to whine, but to be backed by Kiwis, even if they are radicals, is treasonous. The Opportunity Party: 2/10 Shot themselves in the foot with bottom lines. They may as well have named their favourite colours. LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A political commentator suggests Labour and National may struggle to claw back support before election day. The leaders of the Greens, ACT, New Zealand First, Opportunity, and Te Pāti Māori have faced off in the Stuff's Kingmakers' Debate last night. It came as the latest 1News-Verian poll had both major parties poling at just 28% support. Political commentator Trish Sherson told Mike Hosking the minor parties have shown they're putting thought into their ideas. She says the major parties are struggling because they're trying to be everything to everyone but are becoming nothing to anyone. Sherson also thinks the minor parties are doing better at delivering their policies, saying that while the debate wasn't exciting, it was civil and substantive. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our tourism industry's keen on a streamlined travel pathway between New Zealand and Australia. National wants to see a trial of a fully digitised trans-Tasman airport process in place by 2028. It says people could provide travel details digitally and pass through the gates on facial recognition. Tourism Industry Aotearoa Chief Executive Rebecca Ingram told Mike Hosking it makes sense. She says particularly because Australia's our largest source of visitors, and a huge number of people cross the Tasman to visit friends and family. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new initiative aims to cut out the middleman and provide more value to wool growers and farmers. Wools of New Zealand has launched a direct-to-consumer service, allowing Kiwis to buy wool carpet directly through its Laneve brand. It's aiming to compete with synthetics on price while returning more to growers. CEO John McWhirter told Mike Hosking you can still buy their products via retailers – this is just another channel for customers. He says all the services you can get in a traditional brick and mortar shop are available on the website, and customers can see how different products would look in their homes, and an estimated cost. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's video game industry is punching well above its weight. Revenue surged 33% to $1.01 billion in 2026, with all but $55 million of that coming from exports. The industry is confident it can hit $2 billion by 2030. NZ Game Developers Association Executive Director Joy Keene told Mike Hosking in comparison, the global game industry grew by just 2.7% in 2025, so we're boxing well above our weight. She says the strength and quality of New Zealand's games is what's causing our phenomenal growth. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Friday, which means it's time for Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson to join Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that Was. They discussed the first official week of election campaigning, last night's minor leaders' debate, and at what point minor parties actually become major parties. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Moa Point saga is now wading into the courts. The Greater Wellington Regional Council has filed charges against water company Tiaki Wai and the City Council after a catastrophic failure in February saw more than 14 billion litres of untreated sewage pumped into the sea. The regional council says the prosecution follows detailed investigation of the events, the roles of involved parties, and the environmental consequences. Both organisations could face fines of up to $100 million each. Wellington Mayor Andrew Little told Mike Hosking it's highly unlikely there will be a fine at that level. He says there will be talks by lawyers on all sides, and if anything goes before a judge, there'll be a bit of teasing out about where responsibility actually lies, as that's still a bit of an open question. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earlier today, All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie let some information slip regarding preparations for the World Cup next year in his interview with Mike Hosking. The All Blacks are set to take on the Springboks twice this coming July in preparation for a potential Rugby World Cup showdown in 2027. Sky rugby commentator Jeff McTainsh joined D'Arcy to discuss whether this could be a good idea for the Kiwi side. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are worries people are spending far too long waiting in Emergency Departments as demand surges. An Australasian College of Emergency Medicine report finds admissions around the country have risen 21% in the past decade, surging past our 13% population growth. It finds there are rising numbers of seriously unwell patients. Waikato Hospital Emergency Medicine Specialist John Bonning told Mike Hosking some patients are waiting 24 hours in EDs, with resources tight. He says this will be a result of things like a lack of in-patient beds, as well as inadequate staff numbers. Bonning says a range of things has added up – the population is aging, people are getting sicker, and there are unmet needs elsewhere in the sector, so people are ending up in EDs. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another boost for Christchurch tourism, with millions of North Americans set to watch the city in the new season of The Amazing Race. The show's 39th season premieres tonight, with an episode featuring Christchurch and the wider Canterbury region airing in the next few weeks. Christchurch-born presenter Phil Keoghan told Mike Hosking the show aims to showcase the experience of each destination, while keeping the race at the centre. He says they want to show the things that typify where they are – there's no point going to Tsbilisi or Bulgaria if you're not showing off the culture. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most people appear to be managing their money well against ongoing financial volatility. Centrix's August credit indicator shows expected seasonal uplifts in consumer and mortgage arrears, but an overarching easing pattern for both. Consumer arrears ticked up to 10.74% but remain 11.2% lower than a year ago. Company liquidations are up 14% on last year, but the indicator found demand is about the same as in 2025, and defaults are down 1%. Chief Operating Officer Monika Lacey told Mike Hosking things are definitely stabilising, and they'd expect to see it continue. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Film Commission says they need to focus their energy on development to ensure New Zealand continues to create high-quality content. It's winding up its Core Funding Programme when existing contracts finish at the end of June next year. The scheme provides more than $1 million to ten industry groups. Film Commission CEO Annie Murray told Mike Hosking they have finite funding, so it needs to go to higher investment projects. She says they're investing in making their films as world class as they can possibly be. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The All Blacks coach is reflecting on their performance against South Africa ahead of the Bledisloe Cup and later this year, the World Cup. The Springboks claimed a 3-1 victory in the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Tour, but Dave Rennie says the experience has left the team in a much better place. He told Mike Hosking they're disappointed with the result, but committed to the way they're trying to play. "When we get that right, we're a real handful." He says they just have to be better and more accurate where it counts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour may have to find another way to fund some of its policies. The party plans to use a Capital Gains Tax to pay for its health policies, and its costings assume 3% house price growth. However, Treasury has forecast just 0.6% growth in 2027, and 2.4% in 2028. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Mike Hosking this is a policy that's based on using its revenue to directly pay for other things – like free GP visits. He says if you don't get as much of the tax take at the start, you either have to find extra money to fund your promises, or you can't do them. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A mighty Totara has fallen as former Speaker of the House Adrian Rurawhe passes away.Chris Hipkins keeps baring is teeth, this time with Mike Hosking.Nicola Willis defends her PREFU report while Chloe is painted as the boogeyman++++++++++++++++++++Like us on Facebook.com/BigHairyNetwork Follow us on Twitter.com/@bighairynetworkFollowing us on TikTok.com/@bighairynetworkSupport us on Patreon www.patreon.com/c/BigHairyNewsCheck out our merch https://bhn.nz/shop/Donate to our work https://bhn.nz/shop/donation/

How big is his hole? Nicola Willis was asking Grant Robertson back in 2023, where are you going to find the money to fill that Government's financial fiscal hole? And now yesterday, she says that Labour has another fiscal hole to fill and it's a beauty. She told us yesterday when she was a guest in studio that there is no way Labour can afford to fund their pay equity promises, far less many of the other promises they're making to voters. Labour in response has said, well just taihoa, all will be revealed when our fiscal plan is produced sometime soon. Now some of this is electioneering and there's a surprise given we're in the middle of an election campaign. For example, National says that Labour's promise to fund public transport for many parts of the country, up to a certain point, will come out of the Crown balance sheet. Labour says absolutely not, they'll take the money from the Land Transport Fund. They won't pay for something that's been promised out of the Land Transport Fund. They won't pay for that, they'll pay for their public transport fares. It's called reprioritisation – the money does exist for the public transport fares, they just won't pay for something else. Some of the funding though is a mystery. I have no idea where they think they're going to get 11, 13, 14 and counting billion dollars for pay equity. Chris Hipkins, opposition leader, is adamant the money can be found within the budget as he told Mike Hosking yesterday. CH: We're going to set out in our plan, you know, we're going to demonstrate in our fiscal plan, you know, when we set out our breakdown of numbers that we have room there to pay for pay equity. What I said yesterday, and you know, there's a bit of divining tea leaves has been going on here, is that we're not going to have a specific line item, but the, our fiscal plan will clearly demonstrate that there is money in there to be able to meet the cost of pay equity. MH: So why isn't it a line item? CH: Because you don't basically, when you're going through a bargaining process, you don't tell the other side what's in the envelope. And you know, we wouldn't do that with any other process of bargaining. We've never done that with pay equity. The Crown has never put a line item in the budget that said here's how much we're setting aside for pay equity, but it has been there. And our fiscal plan will be the same. MH: It'll be about $12 or $13 billion. Is that fair though? Within that ballpark, that's what we're dealing with. CH: We certainly expect it to be a big number. Yeah, so it's going to be a big number. If it's coming from the budget, that's 13, 14, 15, whatever billion —billion, not million— that won't be spent on something else. And I don't know that there's that much wiggle room. The free doctors visits aren't going to be funded by a capital gains tax, I think surely even Labour's accepted that, given that Treasury forecasts house prices not going up anytime soon. Something else will have to be cut to fund those. Nicola Willis has accused Labour of fiscal fraud, but until Labour finally comes up with their fiscal plan, it's a bit like waiting for Keri Hulme to come up with a sequel to The Bone People. You should, I suppose, give them the benefit of the doubt. But do you believe it is in any way possible for any party to find —let's be generous— $10 billion from the budget without ripping the guts out of the essentials and without undoing the hard work that we have endured over the past three years? Where the hell do you imagine it's going to come from? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on Politics Wednesday, Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen joined Mike Hosking to dig into some of the biggest stories of the week thus far. They discussed the call from some parties for voters to engage in strategic voting and the disagreement between Chris Hipkins and Chlöe Swarbrick as to who would be Finance Minister if they were in government. And they paid tribute to former Speaker and Labour MP Adrian Rurawhe, who died at age 65. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group of skydivers in Wisconsin jumped in to help the victims of a plane crash. Shortly after taking off, the group witnessed a small plane banking unusually before disappearing from sight. They immediately asked their pilot to identify a safe place to jump, and dropped in to offer aid. US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking two of the jumpers had medical experience, with one being a former paramedic, and were able to treat the crash victims until emergency services arrived. He says that all four of the people on the plane survived. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Housing is set to be a buyer's market for a while longer. The Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update shows housing price growth will peak at 3% by March 2028, down slightly from 3.2% in the budget update. Cotality Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson told Mike Hosking the further out you go, the more uncertainty there is, but there's potentially a general change underway in the market at the moment, and so growth may look lower in the future. He says there's a variety of reasons why this could play out —including higher supply, debt to income ratio changes and lower interest rates— and it's not so good for homeowners. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Finance Minister has her eye firmly on returning to surplus after a pre-election look into the books. Treasury forecasts predict the next two years' deficits will be much smaller, and the 2028/29 surplus nearly $2 billion larger than expected. But much of that improvement is down to income-tax bracket creep, and more revenue from GST and company tax. Nicola Willis told Mike Hosking it would be irresponsible to be talking about how they'll spend a surplus on things like tackling the tax bracket creep before it's arrived. She says circumstances could change, not because they won't remain focused, but because the world is volatile and forecasts could shift. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's leader is confident their numbers add up when it comes to paying for their policies – including reversing pay equity changes. The Government's books were opened yesterday in Treasury's Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update. It revealed the planned 2028/29 surplus will be nearly $2 billion bigger than forecast, and the Crown will borrow less. Treasury thinks unemployment's peaked, and inflation's predicted to be back where it should be next year. Chris Hipkins told Mike Hosking they'll show there's room for pay equity in their fiscal plan, but won't have a specific line item on it. He says you don't tell the other side what's in the envelope when you're going through a bargaining process, and that's never been done with pay equity. Hipkins is also still coming to terms with the news that former Speaker and Labour MP Adrian Rurawhe has died. Rurawhe was MP for Te Tai Hauāuru from 2014 to 2023, was the Speaker in the last Labour Government's second term, and was a Labour list MP from 2023 until early this year. The 65-year-old will lie in state at Whangaehu Marae, south of Whanganui, until his burial at Ngā Puketuurua Ratana Pa. The Labour Leader told Hosking Rurawhe was well-respected across Parliament and did a great job as Speaker, and his death will come as a shock to everyone. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the first time, a novel in the Reacherverse will not be about Reacher himself. Frances Neagley is getting her time in the spotlight, with both a new spinoff television show, and two new thrillers focused on her. Author Lee Child is thrilled by the success and popularity the screen adaptation of his work has found – especially since it's now getting a spinoff. "I'm so pleased about the spinoff because Maria [Sten] is just fantastic," Child told Mike Hosking. "She's a great actor, but she's a lovely person as well." In fact, it was Sten's performance and the writing of the character in the show that led to the new series being written at all, as it filled in the gaps in Neagley's character Child was struggling with. "I never really developed her as a character, you know, to me she lived in the present. I had no idea of her past, I had no idea of her future," he told Hosking. "They answered the questions that I couldn't answer for myself," The first book, 'Zero Margin', is being co-written with Yasmin Angoe, a critically acclaimed thriller author, in order to give the Neagley series a distinctive voice from Reacher. "I've seen the first draft, it's great, and I know that the final draft is even better ... so I'm looking forward to reading it." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A shinier job market outlook, with growth ticking up. The number of filled jobs lifted a seasonally adjusted 0.2% from July to August and 0.9% from last year. Gaps between sectors are starting to close, with gains for industries like construction and retail after months of decline. ASB Senior Economist Mark Smith told Mike Hosking the encouraging thing about the data is it shows demand for labour is still there. He says if it weren't for the Middle East conflict, the economy would be absolutely booming and job growth would be much stronger. But, Smith says, it suggests the unemployment rate will be heading downwards from here. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our red meat sector appears to be sitting pretty amid a turbulent global market. The sector's gathering in Wellington today for a conference focusing on resilience to market shocks, export demand, and geopolitics in supply chains. Exports continue to surge, with combined receipts forecast around $12.6 billion across 2026 and 27. Special Agricultural Trade Envoy Nathan Guy told Mike Hosking it's a success story given exports are still flowing while two wars rage. He says the UK, China, US, and Europe markets are all performing well. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Privacy Commissioner has some advice for schools struggling to manage student image restrictions. Research by Christchurch tech company Hail shows 68% of schools have accidentally published an image despite consent restrictions. It found 53% rely on manual processes or staff knowledge to manage these. Michael Webster told Mike Hosking schools should try to focus on an activity when taking photos, rather than identifiable faces. He says they could take a photo of sport or a school production, but not in a way that could lead to people cutting and pasting the faces of children once the photo's online. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A building physicist says townhouses and multi-unit buildings are most at risk of overheating. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment says any detailed changes to fix hot homes need to avoid unintended consequences and require sector consultation. It told RNZ it won't be part of the Building Code review until 2031. Building Research Association's Stephen McNeil told Mike Hosking townhouses often have lots of floor-to-ceiling glass and can't ventilate properly. He says without proper glass treatment, like shading, these homes turn into greenhouses. McNeil told Hosking modelling should be used to understand how a house will perform. He says simple rules are needed, with uptake low for modelling despite being cheap at the design stage. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Finance Minister's hailing today as extremely important as Treasury opens the Government's books. This afternoon's Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update will show the levels of Crown debt, revenue, and expenditure. Budget 2026 predicted a return to operating surplus in the 2028/29 financial year – a year earlier than had been signalled. Steven Joyce told Mike Hosking things could change quickly, but it's a helpful snapshot. He says it's the best anchor, that shows where things are at, to help parties explain how they'll pay for their election promises. Joyce is warning to 'proceed with caution' though – saying it'll be better than people think, but there are dangers with that too. He acknowledges it may be a vote of confidence in the Government's short-term economic management, but the big issue still remains as to how to drive debt down. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Saville and Jason Pine joined Mike Hosking to review all the big sporting events of the weekend, including the AFL grand final and Counties Manukau winning the Ranfurly Shield. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister says people will be encouraged, by what comes out of tomorrow afternoon's 's Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury. It will outline the medium-term fiscal outlook. It will also give the general public, and non-government parties like Labour, an idea of the state of the Government's books heading into the election. Chris Luxon told Mike Hosking things are in a good place. He says it shouldn't be a surprise to people that the economy has been growing since May, despite the global fuel crisis. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A warning of both action and punishment from the Commerce Commission to those operating cartel like behaviour in public procurement. It estimates New Zealanders are being ripped off to the tune of 360-million dollars a year because of bid rigging. Bid-rigging happens when there's an agreement among some, or all, the bidders about who should win a bid for contracts. ComCom Chair John Small told Mike Hosking it's an enforcement priority He says if it's criminal, maximum penalties include 7 years imprisonments for individuals and 10 million dollar fines for companies. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dietary supplement exporters are welcoming a possible change to outdated rules. The Government's proposing to ease export and labelling rules, which the industry says could unlock an extra $500 million in exports each year. It's being hailed as a gamechanger for an industry already worth $2.3 billion each year. Natural Health Product Government Affairs Director Samantha Gray told Mike Hosking it will free up exporters from decades of red tape. She says we have an anomaly in our regulations where exports have to comply with New Zealand standards, which are circa 1985 and completely outdated. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump's welcoming Xi Jinping stateside as the US-China trade truce extends into next year. The two Presidents are meeting face-to-face for a second time this year, with minimal gains for their Beijing summit in May. But White House Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's already revealed some progress, with an agreement easing tariffs now expiring in January instead of November. However, US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking it's unclear whether the talks will bring any breakthroughs on key issues such as Taiwan or AI. LISTEN ABOVE 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. Tax deductibility: 8/10 Most likely the best thing Labour will do this campaign. It's either desperation or the realisation of common sense. Either way we are better off for it. India: 8/10 Most likely the most impactful thing this Government has done in its first term. It's not just an FTA, but one with the biggest growth engine in the world. We can't lose. Supermarkets: 4/10 It's become the obsession of the campaign. Only ACT are left as the option if you see this for what it is, which is not a thing. If you think it's a thing, the queue for your vote is now a long one. Rugby: 4/10 It's quite a thing to double your earnings and still not make ends meet. And given yesterday, they don't look the lot to tackle the hard stuff. The Warriors: 6/10 The season was awesome, the playoffs were awful. Maybe next year. LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday has come, which means it's time for Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson to join Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that Was. This week, they took the phrase 'week in review' a little more literally, critiquing Mike's on air performance. They also discussed school holidays, ageing, and clothes steamers. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fonterra's boss is extremely proud of the dairy co-op's latest results. It delivered a $2.6 billion full-year profit, with total revenue hitting $27 billion. It's confirmed a final Farmgate Milk Price payout for farmers of $9.69 – down from last year's record-high $10.16. This year's total dividends come to 73 cents per share, including 16 cents paid out earlier from the sale of Fonterra's consumer arm. Chief Executive Richard Allen told Mike Hosking they've overcome major challenges including weather events and geopolitical instability. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Filling in for Isack Hadjar may have opened the door for Liam Lawson. Lawson is back with the Racing Bulls for this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Hadjar's been cleared to return from his wrist injury. The Kiwi racer banked 14 championship points during his run in the Red Bull seat. F1 journalist Chris Medland told Mike Hosking it gave Lawson the opportunity to show he could perform at a similar level, and if he'd been in that car all year, he would've also done a good job. He says it's probably an opportunity he didn't expect to get, and the team wouldn't have given him in any other scenario, but it's strengthened his reputation. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rising incomes and a flattening rental market are becoming a relief for tenant's wallets. Fresh data from Property Brokers has identified the share of income going towards rent has fallen from 44% to 40% in the year to June. It also found the national weekly rent has stagnated, moving from $636 last year to $635 now. Property Brokers General Manager of Property Management David Faulkner told Mike Hosking the last time rents plateaued was in the late 90s and early 2000s. He says we're three years into a similar period, where rents plateau for about six years. Faulkner also says rents in the regions have started to catch up – there's now very little difference between provincial New Zealand and the major centres. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop says amalgamation plans have become a tougher picture than initially planned. Some local mayors are frustrated with what they call a waste of time and money after being pressured to submit amalgamation proposals, under a tight deadline last month. Cabinet's now said it won't make decisions on the proposals until next year after more analysis and development. Bishop told Mike Hosking the Government's run out of runway ahead of election. He says of the 18 plans, some were really good, while others were too complicated. Speaking of the election, National is also questioning where Labour will get the money to fund its latest pledge. The party's promising to fund new state homes, school and hospital upgrades, as well as housing subsidies and operating costs. Leader Chris Hipkins says the $4 billion would come from the Government's capital allowance. But Bishop told Hosking they live in a fiscal fantasy land. He says the money has to come from somewhere, whether that's borrowing or future tax revenue. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Firefighters are welcoming policy from across the political spectrum, but insists action is needed now. National's made an election promise to do away with the Fire and Emergency board and make it directly accountable to the Emergency Management Minister. On the other side, Labour's promising an independent review of the organisation's funding and operations. Professional Firefighters' Union National Secretary Wattie Watson told Mike Hosking proper management is still desperately needed. She says leaders are running rampant, there's no confidence in them, and no trust they're giving proper information. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's run out of time to complete the procurement process for a billion-dollar LNG import terminal. Energy Minister Simeon Brown had intended to sign a contract with a supplier before the end of the year out of two possible candidates, but no deal's been confirmed. New Zealand First and ACT haven't voiced support for this timing. But Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones told Mike Hosking the Coalition agrees gas should be the energy buffer. However, he says Father Time has snatched the opportunity away, because for the next six weeks people need to concentrate on the election. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health New Zealand's confident the new target time for Police handing mental health patients over to ED is about right. The agencies had initially aimed to cut the handover time from an hour to 15 minutes as part of its phased response change plan. That's now been revised to 30 minutes. Specialist Mental Health and Addiction Director Karla Bergquist told Mike Hosking staff have been clear 15 minutes isn't enough time, and half an hour is more achievable. She says there will be places where it's not realistic to even meet that target, but there's flexibility built in for that. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wine drinkers across the globe are continuing to reach for Kiwi made bottles. Our wine exports reached over $2 billion, with export volume increasing to over 306 million litres, in the 12 months to June. Overall sales have increased 8% and represent the industry's second-highest June year total on record. New Zealand Winegrowers Chief Executive Anishka Jelicich told Mike Hosking in a difficult market, Kiwis are winning. She says we are making fresher, lighter styles, rather than heaver ones some competitor countries are making. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The business of sports betting and prediction markets is continuing to grow. LeBron James is the latest major name to land a deal in the industry, signing a $15 million a year endorsement deal with Polymarket - nearly four times his NBA salary this season. But the fast growth of the sector and ability to bet on anything is sparking some concerns. American Institute for Boys and Men Gambling Policy Lead Jonathan D. Cohen argues that prediction markets may be more dangerous than traditional gambling platforms in some respects, as they blur the line between gambling and investing in some countries. He told Mike Hosking a 19-year-old who's starting to build wealth could easily delude themselves into thinking it's a wise financial decision, and that's really dangerous for the long-term financial well-being of young people. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi country musician Jenny Mitchell's success continues to grow. In the last few years, she's moved to Australia, released an album, and has both awards and Australian Golden Guitar nominations under her belt. She's also toured with Kasey Chambers and opened for the Lumineers, and is now set to release some brand new music. Mitchell moved to Melbourne a year and a half ago, prompted by a "completely life-changing, incredible experience". "I had the opportunity to tour with [Chambers], who is just an absolute icon," she told Mike Hosking. "She took me around Australia on tour ... so just before that tour started, my partner Toby and I moved to Melbourne, and yeah, we're loving it." "I think there's a lot of music here," she told Hosking. "Not only is it great for me to play, but there's so many venues within walking distance of where we live that I can go and watch music and get inspired." But how did Mitchell go from living in New Zealand to touring with a country music star like Kacey Chambers? "A couple of years ago, I played a show of my own, a tiny little show, and there were two people there who came in, I knew they hadn't been to a gig before, and they sang just about every word to my songs," Mitchell explained. "I had no idea that they are actually really great friends of Kasey's. They're not musical, but they love music and so they sent her my music." And so one thing led to another, and soon enough Mitchell was being asked to join Chambers' tour. "Completely changed my life." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The future of Super Rugby and the NPC are on the table today as New Zealand Rugby holds a critical summit. The organisation needs to save $20 million a year, and options include merging teams or scrapping both competitions in favour of a new eight to ten team format. Newstalk ZB's Lead Rugby Commentator Elliott Smith told Mike Hosking the issue for NZR is not revenue, as they're making enough money, they just need to trim some of the outgoing costs. He says they've developed professional game over the last thirty years, but they haven't taken away any elements or reshaped the game. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Finance Minister believes the report on the Reserve Bank's performance during Covid affirms decisions made by the current Government. An external review of Bank's Covid monetary policy during the pandemic finds it was right to cut the OCR early but was slow to react when the economy bounced back sooner than expected. Nicola Willis told Mike Hosking the results show the importance of the guardrails they implemented – having a single inflation-busting mandate and the change to voting to create more accountability. She believes the report matters as it also shows the Reserve Bank can keep getting better as long as it has an attitude of ongoing improvement. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2degrees has posted another year of growth, with revenue up 5.5% to $1.46 billion. Profit before tax was $27.4 million, marking a $50 million turnaround, with growth across its consumer, business, and wholesale operations. Chief Business Officer Andrew Fairgray told Mike Hosking the continued growth shows they have momentum to continue building on. As the country deals with tight economic conditions and the cost of living, he says their ethos is to be the best value player in the market. Fairgray says they're continually focusing on trying to deliver the best value and making sure they're efficient in how they do that so they can support New Zealand Inc and keep growing. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand Chardonnay has earned its place at the world's fine wine table in a blind taste test. Wines from Pyramid Valley and Smith & Sheth were tasted alongside top French Burgundies, with Smith & Sheth's Les Graviers coming out on top. It beat out 23 other bottles, with some costing over $2000. Master of Wine Steve Smith told Mike Hosking they wanted to test themselves against the best, and it went well. He says they're not really trying to be Burgundy, but in a world where those wines are becoming very expensive and hard to find, he thinks they deserve a place at the same table. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's Police Spokesperson's batting away questions over why their Labour attack ad uses crime footage from the Government's own term. The video's claims Labour was soft on crime is juxtaposed with clips of offending committed early during the coalition Government. Labour says it's dishonest and desperate. But Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking they have a great digital team who put a lot of campaign material together. He says one of the most important issues for people during the 2023 campaign was law and order, which after their term in Government, is now ranked at number seven or eight. Labour's Ginny Andersen says it shows they're not credible on the subject. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.