The Mike Hosking Breakfast

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.

Our Covid response: 5/10
In totality it looks like a thing you do to score some points against the other guys, with no real sense there is any accountability and no real assurance it won't be the same next time.

Parental leave: 5/10
Political misstep of the week. Took a decent idea, then turned it into an inter-coalition bitch slap.

Gregg's: 3/10
First the peaches, then the coffee. What's next? Jaffas? Oh, wait.

The new tariffs: 2/10
Between them, the courts, and the war, the Trump presidency, if not already in flames, looks increasingly combustible.

Zoe Hobbs: 7/10
My pick of the success stories from Glasgow. Seemed overwhelmed, grateful, and pleased she could prove the doubters wrong.

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We can end the week by adding another example of angst and anger to the fast-track pile.
We have talked about Delmore and their 1200 houses north of Auckland, as well as Pegasus and their 1000 homes north of Christchurch.
The fast-track application was lodged this week, and now we have Ridgeburn in Arrowtown; 1200 more houses and this week, a hall full of ropeable locals.
Now, the question for fast-track becomes increasingly political. It's that interface between doing what's right and fixing a problem.
There is no doubt that the RMA, which is what fast-track is addressing, is broken. It's slow, it's expensive, it's wasteful, and it's holding us back.
Some mining will get done because of fast-track. That is jobs and incomes in areas that need it.
Tauranga Port might (they haven't got it yet) be able to extricate themselves from the quagmire of nonsense they have had to deal with now for literally years.
But for every project that looks like it fixes something, we have a growing number of what looks like good old-fashioned housing developments, and it is those that might cause untold misery for the Government.
It may well be a compounding problem because once you green light a Delmore, you have to green light a Pegasus, and then a Ridgeburn. They are all 1000ish houses in a country that apparently wants more houses.
Yet in doing that you have thousands of angry voters who may not forgive you for wrecking their little piece of paradise.
And if you recognise that political danger you then run the risk of the political trap, which is to try and sooth some people.
Furrowed brows with some good old-fashioned compromise and once you do that it’s a Pandora's box of ebb and flow, give and take, compromise and legal action.
Before you know it, you're back where you started with 900 pages of laborious, go-nowhere RMA law.
The easy answer is to stay the course, have the courage of your convictions and believe that in the long term they will all thank you.
But it's election year.
Who is for turning and who is for taking the risk, that this doesn't turn into a voter rebellion and an election bloodbath.
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It’s Friday, which means it’s time for Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson to join Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that Was.
On today’s agenda was the newly inked deal for the Northern Expressway, the results of the latest Ipsos political poll, and the supermarket promotions going on at the moment.
Plus, an update on Mike and Kate’s fountain.
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The Warriors are on the Gold Coast this weekend, looking to bounce back against the Titans.
They just scraped past the Dragons earlier in the month before being thoroughly defeated by the Bulldogs – losing 18-6.
They’re currently sitting third on the ladder, but another loss could see them drop out of the top four.
Sky Sport Rugby League Analyst Willie Poching told Mike Hosking the Warriors aren't sitting third without knowing how to win.
He says last week they lacked the zip they’ve had for the majority of the season, so if they can get some of that back when playing the titans, they’ll return to their winning ways.
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On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 30th of July, Mike couldn’t be more excited for the signing of our biggest-ever PPP deal for the new Northland Expressway.
Has Winston Peters crossed the line with his latest comments? Or is this just Winston in election year? Former Speaker Sir Lockwood Smith shares his thoughts on the situation.
And Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson joined Mike to Wrap the Week – just wait until you hear about the latest with Mike and Kate's new fountain.
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