The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Hss Paddock to Pantry just confirmed what most of us who think the whole “blow up the super market” game is stupid …were in fact right?
The most open display of pandering to the lowest common denominator I have seen in years is virtually every party promising to take you to the promised isle of cheap food, and the only one left with common sense and an adult approach is ACT, who see this for what it is.
Paddock to Pantry is an NZ operation that has largely been on line - they have some bricks and mortar operations but are now on a major expansion path, with $25 million to be spent over the next 5 years.
Their sales are up almost 200 percent in a year, and they are aiming to be the 3rd biggest player in the market.
Let me quote them: "changes to supermarket competition settings provided the foundation for independent operators to compete with the big chains."
"The ground work has already been done through the changes to competition settings. Those reforms have opened the door for independent operators like us to compete and we have demonstrated that the model works."
I am not sure what else you need to hear.
The argument from those of us who have kept our heads on this matter is comparatively simple -right or wrong, a market of 5 million spread over tricky territory makes a lot of players in a high volume business hard work.
That’s why Aldi isn't here, and that’s why even though Aldi is in Australia, they still bitch and moan about prices and lack of competition.
So desperate to placate those who still don’t know why butter is costly, an increasing number of alarmist ideas are rolled out in an election campaign designed to get your vote but ultimately to let you down when you wake up to the fact its all a fultile con.
Paddock to Pantry is aiming to set up in largely provincial areas with lack of competition.
Ask yourself why - this is the market working, this is the gaps being filled, this is a local operator who is backing themselves to play in a real life free market. The free market is working, they are proof.
And you might - if you're a local - want to support them when they arrive. It will be way more productive that waiting for Willis or Hipkins or Swarbrick to get you cheaper oranges.
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Over the weekend, One Nation's Pauline Hanson got some digs in at the Coalition, but said she'd work with them if it means removing Labour.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Hanson urged voters to ditch the Coalition and voiced opposition with the Liberal Party's policies.
Australian correspondent Steve Price says she also called Opposition leader Angus Taylor a 'smarmy management consultant'.
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Andrew Saville and Jason Pine joined Mike Hosking to review all the big sporting events of the weekend, including the All Blacks' victory over Australia at Eden Park, the memorable moments of Bathurst 1000 and more!
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Auckland Startup Week is set to begin for another year, and it's set to draw some extra attention to the tech sector.
The event runs from October 12-16, and it features 45 events across Auckland's city centre.
Auckland Council General Manager of Economic Development Pam Ford says these startups will be creating more jobs and helping find solutions for global issues.
"We're just trying to build that pipeline of more of those big companies - and then they feed the whole kind of system."
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President Donald Trump recently took to social media to claim that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to an energy ceasefire - without giving further details.
The announcement seems to have come as a surprise to Ukraine, with leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying he supports a deal, but wants clear details from US dialogue with Russia.
US correspondent Kate Fisher says there's been no word from Moscow about this arrangement - and it follows Trump's calls for Ukraine to oust Zelenskyy.
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