The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Latest numbers from the Electoral Commission as of the weekend show 63.4% of 18-24-year-old voters are enrolled.
It's a shockingly low number.
It's lower than previous elections. This is bad news for democracy and especially bad news for the Greens.
There's no excuse for this.
You can't blame the Electoral Commission. You can't blame the media either. They have fallen over themselves processing the Commission's press releases. It's one of the rare times modern journalism, which is little more than regurgitation of press releases, might have been actually trying to do the right thing.
It's not the change of date's fault. The Green's tried that "scam" on earlier.
There was, and is not, a scandal. Elections are regular events and you have three years notice. Election dates are announced at the start of the year, and you then have about 10 months.
If you can't enter a couple of simple details in that time that’s on you. We need to have individuals own more of their incompetence in this country. We look for excuses and on this, there is no excuse.
As for the rest of us it's 90%, which is about normal. We like democracy, as we should.
We also might like to actually vote. Last time it was 77%. That’s a big difference and, ironically, last time the percentage of young people who voted was also about 77%, which means a higher portion of those enrolled at that age turn up. So that’s a glass-half-full stat for you.
The tragedy here is young people don’t care, or too many don’t care.
Would civics help? Would more engaged parents help?
Would better discourse at a political level help?
Ironically it's not until you reach your 50's that the enrolment levels crack 80%. So as bad as 63% is for a 19-year-old, there are a lot of 29, 36 and 45-year-olds that aren't that much more engaged.
For a country that appears deeply affected by the economy and life generally, a country that tells surveyors how unhappy we are and how we can't afford anything, when the chance comes around to participate directly in doing something about that too many just can't be bothered.
Unreal aye?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New England test cricket coach Stephen Fleming has already laid down a challenge to their Australian rivals ahead of next year's home Ashes series.
The former New Zealand captain told Mike Hosking that he hasn't been given any KPIs per se, but the Ashes aren't too far away, and he learned pretty quickly that that's the be-all, end-all.
He says the timing is really good as he can see a bit of creaking and groaning in the Australian team, so if New Zealand has a great summer and puts them under pressure, it might set things up well.
Fleming's first series in charge is away against South Africa in December and January.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 13th of October, NZ Initiative's Bryce Wilkinson joined us to crunch all the data from all the parties' fiscal plans.
Nicola Willis pours over the National Party's numbers.
Black Caps legend Stephen Fleming joins the show to talk about his new job with England, his brief visit to NZ, and look ahead to the Black Clash in January.
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.

There's confidence Christchurch's covered stadium won't leave attendees hot under the collar this summer.
Temperatures inside parts of One NZ Stadium hit 31 degrees during Sunday's NPC quarter-final and Farah Palmer Cup final, despite outdoor temperatures in the low 20s.
Venues Otautahi say cooling systems weren't at full capacity.
Chief executive Caroline Harvie-Teare told Mike Hosking ten misting fans can also be activated for summer concerts.
She says they impact temperatures by about 4-to-5 degrees but can't be used for sport.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New research suggests people aren't waiting around for the election to make big financial decisions.
ASB analysis of the last 20 years of elections shows spending and investment don't tend to slow down just before elections or speed up right after them.
Senior Economist Mark Smith told Mike Hosking while there are some differences due to things like the Global Financial Crisis and Covid, generally activity is actually stronger before elections rather than after.
He says rather than delaying decisions, firms and households just get on with it.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.