The Mike Hosking Breakfast

I think the majority of us would agree that the gang patch ban, along with the renewed police attitude to gang activity, has produced a pretty successful answer to what was previously a situation with gangs where they basically ran rampant, ruined a lot of people's lives and produced untold misery in a lot of small-town New Zealand.
I note as a watcher of Parliamentary Question Time that Minister of Police Mark Mitchell is very rarely peppered with questions these days because the Opposition know they were on the wrong side of history i.e. letting gangs run wild.
It hasn’t stopped though, with some bloke who got arrested and charged with a gang insignia breach finding himself a lawyer, going to court and successfully finding that the gang patch law is not consistent with the Bill of Rights.
The upside is this now gets referred back to Parliament and they don’t have to do a lot about it.
They can of course appeal the finding. But Judith Collins, before she retired as Attorney General, suggested the new law may well find trouble in court. So whether an appeal is wise is debatable.
But this bloke's lawyer (his details by the way are suppressed) thinks if this goes nowhere, it can be taken to the United Nations, which I think is where most of us would want to end our interest in the case.
Kim Dotcom's case might go to the UN as well.
My question is: for what?
We have of course signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which I'm sure when we signed it, like a lot of United Nations frippery, we didn’t anticipate the nitty-gritty of gang law being part of it.
Generally, the UN conventions are built around the more extreme outworkings of law and morals and societal ills, and the Mongrel Mob down State Highway 1 on a funeral process wasn’t one of them.
Which brings us to the important question here.
Let's say the court here is right, and the gang patch ban is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights. But in being inconsistent it's brought some peace to people's lives, has quelled a level of behaviour most of us saw as out of control, and has broadly solved a problem.
So who really won then?
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A huge weekend ahead for one of the country’s best up and coming boxers.
David Nyika is set to face off against Australian Floyd Mason in the IBF cruiserweight world title eliminator.
It’s rank five versus rank six, and the winner will become the number one challenger for the title.
Nyika told Hosking this is the best-prepared he’s been for any fight he’s done, having had 15 weeks’ notice and a 12 week camp to train.
“I’ve been fully immersed and I haven’t taken any shortcuts.”
The winner of the clash will go on to fight British boxer Viddal Riley, who has already won his eliminator, and Nyika is eager to win both bouts.
“I’m aiming to get that title and then go on to becoming undisputed cruiserweight world champion.”
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Rod Liddle has sadly passed away unexpectedly at the age of 66.
He was the Mike Hosking Breakfast UK correspondent since July 2016.
He challenged conventional thinking and left an indelible mark on British journalism. His contributions to the show were always spectacular and kept our audience up-to-date with the key issues in Britain.
His three kids Wilder, Tyler and Emmy said "he left a legacy we are incredibly proud of. He will always be our guide on how to live an extraordinary life".
We last caught up in person at a pub in Marylebone in May 2023 when the show was over for the King's Coronation.
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On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 4th of August, the Government has confirmed that the fuel support measures will continue – after a great start, have we trapped ourselves?
We remember and celebrate the life of our long time UK Correspondent Rod Liddle, who passed away overnight at the age of 66.
Kiwi boxer David Nyika joins for a chat ahead of the title contender fight that would give him a shot at the IBF Cruiserweight title.
Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Hayden Paddon's booked a World Rally Championship drive on his favoured surface.
He's back on gravel in Paraguay this month after three appearances for Hyundai on tarmac this season.
Paddon’s last WRC appearance on gravel was the 2018 Rally Australia, in which he finished second for Hyundai.
The Kiwi driver told Mike Hosking the contract was originally only comprised of the three tarmac rallies, so the gravel is a nice little bonus.
He says while they probably won’t recreate what they did eight years ago, they’re going to put their best foot forward.
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