The Mike Hosking Breakfast

• Mike's Minute: We need to understand debt better

  There is a growing idea in economic circles in America that young people might never own anything. It's based on the recent news that a new car average price cracked $50,000 for the first time. It was added to by Trump's idea that we have 50-year mortgages. In the US, 30 years is pretty standard, and they have the fixed interest rate that lasts decades. Here it's completely different. But all of it is based on the thinking that more and more people can't afford stuff and, if they can, they will need to borrow basically forever to do it. The wisest piece of advice I ever got was when i was about 18. I was in the bank trying to sort a mortgage and we were tossing numbers about and the bloke behind the counter swung his computer screen around to face me. On it were the numbers I would be paying – what I was borrowing, what the interest rate was and what the monthly bill would be. And the killer was the bit that showed just how much in interest I would ultimately give the bank over the period of that debt. Needless to say, it was more than the debt itself. Compound interest is either your friend if you're saving and you're enemy if you're in debt. That pretty much changed my view on debt. But a 50-year mortgage is clearly designed to lull you into the idea that things are affordable. Just don’t worry about ever paying it off. It's probably why they are putting mortgages into the school curriculum in Britain. If every kid came out with just a basic idea of the way things work in the real world, we may solve ourselves a lot of long-term issues and a lot of personal heartache. And that is before we get to the fact that a lot of this country's so-called prosperity is a perception and the perception is created by the idea that you have more money simply because someone told you your house was worth more. Or, if you are in the market, Nvidia for no particularly specific reason just added another nine zeros to their market cap. If more people understood debt, both its option, pitfalls, upsides and problems, we would see the idea of a 50-year mortgage for what it is. But basically, the state of the world, both at personal and national level, is the way it is because we don’t. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Mark the Week: This week could have been so different for the All Blacks

  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. Uber: 3/10 The Supreme Court may have read the law, which means the law needs changing, because what the four drivers wanted and won is not what the gig economy is all about. Ferries: 6/10 Two ships, a big saving, and an improvement on what we have. Job done. Tory Whanau: 2/10 She's moving to Melbourne. See? Not every loss is a loss. The All Blacks: 3/10 Oh, how different this week could have been. Wales seems like such a lowlight. Opportunity: 6/10 As in the political party. I admire their pluck and determination and staying power, I'm just not convinced there is 5% there to be had. LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Mike's Minute: Richard Chambers is the Police Commissioner we need

  Would we be asking the questions of Police Commissioner Richard Chambers if we hadn't been dealing with McSkimming and Coster and Co.? From my dealings with Chambers, he is exactly the sort of person who the Police need leading them. He is one of those appointments that when it's made, you get it, unlike the Coster appointment. When it was made you saw Ardern's fingerprints all over it and history shows how that all worked out. From all Chambers' actions so far, he not only had to right the direction of the Police broadly, but tidy up a god-awful mess that, if you believe headlines, has shaken the public's faith in the entire force. I don’t actually believe that for a moment. Police, at 15,000 strong, are not rotten, the same way the bad apple in a corporate doesn’t mean the whole business stinks. But as a result of the mess, Chambers felt it necessary to share the speeding ticket news. He was going 112km/h, which as far as I know was actually 111km/h. Not that that excuses it, it just keeps getting misreported. Then he's down Oriental Parade with Kash Patel having a dip while there is a tsunami warning. He thought it was lifted, but it wasn’t. He rang the appropriate people and said sorry and then he was in front of the Parliamentary Select Committee having his minister, Mark Mitchell, heap praise on him, as well he might. The point being, are we microanalysing people in public life? And if we are, is it useful? And if it isn't, which I doubt it is, do we put people off going for top jobs in the public service? Can you be a decent operator and completely incident free? Are any of us completely incident free? Is 111km/h even a thing? Mea culpa – I go 111km/h every weekend in the country, probably more. A lot of people do. Do I take tsunami warnings seriously? Not really. Do I take atmospheric rivers seriously? Not really. New Zealand overreacts to most things, driven by the digital media who live for clicks. So there you go. I doubt I'll make Police Commissioner. What I also know is I can't be bothered with the myopic gawking over matters of little or no importance. Chambers is clearly a more patient man than I am. But as I say, he seems the real deal and the man for the job. How about we let him get on with it and give the nonsense a rest? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Mick Akers: F1 Journalist previews the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix

  Formula 1 is touching down in Vegas amid the bright lights of Sin City. Lando Norris is currently in the lead, holding a 24-point buffer over McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. And Liam Lawson is preparing to roll the Formula 1 dice, unlikely to learn of his future before the season ends. F1 Journalist Mick Akers told Mike Hosking the event is tracking towards selling out, with an announcement likely to come ahead of the race kicking off this weekend. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Wrapping the Week with Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson: Winston Peters, the media, living in the US

  It's Friday once again which means Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson are back with Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that Was. They discussed the cost of living in the United States, the media, and Winston Peters' latest announcement about the Regulatory Standards Act. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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