The number of public servants working within Government is down slightly on this time last year.  

But new Public Service data shows measured against last quarter, the number of civil servants has increased.  

The data shows there were 63,238 people employed by the Government as of March this year – 2045 fewer people compared to March 2024, but an increase of 269 on the last quarter.  

Economist Cameron Bagrie told Mike Hosking government personnel spending in that same period has also increased by 3.1%. 

He says that the big change in the fiscal stance, the tightening of the reins, have not been seen yet, and the question is if it will really be delivered. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

The number of public servants working within Government is down slightly on this time last year. &nbsp;
But new Public Service data shows measured against last quarter, the number of civil servants has increased. &nbsp;
The data shows there were 63,238 people employed by the Government as of March this year – 2045 fewer people compared to March 2024, but an increase of 269 on the last quarter. &nbsp;
Economist Cameron Bagrie told Mike Hosking government personnel spending in that same period has also increased by 3.1%.&nbsp;
He says that the big change in the fiscal stance, the tightening of the reins, have not been seen yet, and the question is if it will really be delivered.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

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The Mike Hosking Breakfast always cuts through and delivers the best daily on Newstalk ZB.

Open your mind to the world with New Zealand’s number one breakfast radio show. Without question, as New Zealand’s number one talk host, Mike Hosking sets the day’s agenda. The sharpest voice and mind in the business, Mike drives strong opinion, delivers the best talent, and always leaves you wanting more. The Mike Hosking Breakfast always cuts through and delivers the best daily on Newstalk ZB.

Open your mind to the world with New Zealand’s number one breakfast radio show.Without question, as New Zealand’s number one talk host, Mike Hosking sets the day’s agenda.The sharpest voice and mind in the business, Mike drives strong opinion,...

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Cameron Bagrie: Independent Economist on the public service numbers

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/c2b1ab86-d777-4bf7-835d-b2fa01596b34/transcript

As big of a fan as I am of good news, something wasn’t right in the latest PISA report. 

Like all reports, you can look at stats in any number of ways. 

For example, if you want to feel good about yourself have a look at the Australian results. They're not good. 

So for a bit of Trans-Tasman rivalry, their numbers will give you no end of good vibes. 

The socio-economic gap the Government talked up seems real, so that’s indisputably good. 

But I have two major worries: 

We look good because essentially, we went nowhere, and we went nowhere against an OECD that went backwards. Standing knee-deep while others drown doesn’t seem to me to be a thing. 

I mean you'll take it. But I would've thought that comparing yourself to the ordinary is not quite as fulfilling as actually moving forward. 

But the really big one is the OECD going backwards, and the 'why'. 

I surmise the 'why' is the death of critical thinking. Kids no longer think for themselves and it's only going to get worse. 

The reports raise issues around disruptive classrooms, the old screen-time issue, and of course the fact that kids don’t read. 

This is global. We have multiple generations of non-readers and reading is the key to everything. 

Mix the lack of reading with AI, which will answer whatever you want, and basically, we are headed for intellectual oblivion. 

Like the calculator before it, technological advance is efficient and gets you the answer. But the link to critical thinking is "do you know the answer is right"? 

Of course you don’t and you don’t care either. 

No one asks questions No one is inquiring. The rise of gormlessness is frightening. 

It's there in the PISA reports – our kids are going backwards. Not reading, not adding and not firing up the ol' brains. 

In the intellectual swamp that is global education, we aren't too bad. So instead of worrying about that, we decide to pretend it’s a good news story. 

But being okay, or average, in a world of the hopeless isn't what I call achieving. 

As big of a fan as I am of good news, something wasn’t right in the latest PISA report.&nbsp;
Like all reports, you can look at stats in any number of ways.&nbsp;
For example, if you want to feel good about yourself have a look at the Australian results. They're not good.&nbsp;
So for a bit of Trans-Tasman rivalry, their numbers will give you no end of good vibes.&nbsp;
The socio-economic gap the Government talked up seems real, so that’s indisputably good.&nbsp;
But I have two major worries:&nbsp;
We look good because essentially, we went nowhere, and we went nowhere against an OECD that went backwards. Standing knee-deep while others drown doesn’t seem to me to be a thing.&nbsp;
I mean you'll take it. But I would've thought that comparing yourself to the ordinary is not quite as fulfilling as actually moving forward.&nbsp;
But the really big one is the OECD going backwards, and the 'why'.&nbsp;
I surmise the 'why' is the death of critical thinking. Kids no longer think for themselves and it's only going to get worse.&nbsp;
The reports raise issues around disruptive classrooms, the old screen-time issue, and of course the fact that kids don’t read.&nbsp;
This is global. We have multiple generations of non-readers and reading is the key to everything.&nbsp;
Mix the lack of reading with AI, which will answer whatever you want, and basically, we are headed for intellectual oblivion.&nbsp;
Like the calculator before it, technological advance is efficient and gets you the answer. But the link to critical thinking is "do you know the answer is right"?&nbsp;
Of course you don’t and you don’t care either.&nbsp;
No one asks questions No one is inquiring. The rise of gormlessness is frightening.&nbsp;
It's there in the PISA reports – our kids are going backwards. Not reading, not adding and not firing up the ol' brains.&nbsp;
In the intellectual swamp that is global education, we aren't too bad. So instead of worrying about that, we decide to pretend it’s a good news story.&nbsp;
But being okay, or average, in a world of the hopeless isn't what I call achieving.&nbsp;

Mike's Minute: A deeper dive into the PISA numbers

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/b23bf0d9-9aef-49c0-8ae9-b4c001808997/transcript

Sir Peter Beck is one of the country's greatest ongoing success stories. 

The self-taught engineer turned his love of rockets into a multibillion dollar space company, and Rocket Lab is now the third largest launcher of payloads to orbit. 

He's competing directly with the likes of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX, managing to hold his own against the billionaires, and can be credited as the reason New Zealand has a space industry in the first place. 

Although the future of the industry may seem uncertain, Beck's confident in his ability to chart a path forward.  

"The space industry right now is an amazing place," he told Mike Hosking.  

"It's just growing rapidly. Like, it was $360 billion, they reckon it's going to be $1.7 trillion in the next five years."  

"It is really, you know, a new bastion of ... industry and growth."  

Going from being a small player starting his own company to a major corporation answerable to shareholders was a steep curve, Beck said, but one they were able to handle. 

"We've always run the company, you know, incredibly frugally," he explained. 

"We are never gonna outspend Jeff and Elon, so we have to be, you know, much more careful with how we build the company." 

"We have to out-hustle them and out-innovate, and that's the only way we can survive."  

And that ethos of hustling to survive has become a great advantage for the company, Beck's self-described 'workaholism' and drive flowing through into the very culture of Rocket Lab. 

"If you look at the resources and what we try to chieve in the time frames – it's insane," he told Hosking 

"We built two spacecraft that are currently on their way to mars right now, we did that in a couple years ... ten years ago that would be like, a half a decade NASA project, and we did it in two years." 

"The Rocket Lab hustle is everybody's expected to get out their spades and just start digging under the barrier or, you know, climbing over the top of it, or whatever it takes." 

LISTEN ABOVE  

Sir Peter Beck is one of the country's greatest ongoing success stories.&nbsp;
The self-taught engineer turned his love of rockets into a multibillion dollar space company, and Rocket Lab is now the third largest launcher of payloads to orbit.&nbsp;
He's competing directly with the likes of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX, managing to hold his own against the billionaires, and can be credited as the reason New Zealand has a space industry in the first place.&nbsp;
Although the future of the industry may seem uncertain, Beck's confident in his ability to chart a path forward. &nbsp;
"The space industry right now is an amazing place," he told Mike Hosking. &nbsp;
"It's just growing rapidly. Like, it was $360 billion, they reckon it's going to be $1.7 trillion in the next five years." &nbsp;
"It is really, you know, a new bastion of ... industry and growth." &nbsp;
Going from being a small player starting his own company to a major corporation answerable to shareholders was a steep curve, Beck said, but one they were able to handle.&nbsp;
"We've always run the company, you know, incredibly frugally," he explained.&nbsp;
"We are never gonna outspend Jeff and Elon, so we have to be, you know, much more careful with how we build the company."&nbsp;
"We have to out-hustle them and out-innovate, and that's the only way we can survive." &nbsp;
And that ethos of hustling to survive has become a great advantage for the company, Beck's self-described 'workaholism' and drive flowing through into the very culture of Rocket Lab.&nbsp;
"If you look at the resources and what we try to chieve in the time frames – it's insane," he told Hosking&nbsp;
"We built two spacecraft that are currently on their way to mars right now, we did that in a couple years ... ten years ago that would be like, a half a decade NASA project, and we did it in two years."&nbsp;
"The Rocket Lab hustle is everybody's expected to get out their spades and just start digging under the barrier or, you know, climbing over the top of it, or whatever it takes."&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE &nbsp;

Peter Beck: Rocket Lab CEO and Founder on the company's incredible growth to compete with Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/9ea68d0c-04db-4dbc-be56-b4c0017d19d3/transcript

LIV Golf, the breakaway tour that spent billions of dollars luring top players away from the PGA, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States. 

Launched in 2022, free-spending LIV caused shock waves and bitter divisions in the golf world, before losing the backing of its deep-pocketed Saudi investors earlier this year, prompting a scramble to stay afloat. 

The organisation has filed a Chapter 11 petition, which allows a company to reorganise operations while avoiding the initiation of any lawsuits, debt collection, or other attempts to enforce closure. 

Former PGA Golfer Marcus Wheelhouse told Mike Hosking it's possible a new model will emerge from the other side of this, though it will be smaller. 

He says the key is whether the brand will survive from a reputation point of view, as they owe a lot of people and organisations money. 

Wheelhouse says they have a lot of challenges ahead.  

LISTEN ABOVE  

LIV Golf, the breakaway tour that spent billions of dollars luring top players away from the PGA, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States.&nbsp;
Launched in 2022, free-spending LIV caused shock waves and bitter divisions in the golf world, before losing the backing of its deep-pocketed Saudi investors earlier this year, prompting a scramble to stay afloat.&nbsp;
The organisation has filed a Chapter 11 petition, which allows a company to reorganise operations while avoiding the initiation of any lawsuits, debt collection, or other attempts to enforce closure.&nbsp;
Former PGA Golfer Marcus Wheelhouse told Mike Hosking it's possible a new model will emerge from the other side of this, though it will be smaller.&nbsp;
He says the key is whether the brand will survive from a reputation point of view, as they owe a lot of people and organisations money.&nbsp;
Wheelhouse says they have a lot of challenges ahead. &nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE &nbsp;

Marcus Wheelhouse: Former PGA Golfer and Professional Coach on LIV Golf filing for bankruptcy protection

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/42a8020c-2acb-4ccb-be6b-b4c001673545/transcript

Cameron Bagrie: Independent Economist on the public service numbers

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