As I watch Chris Hipkins, presumably gleefully, mess about with the India Free Trade deal, I'm reminded this is not the Labour Party that did the FTA with China.

Hipkins is no Helen Clark and in that is a great sadness.

For all those who occasionally contact me and ask of the possibility of a so-called “grand coalition” —a relationship between the Labour and National parties— before you ask, next time look at the way Hipkins plays these games and there is your answer.

Even in areas of broad agreement, they still can't act like grownups.

It's also a lesson in name vs substance.

The Labour Party of the past few years is nothing like Labour of the late 90's and early 2000's. That was a centrist version.

Yes, they still handed out free money to people like students to bribe them in election year. But the rest of the time they actually ran the economy in growth. Compared to Barbara Edmonds, Michael Cullen was a conservative.

In the early parts of 1984 Labour, with David Lange, was similar, and here is your irony that Hipkins fails to recognise: when Labour are, broadly speaking, middle of the road they are actually popular.

Ask Bob Hawke or Paul Keating or Tony Blair – centrist Labour is successful Labour.

By the time you take modern Labour with Hipkins and Sepuloni, and add the Greens in the mix, you are seeing the left wing “group think” that not only keeps them out of office, but leads to the sort of game playing we have with an FTA.

Yes, the Government probably shouldn’t have to rely on them and for all the games Labour plays, New Zealand First is just as bad with their xenophobic nonsense. But Labour once had a global view.

It's not like the Chinese weren't thought of with great suspicion prior to 2008. But the bigger picture was at play. The realisation that large countries and their economies could be good for everyone was a driving force.

What Labour would do well to do is put this country first. Not score points, not look like children, and not pretend they actually had anything to do with negotiating this thing at all.

FTAs are big picture, not a three-year electoral cycle game.

I don’t think I'm alone in wishing there were more adults in the room. Labour 1999-2008 put the current lot to shame.

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The Reverend Jesse Jackson is being remembered as a leader who served the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world.

The famed US civil rights campaigner has died aged 84.

In a statement posted to social media his family say he died peacefully surrounded by family.

After being mentored by Martin Luther King Junior he went on to become one of the most influential African-American leaders.

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking Jackson was a singularly powerful speaker.

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Kiwi company OpenStar Technologies has taken a serious step forward in the global race towards nuclear fusion.

Backed by $35 million in government funding, they’ve successfully levitated a half tonne superconducting magnet, confining a cloud of ultra-hot plasma.

It’s a key milestone in recreating the same process that powers the sun – ultimately producing carbon-free energy.

CEO Dr Ratu Mataira told Mike Hosking now they’ve proven the engineering can be done, it’s time to push for performance and see just how hot they can get the plasma.

He believes they’ll definitely be able to reach nuclear fusion within his lifetime.

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Today on Politics Wednesday, Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen are back with Mike Hosking to discuss the biggest stories of the week so far.

They discussed the details Labour’s seeking from the India Free Trade Agreement, the National Infrastructure Plan and the possibility of tolling the Auckland Harbour Bridge, and the latest political polls.

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On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 18th of February, the first National Infrastructure Plan has been unveiled, and it’s a sobering read. Minister Chris Bishop joined to unpack the report.

Netball NZ's chair Matt Whineray is resigning from the board, along with three other members, in an end to a tumultuous time at the organisation.

Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell debate the India FTA, tolling the Auckland Harbour Bridge, and the latest polls on Politics Wednesday.

Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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The new Reserve Bank Governor will deliver her first Monetary Policy Statement today.

The central bank's expected to keep the OCR unchanged at 2.25%.

It's likely to show when inflation should start easing, and when the economy should recover from last year's downturn.

BNZ Chief Economist Mike Jones told Mike Hosking today’s announcement will likely see them swap out the mild easing bias the bank had in November and replace it with a mild tightening bias.

He says they believe the Reserve Bank will probably want to signal a hike by around December this year.

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The Infrastructure Minister believes a toll is a fair way of paying for a new Auckland harbour crossing.

The Infrastructure Commission’s 30-year plan makes 10 recommendations for what should be prioritised over the next decade, with hospital investment topping the list.

The plan suggests the extra crossing in Auckland, tunnel or bridge, gets a $9 toll, but the Government is still weighing up whether the existing bridge should also be tolled.

Chris Bishop told Mike Hosking ultimately, roads have to be paid for.

He says the second harbour crossing will be the biggest infrastructure project ever built in New Zealand, and they think it will wind up being tolled as it’s a fair way of paying for the project.

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Outgoing Netball New Zealand chair Matt Whineray regrets the way they communicated with the public during the drawn out Silver Ferns coaching saga.

Whineray is ending his eight-year tenure alongside three others at board level.

The governing body came under scrutiny last year for their handling of the standing down, and eventual re-instatement, of Dame Noeline Taurua.

Whineray told Mike Hosking they had the right intentions.

He says they were trying to balance the obligations they have with the need to keep people informed, but they know their communication could be better.

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