The Mike Hosking Breakfast

A warning from Foodstuffs that splitting it in two could increase prices.   If re-elected, and if the Commerce Commission agrees, National would separate Pak'nSave from New World and Four Square to drive competition.   The party says independent analysis shows prices could fall 3.5% a year after restructuring and 5% after six years.   But Foodstuffs North Island Chair Dean Waddell t...

Encouraging figures coming out of the job market.  A new Seek report shows ads are up 0.6% – 9.7% higher than a year ago.  Auckland is leading the charge with a notable 1% jump in ad numbers, its biggest rise in almost four years.   Employers and Manufacturers Association Head of Advocacy Alan McDonald told Mike Hosking he didn't see that coming.   He says it's really good to s...

Our economy might be more resilient than we thought.   Stats NZ is releasing June's GDP data later this morning, with most economists predicting growth will come in between 0.1% and 0.3% for the quarter.  Farming, manufacturing, and exporting activity have been improving.  ASB Senior Economist Mark Smith told Mike Hosking the economy might be "uneven", but there are green shoots. &n...

I'm pretty sure AI isn't going to wipe us out.  AI is another of those technologies or gains we make that has the capability to do a lot if left unchecked.  But the key to all of this, as it has been with so many things before from the musket to the nuclear weapon, is self-interest.  Ultimately, we don’t actually have any desire to wipe ourselves out, given if we did, we would have...

The Police Minister says we can't lose sight of the good work police did during the Tom Phillips case, even if there could have been improvement.   An inquiry has suggested the Phillips children could've been found earlier, and there were communication failures between Police and Oranga Tamariki.  Mark Mitchell says the police were dealt a tough hand in having to search in such a difficu...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 16th of September, the Police and the Government respond to the Tom Phillips report that revealed some glaring failures.  Supercars champ Chaz Mostert is in the country and the studio after it was announced the Race of Champions is coming to Wellington next year.  Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen talk the Phillips report, angs...

Wellington's central city stadium will be converted into a motorsport track this summer to play host to some world-leading drivers.  The international Race of Champions event debuts in New Zealand on January 9th and 10th.  Formula 1's Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas, Supercars' Chaz Mostert, and rally driver Hayden Paddon are confirmed on the starting grid.  Mostert told Mike H...

Dairy farmers are preparing for summer of extreme weather patterns.  New Zealand's set to be hit by a strong El Niño system, which raises the prospect of extreme heat, floods, drought, and disruptive weather.  Farmers are being urged to prepare for tighter margins and potential feed shortages, with DairyNZ modelling showing it could push working expenses to $6.78 per kilogram, and the br...

An admission of failures —and missed opportunities— over the long disappearance of Tom Phillips and his children.  A four-year hunt for the fugitives ended in gunfire last September when Police killed Phillips.  An inquiry's exposed numerous failures by Police and Oranga Tamariki and a lack of information sharing.  Deputy Police Commissioner Jill Rogers told Mike Hosking they ultima...

Immigration New Zealand is targeting unlawful employers as it tackles more than 19,000 visa overstayers.  More than 6,500 visas have expired since 2023 without the holders leaving New Zealand shores.   Americans topped the list of overstayers, followed by people from Tonga, China, the UK, and India.  Compliance and Investigations General Manager Steve Watson told Mike Hosking employ...

Fear from our public agencies may have contributed to failure in the Tom Phillips case.   Phillips was shot dead by police a year ago after being on the run for four years with his children.   An inquiry has found public agencies missed opportunities to find the children earlier, and criticised Police and Oranga Tamariki for their lack of information sharing.  Social Development Min...

I read that nearly a third of students who would have passed NCEA Level 2 under the current system will struggle under the new one.  BERL have done research that suggests 15,000 students have followed pathways that may be harder to replicate.  I'm not sure what the point of this research is.  They also claim the changes come at a cost of $50 million, most of which goes into relief t...

More signs of life in the economy, as the services sector expands for a third straight month.   The BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index rose to 51.2 in August – it's strongest result since September 2023.  New orders and business rose to 55.2, while retail climbed above 50 for the first time since January.   BNZ Senior Economist Doug Steel told Mike Hosking the new orders n...

One of the greatest snow sport athletes of all time is heading to our shores this week.  Shaun White is launching his new Snow League World Challenge at Cardrona this weekend, the event preceding the league's second season.  The highly decorated snowboarder told Mike Hosking he's been coming to New Zealand for a long time, and so naturally, he had to bring the league here.   "It's a...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 15th of September, we've got good news across the board with tourism numbers passing pre-Covid levels , net migration doubling , and the services sector seeing the strongest result in more than two years.  Is the UK about to split up? Leaders of Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have met to discuss their right to seek independenc...

There's a view friction will linger in the United Kingdom as the leaders from Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland want out.   The three first ministers have signed an agreement overnight, declaring no Westminister government has the right to block democracy.  It's the first time they've shared the stance since the UK devolution began, with Scotland and Northern Ireland calling for refe...

High prices and challenging conditions are fuelling uncertainty in the global dairy market.   Rabobank's latest report shows global milk production growth has slowed to 1.4% year-on-year – its weakest since early 2025.  Fonterra Co-operative Council Chair John Stevenson told Mike Hosking overseas weather patterns have constrained feed supply, and now the super El Niño could be upon us. &...

Fewer New Zealanders are leaving for Australia as our net migration hits the highest level in two years.  The number of people moving here outnumbered those who left by more than 20 thousand in the year to July.   There was a net migration loss of more than 28 thousand to Australia last year – an improvement from about 31 thousand the year before.   UVisa Immigration Adviser Tobias...

An expert says planning laws often need to be tweaked after they've passed.  The Housing Minister will announce details of amendments to the fast-track system later this morning after multiple council complaints about fast-tracked housing developments.   Mt Hobson Group Urban Planning Specialist Hamish Firth says the fast-track system was well intentioned and has helped build things like...

A sigh of relief from the Tourism Minister after July visitor numbers surpassed pre-Covid levels.  Stats NZ data shows 256,600 overseas visitors arrived in July – more than half of them from Australia.  That's 0.4% higher than July 2019.  Minister Louise Upston told Mike Hosking it shows a strong government focus on tourism can help drive demand.  She says one in nine New Zeala...

It's hard to know where to start. The referee obviously didn’t help. Three captain's challenges and three times we were right and he wasn’t. That’s before you get to the reports and sin bins and general pokey-nosery that he seemed to delight in. The NRL has long had quality issues with officiating, and Saturday didn’t help the reputation. The two points decision near the start surprised me, but th...

One Nation has outlined their latest bid to bring down migration numbers over the next three years. The party has vowed to bring down temporary migrant population by 750,000 over this timeframe, with a focus on international students and the families of skilled workers.  Australian correspondent Steve Price says immigration is a big issue for Australia, but employers have raised concerns abou...

Andrew Saville and Jason Pine joined Mike Hosking to review all the big sporting events of the weekend, including the All Blacks' defeat to the Springboks in Baltimore and whether the Warriors can shake off their weekend loss and beat the Knights.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's growing calls to boost the health system in order to drive economic growth, and BusinessNZ has outlined its concerns. The list of Health Priorities  calls on political parties to take a smarter approach to health spending, including increased Pharmac funding, better workforce planning, and more opportunities to adopt medical technology. BusinessNZ CEO Katherine Rich says good health p...

Donald Trump is citing the US's rivalry with China as he brushes off concerns around artificial intelligence. The US president is downplaying the heightened AI risks, despite multiple days of dire warnings by experts. Grok owner Elon Musk and Sam Altman of OpenAI are backing calls to slow down development to reduce the risk of something going wrong. US correspondent Richard Arnold says Trump has d...