The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The business of sports betting and prediction markets is continuing to grow.  LeBron James is the latest major name to land a deal in the industry, signing a $15 million a year endorsement deal with Polymarket - nearly four times his NBA salary this season.   But the fast growth of the sector and ability to bet on anything is sparking some concerns.  American Institute for Boys and...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 24th of September, is the LNG import terminal deal still going ahead? And have the Police and Health NZ figured out the right time target for mental health handovers?   The rise of sports betting and prediction markets on anything from politics to the next James Bond is booming – is some sort of regulation needed or is this just the...

Wine drinkers across the globe are continuing to reach for Kiwi made bottles.  Our wine exports reached over $2 billion, with export volume increasing to over 306 million litres, in the 12 months to June.  Overall sales have increased 8% and represent the industry’s second-highest June year total on record.  New Zealand Winegrowers Chief Executive Anishka Jelicich told Mike Hosking...

The future of Super Rugby and the NPC are on the table today as New Zealand Rugby holds a critical summit.  The organisation needs to save $20 million a year, and options include merging teams or scrapping both competitions in favour of a new eight to ten team format.   Newstalk ZB's Lead Rugby Commentator Elliott Smith told Mike Hosking the issue for NZR is not revenue, as they're makin...

Health New Zealand's confident the new target time for Police handing mental health patients over to ED is about right.   The agencies had initially aimed to cut the handover time from an hour to 15 minutes as part of its phased response change plan.  That's now been revised to 30 minutes.  Specialist Mental Health and Addiction Director Karla Bergquist told Mike Hosking staff have...

The Government's run out of time to complete the procurement process for a billion-dollar LNG import terminal.  Energy Minister Simeon Brown had intended to sign a contract with a supplier before the end of the year out of two possible candidates, but no deal's been confirmed. New Zealand First and ACT haven't voiced support for this timing. But Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones told Mike...

Firefighters are welcoming policy from across the political spectrum, but insists action is needed now.  National's made an election promise to do away with the Fire and Emergency board and make it directly accountable to the Emergency Management Minister.  On the other side, Labour’s promising an independent review of the organisation's funding and operations.  Professional Firefig...

If I was generous, I would let him off, given he has got more portfolios than anyone.  But Paul Goldsmith has delivered to Parliament the bit of legislation that will finally finish off the Broadcasting Standards Authority.  He did it with a flourish of slightly embarrassing bonhomie.  He saw its delivery as being the delivery of a promise, the promise being we would get legislation...

National's Police Spokesperson's batting away questions over why their Labour attack ad uses crime footage from the Government's own term.   The video's claims Labour was soft on crime is juxtaposed with clips of offending committed early during the coalition Government.   Labour says it's dishonest and desperate.   But Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking they have a great digital team...

New Zealand Chardonnay has earned its place at the world's fine wine table in a blind taste test.  Wines from Pyramid Valley and Smith & Sheth were tasted alongside top French Burgundies, with Smith & Sheth's Les Graviers coming out on top.  It beat out 23 other bottles, with some costing over $2000.  Master of Wine Steve Smith told Mike Hosking they wanted to test themselve...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 23rd of September, the Finance Minister responds to the independent review of the Reserve Bank's monetary policy during the Covid pandemic.  It's not just our Sauvignon Blanc; we've got a good news story about our Chardonnay going up against the best in France and winning.  Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell discuss the last wee...

2degrees has posted another year of growth, with revenue up 5.5% to $1.46 billion.  Profit before tax was $27.4 million, marking a $50 million turnaround, with growth across its consumer, business, and wholesale operations.   Chief Business Officer Andrew Fairgray told Mike Hosking the continued growth shows they have momentum to continue building on.  As the country deals with tigh...

The Finance Minister believes the report on the Reserve Bank's performance during Covid affirms decisions made by the current Government.  An external review of Bank's Covid monetary policy during the pandemic finds it was right to cut the OCR early but was slow to react when the economy bounced back sooner than expected.  Nicola Willis told Mike Hosking the results show the importance o...

The Government's unveiled plans for a new National Events Strategy.  It follows an independent review that found New Zealand's a strong events host, but lacks a coordinated, long-term approach.  The industry's backing the move, saying international competition for major events is getting tougher.  Business Events Industry Aotearoa CEO Lisa Hopkins told Mike Hosking we've missed out...

The Health Minister's claiming a win following improvements in elective treatment wait times.  April to June data shows patients waiting fewer than four months for treatment increased about nine points to around 73%, compared to last year.  MidCentral and Wairarapa have met the 2030 target of 95% this quarter.   Simeon Brown told Mike Hosking there are more than 14,000 fewer people...

For all the opprobrium heaped on the National Party for their supermarket call, the old National was out yesterday finalising the India free trade deal.  Of all the things this Government has done in its first term, the FTA with India may well be the most important.  It will last forever, it will grow, and it will become an increasingly important part of our economic story.  It's be...

The Reacherverse has expanded.  Neagley, a spinoff of the Reacher TV series, is cantered around the character of Frances Neagley, whose popularity in season one saw her written into the following seasons as well.   It has a darker tone than the original show, and stars Maria Sten and Greyston Holt as Neagley and Detective Hudson Riley.  The first season was released after the Reache...

Is adult ADHD being over-diagnosed?  A new survey of British doctors shows 7 in ten of the 829 GPs survey believed the disorder is over-diagnosed.  They estimate more than 80% of patients they refer for assessment end up with a diagnosis.  But a registered GP believes it's not the same in New Zealand.  Dr John Cameron told Mike Hosking that based on overseas statistics and crit...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 22nd of September, new data shows just how many billions were spent on the now-scrapped Fees Free scheme .  Property investors respond to the massive call from Labour: they won't be changing landlord interest deductibility.  Maria Sten and Greyston Holt are the stars of the new Reacher spinoff 'Neagley', which is currently the n...

There's a belief we're underestimating how high interest rates will go.  ANZ has revised its forecast for the next six months, now predicting three hikes to the Official Cash Rate, bringing rates from 2.75% to 3.5%.  Independent Economics Commentator Tony Alexander told Mike Hosking they'll likely climb even higher, sitting somewhere between 4% and 4.5%.   He says the Reserve Bank p...

Labour's u-turn on interest deductibility is being seen as a huge relief for both landlords and renters.  The party's confirmed they won't make changes to current rules, which were changed by the Coalition to allow 100% of interest to be claimed on landlords' tax bills.    Hipkins said yesterday it doesn't need changing back because under Labour, landlords would pay a Capital Gains...

New Zealand's earned a silver medal for commercial real estate market transparency in the Asia Pacific, coming behind only Australia.  We also ranked seventh out of 88 countries overall in the 14th JLL Global Index. JLL New Zealand Managing Director Todd Lauchlan says we're doing well for our size. He told Mike Hosking it comes down to information, our legal systems in place, and deal efficie...

The Tertiary Minister says the Fees Free scheme allowed students to take advantage.  A briefing to Penny Simmonds shows the first-year subsidy covered more than two billion dollars in fees for more than 300,000 students from 2018 to 2025.  But Simmonds told Mike Hosking it didn't meaningfully lift participation or provide a good enough return, and encouraged some bad behaviours.  &n...

The Warriors 2026 season is over - after a 12-10 semi final loss to the Newcastle Knights at Eden Park.  Coach Andrew Webster's admits he's frustrated that his side couldn't turn regular season momentum into play-off glory. He's also raised flags about many of the contentious referee decisions - including a loose carry from Greg Marzhew that was eventually called a penalty on Te Maire Martin...

Andrew Saville and Jason Pine joined Mike Hosking to review all the big sporting events of the weekend, including the Warriors semi-final loss to the Newcastle Knights, the Breakers opening win of the ANBL season and NZ Rugby's financial issues.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.