The Mike Hosking Breakfast

David Seymour's calling for fat to be cut from multiple areas of government.  The Act Party leader wants a limit on the number of ministers – with no ministers outside of Cabinet, and no associate ministers other than in Finance.  He wants 30 total government agencies, down from 41.  Executive Director of business think tank New Zealand Initiative, Oliver Hartwich told Mike Hosking...

The Drug Foundation says the country barely invests anything into helping and supporting people with meth-addiction.   Discharges from public hospitals suggest meth-use has increased four-fold over the past decade.  Wastewater testing last year showed a doubling in meth use.   Drug Foundation Chief Executive Sarah Helm told Mike Hosking a lot more could be done, especially with know...

The Health Minister is standing by the current pay offer to senior doctors.  Thousands of planned procedures have been delayed following yesterday's strike action, while Health New Zealand is applying to the Employment Relations Authority for urgent facilitation.  Union members have told Newstalk ZB their pay rates aren't keeping up with the private sector or with Australia.  But Si...

Elite sports are not a cheap field to enter.  19-year-old Liam Sceats is on a journey to make it as a professional motorsport driver, aiming to achieve his dream of competing in IndyCar.   He’s currently competition in Indy NXT with HMD Motorsports – and it’ll cost him $1.2 million USD to compete in all 12 rounds.  Sceats currently has a three event deal, but will need to secure mor...

Regulars will know school and I were never really that close.  It was a means to an end, and the end couldn’t come soon enough. The means was the skills required to get out into the world and get on with it.  One of the things it did help with was economics. I found it genuinely interesting and did quite well in it.  They taught me compounding interest. If you don’t know about compo...

House prices are set to rise as businesses report less confidence   With two further cuts expected to the OCR, ANZ is now expecting a 4.5% lift as opposed to 6%.  Business confidence has also taken a tumble, with just 49% expecting improvements in the year ahead – down 9 points.   ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner told Mike Hosking the data was taken amid tariffs hitting the market...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 1st of May, the Aratere ferry is being retired – the only rail-enabled ferry in KiwiRail’s fleet.   Financial literacy will now be taught at schools in Years 1-10.   And Indy NXT driver Liam Sceats details just what young drivers have to go through to get the funding for a single season of driving at the top level.  Get th...

Another big win for New Zealand Rugby in the wake of the messy end to a major sponsorship agreement.  Vehicle manufacturer Toyota has reportedly signed a multi-million dollar agreement to put its name on the All Blacks training kit – partly replacing INEOS.  The agreement is also believed to include the provision of vehicles for players and management who don’t have existing contracts wi...

Another Government curriculum refresh is aiming to give school kids more grasp of money management.  The Education Minister's making financial literacy a compulsory topic for Years 1 to 10.  The Government's teaming up with financial organisations, banks, and charities for lessons on investment and taxes.  Banqer CEO Simon Brown told Mike Hosking that on an international level, we d...

The Ruapehu District could be in for an economic boom with new skifield ownership.  The Department of Conservation's approved a 10 year concession for Whakapapa Holdings to operate the Whakapapa side of Mount Ruapehu.  An agreement for the Turoa side was struck last year, following a lengthy bidding war, with numerous Government bailouts.  Mayor Weston Kirton told Mike Hosking it’s...

KiwiRail admits it may be helping out its competition by reducing its Interislander fleet to two.   Aratere will be retired when demolition begins on its decaying dock in Picton late this year or early next, to add infrastructure for new ships.  Two new ferries are due in 2029.  KiwiRail Chief Executive Peter Reidy told Mike Hosking some passengers may opt now to travel with Bluebri...

Over 4000 medical procedures are on hold today while 5000 senior doctors strike for better working conditions.  This comes after eight months of failed negotiations with Health New Zealand.  The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says it's not going to fill workforce gaps without major improvements to pay and conditions.  Health NZ Chief Clinical Officer Doctor Richard Sull...

In her seemingly never-ending ability to surprise, Tory Whanau fronts on the local Newstalk ZB morning show in her beleaguered capital yesterday and scores herself a 9/10.  If she had come from comedy I could have seen the joke she was making.  But she doesn’t come from comedy, which is not to say her reign hasn’t been comedic.  She is the Meghan Markle of local body politics - so s...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 30th of April, Mark Carney is the new Canadian Prime Minister, and the Government is reversing Labour's 2020 decision allowing prisoners to vote .  Former Finance Minister Steven Joyce is on to discuss how Nicola could deliver a Budget with everything we need, while cutting over a billion dollars from the operating allowance. ...

There will be further cuts to Government agency spending, to be diverted into priority areas.  Finance Minister Nicola Willis confirmed a $1.3 billion operating allowance – plummeting from the $2.4 billion estimate.  Willis says they've reviewed funding line-by-line.  National’s Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking they have to cut spending as the reality is the country went from $58 bil...

The Garden City's reaping the benefits of this year's Electric Avenue festival.  The event produced $10.5 million in visitor spend after 75 thousand people attended in February.  It's believed to be the largest since the 1974 Commonwealth Games.  Loren Aberhart, ChristchurchNZ General Manager of Destination and Attraction, told Mike Hosking they’re looking at options for growth, as...

A question mark over how Canada's Prime Minister, Mark Carney, will perform.   The Liberal Party won the country's election yesterday, beating the Conservative party, and locking down a fourth term.  The win means Carney will keep hold of the top job he took over from Justin Trudeau six weeks ago.   Globe and Mail Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife told Mike Hosking he has no experienc...

A former Finance Minister says cutbacks to public spending need to be seen in context.  Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed a drastic cut to the operating allowance in next month's Budget, from $2.4 billion to $1.3 billion.  There will be no new funding for most Government departments, with the focus being on priority areas and paying off debt.  Steven Joyce told Mike Hoski...

The Children's Minister says good progress is being made on reports coming into Oranga Tamariki.   The Ministry for Children estimates it's seen a 45% increase in reports of concern in the year to April.  Karen Chhour says the number of children in unsafe households is alarming but it's positive seeing more people reporting them.   She told Mike Hosking the urgency of each report ca...

The Justice Minister says reinstating a total ban on prisoner voting is not likely to change the outcome of elections.   The proposal would reverse changes introduced in 2020 allowing prisoners serving sentences of less than three years to vote.  People detained on remand or serving sentences of home detention will still be able to vote.   Paul Goldsmith told Mike Hosking the number...

More than 90-thousand solar panels are now generating power for near 13-thousand homes in Canterbury.  New Zealand's largest solar farm has opened at Lauriston on the Canterbury Plains.  The 93 hectare plant is a joint venture between Genesis Energy and FRV Australia.  Genesis Energy Chief Executive Malcolm Johns told Mike Hosking New Zealand will still need a coal reserve in the fu...

For a while there being a tough guy was good for your credibility.  Look at Victor Orban, Javier Milei and Nayib Bukele. They all revelled, and succeeded, at the polls with their macho, Trump-esque persona.  The world was moving away from "Me Too" and progressivism. There has been a very distinct move to conservatism, especially in parts of Europe.  Being like Trump was, more often...

It’s been 100 days since Donald Trump was sworn in as US President.  His campaign was filled with promises of dramatic change, and he’s certainly followed through, with a record-breaking number of orders filed in the first three months.  The most dramatic of which is his sweeping global tariffs.  Quest Means Business host Richard Quest told Mike Hosking it goes against the orthodoxy...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 29th of April, Tory Whanau has decided to drop her bid for re-election – this must be the news Wellington wanted.   Shane Jones is rejecting the co-governance plan for the Waitakere Ranges , and we look at the latest fruit market to go gangbusters – persimmons!   Quest Means Business host on CNN, Richard Quest joins to talk Trum...

There is a growing appetite for New Zealand’s rarest and most unusual fruit.  Persimmons have had a 20% rise in exports in the last year, and demand has never been higher.  Persimmon Industry Council Manager Ian Turk told Mike Hosking it's thanks to recent sunny weather in Gisborne, where the vast majority of the fruit is grown.  He says after a rough five years for the industry —wi...