The Mike Hosking Breakfast

When it comes to the Dunedin hospital scale back, the Government's in trouble on this. That protest over the weekend was big. 35,000 people is more than a quarter of Dunedin's population. If you assume they came from all over the region, which is probably true given the hospital would service the Otago region, it’s still big. It’s 14% of the population. There are very few issues that would drive t...

Thousands of Australians have collectively rallied in a National Day of Action in protest of conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. This comes following Israeli strikes into Lebanon, which killed 30 Hezbollah leaders including Hassan Nasrallah. Australian correspondent Steve Price tells Heather du Plessis-Allan the turnout was the strongest Australia has seen in a long time. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystud...

New Zealand wool carpet company Bremworth is claiming to have made the country’s first TV commercial using Artificial Intelligence (AI). Bremworth Chief Brand and Product Officer Rochelle Flint tells Heather du Plessis-Allan the AI advert is an innovative way to showcase and elevate the wool industry. The use of AI is estimated to have reduced advertising spend by 60%. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio....

There is potential for 67 building consent authorities to be replaced as the Government considers major reform of the system. Despite there being just one building code, different regional interpretations are creating inconsistencies across the country. Reform would see the process streamlined to reduce inconsistencies, costs, and delays. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk tells Heather...

Kiwis are increasingly moving to private healthcare and it is costing health insurance companies. Southern Cross Health Insurance paid out close to $1.5 billion in claims in the last year – equal to $6 million every business day. 2024 results from Southern Cross show the number of claims made is up with 995,000 kiwis now on the books. Southern Cross Health Society Group CEO Nick Astwick tells Heat...

The Middle East is on edge after the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Israel claims to have killed 30 top Hezbollah leaders and despite pressure from the United States to de-escalate the situation, Netanyahu says Israel is at a historic turning point. Israeli journalist and analyst Gideon Levy tells Heather du Plessis-Allan the region is very close to war. LISTEN ABOVE See omnys...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Monday the 30th of September with Heather du Plessis-Allan, the Government are looking at building consents to make it more consistent across the country. Just wait until you hear how much just one insurance company is paying out each day for private healthcare and you'll get a sense as to why they are all putting up premiums. Guy and Sav debate...

The Government has announced a reform of the current Building Consent Authority structure. The proposed reforms aim to streamline and standardise consenting processes, reducing inefficiencies. Master Builders CEO Ankit Sharma tells Heather du Plessis-Allan that there have been reports of different inspectors from within the same consenting authority having different interpretations of a code. 80%...

Administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency Deanne Criswell has said she doesn’t believe anyone could be fully prepared for the amount of flooding that has been brought on by Hurricane Helene. In her assessment, Criswell stated the damage was a result of warm waters, which is a result of climate change. The storm was a category four hurricane and has been catastrophic across mult...

An estimated 35,000 people marched in Dunedin over proposed downgrades to the city’s new hospital project. Protesters were calling on the Government to keep its promise on the build - but the Government says the project is blowing out by billions and overspend would affect infrastructure in other regions. Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop tells Heather du Plessis-Allan “it’s an extremely comple...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 27th of September,  David Seymour has plans to prosecute parents who take their kids out of school too much and limit the number of teacher-only days.    In a world first exclusive since signing his contract, Liam Lawson joined the show as a newly minted official F1 driver.  Mike got the shock of the week when David Walliams popped into th...

The Associate Education Minister says the Government, schools, parents and students all have a part to play in attendance. The Government's instructing schools to have Stepped Attendance Response plans by 2026. It comes as students around the country ditch school for the School Strike for Climate today. Associate Minister David Seymour told Mike Hosking schools should mark that as an unjustified a...

Have a look at the report out in Sydney into their new metro line.  This is the $21b behemoth that opened a few weeks ago that was going to transform Sydney's public transport.  It seems, at first report, to be working – and in that is the clue to public transport generally and whether or not it is successful.  The trouble with transport here, and let's be honest, we are really only...

At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big-ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all.    Voting: 8/10  Democracy is a wonderful thing, and we have seen this week a new president for Sri Lanka and the first vote in America.    Tory Whanau: 4/10  Four times she opened her mouth and four times the hole got bigger.    Fonterra:...

Health NZ will be weighing up the two options for the new Dunedin Hospital. An independent review has found the current plan for Dunedin Hospital, is 'probably not achievable' within its current budget of $1.88 billion. The Government has said it either needs to scale back the project's main building or swap it out in favour of a "staged development" on the old site to keep it within the budget. H...

Global fashion designers and local artists alike are descending on the capital as this year's World of Wearable Art kicks off.  The show's been running for more than 35 years, displaying creativity and a bit of unique glitz and glam to Wellington with the theme 'Dream Awake'.  World of Wearable Art Chief Executive Meg Williams told Mike Hosking it's a perfect balance of artists, with a v...

It’s a sad day for Timaru, with hundreds of meatwork jobs potentially on the line.  Alliance Group has called everyone at its Smithfield meatworks to an all-staff meeting at 11am.  Locals fear the plant will be mothballed this season, with production being moved to Invercargill, and up to 1200 people left out of work.  Nathan Guy from the Meat Industry Association told Mike Hosking...

Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking might just be David Walliams’ biggest fan — and he couldn’t believe it when the comedian surprised him in the studio this morning.  Walliams, who is in Auckland for his An Audience with David Walliams tour, sneaked into the Newstalk ZB studio on Friday before his first show, catching Hosking unawares while singing (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing.&n...

After a year of waiting, Formula One’s worst-kept secret has been confirmed: Liam Lawson will finish the rest of this season driving for Racing Bulls. The 22-year-old has been locked in to drive for the subsidiary team of Red Bull at the expense of Australian Daniel Ricciardo for the final six races of the season, after which he’s expected to secure the spot for the 2025 season. The move means Law...

Two New Zealand restaurants have been named among the world’s best.   The Grove in Auckland and Queenstown’s Nest Bar + Kitchen made it onto Trip Advisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best list for 2024, a milestone fewer than 1% of the 8 million listings achieve.   The Grove came in 9 th in the fine dining category, and owner Michael Dearth says to get something like this is fantastic....

I can't help but think the Transpower report into the pylon falling over is one of those reports that has to find things to say because the real reason for the report was obvious.   Nevertheless, there are 26 recommendations.   To recap, the company that Transpower hires to maintain the pylons hired a couple of clowns and didn’t train them. They undid a lot of bolts, and the pylon fell over.   The...

There’s plenty of self help books on the shelves, but one in particular has cut through the nonsense for millions of people.   Mark Manson is the author behind ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck’, which has sold more than 20 million copies since its publication in 2016.   Manson is making his way to New Zealand in November as part of his ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Tour’, where he talks...

Future thinking sits at the core of our infrastructure planning.   The Infrastructure Commission's new paper —released this morning— outlines its considerations developing the National Infrastructure Plan, which is to be released next year.   It highlights population growth, decarbonising the economy, and natural hazard resilience as drivers of our needs.   Acting Strategy General Manager Peter Nu...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 26th of September, the Government has found some new, old money for the education rollout and we have a record speed free trade agreement with the UAE to announce.   We got the Transpower Northland pylon report and it was as bad as you thought, so their executive general manager tries to explain why they won't be giving compensation.   I...

Christchurch believes it's gaining VIP status when it comes to events.   The Wellington Phoenix have joined the Warriors in signing a three-year deal which will see fixtures played at the new Te Kaha Stadium.   Construction of the facility is still underway, with plans to open in April 2026.   Venues Otautahi CEO Caroline Harvie-Teare told Mike Hosking it makes sense for the city to be the home of...