The Mike Hosking Breakfast

An upside to Covid is most of us got into the Reserve Bank “thing”.   We thought about it more than we ever had, and had a better understanding of what they are about and how profoundly they affect all our lives.   The Fed is not cutting until maybe September, but then the jobs report came out on Friday, people panicked and there are calls for emergency cuts. It won't happen and, in a way, that’s...

Rugby Union is set to kick up the speed with the introduction of a couple of new laws.   A 30 second time limit will be introduced for scrums and lineouts to be set, these new changes being trialled in this weekend’s clash between the All Blacks and Argentina.   NZR Referees boss Chris Pollock told Mike Hosking they tested the changed in Super Rugby this year and he thinks they got a pretty good r...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 7th of August, we look towards the unemployment numbers out today and how it will affect us, plus the big meeting today for Kaipara re: their Māori wards.   What is happening with Air NZ when we are looking at a second half loss while airlines around the world are making record profits?   It gets heated between Mark Mitchell and Ginny A...

Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen joined Mike Hosking for Politics Wednesday, and things got a bit heated as the conversation turned to the recent clash in the House.   Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking that it’s sad that Gerry Brownlee had to make that kind of intervention.   He said they’re all adults and they should know how to treat each other with respect.   It’s a difficult situation, Ginny And...

Historic Auckland department store Smith and Caughey's is living to fight another day.   The 144 year old business announced in May it would close next year, but today revealed measures to let it stay open.   It will downsize physical trading to the ground floor of its Queen Street store, cut about 100 staff and close the Newmarket branch, and ramp up online operations.   Chair Tony Caughey told M...

Age Concern is calling for a better variety of rental options as the age of tenants begins to increase.   The office of the Retirement Commission is predicting the number of retirees in rentals will double by 2048 - meaning the sector will fill with more than 600 thousand over 65s.   Age Concern Chief Executive Karen Billings-Jensen told Mike Hosking we need to figure out how to balance this incre...

The Kaipara Mayor says the vote to disestablish the council's Māori ward could go either way.   Kaipara District Council could become the first to remove the Te Moananui o Kaipara Māori ward under new legislation.   Councillors are meeting in Mangawhai today to vote on the decision, with protests also expected.   Mayor Craig Jepson called the meeting just 24 hours after the new law kicked in.   Je...

Service station operators want the Government to step up to deliver tough-on-crime policies.   The Motor Trade Association's released a 10-point wish list of things they want done to clamp down on retail crime.   It comes amid a crime wave, with 60 aggravated robberies and 12 thousand theft incidents at service stations this year.   MTA Chief Executive Lee Marshall told Mike Hosking things aren't...

A warning of more tough times and job losses ahead.   Latest data due out this morning is expected to show the unemployment rate has reached 4.7%, up from 4.3% in the previous quarter.   A higher unemployment rate will give the Reserve Bank more confidence to cut the Official Cash Rate.   But Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon told Mike Hosking what is certain is more people will be finding t...

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has selected Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her running mate.   The duo will appear together in their first joint rally in Philadelphia later today, before visiting other battleground states this week.   US Correspondent Mitch McCann told Mike Hosking Wolz is uniquely normal.   He says he has a military background, then was a high school teacher and...

The grand dreams of using the Seine in the Paris Olympics may have been better left as a dream.   A massive effort was made to clean up the river, which had bacteria levels above what could safely be swum in, so it could be used in the triathlons as well as the mixed team relay.   France Correspondent Catherine Field said that it’s already being seen as a mistake, simply because people now know wh...

Kiwi Charlie Wallace wanted to be successful playing the guitar one way or another and has succeeded in more than one way.   Wallace dropped out of school in favour of creating an online guitar lesson website, ‘Guitar Mastery Method’, which kicked off in 2014 and has taught over 1.7 million guitarists over the last decade.   The success of GMM allowed Wallace to work towards his other dream: becom...

How can the Warriors build the depth to fill the void left by the retiring Shaun Johnson?   The 33-year-old halfback will finish at the end of this NRL season.   Johnson has been an integral part of the club since debuting in 2011, helping the side to a grand final appearance that same year.   Chief executive Cameron George says they've been preparing for this moment.   He told Mike Hosking Johnso...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 6th of August, we have a plan to fix our international student sector. It's ambitious but even then, it still won't get us back to where we were pre-Covid.   Finn Butcher talks winning the first ever Gold medal for kayak cross at the Olympics.   There's a great new story from Charlie Wallace - he's a self-made multi-millionaire who used t...

An infant formula industry voice is grateful for the Government's decision to opt out of a regulation proposal.   Rules designed by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand restrict labelling and only let pharmacies and healthcare providers sell specialist formula.   Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard says we won't adopt the proposal after Australian officials rejected a bid to review the labelli...

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he is prepared to see schools deferring arts and music curriculum to raise achievement in maths and reading. Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast, Luxon said unions could complain about the Government all they wanted, but the Government was worried about parents and children. ”We are focused on outcomes: achievement in maths and reading and getting...

Education New Zealand's confirmed new financial targets for our international student market.   Its strategy aims to build the sector's economic contribution by $4.4 billion over the next three years.   International students here are at 86% of pre-pandemic numbers.   Waikato University Deputy Vice Chancellor Alistair Jones told Mike Hosking there are some details to be worked out, but he's glad t...

It’s a surreal day for New Zealand's newest Gold Medallist.   Finn Butcher has won Gold in the men's kayak cross, telling Mike Hosking he still can't quite believe what's happened.   He says he's been flat out since the race, but it feels pretty good.   The win sees Butcher become New Zealand’s first ever Olympic champion in the men’s canoe slalom cross event.   LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/l...

Recent RedBridge polling suggests Victorian voters are gravitating towards the Opposition. According to new data,  31 percent preferred Labor, while 40 percent said they would vote for the Opposition. Australian correspondent Steve Price says the region has been hit hard by debt and increased cuts to healthcare. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Saville and Guy Heveldt joined Mike Hosking to recap the first week of Olympic victories. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One New Zealand based construction company is working on the country's first 3D printed show home. Iconic Construction has broken ground on the project - and the walls have already been made. Director Nick Lane says the company has paired with QOROX to improve on traditional building techniques. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sir John Key says he doesn't support the Government's controversial Treaty Principles Bill. It comes after calls from the former Prime Minster for the temperature to be turned down on race relations. The bill, championed by ACT, seeks to formally define the principals of the Treaty of Waitangi, but has been met with strong opposition. Key says not only has the bill 'wound people up' but he also th...

There's serious concerns political bickering is ballooning the cost of New Zealand's major construction projects. The cost of Auckland's City Rail Link has risen over the past decade from $3.4 billion dollars to almost $5.5 billion. Outgoing chief executive Sean Sweeney told TVNZ the lack of a clear and consistent pipe line, due to political uncertainly, is the biggest factor driving up costs. Inf...

The Government's charging ahead with plans to shake up maths in primary schools. Prime Minister Chris Luxon revealed data which he says shows four out of five Year 8 students aren't at the expected level. He's bringing forward a new math curriculum to Term 1 next year, assessing twice yearly and a $20 million boost for teachers' professional development. Education Minister Erica Stanford says it's...

There's uncertainty over US presidential debates, as the candidates can't agree on a time and place. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are at odds after Trump pulled out of a scheduled ABC debate, instead proposing a Fox News debate. Harris has declined, claiming Trump's trying to back out. US correspondent Mitch McCann says the candidates are now feuding on social media. "He posted on social media -...