The Mike Hosking Breakfast

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.     The school holidays: 7/10 760,000 will fly these next two weeks, which doesn’t include the thousands who have already flown from private school, which doesn’t include the thousands who drive. We love travel, even in a cost-of-living crisis.     Joe Biden: 1/10   Debates rarel...

Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson joined Mike Hosking once more to Wrap the Week that was.   They discussed salads, Mike and Kate’s dog, and would Tim give up his car for five weeks for $1000?   Plus, Mike may have gone overboard with his sweater purchases.   LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first All Blacks game of the season is upon us.   It’s the first game with Scott Robertson at the helm, as his team faces England on Saturday.   New Zealand has won 33 of the last 43 matches against the Brits, and the All Blacks currently sit 3 rd in the global rankings, two steps above England in 5 th .   Former All Black Ian Jones told Mike Hosking that the energy level is high and we don’t...

It feels like it's been coming forever, and in an odd way, it just might have been.   When the news division of Warner Bros. turns out the lights tonight, it’s the end of an era.   Or, an era. The simple truth is TV3 news never quite cut it and the history of fiscal dysfunction is the major reason why.   Some of it was their own doing. Some of it was the unluckiness of who owns you, why they own y...

Pressure is increasing on Joe Biden to consider dropping his bid for a second Presidential term.   The sitting President and presumptive Democratic candidate remains committed to the race.   It follows a poor debate performance last week, in which Biden lost his way on several occasions.   US correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that Biden apparently annoyed some Governors when he met wi...

Whangarei's Mayor says the city will fare well from the government's new housing policy.   Housing Minister Chris Bishop's plans to "flood" the country with new homes have raised plenty of questions.   Local Government New Zealand says the lack of financial support for subsequent council roading and footpaths is a major concern.   Vince Cocurullo told Mike Hosking it won't have that problem.   He...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 5th of July, extensive coverage of voting day in the UK election and Mike is joined by LBC Breakfast host Nick Ferrari .   Is fennel a noxious weed or not? Does Air NZ fly to Whanganui? Answers to all the pressing issues.   Ian Jones will be live in Dunedin for the first All Blacks test of the year and gives his thoughts on our chances aga...

There’s speculation it's a low voter turnout in the UK, despite projections of a historic and dramatic election result.   Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party is expected to take up opposition for the first time in 14 years.   In the meantime, Keir Starmer's Labour could win the biggest majority since 1832.   Times Chief Political Correspondent Aubrey Allegretti told Mike Hosking they'r...

A leading obesity doctor is throwing his full support behind a New Zealand grown alternative to weight loss drug Ozempic.   As doctors grapple with a global shortage of the injectable, interest in the natural product Calocurb is climbing.   Its active ingredient Amarasate is extracted from hops grown at the top of the South Island.   Obesity doctor Ben Gonzalez told Mike Hosking those in the indus...

The UK election is set to confirm a landslide Labour victory after 14 years of Tory rule. LBC Breakfast Host Nick Ferrari told Mike Hosking Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer could have his work cut out for him, wrangling what might be the largest majority since the mid-1800s. He says this is the job Sir Keir has dreamt of since he was a boy. Ferrari says in many ways, the real challenge begins once h...

The fat's been trimmed from Antarctica New Zealand's plans for Scott Base The crown entity abandoned its previous large module three-building design after five years of development. An independent review highlighted multiple concerns with the previous proposal - relating to high costs and contracting difficulties. Board Chair Leon Grice told Mike Hosking the new plan will fit within the almost hal...

A punishing result looks likely for Rishi Sunak's Tory party with all signs pointing to Labour having the UK election in the bag.   Labour leader Keir Starmer is expected to take a sweeping victory with a campaign for change propelling his popularity.   The Conservative Party has held power for 14 years, but it's steadily losing its grip on the back of numerous broken promises.   UK Correspondent...

Future generations are sure to understand the quality of one of the country’s most important export sectors.   The Wool in Schools programme is expanding across primary schools this month, highlighting the insulating, thermo-regulating, and moisture wicking properties of natural, locally gown wool.   Plus, a tertiary pilot programme called Wool Dynamics is encouraging students to bring their own i...

The countdown to the UK election is being dominated by predictions of a historic Labour victory.   Parties have been making their last pitches to voters, with reports Keir Starmer is projected to head the largest majority since 1832.   But University of Exeter Modern History Professor Richard Toye told Mike Hosking that Starmer isn't being complacent when it comes to pushing people to the polls.  ...

The uplifting story of the week for me is the 30% drop in parents taking kids out of school for holidays.   It's a single metric and it's one travel agency, albeit a big one, so it's hardly scientific and about to be published in the Lancet. But it's an insight into what might be happening and, even if it is remotely accurate, it’s a sign of several things.   Firstly, the power and necessity of Go...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 4th of July, Chris Bishop digs into the new moves for the apartment and housing market and Richard Toye gives an insight into just how historic this UK election will turn out to be.   Mike has had enough of KiwiRail and their claim they will get to be financially sustainable without Government help.   Kiwi rally star Hayden Paddon joins...

With a 16 point lead, Kiwi rally driver Hayden Paddon is entering the Estonia leg of the FIA European Rally Championship tied for first.   He took the crown in the Southland rally in the NZ Rally Championship a couple of weeks back, as well as finding the time to sign up as the new TrailLite Ambassador.   He told Mike Hosking that rally is to Estonia as rugby is to New Zealand, and everywhere they...

Housing Minister Chris Bishop will today unveil the Government’s plan to “flood the market’ with land for development in a bid to end New Zealand’s housing crisis.   Bishop will use a speech to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand today to announce a slew of changes to New Zealand’s planning laws recently agreed by Cabinet. He will argue the changes will flood the market with affordable land t...

Vehicle sales are continuing to plummet.   Data from the Motor Industry Association shows June sales are the lowest they've been in more than a decade.   New registrations have dropped for the fourth consecutive month.   Association Chief Executive Aimee Wiley told Mike Hosking there's a bit of a promising uplift in June for EV sales.   She says with the clean car discount EVs were making around 1...

A school principal says schools need more resources to support students, not mandatory tests. The Government's introducing phonics checks for primary pupils after 20 weeks of schooling and repeated at 40 weeks.   Twice yearly progression monitoring on reading, writing, and maths will also be introduced for children in Years 3 through 8.   Auckland's May Road School principal Lynda Stuart told Mike...

New MBIE data reveals New Zealanders will be using 80% more power than we do now by 2050.   It shows demand is expected to grow as fossil fuel use switches to electricity, electric vehicles increase, and new demand, such as data centres, come online.   MBIE market manager Mike Hayward told Mike Hosking he's confident we can rely more on electricity from renewable sources.   He says the last quarte...

The fact the Government is going ahead with Labour's Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, albeit with amendments, is not the story.   The fact ACT has played the “Agree to Disagree" card is not really the story.   The real story is the question of, does it solve the problem?   What exactly is the problem?   The problem is the media, or at least parts of it, are in a financial hole and have decided t...

Hurricane Beryl is making its presence known in the Caribbean.   CNN reports at least three people were killed when it tipped through the Windward Islands earlier this week, and it’s currently hurtling across open waters nearing Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.   Newstalk ZB US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that it's the earliest category five hurricane to rise up in the Caribbean....

The Government crackdown on truancy could be causing a drop in families taking holidays during term time.   Flight Centre data shows a 30% reduction in bookings during the school term compared to last year.   At the same time, bookings during July's school holidays are up 10%.   General Manager Heidi Walker told Mike Hosking that the old excuse of it being more expensive to travel in the holidays...

International student numbers are rising but are still lower than before borders were closed due to the Covid outbreak.   More than 69 thousand students enrolled with education providers in 2023.   That's a 67% increase compared to 2022, but only 60% of 2019 enrolments.   International enrolments grew in all subsectors except wānanga.   Education NZ's Geoff Bilbrough told Mike Hosking that he doub...