The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson joined Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that was.   They talked fitness regimes, tomorrow’s US Presidential debate, and Mike waxed poetic about fried bread.   LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than three billion dollars' worth of household food gets thrown in the bin every year.   The Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor, Dame Juliet Gerrard, has issued the government 27 recommendations, including a reduction target.   Executive Director of NZ Food Waste Champions Kaitlin Dawson told Mike Hosking that we need to focus on other ways to lower the figures.   She says there's waste i...

Sir John Kirwan has been given the ‘all clear’ for a $100 million surf park project in Auckland.   The artificial surfing pool will make between 600 and a thousand waves per hour, with more than 30 different settings for all skill sets.   If further approvals go ahead, construction can begin on the 43-hectare area in Dairy Flat later this year.   The All Black legend told Mike Hosking that there'l...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 27th of June, we explored the dropping dairy profits and the reforms the Government is introducing for sentencing.   Mike discovered fried bread this morning and couldn't be more interested in it.   Huge anticipation for the U.S debate between Trump and Biden so we got the expert analysis.   Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podca...

Joe Biden and Donald Trump are gearing up for a rematch in the first 2024 US election debate.   It's the third faceoff between the President and former President after two heated encounters in 2020.   Marco Rubio's former chief of staff Matt Terrill says Biden will have to bring some energy while Trump will have to focus on the policies.   He told Mike Hosking that it's going to come down to infla...

The Government's edging towards becoming more prescriptive with its sentencing reforms.   It's introducing changes to lengthen sentences for some crimes including creating a new aggravating factor and limiting sentencing discounts.   Law Society Criminal Law Committee Convenor Chris Macklin says it's early days, but it looks like there's still some room for discretion.   He told Mike Hosking that...

Heavy rain warnings have lifted for Hawke's Bay as the clean up on the North Island's east coast begins.   Roads were closed and people evacuated after heavy rain lashed the Hawke's Bay and Gisborne regions yesterday.   Wairoa District Council says 400 properties have been impacted, more than 100 significantly.   Wairoa Business Association Chair Sue Wilson told Mike Hosking that most main street...

It's a tough time for dairy farmers with expenses up and profits down.   An industry survey has shown a suite of challenges for dairy producers including a drop in the payout for milk solids and a reduction in herd size.   It's caused operating profits to be down 27%.   Mark Neal, Head of Data Science at Dairy NZ, told Mike Hosking that it's emblematic of wider economic challenges.   He says farme...

AI has gotten two start-ups in hot water.   Their use of AI for music creation has resulted in them being sued by three of the world’s largest record labels: Sony, Universal Music Group, and Warner Records.   They say that the AI firms are making money from copied songs, and want $150,000 in compensation for each song that has allegedly been copied.   The New Zealand Chair of the Intellectual Prop...

New Zealand Rugby is on shaky ground.   It made a loss of almost $9 million in 2023, the second loss making year in a row after 2022’s loss of $47 million.   NZR CEO Mark Robinson said that further work is needed to achieve a sustainable financial model, but he was positive about the organisation’s future.   He told Mike Hosking that the way things developed over the last 20-25 years means they’ve...

We have our first agree to disagree clause of this new coalition.   First point to make - what a mature look it is.   New Zealand First has invoked the clause, which is probably not the surprise.   The surprise is that in previous coalitions this would be described as a crack. "Coalition cracks forming" was the headline from Newshub. Yet in 2024 if it is as it seems, it’s a clause, that's life and...

A security intelligence analyst says the US has got what it needed from Julian Assange.   The Wikileaks founder has struck a deal with the US and will soon plead guilty to an espionage charge before being sentenced to time already served.   Paul Buchanan told Mike Hosking that Assange has spent the last 14 years in some sort of confinement.   He says the US has won its pound of flesh out of him, a...

There's claims continued Houthi strikes in the Red Sea are to blame for high shipping costs in this country.   Another vessel sank last week after being struck, killing three people in the shipping channel and putting strain on the global supply chain.   It's caused shipping costs in New Zealand to rise by three times last year's levels.   Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation former p...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 26th of June, Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden  joined to discuss the next stage of the Covid Inquiry.   The CRL CEO Sean Sweeney is resigning and the job he's done has been described by the CRL as "successful leadership". Mike has other thoughts...   Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell covered boot camps, the Covid inquiry,...

The invoking of the Agree to Disagree clause doesn’t indicate a cracking coalition, the Police Minister says.   Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has invoked the first Coalition Agree to Disagree over the second phase of the Covid-19 inquiry.   Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking that the coalition agreement has that clause so that the things parties don't agree on can be dealt with in an adult way...

The Internal Affairs Minister says the second phase to the Covid Inquiry will expand the terms of reference.   It's due to start in November and will continue until February 2026.   Minister Brooke van Velden says phase one centres mostly on the health response and the Government's communication.   But she told Mike Hosking that phase two will focus on factors like vaccines and lockdowns as well a...

Supporters and sceptics of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange are speaking out at news of his release.   The 52-year-old is a few hours away from pleading guilty to a US espionage charge and will be sentenced to time already served.   US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that there's been condemnation but also celebration from those closest to him.   Assange's wife and lawyer, Stella, s...

66% of New Zealand's mayors have signed a letter against the Government's Māori ward changes but one mayor says it's a good thing.   A Parliament select committee's recommended the Māori Wards Bill go ahead.   It will force councils which established Māori wards since 2021 to hold a referendum in next year's local election on whether they should stay.   Timaru Mayor Nigel Bowen didn't sign onto th...

Reform may have hit its peak but it’s position in the polls is a cause for concern for the Tories.   The party had a surge over the weekend, leaving it ahead of the Conservative Party in the polls, but their lead is “nowhere near enough” to concern Labour, UK Correspondent Rod Liddle said.   He told Mike Hosking that it’s enough to ensure the Tories are down to between 50 to 70 seats at most.   LI...

So it seems we have ended up with three stories.   But all three stories have the same outworkings - we look like a basket case of a country, but we got there three different ways.   First is the plane.   That’s on the Government, and indeed various Governments, who failed to take defence expenditure seriously and it's caught them out.   Like NATO, member countries promise to spend 2% of their GDP...

Total exports reached an all-time high in May despite a continued downward trend in the Chinese market.   Last month's exports were valued at $7.2 billion for the first time.   China was the number one market, but beef exports dropped 45% compared to last year.   Export NZ advocacy director Catherine Beard told Mike Hosking that she believes Chinese demand will come back because they are so large....

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 25th of June, we finally got the cancer drugs and what a haul! It’s set to help tens of thousands more people.   We could have had an hour with the Prime Minister but in the time we had, we talked cancer drugs, the various infrastructure issues, and whether there is a hiring freeze for frontline doctors and nurses.   The Scott Robertson A...

The Scott Robertson All Blacks Era has officially begun.   Yesterday saw him announce his first squad, with Scott Barrett taking the captaincy and Ardie Savea and Jodie Barrett filling the role of deputies.   Robertson told Mike Hosking that it was good to get on with it as they’ve been tracking the players for a long time, so it felt to goof to finalise the squad and put it out there.   He’s not...

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's praising himself for finally getting there with the cancer drug funding.   The Government's committing $604 million to Pharmac, taken from next year's Budget.   It will cover the funding for 54 new medicines, including up to seven of 13 drugs the Government promised last year.   The cancer medicines funded would treat cancer of the lung, liver, skin, bowel, kidne...

There’s a belief that regular check-ins for beneficiaries will result in more people working.   People on Jobseeker are now required to attend the Ministry of Social Development's 'work check in' seminars.   The first will be after two weeks of signing on and another after six months.   Former WINZ boss Christine Rankin told Mike Hosking that there's a huge need for the entry-level jobs in questio...