The Mike Hosking Breakfast

'He's the man that's there': Police union boss coy on Coster's suitability -Jamie Lyth, NZ Herald As the new Government makes its expectations for Police clear, the performance of Commissioner Andrew Coster has come into question - with the Police Association describing him as “the man that’s there”.   Last night, National’s new Police Minister Mark Mitchell publicly released a letter of expectati...

Drought and war plaguing the world's main maritime trade routes is disrupting the global supply chain.   A severe drought around the Panama Canal since June has had ships reroute to the Suez Canal, where congestion is building.   Combined with attacks in the Red Sea area over the weekend, higher costs and delays are likely on the horizon.   Custom Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation chief ex...

Mark Mitchell says he has confidence in Police Commissioner Andrew Coster and is looking forward to working with him.   The new Police Minister has made public a letter he wrote to Coster outlining his focuses.   Mitchell says he's keen to put Coster's approach under Labour in the past.   He told Mike Hosking that much of what he criticised him for was actually because of who was in Government.  ...

The investigation is underway as to how Treasury advice was leaked around the Fair Pay Agreements.   One headline suggested the Government were shaken by it.   I wonder if that is slightly overstating the case, but you would at least be surprised that something like this happened so soon after the country decided you were “it” for the next three years.   But then, this is what we see at a change o...

There’s support from the other side of the House for the new Speaker.   National's Gerry Brownlee took up the role yesterday as the new Government and Opposition were sworn in for their first term.   Fellow Christchurch MP, Labour's Megan Woods, told Mike Hosking that Brownlee's love for the business of the House will work in this favour.   She's worked closely with Brownlee over the years and is...

New data shows building activity is down 2.3% on the last quarter.   Naylor Love Chief Executive Rick Herd blames the drop on a decrease in commercial property activity due to the high cost of building.   He told Mike Hosking that a lot of the private development work that was happening previously is on hold, as developers wait for interest rates to drop.   But the total building value is $9.3 bil...

There are hopes that new research will help boost the Coromandel's tourism.   The region has now been scientifically proven to be good for the soul, with participants reporting significant improvements in wellbeing and happiness.   It's also welcoming news for the peninsula after bearing the brunt of extreme weather at the start of the year.   But Destination Hauraki Coromandel General Manager Had...

Shane Jones says he's going to be taking Te Pati Māori's recent actions to the new Speaker.   Te Pati Māori MPs defied tradition at Parliament's opening ceremony yesterday by swearing allegiance to both Te Tiriti and their mokopuna, as well as King Charles III.   The New Zealand First MP told Mike Hosking that if it's good enough for Winston Peters and himself to follow the letter of the law and s...

The Parnell sewer leak in Auckland also caused a flow-on effect of about $3 million in lost social and environment costs per day.   A massive sinkhole opened up on St George’s Bay Road in September, spewing millions of litres of raw sewage into the Waitemata Harbour every day.   The Institute of Economic Research says the total cost of the 50-day spillage ranges between $50 million and $166 millio...

Woolworths New Zealand's revelation of a 52% drop in profits is being labelled a 'PR fudge'.   The multi-national supermarket giant reported a $76 million profit for this year.   Monopoly Watch financial analyst Tex Edwards told Mike Hosking that this just means gross profits are up $76 million.   He says, essentially, there's an increase, not in operational costs, but in transfer of costs to Aust...

Different ideas on the best way to change falling PISA scores.   Education Minister Erica Stanford says the declines in reading, writing, and maths are disappointing, but entirely predictable.   She says we've been using incorrect methods for the past 30 years.   Stanford told Mike Hosking that National spent the campaign talking about the need for a change in approach.   She says we need a curric...

While Cop28 rumbles on, and I have little if any faith anything truly tangible will come out of it, you have to give them credit for the latest move, which involves 100 odd countries signing up to the idea that they want to boost renewable energy by 2030. These pledges are part of the problem. It's one thing in the heat of a meeting when everyone is hyped to make promises you may, or may not, be a...

Award-winning kiwi country artist Kaylee Bell may mostly call Nashville home these days, but she's back in New Zealand for the summer.  A couple weeks ago she joined Mike Hosking to chat about winning the Country Music Awards, and now she's back to give him the low down on her recently announced 12 date New Zealand Tour. Bell told Hosking that she's so excited to be touring New Zealand, and coming...

Tourism New Zealand is feeling positive about tourist spending this summer following the release of the latest travel figures from Stats NZ.   The September 2023 quarter saw an increase in travel exports to $2.48 billion up from $1.65 billion this time last year.   Chief Executive René de Monchy says this is the first summer, post COVID, where travel from significant markets like China is possible...

Change at the Warriors under coach Andrew Webster has seen captain Tohu Harris commit to a further NRL league season through until the end of 2025.   The Warriors went from 15th in 2022, to a preliminary final appearance this year.   Harris told Mike Hosking that the last year ignited the passion and the want to continue for longer.   He said what Webster's done since his return to the club has go...

Police are reassuring the public they have the resources to make sure a series of large protests in the North Island run smoothly.    Hundreds have gathered in various locations around the motu to protest against Government policies perceived to be harmful to Māori.   Large crowds are at locations as far flung as Auckland, Wellington, Hastings, Tauranga, and Whangarei.   Assistant Police Commissio...

The new Finance Minister is painting a dismal fiscal picture ahead of the incoming mini budget.   The Government's announced the mini-budget will land on December 20th and outline actions the new regime is taking around fiscal discipline.   Minister Nicola Willis told Mike Hosking that she believes the previous Government left fiscal booby traps, and she is working through the messes systematicall...

Child Poverty advocates don't appear to be jumping for joy over the Government's new Working for Families payments.    The Government's raising Family Tax Credit rates by $8 to $144 per week for the eldest child and $117 for each subsequent child.   Child Poverty Action Group spokesperson Alan Johnson says that overall, indexing tax settings to inflation is a good idea.   But he told Mike Hosking...

Claims that the Department of Internal Affairs' new gambling regulations are unworkable.   Among the changes, staff have to note down descriptions of people who withdraw cash and keep a record of descriptions of everyone in a gaming room every 20 minutes.   Independent chair of the Gaming Machine Association of New Zealand Peter Dengate Thrush told Mike Hosking that it's unrealistic.   He says rec...

You might have seen that Steve Maharey quit. I first met him decades ago when he was Minister of Broadcasting. We had a long chat at the Radio Awards and I decided he was a nice bloke. He went into academia, and of course a few good jobs, courtesy of Governments who return the favour for having hung out with them over the years. One of those jobs was as Chair of Pharmac Pharmac is in trouble for a...

Auckland's fine dining establishment 'The French Cafe' features alongside seven other New Zealand eateries as one of the best restaurants worldwide. The competitive 'La Liste' out of Paris, provides an International ranking of the top 1000 restaurants based on data from top publications and review sites. Co-founder and owner Chand Sahrawat told Mike Hosking that many of the fine dining restaurants...

United States Vice President Kamala Harris says Israel has a right to defend itself - but too many Palestinians are being killed. Fighting in Gaza has resumed after an agreed pause last week. Some hostages taken by Hamas were released, in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners. International geopolitics analyst Geoffrey Miller told Mike Hosking the US is "increasingly worried about what's ha...

Te Whatu Ora says it's taking a Covid data breach extremely seriously. The man downloaded large amounts of data related to vaccination, which has been posted to an overseas conspiracy site. The data was anonymised and Te Whatu Ora isn't aware of any National Health Index Numbers or personally identifiable information that's leaked. Chief people Officer Andrew Slater told Mike Hosking they are inve...

The Prime Minister says international relationships have weakened. While international student numbers have bounced back to new records in Australia - New Zealand's figures aren't at the same level. Chris Luxon told Mike Hosking that the country went internal, myopic and a bit negative over the past six years - and hasn't been out in the world. He added that "we've just been so inward looking over...

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 Government: 7/10 Off and running and plenty to do. Two cabinet meeting and 49-long list of things to do in 100 days. Looks good.   The reaction to the new Government: 7/10 There is a palpable sense that this is different, this might be a bit professional and there is a dece...