The Mike Hosking Breakfast

It’s believed that US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping's relationship still has a way to go.   The pair have met in San Francisco around APEC, where they discussed disrupting fentanyl drug production, resuming military communications, and assessing AI risk.   Biden has since doubled down on his comments calling Xi a dictator.   Otago University international politics expert Nic...

US President Joe Biden is calling talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping constructive and productive.   The pair have met in San Francisco, committing to resuming military communications and investigating AI risks.   They've also agreed to reduce the flow of precursor chemicals from China to counter the US's fentanyl drug crisis.   On China's side, US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hoskin...

It’s believed that Auckland's surging rental prices won't stop anytime soon.   According to global realtor and research firm Knight Frank, it's among the top three most expensive cities to rent in.   The price for prime property has risen 6% in the six months to September, second to Sydney and Singapore.   Aspire Property Management Managing Director Mike Atkinson told Mike Hosking that migrant ar...

Scepticism about the Reserve Bank's plan to add muscle so it can intervene in the currency market.   It's buying and borrowing more foreign currency assets to protect the economy from a big shock.   Former Westpac Treasurer Jim Reardon says it's an idea that sounds good in theory but would have very little value.   He told Mike Hosking that he's not sure the bank has enough resources to affect the...

Chris Luxon, Winston Peters, and David Seymour appear to be getting very close to a deal for forming the new government.   Talks continued into the night in central Auckland and are set to resume today, Luxon and Peters describing the meetings as professional, but robust.   Political Editor Jason Walls told Mike Hosking that having a deal reached by Sunday isn't completely out of the question.   H...

Dolly Parton is a music legend. Her career spans 50 years, 11 Grammys, countless country music awards, and over a hundred-million records sold worldwide. She’s released over seventy albums, and since her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she’s decided to live up to the title and release a rock album. So she joined Newstalk ZB’s Hosking to talk her 49th studio album, Rockstar. It featu...

If a problem is, by and large, one of perception, we seem to have very successfully managed to work ourselves into a weird sort of lather over home ownership.   The banks have all been announcing profits in the past week or so and there has been plenty of profit to announce.   ANZ in Australia decided to tell us that they feared home ownership is becoming the domain of the rich, and upon hearing t...

Auckland councillors are meeting shortly for a discussion about proposed congestion charges.   Mayor Wayne Brown wants to have the charges in place as soon as possible, potentially with discounts for Gold Card holders and people on low incomes.   Manurewa-Papakura Councillor Angela Dalton told Mike Hosking that she believes the idea has sufficient enough support around the council table to proceed...

Calls for New Zealand to develop more specialist children's hospitals around the country.   It follows new research that reveals that Kiwi kids are dying from serious trauma injuries at twice the rate of those in the Australian state of Victoria.   In Victoria, children under 16 are sent to the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.   Here, children are sent to a range of hospitals, depending on...

Headwinds are continuing to hurt the regional economy, with warnings of a primary sector slowdown.   Infometrics' latest economic monitor for the three months to September shows economic growth slowing compared to earlier in the year.   Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Mike Hosking that population growth has supported some areas like Auckland.   He says areas like Northland haven't had as many...

China's economy looks to be at the front of Xi Jinping's mind ahead of his meeting with Joe Biden.   The two are due to meet this morning in San Francisco ahead of the APEC summit, the first time they've met in a year.   Xi's visit comes as China's economy is plagued by unprecedented housing prices, and record youth unemployment levels.   University of Mary Washington Political Science Professor,...

David Seymour says a huge number of issues have been worked through in coalition negotiations and remains bullish a deal could be struck in coming days.   The ACT Leader met with National's Christopher Luxon and New Zealand First's Winston Peters for their first three-way meeting at an Auckland hotel yesterday.   Peters briefly returned last night, seemingly for further talks.   Seymour told Mike...

The Black Caps are set to play their semifinal match against India tonight, aiming for a spot in the finals.   India lost their last four knockout matches against the Black Caps, and the team's hoping to maintain that winning streak.   Black Cap Tim Southee told Mike Hosking that whoever turns up over the next couple of games walks away with their hands full.   He said that you have to believe you...

New Zealand Rugby's community boss Steve Lancaster has highlighted the effect of the Black Ferns World Cup victory last year on the grassroots game.   Women's participation in the playing, coaching, and refereeing sectors has increased in the governing body's latest review.   Lancaster told Mike Hosking that the Ferns performed really well and were great role models for young women and girls aroun...

National MP Mark Mitchell is defending his party as the clock ticks on coalition talks.   Winston Peters didn't turn up to an expected meeting in Wellington yesterday, so both Christopher Luxon and David Seymour have flown up to Auckland for a meeting today.   Mitchell told Mike Hosking that he's putting the delay down to the three-week gap in receiving the special votes.   But Labour MP Kieran Mc...

A group of Southlanders has come together to save their local pub.   Six locals have raised funds for a deposit to buy the Waikaka Royal Hotel.   The eastern Southland hotel has been a beloved institution for more than a century, celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2018.   Waikaka Hotel Enhancement Company Director Jason Cleland told Mike Hosking that they're now looking for community support to...

A New Zealand First MP's showing sympathy towards David Seymour's position on Te Tiriti o Waitangi. ACT wants a referendum on Treaty principles, and signalled it's a priority in post-election talks. Shane Jones told Radio Waatea the courts have been liberal in their interpretation of the Treaty, and he understands why Seymour wants it tidied up.   Former National Party Treaty Minister Chris Finlay...

There’s a view that Winston Peters is playing power games as David Seymour and Christopher Luxon prepare for coalition talks in Auckland.   Winston Peters failed to make it to an expected three-way meeting in Wellington yesterday.   Former New Zealand First MP Andrew Williams told Mike Hosking that Peters is showing his experience.   He said that Peters entered Parliament in 1979, when Luxon was o...

Wellington's controversial Golden Mile project could have its day in court.   The Wellington City Council says a judicial review application has been lodged over the contentious transport plan from opposition group Guardians of the Golden Mile.   Newstalk ZB has revealed the main contract for the policy is still unsigned more than a month after the election.   Guardians of the Golden Mile spokespe...

Is Anthony Albanese a genius, or has he landed us with a headache we don’t know how to get out of?   In signing up Tuvalu the way he has and offering an easy entry into Australia, who is next? Are we expected to do the same, or similar?   If we are, what is the criteria? We save a place from climate change? How does that work?   What is the trigger point? When they are knee deep instead of ankle d...

David Cameron has been named the UK's new Foreign Secretary.   It comes seven years after he quit as PM over the outcome of his Brexit referendum.   King Charles has approved giving Cameron a seat in Britain's House of Lords, allowing him to return to government as a minister despite no longer being an elected MP.   France Correspondent, Catherine Field, told Mike Hosking that there is relief in v...

Liam Lawson will fill a key role for both Red Bull teams as his wait for a Formula One seat continues.   He recorded a best placing of ninth, filling in at Alpha Tauri for five races in his debut year.   Director of both Red Bull Racing and Alpha Tauri, Helmut Marko, told Mike Hosking that the 21-year-old still has room for growth.   Marko says Lawson will need to be patient in pursuit of a fullti...

A UK political commentator says appointing David Cameron to the Foreign Secretary role is like pulling a dead rabbit out of a hat.   The former British PM has been appointed as part of a major cabinet reshuffle, sparked by the removal of Home Secretary Suella Braverman.   It was after she wrote an op-ed accusing the police of double standards in handling protests.   UK Political Commentator Rod Li...

The early reopening of State Highway 25A is being called a 'game-changer' for the Coromandel Peninsula economy.   The route between Kōpū and Hikuai was severed in Cyclone Gabrielle.   A new 124-metre bridge that now spans the resulting abyss will open by December 20, three months earlier than expected.   The tourism-reliant area suffered a severe economic downturn as a result of the extra effort r...

Tolerance of Israel's actions from the international community is running thin.   The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 11,000 people have been killed in the territory since October 7th.   Geopolitical analyst Geoffrey Miller says there's probably two or three weeks before calls for a ceasefire will become too strong for the Israeli operation to continue.   Miller told Mike Hosking that western...