The Mike Hosking Breakfast

A long-lost prop from the original 1977 Star Wars film was auctioned off for a record-breaking $5.3 million.   The 50cm X-Wing Starfighter model was considered missing for decades, before being found in a cardboard box in the garage of an Oscar nominated model maker.   Toy Collecting Expert, Bob Collins, told Mike Hosking that it’s likely that the model maker wouldn’t have a clue that it was going...

France is on its highest counter-terrorism security alert after a knife attack at a school.   The BBC reports witnesses heard the attacker shout "allahu akbar" during the attack, and President Emmanuel Macron's condemned the "barbarity of Islamist terrorism".   An additional 7000 soldiers were deployed into the streets, on top of the 10,000 that were already there.   European Correspondent, Cather...

Rising fears that Israel's war with Hamas will spread.   The death toll has now reached more than 1,400 in Israel, with more than 2,700 deaths in Gaza.   China says Israel has gone beyond self-defence, while the US says occupying the Gaza Strip would be a mistake.   Israeli journalist Haggai Matar told Mike Hosking that Hezbollah, Iran, and Lebanon have added to the timeframe pressures.   He's con...

National is being warned that its pledge to change laws in the first 100 days will probably take some time to implement.   The party committed to an action plan to deliver on promises including the banning of gang patches, repealing Labour's water services reform legislation, and cracking down on serious youth offending.   Barrister and constitutional law expert Mai Chen told Mike Hosking that thi...

One of our largest companies is taking a major hit from allegations of a manufacturing fault in Australia.   Fletcher Building is rejecting an Australian building company's claim that it's Iplex pipes leak, putting the problems down to incorrect installation practices.   But analysts expect the dispute to ultimately end up in court.   JMI Wealth Director Andrew Kelleher told Mike Hosking that in t...

Chris Hipkins is set to make his first public appearance since Labour's election loss.   The party will farewell a huge number of outgoing MPs at their first caucus meeting this morning.   Political Editor, Jason Walls, told Mike Hosking that the media hasn't heard from the Labour leader over the past few days.   He says Hipkins has basically gone to ground after the election loss, but he will fro...

High inflation may be sticking around for a while longer.   Stats NZ will release the figure for the three months to September today.   Petrol is a big factor in that increase, with a combined removal of the subsidy and international factors driving it up.   ANZ Economist Henry Russell expects the annualised figure to September to be 6.1%.   He told Mike Hosking that there other factors contributi...

What I enjoyed most about Saturday night was the message. What National and Act have argued for, and got support for, is to take this country back to what it was - aspirational, successful, outward looking and positive. For years we were the rockstar economy. When tragedy and upset struck as it did with the earthquake and the Global Financial Crisis, we didn’t buckle and we didn’t sink. We backed...

A bridge too far for the Voice to Parliament referendum across the ditch.   It sought to change Australia's constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.   But it was defeated, with all states voting no, and ACT the only region to vote yes.   Australian Correspondent, Steve Price, told Mike Hosking that this...

The All Blacks have powered through to the Rugby World Cup semi-finals at the expense of the Irish.   They managed to beat the Irish 28-24, in a thrilling, highly competitive match.   All Blacks fullback Beauden Barrett told Mike Hosking that it was do or die.   He said they needed to trust themselves, not overplay their hand, and really work hard for one another.   LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.c...

US President Joe Biden has met with Palestinian Authority President Abbas.   Biden says on social media he assured him that the US is working with partners in the region to ensure humanitarian supplies reach civilians in Gaza and to prevent the conflict from widening.   US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that US Secretary of State Tony Blinken was in Egypt, seeking to open that bord...

Incoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he wants to "get cracking on" building relationships and starting conversations with respective political parties in forming a government.   Speaking to Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking this morning, he acknowledged there is a large chunk of special votes still needing to be counted.   Asked about his thinking on NZ First and party leader Winston Peters, he...

ACT Party leader David Seymour said what is clear is there is going to be a process driven by the special votes that may well deliver them a majority to work together with the National Party.   "But there's also a possibility that there's going to be a third person in this marriage —as Diana once said— and we're going to have to work through how we create a three-way deal," he said, acknowledging...

A polling expert has given New Zealand's general election polls a pass mark.   Curia Principal David Farrar told Mike Hosking that the polling industry gave a pretty good idea of what to expect.   He says with half a million votes to come, National's probably going to end up somewhere between 37 and 38%, which is where polls expected them to land.   LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

Trading in Fletcher Building resumes this morning after the Kiwi construction giant pushed back on a Perth company's claims about leaks in its Iplex pipes.   JMI Wealth Director Andrew Kelleher told Mike Hosking that Fletcher is front-footing the allegations, claiming other companies haven't experienced similar issues and it was due to poor installation.   He says the company's response should be...

We're not the only ones with an election tomorrow.   Australians will vote in their first referendum in more than 20 years.   If successful, it will change Australia's constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.   Australian Correspondent, Murray Olds, told Mike Hosking that it’s currently seeming as though...

Talent agencies are calling on New Zealanders to put on a red suit and give being Santa a go this year. Posing for a photo with Santa is an annual tradition for families but since Covid, fewer Kiwis are applying for the role.   Scene to Believe says demand from shopping malls has increased this year, and they're struggling to cover all the required shifts.   Veteran Santa Eric Diamond told Mike Ho...

It's set to be an intense match as the All Blacks play Ireland in the quarter-finals this Sunday. The All Blacks will be playing as if this is the finals, Coach Ian Foster said, reassessing after the game.  Former All Black and rugby commentator, Justin Marshall, told Mike Hosking that it's a toss of the coin for both quarter-finals matches. He said that Ireland is going in as the favourite for th...

Well we made it... we made it, didn’t we? Are you as fatigued as I am? I'm not sure I can put my finger on it, but this has been one of the more forgettable campaigns. Maybe it was the fact we ultimately all know the Government will lose and another one will be elected. No, we don’t know in what shape. But we know Labour is done and, because they are done, this campaign has just been a long drawn...

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 campaign: 6/10  Because it’s a chance to vote and that should never be taken for granted. But man, it's been hard work in places.       Labour: 4/10  It was negative, it wasn’t fought on their record for very good reasons, Hipkins held his own but was pretty much shot f...

A supermarket boss says food price increases are heading in the right direction.   The Stats NZ Food Price Index shows there was an 8% increase in the year to September, which is a lower increase than previously.   Foodstuffs North Island Managing Director, Chris Quin, told Mike Hosking that while the trend is heading down food prices are still up, impacting every household.   He says it's not unt...

Dire is the word being used by the United Nations to describe the situation in Gaza as food and water runs out.   Israel says they've dropped around 6000 bombs on the enclave since the fighting with Hamas broke out.   The UK's confirmed a military support package for Israel, promising maritime patrol and surveillance planes.   And US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East, vowing...

A long-running case that's ended with a Christchurch man convicted of murdering his childhood friend is being described as unique by a criminal lawyer.   It was the second trial faced by former prison guard David Benbow over the disappearance of Michael McGrath in 2017.   It followed an eight-week trial in the High Court in Christchurch.   The verdict follows six years of investigation and two tri...

Sir John Key believes the blue team could come out on top this election.   Key put out a video last week endorsing the party he used to lead, and warning of people waking up after the election in 'limbo land.'   The former Prime Minister's been looking back on the campaign and told Mike Hosking that he hasn't seen a poll where Labour-Green bloc has been above 40%.   LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.c...

It's the final day of the election campaign.   The leaders of both major parties hashed it out in the final televised leaders debate last night.   We'll begin getting results from 7pm tomorrow.   Outgoing Labour MP Stuart Nash told Mike Hosking that the campaign's been reasonably uninspiring.   He says what surprises him is that National should've knocked this out of the park, but for some reason...