The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Concern about a gap between urban and rural students at med schools.   Research from Auckland University has found that rural students had a 15% lower University Entrance rate, creating barriers for them to get into medicine.   Paper lead Author Kyle Eggleton says it's due to fewer resources and higher socioeconomic depravation.   He said that in urban areas you’re more likely to have single-sex s...

An Auckland A-League football franchise is expected for the 2024-25 season.   The competition has confirmed American billionaire Bill Foley as the preferred bidder.   Foley owns NHL ice hockey's Golden Knights and the Premier League's AFC Bournemouth.   He told Mike Hosking that he believes they can be really successful by tapping into the New Zealand football market, and provide younger players w...

ACT's leader is pitching his party as the way to create a government that can put New Zealand on the right track.   Herald poll of polls shows National and Act have only a 28.5% chance of getting into Government without New Zealand First.   David Seymour told Mike Hosking why people should vote for him.   He said that those who want real change and stability should party vote ACT.   LISTEN ABOVE  ...

National's leader has weighed in on the latest poll numbers.   The Herald's final Poll of Polls shows National and Act have only a 28.5% chance of getting into government without New Zealand First.   Chris Luxon told Mike Hosking that they're now getting down to the business end of the election.   He says public polls are showing it's going to be close but there's a very strong mood for change.  ...

The most recent polls continue to point towards a change in government.   Surveys by Newshub-Reid Research and 1News-Verian both pick a National-New Zealand First-ACT coalition as the likely winners on Saturday.   Former MP and political commentator Peter Dunne told Mike Hosking that there's no clear path to power for the centre left, and National's path increasingly relies on Winston Peters' part...

Worker recruitment remains as tight as ever despite net migration reaching record highs.   Stats NZ says in the year to August, 110,000 more people moved to New Zealand than left.   Propeller Recruitment Managing Director Sharon Davies told Mike Hosking that despite the numbers, they still aren't seeing this reflected in applications or good candidates.   She says we need to look at who we're brin...

I'm not sure that MMP needed another reason to be hailed as a deeply flawed mechanism we voted for, not once, but twice.   I still argue we did it because we were too lazy to have a decent look at alternative systems way back when we were deciding we hated First Past the Post.   One of the more interesting factoids of the campaign was when James Shaw told us last week he had seen research that sho...

MPs Megan Woods and Mark Mitchell joined the Mike Hosking Breakfast to wrap the week's political news and look ahead to the final days of the campaign period. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A recent study has revealed an insight into the usage of AI in the workplace.   53% of Gen Z participants said they’ve used tools such as ChatGPT, and more than a quarter said that they’ve used it for work.   However, the study revealed that only one in five participants were aware of the cybersecurity risks of using AI tools.   Aura Information Security Principal Consultant, Alastair Miller, told...

Labour will look at beefing up the Commerce Commission's powers to break up dominant firms, if re-elected.   Commerce and Consumer Affairs spokesperson Duncan Webb says the Commerce Act doesn’t stop a business developing a monopoly position inch-by-inch.   He says New Zealand needs to be a little more vigilant than other countries as the ability to dominate is high.    Webb told Mike Hosking that...

National could have its work cut out for itself following its latest trade promises.   The party is vowing to double the value of exports in the next decade, pursue Free Trade Agreements, increase trade missions, and make India a focus.   Business NZ Advocacy Director Catherine Beard told Mike Hosking that it's a heroic goal.   She says it would be great to get the gulf, the UAE, and particularly...

Te Whatu Ora is blaming old tech for its failed payments.   Up to 10,000 nurses in Auckland, Waitemata, Counties Manukau, and Nelson have still to receive their pay rises.   The money was supposed to hit their accounts by September 27 at the latest.   Te Whatu Ora Chief People Officer Andrew Slater told Mike Hosking that the situation is a big frustration for their people, and for them.   He says...

Tensions are high in Israel and Gaza as the conflict continues between Israel and Hamas.   At least a thousand people have now died in Israel since Hamas's surprise attack, while more than 800 have died in retaliatory attacks in Gaza.   It's believed that up to 150 Israelis are being held hostage, and Hamas says it won't negotiate over them "until the end of the battle".   Israeli journalist Hagga...

Sir Wayne Smith is well known within the rugby world.   With two All Blacks World Cup Wins as assistant coach under his belt and one with the Black Ferns as head coach, he was the first coach to win both.   But there are lows amongst the highs; losing his position as head coach in 2001, and the backlash from the 2007 Rugby World Cup loss.   Smith covers it all in his new book Smithy, co-authored w...

I have always had an element of sympathy for Pharmac in the sense the model we run in this country is a fiscal set of handcuffs.   If you have a set budget you can only spend what you have. Other countries have models that have criteria saying if the medicine or treatment reaches a certain threshold, it is funded.   Neither system is perfect and given the way medicine operates, there will always b...

Louis Sharp's hailing the nature of his maiden Formula 4 title as he looks to follow in the footsteps of Liam Lawson in the world of motorsport.    The Rodin Carlin driver secured the championship on the final day of the season with a second placed finish.   Sharp said the competitiveness of the series was invaluable.   He told Mike Hosking that he learned how to fight for a championship, and deal...

All Blacks coach Ian Foster is considering this week's Rugby World Cup quarter-final as the final, saying they’ll reassess if they’re left standing after the match.   New Zealand goes in as the bookies' underdogs for the match against Ireland, for the first time in their history.   Foster told Mike Hosking that they are under no illusions.   LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

National is now very likely to get an extra seat in the next Parliament.   The traditionally safe National seat of Port Waikato will now be determined in a by-election on November 25, following the death of ACT's Port Waikato candidate Neil Christensen.   In the meant time the 120th seat will be filled by a list candidate, likely to be from National's list.   Otago University law expert Andrew Ged...

After peaking at record highs the past few months, it appears the job market is starting to slow down.   Seek's latest employment figures for September show a 4% dip in applications per job compared to the month prior.   The number of job ads have also fallen by 2% month on month, and by 25% compared to last September.   Infometrics Principal Economist, Brad Olsen, told Mike Hosking that despite t...

Another rise in the death toll in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.   Israel confirms 900 of its people have been killed since the Palestinian militant group launched its attack.   In Gaza, nearly 600 have died after Israel retaliated.   Israel's cut off all electricity, food, and fuel to Gaza.   International correspondent Lisette Reymer told Mike Hosking that it will be dire and hostile for...

National's Finance spokesperson is defending her party's fiscal plan in the wake of criticism from her opponents.   Labour is calling out the Nats' proposed public service cuts.   The party suggests National would have to cut $3 billion a year to the public services, alleging that even if all communications staff and advertising was cut from some ministries, it still wouldn't add up.   National's...

So do we have panic, or a cunning plan?   In a sign the campaign has gone way too long, the Labour Party are spending their precious energy banging on about National's tax policy.     They are suggesting they are now falling apart and are doing this, mainly because they don't want to talk about their record.   The prize for hyperbole over the weekend goes to Chris Hipkins, who saw a "resurgence" t...

Labour is angling for another go in Government.    The polls haven’t been kind to them as New Zealanders increasingly agree that it’s time for another party to give it a shot.    Chris Hipkins joined Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking for a rigorous interview to see if Labour is worth another term.    Hosking grilled the Labour leader on their key policies, getting right down to the gritty details and see...

More than 1,000 people are dead in the unfolding war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israeli television says more than 700 of their people have been killed in the day and a half on since the attacks from Gaza. Palestinian officials say retaliatory Israeli air strikes have killed at least 370 people in the Gaza Strip, and wounded more than 2,000. Auckland University internation...

Devon Funds Management market commentator Greg Smith says people are keeping a close eye on oil prices as the conflict in Israel and Palestine unfolds. He says the two aren't major oil players, but they're in a big oil producing region. Smith says the key will be whether there is any escalation. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.