The Mike Hosking Breakfast

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.   NZ Rugby: 3/10 When it comes to the Ranfurly Shield, it's these sorts of examples that damage the reputation of the game, the administration, and running of the game and remind us that for all the greatness of the All Blacks and the Rugby World Cup there is a lot of very provin...

It was like a time warp for me this week watching Brock James and Brad Weber bumble their way through what passed for a press conference, answering, or not answering, questions about the Ranfurly Shield. The whole way the rugby union has handled it reminds me of some sort of scandal from the 80's or 90's. A bit of hush hush, let's not say too much, let's keep it to ourselves, if we have to we will...

A warning to councils taking too long to comply with new water supply rules.   Water regulator Taumata Arowai has sent a letter to 27 councils informing them they have till mid next year to sort a sufficient protozoa barrier.   Regulations took effect last November, but the heat's really come on since Queenstown's cryptosporidium infection outbreak.    Head of Regulatory Steve Taylor told Mike Hos...

Players in the country's space sector are optimistic over recent election commitments.   National and Labour are both promising to grow the aerospace industry, including trialling and testing new technologies   National will also appoint New Zealand's first Minister for Space, if elected.   Rocket Lab Founder Peter Beck told Mike Hosking that the space industry isn't some future aspiration, it's c...

A shortage of New Zealand kumara from Kaipara has forced Nelson chip company Proper Crisps to temporarily switch to sweet potato from Australia.   It had already opened a sweet potato factory in Yarra Valley in Victoria last year to meet demand across the ditch.   Kaipara Kumara managing director Anthony Blundell told Mike Hosking that it's not a major blow to either party.   He says that variety...

Despite the sky-high airfares, air traffic numbers are almost back to pre-pandemic levels.   Global traffic is now at almost 96% of pre-Covid levels, with August seeing an annual increase of around 28%.   August domestic air travel is also up by around 25% on last year, and almost 10% more than 2019.   Board of Airline Representatives executive director Cath O'Brien told Mike Hosking that there's...

A tax expert says that National's proposed tax changes demonstrate the challenges of conveying complicated policies to the electorate.    The party is defending its policy after it was revealed just 3000 households will reap $250 in tax relief a fortnight.   They say the promised rebate to the average family always came with the caveat that it was "up to" $250.   Geof Nightingale told Mike Hosking...

So the Reserve Bank call unfolded the way we thought. There was no change - for now.   The “for now“ is the trouble.   Where once Adrian Orr stood in front of us and told us 5.5% was it, it now isn't. To be fair to some of us that have been saying it for some time now, it was never going to be.   Let us not forget that at 5.5%, we are way higher than many other central banks. Australia, which is a...

There's a suggestion that pricing carbon might not be the only answer to deal with climate change.   New research shows that relying on the Emissions Trading Scheme alone to de-carbonise would trigger petrol prices to soar by 60 cents a litre.   Massey University Professor Robert McLachlan told Mike Hosking that making the carbon price go so high is unfair on consumers.   He says when they looked...

The Green Party's James Shaw joined Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking on the Minor Leaders Breakfast for an intense thirty-minute interview, to see if they have what it takes to make a difference in New Zealand.   Their party may be minor, but their policies aren’t.    Mike Hosking asked the questions New Zealander’s need answered to see if the policies and the politicians can hold up under pressure.   ...

ACT’s David Seymour joined Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking on the Minor Leaders Breakfast for an intense thirty-minute interview, to see if they have what it takes to make a difference in New Zealand.  Their party may be minor, but their policies aren’t.  Mike Hosking asked the questions New Zealander’s need answered to see if the policies and the politicians can hold up under pressure.  Will the minor...

A mixture of cruise ships is set to grace New Zealand's shores ahead of a bumper summer.   A total of 54 ships will make 1,000 visits this season, expecting to bring around 350,000 passengers.   Domestic travellers are also on board, with around 12% of New Zealand travellers planning for one.   New Zealand Cruise Association CEO Jacqui Lloyd told Mike Hosking that around half of the ships coming i...

The Electoral Commission is being defended this morning.   About 1.4 million voters haven't received their EasyVote packs three days into the 13-day voting period.   Electoral law expert Graeme Edgeler says the thing that delays them is that the cards have party lists and the names of local candidates.   He told Mike Hosking that this delay is the norm, and it would be almost impossible to get the...

Should I have been surprised?   The debate around the Press debate has entered day two. If it carries on today that’s day three and that's two days too many.   Sure, it's news that a Prime Minister gets ill and can't attend a pre-arranged event. But that’s about it.   There is a certain irony that, having spent the past week deciding broadly that debates are a bit of a waste of time, certain playe...

The Black Caps have arrived in Ahmedabad for their opening 50-over World Cup cricket match against England tomorrow.   They played and won two warm up matches, winning by five wickets against Pakistan and seven runs against South Africa.   Coach Gary Stead said the key for the World Cup matches is adapting to what is in front of them.   He said there’s been improvement globally, and while he’s sur...

The need for a regularly updated medicines strategy is being underlined.   ACT's pledging to require the Ministry of Health to publish one every two years.   Medicines New Zealand CEO Graeme Jarvis says Pharmac has publicly supported the need for a strategy, and it was also one of the findings of an independent Pharmac review.   He says innovation doesn't stand still, so it makes sense to develop...

National and Labour are continuing to argue over who's going to rely on who to form a government after next week's election.   National's Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking that Labour will need to make concessions to form a government with the Green Party and Te Pāti Māori.   But Labour's Megan Woods says that National and Act will have to submit to the wishes of Winston Peters and New Zealand First...

It seems that Auckland Airport's international arrivals express lane trial has been a success so far.   Just over 6000 passengers have been processed in the trial attempting to cut down wait-times at the border, which for some reached up to two hours last month.   Average processing times from the trial have been close to nine minutes, down from the 13 it took in February without the lane.   Biose...

New Zealand homeowners will find out whether mortgage rates are set to increase again today. The Reserve Bank will update the Official Cash Rate, which has been on hold at 5.5% since May. Inflation currently sits at 6%, with economists picking interest rates may have peaked.   JMI Wealth's Andrew Kelleher told Mike Hosking that further hikes are possible after the election, but opinion is still di...

The Government's announced more powers for local councils to decide where new commercial forests are located, and new standards.   It includes requirements to remove slash from erosion-prone land.   Carbon forests will have to meet the same standards as plantation forests.   Forest Owners Association President Grant Dodson told Mike Hosking that landowners should be able to plant the crop they wan...

The country's red meat industry is still grappling with a volatile global market.   Exports are down 16% to $730-million compared with the same time last year.   It's largely down to a 44% decrease in Chinese exports, due to increasing competition.   Meat Industry Association Advocacy Manager Jason Krupp told Mike Hosking that our high-quality product doesn't always alleviate the problem, as it's...

The most shameful promise this election came from Labour, who promised in 2017 to increase the breast screening age, and then for six years didn’t do anything.   And now they are promising it again, as though you are supposed to believe them and things will be different.   The most ridiculous promise came yesterday, suggesting Labour are now wanting to run a Four Square.   It would be a Government...

‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ is an iconic show, ran for nine years, nominated for an Emmy 70 times, and won 15.   The show's creator and writer, Phil Rosenthal, is also responsible for Netflix’s most popular food and travel show ‘Somebody Feed Phil’, watched worldwide by over 190 million people.   In amongst filming the next season, Rosenthal is bringing the next leg of his tour to New Zealand and Au...

Labour Leader Chris Hipkins says a new supermarket competitor won't enter the market without Government intervention.   It's pledged further action to break the grocery duopoly.   While details are in the early stages, help with finance, gaining land space, and making regulator changes are on the cards.   Supie Founder, Sarah Balle, told Mike Hosking that we need solutions for kiwis who live outsi...

Demand for credit has spiked as consumers’ pockets continue to be hit hard.   Latest figures from credit reporting agency Centrix show new vehicle loans are up 14.4% year-on-year, with credit card demand rising 13%.   New mortgage lending is up 3% from pre-pandemic August 2019.   Centrix Managing Director, Keith McLaughlin, told Mike Hosking that historically, interest rates aren’t as high compare...