The Mike Hosking Breakfast

A former WINZ boss is applauding National's new beneficiary scheme.   The opposition is promising to impose traffic-light style sanctions on those who fail to meet Jobseeker requirements.   Measures include reductions and mandatory work experience.   Former WINZ boss and Conservative Party candidate Christine Rankin told Mike Hosking that she absolutely loves the idea.   Rankin says it's cruel and...

My favourite quote of the week, and admittedly it is only Tuesday, is from the Governance Services Manager at the Auckland city council.   Submissions have just closed on the council's plan to establish Māori wards. The manager says "most submitters seemed to not want Māori seats".   No kidding.   Now, there are two sorts of democracy; one is what we are in at the moment, the election, where we ge...

Kiwi country icon Tami Neilson has been busy over the past few years. In 2022 she released her latest album 'Kingmaker,' complete with a single featuring the legendary Willie Nelson. Since then she's joined Nelson on his tour across the United States.  Neilson told Mike Hosking that getting to know Nelson and his 'tribe', as his wife refers to them, has been incredible. She said they're really goo...

The Consumer Advocacy Council wants electricity retailers to make power bills as simple as possible, in an effort to help save consumers money.   It's asking companies to inform customers if there's a cheaper plan available and how much they'd save by switching.   Chair Deborah Hart told Mike Hosking that there needs to be more done to make electricity more competitive, and that this initiative wo...

A mixed bag in the latest Seek NZ Employment Report.   August's data shows a 2% month-on-month rise in job ads, the first increase since March.   That's 4% higher than August 2019, but 26% lower than a year ago.   But Country Manager, Rob Clark, says comparisons to last year is dangerous as it saw levels likely never to be seen again.   He says that's why the data's also compared to pre-pandemic l...

National's questioning the timing of Labour's amnesty policy.   It's pledging to provide a one-off visa for overstayers who have been in the country for more than a decade.   Labour leader Chris Hipkins says it's about providing residence to dawn raid survivors, and could cover up to 20 thousand people.   National Immigration Spokesperson Erica Stanford told Mike Hosking that our borders are curre...

Labour Leader Chris Hipkins told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking that polls are polls, and they need to spend the next few weeks getting their poll numbers up.   “Every day in an election campaign matters, and we intend to fight until the last day.”   When questioned on why election odds for Labour, Greens, and  Te Pati Maori sit at 0.2% if the election was held today according to a Herald poll, Hipkin...

The Greens are the quiet movers in the latest poll.   The latest Newshub-Reid Research poll puts them up 1.9 points to 14.2%, a result which would deliver them 18 MPs.   Labour was down slightly to 26.5%, National dropped a bit more to 39.1%, and ACT fell to 8.8%.   New Zealand First would just make it to Parliament on the numbers at 5.2%.   Green Party Co-Leader James Shaw told Mike Hosking that...

Andrew Saville and Guy Heveldt joined Mike Hosking to discuss Eddie Jones' next move, the possible Rugby World Cup quarterfinal between Ireland and the All Blacks, the Warriors' 42-12 loss to the Broncos, the Japanese Grand Prix and Liam Lawson being overlooked by AlphaTauri, and Supercars going to Taupo. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This morning's call by National that they will deal with New Zealand First, if they have to, is exactly the sort of thing they should have been able to avoid if they took the advice of people like me weeks ago.   The poll last week showing 82 percent of us wanted to know one way or the other shows how shockingly National misread the mood.   By spending all that time and energy the way Chris Luxon...

Former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has launched court proceedings against ICAC after the watchdog found she had engaged in “serious corrupt conduct”.   Ms Berejiklian has launched the legal challenge to ICAC’s findings after it earlier this year found she had committed a “grave” breach of the ministerial code by failing to disclose her relationship with former partner Daryl Maguire.   The repor...

An asteroid sample collected by NASA has touched down on Earth, giving scientists the opportunity to learn more about the origins of the solar system and capturing a piece of a massive space rock that has a chance of colliding with our planet in the future. It’s the first time the agency has accomplished such a feat.   Seven years after launching to space, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft flew by Earth S...

Liam Lawson has officially been overlooked for a full-time seat with AlphaTauri in 2024.   Instead, Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo have been named as AlphaTauri’s full-time drivers for the next Formula 1 season.   But just last night, Lawson finished 11th at the Japanese Grand Prix, beating Tsunoda by 1 spot.   Motorsport commentator James Allen joined Mike Hosking.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudi...

The trucking industry is calling National's road speed promises a return to common sense.   If elected, National intends to lift the speed limit on a number of roads that were dropped to 80, and many local roads to 50.   National Road Carriers General Manager James Smith told Mike Hosking it's about getting New Zealanders’ productivity up.   “We need to get the people where they want to go when th...

Chris Luxon says National would work with New Zealand First if it had to, and he thinks Labour would do the same.   He's confirmed his position this morning after weeks of questions.   Labour and New Zealand First have both ruled each other out, but Luxon believes both could still choose each other.   Luxon says David Seymour and Winston Peters would find a way to work with each other.   But the A...

A just-released snapshot paints another worrying picture of New Zealand’s rivers.   Land, Air, Water Aotearoa project data shows up to two-thirds of monitored rivers are graded poorly for E. coli contamination.   The analysis reveals E. coli levels are the highest in those sites surrounded by urban and pastoral land.   Cawthron Institute scientist Roger Young told Mike Hosking more effort is neede...

National leader Chris Luxon says working with New Zealand First isn't their first preference, but they will if they have to.   After weeks of questions, Luxon's confirmed this morning he would work with them.   He's also suggested Chris Hipkins would do the same, despite Labour and NZ First both ruling each other out.   Luxon told Mike Hosking the election isn't done and dusted – it'll be extremel...

Willow-Jean Prime, who I think it is fair to suggest will lose her Northland seat this time around, has nevertheless been out on the hustings campaigning and she has struck trouble. She has been in local and national politics for 20 years and has never seen racism like it, she says. She calls it unhinged. Here, in part I suspect, is the problem. A couple of events at local pubs have led her to mak...

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 All in all, by the time you deal with the policy, the debate, the polls and the ratings we seem engaged and that’s a good sign for democracy.   The Leaders' Debate: 4/10 Because it was flat. Because given the malaise and trouble we face, you might want to see...

Nothing builds energy in stadiums quite like a good chant.   Last week the Warriors demolished the Newcastle Knights, 40-10, and a packed-out 26,083 crowd celebrated their victory with a roaring rendition of the team’s chant.   The chant was created over twenty years ago by kiwi music icon Peter Urlich, and was previously only sung within the privacy of the sheds.   Urlich told Mike Hosking that h...

Drive Electric has released its first ‘State of the Nation’ report, revealing how New Zealand is doing when it comes to electrifying our transport fleet.   The report reveals that over the last five years, the number of electric cars on the road has increased 9.5 times over, and by 70% in just the last year.   The Clean Car Program is largely responsible for the uptick in EV ownership, with over 1...

The Labour Party is facing yet another scandal.   MP Shanan Halbert has been accused of bullying by several former staff, labelling him “manipulative”, “scheming”, and “a narcissist.”   The allegations date back more than a year.   Political Commentator, Peter Dunne, told Mike Hosking that there doesn’t seem to be any oversight of the relationships between MPs and their staff.   He said they’ve be...

The Warriors aren't buying into talk of Penrith and Brisbane being a class above the rest heading into this weekend's NRL preliminary finals.   Andrew Webster's side have arrived in Queensland ahead of tomorrow's clash against the Broncos at a sold out Suncorp Stadium.   Captain Tohu Harris told the Mike Hosking Breakfast that they showed in last week's win over Newcastle what they're capable of....

Queenstown businesses are bracing themselves for tough times ahead with the town potentially having to boil water for months.   The area's in the grip of an outbreak of infections from a waterborne parasite.   Known cases of the cryptosporidium illness have reached 21, and the national water regulators have slapped a compliance notice on the region.   Queenstown Chamber of Commerce CEO Sharon Fifi...

An agency review finds urgent change is needed at Oranga Tamariki as it highlights ill-trained managers and alleged bullying.   Staff say there aren't enough beds, there's little vision, and processes are slow, confusing and bureaucratic.   It determines that performance improvements are now urgent.   Voyce National Care Experienced Lead Tupua Urlich told Mike Hosking that it's difficult to tell w...