The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Former President  Donald Trump  repeatedly declined in an interview aired Sunday to answer questions about whether he watched the Capitol riot unfold on television, saying he would “tell people later at an appropriate time.”   Trump, the current front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, refused to say on NBC's “Meet the Press” how he spent Jan. 6, 2021, once the insurrection be...

The Salvation Army has opened its first medical centre in Auckland.   It will be giving holistic health care to those experiencing mental health and addiction issues provided at an affordable price.   Salvation Army National Director Lieutenant-Colonel Rod Carey joined Mike Hosking.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is after-work schmoozing becoming a thing of the past?   With more people working at home, there is less chance for impromptu after work drinks, along with pandemic-altered eating and drinking habits, and more people wanting to keep a stricter work-life balance.   Vivace Restaurant part owner Mandy Lusk joined Mike Hosking.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With a triumphant 40-10 win against the Newcastle Knights on Saturday, the Warriors showed they are still in the running for the NRL Grand Final.   Next Saturday they will play the Broncos in Brisbane, and if they win there is a chance they could return to the Grand Final for the first time since 2011.   Warriors legend Monty Betham joined Mike Hosking.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener f...

Kiwi golfer Ryan Fox has done it again. The world number 42 claimed his fourth victory on the DP World Tour after storming home to win the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in Surrey in the UK. Fox earned US$1.53 million (NZ$2.59m) for the win, the biggest payday of his career. Fox had a triple bogey seven on the third hole after starting two shots off the lead, but then went eight-under for the r...

National is taking aim at the Government in what it claims is not putting victims at the heart of the criminal justice system.   Cabinet rejected a proposal in July by then Justice Minister Kiri Allan banning anyone gang-affiliated from receiving public funding.   National's Simeon Brown told Mike Hosking the country has a soft-on-crime Government that doesn't see crime for what it is.   He says m...

The number of staff checking migrant employers' applications has halved.   There have been numerous recent cases of migrant exploitation.   Newshub reports in the third quarter of last year there were 15 full-time staff – in the third quarter this year it's seven.   U Immigration director and immigration advisor Josh Kennedy told Mike Hosking originally, employers were accredited for 12 months.  ...

Labour says raising the age limit for breast cancer screening is incredibly important.   The party's launched its "women's manifesto" – which includes improving endometriosis care.   It's also promising to extend the free breast cancer screening age to 74 – a National Party members bill promising that was drawn from the ballot box earlier this year.   Labour first promised the change in 2017.   Wo...

The nation is holding its breath hoping that Shaun Johnson will be fit enough to play against the Newcastle Knights in tomorrow night’s semi-final in Auckland. He missed out on last week’s game against the Panthers which resulted in the Warriors losing 32-6. Heather du Plessis-Allan asked Warriors Assistant Coach Stacey Jones for an update. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

National says it will review its policy to lure international tech talent to New Zealand after a year to see if it's working. If elected, would introduce a three-year visa targeting the world's top graduates and a separate visa to give residency to those at the top of the field. Immigration spokesperson Erica Stanford says they wanted to think outside the square. She says New Zealand really strugg...

Week two of the campaign has come and gone - so who are the winners? Well, if you go on polling alone, it's the new Government of National and Act. But if you believe that this campaign counts, if you believe that these events and stunts and announcements count for a lot, then there is still much to play for. For the record, I will repeat, I think the whole thing is a foregone conclusion. This, mo...

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.    Polls: 7/10  They are in full flow now and provide an increasingly obvious view towards a change of Government.       Food: 3/10  Real proof that the dreamers who claim inflation is on its way to normality next year haven't bought kumara lately.       The PREFU: 2/10  By the t...

The All Blacks face Namibia in their second World Cup pool match tomorrow, and Coach Ian Foster decided to rotate the squad ahead of the game.   Former All Black Ian Jones told Mike Hosking that the All Blacks have to be ruthless with their approach.   He said that this game is about getting back on the horse and springboarding the campaign.   LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

The Warriors are set to play their highly anticipated home game against the Newcastle Knights to a sold-out Mt Smart Stadium tomorrow night.   Fortunately for fans of the team, it’s looking likely that Shaun Johnson will be back on the field. Coach Andrew Webster told Mike Hosking that he’s had a really good week, and has been training well.   He said fans will know for certain to if he’s playing...

Willis said National is offering tax reductions to working Kiwis, and Labour is "obsessed" with finding holes in their tax policy.     "We've gone above and beyond," Willis said of the party's budget.   Willis told Mike Hosking that she would not release the costings of the budget because the next step would be "releasing Excel sheets."   "We've chosen more conservative numbers."   "I'm confident...

The horticulture industry is welcoming a new policy on water storage with open arms.   National's promising that farmers will not need a resource consent to build a water storage pond in most cases unless wetlands or Significant Natural Areas are affected.   It's a plan they say cuts red tape around food production.   Horticulture New Zealand Policy Manager Michelle Sands says it's a positive poli...

Labour's promising a justice system shake-up, with the party saying it'll streamline the process for people to take legal action.   The party claims it'll be a more cost-effective way for groups of people to take legal action together by establishing a class actions regime.   Labour's Justice spokesperson Ginny Andersen told Mike Hosking that this has worked overseas.   She says for example, it's...

Like so many of these things, a day or so after the big event is when you really get a measure of what is true and what is BS, or spin.   The PREFU was bad news.   The upside of the bad news was the Government argued and, sadly, the too many of the media, who either don’t have time to digest the real numbers, don’t care to digest the real numbers, or don’t know how to digest the real numbers, swal...

Grant Dalton is not expecting much backlash from the decision to take an America’s Cup preliminary regatta to Saudi Arabia.   After being touted as a potential host venue for the 37th edition of the America’s Cup in 2024 before Barcelona was finally revealed as the chosen host, Jeddah will host the second of three preliminary regattas, with America’s Cup teams to descend on the Saudi Arabian port...

The cost of food is still going up, but more slowly.   Stats NZ says in the year to August prices rose 8.9%, particularly eggs, yoghurt, and non-perishables like potato chips.   That's down from the 12.5% lift in April and June, but still historically high.   Foodstuffs NZ Managing Director, Chris Quin, told Mike Hosking that while it is increasing year on year, it’s coming down month on month.  ...

The divide between the right and left continues to grow heading into the election.   The latest 1 News Verian poll shows Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins are neck-and-neck in the preferred prime minister rankings: both on 23%.   But the right bloc is on 49%, well ahead of the left bloc on 41%.   Put to him that they had "less than no money" to run a country, Luxon said: "Yep. We're going to hav...

A medical school leader says they've been waiting to be allowed to train more doctors.   If elected, Labour's promised to train an additional 335 doctors every year from 2027, with numbers increasing from next year.   National previously announced a new medical school at Waikato University, which would provide 220 extra places by 2030.   Otago University Acting Dean of Medicine, Tim Wilkinson, tol...

A retired judge believes the public shouldn't be driving policy when it comes to law and order.   Party leader David Seymour wants to boost prison capacity by 500 beds and toughen sentencing for offending against vulnerable workers.   Act also wants new youth justice beds under Corrections and ankle bracelets on youth offenders.   Rosemary Riddell told Mike Hosking that what we need is prisons wit...

So was this PREFU better than expected as a number of headlines suggested?   Answer: possibly. Possibly not.   What numbers were they looking at?   It's important to point out this is not retrospective. This is not stuff that has happened, therefore cannot be argued with.   This is a projection and the projection comes from Treasury. There are some numbers from their projections to ponder, such as...

We've never seen record migration figures like we are now.   The country's seen a net gain of 96,200 people in the year to July, with 135,000 non-citizens arriving, and 39,400 New Zealanders leaving.   Citizens of India, the Philippines, China, South Africa, and Fiji have driven the numbers.   CEO of Malcolm Pacific Immigration, David Cooper, told Mike Hosking that having a high number of people c...