The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The Government says it's tweaking the Clean Car Discount scheme because it's working as intended. It's announced it will have to lower the threshold for higher emitting vehicles and increase the fees on them and also change rebates for zero emissions imports. When asked how many times this will happen, Transport Minister Michael Wood told Mike Hosking they always knew they'd have to review it ever...

Simon Dale created the SoloTrak in an effort to save time, energy, and fencers' knees. Enquiries for the machine rose through the roof after Jeremy Clarkson used it in Series 2, Episode 1 of Clarkson's Farm . Dale said that while it took a while to get their name out there, he'd now consider Solo Fencing Systems to be one of the market leaders. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Wireless charging is being taken to a whole new level. Researchers at the University of Auckland are exploring the possible integration of wireless charging pads into our roads and car parks, negating the need to plug electric vehicles in to charge them. Leader of the project's research team, Professor Grant Covic says that it's definitely doable, and is already beginning to be commercialised. He...

King Charles' Coronation will differ from the Queen's Coronation 70 years ago. For the first time, members of the public will be asked to pledge their allegiance to the new monarch. There'll be hymns in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, and Irish Gaelic and leaders of different religions will be involved. The Times Royal Correspondent Valentine Low told Mike Hosking that the King's made an effort to moderni...

National's standing by their policy that aims to attract more nurses and midwives after claims they've warped the numbers. It's claimed 19-thousand nurses have left the public health system since 2017, but the Government says that's wrong. There are actually four-thousand more nurses since 2017, a 19 percent increase. National's numbers include nurses who have switched to a different part of healt...

Can I ask why Australia's migrant intake this year will be a record 400,000 when ours won't be? I mean, I know the answer. But it is worth asking, especially if you are interested in us as a country getting on with life and, in general, achieving any real level of success. I gave you the numbers last week in regards to Australia long term - by the end of the decade millions more will have arrived....

The search continues for a man accused of killing five of his neighbours —including an eight-year-old— in Texas. The FBI, along with multiple state agencies are hunting for 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza in the town of Cleveland, near Houston. US correspondent Richard Arnold says that the incident occurred after neighbours asked him to stop shooting in his yard because they were trying to put a bab...

Big changes for the King's Coronation. It's the first crowning of a British monarch in 70 years — since that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. For the first time there'll be hymns in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, and Irish Gaelic; female bishops participating and other religions involved. Exeter University History Professor Jeremy Black told Mike Hosking that the mood is very different since the last coron...

There are claims that highly addictive pain medications are being over-prescribed post-surgery in New Zealand. Auckland University research, led by medical students, has found surgeons prescribe double the number of opioids a patient actually consumes. It's found patients will take more drugs if they have more. Middlemore Hospital Junior Doctor Chris Varghese told Mike Hosking that he hopes the st...

For 2022 New Zealand Rugby have had a financial loss of just over $47 million, a drastic difference from their 2021 net surplus of $5.54 million. They are saying it was deliberate, with the blame being placed on spending and the prioritisation of women's game. New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson told Mike Hosking they are exploring options that they hope will boost the financial success of women's...

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.   Joe Biden: 6/10 He get's a half decent mark for, basically, hanging in there. But look at the numbers - he's underwater, he's old and he may not even know he's running.   Tucker Carlson: 2/10 He can put videos out until he's blue in the face. The facts are that he is a fraud. A...

Student associations say students are being forced into more work and turning to food banks,  as rents rise. The student loan for living costs and student allowance rose by $20 from April 1. It follows a $25 weekly increase in Budget 2022. Union of Students' Associations President Ellen Dixon says there are landlords and property managers that monitor those financial changes. She says there's a di...

Expectation that a funding boost for our wood processing sector will target New Zealand's slash problem. A new $57 million government fund aims to process logs onshore, move the industry from volume to value and create high wage jobs. It's estimated the fund will see up to $650 million more Gross Domestic Product over its lifetime. Federated Farmers Forestry Spokesperson Toby Williams told Mike Ho...

National claims empowering landlords to evict tenants without cause will help renters. The party's housing spokesperson Chris Bishop says increased tenancy regulation has decreased supply, pushing up rent prices. He told Mike Hosking the policy has caused landlords to fear renting to vulnerable people, as there's no way to easily evict them if things don't work out. Under the current law, landlord...

There has been plenty of discussion amongst tax experts around fairness within the system. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed no major tax overhaul will be made in this term of government, including on capital gains. But, KPMG Tax Partner Rebecca Armour told Mike Hosking there's an argument for one, where people in the same economic position pay the same amount of tax. She says people earn...

There are signs of a changing landscape in the rental market. The latest monthly Tony Alexander Investor Insight survey has found a net 13 percent of investors are finding it easier to get good tenants. That result is the highest reading in the survey since March last year. Independent economist Tony Alexander told Mike Hosking it's partly driven by tourists and overseas students coming back into...

A new New Zealand company is aiming to make green hydrogen a viable alternative energy source in this country and worldwide. Because green hydrogen can be created sustainably using renewable energy, the clean energy source is a transition away from oil and gas. BSPKL co-founder and CEO Christina Houlihan joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time now for a definitive look into one of sports global superstars. LeBron James. Born to a 16-year-old solo mother and moving around from family member to family member, he has since become an athlete bigger than the game and equal to only Michael Jordan. James is the first active NBA athlete to become a billionaire and the NBA's all time leading points scorer. So it was about time we got a biog...

The All Blacks coaching team for 2024 has been confirmed. Joining Scott Robertson as assistant coaches will be Jason Ryan, Leon MacDonald, Jason Holland and Scott Hansen. This leaves the Blues and Hurricanes looking for new coaches next season. Former All Blacks coach Alex 'Grizz' Wyllie joined Mike Hosking to discuss whether the coaching lineup is geared for success. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio...

A push to get more children back into school. Newstalk ZB can reveal nearly 10,000 children aged between five and 13 are not enrolled in formal education, almost 4,000 more than in 2021.  It's the highest number reported in the last five years. New Zealand Blue Light supports thousands of disengaged children who have become unenrolled. Chief Operating Officer Brendon Crompton told Mike Hosking par...

The Climate Change Commission says we're relying too much on planting trees to soak up greenhouse gas emissions. In draft advice to the Government, released yesterday, it says the Emissions Trading Scheme needs reform. Chairman Rod Carr told Mike Hosking we need to separate the incentive to reduce emissions, from the incentives to plant trees. He says that way it's clear as to why we need to reduc...

The Reserve Bank is looking to make it easier for potential home buyers to get into the market. They're proposing changes to the loan to value restrictions, which currently mean banks can only give 10 percent of new loans to borrowers with deposits under 20 percent. They want to up that to 15 percent at the beginning of June. Bayleys Real Estate Agent, Karen Asquith told Mike Hosking anything that...

A tax expert says the current tax system is working. Inland Revenue's wealth report shows the top one percent of earners pay a median effective tax rate of 9.4 percent when including capital gains on investments. Meanwhile, Treasury estimates a comparable tax rate for a "middle wealth" Kiwi is roughly 20 percent. OliverShaw partner Robin Oliver told Mike Hosking the tax system, overall, isn't brok...

We touched on authenticity before the school holidays. I said that one of the more damning aspects of the Dominion and Fox news scrap was not whether Fox was at fault over claims around the election, but rather the revelation in depositions that Tucker Carlson lied about Donald Trump. As we know, as of last week, a bit over a billion dollars is heading Dominion's was after the settlement. A lot of...

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