The Mike Hosking Breakfast

If everyone in this country watched Christopher Luxon yesterday outline where our education system is at, he would not have the issues he currently does around whether he is getting traction in polls. He talked about how the system got where it is, how it is measured and how the world sees us. Ultimately, it is why it will all come right later this year when the campaign properly starts and some d...

Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson joined the Mike Hosking Breakfast to wrap the week that was - with much of the chat around houseplants and Kate's ability to keep them alive. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amazon Group's Web Services have signed a deal with the Government to supposedly advance our digital transformation. This includes the public service's uptake of cloud services. The agreement formalises an earlier pledge from AWS to give computer cloud training to 100,000 people. Chief executive of NZTech Graeme Muller joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

For a while there house plants were the coolest home accessory to have - and the craze could be on it's way back. The Environmental Protection Authority has just approved 12 new house plants from rainforests across Central and South America, Southeast Asia and China. Three of the approved species are not currently known to be in New Zealand, so houseplant lovers have been told to get ready. NZ Gar...

Local Government New Zealand says Auckland Council got its money's worth from belonging to the national lobby group for councils. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has cast the deciding vote to remove the council from the organisation. He says the council doesn't get much from belonging to the organisation, which he says costs the council $640,000 dollars a year. But Local Government New Zealand Presiden...

The devil will be in the detail of how National's plan to overhaul the curriculum would be enacted. The party's policy includes requiring schools to do at least an hour a day of reading, writing and maths and standardised tests twice a year from years three to eight. Education Hub Founder Nina Hood told Mike Hosking while we need to make sure young people are literate and numerate, she's concerned...

Claims have come that lifting children out of poverty should be an absolute priority. Stats NZ data shows one in 10 children are living in material hardship in the year to June, no better than the previous year. Children's Commissioner Judge Frances Eivers told Mike Hosking the situation is dire. She says almost three-and-a-half children are living in emergency housing right now. Eivers would like...

It doesn't get much bigger for an artist than a global tour. Kiwi pop star Mitch James has announced his, which culminates in a 13 date New Zealand tour as well. He released his new album patience last year and will be touring with new music. Mitch James joined the Mike Hosking Breakfast in studio and performed a version of his song japan . LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...

"Based on their previous expression of opinion or ideas." That’s the key line from the immigration folks as they announced they are not stopping ol' Posie Parker from lobbing up and having a word about transgender issues. Section 16 of the Immigration Act is a high bar. High enough that a few "controversial" views and a lot of hand ringing control freaks here can't scupper someone getting into the...

Living costs are expected to grow for everyone, but some may feel the pain more than others. Stats NZ will release its latest annual statistics on household incomes, housing costs and child poverty rates today. ASB Bank predicts high consumer prices and interest rates will push up household budgets about $150 per week this year. But senior economist Mark Smith says some families will fare far wors...

Zane Robertson's absence has not made Athletics New Zealand's heart grow fonder now he has been caught doping. The 33-year-old has copped a four-year ban for using EPO - plus an additional four years for providing false documents in his defence. He has been based in Kenya or Ethiopia since leaving New Zealand at the age of 17. Chief executive Pete Pfitzinger has told the Mike Hosking Breakfast dis...

National has revealed it will overhaul what's taught in primary and intermediate school, to prepare students for high school. The party is releasing its election-year education policy at 12pm. It's promising to "rewrite the school curriculum" if it wins the election, with a focus on basic skills in reading, writing, maths and science. Education Spokesperson Erica Stanford has revealed to Mike Hosk...

From  RNZ The housing market has gone quiet, triggering the biggest sales slump in nearly 40 years. CoreLogic NZ’s new Housing Chart Pack indicated 60,859 properties were sold in the year to February, which was the lowest 12-month total since October 1983. There were about 4100 sales in February, which was the lowest number for that month since 1981, with 16 per cent more listings than the same ti...

Claims the Immigration Minister had more of a say in a controversial decision than he's letting on. Anti-transgender speaker Posie Parker is being allowed in the country, and isn't deemed a threat. Michael Wood says he would prefer if she never set foot in New Zealand, and called her views repugnant. He says her case does not meet the threshold for ministerial intervention, but Malcolm Pacific Imm...

Security's being ramped up in major US cities - ahead of Donald Trump's potential arrest. The former US President expects to be arrested today, over his hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump's used social media to call for protests ahead of his arrest, leading to fears of similar scenes to the Capitol Hill riot. But US correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking there's a bit mo...

Claims the process to appoint Ginny Andersen as Police Minister makes a mockery of the crime situation. Andersen is into her second day of the job after replacing Stuart Nash. She says more frontline officers is one way to keep New Zealand safe. National's Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking the Prime Minister has appointed a junior minister, at a time when crime stats are up. He says there's a 35 per...

The problem with Michael Wood is his arrogance - and his arrogance prevents him from seeing the simple truth. None of his goals around getting us out of cars is going to get us out of cars. He talks of giving us choices but fails to understand that if you are not going to use those choices, they are not really choices. Or even if you would use those choices, but they don’t exist, then that’s not r...

Optimism the new Local Government Minister has a firm grasp of the issues surrounding the controversial Three Waters policy. Kieran McAnulty sat down with the mayors opposing the reform yesterday in Wellington. Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Alex Walker told Mike Hosking McAnulty is open-minded and pragmatic, but there are still questions over what his next steps will be. But she thinks that's because...

There's hope the Government will take note of a report warning a move from natural gas too early could be costly. A report by major energy and gas players says changing too quickly could cost households and businesses $7 billion. Chief executive of Energy Resources Aotearoa John Carnegie told Mike Hosking the independent report is about informing debate on the role of gas in a low carbon future. H...

The new Police Minister says there are complex factors at play when it comes to youth offending. The latest Ministry of Justice data shows 32 percent of charges laid against young people last year resulted in a sentence. Ginny Andersen says Police are doing a good job with repeat offenders, but it depends on the individual case. She told Mike Hosking she won't be drawn on what a good number is. An...

A denial from New Zealand Rugby that Scott Robertson's appointment as All Blacks coach has come three years too late. Robertson lost out to Ian Foster for the role after the 2019 World Cup, and since then the team's lost nine and drawn two of its 34 matches. In those three years, Robertson led the Crusaders to another trio of Super Rugby titles, and will now take the reins of the national team fro...

A welfare commenter claims the government shouldn't be taking credit for declining Jobseeker levels. Data from Social Development, comparing June 2020 to June 2022, shows almost 25,000 fewer people are relying on Jobseeker. But researcher Lindsay Mitchell says benefit levels spiked during the pandemic, and the numbers reflect a move away from COVID restrictions. She told Mike Hosking other benefit...

You'll likely know the name – and you'll definitely know the voice and the iconic songs. The Grammy and Oscar-nominated rock band Counting Crows are back in New Zealand for the first time since 2015 as part of their Butter Miracle Tour - named after their latest album. It all started in 1991 and has turned into seven studio albums, 20 million in record sales and being named one of the world's most...

Wayne Brown has read the room right on this one. He now has Vector on board. They claim the road cone chaos costs them $30 million a year and, on top of that, their maintenance and restoration work is delayed and that affects everyone who wants to turn a light on. The support will grow. These are the very issues that make-or-break political careers. Too much of today's debate is about worthy and,...

Concerns among Credit Suisse shareholders in the wake of its purchase by main rival UBS. The $3.2-billion purchase has been driven by regulators, but normally shareholders would have a say in whether a takeover happens. Credit Suisse's largest shareholder, Saudi National Bank, has lost more than US$1 billion from the purchase. JMI Wealth Director Andrew Kelleher told Mike Hosking it raises an impo...