The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The New Zealand economy is shrinking, the only question is by how much. GDP figures due out this morning are expected to show the economy contracted in the fourth quarter of last year. Speaking to the Mike Hosking Breakfast ANZ Senior Economist Miles Workman is predicting a 0.3 percent contraction. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

High inflation is hitting the back pockets of farmers. The Beef and Lamb New Zealand 2022 to 2023 Mid-Season Update says that farm profit is predicted to decrease by 31 percent from the update before it. Beef and Lamb Chief Executive Sam McIvor told Mike Hosking they're facing a lot of cost increases in things like fertiliser, which has been pushed up by the Ukraine War. LISTEN ABOVE     See omnys...

Thousands of teachers are striking today, demanding better pay and working conditions. One teacher says the pay increase offered, is a kick in the guts. Teacher and PPTA spokesperson Paul Stevens told Mike Hosking the pay offer is half the rate of inflation, which doesn't cut it. He says the offer is in line with the public sector pay adjustment of $6,000 over two years, which is averaged out to 3...

The Police Association says Police Minister Stuart Nash had to resign, but will be sorely missed. Nash is gone after revealing on The Mike Hosking Breakfast on Newstalk ZB that two years ago, he asked the Police Commissioner to appeal a judge's sentencing. Megan Woods will take over the police portfolio for the time being. Police Association President Chris Cahill told Mike Hosking having to see N...

Federated Farmers says the Government's Severe Weather Emergency Legislation Bill is very welcome. The Bill will remove red tape in cyclone Gabrielle recovery, including letting rural landowners in affected regions carry out emergency work without having to apply for resource consent. Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay President Jim Galloway told Mike Hosking farms have been severely hit. He says sever...

National has labelled the Police Minister's attempts at reassurance over the country's increasing crime as almost sounding "desperate". Stuart Nash has painted a brighter picture on the issue, saying since Operation Cobalt, 28-thousand charges have been made - including against more than seven-thousand gang members and associates. But National's spokesperson Mark Mitchell has hit back over the sta...

There was a big, and welcome, Covid win for the unvaccinated carers who took the Government to court, with the court deciding the Government erred. It's not the first time the Government has lost or has been found to err in court over Covid. But this one seemed particularly egregious to me. This, in a way, goes back to the Matt Hancock scandal in Britain where his astonishing series of WhatsApp me...

Police are investigating at least two burglaries in Auckland overnight - including at a large supermarket in the suburb of Lynfield. Officers were called to Countdown Lynfield, on Hillsborough Rd, shortly before 1am after reports of a break-in.  “A group of offenders have taken multiple items before fleeing from the scene in a vehicle,” a police spokeswoman said. “Police are following positive lin...

A top building boss says there are two fundamental issues with the construction industry and things need to change. Bayside Designer Homes is the latest building business to fail, leaving nine Auckland housing sites unfinished, and homeowners in the lurch. Naylor Love Chief Executive Rick Herd says one issue is the boom and bust cycles. He told Mike Hosking the second is the fragmentation of the i...

An expert says a probe into banking may not be the fix for issues in the sector. Latest figures from KPMG show bank profits reached a record high $7.15 billion in the year to September, up 17 percent on the year before. It comes after the Government voted against a select committee inquiry into banking, instead considering whether to order a Commerce Commission market study. Squirrel Mortgages' Da...

Last minute talks around the primary teacher collective agreement haven't stopped tomorrow's nationwide strike. The NZEI primary teachers negotiation team met with the Education Ministry yesterday to discuss the issues teachers have raised, but no formal offer was tabled. NZEI has asked the ministry to return to the table next week. Union President Mark Potter told Mike Hosking the ministry asked...

The BBC called a truce Monday in its showdown with sports commentator Gary Lineker, reversing its suspension of the former football great for a tweet that criticized the U.K. government's contentious new migration policy. The about-face followed a weekend of chaos and crisis for Britain's publicly funded national broadcaster, which faced a huge backlash after sidelining one of its best-known hosts...

Quick question around the cash bonanza yesterday - is it so blatant that it might actually work? An extra $300 million we don't have, just splashed all over the economy as part of a $2 billion package, made up of stuff that got cancelled. They are doing it because we have a cost-of-living crisis and we have a cost-of-living crisis because they overreacted to Covid. It's very likely that on Thursda...

She doesn't get home often, but when she does we love catching up with Gin Wigmore. Based out of Los Angeles these days, Gin is back in the country for her March tour around the North Island and Nelson. It was sold out, but due to popular demand and a cancelled Hawke's Bay concert, she has added two more shows. Gin Wigmore joined Mike Hosking. March regional tour dates Gisborne, Smash Palace Wed 8...

New Zealand have won a see-sawing first cricket test against Sri Lanka in Christchurch, chasing 285 with two wickets to spare. Kane Williamson was the architect of the victory with 121 not out, the highest fourth innings by a New Zealander in a successful chase. The triumph marked the second time, after England against South Africa at Durban in 1948, that a team has won off the last available ball...

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has burned several more schemes on his policy bonfire and splashed more cash in a welfare boost as his popularity continues to increase in the latest poll. However, Hipkins’ second big policy reprioritisation, particularly in the transport sector, has ruffled the feathers of their political ally the Green Party, which claims it will only make the country’s future clima...

The world's first virtual reality gaming facility is hitting Auckland CBD this week. The 3rd generation version of VR tech is the first of it's kind where gamers can move around a warehouse size space without carrying a backpack to virtually play. The location based experience is forecasted to boost our entertainment tourism sector, reaching us $1.575 billion by 2028. Zero Latency NZ manager Yolan...

A U-turn of sorts from the Government. About 1.4 million New Zealanders will be helped when increased main benefits, superannuation and student support payments increase in line with inflation. They'll rise from next month, alongside Childcare Assistance income threshold increasing. Former Reserve Bank Economist Michael Reddell told Mike Hosking a few years ago the Government changed from indexing...

Labour has edged ahead in the polls, but we're yet to see a lot of policy from the major parties. The latest 1 NEWS Kantar Public poll shows Labour attracting 36 percent of the party vote, and National 34 percent. Chris Hipkins has jumped to 27 percent support as preferred Prime Minister, while Christopher Luxon has slumped by five to 17. Newstalk ZB Political Correspondent Barry Soper told Mike H...

Gary Lineker is on the right side of history and I am immeasurably uplifted by the reaction we are seeing to his suspension from the BBC. In too many respects the BBC is everything that is wrong with public broadcasters. Once you involve taxpayers funding, and once you write something down about being impartial, that’s where the drama begins. For a start, Lineker isn't on staff, he is a contractor...

Frustration continues to simmer over pay parity for aged care nurses. Aged Care Association Chief Executive Simon Wallace says a promise of parity was made at the end of November. He says aged care nurses are paid up to 20-thousand dollars less than their counterparts in public hospitals. But Wallace says that what has been delivered by Te Whatu Ora is less than half of what's needed. He says it's...

A union representing bus drivers wants to see more security measures introduced to protect staff. An Auckland bus driver is in hospital with serious injuries after being stabbed in Mount Roskill on Saturday night. Police have arrested a 62-year-old man and he’s due in Auckland District Court today. Tramways Union President Gary Froggatt told Mike Hosking that we could be looking to what's installe...

Chris Hipkins announced at Auckland's Big Gay Out yesterday that he has a new plan of attack for HIV prevention. Hipkins used the event to launch a new HIV Action Plan and an additional 18-million in extra funding to tackle HIV. Auckland Pride Executive Director Max Tweedie says that it's a step in the right direction. He says it helps with the problem of people not feeling they can come forward f...

Mixed impacts felt across the globe from the collapse of a US bank. Regulators have seized the assets of Silicon Valley Bank and officials say there will be no federal bailout. Rocket Lab has about 62-million New Zealand dollars in the bank: about 7.9 percent of its total cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. Stockfox Founder David McEwen told Mike Hosking that stock prices will fall....

National is pinning the blame for the state of our country's retail crime on the Government; deeming it a "disgrace". New figures show that in a single year retail crime has increased by 39 percent, with 292 incidents recorded every day, up from 140 per day back in 2018. The party's police spokesman Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking that there's no reason why New Zealand shouldn't be the safest coun...