The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Get the runway ready; New Zealand fashion week is back after three years of Covid disruptions and cancellations. It's set to take place during august at Auckland's Viaduct Events Centre. Kate Sylvester will also be celebrating 30 years in the business with a special fashion show. General manager of NZFW Yasmin Farry joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

Big opportunities for the beef sector as the reopening of China allows for more beef exports. Beef intake in China is also expected to make a strong rebound in the coming year as we see a preference for imported meat, according to a Rabobank report. Agricultural analyst Genevieve Stevens joined the Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rob Campbell's behaviour is being described as "a remarkable act of self-immolation". The former Te Whatu Ora chair has been fired for taking issue with National's Three Waters policy online and breaching the code of political neutrality for public servants. A decision to sack him from his role as chair of the Environmental Protection Authority is expected today. Former Cabinet Minister turned pol...

More should be done to put people's minds at ease in cyclone-ravaged Hawke's Bay. Two mobile police bases have been set up in Hawke's Bay at Bay View and Puketapu and another will be added. Federated Farmers President Terry Copeland says while it's a good start, he still wants the army to come in. He told Mike Hosking that would give the community an extra confidence boost. LISTEN ABOVE See omnyst...

There are hopes the Government's new tourism action plan will help attract and retain a stable workforce. About 60 percent of tourism workers want to quit or are considering leaving in the next year. The plan aims to recognise quality employers, lift worker conditions, develop education and address the seasonal nature of the industry. Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Rebecca Ingram told M...

Can you tell me how the weather that has affected certain parts of the country has somehow become race-based? Does the rain fall differently on Māori? Does a flood affect you differently depending on your race? If your home is yellow-stickered or red-stickered, is that dependant on whether you identify as Māori? If your apples aren't getting picked, what role has race played in that? This is the a...

All eyes are on whether the sacked Te Whatu Ora chair will also lose his job as chair of the Environmental Protection Agency. Rob Campbell has been fired by Health Minister Ayesha Verrall for breaking the Code of Conduct, by publicly criticising National's Three Water's Policy and Christopher Luxon. Senior Labour Cabinet Minister Megan Woods told Mike Hosking the question of Campbell's future need...

Cloud databases are coming under increased pressure from hackers. Over the past year there's been high profile cyber attacks on companies such as Microsoft and Samsung. A new report reveals that eCriminals have been one of the biggest causes for concern over the past 12 months. With high profile attacks from two named adversaries – ‘Slippy Spider’ and ‘Scattered Spider’ – gaining notoriety for the...

Black Caps coach Gary Stead has called it. He thinks the one-run victory over England at the Basin Reserve yesterday will go down as New Zealand’s greatest test win. Stead coached the Black Caps to the first-ever World Test Championship when they beat India in 2021 but he told the Mike Hosking Breakfast on Newstalk ZB that yesterday’s win, and the fact they had to follow on, tops that victory in S...

New Zealand is the middle of a healthcare worker shortage and our government is reportedly ignoring offers from medical schools. Otago Medical School has offered to train more students, but the offer has fallen flat. Auckland School of Medicine also made the same offer a year ago and they still haven't heard any update. Auckland University Medical Emeritus Professor Des Gorman joined Mike Hosking....

Rob Campbell is adamant he hasn't crossed a line in his public criticism of National's Three Waters policy. The now former chair of Te Whatu Ora has been fired by Health Minister Ayesha Verrall, for breaking Public Service rules about political neutrality. He told Mike Hosking he doesn't regret what he's said, but does regret he will be losing direct contact with thousands of health workers and th...

New Zealand house prices have taken another heavy hit, down 11.5 per cent since February last year. The average property price is down $120,000 in the same time period to $971,000. A OneRoof report is out today and editor Owen Vaughan joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the war in Ukraine passes the one year mark, there would be few in the world who has been as consistently outspoken against Putin and Russia as Bill Browder. You may or may not know the story of his history with the country - Browder was the largest foreign investor in Russia until 2005 when he was denied entry to the country and deemed a national security threat. A few years later, his Russian...

I pray that somewhere in the departments that waste so much of our money, someone, somewhere, has the spine to stand up and tell the rest of the plonkers that what they are doing doesn’t work. Julie Anne Genter, back in another Government when they gave her a portfolio, came up with the 'Road to Zero'. That alone was one of the stupidest ideas going, for the simple reason that it set you up for im...

Goods are set to be move more freely between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, under a new agreement-in-principle reached between the EU and UK. Political commentator Rod Liddle told Mike Hosking the deal has received broad support. “By and large, it’s cheered up most of the Northern Irish, if not the Democratic Unionist Party and there hasn’t been an enormous angst from the right-wingers,...

For the first time in 15 years, the number of standard drinks people consume daily has declined. The 1 percent decline has dropped to 1.96 standard drinks a day. The figures have sparked discussion as to whether we may be starting to see a trend of decline in alcohol consumption. Senior lecturer in Public Health at the University of Otago Dr. Rose Crossin joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE   See om...

Westpac's economic overview shows we are still weathering the storm. With high levels of inflation and consumer prices rising by 7.2 percent, households are having to squeeze their spending. Borrowing costs are at their highest level in more than a decade, while sales are now at the lowest since the Global Financial Crisis. And the added heat of the cyclone is pushing even more pressure on the eco...

The Prime Minister says Te Whatu Ora's chair has gone well outside the scope of his role. Rob Campbell has taken to social media to criticise National's latest plans to scrap Three Waters, and Christopher Luxon. His comments have drawn the ire of the Government, National and Act. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told Mike Hosking his comments are inappropriate. He says ultimately it's going to be a ma...

A call for the local to be put back into local government. Local Government New Zealand President Stuart Crosby wants less centralisation in the allocation of public spending. He says New Zealand is the third most centralised country in the OECD. Crosby says locals need more control over how money is spent in their communities. It's part of the Future for Local Government Review panel. He told Mik...

National's Simeon Brown has slammed comments made by Te Whatu Ora's board chair on social media, calling it "appalling." Rob Campbell has vented on social media over his disdain for National's Three Waters policy, and Christopher Luxon. Brown told Mike Hosking Campbell is a senior public servant and should be setting an example. He says public servants are meant to be politically neutral and he sh...

Half of the $50 million recovery package has now been allocated to businesses in need of immediate repairs in areas where the cyclone caused the most damage. The funding taps out at $40,000 for each business with more funding to come in the coming weeks. Local councils and business associations will be in charge of distributing the money. Finance Minister Grant Robertson said that they’re getting...

More than 70,000 kiwis are currently living with dementia and this number expected to triple in the coming years. After being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, Allister Robertson created an app to help others in the same boat. My Life's Journey encourages users to record things from their lives with words, photos, and videos. It then prompts discussions in a therapeutic format for recalling...

There are concerns that pay parity funding in early childhood centres is being passed on to parents. The opt-in system to set pay rates for teachers based on qualifications and experience is resulting in some centres raising fees to retain staff. Some centres that opted out have closed or downsized, with some worried that government funding can't keep up with increasing wages. Council President Si...

March madness is already starting to grip Auckland roads. Waka Kotahi's traffic map is showing delays on multiple sections of State Highways 1, 16, 18, and 20. The State Highway 1 on-ramp at Drury southbound is closed. Auckland Transport is 393 drivers short, down from more than 500 short before Christmas. Auckland Transport's Richard Harrison told Mike Hosking that work starting up again is going...

Government grants may only go so far in helping keep cyclone-affected businesses afloat. The Government's allocating 25-million dollars to cover the immediate cashflow needs of affected businesses. Justine Wilson —who runs Kiwi Esque Luxury Lodge in Hawke's Bay's Esk Valley— is one of the businesses that would be eligible for the funding. But she says that right now she has far more immediate conc...