The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Nurses have been added to the Immigration Green List, putting them on a straight-to-residence pathway. The decision comes after months of the health sector crying out for help. Kerri Nuku of the Nurses Organisation joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National believes there's another reason for Minister Nanaia Mahuta to be sacked. It's been revealed the minister was advised against the controversial Three Waters entrenchment clause on October 25th - a month before she took it to caucus. National's Chris Bishop says caucus decided against the clause in May. He told Tim Dower the Prime Minister needs to show some leadership and sack Mahuta. A sp...

So much for the cost of living crisis, people appear to be gambling like never before. New data from the Department of Internal affairs shows gaming machine profits increased from $193 million dollars in the first quarter of this year to $276 million by the third. Problem Gambling Foundation spokesperson Andree Froude told Tim Dower it causes significant harm. She says they're rapidly approaching...

A potential step forward in addressing equity issues in the health sector. Te Whatu Ora is asking the Employment Relations Authority for interim orders - to fix pay equity rates for nurses. It would increase pay for most by more than 14 percent, putting Kiwi workers on a par-or better, with Australian nurses. Te Whatu Ora Board Chair Rob Campbell told Tim Dower it will make a difference. He says i...

So National won the by-election in Hamilton West...I don't think anyone's too surprised about that. New MP Tama Potaka is with us after half past and he looks like a decent bloke from what I've seen...family man...and still young enough to give us a decent decade or so. Question is what do we read from the by-election itself? If the country really is raging against the current administration, woul...

An international relations expert says New Zealand can be a world leader in action against Iran. A travel ban has been placed on 22 members of the Iranian security forces. It's over the death of a 22 year old Iranian woman in custody in September and the regime's violent response to protest more generally. Otago University's Robert Patman says we shouldn't underestimate Jacinda Ardern and her rais...

Rotorua’s police numbers have risen by just four despite an influx in police callouts. The small rise has been described by Mayor Tania Tapsell as woefully short of keeping pace with significant demand. Police Minister Chris Hipkins told the Rotorua Daily Post in November that the city had been given 20 extra staff in the past five years. Restore Rotorua chairman Trevor Newbrook says it's not good...

Team New Zealand has blown past the wind-powered land speed record. Horunuku —which means to glide swiftly across the land— has shot across South Australia's Lake Gairdner at 222.4 kilometres an hour. The previous record stood at 202.9 kilometres an hour. Pilot Glenn Ashby says says it was the ultimate thrill. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fears some of our roads are just not safe enough, after reports a section of State Highway 1 north of Auckland has been peeling off and sticking to cars. Police say there were more than 40 complaints from motorists with tar stuck to their vehicles from the highway in Dome Valley on Saturday. It will be closed overnight for repair work. Transporting New Zealand Chief Executive Nick Leggett told Tim...

An alarming increase in grocery prices won't be going away any time soon. It comes as the latest Infometrics-Foodstuffs New Zealand Grocery Supplier Cost Index data, showing a rise in cost increases from suppliers by more than 10 percent in November. Around 7,800 items increased in cost, nearly three times as many items as in November 2019. Infometrics chief economist Brad Olsen says inflation is...

Delight for National's latest MP as he paints Hamilton West blue. Tama Potaka came out on top in the by-election triggered by Guarav Sharma's resignation. Potaka won 46 percent of the vote, beating Labour's Georgie Dansey by 16 percent. Sharma came a distant fourth with less than ten percent of the vote. He told Tim Dower that his win represents the frustration the electorate has around crime. Pot...

Kerry Godliman is a mainstay of British television and comedy. She's been on the stand up scene since the late 90s - and starting becoming a household name as she appeared on shows such as M ock the Week and Taskmaster. And she's linked up with Ricky Gervais plenty over the years - including having starring roles in Derek and A fter Llife. Now she's starring in the new drama - Whitstable Pearl , w...

Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson joined the Mike Hosking Breakfast to wrap the week that was. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.   Entrenchment : 1/10 Probably the scandal and cock up of the year. Machiavellian, dishonest, underhand and, not just that, but bungled with an astonishing level of incompetence.   The Ford Ranger: 8/10 Most popular new car in the country, despite the Government's best attempts t...

Prediction time for tomorrow in Hamilton-West. The biggest loser will be Gaurav Sharma who will barely register, thus telling him a couple of things. The first is that the noise he made about Labour amounts and counts for nothing. He was a nobody, he is a nobody, he will go back to being a nobody and a Government that wins with the numbers Labour did in 2020 brings in a lot of nobodies, who essent...

The Government has reached a Housing Accord with Rotorua Lakes Council and Rotorua iwi, to address the emergency housing crisis in Rotorua. It aims to reduce some of the anti-social activity linked to the city's 13 highly controversial emergency housing motels. Details of the accord will be revealed at 10am. Mayor Tania Tapsell told Mike Hosking most people will be happy with the accord that's bee...

Described as a game-changer for breast cancer sufferers, research shows a widely-available heartburn drug can prevent some serious side-effects associated with chemotherapy. Two specialist cancer doctors from Palmerston North have found taking the heartburn medicine pantoprazole successfully targeted serious nausea and vomiting, which often happens two to five days after chemo. Palmerston North Ho...

A royal correspondent has labelled Harry and Meghan's new series as underwhelming, and a little innocuous. The first three episodes were released on Netflix last night. Royal Correspondent Victoria Arbiter says there were parts of it that were wonderful - such as hearing their love story from them. She told Mike Hosking they're clearly very giddy about each other. Arbiter says there was a huge num...

The debate over the Three Waters changes and other Government reforms have dominated the political agenda this year. Political Editor Barry Soper told Mike Hosking the Government will be keen to shift attention next year to pre-election sweeteners in the May budget. "Don't be surprised if at the eleventh hour, this Government comes out with something significant before the election campaign." LIST...

New data shows that regional accommodation is already at full capacity for New Year’s. Baches filling up fast may not be new for this time of year, but it has been a few years since we have seen it happen. Is this a flash in the pan, or will we see it continue throughout the summer period? Head of Revenue for Bachcare Nick Pierce joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Councils aren't planning on backing down against the Three Waters reforms. The first of three bills passed its final reading in Parliament yesterday, allowing for the amalgamation of council water assets into four water entities. Councils will own these entities through a shareholding and will co-govern them with mana whenua. Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon told Mike Hosking it's frustrating the Gove...

Russia freed WNBA star Brittney Griner early today in a dramatic prisoner exchange, as the US released notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout but failed to win freedom for another American, Paul Whelan, who has been jailed for nearly four years. The swap, at a time of heightened tensions over Ukraine, achieved a top goal for President Joe Biden but carried a heavy price. “She’s safe, she’s on a...

I am told the concern over aviation fuel isn't going to ruin your holiday. In other words, the planes won’t run out of gas. But the inevitable issue of getting a bit of dodgy fuel was always going to unfold, wasn’t it? Those of us that questioned the closure of Marsden Point are being proven right already, not that that is any great victory. I know nothing about fuel, apart from the fact that if y...

Eric Bogosian is a name synonymous with the American stage and screen. He first made his name in the 1980s with his stage show, Talk Radio which was adapted into a film by Oliver Stone in 1988. Since then he's been in many of the biggest shows - including B illions, Succession and Law and Order. Add to that - he starred in Adam Sandler’s comeback Uncut Gems back in 2019. Now he's starring in a TV...

Fletcher Living are looking at a new retirement village model. Retirees who buy into Fletcher Building’s new Vivid Living on Auckland’s North Shore will enjoy 50 percent of any capital gains made on the property, lower management fees, and the 'weekly fees' will be removed when the resident vacates. Head of Retirement Vivid Living Gemma Gloyne joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/l...