The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The number of drivers detected breaking the law has continued to climb. A trial using more invasive road safety cameras snapped 200,000 drivers using their phones, along with 42,000 seatbelt offences. But no one is being ticketed because to do that would require a law change, which would likely be next year. AA Road Safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE     See omnyst...

The Tourism Minister has hopes of a long-term future for Ruapehu Alpine Lifts. The Government has expanded its loan to the company by another $6 million, to give it more time to explore options, and open the ski fields next winter. The company went into voluntary administration in October, with Covid exacerbating long-standing issues including bad snow years. Stuart Nash told Mike Hosking people a...

Thousands of police carried out a series of raids across much of Germany today against suspected far-right extremists who allegedly sought to overthrow the state by force. Federal prosecutors said some 3,000 officers conducted searches at 130 sites in 11 of Germany’s 16 states against adherents of the so-called Reich Citizens movement. Some members of the grouping reject Germany’s postwar constitu...

A law professor says a High Court ruling over the guardianship of a six month old was unlikely to have gone any other way. The judge has given doctors at Starship Hospital medical responsibility of the six-month-old, until he's recovered from an urgent heart operation. His parents won't let doctors use donations from the Blood Service for the surgery - over claims it's all tainted by the Covid vac...

The Government is looking to break the cycle for New Zealand’s youngest recidivist offenders through a new fast-track intervention approach aimed at 10 to 13-year-olds as part of a new youth crime package, the  Herald  can reveal. It will include $2 million spread across four regions - Auckland, Waikato, Northland and Bay of Plenty - to fund locally-led solutions to reduce youth crime. It will als...

International airlines are now in doubt about their ability to fill up their planes with fuel in New Zealand. Airlines are having to limit fuel consumption, after a bad batch of refined fuel was imported into Northland's Marsden Point. No flights have so far been cancelled, and a new shipment is due in the country on Monday. But Board of Air Line Representatives Executive Director Cath O'Brien tol...

In yet another sign that the people that are supposed to know what they are doing, don’t, the Funding for Lending programme came to an end yesterday. It was cheap money from the Reserve Bank to the retail banks to get cash out into the economy. And in another of those "whoops, with the benefit of hindsight we would have done it differently" comments, they now say that they should have put more fle...

Sport New Zealand have changed the rules for transgender athletes. Trans athletes will now be able to participate in sport in the gender they identify with. The changes will apply only to community level sport. Former professional rower, endurance athlete and co-spokesperson for Save Women's Sport Candice Riley joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National   is claiming bias from   the   Government's transport fund. Councils can apply for a   slice of the $350-million dollar Transport Choices Fund,   for   sustainable projects, such   as   public transit and cycleways. Opposition Transport Spokesperson Simeon Brown alleges   it's mostly going to Councils   represented by Labour politicians. He says   Auckland's funding will primarily benefi...

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

Strawberries could be available all year-round. Backed through a government pilot project based in Foxton, strawberries will be grown using a controlled environment growing system. The Government are partnering with 26 Seasons to find cost-effective methods for growing strawberries out of season, costing more than $920,000 over two years. 26 Seasons CEO Grant Leach joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOV...

International visitors have been spending up large in New Zealand. The latest International Visitor Survey shows in the three months to the end of September, overseas visitors spent more than $1 billion. The survey shows holidaymakers spent $479 million,  while visitors here to see friends or relatives spent nearly $300 million. The regions benefited as well, with the Tourism Electronic Card Trans...

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is investigating the ransomware attack on information technology company Mercury IT. It's potentially compromising sensitive data for clients including Business NZ, the Nurses Organisation and the Ministry of Justice. AUT computer expert Kenneth Johnson told Mike Hosking data is being compiled throughout the world about the motivation of these attacks, who is...

There's no prizes for going harder than we need to on interest rates. KiwiBank says the Reserve Bank is at risk of going too far. The central bank lifted the Official Cash Rate by 75 basis points last month, while Australia's Reserve Bank lifted theirs by 25 basis points yesterday. Kiwibank CEO Steve Jurkovich told Mike Hosking the Reserve Bank should watch and see the impact coming through of the...

I am glad the RNZ/TVNZ merger is getting the noise it deserves. The trouble with mass reform under ideological Governments is certain things attract headlines and a lot of stuff doesn’t. The Fair Pay Agreements, I think, deserved more noise than they got, given the chaos they are going to cause around the economy. And the merger is another such matter than was always going to struggle against scan...

It's the impossible inquiry isn't it? Do we want a Royal Commission into Covid? Of course we do. Are there aspects we found to be wanting, if not completely cocked up? Of course there were. But are they going to look at them in the sort of detail we want or need? Is the Government really going to learn anything? Remember it won’t be 'this Government' and in that is the crux of all of this. Would a...

A new Kiwi startup wants employers to put their parental leave policies on its new register. Crayon is creating a database of verified parental leave policies for parents to easily access. Employees traditionally have to be at the same employer for 12 months or more to be eligible for full parental leave benefits Founder Stephanie Pow says the goal is to create transparency. She says it's not abou...

The man tasked with heading the Royal Commission of Inquiry into our Covid response says they'll be doing their best to deliver an independent report. It kicks off February and will look at vaccine mandates, border closures, quarantine and community care - among other matters. A report is due mid-2024. Australian-based epidemiologist Tony Blakely will chair it, alongside former National party mini...

National is on track to form a coalition government with ACT at next year’s election. A 1News Kantar poll shows National's support up one percent to 38 percent - and Act up two points to 11 percent. Meanwhile, Labour has slid a point to 33 percent - while the Green Party is holding steady on nine percent. Act Leader David Seymour says he believes Labour is out of touch with what the public want. H...

A business leader doubts the Royal Commission of Inquiry into our Covid response has the right scope. It kicks off February and will look at vaccine mandates, border closures, quarantine and community care. A report is due mid-2024. Australian-based epidemiologist Tony Blakely will chair it, alongside former National party minister Hekia Parata and former Treasury secretary John Whitehead. Busines...

When James Michael Grimes fell overboard from a Carnival cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico, he said the sheer will to live, along with strength from God, kept him alive as he miraculously swam for what he believes was more than 15 hours. Grimes, 28, who described himself as an "average guy" who likes hunting, fishing and being outdoors, was rescued late on Thanksgiving Day and told CNN he is "bles...

Former Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has confirmed that she was advised on Friday that her former staffer Brittany Higgins intends to file a compensation claim — that could climb as high as $3 million. News.com.au revealed over the weekend that Ms Higgins’ legal team had entered negotiations over a bombshell multimillion-dollar personal injury claim. It’s believed the claim includes $2.5 million...

Andrew Saville and Guy Heveldt joined Mike Hosking to discuss the latest action from the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Shane van Gisbergen's coronation, James McDonald becoming top jockey in the world, and Tyson Fury's victory over Deontay Wilder. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Making it big in the US market is what every Kiwi-founded company dreams of — but for Monday Hair Care it has become their reality. The Kiwi company has just renewed its contract to sell its hair care products in Costco USA. After an initial three-month trial from its start in January, Monday became the number one hair care brand in Costco USA. Monday Hair Care co-founder Jaimee Lupton joined Mike...

What is it we are supposed to make of the revelation that the Prime Minister, having told us she didn’t know about her party's attempt to entrench aspects of the Three Waters law, turned out to be in the very meeting where it was discussed? A couple of simple questions. Firstly, where is the media on this? The story had scant coverage - why is that? Is it not a story? Can the media who ignored it,...