The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The value of Graeme Wheeler writing the report he has on the Reserve Bank and the shambles it’s made of the economy, is it shows us and shines real light on one of life's simple but often forgotten truths. Just because you are touted as an expert doesn’t mean you actually know what you are doing. Wheeler was our Reserve Bank Governor from 2012 to 2017. He joins, by the way, Don Brash who also held...

We are into the age of testing gene editing on humans when it comes to looking into heart disease issues. Earlier this month a New Zealander was the first person to be injected with gene-editing instructions to try and modify a single part of their DNA to stop it producing bad cholesterol. It has been used on monkeys in the past, which resulted in a 70 percent reduction in cholesterol levels. Dr. ...

More signs of a slowdown in the housing market. CoreLogic is now forecasting for the cooling of the property market to continue for the rest of the year. And ANZ says a fall to house prices is becoming more likely, as higher than expected inflation forces the Reserve Bank to raise the Official Cash Rate faster than expected. Chief Economist Sharon Zollner told Mike Hosking ANZ is now forecasting t...

There are suggestions we could be guilty of sleeping on what could be the biggest Commonwealth Games we've seen. Ticket sales are through the roof, with more than 1.2 million have sold which would make it the most attended edition of the games in 22 editions. There's also estimated to be a TV audience of one billion over the entirety of the games. Newstalk ZB sports reporter Kate Wells is in Birmi...

An interesting insight this morning into the mind of us all as investors. Kiwi Wealth's annual State of the Investor Nation report is out this morning. It has found that 37 percent of us feel less wealthy than we did 12 months ago, but we also have come to accept how important some level of investing is. We have a record amount in KiwiSaver at the moment, 69 percent, and a growing number are movin...

Supermarkets could face huge fines if they breach the Government's new code of conduct for the sector. A cabinet paper shows supermarkets may be fined up to $10 million or three times any commercial gain they get from any breach. If that figure cannot be calculated, they may be fined up to ten percent of revenue during the breach period. Consumer NZ Chief Executive Jon Duffy told Mike Hosking says...

National says an independent review of the Reserve Bank is crucial to ensuring mistakes from the past aren't repeated. Governor Adrian Orr has acknowledged interest rate decisions he has made during the Covid-19 pandemic, have contributed to inflation reaching the level it has. It follows criticism from his predecessor, Graeme Wheeler. National Leader Christopher Luxon told Mike Hosking the centra...

There has never been a worse time to be on the Jobseeker benefit. And yet 100,000 are. Tens of thousands more than were on it when the current government arrived in power. How on Earth is that possible? And when are enough hard questions going to be asked about a government that protects the lazy, those without ambition, and a belief that the state, i.e you and I, should be paying their bills whil...

Claims the outbreak of inflation in many economies is due to mistakes made by central banks. It comes in the form of a new paper, co-authored by former governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Graeme Wheeler, and the New Zealand Initiative's Dr. Bryce Wilkinson. They say central banks overall were too confident about their monetary policy framework and thought they could control output and empl...

More than 100 former rugby players are taking legal action over what they say was a failure to protect them from permanent injury caused by repeated concussions during their careers. Many players in the group suffer from neurological impairments like early onset dementia, epilepsy, Parkinson’s Disease and Motor Neurone Disease. The group is represented by Rrylands Legal, which says the claim isn't...

Business leaders want an end to Covid-19 isolation rules for household contacts, to help ease staff shortages. Instead, they want a test, pass, work protocol so people who aren't sick are able to carry on working. The Employers and Manufacturers' Association's Alan McDonald told Mike Hosking it would be helpful, but thinks it's unlikely the Government will agree anytime soon. "Just with the pressu...

The number of school students dropping completely off the radar has doubled over the pandemic. Latest truancy data shows just 46 percent of students attended school regularly in term one, down from 65 percent in term four last year. However, Te Ora Hou Otautahi data shows 766 Canterbury students are out of the system completely, up from 400 pre-pandemic. Project Manager Simon Britten told Mike Hos...

Of course, there's been a spotlight on law and order, crime, and our justice system in this country. Police have admitted some crimes are on the up - as ram raids, drive by shooting and violent attacks spike. But one of the questions that's remained unanswered - is where does our judiciary fit into this? Rosemary Riddell was a Hamilton District and Family Court judge for 12 years - and has written...

The Agriculture Minister says it's important all New Zealanders understand the risks posed by foot and mouth disease. Fragments of it have now been found on meat imported to Australia. And staff from MPI have been working with officials in Indonesia, to help contain an outbreak there. Damien O'Connor told Mike Hosking the Indonesian outbreak is different, as the country hasn't had the disease befo...

Personnel changes are coming to the All Blacks in time for the Rugby Championship. John Plumtree and Brad Mooar have been sacked as assistant coaches and the Crusader's Jason Ryan will take control of the forwards. Head coach Ian Foster will temporarily also be in charge of the backs. Former All Black Ian Jones joined Mike Hosking to give his thoughts on the appointments. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystud...

It seems TikTok can even influence what we choose to read. The Whitcoulls top 10 is out this morning - and the usual likes of Harry Potter dominate the list. But 20 out of the top 100 are books that rose to fame thanks to BookTok - a section of TikTok that's dedicated to book reviews and endorsements. Marketing manager at publisher Hachette NZ Sacha Beguely uses BookTok to advertise and she joined...

As schools return, let’s begin the term with a little Economics 101. When you artificially inject yourself into an economy with the view to helping people out financially, what do you do? Do you: Give the help to everyone no matter whether they need it or not? Give it those who need it most? When do you stop, and under what circumstances? Was any of this explained in a way at the start that would...

Andrew Saville and Guy Heveldt joined Mike Hosking to wrap the weekend's sport. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Efforts to turn the tide on harmful content online. NetSafe has reached an agreement with Meta, Google, TikTok, Amazon and Twitter for a code of practice, obliging the tech giants to actively reduce damaging material.  It's self-regulated and voluntary, but NetSafe's Brent Carey told Mike Hosking it'll hold the companies accountable through a public complaints process. He says that'll help determi...

As the school gates reopen for another term, teachers are throwing their support behind new Covid-19 guidelines. The Ministry of Education has written to schools asking them to enforce mask wearing policies. Auckland Primary Principals Association President Wendy Kofoed told Mike Hosking mask-wearing is a small price to keep kids in the classroom. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

A compromise is being proposed in the controversial Three Waters reform. The Bill currently before select committee would transfer responsibility for all tap water, sewage and stormwater from local councils to four new regional agencies. Now the body representing councils, Local Government New Zealand, has put forward the idea of local bodies keeping control of stormwater. President Stuart Crosby...

James Shaw might not have paid close enough attention to dissatisfaction within his own party. The Greens have voted to reopen nominations for Shaw's co-leadership position, as part of the annual process of reconfirming their two leaders. Former Green MP Gareth Hughes told Mike Hosking the party has always been distrustful of leadership and power. He says the whole party was set up as a new way of...

Joe Biden has tested positive for Covid-19. The President, 79, is experiencing "very mild symptoms", the White House said in a statement, as new variants of the highly contagious virus are challenging the nation's efforts to get back to normal after two and a half years of pandemic disruptions. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden has begun taking Paxlovid, an antiviral drug d...

The Government is making yet another attempt to fix our housing issues with its multi-billion dollar fund for housing infrastructure. Now officially up and running with seven regional schemes to put in all the basic infrastructure needed to support subdivisions. You've just heard the Minister insist this isn't doubling up or even tripling up on work that should be paid for by developers, or by the...

Kerre Woodham and Tim Wilson joined Tim Dower to wrap the week's news. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.