The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Phoenix Foundation are back, sort of. To honour the 40th anniversary of Simon and Garfunkel's concert in Central Park, artists Sam Scott and Luke Buda will be performing a tribute alongside other Kiwi names at Auckland's Civic Theatre. Sam and Luke joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spain has approved plans to become the first European country to introduce unlimited paid menstrual leave in the workplace. The draft law lets women suffering severe period pain take time off as long as they can provide a doctor's note. Questions have been asked as to whether we should introduce the same in New Zealand. Danika Revell is co-founder and CEO of The Period Place charity and joined Mik...

The fishing industry could be washed up within weeks over spiralling fuel prices. There are suggestions that seeing as the trucking industry gets the benefit of the fuel cut, so should the fisheries. Craig Boote is the Managing Director of Westfleet Seafoods and wants all fuel users to be treated the same. Boote joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former police officer believes a lack of action in reporting gang-related shootings may be an act of pragmatism. There are concerns over a sense of apathy around shootings, after multiple people heard gunshots in Wairoa - but didn't report them to police. Chester Borrows was chair of the Justice Advisory Group while an MP. The former cop told Mike Hosking it's difficult to have a context around...

The Government is being urged to invest in health staff, medicine and dental care in today's Budget. What it plans to spend billions on will be made public at two this afternoon. Immediate Past President of the College of Emergency Medicine, Dr John Bonning told Mike Hosking he wants to see emphasis on acute care. “We need more beds and nurses, access to diagnostics and theatre so we can admit our...

Hopes the poor will get a look in in today's Budget. Wellington City Missioner Murray Edridge says low income earners are being unfairly hit by the cost of living. He's particularly concerned by the rising cost of food. Edridge told Mike Hosking the Government can't rest on its laurels. “We’re still seeing people, in fact, we’re seeing people worse off because of economic circumstances and Covid a...

Obviously there has been a fair bit of feedback to yesterday's James Shaw Special on this show, in which he appeared to not know a lot about what had been announced in his specialist area. The overall reaction sums it up, a plan to make a lot of plans Someone else said it might be significant, but then it might be nothing. Hard core campaigners fumed at the fact farming seemed to get off paying fo...

MPs Mark Mitchell and Megan Woods joined Mike Hosking to preview Budget Day, a discussion about Waka Kotahi having 88 press staff as well as the recently announced Emissions Reduction Plan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hutt Valley DHB expects some anxiety among patients after the hospital’s main building was deemed earthquake-prone.  The Heretaunga Block, holding almost 80 percent of the facility's beds, is only 15 per cent earthquake safe.  The news has also put on hold multi-million dollar plans to upgrade maternity services.  But DHB member Prue Lamason told Mike Hosking the hospital won’t be closing anytime...

Promises have come from this country's telcos that they're cleaning up their act. The sector received a telling off from the Commerce Commission last year for confusing customers with their marketing. Now the sector has new codes of conduct which include the customer being able to walk away from a service without penalty if it "materially fails to deliver" and speed of internet advertisements bein...

A suggestion the ram raid spate may be an attempt by  kids to gain street cred. Just this week there have been multiple ramraids in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. One attack on a petrol station was done with a stolen digger in Lower Hutt's Wainuiomata. The Graeme Dingle Foundation says crimes like these are often done to gain respect from other criminals. Youth Development Programme Leader...

Disinformation is festering during the Covid pandemic - because we aren't breaking our ideological bubbles. New Auckland University analysis of tens of millions of social media posts and videos,  has found February's protest at Parliament sparked a "tectonic shift" in the spread of disinformation. It included racist and violent disinformation, and Russian-linked propaganda about Ukraine. Researche...

Staffing shortages are causing headaches for Auckland firefighters. The Professional Firefighters Union says last weekend there were 23 gaps in coverage for the Auckland region. The union's Auckland secretary, Martin Campbell told Mike Hosking it's not a new problem. He says there's been a lack of planning for hiring career firefighters in the past 10 to 15 years. Fire and Emergency says there is...

Vaccine fatigue is thought to be the reason for a slow uptake in this year's flu jab roll out. Ministry of Health figures show 736,000 vaccines have been administered so far - fewer than 15 percent of the population. Only one in five people are eligible for a free flu jab. General Practice New Zealand Chair Jeff Lowe told Mike Hosking it's just as important to get vaccinated for the flu, as it is...

Whether The Warehouse dip their toes back into the supermarket game properly may well be an insight into the reality of the supermarket game in this country. And whether or not the Commerce Commission was ever really needed to provide the report they did into the sector. There was much upset from those who believed we are getting ripped off when the Commission didn’t appear to find any of it. They...

Liam Lawson and Marcus Armstrong have been flying the New Zealand flag high in Formula Two this season, with Lawson fourth and Armstrong seventh after four races. The pair joined Mike Hosking to give an update on the season so far and what the future holds. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chloe Gong is a Kiwi author who has topped the New York Times bestseller list with her novels since she was a teenager. Her most notable work is These Violent Delights, and the sequel Our Violent Ends. Now she has a spin-off duology out to those two books, called Foul Lady Fortune. Chloe Gong joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Omicron, staffing and supply chain issues are stalling economic momentum. New research from Infometrics shows economic activity has picked up slightly in the first three months of this year. However, the shortage of workers and materials is proving a hindrance. But Infometrics Economist Brad Olsen told Mike Hosking when you factor in Auckland's period in lockdown, there's almost no growth at all....

A lot of details around the Government's emissions reduction plan still remain a mystery. It includes a goal to have 30 percent of people driving zero emission cars by 2035. Climate Change Minister James Shaw says the car replacement scheme would apply to those near the minimum wage,  but he hasn't given an exact number. He told Mike Hosking the Government is been forced to play catch up. Shaw say...

New Zealand school kids with autism are almost three times as likely to be stood down or suspended compared to those without autism. The research by Otago University shows out one out of 20 autistic children are stood down or suspended, compared to the usual one in fifty. Dane Dougan, CEO of Autism NZ joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are hopes this will be the last investigation into Cycling New Zealand. A long-awaited inquiry into the organisation, which follows the death of Olivia Podmore last year, found its high-performance system prioritises medals over wellbeing. It's also found athletes have a fear of reprisals for raising issues with coaches and management. High Performance New Zealand Chief Executive Raelene Cas...

Winston Peters is ruling out a run in next month's Tauranga by-election. Nominations close at midday in the race to replace National MP Simon Bridges, with the final candidates confirmed at 4pm. The New Zealand First Leader had been tipped to stand. But he told Mike Hosking he nor his party will be standing, and thinks the whole by-election is a waste of taxpayer money. "At a time when we've got s...

Andrew Saville and Guy Heveldt joined Mike Hosking to talk the passing of Andrew Symonds, Brendon McCullum's new England gig, the weekend's Super Rugby, the Cycling New Zealand report, and the Warriors' game of two halves against the Rabbitohs. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese are making last-ditch efforts ahead of Australia's election this coming Saturday. Recent polls show Morrison's Liberal-National coalition will likely lose to Labor. Morrison yesterday announced a housing policy aimed at boosting homeownership. Australia correspondent Steve Price told Mike Hosking more than a million people have already voted. “That means that an...

Ashley Bloomfield was back Friday to spook you again, just like the good old days. The trouble for the Government's fear campaign is it's over. It’s a bust. It's the evolution, or the anatomy, of a campaign that for a while was highly successful. A lot of us believed the fear and the predictions. A lot of us hung on every word of the epidemiologists as they became household names and seemed to hav...