The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The agriculture sector is looking for support in today's Emission Reduction Plan.  Dairy NZ Chief Executive Tim Mackle told Mike Hosking a lot of technology is being created to make farming greener. “Unsurprisingly, a lot of the candidates we’ve been working on, we’ve just got to move faster on them. I’m an optimist on this, I think we can do it.” Meanwhile, Victoria University lecturer Adrian Mac...

It's still not clear why Liverpool fans took aim at Prince William at the FA Cup Final. Boos rang out around Wembley Stadium as the Duke of Cambridge, who's president of the Football Association, was introduced to Chelsea and Liverpool players before kick-off. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Mike Hosking it's a shameful and unacceptable thing to do. “It’s been broken bound into whether...

The 18-year-old suspected of opening fire at a Buffalo supermarket Saturday told authorities he was targeting the Black community, according to an official familiar with the investigation. The alleged gunman made very disturbing statements describing his motive and state of mind following his arrest, the official said. The statements were clear and filled with hate toward the Black community. Inve...

The Government's move to enforce collective bargaining under its Fair Pay legislation could breach international labour law.   Collective bargaining would be made compulsory under the proposals.  And while the UN's International Labour Organisation promotes the practice it does not enforce it.  BusinessNZ Chief Kirk Hope told Mike Hosking the move could put New Zealand on a list of the world's wor...

An Auckland mayoral candidate is throwing his support behind congestion charging. It's expected it will be included in the Government's Emission Reduction Plan being released today. Efeso Collins says the Government needs to prove a charge will reduce emissions and be equitable. He told Mike Hosking it's much better than the regional fuel tax. “Why I voted against the regional fuel tax in the firs...

A sports sociologist says too often athletes with concerns are bullied or silenced. The findings of an enquiry into Cycling New Zealand will be released this afternoon. It follows the suspected suicide of Olympic cyclist Olivia Podmore last August. Waikato University's Holly Thorpe told Mike Hosking athletes need to feel safe about speaking up. “The abuses of power from coaches and athletes, often...

District Health Boards aim to restart pay talks this week. Allied health workers including dental therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists and anaesthetic technicians have walked off the job. Emergency care is still available. An 11th-hour offer by the DHBs to stop the strike was turned down and labelled as a kick in the guts by the Public Service Association. Health Minister Andrew Little told...

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.   The Immigration Reset: 4/10 "Because it's driven by the overarching view that less is more. In the case of a country so short of skills, it simply isn't true."   Simon Henry: 2/10 "Made the list last week as dick of the week. Amazingly, he is back for more with that two-line ap...

Bit of reading you might be interested in if you follow the Australian election campaign.   It's a piece about Clive Palmer and how he will do well in Victoria; look up "Palmer's People" in the Sydney Morning Herald. You may see a trend or two that could play out here next year. Meantime, in Australia, although it isn't over, it looks like the tide has gone out on the Australian government. The ti...

As high new numbers of workplace bullying are revealed, questions are being asked as to whether the issue is we can't actually deal with the sheer volume of the problem. Workplace say about 10 percent of the workforce, roughly 300,000 people, deal with harassment every year, while 10 percent of that group, roughly 30,000 deal with the next level which is considered workplace bullying. Worksafe say...

There has been a lot of pettiness in politics in recent weeks – with some suggesting it is a sign of a government under pressure. Just recently we have had the situation with Mark Mitchell and Poto Williams which culminated in Mitchell not being allowed to sit at Williams’ table at Copperfield’s, the Parliament cafeteria that's considered neutral ground. Then yesterday it was revealed Gerry Brownl...

A defibrillator initiative by the New Zealand Rugby Foundation is already paying dividends. Back in 2019 former All Blacks doctor John Mayhew had a cardiac arrest and would have died if there hadn't been a defibrillator nearby. Since the incident the foundation has been working on getting a defibrillator on the sidelines of every rugby club in the country. And it's already paying off, with a Taran...

New Zealand is launching a trade dispute against Canada in a growing dairy backlash. The Government's arguing we don't have as much access to the Canadian export market as promised. The dispute is the first lodged under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Dairy Companies Association Chairman Malcolm Bailey told Mike Hosking this is a good move. He says Canada...

National says the Government needs to rein in spending to avoid adding to the inflationary pressures facing the economy. Finance Minister Grant Robertson is due to release his budget next Thursday. New Stats NZ figures show the cost of living is continuing to rise - with food prices increasing more than six percent over the past 12 months. National finance spokesperson Nicola Willis told Mike Hosk...

Jon Toogood and Shihad reunited last year with their new album Old Gods. There was supposed to be a tour with it - Covid has seen those dates pushed out, but they have been across the ditch for a couple of shows. And now to celebrate New Zealand Music Month – Toogood is heading on the road with his acoustic guitar with a series of solo shows around the country. Jon Toogood joined Mike Hosking in s...

Funny how the old corporate world works. Countdown freezes prices. Or do they? No one believes them, thus indicating whether they are or not, they are probably wasting their time. Not to be outdone, Foodstuffs enters and tells us they are reducing the price of more than 100 items by 10 percent. Are they? I think the same number of people who believe the Countdown claim believe the Foodstuffs claim...

There is a new company that has gone gangbusters when it comes to helping sort out the biggest waste issue with the wine industry. Repost is a Marlborough company that repurposes toxic treated vineyard posts, saving hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste going into landfill and turning it into useable posts for fencing farms. So far, since the company began during 2020, Repost has diverted 720 tonnes o...

The Government has announced our border will fully reopen on the 31st of july - students can come back, cruise ships can come back and pre-departure tests will eventually go. The announcement came with big immigration changes. There will be a green list of hard to fill skill roles that we will prioritise visas for, a reworked accredited employer work visa with new rules around having to pay worker...

It's hoped the supermarket industry’s pledges to reduce prices will help all of us at the checkout. Foodstuffs is taking an average 10 percent off more than 100 items in their stores from Monday, in a bid to ease rising costs for shoppers.  It comes after Countdown's recent announcement of a price freeze on many of their items.  Vegetables New Zealand Director John Murphy told Mike Hosking the dis...

Universities face work to get fully back into the international student market. The borders fully re-open from August - two months ahead of schedule. International students can also start the process to enter the country. Universities New Zealand chief executive Chris Whelan says it's too late for students to come in for semester two - but puts New Zealand back in the market for next year. He says...

A thumbs down for the Government's new immigration settings. The new range of measures includes one visa for accredited employers and a green list of professions which will receive fast tracked processes. Immigration Lawyer Aaron Martin told Mike Hosking it won't be fair for those who aren't on that green list. He says there's still no path to residency for those who aren't on that green list, and...

A controversial new proposed mine on the West Coast has been given the green light. Westland Mineral Sands has been given consent to mine 500,000 tonnes of heavy mineral concentrate over seven years, from a site at Cape Foulwind. Minerals West Coast Manager Patrick Phelps told Mike Hosking this is good news for mining workers on the coast. He says it's expected to open up at least 40 jobs to start...

As I have said a number of times, my biggest frustration with this country at the moment is it is not what it could be. And it's not what it has been. We lack an aspiration and determination to be great. We are muddlers, we are dabblers and we are led from the top by a bunch of out of touch theorists who have provided an unprecedented amount of damage to our culture and economy. We have largely wo...

When you're working from home anyway, how sick do you have to be to actually call in sick? The US and UK  have seen record low sickness absences as people worked from home, meaning we're trying to power through instead of resting like we normally would. Jason Ennor, CEO of My HR joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia has just stripped 20 percent of its school curriculum content in a big revamp of maths and literacy in particular. Changes to literacy include a greater use of phonics, and getting rid of predictable texts and the three cueing system that encourages children to guess words when learning to read. By the time they're eight, Australian kids will be expected to be able to read fluently. Alic...