The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Tax cuts, a big fuel excise cut and cash payments are leading the headlines when it comes to the Australian budget.   Frydenberg announced the tax offsets amount to billions of dollars, potentially saved by the $7.7 billion less in jobseeker payments because of the low unemployment rate.  It still leaves a budget hole of $78 billion for this current financial year, which they hope contracts to $43...

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has officially opened Transmission Gully in a ribbon cutting ceremony on site this morning.  The event marks a long awaited milestone for the new $1.25 billion motorway out of Wellington that has been bogged down with delays, construction defects and budget blowouts.  Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has instructed the contractor to open the road by the end of March. T...

Barcelona has officially been confirmed as the next venue of the America's Cup, replacing Auckland of hosting duties for the 2024 event.  Emirates Team New Zealand and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron made the announcement overnight, confirming the 37th running of the event to be held in September and October of 2024.  Team New Zealand successfully defended the Auld Mug last year with a 7-3 vi...

So, the news is Barcelona is it. The America's Cup is moving for 2024.  I think for those who don't like this, you have to see the story in two separate parts.  Part one, is it a shame it's not here? Yes. Would it bring economic benefit if it was? Yes. We all want it here, that part isn't actually a debate.  But, and this is part two, if you can't do it here and win, what other choice do you have?...

It's one of life's ironies. Feedback I have got over the years on the America's Cup is how much we hate it, how many rich pricks are involved, and how no one cares. And so it goes, until racing starts and the nation comes to a stop.  Now the feedback I am getting is how unfair it all is that it won't be held here anymore, almost as though we will miss it and we quite liked it when we had it.  Prob...

Time to meet another kiwi music act starting to make an impact.   The Fisher brothers - Brandford, Tyler, Joshua and Conrad formed the band Coterie a couple of years ago.  They're based in Perth - and they're gathering plenty of momentum.   They've amassed millions of streams already - and their single Cool It Down dominated the charts over summer.   Tyler and Conrad Fisher joined Mike Hosking.  L...

The Oscars film academy has confirmed it's launching a formal review of Will Smith's assault of Chris Rock.  In a statement, the academy says it will "explore further action and consequences" in accordance with California law, and its own standards of conduct.  It's understood to be considering stripping Smith of his Best Actor award.  LA entertainment reporter Kristyn Burtt told Mike Hosking Smit...

The international film industry is being reminded New Zealand is open for business.  Dame Jane Campion has won her second Oscar - this one for best director for The Power of the Dog which was filmed in South Island locations and Auckland studios.   Film Commission Chief Executive David Strong, who's in Los Angeles for the awards, told Mike Hosking Campion has put Otago and the country back on the...

Northland are crying out for some tourism help that they say should be extended by the Government beyond the South Island.   Earlier this month, the mayor, Northland Inc. and tourism industry leader Riki Kinnaird met with Stuart Nash and Kelvin Davis, asking for the $49 million kick start fund to include all regions throughout the country.   Currently, it's only available for five South Island reg...

A thumbs down from the AA, for Auckland Transport's parking plan.   Auckland Transport wants to make cars the lowest priority for kerbside space and wants to remove parking for 240 kilometres of road.   Roads likely to get the parking chop include Onewa Road, Lake Road, Great North Road, Mt Eden Road and Manukau Road.   AA's Policy Director Martin Glynn told Mike Hosking it adds to other policies...

China's proposed military agreement with the Solomon Islands could change the balance of power in our part of the world.  Our government is planning to raise its concerns about the deal directly with Chinese diplomats.  It could see the Solomon Islands agree to allow Chinese security forces and military assets, like war ships, to be stationed in and around the Pacific country.  Strategic analyst P...

The brain drain appears to be well and truly underway.  A revised Kiwibank forecast suggests the number of people leaving the country will outnumber the number of people moving here by 20,000 this year.  The net emigration is expected to match levels seen during the Australian mining boom a decade ago.  Kiwibank Chief Economist Jarrod Kerr told Mike Hosking it's likely to be those who've been long...

Scott Morrison says he and Josh Frydenberg have “done their homework”, and will present a budget that will ease cost-of-living burdens on Australian families. With an election due to be called at any moment following Tuesday’s budget, the government is under pressure to throw everything they can to ensure all Australians benefit from the suite of packages. Both the Prime Minister and the Treasurer...

One of two things is going on inside the government. One, they know they are in trouble and likely to lose the next election so they're going hell for leather and getting as much of their agenda in place as they can. Or are they literally are completely removed from the real world and don’t have a clue? How else do you explain today's activity at Cabinet that involves them moving forward on Māori...

Andrew Saville and Guy Heveldt joined Mike Hosking to talk Super Rugby - including Moana Pasfika's golden-point victory over the Hurricanes, hosting of the America's Cup, Ash Barty, Shane van Gisbergen, and the Warriors' first win of the season. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We know how good we are with dairy, but apparently, we excel when it comes to all kinds of milk in this country. Hawkes Bay’s Kabocha Milk Company has won two Global Awards at the World Food Innovations in London for their Kabochamilk. It’s milk made from pumpkin or squash. They won the Best Health and Wellness Drink and the Best Plant-Based Beverage. Nick Siu, one of the founders of Kabocha Milk...

How much of an impact will the Government’s plans for maths and literacy actually have? There will be different training for teachers, more support for them and a new system of tests to measure kids’ ability levels. But not everyone is happy with it and one group that isn’t is Lifting Literacy Aotearoa. Lifting Literacy Aotearoa Chair Alice Wilson joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.c...

At nearly the same moment President Joe Biden declared him a "butcher," Vladimir Putin's missiles began falling in Lviv, Ukraine. Sending black smoke and flames billowing into the air, and injuring at least five people, the strikes on a fuel depot pierced what had been relative calm in the western hub city that had seen relatively little of the war that has engulfed the nation. The target hardly s...

Dame Jane Campion's Netflix film, Power of the Dog, is up for 12 awards at this afternoon's Oscar ceremony. One of the New Zealanders nominated along with her is Grant Major, who’s up for Best Production Design. He told Mike Hosking there are still some Covid precautions in place for this year's awards. “There is still a lot of mask-wearing, and we do have to do a lot of protocol, believe me, just...

Are we getting value for money within our prison system? Research from Newstalk ZB shows that it’s cost us an extra $140 million since 2018/19 — up from $1.1 to $1.3 billion. It also costs more per prisoner — each person behind bars costs about $150,000 per year, a 20 per cent increase. All of this while the prison population has decreased by 25 per cent in the same time period. Corrections Associ...

Non-Maori are being urged not to fear co-governance arrangements. It comes as the Government's set to consider the next steps in developing a plan around Maori self-determination. Cabinet is due to be handed feedback from Maori on the UN's declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. Consultation included talks around the He Puapua document, which suggests co-governance and Maori-run arrangeme...

The Government's forging ahead with a plan to force petrol retailers to blend biofuels into conventional fuel. It's expected to push petrol and diesel prices up by 5 to 10 cents a litre by 2025. Gull General Manager Dave Bodger says the company has put ten per cent ethanol into its premium petrol for nearly 15 years. He told Mike Hosking it means the internal combustion engine keeps running and we...

Have a look at the new bridge in Turkey that opened this week. It's the world's longest suspension bridge and it's spectacular.  They claim it will generate twice what it cost in economic returns. It produced 118,000 jobs.  What stands out about it for me is not just the fact it's spectacular, but the fact that Turkey did it. They're not really one of the planet's great economic powerhouses.  And...

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.     Moving On from Covid: 7/10  "Far from perfect, but we will take it.  There's a sense that the light is not just at the end of the tunnel, it's actually quite close now."     The Stuff New Zealand Isn't Good at: 3/10  "Bit of a wakeup call this week. We had the infrastructure...

A male contraceptive pill could be on the horizon.   Researchers have run clinical trials which have come up with a non-hormonal solution that was 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy in mice.  Science Educator Michelle Dickinson says human trials are scheduled for the end of this year. She told Mike Hosking the fact that's it's non-hormonal is a big breakthrough.   Dickinson says previous...