The Mike Hosking Breakfast

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to put Russia's deterrence forces, which includes nuclear arms, on high alert are part of a wider pattern of unprovoked escalation and "manufactured threats" from the Kremlin. "This is really a pattern that we've seen from President Putin through the course of this conflict, which is manufacturing th...

Teens are continuing to swap out cigarettes for vapes. According to last year's ASH Year 10 survey, the number of students who smoke cigarettes daily fell from about 2 per cent in 2019, to 1.3 per cent in 2021. That's accompanied by an increase in daily vaping from about three per cent to 9.6 per cent over the same time. ASH director Deborah Hart told Mike Hosking the results are heading in the ri...

Nursing has become a more attractive career path and despite the pandemic, more people want to get into the profession. Figures released by the Ministry of Health through the NZ Nursing Council show almost 65,000 nurses hold practising certificates as of January 2022. That's 8.2 per cent more than when the pandemic began in March 2020, and 12 per cent more than in 2019. Figures released by the Min...

The country's biggest grocery company will be rolling out Rapid Antigen Testing. Foodstuffs, which owns Four Square, New World and PAK'nSAVE will start by sending tests to more than 250 stores for surveillance staff testing. They are expected to be available to customers in some locations by as early as next week. North Island Chief Executive Chris Quin told Mike Hosking the company has made a com...

National's leader is labelling self-isolation rules under the first phase of the border re-opening as "totally nuts". Fully jabbed New Zealanders and eligible travellers in Australia can now travel here, skip MIQ and self-isolate at home for seven days instead. The first flight into Auckland Airport is due at 2:45 pm this afternoon while the first into Christchurch Airport is scheduled for 5:30 pm...

Vladimir Putin is upping the stakes in the conflict in Ukraine following a series of setbacks on the ground. The Russian President has ordered military commanders to put the country's strategic nuclear forces on the highest possible alert, sparking condemnation from the US. It comes after Russia's light-armoured forces have faced a number of heavy defeats. Neil Hauer, a journalist in Ukraine, 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 Government's PCR Testing: 3/10  "58,000 tests a day, no worries.  Whoops, wrong again."     Phase 3 of Omicron Response: 5/10  "Anything that gives the control and decision making back to us and away from those idiots in Wellington is welcome."     Bryan Betty: 8/10  "He'...

Fonterra is getting our first-ever electric milk tanker.   It's part of the announcement made by the Government for funding for climate friendly vehicle and tech projects.   And Fonterra should be able to charge it at new high powered EV charging stations, also part of the announcement.   Chief Operating Officer at Fonterra Fraser Whineray joined Mike Hosking.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/list...

There's a continual push to get the borders open before October.  Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins has announced there will be a lot of changes in the next few weeks - including MIQ winding down.  He says they've always left open the possibility of reopening the border sooner than planned.   Tourism Holdings chief executive Grant Webster told Mike Hosking all they want is a firm date on when...

Russian military troops are continuing to advance into Ukraine.   Russian troops have seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.   Ukraine's President says weapons are available to anyone who wants to defend their country.   New Zealand has joined Western leaders in condemning the attack and imposing sanctions.   Johns Hopkins University's Sergey Radchenko told Mike Hosking there's no good scenario...

Russia has seized control of the Chernobyl nuclear plant - as it continues its advance on Ukraine.  Dozens of people have been killed, amid thousands of attacks across the country - including military strikes on hospitals and other targets in major cities.  Russian forces have breached at least four Ukrainian regions.  Reporter Neil Hauer spoke to Mike Hosking from Kiev - where people are either f...

Health officials say they're not trying to scare people with the Omicron response.  It follows claims from Air New Zealand boss Greg Foran that people aren't flying because they're too scared.  He says schedules have been adjusted, with about a third of customers saying they don't want to travel at the moment.  Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told Mike Hosking he doesn't believe peopl...

New Zealand's joined Western leaders in condemning Russia's attack on Ukraine, and calling on Vladimir Putin to pull back.  Aotearoa has introduced targeted travel bans on Russian Government officials and others associated with the invasion - and won't export goods to Russian military and security forces.   Acting Foreign Affairs Minister David Parker told Mike Hosking while New Zealand isn't invo...

Time to meet another Kiwi music act making plenty of waves overseas.   Mild Orange was formed in 2016 by four Dunedin mates - Josh Mehrtens, Josh Reid, Tom Kelk and Jack Ferguson.   And they're developing quite the fan base - with millions of streams across Spotify and views on YouTube.   They've just released their third album - Looking for Space - and in these Covid times are currently on a sold...

A clear picture of the impact Covid-19 is having on Air New Zealand.  The airline's just posted a statutory loss before taxation of $376 million for the six months to December 31.  Chief executive Greg Foran told Mike Hosking fear's been impacting bookings since the Omicron outbreak began.  He says schedules have been adjusted, with about a third of customers saying they don't want to travel at th...

How is that love affair with Ashley Bloomfield going for you? Did you get the t-shirt or the apron?  For those who beatified him, idolised him, and told everyone how wonderful he was, just what were you specifically basing that on?  I saw through him at the start of the campaign when he kept telling us how there was no issue with the distribution of PPE, despite doctors and nurses, who of course a...

Expect interest rates to continue rising as the Reserve Bank tries to get inflation under control.  The central bank has upped the Official Cash Rate by 25 basis points to one percent.  Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr told Mike Hosking the country's been very fortunate, with strong export prices and business and household balance sheets.  “So we’re in good shape, but interest rates need to go hig...

The private sector is offering a helping hand to the Government.   Rako Science says it's willing to provide extra tests for the Government to help healthcare and key supply chain workers.   RATs will now be the first port of call at testing sites in many parts of the country.   Chief Executive Leon Grice told Mike Hosking they can step in at any time.  “We’ve got the only published and peer-revie...

New Zealanders with mortgages are expected to be hit in the pocket by the latest Official Cash Rate hike.  The Reserve Bank has increased it by a quarter of a percent, to one percent.  Kiwibank chief executive Steve Jurkovich says told Mike Hosking the rates borrowers have been enjoying are historically low.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Annoyance with the Government's constantly changing approach to dealing with Covid-19 in schools.   New rules will mean students will only be considered close contacts if they kiss, cough, share a vape or sing with an infected student.   Teachers are calling for more rapid antigen tests, as teachers and sometimes whole year groups are sent home.   Auckland Secondary Principals Association Presiden...

Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt says the concerns of the protesters need to be listened to.  He told Mike Hosking it's unclear how long the protest will last, but the feelings behind the protest will last much longer.  “The issues are going to remain, whether the protesters remain or not, so we have to keep talking and listening. I think that’s really important.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnyst...

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

It's an odd, old day when educationalists are at war with the government. After all, education is a heavily unionised profession and the Labour Party is the party of the unions. But primary principals can't for the life of them see why the government would be moving to ban schools enrolling foreign students. They are angry, they say, because they can only see upside to having kids from offshore th...

Kumara rum is something you might not have heard about before.  A new Kiwi start-up called Bayside Rum has launched its first kumara rum - which is done by distilling kumara mash molasses in wine caskets that used to have pinot noir in them.  Egor Petrov is the man behind Bayside Rum - he launched it in just December last year but it's already in some of our most prestigious bars.   Egor joined Mi...

There's doubt looser self-isolation rules for healthcare workers would solve staff shortages.  Non-urgent surgeries have been canned for at least four weeks at Auckland City Hospital and Greenlane Hospital.   Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton told Mike Hosking the care of people who don't have Covid is already being delayed.  She says hospital staff having...