The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Australia’s First Lady Jenny Morrison has criticised former Australian of the Year Grace Tame, saying she was “disappointed” by the recent exchange the pair shared at The Lodge in Canberra. Ms Tame was among the guests welcomed to The Lodge for a morning tea on January 25, ahead of the Australian of the Year Awards in Canberra. Tame and her fiance Max Heerey were welcomed by Prime Minister Scott M...

Kiwis are back in action at the Winter Olympics today. Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, Cool Wakushima and Tiarn Collins will attempt to qualify in the Big Air event in snowboarding and in the skiing, Finn Bilous and Ben Barclay compete in the slopestyle event. But there is a Kiwi connection behind the scenes at the Winter Olympics. Hayden McGill is working at the Games as a snow groomer. McGill joined Mike...

National security adviser Jake Sullivan issued a stark warning Sunday that the United States believes Russia could launch an invasion of Ukraine this week, but is still holding out hope diplomacy can prevail. Sullivan told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" that Russian forces are positioned so that an invasion could take place before the end of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which end on Feb...

A call for New Zealanders to learn the carbon footprint of their grocery shop is yet to get off the ground. There's concern the country is lagging behind when it comes to helping shoppers slash carbon emissions. Food retailers in Europe have brought in receipts telling shoppers the carbon footprint of their purchase. But Kiwi Tech Company Cogo has found it more difficult to get food retailers on b...

Hopes the appointment of New Zealand's first Aged Care Commissioner will provide a voice for the sector. Carolyn Cooper, former Managing Director of Bupa Villages & Aged Care, has been appointed as the inaugural commissioner. Radius Care Managing Director Brian Cree says the industry is full of hard-working people. He told Mike Hosking they're dealing with systemic issues. “It’s chronically underf...

Super Bowl LVI, America’s biggest sports day, takes place later today. The Los Angeles Rams are playing at home to the Cincinnati Bengals. Until last year, a Super Bowl never had a home team play on the ground and now it’s happened twice in a row. Former NFL all-pro fullback Lorenzo Neal joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A suggestion the Government has moved too slowly to stop anti-mandate protests. It's the seventh day they have been camped out at Parliament. Former Police negotiator Lance Burdett says a negotiator should have been deployed around day three. He says police and the government aren't on the same page. Burdett told Mike Hosking a different intervention is needed. “Give us five of your representative...

The Grounded Kiwis legal battle kicks off this morning. The group is taking the Government to the High Court in a Judicial Review over MIQ. They claim the Government's acted unlawfully, unreasonably and in breach of the Bill of Rights Act that states every New Zealand citizen has the right to enter New Zealand. Martelli McKegg partner and litigation head Jacque Lethbridge told Mike Hosking it allo...

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 Protest: 3/10  "It didn’t work, it wasn’t Groundswell, it wasn’t well organised, it had mixed messages, too many nutters, and too many angry people.  Protests make a point and sway a debate, this one just pissed everyone off."   Rapid Antigen Tests: 1/10  "We had the revela...

Decades of New Zealand sporting history have been secured for generations to come.  Work has finally wrapped up on converting tens of thousands of hours of Sky TV's sports coverage from the last 30 years from tape to digital format.  Joe Kelly is the General Manager at Damsmart, the organisation contracted to digitise the tapes.  He told Mike Hosking the project has taken 12 months.  “There’s a lo...

Chris Hipkins is rejecting suggestions the close contact exemption scheme is too admin heavy.  In phase two of our Omicron outbreak, critical business workers found to be close contacts won't need to isolate, if they return negative rapid antigen tests.  But businesses will still need to apply online, and meet criteria set out by the Government.  The Covid-19 Response Minister told Mike Hosking th...

Israel Adesanya has a big fight on his hands this weekend.   He has a rematch against Australian Robert Whittaker after Adesanya got the best of him in 2019.  It will be the fourth time the Last Stylebender defends his middleweight belt, the belt he first won off Whittaker.  The fight also comes just after Adesanya has apparently signed the second-largest UFC contract in history, according to the...

A butcher believes the new close contact exemption scheme, raises more questions than answers.   Under the scheme, critical business workers won't have to isolate if they're identified as a close contact at phase two of the Omicron outbreak.  That's if they return daily negative rapid antigen tests.  Businesses can go online now and apply if they think they meet the criteria.  Westmere Butchery Ow...

An absence of any central leadership is making things difficult for police, as they try to wrangle protesters at Parliament.  There were over 120 arrests yesterday, with many ordered to stay off the site for at least two years.   As well, two officers were injured and a throng of parking tickets issued to vehicles illegally parked nearby.  Auckland University political extremism researcher Chris W...

Hospitality businesses will continue to ask for government support, as more close their doors.  Latest figures from the Restaurant Association show businesses are reporting a 30 percent decrease in year-on-year revenues.  Eftpos data also shows a 30 percent decrease in transactions in January, with hospitality being one of the hardest hit sectors.  Auckland Restaurant Association President Krishna...

Apparently a lot of us are online stalkers when it comes to our potential dates.   Findings from a global study involving New Zealanders on online dating found two thirds of us would look up their future date's social media profile before going on said date.  And then 37 percent would actually cancel the date once they found out more about their potential partner.   So just how much has online dat...

A new education report released this morning shows a lot of parents are worried about their child's learning.   One Choice have done another of their education reports, the Kiwi Education report, and found 57% of parents are worried their kid's learning has suffered during the pandemic and half say it's impacted their decision around school choice.   3 in 10 think there's no question their kids ha...

Little to show for a multi-million dollar housing policy.   Only 58 families have moved into homes under the Government's Progressive Home Ownership Scheme.  It's been 19 months since the $400 million scheme launched in July 2020.   Housing Minister Megan Woods told Mike Hosking they've never done progressive home ownership in the country before and it's complicated.  “This is where the Government...

A concert promoter is frustrated at the lack of support for the sector.  Several events have already been cancelled this year due to the Omicron outbreak.  The latest includes Wellington's Homegrown Music Festival and New Plymouth's Womad.  Capital C Concerts Owner Phil Sprey told Mike Hosking it's devastating to see more concerts being pulled for another year.  “We’ve actually to the Government,...

Protestors at Parliament are being told they need to pack up and go away.  Anti-mandate demonstrators are camped out on the grounds in central Wellington, for what would be a third day.  Mayor Andy Foster told Mike Hosking he wants people in Wellington to be able to get back to their normal business.  “So from my perspective, the protesters have made their point.”  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com...

At 10am Hipkins and Verrall are setting out "the plan to support key businesses and supply chains" so businesses can make some money during phases two and three of our response.   What they really want to hear is what is going to happen with the Rapid Antigen Tests and how they will be distributed.   Employers and Manufacturers Association chief executive Brett O'Riley joined Mike Hosking.  LISTEN...

A group of anti-mandate protesters camped out on Parliament grounds are ignoring the call to move on.  Speaker Trevor Mallard has threatened to trespass the group, who have camped there overnight.  They're among thousands of people who descended on Parliament and the Wellington CBD yesterday, bringing the city centre to a standstill.  National MP Mark Mitchell and Cabinet Minister Stuart Nash told...

New South Wales are preparing to say goodbye to the traditional school hours.   Premier Dominic Perrottet is set to trial a pilot program across the state proposing alternatives outside the standard 9am-3pm, saying the hours no longer work for schools.    Questions are being raised as to whether it could it work back here and are NSW on to something?   Tim O'Connor is the Auckland Grammar School h...

Another cheque has been thrown in the Government's Covid coffers.   This time Damien O'Connor is handing out $400,000, for farmers who might get the virus.  It's all part of a contingency plan and wrap around support for the sector should they get an outbreak.  Federated Farmers vice president Andrew Hoggard joined Mike Hosking.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Unflattering scenes broadcast during Beijing's Winter Olympics has left some viewers questioning whether organisers chose an appropriate location for the Games' big air events.  Surrounding the Games' monster ski jump is four huge concrete towers that many have speculated to be connected to some kind of "nuclear power plant wasteland".  Critics have taken issue with the jarring scene's obvious geo...