The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins has defended the country remaining in red under the Covid traffic-light system - as New Zealand is set to welcome new freedoms with the axing of vaccine passes, QR scans and many mandates.  Hipkins says the country remains under red - with no indication when that might change - because of the relative strain on hospitals, even as the Omicron peak passes in Auckland....

My gut says the idea that the Three Waters programme is on its inevitable path to nowhere.  We have predicted since the start of this that the consultation would be rejected.  We have seen the delays, legislation was going in last year, then April this year, and now it's delayed until who knows when.  A committee was set up to rummage around the remnants of what is left, to try and come up with so...

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

Singapore Airlines is hiring new staff and looking to increase its services to New Zealand.  It operates ten weekly return flights to this country and is hoping to expand.  Public Affairs regional manager Karl Schubert says the airline has been committed to New Zealand for 46 years, including during the pandemic.  He told Mike Hosking there was never any doubt the airline would ramp up its operati...

The Mental Health Commission has poured cold water on the Government's $1.9 billion budget promise back in 2019.  With Health Minister Andrew Little admitted yesterday they've struggled to achieve results.   Wait times for young people are up, one in five people aren't followed up after leaving mental health units and Māori are still disproportionately effected.  Mental health advocate John Kirwan...

The failure of Auckland Council and the Government to see eye to eye is being blamed for some of the city's problems.  An Auckland University report suggests an overhaul of the city's governance and funding.  It's the work of the university's think tank, Ko Tu, and says Auckland is being impeded from reaching its potential by fragmented decision-making, funding processes and lack of joined up visi...

There is new research out this morning from Amazon Web Services on our digital skills in this country signaling there is work to be done.  Around one million workers, which accounts for 35% of the workforce, require digital upskilling and training for their jobs within the next year.  The report also states productivity, competitiveness and innovation are taking a massive hit as a result of poor t...

Treasury is warning the country's current infrastructure gap is set to widen if nothing changes.  It's also stating the Government frequently doesn't get value for money with investments and has one of the worst records at delivering infrastructure.   Infrastructure Commission Chief Executive Ross Copland told Mike Hosking the gap is large and New Zealand has underinvested compared to its OECD pee...

The Government is starting a mental health nursing recruitment drive, funding registered nurses to specialise in mental health.   It's also announced two more apps that kiwis can download for free to help with mental health support.   These announcements came on the same day as a damning report by the mental health and wellbeing commission calling for transformation in the sector.   Dr. Angela Lim...

Former Prime Minister John Key has criticised the Government's "dog and pony show", in the way it is drawing out critical announcements on the future of New Zealand's Covid response.  "Why do we have this dog and pony show where the Government basically wanders along and says I'm going to make an announcement to the announcement to the announcement," Key told Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB today.  He...

The story of Larry Miller is simply remarkable.   He's well known now as one of the most successful black businessmen in America - he led Nike's Michael Jordan sneaker brand and made it a $4 billion company.   Miller is now chairman of the brand.   But it wasn't a simple journey - he grew up in the ganglands of Philadelphia  - got into plenty of trouble and ended up in prison more than once.   Now...

Read Steve Chadwick's letter to Carmel Sepuloni. She is the mayor of Rotorua and she is seeing her city wrecked by the behaviour in the motels.  The emergency housing scheme in motels cost this country $1 million a day. And they cost $1 million a day because the social housing queue is 25,000 deep and growing. And it's 25,000 deep and growing because the Government thinks that solving it by buildi...

There are hopes a new vaccine in development will be able to tackle staph infections.  As the superbug is rapidly gaining anti-biotic resistance - Auckland researchers are hoping a vaccine will help stem high rates of infection.  Dr Ries Langley told Mike Hosking research from Covid vaccines is being used to help create it.  He says the rapid development of the Covid mRNA vaccine has opened up doo...

TikTok is launching its own music streaming and distribution platform.   The app helps to propel new - and old - songs back into the spotlight, it even helped OMC's How Bizzare get back into the global charts after it went viral due to a TikTok trend.   The platform, SoundOn, will give artists 100 percent of royalties in the first year and 90 percent after that, which sounds like good news for NZ...

Further climate change action from the Government isn't needed and won't help.   That's the finding from a new report from the NZ Initiative.   The Government's set to spend big bucks on climate change in the next budget, more than $200,000 per household.   But the report says existing policies are enough to reach net zero emissions by 2050, and new ones will have almost no effect.   Matt Burgess...

The Government is being told it could give more help to Ukraine if it wanted to.  New Zealand is contributing another $5 million towards fuel supplies, rations and medical kits.   The Defence Force is offering just over a thousand body armour plates, and around 500 each of helmets and camouflage vests.  Democracy Project international analyst, Geoffrey Miller, told Mike Hosking we spent hundreds o...

Jacinda Ardern says it's most appropriate that the Police watchdog looks into the response to the Parliament protest.  Last week, Labour MPs used their majority to block a briefing from the police commissioner to the justice select committee.   The Government wants to see the IPCA's term of reference, before it makes a judgement.   But, former police negotiator Lance Burdett told Mike Hosking it h...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy  is warning of World War III, if peace talks with Russia fail.  A new curfew has been introduced in Kyiv , where eight people have been killed in the shelling of a residential area and a shopping centre.  Russia is continuing its attacks on Mariupol after the city refused to surrender - and naval forces are also shelling residential buildings on the outskirt...

Scott Morrison and senior government MPs have sought to downplay the federal implications of Labor’s decisive victory at the South Australian state election, saying there’s a “big difference” between the premiers and Anthony Albanese. Liberal Party Premier Steven Marshall conceded defeat on Saturday night, with big swings towards Labor making Peter Malinauskas the first leader to defeat an incumbe...

Good start to the Formula 2 season for Liam Lawson. He’s taken 3rd in the sprint race and followed it up with 2rd in the feature race at the Bahrain Grand Prix this morning. This means he sits 2nd in the championship and only a point adrift. Liam Lawson joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Saville and Guy Heveldt joined Mike Hosking to talk Six Nations Rugby, the return of Formula 1 in Bahrain, IndyCar, the White Ferns' heartbreaking defeat to England and the Warriors. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that he's "ready for negotiations" with Russian President Vladimir Putin but warned that if they fail "that would mean that this is a third World War." "I'm ready for negotiations with him. I was ready for the last two years. And I think that without negotiations we cannot end this war," he told CNN's Fareed Zakaria. "I think that we have to use...

Disagreements over claims that property auctions have had their day. It follows only two of the 14 properties at Barfoot and Thompson's Auckland auction selling on Friday. Director Peter Thompson told Mike Hosking any claims auctions are becoming a thing of the past are false and there is still a place for them. “An auction brings buyers that do have the money to make a decision quicker, and in to...

There’s concern a Government commission set up to look into miscarriages of justice is yet to finish a single investigation. Open Justice reports the Criminal Cases Review Commission hasn't finished processing even one of the 282 applications it's received since it was set up 20 months ago. Auckland District Law Society President Marie Dyhrberg told Mike Hosking a lot of people will be disappointe...

Calls for the Government to drop all of New Zealand to the orange traffic light setting. Cabinet will be discussing the Covid-19 protection framework today, along with vaccine passes and mandates. But a decision isn't expected until Wednesday. Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce CEO Leeann Watson told Mike Hosking the restrictions are becoming redundant. “Red’s certainly having a massive impa...