The Mike Hosking Breakfast

You may have noticed an element of concern, if not alarm, over the number of young people who are not enrolled in the election.  In the 18-24 age group there are just 61% enrolled. Last time it was 77%.  The Greens in particular have been running campaigns about this for obvious reasons.  The trouble is their campaigns are on university campuses where the bright and active hang out,...

Labour may have to find another way to fund some of its policies.  The party plans to use a Capital Gains Tax to pay for its health policies, and its costings assume 3% house price growth.   However, Treasury has forecast just 0.6% growth in 2027, and 2.4% in 2028.  Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Mike Hosking this is a policy that's based on using its revenue to dir...

The All Blacks coach is reflecting on their performance against South Africa ahead of the Bledisloe Cup and later this year, the World Cup.  The Springboks claimed a 3-1 victory in the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Tour, but Dave Rennie says the experience has left the team in a much better place.   He told Mike Hosking they're disappointed with the result, but committed to the way they're tr...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 1st of October, we look into the record amount of emergency department visits in the last year.  Dame Valerie Adams remembers the life of her friend and former ZB host Phil Gifford.  All Blacks coach Dave Rennie gives us his review of the season at the midway point, with the Bledisloe tests looming.  Get the Mike Hosking B...

The Film Commission says they need to focus their energy on development to ensure New Zealand continues to create high-quality content.  It's winding up its Core Funding Programme when existing contracts finish at the end of June next year.  The scheme provides more than $1 million to ten industry groups.   Film Commission CEO Annie Murray told Mike Hosking they have finite funding,...

Most people appear to be managing their money well against ongoing financial volatility.   Centrix's August credit indicator shows expected seasonal uplifts in consumer and mortgage arrears, but an overarching easing pattern for both.   Consumer arrears ticked up to 10.74% but remain 11.2% lower than a year ago.   Company liquidations are up 14% on last year, but the indicator found...

Dame Valerie Adams has paid tribute to Phil Gifford after the legendary Kiwi sports journalist, broadcaster and writer died on Tuesday night.  Across his more than 50 years working in media, Gifford was a man of many hats, hosting several radio shows, working as a sports journalist, columnist and author, both under his own name and that of his satirical alter-ego, Loosehead Len.  Among h...

Another boost for Christchurch tourism, with millions of North Americans set to watch the city in the new season of The Amazing Race.  The show's 39th season premieres tonight, with an episode featuring Christchurch and the wider Canterbury region airing in the next few weeks.  Christchurch-born presenter Phil Keoghan told Mike Hosking the show aims to showcase the experience of each des...

There are worries people are spending far too long waiting in Emergency Departments as demand surges.  An Australasian College of Emergency Medicine report finds admissions around the country have risen 21% in the past decade, surging past our 13% population growth.  It finds there are rising numbers of seriously unwell patients.  Waikato Hospital Emergency Medicine Specialist John...

Chris Hipkins has been exposed for the fraud he is.  Having made far too much of the PREFU and all the fiscal magic it would contain, he cornered himself.  He snookered himself.  By setting the PREFU release date as the date of revelation, he was always going to have to somehow explain that what we saw yesterday in no way was ever going to reveal the source of the $18 billion they h...

A group of skydivers in Wisconsin jumped in to help the victims of a plane crash.  Shortly after taking off, the group witnessed a small plane banking unusually before disappearing from sight.  They immediately asked their pilot to identify a safe place to jump, and dropped in to offer aid.  US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking two of the jumpers had medical experience,...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 30th of September, it's time for Chris Hipkins to provide the details on how Labour plans to pay for their policies.  Finance Minister Nicola Willis explains when we might get back to surplus, but unfortunately, it's based on the fact we've never been taxed more.  Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell discuss the passing of Adrian...

OpenAI is promising to 'do better' as it apologises for the handling of a hack involving Australia's Medicare database.  The tech giant says it will fund better cyber defences and has scrapped a new model's release over safety concerns.  Reports suggest the new AI model broke rules, using deception and not following human intent.  Australia Correspondent Steve Price told Mike Hoskin...

Today on Politics Wednesday, Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen joined Mike Hosking to dig into some of the biggest stories of the week thus far.  They discussed the call from some parties for voters to engage in strategic voting and the disagreement between Chris Hipkins and Chlöe Swarbrick as to who would be Finance Minister if they were in government.   And they paid tribute to former S...

Housing is set to be a buyer's market for a while longer.   The Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update shows housing price growth will peak at 3% by March 2028, down slightly from 3.2% in the budget update.   Cotality Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson told Mike Hosking the further out you go, the more uncertainty there is, but there's potentially a general change underway in the...

The Finance Minister has her eye firmly on returning to surplus after a pre-election look into the books.   Treasury forecasts predict the next two years' deficits will be much smaller, and the 2028/29 surplus nearly $2 billion larger than expected.   But much of that improvement is down to income-tax bracket creep, and more revenue from GST and company tax.   Nicola Willis told Mik...

Labour's leader is confident their numbers add up when it comes to paying for their policies – including reversing pay equity changes.  The Government's books were opened yesterday in Treasury's Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update.  It revealed the planned 2028/29 surplus will be nearly $2 billion bigger than forecast, and the Crown will borrow less.   Treasury thinks unemployme...

We have Ruth Richardson to thank for today.  She was the architect of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 1994, what today is called the PREFU – the Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update.  If you don’t remember it, it heralded a change in approach that seemed to me at the time as significant, if not profound.  Elections were crap shoots. It was a different time. If you think most people...

For the first time, a novel in the Reacherverse will not be about Reacher himself.  Frances Neagley is getting her time in the spotlight, with both a new spinoff television show, and two new thrillers focused on her.  Author Lee Child is thrilled by the success and popularity the screen adaptation of his work has found – especially since it's now getting a spinoff.  "I'm so pleased...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday the 29th of September, it's a big day for both parties as we get the PREFU numbers . It's the day to see if National has economic credibility and if Labour's election policies add up.  There's a lot of angst around red meat in the country and why it costs so much while exports make record returns, so it's time to address some claims...

A shinier job market outlook, with growth ticking up.   The number of filled jobs lifted a seasonally adjusted 0.2% from July to August and 0.9% from last year.   Gaps between sectors are starting to close, with gains for industries like construction and retail after months of decline.   ASB Senior Economist Mark Smith told Mike Hosking the encouraging thing about the data is it sho...

Our red meat sector appears to be sitting pretty amid a turbulent global market.  The sector's gathering in Wellington today for a conference focusing on resilience to market shocks, export demand, and geopolitics in supply chains.  Exports continue to surge, with combined receipts forecast around $12.6 billion across 2026 and 27.  Special Agricultural Trade Envoy Nathan Guy told Mi...

The Privacy Commissioner has some advice for schools struggling to manage student image restrictions.  Research by Christchurch tech company Hail shows 68% of schools have accidentally published an image despite consent restrictions.  It found 53% rely on manual processes or staff knowledge to manage these.  Michael Webster told Mike Hosking schools should try to focus on an activit...

A building physicist says townhouses and multi-unit buildings are most at risk of overheating.   The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment says any detailed changes to fix hot homes need to avoid unintended consequences and require sector consultation.   It told RNZ it won't be part of the Building Code review until 2031.   Building Research Association's Stephen McNeil to...

A former Finance Minister's hailing today as extremely important as Treasury opens the Government's books.  This afternoon's Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update will show the levels of Crown debt, revenue, and expenditure.  Budget 2026 predicted a return to operating surplus in the 2028/29 financial year – a year earlier than had been signalled.  Steven Joyce told Mike Hosking t...