The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The Prime Minister's surprised Labour lost in the Tamaki Makaurau by-election.  Te Pati Maori's Oriini Kaipara won the seat over Peeni Henare by three thousand votes.  The by-election was triggered by the death of MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp. Total turnout was around 27.1 percent.  Christopher Luxon told Mike Hosking he thought Labour would trounce Te Pati Maori, as they've had no policie...

A colourful makeover coming for Auckland's Paremoremo prison unit which houses the country's most dangerous criminals, won't be anything too flashy. In a bid to lift its oppressive conditions, the Prisoners of Extreme Risk Unit is receiving a fresh paint job with colourful designs and shapes. It follows a Chief Ombudsman report raising concerns of human rights abuse. Corrections Custodial Services...

The New Zealand First election campaign may have begun, and Winston Peters believes the party is marching forward with practical solutions. MPs and supporters gathered in Palmerston North over the weekend for the party's annual conference. Members discussed 55 remits, which could end up being policy proposals in next year's election campaign. Party Leader Winston Peters told Mike Hosking NZ First...

Belief the health sector should set targets for all elective surgeries to ensure wait times are reduced fairly. The Government's exceeded its half-year target, by delivering more than 16-thousand extra operations before the end of June.  The overall waitlist has also dropped by nine percent. General surgeon Chris Wakeman told Mike Hosking targets are a good manoeuvre - but they do have their...

We have all seen it. I have seen it a good number of times.  The café that was exemplary, sold, the new owner changes the menu, brings in a few kids to serve, and then wonders why six months later they are out of business.  As the hospitality people yet again told their tale of woe, and do not get me wrong, times have been tight and many an outlet has struggled, but as the new numbers go...

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 Chinese parade: 8/10  Forget politics. As a “thing”, as a spectacle, as a “can you believe how in time those goose steppers are?”, it was spellbinding.    Helen Clark and John Key and Dan Andrews and Bob Carr: 4/10  On balance, given what it w...

From the old "cart before the horse" department are two setbacks for ideas we thought were going to work, or perhaps we hoped were going to work, but aren't.  Idea 1: We get big tech to pay for locally produced news.  That’s Google paying NZME for news that ends up on their news feed.  To a degree, deals had been done specifically between some companies, but the Government had the i...

Friday has come so Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson are back with Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that was.  Mike comments on the effort another ZB host puts into his prep and the effort an MP puts into her appearance.  They also discuss hair styling, supermarket promotions, and the new IKEA opening in Auckland.  LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another tough week for brick and mortar retail.  Outdoor goods retailer KMD Brands, who owns the likes of Kathmandu and Rip Curl, has announced the closure of 21 stores across its network.  It’s making the move in an effort to turn around struggling sales and find $25 million in cost savings.  Chairman David Kirk told Mike Hosking that it’s a tough environment for all businesses, bu...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 5th of September, Immigration NZ is cracking down on overstayers as numbers surge – Steve Watson discusses the situation.  All Black Codie Taylor tells us how they're going to beat the Springboks this weekend.  Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson try to stop Mike from being sexist and discuss whether he needs to give up his Smeg rests a...

No surprise from All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor at the competitiveness of the Rugby Championship.  All four countries enter the third round fixtures tomorrow with a one win, one loss record.  Taylor told Mike Hosking it's a continuation of what occurred in 2024, with a loss to Argentina and South Africa both.  He says it’s always close, which is what you want with test footy, but th...

Immigration New Zealand's working on picking up immigrants who have overstayed their visa, following a surge.   New figures estimate there's 21 thousand overstayers in the country, up from 14 thousand in 2017.   The Government's also cracking down on immigrants who commit serious crimes and could deport them if they've been here under 20 years, instead of the current 10.  Immigratio...

Defence Minister Judith Collins has had frontline access to the war in Ukraine.  She's returned from the war-torn country, visiting sites impacted by Russia's three and a half year long invasion.   Collins met with Ukraine's Defence Minister while there, alongside speaking with the Foreign Minister, the Office of the President, and Deputy Minister of Defence.  She told Mike Hosking...

The Health Minister wants the senior doctors’ union to put patients first and enter binding arbitration.  Simeon Brown has given Health NZ and the union until 4pm today to respond to his urgent request to let a third party decide the terms of the contract.  Health NZ's agreed to participate in an effort to resolve 12 months of collective agreement negotiations.   Brown told Mike Hos...

The trouble with change, apart from the fact we don’t like it, is it's especially bad if we don't know what it is.  The good news for real estate this week has been the foreign buyers changes for visa holders.  Adding to that, we've had a series of interest rate cuts, with more to come.  But in a place like Auckland what do you buy, and where?  There is no small amount of angst...

One of New Zealand’s brightest is looking to be a leading figure in the robotics and self-driving car game.  Kiwi Dave Ferguson is one of the minds behind Nuro, a US maker of self-driving car technology – a company that just raised US$203 million in a funding round supported by Uber and Nvidia.  He began his career in self-driving vehicles with Google, working as a principal engineer on...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 4th of September, does Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith have a fix for a system a new report says is under “considerable stress”?  Great news for the teaching sector as we see a 30% rise in training enrolments.   Kiwi robotics genius Dave Ferguson's company Nuro is now worth over $10 billion, and he talks to Mike about wanting t...

An SOS call has been answered in Wellington’s hospitality sector.  Local brewers Garage Project have stepped in to save Fortune Favours’ bar and brewery from permanent closure after a decade in operation.  The brewery saw a 45% drop in revenue over the past two years, even after taking home top honours at this year’s Beervana festival.  Garage Project founder Pete Gillespie told Mik...

There’s a view that large tech companies could be challenged to pay more tax.   A report from tax expert Nick Miller says companies like Google take payments from a New Zealand subsidiary and then pay them to an offshore section of the business.    These are listed as service or licence fees, but Miller says they could be seen as royalties, which come under a withholding tax.  ...

Smooth sailing so far for Ferry Holdings, as a preferred supplier of two new Cook Strait vessels is selected.  Rail Minister Winston Peters has announced a fixed price has been agreed for two 200-metre-long ferries with road and rail decks, and room for 1500 passengers each.  Ferry Holdings Limited Chair Chris Mackenzie says final negotiations have started - and contracts will be signed...

David Seymour says he's opposing planning changes in Auckland in his role as local MP, rather than his role as Act Party Leader.  Seymour's opposing a move to allow more intensification near transport corridors.  The Deputy Prime Minister and MP for Epsom told a public meeting that supporters must impress on Housing Minister Chris Bishop that the plan is not necessary.  Seymour told...

There's a belief the number of people studying to become teachers needs to keep rising to meet demand.  There's been about 3,500 new domestic enrolments to initial teacher training so far this year – up 30% compared with the same time last year.  Massey University Professor of Teacher Education John O'Neill told Mike Hosking it's not a surprise, as numbers typically rise when there's eco...

Fixing major challenges in the justice system might need to be a team effort from key players across the board.  Concern around mounting stress in the system is highlighted by Chief Justice Dame Helen Winkelmann in her Annual Report.  It identifies key stressors including delays, limited capacity, security challenges, and insufficient funding.   Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith told...

David Seymour's call around the Paris Accord merely adds to the list of calls around the Paris Accord.  If we could park the emotion and the bandwagons associated with the obsession around saving the planet, the case for 2050 would no longer add up.  For example, take the countries that never signed up, take the countries like America that are leaving, take the future British Tory Govern...

Donald Trump says reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated.  The US president is addressing media in the White House after his recent absence from the spotlight over the weekend sent social media into a tailspin.  Health rumours have been ramping up since his diagnosis of a chronic vein condition, with photos of his bruised hand circling online.  US Correspondent Richard A...