The Mike Hosking Breakfast

New Zealand’s property values are ticking back up again.  New data from Cotality has revealed a 0.2% national increase in June, reversing the 0.1% falls that came in April and May.  The medium house price remains around the $815,000 mark, with Tauranga and Christchurch both increasing by 0.6%.  Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson told Mike Hosking property values are fairly fla...

There won’t be many in the world who would argue that Jason Aldean’s not a country music superstar.  He moved up to Nashville at age 21, and after signing and being dropped by a couple of agencies, he got picked up by Broken Bow Records, launching his debut single and album in 2005.  From there the rest is history – 30 number 1 country singles, almost 20 billion streams, 20 million album...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 3rd of July, ACT and NZ First have shut down the proposal for a publicly funded body to cost election policies.   Remember when the previous Government gave Proceeds of Crime funds back to the Mongrel Mob for a meth program? This Government is changing it so that can never happen again.    Country music superstar Jason Ald...

The Government hopes to further separate itself from its predecessor with new changes to the Proceeds of Crime Fund.    The latest round of funding has granted three programmes a collective $5 million to address youth offending and meth harm.    Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says recent changes mean there's a clear and consistent assessment for new initiatives.  ...

A nine-year fight to create a publicly funded election policy-costing unit has come to an end.  Act and New Zealand First have shot down Finance Minister Nicola Willis's proposal to create one.  Metiria Turei, then-Green Party co-leader, first proposed the idea in 2016.  Former Finance Minister Steven Joyce told Mike Hosking Willis's proposal was different from those that have come...

A clear message from the Government: New Zealand can't succeed if Auckland doesn't succeed.  The Government's agreed to negotiate with Auckland Council on a 10-year deal to boost housing, infrastructure, and economic growth in our largest city.  It's also agreed to negotiate similar deals with Western Bay of Plenty and Central Otago.  Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop told Mike H...

A watchful eye is on the $41 million allocated to upskill staff working in youth care homes.  Minister for Children Karen Chhour has announced the boost, which aims to improve support to kids in care.  It follows a review of Oranga Tamariki in 2023 that found parts of the workforce relatively unskilled.  Chief Children's Commissioner Claire Achmad told Mike Hosking she'll be watchin...

It's only the start of Wednesday so let's be honest we've only had two days of news, and we already have two stories around power.  The first was Transpower saying we need to find more avenues of power generation and we need to do that quickly, because until all the promised transition stuff comes online, we are going to be short of capacity.  No kidding.  They said we have a lot of...

The US President is facing questions over health coverage cuts in his tax and spending bill, which just passed the Senate  The casting vote of Vice-President JD Vance was needed, but it still needs House approval before it can be signed by Donald Trump by July 4th.  The Congressional Budget Office says 11.8 million people could lose health coverage if it becomes law.  US Corresponde...

A Kiwi start up has been going gangbusters across the ditch.  Medsalv remanufactures single-use medical products, cleaning and disinfecting them so they can be safely reused.  After eight years in business, their products have been approved by Pharmac for use in New Zealand.  CEO Oliver Hunt told Mike Hosking it's been done in America for a while, but they’re really bringing it to t...

Crime is at the forefront this Politics Wednesday, with multiple new measures and harsher punishments being announced.  Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen joined Mike Hosking to discuss the new developments, along with the other major stories of the week thus far.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 2nd of July, we've got the retail crime crackdown promised at the start of the week. Will it work, or does it look better on paper?  Jaffas have been 86'd, along with the likes of snifters, tangy fruits, and smarties. Could someone else come onboard and save our iconic sweet?  Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell debate whether yo...

Consents keep dropping but the energy in the building sector may be beginning to turn.  Stats NZ figures show new home consents fell 3.8% in the year to May and plunged 8.6% for multi-unit dwellings.  Stats NZ says it's levelling off, but NZIER's latest Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion shows only 3% of building firms expect conditions to improve, down from 6% three months ago. ...

A slew of justice announcements this week.   The Government's rolling out harsher punishments for theft and new fines for shoplifting – including a proposed infringement fee of up to $1000, based on item value.  Maximum penalties for shoplifting less than $2000 will be one year behind bars, and seven if worth more than that.  They also made coward punching a specific offence, which...

The end of an era for one of our most iconic sweets.  Levin confectioner RJ's has discontinued production of Jaffas, due to poor sales.  The orange-coated balls of chocolate were previously produced by Cadbury in Dunedin and have been on our shelves for almost a century.  Mike Hutcheson, former Managing Director of Saatchi & Saatchi, told Mike Hosking that a competitor would pic...

The company overseeing the new infrastructure and ferries for Cook Strait is confident it can deliver by 2029.  Winston Peters has announced agreements to build and modernise ports in Wellington and Picton for the arrival of new Interislander ferries.  Ferry Holdings Chair Chris Mackenzie says there will be robust discussions between KiwiRail, Ferry Holdings, and ports on delivering the...

The shakeup to shoplifting laws continues to be seen as a good first step among retailers, but the boss of Briscoes and Rebel Sport believes the devil will be in the detail.   Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith's unveiled the latest crackdown proposals, including speeding ticket-like infringements, and up to seven years prison time for theft more than $2000.      Briscoe Group Man...

Records have been set in Spain and Portugal as extreme heat continues to roast Europe.   Temperatures at or above 38C are expected through the week, rolling eastward to encompass France, Italy, and eventually portions of Eastern Europe.   A record number of heat alerts are in place across France, with 16 regions on red alert, and 68 others on orange alert.  Europe Correspondent Cath...

Helicopters are such an Auckland issue.  I love helicopters. I have flown in a lot of helicopters.  Our place is on a flight path north. People who go to the Bay of Islands and to the flash golf courses north of Auckland fly over our place.  On a sunny Saturday they start 6.30am-ish in summer. On a still day you hear them coming maybe 30 seconds before you might see them.  Beca...

It’s been a dream couple of months for Ryan Fox.  In May, the Kiwi golfer won the Myrtle Beach Classic, claiming his first PGA Tour win.   From there he made the cut for the PGA Championship, won his second Tour event at the Canadian Open, before making the cut for the US Open.   He’ll soon be heading to the UK for the Scottish Open and Open Championship, taking a week’s break ahead...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 1st of July, we've got a new police college opening in Auckland today – is it a case of build it and they will come?  What is it about helicopters that gets us so exercised? Mike has some thoughts on Ali Williams and Anna Mowbray's helipad getting approval.  We haven't caught up with Ryan Fox since his success on the PGA Tour, s...

A new start up that could drastically reduce your power bill will soon be available in homes.  Designed to replace the current switchboards, Basis Smart Panels aim to provide Kiwis with greater control over their electricity consumption.  With over 7,500 orders already contracted, the company plans to install 50,000 panels in the next 24 months.  Co-Founder Danny Purcell told Mike H...

Action to attract crucial international investment.  Invest New Zealand is up and running, a government organisation that'll work with global investors to create jobs, boost innovation, and lift productivity.  It's been given $85 million over four years to cement itself.  Auckland Business Chamber CEO Simon Bridges told Mike Hosking that our settings were suboptimal, and we’re now g...

The Deputy Prime Minister believes the Government would be better off with the part-privatisation of Interislander ferries.  A Treasury paper presented to Cabinet by the Minister for Rail, Winston Peters, says the Government can consider private investment to reduce costs.  David Seymour agrees with the idea and says the Government has been far too relaxed with capital.  He told Mik...

A charitable trust is commending tougher sentences for people throwing coward punches.  The Government's new specific offence for striking a distracted victim could carry a sentence of life imprisonment if fatal.   Walk Without Fear has been pushing for changes after MMA fighter Liufau Vake was killed by a single coward punch in 2021.   Board Member Mike Angove told Mike Hosking the...