The Mike Hosking Breakfast

A law expert says it's important for the Māori Development Minister to look at contracts - to figure out where Whānau Ora's money is coming from.  Tama Potaka is seeking a review of a recent Whānau Ora ad campaign encouraging Māori to sign up to the Māori electoral roll.  He says it would be inappropriate for public funding to be used for electioneering.  Law expert Graeme Edgeler t...

The Government's issued a fresh warning to the major supermarket chains.  Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis has written a letter to Woolworths, and Foodstuffs' North Island and South Island arms, outlining her expectations.  She says she's hearing of supermarkets charging more than the advertised price, and having specials and multi-buy deals that don't actually offer savings. ...

Is Shane Jones showing the Minister for Treaty Negotiations Paul Goldsmith how to run his own portfolio?  In response to Jones and his Member's bill on the never ending Ngāpuhi drama, Goldsmith says the process can't go on forever.  Which is the same as saying nothing, because clearly it is, and Goldsmith clearly has no plan.  The Jones bill is clever because my sense of it is there...

Concern over an increasing number of children bringing weapons to school.  Figures released under the Official Information Act show 526 students were stood down, suspended, or excluded for using or having a weapon at school last year.  It's an 80% rise on 2018.  Secondary Principals' Association President Louise Anaru told Mike Hosking that in a vast majority of cases, children have...

Today on Politics Wednesday, Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen joined Mike Hosking to delve into some of the biggest stories of the week so far.  The cost of living crisis is still weighing heavily on Kiwis’ wallets despite all of the Government’s efforts – can Mark Mitchell explain why we’re not feeling the recovery?  And Ginny Andersen had quite a few points to make on the topic as well...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 25th of June, a ceasefire between Iran and Israel is on, then off, then on again, as another NATO summit kicks off in the Hague.  As we go into another round of pay negotiations, this time with teachers, Judith Collins outlines exactly who gets paid what.   Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell talk butter and the cost-of-living cr...

New Zealand scientists have developed a new technology to reduce food waste and import dependence.  The waste system takes perishable food before it hits landfill and turns it into shelf-stable powders, concentrates, and extracts for food.  Director of Powered by Plants Dr. Andrew Prest says the concept came from frustration with the current production model.  He told Mike Hosking i...

Assessment processes will still be rigorous for prescribing ADHD medication.  From February, GPs and nurse practitioners will be able to prescribe treatments from the outset without a specialist recommendation.   Wait times for specialist appointments vary but can be over a year.   Royal College of GPs medical director Dr. Luke Bradford told Mike Hosking it's a good move to help peo...

Primary school teachers may have less ground to stand on at the bargaining table.   They began negotiations yesterday for the first time since losing their pay equity claim in the May Budget.  The Public Service Minister says there is a public mantra that teachers deserve to be paid more.   But Judith Collins told Mike Hosking it ignores the facts.   She says primary school tea...

A fragile ceasefire's holding for Iran and Israel after the US President got involved.  Both sides claim the other has breached the truce.  Donald Trump scolded both for early violations but directed particularly stinging criticism at Israel over the scale of its strikes.  University of New Haven Associate Professor of National Security Dr Matt Schmidt told Mike Hosking he's unsure...

A new Rabobank report reveals within the next 10 years, New Zealand agriculture will begin its largest-ever inter-generational transfer of wealth.  More than half of farm and orchard owners will reach the age of 65 in the next decade, but only a third have a formal succession plan.  It's estimated $150 billion worth of farming assets will change hands.  Rabobank CEO Todd Charteris t...

So having looked at every council in the country and the pending rate rises we are all going to have to pay, a couple of inescapable conclusions are to be drawn.  1) We need central Government to cap rates.  2) We need fewer councils.  If you were to roughly use inflation as a guide, Waitomo and Whanganui are your only councils to get under the wire at 2.93 % and 2.2% – so congratul...

New Zealand’s largest bank is lending less cash to businesses than it was half a decade ago.  Figures from the Reserve Bank show a softening across all bank business lending since the pandemic, with ANZ the only one going backwards.  The overall growth rate across all banks has slowed to just 1.5%, down from 6% in 2013.   ANZ CEO Antonia Watson told Mike Hosking much of the drop is...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 24th of June, our golden visa has done better in the last few months than it had under two and a half years of Labour. People want to come here, and they are bringing millions of dollars with them.  Local Government NZ respond after Christopher Luxon and Shane Jones proposed getting rid of regional councils.  All Blacks coach Sc...

Scott Robertson has called up five new faces for his first All Blacks class of 2025, with his 35-man squad for next month’s series against France named.  All Blacks regulars Dalton Papali'i, Ethan Blackadder and David Havili have been left out of the squad instead.  The trio’s exclusion comes with the inclusion of Ollie Norris, Brodie McAlister, Fabian Holland, Timoci Tavatavanawai, and...

The leader of the country's local government association says there's global evidence a rates caps can have detrimental effects.  The Government's mulling a cap as part of its wider reform to refocus local government.  Sam Broughton —Mayor of Selwyn District Council and Local Government NZ President— says if core infrastructure like water and transport aren't included in a cap, it can li...

US and UK law enforcement will soon be using a New Zealand-developed strategy to help boost police performance.  Vantaset utilisises research into people’s breaking points to assist elite athletes in performing their personal bests, at a rate of 87%   Now they’ve signed long-term deals with global law enforcement agencies to reengage frontline officers.  Founder and CEO Craig Steel...

The application process for New Zealand's 'golden visa' scheme' is firing up and going strong.   The Government's confirmed almost 200 applications have been received from overseas investors since settings loosened in April.   Queen City Law Managing Director Marcus Beveridge told Mike Hosking he's predicting a tsunami of capital into our little economy.   He says he wouldn't be sur...

New Zealand First says the country can no-longer afford a drawn-out Treaty settlement with the largest iwi.   The party's drafting legislation to require a single settlement with Ngāpuhi, rather than multiple agreements.   However, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith has signalled he's open to settlements with smaller groups within iwi.  NZ First MP Shane Jones told Mike Hos...

If you didn’t know, ACC is in some fiscal trouble again. This isn't new. ACC has been in trouble for years. Last year, 1.6 million of us managed to do something to ourselves which involved money - $4.5 billion dollars worth. That's just on rehab. The total is $7 billion paid out. It's an astonishing amount of money - and the problem is what we pay in doesn’t cover what goes out. ACC run a scheme w...

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told Mike Hosking that ongoing strikes and counter-strikes won't lead to a resolution.  He says all the parties need to get around the table and negotiate a way forward, although that will be very difficult.  The Prime Minister said, “You’ve got to be able to get the parties around the table and have a negotiation.”   This comes ahead of the Prime Mi...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Monday the 23rd of June, we go to the US after they got involved in Iran and Israel's war and talk to Winston Peters about NZ's stance on it. The Prime Minister has touched down in Belgium for a NATO meeting but had time to talk to us about Iran, councils and hundreds of millions of dollars of deals done in China. Andrew Saville and Jason Pine co...

Foreign Minister Winston Peters joined Mike Hosking this morning to discuss the developing situation in Iran. The Foreign Minister said he wants to “get a proper analysis” before discussing how effective Operation Midnight Hammer was at destroying Iranian nuclear facilities.  “One of the first victims of war is truth, and boy, have we seen it.”   The Foreign Minister also discussed the K...

US forces have executed operation “Midnight Hammer” - a bombing raid targeting Iranian nuclear development sites.  The US government has claimed an “obliteration” of Iranian Nuclear assets. However, analysts are skeptical of the actual level of damage dealt.   Senior Fellow at the Defence Priority in Washington Gil Barndollar says, “These strikes are unlikely to have destroyed everything...

New Zealand’s largest industrial development ever is about to begin in Invercargill.  Mike Hosking spoke to the general manager of the project Ben Murphy this morning, who said the project is making progress.  “We do have a fully zoned sight there, which is the key unlocker for this project.” Ben Murphy told Mike Hosking this morning.   Although progress has been made, the project m...