The Mike Hosking Breakfast

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 5th of June, we're finally making ground when it comes to clearing the backlog in our courts. And when it comes to competition in the supermarkets, we might have good news too.  The NZR have their sponsor to replace INEOS - it's Gallagher, an insurance broker out of the US. NZR CEO Mark Robinson discusses the good news.   Kiwi...

New Zealand Rugby have secured a new sponsor.  They’ve partnered with American company Gallagher Insurance, who’s logo will appear on both the training and match day shorts of all our national teams.  It comes two months after Ineos terminated their $21 million a year contract with the union.  NZR CEO Mark Robinson told Mike Hosking Gallagher’s got a deep connection with the sport,...

The Commerce Commission's making moves to level the playing field in the grocery sector.   It's found the big supermarket players are shovelling in billions of dollars a year through supplier charges and promotional pricing, which largely isn't reaching consumers.   It's proposed a simplified grocery code that limits the range of payments supermarkets can charge suppliers.   Grocery...

The Courts Minister is chuffed at improvements to the backlog in Auckland's criminal district courts.   The latest Government figures show a 26% reduction over the past year, with an 11% reduction nationally.  Since April 2023, the number of jury trials awaiting hearings in Auckland has dropped by 8%.   Minister Nicole McKee told Mike Hosking she's confident they're making good chan...

Good news for tourism operators in Milford Sound, as the Government rejects plans to ban cruise ships  More than $15 million has been invested into infrastructure and conservation upgrades in Milford Sound.  Cruise ships will also be allowed back in the area, rejecting the 2021 master plan advising against their access to the sound.  Cruise Association Chief Executive Jacqui Lloyd t...

Parliament's picking up where it left off last month, debating proposed sanctions on three Te Pāti Māori MPs.   The Privileges Committee's suggested Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer be suspended for 21 days, and Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke for seven.  The three had performed a haka during a vote on the Treaty Principles Bill last year.   Leader of the House Chris Bishop told M...

The Insurance Council's highlighting the tough balancing act facing the Government, over the Natural Hazard Commission insurance fund shortfall.   The Government is signalling a home insurance levy increase to help bolster the Commission's kitty.   Cabinet is set to decide on the changes in the coming months.   Insurance Council Chief Executive Kris Faafoi told Mike Hosking it's a t...

Christmas came early for Tiwai Aluminium Smelter.  They get to do business. In fact, they get to do business in a country where you would have thought doing business is to be encouraged.  They have been prevented from doing all the business they can because they have a deal with their power company, Meridian, whereby they have to contain themselves if things are a bit tight in the old po...

Politicians aren’t worrying too much about the latest poll results.  There were starkly different results in the latest RNZ-Reid Research poll and 1News-Verian poll – with the first showing the left bloc in the lead and the second showing the right bloc well ahead.  Labour’s Ginny Andersen told Mike Hosking the polls bounce around, so they don’t take them to heart that much.  She sa...

Foodstuffs North Island's facial recognition trial might have the tick of approval overall, but there's still work to do.   The Privacy Commission's ruled the trial was compliant with the Privacy Act and was successful in reducing harmful behaviour.    But Commissioner Michael Webster told Mike Hosking they're recommending Foodstuffs keep systems updated and review impacts of skin t...

Renewing existing infrastructure rather than investing in new shiny projects is the best way to go, according to a new report co-produced by the Helen Clark Foundation and WSP New Zealand.   The foundation claims 99% of the infrastructure New Zealand needs, has already been built.   Foundation Deputy Director Kali Mercier says renewals and repairs are much cheaper.  She told Mike Ho...

New Zealand Rugby Players Association boss Rob Nichol admits their members have been approached to join a new global breakaway club competition.  R360 —backed by former England international Mike Tindall— is set to launch in 2026.  The league plans to mirror the likes of sevens and F1, moving from port to port with events at major cities and stadia around the globe.  Nichol told Mik...

Concerns bad investment choices in electricity generation will keep our supply unreliable.  Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is ramping up production reversing previous restrictions, to ease winter supply concerns.  Meridian Energy says the hydro storage is looking much healthier this winter.   Major Electricity Users' Group Chair John Harbord told Mike Hosking restrictions will likely...

Fewer people are behind on debt payments.  Centrix's May Indicator Report shows consumer arrears fell in April – it was the fourth month in a row where overall arrears were lower than 2024.  However, the number of consumers who are more than 90 days past due has risen to its highest since July last year.  Managing Director Keith McLaughlin told Mike Hosking they’re starting to see h...

Tourists are being told New Zealand is open for business.  A Government survey's found international visitor spending increased by 10% and contributed more than $12 billion to the economy in the year ending March.  But this is only 86% of pre-Covid visitor numbers and spending.   Tourism Minister Louise Upston told Mike Hosking it shows there's work to be done, especially targeting...

The UK is set to spend more on defence.  Prime Minister Keir Starmer's unveiled plans to lift the defence spend, signalling it could reach 3% of GDP at the next Parliament.  He vowed to make Britain "a battle-ready, armour-clad nation”, and Defence Secretary John Healey says they’re in a “new era of threat”, which demands a higher spend.   UK Correspondent Rod Liddle told Mike Hoski...

If the headline is right, and I hope it isn't, the Government are seeking advice on what to do about Run it Straight.  If the Government is seeking this advice, they have been sucked in.  Unless of course they are saying they are seeking advice so everyone shuts up for a bit, because the whole thing has got hopelessly out of control.  We need to break the ongoing grip too many New Z...

Andrew Saville and Jason Pine joined Mike Hosking to reflect on the sport that took place over the long King’s Birthday weekend.  They covered the Warriors’ latest victory, how Super Rugby Pacific is shaping up ahead of the playoffs, and the latest in Formula 1 and IndyCar among others.   LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's hope there can be a turnaround in unruly Kāinga Ora tenants.  A Government crackdown has resulted in 63 tenancy terminations in the past 10 months - up from 11 in the year before.  Formal warnings have gone up 600%.  Litigation Lawyer Adina Thorn told Mike Hosking the figures are encouraging.  She says it looks like under this government, there’s been a big step up...

Little has come from another round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. The two countries have agreed to exchange prisoners of war, including the sick and wounded, and those under 25. Ukraine has also launched large scale drone attacks on Russian air bases, damaging a third of its cruise missile carriers. Geopolitical analyst Geoffrey Miller told Mike Hosking this likely won't go down well w...

Christopher Luxon says the Government's making its expectations clear when it comes to behaviour in social housing.  Kāinga Ora is formally warning seven times as many tenants as it was last financial year.  It's evicted 63 tenants in 10 months for disruptive behaviour.  The Prime Minister told Mike Hosking the enforcement action is sending a clear message about what is and isn't ac...

The first Kiwi has made it to space. Christchurch entrepreneur Mark Rocket has made history as the first New Zealander in space abroad a Blue Origin mission in West Texas.  With a New Zealand flag in hand, Rocket and five others reached 105km, experiencing zero gravity during the 11-minute sub-orbital flight run by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space tourism company.   Mark Rocket told Mike...

The Workplace Relations Minister hopes WorkSafe's incoming culture shift will show they're there to help, not hurt.   The Government's instructed the regulator to move away from enforcement and engage early to support risk management.  It starts with today's opening of the road cone hotline.  Minister Brooke van Velden told Mike Hosking businesses shouldn't have to sweat the small s...

Call me superficial, but to watch the Reserve Bank heavyweights lined up, as I did Wednesday post their cash rate decision, I did not see dynamism.  These people outwardly do not fill you with any sense of excitement.  The Reserve Bank is in a spot and, as a result, so are we as a country.  A couple of semi-interesting things happened and also one very interesting thing.  They...

Elon Musk’s time in the US Government has come to an end.    He's posted on his platform, X, saying the mission of the Department of Government Efficiency —or DOGE— will only strengthen over time.  A White House official has confirmed Musk's departure.  US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking there’s been mixed reviews about his work.  Musk was only able to find...