The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Foodstuffs is clearing the air over concerns it's been collecting sensitive information from shoppers without their knowledge. Our newsroom has confirmed 29 of its supermarkets in the North Island are already using facial recognition technology. It comes as supermarket crime has skyrocketed, with a 246 per cent increase in serious incidents. And just last night in Auckland's Sandringham, a dairy w...

Is the Reserve Bank raising the Official Cash Rate too far, too fast? The central bank has lifted the OCR by an unprecedented 75 basis-points to 4.25 percent and is forecasting the country could be in recession by the middle of next year. It's also warning the OCR may have to peak as high as 5.5 percent to bring inflation under control. But Jarden Investment Strategist and Economist John Carran to...

National is adjusting its tax plans, heading into next year's election. The party is reviewing its policies following the Reserve Bank's unprecedented OCR hike yesterday and its warning of a pending recession. Finance Spokesperson Nicola Willis says plans to cut the top tax rate may no longer be affordable. But she told Mike Hosking National still wants to index tax thresholds to inflation, and ot...

The Government is insisting there's no change in reach on the Three Waters reform. A Select Committee report recommended the Bill's application of Te Mana o te Wai be expanded to cover when sewage is pumped into harbours. The legislation is going through its committee stage under urgency today - and expected to pass third reading next month. Critics have dubbed it "Five Waters" but Labour's Megan...

I suspect part of the reaction we have seen of late to Chris Luxon and his stance on crime and the general depravation that passes for acceptable life in this country these days is it's coming from one of the two mainstream parties. Smaller parties are the domain of the more radical thinking. The Māori Party and their desire to run the country under their interpretation of what was signed off a co...

Porirua Mayor Anita Baker has suggested competency tests for councillors. Baker says exams would serve as a performance review to keep councillors up to date in a forever evolving role. Porirua Mayor Anita Baker joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A word of caution as cyber scammers continue to lift their game to target unsuspecting victims. The Government’s cyber security agency has recorded a  “massive” jump in online fraud. Data obtained by the Herald from CERT NZ shows scammers have drained nearly $9 million from unsuspecting victims in just three months. CERT New Zealand Threat and Incident Response Manager Jordan Heerspring told Mike...

Andrew Little insists new figures on the number of mental health beds don't tell the full story. Data released to National shows there are 608 beds in acute mental health services, the same number as there were in 2017. That's despite investing $1.9 billion in the mental health sector over that period. The Health Minister told Mike Hosking much of the money has been spent on increasing the mental...

The jobs market is remaining buoyant, despite a small decrease in listings. The latest Seek Employment Report shows job ads fell one percent between September and October. But they're up 16 percent compared to October last year. Hospitality and Tourism, Trades and Services and Retail and Consumer Products have had the largest monthly falls. Seek Country Manager Rob Clark says the number of applica...

Today's Reserve Bank decision on the Official Cash Rate is almost certain to be historic. The central bank is expected to raise the OCR by 75 basis points today, the highest rates hike ever. That would bring the rate to 4.25 percent, it's highest point in 14 years. ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner told Mike Hosking there's a small chance they will go even further, and raise the OCR by truly unpr...

The Police Association insists new figures on gang numbers line up with people's experiences. Newstalk ZB can reveal the national gang list has more than 8,300 people on it, who are patched or prospects. Police Minister Chris Hipkins says the gang list is not a reliable count of membership. But Police Association President Chris Cahill told Mike Hosking it's a sign of what most people are seeing,...

Time to meet another household comedic name out of Britain. Alan Carr has been at the forefront of comedy since he had his breakout year back in 2001. Since then he's sold out worldwide standup tours, hosted his own chat show which ran for 16 seasons, and been a part of a raft of other TV shows. He's in the country as part of his comedy tour - Regional Trinket - with shows in Auckland, Wellington...

The good news about Defence Minister Peeni Henare going to Ukraine is that he claims he is coming back to talk about more funding for weapons. He needs to. The funding we have put forward for weapons is shocking. We are an international embarrassment when it comes to that aspect of our role in the war. Australia is handing over Bushmasters by the dozen, but we like to give blankets and old helmets...

It's been a big year for our Kiwi golfers. After finishing third in the final event of the PGA Tour Champions, Steve Alker is one of the best feel-good sporting stories of the year. Kiwi World no. 3 Lydia Ko closed out a two-shot victory collecting a US$2 million prize in the season-ending LPGA Tour tournament. And Ryan Fox finished second at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, ending the yea...

The move to lower the voting age already appears to be dead in the water, despite a landmark decision from the country's highest court. The Supreme Court has ruled stopping 16 and 17-year-olds from voting, is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights. Cabinet is now set to draft legislation to lower the voting age which will be put to a conscience vote, and will require 75-percent support to pass. Just...

A reduction in the voting age is unlikely to get over the line. The Supreme Court has decided stopping 16 and 17-year-olds from voting,  is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights. Cabinet will now draft legislation to lower the voting age, which will go to an all-of-House conscience vote with a 75 percent majority required to change the law. Justice Minister Kiri Allan told Mike Hosking MPs will con...

The move to lower the voting age already appears to be dead in the water, despite a landmark decision from the country's highest court. The Supreme Court has ruled stopping 16 and 17-year-olds from voting is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights. Cabinet is now set to draft legislation to lower the voting age which will be put to a conscience vote, and will require 75 percent support to pass. Justi...

The Women's Rugby World Cup stars can't wait to meet supporters and celebrate the win publicly. An event to mark the Black Ferns' win is planned for Parliament on December 13. Just-retired Black Fern Kendra Cocksedge told Mike Hosking the support over the past few months has been incredible, and she can't wait to celebrate the win with everyone. She says it gives them time to reflect on what they'...

A warning that new housing densification rules could mean homes will be built on areas most at risk of natural hazards. It's believed under legislation like the National Policy Statement on Urban Development, a building boom will be triggered forcing councils to allow more dense development. EQC Chief Resilience and Research Officer Jo Horrocks told Mike Hosking there could be unintended consequen...

Trump's reinstatement on Twitter may not drive as many people off the platform as first thought. Elon Musk has reinstated the Former US President's account. It's just the latest controversial decision from the new Twitter owner, that have angered many of the website's users. But Gorilla Technology Chief Executive Paul Spain told Mike Hosking many important Twitters users can't afford to lose the f...

So what advantage does Winston Peters give himself by ruling out Labour after the election? His famous trick, if that’s what you want to call it, was to play guessing games. He always said the voters would decide, which of course they never did. The voters voted and then Peters decided based on what he wanted to do. By ruling out Labour this time is he playing a new trick? He ruled "this lot" out....

Winston Peters is adamant he's willing to relinquish the role of king-maker. The New Zealand First Leader told Mike Hosking he's standing by his commitment to not go back into government with Labour - claiming the party lied to him about its plans for co-governance arrangements. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealanders have a long way to go when it comes to road safety. Seven people have died following multiple crashes this weekend, in what police say were avoidable. Police say one of the biggest challenges they face is that messages are not getting through to motorists on how to prevent crashes. Assistant Police Commissioner Bruce O'Brien told Mike Hosking they would see a significant reduction i...

Several people are in critical condition, after a mass-shooting in a US gay night club. Five people are dead, and another 18 injured, after a gunman opened fire at Club Q in Colorado Springs. The suspect -22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich- is being treated for injuries while in custody. US correspondent, Richard Arnold says it echoes 2016's Orlando gay night club shooting massacre. He says it appea...

Our emergency motel housing is being described as a sad situation, as the longest stay now stretches more than three years. Figures show more than a thousand people have stayed in them for longer than a year. In 2018, just three people had been in emergency motels for more than a year... but that number now sits at 12-hundred. Social housing advocate Bernie Smith says when National introduced emer...