The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Chris Luxon has more work to do to convince Kiwis he deserves the country's top job. The latest 1News Kantar Poll shows the National Party are in the popularity lead at 37 percent, compared to Labour on 34. But the preferred Prime Minister rankings aren't as positive for the Nats, with Luxon on 21 percent and Jacinda Ardern on 30 percent. The National party leader told Mike Hosking he'll be workin...

There's a feeling of a mood shift in our country's approach to alcohol. A petition is being presented to Parliament this afternoon, backing Chlöe Swarbrick's Alcohol Harm Minimisation Bill looking to ban alcohol advertising and sponsorship in broadcast sport . More than 8,000 people have signed their name in support, from 115 organisations. Hapai Te Hauora Chief Executive Selah Hart told Mike Hosk...

The call is out to bring passenger rail back in the south. Dunedin City Council has approved a submission to central government calling for the return of passenger rail between Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill. The Southerner express service ran between the three cities until 2002. Mayor Aaron Hawkins told Mike Hosking they know there's demand locally for this service. He says people are inc...

A forgotten part of the Rotorua mess are the tourism operators. They have this week, quite rightly, charged the Government with wrecking their town and its reputation. The Government will try and tell you that Rotorua and its mess is really just confined to Fenton Street. But as anyone who knows anything about brand reputation will tell you, a reputation is hard won and easily lost. What's so sad...

Guy Heveldt and Andrew Saville joined the Mike Hosking Breakfast for Commentary Box. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NASA is making sure we don't suffer the same fate as the dinosaurs. The organisation's DART Mission is crashing a probe into an asteroid about 12.14pm this afternoon New Zealand time The goal is to see if the probe can deflect an asteroid 11-million kilometres away to avoid any possible future impact. Canterbury University astronomer Michelle Bannister, who's part of the investigation team, told M...

Air New Zealand’s marathon direct flight to New York is struggling to take off. On Sunday, returning passengers were asked to volunteer to miss their overweight flight. While days earlier travellers narrowly avoided a stop in Fiji to refuel due to weather issues. Air NZ Chief Flight Operations and Safety officer David Morgan joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Commuters may experience disruption on the roads this summer. More than 2,000km of roads will be resealed or rebuilt across the country over the next six months. Waka Kotahi Maintenance and Operations National Manager Neil Walker told Mike Hosking orange cones on the roads can be frustrating. He says they're doing their best to make sure it doesn't disrupt people. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/l...

National says time is running out for the Government to put plans in place to reduce on-farm emissions. A research centre announced in May to help cut emissions has still not be set up, and there’s been no response to the farming sectors submission to the primary sector climate change partnership. National’s Climate Change spokesperson Scott Simpson joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio...

New Zealand won't be completely sheltered from the latest volatility in international markets. World sharemarkets have been taking a tumble over the weekend. The pound has reached its lowest level against the US dollar, the Euro has touched a fresh 20-year low, and Asia-Pacific currencies have also been weakening. Mark Lister from Craigs Investment Partners told Mike Hosking New Zealand won't be c...

The Brothers of Italy party, which won the most votes in Italy's national election, has its roots in the post-World War II neo-fascist Italian Social Movement. Keeping the movement's most potent symbol, the tricolour flame, Giorgia Meloni has taken Brothers of Italy from a fringe far-right group to Italy's biggest party. A century after Benito Mussolini's 1922 March on Rome, which brought the fasc...

Richard E Grant is one of the world’s favourite actors. He came to fame in the cult classic Withnail and I back in the 1980s and has gone on to appear on more than 80 films and TV series. His credits include The Age of Innocence , Spice World , LA Story, Game of Thrones, Star wars and Loki. And he got the critics attention with his performance in 2018's Can You Ever Forgive Me? That got him Oscar,...

The Mood of the Boardroom, which is out in the Herald today, is in some respects, the Government's day of reckoning. You might recall a few years back when the Prime Minister was all shiny and new, too many people had fallen for the superficial charm that she said she was going to work with business, and she was going to listen to business. When that turned out not to be true, she set up a busines...

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 Monarchy: 9/10 "It was a culmination of over a week of pomp, ceremony, history, and reverence for a woman adored by virtually everyone. And it's a sight we will most likely not see again."   Opposition to Three Waters: 7/10 "The mayoral poll confirmed what most of us suspec...

A number of changes for the All Blacks heading into this weekend's must-win Rugby Championship match against Australia. Captain Cane is out, which sees Sam Whitelock take the honours. Jordie Barrett moves into 12, with Beauden Barrett to fullback. Ardie savea is back from parental leave and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck finally gets a crack off the bench. Ian Foster is the All Blacks head coach and joined t...

Schools now know how much funding they will get under a new scheme replacing school deciles. Nearly 90 per cent are getting more funding under the new system, which will replace the old decile system next year. Northland schools are set to get the biggest boost of $223 per student, but about 200 schools around the country will see less funding from 2024. Principals' Federation President Cherie Tay...

Hopefully some good news is on the way for our viticulture industry. A member’s bill was pulled out of the biscuit tin yesterday that would help streamline the process required for wineries to sell samples. As it currently stands, small wineries have to secure a separate 'on-licence' to that of their 'off-licence' in order to sell wine samples, which requires added costs such as providing a food s...

There are some new changes coming in the streaming world, with Sky revealing they're set to launch their new box before Christmas at the cost of $200. The new box will allow customers to stream in 4k, record five channels at once, hold 1 terabyte of storage and will incorporate all the major streaming apps such as Netflix and Amazon. Sophie Maloney is Sky Television's CEO and joined Mike Hosking....

Pressure is mounting on the Government, to come up with a better plan for the tough economic times. In the latest annual Herald Mood of the Boardroom Survey, chief executives rate Jacinda Ardern just 1.61 for building confidence with the business community. Optimism in the global economy is at 1.83 out of five, down from 3.15 out of five last year. Employers and Manufacturers Association Chief Exe...

Here in New Zealand, the Government is mulling over whether to expel Russia's ambassador. Strategic analyst Paul Buchanan told Mike Hosking a better option would be to kick out the two Russian military attaché. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have a look at the photo that Justin Trudeau posted of his trip with our PM via his private jet from London to New York. If you haven't seen it, it's a side on of the two great leaders across the sort of table you get in a private jet. Perhaps, unusually, both are wearing masks. Given the pandemic is over according to Joe Biden who said you don’t see masks anywhere these days, so he clearly hasn’t...

Joseph Parker is back in the ring this weekend, fighting for the championship that he last won in 2016. Parker is fighting the undefeated Joe Joyce for the WBO interim heavyweight championship. They're both ranked two and one respectively. The winner will become the mandatory challenger for the winner of the rematch between Usyk and Anthony Joshua. Joseph Parker joined Mike Hosking out of London....

Thousands of much-needed Pacific labourers can now return to New Zealand, to work. Immigration Minister Michael Wood has announced the re-opening of visa registrations from the Pacific. Registrations for the Samoan quota will reopen on October 3, and for the Pacific Access Category from October 5. Immigration consultant Kay Armstrong told Mike Hosking it's a big deal. She says it will be a welcome...

Maria Doyle Kennedy is easily one of Ireland’s most successful entertainment exports. She's been in the business more than 30 years and has had starring roles in the Tudors, Downton Abbey, Orphan Black and Outlander. Kennedy is also a prolific singer - and with her own record label - has released ten solo studio albums. Now she's back with a new show, Recipes for Love and Murder which is on stream...

We finally got some netball between the Silver Ferns and Jamaica last night. In between visa and passport issues for the visitors, as well as needing to call in their long retired coach as a reserve player, Jamaica had only seven available players who all played the 60mins. It ended with a 70-45 win for the Silver Ferns. Coach Noeline Taurua joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/lis...