The Mike Hosking Breakfast

I love the Queen. She might be the greatest representative of most of our lifetimes in terms of dedication, consistency, and loyalty. She has, whether you are a republican or a monarchist, shown a set of moral and professional credentials that are sadly too scarce these days. Her life has been dedicated to service. She had no choice; she was born into it. The celebrations this week to mark the 70t...

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.   Her Majesty: 10/10 "Some members of the family haven't quite got it. But for service, dedication, consistency, and the upholding of a promise made long ago, she is without peer and virtually faultless. She is one of the world's great human beings."   Penny Wong: 8/10 "Seems act...

There's backing behind six Wellington businesses that have taken a direct route to court over a central city cycleway. The group's challenging the lawfulness of the bike network's construction between Newtown and Courtney Place. The project's been widely criticised by businesses in the area for getting rid of car parks. Newtown businessman David Wilcock told Mike Hosking there have been issues dev...

The Queen has made her first public appearance at her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, but is having to pull out of other appearances due to ill health. She's made a brief but beaming appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony, during the Trooping the Colour Parade. She'll miss today's Thanksgiving Service at St Paul’s Cathedral, but still hopes to take part in a beacon lighting event at Windsor Ca...

Children attending schools near busy roads could be at a disadvantage. A study from the Barcelona Institute of Global Health, has looked at more than two and a half thousand year 7 to 10 kids, and how much road traffic noise they're exposed to. It's found the higher intensity of road traffic noise there is, the slower memory development and attention. Child development expert Nathan Wallis told Mi...

Three district councils are determined not to give up the fight over Three Waters. As new three water legislation is introduced to Parliament - Timaru, Waimakariri and Whangarei district councils are off to the High Court. They say this is bigger than three waters and they'll be asking the court for a declaration on the rights and interests that property ownership entails. Timaru mayor Nigel Bowen...

Overwhelming support for the NZ Rugby and Silver Lake deal as the two year saga ends in success. New Zealand's 26 provincial rugby unions have voted 89 votes to one to accept the 200-million dollar investment. The American private equity firm will control all revenue-generating assets of NZR. Manawatu Rugby chairman Tim Myers told Mike Hosking it didn't come without its initial hurdles, but he's c...

What I like about Don Brash entering the cost-of-living debate is he comes with knowledge, experience and he tells a different story to Adrian Orr. We have two Reserve Bank Governors with different stories, so who is right? If Brash turns out to be more accurate in the long run, you can quite justifiably ask a couple of solid questions of Orr. Was he up for the job? Why couldn't he see what others...

Surprise in the United States over the outcome of the high-profile defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. A jury has found Heard defamed Depp by claiming she was abused him, and has found she acted with actual malice, awarding Depp $23.1 million (NZD) in damages. But it's also found Heard was defamed awarding her $3 million in damages. Celebrity lawyer Christopher Melcher told Mike...

You could say it has been a while between drinks. Lyle Lovett and his large band have not produced a record since 2012.   Fans are rejoicing to see them back with 12th of June. It's been a while in the making - the album was written and recorded in 2019, but the pandemic delayed the release. But it's here now - and so is Lyle Lovett who joined the Mike Hosking Breakfast from Texas. LISTEN ABOVE Se...

Calls for a sugary drink tax in New Zealand. New research has found sugary drink taxes decrease sales by 15 per cent - without causing job losses or hindering manufacturing. Dental Association spokesperson Rob Beaglehole told Mike Hosking we need to treat sugar the same way we treat tobacco. He says Coke and other soft drink companies target kids, teenagers and low income adults, just like tobacco...

Johnny Depp has won his high-profile defamation battle against ex-wife Amber Heard. A jury has found Heard defamed Depp by claiming she was abused before and during their brief marriage, awarding him $23.1 million (NZD) in damages. It's also found Heard was defamed, awarding her $3 million in damages. KTLA's Sam Rubin spoke to Mike Hosking after covering the case. “I’m somewhat surprised by the re...

A transitional housing provider says we've gone from a housing crisis to a catastrophe. The amount of money set aside for transitional housing has nearly doubled in two years, with $330 million spent last year alone.  Monte Cecelia Trust Chief Executive Bernie Smith told Mike Hosking the problem has got worse, and the state can't tackle it alone. He says if we put emergency housing and transitiona...

General practice leaders are dismayed with Interim Health New Zealand's three percent increase in funding. General Practice New Zealand Chairman Jeff Lowe told Mike Hosking the funding increase should be at least 6.9 per cent to keep up with inflation. He says costs could be passed onto patients but it's not something doctors want to do. “The Government does subsidise your visits to the doctor so...

A former NZ Rugby Chairman is expecting the Silver Lake deal to go through with overwhelming support. It would see a share of its commercial rights sold to the US firm in return for at least $200 million in cash. If the union votes it favour, it will spin-off its commercial arm into a new business, allowing the investor to buy a minority stake. Former New Zealand Rugby Chairman Brent Impey told Mi...

The Labour Government is in a spot. They have released an attack ad aimed at National. In it is a photo of Chris Luxon and line he used at a speech that says the "cost of living crisis, that’s how we will win this election." That obviously hit a nerve with Labour, because running ads at this point in the political cycle is a bit wasteful. But Grant Robertson, who authorised the ads, has done a cou...

MPs Megan Woods and Mark Mitchell joined the Mike Hosking Breakfast to wrap the week's political news. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seeing kids sneak into R rated movies is not a new phenomenon, but the UK are attempting to crack down on it. They're trialling an ID app called Yoti that confirms a kid's age with an uploaded official document that the UK Cinema Association is hoping will be successful, to be rolled out around the country as a permanent legal proof of age. Suggestions have been made that New Zealand should implem...

The outlook for residential construction is not looking too promising. It comes as the ANZ Business Outlook Survey has shown the situation is "rapidly deteriorating". ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner told Mike Hosking this could be caused by a combination of expected demand to dry up or a lack of supplies, such as GIB. She says it could affect whether we see a sharp bounce back, or a sudden stop...

It's remaining unclear what the resignation of two senior leaders in Gloriavale will mean for the community. The resignation of Fervent Stedfast and Faithful Pilgrim follows an unprecedented apology last Friday. Both have faced issues around employment and protecting children in their care. Former Gloriavale member James Harrison told Mike Hosking he believes Faithful Pilgrim is more genuine. He f...

Supply chains could continue to be an issue, even as the world's biggest port re-opens today. Shanghai has been operating at a severely reduced capacity since March. Many shipments have either been cancelled, postponed or rerouted to other Chinese ports. Infometrics economist Brad Olsen told Mike Hosking supply chain issues could get worse as manufacturing sites reopen. He wonders if ports in Euro...

High admission numbers to Christchurch Hospital have caused major surgeries to be deferred. It comes as the Canterbury DHB has more than 170 staff off with Covid-19 - and 1200 new cases across the region. College for Emergency Medicine immediate past president John Bonning told Mike Hosking it's a perfect combination of increased patient presentations in winter, and staff illnesses. He says there...

Jacinda Ardern hasn't been able to change Joe Biden's mind about the CPTPP free trade agreement. The Prime Minister has met the US President at the White House this morning. The pair discussed trade, China's growing influence in the Pacific, and New Zealand's experience on gun control. Ardern says the meeting was focused on discussions, rather than changing of minds. “Our meeting was very much foc...

As usual there's big, bold talk from the Government, this time on supermarkets. This is their response to the Commerce Commission report into the industry. In simple terms, the market doesn't work as well as it could, and the Government are going to do something about it. The exact same thing happened in petrol. Commerce Commission said the market wasn’t working as well as it could be and the Gove...

A bit of insight into wars and conflicts plaguing the world from one of the world's leading military brains. Major General Mick Ryan served in the Australian military for more than 30 years - and ended up becoming director general of the Australian Defence College. He was awarded the Order for Australia for his leadership of the 1st reconstruction task force in Afghanistan. Since his retirement -...