The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Damian McKenzie's welcomed the chance to return to the 10 jersey for tomorrow's Bledisloe Cup rugby opener against the Wallabies in Auckland.  Richie Mo'unga was named internally at first-five but succumbed to a calf injury on Tuesday.  McKenzie has started all seven tests in Dave Rennie's coaching era at fullback, but says he's had enough time to get across the detail for a positional s...

National's Social Development spokesperson says drug testing is already normal for a number of jobs, so Jobseekers should meet the same expectation.   The Party's promising introduce random drug testing for people on the Jobseeker benefit and reduce payments for those who've been on it more than two years.   Louise Upston says they'll start with 10 thousand tests in the first year and ex...

The South Island's set for a mammoth summer as tourist numbers and air capacity boom.  Aviation and tourism consulting firm ISD Partners says New Zealand's likely to see 400 thousand more overseas passengers than last summer.  We're set to hit pre-Covid peaks early next year, with Christchurch in particular seeing a big jump in international routes.  Tourism Holdings Limited Chief E...

There's potential for issues to emerge as Labour pledges to open the skies to more competition.    The party's new aviation policies include requiring airlines to publicly report delays or cancellations and make big airlines automatically refund flights during cancellations, or big changes.  It would also open up access to more airport infrastructure so smaller airlines can grow and...

There's confidence that structured literacy is paying dividends for primary school students, despite some concerns from Chris Hipkins.  The Labour leader and former Education Minister told Newstalk ZB yesterday the Better Start Literacy Approach is working, but comprehension remains a challenge for kids.  Canterbury University Professor Gail Gillon told Mike Hosking their data shows gain...

I tell you who should be feeling good this election campaign: political parties.  If the commentary and expectation I'm seeing so far is truly representative of where we are at in this country, as consumers we have slipped back into a gliding-on type world of the 1970's.  The supermarket scrap is stupid enough. But Labour yesterday yet again waded into the world of banking, promising to...

Another year, another novel from bestselling author John Grisham.  He's had 51 consecutive number 1 bestselling books across various genres, and has sold nearly half a billion copies worldwide.  And now he's stepping out of the courtroom with his first spy thriller and foray into international espionage – 'The French Illusion'.   "I love spy novels," Grisham told Mike Hosking. ...

National's small business plan is being seen as practical, but not transformational.  The party's released a 47 point plan to cut red tape for small businesses, which it would implement if re-elected.   It features tweaks to non-trade barriers, employment relations, health and safety, and a review of the compulsory GST registration threshold.  ABC Business Sales Managing Director Ch...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 8th of October, our teacher training enrolments are the best they've been in years – are we solving the problem?    Labour leader Chris Hipkins discusses education and charter schools, co-governance, capital gains, and the state of MMP.  Legendary author John Grisham is back to talk about his new book and the career of the...

High unemployment could be behind a sudden surge of people wanting to become teachers.  New Ministry figures show the number of people in training is up 40% from 2023.   Education Minister Erica Stanford credits the School Onsite Training scheme, which pays people to learn on the job.   Rangiora High School Principal Bruce Kearney told Mike Hosking when unemployment rises, there's n...

A spike in home construction costs could lead people to have second thoughts about building new. The latest Cordell Construction Cost index shows the September quarter saw the fastest increase since 2022 – 1.7%. Cotality Head of Research Nick Goodall says it's due to the war in Iran and the rising volume of new dwelling consents, which reduce capacity and create cost pressures. He told Mike Hoskin...

New Zealand Cricket president Mark Greatbatch admits the governing body has been caught out.  That's after initially shouldering arms to calls from the likes of Sir Richard Hadlee for some form of evidence to justify the choice of NZ20 as a short-form pathway for the future of the domestic game.  Board chair Diana Puketapu-Lyndon has apologised for a lack of clarity about why independent...

Chris Hipkins reckons there was no easy answer to this week's leaders debate question on whether it's okay to be a billionaire.  Former Prime Minister Sir John Key says it's "nuts" to think billionaires are "morally offensive".  Key told the Herald's Future of New Zealand debate last night that we should be celebrating business success like we celebrate sporting and musical success.&nbsp...

From our “he would say that, wouldn’t he” file, comes the predictable Winston Peters response to the National Party's medicine for aid deal.  National are reading the room. If you have no money and you need to trade one thing for another, does medicine beat aid?  Yes, hands down.  Although Pacific aid is protected, where Peters has fallen hopelessly short is in his oft-used line abo...

Exercise chain CityFitness is lining up one of the sector's biggest expansions yet.  It's looking to pump $100 million into 50 new gyms over the next five years, expanding its network beyond 100 locations.  The plans include growing its Simplicity Fitness Premium Facilities and launching women-only gyms, and would create around 1000 new jobs.  Chief Operating Officer Doug Hatten tol...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 7th of October, Mike gives his thoughts on last night's debate, and we bring you a selection of the best bits.  Kiwi pro golfer Steve Alker keeps on winning on the PGA Champions Tour, so he's back for a chat.  Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell discuss the debate, education, and cocaine use on Politics Wednesday.  Get the M...

Labour says schools need more flexibility around teaching reading, writing, and maths to make room for critical thinking.  Leader Chris Hipkins confirmed at last night's leaders' debate Labour wouldn't require schools to teach an hour a day of each subject if elected.  National introduced the mandate in its first 100 days.  Labour's education spokesperson Ginny Andersen told Mike Ho...

National's plan to cut aid is troubling a foreign affairs expert.   The party says it will take 10% of the aid budget and shift it to Pharmac's budget, if it forms the next Government.   Funding to the Pacific will be spared.   National says our money's gone to such far flung things as workshops with indigenous farmers in Patagonia and installing live emissions equipment in South Af...

Golfer Steven Alker has toiled through a troublesome back and a sick caddie to a third PGA seniors tour title in his last four attempts - his fourth title win of the year.  The Hamiltonian pulled out of the pro-am of the Tour's latest event in Pennsylvania through injury, then lost regular caddie Troy Martin halfway through the first round.  Alker says being was forced to rein in his gam...

City and town centres are busier than they were after Covid.  Latest Paymark data shows retail spending in the past few months has been down on the same period last year.  But new Experian data shows shops, bars, and restaurants in most cities have been seeing business pick up since Covid – Wellington being an outlier.  Retail NZ CEO Carolyn Young told Mike Hosking that in New Zeala...

There's confidence the Government and Otago councils can work together to keep up with the region's growth.  The Government's formally signed a regional deal with Queenstown Lakes, Central Otago, and Otago Regional Councils.  It aims to improve planning coordination over the next 30 years, with ministers promising to meet local leaders every six months.  Queenstown Mayor John Glover...

With the period of digestion now complete, I think it is more than fair to suggest that the Labour Party's fiscal plan has been marked a failure.  This is not just me, but as far as I can read virtually every journalist and commentator, including economists, say so.  This politically should be a disaster. Economic credibility, this election in particular, is everything.  The electio...

Retired Supercars legend Garth Tander knows better than most the Bathurst 1000 is won with a mix of skill, strategy and timing.  The six-time winner, and reigning champion alongside Kiwi Matthew Payne, believes there's a four step process to give yourself the best chance to conquer Mount Panorama.  However, Tander says that the track has a mind of its own across 1000 kilometres and distr...

In 2025, author and former UK politician Jeffrey Archer joined Mike Hosking to chat about the final stage of his writing career.  He's now died at age 86, his publisher Harper Collins saying he died suddenly and peacefully at home.   At the time, Archer was in the midst of writing his final book, though he had no plans to step back from writing as a whole, telling Hosking he plans on sho...

Australasian construction giant Fulton Hogan has recovered from a rough 2025.  Annual revenue rose from $6.9 billion to $7.3 billion, while after-tax profit jumped from $365 million to $430 million.  Its profits are now evenly balanced between Australia and New Zealand.   Infrastructure NZ CEO Nick Leggett told Mike Hosking their success doesn't quite represent the entire constructi...