The Mike Hosking Breakfast

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 6th of October, we get the low down on why fuel prices have never been higher while oil is again, mostly, flowing from the Strait of Hormuz.  Associate Transport Minister James Meager discusses why the Government is lending more money to regional airlines.   Supercars champ and Bathurst legend Garth Tander talks his career and n...

Labour's pledging more choice on who's capable of fixing your car.   The party wants to introduce a right of repair law, requiring car makers to give independent mechanics access to key manuals and information.   It says it'll help lower prices and create more work for local workshops.  Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association Chief Executive Greig Epps told Mike Hosking mechanic...

There are hopes at-risk regional airlines will be able to pay their loans back as they're given more help.  The Government's allocated $5.7 million in grants from the Regional Infrastructure Fund to help with soaring fuel costs.  It's already provided nearly $26 million in loans to date to deal with maintenance and debt.  Associate Transport Minister James Meager told Mike Hosking t...

Wars in the Middle East and Europe are continuing to push up prices at the pump in New Zealand.  Latest data from fuel monitoring platform Gaspy shows the average fuel price for 91 unleaded has surpassed $3.50.  The global oil benchmark Brent Crude has been sitting above US$100 a barrel for some time.  Macquarie University Energy Expert Lurion De Mello told Mike Hosking fuel prices...

After four election promises to build a major Canterbury road, National's Chris Bishop is confident construction will finally begin.  National says it will start construction on the Belfast-to-Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass in 2027, if re-elected.   The project has also been an election promise for National in 2017, 2020, and 2023.  Transport spokesperson Chris Bishop told Mike...

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake hit Victoria in the early hours of Saturday morning. According to recent reports, residents were woken up by the shaking around 2am, with people feeling the quake across Melbourne's south-east.  Australian correspondent Steve Price says the region's usually pretty benign, with this being the most notable earthquake since 2021. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listene...

Andrew Saville and Jason Pine joined Mike Hosking to review all the big sporting events of the weekend, including the NRL grand final, Liam Lawson's 7th place F1 finish and the latest NPC results. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An investment fund manager says political parties need to reach a consensus on KiwiSaver, so people can get on with saving.  ACT has announced it wants to cut the tax on investment earnings through KiwiSaver, while also scrapping the $260-a-year Government contribution.  Labour, National, New Zealand First and Opportunity also have revealed plans for the scheme. Milford Asset Management...

Trump is on the campaign trail as the US mid-term elections are set to take place next month. The President has been touring around red states, doing back-to-back rallies in Texas and Oklahoma. US correspondent Richard Arnold says Trump has been urging his base to get out and vote - but his latest campaign ads have raised questions. "US law prohibits Government funds from being used for political...

Inflation could keep running hot for the rest of the year, driven by high prices at the pump and our weakening NZ dollar. ASB's latest quarterly economic forecast predicts the Reserve Bank will push the OCR up two more times, to 3.25 percent.  It also expects unemployment to stick around 5.6 percent and house prices to flatline.  But acting chief economist Kim Mundy says the economy's sh...

Some observations as we enter week two of the election campaign of 2026. Firstly, it's not really week two. This thing has been going for ages, which doesn’t help. It feels long and boring already. Secondly, what do we make of the small party promises you know are never going to see the light of day? How much time and energy do we place on a thing you know will never happen? In theory of course, i...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Monday the 5th of October, Labour's Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds runs through her fiscal plan while the pay equity regime still isn't fully costed, in public anyway. The Prime Minister is on the campaign trail in Christchurch and responds to Labour's plan, the new road which is actually an old road and strategic voting. Andrew Saville and...

Chris Luxon is criticising Labour's long-awaited fiscal plan, but won't put a date on when its fiscal plan will be released. Labour's plan includes a return to operating surplus by 2028-29 - and the party's confident every campaign promise so far is fully costed and funded. Luxon has criticised the plan, for not costing the reintroduction of the pay equity scheme. The National Leader told Mike Hos...

Barbara Edmonds is adamant she's 'absolutely credible' as Labour's finance spokesperson. The party's unveiled its Fiscal Plan, promising to return the books to an operating surplus in 2028/29. Edmonds is confident every campaign promise so far is fully costed and funded. She's not providing a figure for returning the former pay equity scheme, saying that will be decided in bargaining. Edmonds told...

The Opportunity Party turns out to be a sham of sorts.  We have bottom lines, but not real bottom lines.  1) More power to the Commerce Commission. Big deal...  2) A 10-year health plan. That means nothing.  3) Reforming lobbying. That's hardly a thing. It means a lot, or little, or nothing, but it's hard to be against it.  4) Bottom trawling. It's an odd one because it's...

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 campaign: 4/10  Is it just me or has the mental stuff with ice cream and dumb questions started so early that we will be suicidal by November?    PREFU: 7/10  Confirmed widely held suspicions that our economy is on the way back in a material w...

Given Westpac played what I would loosely call a dumb game this week with numbers, let me return serve.  Their numbers involved a bunch of what they call "necessities" and their prices over the past ten years.  White bread is up 120% and butter up 157%. Chicken though is only up 2%. So, if you ate a lot of chicken, not only would you be protein rich, you would have saved a fortune. ...

The Moa Point saga is now wading into the courts.  The Greater Wellington Regional Council has filed charges against water company Tiaki Wai and the City Council after a catastrophic failure in February saw more than 14 billion litres of untreated sewage pumped into the sea.    The regional council says the prosecution follows detailed investigation of the events, the roles of invol...

It's Friday, which means it's time for Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson to join Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that Was.  They discussed the first official week of election campaigning, last night's minor leaders' debate, and at what point minor parties actually become major parties.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 2nd of October, we look at the first week of the official election campaign .  The gaming industry in this country has officially hit $1 billion in revenue for the first time ever.  Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson talk the first week of the debate, their interview of the week, and at what point minor party loses the title of "minor...

New Zealand's video game industry is punching well above its weight.  Revenue surged 33% to $1.01 billion in 2026, with all but $55 million of that coming from exports.  The industry is confident it can hit $2 billion by 2030.   NZ Game Developers Association Executive Director Joy Keene told Mike Hosking in comparison, the global game industry grew by just 2.7% in 2025, so we're bo...

A new initiative aims to cut out the middleman and provide more value to wool growers and farmers.  Wools of New Zealand has launched a direct-to-consumer service, allowing Kiwis to buy wool carpet directly through its Laneve brand.  It's aiming to compete with synthetics on price while returning more to growers.  CEO John McWhirter told Mike Hosking you can still buy their products...

Our tourism industry's keen on a streamlined travel pathway between New Zealand and Australia.  National wants to see a trial of a fully digitised trans-Tasman airport process in place by 2028.  It says people could provide travel details digitally and pass through the gates on facial recognition.  Tourism Industry Aotearoa Chief Executive Rebecca Ingram told Mike Hosking it makes s...

More growth out of the new vehicle market, with September the strongest month of the year so far.  Over 13 thousand new passenger vehicles were registered —up nearly 28% on a year ago— while total light vehicle registrations neared 25 thousand.  Toyota led the market with over 3,000 sales, with BYD, Tesla, and MG, all sitting between 500 and 1000 new registrations.  Motor Trade Asso...

A political commentator suggests Labour and National may struggle to claw back support before election day.  The leaders of the Greens, ACT, New Zealand First, Opportunity, and Te Pāti Māori have faced off in the Stuff's Kingmakers' Debate last night.  It came as the latest 1News-Verian poll had both major parties poling at just 28% support.  Political commentator Trish Sherson told...