The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Britain's Prime Minister is accusing officials of withholding information from him before he appointed Peter Mandelson US ambassador. 

Sir Keir Starmer sacked Mandelson in September last year over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. 

Starmer says officials deliberately didn't tell him Mandelson has failed security vetting, and he wouldn't have cleared Mandelson to the role if he'd known. 

UK Correspondent Rod Liddle told Mi...

There’s no doubt ‘The Boys’ is one of the biggest shows on television at the moment. 

It’s in its fifth and final season and has been one of Amazon’s biggest hits – season 4 drawing in 55 million viewers. 

The satirical superhero show is helmed by two well-known Kiwis, Antony Starr, who plays Homelander, and Karl Urban, who plays Billy Butcher. 

Urban is actually in the midst of one of the busiest stretches of his ca...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 21st of April, BNZ’s Chief Economist looks ahead to the inflation data set to be released this morning, and Air NZ CEO Nikhil Ravishankar discusses the latest on jet fuel stocks and price increases.  

Buckle up – Mike names the five National MPs seemingly behind the discontent within the party. 

Kiwi actor Karl Urban discusses the final season of The Boys and exp...

A fuel squeeze is driving higher airfares and stronger demand for Air New Zealand, particularly on international routes. 

Long-haul fares have jumped 25% over the past year, trans-Tasman 20%, and domestic flights 10%. 

Jet fuel stocks have climbed to 51.4 days, according to the latest figures. 

Chief Executive Nikhil Ravishankar told Mike Hosking long-haul is 'a double-edged sword' – costly in fuel but buoyed by risi...

Rural schools are welcoming extra support from the Government to deal with rising fuel costs. 

Small schools will receive one-off additional funding, and 70 schools will receive a one-off grant to speed up the replacement of diesel boilers.  

Mileage support for rural relief teachers is also being doubled. 

Rural Schools Leadership Association president Andrew King told Mike Hosking it's been hard for country schools...

Today's inflation numbers won't reflect the full impact of the war in the Middle East. 

The first quarter of this year's expected to show a dip in annual inflation after 2025 ended with a rate of 3.1%.  

Bank economists are predicting an inflation rate between 2.8 and 3.1%. 

BNZ Chief Economist Mike Jones told Mike Hosking despite not showing the current picture, there will still be some interest in today’s numbers –...

Insurance companies are getting very specific when assessing which properties are exposed to risks like flooding, an insurance expert says, but there’s a limit. 

An intense storm like the one that hit some Wellington suburbs yesterday could have happened anywhere, making the risk much harder to pin down to individual properties, Bryce Davies —climate spokesperson for AMI, State, and NZI— told Mike Hosking. 

If people didn...

Opioid detections in workplaces are rising sharply. 

Workplace testing firm the Drug Detection Agency says detections of opioids like morphine and fentanyl has increased by more than a third in the past year. 

In Taranaki, it's recording almost five times as many opioids as the previous year. 

Chief Executive Glenn Dobson told Mike Hosking the stats will vary in comparison to wastewater, but they’re certainly a refle...

The idea of reducing reliance on fossil fuels, including the Green Party's new electrification plan, is often met with criticism that not everything can be switched over, but Mike Casey, CEO of Rewiring Aotearoa, says that isn't the immediate goal. 

"My focus is mainly on households at the moment, which is basically gas in the households and also electric vehicles, putting solar on the roof and batteries in the garage. We...

Far-right politician Pauline Hanson's party One Nation has seen an unexpected surge in popularity ahead of this year's election, and Hanson's stardom has skyrocketed as a result. 

Australia correspondent Steve Price told Mike Hosking about his encounter with her at a local football club.

"She walked in and got a standing ovation from people, and then a queue formed to her right of mainly young people I would say. And they...

You know exactly how today is going to go.

The Prime Minister does the media rounds this morning. There will be no shortage of cortisol spiked journalists hanging off every word, double dissecting every pause and utterance—many of them desperate to write something disparaging about a man they’ve already decided they dislike.

I wouldn’t be Luxon for quids. He’s been dealt a shit hand.

Worse than the media, though, are the stirrers i...

After briefly re-opening the Strait of Hormuz, Iran closed it again after the US did not meet demands to unblock Iranian ports.

Former US Army Major General told Mike Hosking, "unfortunately, I have to say that the Iranians have assessed the situation probably the most accurate, which is there's inconsistency on the American position, and we just don't know where this is going."

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

Yesterday New Zealand First announced a campaign policy to break up New Zealand's supermarket duopoly.

Woolworths and Foodstuffs currently control over 80 percent of the grocery market.

NZ First leader Winston Peters told Mike Hosking he isn't pursuing this now because, "the National Party is not for it, the ACT Party is not for it. I mean, they've got their policies which are to stagger on with the Commerce Commission that's ...

The Prime Minister's rubbishing the latest poll - showing the left bloc in a position to win the election.

The 1 News Verian Poll has the left on 66 seats to the right bloc's 58 - assuming Te Pāti Māori keeps its six seats.

Our newsroom understands multiple MPs are believed to be unhappy with Luxon’s performance and want his leadership discussed.

Christopher Luxon has been rejecting talk of a challenge to his leadership - and says ...

The Government has quietly agreed to repeal a number of references to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi within laws, and amending others.

Despite ongoing conversations since February, no one from within the Government had spoken publicly about the move or made any announcement.

The Ministry of Justice said this would ensure “better outcomes and more consistent decision-making”.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith spoke to Mike H...

A bloke called Roman Gofman could be the key to all this. 

Gofman is the incoming Director of Mossad. 

If you believe the story about the war, Netanyahu got the intel that the heavyweights in Iran would all be in the same room on that fateful Saturday. So, if there was ever a time to strike this was it. 

Netanyahu convinced Trump. 

Netanyahu was advised by Gofman, who also believed that if you hit them hard they...

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 war: 6/10 

Mark my words, this is closer to the end than many think. Round two of talks, a squeeze on the Strait – the Iranians are about to capitulate.  

Moana Pasifika: 4/10 

In a competition already lacking sparkle, this can't have helped. And also, perhaps a l...

Not a lot of coverage has been given to the failed appeal by Tony Gibson. 

He was the head of the Port of Auckland, a worker died and he was charged under health and safety and found guilty. 

It was the Health and Safety at Work Act of 2015, and he was the first person of a large operation to be charged and found guilty under it. 

This in no way takes away from the tragedy and seriousness of the accident. 

But t...