The Mike Hosking Breakfast

It’s that time of the year where we pick our politician of the year. 

For me, it's the same person as last year. 

Political commentators, myself included at times, have an unfortunate tendency to sometimes choose politicians because they’re good at playing the political game. 

And if you’re into that, you might pick Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke for collecting her Time magazine award. 

Or Chris Hipkins for resurrect...

The Hamilton to Auckland passenger rail service could come off the tracks if it becomes too expensive for rate payers.  

Waikato Regional Council is writing to the NZTA board to ask for a one-year extension of the service, through to 2027.

They want to test full integration with Auckland’s City Rail Link, which opens next year. 

Waikato Regional Council Chair Warren Maher told Heather du Plessis-Allan 60% funding through ...

The resignation of Netball New Zealand CEO Jennie Wyllie had to happen. 

That's the view of former New Zealand men's netball skipper and commentator Kruze Tangira.  

Tangira told Heather du Plessis-Allan he believes the drama around the standing down then reinstatement of head coach Dame Noeline Taurua has plagued the year. 

He says it started all the way back in January at the Sydney training camp, and it’s taken un...

A push for the Government to use its powers to begin dismantling Gloriavale. 

The Secretary for Education has cancelled the Christian sect school’s licence, forcing it closed from January.  

The call comes just a week after former leader Howard Temple was sentenced to more than two years in prison for sex offending. 

Leavers' Trust Founder Liz Gregory told Heather du Plessis-Allan she’s now urging the Government to g...

A view school violence is changing, with fewer mass fights, but far more frequent outbursts. 

New data shows 12,300 students were disciplined for physical assault this year – up 49% on 2019. 

Most incidents involved students attacking other students. 

Darfield High School Principal Andy England told Heather du Plessis-Allan increasing neurodiversity in classrooms is likely one factor. 

He says devices are also a...

A prediction that 2026 will be a very good year for the economy.  

GDP grew 1.1% in the September quarter.  

Former Associate Finance Minister Richard Prebble even suspects we could see a turnaround in unemployment, which has ticked up since 2022.  

He says Stats NZ data is always backwards looking.  

Prebble told Heather du Plessis-Allan job ads are on the up and Seek numbers up 7%. 

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Donald Trump has unveiled a new Presidential Walk of Fame in The White House. 

It includes portraits of all the previous presidents and corresponding descriptions, written in the style of social media posts. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Heather du Plessis-Allan Trump has helped write some of them. 

The one for Joe Biden refers to him as Sleepy Joe, the worst President in the history of America. 

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The $8 billion Waihi North mine has been given the approval to go for gold, and there could be many millions of ounces out of it. 

It's been given the green light through the Government's fast track programme. 

The permit secures 350 existing jobs and creates more than 100 new roles.  

Oceana Gold Chief Executive Gerard Bond told Heather du Plessis Allan they're investing one billion dollars of capital to get things ...

Surely that judge throwing out the election result in Auckland has started the clock ticking on postal voting. 

This case may not seem a big deal given that it involves just 79 votes, in just one subdivision, in just one relatively small local board election in Auckland. 

But the 79 may just be the tip of the iceberg. It may be that hundreds of ballot papers in that subdivision were stolen from letterboxes, filled in and ...

It’s not a Kiwi summer without Six60, and the county’s highest selling live band is rolling on.  

They’ve dropped their latest single, ‘We Made It’, coming in the wake of their bestselling Australian performance at the Sydney Opera House. 

They’ll also have the honour of being the first live act to perform at the new One NZ Stadium in Christchurch and are curating a new country and roots music festival, taking place this ...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast with Heather du Plessis-Allan Full Show Podcast for Thursday 18th of December, we speak to the new Deputy Police Commissioner and preview the Q3 GDP number. 

The Government is saying the road cone hotline's performed as desired, so they’re shutting it down – six months early.  

Six60 lead singer Matiu Walters stops by for a chat and performs their new single 'We Made It'. 

Get the Mike H...

A Kiwi classic with added convenience. 

Rotorua has its first hot pie vending machine, stocked with the famous Maketū Pies. 

All ten varieties are on offer in the machine, which sits just outside the I-site and besides the Redwoods Treewalk. 

General Manager Craig Williams told Heather du Plessis-Allan the site was selected for visibility, with around 700,000 tourists passing through per day. 

He says a lot of i...

Hopes a Reserve Bank move will translate to better prices for borrowers might be overly optimistic. 

It is changing the mix of capital banks are required to hold, aiming to reduce funding costs and freeing up around $5 billion in equity across the sector.  

It’s also targeting closing the gap between bigger and smaller banks, making the market more competitive. 

Financial Markets and Banking Expert Andrew Body told H...

The Government maintains its road cone hotline has been worthwhile. 

The pilot, which encouraged the public to report excessive cone use, ends tomorrow, six months ahead of schedule. 

Site visits found 86% of work sites were already compliant. 

Workplace Relations Minister Brooke Van Velden told Heather du Plessis-Allan the hotline has found there are issues with the traffic management plans councils design. 

Sh...

Newly minted Deputy Police Commissioner Mike Pannett says he's up for the challenge as he starts the job.  

His predecessor Jevon McSkimming was given nine months home detention yesterday, for possessing objectionable material. 

Pannett told Heather du Plessis-Allan the reputational damage from McSkimming is something police need to take into account.  

He says policing is even more complex and dynamic now than it ha...

Schools and kura could have an important role to play in preventing youth suicide.  

Coroner Tania Tetitaha's inquiry into the self-inflicted deaths of six young people finds they were effectively lost in a fragmented system.  

Children's Commissioner Claire Achmad says we need to make sure getting help is as easy as possible at the earliest stages of distress.  

She told Heather du Plessis-Allan school-based service...

Several of the major banks expect a significant bounce back in GDP for Q3 when Stats NZ releases its economic figures later this morning. 

Westpac and ANZ both predict a gain of about one percent, putting that down to a jump in activity across the board. 

ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner told Heather du Plessis Allan while she's nervous some of that could turn up in the revised numbers down the track, it's looking posit...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast with Heather du Plessis-Allan Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 17th of December, Nicola Willis responds to the surplus being pushed out another year, the third blowout in her two years as the Finance Minister. 

Indycar champ Scott Dixon is on to talk his career and the launch of a new world class karting facility in Auckland. 

And Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen cover all the highs and lows o...