The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Jason Pine and Andrew Saville join Mike Hosking this morning to discuss the weekend's sports.

On the table today: The Warriors defeated the dolphins 14-10, finishing off an impressive comeback from 0-10 down. 

The All-Blacks defeated Los Pumas in Argentina to secure a strong start in the Rugby Championships.

And Chris Wood starts the new season of the Premier League with a bang, netting multiple goals on opening day.

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You may have read a report commissioned by Radio NZ to look into why their operation has become such a dumpster fire.

It said a bunch of stuff that was obvious. One thing that surprised and saddened me though was that most people within that organisation thought radio was dying and audiences were bailing.

That's not true. In fact it’s the opposite. Radio is robust and, comparatively speaking, thriving.

So my question is, how is it ...

The Prime Minister says Auckland won't be getting a bed tax this parliamentary term,  despite a renewed call from the city's mayor. 

Last week Wayne Brown again called for a bed night levy, saying it wouldn't cost the Government anything. 

He claimed they were cheeky for not putting one in and believed they would eventually cave. 

Chris Luxon told Mike Hosking that now is not the time to be putting in another ta...

The All Blacks have defeated Argentina in the Rugby Championship. 

They dispatched a 24-41 victory over Los Pumas, who hosted the All Blacks at Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Córdoba. 

Former All Blacks coach John Hart told Mike Hosking that the dominant display still needs improving, citing a lack of discipline.  

‘You wouldn’t want to be doing that against South Africa’ he said in regard to the All-Black’s big mat...

The government's debt has shot up as our collective total gets closer to one trillion dollars. 

The country's overall debt rose to $870billion dollars for the year to May, 5.4-percent higher than last year’s $830billion. 

Central Government debt sits at nearly $239billion, rising 11-percent on last year. 

ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner says it's worrying if it's getting frittered away, instead of going into key t...

The latest Stats NZ figures says food prices in our 15 main cities have increased five-percent in the past year -- with grocery prices rising much faster than restaurant and takeaway prices. 

But Foodstuffs says prices in its stores have only increased 3.4 percent. 

Foodstuffs North Island Managing Director Chris Quin told Mike Hosking that much of that rise is being driven by beef, lamb and butter. 

Quinn says consu...

New Zealand could secure a place in the global AI economy with a sustainable data centre

Research by the Maxim Institute has looked at leveraging the country's renewable energy, cool climate, and strong privacy laws to become a hub in the Asia–Pacific. 

Researcher Thomas Scrimgeour says high energy costs must be tackled in order to seize the opportunity. 

He told Mike Hosking AI servers use huge amounts of energy - but so...

It never takes long to find the bank of the taxpayer. 

The Green Building Council has lined the Government up for Lord knows how many millions so we can all ditch our gas heaters, buy heat pumps, and save money and the gas industry. 

We talked during the week with businesses who use gas. Some are looking to convert, and some want discretionary loans from you-know-who. 

Major gas users met the Minister last Friday to,...

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. 

Visas: 7/10 

One of the bright spots of the week. Two more visas and access to labour that solves problems. More please. 

Recognising Palestine as a state: 3/10 

Talk about angst for no result. Around and around we go. 

Disney Cruises: 4/10 

Can you blame them? Y...

The battle of duelling responsibilities is unfolding before our eyes and I can't work out whether it will all end in tears. 

On one hand you've got the Local Government Minister off to Cabinet with his rates cap plan for councils. The average rate rise is almost 10%. Inflation isn't. 

It's not good enough. They are out of control and Wellington is going to do something about it. 

But then on the other hand we have Lo...

The Warriors’ season hinges on tonight's match against the Dragons, crucial for playoff chances. 

Injuries and missed opportunities have plagued the Warriors, who have won only two of their last seven games. 

A win at Mt Smart would make them a shoo-in for a playoff spot, while a loss could see them slip as low as seventh to finish the round.  

Former Kiwis Captain Richie Barnett told Mike Hosking the injury crisis h...

It’s Friday once more, but Mike Hosking’s panel for Wrapping the Week looks a little different. 

Tim Wilson is off on holiday, so a special guest was brought in to replace him – Sir John Key.  

It took a while for Kate to guess the "rando" calling in, but once she did they got stuck in discussing clothing, wine, and whether or not Sir John can join Kate’s pickleball league. 

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The All Blacks have named a predictable side for their Rugby Championship opener against Argentina in Cordoba. 

Captain Scott Barrett is returning to the side, with Beauden Barrett returning to No. 10 and Cortez Ratima starting at halfback. 

There are no new faces on the team for the first time in 2025. 

Will Jordan is playing at No. 15, and told Mike Hosking that Argentina seems to be primed and ready to go for a co...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 15th of August, all eyes will be on Trump and Putin in Alaska tomorrow – what will likely come of it? 

The Rugby Championship is upon us, so Will Jordan tells us by how much the All Blacks will beat Argentina in the first match. 

Kate Hawkesby and mystery guest Sir John Key Wrap the Week - listen to Kate's description of John as she tries to guess the guest. 

Robotic surgeries are taking off, bringing positive outcomes for the health sector. 

Evolution Healthcare says it's more than doubled the number of robotic surgeries in the past two years at Wellington's Wakefield Hospital. 

It says it's on target to complete more than 300 this year, up from 243 last year. 

Evolution CEO Michael Quirke told Mike Hosking efficiencies are increasingly being found as the technology deve...

There’s little sign of recovery soon for the country's sheep numbers as they continue to drop. 

Beef + Lamb NZ shows breeding ewe numbers are down nearly 2% on last year, with this season's lamb crop forecast to be down nearly 120 thousand lambs. 

However, beef cattle numbers are showing positive signs, rising 4%. 

Beef + Lamb NZ Chair Kate Acland told Mike Hosking the lower numbers are driven by the continued affore...

Donald Trump estimates his high-stakes diplomatic talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin have a 25% chance of failure. 

The two presidents will meet in Alaska tomorrow to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine.  

Trump's previewed the summit as setting the table for a second meeting, inviting in Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky.  

New Haven University international affairs expert Matthew Schmidt told Mike Hosking public opinio...

There are fears limited information sharing is hindering authorities efforts to tackle transnational crime. 

A report from a Ministerial Advisory Group focused on organised crime says there's sparse coordination between agencies, technological limitations, and people are fearful of sharing what could be useful information. 

It's recommending a new sharing framework and tweaks to the Privacy Act to make it easier. 

Ch...

I'm assuming the instigators of the second Covid Inquiry are deeply disappointed in what is unfolding, in terms of accountability. 

Inquiry Part 1 was a Labour Government stitch up. It was an exercise in smoke and mirrors. 

Inquiry Part 2 is a coalition deal driven by ACT and NZ First, and was designed to look into areas not touched on in Part 1: access to vaccines, lock downs, economic damage, and so on. 

I have arg...