The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The country's largest music festival, Electric Avenue, has been bought by Live Nation. 

The multinational entertainment company announced the acquisition of festival producer Team Event, which owns the two-day summer festival held in Christchurch's Hagley Park each February.  

Promoters Association President Layton Lillas told Mike Hosking that given the tough environment festivals are facing, this is good thing for New Z...

The number of people behind on payments in June fell slightly from May, but is largely unchanged compared to the same time last year. 

Latest Centrix data shows there were 478 thousand people in arrears, representing more than 12% of the credit-active population. 

Managing Director Keith McLaughlin says they'd normally expect the figure to fall further over winter - but people are being impacted by things outside their co...

New Zealand has yet to hear from the US ahead of Donald Trump's latest tariff deadline – 4pm today, New Zealand time. 

The White House says all countries will have heard from the US by that time. 

The US President has indicated he'll raise tariffs, including the 10% baseline tariff imposed on goods from New Zealand and most other countries. 

Trade Minister Todd McClay told Mike Hosking our Government is still waiting...

If you want to talk about doing stuff that matters, this week will produce one of the great ones. 

Repealing the oil and gas ban, as the Government are about to do, puts right an egregious wrong – possibly the most egregious wrong of the last Government. 

What gives this current Government a better than even chance of a second term is the fact the damage done to the economy was done by the very same people who are still i...

An instantly recognisable face and name, Jeremy Piven is hitting New Zealand shores for the first time.  

The actor and comedian is best known for the roles of Harry Selfridge and Ari Gold – the latter of which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmys. 

But it’s not film or television that’s brought him here, instead Piven is bringing his stand-up comedy tour to the stage.  

Piven has been performing f...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 31st of July, Kiwibank has been given the go-ahead for their capital raise. So will another $500 million help them compete with the big Aussie banks? 

Air traffic control costs are going up 17.7% over three years, so who will be bearing the brunt of those costs? 

And Actor and comedian Jeremy Piven pops into the studio for a chat ahead of his Auckland stand-up s...

An appointment sure to pique the interest of many New Zealand football followers.  

Olympic gold medal-winning coach Bev Priestman's penned a two-year deal to take charge of the Phoenix women's side. 

Priestman —who led the Canadian women's team to Olympic glory in 2021— has just finished serving a one-year ban from the game for her role in the Canadian team’s misuse of drones at last year’s Olympics. 

She told Mike ...

Agriculture is leading the way as the country's top performing industry.  

Xero’s latest Insights report shows consistent under-performance in New Zealand’s small business sector in the past year, with sales falling by 0.1% in the June quarter. 

Country manager Bridget Snelling told Mike Hosking sectors that are more sensitive to consumer spending and interest rates are being hit hardest.  

She says construction is d...

There's a belief it's going to be a long journey to get Kiwibank into the ring with the big leagues. 

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced the bank's parent company is being allowed to raise $500 million from investors to help it compete with the four major banks. 

Simplicity founder Sam Stubbs says Kiwibank will need more capital over time. 

He told Mike Hosking if the country has five banks making profits, ...

Concern over a never-ending pile of costs for airlines as our air traffic control prices soar. 

Provider of the service, Airways, is putting its fees up 17.7% over the next three years. 

It says its pricing is based on the number of flights scheduled in and out of each airport. 

Airline Representatives Executive Director Cath O'Brien told Mike Hosking some countries' governments invest in these services, but here, ai...

The Resources Minister says New Zealand's missed a trick with geothermal energy. 

Shane Jones' draft strategy lays out a goal of doubling its production by 2040. 

He says we should have begun investment seven years ago, when we banned oil and gas exploration. 

Jones told Mike Hosking we have some great expertise on geothermal energy that we should be harnessing. 

He says Indonesia and other areas are investing i...

The Minister for Courts says updating procedures for running Judge Alone Trials is a good step in the mammoth task of speeding up the courts. 

Newstalk ZB can reveal it'll be implemented countrywide tomorrow.  

It introduces registrar-led prosecution and defence teleconferences three weeks before trial and allows courts to start earlier to review and prioritise scheduled cases. 

Minister Nicole McKee told Mike Hoskin...

Contradicting statements out of the US and Israel over the hunger crisis in Gaza.  

The region's health authority says 14 people have died in the past 24 hours due to starvation, which Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denies.  

He says Israel's enabled humanitarian aid throughout the duration of the war, otherwise there would be no Gazans.  

But US President Donald Trump says he's seen it, and is promising ...

One of the more memorable days of my life was spent at Michael Hill's house at Lake Hayes in Central Otago. 

He showed me his art. There was a lot of it and it was eclectic. 

He had his own nine-hole golf course, and it was all par 3s. This was in the days before The Hills, which in many respects was what Michael was all about – vision. 

He took his par 3s and then turned it into one of the best golf courses in the c...

Sir Michael Hill's being remembered for his love of the arts. 

He died yesterday aged 86, after a cancer battle. 

Hill's chain of self-named jewellery stores began in Whangārei, before becoming a global brand.  

Former Queenstown Mayor Jim Boult says he's well-known for his Queenstown golf course 'the Hills', and the international violin competition he founded. 

He was also a cartoonist, publishing a weekly cart...

With a wide range of announcements and figures coming out over the last week, Labour’s Ginny Andersen and National’s Mark Mitchell joined Mike Hosking for Politics Wednesday. 

They discussed Brooke van Velden’s consultations on children collecting eggs, clamping the cars of court fine dodgers, and scrapping surcharges. 

Plus, they delved into the changes around voting – is axing same-day voting the right choice? 

LIS...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 30th July, nurses are on strike today and gang numbers are up – a double blow for the Government. 

Netball NZ has secured its broadcast deal – a one year deal with TVNZ. Is it the solution, or just a band aid?  

Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell talk gang numbers, the House performances, and Brooke van Velden and eggs on Politics Wednesday. 

Get the Mike Ho...

Short term loans, minimal or no break fees, and cash-back incentives are driving a record number of mortgage holders changing lenders in June. 

More than 3,500 holders switched nearly two and a half billion dollars of debt between loan providers last month. 

It's the highest since records began in 2017. 

Squirrel Mortgages CEO David Cunningham told Mike Hosking it’s a bit of a pass the parcel exercise for banks. ...

Netball New Zealand will dip into its own pocket to keep the ANZ Premiership afloat in 2026. 

A one-year broadcast deal with TVNZ has been confirmed, with the competition to remain in the current two-round format. 

Chief executive Jennie Wyllie has not revealed how much the deal is worth or whether players will take a pay cut. 

She told Mike Hosking there is a change in economics, but they feel it’s the new deal is a...