The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The Internal Affairs Minister says the second phase to the Covid Inquiry will expand the terms of reference.  

It's due to start in November and will continue until February 2026.  

Minister Brooke van Velden says phase one centres mostly on the health response and the Government's communication.  

But she told Mike Hosking that phase two will focus on factors like vaccines and lockdo...

Supporters and sceptics of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange are speaking out at news of his release.  

The 52-year-old is a few hours away from pleading guilty to a US espionage charge and will be sentenced to time already served.  

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that there's been condemnation but also celebration from those closest to him.  

Assange's wife and lawy...

66% of New Zealand's mayors have signed a letter against the Government's Māori ward changes but one mayor says it's a good thing. 

A Parliament select committee's recommended the Māori Wards Bill go ahead. 

It will force councils which established Māori wards since 2021 to hold a referendum in next year's local election on whether they should stay. 

Timaru Mayor Nigel Bowen didn't si...

Reform may have hit its peak but it’s position in the polls is a cause for concern for the Tories. 

The party had a surge over the weekend, leaving it ahead of the Conservative Party in the polls, but their lead is “nowhere near enough” to concern Labour, UK Correspondent Rod Liddle said. 

He told Mike Hosking that it’s enough to ensure the Tories are down to between 50 to 70 seats at most. 

So it seems we have ended up with three stories. 

But all three stories have the same outworkings - we look like a basket case of a country, but we got there three different ways. 

First is the plane. 

That’s on the Government, and indeed various Governments, who failed to take defence expenditure seriously and it's caught them out. 

Like NATO, member countries promise t...

Total exports reached an all-time high in May despite a continued downward trend in the Chinese market. 

Last month's exports were valued at $7.2 billion for the first time. 

China was the number one market, but beef exports dropped 45% compared to last year. 

Export NZ advocacy director Catherine Beard told Mike Hosking that she believes Chinese demand will come back because they are...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 25th of June, we finally got the cancer drugs and what a haul! It’s set to help tens of thousands more people. 

We could have had an hour with the Prime Minister but in the time we had, we talked cancer drugs, the various infrastructure issues, and whether ...

The Scott Robertson All Blacks Era has officially begun. 

Yesterday saw him announce his first squad, with Scott Barrett taking the captaincy and Ardie Savea and Jodie Barrett filling the role of deputies. 

Robertson told Mike Hosking that it was good to get on with it as they’ve been tracking the players for a long time, so it felt to goof to finalise the squad and put it out there. 

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's praising himself for finally getting there with the cancer drug funding.  

The Government's committing $604 million to Pharmac, taken from next year's Budget.  

It will cover the funding for 54 new medicines, including up to seven of 13 drugs the Government promised last year.  

The cancer medicines funded would treat cancer of the lung, liver, skin,...

There’s a belief that regular check-ins for beneficiaries will result in more people working. 

People on Jobseeker are now required to attend the Ministry of Social Development's 'work check in' seminars. 

The first will be after two weeks of signing on and another after six months. 

Former WINZ boss Christine Rankin told Mike Hosking that there's a huge need for the entry-level jobs ...

Someone will be paying the price for last week's power outage in Northland. 

A pylon toppled over on Thursday after too many nuts were removed from the legs, letting it tip over. 

Transpower says it's an inconceivable and unprecedented situation, and consumers can apply for compensation through their retailer.  

Whangarei District Mayor Vince Cocurullo told Mike Hosking that they will...

An excellent outcome from a terrible process. 

That's Medical Oncologist Chris Jackson's summation of Pharmac's latest funding boost.  

The Government's committing $604 million to cover funding for 54 new medicines, including 26 cancer treatments.  

Jackson says we have to be careful about implementation because dumping 26 cancer medicines into the system at once could create a capaci...

The river Seine isn't as clean as officials would've hoped ahead of the Paris Olympics. 

Many have expressed concerns over the state of the waterway which will also play a major role in the opening ceremony, where teams will float downstream in barges. 

Europe correspondent Catherine Field told Mike Hosking that there's twice the maximum volume of e-coli in the water. 

She says nearly...

Australia’s opposition leader Peter Dutton has vowed to override the nuclear power ban. 

Dutton made the comments during a federal Liberal party council meeting in Sydney, where he called Prime Minister Anthony Albanese a “fraud” and a “child in a man’s body”. 

Australia Correspondent Steve Price told Mi...

Jetstar's hoping to bring down fares by expanding its New Zealand operations. 

It will fly directly against rival Air New Zealand with new flights between Auckland and the Sunshine Coast's Maroochydore, Christchurch and Cairns. 

An eighth aircraft in New Zealand will help add 240,000 new seats each year....

New Community Beat Teams have been announced - 63 additional police staff will be deployed across Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.  

It's alongside Operation Safer Streets, which will see an extra 21 officers redeployed in Auckland's CBD from July - to target anti-social behaviour.  

Police Commiss...

Saturday’s match is one the Warriors will want to forget.  

The side was annihilated in NRL's round 16 by the bottom-of-the-table Titans 66-6 in the Gold Coast. 

They conceded 11 tries to Te Maire Martin's one.  

Former Kiwi and league commentator Richie Barn...

The Children's Minister is hoping the military-style academies will incentivise Judges to sentence youth offenders.  

The Government's introducing a label for teens aged 14-17 with multiple offences: ‘Young Serious Offender’.  

It's also looking at establishing a new military style academy - currently in...

Maritime NZ and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission are investigating the Aratere incident – putting the future of the Cook Strait connection under spotlight. 

The Interislander ferry Aratere ran aground on Friday night - after more than 24 hours it was successfully re-floated on Saturday night. 

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