The Mike Hosking Breakfast

It was a fiery debate in the UK ahead of the election.  

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour party challenger Keir Starmer have gone head-to-head in the first face to face.  

Starmer's questioned the Conservative's leader's belief his economic plan's working.  

He says Sunak knows inflation's going up and energy prices are going up in the autumn, and if he'd thought the plan was wor...

Local body politics is having a bit of a week in the sun. 

They have formed a group, as we told you Tuesday, to look at ways of pumping up voter turnout and the possibility of a four-year term. 

The Government's change of rules around Māori wards has also seen the local authorities front up and have their say at a select committee. 

On that specifically they are bogged down, and they ...

It’s been an intense year politically in the United States, with both the presidential election and Donald Trump’s trial and conviction. 

His sentencing is next month, but before that is the first debate between Trump and Joe Biden, taking place June 27th. 

Nick Bryant, a former US Correspondent and author, has written a book about the hate and decisiven...

A review of Early Childhood regulations is said to be long overdue. 

Regulation Minister David Seymour says the sector needs a closer look, to better affordability, access and regulation for the sector. 

Early Childhood Council CEO Simon Laube said that the system they have is just not fit for purpose. 

He told Mike Hosking that it’s so complex, and some of the regulations are conflic...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 6th of June, the man representing the whistleblowers in the Te Pāti Māori Census and vaccine allegation scandal joined to discuss the details. 

The Government is looking to change the rules around leave, so both the employers and the union gave us their thoughts....

Auckland looks to be leading the pack in the downwards property market. 

CoreLogic's latest House Price Index reveals property prices have dipped 0.2% around the country in May. 

Auckland dropped a notable 0.8% on the back of a 0.6% fall in April. 

Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson says it's pretty striking to see our largest city having a weakness in prices. 

He ...

Some Toyota owners may be regretting their purchase. 

It’s a struggle to insure one Toyota car model, with annual insurance costs reaching nearly three thousand dollars. 

The Toyota Aqua is the most commonly stolen car in the country, which has caused insurers to hike prices. 

Consumer NZ Chief Executive Jon Duffy told Mike Hosking that while the Aqua is cheap to run, the fuel savings...

There’s a belief that changes to holiday laws will benefit employers. 

The Government's drafting legislation to change the Holidays Act 2003. 

It'll include proposals to pro-rata sick leave and move annual leave from an entitlement system to one using accrual. 

Employers and Manufacturers' Association's Alan McDonald told Mike Hosking that an accrual system is favoured because a singl...

An employee advocate says whistleblowers have been vilified for raising allegations against Te Pāti Māori. 

It's alleged information collected at Auckland's Manurewa Marae was used to help the party's election campaign, something Te Pāti denies. 

Stats NZ has appointed an investigator, Police have received a complaint, and the Privacy Commissioner's considering what to do next. 

Allan...

The Christchurch Council is being urged to back the bid for a South Island NRL team. 

It’s said the team could bring in $50 million in revenue for the city each year. 

The call’s come from South Island NRL Bid ltd, led by Canterbury Rugby League Chairman Tony Kidd, and is a rival bid to David Moffett’s South Island Kea. 

Former Warriors Coach Frank Endacott is a member of South Island...

Although Auckland gets the headlines, it is not alone when it comes to the destruction and degrading of downtown areas. 

The bus facility in Dunedin has been dealing with a death, but as my daughter who lives there told me, it's been a mess for years and you avoid it. 

Quick question: what's the point of a public transport facility if it is famously bad, so you don’t get near it? 

New...

Joe Biden has taken a strong stance on immigration, restricting migrant numbers at the Mexican Border. 

The US President has signed an executive order barring asylum seeker requests. 

He says the action will be paused when migrant numbers reach a 'manageable' level. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that the decision has political motives for Biden, with Trump holding...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 5th of June, we took a look at our mental health services in a big five-year report, and the Aussies seemingly stealing our NZDF personnel. 

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster wants a change to our alcohol rules. Plus, Mike was curious what bike he drives. 

New research is underlining the public appetite for news by local journalists. 

Commissioned by the News Publishers' Association, it surveyed just more than 1500 New Zealand adults. 

Association Director of Public Affairs Andrew Holden says 93% of respondents access the news at least once a day across a range of different sources, and over 80% trust news provided by local outlets. 

Ho...

Police Minister Mark Mitchell is sympathising with a man who heckled him during a tense public meeting in central Auckland last night. 

The man claimed he'd recently broken his arm trying to stop a shoplifter. 

Mitchell told Mike Hosking that he completely understands where the man is coming from with his frustrations. 

He says although trends are heading in the right direction and Po...

The Police Commissioner says a fifth of the jobs they go to involve alcohol.

Internal documents obtained by RNZ say alcohol causes 20 times more social harm than meth.

Andrew Coster told Mike Hosking that 'lolly-water' is often the culprit when they are called to harmful events.

He says a crackdown on the availability and price of booze would make a difference.  

Andrew ...

The recent recruitment change by Australia's Defence Force may be reflective of a bigger issue. 

From July New Zealanders who've lived in Australia for a year will be able to join the military. 

They'll also let residents from the UK, US, and Canada join up from January. 

Massey University security expert John Battersby told Mike Hosking that it can be a struggle for defence forces to...

Workforce issues are resulting in fewer people accessing specialist mental health services.  

A Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission report shows more people are receiving community-based care.  

But access to specialist services dropped from 3.8% of people in 2018 and 19 to 3.4% in 2022 and 23. 

Board chair Hayden Wano told Mike Hosking that workforce impacts are across the whole s...

Local grocery store owners are supporting Foodstuffs' merger. 

The country's biggest supermarket operator is a step closer to merging its North and South Island divisions after 99% of owners voted in support. 

The future co-op's designated CEO, Chris Quin, told Mike Hosking that they're not surprised at the result. 

He says they've done a lot of work to ensure the families who own the...