The Mike Hosking Breakfast

When I spoke to Jeffrey Archer last year, he didn’t look anything other than what he has always looked like – vibrant, well, and full of good vigour. So his death is a shock. He looked like a very good 86-year-old. Or 85-year-old, as he was when I talked to him. I also talked to him a couple of years earlier when we were in London for the coronation. We got on well. He was one of those guests that over the years you lost count of how many times you had talked to them. One of the great joys of having been around a while is you get to talk to most of them. But the downside of having been around a while, is eventually they will start to pass. I wasn’t expecting Archer to go at mid 80s. That was a bloke who had a purpose, who was still working daily, who was still in demand in books, who was still revelling in life and had more cricket stories to tell. I met him in Christchurch when he was on a book tour. Side note, that's perhaps one of the sadder changes in modern communication. Authors don’t really need 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. The campaign: 7/10 It feels real at last. The first debate, the volley of policy, the rolling coverage; a country engaged in democracy is a very fine thing. The first leader's debate: 5/10 These things no longer work. They produce little, if anything. The world has changed, our consumption of news has changed. These need to change too. Jaguar: 8/10 In a world of design blandness, they will not die wondering. The Type 01 is either exceptional, or the end. Cocaine: 3/10 Most sobering, if not depressing, news of the week. Our use is third world. We are embarrassing. Zombie Towns: 7/10 It’s a NZ On Air mini-series made by economist Shamubeel Eaqub. Places like Balclutha and Tokoroa, it's an educational watch and reminded me not everything NZ On Air funds is wasted. LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trademark law is in the spotlight with a couple of key cases making the news. British Car Manufacturer McLaren has applied to trademark the Auckland suburbs of Remuera and Muriwai – potentially for their first SUV. And NZ Rugby has taken legal action to stop Papua New Guinea's new NRL franchise from using the 'Chiefs' name. Intellectual Property Lawyer Rick Shera told Mike Hosking that while it's unlikely there'd be confusion between New Zealand's Chiefs and Papua New Guinea's, trademark law isn't based on confusion, it's based on distinction. He says that even if NZR was sympathetic to the PNG club, they have to defend their trademark or they risk losing it later down the line. With the McLaren case, securing those trademarks within New Zealand would likely be a challenge, Shera told Hosking, but not overseas. He says trademarks are jurisdictional, so as long as there's no Remuera SUV mark, car mark, or vehicle mark in the UK, they'll probably be fine. Shera says their bigger issue would be the fact that…

The former Venezuelan President and his wife are facing new charges from the US for conspiracy to commit torture. Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores, originally facing weapon and drug charges, now face allegations of human rights abuses. The pair have been in a New York prison since January after US forces seized them from their Caracas home. US Correspondent Nick Harper told Mike Hosking the US claims the torture was to suppress political opposition and maintain control. He understands the torture included electrical shocks, prolonged isolation, and starvation, used on both opponents and about a dozen US citizens. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Week two of this campaign of 2026 – is it close? They say so. But then one poll had Labour at 23%, and another poll had them at 29%. That's how bad polling has become, so who would know? It might be as simple as what happens with the Opportunity Party – if they're in, the Government is out. If they aren't, the Government are back. Or it could be one of those "hold your nose" votes where a lot of the people go, "I'm no Luxon fan but I'm sticking with what I know". My suspicion is that’s how it will play out. But as for the actual campaign, if it was a contest of campaign performance alone, so far ACT would be winning. They don’t get the same coverage as National and Labour, but I have watched a lot of it. A lot of it is streamed these days. If you really want to inform yourself there is a tremendous amount of material to be consumed. It's hard to overstate the Paul Henry factor. Online and in halls he is by any measure a political rockstar. In a world where politicians would sell their mother for attention,…

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 9th of October, National are campaigning on random drug tests for beneficiaries – Louise Upston explains the details. All Blacks' first five Damian McKenzie talks us through how the team plans to beat the Aussies this weekend at Eden Park. And Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson give their thoughts on week two of the campaign as they Wrap the Week. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday has arrived, which means it's time for Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson to join Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that Was. And the week in question was the second week of the election campaign – how do they think things are going? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Damian McKenzie's welcomed the chance to return to the 10 jersey for tomorrow's Bledisloe Cup rugby opener against the Wallabies in Auckland. Richie Mo'unga was named internally at first-five but succumbed to a calf injury on Tuesday. McKenzie has started all seven tests in Dave Rennie's coaching era at fullback, but says he's had enough time to get across the detail for a positional switch. He told Hosking they're confident with the way they're going about things and he's looking forward to the challenge. McKenzie says energy within the camp has been high, and everyone's ready to go and excited for the weekend. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's Social Development spokesperson says drug testing is already normal for a number of jobs, so Jobseekers should meet the same expectation. The Party's promising introduce random drug testing for people on the Jobseeker benefit and reduce payments for those who've been on it more than two years. Louise Upston says they'll start with 10 thousand tests in the first year and expand over time. She told Mike Hosking she was surprised by Winston Peters' claim it borders on fascism, NZ First are the ones that talk about getting people off the couch, which is what they're trying to do. Upston says they don't want young people wasting their lives on welfare, and for some drug use is a barrier to work, and that's what they want to prevent. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The South Island's set for a mammoth summer as tourist numbers and air capacity boom. Aviation and tourism consulting firm ISD Partners says New Zealand's likely to see 400 thousand more overseas passengers than last summer. We're set to hit pre-Covid peaks early next year, with Christchurch in particular seeing a big jump in international routes. Tourism Holdings Limited Chief Executive Grant Webster told Mike Hosking this is shining through in summer bookings. He says about two-thirds of their bookings are activities starting in the South Island. Webster says the step is to keep the momentum up, as a lot of tourism businesses only make money four months of the year, so if we could turn that into six, we'd be utilising the tourism industry much more effectively. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's potential for issues to emerge as Labour pledges to open the skies to more competition. The party's new aviation policies include requiring airlines to publicly report delays or cancellations and make big airlines automatically refund flights during cancellations, or big changes. It would also open up access to more airport infrastructure so smaller airlines can grow and compete. Travel Agents Association CEO Julie White told Mike Hosking travellers should be given the option to jump on another flight. She says people often book travel quite far out, so having to re-book on the day will end up being really expensive. White says Labour needs to be careful it's not over-regulating airlines. She told Hosking airlines would have to decide if they absorb the extra costs involved or pass them on to customers. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's confidence that structured literacy is paying dividends for primary school students, despite some concerns from Chris Hipkins. The Labour leader and former Education Minister told Newstalk ZB yesterday the Better Start Literacy Approach is working, but comprehension remains a challenge for kids. Canterbury University Professor Gail Gillon told Mike Hosking their data shows gains in both reading and comprehension, and is questioning what data Hipkins is looking at. She says research around the world shows when children become good at decoding words, it's a big influencer in reading comprehension. However, Gillon says their dataset is for years 0-3, so it's unclear if the same impacts are being seen in the upper primary school years. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I tell you who should be feeling good this election campaign: political parties. If the commentary and expectation I'm seeing so far is truly representative of where we are at in this country, as consumers we have slipped back into a gliding-on type world of the 1970's. The supermarket scrap is stupid enough. But Labour yesterday yet again waded into the world of banking, promising to make it easier for more competition. I'm not sure I've ever seen a public so seemingly reliant, dependant, or expectant of a group of politicians to solve all of our perceived and imagined problems. It's like a bad, old habit. Who is going to make my butter cheaper? Who is going to punish a power company? Why can't I have some money for petrol? When are you going to teach those supermarkets a lesson? There doesn’t seem a single grievance we can dream up that doesn’t have a political party, or a queue of them, lined up to make a promise. To be fair to Labour, the right to repair thing the other day on cars has merit and…

Another year, another novel from bestselling author John Grisham. He's had 51 consecutive number 1 bestselling books across various genres, and has sold nearly half a billion copies worldwide. And now he's stepping out of the courtroom with his first spy thriller and foray into international espionage – 'The French Illusion'. "I love spy novels," Grisham told Mike Hosking. "I grew up reading them – still read them a lot." And so he decided to take a break from the courtroom and the lawyers, getting the idea for this story while visiting Paris. "For years my wife has said, "why don't you set a book here in France? We enjoy Paris and there's so much to write about," and I said, "great, I'd love to do that, but I have to wait till I have a good story."" "And it finally... it took years for it to come about." Although he's not ruling out another spy novel down the line, Grisham told Hosking he's returning to the courtroom in his next book. "That's where I belong, that's where my readers expect to find me."…

National's small business plan is being seen as practical, but not transformational. The party's released a 47 point plan to cut red tape for small businesses, which it would implement if re-elected. It features tweaks to non-trade barriers, employment relations, health and safety, and a review of the compulsory GST registration threshold. ABC Business Sales Managing Director Chris Small told Mike Hosking that yes, it will help, but it's not particularly transformational or material when you think of being a business owner. He says the idea is good and they're showing they have a soft spot for small businesses, but they could've put a bit more meat on the bone. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 8th of October, our teacher training enrolments are the best they've been in years – are we solving the problem? Labour leader Chris Hipkins discusses education and charter schools, co-governance, capital gains, and the state of MMP. Legendary author John Grisham is back to talk about his new book and the career of the late Jeffrey Archer. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

High unemployment could be behind a sudden surge of people wanting to become teachers. New Ministry figures show the number of people in training is up 40% from 2023. Education Minister Erica Stanford credits the School Onsite Training scheme, which pays people to learn on the job. Rangiora High School Principal Bruce Kearney told Mike Hosking when unemployment rises, there's normally a spike in people going into teaching. He says people will finish their degrees during times of high unemployment, and since teacher training is only 32 weeks and they're in desperate need of teachers, it's a no-brainer. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A spike in home construction costs could lead people to have second thoughts about building new. The latest Cordell Construction Cost index shows the September quarter saw the fastest increase since 2022 – 1.7%. Cotality Head of Research Nick Goodall says it's due to the war in Iran and the rising volume of new dwelling consents, which reduce capacity and create cost pressures. He told Mike Hosking that since the value of existing properties is tracking down, or sideways at best, in many parts of the country, some prospective homeowners might see more value in existing properties. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand Cricket president Mark Greatbatch admits the governing body has been caught out. That's after initially shouldering arms to calls from the likes of Sir Richard Hadlee for some form of evidence to justify the choice of NZ20 as a short-form pathway for the future of the domestic game. Board chair Diana Puketapu-Lyndon has apologised for a lack of clarity about why independent reports on the process were not presented to key stakeholders. Greatbatch told Mike Hosking it's important they listen to those involved in the game as to what its future should be, and they probably could've done and explained it better. He says they're not always going to get thigs right, but there's some good people working for the game. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Hipkins reckons there was no easy answer to this week's leaders debate question on whether it's okay to be a billionaire. Former Prime Minister Sir John Key says it's "nuts" to think billionaires are "morally offensive". Key told the Herald's Future of New Zealand debate last night that we should be celebrating business success like we celebrate sporting and musical success. Labour's leader told Mike Hosking he thinks there's something imbalanced about an economy that sees so much power and money concentrated in the hands of so few people. But he says there are also some very wealthy people in New Zealand who give a lot back. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From our “he would say that, wouldn’t he” file, comes the predictable Winston Peters response to the National Party's medicine for aid deal. National are reading the room. If you have no money and you need to trade one thing for another, does medicine beat aid? Yes, hands down. Although Pacific aid is protected, where Peters has fallen hopelessly short is in his oft-used line about being friends, "long-standing friends", and that counts. In other words, the fact big players like China roll into town and start writing cheques won't ultimately make a lot of difference because good old New Zealand has been along for the ride for years. Well, that ain't true, and we know it. Money talks and the last Pacific Islands Forum with its missing members and its lack of communique because of the various players who are now overtly pro-China, tells the real story. That’s before you get to the lack of accountability. Aid has become a sop, a hand-out, and the recipients don’t appear overly grateful. Then you might well…

Exercise chain CityFitness is lining up one of the sector's biggest expansions yet. It's looking to pump $100 million into 50 new gyms over the next five years, expanding its network beyond 100 locations. The plans include growing its Simplicity Fitness Premium Facilities and launching women-only gyms, and would create around 1000 new jobs. Chief Operating Officer Doug Hatten told Mike Hosking they're focused on creating the offering that's right for the market they're heading into. For example, he says, if they go into a market where there's 30,000 people within 10 kilometres, they know they can provide a fitness offering for that market – it's just a matter of what the right one is. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 7th of October, Mike gives his thoughts on last night's debate, and we bring you a selection of the best bits. Kiwi pro golfer Steve Alker keeps on winning on the PGA Champions Tour, so he's back for a chat. Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell discuss the debate, education, and cocaine use on Politics Wednesday. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour says schools need more flexibility around teaching reading, writing, and maths to make room for critical thinking. Leader Chris Hipkins confirmed at last night's leaders' debate Labour wouldn't require schools to teach an hour a day of each subject if elected. National introduced the mandate in its first 100 days. Labour's education spokesperson Ginny Andersen told Mike Hosking the Government's reforms haven't put children at the centre. She says politicians shouldn't be deciding how kids learn. National's Mark Mitchell hit out at the party's stance, saying the party needs to keep their weird social experiments away from kids, and just let them learn maths and read for an hour a day. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's plan to cut aid is troubling a foreign affairs expert. The party says it will take 10% of the aid budget and shift it to Pharmac's budget, if it forms the next Government. Funding to the Pacific will be spared. National says our money's gone to such far flung things as workshops with indigenous farmers in Patagonia and installing live emissions equipment in South African universities. Geopolitical Analyst Geoffrey Miller told Mike Hosking while there are legitimate questions to ask about the efficacy of individual aid programmes, that's not an argument for cutting them. He says it's an argument for making them more effective and ensuring every dollar works as hard as it can for those who really deserve it. Miller says that most people around the world probably won't notice what we're doing with our aid budget, but it's the people at the bottom of the pile who will suffer the most, especially since we probably aren't the only ones making cuts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…

Golfer Steven Alker has toiled through a troublesome back and a sick caddie to a third PGA seniors tour title in his last four attempts - his fourth title win of the year. The Hamiltonian pulled out of the pro-am of the Tour's latest event in Pennsylvania through injury, then lost regular caddie Troy Martin halfway through the first round. Alker says being was forced to rein in his game turned into a positive after managing to get his back good enough to compete. He told Mike Hosking you start to appreciate winning a bit more at his age, when you haven't got as much time left to play. Alker says his game's been really consistent the last four or five years, so to keep that consistently good playing is really pleasing. "Whether you win or not ... to have the consistency to actually be week to week, like year, I've actually had the chance to win the golf tournament, that's what I'm most proud of." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

City and town centres are busier than they were after Covid. Latest Paymark data shows retail spending in the past few months has been down on the same period last year. But new Experian data shows shops, bars, and restaurants in most cities have been seeing business pick up since Covid – Wellington being an outlier. Retail NZ CEO Carolyn Young told Mike Hosking that in New Zealand, it's often easier for people to stop in store rather than online, due to geography and freight distribution. She says around 80% of shopping is done in person, which is why having busy city centres and people working in offices is so important for retail in New Zealand. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's confidence the Government and Otago councils can work together to keep up with the region's growth. The Government's formally signed a regional deal with Queenstown Lakes, Central Otago, and Otago Regional Councils. It aims to improve planning coordination over the next 30 years, with ministers promising to meet local leaders every six months. Queenstown Mayor John Glover told Mike Hosking there's been huge investment locally as the region's grown over the past two decades. But he says the area hasn't seen investment in energy supply, education, health, and state highways. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the period of digestion now complete, I think it is more than fair to suggest that the Labour Party's fiscal plan has been marked a failure. This is not just me, but as far as I can read virtually every journalist and commentator, including economists, say so. This politically should be a disaster. Economic credibility, this election in particular, is everything. The election's almost sole vote swinging or determining issue is: who do you think can run the economy better? Has the Government done enough to convince you they have stopped the bleeding and a path to better days is in front of us? Or do Labour have an alternative plan that appeals enough to you to give them your vote? In that last bit is their biggest problem. By looking to be as close to National as possible, they have stuck to the $2.4 billion new money annually. They have promised the same surplus target, and they've more broadly promised debt reduction over time. So, ironically, there's not really any reason to vote for them given it's…

Retired Supercars legend Garth Tander knows better than most the Bathurst 1000 is won with a mix of skill, strategy and timing. The six-time winner, and reigning champion alongside Kiwi Matthew Payne, believes there's a four step process to give yourself the best chance to conquer Mount Panorama. However, Tander says that the track has a mind of its own across 1000 kilometres and distributes luck and pain in equal measure. He told Mike Hosking it doesn't matter how fast your car is and how good your form is, if it's not your day, it's not your day. Tander's also handed down a glowing comparison of Matthew Payne as the Kiwi driver prepares to defend his Bathurst title this weekend. He says Payne is building an ability he's only seen in another Kiwi teammate he combined with to win the Great Race twice before: Shane van Gisberg. "Shane has this, had this, and still does, has this incredible ability to slow everything down in the car and have extra capacity to think on the run, and Matt's certainly developing…

In 2025, author and former UK politician Jeffrey Archer joined Mike Hosking to chat about the final stage of his writing career. He's now died at age 86, his publisher Harper Collins saying he died suddenly and peacefully at home. At the time, Archer was in the midst of writing his final book, though he had no plans to step back from writing as a whole, telling Hosking he plans on short stories and perhaps a screenplay. “This book is, frankly, bigger than ‘Kane and Abel’ as a story,” he said. “I’ve got to see if I’ve been able to write it, and frankly, I won’t want to follow it.” Said book, titled 'Adam and Eve', is set to be released this month. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australasian construction giant Fulton Hogan has recovered from a rough 2025. Annual revenue rose from $6.9 billion to $7.3 billion, while after-tax profit jumped from $365 million to $430 million. Its profits are now evenly balanced between Australia and New Zealand. Infrastructure NZ CEO Nick Leggett told Mike Hosking their success doesn't quite represent the entire construction sector, which is more of a mixed bag. He says construction figures are showing stronger activity, but it's been very hard, and there are still design and engineering companies that are laying people off. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 6th of October, we get the low down on why fuel prices have never been higher while oil is again, mostly, flowing from the Strait of Hormuz. Associate Transport Minister James Meager discusses why the Government is lending more money to regional airlines. Supercars champ and Bathurst legend Garth Tander talks his career and new biography ahead of Bathurst this weekend. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's pledging more choice on who's capable of fixing your car. The party wants to introduce a right of repair law, requiring car makers to give independent mechanics access to key manuals and information. It says it'll help lower prices and create more work for local workshops. Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association Chief Executive Greig Epps told Mike Hosking mechanics respect that it's the car makers' technology. But, he says, the consumer owns that vehicle, and they should have the choice on who they get to repair it. Epps says the repairer should, on reasonable terms, be allowed to access some of that information to complete the repair. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are hopes at-risk regional airlines will be able to pay their loans back as they're given more help. The Government's allocated $5.7 million in grants from the Regional Infrastructure Fund to help with soaring fuel costs. It's already provided nearly $26 million in loans to date to deal with maintenance and debt. Associate Transport Minister James Meager told Mike Hosking this new funding will help airlines in the short-term, so they can pay the loans back. He says they're confident they'll see it all back and believe the sector's stabilised, but this extra funding is just to get through the fuel crisis. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wars in the Middle East and Europe are continuing to push up prices at the pump in New Zealand. Latest data from fuel monitoring platform Gaspy shows the average fuel price for 91 unleaded has surpassed $3.50. The global oil benchmark Brent Crude has been sitting above US$100 a barrel for some time. Macquarie University Energy Expert Lurion De Mello told Mike Hosking fuel prices aren't just being affected by what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz, but also by how much supply is coming out of Russia. He says there's some guarantee of supply coming out through the Strait of Hormuz, but Singapore still relies on supplies from Russia, and therefore, so does New Zealand. De Mello told Hosking the cost of getting the oil to the refinery is actually a lot higher than the benchmark. He says it would actually cost closer to US$200 to $250 when factoring in shipping and insurance costs, which have risen sharply. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After four election promises to build a major Canterbury road, National's Chris Bishop is confident construction will finally begin. National says it will start construction on the Belfast-to-Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass in 2027, if re-elected. The project has also been an election promise for National in 2017, 2020, and 2023. Transport spokesperson Chris Bishop told Mike Hosking the road is critical. He says the road goes straight through Woodend and is a massive safety risk for children and families. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake hit Victoria in the early hours of Saturday morning. According to recent reports, residents were woken up by the shaking around 2am, with people feeling the quake across Melbourne's south-east. Australian correspondent Steve Price says the region's usually pretty benign, with this being the most notable earthquake since 2021. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Saville and Jason Pine joined Mike Hosking to review all the big sporting events of the weekend, including the NRL grand final, Liam Lawson's 7th place F1 finish and the latest NPC results. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An investment fund manager says political parties need to reach a consensus on KiwiSaver, so people can get on with saving. ACT has announced it wants to cut the tax on investment earnings through KiwiSaver, while also scrapping the $260-a-year Government contribution. Labour, National, New Zealand First and Opportunity also have revealed plans for the scheme. Milford Asset Management KiwiSaver general manager Murray Harris says we need a cross-party accord. "If we change the rules or make it too confusing, people disengage and then they'll stop saving. So a long-term plan with one set of rules aren't changed by progressive Governments." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trump is on the campaign trail as the US mid-term elections are set to take place next month. The President has been touring around red states, doing back-to-back rallies in Texas and Oklahoma. US correspondent Richard Arnold says Trump has been urging his base to get out and vote - but his latest campaign ads have raised questions. "US law prohibits Government funds from being used for political campaigning. Trump, though, claims this is not campaigning, these are simply public service announcements." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inflation could keep running hot for the rest of the year, driven by high prices at the pump and our weakening NZ dollar. ASB's latest quarterly economic forecast predicts the Reserve Bank will push the OCR up two more times, to 3.25 percent. It also expects unemployment to stick around 5.6 percent and house prices to flatline. But acting chief economist Kim Mundy says the economy's shown some resilience and should gradually build momentum. "At least, for the here and now through til the end of the year - and maybe early 2027. We expect that growth will still remain quite uneven." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some observations as we enter week two of the election campaign of 2026. Firstly, it's not really week two. This thing has been going for ages, which doesn’t help. It feels long and boring already. Secondly, what do we make of the small party promises you know are never going to see the light of day? How much time and energy do we place on a thing you know will never happen? In theory of course, in a democracy, anything can happen. The Greens could get 31 percent of the vote, beat Labour, and therefore become the lead party in a coalition that would then introduce a variety of taxes to make all their weird promises potentially real. But we all know that that isn't going to happen. So what's the energy requirement on nutty ideas, the latest of which was their overnight train down the North Island. If you'd forgotten, we have actually had a variety of overnight trains down the North Island. Guess what happened to them, and why. Given that, why are you trying to re-heat failures of the past? Not even Winston…

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Monday the 5th of October, Labour's Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds runs through her fiscal plan while the pay equity regime still isn't fully costed, in public anyway. The Prime Minister is on the campaign trail in Christchurch and responds to Labour's plan, the new road which is actually an old road and strategic voting. Andrew Saville and Jason Pine talk the NRL grand final, Liam's 7th place finish in the F1 and some dismal NPC results. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Luxon is criticising Labour's long-awaited fiscal plan, but won't put a date on when its fiscal plan will be released. Labour's plan includes a return to operating surplus by 2028-29 - and the party's confident every campaign promise so far is fully costed and funded. Luxon has criticised the plan, for not costing the reintroduction of the pay equity scheme. The National Leader told Mike Hosking his party will release its fiscal plan in the next couple of weeks, but he isn't quite sure when. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Barbara Edmonds is adamant she's 'absolutely credible' as Labour's finance spokesperson. The party's unveiled its Fiscal Plan, promising to return the books to an operating surplus in 2028/29. Edmonds is confident every campaign promise so far is fully costed and funded. She's not providing a figure for returning the former pay equity scheme, saying that will be decided in bargaining. Edmonds told Mike Hosking this isn't her first rodeo. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Opportunity Party turns out to be a sham of sorts. We have bottom lines, but not real bottom lines. 1) More power to the Commerce Commission. Big deal... 2) A 10-year health plan. That means nothing. 3) Reforming lobbying. That's hardly a thing. It means a lot, or little, or nothing, but it's hard to be against it. 4) Bottom trawling. It's an odd one because it's not one of life's great issues in a world of war, terror, and white bread prices. 5) Keeping the Climate Change Commission. Once again, big deal. I'd agree to all of that to shut them up and get on with running the country. The Government is littered with do-gooder, go nowhere departments. The Climate Commission makes literally no difference to anything. They have no teeth, they just recommend stuff, like a coroner or Privacy Commissioner. So what are we left with? The land tax is not a bottom line. The universal income is nowhere to be seen. In very general terms this would appear to make them much more appealing to a wider selection of voters.…

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. The campaign: 4/10 Is it just me or has the mental stuff with ice cream and dumb questions started so early that we will be suicidal by November? PREFU: 7/10 Confirmed widely held suspicions that our economy is on the way back in a material way. Labour: 4/10 Bad first week. Got busted on equity and the CGT promise appears problematic now that housing isn't growing. The EU FTA climate mess: 1/10 It's one thing for a bunch of Dutch losers to whine, but to be backed by Kiwis, even if they are radicals, is treasonous. The Opportunity Party: 2/10 Shot themselves in the foot with bottom lines. They may as well have named their favourite colours. LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Given Westpac played what I would loosely call a dumb game this week with numbers, let me return serve. Their numbers involved a bunch of what they call "necessities" and their prices over the past ten years. White bread is up 120% and butter up 157%. Chicken though is only up 2%. So, if you ate a lot of chicken, not only would you be protein rich, you would have saved a fortune. The CPI is up in that period 38%. Their argument is that this is why we are miserable; everything appears so expensive. Not everything is, but if you eat a lot of white bread and butter, obviously without the chicken, you are arguing it’s a cost-of-living crisis. By the way, here are my numbers: while the CPI is 38%, hourly wages are up 53%. Now that dovetails into what we saw just last week with the food price inflation for the year at 1.9%. Our wages have in fact gone up more than that, so in other words, food is getting more affordable. It's a statistical fact – food is more affordable this year than last year. If you spread it…

The Moa Point saga is now wading into the courts. The Greater Wellington Regional Council has filed charges against water company Tiaki Wai and the City Council after a catastrophic failure in February saw more than 14 billion litres of untreated sewage pumped into the sea. The regional council says the prosecution follows detailed investigation of the events, the roles of involved parties, and the environmental consequences. Both organisations could face fines of up to $100 million each. Wellington Mayor Andrew Little told Mike Hosking it's highly unlikely there will be a fine at that level. He says there will be talks by lawyers on all sides, and if anything goes before a judge, there'll be a bit of teasing out about where responsibility actually lies, as that's still a bit of an open question. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.