The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Christchurch turns up the volume today as Electric Avenue gets underway.  45 thousand punters are expected to attend each day of the Hagley Park event, with a further two thousand working on site.  Last year's festival produced $10.5 million in visitor spending.  Managing Director Callam Mitchell told Mike Hosking about 45% of their attendees travel from outside of Christchurch, so the $10 million includes things like accommodation, bar spend, and retail in the city.   LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More New Zealanders are putting their faith back into the housing market.   ASB's latest survey shows confidence has lifted sharply this quarter, with respondents who expect house prices to rise over the next year jumping from 17% to 30%.  Chief Economist Nick Tuffley says it's a buyer's market and advises caution when it comes to banking on strengthening house prices.  But he told Mike Hosking the affordability factor is quite good currently, with plenty of supply, reasonably stable prices, and debt servicing rates from banks remaining very low.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Air New Zealand is fighting with one hand tied behind its back facing local costs its international competitors avoid.  The national airline's announced a $40 million half-year loss.  The new Chief Executive says airlines are a cyclical business, and New Zealand is disproportionately exposed to local inflation.   Nikhil Ravishankar told Mike Hosking some of the other airlines making more money are the ones that have recently gone through a downturn.  He says it's partly nature of the business, but there are also things we're exposed to locally that some of our competitors aren't.  They’ve also been struggling with aircraft being grounded due to global engine issues, a slower than expected recovery, and rising costs.  Ravishankar told Hosking he took on a business grappling with a post-Covid rebuild.  He says up until now, they've been playing not to lose, but now they're building a business that can play to win.   LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Justice Minister says reducing the remaining number of crime victims will continue to be hard work.   Data from the latest Crime and Victims Survey shows there were 49 thousand fewer victims of violent crime in the year to last October, compared to the two previous years.  It's reduced to 136 thousand.   Paul Goldsmith told Mike Hosking that number is still too high.   He says the obvious place to start reducing it is with locking up the people who create multiple victims.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There was a huge reaction to yesterday's Politics Wednesday segment on homelessness and move-on orders.  Labour argues homelessness is up dramatically and there is nowhere for these people to go.  New numbers released today show that simply, in Auckland anyway, is not true.  Advocates working in the area tell us numbers are down 29%.  Part of that drop is due to Government funding in October of last year to improve outreach, as well as the provision of 207 housing places in the Housing First programme.  So, like a lot of other issues being raised as being disasters, the truth tells a different story.  As I have said, Labour is going to lose the election anyway. But their growing problem is reality is smashing directly into their ideology.  Their plan to this point, and it was reflected well in the Hipkins so-called "State of the Nation" speech, is to tell you everything is a mess, it's all broken, it's all been cocked up and is going backwards.  The theory is if they set the mood right what they have to offer doesn’t need to be a thing, hence they have no policies outside their capital gains tax.  You're in a funk and you vote the Government out because they have convinced you life sucks.  Except the evidence that it isn't, is starting to arrive, and in some volume.  Growth is up, spending is up, confidence is up, performance in schools is up, kids are actually turning up to school, large industrial relations deals are being signed so strikes are off, crime is down, and now homelessness is down as well.  By November employment will have turned and the picture, broadly, will be complete.  It's hard to compete against good economic news and it's hard to compete against positive social news like the homelessness stats.  And it's really hard, and this is where Labour and the Greens are blowing it, against the wider will and view of the populous.  On move-on orders, like the gang patches and like the ram raids, crack downs are popular.  Defending crooks and drug addicts and trouble makers is not a vote getter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After almost six months, IndyCar is returning this weekend.  Scott Dixon, Marcus Amstrong, and Scott McLaughlin are all lining up on the streets of St Petersburg for the first race – the same streets where McLaughlin got pole last year.   However, McLaughlin has admitted that 2025 was a frustrating year, as he finished 10th in the Championship with three podiums.   He told Mike Hosking that it was really the lowest of lows for him in many cases, and he’s trying to turn that negative into a positive.  McLaughlin says he doesn’t have to do too much differently, he just has to execute it better.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 26th of February, the dairy sector is experiencing record high milk production and exports.   Kiwi Alex Kendall is CEO of Wayve, a self-driving tech firm that just secured $1.5 billion to support the commercial rollout of their tech.   Kiwi Indycar driver Scott McLaughlin lays out his prospects ahead of the first race of the 2026 season 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.

Someday soon your Uber could arrive with no one in the driver’s seat, and a Kiwi’s tech is behind the shift.  UK self-driving company Wayve, spearheaded by Alex Kendall, has secured $1.5 billion in capital to support to the commercial roll out of their ‘Robotaxis’.   The funding round also includes backing from Mercedes, Nissan, Microsoft and Nvidia, while local VC Icehouse Ventures is contributing $12.5 million to the capital raise.  Kendall told Mike Hosking there’s a couple of different ways to commercialise self-driving technology – creating your own cars, running your own fleets, or licensing the technology.  Wayve is using the third option, and he says the AI they’ve built is so flexible that it will be able to bring self-driving technology worldwide.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's being argued the government has taxed beer to a point where people can't afford it as consumption levels plummet.   Stats NZ data shows the volume of all alcoholic beverages made last year fell by 8.3%, with beer dropping by 10%.   It follows the beer excise tax rising more than 20% in five years.  Garage Project Brewery co-owner Jos Ruffell told Mike Hosking the multi-billion-dollar industry is feeling the pain of this bizarre tax.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A record-breaking State of the Union speech from Donald Trump.  His 107 minute address is the longest since records began in 1964.  The US president also spoke directly to invited guests, including the US Olympic champion men's hockey team, victims of crime by illegal immigrants, and a 100-year-old World War Two veteran.   Political author and pollster John Zogby told Mike Hosking aside from the veterans, there weren’t really any other heroes sitting in the seats, which is a reminder of how degraded US politics have become.   He says that Trump made a good attempt to paint a rosy picture in his speech, but early polls indicate it hasn't persuaded anyone. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.