The Mike Hosking Breakfast

As promised on this morning's show, here's Andrew Saville in his signature new look!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jason Pine and Andrew Saville join Mike Hosking this morning to discuss the weekend's sports. On the table today: The T20 World Cup, does everybody have a team these days? Are they worth the Black Caps' time? The guys discuss what Winter Olympic sport they'd take a crack at, and the Super Bowl - a sporting occasion or a marketing occasion?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister remains hopeful for a fall in unemployment this year. Unemployment's reached a 10 year high of 5.4% - with Auckland's unemployment rate rising again to 6.4%. Job numbers have increased, but that's been offset by more people joining or re-joining the labour market. Chris Luxon told Mike Hosking that the economy's rebounding, and that should flow through to the job market soon. He says there's always a lag effect - with unemployment being the last economic indicator to turn around. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Seymour wants to reassure parents things have improved - despite new data showing growing workforce challenges in early childhood education. Nearly 34,000 teaching staff were employed last year, but just over two-thirds were qualified. Almost 10,000 staff had no formal qualifications - nearly double the number in 2011. Associate Education Minister David Seymour told Mike Hosking that parents should know the number of teachers with formal qualifications has increased. He says in actual fact the situation hasn't changed much in five years and has improved since they've been in Government.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A defence lawyer says our jury system's fundamental - despite there being scope for improvement.  Open Justice can reveal potential jurors were paid more than seven million dollars in fees and expenses in 2024 - up from 5.69 million two years prior.  The Ministry of Justice can't say how many of these people were selected for a jury. Barrister John Munro told Mike Hosking that there's always going to be some slippage.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fears a decision around mining could affect New Zealand's reputation on the world stage.  Trans-Tasman Resources' proposal to mine 50 million tonnes of seabed a year for 30 years in South Taranaki has been declined in a draft fast-track decision.  The panel found there would be credible risks of harm to Maui dolphins, little penguins and fairy prion birds.  Minerals Council Chief Executive Josie Vidal told Mike Hosking that it does New Zealand no favours.  She says it comes at a time when we're trying to convince the US that we can be part of a global supply chain for minerals.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US correspondent Richard Arnold caught up with Andrew Dickens to chat about the biggest news in America.  Microsoft founder Bill Gates is facing backlash following a number of mentions in the most recent Epstein file release. Among the release was an email allegedly written by Epstein about Gates which claimed he hid a sexually transmitted disease from his wife after contact with “Russian girls”. Meanwhile, a search is underway in Arizona for the mother of NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie, Nancy Guthrie, who has been missing since January. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Following this weeks wastewater spill in Wellington Gillian Blythe, Water NZ CEO, has emphasised the need for a reform of water infrastructure and oversight.  "I think what's really critical is that we need to have regulatory oversight and we need to be able to highlight what it is that the the type of non-compliance is," she told Andrew Dickens.  "Sometimes those non-compliances can be at the lower end, whether a report was filed at the right time, whether a sample was taken in the right time period, but some of them will be at the more complex end, and we need to make sure that we are focusing on that information." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Opposition leader Chris Hipkins joined Andrew Dickens to chat about Waitangi Day hecklers, co-governance, and equal opportunity.  He also spoke about moving back towards using te reo for official titles, something the National coalition has moved away from. "There's nothing to be scared of by embracing te reo Māori and having, Māori names for government departments," Hipkins said. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brenton Harrison Tarrant was jailed for life in August 2020, with no possibility of parole, after he plead guilty to the murder of 51 people and wounding 40 in the Christchurch terror attack. Tarrant is now, five years later, attempting to overturn his conviction with claims he was not in a rational state when he plead guilty.  Criminal defence lawyer Steve Cullen spoke to Andrew Dickens about the appeal saying, "It's a very difficult situation for all, but we have to let the wheels of justice grind on and let it be dealt with properly so that hopefully, whatever the outcome is, we'll get finality and closure this time." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.