The Mike Hosking Breakfast

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 19th of February, we cover the OCR, yet another report reinforcing our inability to protect our most vulnerable children, and the rising use of hard drugs.
Reserve Bank Governor Anna Breman explains her OCR call and whether she or the economists got it right.
Country music star Corey Kent is in the country with Jason Aldean, and popped in to regale us with stories of Willie Nelson and Paul Simon.
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The Reserve Bank's kept the OCR unchanged at 2.25% and isn't forecasting any change until the end of the year.
Governor Anna Breman says inflation should be back within target this quarter.
She says the economy fundamentals are consistent with inflation falling to, and remaining at, 2% over the medium term.
Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Mike Hosking the Governor is playing with a pretty straight bat.
He says it’s a tricky balance, as the economy doesn’t quite feel like it has recovery momentum, and they don’t want to cut that off at the knees by spooking anyone, but they do have to be focused on inflation.
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The Independent Children's Monitor says it's clear our child protection system is under immense stress.
Its review shows carers killed 24 children between December 2021 and June 2025.
It finds no improvement, despite recommendations in a review of the murder of five-year-old Malachi Subecz in 2021.
Children's Monitor CEO Arran Jones told Mike Hosking that while there are deep-seated issues that go beyond what the agencies can respond to, there are certainly things that can be improved.
He says the lack of progress up to this point is an issue of prioritisation, and it’s about making sure the problem is front of mine not only for Oranga Tamariki, but for all the agencies that have a role to play.
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New workplace testing results reveal cocaine detections have sharply risen across the country.
The Drug Detection Agency's results for the three months to December show cocaine was present in 3.7% of positive tests – more than double the amount from last quarter.
Bay of Plenty, Auckland West, and Waikato were identified as the regions with the sharpest rises.
Chief Executive Glenn Dobson told Mike Hosking that New Zealand already has a strong use base of methamphetamine, and now they’re starting to see a real increase in cocaine usage, which is a real concern for them.
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Signs the job market is on the up.
New Seek data shows job ads have grown by 1.5% since October and are now 11.7% higher year on year.
Gisborne's led monthly growth with an almost 4% increase, while Marlborough's the only region with a record annual decline in ads, at -6%.
However Seek Country Manager Rob Clark says the fact growth stretches across regions and industries is a marked improvement on this year.
He told Mike Hosking they’re hopeful the growth will continue.
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