The Mike Hosking Breakfast

British Prime Minister Theresa May has urged Donald Trump to tone down his rhetoric on North Korea.

The US President has hinted at unilateral action against the rogue state, angering China in the process.

UK correspondent Rod Liddle told Mike Hosking Trump's tough talk has many concerned.

"Theresa May has urged Donald Trump to be a little more moderate and a little less bellicose, given Donald Trump's apparent wish to have the country blown off the planet if it doesn't cooperate, and if indeed the Chinese don't cooperate.

LISTEN ABOVE AS ROD LIDDLE SPEAKS WITH MIKE HOSKING

The severe weather expected to hit the country over the next few days could become a lot more common.

Heavy rain and winds are expected for most of the North Island and upper South, due to the remnants of Cyclone Debbie.

LISTEN: Stormy weather on the way won't match Australia

New research has found heat waves, droughts and floods have increased because of global warming.

Study leader Professor Michael Mann from Pennsylvania State University told Mike Hosking that's causing dangerous changes to jet streams.

"Changing the jet stream in a way that slows it down and leads to an amplification of these low and high pressure systems gives us the unprecedented weather extremes," he said.

Mann said this is something scientists have suspected for a long time.

"Not only are these types of extreme weather events increasing, but we can show that in the climate models, it's clearly a result of the warming of the planet."

LISTEN ABOVE AS PROF MICHAEL MANN SPEAKS WITH MIKE HOSKING

The first appeal of the Harmful Digital Communications Act is setting a precedent. The High Court's upheld the appeal of a case involving a man who posted two intimate photos of his estranged wife on Facebook.

Christchurch lawyer Kathryn Dalziel said the court's decision recognises the significant harm online privacy breaches can cause.

She said the court's acknowledgement of emotional distress, makes it easier for victims to come forward.

"What I'm really impressed with in the judgement is that it explains our understanding of significant harm. Traditionally in the law we used to understand things like fear."

She said these clarifications prove the Act is quality, and much needed in the cyber age.

"This has simply confirmed that we have a good and clear piece of legislation that the courts can enforce and I think tidied up an interpretation."

Ms Dalziel said the world is grappling with how to deal with cyber punishments - and this ruling shows New Zealand is doing well.

"It's always been horrible when people bully and it hasn't had the digital imprint that you have online now, so what our laws need to do is catch up with this and I think this legislation does exactly that."

An immunisation expert has dismissed the claims in an anti-vaccination film being rolled out around the country as being "no more than myth".

The film is the work of disgraced former British doctor Andrew Wakefield, whose 1998 research paper argued the MMR vaccine could be linked to autism and bowel disorders.

He was de-registered in 2010 when a medical tribunal found the entire paper fraudulent.

Dr Nikki Turner, head of our Immunisation Advisory Centre, insists there is no association between autism and the MMR vaccine, and the science is clear.

"This is an issue that a couple of people in the world have been peddling since nineteen-ninety-eight, making an industry out of it," she said. "They are making an industry out of preying on people's fears."

"As people forget what measles is, as they do not see the consequences of the disease, they get more focussed on other issues and create myths."

Dr Turner said people are welcome to see any film they like, but reaffirmed that there was no science behind Wakefield's.

LISTEN TO DR TURNER'S INTERVIEW WITH MIKE HOSKING ABOVE

Chief Censor Andrew Jack said his office can't classify the picture because it's a documentary that doesn't have any sex, horror, crime, cruelty, or violence.

Jack says if people are concerned they can push for legislation to be amended, to widen the basis on which movies can be restricted, but "Kiwis are a bunch that love their right to freedom of expression quite a bit and I think any further intrusion into their right to freedom of expression would probably be something people would want to have a really hard think about."

The Government could decide this week whether to a launch an inquiry into the claims made in the book Hit and Run.

It has asked the Defence Force for advice about whether it should launch an inquiry into the 2010 SAS raid in Afghanistan.

Defence Force chief Lieutenant-General Tim Keating has now written to Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee.

Prime Minister Bill English told Mike Hosking the Government will consider the letter, and plans to make an announcement in the next few days.

"If he says there's nothing there that will certainly have an influence on the decision the government makes but we've yet to go through those steps."

LISTEN ABOVE: Bill English speaks to Mike Hosking

Young politician Chloe Swarbrick says she has the backing of Green Party delegates despite her inexperience.

The 22-year-old has been placed at thirteenth on the party's draft list as it readies for the election.

Ms Swarbrick told Mike Hosking knows she has a lot to prove.

"Speaking completely honestly there was a lot of hesitancy surrounding me and the fact I was new to politics, and I simply offered what I stand for, my values and my skill sets."

LISTEN ABOVE: Chloe Swarbrick speaks to Mike Hosking

The rankings are based on votes by party delegates and are subject to change.

GREEN PARTY DRAFT LIST

1. Metiria Turei (same)2. James Shaw (up 11)3. Julie Ann Genter (up 5)4. Marama Davidson (up 12)5. Eugenie Sage (down 1)6. Jan Logie (up 4)7. Gareth Hughes (down 2)8. Mojo Mathers (up 1)9. Jack McDonald (up 12)10. Barry Coates (up 7)11. Kennedy Graham (down 4)12. John Hart (up 6)13. Chloe Swarbrick (new)14. Denise Roche (same)15. Golriz Ghahraman (new)16. David Clendon (down 5)17. Teanau Tuiono (new)18. Leilani Tamu (new)19. Teall Crosse (new)20. Chris Perley (up 11)

The Ministry for Primary Industries says it has nothing to hide about fishing industry monitor FishServe.

LISTEN ABOVE: MPI's Director of Fisheries Management Dave Turner speaks to Mike Hosking

Greenpeace has made a complaint to the Auditor-General about FishServe, the company contracted to monitor over-fishing, quotas and licences.

It says the company can't operate independently, because it's owned by Seafood New Zealand, the country's largest fishing industry lobby.

But MPI's Director of Fisheries Management Dave Turner told Mike Hosking FishServe has a limited role, which it's been doing well for almost 20 years.

"Their function is purely administrative - they collect data, enter it into a database and then pass this information to us for analysis."

He said Greenpeace is just boxing at shadows.

"This has been going on for just about 20 years and there are audits in place. We save taxpayers a considerable amount of money by using this approach."

A giant leap for the Government's children's reforms today - with the official launch of the new Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki.

Minister Anne Tolley says around 3500 staff are set to move across from their various positions within the current Ministry for Social Development.

Ms Tolley said there are a number of changes from the get-go, such as raising the age a young person stays in state care to 18 years - over time it will be raised to 21.

SEE ALSO: Scepticism remains as new ministry for vulnerable kids opens

She said the new Ministry will oversee all of the children's services that were previously under the Ministry for Social Development.

"$200 million worth of community programmes that are delivered out by NGOs around the country, that all moves across, plus our children's team."

Ms Tolley said they won't be relying solely on social workers at the coalface, and investing in specialists like child psychologists and mental health professionals.

She said it's the beginning of a major culture shift in the way we deal with at-risk and vulnerable children and families.

"I think over the next four to five years we'll see a different mix of social workers working in groups of people with different specialist skills."

LISTEN ABOVE AS MINISTER ANNE TOLLEY SPEAKS WITH MIKE HOSKING

Ms Tolley told Mike Hosking this morning the new ministry is "absolutely essential" for New Zealand's most vulnerable kids.

She said it's very easy to whitewash this and say it's a ministry for all children.

"But actually there are, in New Zealand, a large number of children who live in very vulnerable circumstances, and it's right that New Zealand should be reminded of that."

The Prime Minister says we can do more for vulnerable children, and the Government's new Ministry will make sure of that.

Bill English said it's very focused on doing more, sooner, for children, and supporting foster parents more so they can have a better life.

"I think everyone understands we can do a better job for our vulnerable kids, so this new organisation is a different way of looking at these children."

Taranaki's water quality results are the region's best in 20 years, and it's all thanks to dairy farmers who have been mucking in to clean up streams and rivers.

The regional council puts it down to farmers putting in bridges, fencing, and riparian planting around waterways on their property.

Taranaki Federated Farmers' president Bronwyn Muir told Mike Hosking almost all dairy farmers in the region are putting in trees and shrubs.

"Nintety-nine-point-five percent of Taranaki dairy farmers, of the eighteen-hundred dairy farms, have plans in place and are progressively developing and enhancing their waterways."

Parents are being encouraged to keep in touch with their kids after a spate of attempted child abduction.

A 14-year-old boy was pulled into a man's car on Auckland's North Shore on Wednesday, but managed to escape.

Earlier this week a man tried to lure a primary school boy into his car, and men tried to abduct girls in two cases in St Heliers and Porirua in the last few months.

Alan McGlade, head of Hamilton police's family protection team, told Mike Hosking there might be a trend, but parents shouldn't overreact.

"You can't afford to take those extreme sort of knee-jerk reactions," he said. "Really it's down to making sure we're communicating well with them."

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW ABOVE