The Mike Hosking Breakfast

New Zealand Rugby is using the influence of the game to improve the country's mental health.

It has launched a campaign today, along with a website, offering players, parents, coaches, referees, volunteers and supporters an information resource about mental fitness, mental health and well-being.

The campaign features stories from All Black legend Keven Mealamu, Assistant Coach Wayne Smith, Black Ferns Sevens star Ruby Tui, former Chiefs and Junior All Blacks prop James McGougan - amongst others.

Keven Mealamu told Mike Hosking rugby players are perceived to be tough and don't usually talk about how they're feeling.

"Guys are starting to talk now," he said. "I actually think it takes real courage to do that, and we're starting to do that more."

"It's great that today we're launching the Head First website. Just gives another resource for people to go online if they are finding it hard to talk to someone else about it."

The website www.headfirst.co.nz launched at 11.30am this morning.

South Sudanese refugees have hope for the country.

UN South Sudan representative and former Labour Leader David Shearer says the future looks grim in the country.

But a Kiwi working with South Sudanese refugees in Uganda says there's still hope from some.

Helen Manson told Mike Hosking that despite refugees going through unimaginable horrors, they still envision a stable South Sudan.

"The people I spoke to today said they do have a hope for the future but they just don't quite know what that will look like - they hope to one day to return to South Sudan and for peace to come back to the region."

She also said that the refugees arrive in a traumatised condition.

"I was speaking to multiple people today in the field, in the refugee settlement, and they were telling me about their testimonies of just going through horrendous things - some of the worst things I've ever heard, actually, as a Kiwi."

But Ms Manson said she has seen some incredible transformations in the refugees' psychological state.

If you would like to donate towards the work Helen is doing, here is the link: https://www.tearfund.org.nz/South-Sudan

Charging for freshwater take would solve a number of other issues with our water.

Forest and Bird campaign manager Kevin Hackwell says there's a crisis of water quality in low-lying areas of New Zealand.

He told Mike Hosking that charging by the litre would be an ideal situation to keep the water where it's needed.

"If we were charging for it we'd have more efficient use, therefore there would be less used and that would ease the problem, but also the income coming back could be used to fix up that problem."

He also said there's a real issue with water in some locations, especially when farmers need to irrigate.

"And there we should be looking at how efficiently are we using it, and one of the ways you get people to use it efficiently- so you don't take too much - is if you ask them to pay for it"

Yesterday, Aucklanders used 15 million litres more than the target, consuming 415 million litres of water.

LISTEN ABOVE AS KEVIN HACKWELL SPEAKS TO MIKE HOSKING

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Frankie Adams did the usual stint on Shortland Street a few years ago. But then her career skyrocketed, finding roles in popular US shows like The Expanse and Wentworth. 

Now, she's starring in a New Zealand-made feature film called One Thousand Ropes from the critically-acclaimed director Tusi Tamasese. She joined Mike Hosking this morning for a chat. 

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW ABOVE

Finance Minister Steven Joyce and Labour MP Annette King join Mike Hosking for their weekly chat.

Treating trans-Tasman flights as domestic travel isn't a far-fetched concept.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has told a business audience last night that he wants the easier travel put in place, which would mean no customs queues.

‎House of Travel Commercial Director Brent Thomas told Mike Hosking it's not a brand new proposal.

He said in the past, the US has had their own immigration agents in the Bahamas to ease travel between the two countries.

Thomas said it would be an easy way to cut airport queues in half, with half the tourism in and out of New Zealand being from Australia.

He said less processing on that number of people would also save time for international passengers, who still have to queue up.

LISTEN ABOVE AS BRENT THOMAS SPEAKS WITH MIKE HOSKING

Police hubs are failing rural towns and leaving crime to run amok.

This from the Waipa District Mayor, Jim Mylchreest, who wants 24/7 police in Cambridge and Te Awamutu.

For Cambridge the closest cops are in Hamilton - a half hour drive away.

Mr Mylchreest said calling 111 is pointless because criminal events are over long before police arrive.

He told Mike Hosking it's not good enough.

"There's ram raids going on in our main streets and burglaries happening. The feeling in the community is that crime's on the increase."

LISTEN ABOVE AS JIM MYLCHREEST SPEAKS WITH MIKE HOSKING

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A visitor levy is the ideal solution to offset the huge cost of infrastructure for tourists.

That is according to Local Government New Zealand. Its research shows $1.38 billion is being spent by councils on assets to accommodate the visitors.

The organisation's chief executive Malcolm Alexander told Mike Hosking there's already a proven track record for a tourist levy.

"In my view it's the logical way to go. Either delivered nationally or locally it's common overseas, and actually the overseas visitors are happy to pay."

Alexander said while a visitor levy is an internationally accepted way to take the burden off ratepayers, he said it would need to go back into the right projects.

"The governance of this and the allocation is going to be important, because if there isn't line of sight between revenue and the expenditure, it's going to lose public support, it's not going to be fair."

However, AUT's Simon Milne told Rachel Smalley tourists could be put off, if individual councils start imposing visitor levies.

"If you take a piecemeal approach for every destination, every locality as its own little tax or levy, it can become quite expensive and actually quite confusing for the visitor," he said.

He said it makes more sense for local and central government to co-invest.

LISTEN ABOVE AS LGNZ CHIEF EXECUTIVE MALCOLM ALEXANDER SPEAKS WITH MIKE HOSKING