The Mike Hosking Breakfast

It’s time to catch up with one of Aussie's favourite artists.
John Butler had humble beginnings as a busker, and ended up setting up his own record label back in 2002.
He, of course, is the front man for the John Butler Trio, and has become Australia’s most successful independent artist of all time.
Now, he's coming to our shores for a couple of shows, and will be the first international act to cross the border without quarantine.
John Butler joined Mike Hosking from Perth and gave an exclusive performance.
“Taking a little step back wasn’t necessarily hugely frustrating; I think if I wasn’t able to play music at all that would have been absolutely torturous.”
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John Butler is here for two solo shows:
Saturday 15 May - Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch
Sunday 16 May - Powerstation in Auckland
Tickets available from johnbutlertrio.com

Should we have free parking for an hour in our CBD's nationwide?
So, this started in New Plymouth where they are having a discussion on their ten year plan and how to help businesses.
A local business and retail group said an hour's free shopping would encourage people to head into town and have shoppers walking through the doors; a better alternative than keeping on seeing dwindling numbers which means less money in the parking meters anyway.
Then, yesterday you have the genius idea from the Wellington council to increase their parking per hour.
Now, Hamilton already allows two hours free parking - should the rest of us follow suit?
Chief executive of Retail NZ Greg Harford spoke with Mike Hosking to give his perspective.
“There is a clear and direct link between the ease and cost effectiveness of parking and the amount of customers coming to a retail shop.”
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There have been grim findings from a new tourism survey.
Research suggests that over the last 12 months, Kiwi tourism businesses have, on average, seen their revenues cut almost in half.
On top of this, an average of four out of every ten staff members have been shed.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief Chris Roberts, told Mike Hosking businesses now have the challenge of rebuilding their workforce.
“We have the Australians back, we will in time have visitors from other countries  and the new problem for tourism businesses will be finding the staff they need as visitors return.”
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Nurses are fearful the Government's pay freeze will over-ride the collective bargaining process.
The Government says public sector workers earning more than 60-thousand dollars, will only get pay rises under exceptional circumstances.
Nurses’ union spokesman David Waite told Mike Hosking collective bargaining between employers and employees must be allowed to continue.
“Frankly we were quite astonished by this; it’s very short sighted to have such a blanket approach to wages.”
David Waite says the nursing workforce is ageing and this won't help future recruitment.
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THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Thursday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) Stay Alert/Trust Me, I Know What I'm Doing/Ardern Watch/Not Welcome at Jo's Place

Judith Collins says Trevor Mallard came to Parliament on Tuesday night, looking for a scrap.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has given the Speaker a dressing down after he accused a former staffer of sexual assault, under the cloak of Parliamentary privilege.
National's leader says Mallard was fuming, and refused to answer the questions being put to him.
Collins told Mike Hosking he then exploded, in another example of how he has no control over his temper.
“No ability to put himself out of the equation, when it comes to the matter, and has simply the wrong temperament when it comes to being the speaker.”
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Australian cricket legend Michael Hussey has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.
The 45-year-old was working as a batting coach for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, and is one of many Australians trapped in the country following Scott Morrison’s decision to introduce a hard border closure.
Early on Wednesday morning AEST, The Times of India reported Hussey had become the first Australian in the IPL bubble to test positive for the coronavirus.
According to the publication, he was tested twice with both coming back positive.
The glamorous T20 tournament was indefinitely suspended on Tuesday evening after several cricketers and staff members contracted the virus.
The Kolkata Knight Riders were placed in isolation after players Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier tested positive on Monday, along with three staff members from the Super Kings — chief executive officer Kasi Viswanathan, bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji and a bus cleaner.
The IPL decided to take an indefinite pause on Tuesday as Sunrisers Hyderabad wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha — a teammate of David Warner — joined the growing list.
Television crew and venue staff also contracted coronavirus as the integrity of the tournament’s biosecurity bubble was compromised.
Hussey played 79 Test matches and 185 one-day internationals for Australia, scoring 22 centuries and 11,677 runs.
He featured in the 2006/07 Ashes whitewash and 2007 Cricket World Cup triumph.
More than 30 Australian players, commentators, umpires and coaching staff participated in the IPL — including Steve Smith, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell and Ricky Ponting.
The Australian talent in India now face an anxious wait to get home, with Morrison’s Government introducing fines of up to $66,600 or five years in prison for anyone defying the strict travel ban — currently in place until May 15.
On Tuesday, Warner shared an emotional Instagram post with a message from his daughters and wife with a desperate plea: “Please Daddy come home straight away”.
The temporary travel ban was designed to allow for hotel quarantine upgrades in Australia before an influx of citizens fleeing COVID-ravaged India.
Last week, Morrison said Australian cricket players and coaches in India would not be given preferential treatment.
“They’ve travelled there privately under their own arrangements. This wasn’t part of an Australian tour,” Morrison said.
“And they’re under their own resources and they’ll be using those resources, I’m sure, to see them return to Australia in accordance with our own arrangements.”
The Aussies knew they would be required to spend 14 days in quarantine upon returning home — they did not anticipate being locked out of the country with a threat of jail time.
 “Up until now, I felt incredibly safe in the bubble they created,” Cummins told Fox Sports’ Back Page from his Ahmedabad hotel room on Tuesday.
“Arriving, we had to do seven days quarantine, tests every two days, we had to wear masks in the hotel, literally the only people we have seen are hotel staff who are getting tested every day and members of our team.
“Once we flew out from Australia, we knew we faced 14 days quarantine coming home, so you always feel that little bit further away from getting home, but as soon as that hard border shut, obviously no one has ever experienced that before.
“It added a little bit of anxiety for some of the Aussies over here, but hopefully it all opens on May 15 and we are able to get back.”
Earlier this week, Indian coach Ravi Shastri told SEN that the IPL bubbles were the safest place in India.
Kolkata teammate Ben Cutting told Fox Sports: “Last year we had the IPL held over in the UAE and that was, you know, an incredibly, incredibly well run tournament. No hiccups at all.
“I think this year they tried to push that little step further and have it over in multiple cities in...

President Joe Biden set a new vaccination goal to deliver at least one shot to 70% of adult Americans by July Fourth as he tackles the vexing problem of winning over the "doubters" and those unmotivated to get inoculated.
Demand for vaccines has dropped off markedly nationwide, with some states leaving more than half their available doses unordered. Aiming to make it easier to get shots, Biden called for states to make vaccines available on a walk-in basis and he will direct many pharmacies to do likewise.
His administration for the first time also is moving to shift doses from states with weaker demand to areas with stronger interest in the shots.
"You do need to get vaccinated," Biden said from the White House. "Even if your chance of getting seriously ill is low, why take the risk? It could save your life or the lives of somebody you love."
Biden's goal equates to delivering at least the first shot to 181 million adults and fully vaccinating 160 million. It's a tacit acknowledgment of the declining interest in shots.
Already more than 56% of American adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and nearly 105 million are fully vaccinated. The U.S. is currently administering first doses at a rate of about 965,000 per day — half the rate of three weeks ago, but almost twice as fast as needed to meet Biden's target.
"I'd like to get it 100%, but I think realistically we can get to that place between now and July Fourth," Biden said of his new goal.
He said the administration would focus on three areas as it tries to ramp up the pace of vaccinations:
—Adults who need more convincing to take the vaccine.
—Those who have struggled or are in no hurry to obtain a shot.
—Adolescents aged 12-15, once federal authorities approve vaccination for that age group.
 Acknowledging that "the pace of vaccination is slowing," Biden predicted the inoculation effort is "going to be harder" when it comes to convincing "doubters" of the need to get their shots.
He said the most effective argument to those people would be to protect those they love. "This is your choice: It's life and death."
Biden's push comes as his administration has shifted away from setting a target for the U.S. to reach "herd immunity," instead focusing on delivering as many shots into arms as possible. Officials said Biden's vaccination target would result in a significant reduction in COVID-19 cases heading into the summer.
To that end, the Biden administration is shifting the government's focus toward expanding smaller and mobile vaccination clinics to deliver doses to harder-to-reach communities. It is also spending hundreds of millions of dollars to try to boost interest in vaccines through education campaigns and greater access to shots through community organizations that can help bring people to clinics.
Biden touted creative efforts to make it "easier and more fun" to get vaccinated, such as grocery stores offering discounts to shoppers who come to get shots and sports leagues that hold promotions to gets shots for their fans.
Ahead of the Food and Drug Administration's expected authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for kids aged 12-15, the White House is developing plans to speed vaccinations for that age group. Biden urged states to administer at least one dose to adolescents by July Fourth and work to deliver doses to pediatricians' offices and other trusted locations, with the aim of getting many of them fully vaccinated by the start of the next school year.
While younger people are at dramatically lower risk of serious complications from COVID-19, they have made up a larger share of new virus cases as a majority of U.S. adults have been at least partially vaccinated and as higher-risk activities like indoor dining and contact sports have resumed in most of the country.
Officials hope that extending vaccinations to teens — who could get the first dose in...

A 2019 report backed Queenstown's bed tax bid, but the tourism industry hit back saying "New Zealand doesn't need new taxes" and that Kiwi travellers will be caught out by the levy.
Stuart Nash has told Mike Hosking that he is not personally working on any bed tax initiatives on behalf of the government, but that he is aware of Queenstown's bid and that if they go through the correct channels then that decision does not come down to him.
"If a local body wants to put in a bed tax, then that is up to them, but the government will not be imposing a bed tax as long as I am Minister of Tourism."
Stuart Nash and Mark Mitchell joined Mike Hosking to discuss this as well as the Uighur debate and Trevor Mallard.

New Zealand Cricket officials are weighing up how to extricate players from India following the suspension of the IPL.
Ten New Zealand players and several New Zealand coaches and commentators are involved.
The competition has been suspended indefinitely after several teams reported Covid-19 cases.
Former Indian women's captain, and current IPL commentator, Anjum Chopra  says told Mike Hosking  it was the right move.
“The cases have just been increasing, and once you have a case in your team or in your set up it is always advisdable to exercise caution.”
New Zealand Cricket says players are isolated in their bubbles, while officials formulate an exit plan.
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