The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Family Planning clinics across the country have more demand than resources to meet it.
More women wanting IUD contraception and catch-up with Covid-19 disrupted appointments, is seeing wait-times for services extend.
Some clinics have a two-month wait to get an appointment.
Chief executive Jackie Edmond says they haven't seen a substantial increase in funding in 12 years, which doesn't help.
"We've got a major struggle to keep up with our costs and resources, and with that increased demand, we're really struggling to keep up."
She says it's due to factors like Covid-19 lockdown disruption to appointments, and more women wanting to have IUD contraception.
"It's quite intense to have staff trained to provide those appointments, so it just creates a bit of a backlog when we have large numbers just waiting to be seen."
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there's a "good chance" that social distancing rules in England will be scrapped on June 21, a potential boon to hard-hit pubs and cinemas.
Johnson told reporters in the north England town of Hartlepool where he is campaigning before a special election on Thursday that the government's lockdown easing plans remains on track. That's due to sharp fall in new coronavirus infections — down to below 2,000 a day from nearly 70,000 a day at the peak of the second surge in January — and the rapid rollout of vaccines.
On Monday, the National Health Service delivered its 50 millionth vaccine, with around 52% of the British population having received at least one dose and around a quarter having received two jabs.
"You are seeing the results of that really starting to show up in the epidemiology," Johnson said.
Under its road map to ease restrictions — which Johnson insists is dependent on "data not dates" — the government is set to lift further restrictions on May 17, such as allowing people to go inside a pub and restaurant and to allow some foreign travel.
On June 21, all other limits on social contact will be potentially lifted, including the rule that requires people to be at least 1 meter (3 feet) away from anyone outside their household, provided other protective measures are in place, such as mask-wearing or meeting outdoors. This is known as the "1 meter-plus" rule.
Johnson said there's "a good chance" the rule will be ditched beginning June 21.
"That is still dependent on the data, we can't say it categorically yet, we have got to look at the epidemiology as we progress," he said. "But that's what it feels like to me right now."
Getting rid of the 1 meter-plus rule would change the financial dynamics for Britain's hospitality and cultural sectors, which have been one of the most hard-hit during the pandemic. Because people can't sit right next to each other inside or outside, pubs, restaurants, cinemas and theaters can't host as many people as they used to.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, welcomed Johnson's comments, saying they give the sector hope of a return to normality.
"Given pubs are financially unviable under the current restrictions they face, being able to reopen without any restrictions at all from June 21 is going to be vital to their survival," she said. "Our recovery only begins when the restrictions are removed."
Although restrictions on social distancing in Britain may be scrapped, other measures could stay in place. One-way systems, screens and mask-wearing while moving around might remain for hospitality venues.
A spokesman for the U.K. Cinema Association said he hoped the government would not require moviegoers to wear masks.
"We strongly believe that our exemplary record on safety — with not a single case of COVID traced back to a U.K. venue — and our ability to manage the movement of cinema-goers in modern, highly ventilated indoor environments offer ample evidence that any relaxation from June 21 can be undertaken safely without the need for further ongoing restrictions," he said.
Government figures on Monday showed that the U.K. reported just one new coronavirus-related death, down from over 1,800 in one day in January. Although the daily death toll has plummeted in recent months, the U.K. still has Europe's highest virus-related toll at more than 127,500 dead.

Air travel in the U.S. hit its highest mark since Covid-19 took hold more than 13 months ago, while European Union officials are proposing to ease restrictions on visitors to the continent as the vaccine sends new cases and deaths tumbling in more affluent countries.
The improving picture in many places contrasts with the worsening disaster in India.
In the U.S., the average number of new cases per day fell below 50,000 for the first time since October. And nearly 1.67 million people were screened at U.S. airport checkpoints on Sunday, according to the Transportation Security Administration, the highest number since mid-March of last year.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation giving him sweeping powers to invalidate local emergency measures put in place during the outbreak. While the law doesn't go into effect until July, the Republican governor said he will issue an executive order to more quickly get rid of local mask mandates.
"I think this creates a structure that's going to be a little bit more respectful, I think, of people's businesses, jobs, schools and personal freedom," he said.
Las Vegas is bustling again after casino capacity limits were raised Saturday to 80% and person-to-person distancing was dropped to 3 feet (0.9 meters). New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that New York City's subways will begin running all night again and capacity restrictions on most businesses will end statewide in mid-May. And Los Angeles County reported no coronavirus deaths on Sunday and Monday, some of which may be attributable to a lag in reporting but was nevertheless a hopeful sign that could move the county to allow an increase in capacity at events and venues, and indoor-service at bars.
EU officials also announced a proposal Monday to relax restrictions on travel to the 27-nation bloc this summer, though the final decision is up to its member countries.
"Time to revive EU tourism industry and for cross-border friendships to rekindle — safely," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. "We propose to welcome again vaccinated visitors and those from countries with a good health situation."
In Greece, restaurants and cafes reopened their terraces on Monday after six months of shutdown, with customers flocking to soak up the sunshine. In France, high schools reopened and a ban on domestic travel was lifted.
The once hard-hit Czech Republic, where cases are now declining, announced it will allow people to remove face coverings at all outdoor spaces starting next Monday if they keep their distance from others.
But with more-contagious variants taking hold, efforts are underway to boost vaccination efforts, which have begun to lag. The average  number of doses given per day fell 27% from a high of 3.26 million on April 11 to 2.37 million last Tuesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Detroit, teams from the city's health department have knocked on nearly 5,000 doors since the weekend to persuade people to get immunized. And Massachusetts' governor announced plans to close four of seven mass vaccination sites by the end of June in favor of a more targeted approach.
"My plea to everyone: Get vaccinated now, please," President Joe Biden said in Norfolk, Virginia. He stressed that he has worked hard to make sure there are more than 600 million doses of vaccine — enough for all Americans to get both doses.
"We're going to increase that number across the board as well so we can also be helping other nations once we take care of all Americans," the president said.
Brazil, once the epicenter of the pandemic, has been overtaken by a surge in India that has overrun crematoriums and made it clear the p andemic is far from over.
As the U.S. and other countries rushed in aid, India reported nearly 370,000 new cases and more than 3,400 deaths Monday — numbers that experts believe are vast undercounts because of a...

The Road Transport Forum is wanting to crack down on truck driver safety.
A Coroner has found a truck driver using a tablet, may have been the cause of a 2018 Auckland crash that killed an elderly woman on St Luke's Road.
The tablet was fixed to the windscreen, partially blocking the driver's view.
It's sparked discussion around devices being used behind the wheel that's not currently regulated.
Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett told Mike Hosking people still need reminding of what's safe and what's not.
"Stuff that seems really obvious, like a device smack bang in the middle of your windscreen - well, clearly we still have  a job to do."
He says we owe it to this woman's family to address what is safe and what isn't.
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He Puapua is being described as nothing more than a discussion document.
The academic report suggests a separate Māori parliament, along with different health and justice systems.
The National Party is accusing the Government of trying to create two systems by stealth.
That's being dismissed the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who says it hasn't even been discussed by Cabinet.
Māori Council executive director Matthew Tukaki told Mike Hosking he sits at the heart of the Te Ao Māori world, but hasn't had a discussion about segregated institutions.
"Nobody is claiming that all of a sudden we are going to see Maori hospitals built right next door to non-Māori hospitals, that's absolutely ridiculous."
However, while he says there are unlikely to be separate systems for Māori, Tukaki says we need to debate these issues out in the open.
“But at the end of the day, I do get a little bit turned off by the tone of the debate descending into cat-calling, dog-whistling, whatever you want to call it, because actually I think we are better than that.”
He Puapua is the result of a working group put together to see how New Zealand could meet its commitments under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
 

THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Tuesday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) It's Complicated/With Benefits/Grant Now Delivers/Still Going Round In Circles/It's Not News

Cook Island businesses are ready to welcome back New Zealand tourists with open arms.
It's all go from May 17.
Air New Zealand will have flights going between Rarotonga and New Zealand two or three times a week - with no pre-departure test needed.
The Rarotongan Beach Resort's managing director Tata Crocombe says they're thrilled to finally have a travel date.
"We're actually finally moving forward. Our economy is 85 percent dependent on tourism, and we've been doing it tough."
He says news of a bubble will save a number of businesses.
"We are probably weeks away from mass redundancies, mass bankruptcy, and the Government coming under financial pressure."
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Here is all you need to know: The Warriors are 7th, in the top 8. From 12th to 7th. This is our year!
The game was not what it should have been. The Cowboys are a solid side. We entered the match on the same points.
But first half looked a league above them - 24-6 at half time.
Completed our sets. Reece Walsh looks the find of the season. We were slick, there were few if any mistakes, and although you never get ahead of yourself, the game was over.
And yet, it wasn’t.
Second half, we were ordinary, and ordinary is a compliment.
To be fair, the North Queensland Cowboys got their act together, and given we were of equal points status going in, they should never have been dismissed.
But all the stuff like completed sets and lack of errors that made us look good in the first half made us look hopeless  in the second.
I don’t know if it was complacency or bad luck or a bit of both, but we scored nothing in the second half – nothing! We didn’t even get close to the line.
Most of the half was in our territory, we looked to survive, and at 24-20, obviously we did.
But a win is a win, and here’s where we sit.
We lost last week to Melbourne and you can be forgiven for that given, one, Melbourne are good, and two, we had injuries galore.
The week before, we beat the Dragons and that’s the win to focus on. We can beat the best.
Our first half yesterday as Greg Alexander said was our best all season, so between the Dragons win and the first half yesterday, not to mention the actual win, if we get it together we are right there, as good as any, and able to beat the any side any day and never forget the prospect of the team.
Coming home and playing at Mt Smart, that’s a bonus, but also the reality check: that all this success, so far, is being done away from home.
Nathan Brown might be the difference. Reece Walsh, if he can stop falling over, is a brilliant talent. The injuries are coming right. And we are in the top 8!
Come on, what more do you need to start the week on a high note? This is our year.

New Zealand Rugby Players Association boss Rob Nichol insists a compromise will be made - it's just a matter of when.
The Silver Lake deal was this week unanimously approved by the provincial unions, with the NZRPA remaining the last stumbling block with mediation to continue in weeks to come.
Nichol says they just need to look closer at it, particularly when it comes to downside protection.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand flag was waving high atop the IndyCar podium at the Texas Motor Speedway.
Defending series champion Scott Dixon has taken the chequered flag after starting third on the grid, handing him the championship lead.
His compatriot Scott McLaughlin has finished second, grabbing his maiden IndyCar podium in just his fourth career race.
Dixon says it was great to have a Kiwi in his rear-view mirror.
For McLaughlin, he admits he's never been so happy with a second placing.
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The risks of the government speaking on your or our behalf was on display last week when Grant Robertson featured in a global webinar hosted by the ratings agency Fitch.
He claims, and this is the danger, that we “understand” why we had to take a back seat when it has come to the vaccine rollout.
Because we took a “different” approach, we don’t need to hurry through the jab process unlike other countries. Sorry, Grant, we don't understand.
Obviously, some do and some, maybe many, agree, but a lot don’t.
By taking the approach we have, elimination, we have managed to do better than a lot of countries. But, yet again, let us not forget our geographic advantage is not to be underestimated. We closed a door, not hard, most countries don’t have the same luxury.
But that approach has also come at a cost. We've locked down unnecessarily because we panicked everytime we had a case or a handful of cases, we didn’t track and trace properly, and we have been and still are sloppy around the border.
The answer here, as it is in all countries, is the vaccine. It's the key to normality. Our desire and need for that normalcy is as strong as anywhere else.
So no, we don’t all understand at all.
It's not dissimilar to the fraud that was the team of five million. There was never such a team, not all are, or ever were, on board at all. And as time has passed it's become more and more evident the size of the team is shrinking rapidly.
It's also becoming clearer that either the government got stiffed on the vaccine deal, or they deliberately set out to be slow, or maybe a combination of the two. We've never seen the deal we struck, and probably for good reason.
We were told, of course, we were at the head of the queue, clearly not true. Then we were told there was no rush, not true. Now it appears through Robertson's explanation, they never really had any intention of pushing hard on our behalf to get on with it.
Other countries, Israel being a very solid example. They had no great need to hurry, but they did, indeed, hurry. And as the headline said last week, they're partying like it's 2019. Singapore, a country who took a risk minimisation approach as opposed to our elimination approach, is now globally recognised as the best at handling Covid.
We are, sadly, now at the stage where the initial gains from closing our border are shrinking. Our economy is stagnant, if not retreating. There is no real vaccine rollout. The world is now, or on the verge of, moving, travelling, holidaying, spending, and opening. But none of its happening here.
And yet according to Robertson, we understand.
Bollocks.