The Mike Hosking Breakfast

New Zealand's top companies are failing to keep up with global counterparts.
A Productivity Commission inquiry's found our frontier firms - which are the most productive firms in the domestic economy within their own industries - are only about half as productive as those in other small, advanced economies.
It wants lawmakers to ensure employers have access to skilled workers, while reducing the inflow of low skill or short-term workers, and is urging businesses to move away from exporting basic commodities and bolster innovation.
The report notes New Zealand has had the highest number of temporary work permits issued in the OECD, per head of population.
Productivity Commission Chair Ganesh Nana says our low productivity is a sobering statistic.
"And indeed something that we really have to get beyond if we are going to challenge ourselves to build frontier firms that are the best and able to compete."
He says we need to provide more distinctive products, which can't be emulated abroad.
"That means putting in effort in focused areas rather than spreading our marmite thin across anything and everything."
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French President Emmanuel Macron says he foresees at least some tourists returning to Paris this summer if they have gotten vaccinated or have proof of testing negative for the coronavirus as France moves to progressively lift infection-control restrictions.
"We are building a certificate to facilitate travel after these restrictions between the different European countries with testing and vaccination," Macron said in an interview that aired Sunday on the CBS News show "Face the Nation."
Macron spoke as the French government is preparing to impose tough, new entry restrictions on travellers from four countries — Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Brazil — in hopes of keeping out especially contagious virus variants. The number of countries on the list could grow, France's foreign minister said Saturday.
The restrictions include mandatory 10-day quarantines with police checks to ensure people arriving in France observe the requirement. Travellers from all four countries will be restricted to French nationals and their families, EU citizens and others with a permanent home in France.
France previously suspended all flights from Brazil. The suspension will be lifted next Saturday, after 10 days, and the new restrictions "progressively" put in place by then, the government said. The flight suspension for Brazil will be lifted followed by the "drastic measures" for entering France from all four countries, plus the French territory of Guiana, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.
Macron, summarising the French approach, said "the plan is always to control the virus, to maximise the vaccination and to progressively lift the restrictions."
France has been among the hardest hit European countries and is now guarding against highly contagious variants, notably deciding to target four countries at present.
The four countries "are the most dangerous in terms of the number of variants that exist and in the evolution of the pandemic in these countries," Le Drian said Saturday on the France 3 television station.
The list of countries subject to tougher border checks could be extended, he said.
Under the new restrictions, travellers must provide an address for where they plan to observe the 10-day confinement period and police will make visits and fine those who are found in violation, the government said.
Along with the mandatory quarantine, France is requiring more stringent testing for the coronavirus. Travellers must show proof of a negative PCR test taken less than 36 hours instead of 72 hours before they boarded a flight, or a negative antigen test less than 24 hours
France has reported the deaths of 100,00 people in the Covid-19 pandemic.
A variant first identified in England spread to continental Europe and is now responsible for about 80% of the virus cases in France, while the variants first seen in Brazil and South Africa make up less than 4% of French infections, Health Minister Olivier Veran said last week.

The Ingenuity helicopter has successfully completed its historic flight on Mars and safely landed back on the surface, according to NASA.
The first powered, controlled flight on another planet took place at 3:34 a.m. ET.
Unlike when the helicopter's fellow traveller, the Perseverance rover, landed on Mars on February 18, there was a bit of wait to know how the helicopter fared in its attempt.
The helicopter team was in mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, early Monday morning local time to receive and analyse the first data from Ingenuity's flight attempt.



Confirmation of the flight's success came at 6:46 a.m.
The flight was originally scheduled for April 11, but plans shifted after a command-sequence issue was discovered when the helicopter went through a system of pre-flight checks with its software. The Ingenuity team received data on April 16 showing that the helicopter successfully completed its rapid spin test after they had made a tweak to the command sequence.
The chopper autonomously flew through the thin Martian atmosphere, with no help from its teams on Earth.
"We can now say that human beings have flown a rotorcraft on another planet," said MiMi Aung, Ingenuity project manager at JPL. "We've been talking about our Wright brothers moment on another planet for so long. And now, here it is."
Images, in addition to the data, also helped the team confirm that the flight was successful.
A lower-resolution black-and-white image from the helicopter's navigation camera appeared first.
The Perseverance rover has already returned several images it captured of the helicopter.
The rover will continue to send back more images and video from several of its cameras. The team has already shared the full video of Ingenuity's flight, which was captured by Perseverance.
"Ingenuity is the latest in a long and storied tradition of NASA projects achieving a space exploration goal once thought impossible," said acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk in a statement. "The X-15 was a pathfinder for the space shuttle. Mars Pathfinder and its Sojourner rover did the same for three generations of Mars rovers. We don't know exactly where Ingenuity will lead us, but today's results indicate the sky -- at least on Mars -- may not be the limit."
First flight
Ingenuity, which is a technology demonstration, flew for about 40 seconds total on Monday. The 4-pound helicopter spun up its two 4-foot blades, rose up three metres in the air, hovered, made a turn, took a photo, and touched back down on Mars.
Ingenuity could fly up to four more times over the coming weeks.
"Mars is hard not only when you land, but when you try to take off from it and fly around, too," Aung said. "It has significantly less gravity, but less than 1% the pressure of our atmosphere at its surface. Put those things together, and you have a vehicle that demands every input be right."
The Perseverance rover helps the helicopter and its mission team on Earth communicate with each other. It received the flight instructions from JPL and sent those plans on to the helicopter. Perseverance is parked at an overlook 215 feet (65 meters) away from the helicopter so it could safely watch the flight and capture images and videos.
During the helicopter's hover, it captured images 30 times per second to feed into the navigation computer. This made sure Ingenuity remained level and in the middle of its 10-by-10-metre air field.
Ingenuity used a second higher-resolution camera pointing toward the horizon to capture images while the helicopter was aloft.
Once the helicopter landed on Mars, it sent back data through the rover to Earth.
Havard Grip, NASA's chief pilot for the Ingenuity helicopter, said this morning's helicopter flight was perfect.
"It was a flawless flight," he said. "It stuck the landing right in the place where...

The murder case against former Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd went to the jury Monday local time in a city on edge against round of unrest like the one that erupted last year over the video of the Black man pinned to the pavement with Chauvin's knee on his neck.
The jury of six white members and six Black or multiracial ones was sent off to begin deliberating after nearly a full day of closing arguments in which prosecutors argued that Chauvin squeezed the life out Floyd last May in a way that even a child knew was wrong.
The defence contended that the now-fired white officer acted reasonably and that the 46-year-old Black man died of an underlying heart condition and illegal drug use.
"Use your common sense. Believe your eyes. What you saw, you saw," prosecutor Steve Schleicher said, referring to the excruciating bystander video of Floyd pinned down with Chauvin's knee on or close to his neck for up to 9 minutes, 29 seconds, as bystanders yelled at the white officer to get off.
Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson countered by arguing that Chauvin did what any "reasonable" police officer would have done after finding himself in a "dynamic" and "fluid" situation involving a large man struggling with three officers.
As Nelson began speaking, the now-fired Chauvin removed his COVID-19 mask in front of the jury for one of the very few times during the trial.
The duelling arguments got underway with some stores boarded up with plywood in Minneapolis, the courthouse ringed with concrete barriers and razor wire, and National Guard members on patrol. Floyd's death last spring set off protests in the city and across the U.S. that at times turned violent.
The city has also been on edge in recent days over the police killing of a 20-year-old Black man in a nearby suburb on April 11.
Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell had the final word, offering the state's rebuttal argument. The prosecutor, who is Black, said that the questions about the use of force and cause of death are "so simple that a child can understand it."
"In fact, a child did understand it, when the 9-year-old girl said, 'Get off of him,'" Blackwell said, referring to a young witness who objected to what she saw. "That's how simple it was. `Get off of him.' Common sense."
Under the law, police are given certain latitude to use force, and their actions are supposed to be judged according to what a "reasonable officer" in the same situation would have done — a point the define stressed repeatedly.
Nelson noted that officers who first went to the corner store where Floyd allegedly tried to pass a counterfeit $20 bill already were struggling with Floyd when Chauvin arrived as backup. The attorney also noted that the first two officers on the scene were rookies and that police had been told that Floyd might be on drugs.
"A reasonable police officer understands the intensity of the struggle," Nelson said, saying that Chauvin's body-worn camera and his police badge were knocked off his chest.
During the prosecution's argument, Schleicher replayed portions of the bystander video and other footage as he dismissed certain defence theories about Floyd's death as "nonsense," saying Chauvin killed Floyd by constricting his breathing.
Schleicher rejected the drug overdose argument, as well as the contention that police were distracted by hostile onlookers, that Floyd had "superhuman" strength from a state of agitation known as excited delirium, and that he suffered possible carbon monoxide poisoning from auto exhaust.
The prosecutor sarcastically referred to the idea that it was heart disease that killed Floyd as an "amazing coincidence."
"Is that common sense or is that nonsense?" Schleicher asked the racially diverse jury.
But Nelson said the prosecution brought in experts to testify that Floyd died because of asphyxia, or lack of oxygen, while the person who actually performed the autopsy, the...

Prince William has made a rare public statement to oppose the Super League proposal which has rocked European football.
The Super League has signed up 12 clubs from England, Spain and Italy and left open three more spots for founding members, who will get permanent places in the competition. It includes six teams from England - Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham.
The Duke of Cambridge, who is the current FA president, made a statement on social media saying he shared the concerns of the fans.
"Now, more than ever, we must protect the entire football community – from the top level to the grassroots – and the values of competition and fairness at its core.
"I share the concerns of fans about the proposed Super League and the damage it risks causing to the game we love," he said on Twitter.
Meanwhile, players at the 12 clubs setting up their own Super League could be banned from this year's European Championship and next year's World Cup, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said today.
Ceferin showed his sense of anger and betrayal by the leaders of some wealthy European clubs as he spoke of "snakes", and wished UEFA could ban Super League clubs and players "as soon as possible" from all of its competitions.
Whether UEFA's lawyers will advise that — with the Champions League and Europa League semifinals starting next week, and Euro 2020 kicking off in June — is unclear.
Ceferin spoke following a UEFA executive committee meeting and said some "legal assessments" will begin Tuesday morning. The meeting was held only hours after the English, Italian and Spanish clubs announced the Super League project that threatens to split the historic structure of European football.
"They will not be able to represent their national teams at any matches," Ceferin earlier warned. "UEFA and the footballing world stand united against the disgraceful self-serving proposal we have seen in last 24 hours from a select few clubs in Europe that are fueled purely by greed above all else."
UEFA's 55 member federations are gathering for an annual meeting on Tuesday, including 24 nations that are playing in Euro 2020.
Three of the 12 rebels — Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid — are scheduled to play in the Champions League semifinals next week. Two more, Manchester United and Arsenal, are in the Europa League semifinals.
Fans burn a Liverpool replica shirt outside Elland Road, as a protest against Liverpool's decision to be included amongst the clubs attempting to form a new European Super League. Photo / AP
Earlier, the 12 planning to start the breakaway Super League told the leaders of FIFA and UEFA that they have begun legal action aimed at fending off threats to block the competition.
The letter was sent by the group to Ceferin and FIFA President Gianni Infantino saying the Super League has already been underwritten by funding of 4 billion euros ($5.5b) from American bank JPMorgan Chase.
Currently, teams have to qualify each year for the Champions League through their domestic leagues, but the Super League would lock in 15 places every season for the founding members. The seismic move to shake up the sport is partly engineered by the American owners of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, who also run franchises in closed US leagues — a model they are trying to replicate in Europe.
UEFA warned the Super League clubs, including Barcelona and Juventus, that legal action would be taken against them and said they also would be barred from existing domestic competitions like the Spanish La Liga and the English Premier League.
"We are concerned that FIFA and UEFA may respond to this invitation letter by seeking to take punitive measures to exclude any participating club or player from their respective competitions," the Super League clubs wrote to Infantino and Ceferin in a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Tuesday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) Speech Is In the Ears of the Beholder/Ombudsman Is a Funny Word/Tesla Questions/He Wrote the Songs

The head of MIQ says no one is missing out despite two facilities being put on pause.
The Grand Mercure and Grand Millennium in Auckland aren't taking new arrivals until the results of a ventilation review are known - which is expected at the end of the month.
It means a reduction in capacity of 652 rooms.
But Brigadier Jim Bliss has a message for anyone overseas who might be worried.
"At the moment, we do have capacity and no one is missing out on the opportunity to come back to New Zealand and have a  space in MIQ." 
However, he admits losing 652 rooms is a lot.
"We're fortuitous I suppose today that with the quarantine free travel with Australia opening up, that provides us with around about 1,000 to 1,300 room additional capacity."
Bliss says as well as the 500 room contingency for the bubble, there's also contingency in the system for the loss of a facility from a fire or flood.
"I'm also confident the Pullman coming back online at the end of this month, that brings up another 150-odd rooms, and we will have the space if something was to occur and we were required to bring people back in."
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The Foreign Minister is clarifying her comments on the Five Eyes security group.
Nanaia Mahuta spoke about diversifying our trade relationships at a speech to the New Zealand-China Council yesterday.
Afterwards she told reporters she's not comfortable with us expanding the remit of Five Eyes to joint positions on foreign policy.
Mahuta told Mike Yardley New Zealand isn't hesitant about our relationship with the intelligence alliance.
"My point is that we want to have a discussion between Five Eyes participants and partners where it's useful to evoke the Five Eyes relationship, and where we might broaden our reach out to other states."
In her speech, she also issued a veiled criticism of the country's loans to Pacific Island nations, which are under increased vulnerability due to Covid-19.
Mahuta says anyone doing business knows you can't depend on one market, like China.
"I think those big exporters are already thinking about building resilience into their business and where their markets are."
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The starring role at yesterday’s royal funeral was that bespoke Landrover Defender, sporting a fresh coat of military green paint, custom built as a hearse. Prince Philip tinkered and toiled on this secret project for 16 years, knowing he would never live to see it used for its intended purpose. To carry his own coffin. How’s that for dedication to the job?
Despite his funeral plans having to be pared back to comply with the Covid constraints, Windsor Castle still turned on a wondrous, dignified pageant.
The fact that the entire affair could be staged with such flair, within the confines of the castle walls added to the occasion.
Frankly, streets lined with waving and wailing crowds, as we have seen in past royal funerals, is all about mawkish. Holding it in-house packed a more solemn but graceful punch. There was power in its intimacy.
I’ve been reading a few witterings from the army of body language experts who have been pouring over the body dynamics of the mourners, like a crass mass-autopsy. They’re just trafficking in guess-work of course.
But I suspect we were all struck how overcome with grief, how anguished Prince Charles appeared to be.
The chit-chat between Harry and William is being hailed as a turning point in the great rift. Perhaps Kate Middleton should be nominated for the Nobel Prize. The apparent peacemaker in chief.
No one was the poorer for pregnant Meghan’s non-attendance. Yesterday’s stately and dutiful show of respect at Windsor, merely underscores what a tacky, venal and self-indulgent disaster it was for H and M to spill their guts to Oprah. The nicknames Preach and Leach will stick for some time.
But back to yesterday. It was the spectacle of a socially distanced Queen, stoic and solitary in her wood-carved stall, head bowed and grieving - that is the searing memory. Our Head of State laying her husband to rest. An historic day, discharged with restraint and dignity.

April 19 has dawned and I’m feeling bubblelicious this Monday morning. Relieved, actually, and still staggered that it’s taken this long to get Green Zone flights across the Tasman cleared for takeoff.
If you are one of the thousands of travellers winging your way to Australia today, go well. Enjoy yourself, whether you are reuniting, business tripping or holidaying.
I’m very heartened to see that the reported bookings data from Air New Zealand and Qantas actually indicates stronger demand on the inbound flights from Australia. More passengers are beginning their journeys on eastbound flights, than westbound. In other words, more Aussies are booking a flight over here, than Kiwis are heading to Oz.  That will music to the ears of New Zealand tourism operators.
But beyond the Green Zone across the Tasman, where is this government’s ambition and drive to go further. They were dragged kicking and screaming to make today a reality.
But what about a Trans-Tasman cruise bubble? The Maritime Border Order remains fully in force, and the cruise industry is rightly seeking some answers.  The next summer cruise season is just six months away and there is a total information void. The Beehive won’t budge. How can the industry plan?
But beyond the Tasman, why are they letting the Covid-free South Pacific economically rot? There is no clear plan, no time frame, no specific dates on opening the border to them. The lack of vision and drive is shameful.
We still have no clear opening date for the Cooks. Nor Nuie. What about Tonga. Samoa. Vanawatu. Or Fiji.
The Bula Bubble has been bobbing on the ocean like a mirage for months – even though Fiji has been covid-free for over three hundred and fifty days.
It is not Fortress New Zealand’s role to be endlessly ,umsy and patronising with our Pacific neighbours. They are screaming out for a Pacific Bubble. The least we can do is unlock the door to let them revive their economic fortunes, before the loan sharks from China start circling.