The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Judith Collins says there's no substance to the rumours of a leadership coup within the National Party.
Simon Bridges is being tipped to make a comeback - with speculation he'll make a bid for the leadership, with former Air New Zealand boss Christopher Luxon as his deputy.
However, Collins told Mike Hosking it as just media talk.
"I'm not in trouble and I'm actually very focused on doing my job, and that's why I'm not wasting any time on it."
"The media starts the week saying this is the convo, they end the week saying it's probably not the convo." 
And in focusing on her job, Collins says that without letting in more migrant workers, the fruit industry has been left to rot.
Orchardists are calling for an urgent travel bubble with the Pacific ahead of next year's season, with the apple and pear industries predicting losses of six hundred million for provincial economies.
Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi says they allowed in 2,000 extra workers this year, and the industry will have to make do while the borders are closed.
She told Mike Hosking the sector is suffering and needs urgent support.
"The horticultural area has been left without any help from the Government. They have been left high and dry." 
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The Immigration Minister has defended the lack of migrant workers, saying the Government's doing everything it can.
Fruit growers claim there are hundreds of millions of dollars worth of produce going to waste, and they can't last another year without more seasonal workers.
The Apple and Pear industry is predicting a loss of more than $600 million to the economy, with crop forecasts down 14 percent on last year.
There's an estimated 7,000 Recognised Seasonal Employer workers here, along with 2,000 that were given border exemptions at the start of the year.
Minister Kris Faafoi told Mike Hosking they pulled major strings to get the last border exemptions through.
"It was a difficult ask to get 2,000 workers through, and officials worked like the clappers to make sure they could bring that number of people through in a window of two to three months."
He says the exemptions will be limited, and it will be a long-term challenge for the industry to shift to more Kiwi workers.
"The sector itself is going to have a labour challenge. They took it upon themselves, and we encouraged them, to make sure they could max out the number of opportunities for New Zealanders."
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THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Monday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) Economics 101/How to Bank/The Trouble with Air New Zealand/Dealing with Dodgy Countries

For the second match in succession Super Rugby Aotearoa needed golden point extra time to find a victor.
The Crusaders, thanks to David Havili's clutch drop goal, prevailed over the Hurricanes in Wellington on Sunday afternoon but the win came at a cost, and will do little to damper the sense Scott Robertson's men have quickly come back to the pack.
One night after Damian McKenzie nailed a penalty to snatch victory for the Chiefs in Dunedin in extra time, the bottom of the table Hurricanes pushed the Crusaders to the brink to reveal more cracks in the defending champion's armour.
Listen above as Andrew Saville and Guy Heveldt discuss the weekend's sporting news with Mike Hosking

The Netflix documentary Seaspiracy, which highlights the problems of overfishing the world's oceans, has been a hot topic of conversation this week.
Mike Hosking is joined by Tim Wilson and Kate Hawkesby to talk about the controversial film, along with wrapping the rest of the week's news.
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Anthony Albanese has slammed Australia’s vaccine rollout as a “debacle” after the end date was plunged into further uncertainty overnight.
The Opposition Leader’s scathing attack follows the federal government announcing it will overhaul its plan after damning health advice recommended the AstraZeneca vaccine no longer be given to Aussies aged under 50 due to rare blood clots.
The blow could not have come at a worse time for the government, which this week demanded the EU release a further 3.1 million AstraZeneca doses, saying the only holdup to the rollout was supply.
Federal Labor has long accused the government of putting all of its “eggs in one basket” because Australia only has three vaccine supply deals compared with as many as six in other countries.
“It’s very clear that Scott Morrison has got this wrong. The rollout of the vaccine is a debacle,” Mr Albanese said on Friday.
“He couldn’t even say if people would be vaccinated by the end of 2021.
“Australians won’t forget who is responsible for failing to deliver on what are his own promises and his own commitments when it comes to these issues.”
Mr Albanese demanded the government step up its attempts to get deals with Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and other available vaccines.
He also condemned the speed of the rollout, saying fewer than 20 per cent of aged care residents had been vaccinated.
“This is critical for our health, but it’s also critical for our national economy,” Mr Albanese said.
The Labor leader said he accepted the medical advice on the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in under 50s.
Pfizer is now the recommended COVID-19 vaccine for people aged between 18 and 50.
Australia’s chief medical officer Paul Kelly said the government was in close contact with Pfizer over its contract for 20 million doses.
“We also have a pre-purchase agreement with Novavax, another vaccine which will hopefully be coming in the second half of the year,” Professor Kelly told ABC Breakfast.
“So that’s the plan, we have alternatives.”
Liberal MP Katie Allen said the pivot to different vaccines for the under 50s was “not devastating”.
Ms Allen said work was already under way to bring forward the use of the Novavax vaccine – which is still undergoing testing – earmarked for later this year.
“There’s some discussion, I think, in the pipeline about hopefully it being manufactured here onshore,” she told Today.
Australian Medical Association vice-president Chris Moy said the updated medical advice about rare blood clots was “the system working”.
“This is a spanner in the works for the vaccination program, there is no doubt about that,” Dr Moy told ABC Breakfast.
“Having said that … the decision to go with AstraZeneca in Australia is looking like a good one still.”

The country's largest grocery retailer is refuting the idea its advertised specials are misleading.
A Consumer survey found seven out of ten people don't trust the specials, and question whether they're genuine bargains.
The survey tracked online prices and found some items were discounted more often that not, so the so-called 'special' price is really the usual selling price.
Foodstuffs North Island chief Chris Quin told Mike Hosking the advertising for New World is very clear.
He says supersavers only last a short time, then there are club deals, along with everyday value products which are permanently discounted.
"Shoppers can check prices online, and New World and Pak n Save might charge a different price for the same item.
"There are different levels of service, different locations and different costs associated between brands."
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At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all.
The Trans-Tasman Bubble.
8/10.
"Too late, too long, and too delayed.
But we got there at last, and it's good for a lot of reasons."
Air New Zealand.
8/10.
"Record day for Trans-Tasman sales.
It proves we aren't all afraid of life and that’s wonderfully reassuring.
And no, one day's bookings does not make a resurgence, but I have a good feeling about it."
The Decommissioning of MIQ facilities.
2/10.
"The untold story of the week really.
It’s a scandal.
The bubble should have opened up way more rooms and way more space for all those we desperately need to get in here.
And yet it did the opposite. It is such a cock up and a miss."
Apples Rotting on the Ground.
2/10.
"That's your real scandal.
Millions of dollars of fruit on the ground because the government insisted that hiring locals was the answer.
Well, it wasn’t."
The Choo Choo Train from Hamilton.
4/10.
"The tragedy here is it's actually a good idea, if only they did it properly.
Like point to point and a train that is actually faster than a car."
Cars.
9/10.
"Our greatest statistics ever for March. More new cars than any March ever.
We love cars."
Public Transport.
3/10.
"In the main centres roads are back to normal.
But ferries aren't, buses aren't, and trains certainly aren't. Auckland Transport is going to lose $90 million.
How much evidence do you want that theory doesn’t get you to work or school?"
The Movies.
7/10.
"137,000 went the other weekend.
A post-Covid high and hopefully proof that the industry isn't dead after all."
Easter.
6/10.
"Mainly because the weather was good. But what about those rules?
And what about those unions whinging about the Wanaka supermarket? A town wacked by Covid, but no let's all stay home.
What a bunch of half wits."
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President Joe Biden put on a modest White House ceremony Thursday to announce a half-dozen executive actions to combat what he called an “epidemic and an international embarrassment” of gun violence in America.
But he said much more is needed. And for Biden, who proposed the most ambitious gun-control agenda of any modern presidential candidate, his limited moves underscored his limited power to act alone on guns with difficult politics impeding legislative action on Capitol Hill.
Biden’s new steps include a move to crack down on “ghost guns,” homemade firearms that lack serial numbers used to trace them and are often purchased without a background check. He's also moving to tighten regulations on pistol-stabilizing braces like the one used in Boulder, Colorado, in a shooting last month that left 10 dead.
The president's actions delivered on a pledge he made last month to take what he termed immediate “common-sense steps” to address gun violence, after a series of mass shootings drew renewed attention to the issue. His announcement came the same day as yet another episode, this one in South Carolina, where five people were killed.
But his orders stop well short of some of his biggest campaign-trail proposals, including his promise to ban the importation of assault weapons, his embrace of a voluntary gun buyback program and a pledge to provide resources for the Justice Department and FBI to better enforce the nation’s current gun laws and track firearms.
And while gun control advocates lauded Thursday's moves as a strong first step in combating gun violence, they, too, acknowledged that action from lawmakers on Capitol Hill is needed to make lasting change.
“Some of the other big-ticket items are legislative,” said Josh Horowitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. “And that’s going to be very difficult.”
Biden mentioned a formidable list of priorities he’d like to see Congress tackle, including passing the Violence Against Women Act, eliminating lawsuit exemptions for gun manufacturers and banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines. He also called on the Senate to take up House-passed measures to close background check loopholes.
But with an evenly-divided Senate — and any gun control legislation requiring 60 votes to pass — Democrats would have to keep every member of their narrow majority on board while somehow adding 10 Republicans.
Horowitz said “it’s hard to think" who those Republicans would be, and though that doesn't mean it's impossible to win gun control “we’re going to have to change some of the people who are in the Senate.”
Gun-control advocates say the National Rifle Association’s legal and financial issues have greatly weakened the once-mighty pro-gun lobby and helped turn the public tide in favor of some restrictions on gun ownership. They say a shift in public perception will eventually trickle down to Republicans on Capitol Hill.
But so far that hasn’t materialized in votes. The House passed two bills in March largely along party lines that would expand and strengthen background checks for gun sales and transfers, a move that has broad public support. But most Republicans argue that strengthened checks could take guns away from law-abiding gun owners.
A small bipartisan group of senators is trying to find compromise based on a 2013 deal that would have expanded background checks to gun shows and internet sales but was rejected then by five votes. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said at a rally in his state last week that he is talking to his colleagues every day to come a deal, and that he believes the public is more supportive than ever of changes.
Murphy acknowledged last weekend on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the background check bill that passed the House isn’t likely to succeed in the Senate, But he suggested a more narrowly tailored bill might, and said he was working to build on that...

A lawyer says the most important thing about the Government's ban on flights from India, is the justification for it.
The ban comes into force on Sunday after a surge in people arriving from India who've tested positive for covid-19.
It will last until April 28th.
Chen Palmer managing partner Mai Chen told Mike Hosking the Covid-19 Public Health Response Act is quite prescriptive about what needs to be done, before making orders like this.
She says the Act requires the Minister to be satisfied the order does not limit, or is a justified limit on the rights and freedoms in the Bill of Rights Act.
"It looks as if the order will be made under the Covid-19 Public Health Response Act.
"The whole purpose of that Act is about preventing and limiting the risk of an outbreak of Covid-19, and the Prime Minister has said this is about risk, not about countries."
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