The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The European Union has been blasted as a "total disgrace" for allowing Italy to block a quarter of a million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine from reaching Australia — and some Brits are even offering to forego their jab so more can be sent here.
Amid a botched rollout across the EU, the Italian government notified Brussels of its decision to prevent 250,000 doses from being exported to Australia at the end of last week.
The European Commission could have objected to that decision, and did not.
The shipment was stopped because of the "continuing shortage of vaccines in the EU and in Italy and delays in supplies from AstraZeneca to the EU and Italy," the Italian foreign ministry said in a statement.
It was also blocked because Australia is not considered a "vulnerable" country in the context of the pandemic, and because of the "high number of doses" requested.
New Zealand has ordered 7.6 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and had anticipated receiving nearly 250,000 doses before July as part of its deal with international alliance Covax.
The news has been met with fury by some, as commentators accused the EU of "bullying" Australia over its own failures to protect its people.
"The decision by Italy and the European Union to block vaccine exports to Australia is a total disgrace," said Matthew Lesh, the Head of Research at the conservative Adam Smith Institute.
"A very clear demonstration of closed, self-interested and nationalistic behaviour. The world should not tolerate this bullying.
"Australia isn't responsible for the European Union's failure to secure enough doses or vaccinate across her population - Australia's most vulnerable shouldn't have to bear the consequences."
Many conservative British commentators shared his sentiment, and one even offered to postpone his inoculation, and have it shipped directly from the UK to Australia.
This is despite the UK still recording thousands of new cases a day, and Australia recording no local cases in over a week.
English journalist Kelvin MacKenzie erupted at the report, writing: "The EU is a disgrace. Read this. Under new protectionist laws they have banned Italy shipping 250,000 AZ jabs to Australia.
"Europe is short of vaccine due to its own stupidity. France and Germany don't even believe in AZ but won't let anybody else have it. Shockers."
By comparison, Italy is seeing surge in new cases. On Wednesday, the nation recorded a total of 20,840 new cases — meaning the seven-day average there now stands at 18,244.
Meanwhile, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control statistics show Italy has currently received 1,512,000 AstraZeneca doses — but has only managed to administer 322,801 of them so far.
Italy's government have come in for sharp criticism by Italians for a slow vaccination rollout, which started in December but has been held up by a lack of doses.
So far, 1.5 million adults, mainly the elderly and health workers, have been fully vaccinated in the country of 60 million - one of the worst-hit by the pandemic, with almost 100,000 deaths from Covid-19.
The Italian government - whose new Prime Minister Mario Draghi has pledged to ramp up national vaccination efforts - notified AstraZeneca of its decision to block exports to Australia on March 2.
The ministry said Italy had previously authorised the export of AstraZeneca vaccine - which is manufactured in multiple countries and packaged at sites in Germany and Italy - but only in "modest quantities … for scientific research purposes."
The doses came from a plant in Italy operated by AstraZeneca to produce some of its vaccine, one of three authorised for use in the EU alongside the BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna versions.
Under the commission's "transparency and authorisation mechanism" EU member states vet planned exports out of the bloc of authorised Covid-19 vaccines.
The scheme started on...

Every Friday morning, Mike Hosking is joined by Tim Wilson and Kate Hawkesby to wrap the week in news.
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Amid worker shortages and fruit been left in the ground or on trees, the kiwifruit industry stands as a lone bright spot.
This year's kiwifruit harvest is expected to be another record breaker 
Nikki Johnson, from New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers, said the increase was mainly from more plantings of gold fruit, which the exporter Zespri had been planning for.
Up to 23,000 seasonal workers will be in orchards and packhouses during the April peak.
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The UK are looking to potentially give financial rewards if you can maintain a healthy lifestyle, as they struggle under increasing obesity rates.
It could be like Singapore's model where they had a national step challenge, if you did a certain amount of physical activity and measured it, the government gave you health points you could exchange for vouchers.
So will it become a reality?
Chair of action of sugar and salt in the UK is Professor Graham MacGregor, who joined Mike Hosking to talk about the issue.
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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 Lockdown.
2/10.
"Short of a surge today in cases, we can quite rightly ask whether this has been a fear driven cock-up from a trigger happy government advised by bewildered modellers who's record seems to be reduced to saying over and over, "man, this is a tricky virus."
The Narking.
0/10.
"What a dreadful mistake from the Prime Minister.
And an awful week for the country as we yet again returned to that time-dishonoured practice of the original level four where everyone was a Karen."
Gisborne.
8/10.
"Housing record after record.
Of the top 10 suburbs in terms of price increase in past year, Gizzie has nine of them."
Stuart Nash's Trip to the West Coast.
4/10.
"You just can't be in government and let regions die. You can't roll into Hokitika and say your pockets are empty. 
I hope he's good to his word from Wednesday and there is a package coming."
Our Dairy Sector.
10/10.
"A week to remember.
The auction rise is worth billions, and the world still loves what we sell.
God bless the farmer, the cow, and all who sail in them."
The Queen.
9/10.
"Think of others and the jab didn’t hurt a bit. That's what she said to medicos via another of her charming zoom calls.
Selfless, dedicated, and professional to the end.
And her husband is crook in hospital but she carries on, she is a study of so much that has been lost in so many others."
Harry, Meghan and Oprah.
1/10.
"In stark contrast to her majesty, this lot have spent the week sprooking a whinge fest designed to do nothing more than boost their value in the commercial market."
Dr. Seuss Being Cancelled.
2/10.
"All that is wrong with the world.
If we think we can ban our way to improvement, we are doomed."
Johnny Briggs.
7/10.
"Certainly one of the best characters of Coronation Street, ever.
And would be my pick for best ever male character, either him or Stan Ogden."
Stilettos.
8/10.
"I read this week the stiletto is back.
If that’s true and it replaces the wedge, the world is a better place."
LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW

Have we become worry free with the assets we are buying?
Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says we should be worried about rising asset prices on the back of low interest rates.
He also says there are some big global equity to earnings question marks.
It comes as ASB tells us more and more customers over the last couple of months are struggling to make payments.
Economist Cameron Bagrie joined Mike Hosking to share his thoughts on the issue.
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The commanding general of the Washington, DC, National Guard testified Wednesday local time that he did not need authorization from Pentagon leaders before deploying troops in response to protests at the nation's capital last summer but that changed in the days before the January 6 insurrection.
The shift in guidance, according to DC National Guard Commanding Maj. Gen. William Walker, was communicated in a January 5 memo that stated he was required to seek approval from the Secretary of the Army and Defense before preparing troops to respond to a civil disturbance.
"It required me to seek authorization from the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of Defense to essentially protect my guardsmen," he told senators during a hearing on security failures related to the Capitol building attack.
"So, no civil disturbance equipment could be authorized unless it was came from the Secretary of Defense ... the secretary of defense, told me I needed his permission to escalate to have that kind of protection," Walker added, calling the January 5 memo "unusual."
Asked about the Army's response to former US Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund's request for additional forces, Walker said he was "stunned."
"I was frustrated. I was just as stunned as everybody else on the call," he said.
Walker also testified that it took Army leaders more than three hours to authorize the use of troops to help quell the January 6 insurrection, suggesting the response time fell well short of "sprint speed," as characterized by the top US military official.
Walker told lawmakers that around 1:49 p.m. on January 6 he received a "frantic call from" Sund, whose "voice was cracking with emotion, indicating that there was a dire emergency at the Capitol and he requested the immediate assistance of as many available National Guardsmen that I could muster."
'They had the gear'
Asked how he would have responded to the call if the additional DoD restrictions had not been put in place, Walker said he would have "immediately pulled all the guardsmen that were supporting the Metropolitan Police Department."
"They had the gear and the vehicles." Walker said. "I would have had them assemble in the armory, and then get on buses and go straight to the armory and report to the most ranking Capitol Police officer they saw and take direction, and further."
Walker testified that he could have sent 155 guardsmen to the Capitol shortly after 2 p.m., but could not without approval, adding that he eagerly loaded the guardsmen onto buses to put their gear on and waited.
The timeline of events provided by Walker was similar to the one outlined by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark Milley said in an interview with The Washington Post.
But unlike Milley, who said the Pentagon acted quickly to mobilize National Guard troops once it received a request for additional help on January 6, Walker indicated that he felt the authorization process should have taken less time and said roughly 150 troops were ready to be deployed to the Capitol hours before they ultimately were given the green light.
"The approval for Chief Sund's request would eventually come from the Acting Secretary of Defense and be relayed to me by Army Senior Leaders at 5:08 p.m. -- 3 hours and 19 minutes later," Walker said Wednesday in his prepared statement.
"We already had Guardsmen on buses ready to move to the Capitol. Consequently, at 5:20pm (in under 20 minutes) the District of Columbia National Guard arrived at the Capitol," Walker added.
But Walker's timeline conflicted with testimony from Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Security Robert Salesses, who said Wednesday that the full DC National Guard was activated within an hour, highlighting the disagreements -- even between the Defense Department and the National Guard -- over how quickly the Pentagon responded to the riots.
Former Army Secretary Ryan...

The wheels are in motion to roll out a saliva Covid-19 test for border workers.
The Government's teamed up with Rako Science.
Executive director Leon Grice told Mike Hosking the company worked with the University of Illinois early last year, then had the test accredited in New Zealand.
He says he heard through a media conference yesterday the government's looking at the saliva test for border workers.
Grice says the company's been talking to the Government about the fact the test is at least as accurate as the nasal one.
Auckland Airport chief executive Adrian Littlewood says they've been trialling it since mid-January, in partnership with Rako Science.
He says staff have been volunteering while continuing to get tested via nasal swabs fortnightly as required by the Ministry of Health.
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I can't help but feel deflated by this week.
We have been in some sort of lockdown, level three or two, for not one single case this week. It's cost us a quarter of a billion dollars.
We have had the stories of the businesses this time that simply won't make it through, we have had another letter from businesses leaders to the government begging for some sort of clarity and plan going forward, we have had the heartbreak in glacier country where by Stuart Nash rolled in said there was nothing and left, he told us Wednesday he is working on help, God I hope that’s true.
We had the stats of all the businesses that had closed in the latter part of last year, we have had yet more stories of the fruit that isn't getting picked despite what to be frank are now ridiculous wages to do so, and worst of all we have had a government that because of the embarassment of their performance tried to turn us on each other, and singled out a couple of South Auckland families and a religious headliner for a good verbal bashing.
Telling us to nark is a sign of failure. A year in, we have learned nothing, and have improved not one jot. A year ago in level four, we were told to do the same, and every busy body and tittle-tattle went to town. 12 months on, same thing.
The Prime Minister, famous for kindness or at least pretending to be, turns out to be nothing of the sort. Picking fights and using the power of the government machine to do so is bullying. If a Tory had done it there would have been hell to pay.
So down in the dirt we got. How many texts? How many phone calls? Who said what and when? A school caught in the middle getting hate rained on them for doing nothing other than being a school. We wasted a day on a ridiculous debate about how many languages information is translated into, and whether young people get it.
Papers were sent videos from Karens who thought they'd spotted serial group coffee drinkers. It has been pathetic.
We are better than this, at least we were once better than this. We were aspirational, bold, and successful. A year into Covid, we've been reduced to angry, spiteful, side taking, finger pointing, tittle-tattling busy bodies.
The tragedy is the instruction came from the top.
I hope today there are no new cases. I hope if there aren't, the government can swallow their pride, admit their wrongs, god forbid apologise for them, and set us free as of this evening.
Any one holding their breath?

New Zealand has had another night of zero Covid cases, Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall says.
But she says Cabinet will want up-to-minute test results - including the remaining tests from the likes of gym members connected to the latest cluster - before making a call today as to whether alert levels can drop in Auckland and the rest of New Zealand.
"No news is good news from my end. We haven't heard anything overnight," Verrall told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking on Friday morning. The formal update would come through at 9am.
When asked why Auckland was still in lockdown after five days of zero cases, she said: "It's important we took all of the health advice into account at the time when we went into lockdown. Remember there was a series of high-risk exposures we had to deal with."
Asked by Hosking whether she'd take the same approach again, she said: "Doing the same thing again is not how I choose to approach things. But you have to make sure at the end of an event you get all the data and see what you can learn. My part of this is to make sure we have used the contact tracing system as well as we can. We used it differently this time; there was a lot more focus on casual contact places, various places in the community. I'd like to see if that approach helped us reduce transmission or if we can alter our approach to casual contacts."
Auckland's freedom could hang on 85 Covid test results, with Cabinet deciding this afternoon whether to lift the level 3 lockdown - and alert level 2 in the rest of New Zealand.
Those tests from casual plus contacts at the City Fitness, MIT, Kmart Botany and Papatoetoe High School exposure events are among the key indicators health chief Dr Ashley Bloomfield will be looking at before making his recommendations.
Cabinet will meet at 2pm today and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the director-general of health will announce the decision at 4pm.
It bodes well there are no new cases this morning - for the fifth day in a row - despite more than 7850 tests across Auckland on Wednesday. More than 68,000 tests have been processed nationwide over the last week.
"We're pretty confident now we've got a sharp perimeter around this particular outbreak. All those things will give us confidence that there hasn't been onward transmission," Bloomfield said.
But while all the close contacts of the latest cases have all tested negative, there are 85 people who are still being chased to get a test.
Of the 185 people who were at the City Fitness gym with Case M last Friday, test results for 29 people were still being chased down yesterday.
Bloomfield said those results were key because that gym visit was the last major exposure event in the Valentine's Day outbreak.
There were also outstanding test results from two people who were at the Manukau Institute of Technology and 43 out of the 1882 people at Kmart Botany who hadn't yet been tested.
All but one of those people had been contacted and gave assurances they were being isolated while health officials "actively supported" them to get a test. The Health Ministry did not provide details of the final outstanding person in that group and whether they could be contacted.
Bloomfield said it was neither frustrating nor concerning there were still outstanding tests because it could just be a matter of laboratories matching results to people.
At Papatoetoe High School all but 11 students had been retested and eight of them were being visited by mobile testing vans yesterday.
Two of the students have refused tests and had isolation plans managed by Auckland public health officials.
Bloomfield didn't know what reasons the students gave for refusing to be tested.
"It may just be a belief system. There are a small number of people who subscribe to a belief that Covid-19 doesn't actually exist. I know that the vast majority of people don't subscribe to it.
"Or it may...