The Mike Hosking Breakfast

I watched that farce they call a Covid update at 1pm yesterday.
The usual puffery from the Prime Minister. Yesterday's sermon was about death, there was a reference to America. What a country of 350 million with a federal system, and a slightly insane former president, has to do with our circumstances I have no idea. But she'll leave no stone unturned to instil fear in the wider community susceptible to such mind control.
Ashley Bloomfield yet again corrected some dates and times that were given out wrongly on Saturday night. His excuse was they were moving at pace. God forbid they adapt that as a go-to modus operandi, instead of the asleep at the wheel position they currently favour.
We got the news that there were no new cases, and that the cases were all linked. Thus, leading to about 5 million people to ask why 1.5 million are locked down, and the rest are hopelessly inconvenienced yet again because of something that would appear to be contained. Nothing was to be found in the waste-water.
Before the 1pm, by the way, I was reading yet again the global headlines of how a major city gets locked down for one case. The astonishment from around the world continues.
And then to add insult to injury Bloomfield has the temerity to ask us to think about what we can do to stop the spread and the damage. Stay home, work from home, don't line up for a test if there is nothing wrong with you, don’t ring Healthline if all you need is the lotto numbers.
But here's the question for Bloomfield and his trigger-happy Prime Minister, how about you think of the things you can do to avoid the damage? How about you pull your fingers out, stop making phone calls that aren't returned, start knocking on some doors, start using the health act to make people do what they should be doing, and stop apologising for recalcitrants?
How about start putting the majority of New Zealand, New Zealanders, their businesses, and their welfare ahead of a bunch of no-hopers in South Auckland that clearly couldn't give a monkeys about the rest of us?
Two months in, third breach. Second lockdown in February. We don’t have this, it's not eliminated.
Our response isn't good, the attitude is all wrong.
This is a lazy, complacent government, whose major energy expenditure involves defending their ineptitude and trying to explain why things keep going wrong.

The situation the country has found itself in was "déjà vu" after the second lockdown in less than a month, one medical professor says. 
The latest cases of Covid-19 have plunged Auckland back into Level 3 lockdown, with the rest of the country at Level 2 - coming barely two weeks after the last three day lockdown. 
Auckland University professor of medicine Des Gorman told Mike Hosking it seemed plans were being made up on the spot. 
He said it showed our "inconsistent risk-management approach", and the Government needs to improve 
"If we needed to be in level three two weeks ago, then coming down to level two in one was clearly precipitous and early." 
Gorman said the Government's Covid-19 response was too much politics and not enough science.
He was particularly critical of the contact tracing system, which he said hadn't advanced much from a year ago.
Phoning someone and when you get no answer simply calling again was "profoundly inadequate".
He said contract tracing teams should be visiting homes to track someone down at that point.
Gorman was also unsure of public health messaging, querying what the 21-year-old Covid-19 case who went to the gym after getting a virus test was told by his GP.
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The latest Covid-19 community case had contact with an infected family during alert level 3, the Prime Minister says.
Jacinda Ardern's comments come after it was revealed a recent case went to the gym when he should have been at home after having a Covid test - something that has angered many in the community and generated numerous calls for greater consequences for those who don't self-isolate.
Ardern says there is a confirmed link between the latest positive case and an earlier family.
Ardern told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking this means there was a direct chain of transmission in the current outbreak.
She said after a number of interviews, officials discovered the new contact.
The two families had contact under level 3, Ardern said.
"Obviously we've had contact here in level 3 when it shouldn't have happened," she said.
"This was a family who was already identified as having Covid and so was part of contact tracing and did not identify that they did have contact with this family," Ardern said.
"So that means we go back, we re-interview and say 'now that we have identified that this has happened, we haven't had all of your contacts, are there others?' and we do all we can to identify whether or not there's anyone else that there's been contact with."
"The most important thing to us is people just telling us. Obviously, we've had contact here in level 3 when it should not have happened but the best thing people can do is still tell us the truth," said Ardern.
"Had we known this, the other family that we've now found a week later, they would have been a close contact and they would have been in quarantine and we would not have had this situation. The truth is so important to us."
Ardern told The AM Show the person had been interviewed by officials and did not disclose the meet-up.
"Whether or not they forgot or lied, I cannot tell you and it's obviously had devastating consequences," she said.
She said whether or not any action would result was not up to her.
"People do dumb things but we're not going to get through this if people pillory them to the point they do not tell the truth."
She said there were multiple breaches that happened across two families at the centre of the outbreak.
"A decision on whether enforcement action happens or not is not mine," she said.
Ardern said she was constantly in two minds over saving people from dying and keeping people onside to follow rules.
"It's a difficult dilemma," said Ardern, who admitted she was angry.
She hoped the greatest deterrent was witnessing what was happening right now with the heightened level of public accountability.
She wanted people to be honest with health officials.
"We have been here before," she said, referring to people who were not compliant during Auckland's August outbreak.
The PM told Hosking that people in isolation were subject to daily checks by health officials and, for the most part, were following the rules.
She said there was no excuse for what happened.
Ardern is warning more community cases are likely to be discovered in coming days so it's important people follow lockdown rules because "Covid kills".
And she has a blunt message for anyone who is not complying with isolation rules – expect a knock at the door from police.
When people went to a GP for a test, staff made it very clear to stay home after they have a test, she said.
Of the long queues of motorists trying to get back into Auckland, Ardern said what we saw happen on the roads yesterday was the effect of a lockdown taking place in the middle of a weekend.
She said the Government did not want additional people in Auckland in a heightened alert setting.
Additional staff from defence have been drafted in to help ease queues.
"MBIE here have done an incredible job. Yes, the first level 3 was tough and we needed to improve at the border. Now we...

THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Monday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) Here We Go Again Again/First Gabble of Indecision for the Year/Kiwifruitageddon

Every Friday morning, Mike Hosking is joined by Tim Wilson and Kate Hawkesby to wrap the week in news. 
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Sky TV and NZ Rugby have inked a deal for Super Rugby Aotearoa 2021 matches to stream in more than 100 countries via Sky's RugbyPass service - including top-tier rugby nations the UK, Ireland and France for the first time.
Weekly passes, featuring two live games every weekend, plus highlights and condensed games, will be available.
RugbyPass' service will be geo-blocked to New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific Islands and Spain, where broadcast agreements are in place.
Neil Martin, CEO of RugbyPass, joins Mike Hosking to talk about the deal.
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News will be back in Australians’ Facebook feeds from Friday, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has said.
Speaking to 2GB radio station after the federal government’s contentious media bargaining code passed into law, Mr Frydenberg said the social media giant told him it would reinstate news content on the platform.
Asked when news will be back on the site, Mr Frydenberg replied: “I understand you’ll see some changes from tomorrow, that’s what Facebook has told us.”
He said the company’s decision came after “extensive discussions” with the government.
“We’ve reached a solution and a way forward,” Mr Frydenberg said.
Facebook removed news content – and the content on many government, non-profit and other informational pages – in response to the federal media bargaining code, which aims to force internet giants like Google and Facebook to pay news publishers for generating content that the sites host.
Google previously threatened to prevent Australians from using its search function if the plan went ahead, and Facebook has said the law “fundamentally misunderstands” how its platform interacts with publishers who share news content.
It’s understood both companies were fighting the law so hard because they fear it would set a precedent other countries might follow, demanding that their news businesses, too, get paid for providing content.
Mr Frydenberg acknowledged the law’s global implication in his radio interview.
“There are many eyes who are on us, and this morning I was talking to my Canadian counterpart and we discussed this issue,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“I know that in the UK many politicians have said they want to follow Australia’s lead. The Prime Minister raised the issue with his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Modi.
“We are now living in this world of a digital revolution, and unless you have this level of regulation in a workable code, then it’s going to be very difficult for sustainable public interest journalism.”
In the government’s view, digital platforms have fundamentally shifted the way media content is produced and accessed.
It says tech giants Google and Facebook wield too much power over the market, benefiting from journalism that appears on their platforms without fairly compensating the outlets that make it.

The new age of medical supply delivery is here.
Across the ditch in Australia, a company called Swoop Aero has signed a deal with the chemist company TerryWhite Chemmart to do medical deliveries via drone.
Their drones can deliver within a 130 kilometre range, saving dozens of hours of travel and wait time for patients.
The New Zealand operations manager for Swoop Aero Richard Adams, joins Mike Hosking to talk about new approach to medical deliveries.
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Excitement is building as boxing rivals Parker and Fa prepare to step into the ring for what has been billed as one of the biggest events in New Zealand boxing history.Fight night is tomorrow at Auckland's Spark Arena with tickets selling fast for the much-anticipated event.Yesterday, promoter David Higgins said about 80 per cent of the tickets have been sold.So far more than 8000 people are expected to attend the event with corporates snapping up about 95 tables to treat staff and host clients."Ticket sales have been very strong and it could well be a sell-out on the night," said Higgins, the director of Duco Events."Obviously with Covid in the country people are looking for things to do. And this may be one of the top two boxing events in New Zealand's history."Higgins said there were still tickets available but people needed to get in quick. There were about half a dozen corporate tables available.Ticket prices ranged from $69 in the upper levels to $399 for seats closer to the action.The few corporate tables still available were priced at up to $14,995 for a table of 10 in the front row.
The fight between former world champion and WBO #3 Joseph Parker and the undefeated Junior Fa has been brewing since December. The fight had been postponed after Fa fell ill and needed surgery.
Parker took advantage of the time and had elbow surgery to remove bone fragments.
Parker said the extra time meant both fighters were better prepared.
"We are both 100 per cent now, there are no excuses," Parker said.
"Come Saturday when we fight, we are both 100 per cent and whoever wins is the best."
Speaking at a press conference days before the clash Parker, said he was planning on knocking Fa out in the first six rounds.
Fa, 31, countered this saying 29-year-old Parker could hit hard - but he knew how to move.
Parker's trainer Kevin Barry said the showdown was pivotal for both fighters.
"At this stage in Joe's career, we have to not only win this fight but we have to win in a spectacular and convincing fashion," he said.
"We expect to see the very best Junior Fa there is. He has got height and reach on Joe and he is undefeated. He is a big, strong guy."
Barry said what made Fa even more dangerous was winning the fight could be life-changing.
"This is a career-changing fight for Junior Fa."
The Stonewood Homes event at Spark Arena in Auckland will be broadcast to the world.
To see it live visit Ticketmaster

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.
Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout.
9/10.
"First for the country this week.
Is it light at the end of the tunnel? Or maybe the start of the end?"
Britain and Israel's Rollout.
8/10.
"They are the guiding lights.
If you want to see where we could be, sadly if only we were faster, then they are your vaccination yard sticks."
10 Year Christchurch Earthquake Commemorations.
7/10.
"A good balanced sort of message, I thought, this week.
Never forget, of course.
But also a realisation that there is much more to be done, and a pick up in pace and determination would be no bad thing."
Wellington City Council.
0/10.
"Give it up.
Between the pipes, the sludge, the poo, the cycleways, the blowouts, the hate, vitriol, and venom.
Just bring in the Commissioners."
Progressive Housing Scheme.
1/10.
"Here we go again.
Eight months, 12 families moved in.
Labour and housing, eh?"
Facebook and Australian News.
1/10.
"Found out for who they really are."
Australia's Win over Facebook.
9/10.
"A globally significant win, and a steely set of balls to be admired."
Gladys Berejiklian.
7/10.
"Calling out our government over the lack of two-way in the bubble.
The excuses are lame and getting lamer.
This looks more and more like a control exercise."
Super Cars.
9/10.
"Back this weekend, can't wait."
Sky TV (who has the Super Cars).  
7/10.
A good week.
And a seven to all the businesses who had a good week in reporting season.
Whether you survived, bounced back, grew, or broke records, it seemed overall there were plenty of good stories to be told."
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