The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Toward the back end of the 2020 season, the Warriors began to find their way.
After dropping eight of their first 11 games, they finished the year with eight wins to their name and until the dying stages of the competition were a chance of making the playoffs.
Despite the troubles the season presented, it was just the third time in the last six seasons the team won at least 40 per cent of their games.
New Warriors coach Nathan Brown joined Mike Hosking to give us an update for the season ahead.
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The trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy for corruption and influence peddling was suspended Monday less than two hours after it started, to allow a medical report on one of the defendants.
Sarkozy is accused of having tried to illegally obtain information from a magistrate about an investigation involving him in 2014.
This is the first trial for the 65-year-old politician, who has faced several other judicial investigations since leaving office in 2012.
He stands trial in a Paris court along with his lawyer Thierry Herzog, 65, and the magistrate, Gilbert Azibert, 73. They face a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a maximum fine of 1 million euros ($1.2 million.) They deny any wrongdoing.
Sarkozy and Herzog are suspected of promising Azibert a job in Monaco in exchange for leaking information about an investigation into suspected illegal financing of the 2007 presidential campaign by France’s richest woman, L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.
Sarkozy arrived at the court surrounded by his lawyers and bodyguards, in the presence of dozens of journalists. The Paris court has been placed under high security as hearings in the case, scheduled until Dec. 10, are taking place at the same time as another key trial — that of the 2015 attacks at the Charlie Hebdo offices and a kosher supermarket.
The trial started Monday in the absence of Azibert, whose lawyer requested the hearings to be postponed. He argued his client's bad health makes it risky for him to travel and appear in court amid the coronavirus pandemic, leading the court to suspend proceedings pending an expert medical report. The trial will resume on Thursday.
In 2014, Sarkozy and Herzog used secret mobile phones — registered to the alias name of “Paul Bismuth” — to be be able to have private talks as they feared their conversations were being tapped.
Sarkozy and Herzog explained that they bought the phones to avoid being targeted by illegal phone tapping. Investigative judges, however, suspect they actually wanted to avoid being tapped by investigators.
Judges have found that discussions between Sarkozy and his lawyer suggested they had knowledge that judicial investigators at the time tapped their conversations on their official phones — they mentioned “judges listening.”
Sarkozy argued that he never intervened to help Azibert, who never got the job and retired in 2014.
Investigative judges consider that as soon as a deal has been offered, it constitutes a criminal offence even if the promises haven't been fulfilled.
Legal proceedings against Sarkozy have been dropped in the Bettencourt case.
Sarkozy, a lawyer by training, pointed at judicial harassment, accusing judges of breaching lawyer-client privilege via wiretapping.
“I don't want things that I didn't do to be held against me. The French need to know... that I'm not a rotten person,” he told BFM TV earlier this month.
He said he was facing the trial in a “combative” mood.
Sarkozy's predecessor, Jacques Chirac, was found guilty in 2011 of misuse of public money, breach of trust and conflict of interest and given a two-year suspended prison sentence for actions during his time as Paris mayor, before he was president from 1995 to 2007.
Sarkozy’s name has appeared for years in several other judicial investigations.
Allegations, which include illegal financing of his 2007 campaign by then-Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, cast a shadow over Sarkozy's comeback attempt for the 2017 presidential election.
After failing to be chosen as candidate by his conservative party, he withdrew from active politics.
Sarkozy remained the most popular figure amid French right-wing voters in recent years. His memoirs published this summer, “The Time of Storms,” was a bestseller for weeks.
Sarkozy was handed preliminary charges including “illegal campaign financing” in the Libyan investigation, which has been...

The Government's being congratulated for thinking beyond infrastructure, with the latest three projects it's chosen to fast-track through the RMA.
They are a commercial and residential development on Auckland's Dominion Road, a foam factory at Sleepyhead's proposed Ohinewai industrial hub nearly Huntly, and a new subdivision at Richmond near Nelson.
Dentons Kensington Swan construction partner Katrina van Houtte told Mike Hosking it's good to see vertical projects finally being fast-tracked.
"Any programme aimed at increasing employment needs to include vertical projects, which employ mum and dad sole traders, medium-sized contractors, carpenters, plumbers and electricians, is a good idea."
Van Houtte says it would be good to have a broader holistic strategy, rather than fast-tracking things on a project by project basis.
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A new study shows Covid-19 is reshaping the way we work.
Research from MyHR shows casual and fixed-term employment has risen 12.5 percent in the months of March to October, compared to the same time last year.
Many companies are preferring to offer fixed-term contracts rather than permanent employment, with dramatic increases in not-for-profits, health care, education and training.
MyHR Head of Advisory Sylvie Thrush Marsh told Mike Hosking employers are giving themselves an 'out' in case the work dries up.
"It gives employers the flexibility of retaining employees if the work remains, or easily manages their exit from the business.
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Josh Groban is a singer that can do no wrong.
Of course, he wanted to be an actor, but his sensational voice led him down the path of music.
Since his debut album in 2001 - he's sold more than 30 million records.
And he's had success on screen as well.
Now his latest album, which includes two originals, Harmony, is out now.
Josh Groban joins Mike Hosking to talk about his new album.
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Santa Claus has come to town, albeit in pieces.
Today the 18m tall Santa that adorned the Queen St Farmers building and other Auckland buildings for 60 Christmases finally arrived in Wanaka.
The owner of the National Transport and Toy Museum at Wanaka Airport, Jason Rhodes, bought the five-tonne Santa and two of his reindeer.
The giant Christmas decorations are now in 13 pieces, on three trucks, out behind the museum.
The five-tonne, 18m Santa was built in 1960 by Farmers for its flagship store in Hobson St. At the time he was the world's largest fibreglass Santa.
Since then, he has changed hands for $1, lost his wink and moving finger, and crowned the world's creepiest Christmas ornament in 2011.

Faced with an independent report that said he was struggling to do significant aspects of his job, Invercargill Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt tried to deflect the unflattering attention.
He pointed the finger at Invercargill councillors, said he was not given enough administrative support and described himself as the victim of a vendetta.
"The actual content of the report, I am not willing to wear," he said.
"I refuse to take the mantle of convenient scapegoat."
Sir Tim (73) said the report, prepared by independent evaluator Richard Thomson, was flawed and he suggested too much of it was aimed at his shortcomings and those of deputy mayor Nobby Clark.
"Anyone who has faith in this report, with its glowing praises and singularly directed criticisms, is also likely to believe that we shall soon see Auckland Island pigs flying over Queens Park."
Mr Thomson’s report, released yesterday, said there was a clear consensus the mayor was struggling to fulfil significant aspects of his role. The result of this was a leadership void.
There was also no working relationship between the mayor and chief executive Clare Hadley.
The dysfunctional dynamics extended to new deputy mayor Cr Clark, who many interviewees said was aggressive and rude.
Cr Clark said the report was challenging, but he was willing to take its findings on the chin.
Sir Tim had previously accepted the findings of the report, but was not so accepting yesterday.
He did, however, believe the planned intervention of two external observers could be positive.
Concerns were raised before last year’s election about Sir Tim’s ability to follow what was happening at meetings, but he was still re-elected.
Yesterday, he said there was a culture of one-upmanship among councillors and he delivered a withering review of their conduct.
Several councillors were startled by the mayor’s comments.
Cr Darren Ludlow said the council unanimously received the report and accepted its findings.
Southland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Sheree Carey said the chamber supported the report’s findings.
"I’m just really confused about Sir Tim’s reaction to it.
"If you have an independent review coming out saying he is the major problem, then he needs to take responsibility and not continue to blame other people."

Haircuts, shopping trips and visits to the pub will be back on the agenda for millions of people when a four-week lockdown in England comes to an end next week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
Johnson confirmed to lawmakers that on Dec. 2 the government will lift the stay-at-home instruction introduced early this month to curb a new surge in coronavirus cases.
Amid signs that the restrictions have helped reduce the rate of new infections, Johnson said shops, gyms, personal care businesses and leisure facilities will be allowed to reopen, and collective worship, weddings and outdoor sports can resume. Fans will also be allowed back into sports stadiums for the first time since March.
Johnson said “the scientific cavalry is now in sight,” and breakthroughs in mass testing and vaccines should eliminate the need for lockdowns by the spring. But first, he said, “we must get through winter without the virus spreading out of control and squandering our hard-won gains.”
He said England’s lockdown will be replaced with regional measures that involve three tiers of restrictions based on the scale of the outbreak in different areas. The measures have been toughened slightly from a similar system that was in place last month because government scientific advisers say those measures weren't enough to stop the virus spreading.
In the top tier, pubs and restaurants will have to close except for takeout and delivery. In other areas they will have to close by 11 p.m.
In the lower two tiers, indoor and outdoor spectator sports can resume with capacity limits.
The rules apply to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have their own restrictions.
People will have to wait until up-do-date data is released later in the week to learn what tier their local area will be in, but the government says most of the country is likely to be in the two highest levels.
In those areas, households will be barred from mixing indoors, but the government is planning to ease the rules somewhat over the Christmas period that will allow a degree of mixing between family and friends. Johnson said the plan is that the entire U.K. will act together over Christmas and that further details will emerge soon.
“This is not the moment to let the virus rip for the sake of Christmas parties,” he said in a press briefing. ”'Tis the season to be jolly, but it’s also the season to be jolly careful, especially with elderly relatives."
The new measures must be approved by Parliament before taking effect. The main opposition Labour Party gave them a cautious welcome, but Johnson faces opposition from some lawmakers in his own Conservative Party, who argue that the economic damage from the restrictions is too severe.
Conservative legislator Mark Harper, one of the skeptics, said he needed to be reassured that “each measure is going to save more lives than it costs."
Retailers welcomed the news that all shops would be allowed to reopen, but Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said the new restrictions “unfairly target pubs.”
In common with other European countries, authorities in Britain introduced restrictions on daily life to combat an autumn surge in cases. The U.K. has had Europe’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreak, with more than 55,000 deaths among people who tested positive.
Johnson hailed Monday’s announcement by AstraZeneca and Oxford University that the vaccine they are jointly developing was up to 90% effective in late-stage trials. Britain has ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine, one of several in development around the world.
If a vaccine is approved by regulators, the U.K. hopes to start using it, and others, widely in the new year. Johnson said he was “really assured” that things will look very different by Easter in April.
“I don’t want to give any more hostages to fortune than that, but that’s the best information we have," he...

Businesses are being urged to invest in their people, rather than keep replacing workers on minimum wage. 
A new report from the Helen Clark Foundation and the Institute of Economic Research is calling for a boost to the minimum wage, and telling employers to think long term.
Bosses should provide development opportunities for people 'stuck' in low wage positions, leading to increased productivity and efficiency.
Institute deputy chief executive Todd Krieble told Mike Hosking the industry needs a reset.
"Now's the time for change because it's cheap to borrow and we can't continue to rely on on low wage migrant workers to fuel the economy."
Krieble says employers need to be thinking of how to retain staff and improve overall performance.
He says investing in people will provide more output and increased efficiency.
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It seems a remarkable number, so remarkable you wonder how it's possible.
Last year, the number of kids who left school with no qualifications went up, again. 12 per cent of those who left school, left with nothing, no NCEA. The year before it was 11 per cent. So not only is it up, the fact it was 11 per cent in 2018, I would have thought, is a crime in and of itself.
For a start, NCEA is not hard to get. It's not hard because of the number of subjects you can choose, the ease of the pathway that is offered, and a general sense that testing, if that’s what you still call it, is spread so far and wide these days with assessments and mock tests, it seems almost impossible to fail.
So the first question is, surely, what the hell is going wrong? is it the teaching? Is it the kids? Is it the home environment? Is it the methodology? Is it the subjects and their material? Or is it a combination?
It's one thing to go part of the way. Two of ours did. Got level one and two, decided school wasn’t for them, there was a big world out there, and they wanted a part of it.
So they left, ditched level three, got jobs, and are loving life and building their own path. That's what I did, I never looked back, and never regretted a minute.
There is an emphasis on school that has been overplayed these past few decades. School isn't everything, NCEA isn't a magic ticket, but no qualifications at all gets you nowhere.
Is there enough evidence now that the way we are teaching damages a lot of kids? Is there enough concern that the business of schooling is clearly failing too many? Are there too many basket case homes where school isn't a priority?
So in totality, has this problem been going on for far too many years, us knowing about it, and yet not been addressed?
It's proof, I suspect, of the gap we so often hear about. Some people simply can't get a job despite industry after industry screaming out for labour. The welfare bill grows to support those who cannot contribute and most likely never will.
And here's the thing, I have trouble getting my head around, why would you want that for yourself? Why in a life where all is possible would you have given up before you’ve even got started?