The Mike Hosking Breakfast

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.
Stuart Nash's Tourism Plan: 8/10
"I know he's on the programme every Wednesday.
“But I like the directness, I like the plan, so let's get on with the delivery."
Reaction to All Blacks' Loss: 2/10
"We honestly have to get a grip.
“Nothing wrong with disappointment, nothing wrong with expectation of success.
“But being able to deal with both is a skill, and a part of life, but, man, have we made dicks of ourselves this week."
Sam Cane: 6/10
"I like people who speak their mind.
"It's unusual for an All Black captain to take the bait, but the bait this week has been particularly lame and needlessly aggressive."
Moderna's Vaccine News: 6/10
"Part of the brilliance that is science.
“And science will save us all."
The Tech Sector: 9/10
"Results this week show it's grown yet again.
“And here's the issue too much under the radar, this is a boom area. This is a $12 billion industry we have not woken up to enough." 
Housing Market: 8/10
"Another stonking week of prices, sales, headlines, records, panic, consternation, finger pointing, blame, and questions.
“God, it's awesome to watch."
RCEP Trade Deal: 6/10
"Because all free trade deals are good.
“But this got over-hyped given we already have deals with the people involved, deals on deals don’t automatically make better deals.
“What we wanted was India and they're not playing."
Happiness: 7/10
"Wellbeing numbers show we are happy, but not as happy as we could be.
“That’s up to us. You want to be happy? You will. You want to succeed? You will? If you tell yourself you will, you will.
“Message for life, grasshopper."
LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW

If Australia hadn't had a federalist model, I hate to think how far ahead of us they would be.
My major frustration this year has not been our Covid approach, but the fact we seem to have given up.
We handled the outbreak reasonably well. We could have isolated earlier, we could have closed the border earlier, we could have done quarantine earlier, but once we got there, it worked, and outbreaks aside, it's gone pretty well.
But that’s where it appeared to end, that's where we seem to have rested on our laurels, we've just spent the rest of the year going “look at us, we are the envy of the world.”
And when any one questions whether we might want to actually do a bit more, they sight Britain or America as reasons why we don’t want to. There are, of course, parts of the world, namely Asia, you don’t hear so much about. That's because the mainstream media is lazy, mainly because it doesn’t suit our cause.
And that cause should be to out shine everyone, to take a great start, and build on it. Sort of like Australia is. Yes, Victoria made a hash of it, but that wasn’t Canberra's fault, it was Melbourne's. Adelaide may be the same, we'll see.
But their Prime Minister is in Japan doing business. Why? Because he's a go getter. Their government job website, as we now know, is enticing workers from here to there. Why? Because they're go getters. Instead of sitting around having meetings, which we are, as to why people can't get workers, they're actually hiring them. They've actually got a bubble going, we aren't reciprocating.
What I want for us is desire. A desire to do better, be better, and to be proactive. If we don’t, we will be left behind. Australia is our greatest destination for talent. The brain drain goes one way and we are in danger of watching it get fired up.
They have tax cuts, less economic damage from lockdown , and a job market with incentives. Just how much more of this do we want to watch and not respond to before we start having the usual panicked conversation about why everyone has moved west?
Our fear, conservatism, and lack of drive will kill us. Yes, we did well, but then we stopped.
Australia didn’t. Scott Morrison said this week never let the fear of going back stop you going forward.
He's living that, and we're paralysed watching.

THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Friday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) Frozen Halfway Through Recovery/Testing Yourself/Mark the Week/Rudy Melts

China called on Australia to take action to stem worsening relations between the two countries, in the latest indication that Beijing will offer few if any compromises to resolve their disputes.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian's comments came the same day that China's embassy in Canberra delivered a list of 14 areas of disagreement between the sides in which China expects Australia to change direction, Australian media reported.
Zhao made it clear China holds Australia responsible for the deterioration in ties, saying that "whoever started the trouble should end it."
"I want to stress that the Australian side is completely aware of the crux of the decline of the bilateral relations," Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing. "We hope the Australian side should do more to improve the mutual trust and cooperation and enhance the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries."
Relations have been strained in recent years amid Chinese anger over a range of issues, including Australia's crackdown on perceived political interference by Beijing, Chinese investments and a call for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic that was first detected in China late last year.
China has retaliated mainly by barring Australian exports including barley, wine and coal, throwing billions of dollars of trade into question.
In a move likely to further irk Beijing, the leaders of Australia and China's historic rival Japan reached a basic agreement Tuesday on a bilateral defense pact that would allow their troops to work more closely, part of a push to bolster their ties and counter China's growing assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region.
In a joint statement, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his Japanese counterpart, Yoshihide Suga, expressed "serious concerns about the situation" in the South and East China Seas and "strong opposition" to militarizing disputed islands and other unilateral attempts to change the status quo, without identifying China — signaling their sensitivity toward their biggest trading partner.

With the coronavirus surging out of control, the nation's top public health agency pleaded with Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving and not to spend the holiday with people from outside their household.
It was some of the firmest guidance yet from the government on curtailing traditional gatherings to fight the outbreak.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the recommendations just one week before Thanksgiving, at a time when diagnosed infections, hospitalizations and deaths are skyrocketing across the country. In many areas, the health care system is being squeezed by a combination of sick patients filling up beds and medical workers falling ill themselves.
The CDC's Dr. Erin Sauber-Schatz cited more than 1 million new cases in the U.S. over the past week as the reason for the new guidance.
"The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is at home with the people in your household," she said.
If families do decide to include returning college students, military members or others for turkey and stuffing, the CDC is recommending that the hosts take added precautions: Gatherings should be outdoors if possible, with people keeping 6 feet apart and wearing masks and just one person serving the food.
Whether Americans heed the warning is another matter. The deadly comeback by the virus has been blamed in part on pandemic fatigue, or people getting tired of masks and other precautions. And surges were seen last summer after Memorial Day and July Fourth, despite blunt warnings from health authorities.
The United States has seen more than 11 million diagnosed infections and over 250,000 deaths from the coronavirus. CDC scientists believe that somewhere around 40% of people who are infected do not have obvious symptoms but can still spread the virus.
KEEPING UP WITH NON-COVID-19 CASES
Hospitals are struggling to keep up with non-coronavirus cases ranging from broken bones to heart attacks in states where COVID-19 cases are tying up resources.
In Kansas, rural hospitals are running into difficulty trying to transfer patients to larger hospitals for more advanced care.
"Whether it is regular pneumonia or appendicitis or fractures that need surgery, they have a limited amount of beds in their facilities and they are not taking a lot of these routine cases," said Perry Desbien, a nurse practitioner who works in Smith Center and other rural communities. "They are saying, 'Send them home. Have them follow up in the office. Unless it is life-threatening, we don't want to see them either.'"
Earlier this month, the Mayo Clinic Health System in Wisconsin announced it was suspending elective medical procedures.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker noted that with COVID-19 patients claiming a quarter of the state's hospital beds, there are fewer resources for heart attack patients, expectant mothers or cancer patients.
"When we let our hospitals get overrun or even close to it, it is all of us suffering," Pritzker said.
SICK HOSPITAL WORKERS
The Mayo Clinic Health System, a Midwest network of hospitals and clinics run by the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, reported that 905 staff members have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past two weeks.
Dr. Amy Williams, executive dean of Mayo Clinic Practice, said the vast majority were exposed in the community and not at work.
"It shows how widely spread this is in our communities and how easy it is to get COVID-19 in the communities here in the Midwest," she said.
In Kansas, 150 employees and doctors at a Topeka hospital had active coronavirus cases or were isolated and on leave because of contact with someone who had coronavirus. And the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City had 187 employees, including physicians, nurses and support staff, out as of Tuesday after testing positive. An additional 200 were not at work while they awaited test results.
POSITIVITY RATE
The...

The work from home approach is pushing some of us into the country.
Data from the Real Estate Institute shows more than 8,000 lifestyle properties were sold in the year to October 2020 -- 1100 more than the previous period.
Bayleys agent Karen Asquith told Mike Hosking with more and more people working from home, many are happy to live a bit further out.
"As long as you can still commute off-peak within that magic hour, people are really looking to be out on the land, have the kids go back to a  country lifestyle school, take a lamb to Ag Day."
She says the market is going crazy.
"We're as busy as we've been for many, many years. We're doing a lot of property matches. Let's hope it stays buoyant, but lets hope it doesn't go absolutely crazy."
LISTEN ABOVE

Opposition to bank branch closures, from both ends of the country.
BNZ is shutting a further 38 branches around the country, following similar moves by other banks.
It previously promised to keep regional branches open for another two years.
Thames Coromandel Mayor Sandra Goudie told Mike Hosking the Coromandel town won't be the same without its local bank.
"That's been the little family corner bank for absolutely decades, it's just been one of those iconic little family units."
She says the closure will leave many people without any access to banking services.
"There are some people who just don't do online banking, that don't have access to online systems or internet or IT."
Central Otago district mayor Tim Cadogan says the closure of the Cromwell branch makes no sense.
"Cromwell's our fastest growing town. In fact, it's the fastest growing town in New Zealand, so it feels like a backwards step." 
Hurunui District mayor Marie Black says when BNZ's Hanmer Springs branch closes, the nearest bank will be an hour away in Amberley.
"That's quite a significant impact on members of the community, particularly the more remote rural communities."
LISTEN ABOVE

First time mums are more conscious of what they eat while pregnant than those who have already had two or more children, a new survey has found.
The research, published in today's New Zealand Medical Journal, also revealed most mums didn't know all the foods that could potentially put their baby's life in danger.
Researchers stressed that while baby deaths from food infections were rare, they were also preventable.
The research surveyed 205 pregnant women in hospital and online during December 2017 and January 2018.
Findings showed that while the average knowledge score for food safety was 95 per cent, only 25 per cent of participants answered all questions correctly.
Most unknown unsafe foods were:

Cakes, slices and muffins that have added cream or custard
Hummus
Salads, including fruit salads that have been made at a shop or cafe
Cheese that is soft or semi-soft

The most worrying discovery was the high number of women who were aware of the danger foods but chose to ignore them, one of the researchers of the study, University of Otago associate professor Tony Walls said.
One in four pregnant women said they were "not concerned" by food safety in pregnancy.
While more than half of the women surveyed, reported being "very concerned", a majority of those were having their first or second baby, suggesting mums became more relaxed about food safety the more kids they had.
Walls - who is also a practising paediatric infectious disease specialist at Christchurch Hospital - said that while foodborne illnesses aren't common, they can be deadly for babies by miscarriage, pre-term delivery or stillbirth.
Listeriosis is the most common foodborne infection leading to baby deaths.
A previous study conducted by Walls and research, led Emma Jeffs - who is a junior doctor at Christchurch Hospital specialising in pregnancy - found that between 1997 and 2016, there were 147 pregnancy-associated cases of listeriosis in New Zealand.
There were also 22 deaths in children aged 28 days to 15 years who were linked to having listeriosis.
Walls said this was the first research of its kind in New Zealand to measure the impact and there was still much more work needed to discover the extent of the risks caused by foodborne infection.
In the paper, researchers said there were several factors leading to a lack of food safety knowledge and while healthcare providers were identified as the preferred source of information, difficulty communicating those messages was said to be a problem.
Close to 70 per cent of participants reported receiving information from their midwife, 40 per cent from family or friends, and 33 per cent received advice from GPs.
Other factors highlighted in the study included lack of returning to follow up appointments caused by information overload, underestimated risk due to lack of experiences with food-related illness and convenience of high-risk foods overriding food safety.
"The more awareness we can bring to this issue the better," Walls said.
About foodborne illnesses during pregnancy:

Babies in mum's tummy are at greater risk of dying from a food infection than the average New Zealander which is why avoiding certain foods is recommended.
Some foodborne illnesses, such as Listeria and Toxoplasma gondii, can infect the foetus even if the mother does not feel sick.
If a pregnant mum gets a food infection, it can lead to miscarriage, pre-term delivery or stillbirth.
While a baby dying from a food infection isn't common, experts say it's preventable if pregnant women stick to The New Zealand Food Safety in Pregnancy guidelines.
There is limited research available in New Zealand about how many babies die from food infections - we know that between 1997 and 2016, there were 147 pregnancy-associated cases of listeriosis in New Zealand.

text by Emma Russell, NZ Herald

Team New Zealand's new America's Cup yacht has a sleek new concave shape and a new name - Te Rehutai, the Māori word for sea spray.
The new boat surprised and delighted a large crowd who lined vantage points around the launch at the Team NZ base in Auckland's Viaduct Harbour tonight.
Boating enthusiasts Don Crawford and Tony Linford, who came into town from Beachlands to see the launch, said the new boat looked "gorgeous".
"It's a Formula I racing car for the water," Crawford said.
"It's cutting edge, something New Zealand should be proud of," said Linford.
Crawford said the boat was "much wider than I thought it would have been".
Web designer Chester Elliott said the new boat looked "really cool".
"It looks pretty aerodynamic," he said.
"It's definitely a big change from the first one. I was expecting more of a refinement of the first boat, but it will be good to see it with a mast up and the rigging up."
Structural engineer Dmitry Chernushkin said the new shape was "impressive".
"I think it will be fast," he said. " The design looked beautiful, I think the most beautiful shape. I hope that they will win the competition."

Emirates Team New Zealand launch their America's Cup AC75 boat 2 Te Rehutai - Sea Spray. Photo / Brett Phibbs
The boat's hull has a distinct concave shape which is quite different from the fuller shape of the first Team NZ boat for the 2020 contest, Te Aihe.
Team NZ chief executive Grant Dalton told the crowd that the design process started with a blank sheet of paper.
"There was no concept," he said. "We knew it had to be a monohull but we couldn't leave the [catamaran] generation behind.
"You couldn't find a person within Team NZ who believes that we haven't exceeded what we thought we would."
Team NZ board chairman Sir Stephen Tindall assured the crowd of the board's integrity despite reports of questionable finances.
"As you would have seen in the media, we've had a tough year on a number of fronts," he said.
"Let me assure you of our integrity in these matters, and assure you that those distractions have not impacted the sailors, the designers or our broader team."
Tindall said New Zealand would not get the full economic benefit that had been expected from the Cup because of Covid-19, but the event would now be "for the benefit of Kiwis".
"We will showcase our city and our country on the available television, video and digital devices worldwide, and broadcasting will be free to air in most countries," he said.
"We are determined to make the AC36 the most spectacular America's Cup in 150 years."
He said designing the America's Cup boat was "the most scientifically and technologically advanced" of his many investments, along with Rocket Lab.
He acknowledged the presence of Team NZ sponsor former Prime Minister Helen Clark, Auckland mayor Phil Goff and former Sports Minister Trevor Mallard.
New Economic Development Minister Stuart Nash arrived late after meeting tourist groups in Rotorua.
Lady Margaret Tindall christened the yacht as it was lowered into the Waitematā Harbour to cheers from the crowd and horns sounding from a nearby boat.

China has rejected the latest attack on its Hong Kong policy from the US and allies such as New Zealand, saying they "should face up to the reality" that the former British colony has been returned to China.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian was responding to a statement on Hong Kong issued by the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, which together make up an intelligence partnership known as the Five Eyes.
"No matter if they have five eyes or 10 eyes, if they dare to harm China's sovereignty, security and development interests, they should beware of their eyes being poked and blinded," he said at a daily briefing.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China and that public officials must be loyal. Photo / AP, File
The foreign ministers of the five nations said that a new Chinese government resolution that led to the disqualification of four pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong appears to be "part of a concerted campaign to silence all critical voices".
The joint statement called the resolution a breach of China's international obligations and its commitment to grant Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy and freedom of speech.
Hong Kong, a city of 7.5 million people, was promised autonomy over local affairs for 50 years after its return to China in 1997.
Zhao said Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China and that public officials must "be loyal to the motherland. This is a basic political ethic in every country in the world, right?
The four disqualified lawmakers were earlier barred from running for reelection because of their calls for foreign governments to impose sanctions on China and Hong Kong. They had remained in office because elections were postponed for one year.
Three other former pro-democracy lawmakers appeared in court in Hong Kong on Thursday, one day after they were arrested for disrupting the legislature during debate on a national anthem bill earlier this year.
The three were joined by supporters holding up signs with slogans outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts.
Eddie Chu, one of the three, said he is facing "prosecution from the dictatorship" because of their actions to try to block passage of the national anthem ordinance. The law criminalises insult and abuse of the anthem, the March of the Volunteers. - AP