The Mike Hosking Breakfast

New research suggests there's a risk of catching covid-19 multiple times.
Scientists at Imperial College London have tracked 100,000 infected people over a period of three months and noticed their antibody response declined, especially in older people.
The team's found the number of people testing positive for antibodies, has fallen by 26 per cent.
Malaghan Institute director Graham Le Gros told Mike Hosking that raises serious questions about whether re-infection is likely.
He says we're going to have to wait a few months to see whether the people that have lost antibodies, will get re-infected from the next wave in the UK.
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The time has come: After months of toughing it out, Melburnians will awake today to a reopened city.
Melbourne residents flocked to pubs and retail stores at 11.59pm last night to mark the easing of restrictions with a cold drink and celebratory shop.
While many Melbourne residents marked the end of lockdown with a drink at the pub, there were others that had something else they were desperate to do.
People flocked to the 24-hour Kmart stores across the city and lined up out the front of the stores until the doors opened at 11.59pm.
So many people were desperate to get through the doors that Kmart had to set up a booking system to keep numbers under control.
"We will open our doors on Wednesday 28th October, but for your safety, we will limit the number of customers allowed in a store at one time for stores located in Metro Melbourne," Kmart said on its website.
"Our Social Q app is here to save you time and get you into store as quickly as possible during busy periods – either use the app before you leave home to save your spot in store, or if there's a line when you get to store, use the app to save your spot without lining up."
Along with retail and hospitality venues reopening, people can now leave their homes for any reason, beauty services can resume, 10 people can gather outdoors, weddings can have 10 guests and 20 people can attend a funeral.

These are the restrictions that have now been eased:
• All retail can open, along with restaurants, hotels, cafes and bars.• Venues can have 50 people seated outdoors and 20 indoors.• Beauty, personal services and tattooing – provided Melburnians are wearing a mask – can reopen.• Outdoor community sport for under 18 and outdoor noncontact sport for adults will recommence.• Four reasons to leave home have been removed.• 10 people can gather outdoors.• Weddings can have 10 people and 20 people can attend a funeral.• Religious gatherings indoors will have a maximum of 10 people inside plus one faith leader, and outside a maximum of 20 people plus one faith leader.• Two adults and dependents can visit a different household once a day.

Joe Biden travelled to the hot springs town where Franklin Delano Roosevelt coped with polio on Tuesday to declare the U.S. is not too politically diseased to overcome its health and economic crises, pledging to be the unifying force who can "restore our soul and save this country.”
The Democratic presidential nominee offered his closing argument with Election Day just one week away while attempting to go on the political offensive in Georgia, which hasn't backed a Democrat for the White House since 1992. He promised to be a president for all Americans regardless of party, even as he said that "anger and suspicion is growing and our wounds are getting deeper.”
“Has the heart of this nation turned to stone? I don’t think so,” Biden said. “I refuse to believe it.”
While Biden worked to expand the electoral map in the South, President Donald Trump focused on the Democrats’ “blue wall” states that he flipped in 2016 — Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — and maintained a far busier travel schedule taking him to much more of the country.
At a cold, rain-soaked rally in the Michigan capital of Lansing, Trump said that Biden supported the North American Free Trade Agreement and China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, both of which he said hurt the auto industry and other manufacturing in the state.
“This election is a matter of economic survival for Michigan,” the president said, arguing that the state's economy was strong before the coronavirus pandemic hit. “Look what I've done.”
Trump also cheered Senate candidate John James — who may ultimately have a better chance of winning the state than the president — while attacking Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for moving aggressively to shut down much of the state's economy to slow the virus' spread. He even seemed to cast doubt on federal authorities breaking up what they said was a plot to kidnap her, which Whitmer has argued Trump's “violent rhetoric” helped spark.
“It was our people that helped her out with her problem. And we’ll have to see if it’s a problem. Right?" Trump said. "People are entitled to say ‘maybe it was a problem. Maybe it wasn’t.’”
Biden, even as he predicted the country could rise above politics, went after his election rival, accusing Trump anew of bungling the federal response to the pandemic that has seen new cases surging in many areas, and failing to manage the economic fallout or combat institutional racism and police brutality that have sparked widespread demonstrations.
“The tragic truth of our time is that COVID has left a deep and lasting wound in this country,” Biden said, scoffing at Trump's pronouncements that the nation is turning a corner on the virus. He charged that the president has “shrugged. He’s swaggered. And he’s surrendered.”
Venturing into Georgia was a sign of confidence by the Biden team, which is trying to stretch the electoral map and open up more paths to the needed 270 Electoral College votes. The former vice president plans to travel to Iowa, which Trump took by 10 points in 2016, later in the week. And his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, is hitting Arizona and deep red Texas.
Besides Lansing, Trump was traveling to West Salem, Wisconsin. First lady Melania Trump was on the road, too, making her first solo campaign trip of the year in Pennsylvania. And Vice President Mike Pence was in South Carolina, maintaining his campaign schedule despite several close aides testing positive for the coronavirus last weekend. There, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is in a potentially tight reelection race.
Hillary Clinton flirted with GOP territory in 2016, only to lose traditional Democratic Midwestern strongholds. But a top Biden adviser rejected the notion that the campaign is spreading itself too thin, noting that the former vice president’s visit follows weeks of paid advertising in Georgia and visits by Harris and the candidate's wife, Jill Biden.

It will be at least another week before the make-up of Jacinda Ardern's new Cabinet is known.
Talks between Labour and the Greens will continue today, and any agreement between the two parties is likely to be finalised by Friday.
Labour MPs have been meeting with Ardern to discuss their potential roles.
But front-bencher Stuart Nash told Mike Hosking none of them has been given a steer of the portfolios they're likely to receive.
He's expecting to hear more before the end of next week.
"There's a lot of water to go under the bridge. Nothing will be formalised until Jacinda has finished talking with the Green Party. "
Meanwhile, Chris Hipkins doesn't know if he'll carry on with his demanding health and education roles.
National MP Mark Mitchell says his party can't waste any time with squabbling, as it begins another term in opposition.
The party caucus will meet at Parliament today  for the second time since the election.
It will be Judith Collins' first chance to talk one-on-one with all 34 of her current MPs, about what roles they'll play in the upcoming term in Parliament.
Mitchell told Mike Hosking everyone is keen to move on from the election, and focus on winning 2023.

So, are we spending money? Yes, we are. But are any of us thinking about what we are spending it on, and why? And is it money wisely spent?
I like the idea that the economy is, at least, in part being driven by domestic demand. I don't like the idea that as we focus on all this domestic demand, we forget the many thousands who are being left behind because of the carnage of the health response that has led to record contractions in the economy.
What we must never forget is the simple truth that for all the boom times and spending we are seeing in some areas; two inescapable things are still at play. One, a lot of it is on borrowed money, which will have to be paid back even if money is cheap. Two, no matter how good the numbers look right now, they still haven't made up for the losses we have seen to this point.
In other words, you can find month on month increases in spending in various sectors, but when you go year on year, not nearly as many are up on an annualised basis.
There are some things though I hope are permanent. Baches are big. Property generally is big but baches are big. People want to be by the sea and that is no bad thing. That's an asset apart from anything.
But what about water tanks? Water tanks are booming. Good news if you are in water tanks and the really good news about water tanks is they're locally made. So, who knew if you got into the water tank business, you'd be booming because of drought?
But when the water is back, which it will be, what are you doing with your water tank? Are you becoming an environmentalist and saving the planet? That would be no bad thing. So maybe out of the adversity of drought and an incompetent Watercare, the water tank business booms and we save the planet.
But what about boats? Boats are booming too. But why did you buy a boat? Because you can't go anywhere that’s why. But boats ardent cars. We can all drive cars, but we can't all drive boats. You're either a boatie or you're not.
And what are you doing with your boat when the vaccine arrives, the planes are off again, and your holiday in California or London is back on? Are you selling your boat? Are you losing money on your boat?
How much of what we are buying is well thought through, solid investment versus how much is a desire to unload cash because we are bored?
If it's the latter, guess who's booming next year? Trade Me.

THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Wednesday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) U.S. Election Countdown/We'll Buy Anything/Zambia for Sale/Beer Funding

National says we should be backing a Kiwi to be OECD Secretary-General so he can fly our flag.
Donald Trump's nominated his senior advisor Chris Liddell for the role, but that could change if the President is voted out of office next week.
The Greens say the Government shouldn't support Liddell because he works for Trump.
National's foreign affairs spokesman Simon Bridges told Mike Hosking as with many things, Labour doesn't seem to be making a decision on this issue.
He says if there's no Trump administration after the vote, we'd lose nothing and can move to another candidate.
“It's in our interests to support Chris Liddell because he's a Kiwi and we'd get great access to an international body.”
Bridges says you shouldn't have to agree with everything about the Trump administration to support Chris Liddell.
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Some folks we know retired last week.
They retired young. She will do a bit of work from their beach house which has become their main house due to the fact they sold their house in town for a lot of money, and as a result, they don’t have to work again.
Their story is the story of the New Zealand real estate dream.
They are well under 60, they bought the house they sold years ago for what seems like pocket change, did a few renos, made a killing. Got a pre-auction offer- 25 bids at the day of the auction itself – and sold it, got the cash and retired to the beach.
So Covid for them has allowed, one, her to be at the beach and do a bit of remote work if she wants, and two, seen the value of their home reach a point they could not be happier with.
It is the story of many New Zealanders, it is the story too many of the economists and worriers and overseas report writers have never understood.
Too much commentary on housing is based on what could go wrong. The bubbles, the prices, the LVRs, the access.
If there was an article written for every person who did well on housing vs every so called person who’s been locked out of the market we might restore a bit of the balance.
Even with record numbers of first home buyers in the market we are still inundated with tales of woe and disaster.
A bubble was bursting this year. A bubble was bursting in the GFC.
Once again, let’s bring reality into the equation; a bubble has never burst on New Zealand property.
In the worst of days it sinks maybe 5 to 10 %, in between it rises up to 100 %.
The people at the beach by the way are not high flyers. They’re not rich; they would not stand out in a crowd. There simply another example of the thousands of New Zealanders who understand housing, like housing, see housing as their retirement, and ultimately have made their kiwi dream come  true

The Heart Foundation's released new recommendations on how much red meat and chicken we should be eating as part of a heart healthy diet.
Research shows eating less than 350 grams of unprocessed red meat a week can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Chief Advisor Food and Nutrition Dave Monro told Mike Hosking chicken was found to be neutral in terms of heart health.
"Neutral doesn't necessarily mean beneficial for the heart, so we would like people to opt for more plant-based protein options."
Monro says their new advice is to choose smaller amounts of red meat.
"There's evidence showing eating less than 350 grams a week, which is three red meat meals a week, provides the lowest risk of heart disease."
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The owner of Coca-Cola Amatil New Zealand looks set to be bought up by the European distributors of Coca-Cola in a deal worth nearly $10 billion.
Coca-Cola European Partners has offered to buy the ASX-listed Coca-Cola Amatil - which owns the New Zealand business - for A$12.75 per share valuing the deal at A$9.28 billion ($9.9b).
The offer is a 19 per cent premium to where Coca-Cola Amatil shares were last traded.
In a statement to the ASX Coca-Cola Amatil said it had received the non-binding indicative proposal for all of the shares held by independent shareholders of Amatil pursuant to a scheme of arrangement.
Coca-Cola European Partners will also enter a separate agreement to buy Amatil shares held indirectly by the Coca-Cola Company which has a 31 per cent stake on less favourable terms than those offered to the other shareholders, the statement noted.
According to Bloomberg the cash offer would give Coca-Cola European Partners an even larger international footprint and immediate scale in the Southern hemisphere.
Soft drink bottlers have been under pressure to consolidate amid slowing sales partly caused by the coronavirus pandemic and by consumers moving away from sugary drinks.
Coca-Cola European Partners is the world's largest Coca- Cola bottler by revenue, with 48 production sites in Germany, Spain, Great Britain and elsewhere, according to a fact sheet on its website.
Coca-Cola Amatil is a dominant player in the Asia Pacific region, with 32 production facilities in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, according to its website.
Ilana Atlas, chairwoman of Amatil, said the related party committee - which is made up of Amatil's independent non-executive directors - had considered the proposal and had "unanimously determined that, based on the current price and conditions of the proposal" it was in the best interests of independent shareholders to allow Coca-Cola European Partners to undertake due diligence and further negotiate transaction documentation in order to determine if a binding proposal can be presented to independent shareholders.
If due diligence was complete and other conditions satisfied and an acceptable scheme implementation deed was negotiated Amatil's related party committee and group managing director Alison Watkins intended to recommend the scheme to shareholders.
text by Tamsyn Parker, NZ Herald