The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Smokers across the ditch may need a prescription to buy cigarettes, but it's considered unlikely to be replicated in New Zealand.
Researchers in Australia have proposed a radical plan to end smoking, including phasing out commercial sales completely and restricting sales to pharmacies.
Action for Smoke-free 2025 chair Robert Beaglehole told Mike Hosking the proposals are just talk at this stage, and New Zealand's approach is seeing a steady decline in smoking numbers.
He says we have the goal to reduce adult smoking to five percent, and we're much further ahead than Australia.

A new postgraduate scheme would see training teachers complete their studies while immersed in a school environment – for free.
Twelve Auckland secondary schools have been working with the University of Waikato on a new model of teacher education.
Headmaster of Westlake Boys David Ferguson, a spokesman for the 12-strong group, says the graduate qualification will see students based at one of the schools for the academic year, while completing their studies remotely.
"Historically, training teachers have spent more time at university than at a school," he told the Herald.
"We are really excited about this new model of teacher education. It not only enables student teachers to be fully immersed in a school-based environment, but also provides them with access to mentoring from specialist teachers in their chosen subject area."
Most teacher trainees have to pay their own fees like any other university student, but there are some scholarships on offer for Māori and Pacific students studying teaching.
Waikato University Pro Vice-Chancellor of Education, Professor Don Klinger, says the university is delighted to work with the schools to attract future teachers and address critical teacher shortages in secondary schools
"This unique opportunity uses our recently approved graduate and post-graduate diploma programmes," he said.
"It provides an enriched school context for a cohort of students to be immersed in while completing their teacher education programme."
Trainee teachers will have their course fees covered by the school they spend the year at, with the goal of offering the newly-qualified teachers a job once their study is completed.
Ferguson said students would be offered a small stipend during the year to support expenses and if a job becomes available, would stay at the school for a minimum of two years.
"And if there's no job available, they've earned the qualification anyway," he said.
It's hoped between one and three students will join each of the 12 schools in the pilot scheme, beginning next year.
The 12-strong group of schools include a range of co-ed, single sex, public and independent schools:
• Auckland Grammar School
• Baradene College of the Sacred Heart
• Diocesan School for Girls
• Macleans College
• Massey High School
• Mount Albert Grammar School
• Rangitoto College
• Sacred Heart College
• St Cuthbert's College
• St Peter's College
• Westlake Boys High School
• Westlake Girls High School
Investing in and getting the best possible teachers into the classroom was something all schools would be familiar with, Ferguson said.
"We're really interested in people who are changing careers, as well as graduates," he said.
"There is the potential for people who have done something else, but always had teaching at the back of their mind and thought about moving into teaching, but were unsure that could happen."
On top of their year of immersive learning, students will attend a day of learning at each of the 12 schools on different subjects, such as building a positive classroom environment, or assessments, as well as the opportunity of a further five-week placement at one of the other schools involved.
Students who successfully complete the qualification will gain a post-graduate or post-graduate diploma in teaching at the end of 2021.
Anyone interested in being part of this programme should contact one of the schools directly.
Immersive learning would build confidence: St Cuthbert's teacher
St Cuthbert's technology teacher Michael Zhang says the full immersion that the scheme offers students would make them feel more confident in taking on a teaching role.
Zhang, who has been teaching for five years this year, completed his postgraduate diploma in teaching at the University of Auckland.
"At the University of Auckland we had two practicums, in...

A study shows people are gambling more and more often - thanks to the lockdown.
The Australian Gambling Research Centre reports the number of frequent online gamblers has gone up, with 11 percent more people placing bets more than four times per week.
Men aged 18 to 34 increased their median spend from almost $700, to $1000 per month.
Problem Gambling Foundation spokesperson Andree Fraude told Mike Hosking it's the same for New Zealand.
She says Westpac reported consistently high daily transactions during lockdown for lotto tickets and betting.
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Increasing voter turnout is about removing barriers.
With three days to go, numbers for early voters have already passed that of the 2017 election.
Auckland University political scientist Lara Greaves told Mike Hosking there's evidence to suggest the country is looking at a higher voter turnout than usual.
"We've got two high profile referendums that people have opinions on, along with a strong government presence throughout Covid-19."
Greaves says there's evidence to suggest the country is looking at a higher voter turnout than usual.
But she says research shows it's important to reduce barriers that prevent individuals from voting.
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The housing market is bucking the trend, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.
While prices and volumes usually pause in the lead up to an election year, the nation and Auckland saw record volumes and prices this September.
Chief executive Bindi Norwell said: "Normally one month out from an election, people start to take a wait-and-see approach and sales volumes begin easing off."
She cited three factors: record-low interest rates, consumers having additional cash available because they can't go overseas and an uplift in the market from returning ex-pats.
She pointed to the 53 per cent rise in Auckland house sales during September "the highest in 52 months and the highest annual increase in sales volumes in 11 years".
"The number of residential properties sold in September across New Zealand increased by 37.1 per cent from the same time last year, from 6112 to 8377 – the highest number of properties sold in a month in New Zealand for 42 months since March 2017 and the highest number of properties sold in a September month for 14 years," REINZ said.
The REINZ House Price Index for New Zealand, which measures the changing value of property in the market, increased 11.1 per cent annually to 3145, a new high and the first time the index for New Zealand has gone over the 3100 mark.
The HPI for New Zealand excluding Auckland increased by 10.9 per cent from September last year to 3105, a new high.
Auckland's HPI increased 11.4 per cent year-on-year to 3194 also a new high on the index.
Norwell said the market "appears to continue in its trend of being an anomaly, with the number of properties sold the highest in 42 months, since March 2017, when the country was last experiencing such growth".
"Highlighting just how much sales volumes around the country continue to defy expectations, 13 regions had annual sales volumes increases in excess of 20 per cent and 10 regions had increases in excess of 30 per cent - the highest number of regions with this level of sales volume increase since April 2015."
"When you then add in high levels of confidence in the housing market, the removal of the LVRs back in March and people's fear that prices are just going to keep increasing in the future, then this explains why people are going to such lengths to secure a property now," she said.
National median house prices rose 14.7 per cent annually from $675,000 to $685,000 last month.
Auckland's median rose 12.6 per cent from $848,000 to $955,000, which is a new record high, and up from $949,500 in August.
The median number of days to sell nationally decreased by four days from 36 to 32, the lowest since March this year. It took vendors three fewer days to sell in September, from 39 days a year ago to 36 days then, the lowest in a September month in four years.
Gisborne prices rose 45.8 per cent annually, from $384,000 a year ago to $560,000 last month.
Taranaki prices are up 21.3 per cent, from $400,000 in September to $485,000 last month.
Otago saw a 20.7 per cent rise from $489,000 to $590,000.
Bay of Plenty sales prices rose 17.8 per cent from $602,000 to $709,000 and last month was the first time the median went over the $700,000 mark.
Manawatu/Wanganui prices are up 16.6 per cent from $397,000 to $463,000 and Whanganui District had a record median price of $400,000.
Wellington prices were up 13.1 per cent from $650,000 to $735,000 and Lower Hutt City ($702,000), Upper Hutt City ($710,000), Wellington City ($862,000) and Kapiti Coast District ($704,400) had record median prices.
Waikato sales prices rose 14.4 per cent annually, from $555,000 to $635,000, and Hamilton City ($676,000) and Taupō District ($630,000) had record median prices.
Canterbury prices were up 11.1 per cent from $450,000 to $500,000. Christchurch City ($503,000), Kaikōura District ($595,000) and Timaru District ($392,000) also had record median...

A late-stage study of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate has been paused while the company investigates whether a study participant’s “unexplained illness” is related to the shot.
The company said in a statement Monday evening that illnesses, accidents and other so-called adverse events “are an expected part of any clinical study, especially large studies,” but that its physicians and a safety monitoring panel would try to determine what might have caused the illness.
The pause is at least the second such hold to occur among several vaccines that have reached large-scale final tests in the U.S.
The company declined to reveal any more details about the illness, citing the participant’s privacy.
Temporary stoppages of large medical studies are relatively common. Few are made public in typical drug trials, but the work to make a coronavirus vaccine has raised the stakes on these kinds of complications.
Companies are required to investigate any serious or unexpected reaction that occurs during drug testing. Given that such tests are done on tens of thousands of people, some medical problems are a coincidence. In fact, one of the first steps the company said it will take is to determine if the person received the vaccine or a placebo.
The halt was first reported by the health news site STAT.
Final-stage testing of a vaccine made by AstraZeneca and Oxford University remains on hold in the U.S. as officials examine whether an illness in its trial poses a safety risk. That trial was stopped when a woman developed severe neurological symptoms consistent with transverse myelitis, a rare inflammation of the spinal cord, the company has said. That company's testing has restarted elsewhere.
Johnson & Johnson was aiming to enroll 60,000 volunteers to prove if its single-dose approach is safe and protects against the coronavirus. Other vaccine candidates in the U.S. require two shots.

One of my great hopes out of this current housing boom is that more people will, at last, realise that governments can't control housing.
Like it or not, we love houses, and this country has an obsession with them. Always has, most likely always will.
The funny thing at the moment is it's become increasingly non-PC to celebrate housing, to be an owner, to make money from being an owner, and to get wealthy from being an owner.
The minority who are hand wringers, politically correct, or socialist have battled this. They have predicted price crashes, they highlight international reports that say we have a bubble, they say the cost to income ratio is too high, they say first home buyers are locked out, but they have been, and once again are being, proven hopelessly wrong.
What this country has by way of a relationship with housing is not quantifiable on a bit of paper, or on a chart, and that’s what the critics don’t get and never have. To have an investment, shelters you, and makes you money is unique. Yes, A2 Milk, Contact Energy, or Fisher and Paykel Healthcare are great companies. But they don’t shelter you, and you can't punch a hole in the wall to extend the indoor-outdoor flow.
The greatest thing the Reserve Bank has done is to dump their mad LVR regulations. Yes, housing costs a lot, but it gives a lot back.
For a young person, if the house is $500,000, and the deposit is $100,000, in a country where urban incomes are about $75,000, that’s too much to get on the ladder.
But with a deposit of $50,000, you've opened up the opportunity to a whole new world of buyers. Boris Johnson announced a deal in Britain last week with deposits at five percent.
The LVRs were stuck on by previous Governor Graeme Wheeler who was too conservative and too scared. No, you don’t want house prices rocketing up in double digits for years on end, but there was never any need to panic. The individual circumstances of the day always play a part.
For now, money is dirt cheap, you'd be mad not to borrow. If you get money at two percent, can you buy something that will make five percent? Yes, and then some.
Investors are back, first home buyers are up, prices are flying, money is being made, so let's celebrate that, let's not continually find reasons why it’s a problem.
The stats out yesterday are once again proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that housing is gold plated. We have record prices, regional growth, and drop in sales time.
We'd like a few more listings, but once again, those who bemoan its success are the ones who don’t get it and ultimately miss out.

National Party deputy leader and MP for Ilam Gerry Brownlee said there is no one else but himself to take responsibility for his large size.
"It's mine," the politician told ZB's Hosking this morning.
It comes as National leader Judith Collins doubled down on her obesity stance, describing it as a weakness and saying that people should not "blame systems for personal choices".
She said people who were obese needed to take some personal responsibility.
Brownlee, National's deputy leader, backed her comments, saying it was not an easy topic to broach.
He said he was against any state-mandated control on obesity, supporting Collins' remarks over people taking charge of their large weight.
"It is an issue that's not easy to deal with. She was saying take personal responsibility.
"To say that there should be some state-mandated action enforcing people to be a particular size, I think that's a step too far," he said.
This morning the National leader continued addressing the country's obesity problem saying it was a matter of personal responsibility.
She told MediaWorks that it was a case of eating healthy fresh food and exercising.
"I've seen it in my own family," she said.
"People have taken charge of their food and strangely enough they've lost weight.
"Any decent GP will say it's not that complicated."

She added fresh fruit and vegetables were a significantly cheaper option that processed foods, adding a meal of home cooked chicken and veges was a great value and healthy option for dinner.
Collins said she did not look at people and think "they're really fat".
It was a matter of speaking truthfully about the subject, she said.
"You can take charge of your life.
"It doesn't take much to get frozen veges in the freezer. It's not that hard."
Earlier when told that some had called her comments heartless, Collins said: "Do you know what is heartless? Is actually thinking someone else can cure these issues.
"We can all take personal responsibility and we all have to own up to our little weaknesses on these matters.
"Do not blame systems for personal choices."
Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that one in three New Zealanders over the age of 15 are obese.
Those living in areas of socio-economic deprivation are also more likely to be obese than those living in the least deprived areas.
In addition, the statistics show the prevalence of obesity among adults differs by ethnicity, with 67 per cent of Pacific, 48 per cent of Māori, 29 per cent of European/other and 14 per cent of Asian adults obese.
About one in nine children aged two to 14 are obese.
Earlier Labour leader Jacinda Ardern was asked about obesity.
"I think on an issue like this, people are, we are all, products of our environment. You can't deny that and so we do have to look at all the multiple factors that contribute to obesity issues in New Zealand.
"I think if you are so simplistic simply to call it an issue of personal responsibility, then it's never going to be an issue that we collectively resolve."
Ardern thought it demonstrated that "under National we won't see any progress on the issue".
"If it's just a view that they've got no role to play and that there's no difference that government can make on these issues, then it does tell you that on one of the most significant health issues we have you'll see nothing from the opposition on it."
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters was asked about the issue as well.
"There's a tsunami of obesity problems coming down our track, it's a critical matter and our health system faces a nightmare unless we get going right here and right now to do something about it."
Asked if it was a matter of personal responsibility or external factors, he said: "It's a combination - frequently it's external factors, frequently it's some people sadly [have] got two or...

National MP Mark Mitchell has broken ranks with his leaders after Judith Collins and Gerry Brownlee both laid the blame for obesity on personal responsibility.
Mitchell said this morning that the issue was "more complex" than Collins has claimed.
"Part of it's a personal choice," he told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking, "but it's a lot more complex than that".
"Some obesity can be dealt with through exercise and diet, there's no doubt about that.
"But some obesity is related to medical conditions, even psychological conditions that need treating, so it's a more complex issue".
Earlier, National Party deputy leader and MP for Ilam Gerry Brownlee said there is no one else but himself to take responsibility for his large size.
"It's mine," the politician told ZB's Hosking this morning.
It comes as National leader Judith Collins doubled down on her obesity stance, describing it as a weakness and saying that people should not "blame systems for personal choices".
She said people who were obese needed to take some personal responsibility.
Brownlee, National's deputy leader, backed her comments, saying it was not an easy topic to broach.
He said he was against any state-mandated control on obesity, supporting Collins' remarks over people taking charge of their large weight.
"It is an issue that's not easy to deal with. She was saying take personal responsibility.
"To say that there should be some state-mandated action enforcing people to be a particular size, I think that's a step too far," he said.
This morning the National leader continued addressing the country's obesity problem saying it was a matter of personal responsibility.
She told MediaWorks that it was a case of eating healthy fresh food and exercising.
"I've seen it in my own family," she said.
"People have taken charge of their food and strangely enough they've lost weight.
"Any decent GP will say it's not that complicated."
She added fresh fruit and vegetables were a significantly cheaper option that processed foods, adding a meal of home cooked chicken and veges was a great value and healthy option for dinner.
Collins said she did not look at people and think "they're really fat".
It was a matter of speaking truthfully about the subject, she said.
"You can take charge of your life.
"It doesn't take much to get frozen veges in the freezer. It's not that hard."
Earlier when told that some had called her comments heartless, Collins said: "Do you know what is heartless? Is actually thinking someone else can cure these issues.
"We can all take personal responsibility and we all have to own up to our little weaknesses on these matters.
"Do not blame systems for personal choices."
Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that one in three New Zealanders over the age of 15 are obese.
Those living in areas of socio-economic deprivation are also more likely to be obese than those living in the least deprived areas.
In addition, the statistics show the prevalence of obesity among adults differs by ethnicity, with 67 per cent of Pacific, 48 per cent of Māori, 29 per cent of European/other and 14 per cent of Asian adults obese.
About one in nine children aged two to 14 are obese.
Earlier Labour leader Jacinda Ardern was asked about obesity.
"I think on an issue like this, people are, we are all, products of our environment. You can't deny that and so we do have to look at all the multiple factors that contribute to obesity issues in New Zealand.
"I think if you are so simplistic simply to call it an issue of personal responsibility, then it's never going to be an issue that we collectively resolve."
Ardern thought it demonstrated that "under National we won't see any progress on the issue".
"If it's just a view that they've got no role to play and that there's no difference that government can make on these...

THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Wednesday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) I Hate To Admit It/Hosk's Favourite Subject/Hosk's Least Favourite Subject/Thanks for Listening