The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Some simple questions for you over Labour's energy policy.
They want us to be 100 percent renewable by 2030. The policy is that this is five years sooner than the current policy, so nothing has changed apart from a date.
Is changing a date a policy? In 2025, they're going to have a review to see where they are at. Is having a review a policy?
By the way, whenever we talk of renewables I remind anyone and everyone to watch Michael Moore's documentary Planet of the Humans. And if you go in with an open mind, and this is the problem with the Labour policy, do you still feel the same way about renewables at the end of the documentary?
Anyway, is a policy still a decent policy if its driven by ideology? Further, is it still a decent policy if the ideology is insisted upon despite evidence to show it's wrong?
The reasons for these questions are because the policy as announced is in fact not new. It's already set for 2035, but more importantly the journey there has already been mapped out and it doesn’t add up.
Part of making us 100 percent renewable requires us to turn Lake Onslow into a pumped hydro facility. A massive bucket of water just in case, and the bill for the bucket is $4 billion.
Another question, do we have $4 billion? No we don’t. If we spent $4 billion, would have Onslow on standby just in case make sense? No, it wouldn't.
How do I know this? Because the industry, as in the power industry, has looked at it and concluded it's too expensive. The Productivity Commission has also looked into it and came to the same conclusion.
I told the Prime Minister this a few weeks ago. But as is her want, she doesn’t deal in fact, reports, or experts, she deals in ideology. So, she's spending millions on another report the result of which I suspect we already know. Sort of like hiring Sir Brian Roche or Heather Simpson.
What's widely understood, Onslow aside, by anyone who knows anything about renewables, is that as a country we already do pretty well. 80-plus percent is already renewable energy already.
To get to 95 percent is doable. But beyond that it becomes pointless, it's more money than it's worth, and it's window dressing for the sake of it.
And yet here we are. They have the answers, the reports have been done, but why would you use fact and fiscal prudence when you can make it up as you go along?
So final question, was that a policy? Or was it delusional hot air? Given the target is 2030 will never see the light of day.

A warning that as life moves increasingly online, everyone is susceptible to conspiracy theories.
A virus sub-cluster in Auckland has been linked to Mt Roskill's Evangelical Fellowship Church.
There have been reports online misinformation has led some followers astray, making them doubt the science of Covid.
Auckland University researcher Dr Nick Matzke says science denialism is not restricted to faith-based groups.
But he told Mike Hosking it does have close links with some religion, and is often found online.
"There's a tradition, especially among American evangelicals who are anti-science, and that may be going on here in New Zealand."
Dr Nick Matzke says everyone today is susceptible to conspiracy theories.
"Depending on your political point of view, people who you oppose you can think suspicious things about them,  and there's plenty of that going on in religious communities as well as everywhere else."
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THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Friday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) It Still Won't Work/Mark the Week/Swedish Update/That Vaccine Should Be Good/Where the Jobs Are

The Greens are prepared to forego a coalition or confidence and supply arrangement and sit on the crossbenches if post-election talks do not go their way.
Co-leader James Shaw made the comments on Thursday, saying the only post-election deal that was off the table completely was one which would give National power.However, he said if the Greens held the balance of power it was "always a possibility" that it would walk away from negotiations with Labour if they could not get the gains they wanted.
If there was no coalition or confidence and supply agreement, that would force a minority Labour government to seek the Greens' support for legislation on a case-by-case basis.
He wouldn't say what the Greens' bottom lines in those talks were, but said a "wealth tax" was a "top priority".
He would also be pushing for co-leader Marama Davidson to be a minister and suggested a Green MP hold the agriculture portfolio.
Shaw said a new Labour-led government would need to be in partnership with the Greens for it to be truly transformational.
"I think, in the next Parliament if Labour and the Greens are able to form a government together, then you will see a truly progressive government for New Zealand."
But Shaw said the Greens would struggle to work with NZ First, adding that the Greens' preference was "clearly" a government without that party.
Shaw renewed his criticism of New Zealand First, saying the party has been "extremely difficult, quite chaotic and not a force for moderation inside the Government," during this term.
If the Greens were in a position to negotiate a post-election deal, Shaw said it would be up to the party's members to give any deal the nod.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters speaks with NZ First MP Mark Patterson at a public meeting held at the Invercargill Workingmen's club.
Last election, after NZ First decided to side with Labour, the Greens membership voted that their party would provide supply and confidence.
All three parties were needed to form a majority.
On current polling, the Greens and Labour could form a coalition government.
This would give the Greens leverage to ask for policies and ministers after October's election.
But Shaw would not say which ministerial portfolio his party wanted.
He did, however, say: "If you look at the policies we have released so far ... those give you an indication of where we want to be able to play a role in government."
He went on to specifically name-check its wealth tax policy as well as its minimum income scheme, clean energy and its upcoming agriculture policy.
Asked if the Greens wealth tax plan was a "bottom line," Shaw said that it was a "top priority".

Oh, the irony.
Having on Tuesday made a plea to the government to wake up and try and learn to be a bit more proactive – that if they insist on banging on about our so called Covid success, how about they put it into action and make hay, take advantage, leverage this success and pay some bill, lift some spirits and give some people some work – i.e. get the All Blacks on the field?
They’ve cancelled the youth America’s Cup, they’ve cancelled the Women’s Cricket World Cup. They have a default position of saying no, of saying why should we, instead of why shouldn’t we?
Then Sir John Kirwan speaks up. He is pleading with the government as well. He says, as we said Tuesday, that we have all made the sacrifice, we all got locked up to attain this semi Covid free status so we could what ? Get welfare cheques? Lose our jobs? Wait an age for medical care that got put off?
Or actually do something with it, like get some teams on the parks get some crowds in the stadiums and do some business.
Why is this so damn hard? Why aren’t the government more aspirational, why is Sir John Kirwan having to plead to watch top level rugby?
And now is where it bites the government badly. Word is the Rugby Championship could be off to Australia.
Why? They’ve put together a better deal, have more enthusiasm and better quarantine options
How gutting, how humiliating, how embarrassing, how unforgivable would it be for Australia to nick this from under us.
Yes the all blacks would play and that’s good, but they’d play over there. The revenue is over there. The crowds here would be on the couch not the stands. The income would be on the left of the Tasman, not the right.
Next week, Australia’s economy will be shown to be better off than ours by some margin when we get our GDP figures. They then potentially further remind us that they’re more agile, more aggressive, more able to move on and up than this government knows how to be, or worse, even wants to be.
Losing to the Australians on the field has largely been dealt to these past few years. Off the field, they’re killing us. The government, sadly, aren’t in the All Blacks league.

Gone are the days of the humble ham, cheese and tomato toastie - you need a bit more extravagance to win the great NZ toastie takeover.
Which is exactly what Romeo Dowling-Mitchell from Hungry Hobos in Dunedin has done with his winning 'Bat out of Hell' toasted sandwich.
Sink your teeth into this - homemade meatloaf, made to his grandma's recipe, creamy mashed potato, gravy, aged cheddar and Mcclure's sweet and spicy pickles all inside herb buttered ciabatta.
Mike Hosking spoke with Dowling-Mitchell on the victory and the bragging rights that come with it.
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The conventions are done, and now the campaign is well and truly underway in the United States.
And America looks move divided than ever before.
So what should we expect over the next couple of months?
David Frum is a lifelong Tepublican who worked in George H.W Bush' White House.
But he's one of many who's anti-Trump - so what does he make of the campaign?
David joined Mike Hosking to preview the 2020 US election, which is rapdily approaching.
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New Zealand Rugby is in a head-to-head battle to host the Rugby Championship.
Sanzaar are due to meet to discuss the competition with New Zealand and Australia both keen to host the four-team tournament in November and December.
New Zealand Rugby Players Association boss Rob Nichol told Mike Hosking the decision could rest on two factors.
"Who offers the best quarantine process for the teams, and who offers the best dollars.
"We've gone from being in a situation where basically we're putting our hand up to say we can host this tournament, to effectively a bid process."
Nichol says the first step is for South Africa and Argentina to confirm their participation, and that South Africa have further challenges to overcome first.
"They haven't actually started their competition yet, so the question they've got is it medically safe to come across and perform six test matches in a row, and if we do, are we going to be performing at a level that's credible, so we've got that box to tick."
Nichol says Australia's more flexible quarantine rules may place them at an advantage to host.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte is confirming Italian schools will reopen as planned Sept. 14, though some regions are pushing back the start because they haven’t yet conformed to anti-coronavirus norms requiring socially distanced desks and classrooms.
Conte warned there will be new rules, difficulties and positive cases in schools, but says the public health care system was prepared to intervene to trace contacts and order quarantines of entire classes, if necessary.
Students must wear masks entering and exiting the school and between classes but can remove them if their desks are spaced apart.
Italy’s official death toll from the virus tops 35,000 -- the second highest in Europe after Britain. The confirmed number of cases in the country stands at more than 280,000. The number of new daily infections has topped 1,000 for several weeks as Italy aggressively tests and traces people returning from vacation, especially hot spots like Sardinia.
A doctor says the clinical condition of former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is starting to improve after he was hospitalized with pneumonia and COVID-19 last week.
Dr. Alberto Zangrillo, Berlusconi’s long-time personal doctor, said in a statement Monday that the 83-year-old media mogul, who has a history of heart problems, has pneumonia in both lungs. Zangrillo says Berlusconi’s overall condition “appears to be improving” and that his body has mounted “a specific robust immune response” associated with a reduction in inflammation.
Zangrillo heads the intensive care unit at San Raffaele hospital in Milan, but he has stressed that Berlusconi isn’t in intensive care but in isolation elsewhere in the hospital.
Zangrillo said last week that Berlusconi’s advanced age and his history of medical problems make him particularly vulnerable to the dangers of coronavirus infection.

A breakthrough for some temporary work visa holders stuck overseas with strong links to New Zealand.
Temporary work visa holders with strong links to New Zealand will be able to apply to enter the country from October, with their partners and children.
Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi says around 850 temporary work visa holders with strong links to New Zealand could now enter the country - with their partners and children.
Eligibility criteria includes things like having lived here for more than two years, and still having a job here.
Association of Migration and Investment chair June Ranson told Mike Hosking it's positive and it will ease the anxiety of many people who haven't been able to come back to work.
But she says it will only partially solve the problem.
"In these people come back who have got to meet certain criteria, there are some gaps there, as they are talking about dependant children." 
Ranson says they aren't talking about the partner, and those people on work to residence visas could have lost their jobs.
She wants to see a variation of conditions to allow people with sought after skills to return.