The Mike Hosking Breakfast

In the early days of the coronavirus crisis, President Donald Trump was flanked in the White House briefing room by a team of public health experts in a seeming portrait of unity to confront the disease that was ravaging the globe.
But as the crisis has spread to all reaches of the country, with escalating deaths and little sense of endgame, a chasm has widened between the president and the experts. The result: daily delivery of a mixed message to the public at a moment when coherence is most needed.
Trump and his political advisers insist that the United States has no rival in its response to the pandemic. They point to the fact that the U.S. has administered more virus tests than any other nation and that the percentage of deaths among those infected is among the lowest.
“Right now, I think it’s under control,” Trump said during an interview with Axios. He added, “We have done a great job.”
But the surge in infections, hospitalizations and deaths tells a different story. And it suggests that the president is increasingly out of step with the federal government’s own medical and public health experts.
The U.S. death toll, which now stands at 155,000, is expected to accelerate. The latest composite forecast from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects an average of nearly 1,000 deaths per day through Aug. 22.
Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus task force coordinator, warned this week that the virus has become “extraordinarily widespread."
Trump didn't like that. He dismissed her comment as “pathetic” and charged she was capitulating to criticism from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had earlier criticized Birx.
Adm. Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary of Health and Human Services who has avoided contradicting the president throughout the crisis, said on Sunday it was time to “move on” from the debate over hydroxychloroquine, a drug Trump continues to promote as a COVID-19 treatment even though there is no clear evidence it is effective.
Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the CDC, last week acknowledged during an ABC News interview that the initial federal government response to the virus too slow.
“It’s not a separation from the president, it’s a cavernous gap,” said Lawrence Gostin, a public health expert at Georgetown University. “What we’re seeing is that scientists will no longer be cowed by the White House.”
Until recently, the medical experts on the White House coronavirus task force have walked a tightrope. They have been pressing to deliver the best science to the public while trying to avoid appearing to directly contradict Trump — in hopes of maintaining influence in the decision-making process.
The effort has played out, at moments, as an awkward dance.
For months now, the West Wing has controlled the media schedule of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who drew the ire of the president and his advisers in the early days of the pandemic because of the outsized media attention he received and his perceived willingness to contradict the president, according to three White House officials and Republicans close to the West Wing not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations.
Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, has struck a far more cautious tone than Trump or any other member of the task force about the nation’s move to “reopen,” provoking the frustration of a president who sees a resurgent economy as key to winning another four years in office.
Birx, until recently, had largely stayed on the president’s good side, though her rosy depictions of the pandemic fight drew recent skepticism from Democrats and other public health officials. But Trump also shredded Birx privately as well as in his public comments this week for not striking a more optimistic tone about states that are doing well and for saying she had “tremendous respect” for Trump’s rival Pelosi, the officials said.
Throughout the pandemic,...

The country's top health official today reiterated a dire warning that New Zealand should brace for a second wave of Covid-19 to sweep through the community, similar to the outbreak wreaking havoc in Victoria.
Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the health ministry had been sounding the warning about the prospect of community transmission in recent weeks and was now gearing up for the likely prospect.
It's been more than three months since the last case of Covid-19 was contracted in the community. In the past 95 days all Covid infections have been detected and contained at the border as ill people return to New Zealand. There are currently 22 active cases in quarantine.
While life has returned to near normal for the majority of Kiwis, across the ditch a fresh deadly wave of Covid-19 has seen a state of disaster declared in Victoria with strict lockdown rules and mandatory mask-wearing across the state.
The New Zealand Government this week relaunched a campaign to raise community awareness of Covid-19, instructing people to "be ready" and take a test when they were given the opportunity.
"We don't want to end up like Melbourne and there's no room at all for complacency, that's why we've got all our planning and preparation going full steam ahead," Bloomfield told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking Show.
"We've got everything in place we think minimises the risk down to as low as possible but there are still hundreds of people still working in the facilities and working at the border.
"So far we have been successful but remember that is where the cases came from in Victoria which has led to this huge outbreak.
"This is a tricky virus and we just have to be very vigilant. Part of that is doing testing in the community to detect any infection that might get through as quickly as possible."
He claimed contract tracing was in good shape with a large-scale test run planned in a couple of weeks' time. Testing capacity was now above 3000 cases a day.
However, Bloomfield said while the health agencies were prepared for the next wave it was down to Kiwis to do their part.
"We need to be fully prepared - and that's everybody, not just the health sector.
"When we last had the outbreak here, some of the people who were being looked after in hospital by people trained in the use of PPE [personal protection equipment], we still saw some breaches of people who were using full PPE. The virus is not straight forward. It's tricky."
He said there were very tight processes in the managed isolation and quarantine facilities to prevent the spread of disease.
He said the ministry was undertaking audits of the facilities to make sure the staff were all using PPE.
"Our infection control is good. So we're doing everything we can but part of keeping New Zealand safe is to do surveillance testing. It's a core part of our programme."

I talked yesterday to a woman who runs a tourism business who received a decent chunk of money out of the tourism side of the government's support programme.
It was $900,000. $500,000 in grant money and $400,000, if needed, in a loan. She was grateful but slightly guilty given others had not been as successful as she has been.
Her business is one of the strategic ones, like the AJ Hackett money that caused a bit of a stir a couple of months ago. You had to bring people to your area, and the area would suffer if you weren't operating.
The question I had for her, and it’s the question I have for a lot of business in abeyance, is what's their plan B? What if, once the money is gone, you need more money?  At what point does your story go from a business in some sort of holding pattern, to a business that is no longer viable?
Ii ask that because, as things stand this country has no proactive border plan. And we aren't proactive because we don't have a proactive government. We have a government that is stalling, coasting, or reacting with welfare.
It's exacerbated further this week by the W.H.O telling us there may be no silver bullet. Their comments come off the back of Dr Fauci, who said the virus may be with us forever. In other words, a vaccine would be great, and there are several stage three trails. But if that's your plan, if that's the answer, if it all hinges on that, then we are in a pile of trouble. Because what there seemingly is no answer for is, what happens if there is no vaccine, our borders are closed, and we are isolated.
For the woman I talked to, a domestic pivot will never fill the gap in customers from offshore. So is she liquid or not? If there is no vaccine, is she a viable proposition or not? And when do we decide?
It is a stunning abdication of responsibility and duty that this government has no answers. It doesn't even look like they’ve started thinking about answers, solutions, and ideas.
They've already said don’t expect any big policies, their big push this week is to tell you to wash your hands and use an app that doesn’t work. And if worst comes to worst, the trusty old welfare chequebook can be rolled out some more.
That's their lot, that's the government. That's as good as they seem to be. Does that not frighten the life out of you?

Employment figures for the June quarter are due out today.
They'll include the Level 4 lockdown and are forecast to be higher than the 4.2 percent recorded for the March quarter.

Senior economist Liz Kendall says the bank is predicting unemployment to sit about 5.7 per cent, similar to what was seen around the Global Financial Crisis.
She told Mike Hosking she expects the number to rise closer to the 9.8 per cent Treasury had forecast, once the wage subsidy ends in September.
"Temporary policies like the wage subsidy have helped keep people in jobs - but for many jobs it's only delaying the inevitable."
Kendall thinks we're only starting to see the beginning of a recession.
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The Act Party has proposed a significant shake-up when it comes to which days MPs work at Parliament in a bid to reduce climate change.
His party's proposal, released this evening as part of Act's "no-nonsense" climate change policy, is to limit MPs' air travel.
"Instead of preaching about the planet, politicians should lead by example when it comes to addressing climate change by committing to individual action that will have real, measurable benefits," Act leader David Seymour said.
Instead of the current three-day sitting week for 30 weeks of the year, Act wants MPs to sit four days a week when they are in Wellington.
That means they would only be in Parliament 23 weeks of the year – reducing air travel by roughly 25 per cent.
This, according to Seymour, would help reduce climate change – given the high carbon emissions aircraft are responsible for.
"Politicians spend a lot of time talking about climate change. We are asking them to act by pledging to help the planet and cutting flights to Wellington by 25 per cent."
The policy, he said, would help end the "climate hypocrisy" in Wellington.
Most MPs fly into Wellington when the House sits, from Tuesday until Thursday night. Their flights are paid for by taxpayers.


Act's policy would mean they would work an extra day in Wellington – either Monday or Friday.
"Parliamentarians could take one simple and costless action to help the climate and save the taxpayer significant money," Seymour said.
In addition to saving taxpayers' money and reducing overall air travel, Seymour said it would also help with MPs work/life balance.
"Spending fewer weeks, but the same number of days, in Wellington, and less time travelling, would reduce the time pressure on MPs, leaving more time to be productive at work and home."
Act also wants to tie New Zealand's carbon price to the prices paid by the country's top five trading partners and remove all subsidies for commercial forestry investment.
"Subsidies have given large forestry investors an unfair advantage which is driving small farmers out," the party's policy said.
"Farm sales have gone beyond marginal land, with productive farmland being sold off to overseas investors."
Act has also proposed stopping councils from obtaining consents to spill raw sewage into streams and rivers, and apply to councils the same set of rules that businesses and farmers must follow.

The economic downturn caused by Covid-19 has seen thousand of restaurants and hospitality venues reduce their operating hours.
A Restaurant Association survey has found that almost 70 per cent of its members have adjusted their operating hours since New Zealand returned to Alert level one.
CEO Marisa Bidois told Mike Hosking some places are opting to close for a couple of lunches a week - while others are taking a different approach.
‘Some have opted to close down for a day while others have reduced to four trading days.”
Bidois says those who are opting for the four day approach are targeting their busier days of trading.
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The UK's troubled response to the coronavirus pandemic became even more confused on Monday, as government guidance seemingly at odds with itself rolled out across England, pushing the four nations of the UK further apart.
From Monday, employers in England can ask staff to return to workplaces if they believe they are Covid-19 safe.
When the policy was announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month, he was accused of "passing the buck on this big decision to employers" by the UK's Trades Union Congress (TUC). The TUC criticised the government for announcing such a move while the country's widely-criticised test and trace infrastructure was "still patchy."
Also launching on Monday is an eye-catching government scheme, "Eat Out to Help Out," aimed at getting restaurants back on their feet as the UK's furlough scheme comes to an end. Throughout August, people dining out from Monday to Wednesday are to be offered a 50% discount -- limited to £10 ($13) per person, and not including alcoholic drinks.
Both policies are part of a wider plan to get the UK's economy moving after months of lockdown kept many Brits stuck indoors and working from home while businesses in the hospitality industry that relied on their custom were forced to stop operating.
But these moves to soften coronavirus prevention measures, in order to restart the economy, come at the same time as cases are rising in Europe.
Last week, Johnson himself warned that "the risk is starting to bubble up again," on the continent, adding: "I'm afraid you are starting to see in some places the signs of a second wave of the pandemic."
In the UK several localised mini-lockdowns have been implemented, as fears of that second wave move from possible to probable.
These localised containment measures have created a particularly stark situation in areas like Manchester, where it is now against the rules to meet family members in a back garden, and yet absolutely fine, according to the rules, to go to a restaurant.
The move marks a significant shift towards prioritising economic recovery ahead of other issues, including public health.
This might worry some who heard Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, last week say that trade-offs over what can be opened have "probably reached near the limit" of what is possible.
Graham Medley, a member of the UK government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), suggested over the weekend that one such trade-off could be pubs for schools.
After months of remote learning, many parents are desperate to send their youngsters back into the classroom next month. But while they might expect children's education to be prioritised ahead of people enjoying a few pints at the local bar, the current trend for favouring business suggests they may be disappointed.
A government spokesperson said on Monday that they expect all schools to be open from September. They stressed, however, that the UK's response would continue to be localised, where "you would assess the situation on the ground and take whatever steps were required to slow the spread of the virus."
On the specific question of choosing between pubs and schools, the spokesperson said, "we are committed to supporting the hospitality industry which has had a very tough time."
These measures apply only to England, as public health policy is a matter for the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Throughout the pandemic, Johnson's government has been criticised by politicians and leaders in the three other nations for his perceived recklessness, most notably Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.
This perception of England mishandling the crisis has led to a surge for support in Scottish independence north of the border, though it is worth noting that Scotland's coronavirus record is not that much better than England's -- for every 100,000 people, 77 in Scotland have...

Ben Bayly is a Kiwi chef who's done it all.
He's run restaurants all over the world, including in Australia, the US, France and here in New Zealand.
He became a household name as a judge on My Kitchen Rules New Zealand.
Ben's back on the screen with A New Zealand Food Story, it tells the story of his journey to  open his new restaurant and takes us through the sourcing process.
We get to see artisan producers from all over the country that produce stand out product everything from cheese, to tomatoes, to fish, and meat.
Ben Bayly joined the show to talk about the new show and his culinary career.
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Accusations of abuse, over-training and fat-shaming of athletes as young as 8 have been levelled at one of the country's largest gymnastics programmes.
Multiple parents of children enrolled in competitive gymnastics at Auckland's North Harbour club have told of their concerns at the behaviour of coaches in the nationally acclaimed programme, prompting club management to investigate and promise action.
Meanwhile the sport's national governing body, Gymnastics New Zealand, emailed members this week encouraging potential victims to come forward.
Parents the Weekend Herald spoke to say that girls as young as 8 were told by coaches:
• They were "too fat".
• They were "useless".
• They were "never going to be any good".
• They were only "crying because you are weak".
On one occasion, a gymnast was allegedly seen self-harming in the gym to get out of having to perform, while another athlete was "left sobbing in the foetal position" while her coach allegedly screamed abuse at her.
On that occasion another coach at the gym "rescued" the situation by intervening and removing the girl from the floor and comforting her, the Weekend Herald was told.
Sources claim the following day, at a mock competition, the coach called the athlete over and instructed the gymnast to tell nobody about what had happened the previous day.
North Harbour Gymnastics chief executive Mike Thompson told the Weekend Herald the allegations were "gut-wrenching" as it went against culture changes the club had tried to implement in recent years.
"We put a lot of work into providing a safe environment and educating our gymnasts, our coaches and our parents into being positive in their interactions," he said.
"In 2018 we started a wellness programme which was for gymnasts, parents and the coaching group and it was about the language you use, having a growth mindset and taking that attitude into training and competition.
"To hear of these incidents and the feedback you've been given, is gut-wrenching ... gut-wrenching. It points to the amount of work we still need to do."
Some parents have held concerns about training methods for up to five years.
Those claims include girls being forced to train while injured. One young athlete was allegedly made to continue a routine she was struggling with on the bars — even after the skin on her hands had been torn off.

One young gymnast was allegedly made to continue a routine she was struggling with on the bars - even after the skin on her hands had been torn off. Photo / Supplied
On another occasion, coaches are alleged to have told a young girl to get on with it and "to stop being weak" after she hurt her foot badly on a dismount.
Another gymnast was so concerned by the fact her friend's foot was immediately swollen and blue that she ran to the office to ring the child's mother. The gymnast was taken for X-rays and a metatarsal fracture was revealed.
Joanne* said children had been subjected to fat-shaming and other forms of mostly verbal, "low-level" abuse during their time at the club.
She said while not exclusive to one coach, most of the aggravation stemmed from a coach with a background in Europe.
The coach declined to discuss the allegations when contacted by the Weekend Herald.
According to the parents spoken to, on multiple occasions one coach would tell students as young as 8 that they were "ugly", "too fat", "useless" and "a waste of my time".
On one occasion, Joanne said, the coach physically turned waiting children's heads away so they couldn't see her child's work on a particular apparatus because "it was so ugly".
Some of the allegations are historic and Thompson acknowledged he was aware the coach's interactions with athletes had been problematic in the past.
An email from Thompson to Joanne in 2018, said: "[The coach] will be having a one on one with Cameron [Beeton, manager of...

Spain’s former monarch, Juan Carlos I, is leaving Spain to live in another, unspecified, country amid a financial scandal, according to a letter published on the royal family's website Monday.
The letter from Juan Carlos to his son, King Felipe VI, said: “I am informing you of my considered decision to move, during this period, out of Spain.”
Juan Carlos, in the letter, said he made the decision against the backdrop of “public repercussions of certain episodes of my past private life.”
He said he wanted to ensure he doesn’t make his son’s role difficult, adding that “my legacy, and my own dignity, demand that it should be so.” Juan Carlos' current whereabouts were not known.
Spain’s prime minister recently said he found the developments about Juan Carlos -- including investigations in Spain and Switzerland -- “disturbing.”
Since Spain’s Supreme Court opened its probe earlier this year, Spanish media outlets have published damaging testimony from a separate Swiss investigation into millions of euros (dollars) that were allegedly given to Juan Carlos by Saudi Arabia’s late King Abdullah.
Juan Carlos allegedly then transferred a large amount to a former companion in what investigators are considering as a possible attempt to hide the money from authorities. The companion, Corinna Larsen, is a Danish-German businesswoman long linked by Spanish media to the former king. Spanish prosecutors have asked her to provide testimony in the case in September in Madrid.
The 82-year-old former king is credited with helping Spain peacefully restore democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.
But marred by scandals in the later years of his reign, Juan Carlos in 2014 abdicated in favor of his son Felipe VI, losing the immunity from prosecution Spain’s Constitution grants to the head of state.
After media reports claimed Felipe was a beneficiary of an offshore account holding an alleged 65 million-euro gift ( $76 million) from Saudi Arabia to Juan Carlos, Felipe renounced any future personal inheritance he might receive from the former king. Felipe also stripped his father of his annual stipend of 194,232 euros ($228,000.)
The royal house has denied that Felipe had any knowledge of his father’s alleged financial irregularities.
The royal website said in a statement that Felipe respected his father’s decision.
Felipe acknowledged the historic importance of his father’s reign, the statement said, but also “reaffirmed the principles and values on which it stood, in the framework of our Constitution and the rest of our legal system.”
A statement from Spain’s general prosecutor’s office in June said it was investigating whether Juan Carlos received millions of dollars in kickbacks from Saudi Arabia during the construction of a high-speed railway there by a Spanish consortium.
It called the probe one of “undeniable technical complexity.”
The Supreme Court investigation centers on developments after mid-2014. That covers the second phase of the 2011 contract for the bullet train between the Saudi cities of Medina and Mecca — the so-called “AVE of the desert” in reference to the acronym for high-speed trains in Spain.
The date marks the moment when Juan Carlos, struggling amid several scandals, passed on the throne to his son after holding it for nearly four decades.
Though Juan Carlos’ finances have been questioned in Spanish media for years, there have so far been no legal implications for him. Spanish lawmakers have rejected at least two proposals since the first allegations emerged to open parliamentary investigations.
The decision to leave Spain means Juan Carlos will vacate the 17th-century Zarzuela palace in Madrid, his home for more than 50 years. He moved there after marrying the former queen, Sofia, in 1963.
“I think he didn’t have any other choice than to leave," said Carmen Torras, a 66-year-old Barcelona resident. "I hope...