The Mike Hosking Breakfast

A city in China is trialling a new programme to tackle domestic violence that local activists want to adopt. 
From next month, couples in the eastern city of Yiwa will be able to search if their fiance has a history of domestic violence.
Couples will need to supply ID and their application to the marriage registry office, before being able to access a searchable database.
The idea has previously been mooted in New Zealand because it would affect a person's civil rights.
Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency chairwoman Merepeka Ruakawa-Tait told Mike Hosking it should be reconsidered to reduce harm in the home.
"Past behaviour, particularly if it's in terms of violence and male assaults female, is pretty much an indication that there is behaviour there that is likely to be continued in a new relationship." 
She says this is big step for China, who only acknowledged domestic violence as a crime several years ago.
"This is a real attempt to reduce harm in the home, and I applaud them for it. And New Zealand should be thinking about this. We have a very high tolerance for domestic violence."

There were a couple of big winners in last night's Colmar Brunton poll.
National, obviously. The rot has stopped, and some reality has returned. Labour was never on 59 per cent: No one in an MMP environment is on 59.
These are mad times and they were mad numbers. Labour on 50 per cent is still over-represented. The rot of the past two weeks of isolation chaos has yet to sink into the wider psyche of the voter.
The good news for National is, with the gap closing, it will close more. Because it always does, and because the Government has hit real trouble with their myriad issues around Covid and general delivery.
If you think this won't be a genuine race, you're dreaming.
The other big winner was ACT. The little party that, at last, looks like it could. It would get four MPs on these numbers if David Seymour wins Epsom. When you only have one, it's not a bad boost.
Off the back of a great year with the euthanasia law, and into this year with a consistent pithy opposition-like message, they are starting to get the traction they deserve. And on these numbers, they out-poll New Zealand First. That's an achievement not to be understated given one is in Government and one isn't.
The Greens, at six per cent, will be relieved, rather than pleased. But what we know about the Green vote is it under-performs on the night, so they still have to be panicked.
As indeed do Labour, because not only are they making a mess of life, if they lose the Greens below the threshold they can't win the election. Yes, New Zealand First tends to over-perform on the night. But when you start at a two, in reality five is too big a leap. And then you're reliant on Shane Jones winning his seat and dragging them across on the coat-tails.
This is still early days - three months is a lifetime. Given the times in which we live, it's several lifetimes.
Only a fool would make a prediction as of this morning. If you're calling it, you're calling because you're tied to an outcome, not because you can read a trend, because there isn't one.
What we know is Labour are not a shoo-in the way many people think. Both Government partners are in the fight of their lives.
And it might just be, if you want an early call, that we end up with two parties plus ACT, and only because of their special arrangement in Epsom.
In other words, on Saturday September 19, we vote to return essentially to FPP (first past the post). If it happens, remember where you heard it first.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott paused any further phases to reopen the state on Thursday and issued an order to ensure hospital beds be available for Covid-19 patients.
Abbott's moves came as his state, California and Florida -- the three-most populous -- set records for new coronavirus cases daily amid fears of "apocalyptic" surges in major Texas cities if the trend continues.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a budget emergency to free up $16 billion to fight the pandemic, according to a release from his office.
And the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the US has only counted about 10% of coronavirus infections. That might mean as many as 20 million Americans have been infected.
Officially, coronavirus has killed at least 122,238 people and infected almost 2.4 million nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins.
Florida and Texas announced Wednesday that they had recorded more than 5,000 new Covid-19 cases the prior day, a new daily record. California reported more than 7,000 cases, obliterating a record hit a day earlier.
Florida passed 5,000 again on Thursday, according to new state data.
Florida, Texas and California account for 27.4% of the 328 million people living in the US, according to the latest US Census Bureau estimates.
'A temporary pause,' Texas governor says
Abbott previously had said he wanted to move to the next phase and be fully opened by July 4.
"The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses. This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business," Abbott said in a release.
Earlier this month, he announced the state was moving into its Phase III, meaning most business could operate at up to 50% capacity.
He suspended all elective surgeries in hospitals in four counties that are home to the cities of San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and Austin. The counties have had "significant increases" in Covid-19 hospitalizations, Abbott said.
Any procedure not immediately necessary to correct a serious medical condition or preserve a life will be postponed.
"As we work to contain this virus, I urge all Texans to do their part to help contain the spread by washing their hands regularly, wearing a mask, and practicing social distancing," Abbott said in a statement.
In California, the budget has gone from a $21 billion surplus to a $54.3 billion deficit in a matter of months, decimated by the economic demands of the pandemic.
Newsom's proclamation clears the way for the legislature to use $16 billion rainy fund to respond to the pandemic. Expenditures include personal protective equipment, medical equipment, and services to protect vulnerable populations.
20 million might have been infected
The CDC has been looking at antibody tests done across the country to see how many people had past infections that were not diagnosed at the time, said director Dr. Robert Redfield. It is seeing many more cases than have been reported officially.
"A good rough estimate now is 10 to 1," Redfield told a media briefing.
This is partly because testing had been limited to people who were seriously ill and showing up in hospitals or nursing homes. But now, as more people are being tested, it is becoming clear that a large percentage of people did not have any symptoms, or mild symptoms, Redfield said.
More cases attributed to multiple factors
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reported the lowest number of hospitalizations, with 996 across the state, "the lowest number since we started."
Cuomo criticized others who "played politics," opened their economies too early, and "now are causing this nation great havoc."
Several factors contribute to the rise in cases.
In California, the virus is spreading at private gatherings in homes, more young people are testing positive, and cases among the...

New Zealand and Australia will host the 2023 Women's Football World Cup after their joint-bid received the most votes overnight.
The trans-Tasman neighbours beat Colombia to win hosting rights for the showpiece event after all other contenders had dropped out of the race to leave just the two bids remaining.
The successful bid received a technical score of 4.1 points out of five in FIFA's evaluation report and that swayed the 35 members to vote in favour of the joint hosts over the South Americans.
The event will be the first to be held across two confederations - the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Oceania Football Confederation.
There are 37 FIFA Council members but only 35 voted, as New Zealand's Johanna Wood and Colombia's Ramon Jesurun were ineligible.
Of the available votes, nine were from UEFA, seven from Asia, seven from Africa, five from North and Central America, four from South America and two from Oceania. FIFA Council president Gianni Infantino held the other vote.
Following Japan's withdrawal, the Australia and New Zealand's joint bid consolidated its voting power in Asia, with FIFA Council vice-president Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa pledging the AFC's support. Oceania had already backed the joint bid.
Earlier reports from Europe indicated the majority of UEFA's nine Council members could vote for Colombia, which was also set to be supported by its fellow CONMEBOL members.
The expanded 32-team tournament - eight more than the 2019 edition in France - is expected to open in July 2023.
The winning bid proposed 12 cities with seven in Australia and five in New Zealand. It includes the main stadium used for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
After a successful World Cup last year, FIFA wants the next women's tournament to further establish its independence from the men, and show it is commercially attractive.
At least $100 million is expected to be paid by the governing body in 2023 - for prize money, team preparation costs and to clubs releasing players for the tournament - FIFA president Gianni Infantino pledged last year in France.
Ahead of the bid the Australia-New Zealand team left nothing to chance, with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern personally hitting the phones in an attempt to secure the tournament.
Ardern and Australian counterpart Scott Morrison both featured in the campaign's final presentation, which was seen before the vote.
Auckland's Sky Tower and The Sydney Opera House and were lit up on Thursday to celebrate the joint bid.

Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has thrown his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River.
And he came out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign.
"It is my view that under no circumstances whatsoever should the Waikato tribe – or any tribe – hold to ransom a third of the country's population," he told a select committee on Thursday morning.
Jones told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking this morning he was "confounded" Auckland had been waiting seven years to obtain water from the Waikato River when every day "billions of litres" of water flowed over the mouth of the river.
When asked about the legal standing of Tainui and whether they owned the river, he said when the opportunity arises he had no compunction in finding a way for Auckland to secure its water.
Jones told Hosking we can't have the country's most populous global city on the precipice of running out of water: "It's madness."
Jones said he did not think any tribe had any right to hold Auckland to ransom.
As a Māori, he acknowledged that it was unfair that Waikato iwi felt it could effectively block a bid from the Auckland Council to get more water from the Waikato River.
"We can't have a third of the population consistently moaning," he said, referring to Auckland's ongoing worry about the shortage of water.
He said the RMA had become a "bureaucratic bunion" and Parliament "needed to slice it".
Jones said moves to create a new landfill in Dome Valley, north of Warkworth, would probably have been better off being used for water infrastructure instead.
"Auckland and its mayor is wanting to dig a big hole in Dome Valley and bury all the rubbish up there.
"Perhaps what they should've been thinking about is using that hole to store more water.
"But let's deal with what we've got at the moment."
He acknowledged that the asking of a fee for something like water was against Māoridom.
"For me, as a Māori, to hear that somehow Auckland has to either pay a fee or go on bended knee - that should not happen under the guise of the cloak of Māoridom.
"No one's got the authority to do that."
It comes after Waikato iwi suggested they wanted to block the council's bid to get more water from the river.
Its executive chairwoman, Rukumoana Schaafhausen, has since said Auckland Council and Watercare needed to find ways to draw water from the river and other ideas.
Earlier this week, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff lobbied MPs to add the city's water application to the 11 other projects fast-tracked by the Government under its new post-Covid-19 recovery plan.
Auckland Council applied to the Waikato Regional Council in 2013 to take an extra 200 megalitres of water to cater to increasing population demands in Auckland.
But seven years later, the bid is still yet to be considered.
Meanwhile, Auckland is experiencing a one-in-200-year drought event.
"If insufficient rain falls through winter and spring, by summer, severe water restrictions could be needed affecting people and businesses," Goff said.
Despite this Waikato Regional Council chair Russ Rimmington told yesterday's AM Show that Auckland was not welcome to Waikato's water supply.
Speaking to MPs on Thursday morning, Jones lambasted Rimmington.
He said he was "astounded by the flatulent outbreak" from the chairman which he said was "attacking Aucklanders".
"As infrastructure minister, if I have any influence whatsoever, I would give them their water from the Waikato River – 15 billion litres is disappearing into the Tasman sea every day."
He said if he has any chance to solve that problem, "I will".
Speaking to reporters after the select committee, Jones had a message for Goff.
"Phil Goff is a politician – he needs to bear in mind that rule number one in politics is...

Tim Minchin is a performer who has almost done it all.
He’s made his mark as a comedian, actor, writer, musician, composer, lyricist, and director.
He’s sold out worldwide tours, crafted musicals, and was this year made a member of the order of Australia.
Now he's releasing his first, proper studio album - and his latest single "I'll take lonely tonight" is out now.
Tim Minchin joined Mike Hosking from Australia.
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Most of a us are no strangers to ordering clothes online, especially after lockdown, but usually we've carefully chosen what we've ordered.
An online shopping site in the UK has turned that on its head in an attempt to help clothing factories left high and dry after Covid.
In the past few months, more than $2 billion of clothing orders were cancelled, leaving Bangladeshi clothing workers with no income and tonnes of clothes destined for landfill.
Shopping site Mallzee has stepped in, starting a business called 'lost stock' which allows people to pay a flat fee for three mystery items of clothing to be chosen for them based on their size and personal style and sent as a lucky dip, with funds going directly to workers.
Founder Cally Russell joined Mike Hosking to talk about his business venture and how everything is going.
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Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and nine other former separatist fighters were indicted Wednesday on a range of crimes against humanity and war crimes charges, including murder, by an international prosecutor probing their actions against ethnic Serbs and others during and after Kosovo’s 1998-99 independence war with Serbia.
Because of the indictment, Thaci has postponed his trip to Washington, where he was to meet Saturday for talks at the White House with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
“The President of Kosovo has just informed us that he has canceled his trip to Washington, D.C. following the announcement made by the Special Prosecutors Office. I respect his decision not to attend the discussions until the legal issues of those allegations are settled," tweeted Richard Grenell, the U.S. envoy for the Kosovo talks.
The talks will still go ahead, with Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti, he added.
A statement from the prosecutor of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers said Thaci and the nine others “are criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders” involving hundreds of Serb and Roma victims, as well as Kosovo Albanian political opponents.
Other charges include enforced disappearance, persecution and torture, he said.
A pretrial judge at The Hague-based court is currently studying the indictment and could still reject it if there is not enough evidence to back it up. If there is enough evidence to support the charges, the pretrial judge will confirm them.
Thaci was a commander of the so-called Kosovo Liberation army, or KLA, that fought for independence from Serbia. The war left more than 10,000 dead — most of them ethnic Albanians — and 1,641 are still unaccounted for. It ended after a 78-day NATO air campaign against Serbian troops.
The former ethnic Albanian-dominated province declared independence from Serbia in 2008, which Serbia did not recognize.
The indicted group includes Kadri Veseli, former parliament speaker and leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo.
Veseli said the indictment is politically motivated.
“Taking into account the time and circumstances (of the indictment), only days before the White House meeting, one would fairly doubt that it was accidental,” Veseli said.
“Crimes in Kosovo were committed by Serbs, not Albanians,” he said, calling it an attempt to rewrite history.
Several top Serbian officials and military officers have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms by a different war crimes court in The Hague for crimes committed by Serbian troops during the war.
“The court is trying to stain our liberating war, our aspiration for freedom and independence and legalize the (Serb) crimes in Kosovo,”said Bardhyl Mahmuti, a former KLA political representative, to the public television station, RTK.
The indictment was the first made by the prosecutor of the special tribunal for Kosovo based in The Hague. The court has been operating since 2015 and has questioned hundreds of witnesses. Kosovo’s prime minister resigned last year before he was questioned.
The prosecutor filed the indictment following a lengthy investigation and it reflects his “determination that it can prove all of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt," the statement said.
The prosecutor also accused Thaci and Veseli of repeated efforts “to obstruct and undermine the work" of the tribunal.
“Thaci and Veseli are believed to have carried out a secret campaign to overturn the law creating the Court and otherwise obstruct the work of the Court in an attempt to ensure that they do not face justice,” the statement said.
“By taking these actions, Mr. Thaci and Mr. Veseli have put their personal interests ahead of the victims of their crimes, the rule of law, and all people of Kosovo,” it added.
Kosovo politicians resisted and resented the scrutiny of the war crimes court, repeatedly noting that Serb troops committed massacres...

Excessive screen time during Covid-19 is causing a rise in digital eye strain.
Research commissioned by Specsavers before Covid-19 restrictions came into effect revealed the majority of New Zealand office workers were already experiencing symptoms of digital eye strain, with an overwhelming eight out of 10 people claiming to have experienced at least one symptom of digital eye strain while at work.
But the recent restrictions had meant a lot of people had spent more time on screens using computers and smartphones constantly for work and pleasure.
Auckland Optometrist Bruce Nicholls joined Mike Hosking to talk about eye issues spiking over the lockdown period, and what it means for our health.
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Crowds flocked to Britain's beaches on Wednesday, as the U.K. recorded its hottest day of the year.
Temperatures reached 32.6 degrees Celsius (90.7F) at London's Heathrow Airport. Forecasters expect the mercury to have risen to around 33C in parts of the country.
The Met Office, Britain's main weather agency, issued a heat alert and warned people to take extra care in the sun.
Beaches across the country have been busy this week as many take advantage of the sunny weather after being asked to stay home for months under coronavirus restrictions.
The mini-heatwave is expected to break late Thursday, when thunderstorms are expected to move in to many parts of the U.K.