The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Farmers fear new forestry plantings on sheep and beef farmland are removing jobs from rural communities.
Beef and Lamb is concerned 70 thousand hectares of trees are going in a year, to meet zero carbon targets.
Chairman Andrew Morrison told Mike Hosking sheep and beef farming produces 7.4 jobs compared with forestry's 2.2 jobs and 5.1 at harvest.
He says we are sleepwalking into disaster.
"Can you imagine what New Zealand looks like in the future with the continued planting of pine trees?
"Modelling shows we will have 5.1 million hectares in pine trees, I don't think that is the solution New Zealander's are after."
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British counter terrorism police have confirmed a fatal stabbing attack in the town of Reading, west of London, is being treated as a terrorist attack.
25-year-old Khairi Saadallah was arrested over the stabbing attack.
Police allege the Libyan man randomly attacked people in a city park stabbing three people to death and leaving three others seriously injured.
Security sources have told the BBC the suspect came to the attention of MI5 in 2019, after allegedly making plans to travel to Syria, possibly for terrorism.
They say he was originally from Libya.
UK correspondent Rod Liddle told Mike Hosking British authorities are not telling the full truth about the terrorist act.
"We know what the motivation was for this attack, it was homophobia. It needs to be said, and it needs to be said where that homophobia comes from.
"This stuff really angers me, it's this type of political correctness which makes things much worse."
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It's always tricky to raise certain issues amid a mood of heightened tension. But is it not sensible and realistic to ask several questions around guns as a result of Friday's tragedy? 
Is a gun in the back of a police car, when an incident can turn so dangerous, so quickly, really of any great use? How many times, rightly or wrongly, have we heard that gun crime is increasing? That's backed up by the stats.  
More and more incidents are turning ugly, if not potentially deadly, too fast for the current policy of not having armed police to continue.
The new Police Commissioner has made what I would deem a very soft and unspectacular start to his job. He defended community led road blocks and he favours police not carrying weapons as a normal part of policing. He looks wrong on both counts.
For those who argue against arming police, the vast majority aren't actually police. They don't deal with gangs and criminals, and would not be remotely interested in taking on the responsibility our heroes in blue do every single day. That's part of it.
The other part is the cold hard truth that the person who shot and killed the police officer is not one of the thousands who gave up their weapons in the government's buyback. The buyback was premised on the delusion that if we got a lot of guns out of the hands of gun owners we would be safer.
We are not. We never were. It was a desperate and foolish reaction to a tragedy from a government that wanted to be seen to be doing something large and tangible, and had nothing else by way of a response.
The only guns that got handed in or sold were the ones that belonged to people who had never bothered the law, and never would have.
Are there fewer guns? Yes. But, so what? Does it stop the crazies getting their hands on them? Has it halted gang activity? Has it seen gun crime drop?
No, no, and no.
Effective policy has an obvious outworking. This policy hasn’t, doesn’t, and won't.
The simple truth, sadly, is bad people do bad things, and increasingly they do them with guns. You either meet that with a response that’s effective, or you don’t.
If you don’t, the good guys end up dead.

A grieving American woman who was allowed to attend her father's wake just a day after arriving in Auckland was not tested before being granted a compassionate exemption, the Herald can reveal.
The case comes as the Government still can't say today how many people were allowed out of quarantine - without being tested - before the rules were tightened last week. Government minister Megan Woods told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking that was a number that health chief Ashley Bloomfield was working on.
The US woman, who the Herald has agreed not to name, said she had now tested negative for the virus and posed no risk to anyone as she mourned her dead parent.
The Herald revealed last week that people who attended the commemoration were shocked to learn the woman had only just arrived in the country from a coronavirus hotspot and feared they might have been exposed to the deadly virus.
In a statement, the woman said she applied for the exemption on June 8, as New Zealand's alert level lowered to 1.
She followed all of the protocols at the time and was granted leave to attend her father's wake under old rules - which allowed people who had not shown symptoms to attend a loved one's funeral.
Arriving in Auckland on Saturday June 13 from a small town in the United States where she had been in isolation for nearly three months, she went into managed isolation.
Her application for compassionate leave to attend the wake was granted the same day.
The next day, Sunday June 14, she left managed isolation for 2.5 hours to farewell her father at commemoration of life in Greenhithe.
Four days earlier, the Ministry of Health had banned anyone in quarantine or managed isolation from attending a funeral or tangi.
People could still get compassionate leave to attend a small gathering, but only after seven days in isolation and after a negative test.
The woman's father was cremated during lockdown because it was not possible to have a funeral, and the Sunday wake was a "celebration of his life", a person who attended said.
The daughter said she followed the Ministry of Health's instructions at the funeral, wearing a mask and gloves and standing more than five metres away from other people attending.
The 40 people at the wake were told she would attend and were warned that "if they felt uncomfortable, they should have made a personal decision to not attend the gathering that celebrated the life of her father," she said.
Though she confirmed she was not tested before being released from managed isolation to attend the wake, she said she tested negative for Covid-19 a few days later.
Suffering the debilitating grief of losing her father suddenly, organising travel during a pandemic and then going through the complicated process of applying for an exemption, the woman said she was assured she did everything the Ministry of Heath required.
Two days later, on June 16, the Government dramatically suspended all compassionate leave when two women who had travelled to New Zealand from Britain had tested positive for Covid-19 after being granted compassionate leave and travelling on a 640km road trip between Auckland and Wellington.
The sisters had been allowed to attend their mother's funeral in Wellington, but were not tested before they left isolation.
They tested positive only after arriving in Wellington.
The Herald put repeated questions to the Ministry of Health about whether the US woman had been tested for Covid before being allowed out to attend her father's wake.
It did not respond, other than saying people who applied for a compassionate exemption before the rules tightened on June 9 could still be granted approval, even if their application was processed after that date.
The ministry said the exemptions were granted in "extremely limited circumstances", and only to people who had provided medical evidence and detailed travel and isolation...

During the coronavirus outbreak, New Zealand entrepreneur Jamie Hunt's mind started spinning when he was made aware of the strange ritual his daughter would run through every evening after work.
Before greeting the family, she would go into the laundry, place her clothing directly into the washing machine and then head straight to the bathroom for a long shower.
As a worker in the healthcare sector, she saw these steps as necessary to keep her family safe from the virus which could be carried into the home on her clothing.
With a long history in the textile industry, Hunt started looking into whether there wasn't perhaps a fabric or substance that could help to alleviate this concern.
Hunt's fascination with fabrics stretches back into his role as the founder of Australasian sportswear brand 2XU - pronounced Two Times You - which exploded globally to command $100m in annual revenue and today sees its compression tights worn by NBA basketballers, NFL players and US marines.
"After selling 2XU to Louis Vuitton, I had two years of restraint of trade where I couldn't work on any other sporting brand, so I had been mulling around for the past 18 months," Hunt tells the Herald.
"Then when Covid hit, I started to look into this space."

Kiwi entrepreneur Jamie Hunt has a bold new idea. Photo / Supplied
Hunt says that in his time at 2XU he had developed a number of textiles with antibacterial properties, but he was curious to see if there was anything capable of having a similar effect on a virus.
He tapped into his wide contact base across the textile industry and realised that an associate at a Swiss company called HeiQ had been working on a fabric that might have the application he was hoping for.
The company had previously conducted some successful studies during the Sars outbreak and Hunt wanted to know if the technology they had could also be effective against coronavirus.
"They came back to me and said the substance had proven effective against coronavirus, but I still needed to develop the right kind of fabric that could hold the material they had developed," Hunt says.
"We worked together and discovered that a filament polyester was the best fibre that this chemical would adhere to."
This led to the prototype that would eventually be turned into the new anti-viral clothing brand called Aviro that Hunt recently launched.
He says that the chemical doesn't last indefinitely on clothing and does wash out over time.
"At the moment, our last ISO testing was up to 15 washes, but we currently also have a test out in the UK, which goes up to 30 washes. It's looking very likely that this will pass."
Hunt is cognisant that the public might be sceptical of the concept and explains that this is why he has ensured he has the backing of the scientific community before making any claims.
The technology developed by HeiQ was tested extensively at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (a joint venture between the University of Melbourne and The Royal Melbourne Hospital) and showed that a treated fabric achieved a 99.99 per cent reduction of the virus on its surface.
Earlier this year, experiments found that at least some coronavirus can potentially remain viable - capable of infecting a person - for up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to three days on plastic and stainless steel.
"I could have brought this technology to the market two months ago, but I wanted to go through the testing first to ensure that I crossed my T's and dotted my I's," Hunt says.
"We've already had testing done at a lab in Switzerland, it's already passed two ISO tests and we have the additional one ongoing in the UK right now. I've definitely gone out of my way to ensure that the technology I've developed with this company in Switzerland is fully certified."
Hunt has developed a range of clothing specifically for everyday wear. He said he...

Nothing wrong with sacking people, if you have the answer.
So the question for the Stephen Kearney sacking is: what's the answer? Have they, by getting rid of him, solved their problem?
I don’t see how. Is Wayne Bennett crossing the Tasman? What about Craig Bellamy? Some other coaching guru come genius that has that magic combination required to take a side with so much potential, and yet so much inconsistency, and meld that together for a season we have been waiting for for over a quarter-century now?
What you do get with singular ownership is decisive action. That's the beauty of owning the whole joint yourself. Robert Croot and Mark Robinson want results. They are known to want results, that's why they bought the place.
None of this is unusual in the world of elite sport where the model, generally, is of a team owned by an individual. You work or you're out. The EPL, the NFL, pick any of them, they all see a veritable merry go round of talent come and go. So let's not get overly involved or emotional about a high level decision based on performance, or lack of it.
In many respects, given what we have seen lately, it's refreshing. Megan Woods and Digby Webb are your similar scenario at government level.  Of course, under the Ardern model, no one ever gets sacked or held accountable. But essentially Wood and Webb replace David Clark and Ashley Bloomfield because of lack of performance.
Kearney's story is no different. But what's the Warriors problem? Inconsistency. Are they a bad side? No. Can they beat anyone? Yes.
So far in the relaunched season, their record is two and two. Two spectacular wins, and two very ordinary, you could say typical, losses.
There are two sides. Is that the coach's fault? Is there something a Stephen Kearney can be held responsible for? Same side, same approach, same plan, but completely different results. What part of that lies at the player's feet? What part at the coach's?
If Kearney wasn’t liked, if he wasn’t trusted, or if he had lost the dressing room, that might make sense. But I see none of that. I see a side that would do any coach's head in.
So does the sacking solve a problem? As of right now, no. Therefore Kearney is hard done by, and it's not a reflection on his talent or ability to get another job.  
The ball is now in the owner's court. Is the sacking part of a well thought-through strategy that will unfold quickly and become obvious? Or was it a fit of pique leaving a side without a coach and a recruitment headache for the rest of the season?

One of the hotel chains involved in quarantining returning New Zealanders says the welfare of staff is his top priority.
Sudima Hotels has been running quarantine facilities in Auckland.
It had to convert its Rotorua hotel to a quarantine facility at short notice, after the designated quarantine facilities in Auckland reached full capacity.
Owner Les Morgan told Mike Hosking that they weren't aware that they would be used as a facility until Saturday afternoon, with the military and Ministry of Health inspections and PPE training happening within eight hours.
He says he wasn't prepared to do so, until he was certain that it was safe.
"Hospitality and hotel people are used to deal with crises, but the big worry is the health and safety and wellbeing of our employees."
He says people living near these facilities have no reason to be concerned. 
"I hate to say it but we're experts in it now, we've been doing it for over three hours, and I go on site to these places to check our own systems, and they're very strict."

Former Kiwis captain Richie Barnett believes coaching candidates will be sceptical about replacing Stephen Kearney as head coach at the New Zealand Warriors.
Kearney was sensationally axed by the club on Saturday night with two years left on his contract. The Warriors sit 13th on the table with a 2-4 record following a poor performance against the Rabbitohs the previous night.
Barnett told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking it will be difficult to recruit a coach and said it was an abrupt decision considering what the side have had to go through in terms of being based in Australia to due to Covid-19 pandemic.
"Pretty disappointing actually," Barnett told the Mike Hosking Breakfast. "It's an abrupt call. A hard call by the looks of it and sounds of it. Quite an impressive call in this time of the year considering what they have gone through."
"It's not something that was planned I think they made a call because nothing's in place. Considering what we've seen with the NRL, particular with players it's been difficult to recruit players let alone try to get a coach," Barnett added.
"In this current situation, I think a lot of coaches would be sceptical of coming to the Warriors for that reason, they haven't got the roster that culminates playing in this situation now. It's been difficult for them in the last few years to even get and recruit players. That's part of the difficulty they have at the Warriors. Even in that period when I was looking at coming to the Warriors, I wouldn't come for that reason, because of the uncertainty around the club.
"I guess they just don't want to come to New Zealand. They don't like the weather conditions, they certainly don't like the standards they've seen and their style of play is not reaching what they should be. "
Assistant coach Todd Payten has been named interim coach as the search begins for a replacement.
Former Manly Sea Eagles coach Geoff Toovey has already put his hand up to replace Kearney while coaching legend Wayne Bennett has also been linked to the job by The Australian.
Toovey told TVNZ that he was keen on the Warriors head coaching role.
"I think any coach worth his salt would love the job. Such a plethora of athletes over in New Zealand and the South Pacific. I'd love to get my hands on a couple of them and get the best out of them," Toovey told TVNZ.
Toovey coached Manly from 2012-15 where they reached the NRL grand final in 2013. The former Sea Eagles halfback played 286 games in the NRL and 13 tests for Australia.
His most recent coaching stint was with the Bradford Bulls in the Super League.
Warriors CEO Cameron George said yesterday he didn't sound out other coaches before sacking Kearney.
A subdued sounding George told Newstalk ZB's Martin Devlin he had already received about a dozen approaches since it was announced on Saturday evening that Kearney had been fired.
"There's no way in this world I would have gone and spoken to another coach behind Stephen's back," he said.
"We have a very capable person in Todd Payten to step in as an interim until such time we undergo a process to see who is out there.
"Overnight I would have had a dozen people contact me around the role already.
"People wanting to put their hand up for the job isn't a problem. We just have to make sure we follow due process and take our time to find the best possible person for the role."

Victorians have been issued a warning and advised to avoid travelling to and from six local government areas where coronavirus outbreaks have occurred until the source of community transmission has been identified.
On Sunday, the Victorian Government identified Hume, Casey, Brimbank, Moreland, Cardinia and Darebin as the focus of current COVID-19 outbreaks as the state’s number of active cases reached 121. The areas cover large parts of Melbourne’s west, northwest, north and southeast.
Now the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee has “strongly discouraged” travel to and from those areas while the state prepares to reimpose some restrictions.
The committee is the key decision making body for health emergencies and is comprised of all state and territory chief health officers and is chaired by the Australian Chief Health Medical Officer.
Nineteen new positive tests were recorded in the past 24 hours. Health Minister Jenny Mikakos announced Sunday that the state’s infectious total has reached 1836 cases, of which 121 remain active.
The 19 new cases follow rises of 25, 13, 18 and 21 cases over the previous four days.
The AHPPC said as of midday, a total of 7460 cases of COVID-19 had been reported in Australia. Of the newly confirmed cases in the past seven days, 83 per cent were reported in Victoria, 29 of which of which were acquired overseas and detected in returned travellers in quarantine.
The remaining 87 cases were believed to be a result of community transmission.
Opposition health spokesman Chris Bowen said there was still a long way to go in tackling the virus.
“Until this virus is defeated everywhere, it’s not defeated anywhere,” he said.
On Saturday, a ranked list released by the Department of Health and Human Services showed how many cases had been reported in each local government area since the beginning of the pandemic.
Melbourne led the way with 133 cases, followed by Stonnington, south east of the CBD, with 96, and Banyule, north east of the CBD, with 95.
Other hard-hit areas included Hume, Mornington Peninsula, Monash and Frankston.
The list also showed where the active cases were reported, including 23 in Melbourne, 9 in Brimbank and 8 in Hume.
“Of the total 1817 cases, there have been 1517 in metropolitan Melbourne and 239 in regional Victoria,” the department said in a statement.
“The total number of cases is made up of 968 men and 849 women.”
Victoria was yesterday forced to reimpose some COVID-19-related restrictions after the state suffered its worst day of new cases in more than two months.
Twenty-five new cases were reported on Saturday, with 14 linked to known outbreaks.
Premier Daniel Andrews warned that individual suburbs showing “significant community transmission” could be placed in local-level lockdown if necessary.
He said the new cases included “large family outbreaks” where the virus was spread among people in a household, and then to others in the community.
“I want to make it really clear that we have seen some families who have not done as they have been asked,” he said.
“We have seen some families who perhaps through a sense of frustration and their hope that this is over, they have pretended that it is.”
From midnight Sunday, household gatherings will be restricted to a maximum of five guests, and public gatherings will have a limit of 10 people. The planned easing of restrictions for pubs and restaurants has also been deferred.
The new rules will stay in place until midnight on July 12.
Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton said Victoria had recorded more than 100 new cases over the past seven days and the reimposed restrictions would “ensure COVID-19 does not get away from us”.
“The message is clear. Don’t take this disease lightly, stay home, don’t go to work if you can work from home, don’t visit friends and family, don’t go on holiday,” he...

President Donald Trump said Saturday he's asked his administration to slow down coronavirus testing because robust testing turns up too many cases of COVID-19.
Trump told supporters at his campaign rally that the U.S. has tested 25 million people, far more than any other country. The "bad part," Trump said, is that widespread testing leads to logging more cases of the virus.
"When you do testing to that extent, you're going to find more people, you're going to find more cases," Trump said. "So I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down, please.' They test and they test."
The campaign of likely Democratic presidential rival, Joe Biden, said Trump was putting politics ahead of the safety and health of Americans.
Trump opted to hold his first rally in 110 days despite concerns from local health officials that it could lead to further spread of the virus in Tulsa. Most of those in attendance declined to wear a mask.
"In an outrageous moment that will be remembered long after tonight's debacle of a rally, President Trump just admitted that he's putting politics ahead of the safety and economic well-being of the American people — even as we just recorded the highest number of new COVID-19 cases in almost two months and 20 million workers remain out of work," according to the Biden campaign's statement.
The outbreak has killed about 120,000 people in the U.S., and nearly a half-million worldwide, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University, though the real numbers are believed to be higher.
The number of newly confirmed cases per day has risen from about 21,400 two weeks ago to 23,200, according to an Associated Press analysis. And in Florida, Georgia, Texas and Arizona — states that loosened their stay-at-home restrictions early — daily deaths have been quietly rising since early June.
"This virus has killed nearly 120,000 Americans and cost tens of millions their jobs, in large part because this president could not and would not mobilize testing as quickly as we needed it," according to the Biden campaign statement. "To hear him say tonight that he has ordered testing slowed — a transparent attempt to make the numbers look better — is appalling."
Rising case numbers can partially be explained by the wider availability of testing. Mild cases, previously undetected because of limits on who could be tested, are now showing up in the numbers.