The Mike Hosking Breakfast

- text by Jake McKee
The future Cook Islands Prime Minister says a travel bubble is needed with New Zealand by September or the country’s economy risks collapse.
On June 19 local time, the Cook Islands will lift all Covid-19 border restrictions for Cook Islands passport and permit holders travelling from New Zealand.
A group of Cook Island business leaders formed the Private Sector Taskforce earlier this month has called for a travel bubble with all New Zealanders to be implemented at the same time.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has previously said a travel bubble with Australia was being prioritised ahead of the Pacific Islands.
Speaking exclusively to Newstalk ZB, Deputy Prime Minister Mark Brown acknowledged a travel bubble would not happen within a matter of weeks. But he said it was needed by September – the same month he will become the Cook Islands’ leader when current Prime Minister Henry Puna steps down.
On June 19, however, Brown will table a Budget that would support the Cook Islands through to the same month. “After that we will look at borrowing.”
The Taskforce also said it would “rather have New Zealand tourism dollars than its aid money” and Brown, who is also Finance Minister, agrees.
The Cook Islands no longer qualified for aid after the OECD graduated the country to “high-income status” and instead had to “borrow its way out of any trouble”, Brown said.
He said “some good years of economic prosperity” meant there was money aside for “anticipated events”.
“Thinking more along the line of natural disasters, like cyclones – not thinking at all that anything like a pandemic would affect us this drastically”.
Brown said he was concerned borrowing money would hinder future infrastructure investments the country needed and already knew would require loans. “So we may borrow ourselves to a level where we can’t borrow any more money and that’s going to be a real challenge for a country like us.”
He said “it can’t be overstated” how important tourism is for the country and holidaying New Zealanders would make a “huge impact”.
“For us, the tourism dollar is much sustainable, has value greater value for the wider economy … and it would definitely be something we’d be in favour of,” Brown said.
“New Zealand comprises about 70 per cent of the tourism market.
“That would be enough, at this stage, for us to get some sort of traction on economic growth.”
He said even just an Auckland to Rarotonga route would be “manageable” and “a step in the right direction”.
Brown said New Zealand’s new Covid-19 cases were “certainly” a setback but he is happy to continue advocating for a travel bubble. “I’m confident in the next few weeks New Zealand is able to demonstrate that this breach [the two women from the Unite Kingdom who have tested positive] has not resulted in any community spread.”
The Prime Minister’s and Minister of Foreign Affairs' offices have been contacted for comment.

Police in Rome say they have dismantled a brutal loansharking ring just as many shopkeepers are desperate for liquidity after being closed for weeks during COVID-19 lockdown. In all, 20 alleged mobsters and suspected accomplices were arrested.
The crackdown targeted alleged Casamonica crime clans operating in the outskirts of Rome and in hill towns near the Italian capital.
Some 150 police who fanned out in the raids on Tuesday also seized assets worth 20 million euros ($22.5 million), believed to be revenues from extortion and loan-sharking. Found buried underground was an envelope containing checks written by loan-shark victims as collateral they'd pay back the loans as well as ledgers indicating who owed how much to the suspects, police said.
One of the six women arrested, the companion of an alleged Casamonica crime boss, is suspected of having kept the books, according to police.
"Starting today they can breathe," Interior Minister Undersecretary Carlo Sibilia said of the alleged loansharking victims.
Sibilia noted that the raids come as "artisans and business owners are paying the effects of the pandemic and struggling to overcome the crisis."
In one intercepted conversation, an alleged crime clan chieftain threatened that if payments weren't made, he'd split open the victim's head and smash the person's jaw, police said. Such a strategy of intimidation apparently worked: many of those who took out loans "clearly denied their role as victim" and refused to collaborate with investigators, according to police.
A national Italian business lobby, Confcommercio, estimated recently that 60% of restaurants and other businesses were short on liquidity and 30% had lamented extra costs to implement anti-contagion safety measures so they can start serving customers after lockdown. It said that 10% of business owners asserted that they were at risk at the hands of loan-sharks or had experienced attempts by criminals to try to take over their struggling businesses.
Police said some of the intercepted conversations indicated that the Casamonica crime clan was intent on thwarting two crime syndicates rooted in the south — the Naples-based Camorra and the Calabria-based 'ndrangheta — from controlling such illicit activities as extortion in their turf in Rome.
Investigators have said for several years that both the Camorra and the 'ndrangheta have taken over failing businesses in Rome, including restaurants, hotels, cafes and car dealerships, as a way to launder cocaine and other drug revenue.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an abrupt about-face Tuesday and agreed to keep funding meals for poor students over the summer holidays after young soccer star Marcus Rashford demanded that his government not forget the needs of hungry children.
The Manchester United and England player had pressed the government not to stop a meal voucher program at the end of the school term in July. The 22-year-old cited his own childhood experience of relying on free school lunches and food banks.
Rashford's campaign drew support from celebrities, opposition politicians and even some members of Johnson's governing Conservatives.
Johnson initially resisted, but the government gave in Tuesday and said it would continue to provide food vouchers over the six-week summer break to 1.3 million children in England from lower-income families who are eligible for free school meals.
Johnson's spokesman, James Slack, said "the prime minister fully understands that children and parents face an entirely unprecedented situation" because of the coronavirus pandemic and nationwide lockdown.
After the announcement Rashford tweeted: "I don't even know what to say. Just look at what we can do when we come together, THIS is England in 2020."
Johnson said he had spoken to Rashford to congratulate and thank him.
"We have to understand the pressures families are under right now and that's why we've responded as we have," Johnson said.
The athlete wrote an open letter to all of Britain's lawmakers on Sunday, describing how, as one of five children of a hard-working single mother, "we relied on breakfast clubs, free school meals, and the kind actions of neighbours and coaches."
"A black man from a low-income family in Wythenshawe, Manchester, I could have been just another statistic," he wrote. "Instead, due to the selfless actions of my mum, my family, my neighbours, and my coaches, the only stats I'm associated with are goals, appearances and caps. I would be doing myself, my family and my community an injustice if I didn't stand here today with my voice and my platform and ask you for help."
When schools were shut down in March as part of a nationwide coronavirus lockdown, a food voucher program was set up to help ensure they didn't go hungry. Vouchers worth 15 pounds ($19) were given to spend each week in supermarkets.
The government now says it will continue the voucher program over the summer in England at a cost of 120 million pounds ($152 million). Authorities in Scotland and Wales have similar plans.
Until Tuesday, Johnson's Conservative government had refused to budge, pointing out that it has earmarked an extra 63 million pounds ($80 million) for local authorities to support vulnerable families.
But Rashford's campaign quickly picked up steam, backed by celebrities, opposition politicians and some Conservative lawmakers nervous that the government was appearing impervious to the struggles faced by many British families during a pandemic in which millions have lost income or jobs.
Conservative legislator Robert Halfon, who chairs Parliament's education committee, said after three months of a lockdown that has seen the British economy shrink by over 20% "so many people up and down the country are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and to feed their families."
The government is already facing intense criticism for its response to the coronavirus pandemic. Britain's official death toll of almost 42,000 is the highest in Europe, and the government has been accused of putting the country into lockdown too late, costing thousands of lives, and having inadequate stocks of protective equipment.
Johnson — who was hospitalized with the coronavirus in April — has performed a series of policy zigzags during the outbreak. Last month the government said it would stop charging foreign medics and care workers to use the health system. And on Tuesday it released a report...

The Chase was a key piece of entertainment for many New Zealanders during our Covid-19 lockdown, and quizmaster Paul Sinha has shared what it was like contracting the virus.
"The Sinnerman" told Mike Hosking about his life in lockdown and says two days after he moved out closer to the countryside for isolation he came down with the virus.
He says he was grateful for the chance to take a break from the "hard work" of being a quizmaster and take the time to hone his skills.
"It's been an adventure," Sinha says.
He says he was unable to get a test when suspected he had the virus and the advice at the time was to stay at home. He contacted his friends who were doctors who confirmed his symptoms were consistent with the virus.
"What I did have was colossal tiredness, a persistent cough, a swinging fever, loss of taste and smell," Sinha told Hosking on Newstalk ZB.
"It wasn't too bad, except for two days when I was very unwell indeed."
Sinha has a medical degree but he admits his brain was never well suited to the scientific field.
"I'm a better comedian and quizmaster than a doctor," Sinha says and notes that his fame on The Chase helps crowds warm up to his comedy. The British star was due to perform at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival in May, but the event was cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Lockdown restrictions have meant The Chase is working on a new way to film the show.
"We have hope, we have a contingency plan on The Chase to make it 'corona-suitable'," he says.
"It's just a question of lockdown being eased down."
While the world waits for new installments of the quiz show, a new spin-off show Beat The Chasers screens in New Zealand later this month.
So, how does someone beat a chaser?
"We're not computers, we're not machines, we don't know everything," Sinha says.
He admits he is jealous of people who grew up with the internet and are used to having instant access to information.
Despite Sinha's medical degree, he reckons general knowledge in the arts and literature categories is usually more useful. He says host Bradley Walsh is less likely whip out a difficult maths or science question.

Beat The Chasers screens in New Zealand on TVNZ from June 28.

The West Coast is the big winner this year - with its Great Walks expected to bring in huge hiker numbers.
Even without international visitors, DOC's seen a record 36 percent increase in Great Walk bookings since they opened last week.
Heritage and Visitors Director Steve Taylor told Mike Hosking while they're all seeing bookings fill up fast, the West Coast's two trails are the real stand-outs.
"The Heaphy Track is up 48 percent and the new Paparoa Track is up 47 percent on this time last year."
Taylor says it's great to see Kiwis exploring their own backyard - and reconnecting with nature.
LISTEN ABOVE

Momentum is starting to pick up for the Free Trade Agreement between the UK and New Zealand.
New Zealand's among the first to begin negotiations with Britain post-Brexit - via video conference next month.
Export New Zealand executive director Catherine Beard told Mike Hosking UK's move out of the EU gives it a good reason to get the process done quickly.
"The UK will want to demonstrate to people living in Britain that it can do its own trade policies with too much of a delay."
The UK's our sixth-largest trading partner - with two-way trade totalling almost six billion dollars last year.
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Queenstown wants to become a giant quarantine hub to bring international students back into the country.
Jim Boult remains warm on the idea despite two overseas women testing positive for Covid-19, after being given a compassionate exemption to leave a managed isolation facility.
The Queenstown Lakes District mayor told Mike Hosking the hub is entirely do-able, as long as there's no risk of residents being infected."
"We clearly need to make sure there's no risk that residents are going to be infected with Covid-19"
LISTEN ABOVE

A leading epidemiologist has rebuked New Zealand health authorities for a "totally slack system" after finding out people have been leaving quarantine early on compassionate grounds.
Sir David Skegg told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking today he was "extremely concerned about this".
"What we don't know is how many of those people were also let out early and never tested. So we could have clusters emerging around the country that we don't know about," Skegg said.

Professor Sir David Skegg. Photo / File
New Zealand's health boss, director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield, earlier admitted to Hosking he had no idea how many people had left isolation in hotels without being tested for Covid.
Skegg said although it may take several hours or more than a day to collate that information, it needed to be made public.
"It's unacceptable that that information is not provided," he said.
"There must be records of each and every one of those people who were released into the community on compassionate grounds."
"We ought to know exactly how many of those people there were and also whether they were let out on the second day, the third day, the eighth day - or whatever."
He said that information would help to predict the "undetected problem" that we may have.
Asked if he was worried about reports that birthday parties and other celebrations were held inside hotels among passengers isolating, he said he was.
"They actually destroy the purpose of quarantine because someone may have been infectious and infected someone perhaps on day 10 of quarantine and they won't even develop symptoms and become infectious until after they've gone into the community."
Skegg said it was therefore imperative that even passengers arriving on different days and at different times were kept separated, even at the same isolation facility.
Skegg scoffed when asked about revelations from some new arrivals that they were told the swab test was not mandatory, but voluntary.
"I'm amazed to hear that people are being given a brochure at the airport to say that the testing is voluntary. People should be quite clear that if they're coming here, part of the deal is that you go into quarantine or isolation for 14 days and you are tested.
"I can't understand how that ambiguity has arisen."
Despite those issues, Skegg also praised the country's efforts to eliminate Covid-19; but acknowledged some of that might also come down to luck.
"We've achieved a fantastic result here in New Zealand. We're the envy of the world. We've really dodged a bullet in terms of the health consequences, but also our economy is recovering faster than other countries.
"So we've really done well. But we've put it at risk with this kind of shenanigans."
Skegg ended the interview by pointing out one thing New Zealanders may need to work on moving away from - complacency.
"I've always thought that is our biggest risk and, certainly, this bears that out."
Bloomfield admitted he did not know how many people had left quarantine hotels without being tested before Tuesday - but insisted he does not need to quit following revelations of various bungles.
"I haven't quit. I am not planning to quit. I have worked hard to keep New Zealanders safe," Bloomfield told Hosking.
"It's clear ... we didn't meet expectations and I'm sorry about that."
The mainstay of protecting the border was 14 days of isolation, he said.
"We have had managed isolation for several months ... we added the testing at level 1. It didn't get implemented as well as it could have."
Bloomfield's comments came as two women - who travelled here from the UK - were allowed out of isolation at an Auckland hotel early and without being tested. They made a road-trip to Wellington and took Covid tests there that turned out positive.
Despite initially saying they had not contacted anyone on their road-trip, it was...

This, of course, is how governments unravel. The economy and incompetence will kill you every time. 
The theme of this government pre Covid-19 was on delivery, or lack of it. They can't do stuff. They announce stuff, but can't deliver. They can't build houses, they can't build light rail, and now it turns out they can't run a pandemic.
The irony of that is they have spent so much time and energy telling you that not only could they, they were among the best in the world.
The centrepiece of the pantomime was, of course, our great leader and her trusted health sidekick. The bloke she hitched her reputational wagon to, Dr Ashley Bloomfield. We became so enamoured with Bloomfield. We had t-shirts made, we have tea towels, we feted him, and we wanted his children.
Sadly, he is a bust. He is like a lot of other wonks who head Ministries, not very good at his job. Read the Auditor General's report into PPE. And because the Prime Minster has no experience in anything, like so many Labour leaders and Ministers before her in similar scenarios, she relies completely on the so-called expert's advice.
Once you do that, you're stuck with your decision. Ardern is stuck with Bloomfield, and he is going to drag her down.
Bloomfield, of course, should have quit by now. And in that is the other problem, no one quits in this government.  No one quits, no is sacked, and no one is held to account. They're not held to account because as one MP, Deborah Russell, famously said of Ardern, "it's not her way." The problem with it not being her way is it sets the bar so low, everyone goes to sleep.
That's why people leave quarantine with no tests, despite there being rules about tests. That's why cops don't knock on doors in self isolation, despite the fact we were assured they would. That's why they argued self isolation was fine and quarantine wasn't needed. It's why they  argued there was plenty of PPE, and we were on a war footing. Hell, it's probably why the couriers couldn't deliver anything for weeks on end.
No one gives a monkeys because from the top down this government is about noise, headlines, verbal frippery, and nothing beyond that. They don't do details, they don't do delivery. They do feelings. You can't run a country on feelings.
In essence this is an inept government. The suspicion was well and truly raised last year as the economy slowed. It's been confirmed now as the smoke and mirrors show they called a pandemic response spectacularly falls apart.
We reports of incompetence, stories that aren't true, and details that change daily.
And yet, still no accountability. Everyone who cocked this up, is cocking this up, is still in work.
Why?

New Zealand's health boss admits he has no idea how many people have left isolation in hotels without being tested for Covid - but insists he does not need to quit following revelations of various bungles.
"I haven't quit. I am not planning to quit. I have worked hard to keep New Zealanders safe," director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking today.
"It's clear ... we didn't meet expectations and I'm sorry about that."
Bloomfield admitted he did not know how many people had left quarantine hotels without being tested before Tuesday.
The mainstay of protecting the border was 14 days of isolation, he said. "We have had managed isolation for several months ... we added the testing at level 1. It didn't get implemented as well as it could have."
Bloomfield's comments came as two women - who travelled here from the UK - were allowed out of isolation at an Auckland hotel early and without being tested. They made a road-trip to Wellington and took Covid tests there that turned out positive.
Despite initially saying they had not contacted anyone on their road-trip, it was revealed yesterday that they came into contact with at least two friends who helped them after they became lost on the Auckland motorway.
An Auckland gym member is believed to be one of the friends who "kissed and hugged" the women after helping them.
According to a Facebook post by Felicia Alkin, the owner of Lioness Gym, the unnamed member was in contact with the two women on Saturday and did not know they were positive until Tuesday afternoon.
National MP Michael Woodhouse earlier revealed that the pair, who travelled from London to New Zealand and arrived on June 10, borrowed a car but had to meet friends for help with directions after getting lost.
On Hosking's show today, Bloomfield repeated that he was "sorry" for the slip-up with the border issues that allowed the two women with Covid to roam free.
"We had processes in place ... clearly there was a gap in implementation. That gap is now closed," he said.
Asked if the women had lied, he said they did not. He said they were distraught after losing a parent and were on their way to their only remaining parent.
Public health officials often did follow-up interviews which commonly elicited further information, he said.
The women had got lost, headed north on the motorway instead of south and asked for help from a friend.
The public health unit had found that out on Tuesday and did not let the MOH know until Wednesday as it thought it was not important information.
The test results for the women's friend were expected back today, Bloomfield said.
They initially didn't think the interaction with their friend was of note.
Bloomfield said there were questions about whether testing was voluntary; he said since Tuesday it had essentially been made mandatory - nobody would be considered low-risk unless they had a negative test.
"Since Tuesday everyone is tested before they go."
Former police commissioner Mike Bush and Air Commodore Digby Webb were chasing up every complaint or report about rule breaches such as mixing and mingling among isolated or quarantined hotel guests.
Any reports of mixing and mingling would be investigated by police, he said.
Testing of people leaving managed isolation had only been implemented in level 1 - there had been several months of people in managed isolation for 14 days in hotels without being tested before that.
Last night the Ministry of Health confirmed the two women had "limited physical contact with the two friends for approximately five minutes".
The ministry said the two who helped had since been tested for Covid-19 and were in self-isolation. Officials are tracing as many as 320 people as a result of the positive tests of the UK pair, who were given leave from managed isolation by health staff to drive to the capital after a...