The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell are back with Mike Hosking to delve into some of the biggest topics of the week so far. They discussed the latest crime rates, whether the Golden Visas will bring in the investment New Zealand is looking for, and how much they trust the media nowadays. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 16th of April, the Government is hitting its crime targets – Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith discusses their progress.   Physios want to be able to authorise someone to come off ACC and head back to work, clearing backlogs. Should they be allowed to?  Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell discuss the crime stats, golden visas, and whether they trust the media on Politics Wednesday.  Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Physios believe a law change is needed to take pressure of GPs and certify patients fit-for-work faster.   They say the current law, which requires a GP to sign off their fit-for-work plans, is causing unnecessary delays.   ACC patients are the only clients physios can't sign off on.  Physiotherapy New Zealand President Kirsten Davie told Mike Hosking New Zealand can’t afford to have bottlenecks in the health system.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Customs says we're getting more bang for our buck with new remote controlled vessels patrolling our sea borders.  The boats —Tahi and Rua— were launched yesterday and now help protect our maritime security, including stopping drug smuggling.  They'll operate at sea for up to 100 days using solar and wind power, while providing real-time intelligence.  A recent Government report shows Customs seized 55 kilograms worth of methamphetamine in 2015, now 90 kilos gets stopped every week.  Customs Deputy Chief Executive of Operations Jamie Bamford told Mike Hosking it's a technological milestone in their capability.  He says drug cartels are starting to use the ocean to smuggle, and we have the world's 11th longest coastline to monitor.  Bamford told Hosking each vessel cost around one million dollars each.  He says if you put out a frigate it's a lot more expensive and can't be out there for as long because it takes a crew and fuel.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government hopes victim figures will continue on a downward trend as new legislation takes effect.  The Justice Minister expects the data to remain volatile and says more work is still needed.   Paul Goldsmith told Mike Hosking the three strikes and tougher sentencing laws will kick in from June.   He says the best place to start is the small group of New Zealanders creating multiple victims.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The "guessing game" continues over how New Zealand will be affected by new tariffs around the world.   Data —due out tomorrow morning— is expected to show inflation has risen for the first time in almost three years.  Contributing to that is the food price inflation rate, which has risen from 2.8% to 3.5% in just the past month.  Foodstuffs North Island Managing Director Chris Quin told Mike Hosking two factors could push prices higher or lower.  One is the availability of products, the other is global shipping patterns.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An international relations expert says we should believe Indonesia over reports Russia will be setting up a military presence in our region.  Defence and security website Janes claims Russia has approached Indonesia about basing some planes in the country's south.  Indonesia's defence minister says the reports are "simply not true".  International geopolitical analyst Geoffrey Miller told Mike Hosking the nation has very clearly denied the claims.  He says we should take them for their word, as it wouldn't fit with Indonesia's foreign policy.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Donald Trump is going after the oldest United States university in a push to reshape top institutions.   He's demanding Harvard University makes changes to hiring, admissions, and teaching practices to curb anti-Semitism on campus.    The institution says no Government should dictate how a private university operates.   US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking Trump is reacting by freezing close to NZ$3.5 billion in federal funds.  He says the White House is calling for an end to the tax-exempt status for research operations.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I have a good example as to why so many people don’t trust the media.  Like most things it's got complicated and a lot of it is fuelled by emotion.  So a simple survey, the likes of which was published by AUT over the weekend, can never come close to capturing exactly what the relationship between the industry and the punter really is.  But the US President had a medical over the weekend. It has been widely reported and in fact, I have read a number of the reports that states he is in pretty good shape.  The headline in the Sydney Morning Herald chose to frame it this way; "Overweight Trump has sun damage after 'frequent golf wins' medical report finds".  Now, you have several issues.  Firstly, the subject: a lot of what is reported about Trump is done with a slant and the slant is made more obvious by the fact that those who support Trump tend to be zealous and therefore will react to perceived misreporting more loudly than many others.  Secondly, the report does indeed say he is overweight. But it is not the main part of the report, or anywhere close to it, nor indeed is the sun damage. The sun damage is definitely there, but it's hardly a feature.  In fact, if the headline is supposed to convey the important parts of the medical report, it completely misses them. The important parts are that physically and cognitively he is in very good shape.  Why doesn’t the headline say that? What is the purpose of the headline, other than to mislead you or ridicule the President by presenting the report in the worst possible light?  That is trust, or lack of it.  That is a bad headline, a misleading headline, and a headline that shows us the newspaper has an agenda.  It's hardly the end of the world. It's not scandalous, it's not a lie, and there is worse to be found other days in other places.  But the paper is an esteemed rag with big readership and, I assume, a certain pride in their reporting.  In that lies the complexity. Take a lot of these sort of examples on any given day, from any given number of outlets and before you know it – lack of trust.  If like I did, you knew more than the headline alluded to, you very quickly concluded you couldn’t trust them for the full story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The UK Government has saved the troubled British Steel Company.   It will mean a steel mill in Scunthorpe will be saved after negotiations with its Chinese owners reportedly broke down. The bill gives the UK Business Secretary the control of the company and the right to use police powers if necessary to ensure workers are paid.   UK Correspondent Rod Liddle told Mike Hosking Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner says the raw materials to keep the mill running have been paid for.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.