The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Lower numbers of drownings are a blip and not yet a trend. 61 lives have been lost in water-related incidents this year – 26 percent down compared to the 10-year average. Water Safety New Zealand says there needs to be more education in schools and a standardisation because each school is learning something different. Chief Executive Daniel Gerrard told Mike Hosking there are still massive gaps. “27 percent of eight-year-olds can’t even float for two minutes. That’s in a nice warm pool, you put them out in the difficult conditions – maybe a chop, maybe a swell – how long will people survive?” He says there needs to be a consistent approach. He says most schools are doing something, but there should be a greater alignment with international standards. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three American citizens detained in China have been released after several years. U.S Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking the prisoner swap comes after 'many months' of negotiations from the Biden administration to bring the prisoners home to their families. One prisoner, Mark Swidan, spent 12 years detained on drug related charges and was sentenced to death. Swidan, alongside a fellow prisoner, was declared wrongfully declared. In exchange three detained Chinese nationals will return to China.   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big-ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all.    The war: 6/10  A ceasefire is reason for hope and not a lot of that has been floating about the place recently.    The UK election petition: 4/10  Small clue, they already had one of those. It's called an election.    Capital Gains Tax: 6/10  The debate and the vote this weekend. If Labour wants to enhance their chances of two, if not three, terms in Opposition, yes is the way to vote.    The Covid Inquiry: 4/10  Because the coverage of what I would argue is as big a deal as anything this year, was scant to say the least.    The coalition's first year: 7/10  Some good progress, some good co-operation and not a lot of fall out. But it's lacking the real bite that is needed to turn this shambles around. They must try harder.    TJ Perenara: 4/10  We didn't talk about the game or the tour and that is why it's a problem.    LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I am glad the Covid report has been released.  Why wouldn’t it be? It's ours, we lived it and are living through it.  It says a lot of stuff you thought it would say; compulsory mandates were one of the most controversial measures. No kidding.  The country was not prepared for border closures or MIQ. Really?  They run the line that we had fewer infections and therefore fewer deaths than other countries.  I note Chris Hipkins yesterday was still rejecting the idea that vaccine mandates were a mistake. And in that is the problem.  Incompetent Governments lead to incompetent responses. Arrogance leads to an inability to do things differently, which is I think in part, the point of the report, to give us a blueprint for next time.  The blueprint says mandates were a mistake. Hipkins, who could be Prime Minister as soon as 2026, seems to think he is more right than the inquiry. So are we any further ahead?  You need to also factor in that phase one, despite what Tony Blakely told us yesterday, is not the full picture. It’s a comprehensive picture within the guidelines he was given.  The guidelines he wasn’t given are why we are having phase two.  I still argue it would have been better if we had taken the British route, the adversarial approach. Put Ardern and Hipkins and Bloomfield on the stand and ask some penetrating questions.  It doesn’t have to be a court to illicit material this report hasn’t found.  The really important part for me is not what we did then, but what the outworking of what we did then produced what we have now.  What we are still living through and why, because what we have now is so badly damaged. We must learn not to do what we did last time.  The kids not at school, the behaviour of so many that has been out of control, the moral fatigue, the social decline and the malaise. That is not measured totally in statistics.  But the overarching feeling is this country is a shadow of what it once was. That's the real story of Covid.  But I still maintain that you can write all the reports you want and inquire until you are blue in the face, but a pandemic is luck.  If the Government that’s in on the day the pandemic arrives is good, you will be OK.  If it's Labour 2017-23, well, you don’t need the report.   Just look at us. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s becoming easier to order alcohol online, with fewer checks being conducted.  New research from Alcohol Healthwatch suggests 73% of orders are being delivered without ID being checked, and 49% were contactless deliveries.  In some instances, it’s arriving on doorsteps within 17 minutes.  CEO Andrew Galloway told Mike Hosking that the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 was developed for a brick-and-mortar style arrangement.  He says that New Zealand has high levels of harm as a result of alcohol, and so the regulations need to be adjusted to better suit online orders.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 29th of November, we get an expert’s reaction to the full Covid-19 Phase 1 report.  We did the push-ups a couple of weeks ago - now we have the fitness margin for how many star jumps you should be able to do. How does Simeon Brown hold up?  Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson answer the "hypothetical" question of whether Mike is a snob for buying a $600 bottle of wine as they Wrap the Week.  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.

The Australian senate's passed world-first laws preventing under 16s from using social media.   The ban will come into force at the end of next year, and social media companies will face fines if they fail to take reasonable steps to keep children off.   The ABC reports the late vote last night came as the government rammed through most of its legislative agenda on the final sitting day of the year.   Australia correspondent Murray Olds told Mike Hosking that messaging apps will be exempt.   He says the onus will be on companies to check the ages of users, and he questions what's stopping a 14-year-old saying they're older.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s the end of the week, and Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson are back with Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that was.  They chatted about star jumps, spending habits, and whether Mike is a snob for buying a $600 bottle of wine.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Retailers are hoping for bumper Black Friday sales today.    Retail NZ says Black Friday and Boxing Day are the biggest shopping days of the year.  It comes at a time when retailers are struggling, with 70% not meeting their sales targets in the September quarter according to the Retail Trade Survey.   Retail NZ Chief Executive Carolyn Young says it would be good to see Black Friday generate more foot traffic down the line.  She told Mike Hosking that retailers are considering shorter sale periods next year, to concentrate the number of people who come in during that time.  Young says there’s a mixed appetite for spending at the moment, but Black Friday is a good time for people to be thinking about Christmas shopping.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Police Minister says gangs are showing a high level of compliance with the new laws.   Police are expecting large numbers of Mongrel Mob Barbarians in Nelson over the weekend, and will be deploying officers from Tasman and Canterbury to check for breaches.   Yesterday, six people were arrested for allegedly breaching the patch ban at a Tauranga tangi.  Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking that leaders of the gangs in particular are trying to respond, and fundamentally don't seem to want to draw attention to themselves.   He says there will probably be some younger members who won't comply because they're not thinking about it, but police will respond to that.  Mitchell says that typically those respectfully attending a funeral won't have any contact with police.   But he says if people are taking over public roads, intimidating people, and carrying illegal weapons, then police will respond to make sure the public is safe.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.