I am thrilled for the White Island company that had their conviction quashed on appeal on Friday.

White Island and its judicial process has worried me from the get go.

Work and Safety appeared to panic in their response to the disaster.

Make no mistake, what happened at the island was a disaster and a tragedy. But it was a natural disaster and tragedy, and what level of legal recompense was required was questionable from the start.

But the approach that Work and Safety took appeared to be a panic-driven “scatter gun” affair, whereby all-and-sundry faced a barrage of charges in the hope some of the judicial mud would stick.

The brothers who owned the island faced a couple of charges. One was dropped but they were found guilty on the other. They appealed it and have had it, quite rightly, turned over.

The company simply gave licences to conduct tours. They didn’t per se "manage" anything and therefore could not be held accountable for what others directly did.

I still believe a lot of the other charges were overreach, given the nature of a volcano.

Adventure tourism, by its nature, carries risk. A live volcano, by its nature, carries risk. At some point the people who buy into that, as in the visitors, must take some level of responsibility.

From what I could see or have read about no one acted recklessly, they weren't crazy and there was no daredevil behaviour involved. It was an unforeseen disaster.

As the judge pointed out, given the island company simply handed out licences, what was there to manage? He also pointed out, quite rightly as far as I can see, that we are dealing with bare ground, so there's not a lot to manage there.

Many of those charged pled guilty early on. I'm convinced they did it not because they believed they were, but because it was easy, whether on legal advice or not to simply cave and pay.

This quashing is proof that it didn't need to be that way. All the charges that were dropped is proof it didn’t need to be this way.

So how much damage, stress, money, energy and failed business do we have from an agency that, it looks increasingly likely, set about things in a very haphazard, if not dangerous, way.

And yet they're in no way being held to any level of account.

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America's trade war with Canada, Mexico, and China is ramping up.

All three countries are introducing retaliatory tariffs in response to the steep tariffs introduced by Donald Trump last night.

Trump's responded, saying he will raise tariffs on Canada even further.

China's vowing to fight the US "to the bitter end", and Canada's Justin Trudeau says his country won't back down.

Trudeau says Canadians are reasonable and polite, but they won't back down from a fight when the wellbeing of their country is at stake.

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that within the US, major franchises such as Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and Home Depo are all warning of price spikes ahead.

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The North Island is getting a new motorsport circuit.

The first details of a brand-new motorsport and driver training facility in the Bay of Plenty’s Tect Park have been revealed.

Thunder Ridge Motorsport Park will feature 3.2 kilometres of track, with 26 meters of elevation and eight corners.

Director Tony Robers told Mike Hosking they’re aiming to be a community facility.

He says driver training will be a huge thing for them, as they’re aiming to get young people off the streets and onto the circuit safely.

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On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 5th of March, things were moving quickly this morning regarding aid to Ukraine and a possible peace deal, so Jimmy Rushton joined out of Kyiv to give the latest.

Winston Peters talks ferries, the Chinese, and his new Mongolian horse.

Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell discuss gangs running prisons, Wellington water and MPs’ credit card expenses on Politics Wednesday.

Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Kiwis are spending more and more time stuck on hold.

For the third year in a row, ServiceNow’s Annual Customer Experience Report has seen phone wait times worsen.

Last year, it’s estimated Kiwis spent 24 million hours on hold – approximately 9.7 hours per person.

ServiceNow NZ Country Manager Kate Tulp told Mike Hosking the best space in 2024 was the transport space, while financial services and government lines have room for improvement.

She says they’re seeing more customers choosing to engage with a digital method over a phone call when they’re available.

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The Corrections Minister says a report on prison culture doesn't say anything the Government doesn't already know.

The report from Independent Research Solutions says the influence of gangs in prison has grown significantly in the past decades, with non-members lower in the social hierarchy.

It finds 35% of inmates are in voluntary segregation.

Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking prisons are a microcosm of society, and gangs are known for their intimidation tactics in the community.

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Research into New Zealand prisons has found more than a third of inmates are in voluntary segregation.

The report from Independent Research Solutions says the influence of gangs on prison culture has grown significantly in the past decades.

It finds inmates are being categorised as being gang members or non-gang members - with the latter being the worst off.

Author Jarrod Gilbert told Mike Hosking prisoners must either join a gang, fend for themselves, or be separated.

He says the massive increase in voluntary segregations is unconsciously establishing two prisons within a prison.

Gilbert says the Department of Corrections may hold the keys to the prisons, but on the inside it's a different story.

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There’s push back on the cost of the Government's broken ferry deal.

Hyundai is back in the running to build the two new ships after the coalition canned its original contract in 2023.

Documents indicate the Government's set aside $300 million to cover that broken agreement.

It must be paid regardless of a new deal.

Rail Minister Winston Peters told Mike Hosking the issue's being considered in negotiations, but disputes the cost.

He says the real cost is far lower, and it's an appalling situation and shocking decision he's had to deal with.

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