The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Hasn’t the AI and Wimbledon drama taught us exactly the same lesson we keep learning with technology and sport: it’s great - if it doesn’t disrupt the game.  And if that is the lesson, why don’t we learn it already?  Wimbledon has not used AI properly.  First problem was it missed a ball out. By a foot. The match got stopped and everyone waited four minutes. Yes, it was confirmed the AI got it wrong, so the match resumed.  It turned out someone turned the AI off.  Then we’re at the quarter finals. AI calls a ball out. It's not. It’s a metre inside the baseline.   The match is stopped, the umpire calls the tech people, or whoever, and everyone waits. Yes, it's confirmed it was in and the match resumes.  It turns out a ball boy was crossing the net at exactly the moment the ball was moving and the AI can’t handle that.  Players are cross. The waiting has broken the game’s momentum.   The crowd is cross. They’ve paid to watch the play, not sit around waiting for tech to be checked.  On the other side of the world, here, we are again complaining about the TMO in last weekend’s test involving itself too much.  Even Wayne Barnes is complaining that the TMO is ruining the continuity of the game.  Other sports have already learned this lesson.  League has limited what the bunker can look at, football is thinking about limiting the VAR, ice hockey has limited video review and it's the same with volleyball.  They all know what Wimbledon hasn’t quite managed to do and rugby can’t quite seem to accept, which is that technology is great.  But don’t let it disrupt the game. Don’t let it keep fans waiting. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Antonia Prebble is a mainstay of New Zealand’s evening TV viewing.  She had just hit her 20’s when she was cast in 'Outrageous Fortune', becoming a household name.  They’re now celebrating the 20th anniversary of the iconic comedy-drama show, plus the 10th anniversary of the prequel series 'Westside'.  Prebble has expanded since then, and while she still partakes in international productions, she also runs a successful podcast ‘What Matters Most’, which is now on its 4th season.  She told Heather du Plessis-Allan it’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since 'Outrageous Fortune'.  “I just turned 41, so I started Outrageous when I was twenty and a half – literally half my life ago.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 10th of July, Finance Minister Nicola Willis talks the Reserve Bank decision to hold the OCR steady and what that says about our economy.  Shane Jones has had enough of lizards, DOC, and progress being stalled on a mine that would provide 700 jobs for the Otago region.  Kiwi actress Antonia Prebble joins to talk the 20th anniversary of Outrageous Fortune and the latest season of her podcast What Matters Most.  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.

Red Bull have waved the chequered flag to team principal Christian Horner.   The 51-year-old had been in the role since 2005, overseeing eight drivers' world championships and six constructors' titles.  The syndicate sits fourth on the teams' ladder this season, and four-time defending world champion Max Verstappen has won two of 12 races with reports suggesting he is considering a shift to Mercedes.  F1 Journalist Chris Medland told Heather du Plessis-Allan that while no definitive reasons have been given yet, there are multiple possibilities.  He says that the team’s form on the track has been in decline over the last 18 months, and Horner also faced controversy off the track during that time.   Verstappen’s future could have also been central to the decision, Medland says, with Verstappen also wanting to see change and not getting it under Horner’s leadership.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The video game industry's going gangbusters, with the number of people employed up by more than 20%.  This is due to a four-year, $160 million sector rebate, offering 20 cents back for every dollar eligible studios spend.   Forty studios will receive a share of $22.4 million this year, including RocketWerks Games.  Its CEO, Stephen Knightly, told Heather du Plessis-Allan $40 million is available yearly, but the Government's put a cap on it.   He says any one studio can only get up to $3 million, but thinks it should be increased as there's obviously money there.  Knightly says the scheme has delivered on what it was intended for, keeping studios from moving overseas.   He says he looked at starting a team up in Australia, but instead they're now staying in Auckland, and hiring more people.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's reluctant to give work opportunities to beneficiaries outside of emergencies.  It's activated a beneficiary task force in Tasman and Marlborough, with beneficiaries able to get paid for helping clean up debris and slush.  Social Development Minister Louise Upston says the initiative is just for Civil Defence emergencies at this stage.  But Upston told Heather du Plessis-Allan she's open to suggestions about how to reduce the number of people on the Jobseeker benefit.  She says this takes a significant amount of funding, and the Government's coffers aren't a bottomless pit.  Upston told du Plessis-Allan it's estimated 30 people are needed for the work.  She says there'll be three clean-up crews, and understands there were 10 people interested within a few hours of putting the message out.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are expectations the Government continuing to step in to cover natural hazard costs for homeowners could create a moral hazard.   An independent climate adaptation report reveals annual losses from weather-related events over the next 25 years could increase by a quarter.   It warns the later we respond, the more disruptive the adjustment will be.   Chair Matt Whineray told Heather du Plessis-Allan the best way forward is for people to understand what they can get and for the Government to move away from buyouts.   He says this needs to be done over a period of time so the market has time to adjust and so people have fair warning and an opportunity to respond.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Resources Minister says a setback for expansion of the country's largest gold mine could result in the loss of up to a thousand jobs.  Central Otago's Macraes gold mine applied for a permit under the Wildlife Act to clear vegetation on its site in a bid to expand its operation.   Last month the Department of Conservation declined it, stating the company hadn't made clear how it would relocate more than 10 thousand lizards.  Shane Jones told Heather du Plessis-Allan the lizards are as common as acne on a teenager.   He says they're scattered throughout Otago, and farmers don't need special permits when carrying out work on their land.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Finance Minister says businesses should be more confident about the economic recovery.  The Reserve Bank's been weighing up lower-than-expected growth and higher inflation in its decision to keep the Official Cash Rate unchanged at 3.25%.  Nicola Willis says businesses have been battening down the hatches.  But she told Heather du Plessis-Allan they’re maybe more wary than they should be.  Willis says all of the fundamentals in the economy are good.  She says the Government is business-friendly and is on the side of those wanting to invest, make money, create jobs, and export overseas.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let me tell you what Chris Hopkins is busy doing to the Covid Inquiry.  Let me tell you, when he says that the Covid Inquiry is providing a platform for those who have conspiracy theorist views, he is trying to undermine it, and he's doing that. So it doesn't matter what the outcome of the inquiry is, people have already written it off as a nut job investigation.   I suspect Chippy already knows that he's not going to come out of this flash. Neither is Jacinda. Neither is Ashley. Neither is Grant.   Because we already know what went wrong. We can see that the lockdowns went too long. We know that the border was done badly. We know how much money was printed, to name just a few things that they did wrong.   It's kind of rich of Chris Hipkins to complain that the terms of reference have been deliberately constructed to achieve a certain outcome, because that's coming from the guy whose government did exactly the same with the original Covid Inquiry.   They set up such a limited set of terms of references that we had to set up a second inquiry after they lost the election just to get to the stuff that we actually care about, which is the mandates and the Auckland lockdown, and so on.   They set up an inquiry, deliberately designed their words to only learn lessons, not assign blame when actually blame, or you can call it just taking responsibility, is exactly what a lot of us affected by all of this stuff would like to see.   But what really bothers me about what Chris Hipkins is doing is the continual demonising of conspiracy theorists. Now, look, I don't love a conspiracy theorist. They're a bit nutty. I've had to sit through lectures about the world order hours on end, trying to be polite and pretending that you care because you love the person, right? A lot of these people went down the rabbit hole because Labour forced to the jab on them, so they went off to do their own research and they came back a bit strange.   They shouldn't be excluded. They may be conspiracy theorists, but they're still our friends and our brothers and our uncles, even if they're a bit slightly different at the moment. Conspiracy theorists or not, they were as affected by these decisions as everyone else, therefore, they get a say too.   And whatever, by the way, happened to “they are us”? Or does that only apply when it suits Labour? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.