You're listening to the Weekend Collective podcast from News Talks.
It is time for the panel and my my my first panelist, My first panelist, makes it sound like he belongs to me, our first panelist. There is all of ours now. Look I was trying to think of a way to introduce him. But look at it this way. If New Zealand Herald was Lord of the Rings, he'd be Gandalf, and it is Simon Wilson. Is that a right?
I will take that Gandalf on a bicycle. Yeah, magic bicycle.
I hastened. Yes, indeed, I mean more Gandalf than Bilbo. I think, thank you for that. But as I started to explore the potential characters, there's there's a range.
Here's me sitting here thinking you're going to say Sarah. I'm saying to myself, please don't say. Don't say Sarah.
Don't lost opportunity.
I've got a lot to me to, you know, match up to now, don't I? Well, no, I can't say a silly thing.
Well, well.
Let's see how we go. And and we've got a new guest as our second panelist. He's a futurist, the CEO of Guerrilla Tech. He has a couple of podcasts, including the New Zealand Tech podcast, and his name is Paul Spain. Get a Paul Haw you going.
Yeah, good, nice to Nice to be joining for.
The first time. Hey what were you thinking?
I have no idea anyway.
Good to have you. So what's THEO? What's Gorilla Tech?
We basically an organization that helps smaller to medium organizations to get the maximum leverage out of technology whilst driving down all those nask the risk cybersecurity and data privacy, which is kind of hard to find for the smaller organizations.
Yeah. I was feeling a little embarrassed that we had to set up a couple of extra mircs and things. As you were coming in, I was thinking, Oh God, are the tech guy's going to be thinking, oh goodness me look at them or their tech.
I actually thought you were going to ask me to go and find it and plug them in because there's people usually Oh there's a tech person in the room, then they can do it all.
Well, if you had your black Roadie sort of T shirt on, I would have been that's the guy for the job. Okay, let's get into it. Haye. Look, there's not a lot to talk about yet, because New Zealand's currently in thirty third place. But the Paralympics have begun and I always think it's a wonderful continuation of the festival of Olympics sport and in my favorite city in the world, Paris, Simon.
I'm not sure what else there is to say. It is a fantastic competition. It's so exciting, so many ways continuing and in Paris, and I think Paris in the Olympics are now in the Paralympics. It's just showing itself off so well. Isn't it a wonderful, wonderful city of culture and history and imagination and excitement.
Yeah, and of course there will be stories that come out about different victories and efforts and stuff. But it is quite humbling watching what people who've got some pretty significant physical challenges can deliver as athletes. It's phenomenal, isn't it.
I think that's absolutely true. You sit there on you ouch watching going what am I doing with my life?
Paul?
Yeah, Look, I'm really excited to see how it plays out. It does seem that New Zealand, as always tends to punch above our weight when we get into these sort of global stages. So yeah, I'm really looking forward to seeing, you know, what our power athletes achieve.
I think we've got a way to go. Obviously, it just says at the moment thirty third placement. It's very early days. Actually, where do we end up in the Olympics. I think we'll we're about twelve because it's the number of something that wasn't it, which is pretty fun. It's an interesting question.
About the punching above the weight because you obviously you want a factor in not only size, but also the way in which each country's sports organizations address the Olympics is a priority for them, and from New Zealand it really is at the moment and that's why we do so well. Are we doing as well as expected? I don't know the oubts to that.
Well, it's early days.
Well, I'm thinking about the main Olympics where we do know the data, but in Paralympics, yes, it's fart really to know.
Yeah, anyway, and of course you know Paris, My love watching it just for the difference. It is a stunning setting for all they're doing. I don't think they're going to be I'm not sure if they're doing any swimming in the seand though at this time I haven't missed that's right, miss that headline. Okay, right, let's get into the big stuff. We'll start with well, we will start with you on this one, Simon, because you're I'm not sure if you're a fan of Auckland Transport. Winston Peters isn't.
He wants to scrap Auckland Transport. Says it's a failed experiment without enough accountability to the people of Auckland. Does he have a point?
I think my view of Auckland Transport is a bit of a curacy.
It's got it ought.
To be more accountable. It has a very bureaucratic structure. It is less good at doing things than it ought to be, particularly in terms of getting things done relatively quickly, and it's often not good at consulting. It's in that partly bound by the law about how it's supposed to. So you consult on something, you get things back, you want to change the plan, you've got to reconsultant, and on it goes. And that's just really really comes to
process that they are obliged to go through. But that should change the really extraordinary thing about what Winston Peters has done and what the Nuzumma First has done. They've put this bill up so it'll be in the biscuit to be drawn as a member's bill the government at the moment. I asked Simeon Brown, Transport Minister, about.
This just this week.
They are looking at what he called a range of options for the future of Auckland Transport. I said to him, is one of them bringing the policy functions into central government? He said no, but they are looking at what he called a range of options. He wouldn't say more, which presumably theoretically could include following the whole thing into back into a welb Council. But I doubt very much is
going to go that far. But given that the Deputy prime Minister's party has put up this private members bill at a time when one of his in the cabinet table has this work underway right now, it's a bit of left hand and right hand and a little bit of a slap with a hop card over the face of sim and Brown.
If you ask me, well, all the other way if they don't pick up Winston's bill, possibly, Look, I have to be honest Paul that I'm just going to come at this from a complete from a punter's point of view. I loathe Auckland Transport. Everything I see going around the city. I just there's just so many examples. I just go bloody Auckland Transport, the speed limits getting ground down. You know, what do you what do you make of this? This biscuit and Bill.
Yes, scrap it, scrap what Bill scrap Auckland Transport and let's let's start a free Who should?
What should? Does he have a point about the lack of sort of democratic accountability. I think that's a lot of people's frustrations in a way. Although sometimes when councils have control of things, it's not a good thing either, is it.
Look I mean, I think we don't engage very well with councils as as as voters here there's always sort of a low turnout, and you know, they do seem to be too many layers of bureaucracy, and then you know we don't always get the best results. I remember last time I made quite an effort to engage with Auckland Transport. Let's try out these trains, and the hop card system was such an absolute mess.
When when was that?
I mean probably that was going back maybe ten years. So how's that relevant, Well, because it hasn't really got much better.
But you don't know that well.
I do know that well.
I know that I know about it too because I use a hot card. I think the hop cards have sped up with buses, get people getting on and off the bus. They are reliable, that accurate, They're a really efficient way of delivering the whole pay service thing. They have upgraded there. Things that you swipe these days so that they're easier to read, got a big tech on them now instead of a couple of things that you
know quite know what it means. I think that kind of you're the tech guy, but I think that kind of technology in our transport system we need more of it. And I think it's it's one of the good things the things they've done. Well, it's an integrated service right across buses, trains and ferries. Although if you really wanted to be integrated. When I went to London, it's just here, just use your credit card bingo and.
You know what, it'll know which way you are. Just just swipe that you're done for the day. And to me it's like, well that's better why don't we do that.
That's next stage. But that wasn't available to at when they said on the hot card system. And there are legal reasons for that. It's not their fault, but that's the case. I think one of the problems of the Auckland transport is that it's now in a bind of whatever it does or doesn't do. And I said before, there's lots of things I think it doesn't do well enough. But whatever it does or doesn't do, there will be
people who don't like it. So you make the buses faster and more frequent and there for more efficient by giving them dedicated lanes. You are taking car parks off arterial roads to do that, you have to do it that way, and that annoys people who want to park there,
so there's that problem. You slow the traffic down, particularly around schools and shopping centers and busy areas, so that it is safer for pedestrians, and that's remember in Auckland, and half the people who are killed or seriously engined on our roads are not in a car hit by a car. So if you slow the traffic down, you make the roads safer. But you just said you don't like it. When the speed limits alled, So you get that problem well, and it goes on and on.
I think that, yeah, there's probably a philosophical difference. I think that we should make the roads safer by making sure that people I mean encouraging safety, of course, and trying not to step out in front of a car. But it seems that we've gone down this thing is like, let's have it so if you do step out in front of a car, it's more of an even contest with the pedestrian of the car. You might not get hurt.
And I sort of think we do have cars for getting around quicker, otherwise would all be walking in cyclinging.
We treat and i'm when treat our roads. We treat our roads as if we have as if we're in small towns and there are not a lot of cars, and we still have the same attitude to them, and we shouldn't.
I think there's a I think sometimes it just feels it goes too far. And I'm pretty sure we got the speed limits wrong in Auckland City. When regularly, if I'm driving home and I get overtaken by a police car that isn't even doing the speed limit, I sort of think you know this part of the speed limit. I don't know that's my thing, but that's that's got some one of those dreadful motorists. Paul.
Yeah, well you know I'm in that club too. Look, you know, going back to the cards. You know, some years ago there was I was given a bit of technology to test out which was linked up with the payment system they were using for transport in Wellington. That was phenomenal. It worked well. I was given a smartphone that was linked into it. You could use it at stores to buy things.
It updated and please.
It was absolutely superb and it looked like Auckland was going that way, and then we went a different way. And yeah, to the credit cards, I've experienced that same thing Singapore. You know, you tap in and tap out with your credit card. I've also gotten off the bus and I think it's off a plane in Toronto, tried to use the public transport and there's worked like Auckland, which is when you go to say hey, how do
I pay for this? They say, oh, you haven't got a card and I'm like, no, I've just derived from New Zealand, how would I do that? So you know, there are models there that work maybe a bit better for everybody.
Actually, funny enough that we were talking about the Paralympics in Paris. I was still quite surprised that you have to go up to the booth. That's quite expensive too, and you put the money in, you get this little card out, and it's sort of felt kind of old school. Mind you, that's Paris for you. Anyway. Oh well, we're off for a raw. That's all good. Look, while we're
on New Zealand. First, Shane Jones, who made his communist judge comment, Look, if I was to put on my appropriateness hat and think about legal precedent and the way ministers should ok, he shouldn't really use the sort of language Paul. But there was also a part of it. It was like, I'm not too bad, I'm not too bothered about it. What did you think?
Yeah, I mean it.
It does seem out of line for what what what we expect.
And the way we think of communism in New Zealand.
Right if he had just just said, look, you know, big lefty, big writing whatever category that's a bit softer, but communists here we kind of look back on the worst of communism and you know, we we associate all sorts of pretty nasty things with that with that word.
I think the thing was that he was just making a comment about the judge and sort of in a judgment sense that maybe he just shouldn't do anyway. But he's not. He's not really showing away from it. Is the old chain.
He's absolutely not showing away shying away from it. I mean, on the one hand, I think it's appalling that he's behaving like.
That, and there a number of you love it.
But the thing is, this is the reality of the coalition we have now and the MMP system we have. More generally, every single party has to play to its base and keep them happy, and you see them all doing that. So when Shane Jones says she's a communist judge, he's not making a considered rational, important or useful comment in any way except what he's saying to his base is I share your prejudices, so keep on voting for me. And that's all he's doing. It's I don't think it's
helpful in government. I think I would love to think we collectively could grow out of that if it said, if it said she's just a socialist judge, even.
That's not really okay given he's a minister, is it. I mean, you really need to just need to he said it was an adjective as a matter of fact, thank you for our grammar lesson sort of thing. But he really shouldn't. He should just say, well, probably as little as possible, I guess, and Judith will probably have a chat with him and like Shane, can you please not use them?
We have in New Zealand with our judges. It's a little bit like cricket with our umpires. Still we have a relatively high standard of you don't attack them, and not all countries have that by any means, and I think it's worth trying to hold on to for as long as we can. You know, I use the cricket analogy. You think about. One of the worst things in sport, to my mind, is watching football players arguing with the referee. You don't want that happening in any sport, and I
think it's the same in the judiciary. You don't want politicians arguing with judges or having a guard them. It just demeans and diminishes the separation and independence and strength and integrity of both sides.
Good point, Simon that's why we've got the areas there scandal and we've had a soar on moment almost anyway, we'll be back in just a moment. This is the panel, my guests, Simon Wilson and Paul Spain. Not a new bea to broadcasting all but a new beat to the Weekend Collective. We'll be back in just a moment. News talks 'db and welcome back to the Weekend Collective. This is the panel and my guests Simon Wilson, who probably needs no introduction, and Paul Spain, who may not need
one either, but he is a futurist and a tech guy. Actually, is that the best way to the tech guy? I don't know. That's probably a little a crude way to describe it, isn't it.
Paul.
Anyway, listen you can, I'll forgive it. Yeah, there we go.
Right.
Hey, look, I love a bit of positive news, and I did think it was an extraordinary bit of news when we heard that the entire Canterbary chapter of the Common Cero's had been arrested. Obviously a lot of work has gone and behind the scenes with the police. An eighteen men aged between eighteen and fifty five arrested and appeared in christ Church and Auckland on charges including participating in an organized criminal groups, conspiracy to supply methan, fetamine
and a conspiracy to supply cocaine. Just bravo to the police, A Simon, nice to go, Bravo, bravo.
I think you're absolutely right about that. This is very good news, very good news for christ Church. And what I'm really curious about now is what the police do, because presumably they have a plan for this. There's now a big vacuum in christ Church of cocaine and methamphetamine, and I imagine a number of other criminal gangs are going to be trying to rush to fill it, and so the police have to step up and try and
manage that too. Could be an opportunity for that, you would think, so, yes, so all proud of them, Yeah, Paul.
It kind of got me thinking around, you know, what tricks, what technology were they using behind the scenes, right, Because to get that many people, you've got to have some pretty good surveillance, I would imagine, because I mean I can't remember the last time, if ever, we've seen something like this where you know, the entire gang for an area has been has been taken out.
And because I think the general punter, we all imagine that, you know, they've got some recordings of people, and there's a bit of surveillance here and there, but the amount of dotting of eyes and crossing of te's you would have to have to arrest every single person. The amount of work would be immense. It's not wouldn't just be like, oh, we've got a pretty good hunch we've seen this guy talking to that guy. They're all guilty, let's go get them.
You would have to have tangible, solid evidence on every single person. I just think it's it's I just think the police have done an amazing job. It's incredible.
Aim you presume that all of those arrests are real arrest that they're not just will just grab everyone in the room, And that therefore means, well, you'd have to have some evidence. Did you got to get them on conspiracy or something like that. Don't You've got to get everyone who was in the room when this plan was discussed.
Yeah, so good on them. Fingers. I mean asked to how many convictions it leads to and when that actually happens, Well, it's not going to be not going.
To be over and it's a signal of intent, isn't it. And that's that's great.
Speaking of just on the just why we're talking about police things.
I enjoyed the well did I enjoy it. I wasn't sure what I.
Initially thought of it. But Ginny Anderson, who'd posted the wrong foot patrol statistics when it looked like and Bennett Collins from One News presented her with the evidence, and she looked like a toddler who had been caught eating a biscuit she shouldn't have and just simply denied it. It's like, well, no, this is and she couldn't. I mean, was there a way for her to back down? She was going with foot patrols have gone down, and it looks like by all accounts they've gone up. Simon.
It was a terribly embarrassing moment for her. And I guess the thing about anyone who's caught completely wrong footed like that, as you are going to spend a moment or two looking like the toddlerho's tole in before you recover your works and work out what else to do. I think one of the things underlying this, though, is that while it is now clear foot patrols have gone up around the country and that's a good thing in itself now because it helps people on the streets and
retailers feel safer, and that's a good thing. But those police have come from somewhere, and presumably some of them at least have come from the thing that police spend a lot of their time doing which they are now pegging back, which is domestic final stoils.
Yeah. Still, nevertheless, it still feels like actually, just on the politics side of things, Paul, I just wonder if things like politicians never want to admit they're wrong, whereas I'm wondering if times have changed that actually a bit of a mayor culpa makes usually makes us just go, oh, well, good on you. You've made a mistake and you've admitted it, and unfortunately you haven't got the headline you wanted from this interview, but there we go. What do you reckon?
Well?
I think that that's what we should expect from leaders, right, we expect them to be real and honest and straight up. We all we all make mistakes and and look, you know, social media has made it very easy for any of us politicians included to you know, throw something up into into you know, public view for discussion, and sometimes that's just done too quickly and they get the wrong results. Sometimes you you definitely feel people are deliberately spinning things.
I don't know what the reality is here, but yeah, I would have thought a simple apology probably would have been the best course of action in this case.
I think that's surprising about this is that it was Ginny Anderson. I don't think she's a politician with a reputation for putting her foot in her mouth.
I think still recall she said something pretty nasty about Mark Mitchell talking about killing people for living and stuff where she came off very poorly.
That is true too, But I think her generally within the police portfolio, what she's advocated for she was the police minister. Remember what she's argued with him about in relation to police and generally has been pretty straight up. This is a real.
Lat yeah clang, now look, actually, well we'll start We'll start with you on this one. Paul so New Zealand government on Monday they said they're going to pass laws by the end of the year to reverse a band on offshore oil and gas exploration. While we look well look, if we could all get bar and renewables instantly right now. Fine. But to me, I think most people would say that this is a pragmatic step that we simply have to take given the hypocrisy of importing shiploads of Indonesian coal
and all that. Where are you where you with this reversal of the band and oil and gas exploration?
Yeah, look, I think this is probably the right move. It's certainly not going to please everybody. But you know, you talk to the to the coal situation, that's that's been a real nightmare.
You know.
I heard that the situation where there's only a couple of places they can actually get coal. You know that that suits us for for energy here. So look, yep, let's uh, let's do it. I'm not saying, you know, we we completely flip things around, but I think the direction that they're taking makes sense.
Actually, yes, we're going to come to you, okay, you know, I'm going to come in as Sarah or Dandalf and you can decide Richard which it is. It was interesting the other look, I think it's a pragmatic step, but it's interesting to see how well we are doing on renewable projects. And I think we need to continue to invest in that. It's just that I think we have
to be you know. I think part of the thing that's sort of I find well, I don't know what my view is, but it's almost like, if only in New Zealand, you get it right, we will solve all the world's problems. When you know, the world has a major challenge with the sorts of fuels we rely on, and renewables are incredibly important. But I don't want to find that we've got the situation where we can't generate the power we need as well.
I think there is so much that's wrong about this reversal of the ban on new oil and gas exploration. The first one is linking it to the current crisis. There is nothing in oil or gas exploration that will alleviate the current crisis. It is if the exploration starts up straight away, it will still be years before anything comes on stream if they find anything, and there's no guarantee that that will happen. That's the first thing. The
second thing, because it's a long term strategic goal. Now you've got to then ask the question, why would we be like anyone else in the world expanding our fossil fuels footprint. Why would you do that when we know perfectly well that we have to reverse that trend at some point. We've got the position.
To do it now.
And the reason we've got the position to do it now is that we have in this country lots of solar and lots of wind. We have wind farms consented and ready to go, but they are not being built. And the reason for that is that the gentailors, the big power companies that have those consents, are incentivized to pay dividends to their members rather than invest in the new technology and transfer that. And that's just an extraordinary thing.
And if you take the single element of it, solar, New Zealand has something like one to two percent of its energy generation from solar, the tiny amount Australia has thirty to thirty five percent. Yes, Australia is a sunnier country, but Melbourne has thirty percent. Melbourne is not a sunnier city than most New Zealand cities, and that's because they've
put solar on that ruse. If you fly into Auckland or any of our cities and you look at those enormous expenses of flat rus where the industrial sector are. Why are they not covered in solar panels? Why has that not being a national campaign? Do all that get those things going properly? We won't need we absolutely will not need to have New Orlean gas.
It's funny. I think Chris Hopkins made a remark though, that there's something about there won't be the demand for gas, so why they're doing it. I'm like, well, given that you're calling for private investment, people don't like to lose money, so obviously there is an anticipated demand for it, because that's what they're lying on private investment to go and explore for that poor.
Yeah, look, it does seem to make sense. I'm an ev driver.
I like the fact that in New Zealand, you know, we have a lot of renewable energy, but there is a scenario here where things have to add up financial. We've got to be able to afford to pay for our electricity, and you know, at the moment we've got some challenges. I'd imagine those are going to continue unless we're address things.
Yeah, are you are you one hundred percent renewable guy? You know, remember the I remember the vaguely the discussion thing ninety five percent is really achievable. The next extra five percent is heenously expensive. Where are you?
I'm actually agnostic on that. I don't don't for a second thing. I think that means we should expand our or gas or our gas expiration or productivity. But I am agnostic about the getting to the final hundred percent. I think it's much more important to approach it the other way around, saying how are we maximizing our renewables potential? And that's what we should be focusing.
The surprising thing when we had Andrew Bascandor from Harbar Asset Management on our Money Show and he wanted to talk about renewables and there are it is? It was interesting to hear from him from the money point of view, just talking about how much how well we are actually doing on the renewables here was actually quite optimistic that we're doing incredibly well. So that was was just interesting to hear it from that sort of an analytical point of view.
Yeah, because it's so relatively cheap.
Now, Yeah, I heard, have you got soler?
No?
I haven't.
No, I got a nice open go around a Simon.
Wouldn't it be funny to go to Simon's and he's like, let me just get out and stake the fire, and I do not have a fun.
Heturg do we have the discussion about nuclear Oh.
That to save that for another day. But that's exciting too, would be exciting and scary a whole lot of things, but we can't. With only twenty minutes to go, We're probably going to touch on that one for this one, but thank you, Paul. Twenty two minutes to four News Talk sed B. Yes, welcome back to the Weekend Collective. My panelist today. This is Simon Wilson and Paul Spain and guys, Actually, just before we get to the America's Cup, the fines for misuse of mobility parking are set to
increase quite a lot. So at the moment, if you're caught in a ability spot as one hundred and fifty bucks, it's going to increase to seven hundred and fifty reflecting
the seriousness of this offense. Interesting that the story pops up because I was outraged during the middle of a very busy time in my neighborhood in Saint heleyas this car had pulled up and plopped itself in the mobility park and for some reason, it really ground my gears and I found myself going, look, there's no mobility past there.
That's just somebody's just popped themselves there. And I actually took a photo of it, and I didn't shop them in, but I really sort of wish I had, because I do think that it's one of the more crappy things you can do to your neighbors, so to speak, if your neighbor has happens to be disabled, that you parking that spot, Simon, you're just supposed fine.
I think this might be the first issue in the history of media of any kind where there is no other side. I don't think anybody's going to speak up in opposition to this move to increase the fines for this behavior. Are they, I mean, actually going to try and defend it.
I don't know. Paul, do you agree seven whacking it up? Five hundred?
I agree?
Oh he's But.
I have to I have to tell you about the younger Paul Spain Market.
See a row of seven empty slots near the front, and think, if there's all these slots, surely if I take the furthest one away, that's not offensive.
Now.
I got slapped around for that and did you get.
Slaped around physically or no.
No, just just in terms of people say Paul, no, you do not you do not do that doesn't.
Matter, good friend, that's not something you do.
Mate.
Actually you're not up for a seven hundred and fifty dollar fine at wal westle count because that's private land. But they might actually they might claim well they should could.
Yeah, there's another element to this which is not in any way relating to defending the indefensible. But the government led with the announcement that disability fine would go packing disability. We've got in the phone for that, We've got What they've actually done is raise the phones right across for parking because for some extraordinary reason that is controlled by our parliament and not by Councilor twelve.
Dollar fine for parking over ten minutes or something, and.
You're controlled by parliament, it is absolutely nuts. But the actual parking fee there loophole, the pargon fee payers is controlled by councilsel So counselors haven't been able to increase their parking fees when they want to to the degree they might have wanted to, because if the ratio between fee and fine isn't right, then people will just riskle Well, I.
Would say that a younger Tim Beverage at some stage thought, instead of going into the Wilson's car park, I've just gone tell you what I'll park here. I've I'll park for pay for fifteen minutes. I'll use it for thirty to forty five and if I get a twelve dollar fine, that's a good deal. Yeah.
So you know, parking or old parking wardens the evil people in our society. They actually do a great job out. Their job is to keep traffic flowing, keep it functional, make it possible for people who are coming into the city and do need to park, make it relatively possible for them to find one. And therefore phones fees in phones should be a reasonable level, and parking meters should.
Be Actually, on that topic, I've actually encountered a parking warden when they've given me a fine for something. And I don't have any time for people who abuse people who are doing their jobs. I just say I might have even said fair cop. Well, one time I got there before they opened the notepad and said, am I in time? And he said you are just in time? And I wear to laugh and all that, but I hate people who abuse. You know you've parked there, somebody's
giving you a ticket. Suck it up, princess. Any disagreement there, we're all on the same page.
The fees need to go up for that, but we probably need more parks in someplaces.
Hang on here, let's do this ready, Simon. No, we don't know. Yes we do. No, we don't, Yes we do, Yes we do.
How many minutes are we're going to go this?
Look? I think that there's a happy medium somewhere, and maybe it's in between your position and mine. But who knows. No, we don't, yes it is. Hey, look I do. I don't know about you, guys, but I was a little bit mortified. I'm into the America's Cup because I wasn't sure I would be, and I always have been quite an America's Cup fan. And then I found out that all the all the the races are on YouTube, and
I went into the America's Cup website. And I love the fact that we're in this innovative sailing nation and I love watching the boats. And I was kind of mortified that the imagine Grant Dalton would have the might have been some few cross words when they dropped pretty much dropped the boat. But they're going to get it back on the water. But anyway, Paul, America's Cup, anything you love or hate about it, or you're sort of like, you know.
Oh look, I love the innovation that New Zealand is just such as such a key part of it. You know, we contribute to all of the all of the teams and varying ways. You know, it's great for our economy and it's something we've done very well at. So yeah, I was pretty shocked when we saw the boat drop.
That was that was not good.
I would just love to have been a fly on the wall because apparently Grant Dalton heard it. He wasn't just to hear what was that explosion? Sounds simon I was.
I once used to argue that the great thing about the America's Cup was it was a major event in this country, in the city of Auckland. And I'm a great believer in events of all kinds, whether or not I personally want to go to them. Now, cities need big events. But of course that isn't relevant to the America's Cup anymore and probably never will be. I think the America's Cup is essentially a con because of that, And.
I also can't who's con.
We're meant to be far more interested in and engaged in this thing than we than any rational person might be, especially because we have the sal GP series boats get up on foils now without the America's Cup, and it's exciting racing all over the world in lots of different classes. When what is the point of the cup?
Still?
I don't what it's match racing at its finest and the finest vessels, with the finest cruise, with the finest technology, with the finest sales, and these amazing craft that can go in an eight knot wind about forty knots?
And does it Is it more exciting than sol GP?
Oh?
I think sol GPS. I think they're both exciting. I think it's it's a bit like saying do you prefer a team sport? Like watch watching Swimbledon.
I mean, I'm aware that it's probably like saying do you want to watch Formula one or there? Or NASCAR?
Good enough? Why didn't use that one? Actually? I do want to say I was watching the other day and I thought, so there was a maneuver where we have this thing that America's Cup. Our team have high mode where they can basically sell a little closer to the wind. And I'm watching this race and Prata are beating us
and it's very close. And then we get into this close sailing situation where Tea New Zealand's just behind them, and in the course of about thirty seconds, we had a couple of tacks and they're talking about going to high mode, boy high note, and all of a sudden you just see us go past them with a couple of moves, and the commentators it's like they're watching a
different race. I'm like, when are the commentators going to acknowledge that we've just seen one of the most impressive overtakings of a top notch team simply because we've got a different way of doing things. And eventually they said, oh, and there's a league change. I was like, welcome to the party, princess.
It's a second as exciting as watching Alex Ye run past Hayden Wild British without.
Any high tech. I didn't find that particularly exciting, you know what I'm saying, But because they didn't notice the right focusing anyway, let'sport a sport.
And look, there is a tech angle to the America's Cup is the.
Last campaign team New Zealand poured away nearly five percent of their budget on a cyber scam. So there's been a good, good lesson in there. Yeah, so they got a they got an email in that said we want you to pay this bill into a different bank account. And unfortunately they hadn't been trained internally, so they said, sure, we'll send the money wherever you like.
And they said they have.
The finest tech mines available to them working around the clank.
I guess not not not on the occuruncy.
Computers funny on that without using any names. And we have all these we have these tech things we have to do. You have to do a tech update on cybersecurity every month or so. You get this thing, tim you haven't done your text thing. You've got to go click through. And I just went on logged and went to go log onto my email, and I have I opened the email of someone else because I said I want to get into my email, and it opened into the email of this particular host who probably wouldn't want
me to go through. That person's no gender specifically assigned.
So you're just going to guess that I was not doing those security checks.
And you know how good was I thought? Just don't look Tim, even though I was like, oh, there's an email from such and such things.
See the halo around his head at the moment.
Anyway, there we go. I won me to need their names. Of course, though no I wa' referred to it.
Is sent an email from that account to all staff saying, my shout for lunch on Monday.
That's what happened.
Like the guy in those modules, now, I should have sent an email from him to the boss saying I listen to Tim Beverage the other day. God, he's good. We'll be back in just a moment. Nine minutes two four News talks. He'd be Y's welcome back to the Weekend Collective, my panelist Simon Wilson and Paul Spain just quickly, guys, I have found myself not that interested in the All Blacks until now. I am quite interested in our game in South Africa.
Simon, well, I'm interested in it as well. Although I'm fearfully interested. It's going to be really, really hard game for the Oblacks to win.
And I think just because my expectations are that we could easily lose and I'm not expecting to win, then I'm really going to enjoy because I'm not. You know, the worst thing is when you're expect them to win, You're like, what do you mean you're losing, Paul, Yeah, I've been.
My My confidence has certainly dampened. What they're number three in the world at the moment. They know, they're just not winning as consistently as they should and or as we expect, and yeah, how they're going to do in South Africa.
I think it's a flip of a coin.
What's exciting about this game is that both teams now subscribed to the idea that you need really big, tough forwards who are going to go very hard at each other and really adventurous backs who are going to do great things off the back of that. And because they both subscribe to that, it ought to be a really thrilling game.
Just reminds me of those days when we're before sky and all that sort of thing with a little kid getting up in the middle of the night and with the whole family and the hot chocolates and watching watching.
I'm not gidding, I'm not staying up for getting it.
I'm not getting up. Goodness. I just remember the days when choice we had. Hey, guys, thank you so much for coming on. Simons and Paul Spain hasn't been too bad. Simon hasn't been too mean to you, has Paul.
No, he didn't throw any punches. So you know I was going to have.
Till thirty seconds right, you will not pass.
That's the line, isn't it. Yeah, when do we get to them thou shalt not pass? We haven't quite got that. That's next episode. Okay, thanks, thanks Simon, thanks for forming on. We'll be back with the Wonder If Property Right Radio show Helen No Sullivan is join joining us is now the time to buy? Will be one of the questions we'll explore with Helen. It is. Come up to the News three and a half minutes to four News Talks d B.
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