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RNZ News
a day ago
- Lifestyle
- RNZ News
Netball: Tenacious Magic midcourter impresses as ball-winner
Magics Georgie Edgecombe Photo: DJ Mills / Georgie Edgecombe's ball-hunting abilities in a position that doesn't usually shine has been turning heads in the ANZ Premiership. The Magic midcourter has been the most consistent performer in a team that struggled until earlier this week when the Magic had a big win over the Stars to notch up their first win of the season. The 24-year-old's explosiveness off the mark and closing speed have seen her win a lot of ball at wing defence, a position which requires a lot of graft but doesn't necessary get the rewards. But after four rounds, Edgecombe is in the top 10 for intercepts and sits fourth for deflections behind circle defenders Carys Stythe, Catherine Hall, and Jane Watson. Edgecombe grew up in Hamilton and lives in Cambridge where she went to St Peter's for her college years. While she was at St Peter's, she played alongside some of the country's top up and coming female athletes in two other sports, including Tall Fern Charlisse Leger-Walker. Edgecombe won national sporting titles for her school and representative sides in basketball and touch. St Peter's were national New Zealand Secondary Schools basketball champions. Leger-Walker, who has made a name for herself in women's college basketball in the United States, spearheaded the college A-team, alongside fellow Tall Fern Ella Bradley, who also plays in the USA. Former Tall Fern Leanne Walker coached the St Peter's team back then. "I was keen to be a part of the basketball team and have some fun. Obviously Charlisse is a bit of a GOAT so it was cool to play alongside her and her mum Leanne coaching us, so we had a pretty strong team led by Charlisse and Ella," Edgecombe said. Edgecombe also played in the U18 Waikato touch team when they became national champions. Members of that side would go on to represent New Zealand in touch and sevens. "Touch was definitely my summer sport that I gravitated towards and would still love to play but there's not much time in the year at the moment but loved touch and that kind of whānau based sport that I grew up playing, I spent a lot of summers on the touch field." Charlisse Leger-Walker of New Zealand Tall Ferns. Photo: Photosport Edgecombe's start in netball was typical. "I started playing when I was about eight or nine. I was definitely super sporty and netball was just one of the sports I participated in," Edgecombe said. "My parents encouraged us, I've got two older brothers we did as many sports as we could, mostly as a social thing at first and as we got a bit older got a bit more competitive and wanted to take it more seriously." At St Peter's she came under the tutelage of former Silver Fern Amigene Metcalfe, who would later become the coach of the Magic when Edgecombe first joined the team. Edgecombe captained the Senior A netball team for the three years that she was in the side. In her final year at St Peters, she was head girl and very busy. "I tried to play those other sports as long as I could but going into my final year was probably when I thought 'I could continue netball after school' and started thinking about it a bit more seriously. In year 13, I focussed mainly on netball, I still played touch in the summer but in those winter months it was just netball, it was school, it was reps." Her decision to focus on netball paid off - later that year she was named in the NZ Secondary Schools Squad for 2018. In her first two year's out of college, Edgecombe was a Magic training partner and played for the feeder team in the National Netball League. In 2020, she made the NZ U21 squad ahead of the 2021 Netball World Youth Cup, which was cancelled due to Covid. Her second season as a fully contracted Magic player in 2022 was a baptism of fire, when she was thrust into the wing attack position to help cover injury. She was mostly a circle defender at high school and the new position was counter-intuitive to what she was used to. In the season's since then she has mostly played wing defence and a bit at centre. "Wing defence is where I feel most comfortable and feel like I can have the most impact on a game at the moment but I do enjoy when I get to play centre just having the ball in your hands a bit more." Georgie Edgecombe (right). Photo: Photosport Now in her fifth year at the Magic, Edgecombe has taken a number of stunning intercepts this season. "That's every defenders most exciting part of the game and what we work towards in our trainings. I think wing defence can sometimes be a bit of a grind position where you do a lot of work out front to set things up for the defenders behind you, but it's cool in our defensive unit we've got structures where anyone can get ball. "It's just putting yourself in the right positions and definitely exciting and an adrenaline rush when you get those cool intercepts." What are the physical attributes that allow her to cover so much ground? "Agility comes into it but a lot of it I would say is fitness, having a good engine to be able to keep going for the full 60 minutes. My fitness is something I worked hard on in the off season and it allows me to keep running, that's my mentality. The wing attacks are running everywhere so I have to try keep up with them." Edgecombe was named in the Silver Ferns development squad for the first time last year, played for NZA in training matches against the Silver Ferns, and played for the FAST5 Ferns in November. She graduated from Waikato University at the end of 2022 with a Bachelor of Communications and is still figuring out what she wants to do with it. Edgecombe is not afraid to say she has her sights on the Silver Ferns. "For sure, that's definitely the goal long-term. For now my main focus is helping the Magic to be successful ... and whatever will be in the future whether it's this season or in the next season ...hopefully, it's definitely the goal." Veteran Magic circle-defender Georgia Tong said it was an asset having someone as tenacious as Edgecombe in the team. "You know that she's always going to have your back and she's just going to go and go and go again and she's a really positive person as well. Being on the line next to her is really good when you know you haven't got a few balls in awhile, she's always like 'come on we've got this next one'," Tong said. The Magic meet the Stars again on Monday night in Auckland.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Ethical questions raised over Hungry Jack's AI drive-through
The trial of an AI drive-through at a Sydney fast food restaurant has exposed how easily entry-level jobs could be replaced by software, raising ethical questions for businesses. Hungry Jack's confirmed it was testing a 'new digital voice-activated customer ordering system' at its St Peters restaurant to gauge its 'effectiveness'. Currently, it is only being used at the single franchise in Sydney's inner west but the company anticipates the trial would be 'rolled out to additional restaurants in the coming months'. 'Every 15-year-old just lost their job,' one person commented on a viral TikTok video which brought the virtual assistant to wider attention. Daswin De Silva, a professor of AI and analytics at La Trobe University, has been closely monitoring how industries and workforces were changing amid the rise of automation. He said the 'disturbing' use of conversational bots for low-level employment like a Hungry Jack's drive-through attendant raised questions about corporate ethics – something the federal government is being urged to consider when it comes to AI. 'The physical labour they are replacing is negligible compared to potential revenue generation capacity of such a large franchise organisation,' Professor De Silva said. 'This potentially will be receiving a huge backlash and … I'm assuming they'll have to roll this back because this is a very community embedded organisation. 'And if you're using AI for the least effort to job in your very large supply chain, that's something that will be judged harshly in the court of public opinion. 'That's not ethical, (or) a responsible business practice.' Discussion around the future of work has been back in the headlines in recent days after the boss of AI agent developer Anthropic predicted bots could wipe out half of white-collar jobs in America. Professor De Silva said it was important to take the musings of tech bosses with a grain of salt, but added he had seen evidence white-collar jobs in Australia were being affected. McDonald's signals an AI makeover McDonald's recently revealed it would be looking to give its 43,000 stores (there are an estimated 1,053 in Australia) a technology makeover. 'Our restaurants, frankly, can be very stressful,' the fast food giant's chief information officer Brian Rice told the Wall Street Journal in March. 'We have customers at the counter, we have customers at our drive-through, couriers coming in for delivery, delivery at curbside. That's a lot to deal with for our crew,. 'Technology solutions will alleviate the stress.' The fast food chain has been using Google Cloud since 2023 in a setup known as 'edge computing' in a bid to streamline processes in their stores. They say the technology will help with maintenance of key kitchen equipment like McFlurry ice cream machines along with progressing AI-powered drive-thrus and robotic deep fryers. McDonald's has made no mention of whether those advancements could come at the cost of blue-collar jobs typically taken up by teens enjoying their first start in the workforce. The fast food chain is one of the largest employers in Australia with an estimated 105,000 employees. Fast food rivals trial AI It comes after McDonald's ended its test of AI chatbots at drive-throughs in 100 locations around the US in July last year. The burger chain removed the AI-based order systems, giving no public reason for ending its test run, according to Restaurant Business. But it came amid reports of a string of mistakes with diners' meals – with customers saying they often received things they didn't order. Some of the mistakes included adding nine sweet teas to one customer's order and giving another customer an ice cream cone with bacon on top. Just months later, KFC Australia began trialling AI drive-through technology in five restaurants across the country, including South Penrith, Wetherill Park, Mt Druitt, Minto, and Frenchs Forest. Its name was Kacy, but despite the personification, the chain assured no jobs were being replaced by the technology. It appears to still be up and running, according to users on TikTok. 'Wealth shift' from people to tech companies Greg Sadler, chief executive of AI safety advocates Good Ancestors, said recent research found four in five Australians were concerned about negative outcomes from AI. He said AI was already outperforming humans at some tasks, and asserted that the majority of Australians found the technology 'scary'. 'Impressive AI agents are already being used and will be widely adopted. That could have significant impacts on entry-level jobs, from drive-throughs to medicine and law,' he said. 'AI replacing jobs could result in a significant wealth shift from countries like Australia to a small number of companies, mostly in California or Hangzhou. 'Australian businesses face commercial pressure to adopt AI. A problem they face is that AI can still be unpredictable, and leading AI labs push responsibility for harms onto businesses deploying AI. 'Because AI is a 'black box', Australian businesses have limited ability to manage its risks.' Professor De Silva said responsible uptake of AI could put Australia on the path to increased productivity, and help solve issues historically beyond human reach like global hunger and climate. But he said the avenue taken by Hungry Jack's, and other fast-food outlets around the world, only undermined trust in something that has a 'bad reputation'. 'And this only reinforces this, so large organisations who have … large revenue have a corporate social responsibility to make sure that the community is part of their organisation.' Less job adverts since Chat GPT Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei last week claimed rapidly improving AI could see US unemployment rate balloon to 20 per cent in 'a couple of years or less'. 'Most of them (workers) are unaware that this is about to happen. It sounds crazy, and people just don't believe it,' he said. Professor De Silva said there was evidence that less software engineering and programming jobs were being advertised online post the release of Chat GPT in 2022. 'There is a significant drop in the number of software engineering or programming jobs that are being advertised. 'So this is sort of evidence to these predictions that are being made by some of the CEOs of the AI companies.' He said software jobs were among the 'first victims' of the AI boom but replacing physical labour with robots was much further off due to exorbitant costs. Costs for energy and subscriptions would also keep many small and medium Australian businesses from using AI bots instead of humans, Professor De Silva predicted. Aussies use AI but don't trust it Research compiled by KPMG released in April showed that although 50 per cent of Australian used it regularly, the country ranked low when it came to optimism and trust of AI. Professor Nicole Gillespie, chair of trust at Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne, said believing AI was safe to use was crucial to wider acceptance. 'Yet our research reveals that 78 per cent of Australians are concerned about a range of negative outcomes from the use of AI systems, and 37 per cent have personally experienced or observed negative outcomes ranging from inaccuracy, misinformation and manipulation, deskilling, and loss of privacy or IP,' she said. Newly minted Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Tim Ayres told an AI conference on Tuesday that Australia must 'lean in' to help shape the digital future. 'Core to this national interest is also using the digital economy and AI adoption as foundational to future productivity growth,' he said. 'AI adoption is not a future task for firms and government – it is well and truly underway. The Australian challenge is to lean in to adopt AI to lift productivity and living standards, deliver investment in infrastructure and capability and protect our security. 'To realise the opportunities where we can, and regulate where we must.' Professor De Silva, however, had a different opinion: 'It's probably safe to be a follower'. He pointed to the difference between AI regulation in Europe compared to the deregulation of the sector in Donald Trump's America, where he said 'all bets were off'. 'We have to be cautious, not being not being the first mover in this case, it's advantageous because it's got a huge potential negative impact. 'And we don't want to be the victims of that negative impact if it's done wrong.'
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Jersey 20mph zone to be extended as scared mum welcomes change
The 20mph speed limit in St Peter's village is going to be extended, with a Jersey mother welcoming the change - saying she was scared for her children's lives while crossing the Peter's Constable Richard Vibert said the end of the 20mph zone on La Grande Route de St Pierre would be moved to beyond the Marks and said the change had been agreed after a traffic review and would be introduced "in the next few months".Jenna Weber welcomed the change after her "really scary" experience but said authorities needed to do more to make the area safe. 'Unsafe situation' Ms Weber and her family live on La Grande Route de St Pierre near where the speed limit changes from 20mph to said she was crossing the road to get to M&S when a large vehicle came speeding around the corner before braking just metres away from her and her said: "Being in the middle of the road, already there wasn't much I could do, so I just frantically tried to make sure that everyone was safe and put myself in between the children and the vehicle."She said this was not an isolated incident and other residents had had similar experiences."It is a family village and people should feel like they can use the amenities and be able to walk through the village and not be scared," she said. Ms Weber said there had been times when she had driven less than 100m because she was too frightened to cross the road with her said the extension of the 20mph zone was "something" but added greater traffic calming measures should be considered, such as speed humps, zebra crossings and give way said people did not obey the current speed limit, which made it an "unsafe situation"."I don't want it to take for something to happen with a child walking to school or a villager walking to the shops for something to be considered and put in place," she said further traffic controls were particularly important because of plans to build nearly 130 more homes in the parish. In response to Ms Weber's concerns, the infrastructure department said it could not add a pedestrian crossing because the existing right turn for traffic into the retail and business area needed to be "retained in its current format".It said: "It caters for a significant number of right-turning vehicles throughout the day."Provision of any crossing would cause the right-hand turn lane to be too small for traffic."It also said it could not add more pavement to the road because it was too narrow. Vibert said he was just as concerned as residents by traffic issues in St Peter's said he had spoken with successive infrastructure ministers about traffic controls but had only recently had "a little bit of success".He said the extension of the 20mph zone should happen relatively quickly as the infrastructure minister had plans to implement it using a ministerial said traffic engineers were also looking at controls for the roads next to the proposed housing development and there were plans for pedestrian crossings nearby, however not near the M& said the infrastructure department needed to do some "more hard work" on creating safe areas for people to cross the main road. Kate Huntington, who runs the Better Journeys initiative in Jersey, which encourages people to leave their cars at home and find other ways to work or school, said that when she began cycling regularly, or walking along some island roads, she found it dangerous and scary."I had so many near misses," she added motorists needed to understand that vulnerable road users had a right to be there, and pedestrians and cyclists also needed to take up said dropping speed limits across the island could also make pedestrians and cyclists feel said: "We shouldn't have areas where it's not safe to leave your house unless you are in a car, that's not right, that's not the right way to live."Because they aren't going anywhere but they don't need to dominate our infrastructure."
Scoop
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Democracy Blindsided
Press Release – St Peters on Willis Social Justice Group The impact of this reduction in due process is being paid for by women across New Zealand as they strive to support themselves and their families. This government has consistently during 2024 and into 2025 pushed bills through with limited or no Regulatory Impact Statements, no due consideration of advice from government departments, or impact on communities and in fact early this year reduced speaking times at Select Committee hearings to only 5 minutes for organisations attempting to represent the most vulnerable. These things erode our democratic rights. The government has introduced the Equal Pay Amendment Bill to the house in the past days under urgency. The approach has breached Bill of Rights Act, is inconsistent with the international Sustainable Development Goals requirements for delivery of fair pay for women and is starkly saying New Zealand can't afford to pay women at pay equity rates, but we can afford to deliver tax cuts to landlords and concessions to some industries such as the tobacco industry. The impact of this reduction in due process is being paid for by women across New Zealand as they strive to support themselves and their families. The bill limits their capability to pursue claims by extinguishing existing cases and denying back pay just as they extinguished existing claims by Māori through the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill and Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) (Customary Marine Title) Amendment Bill late last year. But wait there is more! The Regulatory Standards Bill has just been passed by Cabinet this week to present to the House for its first reading in the near future. The propose Regulatory Standards Bill has been marketed to us as enhancing and improving productivity and the quality regulation but instead will prioritise corporate interests, individual interests and property over societal interests, safety and wellbeing. The proposed legislation provides a basis for reducing regulations designed to protect workers from harm and ignores the social and human costs of lowering regulatory standards as irrelevant externalities. This complex piece of legislation could be rushed through under urgency soon. We could be just as powerless to counter it. Regulatory Impact Statements considering all aspects of legislation would not have been prepared against the bill itself, insufficient advice would have been provided from government departments or the judiciary and most importantly from the public submission process where all spectrums of society could have a chance to have their say. Proposals for new Ti Tiriti principles fit snugly inside this proposed legislation, so while we are cheering that the Treaty Principles Bill has been put to bed a further affront to our rights could be foisted upon us unawares in the name of improving legislative processes. Complying with the fragile Coalition Agreements is taking first place without respect for the mana of the Treaty of Waitangi. Writing this just after the 3rd reading of the Equal Pay amendment passing, forcing women of New Zealand to sacrifice their pay equity claims to balance the books for Budget 2025 is sobering. We hope New Zealanders will be made aware of a further injustice waiting in the wings that will walk all over the Treaty of Waitangi, allow exploitation of our resources in the name of private property rights and hamper government's ability to challenge business on negative externalities in case the government itself will be put in a position of paying compensation for potential loss of private profits. We are now functioning in a new paradigm where our democracy is being blindsided every day.
