00:07
And now on 2GB Sydney, 4BC Brisbane and network stations across Australia, it's time for Nights with John Stanley.
00:17
Good evening everyone, welcome along to this Thursday night. We've got a lot ahead of us tonight and of course our Thursdays are a lovely mixed bag. We have camping and off-roading in the next hour with the Ducks that will take you into regional parts of Australia. We'll take you vicariously to those parts of Australia where you may not and never have been. We'll have words with Kel Richards later. And, of course, in the final hour, we'll recap what's happened with the news and what might be happening tomorrow. And I'll be here for the four hours unless... What time's that Powerball draw? Unless I may have to make an early departure.
00:48
but very, very unlikely. I mentioned it because a couple of people are already sending me messages saying they've bought their Powerball tickets. I'm wondering if people are doing that because they're looking for some respite and maybe they can spend a bit of time dreaming of getting out of the quagmire in which we are in at the moment because we've got the Labor Party conference being held today. There are so many of these issues which they've really dampened down the debate. They do seem to be trying to get as much tension focused on Pauline Hanson as possible. because if they can put attention on Pauline Hanson, that's going to make it much harder for the Liberal Party and the coalition.
01:23
It's a game they're playing because their interests promote one nation, but they don't promote it too much. So we'll talk to our News Hour guests about all of that in just one moment. There's also, for our listeners in Sydney, and you've been hearing reports on this if you're in Sydney, trains are not running from Granville to Cabramatta.
01:45
In that direction, the T2 Leppington inner west line, there was an incident. This is just near Merrylands, which they are looking at at the moment and dealing with that incident. City-bound trains reviewing from Cabramatta toward Granville, but trains travelling away from the city being diverted by Regent's Park. So if you're waiting for someone to get home, you're listening to us perhaps. While you're on the platform, hopefully you've got all the information you need and that disruption is because of an incident that they are dealing with right now. 131 873 is the number. The Money News program in the last hour...
02:20
And with a couple of things today, we had employment numbers that emerged today showing a very strong employment market. So, you know, employment's grown, employment market's good, unemployment remains low, and as a consequence of that, we're told it's now more likely that interest rates will go up. So not enough people lost their jobs. And then you counter that, and I heard a fair bit of anecdotal evidence through our feedback and our talkback lines today, people saying, well, that's not my experience.
02:51
In terms of the situation with jobs and people who are trying to find jobs, in the job market at the moment. And I know our news, I guess, may have some thoughts on this because he's worked on the inside as well, how they work out the employment numbers. And I've mentioned this a few times, the ABS. The ABS isn't monitoring. There's not little wheels that go and tick over. Oh, someone's just lost their job. Oh, someone's just got a job. It's not happening in that real-time way. It's a very, very big national survey that they conduct every month.
03:23
to work out the employment numbers. Sometimes they can bump around, but it's that massive survey that leads to decisions being made on interest rates. And then you've got AI. You wonder whether down the track they might develop some sort of an AI algorithm that might be able to tell us what's going on with the employment market and how much faith we'll be able to place in that. Because the data centres are being built, they're already being built, huge data centres. They're being built everywhere. Questions about how they're going to be powered.
03:52
how the water that they'll need will be provided as well. All of those questions. We're all swimming around in all of that. And then all these little AI algorithms bouncing around us. And so it's no wonder that we take refuge in puerile stories like Barnaby's Dog.
04:10
or in sport. And of course, we've just had the Soccer World Cup, and we've got the Commonwealth Games beginning. Now, the Commonwealth Games, of course, nowhere near as big as the Olympics, but Australia does very, very well in the Commonwealth Games. And so, for logical reasons, the competition's not as strong. In track and field, it generally is. But the Commonwealth Games...
04:31
is being held in Glasgow, and nearly $200 billion of it to fund it is coming from Victorian taxpayers. In fact, the Glasgow locals, they're actually, this is happening, reporters over there have gone to pubs, oh, you're from Australia, and they've toasted the Victorian taxpayer for providing the nearly $200 million to host the Commonwealth Games. And this was the bizarre decision, of course, of the Andrews government to first of all stage the Commonwealth Games and then say, we'll cut our losses now.
05:05
And they lost a huge amount of money and they're giving nearly $200 million to Glasgow to stage it. But I'm just wondering...
05:13
I'm wondering what they're thinking just privately in the Victorian Labor Party because there's an election coming up and Australia always does well. It's always a feel-good event, the Commonwealth Games.
05:24
They would have been staging the Commonwealth Games in the months leading up to an election.
05:30
I think they'd be wondering, well, we could have done with that.
05:33
Our news, I guess, may have some thoughts on that one as well. 131873 is the number. Lots more to talk about. I guess we'll be talking a bit about One Nation tonight. And the comments that Pauline Hanson made with Gary Hargrave, for those listening here on 4BC or through different parts of the nation, you've heard all of those. It's been talked about extensively. I think most people who've gone...
05:57
And actually looked at the whole interview. You can make up your mind because there was a lot more in the entirety of the interview than some of the reporting of what she had to say. However, there's a story just lobbed this afternoon where there's a podcast, which she did. It might have been last year. And this is one of these podcasts which is advocating for men and fathers. It's called The Broken Fathers Podcast. And they're saying she's talked about family and domestic violence leave as a holiday. Child support's become a cash cow.
06:29
There's a lot of false claims. There's a few other comments being made there as well that will feed into this conversation about domestic violence and family law. From memory, I think the Howard government tried to change the onus when it comes to people, family breakdowns and in particular custody disputes.
06:51
But she says it's still tilted too far in the direction of women. And she's agreeing with the person who did this podcast. So that one goes into the mix as well. 131873 is the number. A lot to talk about.
07:05
Plenty to talk about. If you want to lighten the mood, tell us a joke, get on the phone and get your dog to bark on the phone. I don't know. Something, because there are some serious issues to talk about tonight. We're going to get into all of those straight after this at 14 minutes past eight.
07:23
18 minutes past eight is the time. It is a Thursday night. Look, the story's just popped up coming out of the United States where Google... Now, if you think about the present situation and the tension between the United States and Donald Trump and Europe...
07:39
And it says that the European Union's accused Google of anti-competitive business practices, which may well be true, and they've hit them with a $1 billion fine. So Google's fined by the European Union $1 billion. Google will no doubt be...
07:57
If Bryson DeChambeau is threatening to call Donald Trump over a two-stroke penalty in the British Open, you imagine Google will make the call as well. So who knows what the consequences of that will be. Everything at the moment very much uncertain. Terry Barnes is our Thursday night news hour guest. Terry, good evening to you. Good evening, John. Look, you've been...
08:17
looking through what's been happening at the Labor Party conference. You've seen a lot of these over the years. Before we get to it, though, I did want to touch on this story coming out of Glasgow where reporters are going into pubs and they're being fated by people saying, oh, thank you very much for all the money the Victorians have poured in to staging these games. It was obviously a cynical... A cynical move by Daniel Andrews to have the Commonwealth Games held a couple of months out from the next Victorian election. They were going to stage it in regional parts of Victoria and the idea was in all these seats they need to defend at the next election.
08:52
They decided to pull the pin and they're paying $200 million to Glasgow.
08:57
I mean, wouldn't they be sitting there kicking themselves that having gone through the exercise of engineering this, I guess, this exercise, bread and circuses, they didn't go ahead with it?
09:09
I'll give them a break, John. It wasn't 200 million. It was 194.
09:14
But reality is, yeah, you've got it absolutely spot on. I mean... It was promised in 2022 at the last state election in Victoria in terms of infrastructure, you know, the games, villages, the sports arenas and facilities, all of that. And it was really sold to regional Victoria as we're going to put you on the map. We're going to give you all this good stuff. You're going to have really good stuff down in the future. But when they got past the election and they breezed past the elections, it turned out, even though beforehand it didn't look so good for them, They effectively said, no, we can't really afford this.
09:52
Why did we do it in the first place? We're going to renege on it. But, of course, when you renege on a contract, there are consequences. The consequences are $194 billion paid to Glasgow to host the games in Victoria's stead. Yep.
10:04
It does seem extraordinary. So I'll just touch on two quick ones in terms of sport before we get to the Labor Party conference and the controversy over One Nation. There's been the big stories we've gone through this week. But the first one is I do test this with you each week. the situation in Victoria where One Nation still has very, very high numbers in the polls. The election's not that far away. The coalition, you'd think, should be in the box seat. What's your sense now?
10:35
Certainly some of the polling suggested that Labor and the coalition are neck and neck in the terms of the seats that they will win in November. But the wild card is that One Nation would win at least a dozen on those polls. So the reality is there is going to be a conservative majority of seats, I think, in November. I just think it's inevitable now. I mean, they're now talking, the Labor Party caucus, about tapping... Premier Jacinta Allen on the shoulder yet again. They may not go ahead with it, but they had a really, well, very unfriendly, friendly caucus retreat during the week where a minister was actually, it was leaked that he was having sprays at the party organisation, the Premier's office, everybody going.
11:23
And certainly that type of unhappiness...
11:26
unhappiness if it's leaking out, I think it doesn't vote well. But when it comes to One Nation, they're going to actually, I think, make the government of Victoria. I don't think they're going to be part of it. I don't think they're going to get enough seats, but they're going to have the say as to who governs. And I actually think that a minority coalition government after November is probably just as bad as a Labor government because Victoria is such a basket case. It needs strong, stable majority government to actually make the decisive decision moves that will actually try and get the state back on track.
11:56
Yeah. And so the question then, because we don't know who, we've got no idea who the One Nation candidates would be. We assume they'll win seats because the numbers, certainly for this election, they look pretty solid and people are going to put One Nation, they're going to tick One Nation and then I guess they'll say, and who have I voted for? So there'll be people sitting in the parliament who will, presumably whoever that leader is, will have to herd A collection of people together and then they'll have to do some negotiation in terms of what they want because they'll have to look relevant, won't they?
12:28
So they'll be saying, this is what we want. And so the new minority government will have to compromise to get their support.
12:37
Well, that's the thing. I don't think a new government can afford to compromise like that because Victoria is going to need some very tough things to be done to sort out the budget, to sort out the economy, to sort out, I think, the chronic crime and corruption problems that we have down here in Victoria.
12:57
But certainly I think when it comes to One Nation and its vote in November, I don't think the candidates are going to matter. I mean, this is a classic case of it's the leaders who actually are seen by voters. And there is not a leader in Victoria, but there is another leader, a certain redheaded woman called Pauline Hanson. And people say, I'm going to vote for Pauline. Yeah.
13:16
Look, the reason I wanted to open with that, because ultimately we keep talking about opinion polls and people saying they're going to be voting for One Nation and we get the rise in the vote and every poll is showing that. And I think everyone knows it's real, but there is going to be this test. So there will be a government formed within a few months in Victoria and One Nation will certainly have a role. in that government either supporting the government or who knows who knows what kind of arrangement they'll make uh once the numbers are in i think there's the expectation that'll that'll happen so it's we need to keep an eye on it as we count down toward it might even be a different premier terry so look at 24 minutes past eight got the labor party conference seems they spent a lot of time alluding to one nation and putting the attention on pauline hansen so I'll play a couple of bits from today and then I'll get your observation.
14:06
First of all, this is Anthony Albanese, part of what he had to say at the beginning.
14:10
The work all of us must take from this conference to the country that we love, bringing aspiration in reach of all Australians, creating opportunity for all Australians, delivering real change for all Australians.
14:28
OK, we've heard those sort of things, I think, at most of these conferences on both sides of politics. So let's get to this one here. This is where they've really tried to put the focus on One Nation, so have a listen.
14:40
While you can go a long way in politics for a long time by raging against a system that you're a part of, without a plan to fix it, or blaming people who cannot defend themselves for a problem they did not cause, that doesn't build anything. It doesn't change anything. All those attention seeking culture wars imported from overseas, all those trips around the world to talk Australia down,
15:14
cannot disguise the fact that none of them have anything new or anything positive to offer our country yeah and i think they're they're avoiding saying it but it's all about pauline hansen isn't it well absolutely i mean there was so much waffle in the prime minister's speech that you could have added the maple syrup and ice cream i mean it was uh it was so laid on so thick yet You know, she was like Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter. I mean, he dared not speak her name, Pauline Hanson.
15:45
Barely mentioned One Nation by name as well. A lot of implication through it. And I think on the Labor side, they're enjoying the fact that the coalition is thrashing about. and is really having strips torn off it by One Nation and Pauline Hanson. But I think the way that the Prime Minister came back to it again and again and again in his speech highlights how much Labor, the real hardheads in Labor, actually realise that Pauline Hanson and One Nation are coming for their voters too, and that their seats are going to be just as threatened come election time if things don't change as the coalitions.
16:21
If the cost of living is the key issue, and you and I have said this a few times, that last election and really the 2022 election, the core message was we're going to focus on the cost of living. And then last time the polling has shown, the qualitative polling, that people voted again for Labor because they weren't convinced the other side could do anything about the cost of living. Now there seems to be a collapse in trust in the government on cost of living. So people are up for grabs on that. They're all going, well... Someone's got to do something about this. I didn't hear anything today that gave people hope that the cost of living is going to be any better in the short or medium term.
16:58
I think that's right. There was a lot of patting on the back about their performance. Oh, we're wonderful. We've done all this. We've done that. We've spent money here, there and everywhere. We've opened this. We've closed that. We're protected workers. We are the party of the workers. I think that was the other thing that came through the Prime Minister's spiel. He's very strong on that. And they talked about this new Fair Work Court, which is very much focused at union members. But really, cost of living is what matters to all Australians, not just Labor voters.
17:30
And what we're seeing with Labor, particularly with the budget and the broken promises around taxation, is that people are sort of saying, well, heck, I mean, why did we vote for them a second time around? Let's go and look at the alternatives. But they're not looking at the coalition as an alternative. They're looking at Pauline Hanson.
17:49
Yeah, and the Coalition, look, in fairness, they've got time, but they came up with a pamphlet today that they were showing around with what their policies are. I don't know how they're going to sell that. We'll see in the days ahead. But I did mention earlier, because a lot of this stuff is all hypothetical, but in the real world, we had the ABS unemployment numbers today, which I've pointed out are based on a big survey. So they're not real world numbers. They're based on a massive survey every month. which is done by the ABS, and based on those numbers, decisions are made on interest rates.
18:19
I was just going to ask you, Terry, because with these ABS numbers, they generally are close to the money, but the fact that they're done just by a survey and some of the criteria which says if you work a certain number of hours, you're classified as being in the workforce – they do tend to disguise what might be the real situation in the real world.
18:41
Well, that's right, because that number of hours, I think it still is the case, is two hours per fortnight. So you don't have to work very long to be considered employed as far as the labour market survey goes.
18:55
And certainly, as you say, I mean, the Reserve Bank makes very big decisions on the back of it. But there's a lot of underemployment in the economy. That hasn't really changed. And there's a lot of hidden unemployment as well, and people who don't register in the figures.
19:12
The Reserve Bank needs to keep that in mind as well. My understanding is that they do, or at least try and factor it in. But certainly, I mean, that ABS survey has a lot of weight, both politically and in terms of economic decisions.
19:27
It has. And again, you don't need to listen to our Money News show tonight and just read what's being said about AI. And for a lot of us, it's very hard to get your head around. It's very, very complicated. It's moving very, very quickly. You wonder whether decision makers have got their head around how quickly it's moving. So I get a message here saying, well, say in the public sector, could AI be doing a lot of the work there? You've worked within the public sector and you know, and I hope our two double C listeners in Canberra are just going to say this, There are people who do really great work and are very dedicated within the public service.
20:01
But there's how – it's a terrible cliche. What, pen pushes that could be replaced by AI? Would you think, Terry? Are you willing to say that?
20:10
I think there's always going to be – a case for change. It was automation in the 60s and 70s. It's AI now.
20:19
But certainly, I think AI is a job-stealing technology. There's no question about it. I mean, it's one of the reasons I think that the unions have been pushing the Prime Minister to make his AI statement last week, and they actually want to be part of the process that leads to the regulation he talked about. But But certainly, I think the notion that, oh, we're going to get a data centre, we're going to actually set these up around the country, we're going to be a world data hub, has to take into account the human cost of it.
20:50
I don't think policymakers do. They think about the here and now and the next election. They don't think 10, 20, 30 years down the track. And the other side of all of that is if...
21:02
Labor today and the Prime Minister again talked about a renewable energy future. How is that going to be able to sustain the humongous demands for electricity and water that data centres are actually going to impose on us? Well, that's right. And I also wonder...
21:18
In relation to that, and it was a week ago that we were hearing about how much just the one data centre at Eastern Creek is going to require, and you wonder whether that might be one of those moments where you could actually at least crack open the ban on nuclear power so that we can see who's prepared to put money in and how quickly they might be able to set something up because they're prepared to pay for it, these people. These are big outfits and they need the power.
21:42
Well, that's right. Maybe they have to have a small modular reactor like some businesses like factories have their emergency generators to make sure they have the power. But look, when you're talking about Eastern Creek, I think it wasn't at 5% of the national grid. And you multiply that by 10, 20 data centres around the country. I mean, that's doubling our consumption, isn't it?
22:05
All right. Let's take a break, come back in a moment, because I want to just, again, focus a bit, because the big talking point all week has been about the rise of One Nation.
22:14
Everyone's talking about it. There's a bizarre column in The Australian Today where David Oldfield's describing himself as the brains of One Nation, and that without him, now that he's not there, they're not going to be able to... It's very strange, all of this. But I want to get your thoughts where you think they are heading now. Still a long way to go to the election. The domestic violence question with Pauline Hanson, there's been another contribution on that one this evening. And I've got a bit of feedback from our listeners as well. 131873 is our number now, 27 to 9.
22:48
At 24 minutes to nine, it is, of course, our Thursday news hour. 131873 is the number. Terry Barnes, of course, he's a former senior advisor to the coalition, both in government and opposition. He's a member of the Liberal Party. He's involved in policy all of his life. He's a commentator and a writer now with The Spectator magazine, but he does this with us every Thursday. Now, Terry, you've been sceptical about One Nation. You've talked about the bubble bursting. You get a lot of pushback from our listeners on that. So each week... As the week goes on, it doesn't matter what is said or what happens, the numbers are holding up.
23:23
Well, yes, I think if you're not a One Nation supporter, it's been a dog of a week, really, hasn't it? No matter what they say, Pauline Hanson, Barnaby Joyce and others, what they do or what they say to their dog, nothing's changing. I mean, the latest polling numbers have showed that One Nation's actually bumped up again. Pauline Hanson's approval has bumped up again.
23:47
I think her trip to the UK in many ways shows that she is, well, playing with fire, particularly with the far right fire in relation to Tommy Robinson, the racist thug over there. But certainly, I don't think voters are caring about that. They're absolutely cheesed off with the major parties. And this is where Labor, I think, is still in cloud cuckoo land about all of that.
24:12
But certainly, they're not looking into the One Nation, its policies, what it stands for, what it says in any depth at the moment. They may, and certainly the scrutiny is there. But at the moment, there seems to be pushback in the sense that, oh, look, they would say that, wouldn't they? They're picking on Pauline. We don't, you know... That shows that she's actually doing a good job, and I think she's riding on that. I think One Nation's complacent about it, and they still have to do the hard yards on policy, but they're not being pushed on it at the moment.
24:43
Now, at 22 minutes to nine, I'll get to calls and feedback in a moment, but just on the comments made in the interview with Gary Hargrave on 4BC, where she talked about domestic violence and made that reference to a two-way street, and I think when you go and listen to all of the comments, she was saying, well, men are victims of domestic violence as well. And I said that my assumption is that what she was saying, women are overwhelmingly overrepresented, but men are also targeted. And you've got views on that. In fact, when you were working yourself in government in Victoria, you sought some information, didn't you, about this, just to get some facts?
25:21
That's right. I mean...
25:23
The reality is that most reported domestic violence is men on women. It's about 80-odd percent of all reports. But the other 20 percent is women on men and children on parents. I mean...
25:39
And it's probably a lot more that's unreported. I mean, men probably find it harder to actually report domestic violence incidents than women do.
25:50
And I think that's what she was getting at. And as far as mentioning it and saying that it's legitimate, I think she's on the money. I disagree with a lot of what she said around it, but as far as the stats go, the stats don't lie. Yeah.
26:04
This is on public record because you're working in an office and you just simply requested, are there statistics, information we can look at in relation to this? And they weren't keeping those. They weren't keeping the statistics.
26:18
That was what you discovered. And you sort of were going to what my experience when I was the Chief of Staff to a Community Services Minister in Victoria. She was also the Women's Minister. And I asked our department about domestic violence statistics in general, including statistics on women on men violence. And they said, we don't keep statistics on that type of type of incident.
26:44
And really, the only what we're concerned about is domestic violence against women and women. rightly so, that just by raising the question, I was a marked man as far as they were concerned, and so much so that they actually leaked to the media I asked the question because they thought that they would score points against my minister. I mean, it was that type of ideological blinkered behaviour or thinking I just think is dangerous. If we're really going to tackle family violence comprehensively, we have to admit that it's not just one type of violence, that it actually relates to a whole range of reactions, interactions and situations.
27:29
And if we don't do that, we're never going to solve the problem.
27:33
mention this because this has turned up just in the last few hours uh obviously these things emerge so pauline handsome went on a podcast last year the broken father's podcast uh jared percy purcells this is a one of these ones about father's rights and the issue of uh and he's got he's got a position on this i think his his podcast name uh is pretty pretty clear as to what his position is but she's saying things in the interview and i've just got quotes here I believe you've got to wind back a lot of the issues to do with the Family Law Court.
28:04
Go after the child support. A lot of people see it as a cash cow, questioning whether the payments were always spent on children. You've got to rein in child support. She's saying domestic violence takes up about 75% of police officers' time.
28:18
Well, we're not dealing with real crime out there. Well, I think it is real crime. This is violence and people are dying. That's right. The whole thing needs to be wound back.
28:27
I mean, look, again, I'm just reading these quotes. It's turned up on the front of the nine newspapers. Again, I think people will now go and listen to the whole interview on the podcast. That's part of the problem with these things, isn't it?
28:41
Well, it is. And I think those statements are so sweeping and so generalised that they don't really carry any value anyway. They're worthless. And I think by wading into that, Pauline Hanson made a real error of judgment, which she's prone to do.
28:59
But when she was talking about real statistics, that's one thing. When she's just making squeaking statements and generalisations, that's another. And when you're dealing with a topic like this, which is so sensitive, I just think that is irresponsible. Yeah.
29:12
All right. So, look, I think that's obviously going to be a story over the next couple of days in relation to that.
29:20
I think it was the Howard government, wasn't it, that changed some of the laws in terms of the presumption for custody so that there was a view that the balance needed to be shifted a little bit more in the direction of fathers. Am I right on that? I've got that memory.
29:37
I think you are right on that. And certainly I think fathers sometimes get, well, short shrift in the family court. But to actually say that it's...
29:47
General problem, I think, is wrong.
29:51
But certainly I think most fathers are just as caring and responsible for their children as mothers are. And I think that's something that John Howard or the Howard government tried to accept and recognise, but it's not always seen the same way by the courts. Yeah.
30:06
And one of the issues that I think the more transparency we can have in the justice system is what the late Darren Hinch used to talk about, finding out what's going on, being able to know what all of the evidence is in the family court. It's all for obvious reasons, because of the involvement of children in particular. It's all under a shroud of secrecy. I've never been inside a family court.
30:29
But those who have been, it would be a pretty tough environment day after day.
30:35
Oh, that's right. But I think out of all of this, the most important thing in any relationship breakdown is the best interests of the children. Exactly. And that includes custody as well. And I guess what the government was trying to do 20 odd years ago is to encourage courts or the family court judges to look at the full picture wherever they could, not just simply assume that if it's a choice between mum and dad, that mum is always going to be the best option.
31:00
Yep. I always remember on this subject, I think it's 20 more years ago, a friend of mine was working for a... He may have been an MP on the Labor side. I don't remember which one. He was put in charge of a committee to look into the question of the family court and family law. And he thought, well, I'm just going to try and find... So he actually put out a statement saying, over the next two days, you can call my office and give us your feedback. Yeah.
31:28
I think he had one person on the phones or two, and you could imagine the phones actually melted down, and I think he was staggered to see how much feedback there was. It's a very, very fraught question, the nature of the family law court. Can I just, on the broader question of Pauline Hanson, go to Pam, who's been waiting on, with a comment here. Hello, Pam.
31:47
Hello, John.
31:49
Terry, firstly, I can assure you I'm not giving up on the coalition, but anyway... I heard a time back Pauline saying she had someone really special to appoint in Victoria, head of her party team there. Now, daughter Lee, as we know, lost to Jackie Lambie vying for the Senate in Tasmania. What are the chances, do you think, that Lee could relocate to Victoria...
32:25
And they put her in a very likely seat.
32:29
Well... She wants her in the mix, in the party big time.
32:34
Well, from what she's saying, I think she wants her to succeed Pauline as leader. I mean, that's a... I don't know if Barnaby Joyce agrees with that.
32:44
But certainly, look, it's possible, Pam.
32:47
She's...
32:48
Still in Tasmania, she's working for a New South Wales senator, so she's commuting about a bit, I guess.
32:55
And Victoria does not have a one-nation leader. It barely has a one-nation organisation, and it certainly has no one-nation candidates. So that might be the sort of person that Pauline Hanson herself is looking for. I mean, there was a speculation that the former...
33:11
military officer, army officer Heston Russell might take the gig, but he's actually ruled it out. So there is nobody there to lead One Nation, but under One Nation's constitution, they don't need to because it's actually Pauline is the leader wherever she goes.
33:25
That's right. And they do seem to be getting the votes and getting the support. Look, thank you, Pam, because it is interesting. So I think she's on the staff of the New South Wales senator, but she works in Tasmania, Lee Hanson. That's right. But she does it.
33:41
Does a lot of media, particularly on Sky News, that staffers don't usually do. So she's obviously being encouraged to build up a profile.
33:50
All right. Let's take another break. Come back in a moment at 12 minutes to nine here on this Thursday.
33:58
Nine and a half minutes to nine is the time. It is a Thursday night. We're talking news with Terry Barnes, of course, who's our Thursday night news hour guest. Look, a lot of people are very critical of the family court. I'll be careful what I read here also.
34:12
I've got people talking about domestic violence against men. Often psychological description described as castration by women.
34:21
Easier for women to get help than men. That's probably true. But in the end, there's also people who don't believe the domestic violence figures saying that a lot of... He's saying, this is the sort of stuff I've sure has exercised your mind as well. A lot of male victims are too embarrassed to report it.
34:39
And then you've got the situation with the family court where...
34:44
We were talking during the break. Being a family court judge, how you would do it, sitting there trying to resolve unresolvable questions, and you've got these poor kids in the middle of it all.
34:59
Well, that's right. And I think you need the wisdom of Solomon to do it as well. Exactly. But it must be one of the most stressful jobs you could possibly think of. And I just have so much respect for the family court and family court judges who try to do the right thing by people.
35:13
Yeah. We've had situations in the past where family court judges have been murdered. That's right. So this is how much passion and anger there is in the middle of it all. Now, I mentioned those unemployment numbers and the ABS figures and how they can bounce from month to month. They're not real-time estimates or real-time indications of... how many people have got a job and how many people haven't got a job. Someone making this point, Greg, we're bringing in more overseas workers. So we're asking for people to come in with skills.
35:44
We're saying we need them. We've got industries like construction and the regional areas and the farmers who are saying we need more workers.
35:51
But then there are people saying, well, we can't get enough work. How does that add up? It's a conundrum that has been there for a very long time, hasn't it?
35:59
Well, that's right. And certainly, I think when you do have shortages in areas in demand, you have to get them quickly and then getting them in from overseas by four, five, seven visas or whatever.
36:10
It's the easy and lazy way. But what we really need to do is make sure that we have workers trained in Australia getting jobs in Australia. And that's not an easy fix either. It's a very expensive one on top of everything.
36:23
Yeah, but I just wonder because – and again, it goes to some of the things we talk about here on a regular basis. At the end of the spiral that someone can go into when they lose their job, they could end up on the street and then you've got to try – because my friend Chris Vag, who deals with this regularly, says a lot of those people, he talks to them, that they would love to get off the street and into a place to live, but they'd love to have a job. And that it requires an effort once they've reached that point to get them into the situation where they can actually function and get a job and pay taxes, which is what they want to do.
36:58
But it's too hard, we seem to be saying.
37:02
Well, I think I'm not going to sort of say one government's responsible for that. I think it's been a problem really for decades. And it is something that because it is...
37:13
politically unsexy that neither side of politics really wants to grapple with.
37:19
They go for the quick fixes, they go for the quick immigration, they go for training programs that may or may not lead to something because it's being seen to do something, not because it necessarily is going to work.
37:30
The Commonwealth Games, of course, Terry, the good news for all of us listening in New South Wales and Queensland is we're not paying directly for the Games, but you are.
37:39
So your rates, your state taxes, I guess you could say all your state taxes are being put on a plane and sent over to Glasgow. That might make you feel better. But we have got Queensland, which is going to be staging the Olympic Games in exactly six years.
37:57
I've... I know people, there's all the talk of how much it's going to cost. They're building this big swimming centre.
38:03
Can I ask you, because I was mentioning this last night, I think Sydney was fantastic, one of the best things I've ever been to in my entire life. You could bottle it, we'd be a lot better society. And I know you were there at the closing ceremony. But I wonder about how we left the legacy in terms of the infrastructure compared to Melbourne, where that Olympic precinct from 1956 has...
38:23
As worn the test of time, it's been upgraded over the years, but it's a magnificent sporting precinct, isn't it?
38:28
Well, it absolutely is, and certainly I think the MCG itself as the centre of the 1956 Olympics has been upgraded again and again and again.
38:37
But again, that shows the stupidity and the short-sightedness of what Daniel Andrews and his then Commonwealth Games Minister, now Premier Jacinta Allen, actually did in 2022 and 2023. They've missed such a great opportunity. As for Brisbane, well...
38:56
They started and then changed the government, tore up plans, started again. So they've got six years to get it right. But I reckon it'll be all right on the night, don't you, John?
39:03
I think if you do it right, because you look at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney has been changed twice already, still hasn't got a roof on it. There was a plan to do it 10 years ago under Mike Beard, and there were reasons why it never happened. It would have been amazing.
39:20
The transport links, we're now trying to get a metro line going out there and a light rail. Melbourne's got all of those rail lines going past the MCG and all the rest of it. So Brisbane, I reckon, I hate to say this, go in and have a look at Melbourne and... That's the legacy you need from the Olympics. It is six years away. So I reckon anyone listening to us now, make sure we do it right in Brisbane.
39:45
Yeah, just don't look at the Victorian government as an example.
39:47
No, but the MCG and that precinct. All right, Terry, always great to talk to you. It's fascinating, a bit depressing at times. That's why we take refuge in sport. So we'll talk again next week.
39:59
Look forward to it. Thanks, John.
40:01
There is Terry Barnes. Of course, the Spectator website, you can subscribe to the morning double shot. He sends that out every day, Terry. But in the meantime, at three and a half to nine, news coming up next. And then we have our man, the duck, after this.
40:31
Now it's back to John Stanley, right across Australia.
40:38
Good evening, everyone. Welcome along. Second hour of our show here on this Thursday. We've got a lot ahead of us, camping and off-roading. The Duck's going to take us, I think tonight, he's going to verbally take us to many, many parts of the country.
40:51
Look, things have dried out. Things are starting to warm up a little bit. People are on the move through Central Australia. Just on the feedback we've had, a lot of people saying that New South Wales is paying for the Commonwealth Games because Victoria is getting New South Wales' share of the GST. That's from Greg, exactly. In fact, I've had a couple of people say that. Then I've got this one saying that Queenslanders are paying for the Olympics big time. Rates have just gone up again. Not against the Olympics.
41:16
Born in Greece, Kalamata, and near where they originated from, but don't think the cost of living in Christ's most affected lends itself to such a huge expense. There's a lot of money being spent, but... If you get a good legacy, it's certainly going to be worth it in South East Queensland. 131873 is the number. I'll go through a lot of the other serious feedback I've had also with you as we move through the program tonight, but we are now going to dive into camping and off-roading. And look, based on the fact that we promote live music with Wilco, we promote live music, I think, every night on the program, I do want to give this little...
41:53
ai effort just one more little burst before we get into the duck so this is the one i really like so here it is free tickets free trips whatever is free when it comes to this stuff we can all agree if it's a roar the duck will be in it
42:18
If there's an angle, the duck will on it He's got a heart of gold But at the right price, even that will be sold If it's a roar, the duck is always in He's got a heart of gold But at the right price, even that will be sold If it's a roar, the duck is always in it. The duck is always in it.
42:45
And now on Knights, it's time to duck out there somewhere with the duck. Thanks to Oz Off-Road Penrith. Four-wheel drive builds, accessory fitting and camping store. Oz Off-Road, your ultimate adventure centre.
42:59
Yes, one of my favourite hours of the week. I know a lot of you tune in for this hour. The great man, the duck, camping and off-roading. He's got a lot on his plate tonight. He's about to head off to the Northern Territory, but he's been casting his eye over all across the country to see what's going on. So let's find out where we start. Duck, good evening to you.
43:16
Yes, g'day, John, and g'day to everybody. How good is it? It's very good.
43:20
You're in Blue Collarville. You've got family around. You've got a big weekend coming up as well.
43:25
Yeah, that's right. We're at the big caravan show at Clarendon. I think they've been advertising on the radio network over the last couple of weeks. It's the big caravan show at Clarendon at the Hawkesbury Showgrounds. And we'll be there for three days with the Oz Off Road stand there.
43:41
If you're looking for a van, there's no better time than to buy one right now. So come and see the boys. We'll be there. I'll be there tomorrow. We'll be there for a chunk of the day Saturday and then off for another little thing on Saturday as well. And then Sunday I'll be back there. And then Monday morning, very early, we head off on our six-week adventure, John. We'll be coming to you from all over the world, from the Red Centre as part of that. So it should be good.
44:06
So you're going up to the Northern Territory. So for those who've – because this is something – I've never done this, and I've always thought this would be terrific to do. So if you leave, let's accommodate, I guess, Sydney, Canberra. Brisbane listeners, of course, have to move inland. So if you're going to head to the Northern Territory, are all the roads clear at the moment? You have got all that water in some parts of inland New South Wales, but they're going?
44:31
No, we're all good.
44:33
No, we're all good, John. So the way we are going, because we're filming three episodes of the Oz Off-Road TV show, so we will start filming at a little place called Paranchilla in South Australia. So we'll head off from here and make our way out through Broken Hill and out into South Australia that way. And then we'll go up through Hawker, make it up through Farina. We'll end up at the bottom of the Birdsville track, a little place called Marie, and then across what's called the Oodnadatta track.
45:04
And then up the old Garn track with...
45:08
So we'll get to William Creek and all that. Lake Eyre, we're going to take a flight over Lake Eyre. They reckon there's never been more water in it. There's the most water in Lake Eyre at the moment in decades.
45:17
Just with Lake Eyre, so you go, when you do a flight, you're doing a plane, not a small plane, not a helicopter?
45:24
Yeah, that's right.
45:26
No, no, we'll be in a small plane and we'll fly over that, have a look and film all of that as well. We'll go to check out Dalhousie Springs, make our way up to Mount Dare on the edge of the Simpson Desert. So if you were to cross the Simpson from, say, east to west, you'll leave from Birdsville, cross over the Simpson, come out at Mount Dare. So we'll be there as well. We'll go through the little place called Fink and then to Kalgera and then on to Uluru. So we'll be at Ayers Rock. And we're there for a couple of days filming out to the Algas, then to Alice Springs, where we'll wrap up filming.
45:59
And at that point, John, the film crew and everyone will head back. And me, Mrs Duck and a mate who's going to be on this trip with his wife, we will head up to the top end and we'll spend some quality time with our man Waddy in Darwin. and might pop into Kakadu and a few other places because I spent a couple of weeks up there before we then make the trek back and we should be back here around September 8. You've mentioned a lot of really...
46:23
It's a big trip. When you talk over those places and just run through them, you're going to go from place to place.
46:30
Whenever I'm here and I just randomly pick up one of the places you've mentioned, they're remote, but they're usually quite special. They've all got something that recommends them, be it it might be an old building, it might be
46:42
historic statue it could be a waterfall it's all quite different isn't it oh look absolutely i mean there's what we're about to experience is enormous some parts i've obviously been to before in particular i've been to where's rock and i've been to the algas and obviously around alice springs but certainly and the top end i've been there a few times and i do love it up there people ask me all the time where's your favorite place well And a couple of mates actually take the mickey out of me for that because everyone asks me where that is. And I guess I have a couple of favourite spots that I do love.
47:15
I love the Channel Country and I love outback Queensland and North Queensland. But for me, personally, the Northern Territory top end, I absolutely love it up there. And that's why we're going to take some downtime up there. We'll still do radio, so we'll be talking to you from up there.
47:30
But some of the places that I haven't been. So to go up through the old Garn and all that and all that history there, It should be fantastic. Looking forward to all of that. Very, very remote, John. We are talking Wolf Creek Territory, that is for sure.
47:45
Yeah, and with Wolf Creek Territory, again, I'm not going to ask you whether you pull over to the side of the road and camp and you go, oh, where do you think I'm going to camp? Well, that would be concerning me. Safety in numbers.
47:58
That's exactly what we'll be doing in many of them. In fact, the only campgrounds we have booked. So we haven't booked anywhere to stay until we get to Uluru. Obviously, we had to book the Uluru campground for there.
48:10
And then we've booked a couple, I think, around on the way to Alice. But apart from that, we'll be winging that side of it. So it could well be that we'll drive along during the afternoon and think, you know what, this looks pretty good here. Let's just pull off to the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.
48:26
And light a campfire and get the barbecue out.
48:30
So we're certainly into it, that is for sure. But as I said, it's going to be an epic trip for us and we'll be able to tell you all about it because the places we're going to Coward Springs, we're off to... A couple of other stations, Lake Eyre, as I mentioned, we will... Maree at the bottom of the... Which will be at the start of the trip, really, at the bottom of Birdsville Track. I mean, there's a lot of history there. The Maree man's there.
49:01
They've got the old Garn train there as well.
49:05
We'll pop into...
49:07
I think it's called Oka Cliffs. It's a magnificent spot. We're going to Farina Bakery, which is over this time of year.
49:12
Let me just mention, because people like to look these things up. So the Mari man I'm looking here, this has only been discovered in the late 90s. So it's got an Aboriginal man hunting with a boomerang stick, and it's on a plateau. And I'm looking at the images taken from, I guess, in the air, which you can do with your drones. It does look pretty spectacular. Yeah.
49:32
Oh, absolutely. All that stuff.
49:34
So we're going down... No one actually knows what its origin is. I mean, it could have been done by, what, a spaceship all those years ago. Who knows?
49:43
Exactly right. Well, I think it's a bloke who does it on a tractor, doesn't he, these days? Well, he does the one on the ground. But anyway, so we're off to all these places, and we're going to the... Our first stop next week, we will leave here. A couple of the crew have already left. to sort of, you know, take a bit of a relaxing trip out there. And we're going to meet them at a pub, the Parachulna pub.
50:10
And it's the one with the roadkill menu. You spell that? Parachulna? P-A-R-A-C-H-I-L-N-A.
50:18
It's 1,600 kilometres from here. That is our first stop, more or less. We'll do a quick stop over on the way somewhere and a bit of a sleep. But we want to knock that 1,600 k's over in a couple of days. And then we'll be there, we're meeting the crew there on Wednesday. And that's the pub with the roadkill menu. So I'm not sure what that was all about, but we will certainly find out a bit more about that.
50:44
So it's just a roadkill menu. Well, presumably it's whatever they've scraped up off the road.
50:50
Yeah, I think it's a bit of a G up, but at the end of the day... Oh, you don't know, do you? There's a lot of characters out where we'll meet plenty of characters. One place I'm really interested in to look at at Alice Springs is the Transport Hall of Fame. And actually, no, a couple of blokes who are named in that. So I want to go and have a look at that. And we want to really... What we really want to try and do here is promote... the fact that Central Australia is such a great place to visit. It's the heart of the country out there.
51:21
And it's certainly... Now, the Red Centre, you can't beat it. So we really want to encourage people to get out there because they're like everywhere else, looking for the tourism and looking for caravanners and people. And it can get a bad rap from time to time, as many places can. But for me, the places out there are just... The McDonnell Ranges, the Kings Canyon, all these... You know, Stanley Chasm, all these places that are out there and the history, it's just incredible. And I've said it many times that when people travel out to those places, you actually feel more Australian.
51:57
And there's nothing more Australian than being in Central Australia. or even up at the top end. It's the last frontier up there. I mean, fair dinkum, I love it up there. But the Northern Territory as a whole, I'm a huge fan of it. And I haven't been to that area for quite a while. I've been to the top end over the last three years. I think I've been up there each year, whether we were passing through to get to WA or whether we were actually up there. But I haven't been to Central Australia for a few years, so looking forward to getting back there.
52:27
Yeah, and look, with Alice Springs, I think it might have been last year, I was speaking with the mayor of Alice Springs because they do have problems there and they have violence. And he was almost in tears because he was saying, look, this is a problem in some parts and it's really bad. It's really bad. And he was running a business that had been hit quite hard.
52:46
And there was a bakery. I think it might have been his bakery or one of his mate's bakeries.
52:50
But he was saying, if you come to Alice Springs, there's so much to see and so many great things there. And he wanted people to keep coming because if it turns into a pariah, that's a problem. And I'm just looking at this. I've never heard of this. You mentioned there the National Road Transport Museum.
53:07
Yes, that's right. The National Road Transport Hall of Fame. And they've got some amazing displays. And some of our truckies, they might know this, the Kenworth Dealer Hall of Fame. And they've got a 1965 Kenworth, a 71. I'm not going to be able to go through the models, but they're big trucks. And they're special. Yeah.
53:25
Yeah, absolutely. And they're trucks that carry this country. And a lot of truck drivers are named in there in the Hall of Fame as well, actually. You know a couple of those blokes. And I think that, you know, I think it'll be great to film that and to talk to them there and have a look at that. And you're right. I mean, there's dramas all over the place too. I mean, South Western Sydney. I mean, hello. I mean, look at the dramas in Melbourne. And I mean, you know, and let me tell you one thing that Central Australia has is fantastic real deal Aussie history and it has beautiful scenery, fantastic locations.
54:00
The skies at night are just painted with stars, the Milky Way out there.
54:05
is just amazing.
54:07
And then obviously you've got The Rock, you've got The Ogres, and I can't wait to get out there, John. We're going to be out there filming all of that. And depending on where we are on the Thursday night, we'll be broadcasting from out there. And we'll be explaining to you what we've done, where we are, and in particular up in the top end.
54:28
I think on one Thursday night, I think we arrive... I think we arrive and...
54:34
in the top end and i can actually try and tell you that now john while i'm talking to you but i think we arrived have a nice relaxing trip and you know well the first part the first part won't be so relaxing but i can tell you that we'll be arriving on the 13th we'll be somewhere between alice springs halfway between alice springs and darwin all right okay so it'll be fantastic
54:56
Let me just mention this, because you mentioned Oodnadatta, and because the only reason your ears spring up, because if you've heard the great song, I've Been Everywhere, you've been to Oodnadatta, mate. It's in the early lyrics, and so you look at Oodnadatta, where it says here, I think the population is 102, and they've got the roadhouse, and they've got an old railway station, and it was a base for camel drivers and their animals, and there's a lot of history in little places like that.
55:23
Absolutely, he's There's plenty of it, and I've said it many times. There's history lying all over the ground. That's why I think it's great when people travel with their kids. I mean, they're out there learning about real Aussie history and what built this country, and you're seeing those old trucks and you're seeing the old wagons and the old machinery and all these things. I mean, at school, they're learning about climate change. I mean, hello. I mean, it's just real fair dinkum stuff, and that's why I think it's great that the kids are out there And they get a real appreciation of what, I mean, for a country that's not that old, we've got a lot of history and it's literally lying on the ground.
56:02
Yep. All right. Well, it is old. A lot of that stuff we're talking about is very old that you've talked about.
56:07
No, but when you compare it to, say, like Europe, where there's thousands of years, we're a couple of hundred years.
56:12
The history of European settlements, so you've got the camel drivers and the railway stations and all of that. The history's there, as you say.
56:18
Absolutely.
56:18
And look, one of our mates, Pete, wants to know Mount Gambier underground caves and sinkhole gardens.
56:24
He's asking about those. I don't know. I've never been there.
56:26
There's so much of this country that you can see and you can be doing it for years and there's still stuff to see.
56:34
Could you imagine how Purple's wife is at the moment? He's been retired now for about three or four weeks.
56:39
I mean, fair dinkum. I mean, she's probably living at the back in the garden shed now.
56:42
Yeah, I think he's... He'd be driving absolutely nuts. Yeah, he'll be... For our listeners, he's a regular caller, Peter. Purple's his nickname because he had a car that was purple. Still has. I saw him there at the Blue Lagoon Resort, and he showed me his van. He's got a great van, great set-up. He's a great van. And he said to me, oh, duck's in my ear trying to flog me one of his. And yours is a lot better. Come out for the show.
57:04
But, you know, the bloke, his is fine. Purple, you're cashed up, son. You've got your retirement. See you at Clarendon on the weekend, mate, and come and grab yourself and pick yourself out a new van, mate. All right.
57:14
We've got a bit to talk about. You're going to be... You're going to be haunting the continuous call team anniversary, as I understand it as well.
57:21
We'll talk about that shortly. The haunting's the right word. Just a quick one before you go to a break, John. The Simpson Desert is back open, finally. Think about this. It usually opens in March. It opened two days ago.
57:33
All right.
57:35
Very good. So you might remember the old mate that was going to ride the motorbike across there. I know, I know. Or maybe he could do that now. It's a shame that some people would have changed their plans.
57:41
Well, if he's listening, he might like to give us a call. He might have headed off. He might have changed his mind. But you reckon he could do it now?
57:47
Yes. Oh, well, there's about a foot of water, two foot of water across there. But, yeah, it'd be fine.
57:52
He was going to do it on his motorbike. All right, let's take a break because, well, it's your commercials, all right? At 24 and a half past nine, the Blue Lagoon Beach Resort, which we talk about here often. It's on the shores of beautiful Shelley Beach, the New South Wales Central Coast. It's been creating family holidays and summer memories since the 1960s. So if you're anywhere near the Central Coast of New South Wales and any of our listeners around the rest of Australia, anytime you're anywhere near the Central Coast of New South Wales, you need to remember the Blue Lagoon Beach Resort.
58:22
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58:50
Just sit back. Weekend, week, even longer. Go to bluelagoonbeachresort.com.au or call the friendly staff 0243321447 to book your next getaway. Blue Lagoon Beach Resort, more than just a caravan park. It is a lifestyle. Duck, thoughts?
59:08
Yeah, I think it's about four out of ten. Not bad. Okay, all right. I've got something special for you coming up after this.
59:16
29 minutes past nine, it's camping and off-roading here with the Duck. Don't forget, later in the hour we'll have Wilco's Gig Guide, so get your pen and paper ready for that.
59:25
Duck, you've already given us a really lovely image of some of these amazing places just across in the west. You're not heading into Western Australia, but it's a big country.
59:34
Do you keep in touch over there in terms of what the situation's like? Because some parts of the country are still quite dry, aren't they?
59:42
Oh, look, that I don't know. I know all the central part and the outback's pretty moist and green. And that's one thing I'm certainly looking forward to. The wildflower season is about to head off, take off in the west. And talking to my mate Woodsy over there today, we cross the Nullarbor every week on our show. And talking to Woodsy today over there in WA, he's based in Perth, the wildflowers over there are basically a tourist attraction to themselves. I mean, it's amazing. And there's so much to... Look, I mean, look, if anyone...
60:12
I know we plug it all the time, but... If you check out AusOffRoadTV, you're actually dropping episodes on YouTube now. And last year, we actually filmed five episodes in Western Australia.
60:22
Three up into the – it was actually more than six. We did four up into the Kimberleys. And then we did two – and that's when Piggy Riddell came with us through the bottom part of WA. We crossed the Nullarbor and did the cliffs and Esperance and then up the coast. And, yeah, it's anyone doing the big lap.
60:41
Let me just ask you a question about that because you're talking about the wildflower. So if you are driving through there, you see the fields, and I guess when there's a bit of an incline, you get to see the rolling fields. But do you need to put a drone up or look at it from above to really appreciate it?
60:57
Oh, not really. I mean, drones are fantastic for all that sort of thing. But, no, people drive out there to have a look themselves without drones. I mean... I've never done it, gone out and checked the wildflowers in the west, but I'll tell you what I am looking forward to, because everybody keeps telling me, and people that I've spoken to, obviously we're getting closer before we leave on this trip, so I'm talking to plenty of people out in that part of the world, and they are saying, mate, you are in for one hell of a treat. It is lush, Lake Eyre is full of water, bird life everywhere, it looks beautiful.
61:32
They tell me that the Simpson Desert is quite amazing. And just on the Simpson, if you've got a four-wheel drive and you're not confident, you can go on a tag-along four-wheel drive tour where you go with like-minded people and all of that. And our mate Vic Widman from Great Divide Tours runs – he's probably the – not probably, he's the best in the business. He's been doing it for a long, long time. running trips all over Australia, including a place like the Canning Stock Route. I mean, that's an iconic trip, that one. But he's already, now that the desert's open, he's got a trip going over the Simpson, and I think there's a lot more involved in it than just the Simpson as well, in September.
62:12
Are you ready for this, John?
62:15
All you've got to do is say, if you get in touch with Vic and you've got to email him at info at 4wd.net.au, it's just info at 4wd.net.au. Someone's hacked his website, can you believe it? But anyway, info at 4wd.net.au or give Great Divide 2 us a call and tell them that you heard us talking about it on the radio. She's $500 off.
62:39
Wow.
62:40
Okay.
62:40
Okay.
62:41
Fantastic. All right. That's very – look, but you do need to – it is a four-wheel drive trip.
62:46
You've got to – Oh, you've got to have a four-wheel drive. As I said, of course it's a four-wheel drive trip. No, I'm just saying. You've got to have a four-wheel drive trip.
62:50
No, I'm just saying. No, of course. I'm just trying to say.
62:52
Don't take that thing you drive, that electric thing, whatever it is.
62:55
No, it's a hybrid. It's actually the best-selling car in the country. Of course it is. Can I just very quickly, and I'm opening myself up here, but when you are in regional areas and there's not a lot of light, you know what this is like. Like at night where I go to Smith's Lake on mid-north coast of New South Wales, when all the lights are off, there's no city lights anywhere, and you get a big moon comes and it emerges over the horizon and the stars. It's spectacular. The full moon, yeah. Yeah, and the full moon.
63:25
I was looking at some things that were on our colleague Tom Elliott on 3W in Melbourne. Great bloke, Tom. And some people were saying, well, why is the moon larger near the horizon? Because when the moon's sitting right down on the horizon, it looks huge.
63:40
Yeah, when it comes up over the ocean, it looks amazing.
63:43
And then as it moves up, it looks like it gets smaller. So he's got the Institute of Physics, Professor of Physics at the RMIT. He got her on this morning. And I thought it was interesting, given that this is the stuff you see when you're travelling and it's so clear away from the city lights. Just have a listen.
64:02
Yeah, it seems bigger, but actually if you were to take a photo of the moon at the horizon and then wait a bit for it to climb up in the sky and take a photo with the exact same camera settings, it would be the same size. So it's actually just an optical illusion.
64:21
But what is the illusion from? Is it from, well, why? Why?
64:25
Well, it's a bit like, have you seen that picture of the railway tracks and they're in the perspective view and then there's two lines put over the top and you're asked to choose which is the longer line? Yes. It's called the Ponzo illusion, if you want to Google it. And one line looks longer than the other one just because... It's an optical illusion, but they're actually the same length, and it's just our eyes tricking us.
64:50
So that was the explanation, but I reckon next time I see this duck, because I'm convinced it's bigger when it's sitting low, and when it gets up in the sky, it can't be the same size, surely.
65:02
I've got to say...
65:04
Here we go. No, no, no, listen. I'm not sure if you take a photo of it, what that'll do, but your eyes... I mean, you're looking at the moon as it comes up, and it always looks bigger. It's huge. It doesn't change size. Could it be that...
65:21
Because obviously the moon isn't moving. It's there. We're the ones moving, right? Are we spinning away from it?
65:27
I mean, it gets bigger when the Earth is closer.
65:30
But the idea of when it gets up, it looks like it's smaller. But when it's – I just find when it's coming up – When it's sitting on the horizon, that's one of the great sights, the moon.
65:42
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And whether it's over the ocean or whether it's over the outback. But I can say this. Look, I don't know. As you know, I'm not that bright, John. I mean, when I went to school, comprehension was my bestest subject. Actually, you know, I wasn't that good. Very good. Is it? Is it?
66:00
Would it be that, you know, Kil Richards, I mean, as you know, he's our word man. He might know about this. Would it be that the fact that we're spinning and we're moving away from the moon and it looks smaller?
66:13
Well, we're always seeing the same side of the moon because there's all that activity on the dark side. There's things happening there that we can't see.
66:21
When you get up in the morning, some mornings it's in the west. Oh, yeah.
66:25
Well, you know what, Duck?
66:27
I don't think it moved. I think we moved. You know what, Duck?
66:30
Yeah. I just think this is part of the joy of life.
66:35
I've got some bad news for some of our listeners.
66:38
Do you think some of the illusions that people have when they're looking up at the sky and the moon and all that could be to his new?
66:44
Can I just give our listeners some bad news? Are you ready? Yeah.
66:48
Well, most of our listeners, most of our listeners are going, oh, really? Because most of our listeners would like a redraw, but there is some good news. Ken Moore in Brisbane.
66:58
A couple. No, they have won the $40 million, a couple in Brisbane, a whole lot.
67:04
It's just been announced just not long ago.
67:06
I'm just sending a text. Hang on. G'day, Ken. You may remember me.
67:11
No, they're in Kenmore, okay? This is a middle-aged couple, obviously. They held the only Division I entry, so they won the whole $40 million.
67:20
And it says here, you want me to tell you what the bloke said when they rang him? I know what I would have said. He says, well, F no. What, are you kidding me?
67:31
I can't believe this. It's unreal. I would have gone, you're...
67:35
Are you kidding me? And you know what, apparently, and this is believable, he's sitting there at home with his missus and the phone rang and he said, oh, that could be the lot. We might have won Powerball. And he's picked it up and they've gone. How good's that?
67:49
It's brilliant. Good on you. What's his name, Ken?
67:52
Well, no, there's no name. He's in Kenmore, you clown. He says, this is the thing. He says, we'll pay off the mortgage and set up the kids and family. And they're not going back to work.
68:02
So there you go. And that was a question I was about to ask you. If you won $40 million, would you still work?
68:09
Oh, yeah, because if I won $40 million, I'd be amusing myself by giving away a car every night for the rest of the year and driving everyone else on the network crazy. Why can't we have a car? So he's paying for them himself.
68:22
You know what, John? If I won the $40 million next Thursday night, could you just play my intro again, please?
68:31
And say g'day to me. You ready?
68:32
Go. The intro to the show. Let's go. The formal intro.
68:38
And now on nights, it's time to duck out there somewhere with the duck. Thanks to Oz Off-Road Penrith. Four-wheel drive builds, accessory fitting and camping store. Oz Off-Road, your ultimate adventure centre.
68:51
Yes, here we are again. It's Thursday night. Duck, good evening.
68:55
Duck. Ducky. Ducky.
68:58
You know why you did that? Got yourself one extra plug-in, didn't you, for Oz Off-Road? You're not silly.
69:05
I'm just saying to you, that's what you would hear next week if I won the $40 million. I know. Good on them. Well done. Good on them.
69:13
We're going to take a break because Wilco's going to come on with his gig guide. Is he? Yeah.
69:18
This is gig a bit, Wilco. I think he's been a bit slack over the last couple of weeks, to be honest.
69:22
A bit flat.
69:24
Luke Davis and Harish were in here tonight. They're setting up for the big 40th anniversary birthday party at the Canterbury Leagues. They've gone out there today to get everything set up, and there's a whole area roped out.
69:36
What's that? Someone called the duck for his selfies.
69:41
So you're going out there, are you? Are you horning in on the party?
69:44
I've been asked to do something, John. I'll be popping in. Are you going? Are you going?
69:47
I've been left out.
69:49
Fair enough. I had a very significant contribution of the continuous call team, actually.
69:55
Very significant.
69:56
I'll tell you about it, all right? Let's take a break, come back. But I've got to do an ad for Witsby Vitamins, Mr. Vitamins. They're fantastic, Mr. Vitamins. You know the stores. You can go to the website, but the thing I've learnt and we've learnt is the Mr. Vitamins stores, they've got qualified health practitioners and nutrition experts. So you go in there and they've got a huge array of vitamins and supplements, but they've got people who are qualified to say, all right, this is what works for you. So... Witsby. This is the range we're talking about here.
70:27
It's W-I-T-S-B-B, Witsby. Whether you're supporting growing kids, staying on top of your own wellbeing or keeping the whole household healthy, Witsby at Mr. Vitamins has you covered from everyday vitamins to targeted nutritional support for children and adults. There's a Witsby product for every stage of life. Just go to your local Mr. Vitamins store, where qualified health practitioners and nutrition experts can help you find the right Witsby products for your family's needs. Witsby, health for the whole family, available now at Mr. Vitamins.
70:57
For your nearest store, see mrvitamins.com.au. So mrvitamins.com.au. Always read the label, follow the directions for years.
71:08
John, look, I was going to knock half a point off for that little stumble.
71:12
Yeah, like the divers that don't get the splash right. Is that what you're saying? Yeah, that's exactly right. You've done a bomb. No, you didn't do a bomb, but I think that's a 10, John. Oh, good. Thank you, mate.
71:22
Thank you. Good point to you, Mr Vitamins. G'day, Gaz, if you're listening. Oh, look at that. The crowd's gone off.
71:28
18 to 10 now.
71:32
15 and a half minutes to 10 is the time. We're talking camping. We're talking off-roading. We've had a bit of fun with the moon as well. The moon's actually very gradually moving away from the earth. Why can't you see the sun and the moon at the same time occasionally? We're not the moon experts. We're just talking about it here. So why don't we bring Wilco in right now for Wilco's Gig Guide? Here we go. We've got this right now. Here we go. Now on nights, the Gig Guide.
71:58
Yes, here he is, the great man Dave Wilkins, one of Australia's leading musicians. What he does each week is he cherry-picks big and small gigs up and down the coast for us. Wilco, good evening.
72:09
Good evening, John. Good evening, Doc. How are you? Fine, gentlemen, tonight.
72:13
They're going good, Wilco. Look, I should just let you know, too, because obviously you wouldn't have heard it, but John was actually bagging you earlier. He said that you've been a bit flat over the last few weeks. So, look, I think you're fine, but, mate, just do your best, OK? OK, all right. It's very predictable, and I don't think anyone believes that. Oh, I love it. And, look, Wilco, before you do get into it, Yeah, mate. We mentioned a few weeks ago about an event that was happening out at Panthers.
72:40
Yeah. And I can tell you that there's been some changes to that. And it's actually going to be held Saturday the 19th of September. And it's going to be in the Evan Theatre. And let me tell you, headed up by Casey Barnes, Casey Chambers rather, with special guest Casey Barnes as well. It's going to be a huge event there. We'll tell people about it as it gets closer, but... That was going to be in the backyard there. It was one of their backyard specials, wasn't it? Well, I'm not sure what it was going to... That concept is unbelievable.
73:12
I know Brad Cox played out there and a few others have played there as well. But the Evan Theatre, it's not a bad venue. Panthers at Penrith and Casey Chambers is worth it to prize a ticket alone. And now with special guest Casey Barnes, it'll be a big night. And we'll tell people about it as it gets a bit closer and how they can get tickets for that. But keep that one in your diary. 100%. Yeah, absolutely.
73:37
Saturday, September 19, it'll be a big event. Yep.
73:40
All right. Now, Wilco, what have you got for us?
73:43
For our listeners on 2CC, Casey Donovan is on her This Is Me tour. She's performing at the Southern Cross Club tomorrow night. Two other big shows in the nation's capital. Phil Jemison from Jim to Greenspoon is playing at the Funtime Pony on Saturday night and the Wolf Brothers at the Harmony German Club on Saturday night on their Australian maid tour. Just what night was that?
74:04
Your phone just popped out there. Can you tell us what night that was?
74:08
Sorry about that, guys. Yeah, that's Saturday night down at the Harmony German Club in Canberra. This is on 4BC. Tomorrow, Van Salton is at the Princess Theatre, supported by the great Gem Cassidy. The Rogue Traders are down the road at the Miami Marquetta. That is a fantastic venue. They're on the Anthem Steward. The Beanley Tavern is hosting the Baby Animals tomorrow night at 7pm.
74:34
And Brad Cox is at Eaton Hills Hotel. This is on Saturday night, sorry. Supported by the Vans and Action. 7pm is that one. And Mark is the ticket provider. Alyssa's on 2GB. Mark Wilkinson is at the Estate in Camden. That is a great gig. The Wolf Brothers are at Evans Theatre, as you just talked about. Duck, 7.30 tomorrow night. Vicka and Linda are performing in Penrith as well. That's at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre. 7.30 is doors on that one.
75:06
And here's my pick of the week, guys, and I just can't go past it. Richard Clapton is performing his 17th annual state theatre show on Saturday night. And there's still some tea, by the way, but 17 years.
75:22
Every year he heads into the state and it nearly sells out or sells out. I just can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday night, that's for sure. Deep water at Girls on the Avenue, I'm an Island Capricorn dancer, many, many, many more.
75:36
On Sunday...
75:38
The great James Morrison is at the Waterfront Cafe and General Store at Church Point. That's going to be a cracker, 3.30 on that one. And if you're up in the mountains, folks, here's one we've never talked about. The Lookout Bar and Shane Flew is playing at 1 o'clock on Sunday in Katoomba. That's going to be a great gig.
75:56
yeah very very good all right so tomorrow night richard clapton or saturday night rather richard clapton for sydney listeners at the state theater that's an iconic one every year for 17 years he's been doing that you also mentioned james morrison because we we're thinking about the olympics at the moment because of uh southeast queensland and we're thinking about the commonwealth games and it's 26 years ago that sydney opening ceremony and james morrison on the trumpet I still remember in that opening ceremony, it sends shivers up your spine, some of that performance, which was actually, I think it was waltzing Matilda, wasn't it?
76:27
I think they did waltzing Matilda off some of his trumpet work. It was amazing.
76:34
That was a special night. I remember going to that one too, guys. That was something else, something incredible. Yeah, I might find that.
76:41
We might play that next week, actually, just to remember it, just to break up some of the duck sledging. We might do that. All right, what are you doing? You got a show you're going to be heading to?
76:52
I do on Sunday night at Paradise Cafe in Lower Portland. I'm filling in for something down there. Oh, what a venue.
76:58
What a venue. Isn't it a cracker? What a venue. That is. The boats pull up and have the best pizza in the country and we're playing guitar there and having a quiet beer. And then on Sunday, I do the, this week I'm doing the Overdrive sessions at The Bridge Hotel in Roselle. And I can tell you, half the Richard Clapton band are going to be in that band on Sunday. So that's a great one.
77:22
Our Mayor James Glendening sent me a video of you performing there last Sunday. Very good. I'm not sure if you've seen that, the video doing the rounds. Oh, James, yeah, he's done that.
77:31
We better finish. Hey, Wilco.
77:34
Yes, sir. So that's some great stuff, and particularly with you and that one at the Bridge Hotel at Rose Hill. That's a very special one.
77:41
The Paradise Cafe. See him down there. That's a venue. Okay.
77:44
All right. Good on you, mate. Thank you. We'll do it again next week. Thank you.
77:47
See you.
77:48
There he is, Wilco, with Wilco's Gig Guide at 9 to 10 now.
77:53
At six minutes to ten, look, this comes up as a podcast. You can listen to the Camping and Off-Roading Radio Show as well to hear all the things the duck's been talking about. And, of course, on his YouTube channel, you can see the images of some of the things we've talked about here tonight.
78:07
Oz Off-Road Radio now, John. What? Oz Off-Road Radio, it's called now.
78:11
Oh, really? Oz Off-Road Radio? That's on your YouTube channel. No, no, no, no.
78:15
The radio show is now called Oz Off-Road Radio.
78:18
Oz Off-Road Radio, okay. And we have Oz Off-Road TV.
78:20
Did you notice we've got a new song for our intro now? That's Wilco's, you know, playing that intro. I want to give it another run.
78:28
No.
78:28
All right. That's actually Wuko playing that.
78:30
Well, I can either do that or I can do your commercial for OptiVan.
78:33
No, we'll do OptiVan.
78:33
Let's do OptiVan because we had a call last night. We were talking cars about the harsh UV rays in Australia and the impact they have on Duco.
78:42
And different car brands have got different capacity to resist it all. And all I thought about, so you've got me thinking, OptiVans. because we've talked about this it's a blue chip product caravan camper rv motorhome you want to protect it and give it that brand new look for years and years the one product is optivan the strongest thickest most durable protection exterior and interior services so the revolutionary exterior ceramic paint protection protects your vehicle from all kinds of nuisances like bird and bat droppings tree sap ray grime damaging uv rays all the things that will attack the surface of that vehicle.
79:19
And then interior, the Optivan, protects your vehicle against spills and stains, food, coffee, make-up, pits and plenty more. So confident are they. They offer an unmatched lifetime warranty, Optivan. No hidden fees, annual inspections. And the warranty from Optivan is fully transferable should you sell your vehicle. And you want it on your camper, caravan, RV or motorhome. The website is Optivan, O-P-T-I-V-A-N, optivan.com.au. You quote, duck four by four, you get it 50% off. That's half price, thousands of dollars in savings. This is a blue chip product.
79:49
Lots of goodies in there. Wash kits, detailing spray, citrus interior cleaner. So again, go to that website, optivan.com.au, contact your local Optivan dealer. Terms, conditions, exclusions, and limit supply. Thoughts?
80:04
Not bad, actually. Probably a six.
80:06
You've got 10 seconds. Where are you going to be this weekend?
80:10
The Camden, the Clarendon show. Clarendon show? Yeah, the Caravan show at Clarendon on the Hawkesbury Showgrounds here in Blue Collarville. Come and say g'day.
80:18
And the Canterbury Leagues Club 40th anniversary will be making an appearance there. And well done. You didn't yell at Clancy at all.
80:24
No, I didn't. Clancy, sit down. Oh, mate, fair dink. Good on you, mate.
80:27
What about that? I know. All right. We'll talk next week. Thank you.
80:36
Now it's back to John Stanley, right across Australia.
81:00
Evening, everyone. Welcome along. It is seven minutes past ten here on this Thursday night. 131873, of course, is our number. We're getting into our word clinic in just a moment. Our word guru is in the house. So whatever you want to raise, and again, I say, with these particular clinics that we run, if there's something you think, oh, I feel a bit silly raising this, raise it. You won't be sorry. If you're having an argument with someone that you want to settle, this man can settle it for you. Or if you want to be critical, you want to be a narc, we love it. 131873 is the number.
81:32
You can text us as well, 0460 873 873. Just a reminder to you that the continuous call team, for our Sydney listeners, they're at the Canterbury Leagues Club on Saturday from one o'clock. So the duck will be there at some stage as they remember the 40 years of the continuous call team going all the way back.
81:52
With Ray and the team through the 90s, they're on TUE and then they're going to remember all those years.
81:59
One stage, the NRL took the Rugby League rights away and that really was what, I guess, created a lot of the fun that they had, which was iconic. So all of that's happening. That's on Saturday. And the Duck's going to be there because the Duck was involved in a lot of that. So that's for those of you who are in that area. That's coming up on Saturday. And in the Rugby League tonight, the Panthers beat the Eels 24 points to 18. I'm told Thomas Jenkins has now scored the most tries in a single season for the Panthers. So they are rolling toward the finals, the Panthers.
82:30
And the question is who can beat them. 131873. Nine minutes past ten now.
82:36
Now it's time for John Stanley's Brain Game. Call now, 131 873.
82:42
Okay, good prize, of course, Thursday nights, the Macelle hamper, which has got the gourmet stock and the gravies and a whole lot of other stuff there. It's a beautiful gourmet hamper. And the premium stock's available now as well. So you get a sample of all the great Macelle products. And if you are in the supermarket, that premium stock is a flavour bomb. You get that, you get the John Stanley Mr Magoo mug as well. So I notice it's the birthday of someone who's left an indelible mark, of course, on the entertainment industry.
83:14
We lost him a few years ago. The great Burt Newton was born on this day, the 23rd of July. And, of course, he had a big, big, long history. But I was going to ask this question because I guess in this hour we do talk about political correctness and what you can and can't say. But there was a moment... when Bert was hosting the Logies, and Bert used to do the Tonight Show with Don Lane, and as part of an advertising shtick, they used to do the wheel, and he kind of put on a southern accent, and when Don would say something, Bert would say, I like the boy.
83:48
which was part of the shtick, which everyone knew, and it was very funny.
83:52
And so he was presenting, he was introducing the presenter, I think, of the Gold Logie, who happened to be Muhammad Ali. And they had a bit of banter, and then he said a certain thing to Muhammad Ali.
84:08
You've got to tell me, and I've already told you what it is, all right?
84:12
So you're going to tell me, tell me what it is, because if you're listening closely, Kel's looking at me. 131873 is the number. If you remember what it is, you're going to call me right now and you win the prize. Look at them.
84:25
Very funny. At 11 after 10.
84:30
I don't know what they have to say It makes no difference anyway Whatever it is, I'm against it No matter what it is or who commenced it I'm against it Your proposition may be good But let's have one thing understood Whatever it is, I'm against it And even when you've changed it or condensed it I'm against it I'm opposed to it On general principles, I'm opposed to it.
85:09
For months before my son was born, I used to yell from night to the morn, whatever it is, I'm against it. And I've kept yelling since I first commenced it. I'm against it.
85:22
All right, I'm going to do this once every six weeks or so. But anyway, Brad, it wasn't hard. Brad, what's the answer there?
85:30
Brad?
85:32
Brad, you know what? This has happened again.
85:37
Our phones have melted down. So many calls try to get in. If you imagine our phone lines is going into one pipe, the pipe looks like it's blown up. But look, we have got Brad there, I think, but we can't actually put him to air because it's all jammed up with so many people calling through. So the answer, which I actually gave you, can we just play it again? This is it from that Logies. I like the boy. So Muhammad Ali said something and he said, I like the boy, which is what he used to say to Don Lane. And everyone in the audience laughed.
86:08
But as Kel knows, it was at the time in the 70s, of course.
86:15
Back in those days, in America, not here, but in America, it was a racist expression to address an adult black male as a boy.
86:24
And you could see he was taken aback, and then Bert, the ultimate professional, managed to handle it very, very well. Yeah, he got out of it. Which is why he was so good. So there you go, a bit of a bonus there. We're going to get Brad's details. The phones have gone nuts, as they usually do, so I'm so sorry about that. Brad gets the Macelle hamper.
86:43
If you listen every six weeks, you're going to get a leg up. I've given it to you again tonight.
86:47
Because he just lets it slip out. You've got to listen for the nights when John lets it slip out.
86:52
Yeah, I slipped it. Well, partly because I was walking on eggshells. I'm going to put this into some context and make sure people know what I'm talking about. And I was looking at some of your words ahead of the time.
87:03
So the Macelle pack, don't forget the premium stock. When you go to the supermarket, you can see the Macelle products. They're all there.
87:10
The flavour bomb, of course, is the new premium gourmet stock. It's Aussie-owned, made with even more natural flavour. Macelle gourmet stock, as they say, it is quality. You can taste. You get the John Stanley Mr Magoo mug coming your way as well at 14 past 10 now.
87:37
And now on Nights, Words with Cal Richards.
87:40
Yes, it often happens because everyone knew the answer because Dopey here actually spat it out.
87:45
But the phones, it is like a pipe and all the calls are going into this pipe.
87:51
And the pipe sort of blows up.
87:53
So anyway, I'm sorry for all the people there that tried to get through. What happens when your child stuffs a lot of things down the toilet bowl and presses the flush, you've then got to get the plumber to come and unstuff it. Yes.
88:07
Sounds to me like something with your grandkids.
88:11
Look, 131873, you want to talk to Kel?
88:14
We've cleared the lines. I think the lines are fixed. So if you want to call and talk to Kel directly, 131873, you can also text 1460873873. That's our text line. A lot of you like to give him a question or a challenge in that way. And don't forget Kel's website is ozwords.com.au. That's ozwords.com.au. Just on that. At that time, the word boy was, and I think probably still got that connotation, hasn't it?
88:48
It still has. It was because of the history of slavery, basically, because adult males, if they were African-American, were addressed rather dismissively or derisively as, hey, boy. Do this. Hey, boy, pick that bale up. Hey, boy, mow the lawn. So it was a derisive expression, and it still carried those overtones in America. Nowhere else in the English-speaking world, but because of the history of slavery, it did in America.
89:15
And I know you're someone you're not... You're not someone for political correctness. You want to have words, and if words are there and part of the language, but it's just common courtesy. If someone's going to take offence, and there's a history of slavery involved as well, I think that's fair enough, isn't it?
89:30
It is. I mean, the N-word is a word which Americans are horrified by. We are less aware of that and less sensitive to that, but I would never use the N-word on radio.
89:40
Or in print. It's not necessary.
89:43
Do people know what I mean by the N-word? I mean, work it out. I think we know. What is the offensive N-word? Well, we just don't say that. It's more important in America because of the history of slavery, which we don't have in Australia, but it's still a very offensive word.
89:57
And with that one, and again, there's context here. We've gone on a different tangent here. There's context here because...
90:04
Black Americans often refer to a fellow black American as the N-word. They call them that in that kind of almost part of their language because it's not offensive.
90:17
Whether words are offensive enough partly depends on who's using the words, which is why we wouldn't call wogs wogs, but wogs can call each other wogs. So it all depends on the context and who's speaking and a whole lot of other things. That's right. It's never a simple calculation.
90:37
Yeah. And the thing I think that guides a lot of this is common sense. Yes. And I see here, word of the week from Mr. Richards, common sense.
90:45
Well, common sense, we've often been told, is a term that really cannot be defined. Sometimes we think common sense is remarkably uncommon. We'd like more of it in the world. But what the term means, it's in the Oxford Companion to Philosophy in a piece written by an Australian philosopher, as it happens, Tony Cody. And one of the things he says in passing is, well, no one's ever come up with a decent definition of common sense. So being an idiot, I decided to have a try. So I'm giving my definition of common sense, and I need to explain it, is common sense is the human faculty that engages with reality.
91:22
And to explain what I mean, we've got lots of faculties. We've got sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, that kind of thing. But there is a sense which draws all of those five senses together, so it's common to all of them. Mm-hmm.
91:37
And it, from those five senses, draws a picture of how things are. And that picture of how things are in that common shared sense is what common sense is. It's what gives us a picture of how things are because it draws on all five senses. So hence my definition, which that's what I'm trying to say in the definition, the human faculty that engages with reality, with how things are.
92:01
And I thought, that's my attempt at defining common sense. There'll be now 120 people out there saying I've got a better definition, but that's the one I'm trying.
92:10
Well, let me throw this at you because I do hear this a lot. And I know a fellow that I was actually working and show running all the way back when I started working in talk radio.
92:25
after I stopped being a political reporter, he used to say common sense, the one thing about common sense is it's not common. Now, I don't know whether he coined the phrase, because I was talking about Alan Jones, or was it, because it's one of those things you hear a lot of.
92:39
Common sense, it's not common. It's a play on words, and in fact it is common.
92:43
It is really common in the wider population. The people who tend to lose sight of common sense tend to be people who have, for whatever reason, adopted an ideology. Because an ideology says, here's a framework, everything has to fit into this framework. So you're not trying to then engage with how things are. You're trying to see how you can make things fit into your picture of reality. So... I mean, there's not many people, but there are people who are committed to an ideology. And if they are, what diminishes is common sense. Ordinary people, people who drive buses and, you know, do carpentry and work behind the shop counters and all the rest of it.
93:19
Just ordinary people who don't get tied up in that, who don't go to university and don't get tied up in that sort of stuff. They, their common sense is fully functional.
93:29
That's my theory anyway.
93:30
Look, it's very good because it's something you kind of know, but it's good to try and put some flesh around it and some meaning around it.
93:38
So the idea of all five senses coming together in one that is a common sense of all five, Aristotle first thought of a couple of thousand years ago. And I'm just saying I think it fits our situation today.
93:52
Just on what we were saying a moment ago...
93:55
Pommy, because I was actually going to mention POM because I think sometimes going to say, oh, we'd like to see the Poms lose the Ashes 5-0, but I was supporting them during the soccer. And when I say POM, I think there may be some people who don't like that term POM. And I'm only thinking in terms of, you know, you don't want to offend someone. But...
94:17
I think that's less likely than it might have been 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago. I think it's now become almost an affectionate term. It goes back to the beginning of the 20th century, and there was a wonderful letter which explained its origin. There were all these guesses about it, you know, prisoner of mother England, all that. And those theories are all rubbish. There was a lovely letter which was published in the Sydney Morning Herald in the 1960s by an elderly man who was a small boy, used to go down with his mates, a bunch of Aussie school kids, to when the migrant ships were coming in and they used to chant at these English people as they came off saying pomegranate, immigrant.
94:55
And because pomegranate rhymed with immigrant, they were comparing them to pomegranates and they called them pommies. Yeah. So that's where it actually came from. So all those theories, people tell you that it's prisoner of Mother England or something or other, they're all nonsense. It comes from the idea that pomegranate comes close to rhyming with immigrant.
95:15
And so, again, as happens every week here, there's a group of people going, oh, I can't wait to see that bloke again. Or someone going, oh, really? I hope no one else is listening to that. Because you've got your Cliff Clavens who've got all their theories and you've got your Kel Richards who blows those theories out of the water. This is a lovely Australian expression. So someone tries to do something. So they're trying to climb over a wall and they've come a gutter. So they've failed. They've failed pretty spectacularly.
95:46
Come a gutter.
95:47
Yep. Originally, it was being used simply to say you'd fallen face down. So because you've fallen face down, you've fallen in your stomach, you've fallen on your guts. So that was the idea. It's like, you know, he came down on his face, he went down head first.
96:05
It's you've fallen on your guts is the idea. So come and guts, I meant that. Yep.
96:08
All right, let's take a break. We've got calls. We've got a lot of really interesting ones. We've got homework as well. It's our Word Clinic here with Kel Richards. It's a Thursday night, and it's 23 minutes past 10 right now.
96:20
Yes, here we are at 26 past 10. It's our Word Clinic with Kel Richards, oswords.com.au. Let's go to Gary, who's got a question for you, Kel. Hello, Gary.
96:29
Good evening, gentlemen. First of all, Kel, I'd just like to say I like your interpretation of common sense.
96:37
Thank you.
96:39
Very commonsensical. Yeah, Kel, origin of the word pharmaceutical or pharmaceutics.
96:46
Yep.
96:48
Well, pharmacy, I think, you know, John's always telling me that everything comes from a Greek source, but I think pharmacy does. I'm just very quickly checking it up. No, no, from Latin, sorry, so I take it back. Came into English from French via Latin. The original Latin term actually was pharmakia, and it meant, in Latin, preparation of drugs. So it's come out of Latin, almost exactly the same word, and it meant then what it means now.
97:15
So although it's an odd... Sorry, go on.
97:19
I thought there might have been a pretty simple and logical explanation. But yes, I was just curious. I agree with you. I thought it might have come from Greek, as John always said.
97:30
Yes. It's not just me. There actually is a very similar word in ancient Greek.
97:37
So Greek influenced Latin is one of the interesting things. So I've said on this program a number of times, oh, this goes back to a classical Latin word. And then someone rings up and says, no, no, no, it goes back to Greek. And part of the problem is that there are a lot of classical Greek expressions which then shaped Latin words. So, I mean, where is the end? Where do you get back to the past? The ones that I'm saying come from Latin, by and large, it was the Latin word that influenced the English, which seems to have happened in this case.
98:07
Pharmaceutical. Very good. Thank you, Gary. Well done. Thank you.
98:12
We've got this one from Colin saying, 1963 movie, Lilies of the Field. Mr Ashton, head of a construction company, called out to Sydney Port here. Hey, boy, are you that builder working for Mother Maria? That was a line.
98:25
So a boy in that context would have been intended to be insulting. White people in those days, early 60s, did it deliberately to be derisive, to put down the other person.
98:38
Yeah. Campbell's got this one. In my work environment, and I'll be careful to pronounce this so you understand the difference, he says somebody has been apprised, so I've been apprised of something, and somebody has been appraised. Now, there is a difference, isn't there? Yeah, yeah.
98:55
I mean, a prize, we tend to think these days it basically means understanding something, being given some information. It actually is related to the word enterprise. It's being involved in something. A praise means exactly that. It means, you know, you're working out the value or the price of something. Yeah. So I don't think there's anything more I can say, but they're different words with different histories and different etymologies. I know they sound slightly alike, but only slightly alike.
99:30
But a praise always meant to estimate.
99:33
It is connected to the word praise. So you estimate something as being of high value, you praise it. So the a prefix makes it a more neutral expression so that you can either give it a higher or low mark.
99:47
All right. The word puerile is one of my favorite words, puerile. So it is a good word, isn't it? Puroile. And a lot of the discourse we have, headlines, news coverage is pretty puerile. But just tell me the word, the word itself.
100:01
Again, it comes from Latin. And the original Latin source word meant childlike. So if you're accusing someone of being puerile, you're accusing them of behaving like a four-year-old.
100:11
Okay. Well, let me jump on the puerile train that's been running for a few days in relation to dogs. Yes. It just occurred to me, I'm assuming Bark, which has been at the centre of –
100:24
days of political discourse bark is is that one of those onomatopoeia what we call an echoic word it's a word which has been shaped to try to imitate the sound that dogs make there are a bunch of these words wolf is another one and all of them have been formed to try to imitate the kinds of sounds that dogs make so that's all they are they don't have another meaning or another context they're just imitative words
100:51
And just to counter the – because I know there's a big divide. Yep. So for the cat lovers, meow would be the same, wouldn't it? Meow. Exactly the same.
101:01
It's different in different languages. Different languages try different ways to imitate the sound, but they're always imitative. And the very clever thing that One Nation has done is they are now selling as a fundraising thing dog leads, and the brand name on the dog lead is Sit Down. Oh, really? That's the brand name on the dog loose.
101:17
Oh, wow. Fantastic. Isn't that clever? Very smart. That's clever. So I'm thinking, now it comes into my head, gata or gato is a cat, I think, in Greek. So I'm assuming cats come from Greek as well. There you go. There you go. Of course. Okay, let's go to Hank. Hello, Hank.
101:38
G'day, John. G'day, Kel. G'day. By the way, the Italian word for cat is gato, because I'm Italian, believe it or not.
101:45
Oh, right. Okay, so there you are.
101:47
I know I've got a broad accent. Look, I was wondering about the never-never. You know, they mention the never-never.
101:54
Yeah, it was the idea, the never, never is an Australian expression. It's first recorded in the 1830s. And the idea was simply that it was the desert country that never, never ended. It just went on and on. The very remote, the remote interior, the remote outback, because it never, never ended.
102:19
That was the idea. First, it's mentioned by one of the early explorers about 1833, and it was just coined to say, it goes on like this for a very long time. It never, never ends.
102:32
Never, never ends. Hey, Hank, can I ask you a question? You mentioned that Italian word, okay? You speak Italian? Yes.
102:40
Yeah, I speak Italian, yeah.
102:41
Is Hank, because Hank doesn't sound like an Italian name to me.
102:45
No, my name's actually Henry, but I've adopted Hank. Hank's good. Hank is the American version of Henry. I've got a bit of a stop spot for America, you know.
102:55
Yeah, that's fine. And I've got to ask you one more because I'm doing my OnlyFans interviews on Friday nights, which is all on fandom and people who follow sport and get themselves emotionally involved. You may have no interest, but as someone with an Italian background, did you watch the World Cup with heavy art?
103:14
Well, yeah, a bit, you know.
103:15
They're not there, the Azzurri.
103:18
Not there. Yeah, I know. It's a bit hard between the Italians and the Australians. Actually, I've kind of got to put in both pants, really. Exactly, yeah. I've had all my life, you know.
103:29
Yeah, that's very good, mate. Good on you, Hank. That's great. So, Henry. So, Hank is kind of a variation of Henry.
103:38
Yeah. In England, people with the name Henry can be called Harry. So, Prince Harry is actually christened Henry. Hang on a minute. And if he became the king, he would be King Henry. Yeah. But he's known as Harry because Henry's known as Harry. And, in fact, if you read Shakespeare's Henry plays, Henry 4, 5, 6, the Henry character is sometimes referred to as Harry. And in America, Hank. So there exists for all these.
104:02
But you've mentioned Harry, so we need to accommodate people with a trigger warning. Sorry, sorry.
104:10
Okay, I'll have to do that. His nibs, this is an old expression, his nibs?
104:15
Yes, but it's usually applied derisively to someone who's a bit sort of self-important, a bit up themselves. Oh, his nibs thinks this.
104:22
It goes back to the early 1800s, 1820 I think it's recorded.
104:27
And the Oxford tells me it's actually just a variation on the word knob. Mm-hmm. And knob is probably an abbreviation of noble, as in nobility, but also it picks up the idea that around that time the slang word for a head was your knob. Your head was your knob. And anyone who had the head in the air all the time was a bit of a knob. So you end up with being called knob and then you get this vowel shift and it becomes nibs.
104:51
Very reluctant to go down this path. I'm going to ask you this question because you said, and I'm imagining you with your grandkids, all right? Yep. So you say, oh, that bloke's up himself. And they say, Pop, what does up himself mean?
105:05
Where does that come from? I've never looked it up. I've never researched it.
105:08
I mean, you kind of have an idea that maybe... That it's offensive, yes. That it's offensive and they might have their head up, you know, whatever a place. That's what I'm thinking, but...
105:18
I have never, ever researched that. It may have a history. Can you put that down? Can I borrow a pen, Dylan?
105:25
Have you got a spare pen there? Because I didn't bring a pen. Yeah, just put that down, because I think that's an interesting one. It's a simple one, but you wonder, maybe it may have come from somewhere. It's a lovely expression, though, isn't it? Self. It's in the notebook. Yeah, and it sounds like an Australian expression. But sometimes we don't know.
105:47
I'm not going to make any guesses until I've looked it up and done the research.
105:51
Now, we know barristers, they're lawyers, but a law student sits the bar exam, so I guess the barrister comes from the bar, so...
106:00
The name comes from the fact that there actually was a bar, a literal physical wooden bar across the front of the court. And so only people who had been admitted to the bar, who included on the role of barristers or solicitors, could enter through that bar, the part of the court that addresses the judge and addresses the jury and pleads the case. Ordinary people who don't have those qualifications and haven't been admitted to the role of legal practitioners... have to sit behind the bar.
106:31
Right. That's where the public seats are. So it was a literal, physical bar. Okay. And in fact, a lot of courts still have them.
106:37
All right. Now, we've got a caller here. We were talking about this for a couple of weeks, and I don't know, who knows?
106:43
JJ, hello.
106:46
Hello, John. Hey, Kel.
106:47
G'day.
106:49
Great to talk to you, Kel, as always, mate. I know I'm your favourite caller, mate, so it's good. LAUGHTER
106:55
See, I think JJ's there. He's with me on the Greek origins and so much of this. Now, what did you want to do?
107:03
Bald is a badger. He had in trouble with it last week.
107:07
I'll sell it for you.
107:09
Yep. Okay. Well, let's hear your theory. Okay.
107:12
It's just as you can see it, anyone can see it. Bald. What colour is bald?
107:18
Pink.
107:20
No.
107:21
Bald.
107:22
White.
107:23
Bald is white. Right down the bottom of your head, Richard, under bald.
107:29
No, I've looked at John's head. I'm not being rude to John, but if he takes his cap off and shows us his head, it's pink.
107:35
But are you saying that in the definition of bald... Bald is white.
107:39
Are you starting out as a white patch? If you haven't looked back at your etymology, Kel, you'll see it was originally a white patch.
107:46
And that carries through in badger because the top of the back of the badger is entirely white.
107:52
Actually, the word bald doesn't come from white. The word bald is related to the word ball, B-A-L-L. In other words, it's meant to be round and smooth. So it never referred to its colour, only referred to its shape.
108:05
No, you're wrong, Phil. You're wrong there, mate. No, no, hang on, hang on. Just hold on a second.
108:10
Hang on, hang on. I need to explain something to you. If you're saying that what I've just said is wrong, you need to write to the Oxford English Dictionary and tell them they're wrong. Let me just check with you. Because that's what they say.
108:21
Because JJ's saying that when you look it up, the meaning of bald, he reckons there's a – right at the bottom it says – I don't know. I mean, you go through these. You read the dictionaries. Does it say at the bottom bald is a possible reference to a white patch? I can't –
108:38
I haven't got dictionaries to read, actually. Well, as I keep saying to people, I've got my laptop here and I open up the Oxford English Dictionary Database and the experts at the Oxford say it grew out of the word ball, B-A-L-L, because of the shape of the head. When there's no hair on it, it's simply round, round and smooth like a ball.
108:59
And so I don't think it's to do with colour. I don't think it's related to that. I mentioned the two theories last week. One was that bald was an abbreviation of piebald. I don't think it is. The other was the suggestion that it had something to do with the fact that badger's fur was used by barbers to give people shaves in the 1800s. I had a thought after we'd had our conversation. I wondered if some joker sitting in the barber's chair... Saw his shaving brush with foam on it and knew it was badger's fur and said, oh, look at that brush.
109:34
There must be a bald badger somewhere. Could that have happened?
109:39
But we don't know for certain where it comes from, but it's not related to colour. Sorry.
109:43
I'll tell you what, JJ. JJ, I think, can email me. I've had emails. So if you've got a reference that you want to throw at us, send it to us, all right? If you've got a bit of evidence. If we can't go back and forth, all right? Give us your evidence. If you can find some evidence, that would be fantastic, all right? Or take a snapshot of it or tell me where to look for it. So that's fantastic.
110:02
Bald dash.
110:04
The old, you know, that's balderdash.
110:06
Yeah, my memory is that there's a lack of certainty about balderdash and where it comes from. It used to mean a sort of...
110:19
senseless jumble of words, and then later on it came to mean a mixture of, it could be different kinds of liquor, that kind of thing.
110:28
From the evidence at present, the inference is the current sense came out of the idea of frothy talk. Okay. Frothy, senseless, farrago, that kind of thing.
110:39
Okay. Look, let's take a break here at 20 minutes to 11. We've got lots more coming through. Very interesting. A few people giving us their versions of what up yourself means. I've got to be very careful. Be polite. Yeah, please be polite. And, of course, in the previous hour, we had the duck with us, Osloff Road caravans. He talks about those a lot. If you're looking for an off-grid van to get you out there longer, they are 100% Australian built. They're ready to explore Australia, and they've got this huge range from 14-foot vans...
111:08
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111:46
15 and a half minutes to 11. Just this one here. The person in command of an airliner or a ship is the captain. Right. Why is the second in command the first officer rather than the second officer?
111:59
I presume because... I'm not a seafaring person and I don't know how marine ranks came into place. What I'm doing is I'm just using my intelligence and a bit of guesswork and saying that there's one captain and under the captain are a number of officers. The first of those officers under the captain is the first officer. Now, that's my guess. If someone is a sailor out there and you know the history, give us a call. Tell us.
112:25
Hugo is our representative in Western Australia who we love talking to, but he's got some questions for you, and I'm going to follow up with one as well.
112:32
Hello, Hugo.
112:34
Hi, John. Hope you're well.
112:35
Hi.
112:37
Hello, Kel. Hi.
112:40
Would I be able to get a recommendation for another interesting word, please?
112:47
Right, off you go.
112:49
He wants a recommendation from you for an interesting word, a word that he can use that's an interesting, maybe a slightly exotic word. Is that what you're saying, Hugo? Yeah.
113:01
Yeah. Okay. Well, listen, let's pick a word that came up in John's conversation a while ago, and that is the word punctilious. Punctilious is not used very much these days, but anyone who's really fussy and insists on every point and getting everything exactly right is punctilious.
113:19
That's not a bad word. Punctilious. So it's P-U-N-C-T. Really, it's phonetic.
113:24
Punctilious. Yep. So that's a good word. Okay.
113:29
Well, you take that one, Hugo, punctilious, and keep listening because, Kel, I asked you a few weeks ago what you considered the most beautiful word in the English language, and coincidentally, you've brought something in.
113:43
There's a website in America called Babbel, and it's a language learning website. B-A-B-E-L? B-A-double-B-E-L. Here you go. And what they did is they conducted a survey of the 1,500 members of the Poetry Society in America to ask them what they thought was the most beautiful word in the English language. The final three were mellifluous, ethereal and diaphanous. And it was diaphanous that won that came in at number one. Yeah, so they're very sort of flowing poetic words, mellifluous, ethereal and diaphanous.
114:20
J.R. Tolkien famously once said that he thought that for him, detached from their spelling and sense, his favorite words were the words cellador. I've got no idea why, but he said that. And Henry James, the novelist, said his favorite words were summer afternoon.
114:37
But those are the three that the members of the Poetry Society voted for, mellifluous, ethereal, and diaphanous.
114:43
So something beautiful and smooth is mellifluous. Yeah. And number one was, again? Ethereal. No, no, no. The top one.
114:51
Number one was diaphanous. Diaphanous. Okay. So it's something which is floating and has no weight is diaphanous. Yes.
114:59
And ethereal? Yes.
115:01
Ethereal is something which is a bit unreal or a bit sort of spiritual, ethereal, out of the ether.
115:08
No.
115:09
Ethereal won the cup double in 2001. Caulfield Melbourne cup double. And has four legs. Ethereal. That's right. So there you go, ethereal. Very good. Melefluous. There you go, Hugo. Those words, I think melefluous is a beautiful word.
115:25
Yes.
115:25
And ethereal. And just tell me the first one again so we can write it down.
115:29
Ethereal mellifluous and Diaphanous. Diaphanous 1. Diaphanous.
115:33
Okay. All right. And it's the B-A-B-B-E-L website.
115:36
That's right. B-A-B-B-E-L. It's a language learning website. And so that's why they did the survey.
115:43
Okay. Fantastic. All right. Let's take another break because I can take mellifluous away now because I've I knew that word, but I just actually, we should be using it more. We could do with a bit of mellifluosity.
115:54
If you hear someone with a really nice voice and they speak really well, you can say they're mellifluous if you like. Very good.
116:01
Okay, at 11 to 11.
116:05
Yes. Look, when you mentioned Babbel, but it's actually the website. Is it B-A-B-B-L-E or E-L? E-L. Oh, right. Babel. So I said Babel and it's Babel.
116:18
So it's E-L, not L-E. People are asking.
116:22
The website have given themselves an unusual name. So they're calling themselves Babbel, but they're not spelling it the way it would be standardly spelt in English.
116:31
I suppose to stand out as a website or something like that. They're spelling it B-A-B-B-E-L.
116:37
Okay, very good. All right, now let me go through some of these. Every dog has his day. There's a lot of dog questions coming through. I mean, this is from Barnaby in Tamworth. Every dog has his day.
116:48
Yes, I should turn around and shout...
116:50
Sit down.
116:51
But no, I won't.
116:53
This one comes from Shakespeare.
116:55
Every dog has his stay means everyone will at some point in their life get a chance to succeed. That's what it means. It comes from Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 1. And someone pointed out recently... that Hamlet is packed full of expressions which have been detached from the play and become part of the English language. Brevity is the soul of wit comes from Hamlet.
117:17
The play is the thing. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. And, of course, to be or not to be. All of these things, and many more, have come out of Hamlet and come into the English language. And someone famously said, that's the problem with Hamlet.
117:34
It's full of quotes.
117:36
It's very good, that. All right, so there's that one. Also, let me have a look. Oh, yeah, this is one that we should talk about. Something very unique.
117:47
Oh, yes. Can we say very unique, more unique?
117:52
Lynn wrote in about this, and she was really upset, and she said people keep qualifying unique, and grammatically that's wrong. Look, Lynn, you're being sensible and highly literate, but we do not live in a sensible, highly literate society. It is certainly true the original meaning of unique was there is only one. It's recorded in English with that meaning from about 1600, 1601. There's a French word behind it, and behind that is a Latin word, unicus. And eunicus meant an only son.
118:23
So it meant only one. And you can't qualify one. You can't say very one or highly one or more one, which is why there's this rule of you can't qualify unique. But I keep saying the English language is changing, and there are some of these things we can't fight.
118:39
In reality, unique is being used these days to mean something like special or outstanding or remarkable. And if that's the way it's being used, you can say it's very special or it's highly special or it's more remarkable. Professor Pampeters in her style guide says, time to stop getting upset about this one. And if you want to find a word that means unique, which hasn't changed, use the word soul. It's the soul example.
119:08
Look.
119:08
We've got a minute left.
119:10
Favourite word is mother. This is from one of our listeners there.
119:14
Then I thought there was another one I needed to raise here. Oh, that's right. Why is a submarine called a boat?
119:21
It's because it's small. It's to do with size.
119:25
Naval vessels are ships because of their size. Patrol boats are boats because they're smaller. Submarines are submersible boats because of their size. You have to be a certain size to qualify as being a ship. Cruise ships are ships. Battleships are ships. But submarines, patrol boats are boats because they're smaller.
119:44
I notice mother, we say mum, Americans say mom. I mean, there's an argument for M-O-M, isn't there? Because it's M-O. Are you going to have a crack at the Americans again?
119:53
Depends on how you pronounce it. Oh, of course I am. The Americans can't speak English properly. Come on, we all know that. And we say, although it's spelt with an M, it's pronounced mother. It's an a-
120:04
sound because it's pronounced mother mum is the correct abbreviation and you talked about expressions I did hear someone use the stuff that dreams are made of and I know that comes from the tempest the stuff that dreams are made of and it was also I think the last line of the Maltese falcon as well
120:20
That's right. He looks at the blackbird and Humphrey Bogart says, it's the stuff that dreams are made of. From the Tempest. Yes. And I've got to say that the Maltese Falcon is full of quotes. I'm not going to play the sap for you, baby. It's a great, great movie.
120:35
Wonderful movie. All right. Kel, we'll do this again next week. We will. Ozwords, ozwords.com.au. Thank you so much. See you. We have the news, tomorrow's headlines, and so much more. Straight after this.
121:03
Now it's back to John Stanley right across Australia.
121:27
Good evening, everyone. Welcome along. It is eight minutes past 11. Final hour of our show for tonight. Just a reminder to you that tomorrow night, after the continuous call team, we have the latest edition of Only Fans, where I talk to fans of rugby league teams, fanatical fans. We've had some pretty extraordinary conversations. Lee Hadjapan, tell us, Mark Talley. You can just go to our website and you can see all of those conversations are there. You can actually subscribe to It's up as a podcast wherever you get your podcasts. John Stanley's Only Fans. Interesting one because the bloke I've got on tomorrow night, he's actually a bloke who has got himself quite a high profile now nationally.
122:04
He started out as a talkback caller and he made a big switch following one team and then switching to another. So I'll save all of that for you. That's coming up tomorrow night, next edition of John Stanley's Only Fans. But right now we've got this for you.
122:34
Now front pages, I'm having a look at the Courier Mail because obviously there's a fair bit of coverage and previews of the Commonwealth Games getting underway. But the front page of the Courier Mail is talking about increases in petrol prices. And of course we've had stronger than expected job numbers today. And so the headline says petrol on the rates fire. Homeowners are almost certainly facing a fourth interest rate hike this year thanks to soaring petrol prices. Chances of a rate rise by the end of the year dramatically escalated to 95% after being 46% last month.
123:08
They have an analyst there saying it was due to the rising price of oil and strong employment figures released today by the ABS. And I'm just having a look at my app. This is numbers here. And what I can see, it looks like it's about...
123:23
15 to 20 cents a litre higher than it was last week. So it is up.
123:29
And we've got the excise is back. Part of the excise, there's still a part of a discount, but it is going to go. And so that is going to feed into inflation.
123:43
Strong economy, not enough people lost their jobs, so interest rates have got to go up. That's the way the economic equation is. That's front page of the Courier Mail. And this one's appeared across quite a few of the publications tomorrow. This is the origin hack. Two million people who may have had their details compromised, customers of Origin Energy. It says Origin Energy sacked an employee after accusing them of being behind one of Australia's biggest data breaches, according to a self-described hacker taking credit for the stunt.
124:17
A panicked Origin Energy would not confirm yesterday whether it fired an employee.
124:22
The CEO was only saying he was sorry it had happened. The apparent hacker goes by the name of Edison Walthour and has sent an email to The Australian claiming that what they've done is demonstrated the risk of outsourcing jobs overseas.
124:39
So that's the front page of the Courier Mail. Now, the Telegraph in Sydney, they're running a Pauline Hanson story. This is the situation with some of these ISIS-linked fighters that are still overseas. They're in prison, whether they can come home. There are legal issues being talked about here. I think everyone agrees they should rot in jail and not... be walking around anywhere, but it says, and says offering the numbers.
125:24
I'm not sure how that adds up because to pass legislation, you've got to have the numbers in the lower house.
125:30
If you had numbers in the Senate, I'm not sure how that adds up either, but certainly you wouldn't be able to pass legislation unless you had the numbers in both houses. But nonetheless, it's there on the front page of the Telegraph, and I'm guessing somewhere inside the paper they'll explain how those numbers add up. Maybe they don't, but it's put her... On the front page, Pauline pops the question. So essentially she's prodding Angus Taylor to do something. Again, another day where the Coalition won't be happy with that front page.
126:01
And they've also got this one. This is Adam Dewey.
126:05
Where the Tigers, and this all happened today, Adam Dewey, who was freed to play and was expected to be put back in the halves for the Tigers, and he was on the bench and the suggestion was he'd be playing lock. He didn't want to play lock, so he's had an argument or a conversation with NG Marshall and said, I'm not playing.
126:23
So there's a picture of the two of them. I won't Dewey that is their headline. He doesn't want to play lock, so he's not playing at all this weekend. So the long-suffering fans of the Tigers have got to put up with that, and I feel very, very sorry for them. Sydney Morning Herald's got a story about Newington College, which is one of the... Very high fee paying GPS schools in Sydney. It's based in Stanmore in the inner west. They've unveiled plans to spend $173.5 million on a major redevelopment.
126:54
This is the school that's going co-educational. There was some controversy over it, but it is happening.
127:00
The expansion has triggered a backlash from neighbours who fear it will worsen traffic. They want to transform their senior campus, indoor and rooftop sports complexes, a performing arts precinct, theatre and exhibition gallery, additional classrooms, lecture hall, dining hall and fitness centre.
127:16
Cost of $173 million. It's quite a big expansion. Obviously, the people who live around it would be raising some questions because you move there and you move there knowing there's a school there. If the school then engages in a massive expansion, you've probably got some argument, especially in an area where you've got narrow streets, and in a lot of those cases, they don't even have parking. So that's on the Sydney Morning Herald tomorrow. The Herald and The Age are also reporting... that Anthony Albanese, this is a big dinner that he had involving some very high-flying people.
127:52
This is at a big harbourside mansion in Point Piper. This has all been reported over the last couple of days by the Financial Review, but it says he attended an exclusive dinner hosted by an uber-rich 25-year-old.
128:05
whose billion their father was accused by the tax office of repeatedly deceiving authorities to funnel huge sums of money from China into Australian bank accounts and mansions. This is a tax office abode about the Lee family patriarch, which the Herald and the Age have fought to obtain and describe red flags about the sources of the Lee's family wealth. Remembering there's been a lot of suspicion about how much money... is being filtered through the top end real estate market in Australia. Austrac's now looking at all of that.
128:35
So I guess this story feeds into that one. And if there is money being funneled through the Australian real estate market, logically, if billions is going through the top end, it just filters down. And it means that there is more competition for property, which means prices go up. Although now, of course, we know they're going down. So that's the Herald and the Melbourne Age. The Australian newspaper, they've covered their front page with the argument over the wording of Labor's move on the situation in Gaza, where they're talking about whether there should be a reference to Hamas disarming.
129:14
Hamas, in the policy platform, it says Hamas should have no role in any future Palestinian state. But then there's a push to have an overt reference for it to be disarmed. Hamas shouldn't be involved at all. And then, of course, then there's the other side of the equation where you've got the illegal settlements in the West Bank, which are obviously a problem in terms of getting any peace in the Middle East. So all of that's been debated. They've filled their front page with that one. They've also got the story about the Origin hack suggestion it was a revenge for the outsourcing of jobs.
129:47
The self-described hacker says the crime was revenge for the cavalier offshoring of Australian jobs, which is happening a lot. They've got this one, a Gold Coast pole dancing studio has become the latest front in the battle for women's rights to single-sex spaces with an applicant who identifies as a transgender woman suing the owner for $30,000 in damages after being refused membership. So this is now being played out in court. It's a Gold Coast pole dancing studio where apparently it's a women-only one.
130:20
And this person is now suing. They've also got the story, the industrial relations story, where there's going to be now this fair work court flowing from the Labor Party conference and some questions about that one. And they've also got this story from the Liberal Senator James Patterson. We haven't heard a lot from James Patterson lately, but I would think he's arguably the most impressive performer on the coalition front bench. He says populism risks destroying the institutions underpinning Western civilisation.
130:49
and the Australian way of life in the repudiation of Pauline Hanson and her One Nation movement.
130:54
He's laid out a path to shield Australia from the damage of populism from both the left and the right. He's given a speech tonight saying universities... He spoke to universities and representatives saying a coalition government would be a walk in the park.
131:08
So he's saying the extremes, either side...
131:25
are not going to be all that happy with people engaging in research and information and debate, and the Liberals are the best-placed party to foster that within the university sector. So he's bought into that argument. And the Financial Review, they have business fears about this union-leading court, this Fair Work court that's been flagged, and they've got a whole front page on Macquarie. This is the Macquarie Bank. There's a changing of the guard there. The Macquarie CEO has gone. There's a new CEO and there's a big analysis of what that new CEO might do.
131:56
It's a very business story. For those of you who follow the intricacies of Macquarie, which is a huge operator in the financial world, they are talking here about turning the company's fast-growing banking division into a technology heavyweight.
132:12
to transform the broader financial services empire after beating several rivals to the job. This is what this person is saying. So technology, they're all looking at technology. They're all looking at AI. And I think in all of these outfits, I think if you're down the chain... There may be opportunities in the short term to get involved in the development of AI and data centres, but you wonder whether a lot of those people are going to be developing data centres and AI and algorithms and all the rest, which will ultimately then put them out of work.
132:43
But that's what people will be talking about tomorrow. That's many of those stories, I think, interesting, particularly some of the ones. And you've got the...
132:53
the continuing tension. And I wonder if people will listen to James Patterson because someone in the Liberal Party has got to go out there and start getting heard in the fog that's been created by One Nation.
133:07
19 past 11 is the time right now.
133:12
22 past 11. Look, all of the notes I'm getting from you on our feedback line, I'll go through those for you shortly and acknowledge them, but I do want to go to the UK.
133:22
I'm going to Glasgow in Scotland, where Channel 7's Sunrise presenter Katie Brown is, because tomorrow morning, our time, it's the opening of the Commonwealth Games, the opening of the opening ceremony, and I'm hoping the weather's nice. I'm very envious. Katie, good evening.
133:39
good evening thanks for having me yes so look this is nina kennedy's uh the flag bearer tim hodge carries the king's baton it's going to be a i guess there's always anticipation isn't there of the opening ceremony and i guess you're one of the many that i see in reports are getting pats on the back in all the pubs there because victoria is paying for the show
134:00
Oh, my God, amen to that, right? I keep thinking, how good would this have been in Ballarat? But then, selfishly, I wouldn't have explored Scotland.
134:09
Look, the build-up has been relatively quiet until today, and then I'm seeing all of the Commonwealth nations walking around the streets, bumped into Lani Pallister, our very own swimmer, who I've got high hopes for, and everybody seems like they're in, yeah, great spirits, great energy, ready for it to start.
134:29
Yeah, and the beauty of the Commonwealth Games is I actually think generally with the Commonwealth Games, you think, oh, it's the Commonwealth Games, it's not the Olympics. And when it starts and we see people who've worked their lives to get to this point and they perform and we know how well they go in the swimming and the standard at the track and field, of course, at the Commonwealth Games is always at the very highest level. It's very exciting.
134:50
Yeah, John, I reckon so right. Like, I'll go before these six months ago, you go, okay, Comm Games. Yeah, yeah, Comm Games. And you sort of roll your eyes, but you're not that interested like the Olympics. And then you go, no, hold up. Comm Games is the second largest multi-sport event. Like, this is massive. And for our athletes, it's that two-year mark before LA, they can really get a gauge on where they're at. And they deserve every celebration and build-up and headline possible because it's massive. And, you know, it's an opportunity where not everybody gets invited, only the Commonwealth.
135:24
And Australians do so well. So I think the track and field for us this year, you mentioned Nina Kennedy and also... Our 100 metre sprint, like Lachlan Kennedy and Eddie Nketiah is just going to be on.
135:38
Yeah, the 100 metre sprint, because if you take the 100 and then the 100 yards before it, I'm pretty sure the last Australian to be on the dais in the 100 metres, 100 metres, yards or metres, this is at the Commonwealth Games or Olympic Games was Mike Cleary in 1962. I'm pretty sure that's right. Was it 1962? I'm pretty sure that's right. You might check that because Mike Cleary, of course, played rugby league for Australia, played rugby union for Australia. He's a great man. I'm sure that's right.
136:10
So what an achievement if Lachlan could do the business for us.
136:14
Yeah. Oh, fingers crossed. I think he definitely deserves it. And we haven't seen Eddie and Lachlan come up against each other on a big stage like the Commonwealth Games. So I think that's going to be my pick of probably the games to watch.
136:29
Yeah, and you do mention, I think I'm right on this, it was a long time ago, but you talk about getting ready for LA.
136:39
I remember Auckland, 1990, Commonwealth Games, and I'm pretty sure in the relay there was a very, very young woman by the name of Cathy Freeman who ran. So who knows, you might be seeing someone who's going to do wonderful things in 2032. Yeah.
137:00
Oh, wouldn't I? You know, I think realistically when we look at the talent that we have here at these games and we haven't even got to LA yet, Australia as a nation, we just punch above our weight. We do so well and I have no doubt we are going to be seeing new blood by 2032. It sounds like forever away, but it's only six years, John.
137:20
It's not that far away. All right. So, look, it's all being covered. And the opening ceremony is from 4.45am, 7 and 7 plus sport. You're going to be covering it all on Sunrise. So we're all very envious of you because it's a great place you are in.
137:34
Oh, no. I'm very lucky. Don't you worry. I'll try and help you feel it through the screen, all right?
137:38
Yeah, yeah. And I just checked. Actually, she won the gold medal, 1990 Commonwealth Games. She was in the 4 by 100 metres sprint, Cathy Freeman, and she was 16.
137:50
In 1990. Yeah, so have a look for a 16-year-old that might conquer the world in 2032, okay?
137:58
All right, that's my job. I'll get back to you by the end of the games on someone.
138:01
Good on you, Katie. Enjoy, enjoy. Look, I know it's work for you, but I think it's work that you're going to really enjoy. You could be following Barnaby Joyce around trying to get an interview with his dog, so you're lucky you're over there.
138:17
them barking. I'll enjoy myself. Thank you, John.
138:20
Good on you. Thank you, Katie. Katie Brown there, who's of course with Channel 7 Sunrise, kicks off tomorrow at 4.45am. It's live free and exclusively. It's on 7 and 7 Plus Sport as well. So that's where you can see it all. You can either see it on 7 and you can stream it on 7 Plus as well. In the Bexley area, someone's getting messages from Origin Energy wondering whether this might have to do with the cyber hack.
138:46
I've actually got a place, I've got up the Mid-North Coast, which we have Origin Energy, so I'm worried about my details now being hacked as well. And I did one of our listeners saying, I slipped by the fact that we've had this big drop in house prices and I just moved on because when house prices go up, everyone makes a big deal out of it. When they go down, everyone just slips over it. I think I'm one of the few people, and I've been doing it for 20 years, that's been raising this question of why is it that... When house prices go up, we think it's a great thing.
139:17
And when they go down, we think it's a bad thing. Truly what we want is house prices to flatten out and become more affordable and go down. And do it in a way that is ordered and doesn't hurt the people who are in the market. but makes it easier for those to get in the market. So anyway, thank you very much for that feedback as well. We've got Phil O'Neill. He's going to be on air here in 33, 34 minutes with Friday morning, which is – what's Friday? Paranormal Friday, John.
139:46
Oh, it's paranormal. That's exactly right. Good morning. Good evening. So later on tonight, John, the electronic voice phenomenon, otherwise known as EVP.
139:57
Unexplained voices found on audio recordings. Ghostly voices. Voices saying, turn me on, dead man, and things like that. You're going to hear that tonight, John.
140:07
So is this where the aliens are getting in through these recordings?
140:10
No, no, these are ghosts, John. He's a ghost. He's a paranormal, John. Oh, okay. Not aliens. All right. Okay. There's different things going out there.
140:18
All right. Okay. All right. So the ghosts, have you had any experiences with this yourself?
140:24
I've had some recordings of my radio career that sound ghostly, especially played backwards. But no, not yet. But maybe we will tonight. John, it's a busy show. We've got the update live from the Women's Lumberjack Championships. Our peeping Tom this morning is Kim Wilde. You remember Kids in America? Yes, I do. You would have played that back in your disc jockey days. Also coming up later on, now I've been talking about the dangers of AI nonstop for months and everybody said I was just being paranoid. Well, what happened?
140:56
AI escaped. Did you see that? Have you heard the story?
140:59
I did see that. I did see that. We better go. Okay, and look, you're going to be here because I've got a lot of doing this next half hour.
141:05
I haven't even finished what I'm...
141:06
Well, you're not even real. You're an AI hologram, so I shouldn't have said that, should I?
141:11
Well, if you poke me, your finger probably will go through. Phil's listening at home. And because we talked about Barnaby Joyce, and we've done that all week, why does the media and basically the public gravitate towards certain stories? We've got all of that coming up. Are you in a hurry?
141:26
I am, actually.
141:26
Because you dismiss me before I even have the chance to tell you about the great news.
141:30
Just go and read all the stories about AI and you'll realise why people want to hear about Barnaby's dog. Because if you read the AI stuff, you not only get scared, you also your head starts to explode.
141:40
Yeah, but you've got to be aware.
141:43
I'm aware. Be alarmed.
141:44
Well, you're going to front the new campaign. Be alert. I can't wait to tell you my news, but obviously you're too busy to hear it tonight. Come on, tell me quickly. 30 seconds.
141:53
Okay, a year and a half ago we talked about whether or not men can wear wigs. A wig company heard about this and they're going to supply both you and I with toupees.
142:02
That's a lie. It's a true story. That's a lie because I'm not wearing it.
142:07
You said on air.
142:08
When's it coming in?
142:09
Well, we're going to go and model them. We're going to actually have them fitted.
142:13
Okay.
142:14
You said you'd do it on the air. A year and a half ago, you said you and I were going to bring wigs back.
142:18
Okay. So you changed your mind? Can you bring me the evidence of me saying that?
142:24
Can you find the evidence of me saying that?
142:27
Anybody remember John saying that and has brought this up several times?
142:31
Text him and remind him of his words. Words have consequences, John. Yeah, I know that. Okay, thank you, mate. There he is. Phil O'Neill, 28 minutes to 12. 25 to 12. Dr Russell will join us very shortly, but right now we're doing this.
142:46
Bonjour.
142:47
Marhaba. Buenos dias. Hola. Bonsoir. And now, Cruising and Travel with Richard Davey.
142:53
Each week we speak with Richard Davey about cruising and travel. We've got a special little episode of this tonight. Richard, good evening. Good evening, John, yes. Just very quickly go through what's happening in Sydney and Brisbane because it's pretty quiet still during winter.
143:05
Look, it's very quiet. There's only one more cruise to go for this month in Brisbane. And there's only four cruises for the month of August, so it's really hard to get on. But what you can get on is the one on the 19th of August out of Brizzy, going all the way up to P&G and back.
143:20
And then there's a cruise to nowhere to finish off the month of August. But the Crown Princess, when it comes back, things are going to start getting better in Sydney and Brisbane.
143:29
We'll do that in the weeks ahead. But look, we're still in winter here. Of course, in the Northern Hemisphere, it's summer. It'll all flip as we get toward the end of the year, which, of course, people are going, yeah, we know that. But going to the Northern Hemisphere, you have talked about river cruises. I've never done one. I keep hearing about them. People who do them tell me they're fantastic. But you've got a cruise to talk about. This is going from the Blue Danube.
143:55
to Buddha and Pest via Vienna. So I hope I got that right. So you can give me an idea.
144:00
Well, the thing about Buddha and Pest and our... We don't have guests on this segment. We have special guests. We have a reveal because you've brought someone in with you who is going to be on this boat and entertaining people. And she's also already worked out the thing about Buddha and pest. One side of the river, it's Buddha, and the other side is pest, just like Foster Tunkari, Aubrey Wodonga, or what did we say? Koolangatta Tweed Heads.
144:25
They're fantastic places, but I think Buddha and pest are quite exotic. And we're hearing the voice there of the great Rachel Beck, who's one of the... She's theatre royalty in this country. She's been on television. She's done many things, but it's in those magnificent stage musicals that I think she, and I reckon I'm sure that's what she loves doing.
144:45
I do love.
144:46
Hello, everybody. All of those great things you've done. But you also are synonymous with Christmas and leading people in singing Christmas carols.
144:55
That's right. I'm a regular at The Domain and also in Melbourne and Brisbane and the Gold Coast. I love Christmas time in the carols.
145:02
But the beauty is that so many of those Christmas carols, and I'm reluctant to play them Frosty the Snowman and Let It Snow. Of course, in Australia, it's summer. But now you are going to go on this boat at the end of November. You're going to be going into the Christmas markets.
145:18
I am. I am, on the Danube. We're going to start Budapest and we're going to drop off in lots of different places, Bratislava and Vienna, where you'll have the opportunity to sing Christmas carols with me. In one of those little squares. Exactly. And it'll be cold. And it'll be cold, I know, I know.
145:36
But beautifully lit. It's the most beautiful city. You've got so much to look forward to. I can't wait.
145:41
Our listeners know that have been there, and I've been lucky enough to be in a few of these places at Christmas. I've been to Italy at Christmas time a couple of times. And even the smallest towns, the lighting is there. It's beautifully done. There are markets. So I think Christmas in Europe is magnificent. But you're going to be standing there in the square with the people that are on the boat.
146:00
Yes, with people who want to sing. So when you walk onto the boat, you will get your lyrics.
146:05
But the locals will join in as well.
146:06
Anybody can join in. It's just going to be a celebration of life. Just a celebration of still being here and the beautiful twinkling lights.
146:15
The lights are unbelievable.
146:16
Yeah, being so grateful to be on the Danube.
146:18
And so you'll be able to have mist coming out of you. Rug yourself up.
146:22
Rug yourself up with some mulled wine and chestnuts.
146:25
Chestnuts roasting on the... On the open fire.
146:28
We might even do that. We might even sing that song.
146:30
If they're there. And if there's a bit of snow, you'll put up with that as well.
146:33
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
146:35
Yeah, terrific. So is there one that you really like? See, the ones I like, the religious ones, I think in the context of in a square, in the market, you probably want the... Well, look, I love O Holy Night.
146:50
I love it so much that I will never sing it myself because I feel as though it's too special to me. I think Silent Night is a great song to sing.
146:59
It's a very precious and special still song to sing and it's, yeah... It's universal too. Everyone. Yes, exactly. So, you know, you don't have to sing the carols, but I think it's a wonderful opportunity to sing and feel good and, you know, really be a part of the European tradition.
147:17
So you're just getting up there. Is it a bit of musical accompaniment or you're just singing? Is it one of those?
147:23
Yeah, we'll have a speaker.
147:25
Oh, very good.
147:25
Definitely have a speaker. Well, we need to be in Quay. Oh, my goodness.
147:28
If people are on the boat, do they... Am I saying it right, boat or ship? It doesn't matter. On the ship, on the AMA Sonata, in fact. Anyway, if they're on the ship, do you do a test to see if... Oh, we have a practice. We definitely have a practice on board. For sure. Some people can't sing in key, can they?
147:44
It doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter. It's just the enthusiasm that we need. We're not about throwing people out or putting people in. It's the enthusiasm. And already I have one of my best friends. She's bringing her mum and she's bringing her daughter. That's exciting. I know. So it's great for, I don't know, I was thinking on the way here, it'd be a lovely chance to propose to someone too. How magical. Oh, how good, yeah.
148:05
There you go. The lovers. There's another thought.
148:08
Grandmothers.
148:09
So look, I mean, Thursday nights are now shows a plug-a-thon, you know, after we've had the duck on for an hour. So this is happening.
148:16
Carol's on the Danube with Rachel Beck. That sounds fantastic.
148:19
Yeah.
148:20
And you're the man.
148:22
Are there tickets still? Yes, there are. So you can go to my website, which you kindly mention every week. Rachel has her website, which is rachelbeck.com.au. And if you misspell Rachel, you'll still find her.
148:35
Yeah, I did, I did. I'll come up, don't you worry.
148:38
Yeah, and just give me a moment with Rachel because, of course, you're doing this, but you've had this long career in television and, of course, the musicals. We've seen a couple of musicals recently have to shut down because discretionary spending. Yeah. It's always tough in the business, so you have to book yourself out in advance.
148:58
You do. So what am I doing now?
149:01
I'm actually touring my one-woman show called In Her Own Words where I interviewed 17 high-profile Australian women such as Missy Higgins and Ida Buttrose and Tanya Plevisek, Marcia Langdon, Ronnie Kahn, People who share their stories and Kate Miller-Hyde Key song as well. And I whittled them down into verbatim monologue and song. And it's heartbreaking and it's informative and it's joyful and inspirational. So I'm touring that around Australia.
149:26
Right, okay. So it's, again, give us the name so people can look it up. In Her Own Words.
149:29
In Her Own Words. Yes, it's on my website.
149:31
Fantastic. All right. Very good. We might get you back in here to talk about that if we can. I'd love to. When's that starting? Next year, is it?
149:37
So it actually premiered at the Sydney Festival last year, but I'm touring it now. So we've done a few venues in Victoria and it'll go to Wangaratta and Warrnambool soon. And then I'll be doing the east coast of Queensland in a couple of months. Good. Okay.
149:53
Come and talk to us about that because we're going through most of Queensland. So come and talk to us about that. I will.
149:59
I find that fascinating.
150:00
Very good. Great.
150:01
All right, Richard. There we go. Not only do you get Australian Theatre Royalty, of course you are because you started at the Theatre Royal in Sydney. I did, yes. You had a role in Cats, didn't you? I did. Yeah, and you were very young at the time.
150:13
15.
150:14
I was under 15. Fantastic.
150:15
Yes, and I'm still going.
150:16
But not only are you there, but this is a very good ship. This is Amar Waterways. And as river cruisers go, you know, it's almost... What's that? The Matterhorn. It's the peak of river cruising. The peak of the river cruisers.
150:29
Okay. All right. Look, people can look at that. They can make their decisions on it. We'll get you to do a review of this. Yeah. Yes, I certainly will. After you've come back, you can talk about your show.
150:37
And, Richard, we'll talk again next week, mate. Thanks, John. And, you know, if you actually are in Vienna, you see some downcast teenagers around. They've just been kicked out of the Vienna Boys' choir because their voice broke. So just be nice to them. Take them under your wing. I will. I certainly will. Okay, hang on.
150:55
All right, we'll do this again next week, Richard. Thank you. Thanks, John. Okay. Richard Davey there with Cruising and Travel, 16 to 12 right now.
151:04
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151:35
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151:45
E-Z-Y.com.au at 12 and a half minutes to 12. Susan and Mark, apparently they've had the big thumbs up for Richard Davey and they've had very good experience with him. So thank you very much for that feedback from you. Dr. Ross, I speak with him.
152:02
We're pressed for time tonight. We speak with him every Thursday night. He's just had a milestone birth, a big one actually. So anyway, ahead of the weekend, here is Dr. Ross. Ross. Good evening.
152:14
Lovely to talk to you, mate. That's a big milestone.
152:15
I think you've 60. Is that right?
152:17
60th? Well, I'd like to think it was 60, but let's add another 10th.
152:22
And you're still much younger than all the people running the world at the moment, although that's no recommendation, actually.
152:31
And I think if you and I were running the world, it would be running a lot better.
152:34
Actually, if you think about it, China, Russia, US, they're all pretty doddery, but they've got their fingers on the button. Now, let's get to this first one, because this is a concern for everyone, dementia. And I'm sure you're going to talk about this big study that's been done on lifestyle and dementia. It would come as no surprise in this country, because the Australian of the Year, the Senior Australian of the Year, Professor Henry Brudardi, who you know well, you've had him on your show. He's been advocating what this big study has said for a long time, hasn't he?
153:05
Absolutely. I'm going to talk about three studies and finish off with what's called the LASAM fingers study out of South America. But the first study talks about the benefits of exercise. So if you have a regular exercise habit, you reduce your risk for dementia about 30%.
153:23
And one of the reasons for this is that when you exercise, you're pumping more blood through the body, flushing out all the toxins that you've accumulated. And also exercise drops your blood pressure, keeps your arteries more flexible, improves the connections in your neurons, reduces neuroinflammation. So there's a whole lot of things exercise does. Number two is sleep. Now, here's an interesting one, John. We think that sleep's really good for us, and it is. If you get seven to eight hours sleep per night, you also reduce your risk for dementia. But this study shows that people who had more than eight and a half hours, and especially more than 10 hours sleep, had marked increase in the markers for Alzheimer's disease.
154:02
Really? Yeah, but it may just be that the brain inflammation that they have, the early cognitive problems they have, are making them sleep more. So it may not be the higher sleep. So it could be what we call reverse causality. But that then ends up with the final study, this LATAM Fingers study, about 1,000 adults aged between 60 to 77, 11 different countries in South America died. Follow-up for two years. Now, this was a structured program.
154:30
The group, group number one, had really intense lifestyle modification, four days a week of exercise, a specific diet, a bit like the Mediterranean diet called the Mind Diet, brain training via computers, regular checks of their blood pressure, weight, sugar levels, and their social engagement. Group two just had on four occasions over two years some general health advice. Well, it's going to come as no shock to you, John, that Group 1 improved their memory and thinking skills by 55% compared with Group 2.
155:01
So just by doing those lifestyle factors, and the earlier you start, the better, but you can start at any stage, can have a significant effect on whether you progress towards dementia.
155:10
Of course, you talk more about that on the weekend. It really is important, that one. Now, this next one, there's a word that I'm going to get you to pronounce, a form of implants that I think are going to be of benefit down the track.
155:21
Yeah, these implants, which basically they're wireless bioresolvable stimulators and they deliver pulses and then dissolve. So when you have a pacemaker in, the pacemaker sits there under your skin for the rest of your life. And we use this electrical stimulation for things like cardiac pacing, as I've just mentioned, for the treatment of epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, people who have paralyzed diaphragms, nerve injuries, and even a thing called gastroparesis, where you have marks slowing your stomach emptying.
155:53
But the problem is all these things involve hardware that stays there, wires that stays there. This new... this new bioresolvable stimulator, does what it's supposed to do. And when it's done its job, it then just dissolves harmlessly. And it can also be operated from outside the skin with no contact. So this is the way we're moving. Rather than putting pieces of metal in people's body and leaving them there, which can be infected or cause pain or a whole lot of things, we're moving towards all of this biologic treatment, biologic pacemakers, which will get in there, do their job, and then retrain the system to do what you want them to do.
156:30
Very exciting stuff.
156:31
And look, I know golfers around the country the last couple of weeks have been... No one seems to have any funny one-liners today because they get them from you every Thursday night.
156:44
So what have you got for us tonight? Well, John, you probably don't realise this, but there was a Roman emperor who never aged after he turned 19. His name was Constantine. Yeah.
156:55
Okay. All right. Well, he's in form again. Sunday night across the country, healthy living, all of these issues and so many more. And Dr. Peter Pan, you'll be back with us again next week.
157:05
Thanks, mate. Yes, Dr. Ross. Look, he's talking about creatine on Sunday night, also some of the weight loss drugs and also some of the issues to do with vitamin D3. There's lots of things he's covering. Sunday night, healthy living right across the country. Seven to 12 right now. Four minutes to 12 is the time. Don't forget OnlyFans, 10.30 tomorrow night after the continuous call team. And you can subscribe to the John Stanley OnlyFans. You can go onto the website, but you can go where you get your podcasts, subscribe. There's so many really interesting, fascinating conversations with fans of all different clubs, from the Premier to Mark Taylor to so many others.
157:41
So that's happening tomorrow night. In the meantime, I bring in my little music machine. It's called the Songatron 2026.com.
157:48
I need to punch in what I need. I need a song that's joyful, hope, a big dollop of positivity to make us feel good. I'll punch the button and here it comes. Oh, machine's done it again. Here we go.
