FIVEAA Mornings with Graeme Goodings - 12 October 2026

00:00:01
Speaker 1: 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings.
00:00:11
Speaker 2: Good morning to you. Welcome to a brand new week on 5AA. Thanks for joining us. Well-embattled Communications Minister Annika Wells is back in the spotlight. Her excuse for spending almost $ 4, 000 of taxpayer cash to attend a friend's birthday party is back on shaky ground. In fact, it just got a little bit harder to swallow. She told the expenses watchdog that she managed a sideline meeting with South Australian Minister Chris Pickton at his wife's birthday show on the 7th of June last year. Now, some would say, well, convenient timing. That little chat supposedly ran until 7.45pm, so of course she couldn't fly home and the $ 3, 681 airfare landed on us, the taxpayer. But now comes a question. Chris Pickton's own diary, the one the Coalition dragged out under the Freedom of Information Act, shows nothing of the sort. From 5pm it's just personal affairs. No meeting officially listed. No Annika Wells mentioned anywhere. His only official gig that day was a midday media event about ambulance ramping. The rest is personal and blocked out. As you would expect from a fellow Labour member, Picton's people say Wells is telling the truth and personal stuff got redacted. Well, OK, then show us the unredacted bit with her name on it. Until that happens, we're left with a diary that flatly doesn't back up what the ministers swore to investigators. This isn't some minor paperwork mix-up. It's another chapter in the air Miles Anika files. She's already had to pay back more than $ 10, 000. Then there was that $ 100, 000 New York trip with the staffer, family reunion claims that look suspiciously like holidays, and now a birthday party dressed up as official business. The ministerial code isn't optional. It expects honesty and a bit of care with public money. Wells keeps saying she stands by every word she gave the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority. That's tough to square with a diary that refuses to back her story. The opposition's calling it a serious breach, and they're not wrong. Anthony Albanese continued to his defence of her. It's starting to look less like loyalty and more like a do as I say, not as I do. Taxpayers don't exist to fund ministers' social calendars. When the official explanation rests on a meeting that the official record can't find, it's time for more than another press release. Standard down, or at least explain why the standards suddenly don't apply inside Cabinet. I'd like to know your thoughts. 8223 0000. Well, on the show today, community volunteers are generating millions of dollars across the state. This is a figure that... Look, you know, I always talk about volunteers and this country would grind to a halt without them, but... When you put a dollar value on it, it's quite remarkable. A new study into volunteering at community centres shows 3,831 South Australians give more than 530,000 hours of their time annually. It contributes a service to the community valued at $ 31. 1 million. We'll find out more about that shortly. How safe is your suburb? New crime data has identified several Adelaide Hills and Foothill suburbs as among Metropolitan South Australia's safest places to live. We'll take a closer look at that. Now, did you see Bathurst yesterday? What a race. Now, unless you're a motor racing enthusiast, watching a car race for five hours probably can be a bit much. But if you tuned in with about five laps to go, wow. The leader appeared to be coasting to victory. And then he was literally coasting. He ran out of fuel. Brodie Kostecki shot to the front. took out his second great race. Mark Scaife, six-time Bathurst winner, will join us a little bit later on. This is what he said.
00:04:00
Speaker 3: For the world's quickest ever Bathurst 1000.
00:04:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, quickest ever. 1000. We'll find out more about that. Now, what began as three friends heading to a Maitland gym has evolved into Fat Farmers. It's a prominent rural health community initiative across South Australia. Sounds like it could be really interesting. We'll talk also about that. Something that needs talking about. Could there be anything more senseless or heartless than the stealing of RSL and Community War Memorial plaques that are commemorating our war heroes? Well, it's happening right across the country, and it sparked widespread public outrage. Two acts recently in Adelaide, plaques bearing the names of local men who died in the Great War, were removed from the 105-year-old Ridge Park Memorial, Oblesk, and were left dumped in Myrtlebank. I mean, they didn't even take the plaques and melt them down for the bronze or whatever metal was there. They just committed an act of absolute vandalism. I'm almost left speechless. On Thursday, vandals struck at another place of peaceful reflection, four plaques taken from the Gums Memorial at McGill. RSL members were left devastated, as you would imagine. Local MP Jen Hartley says the state government will assist in ensuring new plaques take the place of the old ones in time for Remembrance Day. Meantime, local RSL branches and police are appealing for information. What sort of lowlifes commit these offences? Look, I'm totally against vandalism, robbery of any kind, but if someone is doing it because they have no money and they need to put food on the table, you can see the reason. Don't agree with it, you can see it. But senseless acts of vandalism like this against Australian war heroes, that is totally, absolutely indefensible. What are your thoughts? I'd like to hear them, 8223 0000. On the text line, Steve says, Re Annika Wells, this is pure greed, as if she doesn't already earn enough money without having to cheat hardworking taxpayers out of even more money. Disgraceful. Have to agree with you, Steve. Have to agree. I mean, as a minister, she'd be earning $ 350, 000, $ 400, 000 a year, doing very nicely, thank you. Expenses paid on so many things. And then, you know, to graft out a little bit more because she didn't want to pay to visit a friend's birthday party, you know, dressed it up, wrapped it up in terms of, oh, I had an on-the-side meeting with a government minister.
00:06:31
Speaker 4: Seriously?
00:06:31
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, we've got to be better than that, don't we? What are your thoughts? 8223 0000 is the number to ring. On the subject of power bills, have you had an increase in your power bill this year? If not, you're one of the lucky 30%. Apparently, seven in 10 Australians have faced an electricity price increase in the past 12 months. However, many aren't shopping around for a better deal, and this is something you should be doing. A Compare the Market survey found 70% of Australians had noticed a price increase over the past year. Have you noticed a price increase? Well, I keep asking for people to ring up and say, if you had a price decrease. I know there are a very few, small minority of people who have their own batteries and solar panels on the roof and pumping stuff into the grid. It all works very well. But for the rest of us, we're paying more and more power. The Compare the Market survey found 70% of Australians had noticed a price increase over the past year. Joining us now from Compare the Market is Sarah Orr. Sarah, good morning to you.
00:07:36
Speaker 5: Good morning. Thanks so much for having me on.
00:07:38
Speaker 2: We'd love to hear the news that power prices are going down, but that apparently isn't the case.
00:07:43
Speaker 5: Look, Unfortunately, while the benchmark prices that the government says in a lot of areas, that's going down. But most people aren't actually on those default market offers. And I think, in fact, South Australia was one of the only states where you saw it go up. So, you know, we would love to see some energy price pressure come off. But unfortunately, for most people, that's just not the case. But the big thing is that we're seeing is that people on retail market offers, they're noticing their supply charges going up. So that is the cost of transporting that electricity to your property and that's what a lot of people are noticing is moving the needle. And that's a cost that you'll pay every single day, no matter how much energy you actually use and whether you use solar.
00:08:40
Speaker 2: So if you're not using any power at all, you're still going to be paying that part of it on a daily basis.
00:08:45
Speaker 6: That's right.
00:08:47
Speaker 2: Now, what does a dual increase in both supply and usage charges mean for household bills?
00:08:53
Speaker 5: Look, it's going to really depend on your particular plan. In some cases... What we've seen is that the supply charge is going up, but the usage charge is getting reduced, which kind of reflects, I think, a lot of the solar power and the uptake, which has been fantastic in South Australia. That's kind of a cost that retailers can't really justify increasing that usage charge. But then they're sort of making up for it and recouping that cost. with the supply. So it can be really, really mixed. But some unlucky people, depending on their retailer and the plan that they're on, have seen indeed both of those costs going up. So depending on how you use your power and what that supply charge increase has been, you know, that you could be looking at a bigger bill this year.
00:09:52
Speaker 2: It's obviously important to shop around. Why do you think it is that most of us don't? I mean, we obviously sort of shop around initially and think ah, this is the deal for me. This is the best deal. And then a year, two years later, they're still on the same system, same deal. So obviously shopping around is something we all should be doing.
00:10:12
Speaker 5: Yeah, absolutely. You know, it can make a huge difference. And with energy, obviously, you can switch, you know, often all the time and, you know, find that there are different discounts and perks when you sign up that you miss out on after, you know, a few months and those kind of roll off after, you know, maybe you've been with them for a year. I think it's probably, you know, that milestone is definitely a good time to take a look and see. But most of us just, you know, don't... Maybe we don't have the time. We strongly assume that we are still getting a good deal from our retailer because those discounts were there when we signed on. It was probably a pretty appealing package.
00:10:57
Speaker 2: At the time.
00:10:58
Speaker 5: But unfortunately, they don't age like wine. It's quite the opposite. And you'll see that you're getting probably less value as time goes on. It's interesting, you know, 7 in 10 people said that they noticed their bills go up. But I do have a feeling that the remaining 3 in 10, they're probably just not even looking. They're probably people who have their direct debit set up, you know. And that can be quite dangerous because your bill could be increasing. You don't even know about it.
00:11:34
Speaker 2: Are there any barriers actually stopping people from switching plans?
00:11:38
Speaker 5: Well, look, maybe if you are in a unit complex, for example, an embedded network, you can't switch. But that's really the minority of people. A lot of people in South Australia are going to have the power to move to a cheaper deal. So we really encourage those people to get out and look for a cheaper plan because it can make a big difference. And You know, even if you're just putting, you know, $ 100 or so back in your pocket every year, well, you know, that's a lot of money today when we're getting pressure from really every angle. I think no one's going to.
00:12:22
Speaker 7: Pass that up, are they?
00:12:23
Speaker 2: No, and put a few more groceries in the shopping trolley.
00:12:26
Speaker 5: Yeah, it only takes a few minutes to do as well. So when you think about the hourly rate there, that's not bad.
00:12:32
Speaker 2: Can you put a figure on how much can the average household save by switching?
00:12:36
Speaker 5: Yeah, so the ACCC actually have a great figure on this. Their numbers suggest that, on average, someone who's moved to a cheaper plan, a new plan, pays around $ 221 less than someone who's stuck with the same plan for three years. So, yeah, I think that's a pretty compelling figure. And there's, you know, 73% of people who could be.
00:13:04
Speaker 5: Potentially shopping around and saving on their power. So absolutely compelling stuff to make that switch. Easy to do.
00:13:16
Speaker 9: Yeah.
00:13:17
Speaker 2: Are certain states or age groups more affected or less likely to switch?
00:13:20
Speaker 5: It's a great question. I mean, we absolutely could dig into the data and find out. But generally speaking, we know that I think that national attitudes are probably pretty aligned on this.
00:13:36
Speaker 10: We actually.
00:13:37
Speaker 5: One thing that does come to mind is we've run a big survey called our Household Budget Barometer. The release on that is coming out. And one of the things that set South Australia apart from other states was that the respondents in SA... felt that their energy bills were their most worrying bill. They've disproportionately felt this compared to other states where things like mortgages or groceries were more likely to be a top concern. So, you know, even though you've had that fantastic uptake in solar energy installations and batteries as well this year, energy bills remain a really big priority for South Australian households. in reducing those budget pressures.
00:14:30
Speaker 2: So someone's sitting at the kitchen table at the moment, they've just opened their latest power bill and they're in a state of shock. What's the first step? You know, if your bill has gone up, what should you be doing?
00:14:40
Speaker 5: So first step is it's going to be on your bill. So take a look. There is something called a better offer box. Your retailer has to... include information on a better deal if one is available. They're not going to do it for you, unfortunately. They're not going to just switch you over, which would be very nice, wouldn't it? And wouldn't you think that that's how it works?
00:15:01
Speaker 1: Well, no.
00:15:02
Speaker 5: But they do have to let you know it's there. So take a look. It's called the Better Offer Box. And that's your retailer sending you a flag to hey, you know, you could switch to this deal with us. But that's just your own retailer. Often, if you go, you know, cast that net a bit further, you'll find even better plans. So use your comparison website. It only takes a couple of minutes to search for energy plans for your home. It's one of the, you know, easiest things you could compare sites And you can also take a look at your bill, find what's called the NME number, and that's going to tell you as well. You can enter that, and as you compare, it'll compare based on your energy use as well, which is really handy because if you're a high energy user, well, gosh, you don't want a plan that has a really high usage charge. So, yeah, it's super, super simple to do. And, yeah, it's something you could do. Maybe you're watching the cricket or maybe, you know, you're on your lunch break at work. This is actually quite an achievable thing to do. I switched it just the other day. Super easy.
00:16:25
Speaker 2: Great advice. Good news, Sarah. Sarah Orr, compare the market, what to do when you get that power bill. Always get a bit of shock, don't you? Give us a call. Tell us what you do with your power. Has your power bill come down or gone up? 8223 0000 is the number.
00:16:41
Speaker 1: 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings.
00:16:43
Speaker 11: 27 past nine, 5AA.
00:16:53
Speaker 2: I'll be watching you. Electricity prices, Steve says. Re-electricity prices rising again under Labor. Shock and horror. Surely this can't be right, yet Labor's still the preferred government. When will people finally wake up? Judith says most cheap electricity plans are only offered to homes with both electricity and gas. And Robert on Annika Wells, what a good reason for abolishing the word honourable when referring to politicians. Thank you for that, Robert. And on the same subject, even if Ms Wells did meet with Mr Picton, how effective would the meeting have been at Mrs Picton's birthday party? Surely... He was hosting the party. And on government spending, from Andrew, the Reserve Bank talks about government spending pushing up inflation. Last night, Dave Hughes posted that Albanese has an astounding 59 advisers earning between $ 209, 891 and $ 422, 158 each per year. Bob Hawke only had 15 advisers when he was Prime Minister, and each of them spent $ 56, 000 on travel last year, That's a total of $ 3. 1 million last year. So this is where the government spending is going. It's not going to aged care facilities. Three advisors on $ 209, 891 each per year, 11 advisors on $ 226, 400 per year, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. It all runs into an awful lot of money. And with some of the things that Anthony Albanese has done, is he listening to their advice? The 59 advisors, I think some of these advisors should be sacked because if he is acting upon their advice, they're giving him some very, very, very bad advice, like appearing on some questionable podcasts. I believe he's appeared in a little comedy skit where he has a son who's dressed in a dress and who brings home a boyfriend. Why would our prime minister appear in something like that? Who is advising him? Where does he get the advice from? And why is he acting in such a way? These are questions that I don't have answers for. Maybe you do. 8223 0000 is the number to ring. Well, speaking of people not being unhappy things, the new surcharge ban has upset a lot of people, a lot of small businesses around the nation, and local councils are not happy with it either. We'll find out what the LG has to say about it after news headlines.
00:19:24
Speaker 1: 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings.
00:19:27
Speaker 12: 27 to 10, 5AA this Monday morning, the 12th day of August.
00:19:35
Speaker 2: Hope we find you well. Well, councils have joined businesses around the nation upset by the credit card surcharge ban. Joining us now, Victoria McCurdy, LGA South Australian CEO. Victoria, good morning to you.
00:19:47
Speaker 7: Good morning.
00:19:47
Speaker 13: How are you?
00:19:48
Speaker 2: Yeah, very well, thanks. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of support for this surcharge ban.
00:19:54
Speaker 7: Well, it's interesting for councils. There are many councils obviously weighing up the impacts. It predominantly won't be affecting rates for many of the councils because there are options for paying your council rates via credit card, but there are also many other options provided by councils. But it may have an impact on other fees and charges which councils charge for swimming centres, childcare, expiation. So there's not just the council rates. But we've been doing a little bit of research as to seeing that impact across our state. And there are many councils that don't pass on the surcharge. They're already absorbed. But there are others that it may well have an impact and they'll have to have some consideration about what that looks like for those councils.
00:20:34
Speaker 2: Have you been able to put a dollar value on to what this could cost?
00:20:38
Speaker 7: No, not at this stage. We are aware that our Eastern Seaboard councils, like in New South Wales, there's been quite a bit of media about those potential impacts, but we haven't looked to that at our state at this stage.
00:20:51
Speaker 2: Was the local government sector consulted by the RBA or the government prior to the removal of the no surcharge ban?
00:20:58
Speaker 7: No, no, they were not consulted. as I'm assuming many of the small businesses are feeling the pinch of this and have been really impacted by the changes to the third charges.
00:21:09
Speaker 2: So this potentially added cost has come out of the blue to you?
00:21:15
Speaker 7: Well, again, the repercussions of it, now that it is starting to settle in, seeing where those charges are forwarded on to the consumer, those councils are now having to have a look at that and I think there has been some media about you know being passed on by increase of council rates and that's certainly not the case i mean council rates are set if there were to be any implications which we're not aware of at this stage it wouldn't be until the 27 28 financial year so at this stage councils would need to absorb them.
00:21:46
Speaker 2: So that and that what would be the impact of councils having to absorb the added charges.
00:21:51
Speaker 7: Or costs Well, depending on whether the council is operating on a deficit or a surplus, it would obviously have an impact at its end of financial year if it's going to have to carry those costs. But again, we still haven't got that information and councils are having a look at that at this stage.
00:22:06
Speaker 2: So it could effectively see a cut in services?
00:22:11
Speaker 7: Well, you would hope not. Again, it's about trying to provide, particularly in these times where the cost of living pressures are quite Very tight. Councils are the ones that are delivering most of those community support services and trying to absorb what they can and putting in place, many councils have in place, payment options to support those people in hardship, whether it's through weekly payments, fortnightly payments, to try and spread that load for the council rates that they would have to pay. So I think where possible, councils are trying to provide whatever support they can.
00:22:44
Speaker 2: Obviously, the situation with councils, different councils, varies. Is there a different approach or a different feel to this between regional and metropolitan councils?
00:22:55
Speaker 7: Again, we've not been able to determine that at this stage and that's the sort of data we're collecting because every council, the 68 councils, are quite different and majority do provide different payment options. Payment rates are provided on a quarterly basis or issued on a quarterly basis. but many councils provide alternate payment options. But again, we're not aware of clear data between the metro and the regional areas in regards to those payment options.
00:23:23
Speaker 2: So what would you like to see happen from here?
00:23:27
Speaker 7: Well, really, for communities to know, they can still pay their rates by credit card if that is the case, but it's really important that they go on and check the website of their particular local council to see what those options are. and to clarify if there are any other additional options for them to pay their rates. But there is no requirement that you can't pay your council rates by credit card if that's always been provided by your council at this current time.
00:23:55
Speaker 2: Victoria McCurdy, thanks so much for your time. The LGA South Australian CEO on the situation of councils. Join businesses around the nation who are upset by the credit card surcharge ban and The varying impact, the mere fact that this has effectively come out of the blue, all of a sudden businesses and councils and the like having to scramble around working out how they can overcome the situation. It's something that has not been thought through, it would seem, by the government, certainly by the RBA, by the tax office, the tax office banning payments. Now that has been held in abeyance, but it's only been delayed. It hasn't been overturned. It's just been delayed by 12 months or so. Hardly good enough. 8223 0000 is the number, if you have a thought on that. On bank surcharges, Rick says, surely the bank surcharges should have been tackled at the source, the banks. Now, that's a novel idea. Airbus has no idea, nor does his passenger treasurer. We're in deep, deep trouble. Thank you for that, Rick. Yeah, we're starting to wonder, aren't we? Here we go again with Annika's snart in the trough. A strong leader would clamp it down. Albo should shut off his advisers, lobbyists and influencers he's relying on to shape his opinion. Bring on the election. Cheers, Tony. It will be interesting. Is it two years before we have the next federal election? It's some time away, isn't it? Let's take a call. Steve, good morning.
00:25:22
Speaker 14: Good morning, Graeme. I'm going to talk about electricity, but I can't believe how they thought with the... with the bank surcharges, that there wasn't going to be any implications. That's just unbelievable. I think you know my background. I'm just bewildered that they wouldn't have thought that through. But anyway.
00:25:43
Speaker 2: You have an accounting background, am I right?
00:25:46
Speaker 14: In Treasury.
00:25:46
Speaker 2: In Treasury. So you would think when something is proposed or drawn up, you would get people like yourself to say, what are the pitfalls? What are we missing here? You know, what are the unforeseen circumstances? But it appears they've overlooked all that sort of thing.
00:26:04
Speaker 14: I'm not sure that they have, Graeme. But anyway, that's another story. And if I get an opportunity over the next month or two, I might do a little bit more digging. Sometimes governments get information that they don't want revealed publicly. And I think we've just had a recent example of that on your earlier podcast. today on your sister program. But anyway, that's another story. I was interested in the electricity prices going up. Now, our electricity prices have gone up. I have solar and I have a battery, but they're still going up. I also check at least a minimum of four electricity companies. and sometimes it's six. It got a little bit more difficult this year, so I checked six to try and get the best deal. What complicates things? Oh, and I was able to, I should say, I was able to get my solar and battery probably about six, seven years ago now.
00:27:07
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:27:08
Speaker 14: But I took money out of my super fund. Now, if someone wanted to, if they had to go to the bank because they didn't have the cash at hand and they had then paid for an interest rate, That's why people will have difficulty trying to get solar and battery. That's another story. So it's not quite as easy because the government aren't paying for that. But I find that the whole reason my power's going up is because of the supply charge.
00:27:34
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's it, isn't it? That's the point that they can... If you're not using as much power, they've got to get their money from somewhere. I mean, they're in the business to make money.
00:27:44
Speaker 15: Well, that was actually.
00:27:47
Speaker 14: In the ISP report put out by the federal government about three years ago now, on page 92, there's a footnote down there that tells you that supply charges are going to have to increase. But of course, that was never broadcast to the public. And as I said, it was only in the form of a footnote. But the other thing that's going to be interesting for while supply charges will probably go up is because of this EV tax that's going to be put on supply charges. I'm not sure whether you've heard of that or not, but that's what the Australian Energy Market Commission, which is the regulator for prices, they're proposing to the government that that's how these EV charges, they want them to go out into regional Australia because the private contractors aren't putting EV charges out at the moment because of the cost. Obviously, there's no cost benefit for them. So that's how they're going to get the I think it's going to be some of the retailers or it might be the actual companies that provide powers. It could be like SA Power Networks. I haven't got my head quite around this at the moment, but that's how they're going to get their money back. They're going to charge everybody.
00:29:04
Speaker 2: Whether you have an EV or not, you're going to be paying for the EV charges effectively.
00:29:09
Speaker 14: Yeah, and I just think, The government need to be a bit more open about this stuff. But, of course, they'll only tell you about the things where they think there's a winner. I'd be 90% sure that this is what's going to happen in the next 12 months. If you can get the Minister, Chris Bowen, on, which I think you have great difficulty getting on, you might ask him if this is what the plan is. But that's what I believe is going to happen over the next 12 months.
00:29:41
Speaker 2: Good on you Steve thanks for letting us know that we will once again put in a request for Chris Bowen to come on the show to talk to us about a whole range of things his COP conference power prices net zero and the like we have an open invitation for and I know his department will be listening So please, once again, we would like Chris Bowen to come on the show. Don't hold your breath. Julie, good morning.
00:30:06
Speaker 5: Good morning, Graeme.
00:30:07
Speaker 11: Good luck with that one.
00:30:08
Speaker 2: Thank you. We'll keep trying.
00:30:12
Speaker 10: I know, I know. You're trying very well. Before I go on, do you realise earlier you said it was the 12th of August today?
00:30:20
Speaker 2: Someone jogged my memory on the text line. Did I say that?
00:30:23
Speaker 11: Did I?
00:30:24
Speaker 16: Yes, it is.
00:30:25
Speaker 17: Oh, dear, oh, dear.
00:30:26
Speaker 10: Are you hoping perhaps we'll go backwards, Graeme, and your team still makes a wonderful one?
00:30:31
Speaker 2: I want to get in the time machine.
00:30:33
Speaker 16: Yes.
00:30:35
Speaker 2: So let's get it right. It's Monday the 12th of October.
00:30:38
Speaker 18: That's it.
00:30:39
Speaker 6: Thank you, Graeme.
00:30:40
Speaker 10: I thought I'd had a Rip Van Winston there for a while and gone backwards.
00:30:45
Speaker 2: My mistake. I'm working without a net.
00:30:49
Speaker 10: Thank you, Graeme. Right, last night I rang Andrew and I was speaking with him about this. You were talking about unequal worlds before.
00:30:58
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:30:59
Speaker 10: And she's done it quite a few times, claims for expenses and racked up quite a travel bill. I think it was $ 100, 000 when she went away with, went to America with quite a few of her entourage.
00:31:11
Speaker 2: To New York, that's right, yep.
00:31:13
Speaker 10: Yep, and she had to pay back some of her expenses because she had her husband at the grand final and there was a couple of other things too, I think. Do you remember Fraser Ellis? He's been battling with the courts. He put in a... He claimed for expenses for staying in accommodation somewhere when he didn't. He said he did. and it was a mistake on his behalf. But anyway, he got charged, and he went to court, and he received a 10-month good behavior bond, like it was a suspended sentence.
00:31:54
Speaker 2: That's right, yeah.
00:31:55
Speaker 10: He didn't have to go to jail, because it was basically the same thing as what Annika Wells was doing. But he got a 10-month suspended sentence for it, and I think it would be a conviction, I would imagine. and she is basically doing the same thing. She's putting in fraudulent claims.
00:32:17
Speaker 2: She claims they're not. She claims that it's all fair and square and above board.
00:32:23
Speaker 10: So did Fraser Ellis. I mean, he said, he said, isn't it? But he said the same thing, that maybe it was a mistake on his part, he said, and he apologised for it, which they all do. Look, I'm not defending whether it's red or blue, but I'm just getting to the point that she has basically done the same thing and she's already been done a couple of times for it. And Albanese is still not doing anything about it. And do you remember a few weeks ago he made a trip to America for some security summit or something that she should have gone because of the position she holds. But he said, oh, no, no, she won't be going this time. And I think it was because of the amount that was spent on her previous trip to America with her entourage. So she missed out on that trip. But for Fraser Ellis to get a 10-month suspended sentence for basically the same thing as what she's been doing, how can one get done for it and the other not?
00:33:28
Speaker 2: Look, I don't know how to answer that, Julie. There once was a thing called ministerial accountability. and it doesn't exist on either side of the house any longer, I'm afraid to say. My number is 8223 0000. Love to hear from you back shortly.
00:33:40
Speaker 1: 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings.
00:33:45
Speaker 12: 9 to 10, 5AA, what's happening on the stock market? The All Ords is up 27 points, ASX 200 up 25, Dow Jones up 423, and the NASDAQ up by 172. Brent Crude, currently 105 points, $ 43.
00:34:04
Speaker 2: A barrel. West Texas, $ 105. 43. Gold is $ 4, 185 an ounce. The Aussie dollar, currently 69 US cents. Let's take a call. Colin Shearing, CEO of the SA Independent Retailers. G'day, Colin.
00:34:20
Speaker 19: Yeah, good morning, Graeme, and to your listeners. Just getting in on that energy matter.
00:34:24
Speaker 2: Sure.
00:34:26
Speaker 19: Back in 2016, if we all remember, 10 years ago, a decade ago, we had that infamous blackout in South Australia. where everyone was out. And back then, what we call the non-contestable side of your bill was around about 35% to 38%. And the power charge back there was around about 60%, the cost of actual power. Now we find that's actually flipped, where the cost of power, yes, has come down in 2020, most areas, the actual cost itself. But the non-contestable side, the big elephant in the room is the supply charges, the network charges, the ancillary charges, the environmental charges, all non-contestable, which has, you know, flipped the other way, where you now have 63% of your bill is roughly made up of those charges, which are non-contestable, and around about 37% is the cost of power. So, you know, we take it to task that.
00:35:29
Speaker 19: What we've done is we've seen the power cost actually come down, the actual power itself, but every other charge has escalated. And this is not getting better. It's going up all the time.
00:35:40
Speaker 2: Well, you would expect that to continue, wouldn't you, Colin, if more people are using solar and batteries and the like, so the retailers are supplying less power, so they're getting less for the power that they're putting out there because people are consuming less of it. What are they going to do? Bump up the supply charge?
00:35:56
Speaker 12: Well, exactly.
00:35:56
Speaker 19: And our question is, you know, once the infrastructure can't cope, we go all electric here in South Australia and the infrastructure doesn't cope, what do we do then?
00:36:06
Speaker 2: It's going to.
00:36:06
Speaker 19: Cost us a lot more than what it is now. So, you know, electrification, EVs, the whole lot, that power has to come from somewhere. So that's part of the issue. And once you transport, it's actually transporting that power across the power lines that is the expensive part. And you know in South Australia our power lines and the way in which we have to traverse the lands of South Australia, that's a lot of work and it's going to be very expensive. The other issue I have here with residents is it seems a bit strange that we have to do a shopping around as a resident. We have to shop around for our best price when it is an essential commodity. And let's not forget that because it is an essential commodity. And why we have to shop around for the best price is, to me, I think is just putting residents under a lot more pressure.
00:36:59
Speaker 2: Good on you, Colin. Always great to chat. CEO of the independent retailers, Colin Shearing, on the power conundrum. And the fact is that the more we supply ourselves with our own power, the more the retailers are going to bump up the price for those who can't supply themselves with power. And the price is always heading in the one direction. Did you catch Bathurst yesterday? I tell you what, even if you're not a diehard motorsport fan, Final Lap's pure heart-stopping television. And luckily, I saw the start and I missed out for the next three or four hours, but I tuned in right at the end. It was quite amazing. If you couldn't be there, somebody who had to be there was our own 5AA motor racing enthusiast at large, Sam Datto.
00:37:40
Speaker 11: G'day, Sam.
00:37:40
Speaker 2: How are you doing?
00:37:41
Speaker 3: Graeme, good morning.
00:37:42
Speaker 21: How are you?
00:37:43
Speaker 2: Good, thanks. Have you recovered yet? Slowly.
00:37:45
Speaker 3: Not a lot of sleep last night, but we're slowly getting there.
00:37:49
Speaker 2: So, I mean, this race was just incredible. Over the years, the race has done so many things. It's had so many highlights. But this one's going to stand out basically because a car ran out of juice on the last lap. How can that happen?
00:38:05
Speaker 3: Well, that's the thing, Graeme.
00:38:06
Speaker 6: I mean.
00:38:07
Speaker 21: Back in 2014, it was just as cinematic an end to a race as well because Jamie Wincup, he ran out of fuel on the last lap, but it was completely different circumstances where back in 2014, Wincup had to pit when he had to pit and was trying to conserve fuel. The Team 18 and the Chevy of Anton Di Pasquale and Lee Holdsworth, they elected to pit when they pitted. And they had the choice of how much fuel to put in. They elected to put in the amount of fuel they did. And by doing that has caused one of the most stupidest decisions that you'll ever see in the sport. One of the biggest mess-ups that you'll ever see on the biggest stage in Australian motorsport. And now, and of course, no fault through Anton Di Pasquale or Lee Holdsworth. They just got absolutely screwed by their own team. And it was, it made the fact that the Chevy... factory team. It was an embarrassment to Chevy how you can do something like that. And it's not the first time it's happened. Back in 2023, both the cars for Team 18 ran out of fuel on the last lap.
00:39:13
Speaker 3: So they have form and they really need to sort it out.
00:39:16
Speaker 21: But what a way for SA's own Todd Hazlewood alongside Brodie Kostecki in the iconic number 17 for Dick Johnson Racing to get their second.
00:39:24
Speaker 3: Win on the mountain.
00:39:24
Speaker 2: I saw a teary Dick Johnson as the race finished. He was sitting there absolutely incredulous.
00:39:32
Speaker 21: Well, we all know the ups and downs that Dick Johnson has had at Bathurst. He hit the rock one year, almost bankrupted his team. A forest elbow, he went into the trees in the forest and absolutely rode off his car. So Dick Johnson, when he had Peter Brock on one side who found it harder to lose a race at Bathurst and win it.
00:39:51
Speaker 3: Dick has been through the highs and lows.
00:39:53
Speaker 21: And for him, for the number 17, it's the fifth time the number 17 has now won on Mount Panorama.
00:39:59
Speaker 3: And you're watching Dick and.
00:40:00
Speaker 21: He spoke post-race saying he wants to see a couple more wins for his team before he falls off the perch, which is nice. He doesn't rock up to many races now. He's getting on a bit, but he always gets into Bathurst and it was great to see him. And he's up on the podium as well, accepting the trophy on behalf of the team in tears.
00:40:17
Speaker 2: Now, Sam, you're a Bathurst tragic. You go there year after year. How does this year's Bathurst rank with all the others you've seen?
00:40:25
Speaker 21: It's an interesting one because for the most part of the race, it was an old school endurance race. We didn't have a safety car until about five laps ago in the race. It was strategy based. The pit stops, how the cars could jump each other in the pit stops. We saw Brodie Koseki and Tosh Hazelwood in the 17 almost lose the race because their second-to-last pit stop in about 120-ish, around there. They elected to do brake discs and pads, which you have to do in a race, but you try to do that earlier on in the race so there's no room for error late on the race.
00:40:59
Speaker 3: They had a very slow pit stop.
00:41:01
Speaker 21: They couldn't get the fright run disc back on, so they went from leading the field to about fifth, about 40-odd seconds behind the leaders. So you had the strategy involved, not so much the safety cars spicing it up, but then at the end of the race... chas mosta in the super puts it in the wall of the elbow all hell breaks loose and that is how you get to see a finish like we did and just going back to team 18 but i was talking about the fuel problem that they had by having a lap or two on the safety car they were able to get to at least the last lap yeah without a safety car you would have just seen how incredibly wrong they were with the math because they would have run out with a couple laps to go so Bathurst never fails to disappoint when it comes to an epic finish. I mean, I've been going for 25 years now, if you can believe that, Graeme.
00:41:52
Speaker 3: But how that ended will be one that you remember for a long time.
00:41:55
Speaker 2: Good on you, Sam. When are you back? When are you back? We're missing you.
00:41:58
Speaker 3: I'll see you Wednesday morning, Graeme. I've got another day off.
00:42:01
Speaker 2: Mind you, Jesse's doing a very good job out there. Very good job this morning.
00:42:05
Speaker 3: I've taught him well.
00:42:07
Speaker 2: Good on you, Sam. Safe trip home. That's our motor racing enthusiast at large, Sam Datto will be back in the producer's booth on Wednesday morning. Back shortly.
00:42:16
Speaker 1: 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings.
00:42:26
Speaker 2: And good morning to you if you've just joined us on this Monday, the 12th day of October. Not August, as I said earlier, apparently. Didn't even notice I'd said it. No, it is October, folks. I know sometimes we like to step back in time, but no, 12th day of October. What do you think about people who move into a property near the airport and complain about the noise of the planes overhead? Or those who built or bought houses near the Gov on Port Road then complained about the loud music? Well, add to that category people who buy near farming properties and complain about the nuisance the farmers are creating, dust, farm machinery, etc. South Australian farmers are seeking exemption from nuisance complaints, arguing that government red tape and EPA regulations threaten to make their livelihoods even tougher. Joining us now is Nicola Centofanti, Shadow Minister for Primary Industry. Shadow Minister, good morning to you.
00:43:15
Speaker 17: Good morning, Graeme, to you and your listeners. Thanks for having me.
00:43:18
Speaker 2: This sounds like a ludicrous situation on the surface. Farmers are just doing what needs to be done.
00:43:25
Speaker 17: Yeah, you're dead right, Graeme. And, you know, look, particularly after years of drought and some really incredibly tough conditions here in South Australia, you know, farmers have finally got the prospect of a decent harvest. in South Australia, which, you know, is good news for farmers, but also good news for our regional towns and businesses that depend on agriculture. And the last thing that farmers need is, you know, more government red tape making it harder to get these crops off. But that's kind of, that's essentially what farmers are potentially facing at the moment. And there's two issues here that you've touched on. You know, one is the proposed changes to the grain dust exposure rules. But the other one, which has been going for quite some time, is this idea that, you know, farmers are a nuisance. And, you know, I mean, it's just absolutely incredible. And the obvious question which I've asked the government is why is mining exempt under... And this is all to do with a piece of legislation called the Local Nuisance and Litter Control Act, of all things, Graeme. And I've asked the government, well, why is mining exempt from this act but farmers aren't? primary production isn't and the business of primary production. You know, our farmers already operate under a whole range of laws, you know, things like environmental protection, animal welfare, workplace safety, water, pieces of legislation. Why should our farmers face another layer of complaints simply for carrying out normal farming activities?
00:44:58
Speaker 2: Have you been given an answer as to why mining is exempt but farmers aren't?
00:45:02
Speaker 17: No, they couldn't answer that, Graeme. And so now they've gone out, you know, following pressure from the opposition. And we've been working with industry as well really closely, particularly Jordan, Brooke, Barnett and Osvedge on this issue. But the government have now decided that they're going to consult on whether primary production should be exempt under the Act.
00:45:22
Speaker 22: And, you know.
00:45:23
Speaker 17: From our point of view, really what we're saying is, well, why should you even need to consult on it? I mean, it's common sense. Farmers aren't a nuisance. So, I mean, we've lodged our submissions, obviously supporting that exemption. But, you know, frankly, it should be a no-brainer. Producing the food that we eat comes with some unavoidable noise, dust and odour. And the law needs to recognise that. I mean, we can't eat without our farmers. That's the bottom line. Graham, and they just need to be stopped being treated like a nuisance.
00:45:58
Speaker 2: Well, farmers have been doing what they've been doing for generations. Is this all brought about by the fact that the residential areas are now encroaching on farming property?
00:46:06
Speaker 17: Yeah, I think as we're seeing more and more urban spread into our agricultural areas, we are seeing it becoming more and more.
00:46:15
Speaker 2: Of a problem.
00:46:16
Speaker 17: But if you choose to build a home next to a farm that's operated for generations, you can't reasonably expect that that farmer is going to have to or is going to stop harvesting, that they need to stop moving machinery or change their entire businesses to suit people. I mean, people need to understand the environment that they're moving into. So from our point of view, we really need to be sticking up for our farmers and our primary producers because, again, without our primary producers, we don't, you know, mums and dads in South Australia, indeed right around the nation, don't have food on their table.
00:46:57
Speaker 2: Well, exactly. And let's face it, with farmers, I mean, you know, the drought, the fuel prices, I mean, they're under the gun all the time. And sometimes they have a very small window to harvest their crops or plant or whatever it happens to be. And, you know, they shouldn't have to accommodate someone who's just moved into the area six months ago.
00:47:17
Speaker 23: Absolutely.
00:47:17
Speaker 17: And as I said previously, Graham, you know, farmers still have responsibilities under other laws that govern their operations. But they deserve certainty that in the ordinary business of producing our food, that they're not going to be continuously exposed to nuisance complaints. And that's what's happening at the moment. So we're sort of saying, you know, we just need to get rid of that. We need to give our farmers certainty that they can actually operate and do their job.
00:47:45
Speaker 2: What's the government's response been?
00:47:48
Speaker 17: So again, you know, look, to be honest, it's been pretty slow. And, you know, they've sort of suggested, well, we need to consult in all of this. And my understanding is that the consultation process is open until, the 22nd of October, I believe. But it's been slow, Graeme. I mean, I've been pushing this and people like AusVeg have been pushing this for about a year now. We just need to get it done. Again, if it's good enough for mining, it should be good enough for our primary producers that they are exempt from this Act.
00:48:24
Speaker 2: Yeah, most certainly. As we've said and as we all know, drought is an issue with farmers. High fuel prices are an issue. There are so many factors that make life difficult. I hear that there could be a locust plague in the wind.
00:48:37
Speaker 17: Yeah, I was out on farm last week, Graeme, in the Riverland with the local member there and, of course, our leader, Ashton Hearn. And, you know, you can see hoppers everywhere at the moment in the Riverland and Marilee. And, again, you know, there's a really small window of opportunity where, you know, we're really able to target... These locusts, you know, as they're hatching, as they're hoppers before they sort of start to get their wings and fly as adults. So there's a real window of opportunity to be able to treat and spray these locusts. And, you know, what farmers in the Riverlands and Mallee are really concerned about is that the government have basically said, look, we're not going to aerial spray your region because, you know, we're worried about vineyards and intensive production. Back in 2010, where we had the last locust plague, Graham, there was 178,000 hectares that was aerial sprayed out of the Loxton Control Centre. So it's been done safely in the past and it has been done successfully in the past. And my understanding is during that period of time, you know, over 80% of the locusts were destroyed. So what we're saying to the government is that, you know, you need to go out to the Riverland and Mallee. You need to step foot on these farms. There are locusts everywhere. We've got a small window of opportunity. You need to be helping, working alongside and with our farmers so that they can... control these locusts. Because, you know, the other thing to point out as well, Graeme, is that many farmers in the Riverland and Mallee also just don't have access to the vehicle-mounted nisters. that you need if you're going to be doing it individually. So that makes individual spraying to a large extent really, really difficult. And that's where the aerial spraying really, really assists. And, you know, it's just a common sense. I mean, obviously, you know, we're not going to be aerial spraying and the government shouldn't be aerial spraying where there are vineyards. But there is so much of the Riverland and Mallee that doesn't have a vineyard in sight. So, you know, again, it's a common sense approach. It's been done before, it's been done safely and it's been done successfully. And the government, we're saying to the government, you need to step up and get this done because, you know, the reality is, is that our locusts, you know, they don't stop at arbitrary lines on a mat. And that is why the response to locusts need to be on, it must be done on a needs basis. Locusts move fast. once they're adults and can be incredibly destructive to green crops, but also can produce some really significant contamination issues for farmers in their crops more generally. So we have a small window. We've got to get on top of it. The government have got to start working with these farmers.
00:51:28
Speaker 2: The time to act is now. Nicola Centofanti, thanks for your time. Shadow Minister for Primary Industries. Let's go to the Riverland itself now. Steve Nitschke is a farmer. Steve, good morning to you.
00:51:38
Speaker 15: Good morning, Graeme.
00:51:39
Speaker 2: How very real is the threat of locusts this season?
00:51:44
Speaker 23: Very, very much could be a problem. I hope it's not going to be a major problem, but the signs are all showing with little bits of rain that they keep hatching over different periods at the moment. And every time we seem to go out the paddock, we find another band starting or another band coming across the road. and after what they came in in the autumn time and the money we spent there already controlling them, if I hadn't done what I'd done then, I wouldn't have had probably my best hay crop that I'll probably ever see in my life.
00:52:16
Speaker 2: So what can you do to control them?
00:52:19
Speaker 23: For starters, I sort of took the punt and just kept looking on Facebook marketplace and picked up a $ 1, 000 cheap mister that's sitting in the southeast that they used to use for red-legged earth mite and fixed it up, put it on the back of an old ute, and thought this is going to be my best bet if we do start having them. I can get over the acres quickly. I can drive through the scrub because you can't put boom sprays through the scrub, which trying to get that through to someone in Persia was a bit of a stuff around because just big booms just don't go through amongst the malletry, and a lot of that's where a lot of locusts have probably laid their eggs.
00:52:58
Speaker 2: So overall, though, it really needs aerial spraying, I would say?
00:53:03
Speaker 23: Yeah, like as a farmer, I've tried to help out as just trying to get the word out there and be a representative for some other farmers that often get one or two phone calls a day from different farmers saying their point of view and put it back to person and try and give them the heads up. I don't think any farmer really in the Mallee is asking for aerial spraying on their own place. They're asking for where the majority of locusts probably could come in will be.
00:53:32
Speaker 23: National Parks, Department of Waterways and stuff like that where they've got massive things. We're not asking for aerial spraying in the vineyard.
00:53:41
Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's the concern by the government, isn't it? They don't want aerial spraying anywhere near a vineyard.
00:53:46
Speaker 25: No, exactly.
00:53:47
Speaker 23: But to find, I've got a land near the vineyard and there was locusts there in autumn. I haven't seen too many there yet. but further out in the farmland and anywhere that's sort of adjoining national parks or heritage country seems to be where we're finding the majority hatching and there's some big reports of stuff across the border into Victoria and of course the Riverland joins a very, very big national park, Murray Sunset, and seeing what my dad went through in 2010 and myself, I don't wish that on anybody.
00:54:21
Speaker 2: No, you wouldn't, certainly.
00:54:22
Speaker 23: They're classing that as a They class all of the national parks as a sensitive area, and that means do not spray. Well, that's where probably 95% of the locusts are probably going to get on the wing. And depending on when the wind is, what district do they end up, it's going to be an ongoing problem. It's not going to destroy our crops, because our crops are further advanced, but they could fly into the vineyards or go to... the Barossa Valley end up in the southeast and being the Lucerne it's just a big concern and we're getting told as farmers control your locusts and most farmers if they haven't got a misting machine or something they'll try and help your neighbour out or ring the neighbour say we've got a band here and we'll try and do what we can but I think natural parks are just not you know we all like to have a natural park and stuff like that but The government seemed to wash their hands by saying sensitive area and that's where the locusts are going to come if we do end up getting them into the city and the southeast and it could be a whole ongoing problem again.
00:55:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, the problem will only get worse. Steve Nitschke, thanks so much for your time today and let's hope the government's listening.
00:55:33
Speaker 1: 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings. 25 past 10 shortly your.
00:55:36
Speaker 2: Calls on 8223 0000. Here at 5AA, we're celebrating the people who prove there's no age limit on making a difference. We're searching for seven sensational South Australians over 70 who continue to achieve, lead and inspire. Do you know someone sensational? Maybe a friend, a neighbour, or maybe it's you. Nominate today at 5AA. com. au and highlight their outstanding contribution. It's proudly presented by 5AA and AFM Wealth Strategy. Plan the retirement you want to live with independent advice you can trust. AFMWealthStrategy.com.au On the text line, farmers have enough to deal with, but nowadays they have the government compulsorily acquiring farmland to turn it into national parks, wind and solar farms. Now you have people choosing to move in next to farmland and whinge. What do people think they'll experience when they move next to farmland? They need to cop it for not being astute and not doing some research for what is for most people the biggest expense of their lives. And Marty says, this makes me so angry. How many complaints were there? Do all our politicians want to eat frozen vegetables and powdered milk? Fine point, Marty. It is a really good point because if we keep encroaching on farmland property, making it just so unviable for them to farm, what are we going to do? We're going to start importing food, second, third grade food. I mean, we produce the best food in the world. No question about that. The purest food, the cleanest food, you know, the We have no problems with the standard food here. If we start importing it from Southeast Asia or somewhere else, you don't know what you're getting. Craig, good morning.
00:57:24
Speaker 4: Good morning, Graeme.
00:57:25
Speaker 24: How are you for a Monday?
00:57:26
Speaker 2: I'm very well for a Monday, and you?
00:57:29
Speaker 24: You're good, mate.
00:57:30
Speaker 26: Yeah, coping.
00:57:33
Speaker 24: Just on that subject about farmers now, I'm very passionate about all this. I want to throw you another example. So I get all my organic produce, or what I don't grow, from a place called Monica's Organics. Now, they're at Golden Grove. Now, when you think Golden Grove, you think houses, but I mean out north of Golden Grove, so very open area. She is a gem. She's been growing organic food for the last couple of decades, very high quality, great stuff, and we depend on people like her because there's less of them around. Now, you know what the government has just done? They've allowed a developer... Now, this developers are very, I won't say who, but they're a very wealthy Adelaide family. They've done very well out of, I won't tell you what, they've done very well anyway. And they've brought up every paddock surrounding her and they're developing it. So you know what's going to happen up there, don't you? You can already foresee that the people that move into this area, they'll be complaining about dust. They'll be complaining about noise, this and that. But she's already said that they are considering changing her farm to residential zoning as well.
00:58:47
Speaker 26: Now, it's the nonsensical.
00:58:49
Speaker 24: I mean, they've taken farmland, prime farmland everywhere in Australia, but particularly in Adelaide as well. And they're replacing it with solar farms or replacing it with wind farms. Why can't we, instead of allowing a developer to buy that land next to her, how about giving her a rebate and saying, you know what, we're going to become the food bowl of the world. we're going to back you and instead of bloody building houses here we're going to back you and we're going to increase the size of your farm because organic produce is very very rare and good good quality nutritious uh produce so i just it's nonsensical and i just I really, it makes my blood boil, Graeme.
00:59:30
Speaker 2: 10 out of 10, Craig. Could not agree with you more. I mean, that is, yeah, great call. Thanks for bringing that to our attention. Yeah, look, it is so critical. Australia has so much, so little arable land. We're a massive country, but in terms of arable land, it is a minuscule amount. And we keep encroaching on it. All around Adelaide, we keep encroaching on prime farmland to build houses. Let's build houses on less arable land, salt plains or wherever, anywhere but arable land. And we keep encroaching and encroaching until farmers will shut down. They'll move out further. They'll go to areas where the land is not so serviceable. And we're going to pay the price, sadly. Mike, good morning.
01:00:14
Speaker 25: Good morning, Graeme. Amongst other things, I'm a former Blythe Plains farmer, and I want to give your listeners and you just a practical experience of what is going on Yes, this dust environment occurs only in November, December, January. We're talking about harvesting grain and cereal crops. And you've driven past them. They're green at the moment. They're just coming to head. And so you're looking at a standing crop of wheat, barley, oats, canola, all windrowed. And so the harvester goes through, picks it up, takes it through the threshing machine, the grain goes into the tank, and the residue, which is chaff, goes out the back with the dust that's done in dusty conditions, yes, for hundreds of years when it's mechanised. So we've got people around Roseworthy and Northern who've moved in, they don't want farmers sowing their crops at night because the lights shine in through their residents. I don't want to hear the noise and the dust. It's not going 24-7, Graham, and you've got some North Terrace bureaucrat who thinks, here's a good idea to justify my position. Let's smack the farmers around the head. Corbyn Schuster has had a great article in the Advertiser, a brilliant editorial, but it is... just a hammer to crack a walnut. We've got great environmental protections on our machinery with guards and dust catchers. And that residue, Graeme, that chaff and straw that ends up, that's baled and that goes into your mate's organic or mushroom composting. So it is being, or goes into chicken sheds for deep litter. So it's all being used. But I'd close on this, Graeme. One Nation were going to be the loudest voice in opposition. There are four One Nation MPs all in rural electorates. Kadena, Clare. The only one that I know that is Jenny Hewitt, a good upper house. She's a farmer's relative from Bute. I mean, where are they on this supporting the Liberal Party and Nicola Centre Party who's driven this?
01:02:45
Speaker 22: It is.
01:02:46
Speaker 25: a pathetic piece of legislation that the government, let's go out and consult. No, just scrap it and say, let the farmers do what they do because farmers feed the world, Graeme.
01:02:59
Speaker 2: They do. Good on you, Mike. Could not but agree 100%. Government, North Terrace, are you listening? 25 to 11, 5AA. Good morning to you. Thanks for dropping by. Can't stop talking about Bathurst. Did you see it? What a race that was. Now, for a lot of people, a five-hour race is just a little bit over the top. But I tell you what, if you tuned in with just a couple of laps to go, wow. Lolita appeared to be coasting to victory. Then he was coasting out of juice. How can that possibly happen? We spoke with our own Sam Datto for a fans view earlier. Now joining me is Mark Scaife, six-time Bathurst winner. Mark, good morning to you. Thanks for your time today.
01:03:47
Speaker 25: Morning, Graeme.
01:03:47
Speaker 18: Yeah, what a race.
01:03:49
Speaker 2: Have you seen anything like that before?
01:03:52
Speaker 18: Oh, look, we have seen some dramatic, you know, finishes to Australia's Great Race, but it doesn't get much more vibrant than that one. I mean, as you correctly pointed out just then, I think Anton Di Pasquale, everyone thought that he was home and hosed, and he was basically five kilometres from the finish line because he'd gone past The start-finish line, it was basically the end of Mountain Straight, and then all of a sudden it started to cough for fuel, and Brodie Kostecki was able to get by, and it was just a remarkable finish. Sometimes I think it matters, even if you were a great story writer or you were trying to control some sort of narrative and make it into a great day, you couldn't make that up.
01:04:38
Speaker 2: No, you couldn't. People would say, if you said, I've written this story, that's fiction, that couldn't possibly happen.
01:04:43
Speaker 11: But it did.
01:04:44
Speaker 22: That's right.
01:04:46
Speaker 2: Now, what I want to know from you, Mark, I mean, you're an absolute legend of the sport. As a casual observer, we see so much that it gets down to tenths of seconds, the amount of money poured into each team, each car, the tire changes, you know, the timing, the work that's put into it, the refueling and so forth. Everything is done, you know, computerized, so forth. And we get down to the fact that they ran out of fuel. How can that possibly happen?
01:05:13
Speaker 18: Yeah, well, I suppose there's really two major tails to yesterday, other than there was probably eight or ten combinations that could have won yesterday's race. But the two major tails were confined to Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood, who were leading comfortably and then had a horrific front brake change. So they were changing the front brake rotor caliper and pads. And it's pretty arduous. You can imagine the temperatures of those front brake rotors after you've come down off the mountain and then into the pit area. So, you know, the front brake rotor would be 800 or 900 degrees. And they then put a complete new set of brake componentry on the right hand, or on both sides, but the right hand front took ages for that stop to take place and basically put him out of the race. So basically at that point, you know, the story of the day was that Brodie Kostecki, who probably looked like winning, was now in a position that he couldn't win. And then fast forward to closest to the finish, there was a battle between young Zach Bates and Anton DiPasquale, both in Camaros, and it looked at the final stop like DiPasquale had been able to save more fuel through the day, which meant that he had some fuel flexibility, like 10 seconds better off for fuel, than what Zach Bates was. So when they come in with Team 18, with the factory General Motors car, Chevrolet, when they come in with that car, they then determined how much fuel went in, and that was basically a calculation to get them to the end. Now, that calculation clearly was miles away from right, and at that point, it should have been much more conservative. You've got to give yourself some flexibility, because if the safety car didn't come out, he would have run out two laps before the end. Safety car actually gave him some reprieve in terms of fuel economy when you're going so slowly behind the safety car. Obviously, you use less fuel. So then for him to run out on the last lap was just horrific. And that's just a horrendous mistake for a professional race team. To your point, with all of the science and all of the technology and all the things that we do as a sport, yesterday was as sad as it is, was just a simple human error.
01:07:33
Speaker 8: Yeah.
01:07:33
Speaker 12: When you look at a pit stop, as I said, it's down to the 10th of a second and so forth, but it would seem on a typical pit stop and even a driver change, the longest component is putting fuel in the tank.
01:07:46
Speaker 18: Yeah, look, mostly that's the case. So when you've got roughly 125 litre fuel capacity and you've tried to top it up to fill it throughout the course of the day, so Yesterday's race was essentially six pit stops and seven stints in the race. The last pit stop is not a complete fuel fill. But to your point, normally the filling of the tank is actually the longest part of the pit stop. So whilst the driver change is being done, the tyres are being done, sometimes the brake change is being done, all those other pieces, the drink bottle gets filled up, the windscreen tear-off comes off, there's lots of other little things that happen in the course of a pit stop. But mostly the fuel thing is the longest, except for the end of the race when you basically get to a point where you work backwards and you say, okay, it's 161 laps. I'm going to come in at 145 or something. And then you know that that last 15 or 16 laps, you've got an economy, which is the teams use kilos because of the specific gravity of the fuel. So they actually weigh the amount of fuel before it goes in the car. And then after the pit stop, they make that calculation. of how much weight of fuel went in. in and then they determine obviously through that last part of the race how you drive the car because sometimes you can do some fuel saving you can actually do some techniques to reduce the amount of fuel usage per lap however they were just massively out that was just not a calculation that was correct.
01:09:19
Speaker 2: So how much longer do you think they would have need to put fuel in to get over the line? Are we talking just seconds?
01:09:25
Speaker 18: Five or six seconds. Yeah, five or six seconds would have given them complete flexibility for a non-safety car. So again, if they had to sprint to the end without the safety car, so one of the world's best drivers, that was Chas Mostert, who ended up hitting the fence at Forest Elbow and he's crashed the Supra with effectively five laps to go. If that didn't happen and Anton Di Pasquale had to sprint to the end, in that stop that you just remarked on, you would have had to have stopped for an extra five or six seconds to put more fuel in, and that would have got them home.
01:09:58
Speaker 16: Wow.
01:09:59
Speaker 2: And we'll be talking about this for generations to come, no doubt.
01:10:03
Speaker 18: We certainly will. Well, if you're a GM or a Holden or a Chevrolet fan, you were basically... I saw all these things last night. They're talking about Wharfie time and all those sort of crazy stuff. It's crazy sort of scenarios that are similar in terms of effect. But Yeah, if you were a GM fan yesterday and you were sitting around having an adult beverage late in the afternoon, you would have been celebrating, probably, thinking one lap to go and you're going to win the race. And horrifically, at the end of Mountain Straight, for the car to pull over on the right-hand side and for Brodie Kostecki to go past in the famous Dick Johnson Shell Mustang Colours, for that then to have taken place, it was certainly a day-wrecking day for a General Motors fan and it was a day-maker day. For all the Ford fans.
01:10:48
Speaker 2: No question. And the look on Dick Jones' face was just amazing.
01:10:53
Speaker 18: Yeah, I mean, Dick Johnson's obviously an icon of Australian touring car racing. And, you know, obviously he had the famous incident way back in 1980 where he hit the rock at Bathurst. And then after that, he won the next year. So, you know, the makings of... of Dick Johnson racing was actually, you know, the mouse and the Bathurst race actually made Dick Johnson into a household name and, and for the Ford factory team for so long. So, uh, it was a, was a really nice thing for, you know, for Dick to be there on site with his wife, Jillian. Uh, and they, uh, you know, I heard him say, I really, I really wanted to see another winner of these things before I fall off the perch. But, you know, it was one of those ones where I, I, I know the emotion, and you know how much effort from everyone in that team to get that result, and it was nice for Dick and.
01:11:42
Speaker 6: Jill to be there.
01:11:43
Speaker 2: Does it make you miss being behind the wheel?
01:11:46
Speaker 18: I miss being behind the wheel all the time, but it's just one of those things. You have to understand, Graeme, that you get too old and too slow.
01:11:54
Speaker 2: Mark, you've left us with some great memories, and thank you for your review of yesterday. It's a race we're going to be talking about for a long time.
01:12:01
Speaker 18: Thank you.
01:12:02
Speaker 2: Mark Scaife, six-time Bathurst winner. Absolutely legend behind the wheel. But yeah, Bathurst keeps doing it, doesn't it?
01:12:09
Speaker 16: Every year.
01:12:10
Speaker 2: What are your thoughts? Remember the good old Holden v. Ford days? Now it's sort of General Motors versus Ford, but it's not quite the same as it was. Do you miss those days? A lot of people thought Bathurst and supercars would sort of fall away to some degree without having the recognisable Holden v. Ford. But has it? Or is it just as good as it ever was? Or is it better? Let's know your thoughts.
01:12:33
Speaker 1: 5AA mornings with Graham Goodings.
01:12:36
Speaker 12: 12 to 11 5AA your calls in a moment on 8223 0000 I see the Adelaide MotoGP has a major sponsor it will be called the Red Bull Grand Prix of Australia first event to be held November 12 to 14 2027 there you go Red Bull famous name in motor racing um Matthew says, there's a simple rule in motorsport.
01:13:04
Speaker 2: To finish first, first you have to finish. That is exactly what Todd and Brodie did. The others lost it themselves for various reasons. Good on you, Matt. Thanks for that. Peter, good morning.
01:13:14
Speaker 13: How are you, Graeme?
01:13:15
Speaker 2: Good, thanks.
01:13:15
Speaker 13: I want to talk about electric. I had a guy one day, came around here, and he changed my electric meter over to digital.
01:13:27
Speaker 2: A smart move.
01:13:28
Speaker 13: And I said, Why are you changing that over? He said, we don't read metres. We don't read metres anymore. What's that about?
01:13:40
Speaker 2: That's progress, Peter. They're smart metres, so exactly that. They don't have to send people out to read the metres. And they can exercise some level of control over your power consumption.
01:13:51
Speaker 13: So they're guessing.
01:13:52
Speaker 2: No, they're not guessing. No, they can read your power usage data. Via your meter. It's digital.
01:14:04
Speaker 8: Yeah.
01:14:06
Speaker 2: Does that concern you?
01:14:08
Speaker 8: Yeah.
01:14:09
Speaker 13: How do they know if I use too much in three months or I don't use much?
01:14:16
Speaker 2: Well, they'll see. They can read your meter. It's just, you know how you can read the meter by going and reading the numbers on it. Well, a smart meter transmits that same information back to their headquarters.
01:14:31
Speaker 8: I hope.
01:14:33
Speaker 2: So that's how it works, Peter. Like it or not, it's the way of the world today. Smart leaders. Andrew says, I remember when Rocky's co-driver, Doug Shivers, ran out of fuel on the last lap in the 1973 Bathurst race. He had to push it uphill to the pits without outside help. Otherwise, they'd be disqualified. They finished second, but would have finished first otherwise.
01:14:55
Speaker 12: Yeah.
01:14:55
Speaker 2: Wow, Andrew. That's an amazing story. I honestly can't quite remember that one. But yeah, Brockie featured in so many great races. I saw some of the highlights. There was a tribute to Brockie yesterday and him driving in Bathurst in the wet. And it was some of the most stunning driving you could see. It was sort of total out of control, but in control. You know, he was, you know, it was aquaplaning virtually. And yet he just conquered the mountain like no other could. He was quite an amazing driver, no question. Really miss Neil Crompton and Mark Scaife commentating Bathurst yesterday. And they pulled the refueling hose out two seconds too early in the pits to save time. They only had a 10-second lead, so it was tight. Just one more second of fuel would have been enough. We're going to hear stories about that for a long, long time. There's no question about that. I just mentioned the MotoGP and the fact that it has a major sponsor, Red Bull. Still a lot of concern and consternation about trees being ripped out in the parklands. Well, there's one tree that's getting the chop. That's not going to upset too many people. The lackluster Christmas tree in Victoria Square is being replaced with a dazzling $ 2. 1 million festive 25-metre centrepiece set to bring 66,500 lights and a giant illuminated star to the square this Christmas. The cost will be borne by ratepayers spread across two financial years. Isn't money well spent, do you think? Are you happy to see... I must admit, the old Christmas tree, I think lacklustre sums it up pretty well. It wasn't all that great. Will the new one be any better? They're saying 25 metres, and the Lord Mayor has said, you know, it'll be dazzling because it's so big. I think the old one would be about 25 metres high, probably not as bright. What they can do with lights now, they couldn't do with the old tree. But are you happy with a $ 2. 1 million spend? It's only Adelaide ratepayers' money, not yours and mine, unless you're an Adelaide City ratepayer. But is it money well spent? Are you an Adelaide City ratepayer? What do you think about that? Are you happy with that money being spent? 8223 0000 is the number to ring. From the text line, all politicians, regardless of their party, spend taxpayers' money. This is nothing new. Some we hear about and there would be many we don't. Yeah, good on you, Karen. Look, I don't think that justifies that. And it always annoys me that politicians say, oh, well, you know, we're spending less than that government did two or three years ago. To me, it's like the line that you get pulled up for going through a red light by police and you say, yeah, but there are three other cars that went through the red light too. Well, yes, but you've broken the law. And government spending should always be held to account, I think. And sometimes it can be justified. Sometimes it can't. John says, as we know, Albo, Bowen et al. are on the nose. So they have rolled out a fresh face, Andrew Charlton, to tell us how well we are doing. Now he sold his tech business to Accenture for $ 35 million. As the tech minister, he gave the BOM, the Bureau of Meteorology, the contract to Accenture, who ripped taxpayers off to the tune of $ 96 million. He's just given them another $ 16 million contract. This is rewarding incompetence, or is this something else? John, I'm not so sure. You're dead right that Accenture were the ones that did the contract for the remodeling of the Bureau of Meteorology site. I've heard quotes that could have been done for five or six million. We paid, the taxpayer paid $ 96 million. And to think that the government's awarded Accenture another contract with someone else. What do you think? When will charmers in Albanese get it? Credit cards are an integral part of society now for a lot of people. Dinosaurs, so much for charmers. no cash, any more planned to? We will see about that. Didn't think that through, did they?
01:18:56
Speaker 14: Yes.
01:18:58
Speaker 2: Do we want cash or do we not want cash? There's no question the banks would love cash to disappear. And of course the ATO would love cash to disappear because when everything is done, online, digitally, they have a record. Every transaction, they have a record of. But at the moment, of course, if you can do a little cash deal here and there, they don't know where that money's going, how you came across it, how you spent it. But if we were in a cashless society, which we're so far from ever being, and it would be a danger because we've found out enough times now when we've had these outages that all of a sudden FPOS machines don't work. And you're in the supermarket with a trolley load of goods and they say, oh, sorry, if you haven't got cash, we can't service you because our machine is out. Keith, good morning.
01:19:46
Speaker 6: Morning, Graeme. Hope you're well.
01:19:48
Speaker 2: Yeah, very well.
01:19:48
Speaker 8: Thanks.
01:19:50
Speaker 22: The gentleman who called about the smart meter got my heckles up. They've been trying to force a smart meter on me for a while.
01:20:00
Speaker 6: They call it elective, right? They send you out a letter. We want to do this, this, this, this.
01:20:05
Speaker 22: And in small print, it says, if you refuse, write here and send it back.
01:20:11
Speaker 6: So I've been doing that.
01:20:13
Speaker 22: And then they ring me up after I'd already rejected it, saying they're coming to change it.
01:20:17
Speaker 6: I said, like hell you are. You're not changing it. I've already refused. Okay, do you have a copy? I said, yes, I do. I'll have a copy and I'll send it to you.
01:20:26
Speaker 26: The gentleman.
01:20:27
Speaker 22: had the right to reject it if he doesn't rent. If he rents and his landlord wants it, that's a problem.
01:20:34
Speaker 2: Right.
01:20:34
Speaker 22: My issue with smart meters is not that they can read it and.
01:20:37
Speaker 6: Charge you accordingly. My issue is there'll come a time when.
01:20:43
Speaker 22: This stupid climate change crap, excuse my French, with wind and solar is not covering us. A leftist government is going to turn around and say, right, you're using too much.
01:20:55
Speaker 6: You should only be using X.
01:20:58
Speaker 22: So for the last 10 days of this quarter, we're going to cut you off.
01:21:02
Speaker 6: Or we're going to cut you off from.
01:21:04
Speaker 22: The hours between such and such. It gives the government too much power. There is no way I'll be accepting a smart meter without the police coming and arresting me for it.
01:21:14
Speaker 2: That's the only reason the government wants it. Yeah, Keith, you've obviously looked very closely into this. Is it? possible that with a smart meter that they can control your usage.
01:21:22
Speaker 22: Of power 100 they can shut it off.
01:21:25
Speaker 12: Because that's the fear and we've heard a lot of people say that.
01:21:30
Speaker 22: That is they can shut it just like they can read it they can shut it off they can deny it all they like if you've got control to read it and you know what the daily consumption is and you know what the bill is at the moment They can deny it, but my theory is they're going to end up saying to me, you can have 20 hours of power a day. That's it.
01:21:51
Speaker 15: Right?
01:21:52
Speaker 4: Yeah.
01:21:52
Speaker 6: And that's where we're headed.
01:21:54
Speaker 2: Yeah, look, I hope you're wrong, Keith, but I've got a horrible feeling that you might just be right. On the text line, David says, we are in danger of electing a Trump equivalent because of the lack of confidence in our current politicians. We need to stop electing career politicians who stay on for decades like Bob Cattert. Limiting terms and having a regular turnover will ensure people who understand the hardships people are experiencing are understood. I take your point, David, but it does concern me, the quality of politicians we have. Do we pay them enough? Do the best people go into politics? Are they going in for the right reason? And do we really want to get rid of maybe politicians who are career politicians who are very good? If you've just sort of statute of limitations, well, you've been in for eight, 10 years, that's it, you're out the door. I can understand it for those that are not good or not doing a good job, but there will be, and they might be in the minority, politicians that are doing a good job, and you're going to turf them out before their time.
01:22:51
Speaker 1: 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings.
01:22:56
Speaker 2: Good morning to you. Six minutes past 11. Shortly, we're going to find out about fat farmers, but let's take a call firstly. Hughie, good morning.
01:23:04
Speaker 27: Good morning, Graeme. The situation you spoke about the last few hours with the advisers to government, you reflect back on Robert Menzies and Harold Holt and all the old prime ministers, let alone state premiers around the nation. We never had advisers years ago. We worked as a team. We never had computers back then to assist them with speeding up things. It was all telephone or telegrams. But it's got to the stage now, we've got expensive advisors, it costs us a fortune. We've got too many of them. We still can't get it right.
01:23:42
Speaker 2: I shouldn't laugh. You're dead right, Huey. You're dead right. How many advisors do they need? Because they seem to have more advisors and fewer smart decisions.
01:23:53
Speaker 27: So it's the money now the taxpayer paying the public servants, because that's all they are is public servants, not king and queens, or glorified for that matter. Sometimes you wonder. But to get paid too much is costing a fortune. So, yeah, economics, you've got to manage the system. As a prime minister, for instance, be a bit more conscious of where the money's going.
01:24:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, you make some good points, Huey. Trev says, the best politicians we have had was when they got little pay. They were there as they were successful people. Today, politicians are more about a career. pay them more, you still get monkeys. Yeah, that's the old saying, isn't it? You know, you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. But our politicians are pretty well paid. And yet, and yet. Well, what began as three friends heading to a Maitland gym has evolved into fat farmers. It sounds quirky and strange. Let's find out more about fat farmers from the CEO, Richard Sheppey. Richard, good morning to you.
01:24:54
Speaker 16: Morning.
01:24:56
Speaker 13: How are you?
01:24:56
Speaker 2: Very well, thanks. Now, Founded in 2012 by York Peninsula Farmers, what is Fat Farmers all about?
01:25:03
Speaker 4: Fat Farmers, we're a grassroots national health, rural health initiative, and it's, I mean, a quirky name, but fundamentally it's about bringing people together once or twice a week for some physical exercise, a bit of fun, and rebuilding that community spirit.
01:25:21
Speaker 2: So it has literally grown out of three mates just heading off to the gym.
01:25:26
Speaker 4: That's exactly right. I think it's sort of a common story. Three guys probably just, you know, getting a little bit, let's say, a bit more overweight, possibly having stopped playing footy. I think the wives were pointing out maybe that a couple was starting to snore. It's a suggestion that they started to do something about it. And yeah, from there, those three original guys going to the gyms now grown into something significantly bigger.
01:25:48
Speaker 2: So from those humble beginnings, how many would be fat farmers around the nation?
01:25:54
Speaker 4: Around the nation now, we've got in excess of 80 groups across the country. And across that, you know, anywhere up to 1,600, 1,700 people who would come together on a regular basis. And I think, you know, for what started off as just some guys coming together to, you know, work out the power of it around the mental health benefits associated with that community connection and physical exercise can't be underestimated.
01:26:23
Speaker 2: So it started out as a physical fitness exercise, but it's become way more than that.
01:26:29
Speaker 4: I think that's exactly right. For those in rural areas, the challenges of, I think, connection and farming is a tough space, the rural sector is a tough space. And so just giving them that opportunity to come together, it's been life-changing for lots and lots of people.
01:26:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, let's face it, people who live in rural areas face challenges a lot of stresses that people in the city wouldn't know, you know, farming and the like. So this is obviously fulfilling a real need.
01:27:00
Speaker 4: That's right.
01:27:00
Speaker 6: That's right.
01:27:01
Speaker 4: You know, whether it's drought, fires, or just general, you know, the stress of doing life, farming is a tough game. You know, the agricultural sector is undoubtedly a tough sector. Basically, it challenges over the past few years. And so, yeah, it's just, you know, this opportunity, I think, you know, to give people a different space to come together.
01:27:20
Speaker 1: So.
01:27:21
Speaker 2: In any given community, detail the work of Fat Farmers. What actually happens in a given week or a month?
01:27:30
Speaker 4: In a given week, it depends on the community, but lots of small towns we have groups of people who come together once or twice a week to get together for some, I'd say, physical exercise, a bit of fun and a bit of banter. Invariably, that rolls into a walk and a coffee afterwards, which is often where the magic happens. So, yeah, so lots of that sort of stuff going on. And then over the past 12 months as well, we've launched the mobile health hub, which some people may have seen around some of the field days and country shows. And that's a purpose, basically purpose-built semi-trailer where we're taking skin checks and other health checks out into rural communities.
01:28:09
Speaker 2: Is this limited to men or there are female fat farmers?
01:28:14
Speaker 4: It's not about being male. It's not about being fat, a farmer or anything. We're open to anybody. And realistically, it's just our opportunity to connect.
01:28:24
Speaker 12: Yeah.
01:28:25
Speaker 2: So the sort of people you get coming on board, is it important? I mean, you say there are communities or groups around the nation, 80 national groups. Is there a lot of administration involved or is it mainly about just getting together and for a common purpose?
01:28:42
Speaker 4: It's like everything in a head office. We've got quite a bit of administration behind it, but at the group level, it's just about coming together for a common purpose. We rely on volunteers. Most of our groups are run by champions, as we call them, and they're volunteers out of communities who just have a heart for what's going on, organize, bring some people together, and champion the cause.
01:29:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, so this is all charitable work. You don't get any funding from anywhere?
01:29:09
Speaker 22: No.
01:29:11
Speaker 4: Oh, we're very fortunate. We have corporate sponsorship, which is very good, which keeps us going. And that helps to deliver what we do at ground level. A little bit of government funding, but it's like everything, not enough. The not-for-profit world is a space to be in. People regularly say, more money, more impact. And I think that sums it up. So yeah, for a small organisation, we peddle very hard to do what we're doing.
01:29:34
Speaker 2: Do you think it could only work in rural and regional towns? Could it work in the city?
01:29:38
Speaker 4: It works in the city as well. We've got a fat farmers group that meet every Friday morning in Stepney. We have anywhere between 10 and 20 people.
01:29:47
Speaker 11: Turn up there.
01:29:47
Speaker 4: And again, you know, there are people who are sort of slightly aligned to the agricultural sector, the rural industry, and some of those people are retired farmers as well. Together on a Friday morning, fantastic session, good workout, and then down the road for coffee afterwards. So, yeah, it's not just stuck in rural communities. It really works everywhere.
01:30:06
Speaker 2: It sounds like a great concept for getting people just to talk. I think when we talk, particularly men, men sort of hide their issues and hide their problems and, you know, I'll tough it out, I'll be okay. But we've found out, you know, traditionally that men won't be okay. They suffer too. So groups like Fat Farmers get people together and get them talking.
01:30:28
Speaker 4: And that's exactly right. And I think, you know, therein lies the problem. Men particularly, you know, we're not that good at necessarily opening up and talking about what's going on. And I think farmers can sometimes carry an even heavier burden. Farmers are really good at looking after crops, livestock, families, but probably looking after themselves comes right down the track. So, yeah, it is just that opportunity to get together with some like-minded people and share the load as to what's going on.
01:30:55
Speaker 2: Anyone listening who wants more information about Fat Farmers, what should they do?
01:31:00
Speaker 4: Jump on the website or on the socials, reach out and get in touch. If anybody wants to start a group, we're always looking for new champions. If anybody wants to join a group, just come along and have some fun and make some new mates.
01:31:15
Speaker 2: Good on you, Richard. Keep up the great work.
01:31:18
Speaker 4: Thank you very much. Thanks for having me on this morning.
01:31:20
Speaker 2: Fat Farmers CEO, Richard Sheppey. What a great concept. Started out just a group of mates. heading to a gym, involved into Fat Farmers, 80 groups around the nation, getting together, having fun, and sharing experiences. Sounds like a great idea, doesn't it? 8223 0000 if you want to comment. Back shortly.
01:31:41
Speaker 1: 5AA Mornings with Graham Goodings.
01:31:46
Speaker 2: To your calls in a moment on 8223 0000, but from the text line, $ 2. 1 million Christmas tree at 25 metres high, equates to $ 84, 000 a metre. Thank you for that. The biggest problem with smart metres, you can't read them, so you have to take their word how much power you have used, says Mike. 8223 0000 is the number to ring. We need our farmers and we need food bowls. No question about that. And if we are not careful, our farmers will be pushed off the land as we have this ever-encroaching need for residential properties. Let's not build it on arable land. Let's build it on land that is not usable for produce. Mike, good morning.
01:32:33
Speaker 15: Yeah, good day, Graeme. I'm going to give you a bit of advice for your readers, or listeners, sorry.
01:32:39
Speaker 16: Sure.
01:32:40
Speaker 15: I used to work for Telstra, and we had a fault in the 298-4000 range. And this guy, I've phoned this guy up who'd made the complaint, And I said, I'm a technician in exchange working on it. And he says, oh, great, what's your name? I says, I'm a technician. He said, all right, you don't need my name. I work for Telstra. He said, no, no, I'd like your name. And he kept on it until I gave him his name, gave him my name. Now, I worked on that fault for three weeks. until I found it, a couple of contacts getting together. But he made me responsible, not Telstra responsible. And that folder had been there for bloody 20, 30 years. Now, I used that. When one of my sons had a grand mal seizure, we took him down to Flinders. It was a sad day. And they said, look, you can take him home or you can bring him back Monday and we'll give him a brain scan. And I said, well, we'll take him home. And I phoned up on Monday and the nurse said, you can bring him in on Friday. We're fully booked. I said, great, what's your name? And she said, hang on. She went, look, I can put him in on Wednesday. I said, oh, that's fantastic. What's your name? I kept at it. She said, in the end, if we bring him down now, we'll put him straight in.
01:33:56
Speaker 1: Is that right?
01:33:57
Speaker 15: You know, we had to put someone else back out. I really couldn't give a damn because it was my kid.
01:34:03
Speaker 16: Yeah.
01:34:03
Speaker 15: And I made that person responsible. And she still wouldn't give me her name, but I got what I wanted. So if you're ever dealing with any of these, big brother type authorities who hide behind the shield of the company name, use it. Make them responsible.
01:34:21
Speaker 2: Good on you, Mike. Some good advice there. Rod at Labrador. G'day, Rod.
01:34:26
Speaker 20: G'day, Graeme. I might be able to help people with these questions on these smart meters.
01:34:31
Speaker 2: Oh, yeah, please.
01:34:32
Speaker 20: I got a message a few weeks ago, a month or two ago, they were going to change my smart meter to my... Sorry, say again. They were going to change my meter to a smart meter. Now, I wasn't very keen on that because my hot water system comes on at night and I wanted it to be like that. And I know some of the smart meters now, it comes on during the day. Now, I'm still getting the big government rebate for my solar, so I don't want it used during the day for my hot water.
01:34:59
Speaker 12: Right.
01:34:59
Speaker 20: So I rang up the supplier and I said, now, will it be at night the same as it is now? Oh, yes, yes, definitely. It'll be exactly the same as it is.
01:35:06
Speaker 15: He said, all right.
01:35:07
Speaker 20: So a week later, I rang up again, because you get a different person, you get a different answer, same answer, no, it'll be the same. Anyway, the smart meter was installed, and I find that the controlled load is coming on during the day. So I rang up the supplier, and I said, I'm not very happy. The controlled load is coming on during the day and not at the night, like I was told it would happen. And his reply was, well, how do you know that? And I said, well, when the light is on, it means the power's on.
01:35:35
Speaker 13: Oh.
01:35:35
Speaker 20: Anyway, he said, it'll take five to seven days. I'll put in a query or whatever. I thought, hmm, okay.
01:35:41
Speaker 22: No, I thought, no.
01:35:42
Speaker 20: So I rang up the people who actually put the meter in and asked the same question, told them I didn't want it on during the day. And I said, can it be changed? He said, oh, yes, it can be changed. I said, now, how do you do it? Can you do it remotely?
01:35:56
Speaker 8: Oh, yeah, no problem.
01:35:57
Speaker 20: I can do it remotely. So the next morning, it was changed from the daytime to the nighttime, remotely.
01:36:03
Speaker 13: Okay.
01:36:03
Speaker 20: So if they can change the time that it comes on and off remotely, they can do anything.
01:36:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think a lot of people are concerned. I mean, they say that the meters don't force you to cut your power, but they can change your, you know.
01:36:19
Speaker 20: Yeah, they can do what they like. If they can change the time, they can do what they like. And also, the text you had before, I can read my meter. It's got, you just scroll through the same as a previous meter and you can read whatever.
01:36:34
Speaker 2: You can, can you? Look, I've never looked at my meter since that was changed over, but you can read a smart meter.
01:36:41
Speaker 20: Yep, you've got to scroll through. And I had trouble getting the information on what each thing, they got the codes and what each code was. It took about a week to get an answer for which code was for peak power, solar and controlled loads. I thought, well, you know, that's pretty good. They supply the meters, but they can't tell you. What each thing means.
01:37:00
Speaker 2: Well, I don't think they want you to know, do they?
01:37:02
Speaker 15: Exactly.
01:37:03
Speaker 20: Like the guy said, oh, how do you know it's coming on during the day? I said, well, the light comes on when the power's on. They don't want you to know.
01:37:12
Speaker 2: No, but you can find out that information, but you have to ring them.
01:37:15
Speaker 11: Is that right?
01:37:15
Speaker 2: So if you want to find out how to read your smart meter.
01:37:18
Speaker 20: Yeah, you give them, well, I gave them the model and everything off of the meter. And I said, now, I want to know what each of these things do. And they eventually came back. Initially, they couldn't tell me. They said, oh, well, no, don't know, don't know, and couldn't tell me. But it was about a week, and I got a message back to say which ones sort of refer to which. So you can find out.
01:37:38
Speaker 2: Yeah. To me, when they install the smart meter, they should provide you with that information, just the manual of how your smart meter works. But, of course, they don't want you to know. too much about it.
01:37:48
Speaker 20: Well, I asked the question because I was here when the install was there and I asked him a couple of questions and one of the answers he gave me I found out afterwards to be completely wrong and he couldn't answer other questions. He simply fitted the meter. That's all he knew.
01:38:04
Speaker 2: Good on you, Rod. Thanks for your call and thanks for your information. Helen says, agree with you, Graham. Pay politicians peanuts and we'll get monkeys but pay them lots and we're treated like chimps. Thanks for that, Helen. Hi, Graham. I think you need to play the Beatles song Little Piggies. Maybe our politicians should listen to it. Jack says, unfortunately, if Australia went organic, we would starve.
01:38:27
Speaker 16: Wow.
01:38:28
Speaker 2: Dusty, good morning.
01:38:30
Speaker 28: Good morning, Graeme. I want to express the opinion that closing a bus stop beside a retirement village in a country town is not an improvement to our bus services.
01:38:41
Speaker 2: And where's this happened?
01:38:43
Speaker 28: So I'm talking specifically about the alternate bus stop 6 at Hayborough at the Lutheran Centre.
01:38:50
Speaker 11: Yeah.
01:38:50
Speaker 28: So when I catch the bus, I walk downhill to the bus stop on Port Elliot Road and I can catch the buses. But when I, because you can't, it's an alternate bus stop at the Lutheran Centre. So when I'm coming home on a bus, I ask the bus drivers, can you stop me at the alternate bus stop at the Lutheran Centre? And they say yes. Now I think with me, that bus stop at the Lutheran Centre has been used for about 30 years or more. So on Saturday, I went up to Adelaide by public transport, came home in the afternoon, bus, train to Seaford, bus from Seaford home. I asked the bus driver at Seaford, can you drop me at the Lutheran Centre, please? No, we've received an instruction not to use that bus stop anymore. Now, when will we, will we, I live near there. I don't live at the Lutheran Centre retirement village, but it's much more convenient for me to walk home from that bus stop. And it's by the Coles as well. so I can go to the Coles on the way home. And I don't think there was any consultation. I don't think it was publicly announced. I mean, we had the Minister for Transport down here at the Encounter Bay Football Club for the country cabinet meeting. And lots of people complained about the roads and the public transport. They tell us how good they are and all of that. But, you know, what are their actions? What are the actions?
01:40:14
Speaker 2: So has any reason been given for.
01:40:16
Speaker 28: Well, the bus driver couldn't tell me. He said he'd look into it. I've sent an email this morning to our local member, Lou Nicholson, and she's really good. She had a public meeting about public transport at the Victor Harbour Bowls Club within the last only about two or three weeks ago. So there's this need for public transport down here, and I understand it has to be subsidised, but I don't think closing a bus stop beside a retirement village is an improvement. I sent an email to Lou and to the Premier about it. I have a little bit of a problem with the current Minister for Transport, so I'd rather not stir him up.
01:40:57
Speaker 2: Dusty, when you get some reply, let us know, because that just doesn't seem, it's nonsensical. I mean, it seems an ideal place to have the bus stop where it was, and unless they've got some valid reason for changing it, it doesn't make any sense at all. Good on you, Dusty. Thanks for your call. Yeah, let's know the outcome of that. 822-300-00 is the number. We're going to take a break for news headlines.
01:41:22
Speaker 1: 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings.
01:41:25
Speaker 16: 29 minutes to 12, 5AA on this.
01:41:41
Speaker 2: A pleasant Monday morning after a wild weekend. How was the weather in your part of the world? Mark says, did any of your listeners who live south near Hallett Cove get damaged from hail last night? Also, the old RSPCA site on Meyer Road is being redeveloped. But do you know what the big new development is opposite the RSPCA site? It's quite substantial. I rang the Onkaparinga Council and they said they didn't know. Thank you for that, Mark. So I know. Does anyone know what the new development is down in that part of the woods and Do you live near Hallett Cove? Do you get much damage? Or where were you? I went out when the storm just started to hit. Went over to the shopping centre and there was a lightning strike and a bit of thunder, a little bit of drizzle. I thought, oh, we're in for a big one. I shopped for about half an hour, came out and bright sunlight, quite warm. I thought, what happened to the weather? But I know some parts of Adelaide watching the news last night got really hit. Trees uprooted, power lines down and the like. some areas, got very, very little. Go figure. Strange world in which we live. But that is spring after all. Well, new crime data has identified several Adelaide Hills and Foothill suburbs as among metropolitan South Australia's safest areas. Let's find out more about it. Harihari Priya Kannan, the Demographics Group Chief Data Scientist, joins us now. Good morning to you.
01:43:02
Speaker 9: Good morning.
01:43:04
Speaker 2: So, tell us about your research. What were your principal findings?
01:43:09
Speaker 9: So, this is research that's based off South Australian police data. And I was one of the demographers who consulted on the piece that was released in the news article a couple of days ago. So the interesting things about the findings was that the way the suburbs function is quite different when you see the difference between Adelaide Hills and emerging suburbs and the core metropolitan area as well. And we can see that predominantly residential communities with relatively limited commercial activity and fewer people traveling through them every day have a lower crime rate compared to the city.
01:44:00
Speaker 2: So that's suggesting if there's a major center, shopping center and the like, it's more likely to be unsafe.
01:44:10
Speaker 9: That's not necessarily true. So there are a few characteristics that's worth exploring. So what happens is we need to look at how the suburb is being used and what happens is when there is predominantly residential communities, there's a strong community network and people are tightly knit and there's not much of movement there. But If you look at the CBD itself, the use of the suburb is quite different. There's tourists, there's workers, there's students, and there's people who are moving through the area a lot. So in that case, it's worth looking at what kind of offences are happening in the area and how it's related.
01:44:58
Speaker 2: So the research shows foothill suburbs are likely to be safer. That would suggest, and as you've said, they're more rural communities. close-knit communities, it would suggest that that sort of living is basically safer and more amenable.
01:45:15
Speaker 9: You can say that in a way. But if I were to put my bucks down to where I would buy a house, I think it wouldn't go just based on the crime statistics alone. So I'd encourage people to consider longer-term trends and the types of offences being recorded. And often what happens is when you look at these smaller communities, the population numbers are quite low, and even one or two recorded offences can increase the crime rate significantly. So that is another thing to keep in mind.
01:45:53
Speaker 2: So what do you think the average person should take out of this if they're looking for somewhere to live, a region to move to?
01:46:01
Speaker 9: I think this is one of the things that could be taken into consideration when it comes to the general safety, but otherwise we also need to look at other factors such as accessibility, the community, amenities, schools, transport, and usually better connected suburbs with a good community where the population turnover isn't quite as fast tends to be a closer-knit community and slightly more safer than other regions.
01:46:37
Speaker 2: Thanks so much for your time, Harihara Priya Kannan, the Demographics Group Chief Data Scientist. The safest suburbs in Adelaide. Where do you live? Do you consider it a safe suburb? If you're moving into an area you thought it's going to be safe and you don't feel comfortable in it. It's just a feel, isn't it? You don't necessarily have to see any sort of violence or activities that you don't like. It's just a vibe that you get. So where do you live? Is it a comfortable area? You feel safe? Let us know. 8223 0000. Regarding bus stops, Peter says, good morning, Gigi. My bus stop, 3A on Richmond Road, has been closed for months. Total disgrace. Now, Peter, were you given any reason for it? It would seem the reasonable thing to do that if you're closing a bus stop or moving it to somewhere else, you would notify people, whether it be gazetted, probably in the advertiser or whatever, or posted on the bus stop. Do they post things on the bus stop saying, from such and such a date, this bus stop will no longer be in operation? Surely they would do that. John says smart meters allow providers to manage power usage at an individual level. During a grid overload or load shedding event, they can selectively turn off electricity to standard homes while ensuring uninterrupted power to properties with critical life support equipment. Thank you for that, John. William, you've got some thoughts on Safe Suburbs?
01:47:59
Speaker 26: Yes, good morning, Graeme. So, as you're aware, you know, I built a house in Mansfield Park. I knew nothing of that suburb prior to moving, and I worked on the Superway there for a couple of years doing civil work. So, I wanted to, you know, build a house nice and close to where i was working at the time and at the time it was called the westwood estate it went right through mansfield park angle park ferriton park um ussell park so it was quite a you know a big broad area and there's a lot of vacant land in that time yeah so um You know, 20 years ago, to me, a lot of the locals that have been there for a long time, and back in the day, it was, you know, apparently, no disrespect to the long-term people that have lived there, but a lot of the pockets of those areas were quite rough, very rough.
01:48:52
Speaker 6: Yeah.
01:48:53
Speaker 26: And when I bought my land, I thought to myself, you know, there's a lot of vacant land. This looks fantastic, you know. I do see a lot of the old housing trust style homes still up, but, you know, a lot of them have been knocked down. I thought this should have been very vibrant. And governments can be very sneaky, Graeme. What they did was they left a lot of the government-owned blocks of land getting turned into apartment-style living.
01:49:18
Speaker 17: Right.
01:49:18
Speaker 26: And left them vacant while all the private blocks got sold off. And then all of a sudden, all the housing trusts do start popping up. And they brought all the housing trust people back into the suburbs. This is from my understanding, my experience in the last 20 years. So for the first five or six years I lived in that area, that was quite safe. Where now, I don't know if you've heard of the news in the last four or five years, a lot of drama and kill penny and, you know, Apple Park. So now I find that area, you know, quite unsafe, ironically.
01:49:55
Speaker 24: Yeah.
01:49:56
Speaker 2: Look, William, thanks for your call. I would suggest that if anyone is building in an area, it would, you know, there's nothing there effectively, just a lot of vacant lots. You find out what the plans are because you don't really know. So it might suit your requirements. It might not. But it would always be wise to look at the plan and go to the council, say there's a block there. It's a very large block. What is going to be built there? And I think they're obligated to let you know if the decision has been made. Steve says, the term go figure is American, not Australian. You have to go with me, Steve, eh? Did I say go figure? Probably I did. Yeah, well, look, I'm all for Australians. sayings when we can, but we have adopted a lot of American sayings, haven't we? Like defense, when they talk about basketball, defense, which is very frustrating, very annoying. But yeah, we do adopt a lot of American sayings. I'd prefer us if we can keep with Australian sayings, but I'm as guilty as the next person for falling into habits. G'day, Nick.
01:50:59
Speaker 8: How you going, Graeme?
01:51:00
Speaker 2: Good, thanks.
01:51:01
Speaker 8: I forgot to ask the professor, where you get him from? I want to know if I'm safe in Colorado Valley. I think I'll be the last one to go.
01:51:11
Speaker 2: You think?
01:51:11
Speaker 8: I think I'll be the last one to go from up here. And the other thing, Graham, why were you allowed Albanese to do everything he does against their country?
01:51:24
Speaker 2: Well, because he is the elected representative. He was part of a party that won majority and was able to form government, and he is a duly elected representative.
01:51:35
Speaker 8: I know the general. I know the general. He got the job to her so he can be size. And it doesn't work. So we have to get on the streets.
01:51:49
Speaker 2: We have to what? Sorry, I missed that.
01:51:51
Speaker 8: We have to protest on the streets, my country.
01:51:54
Speaker 2: Well, if you're not happy, you know, it is a free country. And if you feel like you need to protest, I mean, they protest over a lot lesser things in other countries. Australians are pretty laid back and maybe that's why we get the governments we deserve or don't deserve because we don't voice our opinion strongly enough. A lot of people resent voting and resent the day that they have to give up an hour on a Saturday once every three years for a federal election. But we put these people in, then we have to live with it. We can't throw them out. There are only a couple of reasons why a governor general can take action. That's if parliament won't pass a supply bill. or there's a vote of no confidence in the house, in the government, then the governor general can act. But just because in your opinion, my opinion, a lot of people's opinion, the government is running the country into the ground. Sadly, that is not, well, I'm not saying sadly, I think it's the way it should be. I don't want a person being able to just unilaterally throw out a government because we have elected them. Whether you think that was the right decision or not, They were duly elected. This is the system that we have. This is the Westminster system. And all you have to do is remember it when the next election rolls around. David says, GG, your butler should be able to show you how he reads your smart meter. Oh, David.
01:53:15
Speaker 12: Oh, David.
01:53:16
Speaker 2: They still have meter readers, says Steve, for water and gas and will for a long time. The electricity meter readers are still there, but power companies want to put in smart meters to save paying someone reading power meters. A palm meter installer told me this recently. Thank you for that, Steve. We'll be back with your call shortly. Give me a call now. 8223 0000 is the number.
01:53:38
Speaker 1: 5AA Mornings with Graham Goodings.
01:53:50
Speaker 2: Great bit of music. Love to let it play on, but no, we won't. 13 minutes to 12, 5AA. After one this afternoon, it's Leith Forrest. I want to say that's Mark Cohen's Walking in Memphis, where he talks about Elvis.
01:54:02
Speaker 22: Yes.
01:54:03
Speaker 11: Great song. It is a great song indeed. Just a nice little bit of piano. Can you play any musical instruments? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to play that?
01:54:10
Speaker 2: Oh, I'd love to play anything. I tried to learn the guitar for five minutes and found I had four thumbs on each hand.
01:54:16
Speaker 11: It's one of my great regrets. You know, everyone, I think your mum and your grandparents, they drag and kick you to practice instruments. And as a kid, you go, no, no, no, there's better things to do. And then as an adult, you go, gee, I wish I'd kept it.
01:54:31
Speaker 2: Wouldn't have been great.
01:54:32
Speaker 11: Oh, my gosh. I get so envious of anyone who can just walk up to an instrument and start playing.
01:54:38
Speaker 2: I can play chopsticks.
01:54:39
Speaker 11: Yeah, I can play chopsticks too. That's about it. And even credit to someone like Kornzy who picked it up late. But you know that he's never going to be Slava because he picked it up late. But had he picked it up at 10, then maybe he's touring the world playing music.
01:54:52
Speaker 2: See, we– Got our three kids to learn the piano.
01:54:56
Speaker 11: Yes.
01:54:56
Speaker 2: And they couldn't wait to get away from it. Can we all play now?
01:55:00
Speaker 16: No.
01:55:00
Speaker 2: Not a note.
01:55:01
Speaker 11: Doesn't remember. How many lessons would you have had?
01:55:03
Speaker 2: Oh, I don't know.
01:55:03
Speaker 16: Years?
01:55:04
Speaker 2: No, it wouldn't have been. It would have been a year or so. But the point is that I think if you've got it bent that way and you really enjoy it, you go on with it.
01:55:12
Speaker 22: True.
01:55:12
Speaker 2: But if not, like I couldn't have been forced to do it myself. And after a while you say, well, we've given you a good go at it. You've really tried.
01:55:21
Speaker 8: Yep.
01:55:21
Speaker 2: And it's not going anywhere.
01:55:23
Speaker 11: But I think those kids who are now adults that are geniuses are thankful that their parents forced them to do it.
01:55:29
Speaker 8: Yeah.
01:55:30
Speaker 11: You're more appreciative as an adult than you are as an eight-year-old who's dragged along to piano lessons, learning scales.
01:55:37
Speaker 2: If you just hate it and it turns you away from it forever. That's true. It's a fine line because it's good that your parents push you towards it and bring out the best in you. But if it turns you to avidly hating it.
01:55:47
Speaker 22: True.
01:55:48
Speaker 2: It's not good.
01:55:48
Speaker 11: Do you think Serena and Venus Williams hate their father for being the parent he was to make them.
01:55:53
Speaker 2: He drove them, didn't he?
01:55:55
Speaker 24: Yeah.
01:55:55
Speaker 2: And it was pretty ugly at times.
01:55:56
Speaker 11: Something to be said about that kind of parent. Maybe I wasn't hard enough on the kids. What about Jelena Dokic's father? Well, that's true. For every Richard Williams, there's a Demir Dokic or.
01:56:05
Speaker 2: That's a horror story.
01:56:06
Speaker 11: I think Monica Sellis. I think Steffi Graf's dad was one of those two.
01:56:09
Speaker 8: Yeah.
01:56:10
Speaker 11: So fine line between being a good parent or grandparent.
01:56:12
Speaker 8: Yeah.
01:56:13
Speaker 2: I mean, it is difficult because... Some of these people grow up to greatness and make a lot of money and so forth.
01:56:18
Speaker 12: Yes.
01:56:18
Speaker 2: But probably look back and say, maybe we'd done it a different way.
01:56:22
Speaker 8: Yeah.
01:56:23
Speaker 12: Yeah.
01:56:23
Speaker 11: It's interesting, isn't it?
01:56:24
Speaker 2: I've never been a parent that forces the kids to do too much.
01:56:26
Speaker 11: No, same.
01:56:27
Speaker 16: No.
01:56:28
Speaker 11: And we'll work out in due time whether that was the right decision or not. Coming up after one o'clock, the MotoGP has a new sponsor.
01:56:35
Speaker 25: Yes.
01:56:36
Speaker 2: Red Bull.
01:56:37
Speaker 11: Do you think someone like Red Bull are oblivious to any kind of controversy or they're a big enough company they don't care? They're a bit like Nike. It's like, hey, any publicity, good publicity. We'll have it.
01:56:48
Speaker 2: Yeah, they've had their share of ups and downs, but mainly ups. And yeah, they've been incredibly successful.
01:56:54
Speaker 11: I think they would almost like the fact that on one hand, there's so many people who love the idea of the only MotoGP street circuit. They're happy to have their name on that because they're all about the rally and they're about the Formula One, et cetera. And then I think there's also a part of them, a bit like Nike, that goes, not a bad thing.
01:57:10
Speaker 21: Yeah.
01:57:10
Speaker 11: That people are protesting and unhappy because our- They're still talking about us. Names in the paper and it's on the radio and on television. So we'll talk about that on the show this afternoon. The great Scott Hicks is going to drop by. Oh, brilliant. So the Adelaide Film Festival starting in the next week or so. It's the 30th anniversary of Shine. Did you like that film? Oh, loved it.
01:57:29
Speaker 2: David Helfgott.
01:57:30
Speaker 11: Will was in it.
01:57:30
Speaker 2: Yeah, Will Goodings was in Shine.
01:57:31
Speaker 11: He was not.
01:57:32
Speaker 28: Really?
01:57:33
Speaker 2: He was an extra in the hotel hall.
01:57:34
Speaker 8: Yeah.
01:57:35
Speaker 11: Can you see him? If we freeze frame it?
01:57:37
Speaker 2: As long as you don't blink.
01:57:39
Speaker 11: Wow. But he's in the credits. So he's got an IMDB account, Internet Movie Database. I'll have to have a look.
01:57:45
Speaker 2: That was his shining moment.
01:57:47
Speaker 11: We're going to talk about the film, how that all came about. And they've also released, because of the anniversary, Wakefield Press has put out a new book about the making of Shine. So if you're a Scott Hicks aficionado or you love the movie, I actually had a look at a few of the films coming out for the Adelaide Film Festival. We're going to do one later in the week. There's so many great films if you love to get behind, you know, South Australian film industry. There's one coming up. which is the story. And you would remember this more than I, because I was only a teenager at the time. There's a film that we're going to talk about later in the week, which is the story of the bridge at Highmarsh Island and the secret women's business.
01:58:23
Speaker 2: Yes, yes.
01:58:24
Speaker 11: So I got a screener on the weekend, watched it over the weekend. It is amazing.
01:58:28
Speaker 12: I agree.
01:58:29
Speaker 11: Had forgotten all of it to be, I remember the phrase secret women's business, but I had forgotten about the Lord mayor, the developers, Dean Brown.
01:58:38
Speaker 2: It was huge.
01:58:39
Speaker 11: Ian McLaughlin's part in it.
01:58:41
Speaker 14: Yeah.
01:58:41
Speaker 11: Uh, Chris Kenny's part in it as the journalist at the time who was, you know, in trouble for some of the people that he spoke to. And God was great. It's like a, a time capsule back to whenever it was mid nineties, mid early 2000s.
01:58:54
Speaker 19: Yeah.
01:58:55
Speaker 11: Yeah.
01:58:55
Speaker 2: It went on and on and on.
01:58:57
Speaker 8: Yeah.
01:58:58
Speaker 2: And when working in the news business, you're going to, when in doubt, find the Hindmarsh Island story.
01:59:03
Speaker 11: That's it. So I think it's going to come back. I get a sense that this documentary, which is part of the Adelaide Film Festival, will revisit a lot of– so I got to watch it through the lens of someone who didn't really pay attention the first time, to be honest.
01:59:17
Speaker 8: Yeah.
01:59:17
Speaker 11: And it's a story of government and developers versus First Nations people. And I look at it now and go, I'm not sure. I'm not sure we should have a bridge, Graeme. Now that you watch it again, it'll be interesting to see those of you who lived it.
01:59:31
Speaker 9: Yeah.
01:59:31
Speaker 2: Oh, look, it's a fading memory. I don't remember the intricacies of it at all, I must say.
01:59:36
Speaker 11: So the Lord Mayor and her husband were Chapman, were the developers.
01:59:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, Vicky Chapman.
01:59:40
Speaker 11: And lost all their money in the Bank SA, State Bank.
01:59:44
Speaker 15: Yeah.
01:59:45
Speaker 11: Got picked up by Westpac, had to get the bridge to get their money back. So they pushed it. And then Dean Brown becomes the Premier that year, which again was interesting to see when they showed the TV coverage. I think the Libs won something like 37 seats to seven. I think of that in today's politics, like how that's just completely flipped across. And so basically they were the ones who pushed along with Dean Brown and the federal minister for indigenous affairs. And it was a whole deal in and out of court, royal commissions. Amazing. So nice little nostalgic trip, but that's just one of the things that you'll see at the film festival, including Shine.
02:00:21
Speaker 12: Yeah.
02:00:22
Speaker 2: On the subject of Scott Hicks, I think when I was doing a year in review of, a few weeks ago, Scott Hicks got his start doing things like commercials and he did a video clip for ACDC.
02:00:37
Speaker 11: Yeah, music videos.
02:00:38
Speaker 2: That's right.
02:00:38
Speaker 28: Yeah.
02:00:39
Speaker 2: So how would you be in history? Scott Hicks did our video clip. Thank you very much.
02:00:44
Speaker 11: And then what happens, like Hollywood opens up. So Geoffrey Rush wins everything for us, David Helfcott. And then Scott Hicks' career just explodes from there.
02:00:52
Speaker 2: Yeah.
02:00:52
Speaker 11: And now sort of retired back in Adelaide and we see him around occasionally, so.
02:00:57
Speaker 2: Yeah, could get. Could get again.
02:00:58
Speaker 11: Thanks. We'll see you after one o'clock. I'm going to pause that. You might just need to tell me which particular scene. We'll see if we can.
02:01:07
Speaker 2: Norwood Town Hall.
02:01:08
Speaker 11: Norwood Town Hall.
02:01:09
Speaker 2: Don't ask me where.
02:01:11
Speaker 11: Did he apply for it?
02:01:12
Speaker 2: Did you know someone? No, Will wanted to be an actor. I'm not telling tales out of school here. He loved acting.
02:01:19
Speaker 11: Oh, did he have an agent?
02:01:20
Speaker 2: He's not bad, actually.
02:01:22
Speaker 11: Has he been in other work? You know Andrew Reimer's in... Speaking of the 5AA connections, he's in the movie that starred Daniel Ratcliffe that was here in Adelaide that was about a South African prison.
02:01:35
Speaker 1: Oh, really?
02:01:36
Speaker 11: Yeah. I think Rhymer's got a speaking part.
02:01:38
Speaker 2: Is that right? Well, I was in Storm Boy.
02:01:41
Speaker 16: Really?
02:01:42
Speaker 11: Yeah.
02:01:43
Speaker 2: I played the role of a newsreader.
02:01:44
Speaker 11: Did you? I'm going to have to revisit. I haven't seen Storm Boy since it was out the first time.
02:01:49
Speaker 2: Yeah. Oh, great movie.
02:01:50
Speaker 11: 83, 82, 83, 84, something like that.
02:01:52
Speaker 2: Oh, early 80s, yeah.
02:01:54
Speaker 22: Really?
02:01:54
Speaker 11: So you're in there as Graham Goodings?
02:01:56
Speaker 25: Yeah.
02:01:57
Speaker 16: Really?
02:01:58
Speaker 17: Yeah.
02:01:58
Speaker 2: Oh, gosh.
02:01:59
Speaker 11: All right. That's my task this week. I'm going to put that all up on socials. 5AA claim to film fame. You've got to get a life. My back's in McLeod's daughters, but that's another story. We'll see you from 1 o'clock.
02:02:12
Speaker 2: Lee Forrest coming up this afternoon with a jam-packed program. Caesar says, did you make Will watch the news every night so he would follow you? No, I didn't. No, I didn't. The kids... took very little interest in watching the news. Although an interesting story that while I've got a moment to tell you, it's interesting perception that, you know, I was always in television. The kids had no concern, no real interest that their dad worked on TV, but I did. But I remember one day, Guy Blackmore, who I used to read the news with in the early days of Eyewitness News, told me this story about one of his sons came home, absolutely gobsmacked. He said, dad, You're not going to believe this, but you read the news on Tim's television too. Because Guy's son sort of thought that every dad went to work and read the news for them because his dad did. And every night there was his dad reading the news as, you know, my kids saw their dad reading the news. But he thought that that was the job that dads did. They went and read the news somewhere and it popped up. So kids get a sort of distorted view of what their parents do. Almost time to go before we do. No, I can't read that one. We get some interesting texts that we can't always read out. Andrew says the Reserve Bank stat shows cash use in Australia really has collapsed. Cash fell from about 70% of all consumer payments in 2007 to around 13 to 15% today, depending on whether you use the 2022 or 25 consumer payment survey. As you heard in the news a short time ago with Kendall, This is the 24th anniversary of the Bali bombings back in October 2002, a horrific time in Australia's history.
02:03:59
Speaker 29: A huge bomb blast on the island of Bali has killed at least 182 people in the worst terrorist attack since September the 11th. Many Australians are feared to be among the dead and among the scores of people very seriously injured.
02:04:17
Speaker 2: In fact, the blast killed 202 people. From 21 nations, Australians suffered the heaviest loss. 88 died, including three South Australians. Josh Deegan from the Sturt Football Club. Also, Bob Marshall was a former player and club official from Sturt. And Angela Golotta from Tea Tree Gully, who was holidaying with her family. But yeah, it was the time that I think we realised that how close terrorism came to Australia. Of course, it has come closer since then. But the Bali bombings remain Australia's worst single overseas terrorist tragedy. Their annual commemorations continue to honour the 88 Australians who never came home. That's it for today. Thank you so much for your company. We'll be back tomorrow and we'll do it again.