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Speaker 1: Good morning, 7 past 9, 5AA, this Wednesday, second day of September. Thanks for dropping by. Hope you can spend some time with us. Always lots to talk about. On the show today, the state of our roads really is getting out of hand, so much so that opposition leader Ashton Hearn has moved a motion in Parliament to make it a priority. We're going to speak with her shortly. We get lots of calls and texts to the station saying, you know, the roads, whether it be regional or around the suburbs, are awful. There's no question about that. Is this something that has just popped up out of the blue? Well, I don't think so. There was an RAA report, was it late November last year, saying that there was a backlog of around $ 2. 1 billion, billion dollars that needed to be spent on our roads. I wonder if the government has taken up that. Where does the responsibility lie? With the feds, with the state government, with the local councils, whoever, whoever it is, it really needs to be looked into because roads that aren't car-worthy, are very, very dangerous, other than being very uncomfortable, they can do damage to your car, and in many instances, cause accidents. Anyway, we'll discuss more of that with Ashton Hearn a little bit later on. Well, President Chris Bowen appears to be running around the Pacific with an open checkbook. The president of negotiations for next year's COP31 has committed more than $ 6 million of taxpayers' money on luxury hotel accommodation. All has been revealed in the Daily Telegraph special column today, an exclusive story with Jake McCallum. We'll have a chat with him about that. But yeah, this spending is totally out of hand. We're told that some of the money will be coming back, that when some of these countries take up their accommodation, they will repay Australia. But will they or won't they? Six million dollars committed so far. And there are stories suggesting that a lot of the rooms will be left empty because a lot of the proposed delegates will not be appearing. This morning, Justin Bott from Services Australia will join us to answer your questions on pensions, Medicare, Centrelink, child support, JobSeeker, Australian government support, all those sorts of questions that we have lots of people wanting to know the answers for. Justin Bott from Services Australia will join us at 10.30 this morning. So get your questions in, get them in early. 8223 0000 is the number. I was shocked to hear earlier this week that SA footy legend Bruce Lindner is battling cancer. He was, you may remember, a member of the inaugural Crows team that met the first game, that historic game against Hawthorne. The Prez kicked four goals, as I recall. Well, anyway, now at 64, Bruce says he's in the fight of his life as he tackles cancer. He's written a book about it. We'll have a chat with him a little bit later on this morning. Also, on the sporting note, Ben Stokes is now an Adelaide striker, the former England captain and bad boy of cricket. What are your thoughts about that, Ben? We'll have a chat with the legendary KG Cunningham to see what Ken thinks about it. 8223 0000 is the number to ring. When was the last time you bought a stamp? When was the last time you posted a letter? Is there any wonder, really, that people are posting fewer and fewer letters? I mean, snail mail, it is the old way, but a lot of people still rely on mail. They haven't got across to texting or email as yet, so a lot of people still post. I have a personal story about postage. My wife, Eve, decided to post a birthday card to our daughter, whose birthday and Eve's birthday was last Thursday. So she bought the card, bought a stamp, $ 1. 70 it was, mind you, posted it on Monday. Well, the card failed to arrive on our daughter's birthday or the next. In fact, it arrived a full week late. I mean, really? Compare that with something that I ordered from Amazon on late Friday night. It was about 10, 30, 11 o'clock on Friday night. I ordered something. It was courier delivered just 36 hours later and postage was free. So Australia Post, lift your game. What's happening? Do I have insult to injury stamps? Went up to $ 1. 85 this week. Do you still use snail mail? I mean, I totally understand if that's what you've been used to and you're happy with that. but the service is declining. There's no question about that. I think Australia Post would pretty well go to the wall. It wasn't for postage or parcel delivery. They're huge into that at the moment. But why is everyone's right to be able to post a letter and get it delivered in time? You shouldn't have to wait a week to see your letter delivered when it's just going to the other side of town. What do you think?
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Speaker 2: 8223 0000.
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Speaker 1: Um, Andrew says, with the recent spate of stolen ATMs and multiple business break-ins this morning, surely those pubs talking about going cash only need to have a rethink of another way of pushing back against EFT bank fees and absorbing those fees into business running costs. Crooks want cash and will target those businesses carrying cash. You do make a good point, Andrew. We spoke to the owner of two hotels who was considering being cash only as a pushback against a you know, going cashless effectively. But the point is, as you say, there'll be a lot of cash on the premises and that is a robber's delight because they're not into stealing credit cards so much. They want the cash. Tom says, Gigi, what's wrong with the world? People just listen to this news report, can't listen anymore. It can be depressing, can't it? I watch the news of a night And I must say that if you judge the world by what you saw in a news service, you'd think it is a pretty sad world in which we live because good news stories don't make the news. The good news stories don't make headlines. They get pushed to the end of the bulletin if you're lucky. And we saw all the awful things that are happening, which is not really a
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reflection on the world. Someone in my early days of reading television news said, why doesn't a news service just concentrate on good news stories? Well, it did happen in America. I can't think where it was, but a television station decided to go, nothing but good news. And I broadcast an hour of good news every night. I think it lasted about a month. Nobody was watching. Everybody got bored because people were saying, we love good news, but we need to know what really is happening in the world. And sadly, what really is happening in the world isn't necessarily good news. So while there's a space for good news, And I can understand people getting depressed and upset with news bulletins, but they're a necessity in life. Some people say, just don't broadcast the awful stories. Well, we need to, because that is reality. We don't live in a censorship world here in Australia, thankfully. So we have to take the good with the bad. What are your thoughts? 8223 0000. We'll take a break. And after that, we're going to look more into this spending of Chris Bowen, spending $ 6 million. of your money, of my money, on luxury hotels in the Pacific. 5AA Mornings with Graham Goodings. 18 minutes past nine, 5AA, good morning to you. Dan says, I ordered tickets to the Adelaide Zoo and hard copy for a brother's gift, and it took an entire week and a half to get from Adelaide Zoo to the western suburbs. Likewise, I'm still waiting for a parcel from Melbourne, which has taken two weeks and counting. Yeah, thank you for that, Dan. What concerns me or annoys me most of all, slow postage is one thing, but when you compare that to courier services, as I mentioned, and it's not the first time it's happened, I ordered something from Amazon and it was on the week, Friday night, and it arrived on Sunday morning. How good is that? I always sort of thought, well, Monday or Tuesday of next week, I'd be happy with that. But there it was on Sunday morning. So it can be done. And I there was no postage fee on it. And it was a really cheap item too, mind you. It's not like I'd spent $ 150 on something. So that was absorbed in the cost. It was two little adapters for my iPhone. And I think the total cost was $ 7. 95 or something like that. So there's not a lot of money involved, but it arrived in 36 hours. Mind you, what was quite funny, two tiny little adapters that would barely cover a 20 cent piece and it came in a huge envelope a massive on a at least a4 size i thought what have i got here i haven't ordered anything of that size open it up two tiny little adapters anyway there you go well some people have money six million dollars on luxury hotels taxpayers you guessed it we're picking up the tab chris bowen's climate department facing questions It follows a report in the Daily Telegraph. Urban Affairs Editor Jake McCallum joins us. Jake, good morning to you.
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Speaker 3: Good morning, Graeme.
00:08:52
Speaker 1: Chris Bowen on somewhat of a Pacific spending spree.
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Speaker 3: Very much so.
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Speaker 4: So, yeah, his Department of Climate Change has spent just over $ 6 million on hotel accommodation. That's just in the space of a few months throughout 2026, most of it in Fiji and a short little jaunt over to Germany as well. The bulk, over $ 5. 4 million, is tied to the pre-COP events in Fiji and then $ 284, 000 spent in Bonn, Germany, and just one Australian hotel included in bookings for the last, I guess, eight or so months.
00:09:29
Speaker 1: So is this all being ticked up to the Australian taxpayer?
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Speaker 3: It is at this stage, yes.
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Speaker 4: So we're not just paying for our own government departments and for the minister to attend. We're paying for other countries as well. The government told me yesterday that where appropriate, they will request recuperation of funds, but it will mostly come up to depending on when the bookings are fulfilled. So that's the other thing that's kind of raised some concerns from the opposition is the fact that we still don't know who's actually attending these pre-cop events because there's been quite a few people saying that they wouldn't be able to attend according to multiple stories over the last couple of weeks. So I guess that's the bill at this stage. We don't know how much we will actually recoup.
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Speaker 1: So it would be fair to say that the Australian government's picked up the tab and some of the rooms could sit vacant.
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Speaker 4: Well, the hope would be that you'd be able to cancel them. That's something that you would hope would be able to occur and that we would recoup funds that way as well. If people aren't attending and we've booked out an entire hotel or, you know, the majority of a hotel, you'd hope that we'd be able to cancel it and get some cash back as well.
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Speaker 1: This is all about the climate and you would think it'd be rather conservative. What sort of accommodation are we looking at?
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Speaker 4: You're looking at five-star hotels spanning across the coastline of Fiji. One was the Sheraton Fiji Golf and Beach Resort. That's a $ 2 million contract with them. The other is the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa. They're both five-star properties there. exclusive beachfront, nice little golf facilities and things.
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Speaker 3: Like that as well.
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Speaker 4: But the funny part was there were actually a series of other bookings for other hotel accommodation across Fiji as well throughout the pre-COP period. So it's not just those two contracts that we've been aware of for a little while now. There's a whole bunch of additional ones totaling about 5.4 million.
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Speaker 1: You've said there's evidence that some countries are reluctant to attend the Fiji meetings. How significant do you see that?
00:11:36
Speaker 4: Oh, I guess the question is, are we getting our bang for our buck? You know, we're footing the bill at this stage. Hopefully some countries and some
delegates will pay us back.
00:11:47
Speaker 3: But, you know, are we spending upwards.
00:11:50
Speaker 4: I think the commitment was about $ 150 million for pre-cop events by the Australian government for broader funding tied to hosting the summit. Are we getting the bang for our buck? Are we actually having people of other nations coming along and getting involved in this event?
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Speaker 1: Your investigation has been quite revealing. Has there been any feedback from the government or from Chris Bowen in particular?
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Speaker 4: Well, look, I asked them specifically to tell me who has RSVP'd yes to pre-cop, and they told us that they wouldn't divulge the guest list or anyone that's RSVP'd. And that's something that the opposition spokesman, Dan Tehan, has raised concerns about because, obviously, he.
00:12:35
Speaker 3: Wants to make sure that we're getting bang for our buck as well.
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Speaker 4: He said that, you know, Australians really should be able to know whether or not people have... other nations are attending and whether or not they're going to cover their bill as well.
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Speaker 1: Do we know what Australia's overall commitment is regarding COP? Is there a dollar figure?
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Speaker 4: The accommodation bill, $ 6 million, that sits outside of a much larger $ 20 million investment in pre-COP events throughout Fiji, reportedly about $ 150 million in broader funding tied to hosting the summit. And that's obviously on the basis as well that Fiji may not be able to afford to host the event alone. So Australia being involved in Bowen being a president of negotiations for COP31, Australia has footed some of that bill.
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Speaker 1: Is it so that Chris Bowen set up a special president's office in Canberra?
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Speaker 3: That's a good question. I think that might be something that we need to put to him today, don't you think?
00:13:40
Speaker 1: I mean, there are so many concerns and the feedback we get to the station about energy costs and, you know, pursuit of net zero. And we have actually a part-time energy minister.
00:13:52
Speaker 3: Well, that's the thing.
00:13:53
Speaker 4: I revealed a couple of weeks ago that he spent about $ 340, 000 flying around the world in the last couple of months as well. I've done a breakdown of all of the travel expenses of ministers over the past 12 months, and it was pretty stark. One thing that is disclosed is commercial flights, but there's also this lesser known figure, which is around defence force managed flights as well.
00:14:21
Speaker 3: And they put a cash figure on that.
00:14:23
Speaker 4: And honestly, the cost to the taxpayer is quite significant.
00:14:28
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:14:28
Speaker 1: And I mean, people wake up every day and they look at their power bill and they look at the cost of the groceries and health benefits and the like. They're effectively being asked to tighten their belts while the government is on a spending spree.
00:14:42
Speaker 4: I got my electricity bill reminder sent through to me this morning, so it wasn't a small one, I can.
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Speaker 1: Tell you that. Someone, Jake, on the text line has said, what about Zoom meetings? I mean, when you think about it, this is all about conserving the planet and saving energy and keeping CO2 to a minimum. Haven't they heard of Zoom meetings?
00:15:02
Speaker 4: Well, you and I are talking over a messaging app right now. So, I mean, it works quite well. I can hear you perfectly. I guess we could make that suggestion to them as well.
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Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:15:13
Speaker 1: So where to from here? You've planted the seed. You still haven't heard anything officially back from the government. Do you think that Chris Bowen will do a sort of a fence-mending exercise along the lines of, well, not everyone's turned up, but it's still going to be a great meeting anyway?
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Speaker 3: I think that will always be the case.
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Speaker 4: You know, as president of negotiations as well, he's got quite a few commitments around the globe over the last couple of months where he has had to obviously have some pretty tough discussions, obviously, to obtain that presidency. It's a shared, newly created leadership role alongside Turkey.
00:15:47
Speaker 3: So, yeah.
00:15:48
Speaker 4: You know, they'll do the heavy lifting when COP rolls around in November. But, yeah, I think there will be some questions that need to be raised come November. you know, the first week of October around who is actually there and whether we got our bang for our buck and are we recouping funds.
00:16:07
Speaker 3: You know, they promised.
00:16:09
Speaker 4: Yesterday that this wasn't the total figure. So, you know, there's quite a few things that this needs to address.
00:16:19
Speaker 1: Jake, thanks so much for your time today. Good to chat.
00:16:22
Speaker 3: Thank you, Graeme.
00:16:22
Speaker 1: Daily Telegraph Urban Affairs Editor, Jake McCallum. on the big spend. What do you think about it? Love to hear your thoughts. 8223 0000. Peter says, I did my first ever online purchase through eBay and PayPal about four years ago, just to see how it worked. I bought a shower back scrub brush, came from China, delivered to my door for $ 5.
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Speaker 6: 50.
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Speaker 1: I don't know who made any money out of this transaction, but I think it was, I was the winner. Good on you. Leanne says, is Albo taking his wife on these Fijian resort holidays? Look, I don't even know if, um, the Prime Minister is going to attend the conference or pre-conference conference in Fiji, to be honest. Lynette says, what about the millions Albo is giving for Pacific Island athletes to help them get into the Olympics? How much does he give Aussie athletes or do they have to rely on Gina? Interesting point. Look, I'm not totally against us supporting the Pacific Islands where we can because we know there is a big push from China to exert their influence and
they have plenty of money to dish around. So we do need to support our Pacific allies and show that we are there for them. Hopefully they will stay there for us. My number is 8223 0000. We'll take a break. And the roads, the potholes, how bad are they? We'll find out.
00:17:37
Speaker 6: 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings. 8 to 10, 5AA this Wednesday morning. Andrew says, Australia post is out of control. Until now, letters every second day at best. Haven't seen a postie all this week and probably not going to. Now they have left batteries charging unsupervised overnight. They now have no way to deliver. They need to pick the game up. Thank you for that, Andy.
00:18:06
Speaker 1: Hardly a day goes by when we don't get calls or texts about the state of our roads around the state, regional roads, highways, federal roads, you name them. Even suburban streets and roads are badly in need of repair. Back in November of last year, the RAA exposed South Australia's $ 2. 1 billion record of low maintenance or maintenance needed on our roads. And 10 months on, our roads don't appear to be any better. Joining me now is Opposition Leader Ashton Hearn. Ashton, good morning to you.
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Speaker 7: Good morning, Graeme, and good morning to your listeners.
00:18:36
Speaker 1: So you're obviously pretty concerned about the roads too.
00:18:39
Speaker 7: Oh, absolutely.
00:18:40
Speaker 8: And you hit the nail on the head, Graeme, in that not a day goes by where people aren't hitting the phones or calling electorate offices around the state complaining about a regional road, and rightly so, because they're crumbling and we've got a pretty eye-watering backlog of $ 2.
00:18:57
Speaker 7: 1 billion.
00:18:58
Speaker 8: And I think it's important to note that the state government obviously has a budget every year for road maintenance, but It's nowhere near up to where it needs to be to make sure we can eat through the backlog. And in the same way that we expect or the government expects our cars to be roadworthy, we also need our roads to be carworthy.
00:19:17
Speaker 7: I think that's a pretty straightforward ask.
00:19:21
Speaker 8: And we really do want to see the government make it a priority because ultimately it's all well and good for.
00:19:26
Speaker 7: The government to focus on flashy things.
00:19:29
Speaker 8: But when you are in government, your top job is to get the basic things right.
00:19:34
Speaker 1: A lot of the feedback that we get is similar to what you were saying. People saying, you know, the roads, particularly in regional areas, are substandard. I can vouch for the fact that along Port Road there are some, you know, it's not third world sections, but they are very bumpy. And in some sections at West Lakes, the road is awful. There are potholes you know every 30 meters or so uh any feedback we get from the government or councils is that well we've had a particularly wet winter and that's making life difficult do you think that's a reasonable argument Oh.
00:20:01
Speaker 8: I mean, it's certainly a consideration, but I mean, it rains every winter, Graham, you hope. So it's not, it really can't be used as an excuse. We need the government to be planning ahead to fix these things. We don't want those, you know, quick fix patch up jobs, because at the end of the day, it just costs taxpayers more into the long run. And That's why we do want to say we really support the RAA calls just to see a lifting in the road maintenance funding package that is rolled out for South Australians because, you know, it's not just the safety issue. There's also concerns that people are putting in for reimbursement claims for pothole-related vehicle damage and it's unclear as to how much of that is also being paid out. So there's a lot of work for the government to do and I really think and hope that they can make it a priority.
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Speaker 1: Can you put a figure on what the government should be spending?
00:20:52
Speaker 7: So it's around $ 250 million.
00:20:54
Speaker 8: A year is certainly what the RAA have been calling for to make sure that they can at least start eating through that $ 2.
00:21:02
Speaker 7: 1 billion backlog.
00:21:03
Speaker 8: And at the moment, it's around $ 200 million for maintenance. So it's an extra $ 50 million a year. And really, I mean, there are always competing interests for any budget. But again, it comes down to making sure that we have the government that's focused on getting those basic things right. And I would have thought that this would be a number one priority because it's not just important for people in the city when you're trying to get from A to B. It's absolutely critical for farmers and freight in the regions. And of course, it becomes a road safety issue. So I think that it's, you know, it's kind of, it should be a top tier priority for the government to make sure that there is enough money so that we don't have a pothole ridden state. It's, you know, bad for our reputation. It's bad for our regions. And it's just downright dangerous.
00:21:48
Speaker 1: The government's likely to come back at you and say, well, you know, there's only so much money to go around. What would you like to cut spending on so we can spend more on our roads?
00:21:56
Speaker 7: Well, again, it's a matter of priorities.
00:21:58
Speaker 8: And, you know, to put it into perspective to your listeners, the state government spends around $ 4 million every single day on consultants. So, you know, there are certainly areas in which we've already articulated before the election that we wouldn't.
00:22:12
Speaker 7: Have as a priority.
00:22:13
Speaker 8: Halving, you know, advertising, for instance, is another one of those because... But again, there are always competing interests. It comes down to priorities. And I would have thought that making sure that your roads are up to scratch should be a top tier issue for any government, regardless of what the political
persuasion is. But certainly if I was in charge, if I was the Premier of South Australia, I'd be making sure that we had roads that were car worthy, not.
00:22:38
Speaker 7: Only in the city, but in the country as well.
00:22:40
Speaker 1: $ 96 million is going towards a motorbike track. Do you think some of that should be going towards our roads?
00:22:46
Speaker 7: Well, again, this comes down to the priorities of the government.
00:22:50
Speaker 8: I've made my position clear on the MotoGP, which is that ultimately I think having events in the state are a good thing for our economy, but it doesn't mean we're just going to give the government a free ride on that. It is an eye-watering amount, though, and it's $ 96 million, not only.
00:23:07
Speaker 7: For the track.
00:23:07
Speaker 8: That's only for the track, I should say. So that doesn't include any of the yearly costs. That doesn't include the repair work. It doesn't include any of the temporary buildings that need to be put in place.
00:23:20
Speaker 7: But whilst I'm supportive of the MotoGP.
00:23:22
Speaker 8: Coming to our state, there are other areas of wastage that I think the government really could rein in, like what I've already identified, be that $ 4 million a day on consultants, be that reining in the advertising spend of the government.
00:23:36
Speaker 7: Those are just two areas.
00:23:37
Speaker 8: Straight up examples where we've already made a commitment to reduce that spend so that you can have money to spend on the really important issues.
00:23:46
Speaker 7: We think that that's a no-brainer.
00:23:47
Speaker 1: What are your thoughts on the MotoGP track itself, the removal of trees and the promise of replacing them 10 for 1? Are you happy with that?
00:23:56
Speaker 8: Look, there's no denying it's been a big concern in the local community. And I think now that the track is out there, I just encourage people to look at that pretty forensically and put forward their feedback in the hope that the government will take that on board. But at the end of the day, I'm supportive of having the MotoGP in the state. It doesn't mean that we're just going to give the government a free ride on it. There are genuine questions that.
00:24:20
Speaker 7: Need to be asked.
00:24:21
Speaker 8: And we should always have as an ambition to have as minimal impact on our parklands as possible because they belong to everyone. And at the end of the day as well, the government's really got to be upfront about how much this is going to cost the taxpayer because it's not just the $ 96 million.
00:24:38
Speaker 7: To do the circuit.
00:24:40
Speaker 8: You've got those ongoing yearly costs and That's really what we want to see a sense of transparency about.
00:24:48
Speaker 1: When it comes to government, the Labor Party has a strong majority in the state. And as an opposition, you're doing well in a minority situation. We look across to the West. What do you make? And I know it was a state election, a by-election, but the fact that Labor was crushed effectively in the Secret Harbour vote, how do you reflect on the outcome of that election?
00:25:13
Speaker 8: Well, I mean, by-elections in general are always unique in nature because they're such a large focus. But no seat is safe. I mean, that's certainly the way that I've always approached politics. You can't afford to take anything or anyone for granted. And obviously, there'll be reflections from the Labor Party camp on what they could have done better to hold that seat.
00:25:36
Speaker 7: But At the end of the day, I think what we are.
00:25:38
Speaker 8: Seeing in politics more broadly is people are wanting to see people stand up for those basic issues. But there's no doubt that, you know, politics is changing in general right across the nation. And it's up to the major parties to really sit up and take note of that. And that's why, for me, as the leader of the Liberal Party, I'm out there with my boots on the ground in the regions particularly.
00:26:01
Speaker 7: And really sending that strong signal.
00:26:03
Speaker 8: That we're going to be about getting back to basics, about our roads, making sure that we've got good management of our budget so that we can invest in the things that matter. That's ultimately what people want to see, and both major parties have got to reflect on the significant change and the shake-up that we are seeing in politics.
00:26:23
Speaker 1: On our text line, Karen has a question. She says, question for Ashton. You said the government need to get things right. So when the Liberal Party were in government, why didn't they fix the potholes? We have had bad roads for years.
00:26:36
Speaker 7: Well, it's a good question, Karen. Thanks for it.
00:26:40
Speaker 8: But we also had a record investment in road maintenance across the state. So I think when we came to government, there was a significant backlog, $ 1. 6 billion, and the then Liberal government did make significant inroads.
00:26:54
Speaker 7: And there's always more work that needs to be done.
00:26:56
Speaker 8: But right now, we've got the peak body in the RAA saying that there's nowhere near enough money to actually make a dent in the current backlog. So It's all about priorities and what we are unfortunately not seeing from the government is enough money to start eating through this backlog.
00:27:13
Speaker 1: And a final question. Andrew on the text line says, can you please ask Ashton her thoughts about council red tape? Bruce Shitte was on 5AA Breakfast this morning saying council's blocking or slowing approvals for housing developments is now one of the biggest barriers for fixing the housing shortage.
00:27:31
Speaker 8: That's certainly a concern and certainly I hear it from my own local constituents sometimes about how council processes can slow things down. And, again, I think we, given the housing crisis that we're in, anything that we can do to make sure that we can pour
more slabs and lay more bricks to build the homes that we need for the future should absolutely be looked at. So streamlining those processes I think should be a priority for the government. I know that they are doing some really good things in terms of the land release and whatnot, but we're still not anywhere near where we need to be in terms of our national housing accord and meeting those targets into the future. So that's where I want the government to be focused on. And at the end of the day, I think red tape does have a big part to play there.
00:28:20
Speaker 1: Ashton Hearn, thanks so much for your time today. Leader of the Opposition. principally on the condition of our roads. Which do you think is the worst road in Adelaide or in South Australia at the moment? As I said at the start, hardly a day goes by when we don't get calls or texts about the state of our roads. Principally regional roads, but not only that. We have city roads. Port Road is not a great one. And when you think, you know, first world country, we should have better roads than we do. John says, I drive the Victor Harbour Road every day and that road is dangerous to drive on. And another John says, re the roads. I'm quite concerned about the quality of work done by the road contractors now. They seem to fix the roads and six months later, the same problems are back. That is a good point. That is a really good point, John. I remember a couple of pothole areas, can't quite think where they were, that were repaired. And it was probably only a matter of a month or so later that they were in disrepair again. So are they using poor quality products or what? We don't know. The Minister for Infrastructure and Transport called in, Joe Sockarch. Minister, good morning.
00:29:25
Speaker 5: Good morning, Graeme. Good to chat to you and your listeners. I thought I'd just provide a bit of insight, particularly one of your previous callers, who asked a very, very good question around what was the Liberals' plan, both while they were in government and in opposition. But the sad state of affairs, Graeme, is that under the Liberal Party four years in government, from 2018 to 2022, the road maintenance backlog more than doubled. It went from $ 750 million of backlog to over $ 2 billion. And The very real reason that that happened is that they not only privatised all of the road maintenance that the government provided, but they also sold all of our assets. And we've been working very hard. There is no doubt there's more work to do, and we've been increasing funding every year that we've.
00:30:14
Speaker 2: Come to government.
00:30:15
Speaker 5: But I think, you know, if Ashton Hearn wants to be an alternate Premier in this state, she's got to be up front with the public of South Australia. And you can't say on one hand that they want to fix things whilst also not owning up to the fact that the reason that they've fixed things is because they damaged it so badly in the first place.
00:30:32
Speaker 1: Yeah, but let's be fair, Joe. 26 years, the last 26 years.
00:30:37
Speaker 1: You've been in power for 22 of those, so a lot of it has still got to rest with the Labor Party.
00:30:42
Speaker 5: Absolutely. But in four years alone, Graeme, the backlog more than doubled. And we've been working hard to decrease that backlog, and we've been doing exactly that. But you can't escape the fact that over four years, the government of today privatised, made really bad decisions, wanted to go to a basketball stadium rather than invest in our roads. And now, frankly... We're dealing with the backlog and the legacy piece of that. We're doing a lot of hard work. We're investing more and more every single year that we've come to government.
00:31:14
Speaker 1: But, Minister, if I could just interrupt for a second. You have a go at the Liberals wanting to build a basketball stadium. You're wanting to build a MotoGP course. I mean, that's a lot of money that could be spent on other things, including roads.
00:31:26
Speaker 5: Well, we're doing exactly both, Graeme, and I think what we've got to be really upfront about is that we need to continue to grow our economy. We need to grow jobs. We need to continue to raise revenue from sources that aren't hardworking South Australians but are tourists, so big business and others that are continuing to invest in the growth of our economy. So if we want to continue to invest in roads, if we want to continue to invest more money in road maintenance, which is exactly what we've been doing... We need major events to bring money into our state, to grow those jobs and to grow the money flowing through businesses so that, frankly, we can raise genuine revenue as a state and reinvest back into roads.
00:32:03
Speaker 1: Minister, thanks for your time. Joe Sokach, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. If you have a thought, love to hear it. 8223 0000.
00:32:11
Speaker 6: 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings.
00:32:16
Speaker 1: Good morning. Welcome to the show. Let's take a look at the stock market. All odds is down by 114 points, 1.24% drop. ASX 200 down by 107, down 1.18%. The Dow Jones down 419 overnight. NASDAQ down 271. Oil has taken a bit of a jump. Brent crude, 94.65 US dollars a barrel. West Texas crude, 92 dollars a barrel, US. Gold, 4,328 US dollars an ounce. The Aussie dollar, steady, 72 US cents. Lots of calls, particularly on the road situation. Let's take them. Dominic, good morning.
00:32:52
Speaker 9: Yeah, good day, mate. How are you?
00:32:53
Speaker 10: Wow.
00:32:54
Speaker 9: Those two ministers just can't read the room, can they?
00:32:57
Speaker 11: We're sick to death of hearing.
00:33:00
Speaker 10: About the previous government.
00:33:02
Speaker 11: You're the government of the time.
00:33:03
Speaker 12: Just fix the roads. That's it.
00:33:05
Speaker 11: We don't want to hear about who the last government was.
00:33:08
Speaker 9: You're the government. You've been voted in.
00:33:10
Speaker 13: Just fix it.
00:33:11
Speaker 9: Simple as that.
00:33:12
Speaker 14: Just fix the roads.
00:33:13
Speaker 1: That's the fallback position of anyone who comes into power. Well, the last government was neglectful. The last government, you know, didn't take any notice. Yeah, you make a good point. Good on you. Thanks for that. Out to Salisbury. Vincent, good morning.
00:33:26
Speaker 15: Yeah, g'day, Graeme.
00:33:27
Speaker 14: How are you, mate?
00:33:28
Speaker 3: Good, thanks.
00:33:29
Speaker 16: Yeah, I'm on agreement with Dominic, but I've also got to remember that the four years that bloody Liberals are in, two of those years were COVID when they couldn't do much work. It was only the essential road work that was allowed to be going on ahead because they couldn't have people together.
00:33:46
Speaker 14: Because of COVID.
00:33:47
Speaker 1: Yeah, good point. Very good point. Good on you, Vincent. Thanks for bringing that to our attention. It is no question that COVID did bring a lot of things to a halt. If we can sheet home non-repair to the roads to that, well, I don't know, maybe we need to get back to the Libs and ask them. Vinnie, good morning.
00:34:04
Speaker 11: Good morning, Graeme. I know exactly what you're talking about at Westlakes.
00:34:08
Speaker 15: Near Woolies, there's a pothole.
00:34:10
Speaker 11: I don't know how many times that pothole's been broken, right?
00:34:13
Speaker 3: That's the one, Vinnie.
00:34:14
Speaker 1: That is exactly the one that I was referring to.
00:34:16
Speaker 11: You know something? You know when I drive, I always keep more right than left when I drive that side. You know what I mean?
00:34:21
Speaker 9: I don't know how many.
00:34:22
Speaker 11: Times that's been broken.
00:34:24
Speaker 12: Just fix it.
00:34:25
Speaker 11: And there's another one just in front or behind. I can't remember. There's another one too there. I'm thinking to myself, when are they going to fix it? One day, there's going to be a terrible... It's a misfortune I've got to fix that.
00:34:36
Speaker 1: Well, someone on a bike or a motorbike, I mean, you know, that could be a tragic end.
00:34:41
Speaker 11: Especially at night.
00:34:43
Speaker 12: Yeah, yeah.
00:34:44
Speaker 11: Okay, Graeme.
00:34:45
Speaker 3: Cheers.
00:34:46
Speaker 1: Good on you, Vinnie. Yeah, that is the one, just outside Woolworths. And I reckon over the last 12 months it's been repaired three, maybe four times, and it seems to last a month or two. Now, we hear that if they're repairing it during wet weather, It doesn't bond or seal or whatever, and it's an issue. But these issues have been around for years. Surely there is a way. G'day, Nick.
00:35:08
Speaker 12: Good morning. It's not you to die. Joe Sokka increased my blood pressure to die.
00:35:15
Speaker 1: You let me off the hook this time.
00:35:17
Speaker 12: Can you tell them to stop arguing and fix the bloody things? Anyway, on Blackstone Road, Blackstoneville, last week was two rather deep holes.
00:35:26
Speaker 10: Yeah.
00:35:26
Speaker 12: Because I use that road quite often. the other day they fixed it and the next morning those bloody holes they were deeper oh dear I think they're using the wrong materials Graeme.
00:35:38
Speaker 1: Well look you know maybe my memory doesn't serve me well but in past years when a pothole has been repaired it seems to be pretty well permanent and you know it serves for the next three or four years but as you say at the moment some of these repairs are lasting months if you're lucky thanks Graeme thanks for your call um Jane says, Joe Sockarch comes across as arrogant, careful labour. A basketball stadium is a ridiculous argument when they're spending millions more on sporting events. Look, Joe Sockarch isn't arrogant. I can tell you that, Jane. I've had a bit to do with him. I think his heart certainly is in the right place. But I think using the argument that the Liberals were going to build a basketball stadium then that money should have been spent in other areas when this current government is spending millions on sporting events. Now, you can sort of say, all right, the MotoGP will bring in lots of money. Well, I would suggest that a major basketball stadium would also bring in a lot of money, particularly if it was an entertainment centre as well. After Summit and Park and John. G'day, John.
00:36:41
Speaker 5: Morning, Graeme.
00:36:42
Speaker 10: Two things. If you want some potholes, you go down to Deep Creek. It's, I think, a three-chain road.
00:36:47
Speaker 12: Yeah.
00:36:47
Speaker 10: The potholes there are the size of a small car, and they'll Last time we were down there, someone had a plane, and there was ambulances and emergencies coming from everywhere. Anyway, disgusting. Anyway, the revenue from the MotoGP, does the government actually get the ticket revenue? I don't think they do.
00:37:04
Speaker 17: No.
00:37:05
Speaker 10: They don't get any revenue at all. Any extra wages that are taxed by the federal government, the.
00:37:12
Speaker 10: The Intercontinental Headquarters is in London, so that money doesn't stay here. So where is this revenue coming from? It's just lying, making it up.
00:37:19
Speaker 1: In terms of dollars in hand for the government, yeah, they don't get it. But I guess it provides employment. It provides jobs. Restaurants and cafes are full. Hotels are full.
00:37:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's fine.
00:37:30
Speaker 18: Yeah, yeah.
00:37:31
Speaker 10: But that doesn't provide money for roads, does it?
00:37:35
Speaker 12: No.
00:37:36
Speaker 10: It just made it up. There's no revenue to the government at all.
00:37:39
Speaker 9: Zero, nothing.
00:37:40
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's an interesting point you make, John. And I've wondered that because figures are tossed around for Live Golf and Gather Round and the like, and it's worth tens of millions of dollars. And, I mean, it is good for the city. There's
no question about that.
00:37:54
Speaker 5: Yes, yes, yes, there's no question.
00:37:56
Speaker 1: It promotes our city, it promotes our state, and that's pretty well free advertising. So there are good spin-offs to it. But in terms of money, cash in hand, because as you say, any tax paid goes to Canberra.
00:38:08
Speaker 18: Yeah.
00:38:09
Speaker 1: All the tax paid by all the people that are working on these events goes to the tax office, goes to Canberra, and then we get it handed back out as part of the GST.
00:38:21
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:38:21
Speaker 12: Anyway.
00:38:22
Speaker 5: Good point.
00:38:22
Speaker 10: Anyway, Graeme.
00:38:24
Speaker 9: John.
00:38:25
Speaker 10: You're not going away on holidays again, are you?
00:38:27
Speaker 1: Am I what?
00:38:28
Speaker 10: You're not going away on holidays again. You know what happened last time?
00:38:30
Speaker 1: What happened last time?
00:38:32
Speaker 10: Collingwood beat us.
00:38:35
Speaker 1: I don't remember that. I've shunned that from my mind.
00:38:41
Speaker 10: Well, we've got.
00:38:46
Speaker 1: The bullies on Saturday night and I'm very, very confident.
00:38:49
Speaker 5: Excellent.
00:38:50
Speaker 1: Good on you, John. Thanks for your call. Andrew says, are you able to get Nicole Flint on? She has a regular reports on potholes on podcasts and Facebook. She calls Mally pothole Pete. Okay. Craig says, hi, Graham, what's happened to the hundreds of millions of new revenue from mobile phone cameras? Isn't the income legislated to be spent on roads, et cetera? That's a fair point, Craig. I don't know. I mean, the petrol excise is supposed to be spent on our roads, but I believe it actually just goes into consolidated revenue and then the government hands out what it thinks necessary for our roads. But yeah, I don't know where the money from the, and I don't know if it runs into millions, does it, on the revenue from mobile phone cameras? Not that I'm against them by any means, because I think anything that slows up people or stops people from using their phones while in the car is a good thing. Still can't get over the day that I drove along Port Road and for at least three or four kilometres, including two stops for lights, somebody was texting on their phone. had to be tooted every time to fire up their car and then put their head straight back down again. And they were travelling along at the regular speed limit. That is scary.
00:40:00
Speaker 6: 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings.
00:40:02
Speaker 1: 8 past 10, 5AA, on this Wednesday morning. A little bit of rain in the air. In fact, a few showers over the next few days. Following on from the weather that we've had recently, which has been absolutely delightful. But spring is fickle, isn't it? It's the most fickle season. What's your favourite season? Mine is autumn, I must say. I love the heat of summer, but when autumn settles in and we have those cooler nights and warm days and gentle breezes, ah, autumn. Spring can be fickle, can be beautiful, can be wet, can be all over the place.
00:40:33
Speaker 6: There you go.
00:40:35
Speaker 1: Robert says, as taxpayers, we should be demanding an audited balance sheet as to the true net income these special events provide for the state. Not provide them due to confidentiality agreements is deceptive. I agree with the confidentiality aspect, Robert. I know when deals are being done that there has to be commercial in confidence. I understand that. But once the deal is sealed, I think we as taxpayers, we're the ones that have footed the bill. We're the ones paying the money. We have every right to know where our money has gone and how much we have paid. Is that a lot to ask? What are your thoughts? Well, the federal government is expanding the free mental health care across Australia's lifespan. To tell us about it, my next guest is SA Mental Health Commissioner Tammy Allen. Tammy, good morning to you.
00:41:20
Speaker 13: G'day, Graeme.
00:41:20
Speaker 19: Nice to speak to you again.
00:41:22
Speaker 1: And to you. So what's changing?
00:41:26
Speaker 19: Look, I think that this particular government is really just rolling out more places where people can walk in without an appointment or without a referral whenever life gets a bit wobbly, and that's a great thing.
00:41:37
Speaker 1: Yeah, most certainly. And this is for all age groups?
00:41:40
Speaker 8: Yes.
00:41:42
Speaker 19: Well, the Medicare Mental Health Centre is there for 16 and plus, but we're also rolling out a couple of the kids' hubs for under 12, and that's been a gap that's missing that Headspace, which is 12 to 25, hasn't been able to cater for. So it's great to have a couple of spots for the kids to be able to walk in as well, either with or without their parents.
00:42:01
Speaker 1: So this Northern Adelaide Medicare Mental Health Centre is a rather large centre. How well will it be staffed?
00:42:10
Speaker 19: Look, I think they're rolling the staffing out slowly so that they can build up the peer staffing. But at the moment, it's going to be housed with the Crisis Stabilisation Centre, which is a brand new unit with 16 beds in it. So not only could you walk in and just get some help in the moment, but if you feel or they feel like you might just need a bed or some respite for the night, they're going to have beds there as well. And that's open as of last week.
00:42:34
Speaker 1: You mentioned it's for 16 plus. What about children younger than that? What's for them?
00:42:39
Speaker 19: Yeah, so there's two kids' hubs now, one down south out of Marion GP Plus and one's going to be opening up in Elizabeth as well. And they're the kids' hubs. They're for under 12. And they'll be staffed by all sorts of everything from doctors and nurses to peer support workers and social workers. Because it's not just mental health, as you know, Graeme, isn't just about your emotional well-being, but it's what else is going on in your life.
00:43:05
Speaker
20: So it's about that.
00:43:07
Speaker 19: Your physical health, whether you've got a roof over your head, whether you can put food on the table, what's happening at home and whether you've got people you can talk to. So these centres cater for all of that stuff and it's hopefully there so that people can go and get support really openly and are welcomed before things get really bad.
00:43:25
Speaker 1: So if somebody does need support, do they need a referral?
00:43:28
Speaker 14: Not at all.
00:43:29
Speaker 19: No, you can walk in, which is the best thing about these places, yes.
00:43:33
Speaker 1: So, I mean, mental health is an issue, and as you've said, it covers vast areas. And I guess there are some times that people don't probably know that they need help.
00:43:44
Speaker 12: Well, that's right.
00:43:45
Speaker 19: Or they think that they can go it alone, or look if I just get this thing sorted. I mean, Graeme, in my own life, things are a bit hectic at the moment, and I thought, gosh, do I pop in and see someone, or just be able to handle it myself? But the fact, sometimes just talking it through with someone can help you get back on track. And I think that's what we often forget, that we're so stoic, we so want to do it alone and think we can get through this, that we forget that these places are here for us to just talk through.
00:44:11
Speaker 21: They don't have to.
00:44:12
Speaker 19: Force you to do anything. They can just talk through all the options with you and sometimes it just rests that burden a little bit off you and go, oh gosh, okay, there's some other things that I hadn't thought of that I might be able to do.
00:44:22
Speaker 1: And sadly, the need for these sort of mental health centres is growing.
00:44:27
Speaker 19: Oh, so much, so much, Graeme. I think we could all probably point to our own lives or our own family where just a little bit of weight taken off our shoulders would be really good help right now.
00:44:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, so this will augment the existing SA centres?
00:44:40
Speaker 11: Yes, yes, it will.
00:44:41
Speaker 19: And look, it goes part and parcel with all of these other things that we hope are far more preventive, like the safe haven that's in Saltsbury. That's where you can pop in and talk to a peer support worker and have a cup of coffee or tea. and just go, gosh, what's life like? What else can we do? There's the Urgent Mental Health Care Centre on Grenfell Street, which is fantastic, and the first person you meet is someone who's gone through a tough time themselves. So it's a little bit easier to talk to someone who, you know, gets it sometimes than thinking, oh, gosh, I'm going to walk in and talk to a doctor straight away, and what will they do with that information? So these places are all much more open, confidential, and safe places to be able to have a chat and work out what you want to do next.
00:45:21
Speaker 1: So what you're saying effectively is someone could go in and it might only be a chat that they need.
00:45:27
Speaker 5: Absolutely, yeah.
00:45:27
Speaker 19: And for many people, and I speak to those staff in those, often it is just one or maybe two or a couple of hours or just some resources or where else can I go or what else can I do to help my family member? I mean, one thing that we forget too is that you can walk in if it's not you that's asked for that mental health but you're trying to support someone and you don't know the options available to them because sometimes.
00:45:51
Speaker 7: If.
00:45:51
Speaker 19: You're in trouble yourself, it's really hard to reach out and make that first step. So if you trust a friend or a family member to walk in for you and make those questions, it can sometimes be.
00:46:00
Speaker 11: A bit safer.
00:46:02
Speaker 1: So how can communities best use the new services?
00:46:06
Speaker 19: Look, I would recommend you just pop past, know where it is, understand what it looks like, get familiar with it being in your community. If it's quiet, wander in and just have a chat with the staff. They're lovely people there. I mean, everyone that works in mental health is there for personal reasons. You know, they're there because they genuinely want to help and have often been through hard times themselves. So they get it and they welcome you to wander in and just have a chat. So even if you're not in trouble, go past, have a look, familiarise yourself with it in your area and go and tell them they're doing a great job because they really are.
00:46:37
Speaker 1: I think for too long people have perceived mental health as, you know, it's a stigma, it's a weakness and so forth. And they try and disguise it until it becomes serious and sometimes until it's too late.
00:46:50
Speaker 19: That's right. And I think that's why I've always been really open with my own mental health issues, Graeme, is because when we start talking about them as something that I went through, I survived, I felt resilience around and I'm actually proud of because those challenging parts of your life when you get through them, they're actually qualifications to be a better job. do a better job, be a better human, be a better employer, all those things because you know what tough looks like and you can get through it. And I think we have to be prouder about those journeys rather than hide them.
00:47:18
Speaker 1: Yeah, and let's face it, life is tough at the moment. I mean, it is very, very tough and more and more people are needing help financially, mentally, physically, in so many different ways. So there's nothing wrong with putting out your hand saying, please help me, I need help.
00:47:32
Speaker 12: That's right.
00:47:33
Speaker 19: And look, you mentioned financial. A lot of people don't think they can walk into a mental health centre because you know, that they can't pay their bills this week. But mental health care centres are there to look at your whole life holistically, not just
the emotional part of it. They're not just going to say, gosh, you're crying, let's sort that out. They're going to go, well, what's going on in your life that made you feel this wobbly? Because it's often things like your finances or your work or your relationships, and that's the stuff that they can help with.
00:48:00
Speaker 1: So finally, what message would you give to those who appear a little hesitant to seek help?
00:48:06
Speaker 19: I reckon even if you don't know what to say yet, just pop past or give them a call and just say, look, I don't know whether you're the right place for me, but tell me what it is that you do and what you can do for me before I open up my heart and tell you what's going on for me. So it doesn't have to be all warts out on the table. Tell them about your life.
00:48:27
Speaker 20: If you're hesitant, that's okay to be hesitant.
00:48:29
Speaker 19: Tell them that you're hesitant. And they're very welcoming and they'll warmly have a chat to you and see what else they can do.
00:48:36
Speaker 1: Great advice, Tammy. Thanks so much for your time today. Tammy Allen, South Australian Mental Health Commissioner, on the extra resources that are being put out for mental health. And certainly not before time. Sadly, it is a need. I mean, in this day and age, wouldn't it be great that we didn't have the need for more mental health resources? But we do. And it's good to know the government is actually moving in that area. 20 past 10, time for your calls on 8223 0000. If you'd like to comment on what we've been talking about or something else you'd like to introduce to the conversation. A second term government still shifting blame back onto a first term government. That was nearly five years ago. It's a ridiculous... as ridiculous as it is tiring, and they wonder why we've lost faith in the major parties. And Kate says, is the Labor Minister serious? When will the Labor government stop blaming the Liberals for everything? Like you said, Graeme, they've been in charge for 22 years of the last 26. Give us a break. Sue, on the same theme, I'm sick to death of this government blaming the Libs for wasting money when they build a hospital, the most expensive in the Southern Hemisphere, at the time that has no more beds than the old one, and there is more ramping than before. Give me a break, says Sue. And somebody suggests, I'd be in favour of supporting a tyre pothole assistance grant for our farmers. What do you think? Margaret, good morning.
00:49:58
Speaker 13: Good morning, Graeme. I'm well aware of the cost of.
00:50:02
Speaker 13: And the need of repair to country roads, having family living over on Eyre Peninsula and the southeast, at what cost and by whom the so-called repair of the GP track and the park area, who pays for that?
00:50:19
Speaker 1: Who pays what overall, the taxpayer?
00:50:21
Speaker 13: Yeah, for the cost of the repair of the GP track and the park area. We're talking about costs But, oh dear, the GP
is going to have all these benefits despite the loss of trees and time involved.
00:50:38
Speaker 1: Well, I think it's fair to say that.
00:50:41
Speaker 13: And also the so-called repair of the park area.
00:50:46
Speaker 1: Well, that all gets back to the taxpayer.
00:50:50
Speaker 10: Yeah.
00:50:51
Speaker 14: At what cost?
00:50:51
Speaker 10: How much?
00:50:52
Speaker 1: Well, we don't know.
00:50:54
Speaker 13: Exactly. Another we don't know.
00:50:57
Speaker 1: Thank you. Good on you, Margaret. They usually fall back on the commercial in confidence, which I really think is the first line of defence, but it doesn't stand up. You can say that initially when they're dealing, trying to get the best deal perhaps, or negotiating, putting out tenders and the like, commercial in confidence makes sense. But once the deal is done, once the contract's signed, once the money is handed over, I think we as taxpayers have every right to know how much of our money has been spent, where it's been spent, and why it has been spent. What are your thoughts?
00:51:29
Speaker 6: 8223 0000.
00:51:29
Speaker 1: Good morning, Graeme. All things considered, I believe that there is an incredible amount of cash in the victims of crime account. If this is the case, and considering that the victims are only receiving meagre amounts, I would suggest that the obvious excess in the account is directed into repairing our roads. We're all dependent on the roads, drivers or not. That is, of course, if those funds have not already been shifted sideways to fund something else. Yeah, I don't know how quarantine the victims of crime account is. I don't know that if that's for money is gathered for the victims of crime, it should stay there. Whether the victims of crime are getting sufficient amounts, that is a question for another day. Hi, Graham. The minister claimed the government is investing in roads and then referred to revenue generating programs. So with the budget blowouts from wages on the Torrens to Darlington investment being kicked down the road, I believe South Road shall be South Australia's first tolled carriageway. Now, that's a big call, Kimberly. Any suggestion in the past of having tollways in South Australia has been really condemned by all parties. There's no way we have tollways. Now, we know that tollways exist in Melbourne and Sydney. I think in Queensland there are tollways as well. But we're told for numerous reasons there will be no tolls in South Australia. I guess it's a bit like that. There will be no nuclear in Australia or South Australia or that matter. So no tolls for South Australia. whether that is a good thing or bad. Some of the reasoning that tolls wouldn't work here is that there is not enough critical mass, there's not enough flow through, not enough people actually travelling on the roads to pay the tolls to justify it. Judy says, Hi, Graeme, just wondering how much money does the government make from the MotoGP as it is our 96 million
plus they're spending? How is this paid back? Yes, I'm not happy with the destruction of our parklands. I think the artist's sketch of the track is barren and devoid of all life for a three-day event. Thank you for that, Judy. Ah, on the subject of our roads. Just towed a three-ton caravan through the Northern Territory and the rich economy West Australian highways. Worst bitumen experience was from Port Wakefield to home. Absolute shameful, says Sad Maka. Yeah, it is a bit sad, isn't it? I had the privilege of last Christmas going to Singapore and Malaysia. I mean, Singapore, there's an economy that has come out of the ashes to something quite special. But we also spent some time in Malaysia and went to the island of Langkawi. Now, largely a third world country, yet the roads, we couldn't get over how good the roads were on this tiny little island. Admittedly, they weren't traversing thousands of kilometres, but the quality of the roads was exceptional. A country that should be as rich as Australia should not be an issue, should it? If we taxed the big mineral people, we taxed the gas exporters the money we should, then we probably wouldn't have a problem. Curious why no one is talking about the Albanese government's decision to defund PCFA specialist prostate cancer nurses. Is it possible to get someone on your show to find out why this happened? Well, thanks for your text. We on a regular basis have Health Minister Mark Butler in the studio. That is a question we will certainly put to him, or if you're listening when he is on, and I'm not quite sure when we've got him scheduled as yet, but when we do have him on, that question should be asked. And I'm sure there are a lot of other questions that you would like to ask the Federal Health Minister. Graham, get Luigi Rossi on to explain how a pothole should be fixed. Yeah, somebody would know, so surely know. I've heard reports that the way they're being fixed is with substandard materials. Now, that's just hearsay. I don't know if there's any truth in it, but it does seem amazing that a pothole is repaired and within a month or so, it's there again. To blame the weather is a bit crazy because we're always having rain, a little bit more than normal, but nothing exceptional. So why are these potholes being washed away? Well, not washed away. The repairs are being washed away. Steve, good morning.
00:55:38
Speaker 22: Yes, good morning, Art. I heard you mention, oh, maybe they should tax for road systems. Now, do you remember the fuel excise?
00:55:46
Speaker 11: Has this been.
00:55:47
Speaker 10: Brought up at all?
00:55:48
Speaker 1: The fuel excise? Well, I mentioned earlier that nominally the fuel excise was supposed to, the revenue from that was supposed to go to our roads.
00:55:57
Speaker 5: Correct.
00:55:58
Speaker 22: I can remember distinctly all those years ago because they were getting the.
00:56:09
Speaker 22: Fuel crisis back in the 70s and the government was raking in money and all
of a sudden this stopped and they realised they were going to lose money and they said we've got to use this money on our roads and somewhere along the line it's become general revenue I said if they use that money and if you do a rough calculation on how much they'll be getting from the fuel excise it'll be in the millions of dollars a day.
00:56:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, you're dead right.
00:56:37
Speaker 22: Around the country.
00:56:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, no.
00:56:40
Speaker 22: It has become a joke.
00:56:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, good on you, Steve. Yeah, thanks for that. Yeah, I've mentioned that before. I don't believe where it's been officially consigned to parliamentary annals, but somewhere along the line, that money that was designated, the tax, the fuel excise was designated for repairing the roads, maintaining our roads, all of a sudden it is being fed into general revenue. And yeah, we've never got a real answer on that. 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings. 28 to 11, 5AA on this Wednesday. And as we do on a monthly basis, we talk about all issues, Centrelink, Medicare, child support. Any questions you have, Services Australia joins us. Justin Bott is the man. Justin, good morning to you.
00:57:26
Speaker 12: Good morning, Graeme.
00:57:27
Speaker 9: Thank you for having me.
00:57:28
Speaker 1: How's business? Busy at the moment?
00:57:29
Speaker 9: Yep, absolutely. Always busy. Always busy. And in particular... Around this time of year with tax time going on, we want to make sure that we're trying to keep people as safe as we possibly can with all the scamming things that people are trying to do out there.
00:57:44
Speaker 1: I was going to mention that to you. I mean, how impacted are you by scams and are people falling for them?
00:57:50
Speaker 9: Well, unfortunately, scammers often attempt to impersonate our services, including MyGov, Medicare and Centrelink. We know also, you know, tax time. There's a whole heap of scamming that comes out or attempts to come out during tax time. So we know it's unfortunately a very big business. And their goal is to steal your personal or financial details, which includes your MyGov sign-in details. So the main thing we want people to know or to think about whenever a message comes through is to stop, check, and protect, which means stop before you share your personal information like your MyGov sign-in details with anyone. Treat it with the same security you have for your keys. Check, is the message genuine? Is the phone call genuine? Is the website genuine? So, for example, we won't send you a link to click here to sign into myGov. We want you to go to your myGov website, my.gov.au, or the official myGov app to sign in. And protect yourself. Upgrade, particularly with myGov. Upgrade your myGov account to the highest level of security that's available, the latest security features, which at the moment is something called a passkey.
00:59:02
Speaker 10: Right.
00:59:02
Speaker 1: Look, we might just go into
that just in a moment, Justin, because I want to remind people that they can call him now if you have a question for justin on on medicare job seeker um pensions or the like the number to ring is 8223 0000 give us a call right now yeah on that i mean there are a lot of people i mean we get calls virtually on a daily basis people being scammed or fearful of scams so you mentioned sort of um updating or upgrading your security. Now, that's with MyGov?
00:59:35
Speaker 9: Yes, so with MyGov. Now, if you haven't signed into MyGov for a little while and you sign in, you're going to notice that there's going to be a little prompt in there that asks you to upgrade to the latest security features that your phone can do, and that's something called a passkey. Now, if you use your phone for a lot of your interactions, you probably already have passkeys in place. Often your banks will have it. And it's where you're allowing your phone's own security systems to be placed on top of MyGov, which means facial recognition, fingerprint recognition. So what we recommend you do, if you can, is to switch off the old passphrases and passwords, you know, your dog's middle name, one, two, three. Switch them off. Allow your phone's facial recognition features to take over. And that means that next time you sign into your MyGov app, for example, click on the app. show your face and bang, you're in and you're ready to go. Because scammers can unfortunately have success in tricking people to give them their passphrases or passwords, but they can't be your face and they can't be your fingerprint. So it is that extra level of security that we want people to be able to use.
01:00:41
Speaker 1: There's no question these phishers and scammers are getting cleverer every day, so it's pretty difficult to stay one step ahead.
01:00:48
Speaker 10: Yeah, it is.
01:00:49
Speaker 9: But with those extra levels that go to... And there's a couple of things to... look out for to give you a clue that it may be a scam, which is also a good thing to be thinking about. So the first thing is, is it unexpected? Has it come out of nowhere? So, for example, with Services Australia, if I've not done any business with Centrelink, why are they contacting me now? Now, that's not to say that it's not possible, but it certainly should be a trigger. Why are they contacting me now? What's going on that they need to be speaking to me right now? Is there some sort of deadline or sense of urgency to it? Is there a threat associated? I used to get, often I would get phone calls to tell me that if I didn't make contact with the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Federal Police were going to be knocking down my door.
01:01:36
Speaker 1: Justin, I've had that same one myself.
01:01:38
Speaker 9: There you go. I looked out the window every time. Nobody seemed to be there. They said that they were coming.
01:01:44
Speaker 23: So it's this idea that if.
01:01:45
Speaker 9: You don't do something now, something bad is going to happen to you. Or if you don't do something now, you're going to miss out on something good. So often we've seen in the past there's been a promise of some extra payment or a bonus payment that doesn't actually exist. But again, it's trying to get you to act without thinking.
01:02:02
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, my first line of defense is if they're serious and they're real, I'll get another message. And when it's these little fishing exercises... you never get another one or not in, you know, within a reasonable amount of time. So that ATO one, I thought, if they're really serious, they're not going to let me go. So I'll just wait for the next one. And the next one never came.
01:02:23
Speaker 9: Or the other one is if Australia Post is really going past my door at 2.15 in the morning, then maybe they're going to try it again during the actual working hours rather than going through that. But one of the things you can do, and it's good that we talk about these, is to find out the sort of scams that are out there so you can recognise one if it comes across your door.
01:02:41
Speaker 8: Yeah.
01:02:42
Speaker 9: Now, we do that at servicesaustralia.gov.au if you actually search scams there, you can see the sorts of scams that are out there at the moment. But ScamWatch, scamwatch.gov.au, they also, but they do everybody. That's not just Services Australia, that's all about romance scams and finance scams and trying to sell fake puppy dogs and all that sort of stuff. So, having a look and seeing the sorts of scams that are out there right now is going to protect you when one of them comes across your door, you'll recognise it for what it is.
01:03:14
Speaker 1: Justin, let's take a call to Jill at Nolonga. Jill, good morning.
01:03:16
Speaker 10: Go ahead.
01:03:17
Speaker 19: Hi, thanks for taking my call. I was going to ask, is there a one-off payment going to be paid to pensioners? I heard a rumour, or is that the automatic 270 that normally goes in?
01:03:29
Speaker 12: Jill, that is.
01:03:34
Speaker 9: I would say one of those things that we actually think is it's a type of scam. It's not one that's actually trying to get you to do anything, but it's called a clickbait or a misinformation scam. It's trying to encourage people that might show up on a website, and if you click on that website, it gives that website more traffic. And if the website gets more traffic, then the website can get people to pay money. So they just throw out these titles and hope people look. There is, at the moment, there's nothing about any lump sum payments coming through apart from There's a 20 September indexation for the pension that's going to be coming up in the next couple of weeks, but that's just a normal twice a year indexation. There's no extra payments coming through from that.
01:04:16
Speaker 2: Okay.
01:04:16
Speaker 14: Well, thanks for sorting that out for me.
01:04:18
Speaker 5: Thank you.
01:04:19
Speaker 1: Thanks for your
call, Jill. 8223 0000 is the number to ring if you have any questions regarding social services, whether it be JobSeeker, Government Support, MyGov. We're talking, Justin, about people who are tech savvy and completely comfortable going online and the like, but there's still a lot of people who deal with Services Australia and Medicare and the like by the old method, just pick up the phone. A lot of those feel a bit disenfranchised.
01:04:53
Speaker 9: Yeah, absolutely. And it's really important that people know that those old methods are still definitely there. you can call us, you can pop into the local service center. But what I would encourage people that if you do have a smartphone and the reason that you're not using myGov in order to do your business with Services Australia, because 90% of our transactions are done through myGov, but the reason that you're not might be that you're just not feeling comfortable. You've got the ability, but you're just not comfortable to use those services. Then one of the things that you can do is make an appointment in your local service centre and you can sit down and be taught how to use myGov more effectively. So you can come in with your phone or your tablet and you can spend time being coached on how to access myGov and how to use it so you can feel comfortable to use those services. And because the more people that we can get to do their business through the phone, through online, the more we can free up those phone lines for those people that absolutely don't have those options. and got real needs and need to be seeing somebody or need to speak to us over the phone. So I really encourage people, you can just make that appointment in your local service centre, bring in your phone, learn how to use it, and certainly take that opportunity to make sure that your MyGov account has got the highest level of security in the way that you access it.
01:06:18
Speaker 1: Thanks for that, Justin. 8223 0000 is the number to ring if you have a question, Centrelink, scams, JobSeeker, the like. From the text line, Leonie wants to know, what is the best way for someone to lodge or update a claim for multiple payments like JobSeeker, rent assistance, energy supplements online? And what common mistakes do we need to look out for?
01:06:40
Speaker 9: Yeah, so that's a great question. Thanks, Leonie. The best way to do it is, as you said, online with your MyGov account and your Settling Record. Now, a lot of those things that she mentioned are actually formed part of one claim. So, for example, rent assistance. If you are claiming JobSeeker payment as part of that claim, you're going to tell us about your accommodation details. You're going to tell us that you're paying rent and then as part of the claim application, you provide proof of the rent that you're paying. We will then do the assessment of the rent assistance with the JobSeeker claim. It's all part of the one process. So often some of the extra payments that you
get are all actually taken part or taken care of in the one application form and we'll take care of the assessment side of things. Some of the traps, if you like, or some of the things that might slow your claim down is if you don't have all the documentation that you might need up front. So the more documentation that you can provide of evidence of your age, your resident status, your income and assets details, the more that you can provide up front, the less that we have to request, the faster that claim process will be. Now, the nice thing about it is that whether you go... online or whether you do a paper claim, there is a list on those claims that tell you all the documents that you're going to need to provide. So we're not letting you guess. When you do an online claim, it will be targeted to exactly how you've answered the questions. And because you've clicked this, these are the sorts of documents you need to provide with that answer. So as part of your claim, we'll tell you what you need to. If you can gather all that, that will make the claim process much easier and smoother for everybody.
01:08:21
Speaker 1: Anyway, Leonie, let's hope that helps you out. On the line is Adrian. Good morning, Adrian.
01:08:26
Speaker 23: Morning, Graeme. Good morning, everyone.
01:08:27
Speaker 10: The lady that just talked to you before, she was worried.
01:08:30
Speaker 21: About the payment coming in, but that's the SA cost of living allowance, the $ 270 that lands in your automatic, your bank account, because mine came through last week and all that sort of thing. And the September 20 is when the age pension gets adjusted for inflation or something.
01:08:50
Speaker 10: That's right. Yeah.
01:08:51
Speaker 9: So great. That's great. That's very helpful. Thank you, Adrian.
01:08:53
Speaker 24: Yeah.
01:08:54
Speaker 9: So we, Services Australia is obviously, is the federal government's agency. So if your state government or territory government has their own bonuses or supports, then unfortunately I'm not in a position to comment on those. But thank you. That's very helpful, Adrian.
01:09:09
Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks, Adrian.
01:09:10
Speaker 9: The 20 September change is coming. That means that there is an index increase in the pension that's coming through. For those that have been on pensions or job seeker payments, currently payment of a few of the others that are changing. They'll be used to the fact that they'll just notice that there'll be an increase in their bank account. You don't need to do anything, just an automatic process. You'll see that change coming through.
01:09:30
Speaker 1: We'll take a break. If you have a question for Justin, you can ring now, 8223 0000. Services Australia is here to help.
01:09:36
Speaker 3: Get out of bed with Ned and Sam.
01:09:39
Speaker 25: That's 5AA Early Breakfast, live from 5 with Ned McHenry and Sam Datto.
01:09:45
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01:09:54
Speaker 1: And we're joined by Justin Bott from Surfaces Australia to answer your questions. 8223 0000 is the number. Jim has phoned that line. He's here now. Jim, go ahead.
01:10:04
Speaker 14: Good morning.
01:10:05
Speaker 26: Thank you very much for taking my call. I'll just ring up. My son has had a leg amputation about three weeks ago, and I'm having a heck of a problem. getting some money from Centrelink for him for his, you know, he's got to pay bills and everything like that. And I was just wondering if Justin could possibly help me with a bit of that.
01:10:32
Speaker 9: Jim, your son, he's applied for a payment, obviously. Yes, yes. Put in a claim for that. You haven't heard anything from us yet?
01:10:41
Speaker 26: He is in hospital still at the moment. And he got a phone call from Centrelink about five o'clock last night. and wanted him to be at the Service SA or Centrelink down at Kilkenny, and he's in the hospital at Gawler at the moment. How the heck can he get there and he's only got one leg and a part of another leg?
01:11:03
Speaker 9: Yeah, that's no good. Jim, have you set yourself up as a nominee in order to act?
01:11:10
Speaker 26: Yeah, I've done everything. I've done everything, and I've had all the paperwork filled in and everything, and it was all passed in, last Friday to Centrelink at Gawler, and I said to them at the time, I said, is that all I need to do now? And they said, yes, you've got everything all in order, everything's all fine, and he got that phone call late last night about going there, and he's got no hope of getting there anyway.
01:11:36
Speaker 9: Yeah, no, that's obviously no good, and that's not going to help him. So if you don't mind, Jim, what I'll ask you to do, if you don't mind leaving your details, We'll get somebody to get in contact because you're a nominee. We can get in contact with you and then we can work with you to make sure that your son's getting the support he needs.
01:11:52
Speaker 5: Oh, okay.
01:11:53
Speaker 26: Then thank you very much for that, Justin.
01:11:56
Speaker 1: Good on you, Jim. Just hold the line. I'll put you back to Sam. On to our next call. Pam, good morning.
01:12:03
Speaker 22: Yes, hello.
01:12:05
Speaker 20: I'm just ringing up. I was trying to assist my elderly brother to link his Medicare, now that it's not a separate one. It's part of my government. And we were doing it online and it was asking all the questions and then we got to the questions about when was the last time you visited the doctor and when did you have your last vaccination. And this is the main reason we were trying to get onto the Medicare link so we could look at all these records.
01:12:29
Speaker 19: So it said, oh, to.
01:12:30
Speaker 20: Give them a call and you'd get a linking code so you could do it. So we went through that process. They verified his Medicare number. They verified... his driver's licence. They verified the bank account where his money was being paid and the next question, can you believe it? When did you last have your vaccination? We couldn't pass that. When did you last go to the doctor? We couldn't pass that. Who was the name of your last specialist? Well, that was someone at the Royal Adelaide that he couldn't pronounce and we couldn't pass that and so we've been locked out of it again. So now we have to go back and ring up doctors and things to get this information but My question is, wouldn't those three things that were verified be sufficient? I understand the need for being sure who they are, but I'm just finding the process very difficult for elderly people to manage and they go, bugger this, I'm not going to do it. I'll forget about it.
01:13:29
Speaker 9: So, Pam, I'm going to ask the same question. Have you got authority to act on your brother's behalf?
01:13:35
Speaker 20: Not on this brother, on my sister, but not on my brother. But no, I do it with him so that he's answering the questions and I'm guiding him through it while we're on the phone together.
01:13:46
Speaker 9: Well, can I make the same offer? Because obviously we don't want that to be happening for you either. So can I make the same offer we just made for Jim? If you can leave your brother's details with, he's got permission for him to give us the email call. and we'll see if we can get that all fixed up for him because we do want him to be able to do things online. It is very convenient if we can make it work.
01:14:06
Speaker 20: Yeah, I'm just making a point that it's making it very difficult for people to do this when the same questions are being asked and you can't answer them sort of thing.
01:14:18
Speaker 9: Yeah, no, I can appreciate that.
01:14:20
Speaker 20: It seems like a pointless episode. Pointless thing to do, yeah.
01:14:24
Speaker 9: Yeah, and you've already said it as well. We're trying to do two things. We're trying to make sure we give people access, but we're also trying to make sure that it's safe and secure for those people as they do give access. But that has obviously caused a problem for your brother, and we want to see if we can get that fixed up. So, yeah, if you're going to leave your details, we'll get somebody to give him a call.
01:14:43
Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks, Pam. Hold the line. I'll put you back to Sam. From the text line, by the way, if you want to call in, quick call, 8223 0000. Justin, a caller wants to know, they've just asked about the deeming rates going up. Could Justin explain them in line with the pension increase and what it means?
01:15:03
Speaker 9: Yeah, so on the 21st of September, the rate of deeming is going up. Now, deeming is the interest rate that Services Australia, if you like, says, decrees or deems, that you receive from what we call a financial asset. Now, financial assets are things like your bank accounts, share portfolio, managed funds, superannuation if
you're over pension age, and a lot of your income streams like account-based pensions. So we say that you're going to get these fixed rates of income whether you get those levels of income or not. So you could get other, you could get over. It doesn't matter. We have these fixed rates of income. And there are two steps. There's a lower interest rate and a higher interest rate. So if you're a single person, the first $ 66, 800s, From the 20th of September, we're going to say it's giving you a 1.75% return. For everything over $ 66, 800, it's getting 3.75% return. For a member of a couple, it's 1.75% for the first $ 110, 600 and then 3.75% for everything over that. Which means if we take something like an account-based pension, for example. So if you have your money in an account-based pension and you're over 65 years of age, you're required... by law, to take a minimum of 5% from that fund. For the pension purposes, we are not looking at the fact that you're taking 5%. We're going to deem it at a maximum of 3.75% from the 20th of September, which means that extra level of income is not looked at. We don't treat it as income and it's not going to affect your eligibility. So this is going to only impact people whose rate of pension is determined by their accessible income. Now, we know that there's about... two-thirds of people that are getting the age pension who are getting the full rate of age pension. So their income is not affecting the rate of payment they're getting. We also know that of the remainder, about half of those people that get the rate of pension they're getting is because of the asset that they own, not because of the income that they generate. So there is a group of people whose rate of pension is reduced because of the income that they're receiving. They will be affected by the change of the deeming rate. But at the same time, they've also got the benefit of the indexation of the pension that's happening on the 20th of September. So the pension is going up and the deeming rates are going up on that date as well. But for the majority of people getting a pension, changing to the deeming rate won't actually make any practical difference to their.
01:17:35
Speaker 2: Payments at all.
01:17:35
Speaker 1: Thanks for that, Justin. We have another call on the line. Mick, go ahead.
01:17:40
Speaker 23: Good morning, gentlemen. I've just recently, as from yesterday, turned 67.
01:17:45
Speaker 7: And.
01:17:48
Speaker 23: I've gone through all the process, and that went smoothly. But I'm getting $ 930- something a fortnight. Is that because my wife works.
01:18:02
Speaker 12: Part-time?
01:18:05
Speaker 9: First of all, happy birthday from yesterday. Well done. Take it to the big 67. Yeah, so when you are applying for a pension, and as a member of a couple, we're going to look at your combined income and assets when we work out the rate of pension that you're getting, even if your partner is not of pension age and isn't applying for a pension on her own. So if she has some source of income, then that income will be part of our assessment, and that could be one of the reasons why you're not getting the full rate of pension as a member of a couple.
01:18:37
Speaker 23: Yeah, so when, like she's saying seasonal work, so when that seasonal work stops, can she automatically go on to the.
01:18:46
Speaker 9: Job seeker? She won't automatically go on. to it. She should have to apply for it. Sorry, I've got to ask you this. How old is your wife?
01:19:01
Speaker 2: Forty.
01:19:02
Speaker 9: Oh, okay. Yeah, so she would be potentially looking, having to apply for a payment on her own. Seasonal work does there's a few things about seasonal workers it is a little bit tricky when we're looking at eligibility but you should certainly look at doing it now it is i just want to say that the full rate of pension uh for a member of a couple for one of the member of a couple is going is 933 dollars a fortnight from the 20th of september So if you're getting $ 900 or so, you're getting pretty close to the full rate now anyway. Okay. That's fine. But, yeah, as her income stops, the first thing is that you make sure that you tell us that her income stops so we're paying you the maximum pension we can, and then she should be looking at what she can apply for in her own right as well.
01:19:49
Speaker 23: Yep, no problem.
01:19:50
Speaker 3: Good on you, Mick.
01:19:51
Speaker 9: Thank you for that.
01:19:52
Speaker 1: Thanks for your call. Justin, we're just about out of time. Thank you so much for your input today. Always great to chat.
01:19:58
Speaker 9: Thanks so much for having me.
01:19:59
Speaker 1: Justin Bott, Community Information Officer for Services Australia, and we'll have another session from Services Australia in about a month's time.
01:20:08
Speaker 6: 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings.
01:20:11
Speaker 1: So much to talk about, so little time. We've covered a lot of territory today. I'd love to know what you think about Chris Bowen spending millions of your money, my money, on luxury hotels that may sit vacant. The road situation, lots of calls and texts on the state of our roads. The leader of the opposition, Ashton Hearn, moved a motion in Parliament regarding the massive issue with our roads. I think it was November last year that the RAA released a report that there was a backlog of $ 2. 1 billion on road maintenance backlogs. Now, that number might shock you, but I think anyone that drives on our roads to any degree realises that we do have a real problem in this state, and we just can't put it down to a bit of a wet winter. It's been an issue that's been around for a few years' time. I'd like to know your thoughts, and what is the worst road or street or section of pothole territory in the state, as far as you're concerned? 8223 0000 is the number to ring. A bit of good news. It's a sporting story, but I tell you what. It's going to make a lot of people sit up and take a
lot of notice. The Adelaide Strikers have pulled off one of the biggest coups in limited over cricket history. Former England captain Ben Stokes has signed with the Adelaide Strikers for the full Big Bash League after retiring from international cricket earlier this year. Joining me now as co-host of the top-rating Saturday sports show, KG Cunningham. KG, good morning to you.
01:21:40
Speaker 18: Hello, Graeme. I've been listening with a great interest. Mate, you're right. It is a coup. There's no doubt about that.
01:21:47
Speaker 25: Ben Stokes is one of the all-time great all-rounders, and for him to be coming here, and as you stated, he'll come here for the entire year. He won't play, say, six months. He'll be here for the entire year. That's an enormous coup, and that will give people in Adelaide the right to see one of the great all-rounders of all time. And it's interesting, Graeme, because I can tell you that the Sydney Sixers and the Melbourne Renegades were hunting him like you wouldn't believe. And the reason, and I do know this, why he's coming to Adelaide is the Adelaide Oval.
01:22:27
Speaker 1: He loves it.
01:22:29
Speaker 18: No doubt about that.
01:22:30
Speaker 1: Well, why wouldn't you love it? I mean, it's the best oval in the world.
01:22:33
Speaker 9: Exactly.
01:22:35
Speaker 18: And he agrees with that. So, look, I can't wait to see him perform. It'll be absolutely fantastic.
01:22:40
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
01:22:41
Speaker 1: I mean, off the field, KG, let's face it, he's got a bit of a checkered career. He sort of enjoys the nightlife. Does that concern you at all?
01:22:49
Speaker 25: Well, it does. Of course it does. He's a bit of a party boy. There's no doubt about that. He's got a little history in partying on at times when perhaps he shouldn't. But look, coming to Australia, coming to a place that he's been to before, knowing Adelaide as a quiet town, I've got no doubt that Ben Stokes, and he's retired now as England captain after all the furor that has taken place over party drinking and all that, I've got no doubt that Ben Stokes will come here now and fire right up. And hopefully there'll be no misdemeanours. But he's a colourful character.
01:23:28
Speaker 1: No question.
01:23:29
Speaker 18: That's part of his personality.
01:23:31
Speaker 1: I tell you what, KG, his course was a bit of grief. What was that test back in, what, about five or six years ago now where England were dead to the world, had no hope, and he just scored one of the great innings?
01:23:44
Speaker 25: Graham, please don't bring that up. That's one of the moments that I don't want to remember, but you're right. And that's the sort of player he is, that he has the ability to change the trend of the game and do.
01:23:59
Speaker 18: It with the bat or the ball.
01:24:01
Speaker 25: He's very good at both. Look, I think it's fantastic for Adelaide. I'll be down there watching it. The one-day game is not my greatest love in cricket. But I'll go down to see him play and the boys will be fantastic, Graeme.
01:24:18
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, he's a proven test player, but his style of cricket really lends itself to the big batch, doesn't it? I mean, you know, he can score quickly and he is a pretty fearsome bowler.
01:24:28
Speaker 25: Well, exactly right. And on top of all that, Graeme, he's a very fierce competitor. He's got great pride in when he's out on the ground, he's got great pride in what he's able to do.
01:24:43
Speaker 18: I was surprised.
01:24:44
Speaker 25: I must confess, I thought, you know, with the Eastern States chasing him, that he'd probably go there. But Adelaide's won the deal, which is beautiful.
01:24:52
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, evidently he thinks Adelaide's a place to bring his family too, and you can understand that.
01:24:57
Speaker 10: I mean.
01:24:57
Speaker 1: for lifestyle, weather, you know, our summer here is absolutely perfect, playing at the best cricket ground in the world. What more could you ask for?
01:25:04
Speaker 18: Well, I've got no doubt.
01:25:07
Speaker 25: As he made the point in today's paper, Ben states himself, that Adelaide is.
01:25:12
Speaker 18: One of his favourite grounds. Mate, you won't fit a bit.
01:25:17
Speaker 25: The night cricket there, it'll be super, super stuck.
01:25:22
Speaker 1: Isn't it funny how we change? I mean, he was the villain and, you know, we didn't like him at all. All of a sudden, he's going to be a local hero.
01:25:29
Speaker 25: Well, see, Graeme, that's what makes sport so enjoyable because, you know, we love to have a crack at the village. We love to see what they're playing for us, that they're on our side. That's the beauty of sport, Graeme, I can tell you.
01:25:43
Speaker 1: No question about that. I tell you what, after many, many lean years with cricket in South Australia, Saka, three, I mean, two wonderful seasons, we've come out on top. Can we win another shield? Do you reckon we can go back to back to back?
01:25:57
Speaker 18: There's, Graeme, I've got no doubt.
01:25:59
Speaker 25: We spoke with Ryan Harris, the coach of the side, on our program last Sunday. And they've recruited Will. They've got Wetherill coming back. It was dropped from the test side. We've got a boy called Matthew Gilch, a left-hander, wicketkeeper. We've recruited from New South Wales. And Ryan Harris, they're in Darwin at the moment at a camp. They're very, very confident we can win three in a row. We've won two in a row. Mate, it's hard enough to win bloody one, let alone.
01:26:33
Speaker 18: Two, now three. Goodness gracious me. But, hey, we're on song to do it, on song to do it.
01:26:39
Speaker 1: And Ryan Harris has a bit of a coup. He's done well, hasn't he?
01:26:43
Speaker 25: Look, he was a fierce competitor on the ground, but a likeable, tough bloke off the ground. And he's led the way beautifully. He's turned South Australia cricket right around. And, you know, to win two Sheffield Shields, that's just
mind-boggling stuff, for goodness sake.
01:27:01
Speaker 18: But two in a row now, three we're going for. So that's great.
01:27:04
Speaker 2: Beautiful.
01:27:04
Speaker 1: Well, we're talking cricket and footy season. We can't let you go without Saturday night.
01:27:08
Speaker 6: Now, Graeme.
01:27:09
Speaker 1: What do you think about the Crows?
01:27:10
Speaker 18: Well, Graeme, please.
01:27:12
Speaker 25: I reckon, Graeme, that people will say I'm being stupid now, but I've never, ever been more confident in the Crows winning a game of football than I am with the Crows beating the Bulldogs on Saturday night.
01:27:28
Speaker 18: And you know what, Graeme?
01:27:30
Speaker 25: Even more so because of the rumours coming out of bloody Victoria regarding Matthew Nix. I just hope they smash him, Graeme.
01:27:39
Speaker 18: I am telling you. I am telling you.
01:27:42
Speaker 1: Good on you, KG. Well, I'm feeling very, very confident. I reckon we'll knock the bullies off and then move on to the next final.
01:27:50
Speaker 18: Yeah, Beal and Sidney. Exactly right.
01:27:52
Speaker 1: Good on you, KG.
01:27:53
Speaker 5: We'll be.
01:27:55
Speaker 1: Hearing your Saturday morning. KG, award-winning performer, a legend. It's interesting, isn't it? There's something great about talking to a legend, and certainly KG is one of those. And you can hear him every Saturday morning on 5AA with the top-rating sports show. 8223 0000 is the number. Your call's coming up after the break. Love to hear from you on 8223 0000 is the number to ring. Paul says.
01:28:19
Speaker 1: South Australia, the negative state. Let's reflect on the road improvements the current government have made. Majors Road, Marion Road, Tram, Crossroad, or Tram, Marion Road, Tram, Crossroad, you don't use any punctuation, Paul. Anyway, Majors Road, Marion Road, Tram, Crossroad, Tram, Sir Donald Bradman Drive, Marion Road, Grange Road, Aldinga, to sell Flagstaff Hill Road. The list goes on and on. I drove to Sydney recently, and I can assure you, and your listeners, the roads in SA are far better than New South Wales. Hay Council can't get workers to do basic roadworks, so they use immigrants who find it hard to get a rental. 75% of rentals are now Airbnb. South Australians need to understand how good we have it in this state, especially considering we don't have tolls. Thank you very much for that, Paul. I still think we have every right to complain about the state of our roads. Martin says, did anyone ring up yesterday about the service fee for each footy ticket $ 8. 40. That's 53,000 times $ 8. 40, $ 445, 000 for Ticketek. What a rip-off. Thank you for that, Martin. It was at $ 8. 40 per ticket. I can understand maybe $ 8. 40 a pair of tickets or, you know, for each time they have someone online and service their requirements. But yeah, sounds a lot, doesn't it? Barry says, Australia imports virtually 100% of its bitumen from overseas. I wonder if that's only in recent times or long term. Someone will let us know.
01:29:51
Speaker 6: 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings.
01:29:53
Speaker 1: 19 past 11, 5AA, this Wednesday, second day of September. Hardly a day goes by when we don't get calls or texts about the state of our roads, whether it be regional, highways, federal roads, local roads, all over. People aren't happy. Earlier this morning, we spoke with opposition leader Ashton Hearn about the situation.
01:30:16
Speaker 8: Not a day goes by where people aren't hitting the phones or calling electorate offices around the state complaining about a regional road, and rightly so, because they're crumbling and we've got a pretty eye-watering backlog of $ 2.
01:30:30
Speaker 7: 1 billion.
01:30:33
Speaker 8: I think it's important to note that the state government obviously has a budget every year for road maintenance, but it's nowhere near up to where it needs to be to make sure we can eat through the backlog. And in the same way that we expect or the government expects our cars to be roadworthy, we also need our roads to be carworthy. I think that's a pretty straightforward ask. And we really do want to see the government make it a priority because ultimately it's all well and good for the government to focus on you know, flashy things, but when you are in government, your top job is to get the basic things right.
01:31:08
Speaker 1: Speaking with Ashton Hearn earlier this morning on 5AA, potholes concerning a lot of people. In fact, you only have to mention the state of our roads, and the switchboard goes crazy. Brian, good morning.
01:31:18
Speaker 2: Good morning, Graeme.
01:31:19
Speaker 15: A few years ago, I was going to Port Wakefield, and it's 110 up there, but I was in about 100, and I saw a pothole at the last minute. I couldn't swear if I hit it, so I pulled over, Checked the front left-hand front tyre. That wasn't buckled or anything. It wasn't flat.
01:31:38
Speaker 9: And drove off again.
01:31:39
Speaker 15: Checked my steering. The steering was okay. But a few days beforehand, a woman was killed up that way in a rollover. And I was thinking if that woman was in that car, and it was a station wagon, early model station wagon, like an MP, I think, or something like that, or an NP.
01:31:57
Speaker 1: Yeah.
01:31:59
Speaker 15: They're going to have 15-inch tyres. Now, if she hit that 100 and 110, it would have ripped this front steering off the car and that would have caused the car to roll. And the other time was I was going to Two Walls to Matala and that's 100km now zone. So I was sitting on the left-hand side. The roads, the front tyres, the left-hand side tyres were pretty bumpy and And it was from the ruts and that because of the rain.
01:32:28
Speaker 2: Yeah.
01:32:29
Speaker 15: And so when no cars and trucks were around, I drove in the middle, down the middle of the white line, middle of the road, so I could miss all the holes and bumps in the road. And when another car was coming or another truck was
coming, I would pull over to the left again.
01:32:42
Speaker 21: Yeah.
01:32:43
Speaker 15: The road was that bad. And a few, another one played and went up there again. And it was all patched up in patches. It was like a, It was shocking.
01:32:53
Speaker 1: Yeah, patchwork quilt. Yeah, Brian, that's a familiar story. Unfortunately, we get that all the time. And when repair work is carried out, it appears that it only lasts for a few months. Leanne says, there is a beautiful brand new road from Clarendon to Kangaroo River. Would be the best in the state. I guess a politician lives along there. Oh, Leanne, you cynic. That wouldn't happen, would it? Surely not. 8223 0000 if you want to comment. Don't worry, Graeme, we still have potholes, no housing, ramping, violence, high cost of living, but we will also have a car racing track.
01:33:24
Speaker 6: Wow.
01:33:25
Speaker 1: That's progress. John, good morning.
01:33:28
Speaker 11: Yes, that leads into.
01:33:29
Speaker 12: Good morning, Graeme.
01:33:30
Speaker 28: That leads into my segue. Wherever I go now, I'm just going to drive round and round on the new track at Victoria Park, and there will be no potholes here whatsoever.
01:33:39
Speaker 3: Oh, it'll be perfect.
01:33:40
Speaker 1: You can bet on that. It'll be perfect.
01:33:41
Speaker 28: Yeah, I won't go anywhere, but it doesn't matter. Speaking of which, I now live on the Fleurieu. and there are clearly people who are.
01:33:52
Speaker 14: Expert in putting.
01:33:54
Speaker 28: What they've actually done as a pre-thing is they've put high-vis paint around every pothole.
01:33:59
Speaker 14: So at least you can see it from a couple of hundred metres away.
01:34:02
Speaker 3: Well, that's something, at least.
01:34:05
Speaker 14: But you look like you're drunk trying to avoid them. That's the problem.
01:34:09
Speaker 10: The way.
01:34:10
Speaker 14: And I'm no expert, but speaking to a couple of people around here that have worked in it, the big problem is.
01:34:15
Speaker 28: But if you just do, and what they've done is they just pour a bit of hot mix in.
01:34:18
Speaker 14: The hole and hope for the best. There's no bonding.
01:34:22
Speaker 28: So after probably not even a month, anyone who runs over it just squishes the stuff out.
01:34:27
Speaker 14: What needs to happen is you need to have.
01:34:29
Speaker 28: A square cut out and appropriate reheating in the area around it.
01:34:34
Speaker 14: So clearly that costs more.
01:34:36
Speaker 28: But you do wonder really, particularly down this way, The pothole count is horrendous, and there are also works going on for three overtaking lanes down the road between Cape Jervis and Normanfield. But even before that started, the pothole count was horrendous. And, I mean, obviously, there's a lot of heavy traffic that goes up and down near the KI. And I think that's.
01:35:07
Speaker 14: Really a disgrace because that is part of.
01:35:09
Speaker 28: A major highway down to KI, and
obviously now the construction trucks are making everything worse.
01:35:18
Speaker 14: As well on top of it. So, yeah, I just do.
01:35:22
Speaker 28: Wonder where all those funds are going that are supposed to be associated with road repair.
01:35:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, good point. Thanks for that, John. David says... The road between Port Wakefield and Loch Eel is still 80 kilometres an hour. No one working. Potholes already after only finishing the dual road last year. It's a major issue. Certainly no question about that. And we have to drive on these roads. And when they start causing accidents or serious damage to your car, surely something has to be done. Ross, good morning to you.
01:35:54
Speaker 29: Brian, a couple of weeks ago, coming home from Lake Bonny Caravan Park with my caravan. on the Sturt Highway, going towards Barmara. All of a sudden, my car started going, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop.
01:36:09
Speaker 10: Yeah.
01:36:10
Speaker 29: And then the speedometer come down. I pulled over. I'd hit a pothole. But not only that, I shredded the tire. I was running on my rims. And so, so fortunate, as anyone knows, towing a caravan, running on the rim, you would flip the caravan and the car.
01:36:29
Speaker 1: Oh, dear.
01:36:30
Speaker 29: And the explosion was that, well, when I say the explosion, when I actually got inside the caravan, the underneath floor was okay, but it was that heavy when the tyre blew, it blew the lino inside the caravan. It cracked it all and blew it up.
01:36:48
Speaker 23: We could have been killed. I mean, I've now gone out, I've had to buy new.
01:36:51
Speaker 29: Tyres, new rims. I've gone and bought what they call this McHitch, which you tow your van with, and that saves you rolling your car if you roll your caravan. But by all intents and purposes, the wife.
01:37:05
Speaker 23: And I should have been.
01:37:06
Speaker 29: Dead by now because the caravan should have flipped on its side.
01:37:09
Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks for sharing that story with us, Ross. Yeah, look, the roads, I mean, we all travel on them. We have to have roadworthy cars, you know, How about car-worthy roads? Max, good morning.
01:37:19
Speaker 12: Good morning.
01:37:21
Speaker 27: Look, about the potholes and that, all our roads used to be really good when we had the highways department and everything. That was under the government's control. And after John Olsen privatised the sections, including the... the highways department, our roads deteriorated. And with our money from the registration, the percentage of the oil actually, that was supposed to go for the upkeep of the roads besides. And that, I don't think that's been done.
01:38:06
Speaker 1: Well, the situation has certainly gotten out of hand, Max. There's no doubt about that. Now, whether it be registration money or fuel excise money, that was supposed to be directed to maintaining our roads, repairing our roads, that has gone into general revenue, so we sort of get what's left over, and yet we still need to use the roads. Then you've got EVs taken into account who aren't paying fuel tax. so they're using the roads, heavy vehicles, more wear and tear on the roads, and the pool of money going into the fuel tax is getting ever smaller. So where's the money coming from to repair the roads? Fair question.
01:38:45
Speaker 6: 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings.
01:38:49
Speaker 1: Final 30 minutes of the show. Still love to hear from you on 8223 0000. Danny says, Tour Down Under bike routes will be repaired for one month leading up to the race every year. Bikes don't pay for roads or bike lanes. And Gigi, there is a massive pothole at Ingle Farm Shopping Centre. It was full of muddy water last week. We backed our car back into a parking space to avoid it. And Maria says, one of the worst roads is trim a parade. When I go shopping, then drive home, a carton of milk can turn into a milkshake. Thank you for that, Maria. Well, I was shocked to hear during the week that an SA footy legend, Bruce Linder, is battling cancer. Bruce was a member of the inaugural Crows team. He also played with Geelong. Now at 64, Bruce is in the fight of his life as he tackles cancer. And he's written a book about it. Bruce Linder joins us now. Bruce, thanks for your time today. How did you find out about your cancer?
01:39:46
Speaker 30: Well, it started, uh, after I passed some blood and, uh, obviously went to the doctor and had the normal test in terms of, uh, some blood tests and a CT scan. And, um, then you get the phone call that no one really wants. And, um, yeah, um, get told you have cancer.
01:40:03
Speaker 2: And, you know, as soon as you hear the word cancer, it's probably the, the.
01:40:08
Speaker 30: Most, uh, scariest language, scariest word in the English.
01:40:11
Speaker 2: Language, I think. Um, you wonder what's next and what's going to happen.
01:40:16
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, having been there, and I know lots of people listening have been down that path before, your whole life changes at that point, doesn't it?
01:40:24
Speaker 2: Exactly right, yeah.
01:40:26
Speaker 30: So everything that you thought was important goes out the door and your perspective changes quite dramatically on everything.
01:40:38
Speaker 1: So why did you decide to come out so publicly and, in fact, write a book about it?
01:40:45
Speaker 2: Well, two reasons.
01:40:47
Speaker 30: One was in part of the darkest hour, I was thinking, is there anything positive that I can get out of this? And at that stage, I thought, well, you know, if I start raising money for cancer research, at least that could be something positive that can come out of this. And the other was that I was lying in the critical care unit after having my operation done. And I had all these machines on me and, you know, they were going beep and making.
01:41:17
Speaker 2: All sorts of noises. And I.
01:41:20
Speaker 30: Was lying there and I was thinking, wow, if this goes
south, my daughter doesn't know.
01:41:24
Speaker 2: Much about my life. And so I thought it.
01:41:28
Speaker 30: Would be a good time to start writing a book and telling her about my life and perhaps leaving some sort of legacy so she knows what I've done and where she's come from.
01:41:38
Speaker 1: Have you written before?
01:41:40
Speaker 2: No, no, it was quite interesting.
01:41:44
Speaker 30: My rehab after the operation was just a little bit of exercise on the bike and then breakfast and then I'd sit on my lounge because there's nothing that you can really do and then I'd sit on my lounge and I'd start writing and sometimes I'd write for 10 minutes and sometimes I'd write for four or five hours. And so it was an interesting exercise in trying to go back through.
01:42:10
Speaker 2: Your memory.
01:42:10
Speaker 30: And it's interesting that it's not until you do it that you, you know, you hit memory markers and you realize that you have been on this planet for a reasonable amount of time. And it's not until that, that you get some perspective on life.
01:42:30
Speaker 2: And, you know, before I, before I was.
01:42:34
Speaker 30: Diagnosed, I mean, I was 62.
01:42:37
Speaker 2: Three or something.
01:42:39
Speaker 30: And I thought I was, internally and mentally, I thought I was like mid-30s sort of thing.
01:42:46
Speaker 2: So it comes as a pretty sharp shock.
01:42:49
Speaker 1: I was going to say, at around that age, you're sort of thinking that you've had a good life, but there's still a long way to go. There's so many things to do. But I guess being diagnosed with cancer, it changes your perspective somewhat.
01:43:01
Speaker 30: Well, everything gets put on the back burner because, you know, you're... you have thoughts about retiring and you have thoughts of travelling and, you know, golfing and going out for lunches and dinners and, you know, leading a fairly hedonistic lifestyle and then all of a sudden all you're really looking at was trying to get better. The most important things are the scans from after your treatment, the scans that you have every three months to see if– see if anything's improved. And that's, yeah, it's a total reshape to what you think your life was going to be to suddenly what it is.
01:43:43
Speaker 1: And are you still undergoing regular treatment?
01:43:46
Speaker 30: Yes, I've got another scan in about a month's time. So unfortunately with kidney cancer, you can never be cured of it. So it's a managing thing. The issue being it metastasized in my bladder after about four months, and so you do the Google, you know, you do Dr.
01:44:06
Speaker 2: Google, and that doesn't turn up.
01:44:08
Speaker 1: That's always dangerous, Bruce. Having been there and done that, it's not the smartest thing to do, really.
01:44:15
Speaker 2: It doesn't do.
01:44:16
Speaker 30: Much for your psyche, that's for sure, because the statistics are, you know, 15% to 20% of people survive five years.
01:44:23
Speaker 1: Yeah.
01:44:25
Speaker 21: Yeah.
01:44:28
Speaker 2: It doesn't make for joyous reading.
01:44:29
Speaker 1: Can I just break in there, Bruce? I've got to tell you something. Statistics, you mentioned. I was having a discussion with my radiologist when I was undergoing cancer treatment, and he drew up a scale, and he said the chances of survival with your level of cancer, I think it was something like 27%. And 27% chance of survival, what does that leave? 73% chances of not surviving. And he drew that up. He said, which sector do you want to be in? I said, what do you mean? And he said, do you want to be in the 27% or the 73%? And I said, well, you can't choose, can you? And he said, of course you can. He said, because they're just numbers, you know. They're just numbers. So you choose which side you want to be in.
01:45:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly.
01:45:17
Speaker 1: It set my mind. I thought, well, yeah, I'm going to be in the percentage that will survive, you know.
01:45:22
Speaker 2: Yeah, my whole life has been– Rather than 50-50, I've always seen the glasses 75% full. So, you know, that's been my ethos and the way I've lived my life for the last 64 years.
01:45:39
Speaker 1: They didn't call you the president for nothing.
01:45:42
Speaker 2: No, no.
01:45:43
Speaker 30: And those statistics are forever changing. I mean, the advancement of immunotherapy and other cancer treatments are certainly.
01:45:54
Speaker 2: Impacting on those statistics. So, They're improving all the time.
01:45:59
Speaker 1: What advice would you have for anyone who is dealing with cancer or, you know, is putting off having a test because they're fearful they do have cancer?
01:46:08
Speaker 2: Oh, well, there's two different paths there. I mean, just I would advocate.
01:46:14
Speaker 30: Any sort of thing that you may feel is out of the ordinary, just go and see the doctor and insist that you have a CT scan. in terms of advice, it's a personal matter. It depends on your circumstances. I'm lucky enough that I was in a good financial position and also that I had great family support. And I would hate to be going through this without either of those two. So, you know, I feel for those people that aren't in that situation because, you know, what's that old axiom about a A problem shared is a problem halved.
01:46:57
Speaker 2: Exactly. And, you know, it supports everything.
01:47:02
Speaker 1: Most definitely. On a happier note, the Crows got a big final coming up. How do you think they'll go at the weekend?
01:47:09
Speaker 2: I think they'll be very successful.
01:47:13
Speaker 30: If I was a betting man, I'm picking the over 39 mark.
01:47:17
Speaker 1: I hope you're right.
01:47:19
Speaker 30: Yeah, I think they're in a very healthy position. and I think the Bulldogs, after watching their game last week, have got some issues.
01:47:31
Speaker 2: But, yes, I think they'll go all right.
01:47:33
Speaker 1: Bruce, before we let you go, I see Crows legend Tony Modra has voted your book a three-vote best on ground performance. So if the Mods are saying that, it must be right. So is the book available, is it?
01:47:45
Speaker 30: Yes, you can get it at Dylan's Bookstore or just– If you Google Time On In The Last by Bruce Leonard, it'll take you to my website and you can purchase the book there. Not only Tony, but Graham Corns has even read it and said some nice things along with Ian Healy and John Brewster-Jones from The Angels. Yes, they've written some nice things. So, yeah, hopefully.
01:48:11
Speaker 2: It lives up to the critique that's happened so far.
01:48:14
Speaker 1: I'm sure it will. Bruce, thanks so much for your time today.
01:48:18
Speaker 2: Nah, Graham, appreciate it. Thanks for talking to me.
01:48:21
Speaker 1: Bruce Lindner there. 8223 0000 is the number. From the text line, Graham, further to the text on overseas bitumen, did you know that all of the cement for the new tunnels is also coming from overseas when we have two cement plants in SA? Dave's from Anglestone. I just had a moment to look at that to see if that was true. It doesn't appear to be. In fact, I believe that there's a concrete facility at Waterloo Corner where all the cement works before the tunnelling is being provided. It represents a critical milestone in the $ 15. 4 million Torrance to Darlington project. So that's good news, isn't it? If the cement is coming from South Australia and not coming from overseas, that would be good news indeed. where you can catch the 5AA Interactive Lounge tomorrow afternoon with Leith Forrest and the team from SportsMed. They're discussing their foot and ankle clinic, bringing podiatrists and surgeons together. 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings. Quarter to 12, 5AA on this Wednesday morning. Big AFL breaking news. Joining me now is 5AA' s Tom Wren. Renny, how are you doing?
01:49:30
Speaker 6: Graham, how are you?
01:49:31
Speaker 18: Yes, there's a lot happening, isn't there?
01:49:33
Speaker 24: We're already well and truly into the silly season with finals on for 10 clubs. Changes are afoot and so it seems it's happening and a lot going on with North Melbourne.
01:49:45
Speaker 1: And what is happening? Alistair Clarkson has been shown the door.
01:49:49
Speaker 3: Absolutely, yeah.
01:49:50
Speaker 24: So Alistair Clarkson, he's been the coach for the last four years, Graeme. He is no longer going to be the coach. Still got a year to run. We're hearing reports an emergency meeting was called this morning. The players were called into this meeting and he was told, or the players were told that Alistair Clarkson and the club are parting ways so I mean this is a massive call I think generally Graham most people industry-wide thought that North Melbourne though they didn't make the top 10 had improved significantly I think it was nine wins correct me if I'm wrong for the season there was significant improvement at least from that perspective and But they've made the call, and it makes you
wonder, where are they going now? Is it going to be perhaps John Longmire or Adam Simpson? They've seen the logical choices, given they're both former North Melbourne players, Graham. They've both got enormous pedigree as coaches, both premiership coaches. So, you know, huge call from the footy club. There's going to be a lot of fallout for this one, but this has all happened in the last hour or so, which is significant and will be a huge story Particularly.
01:50:56
Speaker 3: In Melbourne today.
01:50:57
Speaker 5: Yeah.
01:50:58
Speaker 1: I mean, he'd been there for four years. The record wasn't all that great. But as a casual observer, the form line of the Roos this year was pretty good.
01:51:08
Speaker 7: It was.
01:51:08
Speaker 1: They looked good. They challenged some really good sides. And you sort of thought their form was on the up.
01:51:15
Speaker 18: Exactly right.
01:51:15
Speaker 24: And that makes this decision, you know, even more, I guess, surprising, perhaps might be a word. I don't think a total shock, Graeme, for reasons that you've just touched on, you know, their record across the four years wasn't amazing. And probably they didn't get the improvement that many thought they would. They've had, you know, a swathe of high draft picks for.
01:51:36
Speaker 3: A long time now.
01:51:38
Speaker 24: Um, but look, it's still a big decision and, and I think there had been improvement enough this season.
01:51:44
Speaker 18: So I'm sure more details will come out, but.
01:51:47
Speaker 24: Whether or not the club had put parameters on him or had said that it will, you know, absolutely be his last year, regardless of how he went, I'm sure that will come out, you know, perhaps as, as soon as today. But, um, Certainly it's a big call. I mean, Alistair Clarkson, his record at Hawthorne was amazing. You know, those four flags, incredible pedigree. But it had not been the same level of success, clearly, at North Melbourne. So this is when, you know, the big moves start to happen, don't they, Graeme, in the off-season. And North Melbourne, one of the first clubs to move, we know Essendon, obviously, has made its call. Carlton has made its call. North Melbourne, the third domino, so to speak.
01:52:28
Speaker 18: But now.
01:52:29
Speaker 24: the search for a coach begins and look, there are no shortage of good candidates. Like I touched on John Longmire, Adam Simpson, maybe someone else like Nathan Buckley as well.
01:52:38
Speaker 18: But I would think if I.
01:52:40
Speaker 24: Had to, you know, frame a market early on, I would think at one of Adam Simpson or John Longmire would be the likely replacement.
01:52:48
Speaker 1: Good on you, Tommy. That's a breaking story about Alistair Clarkson being dumped by the North Melbourne football club. Um, On the federal scene, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has just spoken out on the latest GDP figures, which show the economy has expanded by 0.4%.
01:53:04
Speaker 31: There are a number of factors playing out in the housing market, as you know, but it is encouraging to see dwelling investment growing and building approvals up in today's and yesterday's data. There's volatility in the business investment numbers quarter to quarter, but up 10.5% through the year. That means that business investment is now 12.7% of GDP, which is the highest in a decade. And you'll see that the investment pipeline has just been revised up very substantially by the ABS as well. Private business investment has now grown at an average of 4.9% a year under us, remembering the average was negative 1.3% under the Coalition.
01:53:54
Speaker 2: And if you look at these numbers.
01:53:56
Speaker 31: The private demand versus public demand, you can see that the private sector is doing the heavy lifting on growth. In annual terms, four of every $ 5 in domestic growth is from private demand. Real incomes are growing in the national accounts as well. The living standards measure is up 0.3 in the quarter and 0.9 through the year. That number was negative 1.3 when we came to office in that quarter. The wages measure in the national accounts was up and it means that the wages share of national income is now 54.3% compared to 49% when we were elected. That wages share of national income is the highest it's been, I think, in.
01:54:42
Speaker 2: Around a decade.
01:54:44
Speaker 31: So the Australian economy has obvious strengths, but we can still see in these numbers that our three primary challenges, inflation, productivity and global volatility. And we know that each of these puts pressure on people.
01:55:01
Speaker 1: Treasurer Jim Chalmers with the latest GDP numbers. On the text line, Kay says, Hi, Graeme. A lot of people think the Premier is preoccupied with major events rather than ramping and roads, etc. I suggest he's preoccupied with bringing as much money into our state as he can, thus enabling roads, etc. to be updated. He can't win. He's building a future for generations to come in South Australia. Well done, Premier. Thank you for that, Kay. Mark says, will the MotoGP circuit road infrastructure be designed for better traffic flow in and out of the city when the event finishes? Can Adelaide get Formula One back from Melbourne? Interesting point, Mark, on the Formula One. I know that would be a long-term view because I think the Grand Prix will be at Albert Park for at least the next eight, ten years. 2037, is that right? 2037, so it's a long-term project, but I think we have a Premier who's fairly farsighted, so I'm sure that is somewhere within his sights. After one this afternoon, it's Lee Forrest.
01:56:01
Speaker 6: G'day, Lee.
01:56:02
Speaker 17: Good morning, Graeme.
01:56:03
Speaker 3: Death, taxes, AFL coaches.
01:56:05
Speaker 5: That's all.
01:56:06
Speaker 1: Nothing is sure in life.
01:56:08
Speaker 9: Wow.
01:56:09
Speaker 1: I thought the Roos were doing okay.
01:56:11
Speaker 17: I did too, but it's interesting in the press release from North
Melbourne where they said, consultation period with the football department staff and players at the conclusion of the season. That says to me he's lost the players. All the big guns said, we want him out. So he's out. A year to go on the contract.
01:56:26
Speaker 3: Amazing. That's right, huh?
01:56:28
Speaker 1: Love it on the field.
01:56:29
Speaker 17: Big sports show coming up after four o'clock with Tim and Rowie on that. On our show today, you know there's been a lot of petitions lately. So the one for the trees in the golf course and the park land.
01:56:38
Speaker 1: Stop the chop.
01:56:39
Speaker 17: There's a couple more that are doing the rounds, and we're going to speak about them on the show after one o'clock. One is the story you might have seen in the advertiser from members of The victims, people who were killed by the family here in Adelaide, they are creating a petition to get suppression orders lifted so we know the people who are still in the city and in this state who know something or who might have been involved with Bev and Spencer von Einem. So the victims are coming out. And they're trying to get more names so they can take that to the court and try and get some names suppressed. So we'll speak about that. And then the other one is AI data centres. There's a petition doing the rounds for that too. So if you love a petition, you can sign away, Graeme, on all of these. Against the data centres? Against the data centres. More than 150,000 people, I think it is, across the country. There's 36 AI data centre petitions across the country. including one here in Adelaide. So we'll speak to the organiser of that, just why she's doing it.
01:57:33
Speaker 1: Yeah, look, I'm not against data centres overall, but they've got to be in the right place and they've got to provide their own power and their own water. Other than that, go ahead.
01:57:40
Speaker 17: I think that people feel with the data centre a bit like with the trees. They don't get a say. Everything's just sort of been pushed through really quickly. No consultation. That's kind of the vibe that I get. So we're going to talk about that on the show this afternoon. And you might not have been a fan of this particular show, but I would almost guarantee that Will was and maybe other members of your family. Do you remember the A-Team back in the 80s?
01:58:04
Speaker 1: My producer, Sam Datto, never stops talking about it. It's his favourite show. Me too.
01:58:09
Speaker 17: As a 10-year-old child, 5-year-old child, whatever I was back when the A-Team was around early 80s, early to mid-80s, 83 to 87, I think, the standout performer in an all-star cast was Mr. T. So next Tuesday on Netflix, there is a Mr. T documentary called I Pity the Fool. So we have, I've been trying to get Mr. T for 20 years. Sam, relax. I didn't get Mr. T yet, but I got the director of the documentary on the show who's going to try and help me get Mr. T because I have literally been trying for two decades to get Mr. T on the show. So much so I've gone to that stalking element of being a radio producer and where I found his church in Chicago. And I've been corresponding with the pastor to try, because he does a lot of charitable work there, Mr. T.
01:59:00
Speaker 1: Nobody works harder than Leith Forrest when he's like a.
01:59:03
Speaker 3: Dog with a bone.
01:59:03
Speaker 1: I try to find any angle I can.
01:59:04
Speaker 17: But all I want to say, anyone who loves that era, first and foremost, next Tuesday on Netflix, you've got to watch the documentary because it looks unbelievable. Everything from where Mr. T's father was called boy during the whole Jim Crow racism era of America.
01:59:21
Speaker 6: Right.
01:59:21
Speaker 17: So what did Mr. T decide when he became famous? He said, no one's going to call me boy, hence his name is Mr. because the first thing that comes out of people's mouth is Mr.
01:59:31
Speaker 1: not boy.
01:59:31
Speaker 6: Yeah.
01:59:31
Speaker 17: Because that's what his father was called. So it's all that kind of stuff, the back story of.
01:59:35
Speaker 1: I didn't– you singled me out. You're saying my boys would love Mr. T and the A-Team.
01:59:38
Speaker 17: Well, I'm guessing– so what, 84? So you would have– 40 years ago, were you watching the A-Team?
01:59:43
Speaker 12: Maybe.
01:59:44
Speaker 1: It wasn't my first choice, but I didn't dislike it. I've watched many episodes. I love it when a plan comes together.
01:59:50
Speaker 3: Oh, thank you. Lovely, lovely reference.
01:59:53
Speaker 17: I have had to introduce and educate my 23-year-old producer, Madeline, on the A-team. So I said to her, can you understand why we loved it? Explosions, cars, guns, four men fighting crime.
02:00:05
Speaker 6: All of that.
02:00:06
Speaker 1: But nobody really got hurt, did they?
02:00:08
Speaker 8: Never.
02:00:08
Speaker 17: Although, isn't it interesting that B.A. Baracus never wanted to get on a plane? He was all, like, he was being a macho with the chains and the mohawk and everything.
02:00:16
Speaker 1: Who was the good-looking guy?
02:00:17
Speaker 17: So there was.
02:00:20
Speaker 1: Murdoch.
02:00:20
Speaker 3: There was Face.
02:00:21
Speaker 1: Face Man. That's right.
02:00:23
Speaker 17: Yeah, Dirk Benedict. And then there was George Pappard.
02:00:27
Speaker 1: He was the cigar smoker.
02:00:29
Speaker 17: He was the cigar smoker.
02:00:30
Speaker 1: Hannibal Vector.
02:00:31
Speaker 17: That's him.
02:00:32
Speaker 1: Not Hannibal Vector.
02:00:33
Speaker 3: Yeah, Hannibal.
02:00:34
Speaker 5: Hannibal.
02:00:34
Speaker 17: I mean, so great. Murdoch. So Murdoch was the one who was in and out of the asylum all the time. He was the one who pretended he was crazy. And then they got him out to fight crime. And then he had BF Arrakis. You're full bottled, aren't you?
02:00:47
Speaker 3: Bad attitude.
02:00:48
Speaker 9: I know.
02:00:49
Speaker 17: So we'll see.
02:00:49
Speaker 1: Well, I hope you get Mr. T. Oh, fingers crossed.
02:00:52
Speaker 17: So I've got four that I've been trying for the whole time I've been here that I've been unsuccessful. Alan Alda, because I want to talk. He's the last one of the living mash people I haven't got.
02:01:02
Speaker 2: Mr.
02:01:02
Speaker 1: Tan too. Dick Van Dyke, who's now 100. I'm not sure I'm going to get him. I saw him on an exercise thing. He's exercising at 100 years of age.
02:01:10
Speaker 17: Can't get past his wife. She doesn't want to speak anyway. And then the other one is who?
02:01:14
Speaker 1: I can't remember.
02:01:15
Speaker 17: But if I get Mr. T, I'll invite you both in.
02:01:18
Speaker 6: Oh, yeah.
02:01:18
Speaker 10: Sam included.
02:01:18
Speaker 1: More than happy. You won't be able to keep Sam out of the studio.
02:01:21
Speaker 17: Tuesday, next week, Netflix.
02:01:23
Speaker 12: Beautiful.
02:01:23
Speaker 2: Mr.
02:01:23
Speaker 1: T doco. See you after one. Good on you. Leaf Forest and the A-Team coming out after one this afternoon. As I said, there's no one like Leith for pursuing a story. If he gets onto something, he wants to speak with someone, he knows no bounds. Hardy, almost time to go. David, on the subject of the cement for the tunnels, he says, yes, but the raw cement is coming from overseas and the formwork to make the tunnel liners are being made at Burton. Thank you very much for that. Hi, Gigi. I hear the Minister criticising Liberals re-road maintenance during their short-term or time in power. Let's remember COVID in that time, and many things, including road maintenance, didn't happen as usual. Like mentioned, Labour in power for 22 of the last 26 years. We seem to be able to create various new racing tracks, roads, without any time restraints. That's it for today. Been a busy day. Thanks for taking part in the show. We'll be back tomorrow, and we'll do it again.