2GB Drive with Chris O'Keefe – Full show July 18 01:50:52

On Sydney's 2GB, this is Drive with Chris O'Keefe. Good afternoon, Sydney. I hope you're enjoying your Thursday and isn't it nice to wander around a beautiful, sun-drenched Sydney after an Origin win? Speaking of State of Origin, Michael Madge-McGuire will join me in half an hour and I

I don't need to talk to Madge. What am I going to say to Madge? I want you to talk to our Origin winning coach. 131873. Call in in about 20 minutes' time and thank Madge yourself. Tell him what Origin win means to you. We'll open the lines up for you now. Ned Manoon, the Mayor of Liverpool City Council, he'll join me because it looks like the New South Wales Government is going to sack Liverpool Council...

and stop you, the voters, from voting in council elections. Now, I've read the report that all of this has been based on and I'm telling you my read is that the punishment feels well and truly over the top.

And I'll tell you about the amazing Aussie snake venom breakthrough. It's quite remarkable. $1,000 if you could guess the Olympian too. I've got $200 of free fuel, Torval and Dean tickets, as well as a family pass to Featherdale Wildlife Park. Right now, 17 degrees at Killarney Heights and 18 at Woodcroft.

It's eight and a half past three, 131. 873 is our open line number. You can text me 0460873873 or if you prefer, jot down an email, drive at 2gb.com. Now, we've got a major development in the senior New South Wales police officer who allegedly fled the scene after he crashed a work car while drunk. Now, some of the details in this are just...

Extraordinary. Astonishing, to be honest. Now, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, it has declared that this police officer engaged in serious misconduct. Tiff Genders broke the original story on Nine News and she's on the line for us. Tiff, g'day. Good afternoon, Chris. Jeez, it sounds like this bloke had a skinful.

Yeah, supposedly 13 scoons of Forex gold and eight mixed spirit drinks before jumping behind the wheel, ignoring his booking at a CBD hotel that night, jumping behind the wheel of his police-issued vehicle, crashing into a barrier on the North Connect's off-ramp,

and then abandoning the vehicle in a street in Wurrunga and returning home. Today, it was found that that officer was involved in serious misconduct, firstly for deliberately leaving the scene of a car crash,

that he caused to avoid being breath-tested, and secondly, for being deliberately dishonest in his answers on an insurance claim, which was filled out months after the crash when he knew he was under criminal investigation, and that insurance claim failed at convention. Any alcohol had been consumed that night. Now, the LECC, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission...

It has declared that this officer engaged in serious misconduct. If it was any one of us, if it was any normal member of the public, this person would be named for everybody to see and talk about. So why can't we name the police officer?

So when we first broke this story back in November, what followed was a really intense legal battle with the New South Wales Police Force. The police commissioner, Karen Webb, applied and was successful in a suppression order protecting his identity for 40 years.

And the thing is, Chris, that we don't even know why his identity has been suppressed. Even that was kept secret and our own lawyers were locked out of that court battle. But interestingly, the report also says that this officer, due to his prestigious role within the force's leadership team, was given special treatment and that officers, one in particular, was...

blinded by their loyalty to him when it came to making a decision about any kind of punishment. It fell short of recommending any punishment against other officers and also that extra charges be laid. This case is still before the court. The senior detective is facing a charge of high-range drink driving.

Is he still a police officer? Is he still being paid by the New South Wales Police? Look, I've asked that question and I haven't got an answer, but the police commissioner is going to respond to this scathing report at 4 o'clock this afternoon. So that'll be one of the things that we are seeking to find out. Brilliant journalism. Thank you, Tiff. Thanks, Chris. That's Tiffany Genders from Nine News. It doesn't make any sense to me, unless this guy works in the terrorism squad or something.

You know, you wonder, don't you? If you've got the police... If someone was driving high-range drink driving, crashing into, allegedly, the North Connect's off-ramp barrier after having that much alcohol, being pinched by police, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission finding that that person has engaged in serious misconduct, well, you and I...

Your name would be on the news, your face would be on the news, you'd be talking about it, your friends and family would be talking about it. You'd feel terrible. But for whatever reason, the New South Wales Police Force and the Commissioner are trying to look after this officer. Now, I don't know all the details as to why they are trying to look after them, but I'll tell you what, you'd need a bloody good justification for it. 131873. Now, the unemployment rate has lifted to 4.1%.

From 4% in May, and this is even as the economy added a bumper, 50,000 jobs in May. Full-time employments climbed by 43,000, while the economy also added 6,800 part-time jobs. These are all figures in the ABS, the Australian Bureau of Statistics data dump that they've just done.

Now, it looks like underemployment down, so there's people working more hours and more people in full-time employment, yet unemployment has lifted. The reason for that? More people in Australia.

So more people, we're adding jobs, but there's more people in Australia coming to Australia, which means that some people have got to miss out, right? So it was 3.5% the unemployment rate in mid-2023 last year, and now it's sitting at 4.1% in June. I don't know if that's probably enough for the RBA to take notice, but...

Well, certainly gives them a little bit more food for thought in terms of an interest rate cut, I'm sure. 131873. Well, Blacktown Council will officially be renamed Bluestown after our Origin Triumph. So Blacktown City will be renamed Bluestown for 24 hours and people are encouraged to wear blue this Monday as the city celebrates its major role in the State of Origin Triumph. Don't forget.

Steven Crichton, Spencer Leenu, Jerome Luai, Brian Toto. They're all Mount Druitt boys. They went to Patrician Brothers at Blacktown and Rudy Hill High School. And Blacktown City, well, they're very proud of their Mount Druitt boys. Crichton, Leenu, Luai and Toto. And didn't they play well last night? So Blacktown City will be renamed Blues Town for 24 hours on Monday. Live from Blunkle.

Okay. Well, I think we've officially lost something as humanity. And I think we've lost an agreed set of facts. An agreed set of ground rules on what's true and what's not. You know, a reality we can all share as human beings. Because I walked into the gym this week and people in the gym, normal people, normal jobs, families and all the rest of it,

are talking about how Trump's assassination was all a set up. I'm sure you've heard this. I'm sure you've experienced this too. And you might think to yourself, well, this is not some marginal view of things either because it feels like every second person has got a different take on what actually happened at Trump's attempted assassination. None of which are the official version of events. Nobody is buying what's

What we are being told on the television or by the governments. Now, usually we would. Days past, we would. But I've always thought, you know, these people are on the margins. They're a bit mad when they express conspiracy theories like this. But I think this one's different. These are some of the takes I've heard. I've heard that the Trump camp themselves paid the shooter to fire and miss to ensure he wins the election.

Another take was that the gunshots were fake and Trump released fake blood on himself. Another was the Secret Service purposely allowed Trump to be shot at and enabled the whole thing because they wanted him dead. And the Biden administration and the deep state were responsible in trying to take Trump out. Or simply, I heard this one too the other day, the whole thing is artificial intelligence and just didn't happen.

Now, once upon a time, I would just dismiss this stuff. I'd dismiss it out of hand as pie in the sky and crazy and the people who promote it as crazy. Now, let me be clear. I don't believe it. But I am now sympathetic to the people who do. And I'll tell you why. We only have ourselves to blame that these conspiracy theories are running wild like this. And by we, I mean the media.

And by we, I mean our politicians, our churches, our courts, our police, our armed forces. By we, I mean our society. Because here's a question for you. Is anyone telling the truth anymore? It wasn't that long ago that I myself was calling people who believed in crazy conspiracy theories a tin foil hat brigade and get back under your rock and all that sort of stuff. I regret saying all that. I should never, ever, ever have said it.

Because the BS that we've been served up in recent years is quite remarkable. The COVID vaccine, that was supposed to stop the spread, remember? That was the whole point of the government rolling it out to the entire population. It doesn't stop the spread. It stops some people getting critically ill. But I think we can all safely say, with hindsight, the entire population did not need the vaccine.

It certainly wasn't as effective as some of the experts said. And for some people, it wasn't even that safe. That is just fact. And as a result of that fact, we should never have stopped people from going to work or following certain pursuits if they are unvaccinated. Given the vaccine just didn't stop people passing it to each other, that was a clear mistake.

Keeping school kids home for months on end. For what? Missing major life milestones. Cancelling funerals. The deaths of loved ones. Again, for what? And this is the point I'm trying to make because we had a compliant population. We were all listening in good faith to the government. And I know it's easy in hindsight.

But you can forgive people today in 2024, with all of this as the background, for thinking the government, us here in the media and every other institution is absolutely full of it. It's not just COVID either. What about when Trump colluded with Russia? That was false. Obama was a Muslim. That was false. Hunter Biden's laptop was disinformation. False. And I'm sorry, but my profession, journalism, has propagated this stuff.

And it even comes down to the very basic lies we are told every day. Like renewables equal cheaper power bills. And Victorians are scared to go out to restaurants because of African gang violence when 1% of criminals are African. It all adds to people thinking to themselves, why on earth would I believe what I'm being told about Trump's attempted assassination? Why? You can't possibly blame people for not believing what they're told by traditional means anymore.

let alone politicians and media outlets. Now, this is the consequence of decades of untruths and dissembling of facts. And I think the pandemic was the crescendo. And it's not just people on the margins or your crazy uncle. It's everyday normal people who just do not believe what they are being told. Now, I try my best every single day to tell you factual information.

But if you are wondering why your friends and family are seemingly now conspiracy theorists, well, the fire hydrant of BS we've been fed is why. 20 past three. It's coming up to 25 past three. Now, Hawkesbury Mayor Sarah McMahon has had an apprehended violence order taken out against her by her ex-partner Matthew Bennett, this story in the Daily Telly, after she was found at his property following reports of a break-in. Now, this is...

the police's allegations anyway so Sarah McMahon she is the mayor of Hawkesbury she tried to win for the Liberals the federal seat of Macquarie a couple of times she was recently the vice president of the New South Wales Liberal Party and she was discovered at a Richmond property at 9 30 p.m on July 14 by police officers responding to reports of a break and enter

According to a police statement, officers from Hawkesbury Police Command spoke to Miss McMahon before serving her with an interim apprehended domestic violence order and the police named Matthew Bennett, her ex-partner, as the protected person. She's not been charged with anything.

And it's not suggested that she broke into the property either. Now, McMahon has since served a cross-claim AVO against Mr Bennett, and that names her as the person in need of protection and him as the defendant. He's not facing any criminal charges either. They've been mentioned in Windsor Local Court. That's how this has all come out. And a lawyer for Sarah McMahon, the mayor, indicated that

She will fight the final making of a final order. So that all seems a bit messy and to be quite honest, probably not our business. 1-3, 1-8-7-3. Here's an interesting one. So if you're a rugby union fan and you follow the Wallabies, they've been good. So Joe Schmidt has rolled the dice and made 17 changes to the Wallabies to take on Georgia. So he's clearly just trying to get a feel of...

a couple of new combinations, a couple of new Wallabies to play in that side. But here's a weird one, right? So Joe Schmidt has picked, to play for the Australian Wallabies, a former New Zealand All Black. So isn't it weird? So on the bench is Alex Hodgman, who is a former All Black prop, and he's been named for a likely debut in which he'd become just the fourth person in history to play tests for both New Zealand...

and Australia. So Hodgman played four tests for the All Blacks in 2020, then he switched to the Queensland Reds, and via his Fijian Australian father and a three-year stand-down from Test Rugby, Hodgman became eligible for the Wallabies. So he will wear the gold, even though he once wore the black of New Zealand.

I would have thought if you play one test for the New Zealand All Blacks or one test for the Wallabies, that's it for life. You are then either a Wallaby or an All Black anyway. Hope he's a good player, Alex Hodgman, because the Wallabies, we certainly need them.

All right, here's the clue for your $1,000 in Guess the Olympian this afternoon. First clue. He has competed in six Olympic Games and was Australia's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

He has competed in six Olympic Games and was our flag bearer at the opening ceremony of Beijing's 2008 Olympic Games. First clue, there's another one coming up after four o'clock and the cue to call, that's coming after the five o'clock news. 131873. Tony's called in from the Central Coast. Hello, Tony. Hello. Tony, you with me? What do you want to say?

Yeah, it's a good point, Tony. It definitely happened. But have you noticed yourself that people are just unwilling to believe what they're being told? It did. Good on you, Tony. I appreciate your time and have a good trip home. 131873. Let's check the news headlines.

In the newsroom, Josh Bryant. G'day. Good afternoon, Chris. The police watchdog has made two serious misconduct findings against a senior police officer accused of crashing a car in the North Connex tunnel but found no evidence of interference with the police investigation into the incident. Liverpool Council says it will review the interim report which the local government minister has cited in announcing a public inquiry into reports of widespread dysfunction at the council. A body found in the water near Newcastle is believed to be that of a man named

missing since a boat capsized in Swansea almost two weeks ago. And a Brisbane woman has described the heartbreak after her and her son were turned away from the state of origin decider when Hackett's had accessed her Ticketek account and resold their tickets without her knowledge. In sport, the Giants will shortly front the AFL Appeals Board trying to overturn Toby Bedford's three-game ban for rough conduct. The suspension was upheld by the AFL Tribunal earlier this week. We'll have more news in sport at four.

Thanks, Josh. Okay, over to you now. 131873. I need you to call in because Michael Madge-McGuire is on the line after this.

And I don't need to talk to Madge. I need you to talk to Madge. Tell him, the coach of the New South Wales Blues, how much you have enjoyed watching our guys win the State of Origin for the first time in a few years. And tell him what being a New South Wales Blues supporter means to you. Come on. Ring in. 131873. We're going to thank Madge.

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Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Consider the fund's PDS and whether the product is right for you. It's 26-4 and isn't it a nice day to be a New South Welshman? Gee whiz. We've almost become conditioned over the last decade and a bit to expect disappointment, but you know what? Didn't come our way last night. What an unbelievable contest of rugby league that we witnessed and the pride that our fellas showed.

to bring the Shield back in the most trying of circumstances. I think we can all say here in the beautiful city of Sydney and the entire state of New South Wales how proud we are to call the Blues our team. Well, Michael Maguire, he's the genius behind bringing the boys together and bringing the Shield home. And I'm pleased to say Madge is on the line. Madge, g'day. Hi, Chris. How are you? Well, you're a pretty guarded guy. Should you give yourself a little bit of a chance to reflect on just what you've achieved?

Oh, look, it was an incredible experience, I've got to say. To be able to experience over the last couple of months time with the boys, getting to know each other and connecting and then trying to get out to the people of New South Wales to get behind us, you know, it was all very special last night. To finish the night, I think it was around about 2 o'clock in the morning with all the families and the boys all together at the top of the hotel, you know,

And yeah, it was a really special moment for everyone. 2am's early, Matt. Oh, I think a few might have kicked on a little bit later than that. I might have been a part of that, but we can't do way too much. Fair enough, mate. You were more than welcome to. I know that a lot of coaches in the past, and we hear it, we've got to connect with New South Wales. It's the people's team. Now, saying that and doing that are two different things. I think you've achieved that. What was the special ingredient?

Yeah, I think we still had a way to go and it was nice to sort of feel the state get behind us and obviously that comes off the back of the wins that you gained along the way. But I felt that the playing group, they really got behind the concept of what it means and what Origin means for New South Wales. We talked about, I guess, back in 1985 when the passion was brought to the table

to the Blues jersey through Steve Mortimer and the playing group that had that first win. And I think it just really resonated with us

the players and then the old boys jumped on and then you know we had various things to do with the community that we had you know young kids come to the home of the Blues I call it the centre of excellence third home bush where we sort of brought in 10 to 15 kids of all the players where they started you know as a young kid and so I guess all that sort of resonated and into you know a swell of passion from the players that that means a lot to a lot of people and

I'd like to think that that got out there into the community and people started to realise that these boys do really enjoy playing for their people. Hey Madge, stay on the line. I've got a list as long as my arm of people that want to thank you. Mark's at Penrith. Mark, what do you want to say to Michael?

Oh, Madge, mate, I met you with my wife, Lauren, when you were coaching the Mighty Bunnies, mate. We were proud of what you were able to achieve for our great club. And now, mate, we're even prouder of what you've been able to achieve as New South Wales coach, mate. So just keep doing what you're doing, mate. You're an absolute legend and we love you, pal. Good man. There you go, Madge. That's not bad, is it? I appreciate that, mate.

Who knows? It's interesting because you took them out of Coogee this year, didn't you? And you took them to the Fairmont in the Blue Mountains and you've got that unbelievable nucleus that's all Penrith players, all from Western Sydney. Was that deliberate to sort of take them a bit closer to home? Yeah.

Not really, Chris. I actually looked right around New South Wales to try and find somewhere where I could actually have everything in one sort of place. And I went up to the Fairmont and, you know, I went to Kingscliff and Foster and had a look around there. And then a good mate of mine, Scotty Boyce, pointed me in the direction to the Fairmont. And I went up there and I sort of, it has everything. It's got all the resort style things that you need to,

to make sure your body's ready to go if you needed a drain. But unfortunately, they didn't have a fuel and they didn't have a high-performance gym. So Scotty introduced me to the owner, Jerry. And Jerry kindly said, well, what's it going to take to bring the team up? And I said, well, I need a fuel. And

So next thing, all of a sudden he invested heavily into building a field for us, which was unbelievable. And then I said, well, I've got another problem. I need a gym. And he invested heavily into that as well. So it just goes to show there's so many people that get behind the team, you know, and the,

the hotel was incredible how they looked after the team, you know, and the boys really appreciated that and went both ways. And I think that played a big part in, you know, obviously the success that the team's had. It clearly did. Phil's at Winston Hills. Phil, what do you want to say to Madge? Hi Madge. Uh,

Congratulations. I mean, I've watched... I'm 70 years old and I've watched the Blues go through good times and bad times. And I reckon that this series, you're part of the team and 100% the boys played for you. And you taught them respect. You taught them to wear the blue jersey with pride. And, mate, I can't say enough. You're going to be called Madge the Magician. LAUGHTER

I'll get a hand ready tomorrow. I feel it. Ha ha ha!

Good on you, Phil. Good on you, Phil. Madge is liking it. Hey, Noah is at Campbelltown. We'll do this final one. Hello, Noah. Hey, Madge. I just want to say thank you so much for uniting all the boys together. It was a great series. I was watching it with my nan, pop, aunties, uncles, cousins. We were all just yelling at TV, enjoying every single moment. So thank you. Yeah, good on you, Noah. I really appreciate that, mate. That's what it's all about, isn't it, Madge?

Yeah, well, I mean, look what it does to people. I think, you know, we've all watched it. I've watched it over time and watched the boys succeed and go through tough periods. But it means a lot to people. And, you know, you're definitely, especially sitting in the coaching role now, wherever you go, I mean, people are just...

thrive off the Blues being successful. It's really nice to be able to see that. We turn up at the airport and everyone's going crazy at the airport for the boys. It's good. It's nice to be a part of something like that. Who said New South Wales don't get origin, eh?

Yeah, it's a myth. I've got to say, what I've been able to experience is that it's well and truly alive here in New South Wales and we've just got to keep building. We've got to keep getting better now and taking it forward. Eight in a row, Madge. Keep going. I really appreciate it. Well done. A hell of an achievement. You should be very proud. Thanks a lot, mate. That's Michael Madge-McGuire. Thanks to Madge too for...

being so generous with his time to us here at 2GB over the course of the Origin series. We love our footy and Madge has been very generous with giving us insights on selections and all the rest of it. So well done to the New South Wales Blues. Wasn't it just brilliant to see us bring back the Origin shield? A bit different in my household last night. Vonnie wasn't too happy, but I was for once.

celebrating an outstanding victory, truly outstanding victory. It's 19 to 4. It's a quarter to 4. Now, ACTU staff, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, have been told to work from home. This is the Australian Council of Trade Union staff as a precaution over the fallout from revelations that the CFMEU has been infiltrated by organised crime.

Now, the construction union, well, the ACTU has banished the CFMEU. It's been suspended by the Labor Party in four states. And there is some concern within the ACTU that there may be some backlash from CFMEU organisers. So this is what the ACTU told the newspaper, quote, in an abundance of caution. As a health and safety measure, we yesterday advised staff to work from home.

And Paul Erickson, who's the National Secretary of the Australian Labor Party, said that the party would consider extending the suspension to other state branches of the construction division should they be placed into administration. So I think working from home is probably a little bit of a knee-jerk reaction, but you just should give your staff the option to work from home.

If they feel like they are unsafe. But nothing's happened yet. So I think you just probably have to bide your time there a little and not overreact. Anyway, that's what they've done. They've made that decision based on information they've got. 131873. Now, the mayor of Paris, the city of Paris, she's made good on her promise to swim in the Seine.

So nine days before the start, a pistol is fired on the Paris Olympic Games. She's jumped in, Paris' mayor, Anne Hidalgo, and she's jumped in the Seine to show that the river is clean enough to host scheduled outdoor swimming events.

So she's in this big black wetsuit. She's got her goggles on. And she made a promise all the way back in January that I'll swim in the river to prove to you that the billions of dollars that we've spent, I think it was $2.3 billion that we've spent on cleaning up the Seine is worthwhile because it's now ready to use for outdoor swimming. So she jumped in. She's a socialist too. The socialist mayor.

A polarising figure in French politics. I think she's sort of like the socialist version of Clover Moore by the sounds of things. She jumped in though. She jumped in. She didn't dive. She jumped. And she said the swim was amazing. The water was great. It was a bit cold. But she said the Seine is exquisite. And after the games we will have a swimming pool in the river for all people. For the Parisian people and for the tourists also.

Now, I think the athletes and the swimmers themselves, if they do want to swim in the Seine, they can make that decision to do it or not to do it. Because there are some pretty high levels still of bacteria, including bacteria that indicates the presence of fecal matter. And that's sometimes 10 times the higher than authorized limits. So whether or not people want to compete in the triathlon or the marathon swims or whatever it may be, swimming through the

Fecal matter, as nice as the saying is, in the middle of Paris, that's up to the athletes, I suppose, at this point, because the game's organisers say the events themselves will go ahead. 131873. If it's happening in Sydney, you'll hear it on Drive on 2GB. Now, Colin's called in from Toon Gabby. He wants to talk about the New South Wales State of Origin win. Colin, g'day. G'day, Chris. How are you? I'm good, thank you. You've got a story for us.

Yeah, on Tuesday night at soccer training, I coached an under-11 boys team. I said to them at the end of training, boys, three big Kit Kats on Thursday night's training after New South Wales win. I just had a feeling they'd win. And after the training, I went to Woolies and bought 24 Kit Kats, big ones. That's optimistic. Yeah.

Yeah, and anyway, yes, I well escaped to the party. It wasn't looking good at half time, but so from one coach to another, I'm not in Michael Maguire's league, but thank you very much, Michael. Good on you, Colin. And the kids will be happy tonight. Won't they? They'll be eating the big Kit Kats. Just, you're in tune, Gabby, so you won't have to worry about the, you know, gluten-free Kit Kats or anything, will you? I know, and lucky for me, we'll go set them on half-price specials. LAUGHTER

Good on you, Colin. Enjoy your afternoon. I really appreciate your call. 131873. That's a great story. See? It brings us together, doesn't it? 131873. Well, speaking of state of origin, 2,000 footy fans found themselves locked out of the Origin Decider in Brisbane last night because they purchased tickets through unauthorised sellers. So the general manager of Suncorp told...

ABC Radio in Brisbane that scalp tickets were not generally permitted entry. And John Gommersall, I don't know, is he related to Barry Gommersall? The grasshopper? I don't know. John Gommersall. And he was one of those who were stuck outside. He purchased his Origin Game 3 ticket online from a mob called the Ticket Merchant. And he bought them two months ago. Yet the Ticket Merchant and Viagogo, these resale sites, are

Often these tickets are cancelled without notice. And that's what's occurred to as many as 2,000 Origin fans trying to get into Suncorp Stadium last night. So if you bought your tickets through scalpers, you would have been very unhappy. 131873. Joe Biden has tested positive to COVID-19. So the President of the United States has tested positive to COVID-19.

After earlier admitting that he would consider leaving the presidential race if a doctor told him he had a medical condition. So there's a new poll out that shows 65% of Democrat voters do not want him to run. Well, if you can't convince 65% of your own crowd, how are you going to convince the entire population of the United States of America, or at least the voting population?

Now, Mr Biden, he was forced to cancel a speech in Las Vegas because of the positive COVID result. Cameron Stewart's got this story in The Australian. And he is now going to be going back home and I think self-isolating or doing whatever he's doing and recovering from the virus. But it was interesting. So he was questioned in a new interview, the president, about whether he would re-evaluate staying on in the presidential race again.

If doctors told him directly that he shouldn't run. And he said that if I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if doctors came to me and said, you got this problem and that problem, I would consider re-evaluating running for re-election. And he said that no doctors have told him this at all.

And his doctor, Kevin O'Connor, the White House physician, wrote in February that Mr. Biden is a, quote, healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency. And it'll be interesting to see whether or not there is something that tips him over the edge, probably that poll result, nothing to do with Biden.

His medical status, Joe Biden, or his COVID or anything like that, 65% of Democrat voters want him to withdraw. That's probably enough for him to withdraw, right?

Live on 2GB. Have your say. 131 873. Optus is offering 20,000 free phones to vulnerable customers affected by the 3G shutdown. So Telstra have been doing it and Optus, they're coming to the party too. 20,000 free mobile phones will be handed out by Optus to vulnerable customers so they can stay connected. Well done to Optus. Well done to Telstra for doing this. Because the 3G network is a bit of a hidden issue.

Many, many Australians, hundreds of thousands of Australians will be impacted, but some don't know that their mobile phone will not work when the 3G network shuts down.

So Optus, it shuts off its 3G network in September. Telstra does it on August 31. And while most modern phones, of course, use 4G and 5G, there are some that only use 3G. So Optus is going to send 20,000 customers who are on the 3G network and may need a little bit of help in this area a free phone. Well done.

So you don't have to do anything either. So Optus themselves and so will Telstra, they're both doing the same thing. They will contact eligible customers direct. So if you have a phone that you think is only 3G, you're with Optus or you're with Telstra and you think you fit the bill for this, don't bother calling them because they will call you, both Optus and Telstra. I think it's sort of...

Close to 40,000 handsets being given away for free. The Telcos doing a good thing in my view. 6-4. Well, the toll from that State of Origin game last night is significant. Dylan Edwards is looking at up to four weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury. He won't play for the Panthers this week.

Oluwatu, Manly's Oluwatu. He wasn't even playing. He got involved in that melee in his suit. He's looking at two weeks on the sideline. Captain Murray, sorry, Cameron Murray, South Sydney Captain Cameron Murray. He's out for two weeks too with an early guilty plea for his role in the melee. And then we've got Pat Carrigan. He won't play for the Broncos against the Knights. Rhys Walsh, unlikely to play. Selwyn Cobbo will back up and Pankowicz,

And Payne Haas will back up for the Broncos too. Mitch Moses is out for the season. He has ruptured his bicep. And Isaiah Yeo will be rested for the Panthers too. And Caelan Ponga, he says he's definitely playing for the Knights. And so too Bradman Best and Dane Gagai for the Knights. So...

Lots and lots of... You can't blame them, can you? 131873. Coming up after the four o'clock news, Ned Manoon, the Liverpool mayor, will join me because the government looks like it will sack Liverpool Council.

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Now back to Drive with Chris O'Keefe on Sydney's 2GB. It's seven minutes past four. Thank you for your company on this Thursday afternoon. 131873 is the open line number. You can email me drive at 2GB.com or the text line 0460873873. Now, if you live in the Liverpool area, in the Liverpool Council area, you'll need to listen up because...

It looks like the New South Wales government, the Minsk government, is about to sack your council and not give you the right to vote in upcoming council elections. There's a whole range of allegations that form the basis of this. We'll get into that in a second. Ned Manoon, the Liverpool mayor, is on, and so too local government minister Ron Honig. And then later in the program, I'm going to speak to the lead researcher at the University of Sydney who's looking into cobra venom.

And there may be a new antidote, and it's an Aussie invention, an Aussie discovery. Fascinating stuff. The Inside Word on everything Sydney. It's Drive with Chris O'Keefe on 2GB. Alright, I'm going to dedicate a little bit of time to this because I think it warrants it. Now, Liverpool Council is on the cusp of being sacked, and its election will be suspended by the sounds of things.

So all the elected, the mayor and the councillors will be sacked. It will be placed into administration and the election is supposed to be held in September to elect your council for another term. If you live in the Liverpool Council area, you won't be voting by the sounds of things. Now this is in relation to allegations of widespread dysfunction and allegations of potential maladministration and or corruption, which

nepotism, whole bunch of stuff. Now, it sounds bad, right? And on first blush, these allegations may sound terrible, but I went away and I read the entire report by the investigators at the Office of Local Government, and I'll be completely honest here, it's very thin. Now, I don't think this is anywhere near as bad as it is being made out to be.

One example in this report by the Office of Local Government, these investigators, blokes I've never heard of, mind you, they say that one of the complaints was that a number of female staff members said that they were being overlooked for promotions in favour of blokes. Does that warrant the suspension of an entire council? Now, what I think is curious here is a Labor government is looking at sacking a Liberal council and removing a Liberal mayor in Ned Mnoon.

before any inquiry takes place, before they can defend themselves, the councillors and the mayor, and before the New South Wales government gets to the bottom of what is being alleged. And what I find really curious, and probably a bit concerning to be honest, is that Ron Honig, the local government minister in the Minns government, is taking away the rights of ratepayers and voters of Liverpool...

to elect its own local representatives. Now, I'm not saying this thing could be as bad as you could imagine, except I read the report, and if that's it, well, I don't know.

Ned Manoon, he's the Mayor of Liverpool City Council. He's on the line for us. Mayor, thanks for your time. Thank you, Chris. Now, I'll read you some of the questions, some of the allegations from this report. A frequent and repetitive pattern of employment of staff in various council directorates that have external links with senior council staff based on political affiliations. Do you know anything about that?

I don't know what they're going on about, but last I checked is that if you're qualified for the role, then you should get the job regardless of what your political affiliations are. We don't discriminate against people. And can I say those decisions were done by the CEO. Counselors do not have a role in hiring or firing staff except the CEO. The CEO is the one who hires people through his delegations. He hires the managers. He hires the staff. And that's how it works.

And the CEO in this instance is the former president of the upper house and senior member of the Liberal Party, John O'Jarka, correct? Correct. And you know, this goes back, when you look at it, some of this stuff goes back to even before my time on council. You know, I've got directors here who are being pointed out for doing stuff and they had no right of reply, but this stuff happens. You know, one of them was about hiring a family member and that was like three years ago and they're bringing it up now. It's extremely one-sided with a lot of unfounded allegations.

Okay, well, what about some of these allegations? Let's go through them. So the council failed to comply with its own internal recruitment and selection policies. What does that mean?

Well, I think what they're saying is people were hired for jobs and, you know, they didn't go through all the particular paperwork. Now, look, that could have happened. But for myself and the councillors, we don't have any oversight of that. The minister has not given councillors or the mayor any power to look at those day-to-day operational things. And that's why for him to go out there and say, oh, we're going to sack the councillors and the mayor, well, on what basis? What did we do? If he wants to change something, then give councillors and the mayor the power to do stuff about it. He used to be a mayor.

Sure. What about the payouts? The payouts to staff under deeds of release totaling over $700,000 since April 2021. Those are termination payouts, the best part of three quarters of a million dollars terminations that you sanctioned.

Well, no, firstly, no, I have zero involvement, nor were we ever notified about payouts going to council staff, former council staff. It's purely a decision made by the CEO. It has nothing to do with councillors. This now, if they're worried about $700,000, this delay to the election is going to cost us at least $700,000 because we've already engaged the people to do the election. So there's going to be challenges with that. Plus, this inquiry is going to cost money. We welcome the inquiry.

I've got no issue with the inquiry because it's an opportunity for us to get the truth out there. But yeah, and I've got to put that in perspective. We should never be wasting ratepayers' money, and that's why we've turned the budget around from when I got elected. We had an $11 million deficit.

it. We just passed a budget the other day, $2 million surplus. And that's what councillors do. That's our role. We have $100 million a year wage budget. So there's a lot of big numbers in here. But once again, that $700 grand, Chris, councillors don't know about it. It's never been reported to us. What about the nepotism? Significant number of positions have been employed based on factors other than merit, including family members, close associates and politically affiliated persons, including Shane Mallard, a former Liberal member in the Upper House.

So, look, I'll need a little bit of time if I can be as quick as I can, Chris. So I've spoken to some of the staff that I mentioned in this report. Firstly, they're distraught because never once were they interviewed. Never once were they had an opportunity to clarify any of the things that were raised, the allegations raised against them. Just speaking to one today, there was a person whose wife was hired to work in child care.

And he works in a completely different part of the organization, had no involvement in it, went through a proper recruitment process, but the investigators did no due diligence and have made an allegation that he had something to do with it. It's ridiculous. We have a manager who was out here, and she's accusing this report of hiring someone who was hired before she even started working at council. Like, it is just pure, pure wrong. Hmm.

Do you know the investigators? Did you sit down and have a discussion with the investigators, Brad Wade and Roger North and Martin Bass? Yes, I was given an opportunity. It was optional. And I said, no, 100%, I would like to speak to the investigators. And we had a good, I reckon we spoke for a good couple of hours. And did you feel like all of these allegations put to you during that process? No, none of this was.

None of this stuff about a staff member doing something because the investigators know that councillors have no role in this. And just to point out, and I thank you for reading the whole report, Chris, nothing in that report says that the election should be suspended or council should be suspended. It doesn't talk about that sort of stuff. So...

Yeah, by doing this, it's showing that it's purely political. I'll speak to the minister in a second, Ron Honig, to get to the bottom of that. But let's just go through the allegations. So you had a pretty nasty falling out with the CEO, John O'Jarka, and you used your casting vote to terminate his almost $400,000 role before the final report of investigation was received. This report says that that was a conflict of interest, given you were having a blue with him.

Yeah, firstly, he was on $550,000, so I should clarify that. And we did not pay him out anything. His contract was... Yeah, forget that. You terminated the contract with your casting vote while you were having your blue with him, and the Office of Local Government says that was a conflict of interest. Yeah.

Yeah, look, the reason why we did that, there were numerous things that happened, not just particularly, that was one element that happened. And the reasons that were brought to council were much more than that. And I believe that we dealt with them. Ultimately, when you look at it, there is a big issue between the United Services Union and the Labor Party. Yeah, but forget all that. Using your casting vote was a conflict of interest, given you were having a fight with the CEO, the bloke you were sacking.

Look, that sounds like it's purely from the Labor Council saying that, because that's what they said on the office. No, that's the office of local government who said that.

Yeah, and I'm happy. If they don't think I should use my casting vote, then so be it. Then remove those powers. We acted legally. We acted appropriately. And I think the standard that we set from the top is very important. What about the allegations that you intervened in compliance actions that were initiated by Liverpool Council against the owners of two properties on which illegal earthworks has commenced? Why did you intervene?

Well, firstly, I don't know what they're talking about because no one has ever raised that with me. If people think I've ever overstepped the mark, then by all means, please report it through appropriate channels. I have no issue with that whatsoever. But we're constantly intervening with people with numerous different issues. And when we say intervene, we're asking the questions. We're trying to avoid going to court. We're trying to save ratepayers money. We're trying to make sure that things get done properly. So I can't comment about the specifics because no one has ever raised that with me. I will say, in your defence,

these investigators, it is laughable to say you intervened. I don't know what the illegal earthworks thing is, but they're trying to say that somehow this is corruption because those people then made positive comments about you as mayor on social media. Talk about a long bow. Now let's go to the next thing. Did you ask Liverpool Council staff about the status of certain development applications because those staff have complained to investigators? No.

I probably do that at least three to four times a week. My role under the Act is to facilitate communication between the community and council. It's in legislation. So we do that all the time. I was on Ben Fordham, if you want to go back to, I think it was last year.

and there were DAs that were being held up with council, and we had people calling my office when I first got elected crying because they're just trying to build a house, and it's taking council staff so long. We've gone from 1,100 DAs down to 250 DAs at the moment, and we've done that by

us as councillors, giving the CEO more resources. And we do that all the time. And there's not a mayor or councillor who does that. That's constituents coming to you saying, hey, what's happening with my DA? Can you see if you can ask? And you as the elected mayor going to council staff saying, hey, what's happening with so-and-so's DA? Is this what this is about? Correct. And I'm talking whether I'm at Woolies on a Sunday night doing my shopping, I get asked about it.

it, no matter where I am, this is what happens. Because that's what they, what do you expect your elected officials to do? Represent you. And that's what we do. Mayor, I appreciate you coming on. As I said, this feels like overkill, but thanks so much for your time.

Good on you. Thank you, Chris. That's Ned Murnoon, the mayor of Liverpool. And there might be more to come of this. There's a public inquiry that's been called and all the rest of it. But I want to get to the bottom of why the voters of Liverpool, the people, the ratepayers in Liverpool, will not be given an opportunity likely to vote at the upcoming council elections. The local government minister, Ron Honig, he's on the line and he'll join me after this. It's 23 past four. Liverpool Council on the cusp of being sacked.

and its election being suspended. Ron Honig, he's the New South Wales local government minister, and he's on the line for us. Minister, thanks for your time. My pleasure, Chris. Now, with the greatest of respect, I've gone through this report, and it does feel thin to me. I don't think so. I'm glad you've gone through the report, because you also know that...

I've received a report with the investigators of the belief that the matters that they've identified require my urgent consideration. And they say the number and seriousness of the matters that they've found require a public inquiry. It's the only decision I've got to make, really. Yeah, sure, public inquiry, but the sacking of council or the suspending of the democratic right of the people of Liverpool? No.

Yeah, well, I don't favour that. I mean, I could have suspended them immediately. I'd have power to do so. But I'm conscious of the fact that the mayor and councillors are democratically elected. And I wanted to make sure that I gave them every opportunity to be heard as to why it's not in the public interest for them to be suspended during the course of the inquiry. So why threaten them with it then?

Because I'm not sure that they can remain in office whilst the course of the public inquiry. I don't think that you're really going to have a fair election during that process, but I'll wait to hear to see what they have to say. It feels to me like you've made your mind up.

No, well, I've given an intention. That's what I intend to do. But if I've made my mind up, I could have made that decision today when I called the public inquiry. I'm very conscious of the fact that they're democratically elected and that they should be heard on this question. But it's going to take, say, six weeks to set up an inquiry. And all this evidence is going to be occurring, what, in the middle of an election campaign when they're going to be allegations made against various mayors and councillors during an election. ICAC do it all the time.

You don't sack a state government. Well, they might do it, but I've got to ensure that the election process and these unresolved matters are resolved by public inquiry, I think, in all fairness. I mean, why should, for example, a councillor have a cloud over their head going into an election? And why should potential candidates use...

unproven allegations in a public inquiry in a local council election. But those are matters that I'm considering at the moment when I determine what's in the public interest. The other thing too, Chris, is there's some records gone missing in relation to various things and I've got to make sure I preserve the records. There's witnesses given public interest disclosures. I did read that.

But it looks to... There's no examples of what is actually... It says it's verbal evidence and there's no examples of actually what has gone missing.

No, they haven't identified that in the report. I understand, though, that they were concerned in the interim report, which I intended to make public, that they were concerned about disclosing the name of potential people that may well have been involved in providing information. And I understand why those people might need to be protected at this point in time. Oh, that's fine, Minister. But that's... And, you know, hold the public inquiry. Hold 1,000 of them if you want. But sacking a council...

stopping everybody and stopping everybody who lives in the city of liverpool from having the democratic right to vote who their representatives are well well i mean at worst it's going to be delayed it's not going to be it's not going to be permanent let's see what happens in the in the commission of inquiry and let's see what the council put to us i mean chris you've read the report um you know you start looking at the matters of concern from page 13 onwards

I mean, it is a bit hair-curling, even when you look at those reports. Hair-curling? A number of female staff members interviewed said selection decisions were made on the basis of gender and male colleagues were preferred for more senior roles.

That's not hair curling. Yeah, well, what about the frequent repetitive patterns of direct appointment of staff with leaks to fixed-term appointments in various council directorates? With political affiliations. Rather than the council undertaking competitive recruitment processes. Yeah, a bit like Josh Murray, Ron. A bit like Josh Murray. You guys did exactly the same thing. No, no, no, we didn't, Chris. Pull the other one, Minister. You're a fair dinkum bloke. Come on.

Look, you can't make political appointments of the CEO. He donated to you blokes. Director of city presentation, director of corporate services, two positions of senior advisor, senior officer government relations, communication leads, hospital delivery coordinator, senior planning advisory officer slash senior planner. Come on, Chris, give me a break. Is Michael Knight still working for you guys? Not talking about the... Michael Knight still working for you guys?

What's that? Michael Knight still working for you guys? Well, he doesn't work for me. No, he works for your government though, doesn't he? And just like a lot of these staff don't work for Ned Manoon, the mayor, because there's a difference, right? Look, at the end of the day, political affiliation doesn't disqualify you from serving an office. Then it shouldn't justify sacking the council. Hold the inquiry, see what comes, and then sack it.

Well, let's just wait and see what happens out of the public inquiry. And I'll give the council a week. But at the end of the day, you'd have to concede, Chris, there's some pretty worrying things in this interim report, isn't there? I mean, you just can't sort of dismiss them. You can't just sort of take one thing in isolation. If you look at it as a whole, there's pretty widespread concern about dysfunction operating at that council. Sure.

Well, all I'm saying, all I'm saying, I'm not saying hold the inquiry, go for your life. It deserves, it deserves a proper investigation of what has occurred here. But all I'll say is, the consequence of sacking a democratically elected council and then suspending an election of that council that's due in September is well and truly over the top.

Well, that might be your view. I'll give it... I mean, I said I'm going to give it some thought over the next week or so, but at the end of the day, I mean, I do have to protect the citizens of Liverpool, the functionality of the council. And remember, I mean, there's also... There's also an assertion of lack of statutory oversight of the governing body, so it's not as simple as just advocating a policy position that I'd agree to.

Ron Honing, I appreciate your time, but I hate to say it, it looks a hell of a lot like a Labor state government trying to take out a Liberal local council. No, it's not that. And nobody in the local government sector would say I've done any political since I've been the Minister of Labor. No, but you've done a good job. You've done a good job. And I agree with you. You need the public. You absolutely need a public inquiry as a result of this report. But I reckon...

Your intention to sack a council, you know, that's got me beat. I appreciate you coming on regardless. Okay, thanks, Chris. That's the Minister for Local Government, Ron Honig, 131873.

In the newsroom, Josh Bryan. G'day. Good afternoon again, Chris. A public inquiry has been ordered into Liverpool Council after an interim report found concerns about widespread dysfunction and maladministration. Australia's jobless rate has continued to edge higher, up 0.1% despite almost 50,000 jobs being created internationally.

in the month. Police have charged a 37th person over riots which occurred outside Awakeleigh Church back in April and research shows switching to a high fibre diet during pregnancy could reduce a child's risk of cardiovascular disease later in life. In sport, NRL clubs are counting the injury toll of the Blues' historic State of Origin victory. Halfback Mitchell Moses ruptured his bicep and will be out for the year. Player of the match Dylan Edwards will miss a month due to a knee injury. We'll have more news in sport at five.

Thanks, Josh. Coming up, I'll give you... How about we do it now? All right, $1,000 in Guess the Olympian. So here's your second clue. He is an awesome foursome veteran and triple Olympic gold medalist. He is an awesome foursome veteran and a triple Olympic gold medalist.

$1,000 if you can guess the Olympian. That's your second clue. I've given you the first after 3 o'clock. After 5 o'clock, we will give you the cue to call if you want to win $1,000. Paris, only eight days away.

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Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Consider the fund's PDS and whether the product is right for you. Well, this story caught my eye this morning. 131873, have you ever been bitten by a snake? I'd love to speak to someone who's been bitten by a snake. If it's happened to you, call me, 131873, because there's some fascinating news coming out of the University of Sydney. And scientists at UCEDD have just discovered a new antidote for cobra venom.

And this team are remarkable. They've already uncovered a new antidote for box jellyfish and death cap mushrooms. In the Beef Wellington, anyone? Now, they've sorted the cobra. I want to find out more about this. So to answer our questions, I'm happy to say the PhD student and the lead author of this new cobra research, Tian Do, joins me on the line. Tian, thank you so much for your time.

Hi, it's good to be here. Pretty extraordinary. So how does one begin to even discover an antidote for cobra venom? Yeah, so it's a bit of a complicated process, but we actually use gene editing to look at how the venoms work. So we've done this, as you said, for the box jellyfish and also for the mushrooms, mushroom toxin. It's

If you're familiar with gene editing, we can kind of use it to inactivate a gene. So if you have a cell with one gene that's inactivated, add venom to it and see how it functions compared to a normal cell. But we actually do that across all of the genes that make up who you are. So we can really quickly see what the venom is interacting with. And so the venom from a cobra bite, I was reading that it can eat your skin. Is that correct?

Yeah, so the cobra venoms are a little bit different to kind of the snake venoms that we have here in Australia. They're mostly found across Africa and Asia. And instead of targeting your nervous system or your heart, they're more going for just like a flesh wound near the bite site. So it will kind of attack the skin and the muscle. Jeez, it sounds pretty terrible. Yeah, it can definitely have devastating effects. Do we have any cobras in Australia?

No, no we don't. So they're all in sort of the Africa region, are they? Africa and South, Southeast Asia, Asia region. Have they been, have our colleagues in different countries and any of your peers been pretty interested in your work?

Yeah, so this is actually an international collaboration. So we have our partners in Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in Costa Rica, but these snakes and the venoms that we look at are from Africa and Asia. And how quickly will this antidote need to be delivered into somebody's system to fight off the effects of a cobra bite?

Yeah, so we haven't trialled it in humans yet, but immediate action is key here. And one of the problems with access to, say, antivenoms, especially in these regions of Africa and South Asia, is that antivenoms require hospital settings and this infrastructure is just...

not there in some regions or hard to get to. So because the drug that we found, heparin, is already something that's stable at room temperature and you can just have that on hand and it's cheap to get, you're more likely to be able to get this into a person faster. Now, you've done the box jellyfish, you've done the death cap mushroom toxin. What else have you got on the agenda for the next 10 years?

Yeah, so I'm at the moment looking at blue bottle jellyfish and also just having a look at Australian black snakes as well. The blue bottle for me, it's a little bit different because it causes more pain than it does damage. So we're kind of trying to look at how does it cause the pain and then maybe we can find something to treat that. Because at the moment we have first aid, yeah, and I feel like that's the first aid you should listen to, but it always changes. So having a treatment would be great.

That would be popular. I've been stung by blue bottles. Jeez, they hurt. Yes, they do, yeah. I had one wrapped around my neck once. I was jumping in the water. It was in a corolla or something, and I went through a wave, and it ended up wrapping around my neck. I've seen somebody get it once right in his eyelid. It was terrible. So how would you, given that you don't necessarily need life-saving treatment from a blue bottle sting, what would you then propose? Something just to treat the pain properly?

Exactly, yeah. So at the moment, hot water is recommended for blue bottle sting. And then you will just get attention from the lifesavers just to monitor you. But some people can get anaphylaxis from these. But yeah, there's nothing at the moment that really treats the pain. So if we can find what is causing the pain and then counteract that, there could be something that's a little bit more commercially available for people to use.

Tian, I really appreciate you coming on. Congratulations to you and all your team for all your hard work. Well done. Thank you very much for having me. It's pretty extraordinary the stuff people are doing now. That's Tian Do. She's a PhD student and a lead researcher at the University of Sydney. Discovered the antidote for the box jellyfish as well as the death cap mushrooms.

And now they've found the antidote for the cobra too. And they're working on pain relief, proper effective pain relief from blue brothels. Now just on snakes, again, have you had an encounter with a snake? 131873 of you or any of your family members or friends being bitten by a snake. What happened? I don't know anyone that's been bitten by a snake. If you have, tell me. 131873. It's a quarter to five.

Alright, I've got a family pass to Featherdale Wildlife Park up for grabs. All you need to do is tell me what animal this is. Bigger. Bigger. Bigger. Bigger. Bigger. Bigger.

It doesn't sound how it looks. Put it that way. It does not sound how it looks. So give us a call now, 131873. That's your clue. It's an Australian icon, this one, and it does not sound how it looks. 131873, a family pass to Featherdale Wildlife Park. Up for grabs. Drive with Chris O'Keefe onto GB. Well, the cost of an arts degree...

is now $50,000. So this story in the Australian Financial Review, and $50,000 they reckon it'll get to by 2025. So in history, economics or law, you will have a student debt when you leave at $50,000. And one expert has said that more students who do have humanities and social sciences degrees won't ever pay off their degree. So that HECS debt will just be

The taxpayer will be saddled with it forever and a day. So in 2022, 2023, there were 154,000 people who owed the Australian government more than $80,000 each to

Because of their hex debts. $80,000 each, 154,000 people, most of whom were arts law or business law degrees. And I think they cost about $85,000 and they do take about five years to finish. You would expect, though, if you do an arts law degree or a business law degree, that you become...

a lawyer or you do end up in the legal system you will earn enough money to pay back that debt but nonetheless fifty thousand dollars to go to university a lot of coin isn't it one three one eight seven three now i've got peter at bardwell park pete you want to talk about uh blue bottles

Yeah, well, you mentioned there about you getting one around your neck. Most surfers out there would agree that getting one down the front of your wetsuit going under a wave is 10 times worse. You can't get them out, mate. What are you doing? Well, you've got to try and unzip it and get

Get the bloody thing out, you know. It's incredibly painful. Oh, what do you do? Do you have to just rip the steamer off or something? Yeah, yeah. You unzip it while you're out on your board and try and get the thing out and just get on with it. Oh, you surfers. Jeez, you put up with a lot for the adrenaline rush, but you wouldn't have it any other way, would you? Yeah, I mean, you know, getting a little one around your neck's nothing, mate. Yeah.

You don't want it in other parts. Good on you, Pete. I appreciate your call. 131873. Sylvia's at Cronulla. Hey, Sylvia, what animal's this? What are we listening to here, Sylvia? It's a koala. What's that, sorry? A koala? It is a koala, Sylvia. Well done. I've got a family pass to Featherdale Wildlife Park for you. Well done. Fantastic. Thank you. How'd you guess that?

Well, I've heard it lots of times at zoos and things, and it's amazing the horrible grunt that comes out that gorgeous little fluffy thing. Oh, I've never heard it before. It's just, you know. Oh, yeah? Oh, right. Oh, they're quite, yeah, and especially out in the bush when they're mating, or the mating season, it's just really horrendous, the noise they make. Yeah, yeah.

Good on you, Sylvia. Enjoy it. You've got a family pass to Featherdale Wildlife Park coming your way. And that's thanks to our great mates at Featherdale Wildlife Sydney. And they've got their free wildlife adventure trail for kids all July. Check them out. Featherdale.com.au. The breaking news you can trust. It's Drive with Chris O'Keefe on 2GB. Now, did you see this story? A former CIA employee and a senior official at the White House...

has been charged with serving as a secret agent for South Korea's intelligence service. So, Sue Mi Terry accepted luxury goods, including fancy handbags and expensive dinners at sushi restaurants, in exchange for advocating South Korean government positions during media appearances.

She also shared non-public information with intelligence officers and facilitated access for South Korean officials to US government officials. And this is according to an indictment that's been filed in the federal court today.

So this story is being reported in the ABC. So Sue Meade Terry's also admitted to the FBI that she served as a source of information for South Korean intelligence, including by passing handwritten notes from an off-the-record meeting that she participated in with the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken.

And those off-the-record briefings that you participated in were about US government policy towards North Korea. Now, we know, after we've seen everything with the United States of America, they do not take kindly to potential espionage, perceived or otherwise, 131873.

Now, the US Congress's highest ranking Democrat. This is the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. He's told Joe Biden in a meeting on Saturday that he should end his reelection bid.

And this is just weeks before Joe Biden is set to be formally nominated. So Chuck Schumer, who is a big deal in the Democratic Party, the Democrat Party, and a big deal in American politics, has told Joe Biden in a meeting that he should end his re-election bid. And this is before what happened to Donald Trump, clearly on Sunday, because he discussed this with Biden in a meeting earlier.

on Saturday. So whether or not Mr Biden does persist, well, only he knows, but he's now got COVID. So he's got a few days to recover and figure it out. 131873. Now just in music news, Adele. We all love Adele. She's extraordinary, right? I wasn't all that fussed with her last album, I must admit, but Adele has said now on the record that she has no plans to record any new music.

So she's currently performing in Europe, Adele, for the first time in eight years. And she is due to resume her weekends with Adele Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace in October. She'll do that for a month. But she said once the live shows come to an end,

you're not going to hear anything new from the star, potentially ever again. So she spoke with a German broadcaster. She said this, quote, I don't have any plans for new music at all. I want a big break after this, and I think I want to do other creative things for a little while. So we may not hear any new art from Adele, who I reckon has got one of the best voices we've heard in a very long time. Sorry to go on with you.

Well, CBUS, the construction union's super, or the construction industry, I should say, superannuation fund, CBUS, they've told The Australian that they have no concerns about its director's links with the CFMEU. And CBUS has said it's got robust governance processes in place with an unwavering focus on protecting workers' retirement savings.

And the construction industry super fund is facing mounting pressure to cut ties with the CFMEU following these damning allegations of corruptions and criminal links and all the rest of it. And we raised this the other day, didn't we? But CBUS says that it is a highly regulated financial institution with robust governance processes and CBUS directors, three of which are union members from the CFMEU, have a duty to act in the best financial interests possible.

of our members it says it meets its legislative obligations yada yada yada that one has a fair bit to run too 131873 coming up lunar parks for sale and i'm going to mount my case as to why i think the new south wales government the taxpayer should buy a lunar park

I didn't realise I could stick with my industry super fund when I retired. Thankfully, I discovered if I stayed, I could set up a regular income, take money out when I wanted, and the rest can grow over time. Stick with your industry super fund in retirement. Visit compareyourretirement.com today. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Consider the fund's PDS and whether the product is right for you.

Now back to Drive with Chris O'Keefe on Sydney's 2GB. It's seven minutes past five. Thank you for your company on this Thursday afternoon. 131873 is that open line number. You can text me 0460873873 or email me drive at 2GB.com. Coming up, I've got $1,000 to give away. If you can guess the Olympian, you've had both of your clues. And speaking of the Olympics...

There's a Sydney Trains employee that is heading to Paris and he's representing Australia in archery. Yep, he's a Trains employee by day and an archer by night.

Opinions that matter. News you can trust. This is Drive on Sydney's 2GB. Well, it's a busy time in the US presidential race. Joe Biden has now tested positive for COVID. Poor bugger. Hope he's going all right. And he's also admitted that he will step down from the race for re-election if his doctor tells him he should. Now, I wonder if the Democrat heavies will get Biden's doctor.

to tell him that because the news has been leased that two of the most influential Democrats in Washington, Pelosi and Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, both of them have privately urged the president to quit the race.

It feels fait accompli, doesn't it? It feels like only a matter of time. It's all going downhill. The Republicans, on the other hand, they're basking in the Trump glow at the Republican National Convention. And today, their vice presidential candidate, J.D. Vance, he spoke to the cheering crowd and he said he is all aboard the Trump train. Instead of a day of celebration, this could have been a day of heartache and mourning.

For the last eight years, President Trump has given everything he has to fight for the people of our country. He didn't need politics, but the country needed him. Now prior to running for president, he was one of the most successful businessmen in the world. He had everything anyone could ever want in a life. And yet, instead of choosing the easy path,

He chose to endure abuse, slander and persecution. And he did it because he loves this country. Instead of money, he chose us. God bless America. Very American, this whole thing. Anyway, Charles Croucher is the political editor at Nine News. He's all over American politics. And he's live on the line for us. Charlie, g'day. Good afternoon, Chris. Let's start with the Republicans. They're feeling confident, aren't they?

They are feeling very confident, not just J.D. Vance going all the way with Donald J. and a hike back to Harold Holt there. But this is really working out for them because from about a year ago, it could have been even earlier, the Republicans on Donald Trump's team started working on this narrative. This is before the primaries, before he was officially the candidate. And the narrative was Joe Biden, weak Donald.

Donald Trump strong. Now, whether people were paying attention at the time or not, that started sneaking in. Any opportunity they had, they started saying things along those lines. What's happened in the last month has been three really sort of monumental changes to the race. The first one, of course, was the debate in which the president was

Awful. Looked dreadful, sounded dreadful. He admits it was a bad night. Played into the weak idea. The second on Sunday, the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, he storms off stage, blood on his face, fist in the air, plays into the strong idea. And then today, with all that was going on at the Republican convention, Joe Biden can't front a room and read off a teleprompter because he's got COVID, and that plays back into the weak. So even if Americans weren't paying attention, this line and this...

theme that republicans have been trying to push in the background for a year now came to light uh and these three events you couldn't ignore if you're an american because it was so big in the country and they've all played right in the republicans hands you've watched american politics very closely for a number of years now and you were in the united states uh

for the Trump presidency. What are you expecting Trump to say tomorrow, given that, to me at least, as an outsider looking in, he seems a little rattled from the attempted assassination?

Yeah, this hasn't been the boisterous Donald Trump that I was expecting. Now, whether that's his team telling him to play it down and play the harmoniser, he can almost... You know, we're always used to the president on the night they win giving that speech about governing for all Americans. He can do that tomorrow because he... Certainly in his mind and his team's mind, he's so far in front. But it could be that. You know, it was a couple of centimetres, maybe an inch away from him not being here and this being a very different world

this week, and that would have to have an effect on someone. You know, he's a person that lives on bravado, and that brush with mortality would have an effect on you. I suspect the speech has changed from what he was going to give. J.D. Vance gave the attack speech today. Sarah Huckabee, his former press secretary, gave...

a very aggressive attack speech yesterday. I think this will be about middle America. It'll be about the economic prospects of the country and really going back to those things that made him successful back in 2016, that is,

American jobs, this idea of America first. And maybe we get a change to Donald Trump. Maybe it's about healing. But, you know, he's also in his late 70s and that's not a time when many men that have been successful tend to change. Speaking of old people, Joe Biden, things are going bad. Do you think it's fait accompli that Biden pulls out? Yeah.

It's hard to predict. We've said off-air, when you and I have spoken, we've said, keep an eye on Nancy Pelosi. She is still the king and queen maker in the Democratic Party. The fact that now we hear a report she's spoken, Adam Schiff coming out today, Chuck Schumer coming out today, I think they are louder voices than the Obamas or the Clintons, simply because Joe Biden grew up in Congress. He's a creature of the Congress.

If you lose Nancy Pelosi, you lose Chuck Schumer. The polls are saying things are bad. It just gets harder and harder. Now, whether there are the mechanics, there's a way of doing it. I don't know. And that's going to be played out. But it would take Joe Biden to step down. And all of a sudden, there seems to be concessions that maybe that's going to happen. Biden steps down. Who replaces him? And whoever that is, can that person beat Donald Trump?

That person can, regardless they can. There's still three months to go. It's such a polarised America that the polls are probably closer than they should be at the moment, given how fragile Joe Biden has looked. Look, unless Kamala Harris said she wasn't going to run, and she's so known as a case for that, I suspect she would be the candidate. It's hard for a party that's been dominated by African-Americans and by women to have the first female African-American candidate there as vice president.

and not elevate her into the top role. And then she has to find a running mate. And there's some really excellent young governors that are around. I suspect she'd look at the governor of Pennsylvania, Governor Fasciaro. He's in a good seat. He's young. Maybe it's the shake-up the race needs. If you're betting, you'd still be on the Republican side. But it would be a better chance right now than Joe Biden seems to have. Charles Croucher, appreciate your insights as always.

Any time, my friend. That's Charles Croucher, Nine's political editor. He's all over this. 131873. I like that. All the way with Donald J. First with the news, only in Sydney. It's Drive with Chris O'Keefe on 2GB. Now, I reckon the men's government should buy the lease for Luna Park. It's an iconic amusement park, isn't it?

You know, you've got your big, giant, smiling face entrance. It's up for sale. So it's owned by global investment firm Brookfield, and it operates Lunar Park, the buildings, the amusement park itself, as well as a 389-space car park. I reckon the New South Wales government should buy it and return it to public hands. Michaelia Whitbourne has written a great piece on Lunar Park in The Herald. It's had a troubled history.

And it's been troubled with its ownership and management. There have been legal battles, financial woes, concerns about safety, and of course, the tragic ghost train fire. But I reckon that buying Luna Park and putting it under government control and government administration could be a bit of a game changer. And I reckon it would ensure that this historic landmark stays open and accessible to everyone. We need families from all around New South Wales and from all around Australia and the world, mind you.

to be able to enjoy the rides, enjoy the attractions, without worrying about the park's future. And that way, the government can set the fees, can set the entrance fees and what it costs to go and enjoy it. And it's not just any old amusement park, Lunar Park. It's a symbol of Sydney's history and it's a beloved spot for locals and tourists alike. And I think keeping it in public hands would preserve that heritage and ensure that our kids, our grandkids, our great-grandkids can continue to make memories there.

There is, of course, the question of money. Buying Luna Park will cost around $70 million, plus the ongoing costs to maintain and operate it. But so what? Think of it as an investment in the community and in Sydney's tourism industry, because a well-managed Luna Park could attract more visitors, boost local businesses and contribute to a cultural scene that is well and truly lacking.

And hey, if the government steps in, they might actually have the opportunity to revitalise it a bit. There will be sceptics, and they'll say the government's got enough on its plate, but Lunar Park isn't just any old business. It's a piece of Sydney's soul. And I think by taking ownership, the government would be ensuring that Lunar Park continues to bring joy and excitement to generations to come. Now, the government owns the land itself, right, as part of a trust, as part of the parklands there.

And Luna Park itself is on a long-term lease, and Brookfield wants $70 million for that long-term lease. But at $70 million, is it really that expensive for Luna Park? So my view is this. You tell me if you agree. 131873, I reckon we should nationalise Luna Park. Because if it's good enough for Taronga Zoo, if it's good enough for the Sydney Opera House, why is it not good enough for Luna Park?

A wonderful icon of Sydney Harbour and Sydney and Australia more broadly. Why not bring it under New South Wales government control and the ownership of the people of this great state? It's 18 past five. A finance update. The best gets even better. Masterton Homes Ultimate Inclusions now comes with solar. Search Masterton to realise your dream today.

We'll check the finance with Scott Haywood a little earlier than usual. Scott, how'd the markets go? Good afternoon, Chris. Look, a mixed night on Wall Street. The Dow Jones was strong. S&P 500 dropped a little bit. But the tech sector, in terms of the NASDAQ, had a really rough night. And our sector, in terms of technology companies, also struggled today. Down more than 3%. But the ASX 200 was resilient. It stayed above 8,000 points. Only slipped 0.3% or 21 points to 8,036. And that's good news.

Because if the tech sector does have the wobble, we haven't got that many tech-listed companies that take the hit. So a good result today for the Australian Stock Exchange, despite it falling marginally. Now, Scott, I know the answer to this, do you? Here we go. Does money buy you happiness? And I reckon the answer is absolutely.

It's interesting. Tommy's story... I'm yet to find happiness or money, but anyway, I reckon it would. Tommy's story is Doug's story today from the US, from a researcher. He's found a happiness researcher. How do you find them anyway? The question is, does the person who came up with the quote...

"Money doesn't buy you happiness." Were they already loaded? Like were they already millionaires or billionaires? Because some of the surveys have said that a tidy net worth above maybe a million dollars means that your rating in terms of life satisfaction is between five and six out of seven. If you're earning just under $100,000 a year, it's about four and a half to five out of seven.

and for those on low income brackets in terms of life satisfaction and happiness there about a three-and-a-half to four out of seven so based on these happiness survey by a researcher in the US

both millionaires and billionaires like yourself are significantly happier. - I was gonna say. - Significantly happier, Chris. - I was gonna say, the happiness researcher just has to ask you, you happy, Scott? - Well, the thing that's gonna make me happy, I can tell you, we've got David Bassanese tonight, the Chief Economist of BetaShares, and we're wanting to see that despite the fact that unemployment crept up, I'm gonna ask him the most important question that mortgage holders are going to wanna know is will interest rates go up on that first week

of August and I hope they don't but David Bassanese on Money News from 7 o'clock will give us that insight. You're a good man. Good on you, Scott. Good on you, Chris. That's Scott Haywood. We'll hear him after 7 o'clock tonight on Money News. Paul's called in from Illawong. Paul, do you want to talk about Luna Park?

G'day, Chris. How are you? Good, thanks, Paul. Good, thank you. I agree with you. I think that they should buy because that way the road that goes under the big smile can have a toll on it. What do you reckon? Both ways? Yeah, 100%. Well, it has to be. It has to go both ways, doesn't it? I mean, it can't be one way. Toll on the way in, toll on the way out. 100%. Good on you, Paul. I appreciate it. Jason's at Mascot. Hello, Jason.

Yeah, good afternoon. Millions of dollars for Pendler Stadium. Millions of dollars for West Tigers' second stadium at Leichhardt. I think, oh, I don't know, they can find something under the Matt Felena Park for our children and grandchildren and generations to come, a cultural future heritage, can't they? I just don't think... Look...

I understand it's pie in the sky. It's not going to happen. But given it's up for sale, I'm of the view that the public should be the custodian and the New South Wales government should be the custodian of Luna Park, not a private company.

I really think so because it has been there for decades, been popular there for decades. It is a part of visiting Sydney. It's a part of the Sydney experience about visiting, especially for young folk. But I tell you this much, if they put the North Sydney, Central Coast, Papua New Guinea and the Perth Bears there, if they put an NRL pitch there, they'd find the money for it, believe you me. Good on you, Jason.

Well said. The North Sydney, Perth PNG Bears. Mike Satari. Hello, Mike. Going all right, you? Good, mate. Good. What's happening? Look, I reckon the concept has merit, but in order to fund it, based on their concept for the tolls going in and coming back across the Harbour Bridge, they could charge you to go in and then charge you the same amount to leave again. What about parking?

You don't pay. If you don't pay, you don't get out. You just have to ride the rest of your life. But look, I'm 67 years of age, and I went to Luna Park as a kid, and there's some of my happiest memories. So, yeah, look, all powers of the concept, but it won't happen. But anyway, sounds good. Hey, Mark, you want to come into Sydney and see Torval and Dean? Yeah, why not? Well, they're ice skating next June. Ice skating.

We actually remember seeing them doing that famous Bolero. So, yeah, another revisit back to my youth. You're coming down. You've got a double pass. You're going for free. Good on you, Mike. Torval and Dean, it is the skating legends Torval and Dean, the actual Torval and Dean. It's their last ever Australian tour, and it's at Kudos Bankerita, June 2025. Tickets on sale now from Ticketek. If it's happening in Sydney, you'll hear it on Drive on 2GB.

I've given away two clues to guess the Olympian, haven't I? I gave one in the three o'clock hour, two in the four o'clock hour. And that means I'm due to give you the cue to call. Set. Guess the Olympian. All right. 1-300-722-873. 1-300-722-873. That's the competition line. There's $1,000 if you can guess the Olympian.

It should be relatively straightforward, I reckon. But 1-300-722-873. We're talking rowing, mind you. Rowing. $1,000 in guests, the Olympian. Ben, Ray, Michael and myself, we've all got chances to win. But now, call the competition line if you want to win this afternoon. Drive on 2GB. Have your say. 1-31873. Let's check the newsroom and Josh Bryant.

G'day. Good afternoon, Chris. The police watchdog has found there is no evidence of interference with a police investigation into a car crash involving a senior police officer. But the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission did make two serious misconduct findings against the officer accused of crashing the car in North Connex. The Mayor of Liverpool Council is welcoming a public inquiry into the council but says suspending it

and delaying local government elections in the area would be a bad idea. A joint submission from three of Australia's most prominent mental health organisations...

is rejecting calls for an outright ban of social media for younger people, saying it ignores the potential benefits. And Blacktown City Council says the area will be renamed Bluestown for 24 hours on Monday to celebrate the New South Wales drought-breaking Origin Series victory at Suncorp. In sport, Tottenham manager Ange Postacoglu says he has no idea about reports linking him with the England job after Gareth Southgate stood down from the role. We'll have more news in sport at six. Thanks, Josh.

I didn't realise I could stick with my industry super fund when I retired. Thankfully, I discovered if I stayed, I could set up a regular income, take money out when I wanted, and the rest can grow over time. Stick with your industry super fund in retirement. Visit compareyourretirement.com today.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Consider the fund's PDS and whether the product is right for you. It's 27 to 6, a little bit of news out of State Parliament. So two backbench Labor MPs who received $1,000 in donations from the CFMEU ahead of last year's New South Wales election will not repay the money.

So Premier Chris Minns doubled down on his decision for Labor to keep donations from the union on Thursday. So Nathan Haggerty, he's the member for Leppington, and Kylie Wilkinson, the member for East Hills, they both received $1,000 from the New South Wales division of the CFMEU, and they say they're not going to pay it back. Everything that's gone on, are you seriously thinking they're going to spend $2,000 back? And I understand the...

If you get donations, you pay the money back. But I would rather the MPs and the Labor Party keep the money than any money being returned to the CFMEU at this point. I don't want money going to the CFMEU. I think that that would be a very bad idea.

A weather update. We'll be here to help in unexpected weather. NRMA Insurance. Well, it's been a beautiful day, hasn't it? Right now, 14 degrees in the city and 13 in our west. It'll be chilly tonight, though. Seven in the city and four in our west. Tomorrow, partly cloudy. Tops of 18 degrees in the city tomorrow and 17 in the west. Set. Yes, the Olympia.

All righty. I've got Franka, and Franka's called in from Bondi Junction. Hello, Franka. Hello, Chris. How are you? Franka, I'm going okay. I really want to give you $1,000. And I really want to take it from you. All right. You ready? Yes. Is it James Tompkins? It is James Tompkins. Because James Tompkins can... Chris has cried so many times. I could cry. Jesus, I could cry. Beautiful woman.

So James Tompkins competed in six Olympic Games. He was Australia's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. He's an awesome foursome veteran and a triple Olympic gold medalist, also in a very famous photograph. Do you remember that one, Franca? Yes, I was so happy I could cry. Why are you happy? Tell me about it.

Because I've tried reading 2GB so many times to try and win cash prizes. And it finally happened. Well, Franca, I'm very pleased that you are our winner this Thursday afternoon. A thousand bucks coming your way and guests the Olympian. You have a wonderful afternoon and a wonderful weekend. Okay. $1,000. Ben, Ray, Michael, and we'll all have more chances to win. So stay listening to Sydney's 2GB. It's the home of the Paris Olympics.

The inside word on everything Sydney. It's Drive with Chris O'Keefe on 2GB. John, she sent me a text. John from Constitution Hill here. Something big is happening outside Toongabby Christian College. Just seen on community groups there's news helicopters. Apparently a girl has been hit. Well, John, we checked this out. So New South Wales police tell us they're responding...

to someone who's been hit by a car at Toon Gabby. This is around Aurelia Street and Metella Road. It's only just happened sort of in the last five minutes.

They don't have any more detail on that. So they're responding to someone hit by a car around Aurelia Street and Metella Road at Toongabby. So New South Wales police and ambulance are on the scene there. 131873. Now tomorrow, I love Fridays for multiple reasons. It's the end of the week. But what I love more than anything is, thank God it's Friday. So after five o'clock, well, we have a little bit of fun.

And I'm very pleased to say we've got a special guest tomorrow afternoon. And tomorrow afternoon, you know who's going to join me in the studio to play a little bit of music?

It is Kate Sobrano. Well, she's not in the studio as such. She's joining us from Melbourne, but she will be playing some of her best ever hits, Kate Sobrano, because she's touring again with John Stevens. It's a little bit like Jesus Christ Superstar when they did that amazing tour with John Farnham and the like.

But Kate Sobrano, she will be playing live for us. She'll be playing some of her best hits anyway. And this one, I reckon, will have a chance at making the cut. It was number two on the ARIA charts on the album Brave all the way back in 1989. Kate Sobrano, our special guest tomorrow afternoon here on Drive.

Well, we're all gearing up for the Paris Olympics, of course. It's right around the corner now. Starts next Friday, would you believe? July 26. Now, if you've ever passed through St Peter's Station on the train here in Sydney, you may have crossed paths with an Olympian, you know. So his name is Peter, and as a day job, he works for Sydney Trains as a customer service attendant at St Peter's Train Station, and he absolutely loves it. But you know what he loves more? Archery.

So this is very exciting. Peter's been selected as part of the Australian Olympic team and he's about to hop on a plane to Paris to represent our great country at the 2024 Games. I'm pleased to say 25-year-old Peter Bukovar-Loss is on the line for us. Peter, g'day. G'day, mate. Big congratulations. What's the process been like to nail your qualification spot?

Well, firstly, thank you very much. It's been a very long selection process. We started with domestic selection trials that occurred at the start of this year in January. And then from there, the four athletes that were selected went on to compete in the overseas portion of that trial. So we had four competitions and pretty much the performances from all four competitions were put together to determine the rankings and the first ranked archer was given the spot.

And what event are you competing in? So it's the men's archery, individual archery. So I'll definitely be competing in that. And if myself and my fellow compatriot, Laura Pagelis, if we both shoot well in our ranking round, we'll also be able to participate in the mixed team event. Peter, you're a Sydney boy. I am, yes. How'd you get into archery?

So I was exposed to archery back in 2004. That was when I first saw it on TV, watching the Australian men compete at the Athens Olympics. So you were five? I was five. All I remember was seeing it and thinking, wow, that's really cool. And I always wanted to do it since then. And I'd done like swimming and soccer and stuff like that from that time on. However, I always just was drawn to archery because of how unique and how different it was.

And what, did your mum and dad find an outlet? Where do you go to practice archery? So I practice at the club that I started at. So that's out at Sydney Olympic Park Archery Centre. Cool. And that's Sydney Olympic Park Archers.

It was the name of the club. I didn't actually start archery though until 2016 because my mum, being the sensible mother that she was, decided it's probably not a good idea for me to have a bow considering that I might shoot my two brothers. So she didn't let me do it then, but in 2015 for Christmas, she gave me the money to buy my first bow.

And from 2016 on, I just ran with it. You've been going for it. Have you had any injuries? No, no. So thankfully, I haven't. I've been pretty diligent with my training and my deloading and my recovery. And then I've also had a really good team at the New South Wales Institute of Sport that's been helping me, especially for the last two years while I increased training. So luckily in archery, I haven't had any injuries. Injuries in swimming, but not in archery. Sure. You enjoy your job?

- I do, I very much enjoy it. - What does it involve? - So a lot of it's just maintaining the station, keeping it clean and presentable for customers, but then also on the customer service side of things, helping people get to where they need to go, and just making sure that you're just there. So when someone's come off the train, or they've just, especially with St. Peter's being so close to the airport, you get a lot of customers coming from overseas.

people will come through with their bags and they're just sort of staring around like, well, what's going on? And being that person there that can sort of lend a hand, it helps. And it's nice to know that I can help someone. That's probably the biggest part of my job is giving that customer service and that hospitality. Well, Peter, when you come back for your next shift after Paris 2024, hopefully you've got a gold medal around your neck, eh? Fingers crossed. Are you a chance?

On paper, it's not really. However, the Olympics is a bit of a different beast altogether. And the reason why I say that is because all the matches are shot one at a time and pretty much anything can happen. The...

there's no stats that can really sort of point you to who's going to absolutely 100% win it. You know, a lot of people I've spoken to that are more sensible than me have told me the same thing, which is archery is the worst sport to bet on because you just don't know what the outcome is going to be. There are so many factors that can get involved. Well, Peter, gamble responsibly. I'll have a bet on you. Good luck.

Thank you very much. That's Peter Bukovalos, 25 years old, about to represent Australia at the Paris Olympics in archery and his day job. He works for Sydney Trains at St Peter's Station. Good luck, Peter. 131873.

Alright, do you want to win 200 bucks of free fuel? 131873. It's all thanks to Shell V-Power that you'll fulfill. 131873. Who can answer the most questions correctly in 30 seconds? The winner, a $200 Shell Coles Express gift card. Thanks to our good friends at Shell V-Power. If you want to play, 131873. The open line. Call it now. On 2GB Drive, let's drill for fuel.

We are duelling for fuel this Thursday afternoon. $200 of it thanks to Shell V-Power. Our contestants, I've got Ryan at French's Forest. Ryan, g'day. G'day, how you going? I'm good, thank you, Ryan. And Mark is at Glen Denning. Mark, g'day. How you going? I'm good, thank you, Mark. Ryan, you're going to kick us off. You ready? Excellent, yes, I am. Your time starts now. What animals are on the Australian Code of Arms? The emu.

And the kangaroo. Correct. Which Dr. Seuss character is said to have stolen Christmas? The Grinch. Correct. Cognac is a type of brandy, but where did it originate? France. Correct. What meat is traditionally used in shepherd's pie? Lamb. Correct. What country was Julia Gillard born in? New Zealand? No, she's Welsh. She was born in Wales. She's Australian, but she was born in Wales. That's pretty good effort, Ryan. Really good effort. Four. Mark, you ready?

Yeah, hard to beat. I reckon you might have him. Here we go. Your time starts now. How do you say hello in French? Pass. Bonjour. Does a platypus lay eggs? Yes. Correct. Who won last night's Wally Lewis medal at the State of Origin? Pass. Angus Crichton. True or false, Andy Warhol was the manager of the Velvet Underground. True. Correct. What type of food is feta? Cheese. Correct. What currency is used in South Africa? Sorry? What currency is used in South Africa? Cheese.

The South African ran. Not bad, Mark Ryan. 200 bucks of free fuel coming your way. Well played. Well played, Ryan. Well played, Mark. It is the jewel for fuel. We do it. Thanks to Shell V-Power every afternoon here on Drive.

And now, a preview of what's coming up on Wide World of Sports. Pick your favourite Kia from the award-winning Kia Sportage to the street-grade delivering Kia Seltos or Kia's most powerful car ever, the all-electric EV6 GT.

Adam Hawes has got Wide World of Sports coming up next. Hawesy, what a game of footy that was. How does it work for you at home with Vonnie? Do you get picked up at the doghouse? Yeah, would be. Ice cold. I said to her, I said, listen, all you do is tell Henry it's important to share. I said, I feel like telling that to Queensland. Yeah, they've had a good go, haven't they? Absolutely, they have. When Bradman Best ran away to score that try, I nearly did my ACL again. I jumped out of the chair. I was that pumped.

You know, this result finally buries the myth that Queensland owns state of origin spirit and passion. Indeed. Did you see the way our guys tackled from the first minute to the 80th minute with ferocity and determination? They wanted this game so bad. And I'm so proud of them. Awesome. Extraordinarily proud of them. I'll tell you who is. A hell of a footballer. And like...

Dylan Edwards, unbelievable. Brian Tito, unbelievable. I'll tell you who just blows my mind. Stephen Crichton. Yeah. Look what he's done at Canterbury.

Yeah, he's blown me away in terms of how he's turned that club around. I didn't think he had the captaincy in him, but he's proven me wrong. He's just a specimen of a thing too, isn't he? He's such an imposing presence for the Blues as well. They had nowhere to go, Queensland. They didn't score a try on their home turf. I will say, Vonnie and I were dissecting it this morning, and she said, well, unlike last year, you've got the nucleus of the New South Wales side as a Penrith side that's won three grand finals in a row.

plus a whole bunch of roosters who are absolutely flying at the moment. In Queensland, on the other hand, the Queensland sides are going like bastards. You've got a Broncos team that won't make the eight by the looks of things. The Cowboys are up and down. They're hot and cold. Dolphins there and thereabouts. I think there might be something in that. You know, I love the look of the Blues going into this game. I liked our chances. You know why? Why?

Because there was no C Munster for Queensland. He's a massive loss. Tino. Particularly Munster in a decider at Suncorp Stadium. He scares me. So when he's not there, I knew we had a really good chance. So he's going to come back next year. So we can't think this is going to become a dynasty. It was an epic game. It was one of the best I've ever seen. We forget. Nathan Cleary's the best player in the comp. Yeah, we haven't had him. Haven't had him. What do you do there? I'm going to throw that out to the listeners tonight. I know it's a bit down the track, but Mitchell Moses, he's not a fill-in anymore.

He's dominated the last two games. Can I say something? What? The problem that they've got is Jerome Lewis going to the Tigers and the Tigers would stop Jesus. Like, seriously. I think Jerome's done enough. No, look what Michael McGuire's done at all. He's won concerts in Helens and Souths. He's a draft breaker. With New Zealand, with the Blues, and the Tigers couldn't do it.

Ivan Cleary couldn't do it. The old Tiger Town. He's emerged from the ashes of Tiger Town. Speaking of Tiger Town, there's a bit of a story in the Herald from Michael Chamis. Robbie Farah's going to move on as assistant coach at the end of the year. He and Benji have had a chat and they've decided to part ways. I would like to

Look, I don't want to be premature about my gloating here, but earlier in the season we were discussing the National Rugby League and the potential on how the season would play out, and you asked me who I thought would run last, and I said the Parramatta Eels. And you were scoffing at me, almost indignant in your outrage that I would even suggest that. You said I was a moron, effectively. Well, you've lost your coach. I stand by those comments. You're running last, and now you haven't got a halfback for the rest of the year. No.

It's a chance to bring through the hundreds of genius Parramatta juniors, Chris, that are just bashing down the floor. That are playing for Penrith. Can we move on? Let's talk about something else. What's on the show? We've got Gary Jack coming on, the Blues legend. Of course, he's loving it. He had his old Blues jersey on watching the game. And they did get out in the middle of Suncorp Stadium last night. You know how they do in the Ashes? The players, they get out there, the crowds are gone. They just sit out there with a beer. So, yeah. Oh, did you see Brian Toho? Yeah. He's getting on the blanket.

Full blanket on the planet. I had Matt John earlier, and we had people calling in, thanking Madge and telling him how proud of him we are, or all the rest of it. But I said, well, what time do you finish up? He said, 2am. I go, that's a lie. And he goes, yeah, no, it is. What will be interesting, though, Horsey, because as much as we've enjoyed it, now the business side of the season kicks in, right? It does. I like the Roosters. Yeah, so do I. I really like the Roosters. I think the Storm...

I don't think they're quite there. They get Munster back, they'll be different. Cleary comes back for Penrith, there's still a big chance. Yeah, Dragons? Well, the Dragons have got to win four from seven, and we've got Penrith, Melbourne. I've got problems. But we can do it. Good on you, Horsey. We'll be listening. Someone who won't be there is Parramatta. That is no drive for the South Anasari, Horsey. He's blowing up. He's filthy.

If you've got anything you'd like us to look into, drive at 2GB.com. Otherwise, don't forget, everybody's got $1,000 to give away tomorrow for Guess the Olympian. I'll see you 3 p.m. sharp. Bye-bye.