2GB Drive with Chris O'Keefe – Full Show August 7th 01:51:15

On Sydney's 2GB, this is Drive with Chris O'Keefe. Good afternoon, Sydney. I hope you're enjoying your Wednesday. It's a lovely day outside too, isn't it? Lovely, lovely day. Now, here's a question for you. Have you been booked by a council ranger through one of these ticketless parking fines? You know, you think you're all good. You go to your car, you drive off, you're none the wiser, and then two weeks later, you get a fine in the mail or on your Service NSW app.

Well, I reckon that's very unethical. And I'll speak to the minister who wants to make it illegal for councils to do this. Plus, you very rarely hear good news stories about insurance companies, do you?

Well, today will not be an exception to that. I will not be bringing you a good news story from an insurance company because wait till you hear just how poorly this family from the Sutherland Shire has been treated by their insurance company. It makes your blood boil.

That after four o'clock. And do you think complaints from an acting school, you know, NIDA, a drama school in Kensington, do you think complaints from NIDA should prevent 900 people from getting a home? 900 homes being built. Well, we'll speak to the CEO of NIDA and see what their gripes are. Right now, 17 degrees at DY and 19 at Kenthurst.

It's eight and a half past three, 131 873 is our open line number. You can text me 0460 873 873 or email me drive at 2gb.com. Well, there is some drama at a school in Ballina. Big, big drama too. Now the local member for Clarence, his name is Richie Williamson. He put out a statement alerting everybody to the fact that

The Southern Cross School of Distance Education at Ballina will have been axed by the Minsk government. Well, unfortunately for Mr Williamson, not only is that not true, he might have wanted to do some digging on this. Because at the moment, there is a major investigation underway into what looks like potential or alleged maladministration at the Southern Cross School of Distance Education at Ballina.

So my information is a school audit was undertaken and that school audit concluded in May. And it found that the school itself was inflating its enrolment numbers. So they found that 200 students didn't exist. They were ghost students. Yet the Southern Cross School for Distance Education at Ballina was getting funding for those students that didn't exist.

So the Professional and Ethical Standards Department or Standards Arm of the Department of Education, they're now investigating this situation. And the principal and two deputy principals at Southern Cross School of Distance Education at Ballina have been directed to alternative duties.

So this is bad. It's really, really bad. Now, this is a predominantly distance education school. The name gives it away, right? But I'm told that all the students are still getting taught. They're all still getting full access to the full curriculum, which is their right to. So they're still getting taught. But surely you can't have a school telling the department they've got this number of students when it's actually 200 fewer than that and then still cop the money for...

"'the inflated number of enrollments.'

Now, that is money that could be spent in other schools, on a whole range of things. Anyway, the department is investigating the principal and two deputies have been, looks like, stood down or directed to alternative duties. So we'll keep an eye on that one. But it hasn't been axed. Richie Williamson, nothing of the sort. There's just a full-blown investigation underway into potential maladministration. 131873. Here's a story that piqued my interest.

as a father with a two-year-old boy, a Sydney man has been charged with allegedly stealing $600,000 worth of limited edition Bluey coins. So he's 47 years old, this guy. He worked at a Wetherill Park warehouse where the $1 coins were being stored. Now these $1 coins are legitimate, minted $1 coins, genuine from the Australian mint.

And police say he located the $1 Bluey coins, stole the packages from the back of a truck on the 23rd of June, 2024.

And police then found $600,000, their worth, and then it was detectives from the State Crime Command's Robbery and Serious Crime Squad searched a unit in Sefton where they found and seized these bluey coins. So it's understood 63,000 of them he took.

And he was arrested at his home in Westmead on Wednesday morning. He's been taken to Granville Police Station and has been charged with three counts of break and enter, as well as commit serious indictable offence. And you know what the police strike force, at least they've got a sense of humour, strike force bandit. Which, if you know anything about Bluey, bandit is the father on this.

the cartoon show Bluey. So Strike Force Bandit investigations will continue. So I think the Australian Mint separately released three Bluey coins featuring Bluey, the Healers and the Grannies. And at the time of the release, it was $20 for one coin or $50 for a three coin set and

They were selling for sort of 900 bucks on eBay. So $600,000 worth of bluey coins have been allegedly pinched by a 47-year-old man. And he has now been arrested and charged 131873. In the United States, Kamala Harris has announced that she's now officially the Democratic nominee for president. I set out to find a partner who can help build this brighter future.

A leader who will help unite our nation and move us forward. A fighter for the middle class. A patriot who believes as I do in the extraordinary promise of America. So Pennsylvania, I'm here today because I found such a leader. Tim Walz of the Venezuelans.

So Tim Waltz is now the vice presidential candidate for the United States of America and Kamala Harris is running mate. He's a former school teacher, football coach and a veteran too. He's a gun owner too, which appeals to the more moderate population.

or conservative, of American voters. He's also the man behind the criticism that Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are weird. And this has become a bit of an attack point amongst Democrats. I don't know. He's getting a lot of credit for calling Donald Trump and J.D. Vance weird.

You know, breaking news. Politicians are generally weird. Doesn't matter if it's Trump or Vance or who it is. Anyway, here he is, the new vice presidential nominee, running with Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, accepting his nomination. I couldn't be prouder to be on this ticket and to help Vice President Harris become what we all know is very, very good for us to think about. Next President of the United States of America.

Well, she's picked up a huge amount of support, Kamala Harris, hasn't she? Since Joe Biden pulled the pin a few weeks ago, she still might be in the honeymoon period. But I still reckon there'd be a few in the Trump camp who thought this would be easier than it has been. And they'd be waiting for Kamala Harris's honeymoon period to cease. I think Donald Trump, he might need a bit of a circuit breaker as things are starting to motor along nicely for the Democrats at this point.

Live, local, GB. It's Drive with Chris O'Keefe. Now, it was interesting to hear Dominic Perrottet, former New South Wales Premier, say that mandating vaccines was the wrong thing to do. He said it was wrong and it was a mistake. I reckon good on him. And I'll tell you why. At least he's being honest, Dominic Perrottet. He was just telling the truth. And it got me thinking.

60 odd percent of the world's population ended up being vaccinated against COVID. Did it make us any healthier? And what was the consequence to public health? So I did some digging on it. There's an article from the Lancet. It's titled assessing the impact of mass vaccination against COVID-19, a retrospective analysis.

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. Provides a pretty thought-provoking look at the effectiveness of mass vaccination programs during the COVID pandemic. Now, after examining the data and considering various outcomes...

It seems that, according to this Lancet article anyway, in hindsight, a more targeted approach was probably a better strategy than the broad mass vaccination efforts that we ended up implementing. As in when we realised as a community that almost all healthy people were likely to not need hospitalisation once they caught COVID. You weren't going to get that sick if you were healthy if you caught COVID. Once that was pretty apparent to us,

The focus from our public health officials and governments should have been on just protecting the elderly and vulnerable. The mass vaccination campaigns, they were launched with the best of intentions. Don't get me wrong. It was aimed to curb the spread of a virus and protect as many people as possible, a virus we didn't know a whole lot about. And while these programs did help reduce severe cases and deaths, the article suggests at least that their overall impact might not have been actually as significant as initially hoped.

the vaccine didn't do all that much for us. If you have two jabs and a booster and still catch the virus and you were never really going to get sick, why did you need two jabs and a booster? You didn't. And the Lancet makes that point.

And one major point from the article, I think that benefits of mass vaccination programs, particularly in younger and low risk populations, the benefits were somewhat limited. And that's because these groups were less likely to experience severe illness from COVID-19 and thus the direct impact of vaccination on their health outcomes was less pronounced.

But the vaccines showed clear benefits in reducing hospitalisations and deaths amongst older adults and those with health conditions. We knew that, right? So that is where the focus should have been. As soon as we knew that your Pfizer or your AstraZeneca or whatever it was, wasn't going to stop you giving the virus to somebody else.

The purpose of mass vaccination and mandated vaccination was wrong, was a mistake, as Dominic Perrottet made the point. So optional jabs for the general population, combust with a robust strategy for protecting the vulnerable, would have been the right way to go about it. Now, there have been 13,000 claims for vaccine injuries in the United States.

Blood clots have killed otherwise young and healthy people who got AstraZeneca. People ended up with Bell's palsy and myocarditis from Pfizer and Moderna. And I think we got ourselves in a situation where we have gaslit people to say that all these vaccine injuries are somehow a figment of their imagination. And I think that was unfair and unjust. This entire program has done huge damage to the credibility of all vaccines.

That's just the truth. Look, I am pro-vaccine. I will always get a flu jab. And I'll ensure, don't worry about that, that Henry is up to date with his. They work and they are almost always effective. But when it comes to having a bit of reflection like Dominic Perrottet has, I think we all need to take a step back and understand that what we were told about mass vaccination from COVID was a stretch. Sure.

We didn't know what COVID was capable of at first, but when we started to get a picture of it, I think that belittling and blasting our friends and family and these government-mandated medical treatments was not the way to go. And just like Dominic Perrottet, I'll put my own hand up.

I thought I was part of some big public health push. And in the end, I was wrong. 131873. 21 past three. It's 25 past three. 131873. What about Rex Regional Express? Dear, oh dear, they are broke as a joke. Rex. This is in the Australian newspaper, Rob and Ironside. So Rex owes money to almost 4,500 creditors

including more than 1,000 employees. So in a brief federal court hearing to lay the groundwork for the first creditors meeting this Friday, the administrator EY said the number of creditors was expected to increase too. So as it stands right now, 4,450 people are owed money or creditors are owed money, including 1,000 staff members.

Some of the debts are relatively small, as little as $275. But in the case of major East Coast airports, Rex owes more than $12 million. And one creditor, there's a sum as large as $150 million. No wonder they went into administration.

So the court also heard that as many as 185,000 customers could also be creditors due to the cancellation of hundreds of flights operated by those 737s that were going through capital cities. Anyway, it is a disaster. What has occurred?

at Rex and it's real shame. Real, real shame. Virgin Australia though, they said that 42,000 of those 185,000 Rex customers had been rebooked for free and

But I think just quietly, Rex, the administrator of Rex at least, they're pretty comfortable with the fact that they reckon they will find an owner. Forget the capital city runs, they won't be doing that. But they may well find a new buyer for Rex Regional, which would be a good thing. 131873. Well, Israel's military has deployed search and rescue battalions to a number of cities, including Tel Aviv and Haifa.

in preparation for a major destruction event if the Iranians attack. So they've got search and rescue battalions in cities within Israel in preparation for a potential attack from the Iranians. So you've got Hezbollah's chief, Hassan Nasrallah. He declared that the group in Lebanon and Iran were obliged to respond to Israel, quote-unquote,

Whatever the consequences. And the Israeli Defence Forces confirmed that it had sent rapid rescue teams to city in the south and centre of the country in case there are mass building collapses. And a permanent battalion has now been deployed to the tourist city of Eilat as well. Hopefully none of this. Hopefully this is just all in case of.

Hopefully it is just in case of, because if we see Iran attack Israel or vice versa, and it all of a sudden descends into a wider regional war with Israel, Lebanon, Iran, it'll drag in the other Arab states, Yemen will be involved.

Of course, the United States will be involved, the United Kingdom. And then what happens to Russia, China, North Korea? It's got all sorts of problems written all over it, doesn't it? Let's just hope and pray it does not eventuate. 131873. Now, I just got a text here from Harry. He says, good afternoon, Chris and team. Yesterday, you gave some news and information about Bangladesh. Please, Chris, can you update us on what is happening?

Well, Harry, I've just grabbed this out of the Al Jazeera website, and it says, Bangladesh's Nobel laureate, Muhammad Yunus, will head the country's interim government after former Prime Minister Sheik Hasina stepped down and fled the country after that mass uprising and all of that violence that we saw, which led to protesters storm her official residence. They're in her bedroom. The Prime Minister's bedroom was frightening.

that largely student protests, however you saw chiefs of the country's three divisions of the military, as well as civil society members and business leaders, all now hold a meeting to decide who would be the new Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

And it's Muhammad Yunus is the answer to that. So looks like the violence has quelled somewhat in Bangladesh. I know we've got a big Bangladeshi population here in Sydney, but they do have a new leader of that country and hopefully he can get it back on course.

In the newsroom, Josh Bryant. G'day. Good afternoon, Chris. Police are looking for at least two other men as they investigate the theft of more than 60,000 unreleased Bluey coins from a warehouse in Sydney's west. One man has already been charged. The US says ceasefire negotiations in Gaza are at a decisive moment as the country works to avoid an escalation of conflict in the Middle East.

A man has been taken for a mental health assessment after he was charged over a fire which injured a 71-year-old man in Western Sydney. And former Nine and News Corp journalist and author Jane Hanson has died after a battle with brain cancer. In sport, Parramatta's new NRL coaching team is taking shape. The incoming coach, Jason Riles, has appointed the experienced Nathan Brown as his assistant. Brown coached Riles during their time at the Dragons. We'll have more news in sport at four. Good on you, Josh. 1318...

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. Coming up, we're going to talk about these ticketless parking fines. You know when you show up and a couple of weeks later you all of a sudden get a fine in the mail?

But you never knew you were booked in the first instance. Well, the government, they want to put an end to it. They want to bring back paper parking tickets. I'll speak with the minister next. Well, I don't know if you've noticed this, but I certainly have. When you're parking in a spot, you think it's all good. You might have overstayed your welcome or something, but you wouldn't know until, I don't know, 10 days, two weeks later when up on your service New South Wales app pops a fine.

or you get one in the mail. Now, these are these ticketless parking fines. Let me know if you've had these. 131873. I've always been of the view they are unethical, that if you get caught in a parking spot and you get fined in a parking spot, the ticket should be applied to your car. That way...

If you're in the right, and sometimes you are, you can actually gather some evidence to then mount a case to Revenue NSW as to why that parking fine should not stand. But local councils are issuing ticketless parking fines at record rates. So there's been a 49% jump in the use of the system in the 2023-2024 financial year. And I noted that the Minister for Finance, Courtney Hussos...

She reckons it fails to meet community expectations. But what can the government do about it? The Minister's on the line for us. Minister, thank you for your time. Good afternoon, Chris. Thanks so much for having me on. Can you force councils to bring back the paper tickets?

- Yeah, so Chris, we're looking at a range of options and I completely agree with you in the concerns that you've outlined in your introduction there. In March, I wrote to councils and I outlined those exact same reasons. I don't think the system is fair 'cause it doesn't give drivers the chance to collect evidence if they wanna dispute the fine

it's not as effective as a deterrent to immediately change behaviour. And like you say, drivers can get fined multiple times before they receive the fine in the mail. So I gave them some time to come up with their own solutions and to...

be fair to them. About 30 of them have indicated publicly or back to Revenue NSW through the process we've established that they're open to fixing or to adding some fairness to the scheme. But the new data today shows us that we just have to act. And a 49% increase in ticketless parking, it's just not fair. Isn't that interesting? Is there any reasoning as to why a 49% increase in ticketless parking fines, yet there's been a 22% drop

in the old-fashioned ticket parking fines? Yeah, so we don't have access to local data collection methods or, sorry, to local data that councils hold around collection methods or numbers of ranges or anything like that. But what I can see is that there's been such an exponential increase in ticketless parking and a fall away in the traditional parking fines. I think it points to a problem and that's why I'm saying today we're going to step in. Okay. What's step in look like?

Yeah, so since we wrote to the councils in March, we started looking at the different policy levers we've got and we're sort of deep in that work at the moment. We're going to have an announcement soon, but we're not ruling anything out. Well, when you say so, can you give us some sort of examples, just some broad stroke stuff? Yeah.

Yeah, so some of the things that have been canvassed is additional signage or, you know, last resort would be legislation. I really wanted to give councils the opportunity to come up with their own solutions and full credit out in Dubbo, they're issuing little business cards onto the screens of councils, onto the screens of cars now with a little QR code. In Inner West, they've actually just continued to issue fines. I know. They use revenue in New South Wales. Yeah, I know, I'm across that.

Collect the money, but they're still just going with it. So I think I really thought councils, I wanted them to come up with their own kind of common sense solution. I just don't think that that's going to happen. And so we're going to have to step in. What's their justification for going ticketless?

Yeah, so it was a scheme that was introduced by the previous government. There's been a couple of different reasons that have been given to me. I just have to say I just don't think it passes a common sense – I just don't think it's a common sense approach. I think people expect that if they've done the wrong thing, they expect that immediate notification. Okay.

For me, there's an ethical thing here. It feels a little bit cheeky and a little bit underhanded just to book someone and then walk off and not let them know, right?

Yeah, look, and I've got to say, as a government, we've ended the previous government's secret speed cameras. We don't support secret parking fines. Like, I agree with you. I think there's a level of fairness and transparency that's expected from the community. And fair cop, if you've done the wrong thing, then you take the fine. But if there's an extenuating circumstance and you want to be able to challenge it, you want to be able to take a photo at the time or you want to know that you've parked in the wrong spot so you don't do it the next day as well. When's the last time you got a parking ticket? Oh.

I haven't had one for quite some time. I'm a very good customer of Revenue NSW, Minister. You're a frequent shopper, huh?

Anyway, I appreciate this. We should be consulting with you about the different methods. No, just put the ticket on. Just put the ticket on. You've got to bring it back. I appreciate you coming on. And, you know, I don't think anyone in New South Wales would begrudge you passing some legislation to force councils to alert people, hey, we've just booked you. Thank you so much for your time. Thanks so much, Chris. That's the Minister for Finance, Courtney Hussos, 131873. Have you copped these ticketless parking fines?

It is a strange one too, because if you have a dead set reason or there's, you know, in front of the sign, there's some bushes or whatever it is obstructing the sign that you should be adhering to. Well, if it's ticketless, then you can't take the evidence. It can't take the photos to then challenge the fine. Can you? So bring back the tickets. I say good on the minister. You tell me one, three, one, eight, seven, three. It's coming up to a quarter to four. Now a major childcare chain.

has backflipped on a decision to cease the recording of CCTV footage. It's a whole bunch of parents who were not happy about this. So it's called Mini Masterminds. They've got 16 childcare centres across Sydney and they've got 10 more centres in new suburbs calling for expressions of interest. So they've got 16 with 10 more to come. And there was a guy by the name of Tom

who sends his child, his boy, to Mini Masterminds at Olympic Park. And he reckons he decided on it because it's got CCTV and the parents can log in and have a look at it. Now...

What's occurred as a result of this was the senior leadership team has decided to cease the recording of CCTV footage, and this action is intended to enhance the protection of children's right to respect and dignity and further minimise the risk of misuse of their digital images in accordance with sector-wide child protection. Now, hang on a second. If you're talking about the child's right to respect and dignity, I wouldn't have thought...

The parent checking the CCTV on an app of how their kids are going that day is really all that egregious, is it? And to be honest with you, don't you want CCTV in their recording? We know what can happen in childcare centres. I'm not saying that it does. It happens very rarely, but it does. It does. And you can understand why parents, they get a bit... And you feel funny when you're sending your child off to childcare the first time. You do. You feel weird about it.

We don't have this option at our daycare, but I can understand why parents have chosen a certain daycare centre that allows them to log in and watch CCTV footage of what their kids have been up to that day.

So clearly the parents have kicked off. There's been complaint after complaint after complaint and mini masterminds, the daycare centre chain has decided to backflip on it and the CCTV remains 131873. Well, Questacon, you know, Questacon in Canberra. Did you read this? There was a nine-year-old child's hands that were allegedly cut

somehow caught fire when they touched a plasma globe at Questacon. So this happened in July of 2022, and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has now charged a federal government department over the incident because the child, nine years old, suffered some pretty serious burns to their hands and their wrists.

Now, Questacon is an agency of the Federal Department of Industry, Science and Resources. Most people have been to Questacon in Canberra. There's not much else to do in Canberra, but Questacon is a great day out. However, Comcare, which is the federal organisation, alleges that the Department of Industry, Science and Resources failed in its primary health and safety duty under the legislation and that it could have eliminated or minimised risks through four different measures anyway.

The plasma globes, clearly there was something of an issue for it because during COVID, they put an alcohol-based hand sanitizer on the plasma globes, which caught fire and set fire to the kids' hands. So if convicted, the department faces a fine of up to $1.5 million.

Feels like it's fait accompli at this point. 1-3-1-8-7-3.

All I wanted in retirement was to feel confident with my money. So I picked an income account with my industry super fund. Now I take enough for day-to-day things, splash out when I fancy, 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.

Oh!

The Aussies will now race Team GB for the gold medal. Australia will play for a medal in women's water polo. The Stingers beat in Greece 9-6 to advance to the semi-finals. NBA legend LeBron James has needed four stitches just above his eye after copping an accidental elbow as the US thumped Brazil by 35 points in the men's quarter-finals. To the medal tally now and the USA leads with 24 gold medals.

Australia is third with 14. New Zealand is 13th with three gold. That's the latest from Paris. I'm Adam Hawes. That metal telly update was thanks to Toyota, Australian Olympic and Paralympic team partner. Oh, what a feeling. Good on you, Hawesy. Now, just on the ticketless or paperless parking fines, I've got Joe who's called in from Bankstown. G'day, Joe. Hey, Chris. How are you going? I'm good, thank you, Joe. What's your story?

Mate, I was at Cabramatta, you know Cabramatta, that main road that's a one-way road. Well, there was a guy about to pull out, but he was putting stuff in his boot, so I pulled in front of him, which was a loading zone. So I waited for him to leave. Once he left, I reversed back. Then eight, nine days later, I looked through my RMS app, and I had a fine. Hang on, were you in the driver's seat the whole time?

Drive a seat, blinker on, reverse lights on, windows down. I sent it to Revenue. I explained to them. Their reply was, you're in a loading zone. Now, the issue was that if it was a ranger walking, fine, you can see him. Hey, mate, I'm just waiting for the guy. I'm reversing back. But what they do now is they sit in their cars, they drive past you, and they just take photos and keep going. That's what they do. That's rough, Joe.

But then I replied again, like I even replied, I said, mate, can you look at it properly? I'm in the car, my windows are down, reverse lights on. I'm waiting for a guy to come out. And they just said, sorry, you're in a loading zone. We can't do nothing about it. But usually when they see you in, even if they see you near the car or about to get in it, they go, I don't worry about it.

That's rough. Because they sit in the car and they drive now, they don't get out of the car. They just take photos and they just keep driving. Joe, I'm sorry about that. What did it cost you? Yep, all revenue. What can we do? What was it, $200 or something?

189, I think it was. Oh, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe. Sorry about that, mate. That is an absolute shocker. Good on you. That's Joe sitting in the loading zone in front of a bloke waiting for him to leave. Joe's there, blinker on, window down, sitting in the car. They drive past, take a photo, find, gets it two weeks later. This is the reason why the ticketless parking system is a bad system. Darren, is it Phillip Bay? Hello, Darren. Hello, mate. How you going? Good. Thank you, Darren.

I reckon I can top that. My daughter got a P plate, so she's had them for about two months, and she was going to school with the car. And she's in Year 12, and as they do, they have different period starts. So anyway, she pulled up in the parking zone, school parking zone, which finishes at 9.30, and she did that three days in a row, and we got three fines at 9.28 in a row, $220 each, and she lost her licence.

How'd she lose her licence? They take points off her. Two points. Two points for a school zone. And one of the photos, I looked at the photos, one of the photos had her standing next to the car about to cross the road. Oh, 9.28. And she's in a school uniform and everything? In a school uniform. And they stood there and waited three days in a row. And you don't know until, because I got the fines one after the other in the mail. What council was it? I didn't realise. That was Redwood Council. Look, I know they're just doing their job, but that's pretty low.

Well, I mean, he could have said to her, love, you can't park there. 100%. She was standing next to the car. 100%. And he's taken a photo of it. 100%. So, yeah, that was pretty ordinary. It cost me $660, and she's lost her licence for three months. Oh, Darren. Well, tell her it's... I'd like to say it gets better, but it probably doesn't, does it? No. All right, mate. Good on you, Darren. Have a good afternoon. Steve's at Pimble. Hello, Steve. G'day, mate. I can beat that, but in a weird way. Yeah.

Yeah, I hired a van to do some moving for my ex-wife and I was sitting in the office on Monday and I got this email from the rental car company saying, we've just processed a $30 admin charge against your credit card for a parking fine. I'm like, where do I get a parking fine? I drove from Castle Hill to Pimble, back to Castle Hill. The ticket was issued in the city the day after I hired the car. You didn't have to pay it, did you? No.

Well, it's still sitting in my service New South Wales. So I rang service New South Wales. I rang a hire company and they said, oh, you're right, you weren't driving, you weren't renting the car on that day. We're really sorry. Can you ring the Office of State Revenue and ask them to pull it back? So I rang Office of State Revenue and bizarrely enough got straight through.

Like the gods resigning. I mean, State Revenue go, actually, we can't do that because they can easily repent and send it back to you. They need to pull it back from you. Oh, good luck. Steve, good luck. I think you'll be paying that, mate. Now it's lost in the interweb of the bureaucracy. I think you're in all sorts of trouble. Hey, Steve, for your troubles, I've got a double pass to Total Legends coming your way. It's got baby animals, Marsha Hines, the whole bit.

You're awesome, mate. Thank you. You're very welcome, Steve. And guess who else is playing? It's at the Sydney Coliseum, Rudy Hill, Wednesday the 25th of September. Tickets on sale now from Ticketek. Daryl Braithwaite will be there too. The 4 o'clock news is coming up very shortly with Josh Bryant. On the other side of that, I'll speak to the CEO of NIDA, you know, the Dramatic Institute of...

of arts there in Kensington. They are dead set against student housing being built by the University of New South Wales. You're talking about 900 people, homes for 900 people. Isn't that a good thing in a housing crisis? We'll find out NIDA's justification coming up soon.

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 Wednesday afternoon. 131 873 is our open line number. The text line 0460 873 873 or email me drive at 2GB.com. Coming up, did you see Eric Trump has threatened to send Prince Harry...

Leave the United States and send him back to the United Kingdom. Is he just being funny or what's all that about? Plus, this insurance claim that has destroyed a family in the Sutherland Shire, it will make your blood boil. I'll speak to James in a sec. Well, a teacher will face court after she was arrested at school and she's been accused of sexual offences relating to a 17-year-old student of hers.

She's a 30-year-old woman at a school in southwest Sydney, and detectives were investigating reports that a 17-year-old boy had been sexually touched by this teacher. She's been refused bail and spent last night in custody, but she's been charged with sexually touching a person aged between 17 and 18 under special care.

and sexual intercourse with a person between the same ages while under special care. So someone from the Department of Education has confirmed that a teacher has been suspended without pay after being charged with this offence, and the department says they are providing support to students and staff that require it.

Now, it's understood that the allegations have also been referred to the department's Professional and Ethical Standards Directorate, and they are also liaising with police. 131873. Well, the Sydney Morning Herald might have happened upon quite a big story here. So people who try to sidestep rules to cut big money out of politics...

will be hit with jail time and big fines. So this is a once-in-a-generation shake-up to Australia's election system, and it is set to dominate parliamentary debate. So senior Labor sources have told the Sydney Morning Herald that final details were being worked through on a wholesale revamp of the Electoral Act, and if successful, the legislation would take effect in the next term of Parliament, and...

It includes stopping billionaires from trying to buy election outcomes, which would mean a cap on the amount each candidate can receive in donations, likely in the tens of thousands of dollars per year, and also a cap on how much a political party can spend in an individual seat.

Now, the sources who have told the Herald, they reckon that a seat-by-seat spending cap would be set at under $1 million. So that means Climate 200 would have some problems. The Teals would have some problems. I think Monique Ryan and Allegra Spender both spent $2.1 million to win Kuyong and Wentworth. I think Zoe Daniel...

$1.6 million, so they'd be over this cap. I know the Greens too. The Greens direct all their fundraising at sort of one or two seats. I think they've got Brisbane and Melbourne. So they'd be over the cap as well. But if people try and circumvent the donation laws...

You're looking at 18 months in jail, potentially. 18 months in jail, if proven. So, you know, to be honest, any reasonable...

overhaul of our donation system with our public officials I think is a good thing as long as it doesn't stymie democracy but I don't like the idea of you know billionaires coming in and spending 50 100 million dollars to try to buy elections they can still advertise as much as they want to advertise I suppose on a national scale just seat by seat that's the problem 131873 now imagine this

Your family home is destroyed by a massive storm, right? And you're helpless to do anything about it. Then a few months later, the same thing happens again. Another massive storm and more damage to your home. Yet two years on, it still hasn't been repaired or replaced. So James and his family in the Sutherland Shire have had two years of bureaucratic red tape, broken promises, and they've been given the runaround by a major insurance company,

And they're stuck in the family home that is falling to pieces. So over two years, James and his family have been chasing a double AMI or AMI insurance. They've been going back and forth with the Financial Complaints Authority to try to get the house fixed. But even after double AMI agreed to pay for the repairs, no work's been done. And it's been two years.

Look, we've reached out to AAMI. They said they're looking into it and they'll get back to us with a statement. But James Smith is the homeowner from the Southland Shire and he's been through hell this last two years. He's on the line. James, g'day.

Hi, Chris. Thanks for having me on your show. You're very welcome. Thank you for coming on. So tell us about the storms and the damage to your home. What happened? Yeah, so we had the storm events in February and March in 2022. We called the insurance company for assistance, as you normally would. They lodged a claim, gave us a claims number, but that was it. Didn't come out, didn't send anybody out. So what was wrong with the home?

So we had water leaking through the ceiling. So, yeah, obviously water damage there. And, yeah, multiple calls to the insurance company to get them to come out and have a look. Nothing happened. Then we had the second storm event in June, July. Once again, called the insurance company. They finally sent someone to come out.

They put a small, tiny little Bunnings-style tarp on the roof. And within four hours of that being put in place, we had to call them up again to try and make safe trades to come back because the ceiling was starting to give away. Yeah, right. It was starting to sag, wasn't it?

Yeah, yeah. It was starting to sag and pop. And this is not normal gyproc. This is the old fibrous plaster. So the roof's... Fair to say the roof's buggered, right? You've got a situation now where you're fully insured with a double AMI. You go to your insurer to say, OK, well, it's storm damage. And it was a storm that I think was quite...

quietly, wildly reported on and it wasn't just your home. There were lots of homes that were damaged, especially in that Sutherland Shire area. What occurred then when you put a claim into AA Myra Fixit?

Well, effectively, they stalled us. They eventually, they finally moved us out around the 4th of July into temporary accommodation. All the while, they would send out their make safe trades to come and investigate. As we found out later on through the process, they were only there to gain evidence to decline our claim.

They then declined our claim in its entirety in November of that year, forcing us to then kick this out of the temporary accommodation, forcing us to live on our property in our garage and in tents in the back garden while we then took it to ASCA. What was the reason they gave to deny the claim? Lack of maintenance, I believe, was their reasoning. What, you didn't take good enough care of the roof so the insurance didn't stand? No.

Correct, that's right. They even went as far as sending plumbers down to put pipes in there to check the stormwater drainage. Speaking to one of their claims managers on the phone, they said that it was my responsibility to ensure that the piping in the ground was suitable. Right. You go to AFCA, the Financial Complaints Authority, you go to the Financial Complaints Authority and you win.

Correct. Yeah, we do. The insurance company overturned its decision in September last year, stating in an email to ASCA that they accepted the claim in its entirety. And you still haven't sorted it out? No. In fact, the insurance company and its makesafe trades have caused a greater level of damage to the home than what the initial storm did. So where are you at now?

We're currently living in temporary accommodation that the insurance company has put us up in. We can't gain access to our home. Our home, we haven't been able to gain access to it since the 7th of April this year because of safety concerns around asbestos.

One of the ceilings and the roof in our home has collapsed because the sandbags that the insurance companies make safe trades placed on the roof caused the tiles to crack and collapse where that wasn't a problem in the past. Are you any closer to getting it fixed?

No, no, we're not. We've had to now lodge another claim with AFCA and in doing so we've received communication from the insurer basically stating that they've effectively ceased communication with us until they find out an answer from AFCA. Lucky you're with Amy, hey? Absolutely, yeah. So you guys must be, have you got kids and everything?

I do. I've got two kids, boy and a girl, young teenagers, both, you know, going through hell and back. My wife has had to go and speak to a counsellor, a psychologist, because she's not coping. The kids have had to speak to their student counsellors at school because they're not coping. I mean, the kids have to walk past the home from the high school to go to the sports field. And, you know, they're embarrassed. Yeah.

It shouldn't be this way. No, it should not. And you've got no timeline, James, as it stands today? None? As it stands today, no timeline at all. I just, yeah. Is it much work? No.

Look, we've been told by people that the home is condemned by their make safe trades. They've actually said that it's condemned. We've been told that the home is uninhabitable. I mean, no one's lived in there for two years and it's been open to the elements all that time. And every time that we press the insurance company, they just seem to give us excuses. Are you still paying your mortgage?

Still paying mortgage, still paying council rates, still paying all of that. You just basically, we've had 17 claims managers through this whole process each

Each time you talk to someone else, they've all got their own agenda, which they're obviously reading off a screen or a manual. It's like you're banging your head up against a brick wall. You just don't seem to get anywhere. And I think that's what the insurance companies want. They don't want to pay you out. No, it doesn't feel that way. Hey, James, speaking of banging, I will be banging my head up against double AMI's door as loud as I possibly can to try to get this resolved for you. All right.

Yeah, appreciate it. You know, it's the mental health and stress that they're putting us through without, you know, giving us a thought. Mate, you pay your premiums.

You make a claim, you think the claim would be resolved. It is as basic as that. And these insurance companies, they run nice glossy ads and they do their nice jingles and everything. But when it comes to paying up, gee whiz, they can make some excuses for not doing so. James, I really appreciate your time. No promises, but I'll do my best, okay? Thanks for your time, Chris. I appreciate it. That's James Smith. He's a homeowner in the Sutherland Shire. Fancy that happening, living in tents in your backyard in the garage.

Then your home's condemned. 131873 Hugh says on the text line, Chris, come on. Amy is making such wonderful feel-good Olympic ads on the nine group. Are you telling me they wouldn't pay up? No way. Well, I don't care where they run their ads, Hugh. All that matters is that if somebody pays an insurance premium...

And there is storm damage. That insurance premium should cover the storm damage, not put people through years and years and years of pain. And you hear it too often. And I don't care whether it's Amy, whether it's Suncorp, whether it's Allianz, they all do it. They all do it.

And they sit there and they try to make everyone feel good or you need your insurance. But when somebody tries to get a claim through, they put you through hell and back. And what James and his family are going through is just not on. Again, we've emailed AAMI. We are trying to get to the bottom of it for them. But honestly, the

the people involved in corporate affairs at that company should be ashamed of themselves if this is the way they're treating people. It's just terrible. 131873, have you had any dealings with Amy, the insurance company? Have they been good? Have they been bad? Have they been indifferent? Share them with me. It's 24 past four. It's 24 past four. Now, if you listen to Ben Fordham this morning, this gin story where police commissioner Karen Webb bought gin as a present gift

For dignitaries, look, it feels to me like it's all a bit of a storm in a teacup. But anyway, might not be. I don't know. But this is a release from the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, which you don't get very often. But it's called Operation Askern. And I'll read it to you. This is effectively the people that oversee...

Police officers conduct in New South Wales. So it's a body set up to do that. And they've said this on the 27th of September, 2023, the LECC, the law enforcement conduct commission responded,

received an anonymous complaint in relation to the purchase of Commissioner's gin and the failure by Commissioner Webb to declare a conflict of interest in respect to this purchase. Now the Commission began investigation into this complaint in October of 2023 called Operation Askern. The Commission has now concluded that the investigation made the following findings. One, the

The commission is of the view the evidence does not support a finding of serious misconduct against Commissioner Webb or any other police officer in the relation to the purchase of Commissioner's gin and presentation boxes. The commission is satisfied that the purchase was in accordance with policies and procedures.

Three, the commission found that Commissioner Webb should have disclosed her association with the supplier when she became aware of the purchase of Commissioner's gin.

And the commission recommended that all New South Wales police force employees, including senior executive and the commissioner of police, are regularly reminded of their duty to declare conflicts of interest, including a perceived conflict of interest. Now, I don't know what the conflict of interest was or the association between the supplier of the commissioner's gin and Commissioner Karen Webb is or was. I've got no idea.

except the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission is clearly October 2023. So the best part of, you know, 10 months they've been investigating this complaint. And again, of the view, the evidence does not support a finding of serious misconduct against Commissioner Webb and is satisfied that the purchase was in accordance with policies and procedures. I don't know what is going on at the moment, but it feels like there is some sort of campaign that,

To get rid of Commissioner Webb. And I don't see how it is justified any which way. You know, what do you want Karen Webb to be? A politician or a police officer? Now, we've got bigger problems in the police right now. That is, one, they need to be paid more money. Hell of a lot more money. Two, they need to be supported a hell of a lot better when it comes to their mental health and PTSD and everything else they see. And three, we need more coppers. You know how you get more coppers? Fix one and two.

If you fix problems one and two, you'll retain and recruit more police officers. Now, I just find all this stuff about gin and wine and all the rest of it such a sideshow that it distracts from the real issues confronting our police force here in New South Wales. And this distraction is not of Karen Webb's making.

This is of people, in my view, that seem to have some juvenile vendetta against the current commissioner. What's Karen Webb done to anybody? Is she doing that bad a job? I don't see it. 131873, I really don't. And I haven't even got Karen Webb's mobile number to text her.

I have no association with the commissioner. I have no sides. I don't care, right? I really don't care. I just want our police force, the men and women who are doing the job, to be looked after properly. That is, pay them and look after their mental health so they can be retained. That way we'll be able to recruit more of them. It's really that simple. And I just find this whole thing very strange. Very, very strange. And I'm told that there is somebody in New South Wales Parliament today thinking about...

saying a few things under parliamentary privilege so he will not be sued and I've had a briefing on what those details may be and all I'll say is you'd want some evidence behind them before you go under parliamentary privilege and just effectively just spray whatever it is you're going to say. I won't say any more than that because I don't know if it is going to come to pass but you know

I just let the police do what the police do well. That's lock up crooks. 131873. Just on the insurance issue, I've got Roy at Annan Grove. Hello, Roy. Yeah, hi, Chris. How are you? I'm good, thank you, mate. What's your story?

Look, I was just saying to your outsider there and sympathising with your caller, you know, I've had a property up in Caboolture, you know, just before the big storms you might remember in Queensland. That is, you know, the big cyclones or whatever in January. Happy, you know, that was with budget insurance. Happy to take your money.

You know, and after about two, three months, obviously, when I put a claim in and they come back with the same story, well, the property hasn't been maintained and it doesn't meet the current building, you know, standards, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. What I'm saying, and as I was pointing out to your off-sider...

is really the government should step in. Any house that's 15, 20 years old, the insurance company has to sort of declare their hand to the potential policy purchaser and say, well, look, we're going to send somebody out to, you know, to...

Look at your place. It's going to cost $250, $300 if you're prepared to pay it. We'll see. If there are some discrepancies and, you know, you don't fix the property, we won't insure it. Yeah. Roy, you know what? Roy, if the insurance companies don't want to do their due diligence, then they shouldn't take your business.

Yeah, well, that's what I'm saying. They want the cake and eat it too. 100%. So some poor guy can go out there for 5, 10, 15 years and insure the house, and then all of a sudden they come back and say, well, it doesn't meet the current standard. Yeah, well, tough. Tough. You shouldn't have taken my money then. That's the response to the insurance company. 100%. 100%. Good on you, Roy. Have a good afternoon. 131873. Lots of texts here. Grant says, G'day, Chris. I can vouch for that current caller. It took us 12 months to get our payout from AAMI.

And that was after threatening them with a current affair because we've got a mate who's a reporter there. They say they're lucky to be with them. What a joke. Here's another one. Chris, Amy, owned by Suncorp. Give them a call. They were crap when I had a motor vehicle accident. Not at fault. After I went to Suncorp, they moved on it.

Here's another one. Damo, Chris, we just had an insurance claim refused. Wife's car copped water damage from heavy rain. It filled with mould. Assessor says, we can't find where the water would get in, but the water got in because of wear and tear, and that is not covered. What? Well, that's the problem, Damo. And to be honest, we still haven't heard back from Amy Insurance. And are we really all that lucky to be with them if this is how they treat people? Lucky you're with Amy.

In the newsroom, Josh Bryant. G'day. Good afternoon again, Chris. The state's finance minister says they're working on a solution with councils to stop drivers being stung by ticketless parking fines weeks after an alleged infringement. The police watchdog, as you were just discussing, has concluded its investigation into the purchase of alcohol by the police commissioner, finding it was in accordance with policies and procedures. QantasLink has announced up to 51 jobs are being cut from its engineering facility in Tampines.

Tamworth due to a change in its fleet and businesses are being promised simplified customs process with Indonesia under a new agreement that's been signed between our countries. In sport, the Wallabies test against South Africa on Saturday in Brisbane is officially sold out. Forward Harry Wilson says they're up to the challenge of taking down the world champions. We'll have more news in sport at five. Good on you, Josh. We're going to speak to the CEO of NIDA.

coming up very shortly. It's the Dramatic Arts Institute there on Anzac Parade in Kensington, because there's a big blue between NIDA and the University of New South Wales over a potential housing development. I'll talk about it next. Now, we're in a housing crisis, and it's no secret that I am supportive of building more houses, and I think most of us are now.

So I thought it was great when the University of New South Wales announced they were going to build masses of student accommodation on a parking lot, a car park in Kensington on Anzac Parade there. Now, the issue is that the car park is right next to Australia's premier acting school in NIDA.

Now, NIDA says they are going to cop tens of millions of dollars of losses as a result of construction and that they've been kept totally in the dark about what's happening during the construction period. Well, it's not ideal, and I do feel for NIDA. Look, construction is construction, and we need houses, right? Now, look, if we can ease any of those pains and reduce the impact on NIDA, surely there is a negotiated outcome. But you are talking about apartments for 900 people.

And I did think it was a bit curious that world-famous NIDA alumni have weighed in trying to influence the outcome of whether or not these units should be built. So you've got Mel Gibson and Richard Roxburgh, among 10 other NIDA graduates, who've signed a letter to the University of New South Wales Vice-Chancellor. And the letter says that the proposed project threatens the future.

of one of Australia's most significant cultural and educational institutions, and in doing so, the next generation of talent. That sounds like a little bit like hyperbole to me, but let's get to the bottom of it. Liz Hughes is the CEO of NIDA, and she joins me on the line. Liz, g'day. Hello, Chris. How are you? I'm not too bad. So your opposition largely revolves around what points?

So, and just to explain a bit about NIDUS, of course, we're an acting school, but we also train the whole, all the behind the scenes courses. So we have, we're really like the trades people of the arts. We're trainings. We have construction, construction technologies courses. We've got rigging. We've got electrical courses, technical lighting and stage management, specialist makeup, et cetera. So we do actually do a lot of construction work as well because it's pre-trained.

So very practical, it's vocational education and training and it's higher ed, but it's very much you learn what you do in the industry. And that methodology makes the NIDA alumni very employable as well. So that training is really important. So in terms of impact, the challenge is that the building is actually less than seven metres away from NIDA.

And therefore, it actually blocks critical vehicle and pedestrian access, causing safety issues. So we need to get our semi-trailers in, our large trucks in for our scenic construction course. There's no drop-off zone for the many thousands of kids and families and visitors tonight. And we'll force the closure of several of our critical teaching theatres, music and sound studios for an extended period of time.

It will require the relocation of five floors of specialised performance space over the period. And as you mentioned, the financial impacts are very stark. So we generate 45 to 50% of our own revenue and the development puts at risk a lot of the activity that we would typically do to actually subsidise our program. Like what?

So for example, in terms of the revenue, where it comes from, yeah, so basically we have around 100,000 people a year that come, like schools and community groups and primary schools, high schools, dance. We have a massive dance season in December. So they all come and hire our venue and they have their big kind of events at NIDA. So why won't that be able to proceed?

So, well, at the moment, the easement that the development on has got our stage door where all of the students all line up. But there's nowhere for them to go to actually arrive safely. And all the parents wait there as well. There's about 25,000 people. Surely there's a spot for them to line up. Pardon? Surely there's a spot for people to line up. Well, not safely. So there's space, but there's not safe space in terms of pedestrian access. OK.

So there's nowhere along Anzac Parade or anywhere on the NIDA property that people can line up? So the problem is where do they drop off as well? So a lot of these people have dropped off. Where do the Ubers go? Where do the taxis go? We used to have, before the light rail, we used to have a drop-off zone. I hate to break it to you, but you sound like an NIMBY.

Well, look, we're very supportive of affordable accommodation. Very, very supportive. In fact, we need it for our students. And the development that's being proposed is basically expensive accommodation and will be unaffordable to NIDA students and to other students as well. But Liz, that's not... The cost of the property, given it's not yours, it's the University of New South Wales, the cost has really got nothing to do with whether or not it should be built or not.

Well, I think that it's quite a big space and there's a solution for both parties to have a good outcome so that our operations aren't fundamentally disrupted. And also they get, you know, still, you know, lots and lots and lots of student accommodation as well. With the 900 students that potentially could go into the proposal from the University of New South Wales,

Those 900 students at the moment are likely to be in the private rental market. Those private rentals will be vacant for other people to access. Isn't that a good thing in a housing crisis?

So I think that you're assuming, I think the big play, I think, for the accommodation next door is for very much wealthy students. You have to pay overnight. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You're missing my point. So those wealthy students right now would otherwise have to be in the private market elsewhere around Randwick and Kingsford or anywhere else in Sydney. All of a sudden, they can go in right next to NIDA or right next to the University of New South Wales. They don't need the private accommodation they otherwise would have had to rent out. So that's, other people can use it.

Well, in theory, but actually you're bringing in, what really is happening here is you're bringing in other students that typically wouldn't study here so that they can study in Australia, which is fantastic, and offering very expensive accommodation. So you're worried about importing students? No, no, no. I'm worried about affordable accommodation. But again, what's that got to do with NIDA?

Well, we're very happy for the UNSW to develop their property. Yeah, but it's their property and the price of the unit, what does it have to do with NIDA? Look, I take your point that the challenge for us is actually the way... You get to mount an argument to me as to why this shouldn't be built.

I'm not saying it shouldn't be built at all. All I'm saying is that it would be fantastic if some of the considerations about all of the neighbours, not just us, could actually be able to operate and function and not be detrimentally impacted. Yeah.

by a lot of accommodation that could just be built in a way that is more manageable so that we could actually both fit together and work more harmoniously on the side. I feel sorry for the University of New South Wales. I thought I'd never say that because you need to deal with an honest party in goodwill to get a good outcome. And I'm not sure if neither is that party, Liz.

Well, I'm putting forward my perspective and it's pretty clear to us that we're not asking for a lot. We're just asking for it to be moved back a little. We're asking to have access to our buildings so we can get our vehicles in, our trucks in, you know, 100,000 people a year can actually stop and undertake the programs here. The community can come in as well.

You know, we're not asking to stop the development at all. We're actually positive for the site to be developed. We just want it to be developed in a way that we can actually operate. If we can find somewhere for the 100,000 people over the course of the year to line up and use the NIDA facility, you're happy for it to be built? Yeah, that's right. We just want to be able to operate. We want people to be able to access the site. That's all. Okay. Well, Liz, surely that can be negotiated with the University of New South Wales. Surely. Yeah.

And look, we have been trying to negotiate for quite a period of time. So, and in fact, we have been in, you know, a very close decades long engagement and partnership with them for decades. So we're quite surprised when the UNSW in March 2023 announced

when we told them basically we wouldn't be able to operate in the way that we do now with the building so close. They ignored us, they filed the DA and in their plans, UNSW Igloo still have a building that is 6.89 metres away. - Just for the record,

I do have to go, but you can understand. And from talking to you, I'm sure you're coming from a perspective that you're trying to ensure that NIDA is operational and all the rest of it. But some of your requests, I think an objective person would say they sound unreasonable.

So stopping and getting access to our site so that we can run our course. So there's nowhere in, this is the thing, you can't possibly tell me that there's nowhere on the NIDA site that people can't line up and get access to the site. That just doesn't seem sensical to me.

So for the scenic construction course with our students, we actually need big beams to come in, large objects to come in. We actually need to get materials in because we've got a fully functioning workshop. So we need to have vehicular access. That's really, really critical. We need 178 garbage trucks to come in. You know, there's a lot of stuff that... Again, I don't see how any of this is insurmountable. Things are built every day.

Yes, and our bishop wasn't insurmountable and we have been trying to talk to the university for quite a period of time. Unfortunately, they signed a deed with Igloo because we were quite confused going, why aren't they talking to us? And they signed a deed with Igloo where they basically weren't able to talk to us without Igloo being present and weren't able to basically have a conversation openly about the problem so we could come to a solution. All the best, Liz. I appreciate you coming on.

Okay, thank you. That's the CEO of NIDA, Liz Hughes. 131873. Look, everyone's got to protect their own patch, but...

You wonder why we've got a housing crisis, eh? 12 to 5. A Paris 2024 Olympic Games update. Thanks to Harvey Norman. Proud to be Australia's official retail partner. Powered by LG. Partner of Nine's Olympic broadcast. Hi there, Adam Hawes with an Olympics update. While our rugby sevens, women's football and men's basketball teams have all bitten the dust, our water polo teams continue to strive for gold. The Sharks, the surprise packets of the competition...

It's been a long time since the Stingers were in a semi, so we're just so excited to be representing the Stingers and holding a legacy. We've won a quarterfinal and I don't think any of us can believe it, but we're so, so excited.

Gold medal chances tonight at the Velodrome in the men's team pursuit. The women's pole vault with Nina Kennedy. Men's discus with Matt Denny. And men's dinghy with Matt Wern. A quick check of the medal tally early on day 12. The USA leads the way with 24 gold medals. Arisa True's gold in the women's park skateboarding has lifted Australia to third with 14. That is the latest from Paris. I'm Adam Hawes. That Paris 2024 medal tally was thanks to NRMA Insurance, a help company.

Thank you for that, Horsey. Now, the Minsk government has set new standards for e-bikes, and this is a good thing. And the Minsk government will introduce new e-bike standards in hopes of reducing the number of e-fires and products not meeting the new standard. Cook Co-op, $825,000 in fines.

We're seeing a lot of it, aren't we, with the lithium-ion powered bikes and the scooters, and they will need to meet strict new product standards from next year. Linda Samalis has got this in the Telegraph, this story.

So new testing certification and marking requirements will come in place with New South Wales Freer Trading requiring e-bikes and e-scooters, which also include e-skateboards and hoverboards, to meet the new standards from February. And those who continue to sell products that do not meet these new standards will face fines of up to $825,000. Good. My view is that, you know...

they probably should be banned, especially the e-bikes. They're very fast and very dangerous. But if you can't put the genie back in the bottle, I also understand that people quite like them in some instances. However, the big fat bikes that are going, you know,

60, 70, 80 kilometres an hour, they need to go. And if people are selling them, they will now face fines of up to $825,000. Well done to the men's government. The five o'clock news with Josh Bryant is coming up very shortly. The Sydney Morning Herald reporter is reporting that Andrew O'Keefe, former TV host, no relation, has been re-arrested.

hours after he appeared in court. So he appeared in court for breaching his bail conditions a couple of hours after he appeared in the Downing Centre local court, and it is alleged that he...

got in contact with the alleged victim of the intimidation that he was facing court with 131873 five o'clock news coming up on the other side of this i'll speak to judy baraclo youth off the street ceo their giving day is tomorrow

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 Wednesday afternoon. 131 873 is the open line number. 0460 873 873 if you want to send me a text or of course...

Email drive at 2GBlock.com. Lots to get through this hour. Don't forget the jewel for fuel, 200 bucks of free petrol up for grabs. We'll see what Mark Levy's got on Wide World of Sports as we head into another evening of Olympics action. And how good was that? 14 years old, winning a gold medal for Australia. And what does she want to do to celebrate? Get a pet duck. I love it.

Well, there's a supermarket in Bondi Junction, the Coles at Bondi Junction. The Daily Telegraph is reporting this, where posters called on customers within the Coles itself to boycott Nestle, Kellogg's and Coca-Cola products in a bid to take action against Israeli genocide. Seriously. So the signs are sort of, I don't know,

stapled to the back of a trolley or something. And they're right next to the aisles of where the Nestle, Kellogg's and Coca-Cola items are. And it says, take action against Israeli genocide, boycott these products, free Palestine. Now, clearly ridiculous. You know, not buying a muesli bar or Nesquik or whatever it is, is not going to stop

the terrible conflict in the Middle East. But Coles, they say that it is investigating, given it is in Bondi Junction, and Bondi Junction, a big Jewish community. So another one of these things that clearly makes people feel unsettled, and that is the purpose of said protest. 131873. Now, you would have heard this in the news. A man has been charged over the theft of more than $60,000.

Bluey-themed coins. So these coins haven't been released to the public, and the allegation is he pinched them and was trying to sell them. Worth over $600,000. Bluey coins. Well, Detective Superintendent Joseph Dewey, he's from the New South Wales Police, and he's been kind enough to give us a little bit of his time. Detective Superintendent, thank you for jumping on. Good afternoon, Chris. So how do you allege the coins were stolen?

Look, on the 12th of July this year, the New South Wales Police received the notification that the coins had been stolen whilst they were being transported from the Royal Australian Mint to Brisbane. We will allege that the coins were stored at a secure storage facility in Wetherill Park between the 22nd and 24th of June this year.

We now believe that an employee of that security facility became aware of the currency

that was stored there. He then actively moved those coins to an unsecure location within that facility, and then he was actively involved with other males where they stole those flui coins over those two-day periods. I can indicate that the coins consisted of 64,000 individual $1 commemorative flui coins,

that were not due to be publicly released until early September. So they were printed by the Mint, well, they're minted by the Mint, 64,000 of them, so that they would have been able to be used as currency, is that right?

Correct, correct. They were for general circulation amongst the community and they were going to be distributed through Australia Post offices. I think there are in total about over 2 million of these coins that were to be distributed. They're also a collector's item, some form of memorabilia for those people that follow Louis. And they're valued... I mean, they have a street value of $1, but collectors will pay up to $10 for individual coins.

Are you still looking for the two other gentlemen? Yeah, so the investigation continues. There are two other males that are outstanding. I'm very confident that we will identify them in due course. So I am asking that if anyone has any information in relation to who these males are or where large quantities of the coins may be stored, please contact us through Crimestoppers.

And just before I let you go, Detective Superintendent, we might be smiling because, you know, bluey coins and all the rest of it, but it is a $600,000 alleged theft. But was it your idea to call it Strike Force Bandit?

Absolutely not. It's a coincidence that it's a computer-generated name. No, it's not. I believe Bandit made Bluey's father. It is. I've got a two-year-old. I know all about it. Whatever you want to know, I can tell you. Bandit is Bluey's father. I thought that was something that you guys deliberately did. No. No, definitely not. I thought you guys were getting creative in the coppers. Detective Superintendent, I appreciate you coming on. Well done.

Thank you, Chris. That's Joseph Dewey, the superintendent there at the New South Wales Police. Surely that was done deliberately. Strike force bandit, right? 131873 still. $600,000 worth of bluey commemorative coins allegedly stolen and a 47-year-old man has been arrested and charged. Live on 2GB, have your say. 131873.

Well, there's a poll out today which has exposed some surprising insights into how Australian voters perceive the Gaza conflict. So guess how many Australians see Gaza as a very important issue, as in enough to change their votes? You ready? 9%. Just 9% of Australians view the Gaza situation as a major priority. Now, you wouldn't know.

Because that certainly contrasts with the media coverage and the heated discussions among political leaders. And I reckon it highlights a disconnect between the public's concerns and the focus of both our political class as well as mainstream media. Now, when we dive into the details, the gap becomes even more pronounced and more interesting, right?

So tradies and people aged between 50 and 65, they're particularly uninterested in the Gaza conflict. So if you're in between the ages of 50 and 65 or a tradesperson, it is the lowest thing on your priority levels. So for these groups, you can understand why too, because the conflict isn't a pressing issue compared to their immediate concerns like job security, economic stability, and

and how their kids and grandkids are going to afford a house. Voters born overseas, of course, they show a much higher level of concern. And this might be due to personal or familial ties to the region, making the situation, of course, more relevant to them. And you can understand that. That is completely understandable. But the truth is the conflict in Gaza doesn't resonate as strongly with the broader electorate here in Australia, to the point where it is a vote changer.

The constant coverage, the political debate, it might create an impression that it is, but it is not. So it is unlikely the Gaza conflict will have a major impact on voting behaviour at the next federal election. You've got some electorates, sure, like Blaxland or Watson in Sydney, that may have a higher level of concern due to local demographics. But on a national scale, it ain't a decisive factor.

And the Greens, who've been particularly vocal about this, it seems they've been largely talking to themselves. They're not creating some amazing groundswell of broad support that will see them get this amazing massive vote behind them. Look, Australians can't stand the bloodshed and tragedy. I can't. We're a decent people.

But Australians broadly understand that we cannot do much about what is a conflict that has been raging in one way or another for 2000 years in the Middle East. We would like it to be over. I would. As human beings, we would desperately like it to be over. But Australians are a practical people and we know what we can influence and what we cannot influence.

I think the Labor MP and a Jewish man himself, Josh Burns, he put it best after someone vandalised his office with a whole bunch of anti-Semitic stuff. And he said this, Josh Burns, quote,

It didn't bring peace in the Middle East. If it did, I would have vandalised my own office. And he goes on to make the point that the people are trying to bring a conflict on the other side of the world to Australian streets and it needs to end. Well, according to this poll, that is exactly what 91% of Australian voters think too.

9%. That's all it is. Who think the situation in Gaza is enough to change their votes. 131873. It's 20 minutes past five. Grant on the text line says, just on the bluey coin theft. He says, G'day Chris, just on the story of the coin theft. Someone needs to look in how there is a person on eBay selling sealed bags of the Woolworths $2 coins and

that are only available through Woolworths, yet we have not seen one of them come through the cash registers. You can't buy them from Woolworths. They simply circulate through the Woolworths stores, and you have to be lucky. So how has someone already got sealed bags full of them for sale on eBay? Well, Grant, whoever that eBay account is, it might be worth either writing a letter to Woolworths itself...

Maybe sending off whoever the account holder is to the police. Just make sure you check that one out. 131873. I'm just waiting for the guys to clip up this audio of Rod Roberts in the upper house talking about Karen Webb. I haven't seen it myself. I haven't seen it myself because we've been on air. But supposedly he makes some pretty explosive claims about what actually happened with...

the bottles of gin that Police Commissioner Karen Webb bought. Now, we know, by the way, we know that the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, which is the body that oversees police conduct, today has investigated it since October of last year and today said Karen Webb, the commissioner, adhered to all policies and there was nothing wrong

devious about anything. That's according to the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, but it looks like Rod Roberts has a very different take on things. Of course, a former police officer and now a member of the Upper House as part of One Nation. And here he is.

We know that we are bleeding police by the thousands. That is not disputed. But nobody has asked why. Well, there's two reasons. One is wage negotiation that the minister has been involved in since October last year and still hasn't been settled. But the biggest issue is nepotism and cronyism inside the New South Wales police force.

It is a cancer we've inside the organisation that is causing and forcing good men and women to leave this organisation in droves. And as they say, the fish rots from the head down. Now on, if you're talking about the head, he's talking clearly about the commissioner of police, Karen Webb. That's Rod Roberts there.

Karen Webb said she bought bottles of gin and replaced that gin with the bottles of wine that Mick Fuller, the former police commissioner, used to hand out as gifts for travelling dignitaries and the like. Now, Rod Roberts reckons that Karen Webb didn't hand the gin out as gifts. He said this under parliamentary privilege.

She drank it herself. I have very good informants inside the New South Wales Police Force and members of the legal fraternity outside who have told me that Commissioner Webb has purchased in excess of 100 bottles of gin and that gin, she said, and on radio this morning, Ben Fordham, that I've used that as gifts to visiting dignitaries.

Well, I say that that is not correct and that gin has been used by the commissioner herself and some of her members of staff. And I'm asking for the records to show where the distribution of that gin went. It is taxpayers' money. So, again, the LECC, they said that there was nothing to see here. They did not agree with Rod Roberts at all. And if this is the organisation...

overseeing it all who do you believe one nation member in the upper house who's said this under parliamentary privilege with no real evidence to back it up other than that i've got good informants not saying his informants aren't good i'm just saying that the veracity of the evidence isn't quite there otherwise he wouldn't have done it under parliamentary privilege where he wouldn't have been sued or do you believe the law enforcement conduct commission who's engaged a

An investigation since October of 2023 into this and said nothing to see here. What do you reckon? 131873 again. Look, the New South Wales Police needs, in my view, as I just said it before, pay the police more. Pay them more money. If you pay them more money, you have more chance of keeping them. Two, get some supports around our rank and file police officers. Proper supports around them.

so that they can deal with their PTSD and they can deal with the stuff that they see on a regular basis. And then you'll be able to not just retain the police we have, but you'll be able to attract police we desperately need. It starts with money. The second part is support. And then you'll be on your way to effectively ensuring our New South Wales police force is a much healthier place. Because it's not at the moment. Is that Commissioner Webb's fault? No.

It's been going on for years and years and years. I've seen it in my own circles. People I know who are police officers. It happened under Andrew Scipioni. It certainly happened under Commissioner Mick Fuller. It was not a happy place. It wasn't a happy place during COVID. There weren't many places that were. But to shoot this all home to Commissioner Karen Webb, I think is a little bit harsh. And I'm just going to read this Law Enforcement Conduct Commission media release out that was put out today. And it says,

It says that the commission is of the view the evidence does not support a finding of serious misconduct against Commissioner Webb or any other police officer in relation to the purchase of the commissioner's gin and presentation boxes. And the commission is satisfied that the purchase was in accordance with policies and procedures.

The commission found that Commissioner Webb should have disclosed her association with the supplier when she became aware of the purchase of Commissioner's gin. I don't know what the association is or was or what the LECC is talking about. But outside of that, they're effectively saying she's done nothing wrong.

So, look, I don't know. Is this thing a storm in a teacup? You tell me. 131873. It's 28 past five. In the newsroom, Josh Bryant. G'day.

Hello again, Chris. Police believe thousands of bluey coins that were stolen from a Sydney warehouse are now in circulation as they look for two other men wanted over the theft of the limited edition coins. A Sydney high school teacher has faced court accused of sexually abusing a 17-year-old student.

Australians are being urged not to travel to Bangladesh in the wake of a violent student-led uprising in the country. And Australians from all walks of life are growing increasingly worried about the risk of homelessness with a Salvation Army survey showing 71% of those seeking financial help are living in some form of housing stress. While in sport, Australia still in the hunt for a medal in the marathon Walk Australia.

mixed relay at the Paris Olympics currently sitting in fourth in the third leg of the race we'll have more news and sport at six thanks Josh well the police commissioner Karen Webb is on the line before I get to the commissioner if you're just jumping in the car or just turning on the radio I'll refresh your memory as to what is going on I'll bring you up to speed so Rod Roberts he's an independent member of parliament in the upper house in the New South Wales parliament now he's

If you are not across the gin story, effectively, the commissioner bought a whole bunch of gin on the taxpayer dollar to hand out to dignitaries. Now, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission launched an investigation into this, and they said the commission is satisfied that the purchase was in accordance with policies and procedures...

And the commission is of the view that the evidence does not support a finding of serious misconduct against Commissioner Webb or any other police officers. But Rob Roberts in the... Rod Roberts in the Upper House reckons that the gin was not handed out to dignitaries but drunk by the commissioner and her staff. I have very good informants inside the New South Wales Police Force and members of the legal fraternity outside...

who have told me that Commissioner Webb has purchased in excess of 100 bottles of gin and that gin, she said, and on radio this morning, Ben Fordham, that I've used that as gifts to visiting dignitaries. Well, I say that that is not correct and that gin has been used by the Commissioner herself and some of her members of staff. And I'm asking for the records to show where the distribution of that gin went. It is taxpayers' money.

Commissioner Karen Webb, g'day. Hi, Chris. Thanks for having me on. Did you drink the gin? No, I haven't even tasted it. And so his accusations are completely false. He must have me confused with someone else. Any of your staff drunk the gin? No, no, they haven't. I've certainly kept a register of who I've given the gin to. And as has been said, it is a tradition.

tradition to exchange or give custom and practice when we've got dignitaries coming to our jurisdiction that we we give gifts of some sort that are appropriate in the circumstances but certainly have a register with who I've given them to and it's certainly not my staff and as I said I haven't even tasted it haven't even opened a bottle. The register are you happy to make that public put this to bed? Well

There's a Standing Order 52 Mr Roberts has called for and the register will be captured in that. So that will be provided. So the register will be furnished to the Parliament so we'll all see it. That's right. Is the 100 bottles correct?

No. No, I don't know where he's got that from either. How many bottles? 50. We're invoiced for 50 and I've distributed 24. So the rest are there. To what kind of people?

As I said, Dignity Trees, we had an international delegation mid last year that a dozen went to and other international guests, etc. The minister has said in Parliament today that she received one and then there's been others for corporate delegations.

where there's been an exchange of gifts. So that sort of occasion, and certainly not for my own benefit by any stretch of the imagination. And it's outrageous to suggest that I have consumed it or used it for my purposes. There's been no personal benefit to me in the use of the gin. Just reading the LECC's findings here, it says that Commissioner Webb should have disclosed her association with the supplier of the Commissioner's gin. What does it mean?

Well, it means that... Well, what it means... Well, it's difficult to talk about because there is a non-publication order. So the statement that the lecker put out is all I can say about it. But if you read that sentence in full, it means that I became aware after that I knew the supplier. Right. And, you know, I should have said so. But certainly I didn't organise a purchase and...

So I became aware after. And was it the same supplier as Commissioner Fuller used? Yes, it was. So it was just using an existing vendor to make, I presume, an easier transaction. Commissioner Webb, who wants your job?

What is happening here? Clearly, someone. But it needs to stop and it's ridiculous. I'm halfway through my five-year contract and really there's important work to be done. There's real work to be done. There's big problems to fix. We're trying to tackle domestic violence. We're trying to help victims in our community. We're trying to work on youth crime problems. But we've got to do it in partnership with our community and we can't afford this nonsense.

Do you think that there's a group of people within the New South Wales Police or outside the New South Wales Police that is trying to undermine you? Oh, well, I think it's probably...

both to some extent might be former members, as is Mr Roberts, a former member. But what I can say is that if a person that's looking at joining the police force and sees this rubbish, why would they want to join the police? Why would you put yourself through this? So it's totally against the grain. It's not helping our cause at all. And it needs to stop.

Commissioner Karen Webb, I appreciate you jumping on and clearing all this up. Thanks so much. Thanks, Chris. That's the New South Wales Police Commissioner, Karen Webb. She was pretty straightforward, wasn't she? No, I didn't. I didn't order 100. I've got the invoice. I ordered 50. I've got the public register. I've given away 24 and the rest of them are sitting in my office. None of the staff have had anything to drink them. I haven't drunk them. I don't know what it tastes like.

and someone's ordered the gin, and she found out at a later date that she knew the person who supplied the gin. Well, so what? I truly cannot for the life of me understand what all of this is about. We've got a police force of, you know, in excess of 10,000 people. They need more money, and our police officers need to be treated better. We need to retain. We need to attract people.

We need to stamp out domestic violence. We've got all these problems. You know, the terror level's just been increased. And we're talking about bottles of gin?

131873. It's 20 to 6. And now, a weather update. Sunny today, right now, 14 degrees in the city and 13 in our west. Temperatures tonight, 8 degrees in the city and 4 in the west. Tomorrow, mostly sunny. Tops of 20 in the city tomorrow and 21 in the west. A finance update. Enjoy impossible-to-ignore savings across the Mercedes-Benz SUV range.

All odds closed up 0.29 of a percent today. It's 7,913.1. ASX 200 closed up 0.25 of a percent to 7,699.8. And one Aussie dollar currently buying 65.36 US cents.

G'day everyone, Adam Hawes with an Olympics update. The opening round of women's golf has just teed off in Paris,

Hannah Green and Minji Lee are flying the flag for Australia. Also coming up, Alice Wood will compete in the women's kayak singles heats. Michelle Jenneke begins her campaign in the women's 100 metre hurdles. Peter Boll makes his first appearance in the heats of the men's 800 metres.

Boomers coach Brian Gorgian has stood down after Australia's exit in the quarter-finals of the men's basketball. The USA is heading for a fifth straight gold medal after blitzing Brazil by 35 points. NBA star Kevin Durant says they're staying focused ahead of their semi-final against Serbia. Good to represent the country, play with young ghosts like this, you're going to be the next to break records.

It's just been fun. We're looking forward to trying to finish this thing off, though. Aresa True's win in the Women's Park Skateboarding Final, lifting Australia to third place on the medal tally with 14 golds. The USA leads the way with 24 gold and 86 medals overall. I'm Adam Hawes. That's the latest from Paris. That Paris 2024 medal tally was thanks to Woolworths, proud fresh food partner of the Australian Olympic and Paralympic teams.

Good on you, Horsey. Well, tomorrow, Youth Off The Streets is holding its inaugural Giving Day, coinciding with National Homelessness Week. Inaugural Giving Day. So if you don't know them, Youth Off The Streets is a not-for-profit organisation supporting children and young people experiencing homelessness. Great cause, Youth Off The Streets. Gives us a chance to make a real difference in the lives of kids who don't have a safe place to call home.

So here's the incredible part, right? So on Giving Day, any donation you make will be doubled between 8am and 8pm tomorrow. So if you want to make a difference, please donate. I'm very pleased to say that the CEO of Use Off The Streets is Judy Barraclough and she's on the line for us. Judy, g'day. Hi, Chris. Giving Day, what started it all?

Well, as you know, we have been around for about 30 years supporting children and young people who are facing homelessness. And that problem is sadly just getting bigger. So we need all the help we can get from your listeners, from Australians just like you and me to help us keep doing that work and provide a safe and

and secure future for these young people who are really the most vulnerable of our kids in Australia. Can you give us a bit of a taste of what is occurring here, just in terms of some of the examples, without obviously divulging anyone's personal information, but some of the examples that really are quite stark in our community?

Yeah, so last year, nearly 40,000, 40,000 children and young people found themselves homeless. And we know that amazingly, that is an underestimate because that's just the number of children and young people who are presenting for crisis accommodation. And that doesn't count the young people who are couch surfing or living in an unstable environment.

moving from relative to relative and that happens for all sorts of reasons. So just yesterday one of the young people that received support from Youth Off The Street turned

turned up with a garbage bag full of their belongings. Their father had said, don't come home. There had been a whole history of violence in the house. And this young person's only 15 years old. And so we worked with them to help them find a bed for the night and we'll work with them to find a more secure situation for them going forward. But that's just really tough at that age. Is it hard to find that secure accommodation long-term? Yeah.

Unfortunately, it really is. So today, we talk about the housing shortage, but what we don't often realise is that stretches right to these teenagers who fall between the cracks of out-of-home care and adult services. And we have to see... Unfortunately, we see one in two of these young people turned away every night who are looking for that crisis accommodation. So there is a desperate shortage.

How young are some of these kids?

So the children that we support at Youth Off The Streets are aged between 12 and 24. But it is the young people who are just that bit older than being supported through foster care or out-of-home care, but not quite old enough to be in an adult service. So that tends to be your 12, 13, 14, 15-year-olds up to 24, where they're not yet in a position to be independently looking after themselves.

One of the questions that many ask when I do bring charities on the radio like Youth Off The Streets is if I make a donation of say, I don't know, $25, $50, what do you do with the money?

So the services that we provide are across a whole number of services that are needed by these young people who are in crisis. The Giving Day that you introduced, and thank you for the opportunity to share that with your audience, is an opportunity where our special partners have said that they will match every dollar that is given tomorrow. So every dollar that is given will be matched by tomorrow.

those partners and we've got a target of $200,000 to raise and we're so delighted that that means that every dollar will be, their impact will be doubled and so our donors will be able to participate in making a real difference to the lives of these vulnerable young people. Alright, from 8am tomorrow, Judy, where am I donating?

Please visit the Youth Off The Streets website. So youthoffthestreets, all one word, .com.au. Good on you. Hey, Judy, all the best with it. I'm sure you'll get your 200 grand, no problem. You do amazing work. Thanks for your support, Chris. No, you're very welcome. That's Judy Barraclough. She's a CEO of Youth Off The Streets. If you want to donate, please do.

Youth off the streets, all one word, .com.au. Five bucks, ten bucks, whatever. There'll be a corporate who matches that donation dollar for dollar. Let's see if we can get them to $200,000. The breaking news you can trust. It's Drive with Chris O'Keefe on 2GB. All right, up to you now. 131873, it is the duel for fuel. Do you want to win $200?

of free fuel thanks to Shell V-Power. Call me 131873. We'll play it next. On 2GB Drive, let's drill for fuel. $200 of it up for grabs all thanks to Shell V-Power fueling your drive home. Our contestants, I've got Geoff at Yarra Warra. G'day, Geoff. G'day, Chris. First time listening, first time call, long time listener. Good to be with you. That's the way. I can't let you on the drill for fuel for your first time listening, Geoff. Grant's at Penrith. G'day, Grant.

Okay, Chris, how are you going? I'm good, thank you, Grant. You want to kick us off, mate? Yeah, let's go for it. Let's do it. Your time starts now. A polygraph is used to detect what? Pass. Lies. What is Prince Harry's real first name? Henry or Ben? Henry. Correct. What is an eight-sided shape called? Octagon. Correct. In which TV series would you find the character Tommy Shelby? Pass. Peaky Blinders. Kurt Gidley played 251 games for which NRL club?

The Bruces. The Newcastle Knights, Grant. That's two. Geoff, you ready? Yes, sir. I reckon you got this one. Your time starts now. What travels faster, sound or light? Light. Correct. What's the most common eye colour in human beings? Brown. Correct. Who's won more NRL premierships, the Broncos or the Panthers? Panthers. Broncos. What is the name of Elvis Presley's home?

Graceland. Correct. You got it, Jeff. Well done. That's $200 of free fuel coming your way, Jeff Grant. Well played. It is the jewel for fuel. It's all thanks to Shell V-Power, and we play it every afternoon here on Drive. And now, a preview of what's coming up on Wide World of Sports. Thanks to Lowe's, 100% Australian-owned, still a family business. Lowe's, over 200 stores nationwide. Or shop online at Lowe's.

Mark, Levy's got Wide World of Sports coming up. Levy, what about that? I'll tell you what I loved was Fordo and our little 14-year-old skateboarder. Arisa True. How good was it? Youngest ever medalist at an Olympic Games for this country. What do you want for winning a gold medal? A pet duck. The gold. It was the best. When she won the gold medal last night afterwards, and we're obviously celebrating and carrying on as we do in the coverage,

I asked the listeners a question across Australia. I said, what were you doing as a 14-year-old? I know what I was doing as a 14-year-old. What? I was a little rat bag and my mum and dad were telling me to pull my head in and, you know, you need to get a job, you need to do this, you need to get off your phone, you need to... And I'm thinking, a recent true 14, she's at an Olympic Games in Paris, mum and dad in the stands...

Is that not the best thing ever? Here's a problem for you. Has she peaked early? Oh, look. Jeez, you can burst a bubble. Mate, it's... Well, you can't get any... Look, it's really hard. If she competes at Brisbane 2032, we worked it out last night, she'll be 22. What?

So, you know. She might be able to win 15 gold medals. It's just a great story. It is a great story. It's just another one of the great stories. I mean, Saia Sakaki-Bara and the BMX. Now we've got True, of course, from skateboarding, Arisa, and we've got the young blokes in there today in the skateboarding. So it's another big day, and congratulations to her. She was, you know, pulled here, there, and everywhere for media and all that sort of thing, but she had a smile from ear to ear when she received a gold medal. What's on the show?

What's on the show will be the track and field competition gets underway in the next 10 minutes. So we'll be crossing out to Ray, Matt and Jane Fleming. Jenna O'Haye, former Opals captain, will preview their big quarterfinal. Let's hope it's not the same for the boomers yesterday who lost to Serbia. We've got Serbia...

Today, Josh Giddey was in tears. Paddy Mills disappointed, but he was phenomenal yesterday. How they let slip a 24-point lead is beyond me. Mitch Tomlinson to preview all of the skateboarding action. And Jeff Ogilvie, the 12-time PGA winner. He'll be having a look at the golf with Hannah Green and Minji Lee out there at the moment. There's a bit of mail that Minji Lee might be the medal chance for Australia. Well, fingers crossed. All right. Well, you're doing well at the moment. Thank you.

So you said that we'd have three more gold. When you said that, since then we've won two. Yeah. Where's our other one come from? Well, we're going to win one in sailing. There's not much wind at the moment over in Marseille. So if we get through tomorrow and there's no wind, he gets the gold medal. So that might be the third. Is there a fourth on offer? Possibly.

Oh, let's just not get... What else are we looking at? Let's just stick with the three. What about our 1,500 metre runner? Let's just stick with three at the moment. I don't want to put the pressure on the... Sir, you only reckon we'll get one more? Well, that was my prediction, yeah. Any more on the track and nothing in track? I'd love another five, but we'll stick with one.

Are we a chance in anything else? What about the women's water polo? They're killing it. They're going extremely well. We've got the men's water polo team in action today. The men's water polo team, which, of course, Steve Blocker-Roach's son, AJ, used to play for. So we've sort of watched them grow and grow. And one of the countries that has been so dominant in men's water polo is Serbia, who they've beaten. And they knocked off another one of the medal favourites. So, you know, they're full of confidence and momentum's a big thing. And don't forget, in the women's, Daryl Halligan's daughter. Yes.

And Phil Kearns' daughter. And Phil Kearns, exactly right. They're dominant. Yeah, they've been flying. They're going along great guns. We've got to make sure, though, our Opals. They've had a really, really tough draw. They've got a big quarterfinal coming up this morning. So let's hope and cheer them on Serbia. Serbia, right. Are Serbians good in female basketball? Well, yes. I don't know. Tell you what I tried to watch last night, the bouldering. That was interesting to watch. Did you enjoy it?

No. I flicked over. Good on you, Levy. That's Mark Levy with Wide World of Sports coming up next, and he's doing a wonderful job like all the team are on Nine Radio with the Olympics coverage. That's it for me. I'll see you tomorrow, 3 p.m. Bye-bye.