2GB Drive with Chris O'Keefe – Full Show August 15 01:51:18

On Sydney's 2GB, this is Drive with Chris O'Keefe. Good afternoon, Sydney. Hopefully that's the last of the rain, I'm told, until Sydney at least, or according to the Bureau of Meteorology. But a little bit of blue sky, a little bit of sunshine. Spring? Well, it's not too far away. Now, fresh problems for the New South Wales Liberal Party this afternoon. They've got a number. They've got a number.

Up to 140 candidates have been shafted across 18 councils. 140! Now I've dissected a couple of local government areas and I'm going to show you why I reckon this is a disaster for areas like the Northern Beaches and Lane Cove. You are going to have green and teals in control of everything for the next four years. I'll dive into that shortly.

And how little do you have to have going on in your life to complain about a traffic controller outside a local school giving kids a high five on the way in? Well, it's happened, and I'll speak about that shortly, and Peter Dutton, he has said no refugees are to come from Gaza. It's a decree. Now, I'm on the fence about this, to be honest. We've always taken immigrants from war zones over the years, and I want to delve a little further into it because I do understand the flip side.

This, of course, without a doubt, comes with a risk attached to it. Now, make sure you have the catchphrase ready if you want to win $1,000. Tickets to Sunset Boulevard are up for grabs and $200 of free fuel too. Right now, 17 degrees at Castle Hill and 18 at Sydenham.

It's eight and a half past three, 131 873 is that open line number. The text line 0460 873 873. Or you can email me drive at 2gb.com. Now the future of wrecks has just become a little more certain. The transport minister in question time has, or just after question time in the house of representatives, Catherine King has announced that they will guarantee that

all regional flight bookings for Rex customers throughout the voluntary administration process. And the guarantee is for all regional flight bookings with Rex made after it entered voluntary administration at half past nine on the 30th of July, 2024. Catherine King also saying that the government expects regional express flights

to look after people when it comes to staff entitlements. To support the continuation of regional flights, the Australian Government is guaranteeing regional flight bookings for Rex customers for tickets purchased after the administration period began.

That means that travellers can book regional flights on Rex throughout the voluntary administration process with confidence that they will either fly or get their money back.

This is not a Commonwealth injection of funds into WREX or the administrators. It is a guarantee for bookings made after the airline entered into voluntary administration. The guarantee will only be triggered if the service is cancelled and where no alternate service has been delivered and no refund. If the guarantee is triggered, affected customers will receive a refund directly from their credit card merchant or travel booking provider backed by the government guarantee.

Any drawdown of the guarantee is required to be repaid by the administrators. The guarantee applies to any Rex regional flight bookings made after Rex entered voluntary administration from 9.31pm on Tuesday 30 July 24. Alright, so if you booked on Rex from that time period on the 30 July and you'll get your money back if Rex goes under and they can't guarantee those routes...

or you will get on a plane. So effectively, the government is saying during the administration period, wrecks will continue to fly because it will be underwritten, those tickets. Now, when it comes to the staff themselves, I've been talking quite openly about this for the last few days. And I am concerned that the entitlements guarantee, which is a federal scheme, has not been triggered yet because...

One of the arms of Rex has not been put into liquidation. Now, the administrator must put one of the arms legally of Rex into liquidation for the entitlements guarantee to be triggered. That is a Commonwealth scheme which pays redundant staff out their sick leave, annual leave and long service leave. Not sick leave, but annual leave and long service leave. What they're entitled to, right? Now, as it stands right now, 600 Rex staff have been sacked.

And none of them received any of their severances. Now, I've got Dennis on the line. I've been speaking to Dennis over the last few days. His name's not really Dennis. We've kept him anonymous because he is a former employee of Rex Airlines. He spent years and years and years working for Rex. Hard worker, loved his job, and was only made redundant a couple of weeks ago. Dennis is on the line. G'day. How are you doing? Dennis, I'm all right. How are you feeling at the moment?

Disappointed is mainly the first word. It's a bit bittersweet because obviously there's a lot of staff remaining there and I have highest regard for these remaining staff, being the pilots. Flight attendants and ground crew, they're all... It is a very close-knit community as a company, one of the best companies I've worked for and I've worked for other airlines as well. So...

Initially, I hoped that the regional operator survives because we can't have a monopoly in that market. And I'd hate to see that happen with one of the biggest airlines we know. And we had such a fresh image. And when we had the jets, it was such a good image we had. And we had great comments from passengers, people we knew that flew them. We only had great comments about wrecks.

For you and the 600-odd staff, you've been talking to a few of your former colleagues. You said to me off-air, there's some people doing it really, really hard mentally at the moment. Do you want to elaborate on that? Well, personal details are subjectional to each individual person, regardless if they're on a high wage, low wage. Some people are doing it well. Some people are living week to week. And I feel emotionally for those people how...

they don't know what's happening from one day to another as far as any payments. There's no other jobs immediately being thrown at them. There are positions available out there, but it's still the ordeal of going through interviews, being out of your comfort zone, I guess, and then being put into such a situation, which happens in society. We know that. Hey, Dennis, how much are you owed, roughly?

I really couldn't tell you. I really don't know. I mean, I've had estimates, but it's all conjecture and speculation, which I don't want to do. But, I mean, given the years of service I've been there, I mean, it wouldn't be a lot of money, but it'd probably be like a thank you, I guess. It'd be tens of thousands, right? I would say so. It wouldn't be much more than that. But, I mean, I know people that have been there for longer than I have been there. Are you worried you're not going to get your hands on it?

I trust I will because of what's been said to the government. But, you know, I like to be positive and hopefully that it's guaranteed in the long run. I don't know when it's going to happen. Sure. But I'd like to think it will, as many of my colleagues would as well. Hey, Dennis, before I let you go, what would you say to Neville Howe, the CEO and the chairman, John Sharp and...

Kim High, too, the Singaporean bloke, who've effectively, all of them, all management, the entire board, they've run this thing into the ground. Yeah, see, I've got to keep my comments guarded because I don't know how... We were never told what was happening on that side of things. Look, I hope for the staff, the staff, the general staff of Rex, that they do do well. But my feelings towards the board are probably...

I'll keep that to myself. But I want to see the staff that remain at Rex continue to prosper. And I believe that it's the staff of Rex...

what it is. Dennis, I really appreciate you coming on the line. I've got to keep moving, but mate, all the best. It's a really difficult period for you and all your former colleagues and everybody who worked at Rex. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people left without work and hopefully we can get a resolution soon. Thanks so much for coming on. All the best, Chris. Thanks for your time. Bye-bye. That's Dennis. 131873. Live local.

Now, it's unfathomable to me and to any reasonable person that the Liberal Party missed the deadline to put the paperwork in for its candidates for the local council elections. Unfathomable. But I just want to take a step back here. We've all been kind of laughing about it, just how ridiculous the whole thing is. But with no Liberals to vote,

The councils will either be totally controlled by the Labor Party or in some instances, totally controlled by the Independents, Teals and Greens. Now, that is not a good thing. And I'll tell you why. So if you live on the Northern Beaches, here's a great example. Northern Beaches, big, big local council. Have a listen to this. At the council elections in a few weeks' time, these are your options on who to vote for. These will be your representatives, right? If you live in the Curl Curl Ward,

You have the Greens or Jolene Hackman's ticket. And Jolene Hackman ran as a teal in Manly. So the Greens or a teal. One of two. That's all you've got to vote for. The French's Forest Ward. In French's Forest, you have either independent Sue Hines. Now, she's the mayor. She currently is proposing an Indigenous voice to council. Remember that? Well, you can vote for her or you can vote for the Greens' Ethan Hernjack.

He's a 20-year-old university student. Greens. Where else can we look at? Manly's a bit better. You've got Sarah Gratton. She's an independent works for Lifeline. Zali Steggles-backed Candy Bingham. You've got a 22-year-old self-employed artist and activist who's running for the Greens and a lone Labor candidate in Manly.

Narrabeen's got two independents and Pitwater, listen to this, Pitwater's got an independent and a green in Miranda Corsi who lobbied council to boycott Australia Day celebrations and instead hold commemorations and honour First Nations people's resistance. Now, ladies and gentlemen, there is not a conservative to be found from the Spit Bridge to Palm Beach. And it will be like this for four years.

thanks to the Liberal Party's mismanagement. Now, that to me is frightening. The Independents and the Greens, they'll want net zero by Christmas. There'll be no pushback at all from anybody with reasonable mind. And they have four years to come up with whatever wacky schemes they want to come up with. And again, nobody on council will be opposing it because you don't have the option to vote for anyone to oppose it.

Lane Cove has a mixture of Greens, Labor, Independent. Scott Bennison, he's the only independent Conservative now after he left the Liberal Party. You've got Penrith. They've had Liberal mayors before. Penrith Council's been under Liberal control in the past. Forget it now. You've got Wollongong and Shoalhaven. They'll return to being held in an iron grip by the Labor Party.

Where George's River, North Sydney, Canterbury, Bankstown, Maitland, they'll also have four years where a Liberal council will be impossible. Almost zero influence in all of these areas. Now, if we thought it was difficult to get a DA through now, how will it be when the Greens and the Teals ask for, I don't know, a marsupial report so you can build a back shed? It's what's coming.

And I know I'm being flippant, but there are serious questions about political balance in major Sydney councils for the next four years. And I would just say this to the men's government. They've all been doing backflips about it, and rightly so. It's like winning Lotto, right? They've just been handed all these councils. I will say this to the men's government. They've got three years before they go to the ballot box. They've done very little as a government.

But their entire platform hinges on building houses, right? Hinges on building houses. Well, if you've got teals, greens and certain elements of the Labour Party now controlling major councils in areas where you need to build houses, how do you think that's going to go?

I just think this is bad news for all of us, not just the Liberal Party. It's 21 past three. It's 25 past three, 131873, the open line number. Now, here's a statement from the Australian Olympic Committee, and it's in regards to the qualifying process for breakdancing and Ray Gunn, right? It says this, the Australian Olympic Committee has condemned an anonymous online petition attacking...

AOC team member breaking competitor Rachel Gunn as vexatious, misleading and bullying. And Matt Carroll, he's the CEO of the Olympic Committee. He says that the AOC has written to change.org, which has published a petition demanding it to be immediately withdrawn. So I don't know what this petition is all about. I have seen some of the conspiracy theories about Rachel Gunn. They've gone way too far.

But he says that the petition contains numerous falsehoods designed to engender hatred against an athlete who was selected in the Australian Olympic team through a transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process.

He says this, Matt Carroll,

Now, that's the statement from the AOC. And they've put out a whole bunch of facts in relation to how Ray Gunn ended up representing Australia in the breakdancing. And look, my view on this is really simple, right? She was not up to international standard. It was just, that was clear as day to everybody who watched.

And it might have followed process. I understand all that. But, you know, for everybody who watch knows that the Olympics is about excellence, not about just having a go. But anyway, I'll get shouted down for that. But here are the facts from the AOC's record. And she doesn't deserve conspiracy theories, mind you. Ridiculous. The Oceania qualifying event was held in Sydney in October 2023.

It was conducted under the Olympic qualification system determined by the international governing body, World Dance Sport Federation, as approved by the International Olympic Committee. Now, the judging panel for the event was selected by World Dance Sport Federation. It consisted of nine independent international judges who were brought to Australia specifically to provide fair, expert and transparent adjudication.

So athletes from four other countries, including New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji competed. And Dr. Rachel Gunn won the Oceania Breaking Championship in October 2023. And she was legitimately nominated by Dance Sport Australia to the Australian Olympic Committee for selection in the Olympic team. Dr. Rachel Gunn holds no position with Oz Breaking or Dance Sport Australia in any capacity.

Dr. Gunn has no responsibility for any funding decisions in the sport. Her husband, Mr. Samuel Free, is a coach who holds no position with Ausbreaking or Dance Sport Australia in any capacity and was not a judge at the qualifying event. And Australian Olympic team chef, Domitian Anamirs, was not involved in the qualifying event or nomination of athletes.

Dance Sport Australia and athletes received no federal government funding. So there you go. She qualified fair and square, Rachel Gunn. And all the conspiracy theories saying that her husband was involved and Anamir's was somehow involved. Crap. Absolute crap. If it's happening in Sydney, you'll hear it on Drive on 2GB.

Let's go to Margaret at Loura about the council elections and the fact there'll be very few Liberal candidates to vote for. Margaret, g'day.

Hi, Chris. I can't help feeling that something isn't right here. And I think there's been a deliberate ploy to delay the applications of the candidates. And I just really ask the question, who is really behind all this?

Well, it's a very good question, Margaret. There are a few people asking the same thing. Is it conspiracy or is it just a you-know-what-up? Often it is just a latter in circumstances like this. But, Margaret, will we know? If somebody knows and someone was nefarious behind the scenes, I'm sure it'll come out. Margaret, I really appreciate your call. It's got a Robert at Glenfield. Hello, Robert. G'day. I think the Liberals have a smart strategy going here.

If the local government comes to an absolute standstill, that's likely to topple a state government and also put a lot of problems back to the Labor government. That's actually in power at the moment. Maybe so, Robert, maybe so, but...

Your glass half full view of the world is certainly not shared within the New South Wales Liberal Party. But I do take your point. In four years' time, they might be thanking Richard Shields, not putting the nomination forms in. You have a good afternoon. Jason is at Newcastle. Hello, Jason. Hey, Chris. How are you? I'm good, thanks. What do you think? I'm just in disbelief that the one first job these guys have to do, and they couldn't do it.

That's the first thing they have to do to represent the people of the community. And they couldn't even do that. So how can we trust them to do the job they can do when they get in there? I just think it's absolutely ridiculous. It is ridiculous. And I was speaking to a couple of guys who work in Labor headquarters yesterday. And they said, look, you can do all the power games. You can do the factional maneuvering. But if you don't get your fundamental job right, i.e. filling the paperwork in and putting it out on time, well, Jason, you're not much chance of doing the rest of it, are you?

So another four years. Another four years we're paying more, doing more. So I might just get what's left in the paycheck and just take it down to the local Labor office, give it to them. Well, Jason, seriously, it'll be a net zero-a-thon. It'll be an Indigenous voice to council-a-thon across New South Wales. I guarantee you that because you're going to have Teals, Independents, Greens, they're all hot to trot on climate change. They're all hot to trot on emissions issues.

They aren't all that hot to trot on picking up your garbage on time or fixing the potholes in the road or making the community better. No, no, no. They think they, by getting elected to their local ward, somehow they're solving the woes of the world. It was the conservatives in the local councils, the Liberal Party generally, who was a bit of a foil to this. But because of the maladministration of head office, that will no longer happen.

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In the newsroom, Josh Bryan. G'day. Good afternoon, Chris. Regional flights booked after Rex fell into administration will be guaranteed by the federal government, designed to give customers confidence while administrators search for a buyer for the regional airline. The federal government is welcoming data showing more than 58,000 new jobs were created over the last month, the unemployment rate climbing 0.1% in July. A man is accused of fabricating a story about a home invasion to cover up

The murder of a woman in Sydney's east 25 years ago, an 81-year-old has now been charged with murder. And research into the origins of Stonehenge has revealed the main altar stone originated from northeastern Scotland, not Wales, as originally thought. In sport, Giants coach Adam Kingsley believes his halfback Lockie Whitfield deserves to be rewarded for his form with selection in the All-Australian team. Kingsley says it's a no-brainer. We'll have more news in Sport at 4.

Thanks, Josh. Roz says on the text line, if the options for Liberal voters are only Labor, Greens, Teals, then that doesn't mean that we're being, doesn't that mean we're being denied our democratic rights? So can't the electoral office do something about this in the interests of democracy? They can't, Roz. But guess who can? John's on the money on this one. Chris, as local government is created by state government, why can't they change the rules to allow late nominations? Well, John, they can. They can.

So the state government could change the legislation, but the state government is a Labor state government and it's the Liberals who stuffed up. And as one Labor MP put to me today, and I know it's been raised, there's been members of the Liberal opposition in New South Wales Parliament have gone to the Minsk government and said, hey, can we do something about this? Pass a bit of legislation. Someone in the Labor Party said to me today, it would be like winning Lotto and then giving the money back.

It ain't going to happen. 131873. Coming up next, I'm going to speak to a parent who's launched a petition after the local lollipop man who welcomes the kids into school every day on the school crossing was reprimanded after giving the kids a high five on the way into school. I'll speak to Rowan next. He's outraged, as are the rest of Australians.

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Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Consider the fund's PDS and whether the product is right for you. It's 22 to 4. Now, you know the lollipop men and women out the front of your kids or your grandkids' school? They're hugely important for the safety of our kids. But safety isn't the only role of these people. They also form great relationships with the kids coming to and from school because they're a regular and friendly face every single day.

But listen to this one. John Goulden, right? His name is John Goulden. He's a lollipop man at Mount Dandenong Primary School in Melbourne. Every morning, kids come to school, kids leave school, and he gives them a high five on the way in, on the way out. Children love it. They look forward to it every day. But guess what? Someone's complained. So there was a complaint from a parent, and John has now been banned from high-fiving students. There was no complaint to the school itself. The complaint was actually leveled

to the local council. And the local council told John off and said, hey, knock off the high fives. Really? It seems like every day there's somebody getting outraged over something. Like Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate, he's facing an investigation for calling someone a wrangler. Apparently calling someone a wrangler is now offensive.

What's wrong with people? Look, I want to hear from you on this one. 131873. The community has rallied around John, the lollipop man, and they've started a petition to allow John to high-five the kids. And guess what? It's got over 1,500 signatures. Rohan Bradley is a parent at Mount Dandenong Primary School. He's on the line for us. Rohan, thanks for your time.

Yeah, thanks, Chris. Thanks for having me. Hello, Sidney. You're very welcome, Rohan. Well, look, we don't usually speak to people in Melbourne all that frequently, but this one, I just read it this morning, and I thought to myself, how has this come to be that somebody has so little in their life that they complain to council about a bloke giving high fives to kids? You with me, Rohan? Yeah, look. Yeah, sorry. Can you hear me? I can, Rohan.

Yeah, fantastic. Yeah, look, I think it's turning out to potentially be a little more complex than maybe any of us realize. I believe that the complaint might have been to do with a moving vehicle high five kind of situation. And, you know, if that's the case, I completely understand that being complicated.

cause for concern. But I guess, however, the ramifications of that complaint has now led to the total banning of John's, you know, typical and welcomed, friendly high fives and just his kind of, you know, good nature. So it's kind of really changed the whole culture of the drop-off and pickups for students at the school now. So, yeah, it's kind of spoiled it for everyone in some sense. Tell us about John.

He's lovely. He's been at the school for many years. He actually won the school crossing supervisor of the year recently in our region. So he's been acclaimed for, I guess, his amazing friendliness and his personality. He just...

He really warms everyone's day, you know, from the very beginning to the end. And I think that's been a really beautiful part of the community and the culture of the school and the experience of the students and the parents. Because I guess not everyone's going to have a great day. But, you know, you're definitely going to get a smile and a high five out of John. And, you know, that kind of makes it worth it for many of us. So you're just walking your kids over the zebra crossing and he goes, G'day guys, high five, in you go.

Yeah, basically. There is a tradition of as you drive out, you kind of stop the car and pull up and he stops the crossing appropriately and kids might wind down their

their window and um he'll reach in and you know little little high five goodbye and wish everyone a lovely evening so it's you know kind of one of those things that's been happening forever and it hasn't been an issue until now um so yeah here we are so who made the complaint do we know no idea um yeah and the complaint was made to council right

Yeah, and I think the reason for that is actually this isn't a school issue. It's outside of the school's kind of rulings or policies, so it is actually a council issue. There's been a further update from the council. I believe they released a statement yesterday afternoon or today. Basically, it's not even up to them. So I think the council have...

stated that they're okay as long as it's within reason, as long as high fives aren't happening in moving vehicles and it's a voluntary action that's initiated from the students. But however, the actual school crossing...

Australia and Victoria, I guess the governing body that do the training and the overhead kind of institution and policy have said that, yeah, high fives are not agreeable to safety and, I don't know, probably liability, I'm imagining, and whatever other reasoning. So it seems like it's kind of evolving to a slightly different thing now. Just let the dude give high fives out. Like, who cares? Yeah.

Like, honestly, it's just absurd. And if you've got a problem with a moving car, just go, hey, John, just knock it off. Just be careful when the cars are moving. That's all that needs to be done. Yeah, I mean, logic would absolutely imply that would be a very reasonable kind of response. And I'm not sure, you know, maybe it was.

awareness more privately, I'm not of that understanding. I think it could have been very much resolved in a much simpler, smaller, more friendly, personal way, as I think is the vibe of our community. So yeah, when this kind of happened, and then obviously this blanket ban now has affected every student and parent and their ability to kind of engage with John the way that we wish to,

that's how this petition kind of started. So just a chance for us, I guess, to also be able to express our opinion on this decision. Can we do like a high five day?

at the school and just go you know what come and find us we don't care off you go high five us all yeah look I've been thinking about some form of high five protest or something stage a mutiny yeah anything just to kind of re-stabilise and bring the joy back so

So, yeah, but I guess we're trying to, you know, keep the high five alive. And I guess we'll keep going until we feel like we've made some progress or we've hit a dead end with it. Hey, Rohan, before I let you go, where do we find the petition? So it's change.org. And I'm pretty sure if you just, you know, put in the search field John and school crossing or high five, it should hit pretty quickly in the search field. Good on you, Rohan. I appreciate you coming on. All the best.

Thank you, bro. And have a lovely afternoon. And you say g'day to John for us. Gee whiz. 131873, are you pro or anti high five? I'm a big pro high five person.

It's a very... I just wonder where the world's going when people are complaining about stuff like this. It's 10 minutes to 4, 131873. Now, this issue over in London, where there was an 11-year-old Australian girl who was just randomly targeted in a furious stabbing attack by a Romanian gypsy, I think it was, by the sounds of things.

So it says that the young girl was seriously injured in the attack. It's in Leicester Square in London. She is from New South Wales. She's undergone some significant cosmetic surgery. She will... Non-life-threatening injuries, though, to her face, shoulder, wrist and neck. But she was walking with her mother in Leicester Square in London. She was over there on holidays. And this guy...

I own Pintaru, 32 years old, with a steak knife, put the little girl, the 11-year-old, in a headlock and just started stabbing her. Now, there was a security guard. His name is Abdullah. And Abdullah was working at a tea store in Leicester Square. He heard the scream and it was Abdullah that just ran straight over to the guy with the knife, jumped on him,

And probably saved her life. That's what he said, quote,

Abdullah then went on to perform CPR on the child before emergency services arrived at the scene. And well done to Abdullah because the little girl has already been discharged from hospital, thankfully. And he's been honoured at Pakistan's London High Commission on Wednesday, as he should be honoured, as he should be honoured. And DFAT has said that it's providing consular assistance to the little girl,

And her mother. But police say they don't believe the incident was terror related. In court, Pintaru, he spoke through a translator. He's a Romanian citizen with no fixed address. And they reckon it was completely random. Completely random. 131873. Andrew O'Keefe, no relation, has been slapped with a new charge after alleged intimidation.

So he was slapped with this new charge as he awaits judgment after appealing convictions for domestic violence. And he was charged with intimidation at Waverley Local Court and breaching an apprehended violence order. And the court was told the additional charge of entering enclosed lands without lawful excuse had been laid by police following an alleged incident on July 28, 131873.

Live on 2GB. Have your say. 131 873. Now just on the high five matter, where this one of the lollipop guys on the zebra crossing in Melbourne giving high five to the kids, parent complains to council, high fives, now blanket ban. Nick is in Schofield. Hello, Nick. Hello, Nick. Just a comment on this high five business. That is totally rubbish.

What's wrong with giving a high five to kids? Make them feel happy. It brightens up their day. It's typical bureaucratic garbage. Agree wholeheartedly, yeah. The bureaucrats make a little bit of power, they think they're God. They forget they're public servants. Very good call. Good on you, Nick. Kieran's a greenacre. Hello, Kieran. Hi, how are you going? I'm good, thank you. You anti or pro? High five.

I am anti this time around. I've just got a few quick points. Firstly, you're spreading bacteria. Some parents may not want that interaction happening with their child. And another thing is that, you know, God forbid if an incident happens, you know, you're holding up too much traffic. Is it really practical to be doing these high fives? So safety comes first. We've just got to be practical.

Righto. Good on you, Kieran. Open line is the open line. I absolutely disagree with everything you said, but I'll defend your right to say it. And you know who also had a view on the high five issue? Billy Birmingham and the 12th man. I feel sick, Darl. A beautiful piece of bowling and the first wicket falls. Wow. Oh, gee, look out. Goodness gracious me. One of his teammates has come running over and thrown the big high five and he's missed and got him right in the eye. I feel sick, Darl, clutching his face. Well, this is just pathetic play by Pakistan.

Very, very stupid indeed. It's really unforgivable, this. They lack the experience required to do them properly, the high fives, and if they're going to run around throwing them willy-nilly, well, accidents like this are bound to happen.

Well, Bill, I'd go one step further than that even and say that I think the high five and I should be outlawed from the game altogether. The four o'clock news with Josh Bryant is coming up very shortly. On the other side of that, I'm going to speak to the Refugee Council of Australia, the CEO of the Refugee Council of Australia. And I want to ask why we should be accepting Gazan refugees. There's been a lot of debate about this. Peter Dutton's been branded racist.

And look, Australia has for many, many decades opened our door to refugees from war zones. What's different about this one? It's interesting. I see both sides. We'll speak to the Refugee Council next.

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Now back to Drive with Chris O'Keefe on Sydney's 2GB. It's seven minutes past four. Thank you for your company on this Thursday afternoon. 131873, our open line number. The email drive at 2gb.com or text us 0460 873873. Now coming up, I'll speak to the CEO of the Refugee Council of Australia,

about Peter Dutton's decree that we should not be accepting refugees from Gaza. Does he have a point? And I'll also have a look at the new unemployment figures. The unemployment rate's ticked up a little, but a whole bunch more people are into jobs, specifically women. Women look like they're heading back to the workforce in a big way. The inside word on everything Sydney. It's Drive with Chris O'Keefe on 2GB.

Now, just a little bit of information on the train lines this afternoon. So the T1 Western line, which is the busiest line on the Sydney train network. So the T1 Western line trains are not running between Riverston and Mulgrave due to urgent signal repairs. So services from the city will end and start from Riverston.

So we'll update you when we have any more information about when the line will open. But Transport for New South Wales is saying allow extra travel time. So trains not currently running on the T1 Western line between Riverston and Mulgrave due to urgent signal repairs. 131873. Now, I'll hopefully get a hold of the nurses and midwives a little later in the program, but

Ramsey Healthcare nurses at Westmead Private Hospital are walking off the job for four hours tomorrow. So tomorrow, four-hour strike at Westmead Private Hospital. Nurses and midwives. Now, I know Westmead Private, if you're potentially booking in to be induced to give birth or you've got a C-section or whatever it may be,

Just check with Westmead Private because nurses and midwives, they've got an elective surgery booked. They're walking off the job four hours and it will impact the hospital's operations, no question. Now, they are obviously having a fight with Ramsey Healthcare at the moment, a private healthcare operator, about rates of pay and conditions.

Now, many operating theatres will be closed at Westmead Private and there will be bans on working overtime too. So nurses and midwives are refusing to do non-clinical duties such as answering phones, checking stocks, emptying bins, cleaning and food or drink service. So, you know, they're not mucking around. And to be quite frank with you, I think that any nurse, any midwife...

deserves every single cent they can possibly get. So well done to them. 131873. Now, you would have seen this all over the news today. Peter Dutton has called for a complete ban, complete ban, on refugees coming to Australia from Gaza. Now, the Albanese government has accepted almost 3,000 visa applications from Palestinians who are living in Gaza and on the West Bank.

And Peter Dutton says that the security risk of bringing in refugees is too high. And here he is talking on the Today Show. The government has brought people in from a war zone. In some cases, they haven't even done face-to-face interviews. And that is without precedent. 1,300 people have come here on tourist visas, again, without precedent. And this all happened under Andrew Giles, who, of course, has now been sacked as the immigration minister because he was the guy who released 152 hardened criminals today.

from immigration detention when it turned out he didn't need to do so. And I think it's a massive, you know, but latest mess of the Albanese government. Now, I'm on the fence a bit here. I understand what Peter Dutton's saying completely and entirely, but a complete ban on refugees coming from a war zone, an extremely nasty war zone at that.

Now look, we can't be taking refugees, or we can't be taking anyone, mind you, if we are putting our national security at risk, or the safety of Australian citizens at risk. We can't. But we've got a big heart as a country too. And for decades and decades and decades, people have been coming to this country, a country built on migration, from war zones.

But like I said, look, I understand both sides of the argument. Paul Power is the CEO of the Refugee Council of Australia. And needless to say, he disagrees with Peter Dutton. And he's on the line. Paul, g'day. Hello, Chris. So the refugees, a security threat to Australia. How sure are we that they're not?

Well, it's really surprising to hear Peter Dutton saying what he's saying because he, in the Federal Coalition, would know better than anyone else that what he's saying isn't true. He was the minister responsible for Australia's refugee program for more than six years, from the end of 2014 to, I think it was March in 2021. And in that time, he gave the approval for 99,300 refugee visas to be granted and the

Security process that's being used now for Palestinian visa applications and also people coming from Israel as well. There's more people coming from Israel than Palestinians. The security process is exactly the same as the one that he oversaw when he was immigration minister and when he was home affairs minister. When he was home affairs minister, yeah, it

The same agency doing the same checks in the same way. And when he was Home Affairs Minister, he was responsible not only for the issuing of refugee visas, but actually also for the security agencies doing those checks. I understand, but he argues during the caliphate and the ISIS situation in Syria that

Those refugees were processed in Iraq and face-to-face interviews were done before they were granted visas. That's not happening in this instance. Well, he said in that grab that refugees haven't come under visitor visas before. I mean, when, in fact...

The precedent was under the Morrison government when they started to offer temporary entry to people who were feeling the situation in the Ukraine, where, you know, in fact, there were about 5,000 or so visas offered to Ukrainians under those arrangements. I mean, what the government is following is the same arrangements that existed under the previous government. Sure, but... Yeah, and, of course, the...

You know, they're under a lot of pressure to be, as you can imagine, because they're copping political pressure from the coalition, you know, to carry out checks. And there are, you know, there are more visas actually being rejected than being accepted. Sure. But Paul, let's just stick to this argument for a second. I'm playing devil's advocate, as I said. I don't know which way to fall on this one.

But when you're handing out visas to Ukrainians on tourist visas, Ukraine was not governed by a registered terrorist organisation. Gaza is.

Sure. Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, there may be people with all sorts of right-wing affiliations from... Yeah, maybe shoulda, coulda, but we know that Hamas is a registered terror organisation and it governs Gaza.

Yeah, and the people who are coming are the people who are the victims of the violence that's actually happening in Gaza. And I think it's, you know, when Peter Dutton was minister, you know, the four key countries of origin, the majority of the refugees that he gave approval to were from four countries, from Iraq, Syria, Egypt.

Myanmar and Afghanistan. And, you know, in most of those situations, exactly the same conditions apply, you know, of people who are, you know, in a country where there's, you know, there's shocking terrorism, shocking violence. But the important thing in all of this is to be able to differentiate between people who are the perpetrators of the violence and people who are victims of the violence. Is that possible to do, though, without face-to-face interviews? Yes.

Well, certainly the security agencies believe so, and they've been doing this. It's certainly not true that every person whose refugee visa is approved has a face-to-face interview before they come.

In many situations, in quite a few situations, that is impossible. But the, yeah, but, you know, there's a whole lot of data that is collected by the security agencies. There's, you know, sharing of information between, you know, the Five Eyes countries share a lot of information. We're not really sure exactly how much information is shared with security agencies in other countries because this is obviously

Stuff is all confidential. But, I mean, what we're seeing is that there's, you know, there are applications being approved, there are applications being rejected. And this is based on security information that, you know, security assessments that have been conducted by, you know, the department, or in fact by the security agencies, not by the department. Paul, can I just play you just a little piece of audio? James Patterson, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, he spoke to Ben Fordham this morning on this.

A pause for now is what Peter Dutton said yesterday, and I agree with, until we can be assured that sufficient security checks are taking place. Undoubtedly, there are genuinely innocent, worthy people who want to leave Gaza who pose no risk to the Australian community.

But the reason why we do robust vetting is to make sure we can distinguish them from the people who do pose a risk to our country and make sure those people who do pose a risk to our country don't come. Now, until the government can reassure us that that's happening and they haven't so far, then we think it has to be paused. Thoughts?

Well, as I say, the government is following the same systems and same protocols as the coalition government did when they were in power before. And, I mean, it's very, very easy to say, you know, to lump a whole group of people in with the actions of a few. I mean, if you look at terrorism in Australia and New Zealand, by far the most devastating terrorist event that happened

was in Christchurch in 2019, a person who was born in the same country as me, the same ethnic background as me, Anglo-Celtic. That doesn't matter. It doesn't really. It doesn't particularly matter. We have a responsibility to... No, no, no. But I think that's a straw man argument. We've got a responsibility to Australian citizens and we've got plenty of bad ones here, but they're Australian citizens. We don't have a responsibility for... We have to be careful about who we bring into Australia. Now, I'm not... You know, we've had people coming in from war zones all...

For generations. Now, vetting them properly is the question at hand here. And look, do we need to be satisfied that these people are being vetted properly? Or do you think, oh, well, we'll just take Albo's word for it?

The process that's being followed is the same process that was being followed when Peter Dutton was minister, when Alex Hawke was minister. So, you know, this is a cheap shot. And, in fact, what we see all the time between the major political parties, you know, the Liberal Party were always...

accuse the Labor Party of not being able to control, you know, the economy, the borders, defence and, you know, and so it's just, you know, and we just see this played out again and again, you know, and in fact on a day when the Liberal Party's in strife over its ability to be able to organise its own nominations. Forget all that. It's got nothing to do with that. Why aren't the Jordanians and the Egyptians so open to taking refugees?

Well, there are plenty of people who've... I mean, Jordan's population is very significantly Palestinian. It's actually... But the refugees from Gaza right now, the Jordanians and the Egyptians, they're hesitant to take these refugees. Why?

Look, I'm not sure of the situation in Jordan and Egypt, obviously looking at what the international response involving Australia and other countries is. The people who are coming are people who have close links to people in Australia. They are close relatives of Australian citizens and Australian residents who are actually getting visa approval. Jordan and Egypt are next door to Gaza.

There'd be close links there too, but for some reason the Jordanians nor the Egyptians are as open as Australia is. I don't quite understand why. Well, there are certainly people crossing the borders from Gaza into both Jordan and Egypt. I mean, the people who are coming to Australia, as was the case with...

you know, people who came from Ukraine, people who have a close connection to Australia through family and friends. I mean, and that's a natural thing. You know, if you or I have a relative, you know, who's in a crisis situation in another country, that they would actually want to come and stay with...

you know, family and friends, you know, who are able to, you know, to help them get back on their feet. And this is what's occurring, is people who have some prior link to Australia have the capacity to be able to apply and seek entry to Australia. They go through all of the same security assessment that Peter Dutton implemented and operated when he was Minister.

You know, I mean, this is just, it's unfortunate. It's really unfortunate. It's, you know, pre-election, you know, positioning by the coalition. But, you know, it's exactly the sort of thing that when Peter Dutton was Minister for Immigration and Home Affairs, that he was, you know, adding down any time, you know, people from Australia

from the far right or whatever were trying to suggest that he wasn't doing the right thing in terms of screening refugees coming to the country. Next year, Australia will actually issue the one millionth refugee visa since 1947. And there's a long history of

No question about that. From both sides of government. Paul, I take your point and I think you've vocalised it and ventilated it as well as we could in this space. I've just run out of time. Thank you so much for coming on. Thanks.

Thanks, Chris. Right on.

The particulars of the breach notice are that Mitchell featured in imagery, which emerged publicly on the 12th of August, which depicted him acting in a manner which has brought the game into disrepute. This has been written by lawyers. Mitchell has five business days to respond to the breach notice. What's with lawyers? If you're a lawyer, give us a call. Why can't you talk in plain language?

There's an allergy to clear communication from lawyers. And it sounds all very toffee. The particulars of the breach notice are that Mitchell featured in imagery which emerged publicly, which depicted him acting in a manner which has brought the game into disrepute. Come on, just speak like the rest of us. 131873. Phil's at Winston Hills. Hello, Phil.

Look, I'm absolutely 100% behind the opposition leader. I think who just raised our security risk?

from possible to probable. And if you're not interviewing these people, and I can understand, look, they're suffering, it's a war, but a lot of those people in Gaza were hiding the Hamas underneath Gaza, in the channels and tunnels. And it goes, it just bites like Vietnam. Who did you know who were friends or enemies? And I think if we're going to import them...

We're importing everybody now and we've got no accommodation. We've got nothing. Yeah, Phil, that's a problem I didn't get to with Paul Power from the Refugee Council, but we've got a housing crisis. That's the first thing. We need to house our own people. But nonetheless, you know, we've been bringing people in from war zones for a long, long period of time. I'm sure there's many people who are listening right now whose parents or grandparents fled really tough situations overseas and came and made a really safe and good life of things.

here in Australia. But I think it is reasonable to ask what the security vetting arrangements are when we're issuing refugee visas to people in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, a registered terror organisation. Cathy's at Borkham Hills. Hello, Cathy. Hello. What's your view, Cathy? What do you think?

Pretty much what you just said. I'm the daughter and granddaughter of refugees who fled from Europe from the communist regimes during World War II. My brother is married to a girl and she and her family are refugees from the Burmese regime.

regime at the moment. And all of those people, all of those refugees in our family would say, we need to be sure that people are safe, that we're looking after Australia's interests. It's not unreasonable to find out who they are and what their intentions are to come in. And these people are coming from an area where we're seeing protests demanding the complete destruction of a race of people and their land. Yeah.

They're not just saying, bring us to safety. They're promoting destroying another land. We need to know who they are. Cathy, I agree with you. I think that's a fair enough question to ask. But Peter Dutton sort of pushed it a step further and just said, forget it. No Gazan refugees at all. Maybe that's overreach. John's at Botany. Hello, John.

I'm just inquiring in the sense that you could have actually stressed and asked the question, what is actually the process to outline the actual process that the Labor government is actually trying to put into place? If it took 12 months for the Liberals to bring in the Afghans from an independent country, why did it take 12 months when with Labor it's taking 12 minutes?

It's not the same, John. There's no way in the world it's the same. And look, I believe Peter Dutton on this one because especially I remember doing this when we took a lot of people who were during the ISIS regime from Syria. The Australian government sent people to Iraq and did face-to-face interviews with them in refugee camps in Iraq before they granted them.

refugee visas. Now that is clearly not happening now, right? That is clearly not happening now if no face-to-face interviews are being conducted. So I don't know what sort of the veracity of the vetting is. No one's been able to explain that properly. I sort of kind of tried to ask Paul Power that from the Refugee Council. He was a bit wishy-washy on what the process was. I know the Prime Minister's been asked a few times. He said, look, ASIO's involved. Just pointed ASIO and

Well, everything's okay. I don't know. John, I appreciate your call. 131873. I don't think a tire, a band in its totality is a good idea. I think that is overreach.

But it is not racist, nor is it unreasonable, to ask for proper security vetting of refugees coming from a place that is war-torn and governed by a terrorist organisation. That is not unreasonable. It is not racist. But a blanket ban? I don't think so. 29 to 5.

Good afternoon again. Chris Rabideau star Latrell Mitchell has been hit with a breach notice following an investigation by the NRL's integrity unit. Looking into a photo which emerged earlier this week, the NRL saying he featured in imagery which depicted him acting in a manner which has brought the game into disrepute. He has five days to respond. City's new metro has been cleared to open by the National Rail Safety Regulator. The state government will now set the new opening date.

date. Australia's unemployment rate has risen slightly to 4.2% over the past month and the Australian Olympic Committee is condemning an online petition targeting breaking competitor Rachel Gunn. The AOC is saying the anonymous petition is vexatious, misleading and bullying. In sport, prop Angus Bell and winger Marika Korobedi will return to the Wallabies team for Saturday's test against South Africa in Perth. We'll have more news in sport at five.

Good on you, Josh. 131873. Just to wrap up this conversation, Anthony's made a good point. To suggest that ASIO isn't doing any checks is a bit disingenuous given so many of these refugee visas and you're talking thousands and thousands.

have already been knocked back. It's a good point, Anthony. 131873. Coming up, a $10 million fraud ring, and why has unemployment gone up to 4.2% when there's been an almost 60,000-person increase in jobs created? We'll try to find that out next.

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It's 24 to 5. Now, unemployment has risen, only slightly, but it's gone up, the unemployment rate. Even though almost 60,000 people found jobs who were otherwise out of work. Now, you can probably understand why the Reserve Bank is a little concerned about sticky inflation. So you've got the tax cut money starting to slosh through the economy.

and then you've got people finding work who didn't have work so there is a risk we're just not on top of this inflation thing like we had hoped we were but here's what's interesting so people who weren't currently working took up jobs and female participation rate jumped 0.3 of a percent so at times so tough that working mums or even retirees just aren't staying at home as long

because they need a wage to pay the household bills? Or is it something else altogether? Well, Dr. Brendan Wren, he's from KPMG, he's on the line for us. Doctor, thanks for your time. Hi, Chris. How are you? I'm well, thank you. So firstly, here's what I want to wrap my head around. How does the unemployment rate go up when 65,000 people pick up jobs?

That's a good question. Largely it's because the number of people that entered the labour force grew by a larger amount. So there was about 82,000 people joined the labour force and about 60,000 of those people found a job. So what you've seen is the unemployment rate pick up slightly just because there were more people available to work than what was actually the jobs that were created.

I did notice that the participation rate jumped 0.2 of a percent and female participation rate jumped 0.3 of a percent. Are we seeing more working mums or women coming back into the workforce because times are tough and households need the extra money or is it something else? No, look, I think that's certainly a large part of it. The other thing to also recognise is that, and what's been driving this labour force increase has just been migration.

So something like we'll have an additional, say, million people in Australia over this year and last year. And so a lot of those people are within the working age group. And they'll also most likely be both couples that come here. So the man and the woman are able to look to work.

So increases in the female participation rate, as you said, largely got to do with people that are looking to earn more income because the cost of living has increased quite dramatically. But it's also a mix of the migration that's been coming to Australia as well. Underemployment. I'm always interested in this. So underemployment. That means people have got jobs, but they're not necessarily getting the hours they hoped they would. How did that perform?

So we had a bit of an increase in the number of hours worked, about 0.4% over last

over the month. But largely, what we're also seeing is that people are looking to have more hours to, in fact, earn more income to help them cover their bills and their expenses. And what we have seen is that that just hasn't picked up as much in terms of working hours as what people had anticipated. That's why we've seen a rise in the underemployment rate.

So New Zealand cut rates yesterday, interest rates. And I've noticed you've got the US, you've got the UK, you've got Canada, you've got New Zealand, vastly lower inflation rate than here in Australia. Why are we lagging so far behind?

So, when do you have a look at those countries? The main thing to have a look at or compare is what's called the real interest rate. So, it's that RBA cash rate equivalent, less inflation. Now, in New Zealand, they had their cash rate at 5.5%, and their inflation rate was 3.3%. So, what's called their real policy rate was 2.2%.

In Australia, our cash rate's 4.35%, our inflation rate's 3.8%, and so our real policy rate is only about 0.55% of a percent. So we're about three times lower

than what that real policy rate is in New Zealand. Now, our real policy rate is going to increase as inflation falls, but we're in a different part of the cycle. So one of the things to understand is that our inflation rate needs to come down just that little bit further.

but more before we're going to be in the realms of being able to reduce our RBA cash rate. And the reason why the RBA has an increased interest rate so much is they're trying to hold on to as much of the employment gains that we've had over the last couple of years as they possibly can. So basically they're saying, righto, we're happy to go longer because we want to

keep as many people in work as we possibly can. And if that means mortgages have got to remain higher for longer, will so be it? Yes, that's exactly right. Okay. Well, you know what? I can't really argue with that logic.

No. You know, what they're trying to do is enable the total economy to remain more buoyant. And you're seeing that resilience in the labour market. I mean, certainly they could crush inflation by lifting interest rates up, you know, 25, 50, 75 basis points. They could do that quite easily. But they'll also crush the economy in the process. Doctor, I really appreciate you coming on. Thanks for your insight.

Thanks, Chris. Thanks for having me. That's Dr. Brendan Wren. He's the chief economist at KPMG. Talk about a clear communicator. He's one. 131873. Well, Australia Post is recruiting 3,000 seasonal casuals, speaking of jobs, right across Australia. So the holiday season, of course, Christmas, lots of posts to be done. And 3,000 casuals, the jobs are open.

So they're looking for forklift operators. They're looking for van and truck drivers, freight handlers, parcel sorters, basically jobs right across the delivery network. So you can get effectively jobs right across all states and territories. Here in New South Wales, there's plenty of them. And if you want to apply, auspost.com.au forward slash seasonal casuals.

That's where you've got to go. Auspost.com.au forward slash seasonal casuals. And there'll be a job for you if you want to pick up some extra work as you're heading into the Christmas period. It's 17 to 5. It's 13 minutes to 5, 131873. Well, the Prime Minister has received a bit of a frosty reception today.

on social media. So he made the announcement that his government had introduced a bill to wipe $3 billion of student debt. This story, Sky News Australia. And he first announced that he would slash the student debt of millions of Australian millennials under that cost of living measure. And he announced that back May 5. And so he took to social media, Albo,

And on the post it says, stop scrolling if you've got student debt. We've just introduced our bill to wipe $3 billion of it. Everyone's cottoned on though. And they've said things like, you haven't wiped any debt. All you've done is transfer the debt to other taxpayers who didn't benefit from any education. Another user asked how the initiative to use taxpayer money to credit about 3% of student debt would have any impact on the cost of living crisis.

Here's another one. Prime Minister, you are essentially bereft of ideas. You have proven a disaster for Australia, putting 20% of Australians below the poverty line. If you are not ashamed, you should be. 131873 is copying it from every angle at the moment. The Prime Minister, and to be honest, you know. Would you say that he's been a disappointment? I think most would. Even many in the Labor Party, the people that I speak to,

Believe it's been a disappointment. Now, whether or not Peter Dutton can cobble together 15 seats to govern in his own right, I'm unconvinced. Could happen, but I'm unconvinced. And it will be a big, chunky crossbench. I guarantee you that. It'll be a big, big, chunky crossbench with Greens, with Teals, with Independents. And unfortunately, I can only probably see Bob Catter as the one who would back Peter Dutton in a minority government. 1-3-1-8-7-3.

Live with Chris O'Keefe on 2GB. Bit of footy news. West's Tigers rookie Lachlan Galvin has said that the ongoing speculation about his future at the Tigers annoyed him a little bit. So the rookie 5AT declared he'll be at the club next year despite suggestions his management had been pushing for a release. Well, they were pushing for a release. He'll partner Jerome Luai in the halves next year. He's only 19 years old.

He's got two more years to run at the Tigers. And all I'd say about Lockie Galvin is, you know, he wouldn't have got a start at any other NRL club other than the Tigers. They've unearthed a good one. He's got super valuable experience at just 19 years old. He shouldn't go shopping himself around just yet. Got plenty of time to do that.

So he says,

They're there each week, and that's why we're working hard each week to try to get the results for them. Lockie Galvin, 131873. Still on rugby league, Anthony Seabold, the coach of the Manly Warringah Seagulls. He confirmed that their speedster Tolu Kula will make his return from injury tomorrow night.

Though it is unclear whether he'll start in the centres or ease his way back from the bench. Good player. Cooler. He hasn't played since round 18. He injured his knee in Townsville against the Cowboys. But, you know, they're getting their players back the Manly Sea Eagles side. So whether or not they might make a cheeky little run, you know, they've got plenty of strike, the Manly team. 1-3-1-8-7-3. Well, I thought this was interesting. So Rod Stewart.

He has scored his first ever billion view video on YouTube. So he's had a video from YouTube of a 2004 live performance of I Don't Want To Talk About It, which was a massive hit for him in the United Kingdom all the way back in 1977. So he cut a new version.

in 1989 and that version that he cut in 1989 took off in the United States. So in 2004, he had a concert video called One Night Only live at the Royal Albert Hall and it has now had on YouTube one billion views. Talk about how you're broke But if I stay here just a little

If I stay here, won't you listen to my heart? One billion views there. Rod Stewart, hell of a song, hell of a performer. 131873. Well, you might be able to get on the Sydney Metro soon because the National Rail Safety Regular has given the okay to Sydney's new $21 billion Metro rail line.

which will carry passengers from Chatswood to Sydenham. That's the new part of the line anyway. You'll now be able to go from effectively Tallawong up near Rouse Hill all the way to Sydenham on one stretch of train line. It looks magnificent. Supposed to open August 4, delayed by a whole bunch of problems. They should never have announced the date. They stuffed that up. They know that. Not a big deal in the end. Anyway.

They've been given the green light. So they're all waiting for the National Safety Rail, the rail safety regulator, give them the rubber stamp to open the Metro. They've got that. Now we're just waiting on Joe Halen and the New South Wales government and Josh Murray and the like at Transport for New South Wales to announce a date when we can get on the new Metro.

So, Leon and the team in Joe Halen's office, I'm waiting for a text where you can just tell us the date you promised to send me.

Some information as to when we can all get on the Metro, right? Well, I'm open. Phone lines here, 131873. Joe Halen, feel free to call in whenever you want and tell the people of Sydney when they can get on this beautiful new train. It's five to five. Five o'clock news is coming up very shortly with Josh Bryant. On the other side of that, looks like the Boxing Day test will be locked in at the MCG until 2031. Well, it should be locked in.

until 2131. Should never be played anywhere else but the MCG. We all know that. And the Hall of Fame, the Rugby League Hall of Fame, Les Boyd is now in the Rugby League Hall of Fame. Do you think that's fair, given he spent almost two years on the sidelines with suspensions and shattered Darryl Broman's jaw in a cheap shot? Should he be a Hall of Famer?

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

Now back to Drive with Chris O'Keefe on Sydney's 2GB. It's seven minutes past five. Thank you for your company on this Thursday afternoon. 131 873 is the open line number. You can text me, of course, 0460 873 873 or email me drive at 2GB.com. Now coming up, don't forget, get that catchphrase ready. I've got a thousand bucks to give away. So if you know the catchphrase...

$1,000 is coming your way. And I'll also have a look at disinformation. There's some software that Facebook uses to detect disinformation, right? But for some reason, they've decided to shut down the software. Well, why? The breaking news you can trust. It's Drive with Chris O'Keefe on 2GB.

Now, just on our Sydney Trains Network, buses are currently replacing trains between Riverston and Mulgrave. They haven't been able to rectify the situation on the T1 Western line. So urgent signal repairs are still underway at Mulgrave. And buses are replacing trains between Riverston and Mulgrave on the T1 Western line.

Now, passengers are advised to allow plenty of extra travel time and trains are still running between the city and Riverston and between Mulgrave and Richmond.

But between Riverston and Mulgrave, you've got to get on the bus. So if people are coming home that way or you yourself are looking to catch a train this evening, please be advised there is drama on the T1 Western line. So give yourself plenty of time before you get on that train, 131873. Now, just on the debacle, that is the New South Wales Liberal Party failing to

nominate a whole bunch of candidates because I didn't get the paperwork in time. Now, this is a story that I broke yesterday with Michael McLaren. So the deadline was midday yesterday and we broke the story just after two. So it was all, I was getting tip-offs left, right and centre and we broke the story with Michael McLaren.

So now it's got to the point where the New South Wales opposition leader, Mark Speakman, has called for the resignation of Richard Shields, who's the state director, effectively the CEO of the New South Wales Liberal Party. They're talking about 140 candidates not having their paperwork lodged, 140 in 18 council areas. 18. It's terrible, right?

So Richard Shields, the State Director, he is blaming the administrative debacle, disaster, on a lack of resources at Secretariat. But I did note with Mark Speakman calling on his resignation, Don Harwin, who's the President of the New South Wales Liberal Party, so if you're looking at Richard Shields as the CEO, Don Harwin is effectively the Chairman. And many people are saying that this is just as much as Don Harwin's fault as it is Richard Shields'. And to be honest...

This is like Qantas, right? Alan Joyce and Richard Goiter have got to go. Well, Richard Shields and Don Harwin have to go. So Don Harwin's just put out a statement. "'I've called for a state executive meeting this evening "'with state director tonight to review the situation "'surrounding the local government nominations. "'It is crucial we understand what occurred "'and take decisive action to maintain the trust of our members "'and the public as we prepare for the future.'"

Don, the only thing decisive you need to take is yourself away from a position of power. 131873. Now, just at Westmead Private Hospital, I think this is quite interesting. So nurses at Westmead Private Hospital, they will be going on strike tomorrow.

for four hours tomorrow, nurses and midwives, between 7am and 11am. There will be a ban on overtime. They will refuse to do non-clinical duties like answering phones, checking stock and emptying bins. And they are asking for an 18% pay rise over three years. Now, Catherine Bloomfield, she is the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives Association delegate at Westmead Private. And she's been a nurse there for over 20 years. She joins me live. Catherine, g'day.

Hi Chris, how are you? I'm not too bad. Clearly not something you guys thought you'd have to do or I'm sure you hoped that it didn't have to come to this, but why? Why have you made the decision to strike? Well, we've been negotiating with Ramsey for 15, 16 months now to improve our wages and conditions, including patient to nurse ratios.

Unfortunately, Ramsey is only offering us 12.5% and they are not listening to our request to have ratios set in place. So our workload's very heavy. We're very stressed. We're overworked and basically we're exhausted and frustrated.

There's no one begrudging. I can't certainly begrudge you guys asking for a pay rise. I've seen firsthand in private hospitals, in public hospitals, just how hard our nurses and midwives do it. You guys work unbelievably difficult in very trying circumstances. Absolutely. For you, Catherine, though, what will patients expect? Say if you've got an elective surgery on tomorrow or you might be giving birth, something like that at Westmead Private Hospital, what will patients expect with this walk-off?

- So any emergencies are still gonna be dealt with in a timely manner. Operating theatres are only operating using three theatres in the morning instead of our 12, but the list will start after 11 o'clock. So patients will still have their surgery completed in a timely manner as much as possible, but there will be overtime bans. So some of the lists have had to be moved to other days.

As far as any inductions of labour, they're going to be starting at 11am onwards. And of course, any emergencies, as I said, emergency cesareans will be dealt with immediately. Sure. Okay. So you want 18% over three years. What did you say Ramsey is offered?

They've now come up to 12.5%. They've already given, that includes the 6.5% that they gave us just recently. So it's really not... You're not too far away from each other though, are you?

Well, really, we're only going to get another 6% over three years. So we do want to push for the 18% because the other thing is public health are also pushing for a higher wage. And basically, if Ramsey don't improve their offer and their ratios, I think we're going to have a mass exodus from Ramsey Healthcare to either the public sector or other private operators' sector.

Catherine, what's it like working in there at the moment? There's a lot of dissatisfaction and frustration, particularly on the wards, in maternity, surgical wards. Their workloads are very heavy. I work night shift mainly. I work in special care nursery, and we do have a few issues there with ratios, but it's

Basically not too bad, but it's the wards that are really affected. And for babies and... Sorry, mothers and babies in maternity, they're only counted as one person. So one nurse or midwife could be looking after eight mothers and babies, but they don't count the babies, so they don't look at that ratio, and that's a huge workload for staff. And same in surgical wards. You could have up to eight fresh surgical patients overnight. Mm.

Hey, Catherine, you've got my support on this one. You deserve as much money as you can possibly get out of them, okay? Keep going. Yep. Good. Wish us luck. We're not giving up. We're fighting the fight. I wish you luck, all right? That's Catherine Bloomfield, New South Wales Nurses and Midwives Association delegate at Westmead Private Hospital. Honestly, I've seen these guys just do God's work, and the situation is trying, and without them, we'd be buggered.

Opinions that matter. News you can trust. This is Drive on Sydney's 2GB. Look, I don't know if you've seen the names that have landed in the NRL Hall of Fame, but one of them's caused a major blow-up. So next Wednesday, the NRL will announce its Hall of Fame as well as another immortal. Full disclosure, my wife, Vonnie, is hosting the event for Fox League. But I'm going to go into bat for Daryl Broman here. Not that he needs me to, but I'm going to.

Because Les Boyd has been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Now, Les Boyd, in a 1983 State of Origin game, he stormed out of the line with a cocked elbow and deliberately connected with Daryl Broman's jaw and shattered it on the spot. Now, that cost Daryl Broman his Australian jumper. And Les Boyd was suspended for 12 months for that act. Now, people make mistakes, Russia blood, right? But not Les.

So he came back and he played just three games for Manly after that 12-month suspension. He was then suspended again, this time for 15 months, for a vicious eye gouge on Canterbury's Billy Johnston. And he never played in Australia again, Les Boyd. Never again. Now, sure, Boyd at the time was in the middle of a period where the New South Wales Rugby League was trying to clean the game up.

You also can't put the bloke in the freezer forever or continue to hold him to account for things that he was punished for and things that happened 41 years ago. But shattering someone's jaw on purpose and eye gouging someone to the point where they could almost lose an eye and then spending two years out of the game thanks to the judiciary for those instances. Well, in my mind, that rules you out of being a Hall of Famer. Now, I had a look.

And this is what it says on the NRL website. Quote, Now, there's Boyd. He played for Wests, Manly, New South Wales and Australia. Everyone agrees he was a good player. But what constitutes good to great? What constitutes a Hall of Famer...

And does how you play the game matter? Not what you've achieved, but how you play the game. Well, it should, in my opinion. And as much as I respect Roy Masters, Roy Masters is on the selection panel. Now, Roy coached Les Boyd in the Australian schoolboys team when Les was just a kid, as well as at Western Suburbs. So I would have hoped that that is a vote that Roy Masters stepped back from. Said, I've got a conflict here. Look, he might have done that. I don't know. But he should have done that if he didn't.

Now, Darryl Broman, of course, is a colleague of ours, and he posted about his outrage. A suspension for breaking my jaw in 1983, 12 months for eye-gouging Billy Johnston, and gets inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame. Please. Well, Big Man ended up suing Les Boyd for this, and it was a cheap shot in anyone's language. Now, Les Boyd has just spoken to the Daily Telegraph and Dean Ritchie. Listen to what his comments were. He said this.

about Daryl Broman's criticism of Les Boyd going into the Hall of Fame. I couldn't give an F. He should be grateful that I did it. Otherwise, no one would remember him. Honestly, I couldn't give an F. Let him worry about it. He's the one who can't let it go. I'm over it. It's in the past. 41 years. Their dislike is as significant as ever. Well, honestly, it's like...

in today's speak, inducting John Hoppawattie into the Hall of Fame hopper. He played roughly the same games, same number of games in first grade as Les Boyd. He played for New South Wales. He played for Australia. But nobody in their right mind would consider Hopper being inducted into the Hall of Fame, would they? You know, the fingers and everything. So then why Les Boyd? What are the values that are attached to an inductee?

Now, while I'm at it, here's the next question for the NRL. Does Jarrod Hayne come into the discussion to be inducted into the Hall of Fame? Five seconds ago, he was going to lose two Dallium medals. Then he's successful in his appeal. Well, does Jarrod Hayne make the Hall of Fame?

214 NRL games, 23 state of origin matches, 11 caps for Australia, 10 for Fiji, Dallium Rookie of the Year, Dallium Winger of the Year, New South Wales Player of the Year, Dallium Player of the Year twice, and he's made the NRL Team of the Decade between 2010 and 2019. So the NRL going to put the Hayne plane in the Hall of Fame or no?

Well, so why is Les Boyd in it? What do you think? 131873. 21 past five. It's 24 past five. 131873. Well, the Boxing Day Test will remain at the Melbourne Cricket Ground until at least 2031. I don't even know why this is even a conversation. Anyway, the terms have been struck between Cricket Australia and the Victorian government. Shouldn't it just be a contract?

set in perpetuity. One or the other decides to pull the pin, which will never happen. Anyway, the agreements have been struck regardless and they won't have to renegotiate until closer to 2031. It's a great day. One of the great days on the Australian sporting calendar. The Boxing Day Test 131873. However, I could make an argument for the New Year's Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground

to be moved to some other time because we never see any cricket played. All it does is rain. So maybe a different time in the summer schedule because the washouts just get ridiculous, don't they? Now, just on Les Boyd, a stack of feedback here. Rodney says Les Boyd was a brilliant player back in the 1970s. Kirsten says Les Boyd, don't forget he also smashed Lee Pomfret at Illawarra, broke his jaw as well. Should not be in the Hall of Fame.

Here's another one. Relez Boyd, he should be inducted into the Hall of Infamy. Dean's at Rose Hill. G'day, Dean. G'day, Chris. How are you? I'm good, thank you, Dean. Just smells a little bit.

Smells a little bit of hypocrisy. We talk about no head contact. My son plays in the current era. I was around when these things happened. And then we go and induct. Come on. The guy's been named rugby league's biggest grub many a time. And he was a grub. And now we're inducting him into the Hall of Fame. Well done, the NRL. That's a good look for all the kids and everybody out there. That's fantastic. Yeah, a lot of people think like that, Dean. Good on you. Mark's at Hinchinbrook. Hello, Mark.

G'day buddy, how you going? Good, thanks Mark. One thing for that bloke who sent the text message in, it wasn't Les Boyd, it was Bob Cooper, the broke-league prospect. No, it wasn't Bob Cooper. Right, that was in that same west side. In that same west side, yeah. But on the Les Boyd thing, I get where Daryl Graham is coming from, I understand it, and they don't like each other. I understand what people are saying. But we are applying today's society's values...

to a completely different game. The way the game is played back then, players had to do things that we think and go, why the hell would you do that? But back when that game was played, and the bloke who was the genius at it and never got caught was the greatest player, I believe, in the game, was Bobby Fulton. In that 1973 Grand Final, he was brilliant. He won the game on his own. Some of the things that they did...

Right, Mark, you make a good point. And I hadn't thought about that. And I asked my old man, because obviously this all predates me, right? But I've watched a lot of tapes of these guys because I love my rugby league. I'm a bit of a footy nerd. But I asked Dad, and I said, Les Boyd, would he make the Hall of Fame? And he said, well, he goes, it's pretty hard. He said, effectively, anyone who played before 1985...

Well, if you put the standard of you can't hit people, anyone who played before the 1985 or 1990 or something would not be a Hall of Famer. You just wouldn't be able to have them. What about Tommy Radonikis and blokes like that? He's in there. Well, is Gordon Tallis in the Hall of Fame? I'd have to check, but I think he is.

Well, have we all forgotten what happened at Penrith with Ben Ross? Yeah, true, true. But it's a bit different when you're sort of face-to-face, right? And you pick someone and you stand there and you throw them. I understand that. But what I'm saying is we cannot apply today's values and today's rules to a game that was played 50 years ago. Mm-hmm.

Yeah, it's a fair point, Mark. It doesn't work. It's a fair point. Thanks for your call. Keith at Mount Druitt. G'day, Keith. G'day, Chris. Stugger is a right fish here with the Hall of Fame now. I wouldn't have him in any of my teams.

Inappropriate play then, inappropriate play now. So back then, and that's the point, right? There's a difference between the violence standing there and throwing punches and headbutts and everything else that went on face-to-face for decades in rugby league. And there's a big difference in that and then running out of the line on someone's blind spot and shattering their jaw or trying to rip out their eyeball in an eye gas. Well,

What he did was absolute thuggery. If anyone had did that when I was playing, they would have been sent off. Well, he was. Good on you, Keith. I appreciate your call. 131873 was sent off and basically suspended for two years over two suspensions. Colin says from Toon Gabby, Chris, it's a terrible look for the NRL to elevate players

a person who played like that, to the Hall of Fame. He played with talent, but without integrity and respect for his opponents. It's better suited to the NRL Hall of Shame. Paul says, Chris, I guess the main questions are, why is Les Boyd eligible and what is the criteria for the Hall of Fame? And Bill says, Chris, inducting Les Boyd into the Hall of Fame is an insult to everyone who plays the game fairly. And his comments to the Daily Telegraph just confirm that

What an insult he is. Yeah, well, Bill, I tend to agree. You know, you can't be shattering people's jaws and eye-gouging them when they get put in the Hall of Fame. Just ridiculous. Let's check the news headlines. A news update. Pick your favourite Kia from the award-winning Kia Sportage to the street-great delivering Kia Seltos for Kia's most powerful car ever, the all-electric EV6 GT. ♪

In the newsroom, Josh Bryant. Hello again, Chris. The New South Wales Liberal Party President, Don Harwin, is called an urgent state executive meeting following the party's failure to nominate all of their council election candidates before the deadline. There's a breakthrough for Sydney's delayed metro line with the National Rail Safety Regulator giving it the final approvals. A man is accused of fabricating a story about a home invasion to cover up the murder of a woman in Sydney's east neighbourhood.

25 years ago, the 81-year-old has now been charged with murder. And a Queensland KFC has been caught with a Karen count inside the fast food restaurant. The sign at a window in the drive-thru in Mackay has since been removed. In sport, the Dragons have confirmed the signing of Cowboys star Valentine Holmes on a three-year deal. He'll link up with Shane Flanagan, who coached him to the grand final glory at the Sharks in 2016. We'll have more news in sport at six.

Thank you, Josh. Now, I've just got a little bit of breaking news. So for anybody who is looking forward to getting on the Sydney Metro, I've got some news for you. It will officially open Monday the 19th of August.

Monday the 19th of August you will be able to get on a Metro train from Tallawong all the way to Sydenham. The new leg of the Sydney Metro will open from Chatswood to Sydenham. It'll snake down through North Sydney, underneath Sydney Harbour, up to Barangaroo, through the city, through Waterloo, places like that and end up at Sydenham.

So Monday the 19th of August is the date in which the Sydney Metro will be operational to the good people of Sydney. It might have been a false start, but...

To Minister Jo Halen, she was waiting for the safety regulator to cross the T's and dot the I's. Well done. I'm sure this one will be a good one. So Jo Halen and the minister, of course, will be obviously announcing that in due course. But well done to the New South Wales government. And the 19th of August is the official date of the opening of the Sydney Metro.

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.

2GB's catchphrase. 1-300-722-873. That is your cue to call. 1-300-722-873. What is the catchphrase? Give me a call. If you know the answer, there's $1,000 coming your way. That number one last time. 1-300-722-873. And now, a weather update.

Well, showers around. Hopefully that's the end of them right now. 16 degrees in the city and 17 in our west. Temperatures tonight to 13 in the city and 11 in our west. Tomorrow, partly cloudy. Tops of 22 in the city tomorrow and 23 in the west.

Well, it's time to enjoy the sunshine while you can. Blue sky views will cover the slopes over the next few days and a rain-bearing system will be crossing tomorrow, unfortunately delivering...

A bit more rain than snow. So expect showers and a little snowfall over the weekend. Four of four lifts are open at Charlotte Pass. Perisher, 45 of 48 lifts are open. 14 of 16 are on at Threadbow. And in Selwyn, five of the nine lifts are now open. Now that was the ski and snow update. Thanks to Red Energy.

Deb Knight's got money news after 7 o'clock. Reporting season and results season is in full swing. First, Deb, how are the markets? Well, I tell you what, the markets must have known, because I like good news, as you know, glass half full kind of girl that I am. They must have known I was back after the Olympics because it's another day of gains. Only just, though, the ASX 200 up 0.2% or 14 points. They knew, they knew. Two weeks of negative Nancy over here. Yeah, that's right, yeah.

Up at $7,865. The telco stock's got a big boost from Telstra as a result, and I'll be speaking to the Chief Financial Officer, Michael Ackland, of Telstra tonight. I'll also speak to the CEO of Cochlear, Dig Howard, because they've had some more good results, and we'll also speak to the boss of Car Group. So, you know, we're lousy with big brass on the show tonight. Chocoblock. Yeah, you bet. So, no, a good day. And the dollar as well, slightly down, 66.2 US cents. Speaking of Telstra...

So they've put on 560,000 people over the last 12 months. I wonder why? Well, partly because Optus absolutely with its failures. So they've benefited from that, but they've also had their prices go up for the mobile plans and there's going to be more increases to come. But Telstra's

really a story of two parts of their business because the mobile division's going really great with new customers coming on board but the business division is not doing so well. So they've seen their net profit go backwards by 13% to $1.79 billion but yeah look they've had

seen a big jump in customers 560,000 and that's increased the share 9% to 5 billion dollars. Thank you for that Deb. I'll tell you what's nice looking out the window at 20 to 6 and there's a bit of light around. I know. Spring has almost sprung.

Oh, bring it on. Some warm weather. We've just got to get rid of the clouds, actually, because I need to do some washing. More personal interest. Have you got a hill's hoist? I've got, no, one of those ones that hang onto the side of the house. What do you call them? Do you use it? It's not a hill's hoist. Yeah, all the time. Do you? Well, when it's not raining. No, you're not a dry cleaner person? Sorry, the...

No, I don't like dry cleaning. But no, I do have a dryer. But if I can avoid it, I'll hang them on the line. I'm a cheapskate, you know. It costs money to do that. I'm bad with it. Yeah, if I can avoid it. I'm firing it up all the time. Well, you will be with this weather. It's a lot of drying. That's true. Thank you, Deb. That's Deb Knight with Money News coming up after 7 o'clock. Now, Rick's at Woollooway. G'day, Rick.

G'day, Chris. How are you, my friend? Mate, I will be good, but I'll be even better if I can give you $1,000. You got the catchphrase? Oh, my goodness. Princess Anne. There you go. Outstanding. Yippee! What are you going to use it for, mate? Oh, listen. Mate, I'm recently retired. It's going to be great guns, mate. It's going to be everything. I'll take my wife out for dinner.

Mate, thank you. Chris O'Keefe, thank you to GB. You're very welcome. Fantastic. Good on you, Rick. Well done. Princess Anne was today's catchphrase, so the one you need to win $1,000 with Ben tomorrow is high five. Yep, high five is the catchphrase to win a grand with Ben in the morning. Write it down. High five.

One more time, give Rick a big high five because he's just won a grand. And if you write that down and get it correct, there's a grand coming your way too. Well, misinformation, disinformation, whatever you call it, it's everywhere these days. It's really difficult to figure out what's accurate and what's not. And look, to their credit, some social media platforms have been working to combat it.

But Meta, this company behind Facebook and Instagram, they're about to shut down a tool called CrowdTangle. Now, no one's ever heard of CrowdTangle. Most of you wouldn't have heard of CrowdTangle, but it's a tool that researchers and journalists and big companies use to monitor trending content and then expose misinformation.

Now, the tool's been pretty crucial in revealing how hyper-political and often misleading content spreads on social media. But they're shutting it down. You've got the US presidential election just months away, and we've got our federal election likely to be early next year. So, well...

It's more important than ever, isn't it, that we can figure out what's accurate and what's not. Well, Professor Axel Bruns is from the Queensland University of Technology and an expert in misinformation. He joins me on the line. Professor, thanks for your time. Hi, how are you? What is CrowdTangle?

Yeah, look, it started out really as a way to monitor brand performance on social media platforms. You can kind of think of it as almost like a search engine for social media, particularly for the public spaces in social media. So you can't see what someone does on their personal profile on Facebook, for instance, but you could search for what people are talking about in public groups, public pages on Facebook. And so, yeah, as a company, I could see how people are talking about my company and my products. But

increasingly over the last few years, it's very much been used to identify how people are talking about politics, how people are sharing information, including this and disinformation as well, about certain current topics in society. It's hard to define what disinformation is though, right?

It is, and we tend to use two terms, misinformation and disinformation. And the distinction really is just that disinformation is information that someone spreads knowing that it's false. So if you're actively trying to mislead people, that's disinformation. And then, of course, some others might see that and genuinely believe it and pass it on to their friends and followers, their connections, because they genuinely think there's something true here and they want to inform them about what they've seen. And CrowdTangle itself, what? It's just a piece of software that monitors that?

Essentially, yes. So you could search for whatever's going on in the world. You could see who's talking about it, how they're talking about it, what they're saying, and also how that kind of information then spreads across networks. We did some work some time ago about false information

stories during COVID that somehow 5G technology was involved in that in some way. So we could see, okay, there's people talking about this here at this point in time, and then it spreads from there across all sorts of other places on Facebook and other platforms and really across platforms as well.

One person's misinformation is another's fact, right? And we saw it writ large here with the safety commissioner, with the Wakely riots. It felt like that was overreach. And in my opinion, it was overreach. So how hard is it, if you can't define what misinformation is, how hard is it then to stamp it out?

It's very difficult and that's in part also because of the way that people who are actively spreading disinformation, really knowingly false information, are doing so. Very often it's not just saying, you know, the sky is black and the earth is blue or whatever, but it's actually just taking things out of context and presenting them deliberately out of context in order to mislead people into thinking something that just isn't empirically true. So

That's very difficult to capture because, yes, you can point to some small fact that might have been true in that context but isn't in the wider context. And you can't capture that either automatically or through fact-checking easily and then say, okay, yes, you are saying something that's objectively wrong and therefore we're removing your pollster, we're suspending your account. That's what the people who are actively doing this kind of work –

are counting on that. It is difficult for the platforms and difficult for the moderators and others who work for the platforms to actually do that kind of thing.

All right, Professor, thank you for coming on. I just feel like we're in a situation where it doesn't matter what technology we've got, it's going to be extremely difficult to get to the bottom of all this stuff, and it's effectively going to be fought hand-to-hand combat, effectively, person-to-person, family-to-family, to try to tell people, hey, listen, you're barking up the wrong tree or you're swallowing a bit of garbage. Thank you for coming on. Thank you. That's Professor Axel Bruns from the Queensland University of Technology, and it comes down to...

Who defines what misinformation is? And please, please don't let it be a government. Drive with Chris O'Keefe on 2GB. Well, we've just heard from the State Director of the New South Wales Liberal Party, Richard Shields. You've got everyone in Sundry calling on his resignation. He's effectively thrown the President of the Party. So if Shields is the CEO, Don Harwin, the President, is the Chairman of the New South Wales Liberal Party. And he has said in a statement...

New South Wales State President Don Harwin, a highly experienced party official and former minister, volunteered to run local government nomination process and I had full trust that this would be delivered successfully. Mr Shields has spoken. I'll be recommending to the state executive that a review be undertaken promptly to identify the failings of the process and

and suggest approaches so that this does not occur again. Calls for my resignation are premature as there must be a proper review of the nomination process to establish the full facts.

I appreciate the many calls of support I've received from serving and former members of Parliament and party members who are aware of the full set of circumstances. Thank you very much. Oh, Rich. Rich, Rich, Rich. That's Richard Shields, the State Director of the New South Wales Liberal Party. Whether it was your fault or not, whether it was your fault or not,

It's all over. If you're the state director and something this catastrophic occurs in any business, in any workplace, you're not going to survive. Now, state executive meets at 8.30 tonight, and I'm told the likely outcome is Richard Shields will be sacked unless he chooses to resign.

And if he's sacked, mind you, he might get a little pretty payout. Maybe that's his play. Time to give away some free fuel. 131873 if you want to play the duel for fuel. I need two contestants to play the duel for fuel. Give us a call. 131873. $200 of it up for grabs. Coming up next. On 2GB Drive, let's duel for fuel. All thanks to Shell V-Power, our contestants. I've got Karen at Bosley Park. Hello, Karen. Good evening. How are you doing? I'm good, thank you, Karen. And Serge is at Penrith. G'day, Serge.

G'day. Let's do it, Serge. Your first up. Your time starts now. Which river runs through Paris? The Sienne. Correct. How many stripes does Adidas have in its logo? Three. Correct. True or false, Vincent van Gogh sold one painting in his lifetime? True. Correct. Which major sporting event takes place on the 28th of August? Wimbledon. Paralympics. Joe Strummer was the lead singer of which British band? The Clash or Blur?

The Clash. Correct. What are the Australian TV Awards called? The Logies. The Logies. Well done, Serge. Big five. Karen, you ready? Yep. You did pretty well there. Your time starts now. In the novel Animal Farm, which animals become the leaders? Horses. The pigs. Finish the sentence. Snug as a bugger. Lug. Correct. In degrees Celsius, at what temperature does water boil? Zero. 100. In what country was actor Russell Crowe born?

Australia. New Zealand. Brett Lee famously ate what for breakfast as a cricketer? Wicked. Correct. Porcini, shiitake and button are all types of what? Mushrooms. Mushrooms. Well done. Good work, Karen. Search 200 bucks coming your way. Five versus three. That is the jewel for fuel. We play every afternoon here on... And now, a preview of what's coming up on Wide World of Sports. Well, it's a story everyone's talking about today. Les Boyd in the Hall of Fame. Adam Hawes.

Yeah, g'day Chris. You just ratted off off air, so Paul Harrigan's not in the Hall of Fame. Yeah, Paul Sirian is another one that jumps out. 21 Test matches and 14 State of Origins. Look at these panels. These selections are always going to generate talk. That's what they want. But this one, to me, just seems a bit avoidable. The controversy that's come from Les Boyd's selection when you consider some of the guys that have missed out. The Chief, Jeff Toovey. Randy Alexander? Not in the Hall of Fame? Has to have made it, doesn't he?

Maybe one day. What's on the show? We've got a grand final preview, haven't we? We've got the Panthers and the Storm. Braddy, Braddy, Braddy Fittler. I'm pumped for the game. He's joining us. So is Tom Wright from the Wallabies and Harry Himmelberg from the Giants. Good on you, Hawsey. We'll be listening. That's Adam Hawes coming up next with Wide World of Sports. High five is the catchphrase you need for Ben in the morning. I'll see you tomorrow. We'll be right back.