2GB Drive with Chris O'Keefe – Full Show August 12 01:51:21

On Sydney's 2GB, this is Drive with Chris O'Keefe. Good afternoon, Sydney. I hope you're enjoying the start to the week, albeit it's a little bit rainy around town, but if you're managing to stay indoors, Monday, well, that Monday-itis, we can get rid of it. What happens when a lithium-ion battery catches fire and damages your property? It's happening a lot. Five a week, the fireys reckon. The question is, does your insurance company...

cover any damage to your home? I'll interrogate this one with the Insurance Council because it's a really interesting concept. And given we've just seen the 2024 Paris Olympic Games come to a close, here's a question for those organising it in Brisbane. Do you need Australians to help out financially?

We can't let the Queenslanders stuff this up by making it a Clayton's Olympic game. So I reckon all of us as a country have a responsibility to make sure the Brisbane 2032 games...

And not an embarrassment. And Scotty Cam is my special guest in the studio with a new season of The Block, 20th season of The Block, if you can believe it. They're about to renovate an abandoned resort. Scotty Cam will join me just after 5.30. I've also got two tickets to Bridge Climb and $1,000 to give away if you have the code word that Ben Fordham gave you this morning. Right now, 17 degrees at Rosebury and 17 at Raby.

It's eight and a half past three, 131-873 is that open line number. You can text me 0460-873-873 or the email address drive at 2gb.com. Now this news has only occurred in the last couple of hours, but the bodies of a woman and a man have been found in an apartment block in Burwood. Now it appears according to police that the woman has been stabbed to death.

Now, crime scene's been set up. Police have begun their investigations. But Erin Ramsey, she's from Nine News. She's got the latest on this. Erin, g'day. Good afternoon, Chris. What do we know so far?

Well, this is still very much an ongoing and active crime scene here at Condor Street at Burwood. Forensic crews and detectives have just arrived only moments ago and they've spent the last few minutes photographing a courtyard where it's believed a man's body was found around 9.45 this morning. Police called to this complex after concerns for welfare. It's believed police then went upstairs to a unit

where they then found the body of a woman with stab wounds. Now, both that woman and that man are yet to be formally identified. Chris, we only just spoke to one of the neighbours who came out and said that he looked out on his balcony this morning and he saw a sheet and police, and they told him to go back inside. And like I said to you, this is still very much ongoing, and we are hoping to get an update from police in just under an hour's time and hopefully get a better idea of exactly what has happened here.

Any suggestion that their husband or wife? It's too early to say at this stage, Chris. Like I mentioned, they are both yet to be formally identified. But it's a very family-friendly complex. A lot of children have come in and out of the building, elderly people and couples, and they say that this sort of thing and police being here is very, very out of place. How old are these people, the woman and the man? Do we know? Rough idea?

We can't say at the moment. We're not sure if they were older or younger. But, yeah, as I mentioned, police will hopefully give us a much clearer idea in about an hour or so. Good on you. Thank you, Erin. I appreciate you coming on.

Thanks, Chris. That's Erin Ramsey from Nine News. 131873. So just repeating, the bodies of a woman and a man found in an apartment block in Burwood. The woman believed to have been stabbed to death. 0460873873. Now, Phil Rothfield is reporting this in the Daily Telegraph, but the NRL Integrity Unit is investigating a photograph of

of Latrell Mitchell. Now, the photograph of Latrell Mitchell shows him at a table with what appears to be a white substance on the table. And Blake Solley, the CEO of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, as well as Latrell Mitchell's advisor, Matt Rose, they're aware of the photo, according to Phil Rothfield. Both declined to comment.

There is no suggestion that the white substance is an illicit drug, but if you have a look at the photo, he's sort of face down near the table and you can almost barely make out a white substance. Now, I'm sure there'll be more to come of this, but I've seen the photo myself. The Daily Telegraph has published it. Yeah, I don't know. Can you categorically say that he's doing something wrong, Latrell Mitchell? I'd probably say no.

What comes of it will what come of it, I suppose. According to the NRL Integrity Unit and South Sydney Rabbitohs, they are now investigating 131873. Well, this was an extraordinary story. And I was listening to Luke Grant earlier in the day. And when he said the police believe...

A helicopter had been stolen in Cairns. The helicopter that crashed into the ridges on the Esplanade there. Sorry, the Hilton Hotel on the Esplanade there in Cairns. I almost fell off my chair. Who steals a helicopter? But anyway, police have confirmed that the pilot was on an unauthorised flight to

And so too have the company that charter the airline or charter the helicopter. So hundreds of people had to be evacuated from the Doubletree Hilton Hotel on the Esplanade in Cairns. And it's a twin engine helicopter. It crashed into the roof of the hotel, burst into flames at about 10 to 2 this morning.

Now, witnesses say they saw the helicopter fly away from the hotel, then circled back at full force and full speed, and then flew straight into it. And the pilot was a man in his 40s. He has passed away. Two hotel guests, 83-year-old man and 76-year-old woman, they were taken to hospital. They were not seriously injured.

And the charter company, Nautilus Aviation, they released a statement saying that the use of the helicopter was, quote, unauthorised and they are working closely with the Queensland police. But it is quite unbelievable that nobody was killed or there wasn't a mass casualty event as a result of that, what's occurred at that hotel in Cairns.

They reckon one of the propellers, half of the propeller was on one side of the hotel, the other half was in the pool. It's just fate, luck. I don't know what it was, but thankfully there aren't more people dead because when I woke up to see those pictures of a helicopter crashing into a hotel and then to find out that the helicopter was likely stolen at two o'clock in the morning, well, there's a lot to play out on that story. Live from Blunkle.

Now, if I asked you, is the Great Barrier Reef healthy or is the Great Barrier Reef sick? What would your answer be? Because almost everyone says the Great Barrier Reef is sick, right? And you hear that thanks to coral bleaching and rising sea temperatures. Now, a new report published in the Nature Journal, it showed that by taking core samples from coral on the Great Barrier Reef...

The scientists can prove that sea temperatures on the reef are at their hottest since the 1600s. And media outlets around the world just dutifully reported on this.

Let's turn to Australia now, where water temperature extremes around the Great Barrier Reef are the warmest for 400 years. Over the last decade, it's resulted in more mass bleaching events of the coral. Water temperatures in and around Australia's Great Barrier Reef have risen to their warmest in 400 years, according to new research. And that's putting the world's largest living ecosystem under threat.

Human-induced global warming currently sits at 1.1 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels. If it reaches 1.5 degrees, it's forecast between 70 to 90 percent of reefs will die. It's a rally call to the world that we need to be reducing our emissions urgently, immediately. It's all scary, right? Three news reports there from Europe, the United Kingdom and here in Australia, all saying the same thing.

And nobody wants to be the generation that allowed the Great Barrier Reef to perish. It's truly one of the most magnificent places on earth, most certainly one of the most magnificent I've ever visited. But it is nowhere near as bad as is being reported. Nowhere near. Here is something that doesn't follow the narrative that we are destroying the reef. Because from all those reports, you wouldn't know that the Great Barrier Reef...

has the most coral on it it has had for 40 years. I'm serious. There is more coral cover right now on the Great Barrier Reef than any time since the Australian Institute of Marine Science started monitoring it in 1986. This is the Australian Institute of Marine Science. It is the Australian government's tropical marine science agency. And this is what it's shown in its annual study.

2024 has seen the fourth highest coral cover for the southern Great Barrier Reef, which is prosopine to Gladstone. 2024 had the highest ever coral cover, highest ever, for the central Great Barrier Reef, which is prosopine to Cooktown. And 2024 has had the highest ever coral cover for the northern Great Barrier Reef, which is Cape York to Cooktown. Why isn't this being reported widely?

Where is Tanya Plibersek going, this is a great achievement that we've got all this coral on the Great Barrier Reef? You know why? Because human beings killing off the reef, the narrative that human beings are killing off the Great Barrier Reef, it is a global lightning rod for ludicrous and impractical emissions reduction pledges, as well as a foundation stone for the fundraising and the environmental causes and the outfits.

They can point to the Great Barrier Reef and say, hey, climate change, we don't want to kill the reef off. Look, the reef is dying. Except there's more coral there than there has been for 40 years. And that is according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science, which is the official government tropical marine science agency. Now, there have been coral bleaching events on the reef in 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022 and this year too.

But what is the consequence when you hear coral bleaching? Because for the layperson, you'd probably expect that the coral is dying, right? Wrong. Coral are living things. Now, when the water is too warm, they expel an algae that's living in their tissues. Now, that causes them to turn white. And the algae helps the coral feed themselves. But when they expel the algae, the coral is not dead.

It can recover, and it seems like it has been recovering from last summer's bleaching event. There's a bloke by the name of Peter Gash. He spent years rehabilitating the Lady Elliot Island, which is near Bundaberg. And he told the Australian newspaper that 20% of the coral at Lady Elliot Island had been bleached in the 2024 event, but none of it has died.

This is his quote. I'm amazed at how quickly it has recovered, particularly on the southern end of the reef. It is extraordinary how good the recovery has been. We are not expecting much mortality, if any.

So why is the narrative that the reef is dying when it is so obviously not? Why can't we report the facts? Why does everything always have to be like this? And also this hour, the Great Barrier Reef is at a terminal stage. Have we really killed the Great Barrier Reef? No, we have not, is the answer to that question. We have not really killed the Great Barrier Reef. The frequency of the bleaching events are of concern. No doubt about that.

But the reef is not being massacred by fossil fuels, nor is it going to become extinct any time soon. There is more coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef than any time in the last 40 years. And you don't have to take my word for it. Take the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences' word for it.

It is their data. 131873. 21 past three. It's coming up to 25 past three. 131873 is that open line number. I've just received an email here. I won't read his name out, so he wishes to remain anonymous, he says. But there's a Qantas staff shuttle bus which has crashed into the side of the Qantas head office building. And Qantas has had multiple issues with this transport service in Sydney. Now...

This anonymous emailer has just sent through a photograph of this, and it looks like one of the staff buses, it's got Qantas on the side of it, has crashed directly into the side of the building. And the windscreen of the bus is all smashed up.

Looks like the doors are sort of all warped. And that's at the Qantas headquarters there at Mascot. And a tow truck's on scene. We'll get in contact with Qantas and see what this is all about. But it doesn't look like anyone's hurt, which is good news. 131873. Just a couple of texts here. Here's one from Brett. Good afternoon, Chris.

Woof woof. Yes, Brett. I know. Go the doggies. You're far, far too good for us.

Far too good for us on Saturday night. Coggera was humming. Place was set up for a big blockbuster match. And then when Ben Hunt threw the intercept pass a few minutes into the game, it took the wind out of everybody's sails, I think. And from there on in, the Dragons never looked like they were even competitive, let alone a chance of winning it. The Bulldogs in control the entire way. If it's happening in Sydney, you'll hear it on Drive. On 2GB.

Now, just on the Great Barrier Reef, I've got Mark, who's called in from Gregory Hills. Hello, Mark. Yeah, how you going, Chris? I'll try and make it quick so you don't bite my nose off. It's Chris, not Kyle.

Well, basically, I just think, you know, like they're basically just crying wolf and nuts or stuff because if everybody figures out that the Great Barrier Reef is regrowing and everything's fine up there, then the donations stop, the government funding stops and all that sort of stuff, and then half of these marine biologists are going to be out of a job. Yeah. Mark, I think it's more broad than just the marine biologists and everyone. I think that the...

Some of the really big environmental outfits rely on a narrative...

And they can't point to much, you know, one and a half degrees on 2022 numbers and all that sort of stuff. They can't point to much on the physical effects of the climate change narrative. But if they can point to coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef or a mass extinction event of coral on the Great Barrier Reef, they can say, look, look, look at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. We told you so. You better send us millions of dollars so we can continue our push to immediately get rid of

of fossil fuels and emissions. But the flip side of that is when the official agency of the Australian government does an audit of the Great Barrier Reef and shows that there has never been more coral on the Great Barrier Reef since they've been auditing it

in 1986, well, kind of ruins the narrative a little, doesn't it, Mark? I appreciate your call. You have a good afternoon. 131873. Now, speaking of the Albanese government, they're cracking down on overseas students. And there's been a consequence of that. And the consequence of their crackdown on overseas students is a giant spike in

in onshore refugee visa applications. Now, this story is in the Australian Financial Review, and they say that there were 10,725 applications. 10,000, so just a shade under 11,000 people who applied to become or applied for refugee status in the year to May. Largest number were Chinese nationals.

So data reveals that since 2018, about 4,200 Chinese who arrived in Australia on a tourist visa, they subsequently applied for a refugee visa. Malaysians were the second highest group, followed by India and Thailand. But as a result of the crackdown on the student visas, because obviously if they can't get a student visa, they've got to figure out another way to stay in Australia.

You've got about 300 people a month now applying to be refugees onshore here in Australia. And pre-pandemic, that was about 100 people a month. Now, I'd love to know how many of these people are genuine refugees. Given you've got Malaysia, China, India and Thailand, I could confidently say right now

You could not possibly tell me 100% of the 11,000 people that applied for refugee status are refugees. You couldn't tell me that 50% are refugees. And I hope the process is thorough.

And they cross their T's and dot their I's on those ones. Let's check the news headlines. A news update. 60 years of building experience on your side. Take the value check challenge at masterton.com.au.

Josh Bryan, g'day. Good afternoon, Chris. A woman's body has been found with stab wounds at the same Burwood unit block where a man's body was found in a courtyard. Police are investigating. Investigators in Queensland are piecing together how a stolen helicopter came to crash into a popular hotel in Cairns.

Legislation has been introduced into federal parliament to appoint an administrator to the CFMEU and according to one analysis, Tasmania did the heavy lifting for Australia on the medal tally at the Paris Olympics, bringing in one gold medal per 461,000 people. In sports, Stormstar Jerome Hughes says his side will need to lift for their top-of-the-table clash against the Panthers on Thursday. We'll have more news in sport at four.

Good on you, Josh. 131873. Coming up, I'll speak to Neil Breen, obviously a member of the Continuous Call team, and he is an expert in all things Olympics. And I want to talk to him about why I reckon that Brisbane 2032 can't skimp when it comes to spending money on the games. In for a penny, in for a pound. And if that means the rest of the country throws in, I know it's controversial, but I think we should. We'll dive into that next.

All I wanted in retirement was to feel confident with my money. So I picked an income account with my industry super fund. Now I take enough for day-to-day things, splash out when I fancy, and the rest can grow over time. Stick with your industry super fund in retirement. Visit compareyourretirement.com today.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Consider the fund's PDS and whether the product is right for you. 25 to Ford is heading back to the Qantas building at mascot Qantas HQ. Paramedics have now confirmed that a Qantas staff shuttle bus has crashed into the side of the head office building, but someone has been taken to Prince of Wales Hospital.

So just the one person has been taken to Prince of Wales Hospital. Their condition is currently unknown at this time. So if we get any more details, we will let you know. But one person off to Prince of Wales and a bus crashing into the side of the head office of Qantas at Mascot 131873. Well, the Paris Games are over and I reckon it's given the Brisbane organisers and us more broadly as a country a

A bit of time to reflect. All Australians should be reflecting on that hell of a spectacle they managed to put on in Paris. You had beach volleyball under the Eiffel Tower, equestrian at the Palace of Versailles, athletics in the Stade de France, and the 40,000-seat La Defense Arena, a rugby ground, hosting the swimming with a drop-in swimming pool.

Now, we cannot be serious as a country to hold the athletics at a joint way out of the Brisbane CBD and not have a showpiece stadium to bring the whole thing together. It would be like if Sydney 2000 held Cathy Freeman's 400 metre run at the Crest Sporting Complex at Bass Hill or Blacktown Sports Track at Rudy Hill.

It would embarrass the country. That is the standard of facility we're talking about as to what the Queensland government is proposing here. It is an embarrassment. Now, the Queensland and federal governments partnered to do this. And for better or worse, Brisbane's hosting the Games. We've got it. Australia has got the Olympic Games in 2032. Now, we just need to spend what needs to be spent to showcase Australia properly.

As they say, if we're in for a penny, we're in for a pound, right? Well, Neil Breen is a broadcaster here at 90s All Over This Topic. Breeny, g'day. How are you, Chris? I'm not too bad. Do you reckon that Paris has led, you know, your David Crisofulli, who is likely to be Premier of Queensland, Stephen Miles and others, more broadly Queenslanders in general, just to take a step back and going...

Gee whiz, we've got a task on our hands here. I reckon what the Paris Olympics and the success of it, the magnificence of it has given them is a licence to go hard. Because

Because what they've been doing to this point is fearful of political ramifications. Because from the moment Brisbane got the games, Queenslanders weren't behind it. Queenslanders went, what? What are we doing? We've got bigger problems. We were in the middle of this COVID thing. And then the housing crisis came about. And so politically, it was on the nose real quick.

And at the same time, Brisbane had signed up and the IOC was looking for a partner to put on a budget Olympic Games. They didn't want any more Rio dramas. They didn't want any more Athens dramas.

The problem was they were coming off Tokyo. OK, Tokyo had problems because of COVID. Then Paris, then LA, and then we're going to go to Brisbane. And Brisbane was going to do these budget Olympic Games where originally the athletics was going to be at Carrara, where they did the Commonwealth Games athletics, and the opening and closing ceremony was going to be at Suncorp Stadium, which is great for rugby league, but an opening and closing ceremony for the Olympic Games? So what has happened is the whole thing got put on the back burner. There's a state election this year.

And both the Premier Stephen Miles and the opposition leader David Christopher Foley know that it's political poison, so they both put the Olympics on the back burner until after the October election. I think this gives them the thing to say, hey, everyone, everything Chris O'Keefe just said is true. We've got this, whether you like it or not, and we've got to go big.

because otherwise the world is going to laugh at us because they're going to go, remember Paris and Tom Cruise jumped off the thing and there was the Eiffel Tower. I remember LA and they had SoFi Stadium. They had the LA Coliseum, which was hosting the athletics for the third time in Olympic history. And then we went to Brisbane. They went to Kiwi too. They've got to build a magnificent stadium because we don't have the Eiffel Tower in Brisbane. We've got the Brisbane River.

Brisbane's natural assets are north and south. They're the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast. Which will be showcased. They'll be showcased. The Gold Coast will have the triathlon and the open water swimming events in the Broadwater there, the Southport Broadwater. That'll be great. The Sunshine Coast will have the marathon and other events. I think the marathon should also be at the Gold Coast. But anyway, they'll be showcased. But

But Brisbane itself needs to protect it from itself by saying, look at this stadium and look at the lights and look at this and look at that. Remember, the sun will go down in Queensland when the Olympics are on about 20 to 60 at night. So there won't be like sunshine glorious like you get that European sunshine in their summer because these games will be in July and August. The other problem these games have got is Anthony Albanese never liked them.

So Morrison went hard for them because he was trying to shore up seats in Queensland. Albanese and the feds have only committed to build Brisbane live and then a cap on the rest of their investment to tap them out at about $2.something billion or $3.something billion.

Everyone needs to get on board here, Chris, and go massive. It doesn't matter where your handball is, your weight. It doesn't matter. Big stadium. You need a big swimming venue. Put a roof on Suncorp Stadium and make it host the swimming. 100%. Just like they did in France. 100%. And you know what? Brady, I'm making the point, right?

This isn't a Queensland problem. This is an Australia problem. It is. And if we've got a situation where Australia is a chance to be embarrassed, like Ray Gunn in the breakdancing, well, Australia has an opportunity then and a responsibility, in my view, the federal government, to throw a bit of money in it to make sure that we're not embarrassed. Yeah.

And you've got to remember that the Olympic Games is for sale. Like, the Olympic Games is a noble sporting event. There's all the traditions and there's handing over of flags and there's honourability and everything. They are commercial and they are for sale for big money. The NBC in the States, European broadcasters, broadcasters all over the world, Channel 9 in Australia, they sell those rights for a premium. You cannot sell them...

a pop gun event. If you say, oh, it's going to cost you $100 million in America to broadcast these games, they go, well, what are you going to sell me? What are you selling me? You've got to sell me big time. And if Brisbane can't deliver big time, then it might as well not do it because the people of the world would go, what was that? Hmm.

You know, we've got to go the big steps. We need two things. The rest of it, you are 100% right. Yep, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, we can showcase those things and use the geography. Then we've got other venues. They're all indoors, weightlifting, boxing. It doesn't matter, right? So they're all covered. They'll be fine with those.

You need the big stadium for the athletics. You need the big event for the swimming because they are the two linchpins. It's like buying a car without a steering wheel. It's useless to you. Brainy, I appreciate you coming on. Just very quickly, I know we saw, you know, the closing ceremony. There was Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg and Billie Eilish and Tom Cruise. So cast your mind forward. Closing ceremony, LA 2028.

Who are we getting into Sprook Brisbane? Powderfinger? Bird and Fatty? What about Powderfinger? Bindi Irwin? That's about it. Alfie Lager? Oh, my God. King? What about King Wally? That's about it.

Good on you, Brady. Appreciate you coming on. Oh, I don't know. I'm dying a thousand deaths, but it's not lost yet, Chris O'Keefe. It certainly isn't. That's Neil Breen from the Continuous Call team in a current affair, 131873. What do you reckon? Should all of us as Australians, do you think that we've all got a responsibility to throw in a bit of money to make sure that the Queenslanders don't stuff this up? You tell me, 131873.

Just a reminder, later in the show, I am giving away $1,000. So if you're listening with Ben Fordham this morning on Breakfast, you will have heard the catchphrase that you need for this afternoon.

So when I give you the cue to call a little later in the program, you've got to call the competition line 1-300-788-2873. 1-300-722-873. If you have the catchphrase, you win $1,000.

I've just received a statement here from the South Sydney Rabbitohs. This is in regards to Latrell Mitchell. I don't know if you've seen this photo that's doing the rounds. It's been published in the Daily Telegraph, but they say this. The South Sydney Rabbitohs have been made aware of a photograph circulating through social media of Latrell Mitchell following a personal appearance in Dubbo on the weekend. The club has informed the NRL Integrity Unit about the photograph. The Rabbitohs will be making no further comment on

At this stage, 131873. Well, the big story of the weekend, and I'm sorry, but geez, it gave me a laugh, was our Aussie breakdancer, Rachel Gunn, the Ray Gunn. I thought, this is so bad, it must be satire. It must be. I thought she was taking the mickey out of the entire world sport.

Anyway, the judges agreed that it was terrible. She was awarded zero points for her performance. And what I don't understand is I know everyone's saying, oh, well, you know, she had a go in the good Aussie spirit and stop bullying her and stuff like that. Well, it's not bullying. I just want to ask the question. You can't tell me that in a country of 26 million, there's not a better breakdancer than Rachel Gunn. You can't tell me that. You just can't tell me that that's not true.

So I just don't understand how she ended up qualifying for the Olympics. Anyway, it's taken the world by storm regardless. There's been a zillion posts on social media about it, especially the kangaroo hop and the sprinkler. And her Olympic teammates have leapt to her defense too, describing her performance as iconic.

Yeah, maybe for the wrong reasons, though. But anyway, everyone is talking about it, and so is music superstar Adele. She even mentioned it at one of her concerts. I have to ask you, because it's all that me and my friends have been talking about last night, after the show and today. And I'm not saying anything. I think it's the best thing that's happened in the Olympics the entire time. Did anyone see the breakdancing lady this fall from the Olympics? Yes.

Now I didn't even know that breakdancing was even an Olympic sport these days. I think that's fantastic. I really, really do. I knew that skateboarding had become an Olympic one. Have you seen it, Eric? Have you seen it, guys? See, you have, of course Van hasn't seen it. Aaron, my percussionist, is pissing himself laughing. He's thinking about it. I can't work out if it was a joke, but either way, I just wanted to know if you've seen it. If you haven't seen it, please leave the show and Google it, because it is so funny. It's brilliant. It's my favourite thing that's happened.

in the Olympics this whole long time. Well, at least she's getting a mention from Adele. She was a university lecturer at Macquarie Uni five seconds ago. She went over and did a terrible breakdancing performance. And there's no way in the world that Australia couldn't have come up with a better breakdancer. But anyway, I know we're told not to... Don't be too harsh. She's been laying low a little bit, Ray Gunn.

She did give a late afternoon, though, impromptu breaking performance for the Australian Olympic team before they left for the closing ceremony. Anyway, good luck to her. I hope she revels in the fact she will forever be known as the Ray Gunn who broke the 2024 Olympics.

Now, just on the 2032 games and whether the entire country, not just the Queenslanders, should help pay for it, because I'm a bit concerned. I'm a bit concerned it's going to be at Clayton's Games. Ian's from Pendle Hill. What do you reckon, Ian?

Yeah, g'day, Chris. You've got Scotty Cam coming on a bit later on your show, and I reckon you should put it to him about the block team building the Olympic Village for the competitors. I mean, he and Shelley cracking the whip, I mean, that had come in on time and under budget, and, you know, if they had any stuff left over afterwards, they could knock up something for the stadiums and that. It'd be a sponsor within an inch of its life, Ian.

What would you have? I wonder what is it, beacon lighting? What else do they usually put in there that have all of the grounds that need different names? Turf. Yeah, you get the turf donated and all the rest of it. I mean, you know, and actually, you know, for something like the ping pong, you could have like a dozen colour bond, you know,

garages put up, double garages, a couple of ping pong tables in each one, do them up like a man cave. And at the end of the games, you auction them off and everyone could have a little bit of the Olympics in their backyard. Good idea, Ian. I love it. That's Ian at Pendle Hill. Great call. Daniel's at Kalala Beach. Hello, Daniel. How are you going, Chris? I'm good, Daniel. Yeah, I sent that note to say that I think we should hand this Games over to somebody else.

Why is that? Well, the country's already broke. What are we going to pay for it with? Yeah, well, we're not broke. Oh, geez, I think you need to have a look around. Yeah, we're not broke, broke. You know, we can pay for it. So you reckon we should... And this is the problem, Daniel, right? Should we have ever got it? There's an argument saying no, we shouldn't have. But now we've got it, what can we do?

Well, I don't know. There's a lot of other countries who never had it. Why don't we give somebody else a shot? Yeah, righto. All right, Daniel. I appreciate your call. I reckon there's plenty that would agree with you, albeit I don't. I think the Olympics is great and I'd love to see it held here in Australia. Doug is at Albany Park. Hello, Doug.

Hello, Chris. It's Albion Park, but hey, that's... Albion Park. There we go. We got it. That's why I read it out slow. I never heard of that. What are you calling it? WA or something? No, matey. Hello. Anyway, you good? I'm going outstanding, Doug. What's happening?

Good to hear. Now, I had this idea for ages that instead of the Brisbane Games, they can't afford anything up there, mate. But I reckon every state should take on a bit of the Olympics and call it the Australian Olympic Games, mate. We did such a great job in 2000. Everyone shares the load, mate, and everyone gets a bit of the glory.

I don't mind that, Doug. But I think the ship has sailed. I think the Queenslanders are getting it, whether we like it or not. And, Doug, you know what you're getting?

What's that, mate? Just because of the energy you're bringing to the program this afternoon. I've got Andrew Lloyd Webber's new production of Sunset Boulevard tickets coming your way, all right? Enjoy it. Mate, you're a legend. I'm going to have to tell your boss, I think, mate. Good on you, Doug. Don't tell my boss too much. That's Doug there from Albion Park, 131873. And Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard, it opens at the Sydney Opera House this month. It's an iconic story of a Hollywood legend...

And you've got international recording superstar Sarah Brightman. She leaves a lavish new production of this musical masterpiece. You can book your tickets today. Sunsetmusical.com.au. Coming up after the four o'clock news, what happens when a lithium ion fire destroys your house? Are you insured?

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 past four, thank you for your company on this Monday afternoon. 131 873 is our open line number. The text line 0460 873 873 or email me drive at 2GB.com. Lots coming up. Did you know that a reimagined Orcas, yep, they've just updated the Orcas agreement.

And the United States and the United Kingdom can pull out of AUKUS with just a year's notice. What does that mean for us here in Australia? I'll chat to Michael Shoebridge on that a little later. The inside word on everything Sydney. It's Drive with Chris O'Keefe on 2GB. Now we're on the hunt for our Tuesday tip tomorrow. So your best news tips, drive at 2GB.com. And this week, I've got two bridge climb tickets.

So it can be a bit of gossip in the community, anything that hasn't been reported yet. Just give us a call or send us an email. Drive at 2GB.com because I've got two tickets to give you to go for a bridge climb. And Sydneysiders can climb the iconic Harbour Bridge and get $100 cash back until the end of August. Bridgeclimb.com. I've got two tickets to give away for free if you send me your best news tip. 131873.

Now did you see the shocking fire in Karamar yesterday? And the whole inside of an apartment above a mosque. It was burnt to cinders. You might not be surprised to hear that the culprit of this fire was the lithium ion battery from an e-bike. Now these are shockingly common these fires. And people leave their batteries on charge overnight. They can catch fire and people's lives are at risk and their property can be severely damaged.

And Fire and Rescue New South Wales said earlier this year they are responding, get this, the fireys, five fires a week as a result of lithium ion batteries. Just in New South Wales, five fires a week. So it was good to see the New South Wales government impose some new standards on these lithium ion battery powered bikes and scooters. But I've noticed that Fire and Rescue New South Wales have also partnered with the Insurance Council of Australia to help better fight and protect these fires too and

They've got access to a huge amount of data to just how these fires start. Well, Andrew Hall is the CEO of the Insurance Council of Australia, and he's on the line for us. Andrew, g'day. G'day, Chris. If I've got an e-bike parked in my hallway or in my bedroom and I'm charging it overnight and it catches fire and my place goes up, am I insured for it?

Yes, your insurance will cover you for the fire risk. But the whole reason why we are partnering again with the New South Wales Fire and Rescue is that we've got to do a lot more to lower these risks because they are an absolute tragedy waiting to happen. You know, years ago, fire brigades were actually born out of insurance companies. Fire brigades were once private.

And they're all about dealing with the fire risk as the city was, as gas was connected and then electricity. We're actually going through the same revolution at the moment with the number of lithium-ion batteries that are now in people's homes and apartments. And they've got to think very carefully about how they're and where they're charged and keep a very close watch on them because these things are lethal.

And it doesn't matter, you know, just how badly the home's been damaged. It's just like any other electrical fault. If I'm insured, my insurance company will cover it.

That's correct. Your fire insurance covers you for a fire, however it started, whether it's a scented candle or a gas cooker fire or something like that. But what we're really worried about, though, is strata complexes. And you mentioned the apartment at the opening there. We're really appealing to anybody who's on a body corporate of a strata organisation to have a serious conversation around what rules are you putting in place. I wouldn't get into a lift...

with an e-bike in the lift. If that battery catches fire while in the lift and the thermal runway takes off, you are literally cooked. We really need to make sure that buildings start cracking down on where people are charging these batteries, where they're storing them overnight, because quite often what happens is during the day, if they're out riding, they're working, they're

you know, the food delivery companies, all that sort of thing, these batteries just need to get a knock and get damaged or get wet. And then the fire brigade describes it as a thermal runaway. And if you have a look at all the footage and the incidences that we're seeing being reported, these things take off and they burn hot and you can't put them out very easily. You need a special fire extinguisher. And then you need to rely on the building's ability to contain that fire

Call triple zero straight away and get out. There is nothing you are going to be able to do to put that fire out. So you're saying that strata buildings effectively should consider banning e-bikes or e-scooters from these complexes? Well, what we're concerned about is that strata insurance has unlimited liability.

And we're yet to see the full extent of what can happen with e-battery fires. And this also includes if a fire starts in a car park, EVs will burn hotter and they will damage the structural integrity of the building. All of these things now are starting to emerge as a risk that we need to get on top of. But what building corporations can be doing

And Stratas, and they're often volunteer committees and the like, is talking to their broker, talking to their insurer about what are the standards. For example, I know of buildings now around Darlinghurst and Potts Point and the like that are installing fire-safe battery chargers in their foyers.

so that people can charge their batteries in a cupboard that won't let the fire escape overnight, pick them up in the morning and continue on their way. But it also requires a complete retrofit of all the fire extinguishers that are contained in your building because your average fire extinguisher will not put out these fires. What about the, you know, you've got Uber Eats riders and the delivery drivers and just people on the Lime e-bikes and the rest of it, they're carrying them on buses and trains.

I wouldn't get on a train carriage with one. Is that overblown, though? No. It seems a touch catastrophizing.

Well, I'm very worried about this, Chris. I honestly believe that we are seeing too many incidents around the world and it is great to see what the New South Wales government has done. The rest of the country needs to play catch up super fast and we need to think about what we need to do to go back and fix the ones that have already gotten into the country that are not in a good condition. Look, it's a whole new technology. It's amazing technology. What e-bikes are managing, you know, the power that they pack in those small packs are enormous. But

But when they get damaged and they overheat, the thermal cells, when they run away, are very hard to contain and control. And it is critically important that we think very carefully about how we're going to manage this technology now as it rolls out everywhere. It's not just e-bikes and e-scooters, is it? Because I know Billy texted me earlier and said he's golf club, all golfers with lithium-powered golf buggies.

have to take them home now. I know that people who've got those mobility scooters, they can have lithium ion batteries in them. Andrew, is the genie out of the bottle? Yeah.

Well, Chris, do an audit on everything that's rechargeable around you right now. It all has often a lithium-ion battery in it. Now, another example are leaf blowers. They've become cordless. They're big lithium-ion batteries that sit in those as well, and quite often they'll get wet because you're outside, you'll drop it, you know, you may damage it, and then you go back into the laundry and plug it in and walk away and not even think about it. Don't do that. Breathe.

recharge it somewhere that's safe, that is not going to cause fire to the rest of your property and that you can keep an eye on it. Don't charge it overnight. Charge it during the day so that if something happens, you're around, you can make sure you get out safe. All right. I really appreciate you coming on, Andrew. I know it's a point of contention for people right across really the Western world at the moment because these things are everywhere. And if the fireys are saying that they're being called out to fire fires a week, it's

and it's causing serious damage to people's property, well, it's only a matter of time till people start dying, unfortunately. Well, Chris, I think we've got to listen very carefully to the fire and rescue authorities. These guys and women are at the front line here trying to deal with these things, and that's why we've partnered with them, because we need to share our data between both of us. We're not capturing half of the events, we think, and we need to get on top of this. All the best. Thanks for coming on.

Thank you, Rhys. That's Andrew Hall. He's the CEO of the Insurance Council of Australia. 131873, what have some of your experiences been like with these lithium-ion batteries, the e-scooters? Do you think they are as dangerous as Andrew there from the Insurance Council says? And Alistair makes a good point. The London Underground has banned e-bikes on the train for the reason your guest describes.

0-4-6-0-8-7-3-8-7-3. I know many golf clubs, like Billy says, you can't have your lithium ion battery buggies. You can't leave them at your golf club overnight because they're dangerous. They can catch them on fire. And next thing you know, the clubhouse goes up. Let's go to Tony at Rose Bay. G'day, Tony.

G'day, Chris. I totally agree with the comments just made. I don't travel the public transport system too much, but I do travel enough. Every single time I've been on the train lately, at least one or two of these Uber Eats... I shouldn't probably comment on that, but anyway, e-bikes...

getting on the train and going from, say, you know, in this case, it was from Central to Bondi Junction. And last week I had two on the same train. I mean, you know, it's only one of these disasters is going to happen on public transport. We should ban it like London. It's a good point, Tony. I think you and Andrew make a very good point. And if it's good enough for the London Tube, then surely it's good enough for the Sydney Trains Network. You have a good afternoon. Richard's at Malabar. Richard, g'day.

Great program. Glad you're doing this, Chris, because this is just coming our way and we're sleepwalking. Two things I want to make very quickly. The point about the fire brigade and the others, and this is the state government's need to get on top of this and make sure a set of rules about inside buildings and other...

The second part of this, these things are imported. 95% of them are from overseas. That's a direct responsibility for the Minister for Home Affairs and Bill to Force Stroke Customs. You bring in and use one of these illegally, not approved by Australian Designs, and there's a fire...

or someone's injured and the fire brigade comes back and tells you the tests say it was illegal, you should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The damage in the case of a death, it should be criminal negligence. We cannot allow this to go on. You've heard time and time again with fire brigades, garbage trucks blowing up, going into buildings and all sorts of stuff. They need to make a stance at customs.

And the federal government needs to take a stand and say, if this comes in from overseas, then I don't really care if it's a trade agreement with China, India, wherever. If it doesn't meet our Australian standards, it's banned. You get caught with it, you get charged. Hear, hear. Good on you, Richard. Very, very well said. That's Richard from Malabar. And it's something that we've got to consider because...

I know Mary here on the text line says, Chris, should I be worried about my cordless vacuum cleaner? Does it use the same type of battery? Well, Mary, every chance the answer is yes. You've got to understand, these lithium-ion batteries, they are in everything. It doesn't mean that they are certain to catch fire. Just like if you've got a gas stove, you're not certain to have a gas leak and a gas fire. It's just sometimes...

They can, if they're coming in from overseas, they are dodgy, they can get damaged and they can get water damage. Well, they can catch on fire and they can cause major problems in your household. But if you're getting it from, you know, companies like Dyson and reputable companies, you're

you shouldn't have a problem. But it's the dodgy stuff you've got to be aware of, and sometimes it's hard to figure out what's dodgy and what's genuine. 131873, we'll chat more about this next. It's 23 past four. 131873 is the open line number. Now, I've just received an email from a friend of mine, and he received some correspondence from Rams Home Loans. And this has obviously come over...

the weekend or late last week, but I must have missed it. So, Rams home loans, who we've all heard of, they're fairly prolific in their advertising, but they are...

Closing the books. No more new home loans. They're not accepting any new home loans. And they've sent this. We value your relationship with us and we want to let you know about some changes at Rams. Rams will no longer be accepting new home loan applications, but we remain committed to supporting you and your current home loan. So no new business will be fed through Rams home loans. Of course, a subsidiary of Westpac.

And I'm just reading this. This is from last week. So this is a statement to the ASX that Westpac confirmed it would close Rams to new home loan applications from tomorrow as part of a strategic review.

And they've said this, we have delivered considerable portfolio simplification over recent years. And after a thorough review, we have decided that offering home loans through Rams franchisees is not right for Westpac. We will help our customers, franchisees and people through the process. And Westpac said existing customers will remain in place and they can continue to access the services through the Rams app, website,

and call center but it looks like a whole bunch of the actual bricks and mortars rams financial stores will also be shut down unclear how many jobs will go but in 2008 westpac bought rams for 140 million dollars and they couldn't sell it after they failed to find an acceptable bid

And there are some franchisees who've launched a class action too following the termination of some franchise agreements. So clearly all is not well between Westpac and Rams, but the upshot is no more new mortgages at, I reckon, one of the most well-known mortgage businesses in the country.

Drive with Chris O'Keefe on to GB. Now, we're sort of all sitting here waiting for this to happen, I think, but this story's in The Australian, and Iran is reportedly preparing a direct strike on Israel this week. And they're preparing it possibly before a critical ceasefire summit between Israel and Hamas, which is scheduled for August 15. So on Thursday, it's scheduled for...

Now, there are some people in the intelligence community that have told a few newspapers in the United States that the intelligence that they're receiving is a strike is imminent, despite international pressure on Iran to delay any retaliation. And that retaliation, of course, for the assassination of the Hamas leader. Now, you've got...

Guided missile submarines that the United States has sent to the Middle East, the USS Abraham Lincoln, the aircraft carrier, and its strike group is also expediting its arrival to the area. And that carrier has F-35 fighter jets aboard along with F-A-18 fighter aircraft also on the carriers.

But the intelligence coming out of this situation is Iran reportedly preparing a direct strike on Israel this week before a ceasefire summit between Israel and Hamas scheduled for Thursday, 131-873. Just on the lithium-ion batteries conversation, Kirk's called in from Northbridge. G'day, Kirk. G'day.

G'day, Chris. Look, I'm just bringing in in relation to electric buses. I saw a video of a bus in France go off and within 30 seconds the whole bus was engulfed and destroyed. Luckily there was no one on board at the time, but it

It's something that they're going to have to look at. And anyone can have a look at it. Go to YouTube and electric bus in France and you'll see it for yourself. Yeah, Kirk, we had one up on the central coast. There's an electric bus manufacturer on the central coast and they had a bus fire too. Look, I know there's problems with them, Kirk, and electric buses, I'm sure they'd be the same with electric cars in some instances. Yeah.

But if you've got lithium-ion batteries, e-scooters and stuff all throughout your house, people are going to die, right? Just like buses. Yeah, I don't know. It frightens me a little. Kirk, I appreciate your call. 131873. Daryl makes a point on the text line. Chris, our green protectors of the planet are pretty quiet on the lithium battery fires.

But noisy on the mistaken death of the Great Barrier Reef. Indeed, Daryl. And here's something else that annoys me about that one. You don't hear the Greens or Clover Moore or any of the climate change zealots talking about lithium-ion battery fires. And in South Korea the other day, I think 15 or 16 people died as a result of these lithium, in one of the lithium-ion battery factories in South Korea. Big, big fire. Big factory fire.

How many people have died from nuclear energy in nuclear power plants? Not many. Not many at all. I did the numbers. I thought it was like, I think it was like a hundred odd in the century that it's been around, nuclear energy. And what? We're supposed to get three-eyed fishes and Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen telling me that there's no social license and it's a terribly dangerous thing, nuclear power. But lithium ion batteries...

In the suburbs, they're supposed to be the clean, green alternative to driving a car. Well, they're setting people's houses alight five a week, according to the fireys. In the newsroom, Josh Bryan. G'day. G'day. Good afternoon again, Chris. Police say it's too early to determine if the deaths of two people in Burwood is domestic violence related. A man was found dead outside a building while a woman's body was found inside a unit with stab wounds. Firefighters in Queensland have described the complex operation it took...

to tackle fires which broke out at a Cairns hotel after a stolen helicopter crashed into the building. The federal government is accusing the opposition of chasing cheap political headlines after raising concerns about the possibility of Hamas sympathisers coming into the country on temporary visas. And the Prime Minister and opposition leader say generations of future sporting champions will be inspired by our Olympians and their record-breaking performance at the Paris Games. In sport, Ewan Aitken's penned a deal to follow coach Wayne Bennett to South Sydney.

for three seasons. We'll have more news and sport at five. Good on you, Josh. 131873. Speaking of AUKUS, if you missed what I was talking about a little earlier, so the AUKUS deal has been amended and it was amended quite quietly. Now, the Australian newspaper is reporting that the United States and the United Kingdom have

can cease its involvement in AUKUS, i.e. not provide nuclear subs to Australia, with 12 months' notice. That's it. They've got 12 months' notice and they can pull out the United States and the United Kingdom. I'll speak to Michael Shoebridge about the consequences of that for Australia next.

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

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Consider the fund's PDS and whether the product is right for you. It's 25 to 5, 131873. Now, I did notice it is quite concerning when I read this story in the Australian newspaper. And I'm talking about AUKUS. So it was revealed today that the AUKUS agreement has a kind of escape hatch for the United States or the United Kingdom, if either decide to use it.

So if either country feels that continuing with AUKUS somehow weakens its own nuclear submarine programs or hinders the country's military needs, they can pull out. And they only need to give Australia and the other partner a year's notice to do so.

131873, what are your thoughts on this? Now, I find this a little strange. For more, let's bring in Michael Shoebridge, Director of Strategic Analysis Australia. He's on the line. Michael, g'day. Hi, Chris. How are you? Were you surprised at this?

Yes, because I remember when it was revealed that the Department of Defence, our Department of Defence, that had negotiated the AUKUS agreement, had got no protection for the $4 billion we're giving to each of the US and UK for their submarine production, in the event that the deal didn't go ahead. So there's no clawback provision for us. That was bad enough, but to hear that the

the US or UK governments can pull out giving us a year's notice and we get no refund of that billions of dollars of taxpayer money. That did surprise and disturb me. What do you think is... Are these nuclear subs and this technology, is it just so sought after that we as the Australian government don't really have much of a choice but just to acquiesce to all the demands of the partnering nations?

No, I don't think so. I think the problem is that our Australian defence officials see it as all about enduring love and closeness, and the US and UK governments see this as about their national interest and national treasure. So the US and UK have been quite clear-eyed and hard-headed about it, and we're acting like a romantic teenager, as if it's love.

The thing is too, Michael, it seems to me folly to be, as Australians, trying to rely on the goodwill and the relationship of the United States government and the United Kingdom government and the successive governments that may come along for you're talking decades and decades to come. Anything could happen.

Well, that's where there's a bit of whiplash effect when you look at this agreement, because it's meant to be a 50-year legal framework to support the submarine program, but it's got a one-year get-out-of-jail-free clause that the US or UK governments can exercise at any time over that 50 years. And you're right. I mean, Donald Trump, as a US president, somebody else we haven't even met yet,

So all this talk from the government and the Navy about this is a rock solid, legally based deal and the US and UK can't step away. That's not true. And we see that in black and white. So why are we only hearing about this now?

Well, I think there's a really sort of strange approach to the public discussion around the AUKUS submarine deal because it doesn't fit with the government's story about the China relationship being all stabilised and lovely. The whole reason that Australia wants these nuclear submarines is to be part of deterring the Chinese military from engaging in a war in our region.

But every time that's raised, the government and our military senior officials run for cover denying that that's the case. So they can't say why we're getting the nuclear submarines. That means they can't make a public case. So they want to keep it all pretty quiet. Have we got any provisions protecting Australia at all in this?

No, well, that's my point about the billions of dollars of taxpayer money that we're handing over to both the UK and US so they can rebuild their submarine production systems. There's no protection for that. We just hand the money over and hope that our love and good faith is returned. Feels like a pretty big punt. Michael, I appreciate you coming on the program. This is something that certainly I thought, oh, no, this doesn't look good.

Yeah, well, we should expect the government to be more honest and upfront, both about why we're getting these nuclear submarines and about some of the risks and challenges. The public would understand that. Yeah, absolutely. Good on you, Michael. Thanks so much. Thanks. That's Michael Shoebridge, Director of Strategic Analysis Australia. Don't you find it strange, 131873, that we can hand over billions and billions of dollars, tens and hundreds of billions of dollars?

over a really long time. And then we tabled to Parliament a 50-year legal framework for the transfer of nuclear materials and equipment to Australia, yet there are extra political commitments under an amended AUKUS that were revealed by Joe Biden, the President, last Thursday in a letter to the US Congress.

That was then tabled to the US Congress. The document was made public and we find out that both the United Kingdom and the United States, if it's not working out for them, can write the Prime Minister of the day a letter and say, hey, mate, sorry, we're out. And we have no recourse to recover the money nor any recourse to get a submarine. I think that is... If you were a businessman listening to me now, would you do that deal?

Seriously, 131873. It's a quarter to five now. This just out from the CFMEU, the New South Wales division of the construction union. And Michael Greenfield resigns from the CFMEU New South Wales effective immediately. This is the son of Darren Greenfield. Michael Greenfield played in the NRL too for Cronulla and I think St. George of Lawara as well from memory.

But this is the statement. It says this. He's a victim.

Michael Greenfield says, quote, I've always maintained my innocence in relation to bribery charges brought against me three years ago in 2021. I've spent the last three years defending myself while also upholding my duties as assistant secretary of the CFMEU, attempts to inflate and agitate matters that have been public knowledge since 2021, and frequently the subject of media scrutiny are insincere and undermine my right to presumed innocence.

As this matter is before the court and given the strict suppression orders and enforceable undertakings in relation to prosecution material, I will not make any further comment. Today, I advise the CFMEU that I tender my resignation from holding office and my employment with the union. The extreme pressure that my family has been placed under due to the extreme government and media bias has left me no choice but to step down

to protect my family. Michael Greenfield, son of Darren Greenfield, the Assistant Secretary of the CFME New South Wales Division, resigning. The breaking news you can trust. It's Drive with Chris O'Keefe on 2GB. So I was having a think about this the other day. You know what is one of the least diverse political parties in Australia? Because everyone's talking about inclusivity and diversity. We hear it all the time, right? We've got to be diverse and inclusive.

But the least diverse political party and political movement in Australia is the Greens. Now, the Greens have 15 senators and MPs in the federal parliament. And outside of Maureen Faruqi and Dorinda Cox, every single one of them are white. All of them. Adam Bant, straight white guy, married to a female and has two kids. And what about where these anti-colonial Greens members of the Australian parliament were born?

Well, Stephen Bates, he's the member for Brisbane. You've got Senator Jordan Steelejohn and Nick McKim. Guess where they were all born? The anti-colonial Greens. The United Kingdom. Peter Wish Wilson, he was born in Singapore. Larissa Waters, she was born in Canada. Now, this is the same party who had election commitments that says Australia must unpack white privilege...

and white fragility in the context of personal, professional and community spaces. Unpack white privilege and white fragility. Yet their entire party room is white, minus two people. So white, three of them were born in the United Kingdom and held passports issued by Queen Elizabeth II herself. Now the Greens claim that white people in Australia, this is part of their election platform, are you ready?

Spare me. Again. Adam Bant. Why is your entire party room white?

You are these white people that you are talking about and that you are so aggrieved by. You keep selecting white people to head to Canberra on the Greens' behalf, should you not practice what you preach. The Greens are one of the whitest parties in the Federal Parliament. Plus, the way the Greens have treated Jewish Australians, they're all more racist too than any other group in the Federal Parliament. And while I'm at it, right, I've done a bit of research here today.

Do you think this is a bit weird? So of the 15 senators and MPs in the federal parliament that are Greens, almost half of them have hyphenated surnames. Seriously. Hanson Young, Payne Allman, Steel John, Chandler Mather, Hodgins May, Watson Brown and Wish Wilson. All of these people, again, white as snow.

Super diverse, with all that white privilege and a couple of last names to match. Honestly, the hypocrisy of the Greens is nauseating. I just don't know how anyone takes them seriously. 131873. Well, I did notice this story. So there are some bandicoots causing a truffle kerfuffle, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

And Annabelle Ellis, she is doing a PhD project training bandicoots not to eat truffles. Well, why you would be doing that? But the native marsupials are sniffing out and gorging themselves on tens of thousands of dollars of black...

or French truffles at night, and it's causing a huge problem for farmers in the Australian truffle industry. Now, the Australian truffle industry is on fire. It's doing really, really well, except bandicoots are causing major problems. So there's a place called the Terra Preta Truffle Farm near Braidwood in southern New South Wales,

And the property is covered in trees and it adjoins a national park down in Braidwood. Good spot for truffles because you need cold and dry and you need hot and dry. So the southern tablelands around Canberra, great spot to grow truffles. But the bandicoots, they just get in and start eating all the truffles underneath the

whatever trees that they've been planted under. So you've got Annabelle Ellis doing a PhD in training bandicoots to dodge the truffles and not like the truffles so the farmers can make a quid out of them.

Opinions that matter. News you can trust. This is Drive on Sydney's 2GB. Just on the AUKUS deal, Lindsay says, Chris, AUKUS is the worst decision any Australian government has ever made by far. We have been completely scammed by the United States and the United Kingdom to fund their defence expenditure. Should withdraw before any more money is wasted. Thanks for that, Lindsay. Steve.

Frankly, Chris, it's not surprising the United States and the United Kingdom appear to have cold feet with AUKUS. It's alarming the way the Albanese government has been behaving with China and weak on Hamas and Iran. That's Stephen Singleton. Jason says, Chris, the US have already said that they are way behind on their submarine manufacturing schedule. What are the chances that we are actually going to get a submarine out of the US or the UK with that clause written in?

I think it's going to be zero. Thanks for that, Jason. Michael says, hi, Chris, if the United States or the United Kingdom pull out of AUKUS, we should threaten to pull out of significant military partnerships. Yeah, we can't do that, though, Michael, because we're 26 million. The US is closer to 400 million. United Kingdom, closer to 100 million. We need friends and we need big friends with lots of military power.

The problem that I've got is that you've amended the AUKUS deal really without telling the Australian people. Anthony Albanese certainly hasn't addressed the fact that the United Kingdom and the United States can now pull out of AUKUS at any time if they think that their military program is being eroded or providing Australian nuclear submarines is detrimental to their own military interests. 12 months noticed, AUKUS is out the door.

Yet we are spending tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars over a significant portion of time. And we have no recourse to get any of that money back, let alone a nuclear sub. I think that is a terrible deal. And the people who signed it within the Department of Defence and within the Albanese government should be ashamed of themselves because no businessman or woman or anybody in their right mind would sign a deal like that on their own personal finances. Hey, I'd love to buy a house, but

Even though the person selling you the house, you've handed over the money for it in 12 months time. Oh, sorry. You don't get the house and you don't get your money back. No one's signing a deal like that. But for some reason, Australia has when it comes to our national security. It's truly a disgrace. The five o'clock news is coming up very shortly with Josh Bryant now off the back of their pretty comfortable win against my dragons at Cogger Oval.

Looks like the Canterbury skipper, Stephen Crichton, will not give evidence against Dragons 5'8 Kyle Flanagan at tomorrow night's biting hearing at the judiciary. So the Dragons have got James McLeod, a lawyer in to help defend Flanagan against allegations that he bit Stephen Crichton on the nose and Flanagan is pleading not guilty. 131873. We'll see how that goes.

All I wanted in retirement was to feel confident with my money. So I picked an income account with my industry super fund. Now I take enough for day-to-day things, splash out when I fancy, and the rest can grow over time. Stick with your industry super fund in retirement. Visit compareyourretirement.com today. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Consider the fund's PDS and whether the product is right for you.

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 Monday afternoon. 131 873, our open line number, text line 0460 873 873 or the email address drive at 2gb.com. Now, I know there's a little bit of talk about whether or not the Albanese government will ban again

gambling ads. Now, I've always been of the view that maybe, you know, people can make their own mind up as to when and how they spend their own money and advertising, well, it doesn't impact you this much.

However, I've changed my mind on that and I'll explain very shortly. And it looks like Scotland could be hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games. I'll tell you a bit more about that. And I've also got $1,000 to give away if you heard the catchphrase with Ben Fordham this morning. First with the news, only in Sydney. It's Drive with Chris O'Keefe on 2GB.

Well, you would have heard the news this morning about this shocking helicopter crash that occurred in Cairns. Now, police reckon the helicopter, can you believe this, was stolen before it crashed into the roof of the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel just before 2am this morning.

Now, hundreds of people had to be evacuated from the hotel. Two guests, an 83-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman, they were taken to hospital. They're okay, though, unbelievably. Nobody was seriously injured outside of the pilot, a man in his 40s who was killed in the crash. Now, of course, police have launched an investigation into what's happened here, but have a listen to the acting chief superintendent, Shane Holmes, from the Queensland Police, because...

Not often do you hear about somebody stealing a helicopter at 2am and then flying it into a hotel. Queensland Police Forensic Crash Unit will work alongside the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to investigate this incident and prepare a report to the coroner. Our investigations will be ongoing. There is no further threat to the community and we believe this is an isolated incident.

Now, whether there was anything nefarious in the motive, I think that's probably still to be worked out. And the detail is scant, no question. And Chief Commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Angus Mitchell, said as much. We'll spend the next day or so gathering what we can to understand what happened from the time of take-off, what we understand was Cairns Airport, to the time that it impacted the building in the early hours this morning. We know that...

that visibility was down at the time, that there was possible rain. We want to understand what the helicopter was equipped with, but also potentially what the helicopter was doing at the time and any nature of the flight. And that's going to be the focus of our investigation. After that time, we'll be looking to release a preliminary report

And that could be as early as a couple of weeks time once we get a sequence of events understood far better. That's Chief Commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Angus Mitchell. So it's a horrible situation, horrible, extraordinary that we did not have a mass casualty event. Now, this was on the Esplanade of Cairns. If you've ever been to Cairns, you know where they've got the splash pool right on the ocean there? Well, this is directly effectively opposite that.

It's on the waterfront. It is a very busy part of Cairns. It's the Hilton Hotel. 2 a.m. Allegedly, Guy steals a helicopter.

and then flies it into a hotel. Now, whether it was an accident or what the situation was, they will obviously try and work that out the best they can. But if we get any updates in the next 50 minutes, of course, we'll bring them to you. But all the information about this incident, you will hear it on 2GB, 131873.

Now, the bodies of a man and woman have been found at an apartment complex in Burwood, and police have confirmed they are investigating this as a potential murder-suicide. Potential murder-suicide. Now, this happened on Conda Street in Burwood just before 10am this morning, and there was a phone call to police reporting a concern for welfare. Police arrived at the apartment block, and they found the body of a man in a courtyard.

just as they arrived at the scene. Now, he is yet to be formally identified, but police did a little bit more digging around the unit block, and they found the body of a woman inside with stab wounds. So police sources say detectives are investigating whether the matter is a murder-suicide. They're not ruling out other motives yet.

And it is not known whether they were husband and wife or boyfriend and girlfriend or whatever it was. So it's not yet known what the relationship was between the man and the woman. But what we do know is that

A crime scene has been established and a second crime scene was also established at the unit two. So two crime scenes in the same block of apartments. Police obviously have their work, a fair bit of work to do with that apartment block in Burwood throughout the night. But a man and a woman have passed away in what detectives are considering could be a murder-suicide.

If it's happening in Sydney, you'll hear it on Drive on 2GB. Now, did you catch the women's water polo finals over the weekend? The gold medal match, it was pretty close. Unfortunately, the Spanish beat our Australian stingers. But, jeez, they weren't expected to go anywhere near as deep in the Olympics as they have, the Australian water polo women. Outstanding effort. Now, I mentioned this at the end of the show on Friday very briefly, and the Balmain Water Polo Club,

They're a historic and famous water polo club here in Australia, Balmain Water Polo. And they were hoping to watch our girls in action at Dick's Hotel in Balmain. But unfortunately, the licensing agreement where the state government effectively exempted a whole bunch of Olympic matches so pubs could trade longer. Well, the exemptions didn't apply to the water polo gold final, gold medal final.

Uh, so they couldn't keep the pub open at 1130 PM when the match was on, they had to shut at 12. So there was no point for everyone to get down to Dick's who sponsors Balmain water polo. And it would have been a debacle. So we tried, uh, I passed the message onto John Graham. He's obviously the minister for the nighttime economy and all the rest of it. Um,

And I'm pleased to say they managed to get the pub open in time. So in 24 hours, big kudos to Minister John Graham. All I did was... Because I know the publican at Dick's Hotel. I sent him the publican's number. I sent him Balmain Water Polo Club's number. And I said the problem...

And lo and behold, 24 hours later, John Graham and his team, as well as David Harris, the Minister for Liquor and Gaming, they fixed it on the spot. Well done, gentlemen. Sensational outcome. Cooper Silk, he's a member of the Bowmane Water Polo Club and he joins me. Cooper, g'day. G'day, Chris. How are you, mate? It was a good outcome, wasn't it?

It was a terrific outcome and on behalf of Bellame Water Polo Club we'd like to thank you in particular as well as the New South Wales Government for pulling those strings. It happened about 10.30 at night and I woke on Saturday morning, had a few messages from the public and had dicks and said we're on and within a few hours we put some notifications out to our members and

And we had over 150 people turn up. So it was a great roll up. We filled the pub and look, unfortunately we didn't get the result, but you know, it was a great night for, for Balmain water polo. And you guys have got some representatives in the stingers, don't you? We do. So the assistant coach, Karen Woods, she's a 2000 medal winner, gold medal winner. She's the assistant coach. Um,

So her mum and brother, who's a four-time Olympian Gav, they were there watching with us. Of course, we've got Sienna Hearn, who scored two goals in the match, and Jen Longman, who was the reserve goalkeeper. She had a good tournament also. So, like I said, there was over 150 people there. We probably had 10 of our young Australian junior players there as well. So I know you were talking earlier on the show about

about the Olympics in Brisbane, I guarantee you we'll have a few representatives there. So, you know, great to get the people from Balmain together to cheer on some of our own. And I suppose you'd be, Cooper, surprised that common sense and fast moving would be a hallmark of a government, but they managed to get it done.

They sure did. And like I said, I think you had a fair bit to do with that, Chris. So I really appreciate the work you and your team were able to do there. And I mean, to think that a pub in Bow May couldn't keep their licence open to support some of their own. It was hard to fathom, but we got there in the end. Good on you. Hey, Cooper. Well, I'm not going to say unfortunately, because silver was a big deal for the Stingers, wasn't it?

It certainly was. Look, you know, to beat America, who were the favourites, in a penalty shootout, I think we may have probably peaked a little bit too early. We only just got beat by the Spanish and we hung in there and there's only a couple of goals in it. But for Waterpolo in this country, we don't get a lot of funding. And I should mention our men's team also, who were coached by a former Balmain player. They

They beat some of the powerhouses of Europe. Serbia won it. We beat them in the pool matches. So they'll be on the plane coming home now and they've done Australia proud and water polo proud. So well done to both men's and women's teams. Good on you, Cooper. Appreciate you coming on and I'm glad that we could sort it out for you.

I'll owe you a schooner, Chris. Thank you, mate. Good on you, Cooper. You'll find me somewhere in Balmain, no problems. That's Cooper Silk, member of the Balmain Water Polo Club. And again, well done to Dick's Hotel and Aaliyah, the public in there, and John Graham and Minister David Harris for showing a bit of common sense and getting it done nice and quick. Now, I've changed my mind on gambling ads.

And this won't be something that my bosses want to hear here at Channel 9 or 9 Radio. But I agree with Peter Dutton, John Howard, Malcolm Turnbull and the late Labor MP Peter Murphy. Because the status quo on gambling ads just cannot continue. It is way too much. Case in point, right? I spoke to a friend of mine's son the other day. He was driving, my mate. And I was on the car speaker and he had his 10-year-old in the car.

And his 10-year-old is a Roosters supporter. And I asked him, well, how do you think the Roosters will go against the Storm in Melbourne? Do you think the Roosters could win? You know what his response was? 10-year-old boy. The Roosters were $1.80 favourites, he told me. Nothing to do with the fact they were in good form or his favourite player was James Tedesco and was on fire. None of that. He rattled off the fact that they were $1.80 favourites. The odds. The gambling odds. Now, I'm sorry, that just didn't sit well with me.

You know that I've got a libertarian bent. I think people should be able to make their own minds up and our intelligence and our autonomy should always be respected by governments. I like a bet on the horses on occasion, but I don't need to be hammered with ads about bonus bets or the odds of this and that sporting match. But because I'm an adult, I can ignore it. That's okay. But kids, it is so ubiquitous that it is silly now.

And it is ubiquitous because media companies like mine here at Nine are happy to take the gambling company's dollars in a tough ad market. They're entitled to. But the potential harm that this does to families, there is not enough thought put into it. And that harm is not insignificant. We don't advertise cigarettes. Alcohol ads can't be shown during children's shows at any time. And when it comes to gambling ads...

Over 1 million of them aired on free-to-air television and metropolitan radio. 1,065,000 online betting shops that you can easily access on your mobile phone. It is way too much. Way, way, way, way, way too much. And before you start getting into me, yes, I've had Ladbrokes and have had the tab advertise on my program again.

Commercial media is a commercial venture, and this radio station needs to make money. It's part of our gig, and I get that. But from a position of what's good for broader society, I am finding it very difficult to argue that one million ads a year from gambling companies is a good thing for society. And I know that Taylor Collison's Andrew Orbach

This guy's a respected gambling industry analyst, and he told the Financial Review that the number of customers signing up to sport betting companies every year if gambling ads are banned on TV and radio

Well, the number of new customers signing up could fall to 225,000 a year from 450,000. And after accounting for an annual churn of about a quarter of a million customers, bookmakers would be losing punters. Now, one, you cannot possibly tell me that that is slightly quantifiable. Not possible. And two, what are we doing now?

What happens when you turn 18? You get to vote. You can join the army. You can go to the pub and legally have a drink. And what, you open your own gambling account? That's part of the sort of the deal now? As soon as you turn 18, you jump on a sports betting app and open your own gambling account? That's not what it should all be about.

The fact that this is even being peddled around by some of these analysts tells me that the Albanese government needs to think long and hard about this. Because I think gambling advertising in Australia has gone way, way too far.

21 past five. It's 25 and a half past five. 131873, the open line number. Don't forget I've got that $1,000 cash to give away very shortly. Get the cash catchphrase ready. I'll give you the cue to call. It's coming up. Not too long. Get that catchphrase ready. Ben gave it to you this morning.

Paul's at Abbots Free. Paul, you want to talk about the gambling ads? Yes, Chris. I get hot under the collar when I hear this subject because we have a gambling ban, a gambling advertising ban on registered clubs, a gambling ban on registered clubs who provide a lot of infrastructure, supporting infrastructure for community and do a lot of community work. And yet these online gambling places,

It's a free-for-all. They support... I mean, it is just such widespread that it's going to be hard for the government to...

to make a decision because they know they're going to lose some support somewhere on the line. But for the community, it's for the benefit. You're right. It shouldn't be something that a kid is going to do, get an online gambling account when he turns 18. You know? Bad gambling completely. Bad gambling, man. I just... There's too much of it, Paul. There's...

way too much of it. I know. I know. I listen to GTV in the morning. I've got to listen to the rugby, to the betting for rugby league before quarter to nine. I've got to listen to the betting odds before the game. It's just...

And like I said, it's each to their own. People can make their own decisions. But why is it okay for online gambling to advertise everywhere they want and it's not okay for registered clubs? That is discriminatory. It's a very good point, Paul. It's a very, very good point. You have a good afternoon. 131873. Rebecca's called in from Goulburn. G'day, Rebecca. Hi, how are you today? I'm good, thank you, Rebecca.

Good. I'd play a lot of games on my phone.

And, you know, every few minutes you're bombarded and bombarded with ads for gambling, especially poker machines. And I can just imagine how many children's games they bombard. Yeah, Rebecca, and this is the thing, right? I just think that people are picking up via osmosis because you can't not. It's like if you're swimming in a swimming pool, you're going to get wet. If you live in the information age like we do in 2024, you're going to be exposed to gambling ads because they are everywhere. Yeah.

Not just one hundredth. Yeah, I agree with you. Good on you, Rebecca. I appreciate your call. 131873. Lindsay says on the text line. Yeah, Lindsay always disagrees with everything I say, but he listens every day. Starting to get worried, Chris, says Lindsay. That's twice in an hour that I agree with you. Gambling ads must be stopped. It's already changing the way young people talk about sport and exploits those least able to afford. Lindsay, I agree. I agree. It's as simple as that. There's just too many of them.

And I don't think Caps and all the rest of it is really going to do what needs to be done here. And I remember it was years ago and Waterhouse came out and he decided it was the younger Waterhouse. His first name just escapes me. But he decided to come out and set up his own betting company.

And all of a sudden he was doing all this stuff on Channel 9, on Wide World of Sports, on the sideline of the footy, just giving... And it had never been seen before. And the outrage that occurred when he was on the sideline giving updates and gambling odds and all the rest of it, completely legal. But he was pulled in the end from Channel 9 because people said, hang on, you're ruining the broadcast. Fast forward 10, 15 years, whatever it's been, nowadays it's so ubiquitous that...

And it's just so in your face and we're so used to it that people just feel like, oh, well, that's just part and parcel of a sports broadcast now. Tom Waterhouse. Thank you, Mark. 131873. Chris says, gambling, totally agree with you. I know a bunch of boys who used to gamble on the dogs on their mobile phones while in class at a Catholic high school on the Central Coast.

Siv says, Chris, couldn't agree with you more. Those ads are way over the top. When you have conservative libertarians like John Howard saying things like this, I think we should all listen. I agree, Siv. And you know that I'm a libertarian. I'm a live and let live kind of guy.

But I think when it comes to gambling ads, the pendulum needs to be shifted back in a way that there is some sort of semblance of balance. Because there's no balance at the moment. 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 or Kia's most powerful car ever, the all-electric EV6 GT. ♪

In the newsroom, Josh Bryant. G'day. Hello, Chris. Police say it's too early to say at this stage if two deaths in the Inner West were domestic violence related as they work to identify a man and a woman who were found dead at a Burwood unit block. Transport officials hope to have a preliminary report completed within weeks after a helicopter crashed into a hotel in Cairns during an

unauthorised flight, killing the pilot and sole occupant. Michael Greenfield has resigned as the CFMEU's New South Wales Assistant Secretary effective immediately and police are searching for an arsonist who accidentally set himself on fire while trying to burn down a Canberra barbershop. In sport, a blow for the Panthers ahead of the NRL blockbuster against the Storm, Liam Martin out after accepting a one-match suspension for a dangerous contact charge. We'll have more news in sport at six. Thanks Josh.

All right, $1,000 cash to give away right now. Caller number six, if you have the catchphrase that Ben Fordham gave you this morning on breakfast, call the competition line 1-300-722-873. 1-300-722-873. That's the competition line number.

One more time, 1300 722 873. If you know the catchphrase, you would have written it down. If you come through, call the number 6 if you get it right. $1,000 is yours. 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. 25 to 6. And now, a weather update. A few showers around. We can expect this for the rest of the week, I think. Right now, 15 degrees in the city and 15 in our west. Temperatures tonight, 14 in the city and 11 in our west. Tomorrow, showers again. Tops of 20 in the city tomorrow and 19 in the west.

A finance update. Enjoy impossible to ignore savings across the Mercedes-Benz SUV range. We're checking finance. Deb Knight is back because money news is back tonight after 7 o'clock. Deb, welcome back. Well, it's good to be back, Chris. I'll tell you what, I've been glued to the Olympics like everyone else has, but there's been so much going on in the business world while I've been away. The share market's tanked.

here and overseas. We've had the Reserve Bank ruling out interest rates for the rest of the year. It's been a busy time. We've missed you. We've missed you. It's good to be back, I tell you. How are the markets today? Well, pretty good. This time last week, investors were wanting to call open a hole in the fetal position, but today it has meant that we've had some growth once again. Good run off the back of last week there, SX200 up

half a percent or 36 points to 7,813. Most sectors were in the green, which is terrific. Tech and consumer stocks were at the top of the tree. And JB Hi-Fi was a real standout. They've announced that they've got the takeover of this homewares company, E&S Trading, which is better known, I think, in Victoria than it is in New South Wales. But JB Hi-Fi has got the good guys in the stable, so they're now moving into that homeware space. And investors really liked what they heard. The

Stock finished the day up more than 8% to $72.98, even though their profit results weren't that great. But it was better than what the market had expected. So JB Hi-Fi effectively said, hey, look, people aren't spending as much. Well, no, and that's across the board. So the market expected that, and they did better than those expectations. But yeah, good result for JB Hi-Fi. We're thick into reporting season, so we're going to get numbers through from a lot of companies over the next couple of weeks, which is also a good reason that Money News is back. It is.

It's always a good reason when Money News is back and you're on the radio. Now, the French. Ooh la la. You reckon they're making their money stretch further? Well, off the bat...

off the back of the Olympics, right? So, you know, they've said that all from the beginning that they were going to do things differently for the Olympics and part of the deal with the suppliers of all the equipment, all the javelins, all of the tennis balls, all of it was that when they supplied it, they had to give a second use option. So they want it to be a green game. So they wanted to make sure that everything could be

reused and they reckon that 90% of the 6 million items are going to be reused from the sand for the beach volleyball that's going to be sent to local beach volleyball clubs in Paris the tennis balls from Roland Garros will be going to local tennis clubs

The French army is going to get the 14,000 mattresses from the Athletes' Village. Not sure if I'd want to be sleeping on them. That's not true. That's true. The French army is getting it. And even the medal podiums are getting a second life. They're going to scrub off the Paris 2024 on the side of it and use the medal. I reckon leave all of the branding on it, though, because it'll help out with the resell.

Is there not an OH&S issue with the mattresses? I know, exactly. Well, there weren't any bed bugs, at least. So that was a good thing. But yeah, they wanted to say that we're delivering a green games and that's what they claim that they're doing. Although, I don't know, there's a lot of other things that would be wasted. A lot of the paraphernalia would be not getting a second life. A lot of water bottles were used too, which might end up in the sin. Yes.

When they stop focusing on the murky sin. But, yeah, it's just an interesting approach that the Olympics, Paris, you know, they've done well, I reckon. Brisbane has to learn a lot of lessons, I think, from Paris. It was a great game. Brilliant games. Good on you, Deb. We'll be listening. That's Deb Knight with Money News after 7 o'clock, 131873. Sandra's at Abbotsford. Hello, Sandra. Oh, hi, Chris. Hi. Are you a bit nervous, are you?

I'm nervous and excited and in shock. Well, Sandra, if you can tell me what the catchphrase was that Ben Fordham gave you this morning in breakfast, I've got $1,000 for you. He gave us Ray Gunn. Ray Gunn is correct, Sandra. Thank you.

Thank you so much. No, you're very welcome. A thousand bucks, that's pretty good, isn't it? That's my car insurance bill. Oh, you beauty. That's wonderful, Sandra. What a good shot today. That's beautiful. Hey, Sandra, what did you think of Ray Gunn's performance, by the way?

Would you believe I didn't watch it? I've heard all about it, but I didn't watch it. Go away and have a look at it. If you want a big laugh with your $1,000, it's worth the while. I will. It might calm me down. Good on you, Sandra. Congratulations, $1,000 going Sandra's way from Abbotsford with the catchphrase. Now, the one you need for Ben tomorrow morning is,

I know Mark Levy's having a few days off because it's well-deserved. So pronto.

is the catchphrase. Pronto is the catchphrase, just like Levy's restaurant. Pronto. So write it down, and when Ben gives you the cue to call tomorrow morning, if you answer pronto, another grand in your pocket. It's a quarter to six, and it is back. The Olympics are over, and our favourite Renault show been going 20 years. The block returns to Channel 9 and 9 now tonight. 20th season, can you believe?

And the Blockheads, they're celebrating in style. So the latest instalment is on Phillip Island, just off the south coast of Victoria. And you've got five new couples, and they're tasked with transforming an abandoned resort...

into five luxury holiday homes. And it's been officially rechristened Block Island. And the great Scotty Cam will be returning to host the show. And I'm pleased to say he joins me in the studio. Scotty, g'day. G'day, Chris. How are you, mate? You've won 20 seasons. Yeah, I know. I'm getting old too. I'm over 60, mate. Have you done 18 of them or something? I have done 18 of them. And many more before, many other shows before that. I've been at the network for 25 years. Phillip Island. Yep. That's going to be a...

That's going to be a big challenge. Yeah, it was a big challenge and...

You know, it can have some weather because it sits on the edge of Bass Strait. But, you know, we were pretty lucky with that. But logistically, it's two hours from Melbourne. So you've got to get your goods in there and you've got to make sure your deliveries are right. And if you forget something, you're in a bit of strife. You've got a two-hour drive, which is four hours, and pick up the stuff. So that was tough. It was a lot of planning, extra planning that went in there. And tempers were flared at times and it was a bit tough. It got a little bit Alcatraz-y at the end, Philip. LAUGHTER

Is there a pub or anything they can go to? There's a couple of pubs here that we... Don't worry, I'll go to the Christmas party at the pub.

They know me well there. Good fun, though. Yeah, we had a good time. And, you know, we always love doing it. I love getting there and meeting the new kids that come in and managing them and getting them across the line. Our goal is to get them across the line and get them to finish it and make a quit at the end. We want everyone to succeed. We never set anyone up to fail. That's not our go. And we want you to finish it and we'll help you along the way if you're struggling.

finish it and make some money at auction. That's all we're after. Any rule changes this year? Not really. We had a few changes along the way and we had a few

from what we were calling block royalty, our past contestants, coming along over the 20 years, which was terrific. And they joined in a few dinners and things like that. So that's good to see some old faces. And we had a little bit of controversy along the way. The first four weeks is pretty interesting. I think the folks at home will be hanging on the edge of their seats. You've had storm-offs, you've had blow-ups, you've had everything over the years. Yes, and we've got a few things happening this year too, let me tell you. Yeah.

People were blowing up their raincoats like an Alcatraz and trying to cross the island. I love the blow-ups. They're very good television. What's the background of some of the contestants? What do we know about them? Yeah, we've got them from Queensland, South Australia, Perth, and New South Wales, Melbourne as well. So it's a cross-section of the country. And we've got a few trades in there, a few non-trades. We've got a few...

You know, cranky couples that have a few blues with each other. Early on too, we're trying to calm them down. It's like it's day three. Calm down. You've got a long way to go. Steph and Gian. They were my favourite from last year. I think they were. I love Steph and Gian. They were hard workers. Seriously talented. You know, Steph, totally inexperienced and never really renovated before at all. He was IT. He worked like a Trojan. He worked and worked all day.

And all night. And Steph was a brilliant designer. And she worked really hard helping him and also getting that design right on her CAD system and all that. So, mate, they were brilliant. And that's why they were successful. Because you've got to have all your planets aligned on the block. You've got to build a great house. You've got to design a great house. Create an emotional connection. Get a good real estate agent. Get a good auctioneer.

Marty Fox. He was interesting last year. Is he back? He is back. Neil Wittig has got some other commitments and family commitments as well. So he's a step down and Marty Fox has stepped in. So he's doing a great job and we really like Marty being there because he's giving us a real estate concept of the judging. So we've got the designers but

Now he's looking at it from a real estate point of view, which is a good idea. And it's good for the folks at home too. So they're seeing what he thinks, if you're doing a renovation at home, what would be good for resale in the future and things like that. So I like that concept. We haven't got Keith this year either.

No Keithy. No Keithy. He had family commitments as well with his daughters. He's all right. He couldn't move to Phillip Island for three months like we all do. And so he stepped down this year as well because he's got young kids. Because with us, it's seven days a week and we live there on the island and I don't go home. I come home three and a half months later. All right.

So Foreman Dan is the sole foreman this year. He's the sole foreman and he's got his hands full. Terrible looking bloke, isn't he? Yeah, that's right. Definitely.

Dan's having a baby, mate. Is he? Yes, it's his first bub, so that's terrific. We're very excited for him. I'm not speaking out of school. I'm pretty sure I've said that on Instagram. Hope he's family, though. I'm sure. I do now. All right, Scotty, 7 o'clock tonight? Yeah, thanks, mate. Yes, 7.30. 7.30 tonight. I can't remember. Channel 9 and 9 now. Good on you, Scotty. Got to say 9 now. What a legend.

Scotty Cam, everybody. The Block, 7.30 tonight, Channel 9 and 9. Now, it's one of Australia's favourite television shows, of course, Channel 9, the owner of this radio station. But The Block, it's a hell of a treat every year when it comes around.

Alright, do you want to win some free fuel? 131873. It's all thanks to Shell V-Power. 131873. 200 bucks of free petrol coming your way if you can play the quiz. Just quickly before we get to the quiz, Sam's called in from Penrith. Sam, you've seen something on the M4, have you? No, Sam's gone. If you want to win the...

If you want to win the $200 of fuel, there's something going on in the M4. We'll figure out what that is and we'll bring it to you next. On 2GB Drive, let's duel for fuel. We are dueling for fuel this Monday afternoon. I've got $200 of free stuff for you, all thanks to Shell V-Power. Rod's at Russell Lee. G'day, Rod. How are you going, mate? I'm doing my best, Rod. How are you going? Terrific for a Monday. That's the way, Rod. Gary's at Culbaro. G'day, Gary.

G'day Chris, happy Monday to you too. And to you Gary, you ready to kick us off? Yep. Alright, your time starts now. At this stage, the new WA NRL team will be called the Perth Bears or the Western Bears? Western Bears. Correct. Mark Viduka represented Australia in which sport? Soccer. Correct. Which Hollywood actor appeared at the Olympics closing ceremony? Tom Cruise. Correct. Democratic Vice President nominee Tim Waltz is currently the Governor of which state, Minnesota or Alabama?

Minnesota. Correct. Which ocean would you find Hawaii? Pacific. Well done, Gary. Fives. Well done. Outstanding effort. Rod, you there? Yes, mate. Here we go. You've got to get six. It's a big ask. Your time starts. You can do it. Now, after finishing with the Dragons in 2011, which NRL team did Darius Boyd play for? Broncos. Newcastle. True or false, a marsupial is a type of mammal?

Correct. True. Pineapple. Brazilian. Half. Close. Piano. Gary, 200 bucks of free petrol coming your way thanks to Shell V-Power. It is the jewel for fuel. Gee whiz. The second tranche of questions were much harder than the first.

We'll try to even it up a bit next time. We play the duel for fuel thanks to Shell V-Power every afternoon here on Drive. And now, a preview of what's coming up on Wide World of Sports. And Adam Hawes has got Wide World of Sports coming up next. Hawesby, the Olympics are open. Over, sorry. They're not open. They're closed. They're closed, mate. They're gone.

But there's still plenty to talk about, Chris. As you know, you would have seen the match at Coggera. Big judiciary hearing coming up. Your man, Kyle Flanagan, charged with biting Stephen Criter. So we're going to talk about that. Can you put your nose in someone's mouth? No. I've got a few opinions on this.

I mean, what do you expect when you insert a nose and a mouth? There are teeth in there. You're going to get a nip, aren't you? So I think that should get taken into account. Whether he still needs to have one or two weeks is up to the judiciary, but he certainly can't be hammered for this, I don't think. Crichton was the instigator.

I agree wholeheartedly. That's a surprise. Anyway, Freddie might have a completely different view. Our listeners might have a different view. We'll hear from them through the show. Plenty of league news. Blaise Talangi off to the Panthers. Ewan Aikens off to the Rabbitohs with Wayne Bennett. We'll chat about that. What about Joey Manu delivering his baby by the side of his bed? Nothing he can't do. Nothing he can't do. Except continue in the NRL, which he should be doing. Yeah.

And we've got Fletcher Sharp coming on the show. This Knights whiz kid. Four tries against the Tigers. That try yesterday. On halftime. Oh, special. Voddy and I were sitting there playing with Henry and we both just watched it and started laughing out loud. It was just, you know, it was Caelan Ponger brilliance and then this kid clearly can play. Oh, looking forward to chatting with him. He's from the Cessna Goannas.

Same club as Joey Johns. So he's got good pedigree there. What's going on with the Eels? We'll talk about that later. I'm still getting over the heartbreak, mate. It was harsh. It was tough. It was harsh. But it was very Parramatta, wasn't it? It's not over until it's over. It has typified our season, yes. Good on you, Horsey. Thanks, mate. It's all right.

The great Adam Horse. He's coming up next with Wide World of Sports. That's it from me. If you've got anything you want me to look into, drive at 2GB.com. Your catchphrase for tomorrow with Ben Fordham, I'll just say it one more time, Pronto, the name of Levy's restaurant. Pronto is the catchphrase to win $1,000 from 5.30 tomorrow morning. Bye-bye. ♪