On two GB AD network stations.
This is Afternoons with Michael McLaren.
Well, it is good afternoon. Thank you. Let's get another week underway, shall we.
It is June sixteen, that must be, and it's a Monday, and it's nice to have your company.
It's beautiful outside. It's cold, but it's it's a very nice day.
And that thunderstorm that rolled through it about was about twenty to six last night where I was. That came out of nowhere, anyway it went and it did what it did. And a beautiful sky out there today. One three one eight seven three. Nice to have you there with us. Hope you had a good weekend. You can get in touch via text. Many do that these days, don't they Zero four six zero eight seven three eight seven three. There's always the email two GB dot com
click on the feedback icon. We've got eyes everywhere at the moment. One eye on what's happening in the Middle East, one eye domestically, the Prime ministers in Canada for the G seven, a meeting with Donald Trump on the horizon, and of course all sorts of other stuff going on.
We need a lot of eyes.
We're across it all for you, and we'll do our best to cover it between now and three, and then we tag team with Clinton. In the middle of all of that, we've got to give away something as well, with this wonderful winter wheel. Now I've got it here beside me, with a sort of a blue interpretation of Elepricorn's hat. I don't know what that's doing there. Perhaps that's is that communal?
Is it?
Mark's worn that and we've sprayed it, and now I get to wear it, and oh we haven't sprayed it.
Oh okay, we might have to do that.
But anyway, we've got that, and I think up to twenty five hundred dollars and there's prizes and all sorts of wonderful things on the wheel to warm up your winter days like today.
So stay listening for the queue to call.
Later in the program, after one o'clock, I want to catch up with Matt Kochin now. Matt is the CEO of Members Health Fund Alliance, and the message is pretty simple, although it is a timely reminder that those of us with private health should be utilizing our health insurance extras
before the end of the financial year. I'm as guilty as probably most of you having some sort of level of cover, and it comes with certain extras, and we've been pretty careful to try to limit those because we know we're not going to use them, so why pay for them. But you tend to get some lumped in with whatever package you want these days because the health insurance know that you'll pay and not use it, and that helps their bottom line.
So that's the business model, right.
But nonetheless, there is a way to try to get some bang for your buck, and that is to use them but for optical or dental or something to do for hearing or whatever it is. So a bit of a reminder of some of the tips and the traps and the ideas, Matt will give us those after one o'clock.
In that same hour, Trent Nikolach will be back with us from Drive the best in the business, Trent drive dot com dot You get your motoring questions ready for the great man travel Long no stranger to the program, but he'll be with us in the final hour and I'll ask him a couple of questions about these home security systems which are proliferating like mushrooms in the suburbs.
A lot of people now have a video security system in their home or on the outside of their home, some of them inside the home, and we know why. It's a preventative. The theory is that the burglar comes to the front door or wherever they they see the camera and think.
Oh, maybe I'll try next door.
And in a number of cases, I'm sure it works that way, but not in all. And there are some risks of having these systems, many of which are now connected to the cloud.
There are some security risks, some privacy risks. Will outline all of those.
I know that in Queensland the police put together like a whole cheat sheet effectively for what homeowners should be doing to secure their properties. And in Queensland you've got youth crime and the whole thing's a mess. Right, they're doing something about it. But this would have instigated a lot of people saying, listen, honey, maybe we should just go and buy one of these systems.
We keep hearing about it.
Can't do any harm, and I think on balance that's right. But the police say, look, there's a whole lot of things you should be doing, essentially before you go and get the camera. So we'll look at all of that, and I'd be interested just how many of you out there in listener land do have cameras now as part of your home security arsenal? You know, when I grew up a lot of people having an alarm system, and yeah, the threshold was breached and off it went, and that
was it. And you put a lock on your front door and your back door, and maybe a couple of deadlocks on the windows if you're in a bad area, and that was sort of that was it. Some people had a dog, you know, the thing on the gate, Beware of the dog, the chihah.
Okay.
But now it's all very sophisticated. I mean, you can pick these things up at Bunnings, so I guess a lot of people have invested in them. But you know, there's good ones and bad ones. So we'll speak to Trevor about all of that. We've got track of the day, We've got everything coming your way to stay with us. One three, one eight seven three right on quarter pass twelve, we'll look on Friday. Israel decided to strike a run,
decisively and hard. In a set of precision attacks months in the planning and involving agents on the ground behind enemy lines. They hit nuclear facilities missile silos and intelligence hubs in the dead of night, and really one of the most incredible military operations of modern times. Now, in the days that have followed, both sides have been trading blows. Araun just a matter of minutes ago hit an energy installation in Haifa in Israel, so it's going tit for tat.
But despite those few Iranian missiles that have hit their target, there is no doubt the Israelis are in the ascendency, and their intelligence services and technical capability are clearly superior. But I've got to say I am a bit shocked by just how many people have said to me that they're surprised that the Israelis have done what they've done
at this time. I mean, clearly, too many people have failed to put themselves in Jerusalem shoes and to see the geostrategic situation from their perspective, because it's only when you do that that you appreciate why now is the obvious time to hit Iran and it's rapidly developing nuclear program. Now in short, with Hezbollah and Hamas badly depleted, the hooths weakened in Yemen and a sad now out of Syria, Iran's ford flank, their buffer zone, as it were, appears
impotent for the first time in decades. The semi destruction opens up the road to Tehran, or perhaps I should say the flight path to Tehran for Israel to exploit. Now no doubt Israeli leaning into that old sporting analogy,
namely that offense is the best form of defense. And having watched the eye told as men continue to develop their nuclear capability to the point where some say they are a matter of weeks away from weaponizing it, should they choose The Israelis have struck preemptively to go and remove the risk, and it is self defense, but not just for Israel's sovereignty, because by weakening Iran's nuclear capacity, Israel have actually done the entire Western hemisphere of favor.
Although in the immediacy of the conflict that might not seem clear to everyone just now, but in the long term, a badly weakened, non nuclear armed Iran is the key to stability in the Middle East. Iran have been the puppet masters behind the majority of the turbulence in that part of the world, whilst they've of course been feeding Putin's war machine on the side and now the regime, well, that's in a fight for its own survival. So for everyone's sake, and especially that of the people of Iran,
let's hope it's a fight that that resume loses. Because we've got to be clear here, just as criticism of China isn't a criticism of the Chinese people, the Israeli attacks on Iran shouldn't be interpreted as an attack on the Iranian people. They're a strike at the heart of the Islamist regime that suffocated those same people since nineteen
seventy nine. But whether the precision strikes on nuclear facilities and key leaders will be enough to incubate a broader uprising within Iran against that regime, or whether conversely, it'll actually engender a reactive swirl of nationalism, well, I mean that's yet to be seen. What comes of this, that's yet to be seen, of course, waiting in America, ready to return to the peacock throne as the exiled crown prince.
But with all of that said, I guess many are asking what should Australia and Australians learn from recent events? Are there lessons from this escalation that we should absorb well, in a word, the answer is yes, and the most
obvious concerns defense. Now, as Australia squabbles over whether to spend this percent or that percent of GDP on defense, we're really wasting valuable time not debating the real question, which is this, what do we need to spend to have the ability to become the military porcupine of Southeast Asia? In other words, what kit do we need to acquire, what capabilities so that any potential adversary will think twice about striking us because of the damage doing that would
cause to them. Now, like the porcupine, sure a big hand could grab it and hurt it, but not without serious consequences. That's got to be the Australian mindset, and that's been That's got to be our vision, it was Israel's vision. And whether that means spending two and a half or three or three and a half percent of GDP, that's secondary. You need the vision and accompanying blueprint first.
But the other issue we've got to immediately face, I think concerns internal cohesion here now, at this time, it is crucial that our political and policing figures get on the front foot and remind Australians that people among us who happen to be Jewish are not to be treated as the personification of the state of Israel. They are not fair game to be abused, attacked, or ostrastized because
of their shared faith with that nation state. And no doubt, the weekly street protests are about to werve back into action following Israel's latest escalation. And as I've always said, responsible protest is an intrinsic element of our democratic system. But I'd ask those marching against Israel to spare just a moment to consider what Iran is at present and what it could be if the Iotola and his crew were to step aside. Indeed, what the whole Middle East
could be if that were to happen. To imagine what might be possible if Iran were to abandon any nuclear ambitions that they may harbor. You see, the Iranian people have a great and proud history, but it's being squandered and suppressed by a hard line Islamic theocracy. And none of this is to say that Israel is perfect, or that it doesn't have hard line nationalists within its own government,
none of that. But those who can't comprehend why they've hit Iran in this way at this time, need to put themselves in Jerusalem's shoes twenty four past twelve right on the dot. The reason I use those last words there just to try to ask that people just take some perspective of what's happening here and not to target
Jewish Australians as the personification of Israel. I mean, you can think whatever you want about Israe, you can think whatever you want about a nation state, but you don't go and target people who might share a common faith with the majority of people in those countries as oh well they're fair game. That's not what you do. We've seen too much of it and it's wrong. I fear
that we're going to see more of this again. The pro Palestine marches have quiet and down recently in the rest of it, but I think it's all going to wherr back up. And the reason I think that is just seeing what's happening around the world, you know, and we tend to follow the trend. In the United Kingdom over the weekend there were big pro Palestine marches in
London where the people were chanting stop bombing Iran. So they're conflating the whole thing, right, But you know, I would urge those people even if they've got family in Iran. I understand no one wants to see another nation state bomb some other state, but they're going to understand why it's happening and instead of going out there saying, oh, don't bomb Iran. As if the Iranian people are being targeted.
The chances are a lot of these people are living in London because they couldn't make a go of it living under the.
Iotolers in Iran.
There's a reason why the professional class largely has gone abroad because there's not much hope for them in Iran. And so really, you know, rational people would be hoping that maybe these bombing and targeting the nuclear facilities, the energy facilities, the leading generals and intelligence chiefs and military types within the Itoler's regime will be the spark that can create the uprising to find the get rid of the Iotoler's regime which have wreaked havoc on Iran since
nineteen seventy nine. There is a better future over the horizon if they do it. So I just wonder whether these people in Western cities that go out protesting in favor of Iran think before they do it, or is this some sort of just muscle memory thing that goes on some just obvious reaction that they think they have to do. And as for those that have no Iranian background but are worried about the bombing of Iran, well, I mean, you know, how many of you understand what
life is like for the Iranian people in Iran? You know, I just suspect a lot of people don't think. And it's not to say that you have to be a champion of the state of Israel to the point of being its quasi ambassador, but you know that you've got to think about what Iran is like, and what it's like for women, what it's like for homosexuals, what it's like for people who aren't quote unquote your standard male. It's not pleasant and it's not going to change unless
the regime changes. First three one, eight, seven three. A lot of feedback coming through, Thank you for that. A lot about the security systems. Funnily enough, Sandra says, how ironic that getting a modern security system can itself be a security risk. Well, quite right, someone here says home security. I'm a bit old school. I still get along and I just talk to the neighbors. It's true when you like I am and fortunate to live in a part of a street where all the neighbors get on and they
keep an eye out for each other. That is your best form of home security. Your eye on holidays, the neighbors keep an eye out for you, and they put the bins in, put the bins.
Out, collect the mail.
That makes it look like there's someone home there, your eyes and ears.
It's the way it used to be.
That as we all become, not all, but generally, the trend is to be less neighborly, less familiar with those around you, we sort of retreat into our own little silos. Increasingly we're losing a bit of that, and that's sad on a number of levels. It's certainly sad on a security point of view. James makes a good point with health. He says, a tip for the listeners, stop paying for extras.
You don't need them. They only extras. You can just have hospital cover to avoid the hefty tax debts, but just get rid of the extra payments and put it into a savings account. Keep those amounts going and put it in a separate account. And if you need to pay for anything so called extra, well you'll have the money there set aside to do it for the rainy day.
It's a pretty good tip. You've just got to be disciplined.
Sam says, not only do I have an eight camera system, wow eight, but I also have a missile defense system called a very alert Belgian MALINOIR. I pity the fool that sets foot through the door. That's from Sam on the Porcupine theory. John says, that's not quite the case. We need the Echidneer theory. After all, we're Australian's point taken.
Good a James, Oh hey you gone, Michael, Well, I'm just ringing up. My wife's been talking about this seas. My wife's Persian, yep, I'm Iranians, and she's been talking about this for years, waiting for the opportunity for the people to have some sort of freedom. Every year, on an average, six hundred to seven hundred women alone get murdered by the government over there, just for basic stuff, a bit of hair not in the wrong position or whatever.
And they pick them up off the streak, they put them. They're pushed into a vent and taken away and killed, and not just killed, but they're tortured then killed, you know. So it's and you don't hear about this on our media yet, not one bit of what happens to the people in their arm It's atrocious and they've started to rise already after the attacks. Israel has helped them a lot.
To be honest, Well, it could be the catalyst for change.
I'm not sure we're seeing enough of a groundsworld just yet, but maybe it'll come. I think it depends on the strength of the Iranian economy.
I mean, the.
Israeli targets have been very person They're not just going in and bombing neighborhoods or anything like that. They are hitting it seems very selective targets and doing it with incredible precision. There will be collateral, that's a great tragedy, but they do seem very careful at this point as
to what they're hitting when and how. And if they cripple Iran's economy, then that could be the straw that breaks the camels back for the iotolers, because without money then people will rise up, particularly if they are offered a better way by an alternative. Now, whether the alternative is the crown Prince who's in exile in the United States, he comes back and forms a constitutional monarchy of sorts.
I mean, I don't know, but what's there at the moment isn't working in the best interests of your average Iranian. For some men it's great, but for the majority, it's bad. And the sanctions and everything else that come with it are crippling. And look, I wouldn't be surprised if the next targets of the Israelis are the ports in South Iran.
I mean, if they start hitting the ports, Iran, which is a net of a range of essential products, is crippled, and if that's what they strike, then you know it could be going on over there.
James, thank you.
I really appreciate your call and the knowledge there firsthand from your wife one three one eight seven three. It's twenty seven to one stacks of feedback about the security systems. We'll cover all that off for Trevor Long in the final hour, but while we're still talking about it, Brett says, I recently fitted some dummy cameras.
At our place.
While I was putting them up, I noticed the instructions on the box which said if this product doesn't meet your expectations, please call our helpline.
Fat lot of good that'll do good on your Brett well observed.
Scotty says, my best mate's a cop, and he says there are countless times he's seen footage where it would be thief sites.
A camera turns and leaves.
Now you know we're in a suburb where you have one of these local Facebook groups. I think every suburb's now got one of these sort of things, you know, friends of whatever suburb Facebook group. It's a bit like the digital version of neighborhood Watch and daily because my wife shows me all these things daily. There are people posting security camera footage from their patio or front door, annex or whatever it is of young men dressed in a lot of dark clothing milling around at sort of midnight,
obviously not dropping off meals for wheels. So it can come in handy, certainly, I would imagine from a police point of view, if they're trying to gather evidence, you said, well I've been broken into, and oh, by the way, here's the footage, Go and find these dudes. It can no doubt come in handy. Diane says, I live in a colder sack, and everyone knows and helps and looks out for each other.
It's the only way to live.
Anthony on the situation they released, says the problem with the attack being a catalyst for change, He says, I fear a more extreme leader would seize power on the back of the anti Israel sentiment.
Well, there is that concern. That is an option.
But if the Iranian people were smart, they would go in the opposite direction.
But I guess the ball will be in their courts.
Winter Wheel Okay, Now we're turning up the heat, as you know, with up to forty thousand dollars worth of cash and prizes to be one on Twogb's Winter Wheel. Now we're spinning the wheel in breakfast mornings right here on afternoons. I've been working out all weekend to make sure I do a beautiful spin for you.
Has Sydney.
Now Clinton hasn't been working out. I had a look at his arm today. Not much happening.
There.
Should be doing a few setups or push ups or something. Come on, Clinton, it's a big, heavy wheel. This one be embarrassing. If you couldn't turn it like that'd be really that'd be unfortunate, wouldn't it. You know, he go for the big spin and it goes does one anyway. I'm not saying it's going to come to that, but
just four warned is fore armed. So what you got to do is listen to the que to call later in the show, and you could spin and win with Twogb's Winter Wheel, and there's some fantastic cash and some wonderful prizes that aren't cash. You are going to be happy no matter what you get. So stayed listening to
that cue to call later in the show. When you hear it, I want you to jump on the prize line, all right, when you hear it later in the show, the prize line, jot it down, by the way, put it in your put it in your phone, speed dial one three hundred seven, double two eight seven to three.
Now, just before we take another break.
That security story, security camera story I was referring to earlier, that was by a journalist in the ABC over over the weekend or overnight.
Interesting story.
Will do with it later, But there was another aspect to it that had nothing to do with security, more to do with style in the journalistic sense. That caught my attention and I wonder. I don't know, Maybe we should ask the ABC if this is now their policy. I don't know, but there does seem to be a secondary aspect of this story, and it goes to the way that the journalist describes locations. Let me give you an example, paragraph two quote he has four cameras outside
his unit at Sunshine Auth in Melbourne on Warunjuri country. Yeah, okay, get what I'm getting at here. Later in the story, example number two, Alistair Baines manages a company based in Warunjuri slash Box Hill, South Victoria. Four paragraphs below that as Berneau, a lecturer in Technology and crime at Griffith
University on com Bameeri Lands slash Gold Coast. And then later in the story, Rick Browners, Deputy director at the Australian Institute of Criminology at Nunea Wall slash Barton in the act, is this now the ABC's policy to indigenize place names often before the actual name that we actually recognize and know when you punch it into the GBS?
Or is this just a.
Journalist doing their own thing and trying to start a trend.
I don't know. Am I going to lose any sleepover it.
No, but it's kind of interesting that the national broadcast have decided this is what they're going to do.
Now.
I know on SBS when they do the weather at about twenty five past seven at the end of their SBS news and I watched the It's Good News service, But at the end they do all the city names in the traditional name Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra or whatever, and then they sort of fade in and out and back we go and we get all the indigenous names.
So yeah, what is it? Namas Melbourne?
And I don't know what Sydney is and the way you gominge and I think is Brisbane. And now knowledge is power, Okay, so we learn something. Maybe that's all it is. But where is this going to head anywhere further? Or are we going to Yeah? I see, I just think back. Call me a conspiracy theorist. Maybe this is
the overnights in me coming out seeping through. But years and years ago, when you go back to the Sydney Olympics, there was a push on by some and it was roundly defeated because it was crazy, but there was a push on by some to go and rename a lot of our landmarks in indigenous names to the point I think where the Sydney Harbor Bridge was going to get
a name. Now, to the best of my knowledge, that sort of engineering technology had not existed in Australia prior to the arrival of Europeans, so finding the name for something like that would have been fascinating. But nonetheless there was a bit of a push on for this sort of thing, and then it faded away and then it comes back. So I don't know. This isn't coming from government, but the ABC is an arm of government as the national broadcaster.
I just wonder if this is the new style guide. Now.
I've been told that in the New South Wales schooling system there have been a number of examples in practice maths tests and this sort of thing where the problem to be solved. Let's say it's a train going from point A to point B and you're trying to work out the average speed or something. You know, you get the numbers, it's an equation, but instead of saying the trains going from Hornsby to Tara Maura or something, well, Taramara is a bad example because that's an indigenous thud.
But you know what I mean.
They give all of these indigenous names, and so maybe the children are a bit confused.
Is this a bad thing? No, I'm not saying it's bad, but could it be a little confusing? Yeah, it could be.
And if this is a deliberate policy to start co naming everything, then maybe that should be transparent. Maybe the ABC, if this is the Polishes, say yeah, there's what we're doing.
Okay, fine, I said, I mean, it's fascinating.
I suppose to a certain extent to understand that the gold Coaster is on whatever land or okay, or that Barton in the Act is not a wall. I mean, I didn't know that. Do I need to know it? Probably not. But there again, there's a lot about what we learn in history classes. We don't really need to know, but we learn it, and it adds to the body of No. But I just wonder if this is sort of being brought in via stealth, or if this is a deliberate policy, or as I said, this is just
a journal going on a frolic. I don't know, but you might have noticed this in some other places.
I know.
Ben was running that story last week about the Gosford Hospital where the emergency room is being translated as sick cave in the local Indigenous language. I think the rationale is to make Indigenous people feel more welcome or something like that when they attend the emergency I didn't know they didn't feel welcome in the first place.
But it does seem a little bit.
Forced, doesn't it. You know, Okay, emergency room, sick cave. We get the connection. But before modern hospital and medical equipment arrived in Australia or was developed in Australia, these concepts weren't known. So we're sort of making it up a bit. I think they're trying to square pegs in round holes. And whether it adds to the sum total of knowledge, I don't know. You might have a thought on that one three, one eight seven three it's quarter to one. Just on the dual naming policy of SLASH.
Is it a policy, We don't know. We're seeking clarification, but it'd be fascinating if that then seeps through every aspect of government.
I suspect it will.
I think we're just seeing the opening salvo as it were here, because imagine when the RMS get hold of this. If the street signs aren't confusing enough already, imagine driving up Victoria Roads slash whatever the traditional name is, because you know, like, okay, Paramatter Roads a bit of a confusing example, because paramatter is an anglicized version of borrow matter, I think, which is the Indigenous word for the place where the eels meet, or words to that effect. Hence
the paramatter eels and all the rest. But that route between where the Colony of Sydney was and the governmental center out at Paramatter or Camellia rose Hill as it was, that I think was also a fairly well trodden traditional Indigenous route. So there may in fact be a kind of name that could be applied to that particular track, as it were. But beyond that it could be a little confusing. But let's just see what happens, could I rod?
I'm just scringing about the indigenous doings on the ABC.
Yes, they have.
A welcome to country before the football course every weekend on the radio and on the radio, Welcome to Country, Welcome to the grounds that this game has been played on. All this sort of garbage. There's been three this year from New Zealand and they still do a welcome to country and the games in New Zealand.
Okay, that's interesting.
And they also done it when the game was in Vegas.
They go, hey, your kid, No, well, how could you do it from Vegas.
I'm not kidding, it's just it's just a thing that put on every week before the football Welcome the country.
Okay, but but but what country? What country have been welcome to in Las Vegas?
And what country you're been welcome to in New Zealand.
Well they could say a to row in New Zealand, or so, I mean there is a Polynesian I suppose connection or whatever in that whole background welcome the country.
When they do welcome the country here that's Torres, Straight Islanders and Indigenous austrange Yeah.
I know, but I'm just trying.
I'm just trying to get to the bottom of of of you know, what what the Vegas welcome was.
I mean, what the traditional lands of who?
No, the traditional lands of the people of this scattery of Australia in vague take any notice where the game's coming from.
Oh right, okay, they.
Just put it on automatically, so to welcome the country even if you're not on country yep, right, Okay, Well that's that's why I just stretched the imagination, right, I must admit, because if I'm listening to the football, I'm obviously listening to continuous call to him because I listen.
To the best.
But if that's what they do, that's a kind of a stretch of friendship.
I suppose.
Welcome to the traditional lands of whatever. We're here in Las Vegas this week. It's okay, Can someone else confirm that one for me? One three, one eight seven three. Troy suggests that Paramatter actually means place of many parking fines, which.
Might be true.
As someone who got his l's and p's very gradually in the great city of Paramatter, I can tell you it's the place of many one way streets that cost me a fair bit of money. One three one eight seven three. Now to the energy mixed situation. Obviously, we've been focusing here on the show about what Victoria are trying to achieve by twenty thirty and then twenty forty, which is to be completely renewable energy with a bit
of battery backup and whatever. Mind you, they're not going to sever the connecting ties to New South Wales and Tasmania and South Australia with the national energy market. They're not so courageous, should I say, not so stupid as to think they can do it completely on their own. But they do have this road map, blue blueprint, whatever you want to call it. It is a document of fantasy,
of course, but they've produced it. Nonetheless, that suggests by x state and it's not that far down the track that they will be virtually completely renewably reliant.
Now it's interesting.
They'll look at the national energy fuel mix today, the snapshot that I last got updated at eleven thirty in the morning, and say, well, look, you know, we've got some hope because at eleven thirty this morning, forty eight percent of Victoria's generation was coming from wind, forty one
percent from brown coal. But bear in mind, in a couple of years time, or three or five or whatever year's time, that brown coal will be zero because it'll be decommissioned, and so the renewable's going to have to pick up the slack. Sola was giving about nine percent of the grid. Two percent was hydro gas hadn't been activated. That will be a very significant figure in the year's ahead because without coal and without nuclear, gas is going
to be the backup. So they'll look at that today in spring Street and say, well, look, okay, we're halfway there. But of course, if they're being honest, they have a favorable day as far as the wind conditions are concerned. This time last week wind was producing about five percent. So let's look north of the border, because of course, if it falls in a heap in Victoria, they'll be relying on generation coming from other jurisdictions to plug the gap.
So what's New South Wales doing today? Well, I wouldn't be relying on our wind infrastructure, as extensive as it is. Two percent. Two percent of generation in New South Wales was from all of those wind turbines. Two percent solar was healthy at thirty four I'll granted that, But sixty three percent of the grid was coming from old King coal black coal. Now again, I'm not telling you all of this to say that we should have coal forever
or we should have no coal. I'm energy agnostic, but you know that I very much think we should be smart and introduce nuclear to the grid to have the option of guaranteed base load power that is zero emissions and from an efficiency point of view, and this is the point that's always overlooked. Yes, nuclear is expensive, but it is the most efficient form of energy generation that
we have developed as a race, as a species. Now in the future we may be able to better it, but it'll be a damn efficient system because nuclear is enormously efficient pound for pound compared even to coal. It absolutely leaves wind and solar and the rest in the shade. So if productivity is based off efficiency, which it generally is in the economy, we would be wise to be investing in the most efficient form of generation. It happens to have the added bonus for the environmentalist inclined of
being zero immersions, and that's nuclear. That's not renewables anyway. So it's a tale of two states at this point in time. But often those charts are easily interchangeable. It's quite frequently that in Victoria brown coal as well over fifty or sixty percent of the grid on any given day, any given moment. With that being phased out, they are going to be in a world of pain, a world of pain, and it will be within our lifetimes. I think that we experience it. As I said, if they
avoid it, I'll eat humble pie. But I'm not feeling peckish at the moment. Just quietly one three one eight seven three five to one, Greg asking on the text, do we know how the energy supply works when Victoria's run out and New South Wales is running at full capacity? Does it mean New South Wales goes without in order to supply Victoria? Sort of in the minute, I've got
my understanding. Greg is not quite like that. But you have a national energy market, and so you've got generators that are supplying energy into the grid, the Eastern Coast grid, and if for example, VIC Torria were to have all of their generation capacity explode, the demand is still there from the consumers and the industries, and so the generating capacity out of Queensland, South Australia and New South past
Tasmania is asked to go full throttle. Gas would be brought on peaking plans, but the price of the energy produced would go through the roof because the seller can demand much higher prices for the product that they're selling. It's sort of supply and demand in the traditional economic sense. And so would there then be brownouts and shortages? Look, that would depend on contractual arrangements in each state, but the price of energy available would be going through the roof.
And so when you have one of your main states short of juice, even if the others are sufficiently covered, there would be a financial knock on effect at the very least. And so I guess we'd all pay for the ideology.
Users up now, Now onto GB and network stations. Back to afternoons with Michael McLaren, all.
Right into the second hour. Thank you for being there with us.
I'd forgive you if you weren't, because it's a beautiful day outside, a nice day to go and walk the dog or I don't know, whatever you want to do. If you're working from home, I don't know how productive you would be on a day like today.
If the garden is calling the garden.
I did a bit of gardening over the weekend yesterday before the storm hit the footballs on what that is, before it got dark out there weeding and it's just it's that kind of the weather's been very conducive to the weeds. I don't know what's going on. The bulbs are coming through, they're looking good. I've read Graham Ross's latest magazine and so I was reading the articles. You've got to fertilize the bulbs now with I think.
It was what would we do? It was hanging on what was it that we were throwing on it? Blood and bone? That was it?
Blood and bone for the bulbs. I think, so over that goes and they've got blood and bone that now doesn't smell like blood and bone. Remember in the old days blood and bone. Dad used to have it under the house. We had the garage and they had the sort of the manhole under the house there and the mob was hid and everything used to be hid, and you used to get it out and you could smell it from three and a half miles away like it was. It was horrendous, right, and you thought, well, if it
smells this bad, it's gotta work. Like anything that stinks this bad is going to really make the roses blue.
And it did.
But now they I don't know, it's smellless either that or I've lost my sense of smell one of the two. But I suspect it's the former. Is it just potent? I wonder maybe there's less blood and less.
Bone in it? Whatever? Anyway, But where was I?
Oh, the gardening, I was doing the weeding, that's right. So they've done the weeding bit of it, and there's a lot more to do. It's like, I don't know.
You pull all these weeds out and you sort of look back.
And admire what you've done, and you think, oh, that's good hard work, and then you can see them coming through. Yeah, you've only just stopped. And then these little green bugge's through they coming. Oh god, anyway, such as life one three one eight seven three, the open line number, don't forget after the half pass news, Trent will be here with drives to get all your motoring questions ready. In fact, he's in the building already rugged up and ready to go.
He's got a I think a jack of it. Richard Burton was rocking in the nineteen seventies. It looks very good. So he's here and we've got obviously spin the wheel, the winter wheel, the two GB winter whel wonderful prizes. Stay listening for that cue to call one three one eight seven three. Well, we are approaching the end of the financial year, fast approaching. It's weeks away now, and it is a time of getting the affairs in order, preparing to lodge a tax return.
Of course, yes, got to do that. Although there's sort of.
Fun things that July brings. But one thing that people may not think about is private health insurance benefits, dental, optical, physio psychology. All of these are typically included in private health cover of one sort and they come with annual limits, but you pay for them, and it means either at the end of the financial year or in some cases at the end of the calendar year, benefits reset and if unused, well the allowance just expires. They don't roll over.
So if you're paying top dollar for your private health cover, I think it is worth getting the most out of your plan and using the benefits that you have before July one, if indeed that is the threshold.
Now it is a big issue for a lot of Australians.
More than half of the Australian population have some level of cover in a private health fund, thirteen point six million of us to be precise. So using your benefits doesn't necessarily mean you're just treating problems that you may already have. Thousands of people have private health cover without any major pre existing conditions. But these extras, as it were, they are the things that are quite easily accessible, but
a lot of people just leave them wasted money. Well, Matt coch is the CEO of the Member's Health Fund Alliance. I thought we'd have a chat to him about this timely reminder, and he's with me on the line. Great to speak, Matt, thank you for your time.
Good to talk, and you provided a great summary there of what extras is. And you know, it's one of those things if you don't use it, you kind of lose it. And some funds have their benefit limits set at the end of the financial year, others on the thirty first of December. But either way, it's a really good time right now to check what your limits are and make the most of your private health insurance. And
these are the things people like to use. So it's like dental checkups, optical checkups, getting new glasses, that sort of thing.
I guess that's so true, because you know, once you've paid, let's say you paid last July or August, when you got around to it, I mean, it's a long time ago, a lot of water under the bridge. You forget that you've put that investment down and that the renewal is about to expire.
You just forget over the nine, ten, eleven, twelve months, don't you.
Well you can, and there's a lot going on in people's lives. There's lots of things you're thinking about other than your health insurance, and unfortunately, we often take our health for granted until something goes wrong. But extras is really good because it's a way to often identify health issues really early or prevent them coming on in the first place. So you get a dental check up, you might find that having a teeth clean is a good
way to prevent getting a filling down the track. Or you might have the dental checkup and they might identify you've got a very early stage tooth decay and they can address that really simply and quickly, whereas if you let things linger, it can often have serious health consequences down the track.
So this isn't just about using your money.
I guess the point you're making is this is actually a pretty decent investment because it could be preventative health in the truest sense.
Of the word.
You go, you've got the financial incentive to go to, say the dentist, they open up your mouth and they do what they were going to do, a clean or whatever's covered, and they oh, hang on, you're going to have to get this scene too, because if you don't.
There's big problems down the track.
Absolutely, and what's more important than your health. It's hard to do things if you don't have good health, and this is a good way to maintain your really good health and stay in good physical condition. Even with some of the optical care, like getting your eyes checked, you can sometimes identify other health issues like cardiac issues through an eye checkup, So you'd be surprised at what they can find out with these checks.
Do we have a sense, Matt just the sum the quantum of money that is spent when the policy is taken out but is never realized in the form of a service having been delivered. It would be in the tens of millions across Australia easily, wouldn't it.
Well look easily. And health insurers actually want people to use their cover, They want them to use their extras because you know, the health insurer wants you to be in good physical shape. They don't want you to be needing a hospital admission or really serious dental or optical work down the track.
So this is a different to the traditional the traditional insurance mindset which is no claim bonus. They're not necessarily into the no claim ideologies that.
Would you say that's right.
Well, look, we just want to make sure people are fit, healthy or in good shape. We don't want you to have to go through the inconvenience of major dental work or having to go in for a procedure that you can avoid. If that can be avoided, that's great for you, and it's great for the Health Fund. Then it'll save everybody money. It'll save your money through a lower premiums.
It'll save you all that inconvenience with what comes with more serious you know work, and you get to be in better physical shape.
When for everybody, just.
On that before we go back to this specific issue. I mean, are we proactively pricing premiums in Australia the
way that we should. We've inundated with technology, there's apps, there's all sorts of ways that people could I think, rather ethically measure the way that they live their life, the way they look after themselves, the way they keep themselves fit, or don't I mean, should we have a more flexible premium system in place whereby those that do the hard yards, eat the right foods, go for the daily walk and the rest of it pay less than those that don't look.
In Australia, we've got called community yes, so it doesn't matter how old you are, or what age, what sex you are, you live, you pay the same premium as everybody else. And it's worked really well for Australia. So you know, over half the Australian population have private health insurance and Australia gets the best health outcomes in the world. We've got best health system on the planet and private health is a key part of achieving that. So we've
actually got a really really good system. The last thing you would want is for someone who's paid private health insurance all their life to get older and then be priced out of it because of their age. That would be really unfair.
The problem is, though a lot of younger people are priced out of it, and without them going in, the older ones aren't being cross subsidized, and so that the system is understrained.
Right well, we are seeing more younger people take out private health insurance now and the pool of people with health insurance is growing, so that's a good thing. And you might be paying a little bit more when you're younger than you would otherwise, but as you get older you'll reap the benefits as well. So health insurance is there for your whole life, and a lot of young people can suffer really serious health issues. You know, you can do a knee or a hip playing sports. Young
people even suffer cardiac issues as well. So health is one of those things that's really unpredictable, and you really want to have private health insurance, especially right now when the waits in the public system are just so long.
I mean, you can be waiting years for elective surgery in the public hospital system, whereas with private health, you're straight in, you get your doctor of choice, you'll get really really good care, and because you're using a private bed in a private hospital, you're actually freeing up a public bed for someone who really really needs it. So it's a great system we've got.
Look, you're talking to the converted, But I bounce around these devil advocate questions because I just wonder whether sort of a more dynamic pricing model. And I don't mean those with pre existing conditions should pay more. I think that's the case of the UK. I think that I don't think we should go down that path. But if you have just some basic metrics, where if someone has a gym membership and utilizes it. And I mean how you monitor the bona fides of the claims. I guess
that's where it gets complicated. But technology is advancing all the time, and you know, if someone's I guess the point is, yes, you've got someone who's eating fourteen burgers a week as opposed to someone's having a largely vegetarian diet with seafood and a little bit of steak occasionally. And one just sits on the lounge and watch the football. The other goes to the gym, and you know, under the scheme, they both pay the same for the same cover.
And I wonder if that's democratic or not.
I don't know, it's it's certainly worth discussing and looking at. I guess from the health insurance funds perspective, they're keen to work with their members on getting them access to dietitians, you know, getting them access to physio. You can even get remedial massage with your private health insurance extras. So it's all about helping people and encouraging people to live health The act is fulfilling lives. It's being part of
that journey. And whereas you know, a medical specialist is there for a particular procedure or a particular surgical operation. The health insurer is there for someone's entire life, so they'll be there through thick and thin, basically from cradle to grave, helping take care of you.
Okay, just back to where we were as far as the extras expiring, as it were, It depends on which business you're with and which policy. Some are the end of the financial use, some of the end of the calendar. It depends on who you're with, Isn't it correct?
And we recommend you know you follow three simple steps. So firstly, check your policy at this time of the year. Understand what your limits are and what the remaining balance is for each of your extra services that's usually available from your health fund's website or app Second one is book appointments. If you've got unused benefits, book those appointments now. This is an ideal time to schedule, even if you know your benefits expire it the end of the calendar
year on thirty first of December. Now is a good time to plan out when you're going to go see the dentists or the optometrists, or get your physio and so forth, and Thirdly, contact the Health Fund if you're unsure about your entitlements or what services you're eligible for, just give the health fund a call, have a chat, get some advice from them. With the not for profit member own health funds, they only exist to serve you,
the consumer. They don't have shareholders, they don't have overseas investors. They're run and owned by the members. So they're going to give you really really good advice and they're going to be really really helpful.
Yeah, well I'm with one of them, and yeah, you've got to choose you You've got to choose your provider carefully.
There's no doubt about that. Good to speak.
I think a bit of timely advice there, Matt, I appreciate your time. Thanks a lot, Matt Coachi, the ceeover the Members Health Fund Alliance Members Health by the way, it's the peak industry body from the lines of twenty four health funds. They're a not for profitable part of a member owned group. Okay, so they're a little different to some of those big corporate funds. But some interesting advice there. But look, I just wonder over to you one, three, one, eight,
seven and three. If you've got private health of whatever extraction with whoever. Are you one of those ones that have some level of extras because when you've taken it out and you've got sort of in the back of the mind maybe I need the dental, so you add it in, but then you never use it, you know.
I mean a lot of us are like that with a lot of things. We buy a.
Slightly inflated package of whatever it is, but never really utilize the full scope of it. I mean, essentially we're wasting money. As our previous correspondence said on the text line, you'd be better off. I mean, I'm not heady to get financial advice, but logic demands you'd be better off instead putting that money into a savings account and just being disciplined and watch you add interest with time.
But we don't. That's I guess human nature.
But are you one of those ones that religiously uses the extras that are available to you that you've paid for every year? I think a lot of people with the glasses do that. Go and get the new pairs reading glasses or whatever prescription glasses you for no other reason, to keep up with the trend or whatever. But beyond that, I don't know. I mean, I think a few people pay and then don't fully use it, and that's a waste.
It's twenty one minutes past one. Don't forget driver trend coming up in about five or so minutes one three, one, eight seven three.
Let's get to all of these calls about health insurance terry today.
Gooday, here you going, good mate.
Thanks.
I'm just calling about the private health of been in private health for a number of years as my wife has. Now we've had some surgeries, like we're both in our sixties, we've had knee surgeries and she said, my wife's had that surgery, et cetera. But you are out of pocket quite often by a fair amount. Yes, when I had my knee surgery done, it was like five thousand dollars out of pocket because the schedule fee apparently is so
low that they're surgeons for what they do. They the schedule priest too low basically, so they charge extra, which you have to pay obviously.
Yeah, that that that, that is true, mind you. In the public health system, we've got gaps as well between what Medicare is willing to cover even when you see the GP and what the doctor demands in many cases don't.
We Well, we are, I guess, and that's far more beneficial to have private health because you can get in fairly quickly as post of public hospital. But you pay a lot of money. But you're still going to have some cash laying around, which you don't always have yes to get to surgery done anyway, because you've got to pay the other pocket.
That's very true. That's that's that's so true. That's a very very good point. A number of people on the text have made the same point. It's it's not as if you've paid up and then it's always all covered forever without any questions. Sometimes there's a gap. And that's quite right, Terry. I appreciate your call. I'm not here to defend the private health industry, but I would argue as someone who has cover that it's I think the
key term is the insurance term. You know, you take out home and contents insurance because a lot of people say, well, is.
It worth the money? Why would I do it? I'm healthy?
Okay, Well yeah, but you do the same with your home and contents don't you've got home and contents insurance? You don't assume that at some point you're going to use it because the house will burn down, But if it should, you are going to be significantly covered. It may not be complete. You might still have to dip into your bank account, but you won't have to be dipping into the extent of paying one point something million to rebuild and refurnish. In the whole show, you would
be largely covered at worst. And that's what insurance is about. Now We've got some very significant correct questions to be asked about the veracity of the insurance industry and how fair it is and premiums and gaps. I mean, that's all very very much in need of discussion. They're not angels, but I think, you know, for peace of mind if nothing else, even if it's not complete peace of mind, I'm going to stick with it.
But Mark makes a very valid point on the text.
He says, without the additional Medicare levy situation, private health would collapse.
And I suspect he's right.
There'd be a lot of people in it just to avoid the additional Medicare tax. But yeah, that was always going to be the risk when we had Medibank which became Medicare, that if you completely socialized the healthcare system, and it was quite unquite free. Then people said, well, why would I pay for it? Unless I want a choice of my surgeon, why would I pay? So you had to have that backstop in the tax system to make sure that there wasn't a complete exodus, because there would have been.
Terry again, thank you, Judy. Hello, Yes, Hi, Michael.
Hi.
I'm in private health Booper and I pay ninety nine dollars fifty nine a fortnite yep. And I'm on a pension, sole on a pension. I've been done in by my insurance company and no one wants to help me. And I'm just up here without it, without a paddle, and I cannot cope with it all. And if it goes up anymore, I don't know I'm making in the June. It's not fair we have these battles. I don't know. I've been in this fund since I left school.
They've been a loyal customer.
Yeah, and why you know why people say, oh, because you're getting older, you should be paying more. No, I have less. I don't go to work, I can't go to work, and I have needs. But I haven't been a hospital in Stutout for the nine.
Well, I don't think you should.
I don't think you would or should be paying more just because you're getting older. I'd imagine that the premiums are going up across the board and you'll be captured by that. But if they said to you that because you're over a certain age, they're going to slug you an extra percentage or something, No, no, no, I.
Haven't heard that.
Good but Booper did have a pop up in MacArthur Square, but they've close that. Now are you there, I'm listening, Yeah, yeah, on the phone just went playing.
No.
Okay. So basically, it's becoming too expensive to renew.
That's what you're saying, Judy, it's becoming too expensive to live as a pensioner. The most we've had the increase in the last four and a half years, it's fifty five dollars ninety. All insurances have gone up, Eggs have gone up, Bread's gone up, all your groceries have gone up, your rates, everything's gone up. Engines have only gone up. The last increase we have was four dollars twenty seven in twenty twenty five. That's this year, going from back then.
It's just not fair. Nobody's looking at it, nobody gives a hoot and I can't make ends meet and it isn't fair.
No, look, I agree, I understand what you're saying. I've had a number of people in this very similar position, certainly when there's all this talk about the heck stets being wiped and this was going up at the minimum wage recently got increased by the pricing tribunal, and a number of people who will hang on as a pensioner, we went up about four dollars twenty five a fortnite or something.
What about us? Fair enough point? Tell you what?
Hang on there, Talk to the team off here and we might be able to put in a call with
your health insurance. Just see if there's a better deal that you can get with them, or if there's something there that maybe you haven't seen that would assist, because you know, we don't want listeners who have been loyal with their health insurer for decades reaching a point where they just simply can't continue at a time of their life when chances are they are going to actually have to start using and tapping the insurance that they've paid into for the better part of decades. Hang on there,
Judy we'll grab your details. We'll speak off here. David, Good afternoon.
Hi Michael, Yes, mate, I'm seventy eight. I've been in the HCF since I was seventeen. I've had four children. I've always had the excess of extra benefits. Well sometimes have used them in a year or two, three years. Wonder how the health funds make their living out of it. Sure, it's nearly five hundred dollars a month. It's gone up, and as the last lady said, it's hard. If I had to sacrifice something else, I would sacrifice something else for the sake of the health. I've got good health
my wife and I and now together. But in terms of those extra benefits, having your teeth done, your eyes checked, all those things you talked about, you try and use as much of those as you can. And the other thing I just want to mention is that they don't always tell you this. With it going up last year, I was becoming more concerned. I spoke to the HCF about they have a thing that when you go into hospital, you pay the first two hundred and fifty dollars as
a private patient, you and your partner. And what I did. I talked about I changed my excess to make it five hundred dollars, So with neither of us going to hospital during the twelve months, our premium dropped down nearly fifty dollars a month. So people that aren't aware, it's like your insurance, yep. You appreciate excess and it brings your premium down. So the private funds don't tell you much about it. So what some of them need to do, is,
particularly the aces, I talk to them about it. I change the excess from two hundred and fifty to five hundred. So if I go into hospital this year, sure it's going to cost me more. Do I lose the benefit of fifty dollars slightly? Twelve five to sixty six hundred dollars? But all I'm saying is for those that are sometimes struggling, if you don't look like going to hospital, have a look at your excess. You might be able to say up to fifty dollars a month.
I think that's very good advice, yep, that there are ways to work the finances around to get it more in your benefit. But you've got you've got to make the call, you've got to instigate it. They're not going to come to you and say, hey, we can save you fifty but yeah, you've got to go and do it. But what you've done is I think what a lot of people have done in recent years. David, thank you for the call. All right, off to the newsroom. We go where and Margaret afternoon.
Good afternoon, Michael. One man's been arrested over a fatal shitting of a Melbourne man in Bali as local police ramp up patrols. It's believed the body of a woman found at Warrington have been there for several days. Police
have expanded their investigation to a second crime scene. A Queensland man is to face court accused of torturing a seven week old baby who suffered extensive injuries, and Tarongas who was reporting an increase in sea turtles needing treatment in its wildlife hospital, with twenty four handed in over eight months. In Sport, Adam Scott's stream of winning a second major has disappeared in wet and miserable conditions At
the US Open in Pittsburgh. The Aussie dropped nine shots on the final day to finish at six over American JJ Spoorne claimed the victory and there'll be more news at two o'clock on afternoons.
Oh weather update, We'll be here to help in unexpected weather. NRI Main Insurance a help company.
Twenty six to two sunny today and seventeen in the city. It is a beautiful day outside eighteen for Penrith, sixteen the top of Terry Hills, seventeen for Paramata, Campbelltown and Bondi Today sunny in eighteen tomorrow and then well something a bit different, sunny, but sixteen on Wednesday Canberra morning frost. That's gone now it's cloudy top of ten just eleven at Tugrinong, a bit more sun there in the south, some morning frost tomorrow in the Capital partner cloudy twelve
degrees the top. They say there is the chance of a shower maybe one mill if it comes. And then on Wednesday all of that should have blown off a bit minus two at the start. Thirteen at the Apex morning frost, mostly sunny in Canberra, lifthgo today twelve the top morning frost and then that's burnt off with the
beautiful sunny day. Eleven at Orange Mudgie, fifteen, thirteen at Bathistkatuba twelve seventeen Springwood tomorrow, partner cloudy in eleven for our listeners through two o te Lithgow and then morning frost and mostly sunny Wednesday expected at this stage top of twelve degrees. Will take a break when we come back. Get those engines revving, even if they're hybrids or evs, because.
We have the one and only Trent Nikolch in the studio.
Just before we get to trend, a couple of bits of breaking news coming through in America. The Minnesota shooting suspect I see has been detained. The individual that the American AA agencies were looking for has been detained. We await a press conference in Minneapolis in Minnesota about all of that. The Daily Telegraph reporting, by the way, that the Australian Tennis Ash Barty has just welcomed her second child to the world, announcing the birth of a baby
girl called Jordan on her Instagram this afternoon. So that's just coming through. Welcome to the world, Jordan, it said, and she was wearing a one see that said embrace you're weird up and down and so there you go. But really gorgeous looking kid. And Ashparti, of course, the great Australian so congratulations to Ash and her and her husband.
Twenty minutes to two.
Now one afternoons drive.
Well, he's back in the studio.
Back from Detroit, USA via the military parade yesterday, the red Eye flight in had to stay there. Thought you were one of those guys in the seventeen sort of seventeen sixty outfit, weren't you? Yeah, yeah, yeah, Civil War? You playing Paul Revere with the bell That works too, doesn't it striking?
They're coming as well, Hello mate. So yeah, it's strange, isn't it. The United States is it's such a strange place to visit because you come back and then you hear something like what's gone on in Minnesota? And I always say to people they find it hard to believe because as Australians were very different to this. But when you're in the United States, I was in Detroit, right, you would have no idea, no idea that Los Angeles even exists, let alone what's going on there when you're
in Detroit, and vice versa. Every Australian since I came back said what was the feeling about the riots in LA No one even mentioned it in Detroit, like it wasn't happening.
No, I mean we get as I was saying the other day, people before we get onto madrink, people have to understand that most of the Australian media that are based in America are based They've got somebody in New York, YA. They've got someone in Los Angele, good point. And that'd be like having someone based in, you know, from a political point of view, the Northern Beaches yep and Couyong or something exactly, and there's all the other stuff in between.
They see the world very differently.
Absolutely, and the middle of America is very different obviously. And what's what's really intriguing is take to take it back to a motoring perspective, is Detroit was the birthplace of the automobile, as everybody knows, and certainly the birthplace of mass production of motown right. And it is fighting a battle on multiple fronts because on one hand, you've got manufacturers saying, well, what the Trump government is doing
in regards to tariff's is going to hurt us. And then on the other hand, they're fighting the same battle with manufacturers from countries like China that are building significantly more affordable vehicles in segments that American manufacturers have always dominated. So it's a real interesting microcosm. And certainly the politics of a place like Lasts Angelus or California is very very different from that of Michigan or Indiana or Ohio, you.
Know, very very different. Yeah, different countries.
Ok.
One three one eight seven three.
You've got a question about your motor vehicle, JELOPI or the one you want to buy. Trent knows them all, So take advantage of the knowledge's here with me. One three, one eight seven three. A lot of people, of course buying high laxes to it a high lux. They've made a fortune out of that. It is the curR of choice for the trazy's. But what are you telling me?
You say it's going to need to adapt to these new rules around vehicle emissions.
Yeah.
So we've spoken about this before on your show, and your listeners would know that. On one hand, you've got governments saying we must be buying more electric vehicles. You know, we're going to incentivize, we're going to make it attractive. It's something that we need to do. And on the other hand, not just in Australia, and I've said this before to reassure listeners that they don't feel like they're alienated here in this country. But Australians are saying in
large numbers, we're not ready for these vehicles yet. And it doesn't help a duel cab buyer if you're talking about a small electric suv or a small electric sedan.
Right.
So, in Australia, vehicles like high Lux and Range are incredibly popular and Australians like them. And it's just really interesting that by excuse me, by the end of twenty third.
Got to hit the button before you.
I did hit it after, Okay, So I just wanted everybody to know that I needed to clear my throat.
So now we can move on.
By the end of twenty thirty, I've never done radio before.
It is the first time. That's good, isn't it.
By the end of twenty thirty, the vast majority of Toyota vehicles will have some form of electrification, right, But they can't. I can't see a situation, Michael, where dual cabs and large four wheel drives can go full electric anytime soon. I know we've spoken about it. Toyota is aware of it. Toyota has to put electrification into its vehicle.
Now, they still envisiting hydrogen future, Toyota, I.
Think they're looking at hydrogen. I think they're looking at all manner of things. I think hydrogen is one of them. Obviously, hybrids and plug in hybrids, I still think, and we've spoken about this before as well, there's going to have to be some measure of fuel that we can deliver that's environmentally friendly fuel in order to keep all the old vehicles running, because we can't just put all the
old vehicles into landfill. Even if we all started buying electric vehicles tomorrow, there's tens of millions of vehicles still on the road all around the world that run on fossil fuel. So if we can find a fuel that's environmentally friendly, synthetic, buy fuel, whatever you want to call it, that is probably part of the solution as well.
And Toyota wou'd be looking at that as well.
Well.
Look fuels, like the English language, it's always evolving.
We had diesel, then we had leaded petrol, then we had unleaded petrol, then we got to the ethanol ten percent componentory change constantly going on absolutely spot on. Ok Now, just before we take calls, what was this thing down in Melbourne on the Princess Freeway because you normally have a big pile up, the insurance gets involved.
Yeah, this was a really interesting one because you'd remember a couple of months ago in Sydney on a really rainy night there were some issues on the Harbor Bridge with a whole bunch.
Of vehicles that got damaged.
It's just something that's happening a lot more So vehicles were damaged on the Princess Freeway in Melbourne, obviously not in Sydney where most of our listeners are, but a steel plate connector so one of those expansion joints basically came. It came away at dislodged, unsealed section of road, a truck flipped over and then there was a ten car pilop. So this was a lot more serious than the one in Sydney where we just had flat tires and damaged wheels.
You know, it's still not nice at nine or ten o'clock at night in the rain, But I think this is all part of government's Local councils are going to have to start to have a really serious look at the state of our roads. And that's why I thought this was interesting because in Sydney, people listening to us all over Sydney now will be saying, well, I can probably give you ten roads that are absolutely awful. And if you blow a tire out, if you damage a wheel, you've got to pay to fix it, you know.
So.
And we talk a lot about where our money goes with fuel exis and taxes and everything else. It should be going into a road network. And I can tell you having come back from the States, I did a lot of driving. I went into Indiana, Ohio as well, and obviously Michigan. The road network over there makes ours look embarrassing, even in rural America.
And they complain it's old and decrepit.
America makes ours look absolutely horrendous.
Well, you go to Europe and you see what railroads look like. Has there ever been a case where someone has successfully sued a council or a state government because of a pothole the damage their vehicle.
I have had unconfirmed reports of people getting a compensation for either tires or rims where they've been able to identify that it was a pothole that.
Did the damage.
So person goes through pothole, tire blows out, stops ten meters down the road, takes a photo of the tire, takes a photo of the pothole. Has the evidence there. They're unconfirmed because councils are never going to tell you whether they did or they didn't. They don't want to open the phone lines to two hundred thousand constituents. Say, pay for my tires, right, but they should because you
and I aren't responsible for the road surface. Said for example, well, we are responsible in that sense, but not responsible for the quality.
No quite okay? One three one eight seven three Carol, Good afternoon.
Hei Hei Michael. I'd like to ask the car guru there about a car, suggesting a car for me. I'm driving a Mazda three at the moment, twenty seventeen. I bought it. It fits nicely into my car spot. I couldn't have anything wider. Now. The trouble is, I sit down into this Master three and perhaps maybe the springs have gone, but I was thinking of an suz the open door. Just slide into it. Any suggestions please, Yeah.
So there'll be nothing wrong with the springs in your Masda three. Basically, just what happens is you get to a point and it's Funny people assume this happens when you're seventy five or eighty years old, but it's not. You know, I've got friends who are not even fifty yet who are sick and tired of climbing down into and up out of cars. They want something with a neutral seat height, which is what we're talking about here,
in that sort of size i'd be looking at. If you want to stick with a Masda, you can go with a c X three, which will give you a little bit more heighth than the car you've got. But you've also got things like Kia Celtos. I'd have a look at Hyundai Kona. I'd have a look at as well. I think they're really really good. And then something like a Toyota Yaris Cross as well would be an option. Good looking little car, so Yaris Cross, Celtos and ConA.
Have a look at those. They'll give you the physical size that you've got, so quite compact, but a better seat height.
Okay, and the Sex three's that's still based off the old Mazda two two.
It's smaller than a Mazda three out.
Yeah, that's the thing.
A little bit higher than the Masda three, but physically, especially in the back seat smaller. However, the reason I mentioned it is a lot of people don't need the second row very often. So if you don't need room in the second row, I'd have a.
Look at that. Okay, Nick's wait there you go, Carol, thank you?
Nick him a question question.
We are far away.
Yeah, I just got a question regarding your thoughts on the in your Screenady. I had a look at the Prado, but did you want the battery the EV side of it?
Didn't?
I could plus a boot space yep. Also, I had a look at the LC three hundred. I just found it way too big, but beautiful, takes off really well. But I'm about to go and have a look at the innioscreenady, which I'm seeing quite a few of them around.
Okay, So if a three hundred series is too big for you, I reckon a Grenadie is going to be too big for you as well, because it is a big box of a thing, right, So I would definitely go and drive one. I would never recommend that you don't drive one. I'd be surprised if you drive a grenadier and find that you enjoy driving at more than say a three hundred series. I get what you're saying with Prado. One of the real issues with Prato is the lack of boot space from the hybrid system, which
you mentioned. It's a problem for a lot of people and it's a legitimate issue. We've noted it in some of our road tests as well. But I'd be surprised if you drive the Grenadier and think that it drives better.
Than a three hundred series. A three hundred series is more of a luxury four wheel drive.
The Grenadier is more about being a robust, hardcore off roader, more like a seventy series land Cruiser is so the boxy square one. So I would still drive the Grenadier see whether you prefer it over the three hundred series. Probably also have a driver of the seventy series as well, but their manual only, which might put a line through it. But just to repeat myself, I'd be very surprised if you drive that Grenadier and you enjoy driving it more than the three hundred series.
There you go get great advice. Just before we take a break, this through from New South Wales Police. By the way, an investigation now underway following a public place shooting in Sydney Southwest today.
This was in Auburn.
Police were called to South Parade, Auburn following reports of a shooting. New South Wales Ambulance paramedics are on scene treating three people for gunshot wounds.
Three people.
Crime scene has been established and South Parade and surrounding streets are currently closed used. So that's just come through from the New South Wales Police and investigation underway after a public place shooting in Auburn at about one point fifteen this afternoon, so about half an hour ago now. Three people believe to have suffered gunshot wounds from what I can see. Breaking more five to two talking motoring here with Trent John. What's your question for Trent John?
Yeah, Trent, I'm I've been looking at these Mayba S class Mercedes that are coming out of Japan secondhand. Are you aware of both?
Yeah?
Mate, I'm aware of all the various stuff that comes in from overseas. The only sort of advice I'd give you on an import is that, and we've learnt this the hard way by dealing with a lot of people is don't assume that just because it's a Mercedes Benz or a may bark in this case that if something was to go wrong with it, that Mercedes Benz Australia would help you out. They may not necessarily. They may say we never sold that vehicle here, or that particular
one was imported from another market. So just be aware of things like parts availability and service availability. In terms of getting cars out of Japan, the quality of them and the servicing on them is usually pretty good, so if that's all verified, there's nothing to worry about there. But just be aware that you might be on your own if something goes wrong when it gets.
Here and just twenty seconds here the Zeka seven X the electric car.
Any thoughts, Yeah, that would stay tuned to drive dot com. Do you will let you know more about that as it comes to never heard of it?
Zeka funny names. That's a new brand. At least it's not an animal from the sea. Againtivity.
Thanks Fred, Thanks match next week. Trent Negolage, Mitch, you're still having trouble with Australia Post. Just sent me a text saying just had another delivery by oz Post. Yet again they didn't ring the doorbell even after the instruction, so I don't know what we can do about this.
Sorry about that, Mitch.
Now onto gb and network stations. Back to afternoons with Michael McLaren.
All right, did the third hour.
We've got our winter wheel ready to be spun shortly, so stay listening for the cuter call. I want you to when whatever's going to come up. One three hundred and seven double two eight seven three the prize line. That's the number you're going to need when you hear the cuticle. Don't call now, don't call now. All good things come to those that wait. By the way, have you heard of the name Gasparred Fara. It's a name you'd not forget if you were called it, I suppose.
But Gasparred Fara half French, half English by the sand of things anyway. Interesting, I was reading over the weekend
a story about this bloke. He's well and truly dead now, but as it says here, he might just be a footnote in history, except he's going to be remembered by the equivalent of the treasurer over in the UK, Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, because mister Farrer there was a former partner at the now defunct Bearings Bank, is thought to have left five hundred thousand pounds in nineteen twenty seven.
If you don't mind, that's a stonking sum of cash at nineteen twenty seven as a gift to Britain in response to the UK's huge national debt after the First World War. Now there were rules in place, and this was the foundation donation of a so called national fund established at the time, and the rules said that it could only be made available. The money in the fund could only be made available when it was enough to pay off the national debt in full. Now that meant
for years the fortune had been locked away from successive governments. Well, the five hundred thousand pound seed fund, plus other things that have been thrown in over the years from other people, now five hundred and eighty five million pounds worth of coin, and governments over the years in the UK been trying to get their hands on it, because of course they can't manage the debt and so despite the stipulation that they can only release the capitol once the debt could
be paid as a lump sum in full, been going to court to try to get it anyway. Twenty twenty two High Court ruling order that the funds should be released and the decision was upheld after the trustees of the fund lodged and appeal. So the Treasury boff and over there the Chancellor of the Exchequer. It seems we'll get a hands on well the better part of a billion Australian dollars. Now, of course that won't even touch the sides of the UK national debt. It's extraordinary, but
nonetheless it's the idea I found kind of compelling. So you've got these very wealthy people who had a sense of national pride and patriotism. They did well out of banking or whatever, and so in their will they said, I bequeath this huge stonking sum of cash to the nation, and I want it, like the Future Fund, to be managed and set aside, and when it gets to a certain level, you can liberate the funds and pay off the debt and that'll be my lasting gift.
To the nation. I love nice idea.
The problem is it's sort of can receivable to the point of being practical. If your national debt is like it was in the past for us, you know, ninety what was it? What were we at one point a couple of hundred million dollars or something. But when it turns to being nearly a trillion, which is what we're now, then you sort of think, you know, even if Gina ryan Hart and Twiggy Forest and Kerry Stokes and you know, all the big boys and girls said a right, well,
here's a billion, here's a billion, here's a billion. When I die, even with compound interest in a bull market, you'd go nowhere near it. And I suppose to a certain extent that gives you a bit of an idea about how the psychology of debt has changed over the years. So the British in the late twenties obviously racked up an enormous debt post war. The empire was understrained. They economy had been sapped because of everything had to be poured into the war. The percentage of the GDP spent
on defense would have been in the thirty percent. So I would imagine during those times, and so these people that did well and had patriotism in their hearts said, okay, well, here's my bit, manage it, and yeah, there'll be the sun will come up tomorrow, as they sing it, Annie. No one would consider that today, because there's there's no conceivable way that the money, rays would go near it.
So are we living beyond our means? Yeah? Certainly are interesting note anyway, look.
Him up Gaspard gasp A r D Pharah Fa double r E. I had some farahs in the family, but I think it was a we didn't get a slice of the fortune.
Let's put it that way. One three, one eight seven three.
Now, by the way, the ABC have got back to Olivia, ree what their style guide is. Remember that story earlier about dual naming indigenous names and the traditional names are being used in this story. Now, I'm not saying I'm going to lose sleep over it, but I want to know if this is the new normal or if this is a journalist going on a bit of an independent frolic. The response doesn't really make that clear, but it's as follows.
The ABC Charter responsibilities include requirement to contribute to a sense of national identity and reflect on the cultural diversity of the Australian community. A key part of this is acknowledging the First Peoples of Australia. The ABC has a long and proud tradition that says of helping promote the visibility of First Nations peoples and voices in the national conversation, and for the past fifteen years this has been given
particular focus by our reconciliation action plans. In the first ABC Elevate Reconciliation Action Plan, we embedded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island the languages and place names across ABC content and platforms, helping them become part of the language of the nation. And there's a link where you can read more about it.
So, yeah, it's there. But this isn't used all the time, and so I wonder.
If it's what we've sort of uncovered as a sort of a bit of a first step to what will become common practice.
I don't know, as I said, the bigger things to worry about.
It's just interesting to know. Nonetheless, one three one eight seven three the open line number. Now, there was a couple of stories bouncing around over the weekend about electric vehicles.
Now.
One was to do with hybrids and no ovated leases and tax breaks that have been wound up, and I can get to that later if there's time. But the one that really caught my attention was in the Financial Review, and it's to do with the people that have an ev in the inner city. Now, what they're doing to charge their vehicles is shall we say, unconventional. Whether it's legal, I have no idea. I'd imagine it's not, but I don't know, so I won't name them. The article does.
But so if they get a spot of bother with the law, I don't want any part of that. But pole mounted chargers and they are sprouting. I've seen a few near me, these EV charges that have turned up attached to a powerpole. No one seems to be using them, but nonetheless they're there. They're sprouting up to cater for EV drivers without off street parking.
However, others know where.
Near these nascent technologies are desperate to jag a spot in front of their home so they can lay an extension cable across the footpath to then charge their vehicle overnight. So one bal Main resident who drives Amdsubishi outland a plague in hybrid hasn't yet used one of these new pole mounted charges that's gone in beside Birch Grove Oval where this person's near there, preferring instead to use fast charges at the shops or the old home solution.
Now, what's the home solution for this? Lady.
Well, she says, and I quote, we at the moment drop an electrical cable off our balcony which goes straight down to the car. The cable snakes down the pole of a parking sign to the vehicle, where an orange cone warns drivers not to hit the charging car.
See what I mean when I say it's unconventional. As the lady said, I don't know how legal it is, but one no one has complained. We charge it overnight.
Sometimes you've got this big cable coming out the window of the unit, down down some pole to wherever the car is. In a communal area, charging overnight lo could go wrong, but that seems terribly sensible compared to this next person, also from Bowmin, where it says here we don't have off street parking, so when we do manage to get a spot out in front of the house, we have some rubber cord concealing black and yellow ramps.
We run a cord from the mains in the front room under those ramps out to the car and charge it overnight. Now I've got an image of someone, if it's not that person, someone doing something very similar. The issue is the power cable goes over the footpath over the verge and into the car right sometimes overnight?
Is that legal? I want the thought so I don't think you can got a trip has it over the footpath? Certainly not at night?
Now?
Okay, they've put this sort of plasticky rubbery thing on top so that you'd probably stub it with your toe rather than go for a complete trip. But at night, the streets of Baal Main art that well lit, and I would have thought this would have been a health hazard. I'm surprised the council aren't onto this sort of thing.
You know, they're busy finding people all over the place for parking in front of someone's driveway or daring to park on the grass medium strip because there's nowhere else or whatever.
Are they rounding this sort of stuff up anyway? I don't look.
I don't have an electric I've got a hybrid, but it's one of those ones that the motor does the work for you. But if you live in an area where people are doing this, I'd like to hear your stories. One three, one eight seven three people charging their evs using lots of extension cables from the house out through the front gator over the front fence, over the footpath,
over the grass and into the car. Or in a common like apartment building, they're running it down from the fourth story balcony, this huge long snake of a cable going down to wherever they've got their car.
Oh, but it's because we put an orange cone nearby to one. Really, is this what we're doing? Are we not putting dere say, at the cart before the horse.
I'm in sure that you've got to have the infrastructure in place to charge the vehicles before you buy the vehicles.
Or is that old school thinking? I don't know. One three one eight seven three. Good to be with you, twenty past two, almost on the dot.
These winter Wheel.
Oh there's your cuter.
Call ladies and gentlemen, be call a number eight. Please call a number eight on that prize line one three hundred seven double two eight seven three. And if that's you, you're going to have a chance to spin two GB's winter Well I'll spin it for you.
But you know what I mean, the winter Wheel.
There's up to forty thousand dollars worth of cash and prizes to be won. Call the prize line, not the open line, the prize line one three hundred seven double two eight seven three, call a number eight, good luck. Now I've positioned the wheel so that the maximum prize or ham I hadn't, Joel's moved it. Twenty five hundred dollars. That's the top finance prize there. That'll come in handy, all right. So that's there ready to go right at
the top. When we get call a number eight, we'll get them on air and.
I'll spin the wheel.
And I've been said working on the working on the bicep all weekend. Give them a best shot. This spin is going to beautiful spin, trumpet you great spin. Beautiful spin. Never had a bit of spin than this. So we'll see if we can get twenty five hundred dollars in someone's pocket all thereabouts.
While we're waiting for caller eight. By the way, we just got to connect the dots and all of that.
There was this story that bubbled up in and it was embargoed until today, so I couldn't mention it on Friday. But it's a survey, and I guess it's got people talking. That's what they meant to do. A new national survey is apparently revealed that while the cost of living is a key concern for one in four Aussie home cooks. Tiredness is the biggest barrier to home cooking, sixty six percent of people saying they're simply too exhausted to make
dinner several times a week. Really is this true? People are so tired they can't make their own dinner? I guess then they're buying. Now, this hasn't been commissioned by a takeaway joint, which is surprising. But taste dot com dot you or the brains behind this and this is the dinner heroes? Ah, hang on, okay, the dinner heroes research? Who are they dinner heroes? Do they prepare meals that you get delivered?
Is that what?
I don't know?
Well, I'll look into that. But it's also found that the gender gap in the kitchen is narrowing, with almost three quarters of men cooking dinner for the household and even more fathers seventy six percent giving cooking a go.
So oh no, here we go. See I had to read on, I didn't read enough. I was time pool. It's too tired to read on.
Too busy cooking dinner, It says here to support energy and time poor households, Taste dot com dot you has craft a twenty flavor packed no fuss recipes use Cole's own brand essentials. It will help to the okay, said, hence the survey.
But is it true?
I mean, I'm almost willing to call balloney on it. A lot of people are tired, but very few people are so tired they don't go and eat.
You know.
It's sort of one of those survival things, right, you don't do it enough and then you well you're permanently tired if you follow them a gist.
Right, So, I don't know. I mean once a week?
Is that?
Is that the rule in your house for takeaways? Maybe Friday night or something, you know, once a week. I don't think too many people would be doing takeaway or prepackaged or whatever more than once a week. It's it's expensive, isn't it.
Anyway?
Maybe I'm out of touch. You tell me one three one eight seven three? Okay, Now, Peter of Earlwood, Hello, Peter?
Hello?
How are you? I'm good? How are you? That's more important?
Okay?
I'm a little well, why I'm the one who's got to spin the wheel. You just you just win, You just you're going to get something Okay, now what do you now? We've got twenty five hundred, seven hundred fifty fifteen hundred d D's group voucher. We've got go to Denti Genie fifteen. There's all sorts of stuff like.
Are you ready?
I'm ready?
You sure?
You know what?
Here we go.
I'll give you a choice because I'm a you know, I'm a I'm a capitalist kind of guy. You want to go clockwork clockwise or any clockwise?
Your choice?
No, go clockwise.
Here we go, rounding goes round round round.
Clinton Manas just turned up to see how it's done, because there's a you know, it's all in the wrist this one, Peter, how's five hundred.
Bucks, Peter, It's awesome.
It's coming your way. Five hundred dollars. You know we were one tick away from fifteen hundred. That's why I was a little hesitant. But five hundred better than a.
Poker and eye.
Thank you for listening, Thank you so much.
Five hundred Okay, well done, Peter, Peter of Earlwood, five hundred dollars wealthier, just for listening to two GB in winter time. Now we call this the winter Wheel, and we're going to be spinning the wheel in breakfast mornings afternoons in Sydney now with Clinton. So stay listening for your chance to do what Peter did and win on Sydney's two GB.
It's that time of the afternoon. Time to find out what's coming up on Sydney Now for the Serrato successor, the turbo charged Kia K four kias a new small sedan GT Line very utavailable now find out more about Kia's latest small car.
See Clinton. It's all in the wrist. That's that's the key. You just give it a you know, listen to that. What a beautiful sound.
Well, congratulations to Peter for picking up the five hundred dollars. And you'll see that I'm wearing a special hat, Michael.
Yes, the blue Leprecorn.
I've got the blue Eleprecorn hat because the presenters are required to wear this hat when they're spinning the wheel.
I note that you didn't know about that.
I'll be wearing the hat because I think it'll give me some superpowers needed because I did hear what you had to say about me learning the program, and look at those where you suggested that I wouldn't actually have the strength to spin the wheel.
It's much. It's a particularly robust wheel.
I've been training over the weekend in preparation for the wheel spinning, So I'm very confident. Whoever ring, I think we'll take the fifth caller through when I have not yet, not yet, don't call it yet. Later in my program, we'll take the fifth caller. Whoever's the fifth caller can be assured that we're going to have one almighty spin.
This is the song that never ends, the spin that gives for six minutes.
So I'm very confident we're going to win a crack all cracking prizes and fantastic, wonderful prize, hundred dollars in Peter's wallet.
How good's that?
But I'm just reading a survey that's been released here by an organization be called the Bee World Co. And it says that many of us at work have mentally checked out, that we're struggling, that we feel we have no support. And that's sort of the way I felt, Michael, when you describe my physique at the right. Apparently there's a massive problem in this country. It's costing employees seven billion dollars annually forearms present. T is Oh, have you
heard about presents presentism. Okay, it's the opposite to absenteeism. Right, So it's instead of taking a sickie, people are turning up to work and then just not bothering performing while they're at work.
Right, Nothing worse for productivity than people going to work.
They're physically there, so it can't go down as a sick day. Survey shows seventy six people. Seventy six percent of people feel unsupported. They're languishing because of the impact of their peers. What yah, So I'm reading this while I'm hearing you being highly critical of my strength and my ability to spin the wheel, and thinking, well, am I victim of maybe an example of presentism?
Perhaps perhaps I just want to set for the record now that Clinton has taken this personally, that you have particularly beautiful arms.
Oh, thank you, Michael. Well, that's shape.
It's years of hard work.
The statue of David comes to mind. The arms. I'm talking about, years of hard work.
Yes, we'll be covering everything that's happening in Sydney now this afternoon and hurting their shooting at all. Well, and tell you this is just come to my attention right now. The premiere has just put our statement, Chris Minn says, this is shockingly brazen. New South Wales Police Force investigators a hunting nowl zerver spot that was responsible. We don't stand for it. New South Wales Police do not stand
for it. The New South Wales Police forces level charges in relation to twenty the twenty five organized crime murders since twenty twenty one, and they're not done yet. People committing this kind of violence can expect to be arrested, in charged and spend their years inside small jail cells. So we'll cross straight out to Auburn at the start of the program. Our reporter Josh Bryant is on the way.
I believe it was about quarter pass one that the bullets allegedly rang out. Of course that time you've got people there having lunch nearby Auburn train station. It's a there's a suggestion in the Telegraph that people have been shot outside a kebab shop and a nearby tobacconist. Whether there's a connection to the premises or that's just happy to be what was there at the location, I'm not going to speculate, but this is South Parade in Auburn.
Ye.
Look, I've had to look at some of the vision that came from the Channel nine chopper a short time ago, and I could see the paramis were working out police everywhere, a fruit shop as well, So it's a shopping strip that's very busy that time of the afternoon.
So we'll cover all that throughout the program, all right, and spin the wheel and the winter wheel and all sorts of other stuff coming up.
Certainly be giving away lots of money.
Will you wear the headphones that way for the whole show as well? They're upside down for the benefit of the listeners.
The reason that the headphones were upside down is because I.
Was wearing the hat, right, So no one told me about that.
Hat, and I couldn't put the headphones over the hat, that's true. So while spinning the wheel.
I had kind of suits. You know, I'm not good with hats, no, but I think you could be. That's got a bit of the ascot about it.
If it's too classy for the Shire, well it's blue.
You got the right colors.
Thanks Clinton, Clinton Maynard and the big forearms coming up straight after three o'clock as he spins that wheel one three, one eight seven three.
Let's see what else is happening in the news. Aaron, good afternoon.
Hello there, Michael will As you have just been talking about paramedics of Rush to treat three men who have been shot at Auburn in a crime the premiere is describing as shockingly brazen. A police officer has been shot dead in Tasmania. It's claimed he was shot while approaching a home in the state's northwest. One person's been arrested. US President Donald Trump says he believes there's a good chance there'll be a deal between Israel and Iran, although
missiles are still firing between the two countries. And finalists for the Logis have been announced for the top award, the Gold Logi for Most Popular TV Personality. There are six women and one man. In sport, the Blues have trained in Perth ahead of wednesday nights State of Origin two watching on from the sidelines for all Western Australian cricket legends Mike Cussie and Justin Langer. And there'll be more news at three.
O'clock on afternoons.
A finance update for Pretzel Wealth and Finance for Trusted Financial Planning Just Google Blake went to Pretzel.
All right, let's cross to Scott Phillis from the Motley full dot com dot Monday. Those are the numbers, Scott good afternoon. Two big players in the furniture market, Freedom and Amart.
They've merged, have they, Michael will Good Afternoon, Yeah, pretty much.
So.
These were both businesses still one still is owned by private equity, and there was suspicion or reporting anyway that they would try and list on the ASX over the next twelve months or so. Now listing an individual smaller one is one thing. If you can combine both businesses, and in this case Amar's bought Freedom Furniture, you're going to run them together. Now one hundred and twenty six stores in total, more than one hundred million dollars an
annual learnings. That's pretty much a large enough chunk then to be listed on the ASX with some decent amount of heft. Of of course, there some competition as well from those otherwise might be why one might cannibalize the other. So yeah, really really ching times. Of course, you know, virgin is coming onto the ASEX next week, maybe Freedom and Amart not too far away. At this stage at
least they're running them both as separate brands. Whether that remains the case up listing as an open question, but yes, potentially another retil of the furniture retailer. Listen on the ASX in Duke course, interesting too when you think about the growth of businesses like Temple and Webster. They are an online only furniture retailer and they are growing at
an absolute rate of knots. So yeah, interesting times for the furniture in general, so their physical furniture and these two companies soon possibly listed on the ASEX.
That will be something to watch. Ok.
Now, the markets and the dollar, how are they faring with everything going on around the world. Of course, oil prices will be going north, You've got.
To say, much better than you'd expect. By the way, Hey, the energy sector on the ASEX up five and a half percent today, and we say energy, you can substitute oil and no surprise there. The overall market up a tenth of one percent, despite the fact the futures were
down this morning. The ASEX of the all Lord's currently eighty seven hundred and seventy seven points, the only dollar going backwards by about the same margin half a tenth of one percent against the US dollar sixty four point eight to us.
All right, Scott, thank you.
Scott Phillips there from the Motley Fullfull dot com dot au on the people that do take away a lot because they're too tired to cook. An interesting note from Mark here, who says, my current neighbors eat take out
every night as they don't cook. Really, I remember when I worked with Brian wilshere this would be going back fifteen years at least now, and he was making the point back then that in New York there were some of these condo apartments or whatever they that were being built without a kitchen, and the reason was that people they'd have a microwave or something in a cupboard essention that had a little sink, but there's no kitchen because
they just weren't cooking. They whatever they were doing busy long jobs or something like that, and they'd go to a restaurant or they'd get takeaway or take out whatever the Americans call it, every night of the week, and so they didn't really have a need for a kitchen and all the cupboards and the pantry and the storage and all the appliances that go with it. They had a little barfridge and a microwave oven and of sink and that was sort of that was it a kitchenette
at best, And I thought, oh, you've got to be joking. Really, how can you live without a kitchen? But it seems that that sort of mindset is percolating Australia bit by bit.
I mean, I don't think it's going to catch on.
I can't really imagine the next episode or season of the Block where they don't do a kitchen reveal. But nonetheless, there are some people clearly out there that this is the way they do business. They must have deep pockets and long arms, because there's no way that even if you're absolutely exhausted and zonked, it would be cheaper doing takeaway every night of the week than cooking at home. And then you know, you put in the glass container
the leftovers for the next day's lunch. That's what I've got here, bit of a beef stew from last night. It wasn't bad either. I'll give you the tip heat it up later on beautiful. Okay, that's how you do it. But look, I just hope these people aren't the ones complaining about cost of living pressures.
That's all I'm saying.
One three, one, eight, seven three more after the break better go twenty one to three just before we get to travel on this issue of home security systems and the like. I had a text earlier from someone up on the Northern Beaches who said, look tomorrow at the council meeting on the agenda and the notices of motion, there's going to be one of these Palestinian motions put forward. It's going to be put forward by the Greens Council
or one of the Greens councilors, I believe. So you look at the agenda for tomorrow under the point fourteen notices of motion, the first one is to do with tobacco stores and organized crime. Okay, that's kind of relevant considering the news of the late of late. There's a notion to do with cambora public school. Local council have
some skin in the game there. But in between those there's the notion of notice of motion number twenty four slash twenty twenty five, support for the Northern Beaches Palestinian community and a cease firing gaza. Well, there has that got to do with the Northern Beaches Council. Now I'm going to go out on a bit of a limb here.
I would imagine there's not a huge Palestinian community up Avalon Way, but even if there were, they've chosen to live there, not on the eastern flank of the Mediterranean Sea. So what's this all about? And they're calling for a cease firing gars. Now look, you seriously think that passing a motion, should it be passed in the Northern Beaches Council, it's going to make its way.
Over to Gaza or to tell a viv where it really matters.
And you Net and Yahu and others go, oh, criky, jeez, Well, I know the Americans, the British want this, the Germans want this, the Australians want this. You know, the Scandinavians want this. But we've resisted. But now the straw that's broken, the camel's back the Northern Beaches Council.
Oh well quick seas far Now, really, who are these pelukas?
Seriously, I guess you get the councilor as you vote for And this is what happens in part when the Liberals don't get their act together and put people.
Up for nomination.
But I mean, you know this sort of nonsense really stick to the Knitting People one three one eight seven three. All right, now back to this issue of security. We had a lot of feedback about this earlier. I guess the question is how protected is your home? I mean, do you even give this enough thought? I mean, all your assets are there, including your human assets, your family, Yet how well protected are they in your home? Your home's your castle? Will Have you got the equivalent of
the moat and the turrets? Do you have security cameras.
Out the front? If you do, are they effective? Do you think they're effective? Do you check? Do you know?
Well?
According to the new Southwest Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, the number of break and enter crimes is actually decreased on homes by thirty eight percent over the last decade. Now, whether that's because we're all sticking these cameras up, left, right and center, or whether it's something else, I don't know. But according to doctor Alsma Bernaut, a lecturer in Technology and crime at Griffith University, the key here is to make your home and I quote her here as unattractive
for the thief as possible. She says, it's good to have a fence, it's good to have a dog, it's good to have any sort of device that might look like a camera, even if it's not. But you know, as the technology behind security cameras becomes ever more advanced and more complex, it is hard, I think, to know what's what, what's worth the extra cost, what works, what doesn't, Whether any of these have implications for your own privacy
and your own security. I mean a lot of this stuff's uploaded to the cloud, after all, could it be hacked? These are all relevant questions. Trevor Long no stranger to this network. He's eftm's editor, technology expert, all around nice guy, and he joins me to break it all down.
Trevor, Good, afternoon, afternoon, Michael. Security cameras.
I mean, they are sort of becoming kind of ubiquitous now, but are they worth the investment?
Well, I think if you go back ten years or more, it used to be quite a large investment and quite a complex task. So you would buy something that required wiring in the home. You had to get an installer to put it in. But today you can walk into a major retailer, pick up a camera for a couple hundred dollars and get home and have it working on your smartphone, giving you alerts and recording vision via just
Wi Fi and battery power within minutes. So the fact that it's become easy has made it, I think desirable to people's grown the market. But I think the last time I saw numbers from security camera companies was still very very low penetration overall, like twenty or thirty percent of home. So there's still a huge potential for more people to have security cameras, And I think that kind of balance between or do I really need them and are they effective? Is the question that most people have.
This sort of technology has mushroomed, though, has it not, Because not only do people have these security cameras fixed on the eaves or whatever strategically placed, and whether they're capturing images or not. The idea is that there would be burglar sees that I don't want to run the risk, I'll go next door.
But it's not just those sort of cameras.
I mean, we've got these ring door bells, all sorts of things now that have cameras built into them. We seem to have these eyes on the world everywhere, which we didn't have even fifteen years ago.
It's completely achievable for under a thousand dollars certainly to have visual on every corner of the extra of your home. And I think that the light is actually one of the most important parts of it. And if you walk up to my house, once you step on the driveway and keep stepping down it, my place lights up like the MCG the light after light, because it's a deterrent that even the smallest light indicates there's something there that
detected you. And then a large floodlight comes on. If you decide to go all the way to the front door, there's another light and another camera there. And while it's not going to stop every potential crime from happening, I don't even think that, but I do believe that that deterrent is enough for certainly the petty crime style to have diminished in most of the communities around the place. You know, if you're the house in the street with
the cameras and the three around you are not. I do think that those other homes are the ones that are going to be targeted.
Well, there at a disadvantage.
I mean, you're not the insurance expert, you're the tech expert, But do you have any idea whether the insurance companies through home and contents policies are asking or reflecting on this technology being rolled out and adjusting premiums accordingly for those.
That invest in this.
I've never had an insurance company ask me for that information, so whether I've got security cameras, but I have had someone ask me to come and help them with security cameras because their insurance broker was what they said, had got them a better deal based on that. So it may exist in the market, it may not be for
your average every day home and contents plan. But again, it's kind of one of those things where the reason I would argue the insurance aren't going to do that is because they can't guarantee that you bothered to charge the batteries on it. So even though you said you had cameras, did you change the battery on it after three to six months? And are you maintaining them? Is it always recording? There's a lot of variabilities around these cameras.
They're not all constantly recording like a security camera of old.
No, they're not.
A number of them are now hardwired in electricians I spoken to say that they're doing this all the time, that this kind of work.
The battery operated ones created this surge in the market. Then I'm a huge advocate for them because I love the fact that people have that kind of just piece of minded vision. But in the last twelve to eighteen months, some brands like Allow and Indi then have come out and an even ring who do those video doorbells have
come out with wired versions. You do need to spark you to install, yes, but because they're hardwired, because they're constantly powered, they are able to constantly send vision back. So that is an advantage to the hard powered versions of these cameras.
Let's look at this the flip side, because there's an almost an irony baked in here that some people having put security cameras in too concerned that their own security and privacy has been compromised if these things are running twenty four seven, and indeed people don't sometimes just have them outside. People have got sort of cameras inside the house, should the baby sit to be there or whatever's going on.
I mean, there's privacy issues are plenty there.
But equally, how open is this sort of technology to nefarious actors and hackers?
Because a lot of this is going up to the cloud.
Isn't it Essentially, no one is going to tell you that any any concept, any technology is one hundred percent foolproof. I'd be mad to say That'd be like, you know, a telco saying there's no chance their network's going to go down. We all know it can and will happen. So I would argue that my philosophy here is big brand, major retail. If you're this is, this is, and I've always got another tangent. But it's like the electric scooter
battery issues. Right, if you're buying these things on Ali Barba on the internet and buy a Team Wu from China, I cannot guarantee the battery on those things. I think it's the same with security cameras. If you're going for the lowest common denominator in price, you're going for some you know, a two bit operation that's just started up and they're selling things via Instagram because they found that they can import a thousand cameras and sell them for
one hundred bucks each. Sorry, they don't have the corporate backing the security credentials. That are big brands, and you know there are really only a few, and when you go into a JBS or a Harvey's, you see ah Low, you see unid M, you see Swan, you see Ring. These are brands that even people listening right now that don't have these cameras may well recognize.
You know.
For me, a W record brand doesn't guarantee safety and security, but it certainly says that they have the credentials and the business backing to have security at front of mind.
Okay, just finally, then, from a psychological point of view, I mean, what's going on here? Because I mean, is it I go back to my grandparents generation and I don't want to dwell in the past, although I'm known for doing that as you know. But you know, old Arnie Grace would sleep on the front veranda in the Inner West with no more than a mosquito net over right.
You know, these days hardly I don't think there'd be anyone listening now that wouldn't lock the front door, bolt the windows, whatever, even in.
A posh suburb.
So what is going on here with this increasing desire for people to turn the external, the externality of their properties into something looks like pentridge.
Well, I mean, it's it's about protecting that most valuable asset and the things inside it. As you said in your intro. Everything in your home is precious to you, whether it's the keys to the car and in the garage or the family heirlooms. You want to have that protection. And if that protection is now easier and more more readily available, why not take it? You know, lock the door,
lock the windows, and arm the security cameras. Again, go back to my childhood, and you remember you used to have friends that might have had a bigger, fancy house, and inside they had they had the pin code, you know, to keep it. I never had one of those security systems at my house, but now when I leave the home, I can open an app on my phone and go the arm the system. It can be it can be done on a schedule, it can be done automatically. But I can also, for peace of mind, go yeap arm
the system. And so I know that at the very least, if someone does get in, grab something and leave, I've got a vision of them on many angles, and I'll feel at least a little bit better that I can say to the police. Hopefully this helps you, and I don't know, you just feel better about it.
I know in our area we get all these Facebook groups, community groups and They're forever posting stills from their security cameras about young guys trying to knock the car off or steal something from the veranda or whatever.
So that's that EMA is now being used, and that wasn't available without the.
Camera I've seen.
I've seen local shops that have shared photos from very simple security cameras as well in those groups. And that's why I say again the flood light style camera. Again, go back to our childhood and remember the old floodlight would come on sensor based. Well, now imagine that floodlight has a camera in it. So not only do you get the oh, here's light for me when I get home at safety, but here's light for that person coming in one am in the morning just sussing out my home,
going to peek through the windows. No, no, I've got you on camera in color. Don't even knock on the door, buddy.
Yeah, just make sure you smile, all right. Trevor, thank you, good information.
Appreciate it a lot of the best terror Trevor long there tech guru, We love him, of course. The editor of e FtM. I don't know, you might be one of these camera people. All of a sudden do you feel safer? Is it sort of just psychologically you feel safer. A few people saying, read the insurance thing. It depends who you ask. Someone here said they were with you or they switched to UI because in fact they asked them, do you have cam Yes?
Okay, Well here's the reduction. That's what I'm gleaning out of that text. Hope I've got that right.
Someone else says they might give you a reduction if the cameras are linked to a back to base alarm sort of system.
So you just got to look at all of the fine print. But it is interesting. I would have thought that a lot of the security of.
The insurance companies would have rewarded people that invested in this, but maybe only if it does have the back to based componentory. It is seven minutes to three, okay for training commuters. It doesn't rain at pause. This just threw from the Transport Management Center. No trains running between Hurstville and Sutherland on the T four so is due to power supply issues between Walley Creek and Sutherland. Now replacement buses have been requested, but I see they haven't started running.
Just to repeat, no trains are running at the moment between Hurstville and subtle And on the T four. That's due to power supply issues between Walley Creek and Subtherland. The replacement buses not yet ready. We've had this shooting earlier this afternoon. Also out of a statement just threw from the Police Minister Yasmud Catley that says we're deeply concerned by the horrifying events unfolding in Auban this afternoon. Multiple people have been injured in this public place shooting.
Our thoughts are with them and their loved ones. This kind of violence has no place in our community. It's horrifying, it's unacceptable, and it shakes the sense of safety that we all deserve.
Well, that's it for us, of course, Clinton coming up next.
Don't forget the winter Wheel Lots of wonderful prizes on the largest to repeat quickly. No trains running between Hurstville and Subtland on the T four. Those replacement buses have been requested.