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On 2GB Sydney and network stations across Australia, this is Mornings with Mark Levy.
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A very good morning to you on this Thursday, the 23rd of July. I'm Mark Levy. Welcome to Mornings as we broadcast in Sydney, Canberra and right across Australia on the 2GB app. Coming up on the show today, Labor no longer sees the coalition as a threat. One Nation is the concern. The Albanese government knew a notorious ISIS fighter was alive in Iraq. A councillor told to shut her mouth after speaking out against a mosque. While in sport, a rugby league immortal floats a plan to fix the bunker. Quick look at Sydney's weather, Careabout, a free independent matching service connecting you with compatible aged care support.
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Call 131300 and we're in for a mostly sunny day for the Harbour City. Tops of 20 in the city, 21 out west. While in Canberra, for our 2CC listeners, the Bureau forecasting a partly cloudy day for the nation's capital, reaching a high of 13 degrees. As always, love to hear from you this morning. The number to call, 131873. You can email me at 2GB.com or you can always shoot through a text on 0460 873 873. Well, the delightful Sarah MacDonald makes her return to 2GB Mornings in the final hour of the program today after her recent trip to Scotland.
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So I'm sure she'll have some stories to share later in the show. We love catching up with Sarah, so we'll have some fun and lighten the mood after the news at 11 o'clock. Speaking of Scotland, we've also got the Commonwealth Games getting underway tonight with Nina Kennedy and Tim Hodge to lead the Australian team into the opening ceremony. So good luck to all the Aussie athletes going for gold over the next 10 days. And look, I'm a bit dirty on myself because I first saw this a couple of days ago and I thought I should play this on the show. But it's a song that's gone viral on social media because I heard it last night and I can't get it out of my head.
02:01
It's a seven-year-old Sydney boy by the name of Miles and his dad, Joel, who are getting plenty of attention because of their song called Eastern Rosella's. I think we've found a future superstar. Someone needs to sign him. So I'll share that with you a little later in the show as well. In the meantime, let's get stuck into the news of the day. And look, everywhere you go, it's One Nation, isn't it? And they continue to dominate the headlines, making it tough for Angus Taylor and Jane Hume to make any waves in the lead up to the next election. In fact, the coalition is no longer seen as a threat by the Labor Party.
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Now, the ALP National Conference is being held this weekend and while their members are going to debate topics like banning the cloning of humans, stopping the importation of lion hunting trophies and releasing illegal immigrants from detention after just 90 days, Labor is hatching a plan to counter the rise in popularity of One Nation. Greg Brown has the story on the front page of The Australian today. He writes, outgoing ALP President Wayne Swan will declare One Nation has usurped the coalition as Labor's biggest electoral threat and warned against predicting Pauline Hanson will fade out ahead of the next election as Anthony Albanese expands taxpayer-funded wages for students undertaking practical courses.
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The former Treasurer will make his national conference speech at a dinner tomorrow night while accepting the party's life membership alongside former Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney, who declared she had no regrets about pushing forward with the doomed voice referendum and hoped the issue of constitutional recognition would be revisited in the near future. Now, with the first day of national conference to focus on the economy, energy and climate change, the Prime Minister will use his speech...
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on Thursday today to vow to pay university students $338.60 a week when undertaking practical work in 10 new fields including psychology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology and paramedicine. As the Prime Minister today declares his focus remains squarely on cost of living, the move will expand the paid prac policy unveiled before the last election that it was available for nursing, teaching and social work students. Now, onto the threat of One Nation.
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While One Nation's surge in some polls has plateaued, Mr Swan will warn the tide has not turned and Labor needs to engage in the political battle with Senator Hanson because the money has not gone anywhere... It has only changed horses. Look at where it went this year. The richest person in the country gave One Nation a $2 million aeroplane. Her right-hand man walked out of the Nationals to endorse them. The wealth that used to sit behind the Liberal Party has found itself a new home and it did not have to travel far. That is what the culture war is for.
04:56
It is camouflage. Strip it away and you find the oldest agenda in this country, a few people with a great deal who would like rather more and who have found somebody to grab it for them.
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So I'm sure that'll raise a few eyebrows, Mr Swan's comments that he will make in his speech tomorrow at the National Labor Conference. But look, It's too late. Anthony Albanese has been found out through his refusal to do anything about anti-Semitism in the lead up to the Bondi Beach terrorist attack. And then there's the worst budget since Federation, which we've discussed and debated for weeks.
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The Prime Minister's only got himself to blame.
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Throw in his entire front bench, Jim Chalmers, Penny Wong, Richard Marles, Tony Burke, Chris Bowen. It's a race to the bottom.
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Thankfully Australians are starting to wake up and they're looking for a credible alternative. especially when you look at the agenda for the ALP conference. It's detailed today by Jake McCallum in The Telegraph. Free pass out of immigration detention after 90 days. New push for Australian Republic. Longer terms for Parliament. Mandate 15% super. Ban cloning of humans. Ban lion hunting trophies. Protect sharks from fishing trawlers. And then there's that union motion to strip the union jack from our national flag, which will also be on the weekend agenda.
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Now, if Labor members honestly believe they are the most pressing issues facing our country, they don't deserve another term in government. And I thought Claire O'Neill's response to this union motion to remove the Union Jack from the Australian flag said it all yesterday, she wouldn't signal her position on it when the response should have been, no way, the Union Jack will remain because we cannot shy away from our colonial past. And the other point I would make to Claire O'Neill, The union, Jack, is the reason why you have a job. It's responsible for the parliament and our constitution.
06:49
So some interesting stories today around the ALP conference and the threat of One Nation. And look, when it comes to Pauline Hanson, we spoke yesterday, didn't we, about the mudslinging that is being thrown at Pauline and One Nation. And we spoke about what I would describe it as anti-Hansonism, which I compared to Trump derangement syndrome in the United States. In other words, let's keep attacking and smearing Pauline Hanson to stem the rise and rise of the One Nation leader and her party. Well, the pylon continues today.
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The headlines read, Now, to the journos writing these stories, have you actually listened to what the One Nation leader said in her interview with my colleague Gary Hardgrave on 4BC?
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I want to play you the audio in full in the first hour of the show, and I'll let you be the judge this morning, ladies and gentlemen, because it's easy to pick a couple of words out of a radio interview and blast it all over the newspapers.
07:54
But let me summarise it for you. So first, Senator Hanson spoke openly about being a survivor of domestic violence herself.
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And her direct message to those women who are trapped in abusive homes was abundantly clear. She said, if you're not in a house where you feel safe, don't put up with it.
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Is that victim blaming? Of course it's not.
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To twist an encouragement for women to reject abuse and leave unsafe environments into victim blaming, I think is grossly unfair.
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Telling victim survivors that they deserve better and shouldn't tolerate violence isn't blaming them. It's validating their right to safety.
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The other point I'd make after listening back to her comments this morning is Pauline Hanson noted that domestic violence is a multifaceted crisis where women too can be perpetrators.
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Now that statement is a conspiracy theory. It's a statistical reality supported by crime data and police reports across this country.
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Acknowledging that men can be victims of family violence does not diminish the suffering of female victims nor does it excuse male perpetrators. Yet simply mentioning this fact was enough to send commentators and advocacy groups into an uproar, accusing her of minimising the issue.
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Before I came on air this morning, I had a media release from the Australian Human Rights Commission. What about this? Australia's Commissioners for Gender Equality and Children's Rights, Dr Anna Cody and Deb Zabaris, have rejected comments by One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, who described domestic and family violence as a two-way street and minimised the inherent risks in leaving abusive relationships. With all due respect to the Commissioners, have they actually listened to her comments?
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I mean, this rush to condemn Pauline Hanson is really wearing thin.
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When the left-leaning sections of the media continuously distort Pauline Hanson's plain spoken advice and factual statements just to land a punch on a divisive political figure, I think they lose their credibility.
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More importantly, they distract from the real complex conversations Australia needs to have about tackling domestic violence.
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Like me, go ahead, criticise Pauline Hanson when she gets it wrong. I've done that in the recent weeks.
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Hold One Nation accountable on policy. But for goodness sake, can we drop the outrage, play the ball instead of the politician and actually listen to the words that are being spoken? 131873 to have your say this morning. You can email me at 2GB.com. You can text me 0460 873 873. I'm the first person to criticise politicians.
10:32
But when the media wants to pick and choose what they report out of a lengthy comment, it goes for about a minute 42. I'll play it for you in full in the first hour. That needs to be called out as well, which is exactly what I'm doing this morning.
10:45
Now, we move on to other things. Look, I've had a few people reach out to me. A few weeks back, you'll remember we were covering this renewed push to install the loudspeakers on Lakemba Mosque to broadcast the Muslim call to prayer.
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And I've had a few people ask, Mark, where is the development proposal up to? Has it been approved? Has it been rejected? Well, the answer so far is not yet. I haven't heard back from council and I haven't heard back from those community leaders as yet.
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It's back in the news, though, today. Harry Clifton and Jason Morrison are reporting in the telly that a Muslim leader has said a councillor opposing the broadcast of the Islamic call to prayer at the Sydney mosque should keep a mouth shut.
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More than 1,600 people have lodged submissions objecting to the plan under which the prayer would be broadcast, the call to prayer, from four speakers mounted about 20 metres up the tower of the Lakemba Mosque.
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The Lebanese Muslim Association is behind the plan and has filed a petition which it says has already attracted more than 5,000 signatures in support.
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But a new front in the battle has emerged with Canterbury Bankstown Councillor Barbara Khoury putting forward a motion that would block the plan. I'll catch up with Barbara this morning.
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The motion to be debated at an upcoming council meeting calls for the area's development control plan to be amended to regulate externally amplified sound at places of worship.
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Now, there's some comments here by Councillor Currie, and we'll talk to her this morning. But the Lebanese Muslim Association Treasurer, Gamal Keir, said yesterday that Ms Currie had been too outspoken about the issue in recent weeks. He says she has an obligation, with all due respect, to keep her mouth shut until the umpire's decision is made.
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She's going to the media screaming blue murder before the due process has taken place. Mr Keir said he believed the issue had become rightly politicised. I think it should be judged on its merits, but it won't be.
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Well, look, as I've said throughout this, freedom of religion is a pillar of Australian life. And the Lakemba Mosque has long stood as a significant, vibrant hub for its worshippers.
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Worshippers have every right to gather, pray, practise their faith fully and freely within the walls of the mosque.
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But in 2026, the argument that external loudspeakers are needed to call the faithful to prayer is unnecessary.
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This has got nothing to do with religion. It's all about protecting the peace and the quiet that we value most in our suburbs across Sydney. So we'll catch up with the Canterbury-Bankstown Councillor, Ms Currie, a little later in the program.
13:27
I also want to see if I can track down Alex Rivchin.
13:30
Jeez, this is terrible. So Alex was down at the Bondi Beach Park where the terrorist attack took place in December of last year and he was joined by some of the Sydney Swans and I saw his post on social media last night.
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I'll read you the story. Jason Morrison's reporting it today.
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Alex has been branded an evil Zionist while visiting the site of the massacre. with a group of AFL players in a shocking confrontation at the scene where 15 innocent people were killed.
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He posted on social media last night, I encountered this lady at Archer Park, the scene of the massacre. My team and I arrived with players and leadership from the Swans who wanted to engage with the Jewish community and learn more about the terrorist attack. From my colleague who survived the massacre, upon seeing me, the lady declared, why are there Zionists here?
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I asked her what she said and she responded that she wanted to know what an evil Zionist was doing here.
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I asked her if she knew where she was standing and how she could be so stupid and inhumane and on she went in the place of a Jewish bloodbath in front of my colleague who was shot in that very place.
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Unbelievable. Unbelievable.
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And just while we're talking about, you know, the terrorist attack and the ideology that was allegedly harboured by those gunmen down at Bondi, we've made a really big song and dance about these ISIS-linked women.
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We've also made a big song and dance about the Australian men who became ISIS fighters and we've made it clear that we don't want them to return home.
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We spoke yesterday about the so-called Mr Jihad, the Perth paediatrician who ended up in Syria fighting with ISIS.
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His family, the authorities thought he was dead.
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Well, he's alive. He's in an Iraqi prison and there's a chance that he could return to Australia.
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Guess what?
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The Australian government knew that he was alive. They didn't say a word. They didn't say a word.
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So we'll have a closer look at that for you later this morning as well.
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Also making news on this Wednesday, gee, some serious questions being asked about Origin Energy, and I think their customers have every right.
15:48
A hacker sent emails to Origin Energy for three weeks. They were ignored. And it wasn't until the same hacker emailed 50 customer records to journalists at The Australian, and they were again forwarded to Origin, that the alarm bell started to ring. So there's an investigation underway in relation to all of that. The Courier Mail in Brisbane is reporting and published some photos of the Olympic venues for the Olympics in 2032. Yeah, they look fantastic, but, gee, we've got to get cracking and build them. Time's running out.
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Donald Trump's top trade official has indicated there'll be an upcoming announcement that could see swathes of global tariffs, including for Australia, so we'll certainly be keeping an eye on that. Would you pay $1,000 to see some politicians in a band?
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That's what the lobbyists have done. They forked out $1,000 each to see Tony Burke's band called Left Right Out on the sidelines of the Labor conference this weekend.
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Gee whiz, you don't even have to pay anything like $1,000 to go and see one of the top international artists when they come to Australia.
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Talk about steep. And keep an eye out for some Hollywood celebrities in Sydney. You've probably seen this in the various newspapers and on the news. Brendan Fraser and Jeff Daniels, they're in town to film an upcoming movie called Starman. So welcome to Sydney, boys. Brendan Fraser and Jeff Daniels. I love Jeff Daniels, not only in Dumb and Dumber, but... There was a show on, I think, was it Foxtel or Netflix called The Newsroom? Fantastic. So a couple of big celebrities in town to film that movie called Starman. Now we turn to sport. We're back into the footy tonight.
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Local derby to kick off round 21 of the NRL at Combank Stadium. Mitch Moses making his return for Parramatta as the Eels tackle the ladder leaders, the Penrith Panthers. Jason Riles has also hit back at comparisons between the signings of Jonah Pezzett and Jerome Lewi. and makes no apologies for anything the club has done in the pursuit of success.
17:41
The South Sydney Rabbitohs, Brent Reid, is reporting they've put contract talks with their stars on hold until the end of the season as the club focuses its energy on rescuing its year from an injury-fuelled abyss.
17:53
Latrell Mitchell's on the sidelines. They've got Talis Duncan's sidelined as well. Cam Murray. So they've got some big injury problems. And I just wanted to highlight what Andrew Johns has written today in the Sydney Morning Herald because I agree with the eighth immortal wholeheartedly.
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He writes, the NRL bunker is not going anywhere. As much as some might want to blow it up, that's not going to happen.
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And he says his number one suggestion for the bunker, reduce the use of super slow motion replays and do it with definitive guidelines. Oh, hallelujah. And thankfully when someone like Andrew Johns speaks, given he's an immortal of the game, we listen.
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And the amount of times I'm calling the game and we go to a slow motion replay, it's got to be watched in full flight.
18:39
It's... They've got to stop slowing everything down because it's... I mean, you go looking for things in a slow-mo replay, you'll inevitably find them. So, yeah, that's what Joey suggested in his column today for The Herald. We're only five rounds away from the AFL finals. Adelaide and Collingwood do battle tonight. We've got the Sydney Derby on Saturday at NG Stadium at 4.35. Yeah, gee, things are really spicing up in this boxing bout between Tim Zhu and Errol Spence. The American is declaring Tim isn't half the fighter, his famous father Kostya was, so that'll no doubt stir the pot with Timmy leading into the fight on the weekend.
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Les Kiss, he'll name his first Wallabies squad this morning for the upcoming Test Series against Japan. And Justin Langer's been omitted from a shortlist to be England's new cricket coach, but a fellow Aussie, Tom Moody. it's believed he's still under consideration by the England Cricket Board. So we'll wait and see what happens there. So there's plenty for us to talk about this morning. If you've got an opinion to share a story to tell something to report, the number to call 131873. You can email me at 2GB.com or you can text me 0460 873 873. You're with Mark Levy as we broadcast on 2GB in Sydney through the 2GB app and via network stations right across Australia.
19:56
Now, I just wanted to bring you up to date with a story that I've been covering this week.
20:02
I've also been the subject of some horrible messages, social media messages and threats, one of which I've shared on social media overnight because I won't stand for it and they will be passed on to police.
20:15
I've had a conversation with the New South Wales Rugby League again this morning and the New South Wales Rugby League has confirmed in relation to this brawl following an under-18s rugby league game between the Campbelltown Collegians and the Oaks Tigers. The New South Wales Rugby League, I can exclusively reveal this morning, will be issuing charges to 10 Campbelltown Collegians players, 10 Campbelltown Collegians players and one player from the Oaks.
20:45
Investigations continue and the New South Wales Rugby League expect that there will be more charges. Both teams remain stood down until the process is complete.
20:56
Now, I've had a lot of people reach out to me from the collegiate side of things saying that they've been the victim and they've been subjected to racist comments by opposing supporters. And I don't want to downplay that at all. That is going to be taken very, very seriously by the New South Wales Rugby League and I'm sure the police as well.
21:16
Having said that, What I would say to anyone that goes along to a junior sporting game, including players, whether they be under 18 or over the age of 18, when you run onto a field, when you jump the fence and feel the need to start throwing punches and laying into spectators and opposing players, it will not be tolerated. It will not be tolerated.
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Which is why I applaud what the New South Wales Rugby League has done in standing down both these teams.
21:48
And as I've revealed this morning, 10 of the Campbelltown Collegiate players will be charged this morning by New South Wales Rugby League. There will be one player charged by the New South Wales Rugby League from the Oaks Tigers.
22:03
Now, to those people suggesting, oh, Mark, you're taking sides, I'm not taking sides whatsoever.
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What I want to encourage is there a safe environment for everyone at Junior Sport.
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As a bloke who used to run around as a junior rugby league referee, I see the crap that goes on at junior sport.
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And if these teams want to start throwing punches, if these teams want to carry on like knuckleheads, they should be stood down and they should be rubbed out of the competition. They should be banned from playing junior sport.
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You know, we talk about trying to get people off computer games. We talk about people wanting to get active and get out there and play sport and play junior sport, junior rugby league. That's fine.
22:42
But at the same time, we need to promote a safe environment. And what I saw in the vision and what I've been told by various sources, including those on the day, the authorities, is that the behaviour of the Campbelltown collegians was disgraceful.
23:00
And if there were spectators hurling racial abuse over the fence, they should be condemned as well.
23:06
That's the sort of behaviour that will not be tolerated at junior sport. It's right on 9.30.
23:12
Nice to have you with us. I'll get to your feedback in just a sec. There's a stack of it for Amasim. Amasim.com for affordable mobile plans. You can escape your pricey telco. Did I say it's Wednesday earlier? I've got a few people saying, Mark, it's Thursday. Yes, it is Thursday. Well, no, it's not. It's Friday Eve.
23:28
Thank you very much for picking me up on that. Now, look, these Pauline Hanson comments in relation to domestic violence... We all know that domestic violence, it's a scourge on our community and police are fighting a battle to bring those perpetrators to justice. And we need to do whatever it takes to support those victims at the centre of a domestic violence relationship.
23:57
But you need to listen to what Pauline Hanson has said in entirety, the entire piece of audio and what she said where she explains herself rather than just picking out the short sentence there where she talks about it being a two-way street.
24:12
And it's a bit rich for people like Dr Anna Cody who can't define what a woman is.
24:17
to condemn the comments. Because as I mentioned, we've got the Commissioners for Gender Equality and Children's Rights, Dr Anna Cody and Deb Zabaris, rejecting the comments made by Pauline Hanson.
24:29
They claim she's described domestic and family violence as a two-way street and minimised the inherent risks in leaving abusive relationships. Well, let me play you, right? It's a minute 42 here and I think it's important for me to play it as a whole. And you'll understand why I keep talking about this anti-Hansonism that's infiltrated the media and also some sections of our community because they can't bring themselves to actually listen to what Pauline Hanson actually says.
24:58
This is what Pauline Hanson said on 4BC yesterday when my colleague Gary Hardgrave asked Pauline to offer up a message. They were having a conversation around domestic violence. What is her message to victims of domestic violence? This is Pauline Hanson's response.
25:15
Well, it is wrong, but it's also a two-way street. But I'm not saying that it's just men and women can lose their cool as well.
25:26
Society is under so much pressure, Gary, than what it used to be, ever has been in the past. And I think today everyone's sitting on a time bomb because the pressures of cost of living and people having to be able to pay the bills, tension that's going on, or if you lose your job or the kids, what's happening with the children in these And it's really hard. I don't think we communicate enough with each other. We don't explain our feelings, what's happening at the moment.
25:59
We bottle it all up. And I think that people need to be able to communicate more, to talk to each other instead of sitting on their phones. If you go to restaurants now, what are they doing sitting opposite each other on their telephones? We've lost the communication because technology has taken that away from us to be able to communicate and tell each other how we feel.
26:22
And it is the precious of life. Domestic violence is a scourge, but sometimes, look, I'm not going to go into detail, but I've been through it myself in my life.
26:35
And I just feel that if you're not in a house where you feel safe, you feel you don't want to be there, then you shouldn't put up with it. And if these women are getting abused by men out there, then don't put up with it. That's what I'm saying.
26:57
You've heard it in full.
27:01
Should Pauline Hanson be condemned for those comments?
27:06
Do you see why I'm calling out the reporting on this today?
27:11
Pauline Hanson spoke about her own experience with domestic violence. Brave.
27:16
Well done, Pauline. Brave.
27:18
And I'm sorry that you went through that.
27:21
She implored domestic violence victims to understand that they do not have to stay in violent relationships and in homes where they are not loved.
27:33
Yet some sections of the media today are condemning her, including Australia's Commissioners for Gender Equality and Children's Rights, where they suggest in a statement that she has minimised the inherent risks in leaving abusive relationships.
27:49
What?
27:52
131873, the number. I think it's important for us to call this out.
27:56
I call it anti-Hansonism. You've heard about Trump derangement syndrome in the United States. I am the first person to sit here and criticise Pauline Hanson when she says something or she does something stupid. I did it, read her comments on Lakemba. I did it in relation to her association and meeting with Tommy Robinson. But I'm sorry, today I will defend Pauline Hanson because she was brave to talk about her own experience with domestic violence. She also encouraged... victims of domestic violence to remove themselves, if they can, from those violent relationships.
28:30
You've heard it, folks. You just heard it in full.
28:33
Should Pauline Hanson be condemned for those comments?
28:37
I'd love for you to give me a ring this morning, 131873. I want to take as many calls after the break as I can.
28:43
Did Pauline Hanson say anything in that comment there that rubbed you the wrong way? 131873, the number, it's 21 to 10.
28:52
There's a lot of people getting in touch saying, Mark, thank you for playing her comments in full. Well, it's important to put some context around them, which is the point I'm trying to make this morning. 131873, the number. Let's get to your calls. Starting off with Paul in Mona Vale. Paul, good morning to you.
29:08
Hey, thanks for taking my call. And you're an absolute legend for calling this out. I mean, I love listening to 2GB. I love your shows. And on this issue, I see in the USA, they've got Trump derangement syndrome. And in Australia, let's call this Hanson hysteria. Hanson hysteria. You heard it first here on 2GB. What do you think of that?
29:33
I think there's a nice ring to it. Hanson hysteria, Paul. Thank you for the call. And there's no need to thank me. I mean, any responsible broadcaster has a responsibility to tell the truth.
29:43
And I would have thought that the Australian media has a responsibility to tell the truth as well in relation to what Pauline Hanson said.
29:51
Yes, she used the term two-way street. But when she explains herself, she talks about being a victim herself. And she also encourages those at the centre of violent relationships, if possible, to remove themselves. You don't have to stay in those violent homes. And I know it's not easy.
30:08
And I'm not taking anything away from that.
30:11
But there's nothing that Pauline Hanson said in that comment yesterday on 4BC that has angered me or I feel that I should sit here and be critical of Pauline Hanson. In fact, I should applaud what Pauline Hanson said.
30:24
And I'd go a step further in suggesting that the real story out of that is that Pauline Hanson was herself a domestic violence victim. 131873, the number. Ed's at Tarmore. Good morning, Ed. Thank you.
30:37
Good morning, Mark. Just driving along here at the moment and listening to the comments that are coming out about Pauline, and my wife actually hit the nail on the head and said, how can you trust the media when allegedly the Labor government is paying them off?
30:53
Good point. It's a great point. You know, and especially how can you trust the media when you pick up the newspapers today and you turn on the TV and it's Pauline Hanson says domestic violence is a two-way street? Well, OK, she said that term, but she explained herself.
31:09
The storyline there should be Pauline Hanson encourages domestic violence victims to seek help to remove themselves from violent relationships. Pauline Hanson herself, domestic violence victim.
31:21
David's phoned through. We'll get to David at Manly Vale right now. David, good morning to you.
31:27
G'day, Mark. Thanks for taking my call. I can't believe all these people attacking this wonderful Pauline Hanson. But look, I just want to say I'm an ex-New South Wales police officer. Over 10 years in general duties, I went to a minimum of 2,000 domestic violence incidents.
31:40
I just want to say two things. Yes, it's a two-way street in the fact that a proportion of the incidents I went to, the offenders were female. And secondly, there's a lot of male victims out there who won't report it because it's a scourge and they're embarrassed. And I also, I know personally two men in my life that are actually victims of domestic violence would never report it because it's a real scourge. So, yeah, she's on the right track and I support her so much and I just can't believe that people try and bring her down for speaking the truth.
32:08
Yeah, and David, look, there's no doubt that there are vastly more women who are victims of domestic violence. That is the first point I'd make. But secondly, there is nothing factually incorrect about Pauline Hanson suggesting it is a two-way street because there are women who are charged with domestic violence as well. And that's the point David has just made as a former New South Wales police officer. David, thank you for your service. Keith's at Denham Court. Good morning, Keith.
32:35
Yes, the Labor attack dogs are out, Mark. Honestly, she must be a threat to Labor because the mean girls will be next and the mean men will be next. They will try to knock anything she says because she's a threat to them. And this is what happens. This is what happened to Tony Abbott. This is what is going to happen to her. So anybody that believes them, should really have a good look at themselves because they will just pick little bits here and there to try to say this is what she said.
33:07
But as you say, look at exactly what she said, and we all agree. Men and women can be domestically violent. Men and women.
33:15
Yep. And you've got to listen to it in full. Hey, Keith, thanks for the call, mate. I really appreciate it. 131873. And you're right. I mean, we've even got the government's union mates trying to throw off yesterday with this whole, oh, we're going to push a motion at the Labor conference to remove the union jack from the Australian flag. As if that's going to get up.
33:34
As if that's going to get up at the Labor conference. But why was it floated?
33:39
so we can take the spotlight away from the Labor lies and put it onto something entirely different. We won't talk about One Nation. We won't talk about the Albanese government. No, we'll talk about this suggestion to remove the Union Jack from the Australian flag. We're not stupid. We're not stupid at all. Annette's at Botany. Good morning, Annette.
33:56
Oh, good morning, Mark. God bless you, Mark. Thank you, Annette. She is very human, love, and she's experienced domestic violence.
34:05
She's one of us and God bless them. Yeah, and that's the thing, Annette.
34:11
Rather than these human rights commissioners coming out and condemning her today, At any point in their statement, do they say anything about, you know, supporting Pauline Hanson because she too was a domestic violence victim? Of course not. Because it all plays into the, you know, attack lines that we've got to run when it comes to One Nation and the rise and rise of another party because the Australian electorate is sick of the major parties. That's what it all boils down to. The major parties are spooked. They don't know what to do. They want to protect their political futures.
34:42
So what's the easy thing to do? Keep putting the boot into Pauline Hanson. Well, I'm sorry, we've all got a responsibility to call it out. I'll call her out when she does something stupid. I'll call her out when she says something silly. But in relation to the comments she made on 4BC in Brisbane yesterday, there was nothing controversial about it. It's 11 to 10.
35:01
Now, I've just done some digging as we welcome you back at eight minutes to ten.
35:06
I've just gone into the Australian Bureau statistics to look up some data, just to prove my point around the fact that women are also charged with domestic violence. And I made the point that obviously there are vastly more men who are charged with domestic violence. So according to the Bureau of Statistics, nearly three quarters of offenders, 74 per cent, preceded against by police were male.
35:30
the male offender rate was around three times higher than the female offender rate. So this data, let me just double check the, yeah, 24, 25 financial year. So in that 12 month period, there were 2,130 male offenders per 100,000 males, 692 female offenders per 100,000 females.
35:52
So acts intended to cause injury was the most common principal offence among both male offenders and female offenders. Both male and female offenders reached the highest number recorded for this offence in the 17-year time series. So that just emphasises the fact that it's not only men who are charged with domestic violence, it's women as well.
36:14
131873, the number, 2GB.com. Click onto the feedback icon. Now, look, it's been a bit heavy this first hour, so let me lighten things up for you for a second. I made mention of the fact off the top of the show that I've heard this song that I can't get out of my head called Eastern Rosellas. And there's a young singer-songwriter, he's seven. His name is Miles Phillips, and he's been doing the rounds over the last 24 hours, interview after interview after interview. Still very grounded. He's at primary school, mind you. Well, I'm going to play this song for you. He's backed by his father, actor Joel Phillips, on keyboard, hand claps and backing vocals.
36:49
And have a listen to this, folks, and I'm sure, like me, you will not be able to get it out of your head.
37:05
How good is he? He's seven. His name's Miles. I'm sorry, you're going to have it in your head all day. Eastern Rosellas, look at the beautiful colours. He's a star. Someone sign him. What do you think, folks? 0460 873 873. I'll play it to Sarah a little bit later on as well.
37:22
It's four minutes to ten.
37:24
Yeah, there's some thumbs up for Miles. Love it, Miles. Mark, love the song. A joy to listen to. A real voice. None of that horrible auto-tune. Well, I hope someone signs him. He's got a future. Seven-year-old Miles. Eastern Rosellas. We've got a break for some news. Stop singing, Mark.
37:48
Across Australia, this is Mornings with Mark Levy.
37:53
Second hour of the program. Wendy's been in touch during that news break. You can have your say like Wendy's done, thanks to Amasim, amasim.com, and tell your pricey telco where to go. She says, Morning, Mark. Five out of our six grandkids play junior sport, mainly rugby league, and I never want to see any sort of abuse or violence at any junior sporting game, and I congratulate you on your strong stance. against such behaviour. There should be zero tolerance of any sort of violence from both players and spectators. A life ban should be imposed. Well, Wendy's referring to the news exclusively that we brought you off the top of the program, and it relates to the story we shared with you on Monday, the brawl between the Campbelltown Collegians and the Oaks Tigers, which also involves spectators.
38:37
New South Wales Rugby League confirming that 10 Campbelltown Collegians players will be charged this morning. and one player from the Oaks Tigers. There are also investigations ongoing in relation to allegations of racist comments being hurled over the fence. So either way, we do not support or condone violence of any nature, and that goes for racist comments being hurled over the fence as well. So we'll leave that in the capable hands of the authorities. The New South Wales Rugby League... and also the New South Wales Police.
39:09
Now, we've also had a couple of politicians out and about this morning. Let's start off with Bridget McKenzie. She's been asked on the Today Show what she would like to see come out of this Labor conference in South Australia. I don't think the ALP will be taking suggestions from a national senator, but here's what Bridget McKenzie had to say this morning.
39:30
Our problem is one of inflation. It means real wages are going backwards and the poor are the ones that are hurt the most when you have a high inflation environment. So when government spending is out of control, that's when inflation and therefore interest rates go on the rise. And what we've seen from the Labor Party is they're unable to get their spending profile under control. They've now had five budgets. to get it right. And as we've seen from their last budget, they're more interested in taxing hardworking Australians than they are in actually cutting back their own spending.
40:07
So my concern is that any solution the government puts on the table won't actually make the problem of high inflation worse.
40:18
Bridget McKenzie, the National Senator, speaking on the Today Show this morning. Also on the Today Show is David Crisofulli, the Queensland Premier now. This is a national story, the Olympic Games in 2032 in Brisbane, with today marking six years to go. And I touched on the fact that there's some photos that have been printed in the Courier Mail today. You'll see them online as well of what the venues are going to look like. They look fantastic. That's the first point I'd make, but... we've just got to get on and start building them and make sure that they're ready to go by the time the Olympics rolls around in 2032 because there's no doubt that they've been slow to the party on all of this and it dates back to the previous government.
40:59
But now David Crisofulli and Tim Mander, they've inherited this and they want to put on a great show. They'll still want to obviously be in charge and in power in 2032. Anyway, Mr Crisofulli was asked whether in order to be on time and on budget, he would have have to cut capacity. in relation to these stadiums. Here's the response from the Premier.
41:19
We're optimistic about what it looks like both in games mode and legacy mode. Both are equally important. So it's early days. We've done the architectural design.
41:29
We'll then go out to market. We'll shortlist to a couple of builders. And then during that process, there'll be a bit more detailed design. So you might have to cut capacity, is what you're saying? We have to strike...
41:39
We're pretty optimistic, Sylvia. It's early days, and we have to make sure we do the work. But equally, we've got a responsibility for the budget. So that's always a balancing act as you go through things. But have a look at what we're doing next door with the stadium. We promised that we'd get cracking. We promised that there'd be work, so there's contractors on there. It's full steam ahead. But it's right across the state. And I was in regional Queensland the other day driving the Bruce Highway, and you're seeing a power of work linking those venues in the regions as well. There's a real sense of optimism, and today with six years to go, I want Queenslanders to be equally optimistic about the fact that it will be done on time and on budget, and it will be a Games for all of Queensland, and this is a really exciting step forward.
42:21
David Christofulli speaking on the Today Show this morning, referencing the Aquatic Centre, which is one of the venues that we're getting a look at in the various newspapers today, namely the Courier Mail. Look, we're a sporting proud nation. We love when Aussies do well and we want the Brisbane Olympics to go off without a hitch. Similar to what Juan Antonio Samaranch said after the Sydney Games, this is the best games ever.
42:45
Well, we want the exact same thing to happen in Brisbane. And I know there's the rivalry between New South Wales and Queensland, but this is good for Australia and it's a chance for Australia to showcase itself to the world. So let's hope, let's hope that it's a successful one and everything goes off without a hitch. The Brisbane Olympics in 2032 and on the topic of Aussie athletes, again, good luck to the Australians competing at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with the Comm Games to get underway tonight with the opening ceremony in Glasgow.
43:21
Ah, now, the Energy and Climate Change Minister, Chris Bowen. He's been found out again, folks, when it comes to the rollout of renewable energy. You know the Home Battery Subsidy Scheme? Well, the government keeps pointing to it as one of the answers to bring down the cost of electricity in this country, but it's costing an absolute fortune. And the batteries, guess where they're being made predominantly? You betcha, overseas. Noah Yim, I'll give him credit. He's got the story on the front page of The Australian today. Noah writes, and despite us being billed as supporting local businesses, only three of the 136 approved manufacturers are Australian.
44:10
The Department of Climate Change and Energy has admitted that at the program's outset, it had only expected to support around $4,500 per battery installed, but households chose to install higher average battery sizes, and this blew out to $7,910 in the first six months of the program's operation. The individual battery blowout comes after months of concerns about the runaway costs of a program that had a budget of $2.3 billion over four years, but is now expected to cost $8.5 billion over the life of the program.
44:48
Unbelievable. The department claims that it had not yet detected an inflationary effect of the huge surge in home battery installations driven by the subsidies. Mr Bowen had spruiked those battery power underestimates in the past as proof of his renewable revolution's economic worth. A standard Tesla power all battery is 13.5 kilowatt hours and costs $11,450 for one unit. A 30% discount would be worth about $3,500. Red Energy says a two-parent, two-children household uses about 41 kilowatts an hour a day.
45:23
Well, this has become a train wreck for Bobo, and it also begs the question, and I know you and I keep asking it, how is he still in the job?
45:31
The home battery subsidy scheme was designed under the banner of relief for struggling households, but the policy has turned into a masterclass in runaway government spending.
45:41
When the program was initially conceived, and I'll say it again, it was budgeted $2.3 billion over four years, estimating support of around $4.5 grand per battery. We're six months in. That outlay per battery has blown out by 75%, $7,910. And it's driven the projected life of program cost to $8.5 billion. How did it happen?
46:07
Well, the department underestimated the size of the batteries, didn't they? And the households that they would choose to install them in.
46:15
Worse still, until an April rule change, a flat discount rate applied to massive batteries up to 50 kilowatt hours, creating a perverse incentive for larger installations that drain the public office. The program was so badly managed that it actually ran out of money.
46:31
The government had to quietly rush through rule changes to let the Clean Energy Regulator cover the subsidy while waiting for emergency appropriation bills to pass. And adding insult to injury for Australian taxpayers, the economic benefit is largely flowing offshore.
46:46
As I mentioned, of the 136 approved battery manufacturers in the program, just three. Three of the 136 approved battery manufacturers are Australian.
46:59
So while Bobo boasts about an energy revolution, billions in taxpayer subsidies are propping up foreign supply chains rather than local manufacturing.
47:09
I think Dan T and the shadow energy minister has nailed it in Noah's story today in the Oz. He says that Chris Bowen is happy to waste money because it was poorly designed and the minister failed to intervene until it was too late.
47:22
The battery subsidy blowout isn't an isolated glitch. It's symptomatic of a broader shift in our energy debate. We've been talking lately about the change from the CSIRO, which has long been saying that the renewables are the absolute cheapest form of power. Well, that's changed. It's no longer the case.
47:41
So can we just start facing facts? Chris Bowen cannot keep hiding basic numbers. Households were promised a $275 reduction in their electricity bills instead... They got record power prices, an increasingly brittle energy grid and billions of their own tax dollars spent papering over poor policy design.
48:01
It's time for the government to stop treating our money like a bottomless pit and concede that its rushed transition to renewables is costing Australia a fortune without delivering on its core promise.
48:14
Stop the spin. Enough is enough. Australians deserve an affordable and stable energy grid. Not poorly designed subsidies and endless budget blowouts. It's 17 and a half past 10.
48:26
Now, I'm just having a look at some reports internationally.
48:29
I note Vanessa Marsh, the US correspondent for News Corp, is reporting that the Houthi terrorists have opened a new front in the Iran war, firing on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. The strike conducted with missiles and drones is the first attack by the Iran-backed Yemeni terror group since it announced a blockade of Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports earlier this week. In a statement to X, a Houthi spokesperson said the tankers named Layla and Insilia had been targeted for a violation of the blockade decision.
49:00
In addition to the strikes, the Houthis claim a further 10 ships had been forced to retreat and return. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported that a tanker has been struck by an unknown projectile which has caused a fire on board that the crew are currently fighting.
49:18
It said no fatalities had been reported in the strikes and it came hours after a furious Donald Trump vowed to inflict maximum damage on Iran's vital infrastructure in retaliation for attacks on vessels attempting to navigate the Strait of Hormuz. And there are further reports that those strikes are underway.
49:35
So we'll keep an eye on this throughout the morning and I'm sure Michael will have more to say about it after the news at midday as well. He follows what's happening in the Middle East fairly closely if you've been listening to his program. So there's a new front, Houthi terrorists firing on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
49:56
Now, speaking of tensions boiling over, that's exactly what's happening in the Canterbury-Bankstown Council area. With this proposal to broadcast the Islamic call to prayer from Lakemba Mosque, sparking intense public debate, the plan by the Lebanese Muslim Association to mount four loudspeakers to amplify the Friday call to prayer has divided the area. drawing thousands of petition signatures in support alongside nearly 1,800 formal objections from local residents. While supporters argue the 15-minute weekly broadcast complies with noise guidelines, others fear it sets a precedent that threatens community harmony.
50:35
The debate has turned increasingly personal after a prominent Muslim leader publicly told an opposing councillor to keep her mouth shut until council votes. At the very centre of this storm is the local representative who has introduced a crucial motion to block the plan by strictly regulating externally amplified sound at all local places of worship, which has happened not only in other parts of Australia, but I think I'm right in saying in other parts of the world. Barbara Currie is her name. She's a Canterbury-Bankstown councillor.
51:05
She's also the deputy mayor. I've got her on the line. Barbara, good morning to you.
51:10
Oh, good morning. Yes, I'm the former Deputy Mayor of Canterbury Council, Mark. Good morning to you and all your listeners on a lovely sunny morning.
51:17
Thank you very much for joining us. I must admit, when I heard the comments or when I saw and read the comments today in the Telegraph of the Muslim leader suggesting that you need to keep your mouth shut, I thought to myself, well, no one should be silenced in a debate. That's what democracy is all about. How do you feel when you hear the Muslim leader saying that you need to keep your mouth shut?
51:37
Well, I was very, very disappointed in that comment, and perhaps he might avail himself of our federal constitution, which has an implied freedom of political speech and communication, and everybody knows that in this country. So perhaps he ought to get himself a copy of the constitution and be reminded of that.
51:56
And I won't be silenced, Mark.
51:57
I am elected to do my civic duty and I am doing my civic duty and I will not be silenced.
52:04
Good on you, Barbara. Good on you. That's the first thing I would say. Just before we get to your motion and what's brought this response from the Lebanese Muslim Association, just explain to the listeners that aren't across the details of this story. So we've got Lakemba Mosque. And they want to put these four loudspeakers up on the tower for the call to prayer. Is that right?
52:23
Correct. And it's to be broadcast for the Friday prayers at midday, up to 15 minutes. And look, Mark, we have had social harmony and peace in our area. I've never experienced such a time in my local government area. I've lived here all my life. I've been in local government for 30 years. This has caused a lot of political and social unrest.
52:52
Up to 1,800 people have written in to the Department of Planning opposing it. A lot of the local residents that live near the mosque do not practice, you know, religion.
53:03
We should all be able to pray in silence. This is an amenity problem and it is not... It has nothing to do with racism or religion. It is purely an amenity problem we have at the moment.
53:17
When I broke the story, Barbara, on this program, because this is the second development application, and the point I would make is the first time this...
53:27
development application was put to council it was rejected because of the 329 submissions received by council all but one opposed the plan so 328 submissions of the 329 were against the idea you've now got 1800 residents formally objecting to it the point i've made throughout this is that this has got nothing to do with religion You know, people are more than welcome to go and pray inside the walls of the mosque. Absolutely. But when people, after a day at work, go home, they're entitled to some peace and quiet.
53:58
Or if they're sitting inside their living room or in the dining room, they're entitled to some peace and quiet. That's what this all boils down to, surely.
54:06
Absolutely. I mean, we have a lot of shift workers. They sleep during the day. We have a lot of schools. We have childcare centres. This is purely an amenity problem. Unfortunately, the chairperson of the LMA fails to understand this. Now, the biggest problem I have with this particular development application is that the ex-Mayor Cal Asfor is the Chief Executive Officer of the LMA. He has remained silent. He has left it to Jamal Keir to make these statements. Mr Asfor was the former mayor of my council.
54:39
He is still a councillor. He is the CEO. His name is on that acoustic report that's now being published. submitted as part of this development application. And the current mayor works for the LMA as well. And the LMA are the fourth largest recipients of council grants.
55:01
and they're the highest recipients of council money's religious groups. They're the largest recipient. So this council's been very, very good to the LMA. And my question is, who is actually running Canterbury-Bankstown Council? I mean, my view is that... If we reach a point where, you know, we are calling for a call to prayer, you know, to be installed on the top of the mosque in this area when the bells of the churches are not ringing, we're not asking. And I would oppose the bells ringing as well.
55:32
I would say that, you know, we have lost. the vision of this council, we should be there for roads, rates and rubbish and not for this sort of thing. And the council should be dismissed or demerged. That's my view.
55:44
I'll reach out to Mr Asfor and I've got a really good relationship with Bilal El Hayek, the current mayor. When I came down to Lakemba for the street festival last year, I had a wonderful time down there. So I'll reach out to both gentlemen and see what their response is to what you've put to me this morning. Tell me about this motion that you're going to put to council.
56:03
Well, it's a motion that I believe is necessary to protect the amenity of the area. We have up to 99 different nationalities in our area and there are a number of religions in our area and we all live in peace and harmony. But my view is, and it'll always be my view, is that when you pray, you pray in silence and you do not create an amenity problem for your neighbours. That has always been my position. You have the freedom to practice your religion. I have no problem with that.
56:34
And we live in peace and harmony with our Muslim brothers and sisters.
56:39
But we have other people that live in this area that either one, do not want to practice religion, or two, have their own religion, but I would say do not impact on the amenity of the area. It's a very, very simple request. And to say that now the decibels have come down, I want Councillor Asfor, the Chief Executive Officer of the Lebanese Muslim Association, to make a statement where he stands on this. and Councillor El Hayek, who is the Mayor. Both gentlemen work for the Lebanese Muslim Association and they need to make a statement.
57:13
It should not be left to the chairperson of the committee to be making these public statements and surely saying to me as a councillor, I need to keep my mouth shut. I am appalled, I am disappointed and I would like an apology. in writing from Mr Keir for making that statement about an elected person. I have been elected by my residents and ratepayers to do my civic duty and I will not be silenced.
57:41
Well, the other point I'd make off the back of that, Barbara, is you're also a woman. I would never talk to a woman like that, telling a woman to keep her mouth shut. That's the other point I would make off the back of that. Can I just address the elephant in the room here?
57:56
Why does Lakemba Mosque, and I know you're not attached to Lakemba Mosque, but why do they need speakers for the call to prayer in a world in 2026 when we've got mobile phones, when we've got social media? Why do they need to broadcast the call to prayer over the loudspeakers?
58:13
Well, Mr Kier made a statement. He was asked that very same question in the Telegraph a few weeks ago. He said it was not really for the worshippers. It was for the greater community to hear the call to prayer. Now, my view is this. But hang on, Barbara. But hang on.
58:28
If the local community don't want to hear it, doesn't that fly in the face of what Lakemba Moss wants to do?
58:35
Look, I totally agree. I don't believe that this is actually for the persons that go there to worship on a Friday prayer. They do know their duties. A good Muslim, every Friday at midday, you go and pray and you get a reminder on your mobile to pray if you have forgotten. And it's just not necessary. That mosque has been there from the 1970s.
59:02
And they've never had a problem with, you know, having people. It's been a very, very successful mosque, and I do congratulate them on that. So it's not a position of where people are not going there to pray. They are going there to pray. It's been very, very successful. So I just don't understand why this request has been put in. And it's quite disingenuous of Mr Keir to compare this to the noise of a fridge. Yeah. You know, these are major amplified pieces of equipment placed very high.
59:39
My view is it'll be heard, you know, far and beyond Lakemba. It could possibly be reaching areas such as Struthfield and all the outer areas.
59:49
Just quickly, Barbara, I've got to move on to other things. When can we expect a decision on this? Because every time I've asked the question, the response is, oh, it's gone to a panel. The council doesn't actually make the decision. The council lures. When can we expect the decision? Do you know the answer to that?
60:03
Well, my understanding, it is going to a planning panel in early August, which is in a few weeks' time. And this is the reason why Mr Keir has been making these statements.
60:13
All right. Well, leave it. And I want to say one further thing. Just quickly.
60:16
The petition that has been taken up, the petition has been worldwide. It's not from the local community. It is a worldwide petition.
60:24
All right.
60:24
Fantastic. Thank you so much.
60:25
Barbara, thank you for joining us and good on you for what you're doing because it's got nothing to do with religion. The point I've made throughout this debate is that our suburbs are places where people of all faiths and no faith. Come home to find a bit of sanctuary at the end of the day. That sanctuary, I think, is worth fighting for. So, look, I'll reach out to, through my team, Mr Asfor, the former Mayor of Canterbury. I'll also reach out to Bilal El Hayak and find out what they've got to say about all of this. And there's an open invitation if either of those gentlemen want to join me on this program to explain why we need speakers on top of Lakemba Mosque for the call to prayer.
61:02
What do you think, folks? 131873, the number. You can email me at 2GB.com and you can text me 0460 873873. We've heard from Barbara Currie there. Harry's another councillor on Canterbury-Bankstown Council. Harry, good morning to you.
61:16
G'day, Mark. Look, I just want to reiterate what Barbara said earlier. I'm allied and I agree with her 100% on what her views. At the end of the day, we need to maintain the peace and privacy of residents within the area. It's about protecting the amenity. It has nothing to do with the religion. At the end of the day, whether it's Greek Orthodox or anybody of Buddhist faith or Hindu faith or Islamic faith, I don't want prayers being blasted over our microphones above any sort of temple or mosque or church, you know, blaring away, disrupting the privacy and peace and quiet and the tranquility that people have within their own homes.
61:54
Yeah, fair enough.
61:55
That's what it's all about.
61:55
Fair enough. Harry, I'm going to move on to other things, mate, but I just wanted to touch on it again. We have spent a fair bit of time on it and I've made my thoughts very, very clear. I was disappointed when I read the comments by the Lebanese Muslim Association Treasurer, Gamil Kiyah. No one should be told to keep their mouth shut in particular a member of council who is putting a motion to council. Look, I'll leave that to you guys to debate in council chambers and at your next council meeting, but I think every time we've spoken about this, people are saying no.
62:29
If churches, if Anglican churches, Catholic churches have had to stop ringing the church bells because of noise complaints by locals, I don't understand how a local council like Canterbury-Bankstown could possibly approve the the installation of loudspeakers for a call to prayer on Lakemba Mosque. We'll take a break at 25 to 11, be back with more right after this.
62:49
Yeah, let's share some of your feedback on this.
62:52
There's a really good email here from Michael who says he's listening in Victoria, believe it or not. Thank you, Michael, for your support, obviously listening online or via the 2GB app. Morning, Mark. If the speakers are only as loud as a fridge, what's the point of using them in the first place if it's not for worshippers?
63:10
After all, they're not called loudspeakers for nothing. What a joke of an argument. That's not a bad point, Michael. Thank you for that. And I just want to seize on something Barbara made mention of. You know, I made reference to the last time the development application was put to council and there were 329 submissions received by council off the back of the first development proposal.
63:35
And of the 329 submissions, all but one opposed the plan.
63:41
So one of the 329 submissions thought it was a good idea to install the loudspeakers on the top of the tower at Lakemba Mosque.
63:51
So you fast forward to the second development application and the point that was made by Barbara, you know, the Lebanese Muslim Association is behind this plan and has filed a petition which it claims has already attracted more than 5,000 signatures in support. As Barbara said, that's not a petition that's gone out to the local community, you know, letterbox drop or into your emails. That's a petition that's gone around the world.
64:16
So is it any wonder that it's had 5,000 signatures in support? And the reason I make that point in comparison is how can you as a Lebanese Muslim Association honestly say they are from local community if that's what they're putting to council? When the first time the development application went to council, there were 329 submissions, all but one opposed the plan.
64:38
And what, all of a sudden, a few months on, when a second development application is put to council, all of a sudden 5,000 people support the speakers on Lakemba Mosque?
64:48
Give me a break.
64:52
Mark, this call to prayer, how many decibels is it? Isn't there something called noise pollution certain hours from Bob?
64:59
Well, there were some adjustments made to that, and Barbara mentioned the noise report. I've got all of the documentation. When I first broke the story, I've got it in the office. I can dig it up and come back to you on it, but I had a look at it, and apparently Mr Asfor's name is on the sound report, according to what Barbara told us. So I'll have to have a closer look at that. Dear Mark, why is it not possible to broadcast the call to prayer via their personal phones or cars? When we go through the new car tunnels, broadcasts are transmitted into cars. Do that.
65:29
We Christians have our bells, but not via speakers and not five times a day. It's invasive to say the least. Pray quietly from Georgia. Well, this is the thing I've been saying. You know, when Anglican and Catholic Church across Sydney have had to stop ringing the bells because of noise complaints, how can Canterbury Bankstown Council then allow speakers to be put on top of a mosque?
65:51
Mark, I'd like to correct you slightly with my opinion. While you say the speakers are not about religion, I don't quite agree. I'm a Christian who doesn't go to church, but I believe in God, and I certainly don't want someone else trying to force their beliefs down my throat, just as I do not try and ram my beliefs down anyone else's. Thank you from Jason. Yeah, that's a fair point, Jason. Thank you for making it. And Mark, they haven't had the call to prayer for 50 years since it was built.
66:15
Why now?
66:18
And again, I think that's another fair point made by Bob. So anyway, we'll leave it in the hands of council. I'll ask some questions of the mayor. We'll reach out to him for a statement. We'll also reach out to Karl Asfall, the former mayor, who's now the boss of the Lebanese Muslim Association. And hopefully common sense prevails like it did when the first application was put to council. 131873, the number, 2GB.com. Click onto the feedback icon if you would like to join us. Just a reminder, this Saturday we'll be broadcasting the Continuous Call Team from Canterbury League Club as we celebrate 40 years of the Continuous Call Team, a show that was started by Ray Hadley and Bob Fulton and Peter Fralingos Two of those gentlemen no longer with us, of course, Chippy and Bozo.
66:59
So we'll be paying tribute to them across the weekend and Ray as well. We'll be playing some audio highlights. We'll have a listen back to some of those famous songs by the Robertson brothers. And we'll be calling two games from the stage at Canterbury Leagues. The 5.30 game between the Bulldogs and the Warriors. I'll call that with the big man and Paul Gallon. And then at 7.35, Chris Warren, Josh Morris and Mark Piggy-Riddell. to call the Cowboys and the Broncos. We'll have plenty of fun. We've got a few special prizes to give away on the day as well, some mementos from the Continuous Call team.
67:30
So if you're looking for something to do, why not come and join us? 1 till 10 at Canterbury Leagues Club this Saturday as we celebrate 40 years of the Continuous Call team.
67:40
Finance update for you as we welcome you back at 13 to 11. Mark Levy on 2GB Mornings. The All Ordinary is up 84.4, 0.94% to 9,089.3. The dollar, 69.91 US cents. And I note Pauline Hanson has posted on social media, there is a concerted effort by some in the media to constantly take my comments out of context. Yesterday, Gary Hardgrave gave me the opportunity to have a thorough discussion on a variety of topics, which included the scourge of domestic violence. To Gary's credit, he had the whole interview live on radio stations across Queensland.
68:15
The whole interview was put on the 4BC website for everyone to hear, including journalists. But some within rival media decided to use only a few quotes and made out that I downplayed domestic violence. That's untrue, hence why it's important that people hear the whole interview. I understand that not all journalists share One Nation's political views, but as a journalist, you're there to report the facts and allow readers to make their own minds up on whether they do support One Nation policies and views. The demise of journalistic integrity is what's killing trust and revenue at many of these newspapers and free-to-air networks.
68:50
Together with AI, this is why the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have cut another 30 jobs over the last 24 hours.
68:56
I'm growing less tolerant of many journalists within the mainstream media and so too are the public. And she's posted the full segment where Gary Hardgrave and Pauline Hanson discussed a whole range of things, including the topic of domestic violence. And it goes to exactly what I said off the top of the show.
69:17
Now, 12 minutes to 11. Gee, it feels like every week brings another reminder of just how frayed our social fabric has become, even in spaces meant for healing. Just yesterday, what was meant to be a quiet visit to the Bondi Beach massacre site alongside Sydney Swans players and a survivor of the tragedy quickly turned hostile when a bystander confronted the group calling them evil Zionists.
69:42
It's so confronting to know that a quiet moment of community solidarity was suddenly shattered by hostility.
69:49
I saw a post by Alex Rivchin, the co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jury, and he was down there with the Swans and his colleague, Evan Zlatkus, when they were abused in Archer Park. I thought we'd catch up with Alex. He's on the line right now. Alex, good morning to you.
70:05
Good morning, Mark.
70:06
Mate, first and foremost, what were you doing down there with the Sydney Swans?
70:10
Well, the Swans, very shortly after the massacre, they came down to the Bondi Pavilion Memorial site. The men's team, the women's team, coaches in full colours to offer their support and solidarity with the community, which was beautiful and very well received. They then paid tribute to the victims of the Bondi Massacre during the season opener. And then the club reached out again, and they wanted to go to the synagogue to which the majority of the victims belong, just to meet the rabbi and get office support and hear more about the Jewish faith. with no fanfare, with no media present.
70:42
They just wanted to do it as an act of dignity and respect. And they also wanted to tour the massacre site. And so we facilitated that. And the person who I brought along to give the tour at the site was my friend and colleague, Evan, who I know you know as well, Mark. And we arrived there and there was a gathering of people for some different purpose. I'm connected with the visit of the Swans.
71:05
And Evan and I were just standing there in conversation. And then this woman approached and started saying, what are you doing here? Why are you here? Why are there Zionists here? You evil Zionists, you shouldn't be here.
71:17
And, you know, over the last few years, and you and I have spoken about many of these incidents, Mark, I feel like we've seen and heard it all and we've copped a lot.
71:25
But to have this woman in that sacred place, speaking in that way, was just astounding. And I really felt particularly for Evan. He's someone who was shot on that day. Evan and I lost close friends, people who we knew and loved our whole lives.
71:42
And to have her desecrating a sacred place, a massacre site, and using that sort of language, it was abominable. And it shocked everyone who was around. The woman was roundly condemned. The police were conducting their patrols and they observed this and then spoke to her. So I think the way that it was dealt with was appropriate and correct. But just the fact that we have to keep dealing with this nonsense and the swans bore witness to it. And I think it just shows, you know, it's another important reminder of what goes on in our society sometimes.
72:10
Mate, I'm sitting here shaking my head. I really am.
72:14
Archer Park where 15 people died, lost their lives simply practising their faith and some woman comes up to you and says that.
72:24
You know, one thing I've been saying, Alex, in recent weeks is that, and I spoke to your colleague, the other co-chief executive of the Council of Australian Jury, and I was talking about, you know, the fact that we keep referring to the fact we've got a Royal Commission, which is great. Yeah.
72:40
But there are more and more examples of anti-Semitism. And I would have thought Bondi and what happened on that infamous night back in December was a line in the sand, a wake-up call for this country. But the fact that a woman comes up to you, a respected Jewish community leader, and says that, it just proves nothing's changed.
73:02
And, you know, the fact that she used the same language about evil Zionists, which the police will allege in their prosecution of one of the killers, that they used in their video manifesto also railing about the evil of zionists and using that to justify their slaughter of innocent people in that place it just shows what we always knew that you're not talking about a couple of people you're talking about an ideology that has taken root in segments of society and some are minded to then act violently and kill people some resort to abuse and vilification and exclusion and harassment but we're not dealing with something isolated and that's why the royal commission process has been so important in airing all this but i feel like the longer we go down that road it shows that there are a lot of people among us who resent that process resent any mention of anti-semitism um and and really believe with the harassment and vilification and sometimes with the murder of jews it's not a majority and the overwhelming majority of aussies will be absolutely appalled by what this woman did.
74:08
But I think that we're seeing that it's not an isolated thing. There's something deeply wrong with our society and we need to drive it out because it's corrupting what we are as a nation.
74:18
I'm so sorry you went through it again yesterday, Alex. What that woman should have done was to walk up and embrace you like I did at that Bondi Memorial and to stand in solidarity with our Jewish community who have been through enough. Mate, do me a favour, pass on my regards to Evan and... When I was down there, Evan pulled up his shirt and showed me where those two bullets entered his body on that night, and it's something I'll never forget. Much love to your community, Alex. I'm sorry again for what you've been through, mate, and we'll talk soon.
74:46
Thank you, Mark. Really appreciate it. Thank you to your listeners as well. Thank you.
74:49
Good on you, mate. Alex Rivchin, haven't they been through enough?
74:54
For a woman to walk up and say that in the park where those people died, You're just lost for words, aren't you?
75:07
And you think back to what should have been done by our political leaders in calling it out the moment that there was a protest on the steps of the Opera House. Alex came on this show.
75:18
I still remember the words that he said. He said, Mark, someone will die unless we stop this.
75:25
Not one person died, 15.
75:27
15 innocent people, including beautiful 10-year-old Matilda.
75:32
Dozens more suffered life-changing injuries, not to mention the mental anguish that they're going to go through remembering what happened on that ill-fated night down at Mondai Beach. And for a woman to walk up at the site of the massacre and say that, shame on you, ma'am. Shame on you.
75:51
Four and a half to 11.
75:53
We've got the news coming up at 11. We're going to lighten the mood in the final hour. It's been a busy and pretty heavy couple of hours with some pretty intense topics that we've had to cover. But this is what's going on in the country. We don't shy away from them and we tackle them head on. And you certainly know where I stand on them. We've got Anthony Albanese shaking hands at the 50th National Conference. that's underway, the Labor Conference in Adelaide. We'll share some of that with you in the next hour of the program. But more importantly, Sarah MacDonald will be in the house, ladies and gentlemen, fresh from a trip to Scotland.
76:24
I can't wait to hear her stories. I've always wanted to go to Scotland with my Scottish heritage on my dad's side of the family. So one day it'll happen anyway. We'll catch up with Sarah after the news.
76:42
This is Mornings with Mark Levy right across Australia.
76:47
Final hour of the program. Sarah McDonald is in the building. She is looking refreshed. She's ready to rock and roll, and I reckon she's got some stories. I wasn't aware, but she went to Scotland with her son.
76:57
And I think her son may have enjoyed the first week, but not so much. No, I shouldn't say that. He loves his mum. Anyway, we'll catch up with Sarah, and I'm sure she's got a few stories to share with us in just a moment, including a couple of prizes to be won. We'll get you involved as well on 131873. You can have your say thanks to Amasim, amasim.com, and tell your pricey telco where to go. We've got the tickets to see Marsha Hines in a 70-minute non-stop disco spectacular. with boiling hot vocals and jaw-dropping circus acts from the 24th of July to the 13th of September.
77:30
So it all starts tomorrow at the Sydney Opera House. Are you ready to join the party? Book now via sydneyoperahouse.com. We've got a double pass to give away with Sarah.
77:39
And we've also got a double movie pass to see The Odyssey on the wide and ultra-high-definition film at the Hayden Orpheum. The Odyssey is directed by Christopher Nolan and stars the likes of Matt Damon. Hi, Matt Damon. Anne Hathaway, Dom Holland, Zendaya and Charlize Theron. I love Charlize Theron. This is a Northside exclusive season of the Hayden Orpheon from July 16. Book your tickets now at orpheon.com.au. I was only thinking about, you know, the old cinema complexes.
78:11
The Ritz at Ramwick, is that still there, the Ritz? Someone will let me know. I know the Orpheum is there because I drive past it on my way to Brookvale Oval or over to the Northern Beaches. So the Hayden Orpheum, the Northside exclusive season of the Odyssey. Is the Ramic Rich still there? You'll have to let me know on 131873. And while we're talking about prizes, I think we've got the best prize on Australian radio right now, and that is a... a car that's valued over $90,000 that we're giving away, all thanks to Parramatta BMW. That's right, an all-electric BMW iX1 that we're giving away over the next six months.
78:47
And all you need to do is share with us your good news story.
78:51
It could be something that you've done in your own life. It could be something you've seen. It could be an achievement by one of your kids. All you need to do is email your good news story to us, drivingjoy at 2GB.com. You don't have to do it all at once.
79:07
You can do it over the next six months, drivingjoy at 2GB.com. And what we'll do at the end of the show, we will share a good news story.
79:15
We'll announce a weekly winner on Friday, and those weekly winners are a chance of winning the... car that's valued at over $90,000, the all-electric BMW iX1. So get to it. Email your good news to us at drivingjoy at 2GB.com. It's all thanks to 2GB and Parramatta BMW, your destination for driving joy. In the meantime, I was having a look around the television news channels last night and I...
79:44
flicked over to Sky News at one point to see Peter Credlin interviewing former AFP Detective Superintendent David Craig. And the former AFP officer has waited on these ISIS fighters locked up in Iraq who could be free to return to Australia.
80:00
The government keeps saying its hands are tied, which, as I keep saying, is rubbish. You've obviously heard of these temporary exclusion orders which prevent people like this from coming back to Australia for two years.
80:13
If we need to change the laws or change the Constitution, why aren't we having those conversations? The Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has been, I think, weak on this issue. And former Detective Superintendent David Craig, well, he agrees.
80:27
Okay, the first thing the government needs to be doing is using these temporary exclusion orders. Now, I've seen Tony Burke say that there'll be a constitutional challenge or that the High Court won't like it. Well, the fact is no High Court has actually tested the validity, constitutional validity, of temporary exclusion orders. So that's nonsense. He's scared of something that doesn't actually exist.
80:52
If this is going to push our laws to the High Court, then this is the case to do it on. We are trying to stop foreign terrorist fighters coming into Australia. So the first thing is temporary exclusion orders, and the Parliament should be recalled to make sure that these temporary exclusion orders and control orders for when they do get back are up to the task for ex-ISIS fighters in Australia.
81:17
Yeah, some strong comments from David Craig, the former AFP detective superintendent. So we'll certainly keep an eye on what happens with, what do they call him, Dr Jihad, who's alive and in an Iraqi prison. Will he be allowed to return to Australia? Will he be arrested? You would think so, but we'll wait and see what happens there. A few people have reached out saying, yes, Mark, the realm of grits is still there. I love the old cinemas. There was one at, what's the one I went to when I was growing up? Grew up at Rockdale Coggera there, next to the train station.
81:47
Wasn't the rich... Oh, the Mecca. The Mecca. Cogra Mecca. We used to go there all the time to watch the movies. Now you go to sort of the... What is it? The Greater Union Cinemas and all that sort of thing at all the major supermarket chains. There's a big one down there at the Entertainment Quarter where I was on Friday for the football. parked the car in there and battled the traffic on the way out with all the Swans fans and the Roosters fans and everything else. There was chaos around there. Anyway, that's enough from me. We'll take a break. 12 past 11. Other side of this, I want to catch up with Sarah MacDonald.
82:17
We'll spend a fair bit of time with Sarah today because I want to hear all about the trip to Scotland and we've got a few other interesting things to discuss. Sarah MacDonald's back on the radio right after this at 13 past 11.
82:30
Well, I've missed Sarah MacDonald and she's back after the big trip to Scotland.
82:35
Sarah, hello.
82:36
Hello, laddie. Hello.
82:38
What did my grandmother used to do?
82:39
Hello, hen. How you good in? Oh, was she Scottish?
82:41
Yeah, yeah, yeah. My dad was born in Scotland.
82:44
Did she call you a wee, Ben?
82:45
Oh, wee, wee. What did she say? The wee, wee, wee boy. Yeah. My wee boy, ma. And she used, I'll never forget, we used to go over to her place. She lived in housing at Coogee.
82:55
and she would inevitably be sitting there with a little transistor radio and there'd be a bottle of scotch next to her as well. And the more she drank, the thicker the accent got.
83:05
Right, of course.
83:06
And you couldn't understand a word she said. I remember taking a mate of mine over. We were going to Coogee Beach or something and we popped in to see my grandmother, Nana Jean we called her, and I'd open the door and you could smell the scotch and we'd walk in and the accent was that thick and my mate left and he goes, I didn't understand a word she said. No.
83:23
I said, neither did I. Yeah, no, it was often we'd be chatting to people and I'd be like, I don't know what you're saying, but I love your voice.
83:28
How was it?
83:29
It was really great. My great-grandfather came from Scotland. So he came from a place called Benbacular, which is out on the outer Hebrides, even further out from Skye. And we went to the family home that he lived in. I mean, they didn't own it. He was just a farmer who rented it and was renting as a tack man, like a hired farmer.
83:48
And that was really fantastic to see my great-great-great-grandfather's grave. But most of the family then came to Australia in the 1880s and I can see why. Life is pretty harsh. And I think my great-grandfather went from this island, so cold, windswept, boggy, you know, full of locks, to the northern rivers of Australia and rode a horse through the rainforest.
84:10
Wow.
84:11
I mean, it's just like what a... Like it must have been like going for the end of the earth. And I mean, it's interesting whether... I don't know if people have felt this, where they've gone back to trace where their ancestors or great-grandparents or grandparents came from, or family about whether you can still feel that connection even though it's hundreds of years old, whether it sits inside us, whether you kind of walk into a place and feel comfortable. Like I do feel comfortable in Scotland but I also feel comfortable in Italy and I don't think I've got any Italian blood in me. People in Italy come up and think I'm Italian.
84:43
So I don't know if it's a figment of our imagination or if there's ancestral memory. I think it's quite interesting. Yeah. Like it's much more present for you because it was your grandmother who had come here, had she? Yeah.
84:54
Well, my dad was born in Scotland.
84:56
He was born in Scotland, yeah.
84:57
So I think the story goes, and I'll have to check with my Aunty Margaret, who might be listening, Aunty Margaret, if you can text me. I'm pretty sure they all got onto a boat and came to Australia and then it was just do your best. They went through a few schools in the eastern suburbs when Maroobra Bay High School was there.
85:14
And, yeah, it was just sort of they built everything from there.
85:17
So they came in, what, the 1950s?
85:19
Yeah, 1950s.
85:20
Right, yeah. Yeah, so mine came in 1880.
85:23
Wow.
85:24
The whole family came except for one sister who stayed. So, you know, a lot of Scotland is the story. Apparently there's millions of people around the world who have Scottish heritage because there was this sort of vast... There was the Highland clearances, which were political. They threw people off their land. The land couldn't support so many people. And then there was just economic reasons for people to leave.
85:46
Wow. So what did you take away from the whole experience?
85:49
What did I take away from it? I took away from it that it's lovely to be home and gee, we have a great country and I love it and I'm glad my ancestors came here.
85:58
Makes you realise how far away it is.
85:59
Yeah, those 26 hours not fun from the old knees on the way home.
86:05
It made me think there's a lot of people travelling now. When I travelled when I was in my 20s, every country was so different. Now there's sort of a Taco Bell everywhere.
86:12
Were they friendly in Scotland?
86:14
Yeah, they're friendly. I met some lovely women and went swimming in a lock lake with them. That was really fun. Very warm, like too warm, but anyway.
86:22
They used to have national curling championships on this lake. It would get so iced up, doesn't it anymore?
86:27
Wow.
86:29
So I learnt a lot. I got some good stories for a project I'm doing and I took my son and that was interesting for him to see that ancestry within him, I think. And we saw Garbage at Edinburgh Castle, which is one of my... I love Shirley from Garbage, Manson. She's just a wild woman. They all came out in kilts, you know. The mist came across the castle. She was singing I'm Only Happy When It Rains. It was just... I was like, yes! Yes!
86:57
We're in Scotland.
86:57
We're in Scotland. We're in Scotland.
86:59
Well, you know what? Let's get our listeners involved. I've got a couple of great prizes here, Sarah. The Velvet Inferno is coming up with Marsha Hyde. Starts tomorrow.
87:06
Oh, love Marsha.
87:08
70-minute non-stop disco spectacular with boiling hot vocals and jaw-dropping circus acts.
87:13
Wow.
87:14
Sydney Opera House starts tomorrow right the way through until the 13th of September. A double pass to give away. We've also got a double movie pass to see The Odyssey at the Hayden Orpheum. So have you retraced the steps of your ancestors like Sarah? Have you been to other parts of the world? What have you found out? What did you find?
87:32
Have you found long lost relatives and connected with them?
87:35
Because I've always thought my dad's side of the family was from a little place called Paisley. And I've always thought about going to Scotland, going to Paisley, looking where they grew up. And I just think, you know, here in Australia, I know people that their family haven't moved out of that family home for generations. So if I was to go back to Paisley and to knock on the next-door neighbour, would they remember the Kellys who lived next door, which was, you know, the name. You never know.
88:01
You never, ever know. Interesting.
88:03
All right, 131873, the number. Give us a ring. You can email us at 2GB.com or you can text us, and it's worth doing it, jumping on the line because we've got those tickets to Velvet Inferno and the double movie pass to the Odyssey. Have you retraced the steps of your ancestors? What have you learnt? What have you found along the way? 131873 is the number. The other one I wanted to touch on with you today, Sarah, is on my way home yesterday after listening to Michael McLaren I decided to put on a little bit of music, right?
88:35
And I heard, well, I was scrolling through some social media when I got home. I was listening to tunes and, you know, it's all great. But I got home and I heard this.
88:45
And it starts like this, the rosellas of the dust, in the modern mist. And like it like this, they're flying over my head now. I'll tell you what this space shades is. Hey, these new rosellas, these new rosellas, look like these beautiful colors.
89:05
He's seven.
89:06
Miles is his name. I think it's the best.
89:09
That's fantastic.
89:09
Do you like it? It's great.
89:11
And I love that he's singing about birds. And he's singing with his dad. With his dad. It's beautiful, isn't it? That's lovely.
89:17
But sort of then it got onto and, you know, we were talking this morning. Ben listened to Billy Joel. He listened to the album from start to finish. You know, music you can just sit down to and just listen to it nonstop and just be in the best possible place. Do you ever do that as a music buff?
89:30
Yeah, I think it's interesting albums. We've gone away from albums because everyone has shuffle and they put on, you know, playlists and everything's curated for us. But there's nothing like listening to a whole album from start to finish that tells a story. And great albums stay with you. And, you know, you think about incredible albums like Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, I would say, is just all killer, no filler. Tells stories from one to the other. That was when the band was intense and fighting and sleeping with each other and taking a lot of drugs and, God, it's a magnificent album.
90:01
That's one I would always listen to. Tapestry by Carole King I absolutely love.
90:05
Can I throw a random one at you?
90:07
Yeah, go.
90:07
Forrest Gump soundtrack.
90:09
well, that's not a whole album. That's another collection of different...
90:13
But it's got some good songs.
90:14
It's got some great songs, but it doesn't have a narrative of a band telling a story of a whole album. But you do you. I mean, I'm not, you know, like whatever turns you on.
90:21
I don't... Well, I reckon we should put it out there because I reckon there'll be people that may listen to an old album...
90:26
Beatles Revolver is a great album.
90:28
Yes. So 131873. So we want to hear about whether you've retraced the steps of your ancestors, some of the music you just love listening to. And I just think about seven-year-old Miles. If he doesn't have a future in music, I'll give it away. And the other one, because you're back and I've missed you, is documentaries. Now, apparently they're releasing a documentary on Ray Gunn, and I know you're doing quite a number of projects at the moment, but Netflix is doing a documentary about Ray Gunn in the Paris Olympics in 2024.
90:56
And it got me thinking this morning about some of the great documentaries that have been made in the past. I'm obviously big into sporting documentaries. I've watched some terrific shows on streaming services and the like. There's been books done, autobiographies. Some of the great documentaries you've read, you've seen, and some you'd like to see into the future. you think of any off the top of your head?
91:18
Well, David Attenborough's, you know, series about the planet, some of the best documentaries I think ever made with that incredible film work underwater in volcanoes all over the place, the Galapagos Islands are brilliant. I love the Beatles documentary Let It Be, which was three parts and I watched it during COVID. It was long and it was incredible. It was like being seven years old again and the wonder of the Beatles and you got to see how they wrote songs together and At that state they were in where it was all getting a bit messy and they were breaking up. And there's one bit where Paul McCartney is and he's just sort of like, I'm going to find myself.
91:51
And he's just fiddling around on the piano. And they're all just completely ignoring him, talking about something banal like the traffic. And I'm like, a masterpiece is being written. And you're just like sitting there like that. In terms of the best documentaries I've seen of the last few years, that really comes through for me. I'm going to throw in a wild one too. It's called Three and it was about these guys who found out they're identical triplets who'd been separated at birth as a part of a sort of social experiment about nature and nurture, which I'm fascinated in.
92:21
deeply sad and upsetting, but a really powerful documentary.
92:26
Okay. All right. Well, there you go, folks. 131873, the number. We'll take a break and we'll come back with a whole heap of calls.
92:30
Oh, some good stories coming in.
92:31
Oh, I can't wait. So have you retraced the steps of your relatives? Have you been overseas? Have you done it here in Australia? Your favourite documentary off the back of Netflix releasing one about Ray Gunn, what have you seen? What have you read? What would you like to see? And then that favourite album you can listen to start to finish. Yeah. Is it The Stranger by Billy Joel?
92:52
You know Georgia, she loves modern music, she loves Adele.
93:14
What a voice.
93:15
Great album. That is a great album.
93:17
What a voice, Adele. And here's a bit of Billy Joel.
93:36
We should do a duet. We'll take a break. Your calls are next here on 2GB Mornings.
93:42
29 to midday. How good is it? Sarah McDonald's back. Does it feel good being back behind the microphone?
93:46
It does. It's lovely to be back. It's good to go away, but it's even better to come back.
93:51
What about us? We've had a couple of weeks off and we're just refreshed.
93:53
Yeah. Bouncing into the studio. That's why we need it, don't we? We really do.
93:56
All right, let's get to some calls and some feedback. There's some great stories coming through. Adam is first up at Wanoona. G'day, Adam.
94:04
G'day, guys. Um,
94:06
Really struck a nerve when you started talking about your family history. My whole family went back over there for a wedding, went to Edinburgh Castle. They got married in kilts. Then back home in Australia, I got married in a kilt.
94:22
Excellent. You got the family tartan, Adam?
94:26
Yes, the watch is the Scottish watch tartan.
94:33
Hang on, hang on. Whir, whir, whir, whir, whir, whir, whir. There's another question that needs to be asked.
94:39
Any undies?
94:41
No undies.
94:43
Full Scotsman. Full Scotsman. That's the way.
94:46
It's so weird. It's so cold there. My dad had a kilt too and he decided to learn the bagpipes at the age of 45.
94:57
It's powerful, isn't it? How wonderful.
95:00
It's so powerful. When we went to Edinburgh Castle, it really struck home with me. Every time I hear Scotland and the Brave play on a pair of bagpipes, I'm welling up now. Yeah, it makes me cry.
95:15
It's singing to your soul, Adam.
95:18
Yeah, it's beautiful. I love Scotland. My dad and my great-great-grandfather captained Scotland in soccer.
95:28
Oh, wow.
95:28
And my dad had three boys, and all of us played rugby league here. He didn't care that we didn't play soccer as long as we played a team sport, but...
95:38
Yeah, it was just a really special thing.
95:41
Oh, beautiful, mate. What a beautiful call, mate. Hey, stay there. I'm going to send you off to Velvet Inferno to go and see Marsha Hines at the Sydney Opera House. It starts tomorrow through until the 13th of September. Thanks for sharing it, Adam.
95:54
Can you do disco on bagpipes is the question.
95:58
When will we see your like again? This is beautiful. That fought and died for Your wee bit healed and gland I stood against him Proud Edward saw me And sent him homeward To think again Beautiful.
96:32
The Flower of Scotland. Beautiful. Very nice. Thank you, Adam. Stay there, mate. We'll get all of your details.
96:37
Adam's probably crying now, but he'll cheer up at the disco event.
96:41
Denim at Wetherill Park. Hello, Denim.
96:44
Hey, guys. So it's amazing what you guys are talking about because my background is English and Greek, and my dad's side is the English side, my mum's side is the Greek, and I didn't really know my mum growing up and even up until now and as i grew up i got married to an egyptian woman you know spent eight years together and i thought you know what let's look into my history on my mom's side and i actually found out i'm actually greek egyptian when my grandfather came from egypt and his my great grandfather came from egypt alexandria and there was that egyptian background and i went to egypt when we first got married with me and my wife And it's that sense of feeling like you're at home.
97:25
And ever since I've been there, I didn't know I was Greek-Egyptian until I did the research. And now I know why it feels so much like home when I went there.
97:33
Wow.
97:34
So it was pretty amazing to learn that and to feel that, even knowing that I wasn't Egyptian. And I just had a connection with my wife. That's right.
97:43
And the connection to her, was that playing out within you?
97:46
Yeah, correct. Correct. Yeah.
97:51
to find out. And, you know, we have so much history and so much records we have here in Australia where people have come from other countries where you can actually look back and find that stuff. Isn't that great? Yeah, it was pretty amazing to see that even though I didn't know my mum or her side of the family, it was still able to find that stuff.
98:07
Hey, Denham, what a great story. Thank you for sharing it, mate. Really appreciate you giving us a call on this Thursday morning. Sandra is at Holroyd. Good morning, Sandra.
98:16
Oh, hello. Look, I did my ancestry DNA test And through that, I was able to find two first cousins that were adopted out and reunite two brothers that didn't know each other existed. And also a second cousin reunited her mother after searching for 40 years.
98:36
Oh, my goodness.
98:37
Sorry, I've got shivers all over my body. Sandra, what was their coming together like in that reuniting and meeting each other?
98:46
Well, the daughter had been back to Ireland for eight years. She had been in an orphanage and she got blocked and a lot of the records had been destroyed in the Civil War. So she wrote a book about the experience, finding her mother and had a few years with her mother who was still with it at 90.
99:04
And then the two brothers got together and they had a lot of peace and happiness from it and had some time together before one eventually died suddenly from a heart attack.
99:18
So only good things came of it. Beautiful.
99:20
Because sometimes I think these, you know, people find out things and then they search and find people and it doesn't go well. So how beautiful that it did.
99:28
That is beautiful. I want something good to come from this call too, Sandra. So I want to send you a double pass to see the Odyssey at the Hayden Orpheum from July 16. So it's already on. You can book your tickets now at orpheum.com.au, but a double pass coming your way. A few text messages there, Sarah, that are coming through on a whole range of different things.
99:47
Sure.
99:48
Yes, including albums. Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon is one. Sandra says, Mark and Sarah, Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album was powerful for me. Oh, my gosh, Sandra, that is such an incredible album. Isn't that ironic, don't you think?
100:01
Isn't that ironic?
100:02
It's like, ray! But also there's just so many good songs on that and there's some good Screamer Belcher ones. LAUGHTER And Sandra also found out through her DNA she's 15% Icelandic, so her ancestors would have been Vikings. I have Viking blood too, Sandra. It's like 1% or 2%. My sister got it done.
100:18
Wow.
100:18
That's because there was a lot of connection. The Vikings came over to Scotland, often took the women and took them back.
100:25
Right.
100:26
To Norway or to Iceland or to Denmark.
100:29
You know what? This conversation has...
100:32
just, I don't know, fueled a desire within me to want to go to Scotland now. I'm going to do it. Are you? I'm going to do it.
100:37
Okay, great. If you go at the end of the year, it's going to be cold, but it'll be stunning.
100:41
I've just got to get over the whole 26-hour flight thing. You'll be all right.
100:43
But I'll be all right.
100:44
I'll get it done. All right, 131873. Speaking of albums, Samantha's at Alambie Heights. Hello, Samantha.
100:50
Oh, hey, Mark. Hi, Sarah. How are you going? Good, thank you. Look, the jazz singer. I've put Neil Diamond, the jazz singer on, and it's a banger.
100:58
It is. It's a great album. Hot August Night, another one from Neil Diamond that you could listen to. Hey, Sam, thank you very much. And one more before we get to a break and a song. Malcolm in the Blue Mountains. Hello, Malcolm.
101:12
How are you going? Yeah, my great-great-great-grandfather is William Cox, who came over here with Governor Macquarie on the First Fleet to build the road over the Blue Mountains, which I'm about to try and get over, which I won't be able to very shortly, so he wasn't a real good engineer. I won't relate that to the relatives still.
101:33
And my grandmother was born in a little place called Rylston, And she'd be three greats to my great-great-great-grandfather. And she was born in the country town where I met my wife 46 years ago. Wow. Everything is Cox in that area. Cox's Crown, Cox's Road, you name it. My best album by far, Paul Simon Graceland.
101:56
Yeah.
101:57
And another great story I just went to, we went to a little place called Gander just recently for the 25th year of 9-11. We went to the play Come From Away. Yeah.
102:07
and we were there when that play was on, and it was unbelievable. Oh, that is a wonderful musical.
102:12
Well, Malcolm, you're on a roll there, mate. Thank you so much for your call this morning, and thank you for weighing in. In fact, all those callers, brilliant.
102:18
So many. And another one has said my ancestor is William Wallace. Now, he was the Scottish knight who was one of the leaders of the First War of Scottish Independence. There's a big monument. to him in Scotland. And this texter says, my elderly uncle in Tasmania was invited to the premiere of Braveheart, the movie many years ago. Paul William came to a gruesome end. So many deities. Like the gruesome time of history, the burning of the witches, like the clearing of the Highlanders, Culloden. I went to the Culloden battlefield of the slaughter of the McDonald's. You know, there's gruesome times.
102:51
I mean, I think we often live in terrible times and I know times are scary right now and there's a lot of ruction and upset and concern. But, jeez.
103:00
Oh, my gosh. It was a violent history. It certainly was. Yeah.
103:04
Which is why you, Sarah, on a Thursday bring so much joy after the news at 11.
103:08
That's my aim in life. Thank you. So good to see you. Thanks, Mark. Catch you next week. Will do.
103:12
There she is, Sarah McDonald, superstar, and she'll be back next week here on 2GB Mornings. Time for a song.
103:19
And I thought I'd play this one for you because we were in the office this morning talking about the start of the Commonwealth Games tonight with the opening ceremony. All those Australian athletes competing in 10 different sports over the next 10 days. And I automatically thought back to the Sydney Olympics and I was telling the team, some of my producers aren't old enough to, they weren't around when the Sydney Olympics were on. But remember when the opening ceremony, all the athletes were standing down on what is now the field at a core stadium, and there was John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John, and they sang this song.
103:51
I am my own believer in my heart.
104:00
Oh, memories. Memories from the Sydney Olympics. Yeah, good luck to all the Aussie athletes competing from tomorrow at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, that opening ceremony to get underway tonight. On the way to the break, Michael McLaren after this. The breakdown of a relationship can be a very stressful time, which is why it's important to choose the right lawyer. Brighton's Lawyers has an expert team of family lawyers who are committed to achieving the best outcome for you and for your family. No matter what challenges you face, the family law team at Brighton's Lawyers can help guide you through with minimal stress and delay.
104:30
Call Brighton's Lawyers today on 1800 848 848 or visit brightons.com.au. Brighton's Lawyers need expert family law advice. That's what they do. Terms and conditions apply. 1800 848 848 or brightons.com.au.
104:47
Coming up to 10 minutes to midday, Michael McLaren will be on your radio after the day. Is it already 10 to 12? It certainly is. Jeez. What's happening, great man?
104:56
Flat out, trying to prepare.
104:57
Flat out like a lizard drink. Like a lizard drink. Oh, by the way, I've got to tell you this. I just had a release through, and it's for our listeners who are familiar with Wentworth Park Greyhounds, where I started my illustrious career. Greyhound Racing NSW telling me a full house is guaranteed at the iconic Wendy Park. After it was announced today, the Sydney racetrack will bid farewell to Greyhound Racing with a spectacular night on October 16th.
105:21
It'll be the final race meeting after 96 years of greyhound racing at Wentworth Park, which will be showcased by the running of the world's richest greyhound race, the Million Dollar Chase, after an early exit from the venue was negotiated between the Greyhound Breeders Owners and Trainers Association and the New South Wales Government. So I remember starting my work life at Wentworth Park. I'd listened to the dulcet tones of Paul Ambrosoli, who I hear from from time to time. If you're listening, he'd always say, and the green light is through to the control tower. The money has set in motion. Race one at Wentworth Park.
105:53
Ready, racing. So that'll be a very emotional night for all the Greyhound participants on October 16. What have you got coming up, Michael?
106:00
My mum and dad worked down there in the Tate.
106:02
Did they? Yeah, yeah. I might have been their boss. I was an on-course operations manager.
106:07
I don't know if you were in this world when they were working. It was a while ago.
106:11
Have a chat to someone who's crunched the numbers on what the AMWU want to do if they sort of get even closer to the claws of power. Of course, they're all having a chinwag in Adelaide at the moment. Labor Party, 50th annual conference. The AMWU, big union, influential.
106:24
The list of stuff they want to do is insane.
106:27
Absolutely insane. Of course, they haven't costed it.
106:30
But someone... Is that the lion hunting trophies and all that stuff?
106:33
I don't know if they're too worried about that. They're the ones who want to knock the union jack off the flag. But from an economic point of view, they want a public sector job guarantee for every citizen who's ready, willing and able to work. They want free healthcare, free dental, free pharmaceuticals, free university, free TAFE, no hex. Yeah, I mean, it's just nonsense. Now, someone's crunched the numbers and reckons it could be about $160 billion a year. Wow. Now...
106:57
They're influential in the Labor Party. So even if they get part of this through, I mean, you know, alarm bells should be ringing. I'll be speaking about that. Anna's back with Screen Talk. Jim with Sydneysiders slash Brisbaneites now. And actually, we need to come up with a good new name for that segment.
107:11
So what's the segment?
107:12
Well, the Sydneysiders. But of course, now we're going to 4BC as well. We can't just do Sydneysiders.
107:17
Here's an idea.
107:18
Yeah.
107:18
Why don't you pinch the song that Albo walked into the Labor conference with, This Is Australia, and just call it This Is Australia, and you can use that song.
107:25
Maybe we could do that. This is Australia. I think Olivia said something like we could call it Famous People. I thought...
107:33
We could probably do better than that.
107:34
Well, it works. Yeah. Well, you're talking about famous people, aren't you?
107:37
Well, they're not that famous.
107:38
This is Australia. Just a reason to play good music. It's good music. Yeah, right on. We'll workshop that.
107:44
We'll workshop that. Well, yes. And also, with Brisbane 2032 sort of, you know, on the horizon, there's more talk about flying taxis and mini choppers. Now, I'll speak to someone who's looking at this.
107:59
Mark.
107:59
Look at your face. A fly...
108:02
A flying taxi.
108:04
Isn't that what old people used to call helicopters?
108:07
And a mini chopper's a drone, isn't it? I mean...
108:12
It's not going to happen.
108:14
Is it?
108:16
All these people getting in a... So we've got all these people out here on skilled visas who are driving Ubers. They're now going to be flying helicopters or something, are they? I mean, please.
108:24
It's... What could go wrong? You're on fire. All right, I've got to go.
108:28
Oh, yeah, me.
108:29
Well, me too. Bye, Michael. Go and prepare. Go and come up with a name for that segment. There he is, Michael McLaren, up after midday.
108:47
All I really need is a little good news. Parramatta BMW is your destination for driving joy.
108:55
Certainly is, and we're giving you the chance to win a BMW iX1 valued at over $90,000. All you need to do is share your good news story. Susan's done that. She said, Mark, 50 years ago, Susan's parents left Portugal to build a new life here in Australia. Like so many migrants, they worked hard, raised a family and put everyone else first. Time, distance and finances meant they could never make it back home. And over the decades, Susan's mum lost most of her family back in Portugal, leaving only her younger brother. Well, recently at 78 years of age, this ties in with what one of our listeners was talking about, Her brother suffered a stroke and had to move into a nursing home, so after years of saving, Susan's family decided it was time.
109:35
They flew to Portugal to give their 84-year-old mum the dream she'd waited half a century for, and after 50 long years apart, Susan's mum and her brother were finally reunited. Susan says the moment they saw each other was unforgettable. Tears, hugs, laughter, and a love that 50 years could never erase. At 84, her mum got to hold her brother's hand one last time. They only got back to Australia on Friday after 40 hours in transit, and Susan says they're completely jet-lagged, but it was worth every single second.
110:06
What a beautiful reminder of what family really means. Keep those good news stories coming. Drivingjoy at 2GB.com. It's all thanks to 2GB and Parramatta BMW, your destination for driving joy.
110:19
All I really need is a little good name
110:25
Before I get out of here, Anthony Albanese has opened the Labor Party conference saying, beyond One Nation's personality clashes, policy confusion, conspiracy theories and candidate chaos, and regardless of who leads the Liberals to the next election, in every way that counts, the Liberals, Nationals and One Nation are already a coalition. We choose progress over protest. We choose purpose over chaos. Well, how's that going for you, Australia? MUSIC Well, that's it for me today. Thank you very much for your company and make sure you stay listening to 2GB throughout the afternoon.
110:58
Michael McLaren's got a busy three hours ahead of him. Clinton Maynard from 3 o'clock. Adam Hawes with Sports Today. James Willis with Money News. John Stanley tonight. And then Phil O'Neill from Midnight to take you through until Ben Fordham, who's on your radio from 5.30 tomorrow morning. If you've got a story for us, Mark at 2GB.com.
111:16
and the good news to drivingjoy at 2gb.com. Enjoy the blue skies and sunshine. We'll chat again tomorrow for a Friday. See you around the roundabout. Bye-bye.
