2GB Drive with Chris O'Keefe – Full show July 10
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On Sydney's 2GB, this is Drive with Chris O'Keefe. Good afternoon, Sydney. Beautiful winter's day, albeit a few darker clouds starting to hover over here at Pyrmont where we're broadcasting from. But all in all, a lovely, lovely Wednesday. Now, the school holidays, of course, are kicking into top gear. And very soon, I will reveal the secret cuts that Chris Minns' government is making to service New South Wales.

Now, I've been leaked some pretty sensitive documents and they show on hold wait times could explode at Service NSW and grants for bushfires and floods and the like, well, they may take longer to pay out. Plus, we'll meet this Sydney resident who's being stopped from moving into his new house simply because of government red tape. Now, no wonder we've got a rental crisis and a housing crisis.

And could $10 coffees, $10 for a cup of coffee or $100 for a piece of steak, could that be the new norm? We know inflation's high, but I'll speak to the food distributor with a major warning about the cost of our goods. Plus, there's $1,000 up for grabs in Guest the Olympian, another double pass to Bridge Climb and $200 worth of free fuel right now, 18 degrees at Smithfield and 19 at Coggera.

Drive on 2GB. Seen something? Send a text. 0460 873 873. But first, I can reveal the New South Wales Government is gutting Service NSW. Now, this is some pretty explosive information that we've been leaked, and you're hearing it first on Drive. So, Service NSW...

in my view, is one of the great triumphs of the former Liberal government. So just cast your mind back to the RTA. Remember how bad the RTA was? And just consider how Service NSW operates in comparison with the RTA. It is chalk and cheese.

Well, for some unknown reason, Chris Minns and the Treasurer Daniel Mookie have decided to cut a swathe through Service NSW. It is just cut, cut, cut. Almost $110 million is being ripped out of the organisation. Now, all of this information is from a whistleblower within Service NSW, so bear with me.

$34 million is being cut from what's called digital services. Now, these are the guys that run the Service NSW app that we all use and the Service NSW websites. $34 million they're pulling out of that. $9 million is being cut from disaster recovery.

The Premier better hope there's not another flood around the corner or a bushfire or something. $13 million taken from partnerships and projects and $12 million from the New Service NSW Business Bureau. Now, that was set up to help businesses navigate government. Now, this seems extremely short-sighted. 225 people will lose their jobs. Yep, 225 people to be sacked by the Minsk government in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.

Wow. And for us, how's it going to affect us, the taxpayer, the people of New South Wales? Well, all of this is in internal documents. And unfortunately, Chris Minns looks like he's taking the service out of customer service. Have a listen to this. Average wait times could increase at Service NSW to over 25 minutes. You know how long it is at the moment? Two minutes. If you show up at a Service NSW customer service office...

It's two minutes you're on average waiting. Now they reckon it could be over 25 minutes as a result of these cuts. Again, internal documents.

The minimum viable resourcing will be given for fraud control for grants and rebates. The potential for increased lead times too to deploy grants and support programs in a disaster. So to sum it all up, $110 million in cuts to Service NSW, 225 people to be sacked, which will lead to longer wait times at Service NSW, potential for grants to be easily rorted,

and longer waits for people whose homes have been burnt down or flooded. Now that seems like one of the stupider budget decisions I have heard for a very, very long time. Opposition Leader Mark Speakman, he joins me on this one. Mark, g'day. G'day Chris, how are you? All feels a little reductive, right?

Well this is staggering, taking the service out of service New South Wales and as you said in your intro, longer wait times for customers. You're looking at up to 10% of customers waiting 25 minutes in the contact centre. This is the last thing you should be doing in a cost of living crisis.

People are relying on Service NSW for guidance on the rebates and other things that are available from government to help with cost of living. And basically, the government is screwing the service in Service NSW and throwing a couple hundred people out of jobs as well. I don't understand why Service NSW has got to bear the brunt of this.

Well, it's not just Service NSW. This government's making cuts right across the board. They've slashed cost of living support. They're actually cutting after inflation, spending on health and education. We're seeing infrastructure fall over a fiscal cliff in about 2027, 2028.

when all the ribbons have been cut on our projects. It's a government that has bungled the budget and now it's the consumer that is paying and the patient and the school student that's paying for their bungling. 225 people, many of whom I'm assuming members of the PSA, the union. How do you think they're feeling?

Well, they'd be feeling pretty sour, I think, and this is all coming about because the government can't manage the budget. And if you're someone who wants to bring up Service NSW, you're looking now at delays of potentially 25 minutes or more. And what is really a core government activity? One of the things where we did in government to transform NSW, it wasn't just...

schools and hospitals and motorways and public transport was actually making government service focused. You refer to the bad old days at the RTA where you used to... Do you remember how bad it was? Take a number and wait for half an hour and someone at a counter would groan at you and you'd eventually get your driver's licence renewed. You can do all that now at your fingertips, but the government is really screwing this and throwing it out. Do you remember, was it a...

a priority for you guys when you were elected back in 2011, given just how many complaints we had at the RTA. I mentioned before, you almost had to take a day of annual leave just to get your car registered.

Well, that's right. And what should be a simple process was a big burden for people. And we've basically overcome that. But now this government looks like it wants to cut jobs, increase waiting times and reduce the quality of service. And this is all because they have bungled the finances. There is some suggestion, Mark Speakman, before I let you go, that Service NSW...

bloated, it can't continue the way it is, and this is just natural attrition. Do you buy it? No, I don't. If you look at the documents that have been leaked, the documents reveal that there's going to be increased waiting times for customers. So the documents themselves reveal there's going to be a reduction in the quality of services. This is not getting rid of fat or bloating. This is reducing the quality of services on the face of their own documents. Mark Speakman, thank you so much for coming on. Thanks.

Thanks, Chris. That's Mark Speakman, the New South Wales Opposition Leader. 131873, again, $110 million in cuts to service New South Wales, 225 people to be sacked, and internal documents leaked to us say that you will expect longer wait times at service New South Wales, likely over 25 minutes if you show up at one of the shop fronts. Grants will be easily rorted.

And there'll be longer waits too for people whose homes have been burnt down or flooded in natural disasters. Honestly, I don't know what they're thinking. 131873. Michelle's just sent me a text. Hi, Chris. We have a helicopter hovering and police cars at the back of Warringah Mall at Old Pitwater Road at Brookvale. Do you know why this is happening? Well, Michelle, our guys have checked it out and police tell us a six-year-old girl was missing from vacation care.

So, Polair and police crews were on scene around Pitwater Road at Brookvale. Good news is, in the last 10 minutes, the six-year-old girl has been found safe and well. So, nothing to worry about. Stuart Little, General Secretary of the Public Service Association, has called in for his reaction to 225 people to be sacked at Service NSW. Stuart, g'day. Yeah, g'day, Chris. How are you going? I'm well, thank you, mate. What do you think of that?

It's just mind-boggling. It's stupid. We can't believe that the Minister would contemplate cutting these jobs, Chris. These service New South Wales centres, as you correctly said before, provide critical frontline services. There's 114 locations right across New South Wales. In the middle of, you know, the pandemic, the bushfires, the floods,

and then the floods upon the floods, you know, these sensors provided critical support for communities affected in those disasters. Now, you know, what we're hearing, and again, we've only just become aware of this in the last 24 hours, but

You know, they want to cut the disaster recovery part of the service, which was built up during that service. Now, you know, I think as Mr. Speakman just said, and correctly, you know, during those disasters, I mean, the communities turned to the public sector. They turned to services like New South Wales for support.

Why on earth would you come in there and cut them? And, Chris, this is in circumstances where we have been arguing with the Treasurer and with the Premier about the bloated Senior Executive Service. And can I say across...

Customer service, that's part of this cluster that Service NSW sits in. You know, they still have in excess of 300 senior executive service members. These are people on between 400,000 and 700,000. They don't know how to get rid of them. This is the problem. They don't have the guts or the stomach or the intestinal fortitude to make the hard decisions.

that they need to make. Yeah, Stuart, because they rely on them to do their job. That's what it is. Well, they do. But unfortunately, mate, you've got 4,300 senior executive servants. Surely you need to review that part of the bureaucracy before you start cutting frontline roles. You don't cut these jobs. You should be looking at the senior executive service. How efficient are they? What are they doing? I mean, you've got numbers in certain agencies that have just blown out. I think within transport, you're talking in excess of

1,300 senior executive servants. They haven't dealt with it. We've been on it, the Treasurer, on it, the Premier now, for, what, 18 months? Get your house in order. You've got to get in there and reform it. What this decision looks like is a knee-jerk reaction to a budgetary problem. And instead of them sitting down and looking at the effects...

They've simply said, well, where's all the low-hanging fruit? Who are the people that we can cut? Oh, let's just try and get rid of these people. Cybersecurity, as you said, this is an area that they want to cut. They were hacked in 2010. 4,000 of their customers had their two tails compromised, and now they're going to cut jobs in cybersecurity. It's ridiculous. It's stupid. We will certainly be speaking to the crossbench and to the opposition on this.

None of this was put to the public before the election, and we're disgusted at this announcement. And Mr Dib needs to stand up for these roles. These are critical frontline jobs, and we expect him to stand up for them. The vast bulk of these jobs will be working women, many of the middle-aged women in regional locations. Again, I'd say to them, look, they need to stop and look at it and look at the effect it will have on the communities that they serve.

Stuart, good on you. I really appreciate you coming on. Have a good day. Thank you, Chris. That's Stuart Little, General Secretary of the Public Service Association. 131873, what's your experience been like with Service NSW? Do you think they deserve the cut? Do we need to save money? Or do you think, like I do, that cutting what I reckon is one of the few successes in the NSW bureaucracy is just plain madness? 19 and a half past three.

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

It's 23 and a half past three and you can have your say on the 2GB open line 131873. And you can also have your say for less with Amazim. Don't pay too much for your mobile plan. Break free from your expensive telco and escape to better value with the escape plan by Amazim. Now, I don't know if you saw this with Donald Trump. So it was very funny today. He's challenged Donald Trump to a $1 million golf match.

Trump v Biden. So you remember during the debate they had that argument about their relative golf skills? Well, Trump said, come on, I'll take you on and I'll even give you a very generous handicap. I'm also officially challenging Crooked Joe to an 18 hole golf match right here.

Under Al's Blue Monster considered one of the greatest tournament golf courses anywhere in the world. One of the great courses of the world. It will be among the most watched sporting events in history, maybe bigger than the Ryder Cup or even the Masters. And I will even give Joe Biden 10 strokes aside, 10 strokes. That's a lot. That means 20 strokes in case you don't play golf.

I will give him 10 strokes aside. And if he wins, I will give the charity of his choice, any charity that he wants, $1 million. And I'll bet you he doesn't take the offer. Well, he hasn't. So a spokesman for President Joe Biden says, we challenged Donald Trump to follow the law, but he breaks it. We challenged Donald Trump not to destroy our country, but that's all his Project 2025 campaign.

aims to do anyway it doesn't look like what would be the Ryder Cup of presidencies will go ahead unfortunately but geez it'd be good TV well speaking of good TV $1,000 is up for grabs in guests the Olympian because Paris 2024 is just around the corner so your first clue this afternoon

This champion represented Australia at the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympics.

So stay listening for another clue, but I'll give you a cue to call just before 6pm. But this champion represented Australia at the Olympics in Sydney 2000, Athens 04, Beijing 08, London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

Who was it? If you have the answer a little later, $1,000 is coming your way. Now, just on, I've got Robert here who's called in from the M1. There's an issue on the M1 by the sounds. Robert, g'day. G'day. What are you seeing, Robert? Yeah, there's a little nose to tail heading down the hill, heading northbound on the M1. So it's in a bad spot. So the traffic's coming to a stop, heading down the hill. So it's going to be a bit of a blind spot.

Near Cowan there, Robert? Yeah, it's a bit close to Cowan. It's halfway to the hill. Good on you, Robert. I appreciate your call. So two car nose to tail causing a little bit of problems on the M1 near Cowan. 131873. Just on Service NSW Cuts, Jeff's called in from Point Piper. Jeff, g'day.

Mate, I went there to renew my licence at Winyard. I got a ticket. Before I could sit down, I was called. I had a very... A woman who dealt with it very quickly. I was out of there in about 15 minutes. I couldn't have expected better service. In the past, I've sat there for 30 or 40 minutes waiting to be called upon and finding somebody not knowing what they wanted to do. Out of interest, which service, New South Wales, did you go into?

Wynyard. Wynyard. Well, that's good. In York Street. Yeah, opposite the buses there. Yeah, that's a busy one from my experience. All right, Geoff, good on you. It's extraordinary what they're doing. I reckon Service NSW is one of the triumphs, as I said, of the former coalition government. I know they built motorways and trains and this and that, but Service NSW, we all use it and it makes life so much easier. Peter's at Sutherland. Peter, g'day. Peter, g'day.

How you going? You with me, Peter? How you going? Yeah, yeah, I'm with you. Can't you hear me? I've got you now. What's your experience been like?

Oh, my experience is RMS and RTA, yeah, they're fine. I think they're trying to balance the books, aren't they? And if you get cut 20,000 people out of the government and then six months before you go to an election, you rehire them, everybody in that 20,000 will vote Labor because they've got a new job. Yeah, but what about... The Labor Party in Queensland. The Labor Party in Queensland is giving everybody $1,000 for their power bill. Yeah, fair enough. Yeah.

Fair enough. $280, the other fellas. Oh, we haven't seen it, by the way. It's smoke and mirrors. But Chris Minge, if he gets rid of 20 and rehires 20, they'll all vote for him. Good on you, Peter. I appreciate your call. Lawrence, it's at Seven Hills. Hello, Lawrence.

Hello. G'day, Lawrence. How are you? Yeah, good. Thanks, yourself. Well, thank you, mate. What's your view? Service NSW yesterday transferred a new motorcycle registration in and out seven minutes. Wow. Can't be happier. You go around the corner to Non-Services Australia, which

Which is a federal government. Oh, terrible. Don't even start me. Terrible. Don't even start me. There's no service there. But Service NSW, they are unbelievable. They are professional. They are quick. They're on the ball. If every state had one, the country would be a better place. So what do you make of the cuts then? It's terrible. I was literally in and out in seven minutes yesterday to transfer Rego. That's including doing my paperwork. And the lady just knew what she was talking about. Oh,

I've done a few cars in the last couple of weeks and every time there's been a bit of a line, you know, six or seven or eight people, I'm in and out. What's the problem? Let people do their job. Let people like me get on and get stuff done. Instead, as I said, you go to somewhere like Medicare. Yeah.

And you've got to take a chair and a packed lunch. Oh, you need to take long service leave to get whatever you've got to get done. It's ridiculous. Anyway, good on you, Lawrence. I'm pleased that you've had the same experiences that most of us have had at Service NSW. 131873. And I just... Not that he needs my counsel, the government, but I just counsel the government just to have a really long, hard think about this. 225 people. You might think, oh, $100 million is $100 million. We've got to balance the books. We've got to save money. Sure, but...

I tell you what, if we have a flood or we have a fire and the grants are slow or people are all of a sudden waiting an hour to get their rego turned over, you're going to have more of a problem than you do with the $100 million you've just saved.

In the newsroom, Josh Bryan. G'day. Good afternoon, Chris. There are fears of a blowout in wait times and delays to the response for people needing financial support under cuts from the state government to service New South Wales. Australia will donate 3D printers as part of a fresh aid package to Ukraine as the conflict with Russia takes centre stage at the NATO summit in Washington. A police civilian employee in Sydney has been charged with accessing or modifying restricted data and Republic

and presidential nominee Donald Trump has returned to the campaign trail in the US, challenging Joe Biden to a million dollar golf match. In sport, the Seagulls have re-signed prop Josh Alloye for another two seasons, keeping him at the NRL club until the end of the 2027 season. We'll have more news in sport at four. Good on you, Josh. We'll hear from you then. Now, coming up, I'll speak to the president of the Newtown Jets because Henson Park is being upgraded.

And the grandstand hasn't been upgraded since the Empire Games in the 1930s. We'll dive into that next. 25 minutes to four. Anthony's called in from Ryde. Anthony, you've seen something on the roads, have you? Yes, I have. A nasty... I think someone's been run over just up the road from Buffalo Road. And I think someone's not nastily hit. There's some people helping him out.

And you say that he's been hit, a pedestrian by the looks of things? Correct. Male pedestrian, about late 30s. Traffic is completely still all the way up to beyond Lane Cove Road, beyond Goulding Street. Okay. I'm just having a look at it now. I'm just looking at the live traffic map, as you said, Anthony. So you're looking at sort of...

Effectively back to the shops there on the corner of Devlin Street and Lane Cove Road and then it banks up all the way down to Quarry Road now. Does the guy looking bad, does the pedestrian himself, does he look in a bad way? Looks like he's been looked after. I don't know how bad he is but he's wiggling his legs so he

He's okay, but I don't know how bad he is. Good on you, Anthony. I appreciate that. So Lane Cove Road near Buffalo Road at Ryde. Just be aware, a pedestrian has been struck by a vehicle and you've probably got a couple of Ks of traffic in that neck of the woods now. So just beware. If you're in and around Ryde, it will be, or Ryde Gladesville sort of way, it will be a little bit of a testing time for the next little bit until they can clear that traffic.

First with the news, only in Sydney. It's Drive with Chris O'Keefe on 2GB. Well, Leichhardt Oval's been saved with a $40 million grant from both the federal government, the state government and the Inner West Council.

Well, guess what now? Henson Park, one of the most beloved pieces of sporting infrastructure in Sydney, I think Henson Park, a great place to go and watch a bit of footy, is also going to get a little bit of money. So $12.5 million. The AFL this time will contribute $4.5 million to help modernise Henson Park because at the moment, AFLW games are held there for both the Sydney Swans and Greater Western Sydney.

But the 12.5 mil means that the great Newtown Jets will get a bit of a facelift for their beloved home ground. And I'm pleased to say that the president of the Jets, Barry Cotter, is on the line for us. G'day, Barry. How are you going, Chris? I'm really well. Good news, eh?

It's great news mate because as you say we've got a long history. We've been there 90 years and there's been a lot of very famous games played at Henson Park but we continue now at a more community level and we're really proud of that ground and we're really proud of our team and quite frankly we're proud that we've been part of this group that's put together the funding for the upgrade. So give us the background. How did it all come about?

Well, mate, we were approached by the AFL who were keen to try and get women's sport onto Henson Park. And we could see the benefits of sharing a really important facility. And if we could get an upgrade of the facilities for the players to make it more modern, to make it accessible, to allow women to participate in sport, it was a win-win for everyone. So we've worked with the AFL and government to form this together.

What will it get us? Well, the money is going to get us four NRL-quality dressing rooms. It's going to have a room that's capable of being a gymnasium, a club room. It's going to have disabled access to the building, upgraded fire, and generally much better facilities within that grandstand than have been in existence.

but a very important part of it is making it accessible for people in wheelchairs and with mobility issues and obviously fantastic facilities for the players. And the King George V Memorial Grandstand, that remains, though? It remains there, yeah. It'll be restored as the original grandstand. I'm sure few people know that it was the Empire Games were held there in the 1930s. Is that right?

Yep. Is that why it's called that? Yep, that's why it's the King's College. And it was used for cycling and for the closing ceremony of the Empire Games. Yeah, right. I had no idea. So that's how old that grandstand is? Correct. Wow. How many upgrades has it had since then?

No. So what, it's 90-odd years old? Yes. It's still in pretty good nick, though. I was only there a couple of years ago. It's in great nick. It is in good condition, and it's a great facility for a suburban ground. Not many people know the other thing, Chris. Henson Park is the biggest suburban ground in Sydney.

What, just because of its circumference or something? Yeah, the hill. You can fit over 30,000 people in Henson Park. Yeah, right. You've got the Beer, Footy and Food Festival coming up soon, don't you?

27th of July, mate. Be there or be square. I'll try to get there. It's a bit harder now with a two-year-old dragging him around, but it is one of the great... It's one of the great events in Sydney. Hey, Barry, congratulations. A well-deserved funding grant for the great Newtown Jets and well done to the AFL and the Sydney Swans too. Thanks so much. Thanks very much, Chris. That's Barry Cotter, the president of the Newtown Jets. 131873. Tell me some of...

your memories of Henson Park. Do you remember that? Do you remember when the Empire Games, the precursor to the Commonwealth Games, were held there? Do you remember that in the 1930s? Call me, 131873.

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

14 minutes to four. This story being reported by Josh Hanrahan in the Daily Telegraph. And a woman who died after being hit by a train at Punchbowl yesterday afternoon. And that broke on this when we were on air yesterday. So she was out. This was at Punchbowl Station. She was on holiday from Vietnam visiting her sister. And she jumped down on the platform in an effort to try and retrieve a shoe.

And when she jumped on the tracks, there was an oncoming train and she was struck. So she did not survive the accident, but supposedly her shoe slipped off or something of the like. It dropped off onto the tracks. She's out here from Vietnam visiting her sister and she jumped on the tracks to pick the shoe up. For the life of me, I don't know why you'd do that. I don't know why you'd do that. But anyway, that's what's happened and unfortunately...

The poor lady's lost her life. 131873. I've just got Paul on the line from Riot. Hello, Paul. Hey, how are you? I'm good, thanks. Have you got that accident too on Lane Cove Road? Yeah, unfortunately I'm going the other way, but if you're heading west, don't bother. Terrible, is it?

Oh, it's horrific. All three lanes are blocked. I went past it about five minutes ago. There's police and all sorts still heading there, fire engines, God knows what. All three lanes are blocked. Don't even think about going anywhere near the area heading west. You're a good man. Thank you, Paul. I appreciate that. So we've just spoken to the paramedics too. An ambulance has told us that the crash is a car and a motorcycle. So a car and a motorcycle have come together on Lane Cove Road there yesterday.

at Ride on the corner of Buffalo Road at Ride. So Lane Cove Road is now closed southbound, all three lanes, as you heard there from Paul, at Buffalo Road at Ride. So if you're considering going west on Lane Cove Road, just take Paul's advice. Don't bother. Don't bother. Find another way home. 131873. We did hear from a caller earlier, though, who said they didn't

The bloke, the motorcycle rider, seemed to be moving his legs. Hopefully that is a good sign. So our thoughts are with him. Now, Qantas has unveiled a new flexible pass for its luxury airport lounges. And it's pretty cheap. So the Qantas Club Flexible allows customers to pay for 28 days access to the Qantas Club. And so I think they're looking at...

$99 a month. So you get a one-off joining fee of $129 and then $99 a month. If you want to pay for a membership across 12 months, it's a one-off joining fee of $129 plus $700. So you

If you're going on an overseas trip or you're travelling all of a sudden quite frequently and you feel like you could use the Qantas Club, that might be a pretty reasonable option for you because it is handy if you've got a couple of hours to kill just to put your foot up in the Qantas Club. Not that I've used it that often, but $99 a month plus a one-off joining free of $129 with an auto renewal every 28 days.

Opinions that matter. News you can trust. This is Drive on Sydney's 2GB. Tony's called in from Edenza Park. Tony wants to talk about the great Newtown Jets at Henson Park. Hello, Tony. Hello, Chris. How are you? I'm well, thank you, Tony. That's the number one broadcaster. Is that me? Yeah, that's the one I met you at the show in the studio when I was down there. What do you remember of Henson Park, Tony?

Chris, mum used to pack us a thermos, two Fraser chairs and a little table and father and I used to go out and then on the hill near that King Joseph's stand. And did you enjoy it?

Yeah, I loved it. And also, too, I said to Emily the other day, when I went to Leichhardt Oval, I used to go to where the Keith Barnes stand is. I used to go there as well when they played at Leichhardt Oval. Good on you, Tony. Hope you're well. Thank you for calling in. Anthony's at Arimba. Hello, Anthony.

Oh, how good. So it was like the drive-in movies, but you got to watch the footy.

Exactly. It was fantastic, mate. Were you ever there when there was sort of 30,000 there, like Barry said? I don't ever recall that many being there, but I remember the ground being packed. I remember a lot of cars being in there. I remember having to stand on the bonnet to see over the crowd in front of us and the cars in front of us because there was numerous cars in there. But the vibe was amazing. Like I said, it was like 40-odd years ago, Chris, but I can still...

the overwhelming feeling of joy and fun and laughter and just the atmosphere was incredible, absolutely incredible. Are you a Jets supporter, Anthony? Do you still follow them? No, well, I don't, mate. I'm a Bulldogs supporter now. I switched to the Bulldogs because I went from the New Neon Jets, blue and white, when I was a kid, and they dropped out of the league to the Bulldogs because they were blue and white and loved the doggies, mate. Well, they're going all right now, aren't they?

Anthony, good luck. I think you'll be headed for the top eight in some finals footy for the first time in a very long time if you're a Bulldog supporter. Anthony, I appreciate your call. 131873. Eddie, to wrap this up, says, Chris, the good old days at Henson Park when Kenny Wilson would slot field goals for the one-point wins against the likes of Canterbury, St George and Norths. Good on you, Eddie. 131873. Well, I couldn't believe this story this morning. The Cooks River.

Being renamed, I can't quite pronounce it, but it's an Aboriginal name. So Tanya Mahalik, she's from One Nation. She's in the Upper House, former Labor MP for Bankstown, Tanya Mahalik. So her former electorate boarded the Cooks River and she reckons it's a lame attempt to rewrite the city's history. And the name that a few wanted the Cooks River to be changed to was

Ghoulayari. Ghoulayari. And Mahalik reckons it's tokenistic activism. Look, the Cooks River is the Cooks River. It doesn't need to be. It does not need to be renamed at all. And the proposal, I think, is with Sydney Water, Bayside Council, Inner West Council, Strathfield and Bankstown Councils, and includes the First Nations peoples connected to the river.

And there's a Durrell man by the name of Gregory Andrews who's been talking to the ABC and he said it's not really renaming it. It's just giving back the name that it's always had. If it'd been discovered today, he wouldn't call it after himself. He probably would ask, well, what's it called? Yeah, but, you know, it's the Corks River.

Just don't worry about it. It's not that big a deal. We don't need to be changing the names of the Cooks River to make everybody feel better. It's unnecessary. Let's just worry about the here and now and leave, you know, renaming things and pretending history hasn't occurred to the past because I think people are just fed up with this sort of stuff, aren't we? 131873. Seven minutes to four.

Four o'clock news with Josh Bryant is coming up very shortly. On the other side of that, Sydney Water. I want to hear your stories with Sydney Water. I reckon it's an organisation in crisis. It is making building homes in Sydney specifically even harder than it already is Sydney Water. If you've had some issues with Sydney Water, please get in touch. Drive at 2GB.com. Well...

The English are up and about, aren't they? So they're playing against the Netherlands. I think it's 5am to make the final of Euro 2024. They'll play Spain in Berlin on Sunday if they can beat the Netherlands at 5am tomorrow morning our time. But they're extremely excited, the English. And while it's not a World Cup...

It's as close to a World Cup as the English have been for a very, very long time. So they're looking at back-to-back finals in the Euros. Remember Euro 2020, they lost on penalties at Wembley at home to Italy. But can you imagine the streets of London if the English can somehow manage to

get into the final and bring the Euro home, the championship home. And I noted Harry Kane, the English captain, said that reaching back-to-back finals would be an amazing achievement as he aims to win a first major trophy any time in his career. Well, are we going to back the English or will they just be too insufferable for words? It's coming home, it's coming, football's coming home.

Now back to Drive with Chris O'Keefe on Sydney's 2GB. It's seven minutes past four. Thank you for your company on this Wednesday afternoon. 131873 is my open line number. You can email me drive at 2GB.com or the text line 0460873873. Coming up, I want to dive into Sydney water.

I think it is plain for anyone who deals with Sydney Water that it is almost a joke of an organisation. But have you had problems with Sydney Water? Give us a call 131873 because some of the stories I'm about to tell you will make your skin crawl. Also...

I've got an extra clue to tell you to see if you can guess the Olympian. There's $1,000 to give away on that one. And if you think you're a Sydney Harbour Bridge connoisseur or aficionado, I've got a bridge climb, a double pass to how to go on a bridge climb. If you can solve the latest bit of trivia, we've got it for you this afternoon.

If it's happening in Sydney, you'll hear it on Drive on 2GB. Alright, what has your experience been like with Sydney water? And I've made my frustrations pretty clear over the last few months about the snail's pace of building homes. We've got a housing crisis, the solution to which is building homes, yet there seems...

Both governments and bureaucracies are allergic to ensuring that happens. And one of the government departments that really needs a proper microscope on it is Sydney Water. And it seems to me they're sluggish, bureaucratic and allergic to efficiency. You can't build apartments or new homes without Sydney Water's say-so at the moment. So they are critical in the makeup of solving this housing crisis. So listen to this one.

Now, the developer has asked me not to name them or name the suburb because the culture of Sydney Water at the moment is they are concerned that the organisation is vindictive and can make developers' lives even more difficult if they raise concerns. But there is an approved block of 70 units, right? Right now. All approved. Council, everyone. Happy to go.

The developer was ready to go, they had their financing in check and the developer then had to check if there were water pipes that they could damage. The unit block was outside of what they know as the zone of influence, as in they didn't actually have to produce a report for Sydney Water because they were outside of the zone of influence for these pipes. Sydney Water asked them to do it anyway.

Do the report, report back, and then we'll grant you a certificate, which allows you to then build the apartments. That was eight months ago. The developer is currently losing $250,000 a month in interest as they wait for Sydney Water's green light. So far, the developer has lost $2 million because Sydney Water will not rubber stamp this report. Now, the stupid thing about all this, right,

is the developer can't just pick the phone up and ring Sydney Water. Doesn't that sound strange? You cannot pick the phone up and call Sydney Water. You can't call them out to a meeting. All of it must be done through a third party, and they're called licensed coordinators. They're getting paid as well, mind you.

Now, this is the latest email from the consultant to the developer. So the consultant dealing with Sydney Water on their behalf because that's how it's all set up. So this is how well Sydney Water is going at the moment. Terrible organisation. Quote, I followed up with our case manager.

I've since found out our case manager has left Sydney Water. I've checked the system. The case is assigned to a queue. I have forwarded the correspondence to the building plans email and the manager for this area is now retired. I have also received an out of office from the new manager to advise he's not at work. There is no one left in the team to contact. Really, your only option is to contact the minister.

Are these people serious? We are in a housing crisis, you know, and whether it is Edmondson Park, Austral, Appen, Gilead, Sydney Water is holding people up for months or years when it comes to wastewater or water infrastructure. And it's happening whether it's the big developments or just basic duplexes. Now, I can tell you for a fact, the New South Wales government is beyond furious at Sydney Water.

And Sydney Water pretend, oh no, everything's good here. We're doing really well. You're not. And nobody thinks you are. I mean, I'm telling you, the New South Wales government is apoplectic in the way that Sydney Water is conducting itself. And there will be changes. There will be changes to the board and the chair of Sydney Water, Grant King, will be replaced. His term's up at the end of September. He will no longer be the chair of Sydney Water. Guaranteed. You heard it here first.

The managing director, his name's Rock Chereau, French bloke. Rock Chereau will survive, but I don't think they're all that happy with him. And I think he's going to survive simply because you can't have management and board changes at the same time. There's got to be some sort of stability there to deliver the infrastructure to build the homes that we need.

But I think it's fair to say that Mr. Rock Shero might have his priorities a bit backwards. So according to his own bio on the Sydney Water website, Rock says, quote, I seek to champion innovation, diversity and reconciliation in the workplace. Diversity, innovation and reconciliation in the workplace. Hey, Rock. Hey, Sydney Water. How about championing new homes? How about we start there? Now, Sydney Water is on notice.

The government is putting them on notice. If you have had horror stories with this outfit, please give me a call 131 873 because there is just so many horror stories that we're hearing and there is no wonder we can't get homes built in this city. Sydney Water did send me a statement. They say that they've been in regular contact with the developer and the water servicing coordinator.

And the current delays are due to incomplete information provided from the Water Servicing Coordinator for the out-of-scope building plan approval. What was my information, Sydney Water, that they didn't need the building plan approval because they were out of the, quote, zone of influence?

Anyway, they reckon they're still waiting for the water servicing coordinator to submit a construction commencement notice. I reckon a really good idea here would just be go and meet the developer, sit down, figure out how you can build the thing. It's 70 units. Once the units are up, people have homes to live in. It's not that hard. Stop being so bureaucratic and stop being so bloody stubborn. 131873. Now, speaking of the housing crisis, I've got an important question here.

Are you stuck living in a rental because of red tape with your renovations? So listen to Tyler has been in touch with me. Drive at 2GB.com. Have a listen to Tyler's story. This is another one. So Tyler and his wife are 32 years old. They've got a three-year-old son. They're building a new house in Wooloware in the Sutherland Shire. And in the meanwhile, while they're building their home, they're renting in Glenfield in our southwest.

So Tyler's been told by his developer, Masterton Homes, that his home will be completed by October. So the family, well, they should be able to move in in October because the house will be done. All they've got to do is the landscaping, the fencing and a bit of the driveway. But the house is ready to go, more or less, by October. However...

They need a partial occupation certificate to move in. So this lets you live in the house while you finish off the landscaper. And guess what? The certifier is now telling Tyler that according to the Sutherland Shire Council rules, he can't get the occupation certificate because his block of land is dual occupancy. Even though it's a fully detached dwelling, because it's dual occupancy,

Unless the landscaping's done, he won't get an occupation certificate. Dear, oh dear. Tyler Trusty, he's 2GB's listener here at 2GB, and he's on the line for us. Tyler, g'day. Good afternoon, Chris. I'm frustrated for you. Oh, mate, it's just, yeah, doesn't make any sense, to be honest.

You know, you've got a housing and a rental crisis, and the sooner we're out of our rental, another family could potentially be renting there. And, yeah, they want us to lay grass and get plants in and, you know, tidy up around the house before we move in. It's just ridiculous. So I was always under the impression that you can get a partial occupation certificate while you do your landscaping.

Mate, that's exactly right. That's the impression I was under. But because it's classed as a dual occupancy, apparently Sutherland Shire Council, there's a condition in their DA conditions for dual occupancy, which state that, yeah, it rules out any chance of getting a partial occupation certificate. So, Tyler, did you speak to council? What have they told you?

I've spoken to council twice. I've got two different answers. One was it's a state government legislative issue and the other time it was referred back to the certifier. And what does the certifier say? He's governed by the DA conditions which are imposed by Sutherland Shire Council. And Sutherland Shire Council saying, oh, well, it's the planning department's fault, are they?

Yes, that's correct. And I reached out to the planning department and they've referred it back to the certifier. Well, the planning minister, we spoke to Paul Scully, right? He didn't want anything to do with it. He said that it's the certifier's problem. And Sutherland Shire Council, when we asked them, they said also it's the certifier's problem. So where are you at, Tyler?

Mate, my head's just spinning. I don't know where to go from here. I'm just... We need to get in that house so we can stop paying rent and free up this rental to another family that needs it. How much are you paying in rent, if you don't mind me asking? $6.50 at the moment. So that's $6.50 a week that you could be saving if you... while you lay grass yourself. Yep. Yep. Yep.

Hey, Tyler, we're going to stay on it, all right? So Paul Scully's office, they basically said, forget it, we don't care. I'll put you over to the guys, give us the certifier's number, we'll see how we can go. But really, it seems like you're at some sort of bureaucratic standoff and we've got a bit of a knack here of cracking through these bureaucratic standoffs. So if you give us all the details, we'll continue on, all right?

Mate, I appreciate it, Chris. We'll do our best. That's Tyler Trusty, a Drive listener and in one hell of a pickle. How frustrating, right? You've got the house finished by Masterton Homes in Woolaware.

And they said, yep, you'll be right to move in in October. It's just got a bit of grass to lay, the plants to put in, the fencing to do. You can do that while you live in a home, right? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Not according to the planning department. Not according to Sutherland Shire Council. You've got bylaws and this laws and DA conditions here, there and everywhere. Why? Why? 19 past four.

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It's 23 minutes past four. You can have your say on the open line. Don't forget 131873. You can have your say too for less with Amazim. Don't pay too much for your mobile plan. Break free from your expensive telco and escape to better value with the escape plan by Amazim. Now this just in, the Australian Border Force has intercepted a second boat with 44 people on board.

So this is the second group of people on an illegal boat that has been intercepted by Australian authorities this week. And they've been provided with modern boats and turned back to Indonesia. So 44 people on board, they had fuel, they had food, and they were instructed to steer the boats to Indonesia's southernmost island,

And that's where police found 44 men, 36 Bangladeshi and eight Rohingya. And they were in two different locations on Monday when the Australian authorities first intercepted them. So...

28... I'm just trying to get my head around this. So, two boats in one week, intercepted by Australian authorities and given newer boats and turned, told to head back onto Indonesia. They get back to Indonesia and they're arrested by the police. Mainly Bangladeshis. 131873. Well done to the ABF. They're on top of it, aren't they? Well, John Hoppawade...

Former NRL bad boy John Hoppawattie has been sentenced for driving while disqualified during a nasty road raid incident on the northern beaches in January. So he's contesting an offensive language charge. I don't know why they bother charging people with offensive language, but anyway, they have.

He's 50 years old now, John Hoppawade, and he has been issued with a $1,000 fine for the road rage incident and banned from driving for 12 months. He pleaded guilty to one count of driving while his license was suspended. And this is, there's video of this. So he's standing over a 38-year-old man, January 4, and Hoppawade's pointing his finger in this bloke's face, shouting all sorts of obscenities.

And, you know, it looks like whatever's happened, he's lost his licence for 12 months and he is defending the offensive language charge. All right, so here's your second clue for this afternoon. This table tennis legend...

made history at the Tokyo Olympic Games by joining Mary Hannah, equestrian, as the only woman to have competed at six Olympic Games for Australia. And her first name is Gianne.

So Gianne is her first name, and she competed at six Olympic Games for Australia from 2000 all the way through to 2020, Tokyo 2020, or held in 2021. So from Sydney to Tokyo, six Olympic Games, and she's the only woman outside of Mary Hannah to have contested six Olympic Games for Australia. Her first name is Gianne.

And if you know Gian's surname, when I give you the cue to call in the next hour of the program, $1,000 could be yours. Just on the Sydney water issue and the DA issue and all the bureaucracy that goes with it, I've got Glenn who's called in from the Hawkesbury. Hello, Glenn. Yeah, good day, mate. How are you going? I'm good. Thanks, Glenn. Yeah, mate. Yeah, as I said, 2020, December, a tree hit my house and after the insurance took a while to sort it out,

In 2022, I put a deposit on a beechwood house to get it built. And then all my trouble started with Hawkesbury Council. Well, it just took forever, did it? It's still going, mate. I had to do arbitrage reports, biodiversity reports. Then they took their time to look at the biodiversity report. And then I had to do an updated one.

And I got a letter saying if it's not done within 21 days, they're going to cancel my DA. And then this was September 23. Those guys didn't look at it to like the end of February 24. They actually looked at the report. Are you any closer in getting the house done, Glenn? No chance, mate. Then I had to give the council $7,100 to beautify the area.

After that, I had to fill out another form. And now I've got a bill for $30,000 for biodiversity credit. Glenn, and this is just to build a house where your house is at the moment, is it? Exactly. Yeah. Yeah, mate. You're getting me angry. Please, Glenn. It's Wednesday. I'm trying to be calm. I'm trying to be calm.

Mate, you don't want to feel the way I feel. I wouldn't. I'd literally be petitioning council chambers. Glenn, appreciate your call, and I'm sorry you're going through that. If you want to give us your details, we'll see if we can follow it up with council on your behalf. Let's go to Jason at Edmondson Park. Hello, Jason. How's it going, Chris? Mate, how are you? Good, thank you, Jason. What's doing? Nothing much. Just on my own. That's the way. What's your story?

Well, back in 2017, when we were finishing our house, we were waiting on an occupancy certificate. And we got a whole list of things that were required, things we had like a driveway and letterbox. But one of the things they wanted at a Liverpool council was a clothesline. And that's when the rest of the suburb wasn't even finished and all this dust and dirt's going all over our backyard. What would you put your clothes on anyway? So you couldn't get an occupancy certificate, even though the house was built, unless you had a clothesline out the back.

They didn't have a clothesline. They didn't care about not having a fence. You must have a clothesline. And Liverpool Council were restricting us from moving in and getting our bins delivered. They're usually pretty good, Liverpool, aren't they? Well, they're good now. Yeah, right. Back then, there was a whole bunch of bureaucracy and I don't think they knew what they were doing. Well, Jason, clearly not. Hey, I've got a double pass to the night at the barracks for you, OK? OK.

My brother, thank you very much. I appreciate it. You're very welcome, Jason. Enjoy it. So the night at the Barracks, you've got the Australian Rock Collective playing. So there's members of Powderfinger, UMI, Spiderbait. They'll play Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Easy Beats. It's at Manly's beautiful North Head, Sunday the 22nd of September. Jeez, that'll be good fun. If you want to go, nightatthebarracks.com.au.

Let's check in with the newsroom and Josh Bryant. G'day. Good afternoon again, Chris. The Customer Service Minister in New South Wales says staffing levels from the height of the pandemic aren't sustainable amid concerns about the level of cutbacks proposed for service New South Wales. The Premier is ruling out a shutdown of the state's greyhound racing industry but says that the allegations of systemic animal cruelty raised will be investigated.

Firefighters in Victoria now say they've brought a large blaze which has been burning at a chemical factory under control. The fire has sent plumes of black smoke over surrounding areas and rescuers have successfully freed a whale which got caught up in fishing cables off the state's north coast. In sport, Blues teammates insist centre Bradman Best is in no doubt for next week's State of Origin decider. Best trained away from the main group today as he battles to overcome a hamstring niggle. We'll have more news in sport at five.

Thank you, Josh. 131873 Cameron says the bloke involved in the road rage with John Hoppawade was lucky he only got a... Oh, Cameron. A finger waving in his face. Very funny, Cameron. Very funny. Coming up, the Minister for Customer Service, Jihad Jib, will join us. Jihad Dib.

Because the Minister is in charge of Service NSW, and if you missed it earlier, they're cutting $110 million out of Service NSW, sacking 225 people with their own internal documents saying that that could see...

Major delays and blowouts in wait times at Service NSW centres. Really? Are we going to upend the one good thing our public service has managed to create over the last 10 years? Surely not. The Minister's next. It's 25 to 5. Well, if you missed it, Service NSW is being cut and cut pretty hard by the Minns Labor Government.

So $110 million or thereabouts will be cut from Service NSW. Digital services, $34 million coming out of digital services, and they're the guys who do the website and the app that we all use. Disaster preparation and recovery, close to $10 million is being cut from disaster preparation and recovery. That's more than a 64% reduction in funding. They're the guys that dish out the funding grants in disasters and the like.

And the Business Bureau and Partnerships and Projects, they're copying a cut too. 225 people to lose their jobs. And in some internal documents, it says this. This is part of the slideshow. And in terms of service delivery, it says this, quote, quote,

customers may be waiting over 25 minutes in a contact centre. At the moment, they reckon it's around two minutes. That's the average wait time at the moment when you're dealing with Service NSW. And as I said, Service NSW, by far and away, is one of the most...

brilliant pieces of infrastructure and programs and bureaucracies that our governments have ever produced in this state. It is so much easier to deal with registering your car, getting a boat licence, getting your driver's licence, whatever it is, toll rebates now.

And for some unknown reason, the New South Wales government, as part of their budget cuts, is deciding to sack 225 people and cut $100 million out of it. Well, the minister in charge of Service New South Wales is Jihad Dib and he's on the line. Minister, thank you for coming on. Thanks for having me, Chris. Was this a fight that you lost with the Treasurer?

Oh, look, you know, we're dealing with the things that we need to deal with. As you can imagine, this is pretty hard news and I completely understand that it's not easy news to deliver. The fact of the matter is that we've got to live within our means. We've got to address the budget that was left for us and, you know, we're doing that in the best way that we possibly can. But the focus is on making sure that we don't have an impact or minimise the impact as much as possible on those customer-facing roles. 225 jobs to go. What do you say to those people that are going to be made redundant?

Well, look, as I said, it is hard news, but it's not going to be straight up to 125. The first thing that we're looking at doing, obviously, is some of those positions will be... ..will only happen because of a natural attrition, so whether people are retiring or they're moving on. Others will include those who are like contractors, whose contracts have expired. And then where we're looking at is trying to redeploy people as much as we possibly can. It's a difficult scenario, but we're going to be working with everybody to try and make sure that they get the best landing possible.

Stuart Little, the Secretary of the Public Service announcement, he was on the service association, he was on the program earlier. It's just mind boggling, it's stupid, we can't believe a

that the Minister would contemplate cutting these jobs, Chris. You've got 4,300 senior executive servants. Surely you need to review that part of the bureaucracy before you start cutting frontline roles. You don't cut these jobs. You should be looking at the senior executive service. How efficient are they? What are they doing? Stuart Little's not happy.

Well, yeah, I gather that. And, look, I've had the conversations with him as well. And, look, I'd say in the first instance, Chris, that, you know, Service NSW has grown from basically 2,900 staff from 2019, you know, to close to 4,900 staff.

June this year, it's just not sustainable. The focus is on making sure that... Why not? Well, some of the programs are no longer required, for example. So when you think about the large uptick and there was a lot of it in terms of around the COVID, then we've had a few years that have been really difficult. Think about, we had the bushfires, we've had COVID, then we've had some floods, we've had floods again. Some of those crisis footing is no longer the same case anymore. So what we're doing is we're saying... Until it is again. Until it is, and what we're

You're the emergency services minister. You know better than everyone there's a drought or a flood or a fire around the corner. And according to Services NSW's own internal documents...

They're saying that as a result of this budget cut, there is a, quote, quote, potential for increased lead times to deploy grants and support programs. You know what will cost you more than $100 million? If farmers can't get drought assistance or people who have their homes burnt to the ground can't get the grants that you're promising.

So, Chris, the disaster recovery team is still going to be there. It's just going to be a slightly smaller... It's going to be a smaller team, but it's also going to have the capacity to be scaled up when required. Let's also keep in mind that when a disaster occurs, and you're right, I deal with them as the emergency services minister, there's a whole-of-government approach here as well. But the fact of the matter is those teams, at the size that they are, one, are not as required in that same capacity, but two, it's just... It is not sustainable. We inherited the biggest debt that any government has inherited...

And we're trying to do that. We can't keep adding things onto the state's credit card and say, well, future generations are going to pay for it. Of all the things. We have to make those decisions. Of all the things. Service New South Wales. Do you want to go back to the Beverly Hills RTA where it would literally take a day and a half to get your rego done? You remember?

Well, I remember, and I was around that area. I think I actually... That's where I might have got my licence back in the days. But what I will say is that that focus specifically is on making sure that it's not customer-facing roles. You know, what we're talking about is making sure... OK, I understand you saying that. Sorry to interrupt, but I'm just going to hold you on this one because service delivery, right? This is a quote from Service NSW when they were telling the staff about the redundancies and about the budget cuts, and they say...

that customers may be waiting on average over 25 minutes in contact centre. What does that mean? How is that not customer facing? So these are the contact centres. These aren't the service New South Wales centres that people are used to going into. We've still...

We've got 117 of those. We're opening up another one in Talawong soon. These are the customer contact centres where basically you make a phone call. We've considered every worst-case possible scenario before making any decision. And what that also says is that in a worst-case scenario, in a very small number of cases, that may be the case.

we need to make some changes and make sure that we address that. The other thing that I have asked and I'll be continuously looking at is what the impact will be when it comes to actually customer facing. So customer facing, I'm talking about the people who go into the centres specifically. It's not a set and forget thing. This is where we're at right now. And I wanna make sure that we keep coming back to it.

But that commitment to keep those service centres, to make sure that we have the most minimal impact that we can there, that's the commitment that we're making sure that we do. And I will ask for them to continuously give me updates on that. The reference that you made to the contact centres is about the telephone contact centres, not the service centres. Right, okay. Can I just say this before I let you go, Minister? Sure. Everyone loves Service NSW, right? If you guys stuff this up because you're being tight, you will pay for it.

Yeah, Chris, I hear that. And I've got to say that the people at service centres, they do really good work. And we know that we're going to do everything that we can to make sure that we support them, especially in those customer facing roles. You know, people will still be able to go to service centres, they'll still be getting that same service. What we're talking about here are some of the other things that are happening behind the scenes as well. So some of those

some of those groups or different divisions that are no longer required to that same capacity but it is a fiscally responsible decision that we have to make. It's a tough decision but we have to make it because we did inherit. How much is the secretary of your department on out of interest?

Oh, look, I think the secretaries are getting paid. You know, like they're on bantries. I don't think it's really appropriate. What is it, roughly? Well, it's all public information. It's our money. So roughly, what, $600, $700? I don't think it's my place to talk about what the secretary's earning. Start there and work backwards.

Well, you know, we're doing the best that we can to make sure that we at least create the best consultation process, redeploying people, not renewing some of the temporary contracts and making sure that we right-size the department to go back to its core business. And that's what I really want to focus on. When the secretary's on 6, 700 or whatever they're on and you flick someone who's working two or three days a week in regional New South Wales, you know, it could be a single mother, single father, whatever it is.

It doesn't sit well with people, right? Well, Chris, as I've said, Service NSW grew from 2,900 to over 4,900 in the space of a couple of years. We are also looking at that. I completely empathise and I understand and I sit here at the outset. These are difficult decisions and I don't take it lightly, but they're decisions that have to be made given the financial position that we're in and given what we need to do with Service NSW. Minister, appreciate you coming on.

Pleasure. Thanks a lot. That's Minister Jihad Dib, Minister for Customer Service and the Digital Government, as I said to him. If they are tight and staff service New South Wales up, they will pay for it electorally. It is one of the few things that all of us use all the time. And if all of a sudden, because of budget cuts, it isn't working as we expect it to work, there will be problems. Quarter to five. Millions, sons, let us rejoice. It's the bridge we've been

Alright, every day this week I'm giving you the chance to win a double pass to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge with Bridge Climb. So all you have to do is answer this question correctly. Quote, what is the Harbour Bridge's nickname? That is the question that you need to answer. What is the Harbour Bridge's nickname?

Surely you know this. 131873, call me now. If you can answer that question correctly, you win. What is the Harbour Bridge's nickname? If you feel like a little trip up the Harbour Bridge with Bridge Climb, get that right and you're off to the races. 131873. Well, all southbound lanes are now open on Lane Cove Road at Ride. So there was an issue with a car v motorcycle on Lane Cove Road at Ride.

at Ryde and all southbound lanes have now reopened. One southbound lane on Lane Cove Road was closed while emergency services were on site. Well, all of them were closed at one point, but motorists in the area are advised allow extra travel time because heavy traffic is starting to return to normal, but we know it does take a while for this stuff to flow through. 131873.

Richard Marles, the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, he is making a point of meeting Trump Republicans on his trip to the United States in a bid to shore up support for AUKUS and the submarine deal. So Joe Biden is hanging on by his fingernails, albeit he looks like he might survive. He's just staring them down.

Anyway, Miles, he's in Washington for the NATO summit and he threw his support behind Joe Biden. And he said, look, global alliances are important. And the Biden administration has placed a focus on the Indo-Pacific and on issues that are front and centre for Australia. And Australia is certainly very pleased about that. But he's seeming, well...

I'm not going to say hedging his bets, just because they're on the same side of politics. Miles is doing the right thing. Going into Congress, going into the Senate and meeting Trump supporters, Trump Republicans, because they can read the tea leaves, we can read the tea leaves, and it's important that the AUKUS submarine deal goes through 131873. Inside Word on everything Sydney. It's Drive with Chris O'Keefe on 2GB.

Marianne's called in from Sylvania. Hello, Marianne. Hello, Chris. How are you? Oh, Marianne, I'm okay. I want to give you a bridge climb. Have you ever been? I have never been. Have you always wanted to go? I have really always wanted to go. It's been one of those things that we go, we're going to do that and we just never get to it. Well, you're going to do it if you can answer what the bridge's nickname is.

Bridge's nickname is the coat hanger. It is the coat hanger, Mary-Anne. Well done. Well done. I've got a double pass for you to the bridge climb. You can do it whenever you want. I'm not quite sure what the... I'm sure there are some restrictions and all the rest of it, but they're really good people at bridge climb, and seriously, it is a fantastic, fantastic experience. So congratulations.

I'm so excited. Thanks so much, Chris. No, you're very welcome, Mary-Anne. That's Mary-Anne in Sylvania. I've got a couple more double passes. I'll give one away tomorrow and Friday too. We'll continue doing the trivia, 131873. Michael's called in from Maroobra about the service New South Wales cuts. G'day, Michael.

G'day Chris, just a quick point. Didn't hear the Minister mention any cuts in executive staff and the reality is the executive staff would have prepared the proposal for the cuts for the Minister's information and make the decision but they didn't cut any of their own jobs by the sound of it and there's about three frontline staff for every one executive position in salary so interesting that none of them seem to have lost their job which is quite convenient. They never do Michael, if you notice that.

100%. Whether it's the public service or private companies, they do the big retransference and redundancies, but management seem to somehow miss out on the redundancies. I don't know why. Can you figure it out? Well, they control the narrative. The minister relies on it. Good on you, Michael. You're exactly right. They rely on the well of information. They've got 131873. Six to five.

Five o'clock news coming up very shortly with Josh Bryant this afternoon. On the other side of that, we'll give away $1,000 in guests the Olympian. And I also want to chat to Dr. Katrina Davis-McKay because this time of year, especially with the weather the way it is, rain and miserably cold, you're looking at everybody else over and other people that you know overseas on holidays and you get a bit jealous, don't you?

And when you're just going for it at work and chipping away, you can get burnout. And they reckon seasonal burnout and seasonal depression this time of year are

is quite common. So Dr. McCabe will give us some tips on how Aussie workers can prevent mid-year burnout. And I'll also have a chat to Richard Forbes because coffees and steaks, with the way inflation is going, how would you go paying $10 for a cup of coffee or $100 for a T-bone steak? Clearly that sounds ridiculous, but the way things are increasing at the moment, that is where it's headed.

I'm sure if I asked you back in, you know, somewhere in the 1950s or the 1960s, imagine if you had to pay, I don't know, $6 for a can of soft drink or $2 million for a two-bedroom house in Leichhardt, whatever it may be. You'd think I'm mad. Well, $100 stakes, that could be just around the corner. 131873 is that number. We'll have all that and more coming up after the news with Josh Bryant.

Now back to Drive with Chris O'Keefe on Sydney's 2GB. It's seven minutes past five. Thank you for your company on this Wednesday afternoon. 131873 is that open line number. Our text line 0460 873 873. And you can email me drive at 2GB.com. Now I'm going to have my say on Chris Minzer's decision, making it very clear he is not going to ban Greyhound Racing, but...

The industry is in for another inquiry. I'll dissect that in a second. And you're not going to believe what I'm about to tell you about Malcolm Turnbull. Yep. Brace yourself. What Malcolm Turnbull has been up to when it comes to freelancing as the former Prime Minister of Australia will absolutely blow your mind. I'll have this next.

The inside word on everything Sydney. It's Drive with Chris O'Keefe on 2GB. So Malcolm Turnbull, right, has done an interview with the Australian Financial Review and he has revealed, Malcolm Turnbull, that off his own bat in the early months of 2022 when Anthony Albanese first became Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull flew to Paris in

and had confidential discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron, senior French foreign affairs officials, in a bid to ensure that we could get the submarine deal back on track. This is extraordinary.

So if you remember, the deal for France to partner with Australia to build 12 conventional diesel electric submarines in Adelaide was signed in December of 2016 by Malcolm Turnbull when he was Prime Minister. And then Scott Morrison unceremoniously dumped that deal in favour of the nuclear-powered submarines built either in the United States or the United Kingdom as part of the AUKUS deal.

So the French weren't very happy about that, and Malcolm Turnbull wasn't very happy about that, and he's told the Financial Review that after Labor won the election in May of 2022, he had direct contact with Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong, as well as Richard Miles, the Defence Minister, trying to resuscitate the French deal. So Turnbull was effectively lobbying on behalf of the French government to backflip on the Morrison-Orcus sub-deal,

and resuscitate his deal with the French. So he met with Macron and his chief Asia advisor in June, so a couple of months after Albo and Labor were elected. And the whole idea was to try and...

that the French deal was better than the American or the UK deal, the AUKUS deal, and he attempted to revive it. And he acknowledges to the financial review, he admits it all. He said that...

That window of opportunity has now closed. And he said that the French deal was realistic because we would get those submarines. He is still convinced, Malcolm Turnbull, that there is no way we will get the nuclear-powered submarines. And for his part, Scott Morrison, he remains defiant on cancelling the French contract. He spoke to the Financial Review too. And he said that, heaven forbid we upset the French, Scott Morrison...

The great disadvantage of upsetting the French is what exactly? And the great restoration in the relationship has delivered what exactly? And Turnbull then hit back. He says this, Mr. Morrison might reflect on Matthew 7, 12. Do to others what you would have do to you and whether other nations may decide to treat Australia as contemptuously as his government treated France.

Dear, oh dear, oh dear. I thought I'd seen it all with Malcolm Turnbull. Fancy him getting on a plane to Paris, trying to sink Scott Morrison's Orca steel, and then convince the Albanese government when they come in that the French are the way to go. Give me a break. Live, local, and only on 2GB. It's Drive with Chris O'Keefe.

Well, in news that shouldn't surprise anybody, Chris Minns has made it very clear that he does not intend to pursue a ban on greyhound racing. Now, there was this report written by the former vet at Greyhound Racing New South Wales, and he raised the alarm over animal cruelty within the industry as part of his exit interview with Human Resources. Now, his name is Alex Britton.

And Alex Britton alleges that rehoming rates of greyhounds are inflated, dogs are racing at unhealthy intensity, they were suffering a massive rise in injuries, and most have been left to live out their miserable post-racing lives in industrial kennels. That is a quote from the former chief vet of Greyhound Racing NSW, Alex Britton, in his exit interview with the industry's human resources...

He also said that there were fundamental animal welfare issues, integrity and governance failings that cannot be remedied and an inquiry will be held into it, Chris Minns says. So the Premier says an inquiry will be held into these allegations around the greyhound industry. But he said it straight. Regardless of what the inquiry says, the industry will not be shut down. They're not going to do that.

Good on him, to be honest. But I'll tell you what, if what the vet is saying is true, then management should be ashamed of themselves. And the participants within the greyhound racing industry who are being cruel to their dogs should have their collective IQ tested because Mike Baird's decision wasn't that long ago. Concerns over animal cruelty and ethical standards within the greyhound racing industry...

Well, it sparked division amongst owners and trainers and the public. And there were people who still believe the industry should be shut down. And there were a lot of people who fought tooth and nail to ensure it wasn't. It caused a big you-know-what fight, didn't it? And I was very much on the side of the greyhound industry at the time. So that's why I think Chris Minns is doing the right thing here. But at what point is the middle ground too difficult to hold? And...

They're just constantly implementing reforms that are just seemingly being ignored. And is reforming an entire industry that refuses to be reformed just a definition of insanity? Look, I get it. You can't take the word of one bloke, a former employee, but I think this is going to gather another head of steam. And you won't see any premier or minister bold enough to ban the dish lickers again, but pardon the pun, there is more ways than one to skin a cat...

And I think starving an industry of funds, new taxes, welfare levies, all sorts of things, they can render an industry irrelevant. And nobody wants that to happen. But if Greyhound Racing loses its social licence, then all of the participants, including the management of Greyhound Racing, New South Wales, should not be surprised if...

If their industry is rendered irrelevant by onerous rules, it's the only way this thing's going. 131873. Now, I want to hear how much prices have changed out there as we deal with inflation. Because the Independent Food Distributors Australia Group, a warning of $10 coffees and $100 steaks.

becoming a real thing due to the incredible increase in costs that hospitality venues are facing. Richard Forbes, he runs the Independent Food Distributors Australia and he's on the line live. G'day, Richard. G'day, Chris. How are you? I'm good, thanks, mate. $100 steaks and chips, that's a fair price for that.

Well, you know, you never know when you're going to end up. We've got a whole bunch of family-run businesses, you know, running cafes and restaurants out there that really are the social fabric, you know, of Australia. It's a meeting place. And they just can't compete with rising energy prices and the state of the economy at the moment. But, you know, what's the inflection point here, do you think? Where do we get the tipping point where things are just too expensive that people stop buying them?

Well, that's the issue really, isn't it? We've got these cost of living pressures and we've had an increase in inflation. We've probably got two more interest rates to come and then you've got mortgage stress on top of that. But you've also got 97% of all businesses in Australia as

small businesses. And the PM says that small businesses, you know, the engine room of the economy. Well, there's no follow-up on that statement. And right across the food supply chain, you know, we're seeing our members paying $25,000 a month in energy bills. That's to keep the freezers going in their warehouses to

to provide food to these retail outlets. So, you know, it really is a breaking point and we need to see cheaper energy prices. Our members, and a lot of people might not realise this, they think our business only pays $0.25 in the dollar. Well, with payroll tax and state taxes, it's more like $0.45 in the dollar. So, you know, energy, rising labour costs, inflation,

Insurance has doubled. Wages. Things are really grim at the moment, and we need to support these family-owned businesses. Well, nobody is. That's the problem here. Nobody is supporting family-owned small businesses. You know, big business gets a break. Medium-sized business gets a break. But the small businesses, unfortunately, Richard, nobody seems to care if they go by the wayside and they say, oh, well, if you didn't make it, then you didn't make it because the business wasn't strong enough.

Yeah, so if you don't care as a state or federal government, that means that you don't care about 500,000 Australians that are employed in hospitality contributing $60 billion into the economy. I mean, you know, the independent food sector is something that's not talked about a lot. We all hear about, you know, supermarket reviews and price gouging and all this sort of thing, but what about the little guys that provide food across Australia? Richard, thank you so much for joining us. All the best.

Thank you. That's Richard Forbes from the Independent Food Distributors Australia. 131873, are you a small business? Are you an independent food business? Do you work in hospitality? Are you seeing it firsthand? Tell me your story. 131873, 18 past five.

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

It's 22 minutes past five, 131873 is our open line number. That's where you can have your say and you can have your say for less too with Amazim. Don't pay too much for your mobile plan. Break free from your expensive telco and escape to better value with the escape plan by Amazim. Now you would have heard this with Josh Bryant in the news, but if you missed it, there's a very strange story that has just popped up via the New South Wales police.

So just before midnight on Monday night at the Woolies on George Street, police are now looking for a man who walked into the Woolworths on George Street just before midnight and urinated over all the fresh food products.

So $300 in damage to the produce and extensive work had to be done to decontaminate the area over a number of hours, according to the police. So they're looking for this guy who's weed all over the produce at Woolies.

20 to 30 years of age, medium build, backwards navy blue cap, black jacket, black pants, dark blue shoes, carrying a black satchel bag. Now, if you want to have a look at the CCTV or the images, they are on the New South Wales Police Facebook pages. I haven't looked at them myself. I'm assuming the images are not from the act itself.

But from when this gentleman is walking in or out, because we don't need to see the act itself or put you off your dinner, but urinating on the fresh produce at Woolies, hey? You've got to wonder. If it's happening in Sydney, you'll hear it on Drive on 2GB. Now, this story that I outlined just before the break, that Malcolm Turnbull flew to Paris...

In June of 2022, just after Anthony Albanese became Prime Minister, he met with Emmanuel Macron, the French President, in a bid to revive the French submarine deal and kill the sub deal as part of AUKUS. Well, Michael Shoebridge from Strategic Analysis Australia is on the line. Michael, g'day. Hi, Nick. This seems very strange.

Yes, it does. It's a bit like a matchmaker that no one has asked for desperately trying to get a recently divorced couple back together with neither of them interested. It's very strange. Have you ever heard of this before, that a former Prime Minister of Australia would lobby on behalf of a government, the government doesn't know about this, to do something that the Australian government has already backtracked on?

No, the only way that I've heard about senior people like former prime ministers being used before has been as a sort of informal channel for the government. So they normally are asked to do it by the government. But I just think imagine if...

Australia had taken that option up, said to the French, you know, that giant national decision that we took. Well, we've got one word to say, and that's whoops. We would have looked to the French, but also to the US and UK, like a nation with the attention span and seriousness of purpose of a goldfish. Unserious country. Yeah.

Yeah. So, you know, it would have looked like, what are we thinking tomorrow? And how could the French have taken us seriously and embarked on that partnership again? And how do you think, like you said, the Americans and the Brits, what would they think as well?

Well, it's not like submarines are the only thing we do with our partners. So it would have sent this shockwave about our unreliability and, frankly, superficiality to all three of those partners, the US, the UK and the French. And I can't see what good would have come out of that. So this is one of the quotes from Malcolm Turnbull.

And he told the Financial Review, quote, I was encouraging the French system to be open and conciliatory with the new Australian government. Ever since Morrison's shameful deception of France, I had to say to Macron, we may have had a deceitful prime minister, but we are not a deceitful nation. I was determined to do all I could to help repair the damaged relationship. Is that really his place?

Well, no, but I also don't think we really should think about this as all just like a romance, like a relationship. These are grave issues of national interest, and they're about hundreds of billions of dollars and our security.

There are many challenges that the AUKUS submarine program faces, and some of those should have been better investigated before the deal was announced. But let's not get nostalgic about how well the French submarine program was going. It was late, it was costing a huge amount of money, and the relationship between the Australians and the French was appalling. So I think we're getting very nostalgic about how swimmingly that was all going.

In your view, and you know more about this than most, the nuclear submarines, can we put it to bed, are they a better option than the conventional ones? Yes, but there's an enormous opportunity cost in getting them and they take a very long time. So they only make sense if Australia is equipping its military with a range of other weapons in the meantime. And that's the gap in the government's plan.

Well, Michael Shoebridge, I appreciate you coming on and offering some sober analysis to this because sober analysis we will not get from either Malcolm Turnbull or anybody who supports Mr Turnbull's lobbying efforts on behalf of the people of Australia. And I don't think any of us asked him to do it just quietly. Thank you for coming on. Thanks, Nick. That's Michael Shoebridge from Strategic Analysis Australia. Very bizarre. And clearly it's a personality thing, right?

It's just, whenever he feels like he's been wronged, Malcolm Turnbull, he just has to square up under, no matter what happens, he's got to square up. He's got to try to win.

He's got plenty of money. Just go and enjoy your life. 131873. Mark's called in from Riverston. Mark, you want to talk about independent food outlets struggling at the moment? Yeah, mate. I'm recently in the ponds over probably the last six to eight months. We've seen Costi's closed down their fresh food section. Um,

The local butcher closed down and it's due to these high electricity rates. So we had a vibrant seafood section in northwest Sydney and it's now gone. And what they've done, they've gutted it out, put some tables and chairs in and it's just their fried food section left.

So it's just effectively what? Just like a fish and chip shop now? It's a fish and chip shop where once it was a vibrant, you know, real fresh seafood, buckets laid out the whole shoot match. Good on you, Mark. That's such a shame. Is that the main strip of the ponds?

Yeah, it's amazing. But can I add one more thing to this? This current decision by the government to put all these 20,000 homes in Kellyville and Bella Vista, it takes 40 minutes plus to get from Stanhope Gardens to Bella Vista.

Now, Riverstone has been overlooked time over time. We have one of the oldest infrastructures in Australia, one of the oldest suburbs in Australia. And again, we've got all here, heavy rail, the whole shooting match and industrial area, a new business park with 20,000 jobs they're talking about for the future. And again, we're overlooked. And they want to put more apartments...

Mark, the roads are a major issue and I don't think it's being adequately addressed. Good on you, mate. You have a good afternoon. 131873. In the newsroom, Josh Bryant. Hello. Good afternoon again, Chris. The state's customer services minister says contractors and temporary employees will be the focus of the state government's job cuts as part of changes that service New South Wales. A man has been charged as part of police investigations into the theft of a

million worth of silver bullion from a truck that was travelling between Sydney and Melbourne three years ago. The federal government says wages have been improving since it took office, despite an OECD report showing that we're falling behind England, the US and Canada. And police are searching for a man who's accused of

urinating on food products in a grocery store in Sydney's CBD. In sport, John McEnroe has come to the defence of Novak Djokovic after he slammed Wimbledon crowds for disrespecting him. McEnroe says the Serbian legend is unfairly seen as the Darth Vader of tennis. We'll have more news in sport at six. Thanks, Josh. Coming up, we'll check the weather and $1,000 if you can guess the Olympian.

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

25 to 6. And now, a weather update. Well, mostly sunny today. Right now, 16 degrees in the city and 15 in our west. Temperatures tonight will dip to 8 in the city and 6 in our west. Pretty chilly tonight. Tomorrow, mostly sunny. Tops of 18 degrees in the city tomorrow and 18 in the west.

Okay, $1,000. Call me now, 1-300-722-873. I've given you two clues. Call the competition line, 1-300-722-873. So you need to tell me who the champion is that represented Australia at the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2015 and 2020 Olympics.

And she made history at the Tokyo Olympic Games by joining Mary Hannah as the only woman to have competed at six Olympic Games for Australia. And her first name is Gianne.

So what's Gian's surname? 1-300-722-873. If you've got the answer to that, $1,000 is yours. Scott Haywood's got money news tonight after 7 o'clock. Scott, how'd the markets go?

Good afternoon, Chris. Look, the market actually recovered from some early losses, but it didn't get in the red, or it didn't stay out of the red all day. We opened down 40 points, but we recovered to fall just 12 to 7,816. G. Telstra, which has been a really disappointing stock for so many investors over the last 20 years, has been a market darling this week, despite the fact that customers are

hanging up on them because they increased their prices on phones and services. Their shares went up yesterday by 2%. Today they're up another 2% to $3.82. By association, JB Hi-Fi also up 2.2% to $64.39. But a pretty flat day. Of course, we are in school holidays as well at the moment, which means volumes at the share market are a little lower than expected.

So, Ferrari. Big changes happening at Ferrari. You've got one, haven't you? No, Michael McLaren we hear and he comes into the studio at 2GB. We get the benefit of hearing his roar when he arrives and when he leaves. So at least Michael's our touch with Ferrari. What are the changes? I'm going to get a text about that. Look, it's funny. Simple pleasures in life, you know, your footy or your rugby team winning, maybe getting a birdie at golf when you're playing and hearing that Ferrari engine roar.

Well, the world-renowned prancing horse engine maker are now going electric. And that now will be an electric hum. And that's boring, really, like, isn't it? You know, they've established a 300 million European electric factory. Cars started in production last month. And the company is on track for Michael to reveal its first electric model, which he'll probably put his hand in his pocket for. Which...

Which is, have a guess, Chris, how much an electric prancing horse red Ferrari is going to cost when it hits the market at the end of next year? I couldn't tell you. A couple hundred grand or something? A couple hundred grand. That'll get you a tyre. $800,000. $800,000. So they are heavily punting on the fact that petrol engines are on the way out and the move to success is certainly green. So that's going to be a big change to Ferrari. Also tonight on the show, we're going to talk about is the permanent...

Stage 3 tax cuts, something that we should look at. That's from the University of New South Wales. And also, unfortunately, a lot of us in our life, including me, and I'm sure potentially you as well, Chris, have known someone who has been diagnosed with cancer or had cancer treatment. And we've got an ASX-listed CEO, the CEO of Imogen,

Today they had some good news after a successful cancer trial. And on Money News, Tommy Stewart and I do like, and Deb Knight, of course, always try and like to get some good news stories on some of the biotech and pharmaceutical stocks on the Australian Stock Exchange. And tonight we've got that after 7 o'clock. Good stuff, Scott. We look forward to it. We'll hear you after 7 o'clock after on Money News. Thanks, Chris. All right. Who represented Australia...

At the Sydney, the Athens, the Beijing, the London, the Rio and the Tokyo Olympic Games. Table tennis legend, made history at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Her first name is Jianne. Only woman, along with Mary Hannah, to have competed at six Olympic Games for Australia. Paul from Hornsby, who is it?

Hello, Chris. It's Jan Fangley. It is Jan Fangley. Well done. $1,000, Paul, coming your way. Hell of an effort, isn't it?

Oh, it's awesome. Little I'm getting to one and six is just such a massive accomplishment. And I think she was like 49 when she was at Tokyo, 49 years old playing table tennis against the best in the world, Jian Fang Lei. Good on you, Paul. $1,000 coming your way. Ben, Ray, Michael and myself, we've all got $1,000 to give away again tomorrow in Guess the Olympian. It's 20 to 6.

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

Well, many families are taking a break this week during school holidays, but it's just as likely, like me, you're working all the way through. So if you are, it's important to be mindful of mid-year burnout. It's true. It's a real thing. So you've made it through six months of hard work. It's freezing cold. It's raining here. And the end of the year and the summer break feels miles away.

And according to Mental Health First Aid Australia, 61% of Australian workers are experiencing some sort of burnout. That's pretty high. Global average is only 48%. And in Australia, we've got 61% who are experiencing burnout.

But how do you know it's burnout? How is burnout different from, say, feeling tired or feeling stressed? Well, Dr. Katrina Davis-McCabe is the president of the Australian Psychological Society, and she's on the line for us. Doctor, thank you so much for your time. Hi, Chris. Thanks for inviting me. How does burnout differ from, say, just being stressed or being tired?

Yeah, it's a good question. I think people often confuse it. Burnout is different. It's a state of total emotional, physical and mental exhaustion. And it's because we've been stressed for too long. We've been dealing with prolonged stress. And it just leaves you feeling completely overwhelmed and emotionally drained. So

What we often do when we're burnt out is we lack energy, but we disengage. We kind of stop caring about things. Stress is different because it's over-engagement, doing too much, but that leads to the burnout. So we kind of have to watch the stress to prevent it getting to that burnout. Many of the symptoms of burnout can be the symptoms of depression too, right?

Well, yeah, and burnout can lead to depression. We have to try and prevent that. Some of the symptoms are around a lack of energy, being withdrawn. A lot of people will have issues with sleep and anxiety. But you know that it's burnout when you know you've been dealing with stress. It could be stress at work over a long time, but not only work. It can be life stress, family stress too. So it's about just recognising, looking at what's been happening in your life. Yeah.

It's hard to dodge stress, whether it's at work, whether it's at home. It's a by-product of being a human being. What can we do to prevent burnout? I think we have to look at some of the basic building blocks, I suppose, of good health, looking at getting enough sleep, eating well, exercising, and just managing stress. But I think when I think about burnout, I think, you know what, you need to put...

No, no, no in place. Put boundaries in place. Say no. Recognise when something is too much or how far you're willing to go or not and just be really clear with people. Be honest with yourself and say no. And is that just say, look, I've had enough. I need a day off today or no, I'm not going to do that extra shift or no, I'm not going to stay back a couple of hours because I'm feeling pretty ordinary. Yeah.

Take a mental health day. A lot of employers now are really good with that. There's no stigma. There used to be such a stigma around mental health, but actually it's a positive thing to be aware of it and take a mental health day. Look after your mental health. Is it especially difficult in the winter months this time of year?

Yeah, and look, we've seen an increase in people presenting with stress and burnout sort of across the board. And I think it's the dark nights. It's the end of the financial year. It's a long time now to a holiday. And all of that adds to it. All right, Doctor, I really appreciate you coming on. Are you burnt out? Are you going okay? I'm going okay. Maybe I need a break. I've just had two weeks off. I'm good as gold. Thank you so much. I really appreciate you jumping on.

Thank you. That's Dr. Katrina Davis-McKay, President of the Australian Psychological Society, 131873. Honestly, if you're feeling a little bit, you know, blah...

There's a whole bunch of things you can do, but if you just go, you know what, I just need a rest today, there's nothing wrong with just having a rest. And I know employers, you know, you can be made to feel obligated or bad or whatever, but in two, three, four weeks' time, no one's going to remember, but it's important. If you get a rest, that means you've got to get through to the end of the year. So there is nothing wrong with having a rest here and there, 131873. Yeah.

Well, who wants $200 of free petrol? Because it's time for the Jewel for Fuel 182 contestants to play. If you want to win $200 of free petrol thanks to Shell V-Power, give us a call now. 131873. Yep, call that open line. 131873. $200 of free fuel up for grabs next.

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

On 2GB Drive, let's duel for fuel. We are dueling for fuel this Wednesday afternoon and our contestants. I've got Michael at Austral. Hello, Michael. Hi, Chris. How you going? I'm good, thanks, Michael. And Emanuel's at Box Hill. G'day, Emanuel. How you going, mate? Good, thank you, Emanuel. You want to kick us off, mate? Yeah, go for it. Emanuel, your time starts now. Finish this phrase, wetter than an otter's.

Pup. Pocket. What country is Ferrari from? Italy. Correct. Did Usain Bolt ever win Olympic gold running 400? No. Correct. What is 2GB's nickname for Steve Miles, the Premier of Queensland? Giggles. What's the capital of Canada? Montreal. Ottawa. Ottawa. Michael, you ready?

Yeah, I'm ready. You've got to get three. Your time starts now. Who played Mary Poppins in the movie Mary Poppins? Mary. Julie Andrews. Which nation is hosting this year's Euro competition? Germany. Is zucchini botanically a fruit or vegetable? A fruit. Correct. Only one person is allowed to play. What is the gemstone that represented 20th anniversary?

Michael, you've had a shocker. Emmanuel, you got two right. That means you're taking the $200 home. All thanks to Shell V-Power. It is the jewel for fuel. And we play it every afternoon here on Drive. And now, a preview of what's coming up on Wide World of Sports. Pick your favourite Kia from the award-winning Kia Sportage to the street-cred delivering Kia Seltos or Kia's most powerful car ever, the all-electric EV6 GT.

Adam Hawes in the studio with Wide World of Sports coming up next. He's looking outstanding. He's looking fit. He's looking sharp. He's ready to go. What's happening? I don't feel it, mate. Look, there's outrage. There's outrage, and I think you'd be interested in this. Touch footy cancelled tonight because the fields are too wet. Can you believe it? I just, did you hear me going off about it yesterday? Regularly, yeah. But it is a problem, mate. I had someone today, I was having coffee in Wareemba, which is up near Five Dock.

And this gentleman comes up to me. He said, I heard you talking about it. He goes, my child has paid $400 for, or he's paid $400 for his child for soccer for the year. They've played three games. Yeah. Oh, it's across the board. And you'll find families will walk away. They'll walk away. They won't pay that money if they're not getting any game. They're not getting a return for their investment. And we tell kids. Name and shame. What council ground? It's in Hornsby. Hornsby. I'm not even playing. I'm just dirty for the rest of the lads. Anyway.

Big show. Is it over 50s? What are you saying? No, is it seniors? No, it's not seniors. What is it? It's not seniors. No, it's just open division. It's youngsters, it's old guys. There's old blokes playing? It'll be an ACL-a-thon. There's women, there's everyone. ACL-a-thon. I'm still recovering from my ACL, so I won't be there, but the boys, they're very shattered. I'm just passing that on. That's terrible. Yeah, it is, mate. It is. Anyway.

What's up tonight? We've got plenty of State of Origin chat. The Blues were training in front of plenty of fans there in the Blue Mountains. Bradman Best, a little bit of a concern. They say he will play, but he's certainly training away from the rest of the squad at the moment. Bit of a hamstring. I don't like the twinge idea. Yeah, mate, hammies, you just don't know if they're right. It's a bit of a gamble to take him in. So Matt Burton was training in his place. We've got the great Brett Mullins coming on. Oh, what a player. Oh, yeah.

What a player Brett Malm is. Didn't he carve up your dragons back in the day? He was a seriously good player. Yeah, so he was part of the 1994 decider winning Blues team at Suncorp Stadium. Lang Park, as it was known. So he knows what it takes to break the hoodoo. So he'll come on and give us all his secrets. Looking forward to it. Do you think... I asked Madge this on Monday.

You're talking about 94 and you're talking about 2004. 2005. 2005. You're talking about Andrew Johns, Brad Fitley. You're talking about Paul Siren and Benny Elias, Brett Mullin. Are these guys up to it? Are they at that standard? No.

Well, their household names aren't like Glenn Lazarus, Andrew Eddinghausen. You mentioned those ones. Look, they're not at that stage, but they certainly can be if they win this. This is what's being told to them. If you win this, you etch your names in the history books forever. You're only the third team to have done this. Two from 13 attempts. It's rare. So there's a real opportunity for Mitchell Moses in particular to put himself up there, Chris. Do you think we can do it? Yes, I do. I do. I think they know that...

You know, they can't just rest on what happened at the MCG. They've got to lift again. It's a different environment. Billy Slater is a smart coach. He'll have them pumped up. Although I think you blundered by not bringing in David Fafita. Didn't he just? Yeah.

I was reading that. Who would you rather face, mate? Who would you rather face as a blue? Darren Lockyer, who's part of the selection committee, goes, oh, well, David's just got to work on some things when he gets tired in defence. His error rates go up. And I looked at the stats and Felice Caffouse and Brendan Piacora make more errors than him. You know why I'm dirty. And they got picked. Yeah, you know why I'm dirty about it. Why? Because he gets to play against the Eels. I'd be dirty too. That's why I'm really filthy. Oh, dear.

We've got plenty of some AFL too. Stephen Canelio from the Giants. He's coming on. He'll have a chat about how they turn things around against Carlton. And Craig Gabriel, our tennis expert, he's on the line because it's a huge night for Alex Demon. The Demon. I didn't realise he's in the top ten. Yeah. That's how much... He's an extraordinary effort to make the top ten. Big test tonight. Big test tonight. Yeah, good luck. Good on you, mate. Look forward to it. That's Adam Hawes with Wide World of Sports coming up next. That's it from us.

for this Wednesday afternoon. Drive at 2GB.com if you've got anything you'd like us to look into further. I know we were talking about the horror stories around Sydney Water and anything in terms of getting DAs through and the like. If you've got those stories, please send me an email. Drive at 2GB.com. I'll see you tomorrow.