Two historic Melbourne monuments were vandalised as tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest the controversial Australia Day holiday.
A statue of John Batman, a founder of Australia's second largest city who was also involved in the deaths of indigenous people, was sawn in half and a monument commemorating Australian soldiers in World War One was covered in red paint.
Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says police have launched investigations into these incidents - as well as similar acts of vandalism across the country.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Two Australia. We go to Perth. He's working today from
six pr Oly Petersonello.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Good Andrew, great to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Happy Australia Day yesterday.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yeah, it was brilliant. I'll tell you what.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
The fireworks here in Perth last night, the sky show
one hundred thousand people, very multicultural events and it was
just sensational. But we feel weird saying Happy Australia. You
feel weird seeing Australian flags on Australia Day. We've got
to sort something out so people can just enjoy, embrace
and celebrate it.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Yeah, because it does cause some consternation. Indeed, it was
a great Australia Day for some people, but not monuments.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
No, And this has happened across the country.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
So in Melbourne over the weekend of memorial for John
Batman was vandalized and the ANZAC Memorial in Parkville and
an outdoor stage in Ringwood North. In South Australia, there
was a gathering of the far right activists at a
war memorial in Adelaide yesterday and in New South Wales
in Sydney we had the monuments here. The Wall of
(00:57):
Remembrance in Sydney was scratched into saying evil on Saturday morning.
I mean, this is disgusting, the New South Wales premier
saying the act was lower than low. Police have obviously
launched an investigation into all of these incidents, but I mean,
this is not the country that we live in, or
that you'd expect in Australia for these sorts of activities
to be going on in Adelaide, in Sydney and Melbourne
(01:20):
over the week, and it makes your stomach churn.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Yeah, but you used to be not anti semitic as well.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah, well that's you put it all in there, that's right,
But you can put it all in there that this
is what is possibly going to cause the downfall of
the Prime Minister Anthony Alberisi when we go to the polls,
probably in April or May. There's news poll out today
Andrew which actually says for the first time Peter Dutton
is not only the preferred prime minister, most people believe
he's going to win the election, which I think even
(01:47):
Dutton himself would be very surprised about only three months ago.
This is all going one way in that South for
the Prime Minister at the moment, and he can't seem
to get on top of the situation and people are
blaming him for this.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
That's right, and then they'll vote for what they seem
to be the less evil, which is not necessarily we
prefer him, but we prefer him more than that other bloke,
and that's for sure. Can I ask you a question
about the Australia Day thing, because I didn't watch the
Australian Open yesterday because I was busy watching Cold Shizzle,
which was so good at Ice House. But anyway, I've
always been confused when the Australian opens playing and then
(02:20):
it's Australia Day and then they have the fireworks and
then they stop the games for like fifteen minutes. Did
that happen again?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yeah? You got to schedule it better, haven't you.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Like you've just got to sort of figure out when
the match is going to start, when the fireworks are
going to be on. I got to be honest, site,
I didn't catch the final my self because I was
down here at the fireworks here in Perth. But I
wouldn't be surprised if they press the pause but not
it because it just becomes so distracting through the players.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
All Right, What happens. If you get caught with cocaine
in Australia these days.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Well you think you go to court or you think
you might have the threat of jail time. But because
the New South Wales courts are just chock a block,
they're just giving gap fines because they're trying to get
rid of the backlog at the moment in the court.
So there was a record number of fines issued last
year instead of chargers.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
So twenty three percent of.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
People who've been caught in cocaine with cocaine last March
walked away with a four hundred dollars criminal infringement notice.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Ninety nine percent was sent to court the month before.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
So I mean, if you're thinking about what dealing this stuff,
or you're thinking about consuming this stuff, you've got a
one in four chance of just getting a fine, and
you probably think, well, stuff it, I'll do it. I
think this seems a really poor message Andrew to the
criminals and also the people who want.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
To take this stuff, that it's basically a white.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Flag moment that the authorities are giving up on catching
the criminals and catching the people who were pedaling this stuff.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
And it's also unfortunately because Over the last year, they've
been headlines saying that Colombian cartels are currently targeting Australia
and New Zealand. They see it as a fresh and
untapped cocaine market. Particularly if you guys aren't doing anything about.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
It, well that's it.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
And there was I know there was a big sting
recently in Sydney where there were hundreds of people arrested
or charged as a result of pedaling this stuff and
paraded before the cameras and colin inches in the newspapers
and obviously talked about here on radio and thought, well done,
tough on crime. You're doing really well. Then you go
and get this stuff and you think, well are you
or was that just a pr exercise because you knew
what was coming.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Now hopes that Donald Trump will go to Vegas to
watch rugby league.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
This has to be the most bonkers story out of Australia.
I've got to give Peter Velandi's the chair of the AARLC,
a little bit of credit here Andrew because he loves Hollywood,
he loves a headline. He's obviously gone and met King
Charles before, he's met the former president Joe Biden. Now
he reckons he's going to be able to get Donald
Trump to fly from Washington to Vegas for obviously the
(04:37):
first round of the Rugby League to be played there
in Vegas as it was last year and this year
again and they're going to market Nathan Cleary. Is that
Tom Brady of the National Rugby League? This is just nuts,
as if the President is going to be in Vegas
watching National Rugby League.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
I got it again. Got to give PVLL credit here
for a bit of publishering.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Nothing ventured, nothing games. But of course that first weekend
the Warriors are player. So I'm if we could get
Donald Trump to say up the Wars, that would make
my day.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
I reckon you should you got to be on a planet.
You've got to be going over having you here.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Haha, Yeah, dreams mate, Hey, thank you so much for
your time.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Pleasure anytime over.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Peterson six pr and yeah, if he does turn up,
I wonder if the Warriors are sending Donald Trump a
jersey as we speak as well, because that would just
be fun to see. Let's just do it anyway.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
For more from hither Duplessy Allen Drive listen live to
news talks.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
Two Australia. We go to Perth. He's working today from
six pr Oly Petersonello.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Good Andrew, great to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Happy Australia Day yesterday.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yeah, it was brilliant. I'll tell you what.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
The fireworks here in Perth last night, the sky show
one hundred thousand people, very multicultural events and it was
just sensational. But we feel weird saying Happy Australia. You
feel weird seeing Australian flags on Australia Day. We've got
to sort something out so people can just enjoy, embrace
and celebrate it.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Yeah, because it does cause some consternation. Indeed, it was
a great Australia Day for some people, but not monuments.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
No, And this has happened across the country.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
So in Melbourne over the weekend of memorial for John
Batman was vandalized and the ANZAC Memorial in Parkville and
an outdoor stage in Ringwood North. In South Australia, there
was a gathering of the far right activists at a
war memorial in Adelaide yesterday and in New South Wales
in Sydney we had the monuments here. The Wall of
(00:57):
Remembrance in Sydney was scratched into saying evil on Saturday morning.
I mean, this is disgusting, the New South Wales premier
saying the act was lower than low. Police have obviously
launched an investigation into all of these incidents, but I mean,
this is not the country that we live in, or
that you'd expect in Australia for these sorts of activities
to be going on in Adelaide, in Sydney and Melbourne
(01:20):
over the week, and it makes your stomach churn.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Yeah, but you used to be not anti semitic as well.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah, well that's you put it all in there, that's right,
But you can put it all in there that this
is what is possibly going to cause the downfall of
the Prime Minister Anthony Alberisi when we go to the polls,
probably in April or May. There's news poll out today
Andrew which actually says for the first time Peter Dutton
is not only the preferred prime minister, most people believe
he's going to win the election, which I think even
(01:47):
Dutton himself would be very surprised about only three months ago.
This is all going one way in that South for
the Prime Minister at the moment, and he can't seem
to get on top of the situation and people are
blaming him for this.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
That's right, and then they'll vote for what they seem
to be the less evil, which is not necessarily we
prefer him, but we prefer him more than that other bloke,
and that's for sure. Can I ask you a question
about the Australia Day thing, because I didn't watch the
Australian Open yesterday because I was busy watching Cold Shizzle,
which was so good at Ice House. But anyway, I've
always been confused when the Australian opens playing and then
(02:20):
it's Australia Day and then they have the fireworks and
then they stop the games for like fifteen minutes. Did
that happen again?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yeah? You got to schedule it better, haven't you.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Like you've just got to sort of figure out when
the match is going to start, when the fireworks are
going to be on. I got to be honest, site,
I didn't catch the final my self because I was
down here at the fireworks here in Perth. But I
wouldn't be surprised if they press the pause but not
it because it just becomes so distracting through the players.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
All Right, What happens. If you get caught with cocaine
in Australia these days.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Well you think you go to court or you think
you might have the threat of jail time. But because
the New South Wales courts are just chock a block,
they're just giving gap fines because they're trying to get
rid of the backlog at the moment in the court.
So there was a record number of fines issued last
year instead of chargers.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
So twenty three percent of.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
People who've been caught in cocaine with cocaine last March
walked away with a four hundred dollars criminal infringement notice.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Ninety nine percent was sent to court the month before.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
So I mean, if you're thinking about what dealing this stuff,
or you're thinking about consuming this stuff, you've got a
one in four chance of just getting a fine, and
you probably think, well, stuff it, I'll do it. I
think this seems a really poor message Andrew to the
criminals and also the people who want.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
To take this stuff, that it's basically a white.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Flag moment that the authorities are giving up on catching
the criminals and catching the people who were pedaling this stuff.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
And it's also unfortunately because Over the last year, they've
been headlines saying that Colombian cartels are currently targeting Australia
and New Zealand. They see it as a fresh and
untapped cocaine market. Particularly if you guys aren't doing anything about.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
It, well that's it.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
And there was I know there was a big sting
recently in Sydney where there were hundreds of people arrested
or charged as a result of pedaling this stuff and
paraded before the cameras and colin inches in the newspapers
and obviously talked about here on radio and thought, well done,
tough on crime. You're doing really well. Then you go
and get this stuff and you think, well are you
or was that just a pr exercise because you knew
what was coming.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Now hopes that Donald Trump will go to Vegas to
watch rugby league.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
This has to be the most bonkers story out of Australia.
I've got to give Peter Velandi's the chair of the AARLC,
a little bit of credit here Andrew because he loves Hollywood,
he loves a headline. He's obviously gone and met King
Charles before, he's met the former president Joe Biden. Now
he reckons he's going to be able to get Donald
Trump to fly from Washington to Vegas for obviously the
(04:37):
first round of the Rugby League to be played there
in Vegas as it was last year and this year
again and they're going to market Nathan Cleary. Is that
Tom Brady of the National Rugby League? This is just nuts,
as if the President is going to be in Vegas
watching National Rugby League.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
I got it again. Got to give PVLL credit here
for a bit of publishering.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Nothing ventured, nothing games. But of course that first weekend
the Warriors are player. So I'm if we could get
Donald Trump to say up the Wars, that would make
my day.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
I reckon you should you got to be on a planet.
You've got to be going over having you here.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Haha, Yeah, dreams mate, Hey, thank you so much for
your time.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Pleasure anytime over.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Peterson six pr and yeah, if he does turn up,
I wonder if the Warriors are sending Donald Trump a
jersey as we speak as well, because that would just
be fun to see. Let's just do it anyway.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
For more from hither Duplessy Allen Drive listen live to
news talks.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
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