#105 - Peter Vinnicomb - Australian First Responder - The Chris & Mike Show

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Music. There you go.
And we're live. We are live.
On the YouTube even. On the YouTube even it's the
Christian Mike show, we got Peter.
Is it Vinicombe? Vinicombe.

(00:20):
Vinicom, Peter Vinicom. Here we go.
Boys and girls, everybody. So there you have it.

(00:45):
There you go. This is the Chris and Mike show
and we are, we are. This is kind of cool.
For those of you just joining uslive on YouTube and those who
will be joining us later on, Peter is in Australia, I am in
Arizona, Mike is in Illinois. That is the power of technology
in a positive way. We have traversed the

(01:06):
International Dateline for the first time.
And it's, and Peter's living in the future from what I
understand, it's when we're recording this, it's, it's 3:00
on a Tuesday afternoon in in America.
What time was it in Australia, Peter?
It is 8:00 Wednesday morning. Wow so so let us know what
happens between now and tomorrowmorning, because I would like to

(01:27):
know I want to know about the stocks I want to know about what
what sports teams have won or lost.
I want to know what what I should invest in right now.
So then I reap the benefits tomorrow.
OK. And then if there's.
Anything else? And a $70 million Lotto drawer
about maybe 12 hours ago. OK.
And what are those numbers? Give us the numbers.

(01:49):
I'll I'll I'll PM them to you. OK, cool.
Because then we'll we'll split it, man.
We'll split it three ways. Is and is it it's hilarious.
Is it Australian money? It is.
So that's 70 million probably the difference is we don't pay
tax on our Lotto wins. Really, which is the way it
should be? So if you win, 70,000,070

(02:12):
million goes into your bank. OK, So what?
Can't tell you how many. I can't tell you how many
people, Peter, that I hear say if I were going to live anywhere
else in the world other than theUnited States, they all say
Australia. So you guys must do a lot of
things right down there. Yeah, I was dragged over here
when I was 12 years old. I was brought up in England and

(02:32):
I wasn't, wasn't impressed to come over.
Dad hated the the cold weather. He he worked on a ship and loved
the heat. So we came over in in 87 for a
holiday and then they said we'removing.
OK. So I was brought over in 89 and
yeah, I would, I wouldn't live anywhere else.
Love it. That's all.
Really. So, so we've heard now from

(02:53):
America, because America, this is one, this is the question I
wanted to ask you. So, so Americans, the viewpoint
of Australians, right? And this is sounds so it's
usually like when I, when I, when I think of Australia, I
think #1 Crocodile Dundee, OK, Ithink of, I think, and this
isn't, this isn't me mocking anybody, but you put another
shrimp on the Bobby, right? Those are the, those are the two

(03:14):
instant things that comes to mind as an American after
Australia. That and the fact that you're on
the other side of the world, right?
And your, and your toilet water goes the opposite direction than
our water. I don't know if that's real or
not. But I was guilty of all that
until I, you know, did some research myself because so many
people said they wanted to live there.

(03:35):
I'm like, this has to be a greatplace.
You know, I had the same initiation to Australia that you
did. It's silly and everybody over
here says the same thing. But I think he's going to say
it's nothing like that. Well, and this is my question,
what what do Australians think of Americans in that kind of
context? Like, do you just think we're

(03:57):
all arrogant asshole Donald Trump loving type?
You know, from from your perspective?
Yeah, from your perspective. What do you what?
Yeah. I think Americans in general
often don't know much outside oftheir own backyard in world,
world affairs and geography and that type of thing.

(04:17):
Yeah, there are a lot of people that think Australia is this
tiny backwards hit town, You know, even though it's a massive
country, Australians probably one of the friendliest mobs out
there. You know, we definitely have our
issues. There's we don't have guns, you

(04:38):
know, there's, there's, there are guns for people in sporting
shooting associations and in on the land.
But apart from that, we don't have the worry about guns.
Your police don't carry guns either.
No, the police do carry guns. Yeah, so, and if I had to guess,

(04:59):
I'd say we probably average maybe two to three school
shooting, school shootings, justpolice shootings every year
Australia wide. Two to three in the entire
continent. Yeah, yeah, there's not a lot.
So so. Just so people understand it's a

(05:20):
culture thing though, you know, so we athletes don't go up to
people in a, in a, in a traffic stop and think that they're
carrying. It's, it's an extremely rare
thing. I mean, there is organized crime
and that sort of thing. So, you know, there's, there's
bad players in every country, but generally it's not too bad.

(05:43):
So you you, so you open up the can of worms about the mob.
Is your mob similar to like the the American mobsters that, you
know, gambling, racketeering, prostitution, drugs, all that
kind of jazz, Like go over and take over a city and just, you
know, bring it down into the absolute, you know, just dregs
of society. Are they more respectful?

(06:04):
A lot of the organised crime is what we call outlawed bikie
gangs. So most, most, most one
percenters of the bikie gangs are outlawed and it's actually
illegal for them to to to band together and that sort of thing
and be found. And I think it's more than three
people and stuff like that. So there's a lot of that and

(06:26):
they're the bikie gangs are probably the most organised
crime over here. But there's definitely, you
know, Chinese groups and, and, you know, Lebanese groups and
that sort of thing in different pockets around the country.
OK, let me ask you this, Peter. From what I understand, and I've
done a moderate amount of research on Australia because

(06:48):
I'd like to go there one day, isn't it true that the majority
of the civilized population lives in a tiny part of a
gigantic continent? Is that not true?
Absolutely, yeah. No, that is very true.
The the mainly the eastern seaboard of Australia is your
most populous. OK.

(07:09):
If you know roughly how many miles is that wide towards what
you guys would call the Outback or?
Well, see, I'm, so I'm in Townsville, I live in far North
Queensland. So for those that know
Australia, you kind of got that pointy bits at the top right.
I'm sort of towards towards the northern part of there.

(07:32):
But it still probably takes me another 8 hours to get to the
tip. OK, driving.
And then to get down to Brisbane, which is the capital
city of the state that I'm in, is about 1300 kilometres.
Wow. Then it's about 1000 kilometres
to Sydney and about 1000 kilometres to Melbourne.

(07:53):
So they they're your three majorcities in, in Australia would be
Brisbane, Sydney and and Melbourne.
And then across on the other side of the country, which I
think think it's about it's either 7 or 8000 kilometres over
to Perth. OK, yeah, people don't realize
Australia is gigantic. Right.

(08:15):
So if so, how many? How many Texas is Australia?
Because Texas is pretty big. I knew it one time to be honest
with you, I don't want to guess now.
I think it's like, well, I'll Google it if you got I got one
more question. So explain to the people.
So now we know that everybody lives on the Eastern seaboard.

(08:36):
As far as civilized society, what is the rest of the
continent like from like N to Southeast to West?
Is it all the same or is it different?
It's different and there are pockets of people throughout.
There's a lot of mining goes on in Australia.
So a lot of the Outback, what wecall the Outback towns are, are

(08:58):
pretty much around those, those sort of mines.
And then you get little pockets and then there's a lot of
indigenous places spread throughout and they can be.
So the most, most remote place I've worked is probably a place
called Buck Alden. And that's six hours inland from

(09:19):
a medium sized city. It's an hour and a half from any
clinical backup or, or anything like that.
Kangaroos are literally sitting in your front, your front lawn.
Yeah, there's a, there's a lot of stereotypes that, you know,
we catch Kangaroos to school andthings like that.

(09:39):
When you're in the Outback there, there are Kangaroos
sitting in your front yard. And that's crazy.
Yeah. Now how?
Are those people living? Are they living in traditional
houses? Are they living in huts?
Are they poor? Do they you know what?
What kind of lifestyle are they living out there?
Normal houses, they're normal city, normal towns, often 1500

(10:04):
people would be, you know, around 1000 people would be sort
of be a minimum kind of thing. There's, look, there's, there's
definitely indigenous towns thatare, are quite poverty stricken
and they, they live a different lifestyle with, with the, you
know, there's, there's rampant alcohol problems and crime

(10:25):
problems and that sort of thing.And that's, that's probably the
biggest ongoing institutional issue that we have is the
disparity between Indigenous people and, and, and the common
folk. So Indigenous people is the
Aborigines, correct? That's correct.
And then so. Indigenous, Aboriginal and

(10:47):
Torres Strait Islanders. OK, so for those that don't
understand that may not truly grasp the concept of Aborigines
or what what's their are they like the original settlers in
Australia? Yeah, they've got a history
here, you know, not forgive me if I misquote times, but they,
they've been here thousands and thousands of years.

(11:10):
There's rock paintings and stuffgoing back a long, long time.
And then Australia was basicallytaken over in 1788 when Captain
Cook sailed over. And yeah, and basically there
was a mass genocide. There was a lot of a lot of
people killed. And then then there was a, you
know, it's a pretty, pretty pisspoor history in dealing with

(11:33):
Indigenous folks. Didn't the English make it a
prison colony for a while? Yep, that's exactly what who
came over in the first fleet waswas it was English convicts and
then they they basically wiped out indigenous folk left right
and centre they came with. All this technology.
Yeah, absolutely. And then they tried to, then

(11:57):
they tried to breed them out. They would steal their children.
And yeah, so there was a big thing called the Stolen
Generation where they would actually steal children in this.
And we're only talking 70 years ago, 80 years ago this is this
is relatively recent. The stolen, the stolen

(12:17):
generation, that's what you callit, yes, I mean, I mean.
And it was literally the government.
The government would go in and they would take Indigenous
children an attempt to assimilate them into white
people's culture and kind of breed them out.
They weren't they, they, they fought for us in the World War,
in World War 2, but they weren'tactually classified as citizens.

(12:39):
I think it was until the 70s, which for me is just, you know,
I'm a, I'm a child of the 70s. To me, that is so just.
It's so foreign to me that that would even be a thing.
Agreed. Yeah, we.
Come from the same. 70s yeah, wecome from the 70s too.
We're all the same age. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's crazy, man. The I, I, I mean just, I mean,

(13:01):
it sounds cheesy, but the stolengeneration that's that's kind of
that's a, that's a unique way tophrase something if.
We didn't go for a pen and paperthere.
I'd be real surprised. Yeah, the Stolen Generation.
I like that too. Yeah, yeah.
So. And the, you know, the, the, the
Prime Minister, I think it was in 2006, I think it was around
there, the, the Prime Minister actually, it took, it took over

(13:24):
50 years for the government to actually make an official
apology. And governments now are still in
the process of trying to make reparations or come to
agreements on reparations because there's still people
alive now from the from the stolen generation.
And it did. And it's caused multi
generational trauma. Oh, I don't, yeah, I could see

(13:46):
that because it's it's no different than if, if that
people come over. I'm sure you've heard the
nonsense of our border wars and stuff with especially in
Arizona, like the border wars inArizona are more it's it's more
prevalent than than it is in Texas, than it is in California.
I think. I don't know why, but but you've
probably heard stories of how when they come across they

(14:07):
separating the parents and the kids and things like that.
And you know, so I can't imaginethat at all.
I can't imagine being separated from my kids and and vice versa.
So trauma for sure. I could see how that would have
a lasting effect generationally,right?
Because it's just, you know. That's why I agree with what
Peter said. And I always say I'm on team
people, right? The whole borders and races, and

(14:31):
we're all on this one planet together, and we all have the
same pool of resources, right? Why can't we just get along, be
cool with each other, do a podcast, meet a guy like Peter,
have a good time. You know, I don't understand why
that's so hard. If you don't like somebody,
don't talk to him. What does a imaginary line have
to do with anything? Nothing except for Les Messman's

(14:53):
office in WKRP. So so Peter, I like your smile.
So you know WKRP. Did WKRP make it to Australia?
I'll say yes. Right on and.
Not OK. OK, well, it was a it was a
sitcom in this in, in the 70s that was, was, was focused on a
radio station. And one of the, one of the

(15:15):
characters was Les Nessman, who was a news reporter.
And he always went in an office,but he wasn't allowed to have an
office. So he took duct tape basically,
and duct tape a space on the floor.
And he wouldn't mind himself going in and shutting his door,
you know, and somebody just walked past line, like, wait a
minute, Peter, you have to knockand then you'd back up and, you
know, just they're famous. The, the most famous scene they

(15:38):
have is is on Thanksgiving, the,the, the WKRP Turkey drop.
So Les Nessman's on the ground watching the helicopter above
pushing out the turkeys and everybody thought they could fly
and they didn't fly. So it was raining turkeys and
it's just a whole bunch of chaosand the mob, you know, and the

(15:59):
last, the last gimmick in the, of the show that episode was was
Mr. Carlson, the station managerstanding there with Herb
Tarlich. The sales guy is like, you know,
it's God is my witness. I thought turkeys could fly.
It was one of the funniest American sitcoms that we ever.
Produced. Yeah, it was great, all the

(16:19):
different. We get, we get most of the
American sitcoms over here. We are very, very heavily
influenced by American culture. So movies as well.
Sorry, Chris. No, you're good it.
Was a good question. Movies as well.
Absolutely. Yeah, OK.
So from from your guys's standpoint, since you since we
did went to the media thing, do you guys have like like

(16:42):
obviously Mel Gibson came out ofAustralia, the Mad Max trilogy,
original Mad Max trilogy, not the one, I don't know about the
ones George Mosery doing, but the original ones were all based
in Australia, correct? That's correct, yes.
Yeah. So do you have your own, I don't
know how to like, do you have your own Hollywood, for lack of
a better question, like in in Australia where you produce your

(17:04):
own movies and TV shows and thatkind of stuff.
Yeah. And when, when Trump recently
announced that a tariff on movies produced outside of
Australia, sorry, outside of America, that could cost us
hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Gold Coast is probably our number one thing.

(17:27):
Most of the Pirates of the Caribbean were filmed in
Australia. Really.
I did not know that. I didn't know that either.
The Matrix. The Matrix.
The Matrix was filmed in Australia.
Really. A few of them, Yeah.
The Marvels have input. King Kong though, the Kong
versus gorilla versus Kong that was made in Australia.

(17:47):
So there's a huge Australian thing and and especially in a
special. Effect.
I know that that's crazy that's good to know So and you've been
you've you 20 years in as a first responder basically right
Yeah. So I've been a.
Paramedic for 20 years. OK, so give.
Us a little insight. Over here, our system's slightly

(18:07):
different to yours. Yeah, all our, we have state
based ambulance services and that's pretty much it.
So and they're not, they're not ingrained with fire departments
or anything like that. So, you know, and so to give it
to and we, we are a very large, very large state.

(18:29):
So I, I used to work as a singleofficer.
So I would be on call for what Iwould do 8 days on six days off
with office hours and then be oncall for the rest of the rest of
the time. So you're pretty much on call
for 24 hours a day for 8 days and you are responding on your
own. So you may get in some regions

(18:52):
or areas, you might have some volunteer first responders who
will drive your vehicle so that you can treat in the back.
But yeah, sometimes it can take,you know, it can be 8090
kilometres down country roads toget to a place.
You know, it can take an hour, hour and a half to get somewhere
and then it can take an hour anda half to get back to a very,

(19:16):
you know, something that's very much a health clinic rather than
a hospital. And then often they have to get
flown via Royal Flying Doctors Service to to a major tertiary
hospital. So that sounds like a like a a
potential crisis turning into death If if it's something.

(19:40):
That's a three hour round trip. Right, just to get to a health
clinic. And then if they're severe like
let's let's let's let here's so you see if you can answer this.
I'm sure you can. So somebody's having a heart
attack, right? So they call you up, you're 90
minutes away. You get there, they're still
alive. Then you do what you can to
stabilize them, I would assume, right?

(20:01):
And then you drive them back to 90 minutes.
And then if they're still alive after that three hour total
window plus whatever time they were suffering from this.
That's somebody who who would then be flown to a actual
hospital. Yeah.
So we, we do carry drugs, clot busting drugs that we are able
to give under circumstances thatcan clear it.

(20:22):
I mean they're a high risk drug.We call it Draino for Draino for
the heart. I don't know if you guys have
Draino but it basically. Dissolves.
Everything heart Draino. Yep, but the problem with with
heart draino is that if you've got a clot in your brain that is
kept you alive, it busts that too.
Oh. Oh, so you know, it's one of

(20:44):
those cost versus benefit things.
You know, you're gonna die from a heart attack if you don't get
it, but it can, the actual drug can cause the death of people as
well. So, you know, and that and, and
it's not a drug given lightly. Sure, we have doctors.
We have doctors on call for US 24 hours a day nowadays that we
can ring up and get advice. Telehealth is obviously improved

(21:07):
massively. So there's a lot of things that
can be done. Now if we're going to a job
that, you know, it also depends if we're in reach of a
helicopter whether or not they can come.
You know, they, they only have acertain range and often we're
outside of that range. So, and now the, the new thing

(21:29):
that they're looking at unofficially is drones, using
drones to be able to take product to people to, to scenes
that might be able to help them get, you know, how you could get
there and get a drug into them before we get there using, using
telehealth and talking to doctors and that sort of thing.
So there there's a lot of technology that's going to help

(21:51):
in the in the future. That's cool.
And that's just because it's because you're that's just
because all your cities are so spread out.
That's like and it's it's so, soevery specific city doesn't have
those services. It's just a statewide thing like
you referenced. So then all of this parts from
the same location. Yes, yeah.
So each, each so, So for example, I, I worked for the

(22:12):
Queensland Ambulance Service andthere was 4000 paramedics spread
out somewhere. Oh Jesus.
I don't even, I don't know what to compare that to, but it's
huge. Like I said it to go from the
bottom of the state to the tip of the state's probably about a
25 hour drive. Wow.
OK, yeah, that's crazy. To give you an idea, Chris,

(22:35):
because I know you asked earlier, yeah, the United States
is only slightly larger than Australia, like by 25%.
Oh, that's how big Australia is.Why so when he's?
Talking. So so.
Now it's. Really.
The United States into about 6-6states.
Oh, OK. Wow, wow.
So now you can imagine how Western.

(22:56):
Australia is about 1/3 the size is 1/3 of the country.
OK. Now you can imagine how long it
takes to get somewhere because you know how long it takes to
get from one state to the next. You'd have to go 6 states to the
next state. Wow, that's insane.
See Jake, Jake, my son's a Marine and he was when he was
stationed in Japan, he actually got an opportunity to be doing

(23:17):
the Navy for about was supposed to be 3 months and it being nine
months. But during that time they they
had, I guess you call it ported in Australia.
So he actually got to see Australia, which is cool.
Of course she doesn't like shareall the fun stuff with us.
Just that, you know, he had, he had a Vegemite sandwich that it
was disgusting. Yeah, I've never, I've never

(23:37):
been able to get into Vegemite. And then he had the Fosters,
which is, you know, Americans look at Fosters as Australian
for beer might, right? And the only people that drink
fosters is people that aren't Australian.
That's marketing genius right there you walk into that's how
you can tell right we'll. Go overseas and they'll be hard.

(23:59):
You want to fosters? It's like I don't drink that
shit at home, why would I? Drink it here.
So the brilliance of that, you know, when a tourist is in town,
right, because they walk into Washington.
I like a Fosters please and everybody in the barges.
Four stops. OK.
That's my question. It's funny because we, I live in
a, in a, so Townsville where I live is a big Garrison town.

(24:21):
We've got a huge Army base up here.
I think it's, it's got about I think 70,000 or something.
Wow, no, no, that, that, no, that's way bigger because I
think it's only 70,000 Australiawide.
But there's a big exercise goingon up here at the moment and we
went to, so rugby league is probably the big sport over
here. And we went to a cow always

(24:42):
game. We've got the North Queensland
Cowboys, who's our team up here.And we were walking there the
other day on Saturday night and in front of us a guy turned
around. He said, are you guys, do you
guys support the Tigers who we were playing and and I said, you
know, I wouldn't be wearing thisshirt if I did.
He'd go And then he started talking and he was American.

(25:02):
He was over here on exercise. And yeah, there was a bunch of
them going to going to the rugbyleague game for imagine the
first time. Now Speaking of rugby, because
I, I, I spy with my little eye behind you, there's, I don't
want to say footballs because I don't think that's what they're
called in rugby, right? Actually in a in a in Australia

(25:22):
it is called football. I call it football.
OK, so you have two footballs behind you then?
I'm assuming are from rugby so expand.
OK, so so there's two games, there's rugby union and rugby
league. Rugby union is is generally
called rugby and league is generally called footy.
They are slightly different games.

(25:43):
League has league has 13 people on the field at once, where like
13 people in a team, whereas union has 15 and union union has
a a much more sort of upper class history compared to
league. League was the you know, the
work, the workers or the lower class game, But it's definitely

(26:04):
the on on the northern coast. It's it's the biggest game and
in the in victory, Victoria and the southern states, it's what's
called AFL or Australian rules footy, football and AFL.
Other people who don't like it just call it aerial ping pong
because you just see it all similar shape to this, just

(26:25):
going back and forth over a field that's nearly 200 meters
long. That's.
Awesome, So so so do you play rugby?
No, I, I was a soccer player coming from England.
So I, I played one game in my life, didn't know where to
stand, didn't know what to do. I was just told I, I think I was

(26:45):
13 or 12. And they just said you're big,
you're in the front row and yeah, go do stuff.
I just didn't have a clue what Iwas doing.
So and, and it's for those that haven't seen rugby league, we
don't wear any protection. No, some somewhere a little

(27:06):
headgear. And that's purely to stop cuts.
It doesn't stop any concussions or anything like that.
It it stops lacerations. So yeah, it's a pretty brutal
sport, but I love watching it. Oh yeah, I've I've.
Seen a lot of. It too.
Yeah, it's definitely it's yeah,you know, it.
It makes the NFL that in, in in America look like, you know,
even more Patsy Cake, flag football.

(27:28):
Oh, don't, don't hit me. Oh, I'm a quarterback.
Don't touch me. Don't you know, like we should
send all the American football? So for the last couple of years
and including next year, the NRL, which is the main, the main
body like your NFL, the NRL, they, they actually do the
season launch in Vegas and they take, they do a couple of games

(27:49):
over in Vegas in February. Right on.
OK, let me ask you this because I've been sitting here trying to
rack my brain and I know you're going to cringe if unless you're
a fan of their band. Other than Men At Work, give me
a couple other Australian bands that I'm overlooking because

(28:11):
Chris and I have been musicians midnight entire lives.
Oh, midnight oil. ACDC.
Oh yes, ACDC man. Mike, you're going go to your
room. Go to your room, Mike.
Just go to your room man. Chris is going to finish the
rest of the podcast, ladies and gentlemen.
In excess. In Oh, I just loved in excess,
Michael Hutchinson, Brilliant man, Brilliant.

(28:35):
He was just like the the he kindof like.
That man, I'm not. Going to pay and I'm not
comparing us to Michael Hutchinsons intersex, but but
Mike and I had that kind of samevibe that Michael had with the
the members of INXS where they would come to him.
Here's the song we put together.Then Michael would open up his
notebook and be like, OK, this song fits perfectly.
Here you go. Done.
I'll I'll tell you real quick how I got to get a.

(28:58):
I thought you were going to say you were into the erotic
asphyxiation. No, not at all.
No, I'll tell you how I got to be a fan of their band was when
I was in college. I was trying to put a band
together just to have something to do.
And the drummer in that band wasthe biggest in excess fan I had
ever met in my life. And I just thought it was weird
because we were forming a Hard Rock band, right?

(29:20):
Yeah. Until I started trying to learn
their music and I was like, OK, I get it now.
They had some of the coolest beats and melodies and just the
musicianship along with his songwriting, outstanding.
I I was like, OK, I get it now. And Chris is right.
We had that same kind of relationship where we all played

(29:40):
off each other. Yeah.
Yeah, we're very, very American influenced in our in our music
as well now. You guys ruled the Rock'n'roll
world, man. ACDC.
How did I overlook that? One I know that's that's
disappointing. Like all of our all of our
viewers are like, wait, Mike's adecision and he forgot what they
should do. OK.
And we got we got Apple, right? We have a really good habit of

(30:03):
if they're from New Zealand as well, if they've if they've been
to Australia, we claim them as ours.
Where's where's New Zealand in relation to Australia?
I'm terrible at geography's better.
Just it's about a two hours flight S to the sort of
southwest, so bottom right. Yeah, OK.
So you, they're basically like, they're our brothers and
sisters. You know, we're very close bonds

(30:25):
from what we call the Anzacs, which is the Australian and New
Zealand Army Corps. So Gallipoli and in World War
One and all that sort of stuff. So we're, you know, that we, we,
we've got that relationship withNew Zealand where we all like to
give shit to each other. We'd all die for each other.
Right now, that's cool. Now New Zealand, their claim to

(30:45):
fame is the Lord of the Rings movies, right?
Yep, that's where they were. That's where they were made for
sure. Them and sheep shagging, that's
what. That's their other claim for
fame. Gotcha.
So now you married, kids, family.
Yep. Wife, two kids, the eldest is
22. She just moved out with the
boyfriend a couple of weeks ago.So big step.

(31:08):
Yeah. So yeah.
And it's it's, it's been difficult actually last couple
of years because I've been off work.
Like I said, I worked, I worked away.
I did my week on week off. And then, yeah, I got, excuse
me, I got attacked at work and developed PTSD and I've been off
work for two years still. Attacked at your paramedic job?

(31:31):
Yeah, yeah. I had a guy on ice attacked me,
a solo officer at 2:00 in the morning, pitch black.
And yeah, he basically tried to kill me.
And yeah, it was one of those. But what it did is, is although
I wasn't physically hurt from that attack, but we in first

(31:51):
responders and same as military,you get really good at siloing
memories. You know, you kind of deal with
it, put it to the back. But what this did was basically
joined all those solos off and let the lid open slightly.
So all these memories that you thought you'd forgotten just
came back and then. And then they come back at the

(32:12):
worst times. Or just like, it could be
something on TV. It can be geography, You know,
you can be driving past somewhere.
Yeah, I went to that. And then you get these vivid
memories of a scene. Most of the time they're
unpleasant. We we see things that human
beings shouldn't see. Yeah.

(32:33):
And and that's the nature of thejob we get.
We get into that knowing that that's going to how it's going
to be. And but, but, but but before
you, before you go further. But do you really get into it
knowing in your mind all the absolutely death and the
structure you're going to see? I don't.
Think you could could? Right.
Or are you getting into it because like, my son wants to be
a firefighter when he gets out of the military service and, and

(32:54):
we look at that as he's such an impact because he feels what
everybody else feels. Yeah, look, I, I got into, I'll,
I'll tell you how I got into it.I used to work at a cinema
complex, 16 screen cinema complex and I was one of the GD
managers there and we used to get a lot go wrong.
There was all sorts of, you know, there was seizures, heart

(33:17):
attacks, fights, stabbings, believe it or not, a couple of
suicides. In a movie theatre.
Yep, there we had people jump off the building, we had people
hanging themselves in the toilet.
That's not and I used to frot Oh.
So this is. Routine like.
You're good, you're good. This is routine.
Like every weekend this is happening.

(33:37):
Or every night at the movie theater?
Or how often? No, but it was, it was, it was
fairly rare, but it was enough where I thrived on it.
I that's when I kind of stepped up and and then it became
between being a police officer and being a being a paramedic.
And like I said over here, you, you don't join the fire

(33:59):
department, you join as a paramedic into an ambulance
service. And yeah, I applied for the and
it and I joined when it was the in service training.
So you just did your, all your training in service through your
whoever your employer and then did a deployment and and I loved

(34:21):
it. I loved it.
I, I, I started working at Roma,Roma Street, which is basically
in, in the heart, the CBD of Brisbane.
So the heart of New York City, for example, our equivalent.
So right smack bang in the middle.
So really busy, really good exposure to lots and lots of
different types of things, especially drugs.

(34:43):
Yeah. And then, and then from there,
I, I, I kind of went out West and, and did a relief stint in a
smaller place and realized that,you know, you can get a much
better work life balance when you go out West.
Gotcha. Yeah, See the the first
responders here from what I understand and what I know it's
it's typically a 48 on and like 72 off like you're not.

(35:08):
But you, you little tutor earlier.
If you're just joining us, this is Peter.
We're talking to him. He's from Australia.
I spent 20 years as a first responder and his typical work
schedule was 8 days on and six days off to where he was
consistently on call for 8 consecutive days office hours.
So because of that, because thatkind of like, wow, that's a lot.
What would be a typical day for you during those eight days

(35:31):
being being on? So actually though, it was a
really good time when I when I was there.
So let's let's for example, say Bach Alden, which was a town of
about 1500 people. You can Google it.
It's six hours from Rockhampton.Some people are aware of Long

(35:52):
Reach. I've heard of Long Reach as an
Outback place and it's about an hour an hour from there.
It in those eight days, one might do 10 actual jobs where
you're going to patients, so it's not overly busy.
There are others that you'd be doing 40 in that stint.

(36:12):
It really varies, but but on an average I'd do about 10.
I think my busiest week would have been in those eight days
would have been maybe 30-40 jobs, and my quietest would have
been one. You get to take your kid to
school, you get to pick them up from school, you get to go and
do whatever as long as your phone's on, you drive an

(36:33):
ambulance everywhere, you're always available.
You can pretty much do whatever you want to do.
You know, we could go swimming. You could do.
So if I went for a swim, if we went to the local council pool,
I'd give the pool operator my phone and if it rang, they, they
would answer it and come over and give it to me.
And then I'd get out and I'd go to a job.

(36:54):
And depending on the job is whether I turned out with with
dripping wet shorts or or got dried and changed and you know.
So your company card was the ambulance?
Absolutely. Yep, my kids were.
Crazy. With me taking them to school in
an ambulance in a fully fledged.Ambulance.
Oh, that's fun. Did they get the novel Siren on

(37:15):
every day? Yep, they didn't They they were
so blase about it. So when we moved to Townsville
with, you know, with the kindiesand stuff where you often take
the ambulance into kindy visits and that type of thing, they
just, they didn't care. Like they all the other kids
that thought it was awesome and they were like, yeah, that's

(37:35):
just a normal vehicle. It's like I.
Killed my dad drives. Yeah, yeah.
That's really. Cool.
So in Australia the the steeringwheels on the on the right side
of the vehicle, right do you guys?
Yeah, we and we drive. We drive on the left.
OK, that's what I say. So it's it's kind of like
England, which is makes sense because England settled
Australia, correct? Yep.

(37:57):
That's right. That's right.
And and yeah, we use the metric system.
I think you guys are pretty muchthe only ones that.
You're the only ones that don't,man.
Let me let me give you a piece of history.
I'm not. Peter might know this.
Chris, this is going to blow your mind.
OK, OK. Do you know why they drive on
the left hand side of the road? To get there faster.
No, OK, because when people wrote, All right, I'm going to

(38:21):
teach everybody something here. Ladies and gentlemen, it's
history with Mike. Because when people rode horses,
only 2% of the population is left-handed.
So you wanted your sword hand, You wanted to be on the left
hand side, so the people coming at you were at your sword hand,
Yes. Interesting.
By the time we got to America, we were like, whatever, fuck

(38:44):
that, we're going to do it our own way.
I'm not sure how that happened because we were still riding
horses, but. Speaking of lefties, little
man's left-handed. My grandson, which we're like,
he's 2. Percent of the population.
Which explains why he hated baseball because we were trying
to think he's right-handed, thathe hated football because he was
left-handed. And we were, you know, and then
when he was Nikki's, my wife's ateacher, Peter, so she works

(39:05):
with him on stuff. And about a month and a half
ago, we gave him something to write and he was struggling with
the right hand and then came back till later picked it up
with his left hand. It was like, what?
What is this? And it's 10%.
He's left-handed, so it's crazy.That's a big difference between
2:00 and 10:00, yeah. Huge, man.
I'm 2%. I have green eyes, so I knew it

(39:28):
was one or the other. Yeah.
It's only 2% of the population have green eyes.
Yeah. What about you, Peter?
What color are your eyes? Mine are like a brownie Hazel.
Brownie Hazel. OK.
What's the, what's the percentage of that one, Mike?
Very common I'm I'm technologically advanced, I got
green eyes, and I'm allergic to milk.
There you go. So here's another fun question,

(39:50):
and this is this. Is this this stupid American
enemy? Did Outback Steakhouse originate
from Australia or is that just an American made-up nonsense?
I. Think it's I think it's American
made-up nonsense. Yeah, but I, I don't know it's
the name is familiar, but I don't know if it's from movies,

(40:11):
you know, seeing it on movies orwhether I've actually seen it.
It's. Probably movies.
What's your biggest? Well, here's here's another fun
fact that you guys probably don't know.
So you guys have Burger King over here and when they when
they brought it over, that name was taken already.
So our Burger King is called Hungry Jacks.
Hungry Jacks. I did not know that.
Now let's talk food. So like American food's

(40:34):
terrible. Like I just learned that Ritz
crackers are one of the worst things you can put in your body.
And I've, I've ingested Ritz crackers since I was like 5
years old. So my wife and I are about a
month and now we've gotten rid of all the bad starches, all the
breads, all the enriched flowersand things like that.
Sunday we did decide what the hell, let's have some pizza and,
and like just been paying for itfor days with the inflammation

(40:55):
and the spine and all that kind of jazz.
So it's like, OK, definitely can't go back to this at all.
So the food in Australia is, I mean, you've never probably been
to America, which you probably can't, can't compare the two.
But but we've heard Mike and I have heard from people we've
been on and the things that he watches and listens to podcast
wise, as do I, that American food is so terrible.

(41:16):
But everybody else, everywhere else in the world, the food is
so much better because how it's it's not processed like we
process food and put all the nonsense and shit in it is that
is that I mean. Yeah.
Do you guys ban all the like dyes?
And I would love to say I. Would love to say yes, but no,
no, we, we, yeah, our diet is, is very poor as well.

(41:39):
Diabetes is on the way up and all that sort of stuff.
We, we are very, we are very mishmashed with different
cultures. We're, we're a very
multicultural country. So we do have a lot of Asian
influences and that sort of thing.
So our food is a bit of everything and there are,
there's a lot of indigenous Tucker, what they call the, the

(42:02):
slang for food over here is Tucker.
There's a lot of Indigenous Tucker that happens.
And there's more and more restaurants that are
specializing in that, where they'll use berries and stuff
grown in places that, you know, you don't go to the supermarket
and buy these sort sort of things.
So yeah, explain what that is. What is Tucker?

(42:22):
Tucker's just food. Tucker's just, we're a, we're a
mad country of lingo. Everything is shortened or has a
has a, has a lingo for it. So afternoon is arvo, arvo you.
Know like a. Petrol station or a gas station
that you call them. We call it a servo A.
Servo OK if I look like BBQ withBarbie.

(42:46):
Yep. So that's true American.
Barbecue is very much infiltrating over here.
It's becoming big. Smoking meat, that type of
thing. That's that's becoming quite a
big scene. You know, all the stuff that
used to be cheap is no longer cheap.
Now. Used to be able to get all your
cheap cuts, yeah. Now, do you guys eat kangaroo?

(43:07):
Like, is that a delicacy? Yes, OK, yes and it's.
Actually one of the leanest, highest protein meats you can
get. Really.
It is extremely good for you. It's a very strong flavor and
it's quite gamey. There is a lot of people that
don't like it. We make most of it when we do a
bolognaise. We make it with generally with
kangaroo mints. It's lower fat.

(43:29):
Yeah, it's got like 1% fat. So now that's something you
could buy at like the supermarket there.
Yeah, it's it's it probably takes up 1% of the entire meat
department compared to your chicken and lamb and that sort
of thing. So it's not common.
Yeah, it's it's one of those. I think we're the only country
that eats the food that's on ourcoat of arms.

(43:56):
We're not allowed to even touch the American eagle.
Like if you like, if you if you have a feather in Alaska and you
pick it up and it's an eagle feather and you try to go home
with it, you get shut down like it's that well protected animal.
So yeah, we wouldn't yeah, we wouldn't be eating the American
eagle. But so so because you guys.
Savage. Yeah, so because you guys can
eat the Kangaroos. If you have a kangaroo in your
backyard, you can you just shootit, skin it and process it and

(44:18):
have it for dinner. They don't have a gun.
No, there are. You you need.
To do all that sort of stuff. And there's a lot of, they do
have parasite issues. A lot of most, most Kangaroos
die in suburbia from getting hitby cars.
They're some of the dumbest animals.
You know, they'll, they'll be laying, they'll be standing next

(44:39):
to 20 of their dead mates and they'll be like, and then
they'll try and run in front of you, but then they'll stop, try
and turn around, but they'll skid and then you'll hit them.
And then you do get a lot of people that when they do hit a
kangaroo, they carry their, theycarry their young, their joeys
in their pouches. And often if they're if they're

(45:01):
females, they'll often have a Joey.
They nearly always have a Joey in their pouch.
And then they keep one kind of incubated until that one moves
out really they'll start growingthis next one.
Yeah, that that's my understanding.
I'm not any any in any way. We're going to hold you to that.
You heard it here first from Peter in Australia.
OK, Kangaroos incubate. Why?

(45:22):
They have one growing and then that one leaves and one pops
back up. That one leaves, pops back up.
It's a non ending cycle, like Jack rabbits in the desert.
They are huge when they are in the in the pouch.
Like they'll stay in their pouchuntil their legs and their arms
don't fit. Wow.
It's yeah, you can, you can haveit.
Have a look at it. And and some, some Kangaroos are

(45:45):
massive and a lot of them are very small.
So the average one that you'll see on the side of the road
nowadays, what we call Wallabies, they're a smaller
thing. They might be in your in your
lingo. Foot, foot and 1/2.
High. Oh, OK.
Or you can get red. Red Kangaroos are probably

(46:06):
standing up 910 feet high. Wow.
They'll kick your ass. Wow.
Shit, yeah. They're the ones that you see.
They look like they've been doing steroids.
I don't know if you've seen it, where they come across their
arms. They got pecks bigger than Arnie
Schwarzenegger and it's. I had to look them up on
YouTube. I listened to a podcast where

(46:26):
they were talking about these Kangaroos.
A guy had taken a trip to the Outback and he said, you can't
even imagine. You have to see it with your own
eyes. So I looked it up on YouTube and
I know it doesn't do it, you know, give you the perspective.
But Amanda, they're ripped. That's crazy.
They. Look like they've been lifting
weights for 10 years. So they look like.

(46:47):
They've been doing steroids. They they sit on their back tail
and they just stand up and it's all about just intimidation.
That's how they they win their fights.
Let's talk animals. Let's talk species and insects
and stuff because over here we we.
I got to know about the koala bear.
Yeah, well, we hear, we hear, wehear a lot of things and I just
want to like we've heard this like I saw something on Facebook

(47:07):
within the last month where it was spider season in Australia
and there's and face, right. And they cause the caption was,
no, it's not snow. It's spider season in Australia.
And it it looked like blankets of snow, but it was webs.
But because AI is what it is now.
Is that legit or is that made-up?
That's legit. But I don't know if it's

(47:28):
Australian. I've seen that one and I don't
know if it's Australian. I thought that might have been
in some cotton fields or something.
I can't remember. I have seen that same, same
thing and I've seen it where they they set it alight and all
the lot, all the the webs burn up and yeah, I don't, I don't
think there is a spider season. It's pretty much always spider

(47:49):
season. There's.
OK, let me ask you this. There's another famous meme that
has gone around Facebook forever, Instagram as well,
where there's this gigantic, I think it's a Huntsman spider
like the mother, and then there's just a million babies
around her. It's underneath a bed.
I think everybody's seen this picture.

(48:10):
Is that legit? Yes it is.
Yes, it is. I would burn that house down.
So, so let me tell you about my first experience with a Huntsman
spiders because I I came from England and we, we call, I don't
know what you guys call them daddy long legs.
The really tiny ones with cricket.
Yep, Yep. So that was pretty much my my

(48:31):
experience with spiders was Daddy long legs and I came over
here and I've heard about these Huntsman spiders and they jump.
Oh my God. So the first time I've got 2-2
to tell you about the first timeI ever saw one, we didn't know
how far they jumped, so I didn'tknow if they jump across the
entire route or, you know, an inch.

(48:53):
I got to know how far. There's me and my dad.
There's me and my dad with a 14 foot fishing pole just kind of
prodding this thing, you know, as brain blokes.
And yeah, they, they run. They run everywhere.
They they do bite, but then they're not venomous, OK, But
they do, they do hurt. So this one time I was getting

(49:15):
out of the shower and I put on my towel and I felt something on
the back. Of my Oh my God.
Like just above the the towel and I turned around and I had a
Huntsman on me and it no shit itwas the IT was the size of my
palm. Oh my God.
Lift your palm. Lift your.
Lift your palm up. Lift your palm up so people can
see it. Lift your palm up.

(49:36):
OK, OK, so it. Was it was it would it would
have been two, maybe two 2 1/2 inches across. 2 1/2 inches
spider a hunt for spiders out and it bit you.
Well, this thing, I felt every leg and it walked.
It didn't run. It walked into the middle of my
shoulder blades. It stopped.

(49:57):
It turned around and it slowly walked down.
Oh my God. And I tell you what, when when
it reached the towel, the towel went flying and I was running
around like an epileptic tail. How old were you at this time,
12/13? Probably 14 at that time, OK, I
was, I was almost ready to run, to swim back to England.

(50:19):
OK, so Huntsman spiders are realand they're 2 1/2 inches in
diameter. Yeah, they can get bigger.
So I I was at a friend's barbecue and we, we, there was a
large spider that went across the table and he put a ice cream
container, an empty ice cream container on the on top of it.
OK. And all you could see was this

(50:40):
ice cream container lifting off the ground as this spider
jumped. You don't like?
Spiders, Peter. No, I I'm not a fan or at all.
At all, and especially when they're big enough to have a
conversation with you. Yeah, and if they've got to get
up and brush their hair in the morning and you can have eye,
eye contact, I'm just. That's not right.

(51:03):
It's not my thing. And, and they're just prevalent
everywhere as well as just certain parts of.
Australia everywhere. Another very, very everywhere.
And they're indoor. They're an indoor spider, so you
also find them indoors the the one.
But like I said, the good thing about them is they're not,
they're not considered venomous.The the funnel web and the red

(51:24):
back. They're they're probably your
two that you worry about. Don't forget your second
Huntsman story. I want to hear that.
Yeah, yeah. You had two, you had two
Huntsman stories. That was both of them, so one of
us was prodding it with the fishing.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Climbing on, yeah, OK, but you always check your shoes out and
that sort of thing before you put them on.
So Chris is. Familiar with that because

(51:45):
they're scorpions and scorpions.Owner, right?
Right. But.
We did the same thing. Scorpions.
Over here as well, yeah. And they're been, they're
bigger, right? They're like 6 inches.
They're like a foot long. You're scorpions.
Because everything seems to masturize.
The only one I've seen, the onlyone I've seen here was probably
about an inch. It's long and it was in my inner
Landry. I was just laying down watching

(52:06):
TV with my foot on the ground. I was like lying on the couch,
foot on the ground. And and my girlfriend at the
time, she just so casually painted as a scorpion next to
your foot. I'm like, what?
And then I had a look and it wasonly shit myself because I'd
never seen one before. Yeah, don't ever be that calm
again when you tell me that woman.
Peter, Peter, honey, darling, there's a scorpion down by your

(52:28):
foot. I just wanted you to know.
Thank you, love. Yeah, the red back spiders, the
red back spiders are are are venomous spider.
And they're like they're in the populated areas where you live.
They are very much so they, theykind of live in their webs are
just this messy kind of gooey and they, they're often in

(52:51):
corners and, and areas that you just kind of know where they're
going to be. Now how big are they?
A large mile would be less than a centimeter.
OK, oh still it's still, but still, if it has a red back, you
want to kill it. Yeah, we tend to leave them
because they, they kill other pests.

(53:12):
OK, so, and that's the thing, you know, it's a, it's a bit of
a delicate thing like Huntsman's.
I hate them with a passion, but they kill a lot of the the flies
and the mozzies and stuff like that.
So they all have all kind of have a role to play.
So we try, I try and live, live and live.
But you know, there's definitelytimes when you're like, yeah,

(53:34):
yeah, snakes are another big issue there.
We, I think we've got something like 9 of the top 10 most
venomous snakes, venomous snakesover here.
OK so we have 2 1/2 to 3 inch spiders that aren't venomous but
they will bite you. Then you have the red back
spider which will kill you. Then you have 9 out of the 10
most venomous snakes in the world in Australia.

(53:55):
Yeah, pretty much anything over here wants to kill you.
OK, OK. And Mike, you really want to go
to Australia? Oh, I'm reevaluating.
Yeah. Do they fumigate the hotels?
Yeah, so. If we go to the if we go to the
beach here, OK, we actually havenetted off areas because they're

(54:17):
you can choose what kills you. If you go for a swim in the
ocean, there's crocodiles, there's sharks and there's
jellyfish. Don't you guys have the
deadliest jellyfish? Yeah, they box jellyfish, Yes.
I watch a lot of nature documentaries.
Yeah, yeah. So as paramedics, we carry the
anti venom for boxed jellyfish. It is an extremely painful,

(54:43):
very, very deadly. And what happens with them?
And that's the one that a lot ofpeople hear about.
Vinegar is used as the antidote.So, So what vinegar does that
most people don't realize vinegar doesn't stop the pain or
doesn't stop the venom. That's all.
It's not an antidote. What it does is it neutralize

(55:04):
neutralizes the tentacles that are still on you from injecting
more into you. So myself you're getting.
More in Venom. Yeah, years.
When I, when my son, I think was7 or 8 years old, we went to
Mexico with a whole, a whole group of neighbors and we were,
he and I were just kind of in the in on the beach, in the
waves. The waves were coming up, you
know, to my shins type thing. He got a little deeper into the

(55:26):
water, you know, and I was following him and, and then it,
it felt like electric, but it felt I was equating it to just
the sea salt hitting my shins, right.
OK, so then, so then my son, I'mlooking at him and he just has
this look on his face and then just starts screaming like, holy
shit. Like you think that Jaws is
underneath him taking half his body, right.

(55:46):
And I reached down and grab him,lift him up by underneath his
armpits and just jellyfish had wrapped around the core of his,
his like from his chest down. And he was just just blood
curling, screaming that I obviously pulled him out.
And and then the the, the Mexican police came down and
like you said, vinegar. So there's they got Windex and

(56:06):
shit because they don't have vinegar packets.
So they're pouring Windex because it's an American, it's
an American resort. So obviously they're like, you
know, flies on. So they're pouring all it's on.
He's screaming. I had one on my It was it was to
the point that that it took him years to go back in the ocean.
It took him probably 6 or 7 hours just.
I can't believe he ever. Did drama of that?

(56:28):
You know what I mean? Like I won't, I don't.
I just stepped on one and I'm not crazy about going.
No, and I'm saying I'm not a bigfan of the ocean.
You like I'll, I'll sit on the beach and watch it.
You know, Nikki's got me to go on cruises now where we're
floating on top of it. But I'm, I'm not, I'm not going
to go see. Now the difference is, you know,
poor Jake, he had it way worse than I did, but I still ended up
with two holes in the bottom of my foot for years.

(56:50):
Wow. Like there were, they were just
there. It took forever for those things
to go away. But in Peter's case, we step on
a box jellyfish and you and I aren't tell if that happened to
Jake in Australia, He's dead. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, the. Trouble with the box jellyfish
is their tentacles. Could be they can be sort of
ten, I think they can be longer than 10 feet.

(57:11):
I think they can be 1520 feet long.
And yeah, so and yeah, there, there's been quite a few deaths
from, from those. They just cause so much cardio
respiratory issues and and pain that and, and kids, kids die
from that as well. So, and then the other one, the
other jellyfish that causes issues is 1 called Irakanji.

(57:35):
Irakanji is about the size of your thumbnail, so it's really
small and you won't actually feel it sting you.
But about half an hour later, you develop what we call
Irikangi syndrome, and it's a pain like a parent never had it.
I have a colleague who has had it and says it's a pain like
you've never felt. It's a back pain that you can

(57:55):
have as much fentanyl, morphine,whatever you want.
You can have as much of that as you want.
It won't touch the sides. It needs magnesium.
The magnesium is is the antidotefor that.
So these little. Tiny jellyfish are just floating
along next to you and they just latch on sting and you're out
there swimming, having a good time, and this thing the size of

(58:16):
your thumbnail just jacks you up.
And The thing is, you've got to remember, jellyfish don't look
for you. You kind of.
Have to be yeah, it's the tide that takes them into you.
So we we have conditions where they won't let you in the water
and in the sting at what we callthe Stinger Nets.
And up here from from November to May, you're.

(58:38):
Selling us on Australia, man. Oh shit yeah you are meant to
wear full body. Suits when?
You go in the water during Stinger season because if they
can't contact your skin they don't sting you.
OK, so my question is, why doesn't the Department of
Tourism? For Australia, have all this
listed as reasons come and come to Australia if you can do like
Fear Factor really should just be Australia.

(59:00):
Remember the show Fear Factor? It's Australia, the Australian
version of Fear Factor. In Australia we'll give you 2
weeks for free. Like, that's just insane.
It's insanity. So we've, we've, I guess we, we
grow up with it. So it's such a.
Normal part of life, you know, and, and most of the time when
people are taken by crocodiles or when you know, you're in

(59:22):
their territory, crocodiles generally they're stalkers so
that you've generally done something probably not so smart
to get taken by a crocodile. And we get big Crocs, like 5
metres long. I've, I've seen many myself.
I, I, I'm an avid fisherman, love fishing and you see

(59:43):
crocodiles all the time. You just stay away from, you
know, you can see where they're going to be.
You don't fish on the bank and you, you, you know, you go past
on the boat and people will be waist deep throwing A and you're
like, you are just mad now. So boat you're talking, is it a
motorized boat or you're just like?
In a rowboat? No.

(01:00:05):
A motorized boat. I've got what we call.
A tinny yeah. So 100 horsepower on the back.
Okay, Kind of like what Gilligan's Allen had S s minnow
something like. That you know, I'm just I'm just
for relation of size because I don't I don't you know, I just I
like to I like to when people were talking with the No 10 feet
pretty small. I liked I like to get Yeah
mines. About a 15 foot a.

(01:00:26):
Mines about a 15 foot. Hilligans Island boat would have
been like a 3040 foot boat. Yeah, well, I was, I was.
So I was just trying to get a bearing of the.
Size of it so people people can understand because when people
tell us their stories and stuff,it's I like to paint a little
bit more detailed pictures so they get a well, let me put this
into perspective for you. OK, nobody.
Could imagine living in the desert if they didn't have air
conditioning at this point. This is true history right?

(01:00:48):
You live in a very inhospitable climate for humanity.
I do like you, absolutely. Yes, absolutely.
Yeah. So last year we had a.
We call them cyclones because. And they actually go the
different way to the Hurricanes,so not just the toilets.
So they spin the different way. We had a cyclone last year that
came relatively close to us. OK, let me ask you this real

(01:01:12):
quick because now I got to know I'm.
Confused already. What's the difference between a
cyclone and a typhoon? Typhoon is.
The Asian version. Oh, it's the same thing, only
the Asian version Cyclone. Hurricanes and typhoons, I
believe. Are exactly the same thing, it's
just where they are. That's just my understanding as
well. OK so the Asian 1 you have sushi

(01:01:34):
in. It the Australian.
One, you have spiders in it. And then what was the third one?
Yeah, you got Sharknado. Sharknado.
Sharknado. Yeah.
Gotcha. Now we understand what's great
we we don't get very many tornadoes.
Over here yeah, I don't either. So the.
Last year we had this cyclone. Go over.
And the heat following it was upthere with the worst it so it we

(01:01:59):
deal in centigrade. I don't know what this is in
Fahrenheit, but it was it was about 45 with a feels like a 58.
That would be a probably 1:20 to. 1:30 if yeah, see, see you
looked at. When July, August come around,
we, we can be, you know, 120 like I, I lived through the

(01:02:19):
summer where it was 128° with the 1970 Camaro with no air
condition because I just rolled out the windows and went to
work. So, you know, we're not and I'm
allowed to talk about the heat because my wife believes you put
voices on something that all of a sudden it becomes true.
So you can just Google Arizona summers and you'll see what we
deal with from a heat standpoint.
But so I can feel the 120° thingbecause I've been there, done

(01:02:41):
that. Oh, it's the same as you.
It's 136. Feels like of 100.
And 36 it feels like of a. 136 and the humidity is what kills
you up here, right? See and.
We. Have monsoon season, so when we
have. The monsoons, that's where
humidity goes through the roof. Like see Arizona is a dry heat,
whereas the Midwest, like I, I was born in Illinois.
Mike lives in Illinois, so it could be it could be 90° in

(01:03:03):
Illinois with 90% humidity whereit could be 120° in Arizona with
10% humidity. I would take what I have opposed
to what he has just because of you know, and most people would.
You can get in the shade and cool down whereas when it's so
humid. It's just disgusting, right?
Exactly. It's kind of like Florida, the
armpit of America. Right.
Yeah, that type of thing. So we've been picking your brain

(01:03:24):
all about Australian stuff. Is there anything you want to
pick our brains about being thatwe're, you know, these these
Americans? Have you been to America?
Yeah, no. No me and the misses.
Were actually talking about. Next year maybe coming over for
for two weeks and where would you like to go?
What's your ideal spot? I'd like to do.
Something in Florida. I'd love to go to Cape

(01:03:47):
Canaveral. Cool Vegas and and probably LA
just do a few days kind of thing.
OK, so if you if you do that, I'd love to go to Everglades and
I. Want to do some giant carp on
fishing? Cool if you do if you do this
and you. Plan on coming to Vegas, give me
a heads up and if schedules align my Wi-Fi, I'll pop down

(01:04:10):
and hang out for a day or two and in the in the strip and that
would be awesome. You can lolligag.
You can lolligag. With two Americans.
We did want to, we did want to go to the the.
NRL launch because. My team's over there in
February. We did want to go and play that,
go and watch that. But my wife's a personal trainer
and taking holidays early in theyear is probably is not the best

(01:04:33):
thing because because that's when that's when most of our
people are, you know, doing a New Year's resolutions and yeah,
right. If you if you get them off the
treadmill, they ain't coming back.
Right, right, because. Then by March, they're done.
They realize, oh, this. Is too hard for me, I don't want
to. So I guess going back to Chris's
question since you've. Never been here.
Yeah, yeah. The questions you have, yeah,

(01:04:55):
Pick up. Pick the Americans brains, yeah?
Nothing's you know. You know what?
Probably the first 10 minutes ofmost of our news bulletins are
American based. Really full of them.
You guys have such a huge influence on Australian culture.
That's crazy. Good and bad.
Good and bad. I did not know that.
I didn't know that either. Yeah.

(01:05:17):
What's a good thing? That what's a good thing that
there are cultures done to Australia.
It's positives. Oh look, I love the I love the
movie culture and that sort of. Thing I love the podcasting
culture. I've got really into podcasting.
How about our music? What kind of music are you into
from America? I'm really.

(01:05:37):
Easy. So my favorite band.
Of all times, is Guns and Roses cool?
Yeah. I'm going to the Metallica
concert in November when they come over.
So I'm into, I'm into, I'm into everything.
Like I I appreciate, I appreciate music, whether it's
so real quick, Peter, I don't really give a shit.

(01:05:58):
Real. Quick a blast from the past.
Chris and I got. To.
See the Load Reload tour in 1998together.
That was his first Metallica concert.
I got to be there with him and it, it was awesome.
Him and his wife both. That's awesome.
Yeah. I I I remember when I was.
When I was 15, Guns and Roses and Metallica did a joint
concert over here. Yeah, that was a world tour at

(01:06:22):
Easton. Creek at a place called Easton.
Creek Raceway and I think there was 150,000 people that went and
I was about $40 short sort of going and my mum wouldn't let me
go. Oh no.
Oh, I was gutted. I had to wait until I.
Think 2000 and I think it was like 2012 to see Guns and Roses

(01:06:43):
live for the first time. So that's my accuracy tour.
Yeah, that's when I took Jake. That's when I took.
Jake, you guys saw the same. Tour.
That's why I was asking. Chris Yeah.
And. Like a 2500.
Seat so. Let me tell you a quick story,
yeah. Crazy how small the world is.
Peter, the guy who was playing guitar when you saw them, grew

(01:07:06):
up 18 miles from me in a smallertown.
Really. In the middle of a cornfield.
Yeah, that's so that guy standing on.
That stage playing for. You.
Started there. That's just so I just those kind
of things just make life crazy. So I'll give you another
example. So I've got a podcast.
As well. And I had a, an English guy come

(01:07:29):
on it. He, he, he was a paramedic for
50 years. And I rang him the day before
and he's one of those blokes that makes you look at your life
going, oh, I've achieved nothing.
You know, he's just an absolute unbelievable person.
I call, I call it the life resume.
I love it. Yeah.
So he. He's Have you heard of the

(01:07:49):
Glastonbury Festival? The music festival, Yes.
Yep, Yep. So he started.
And runs the. Charity that does all the
medical provisions for that. Nice, so they have over 5000.
People and. Like intensivists, they have
X-ray machines, you name it. And they all, they all donate,

(01:08:12):
donate their time for free. And then the money that would go
to them goes to this charity andthen they do medical stuff
around the world. But anyway, I rank him and, and
he, he, I knew he was English, but I was like, and, and we were
on the phone via Facebook and I said, oh, I said, so whereabouts
are you from? And he said, oh, a little town
in the southwest of England called Burnham on sea.

(01:08:34):
I said, get the fuck out of here.
And he's like, what? I'm like, oh, that's where I was
bought up. And it is a town.
Of less than 5000 people. Wow, that's half the 1000 town,
Yeah. Man, yeah, my home, my home town
just gets in here for. People like 2.
Years ago. So when he's giving.
When he's giving all these. Stories.

(01:08:56):
It's like, holy shit, like that.Yeah, it was it was really cool.
Yeah. He he went to Afghanistan and
taught people how to de mine, like first aid for people that
do de mining and things like that.
It was just an extraordinary man.
Like de mining from from like inthe.
Mine like mining for things or de mining from picking up land
mines yeah landmines sorry is that we just.

(01:09:19):
Had a guy on. Friday, That's what he did when
he was in the. Military, yeah.
In the Army, he was I Yeah, yeah.
And the cool. Thing that that that he
explained to us, they have thesevehicles that are 30 feet off
the ground and they have the theit's like an angle of iron.
Whatever the vehicle, it's like V shaped at the bottom.
Yeah, V shaped the bottom of it.So if they drive over an IED and

(01:09:40):
it goes off it. Explodes.
That way it deflects the IED away from the vehicle.
Yeah. So the the ones that he.
Was he, he was teaching they were Afghanis that were.
So he was saying there's 100 million mines in in Afghanistan.
And what they used to do, especially, especially the

(01:10:00):
Russians, is they would throw these little ones, these colored
balls that had do you know what Sycamore like what a Sycamore
seed is? They've got these.
They're kind of like little wings that come out so they
spin. Yeah.
Yeah. So it was, he said.
They were colored. And they were designed.
For children to pick them up andthen they would explode.
And they were designed to maim children, not to kill them.

(01:10:22):
So designed to blow their hands off.
That's terrible. So there's A and they would they
would throw 5. 1000 out of a chopper.
And they would go anywhere and then these kids would pick them
up. So now there's 100 million of
these things laying around. So they're not buried.
They could just be sitting in a tree or or whatever.
So they go around picking these things up.
They're not digging ones up. They're actually picking these

(01:10:43):
ones off the surface. And they're, he was saying that
all around Afghanistan, especially in the especially in
the mountain areas. And he was saying, yeah, there's
apparently 100 million of them. And one in seven people in
Afghanistan are missing a limb. You got to remember the Russians
were there for 10. Solid years, and then we've been
there ever since. But what's kind of ongoing what?

(01:11:06):
What kind of mind? Does it take to willingly
construct something that you know is going to be used for
that? And then you order somebody to
fly ahead and just throw these things out the side of the
helicopter knowing like full well knowing you're going to cut
off children's arms and, and andhands and just to be a Dick

(01:11:26):
like. And The thing is, it's not like
there's an off switch where you can say, okay, we're no longer.
At war and no longer doing this right.
They're around forever, that's what I'm saying.
Like and even then back then. They're doing it for the
children, like the, like MM and I are fascinated with serial
killers, right? And the biggest thing about
serial killers, for the most part, they have a code, right?
No women, no children, right? There's the there's the bad ones

(01:11:47):
that do, but you just you draw aline with the child does
nothing. Now, yes, the child can grow up
to be Genghis Kong, right? Or, or you know, Dahmer or you
know, Donald Trump, right? You know you're going to grow up
to be somebody who's just just malicious, right, and has just
just a vile intention in the world.
But it's a child, man. It's, I just, I can't, I just

(01:12:10):
the way he explained it, which which fits into that is, is.
What better way is there to cause terror than sure,
potentially maimed children? So as a, as a parent, your job
is to protect your child. And that's the way to sort of
yeah, to keep them in line. It's I would, yeah.
It's I would say you have to understand that that kind of.

(01:12:31):
Evil exists in order to combat it, right?
You can't just bury your head inthe sand and say people aren't
doing that. It doesn't exist, right?
You have to combat that kind of stuff head on.
And that's why I say I'm on teampeople.
Yeah, look, more people doing the job that I did, doing the
job that I did. It was.
I just remember even within the first week, realizing how

(01:12:54):
privileged my upbringing was. I say that because it's not
until you see how the other sidelive.
You know. Obviously we, we deal with
people in abject poverty or drugs or or whatever, and you
don't realize how well you are off until you see that sort of
stuff. Correct.
I, I, yeah, I would agree with that.
They. Say if you make over. $30,000 a

(01:13:15):
year, you're in the. Top 1% of the world, people
forget that, right? Yeah.
Yeah. And a lot of Americans don't
understand that because they always want more and more and
more, right? Right.
We're a consumer driven nation. Yeah.
So that that was the one thing that.
When he said. About asking you questions, the
one thing I've never really understood about you guys is

(01:13:36):
your is your Healthcare is, is just, it's just crazy.
I believe it's the leading causeof bankruptcy over there, and
that it wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't bad.
Like when my wife and I, my wifeand I've been my wife and I have
been together for 30 years. So we had our first child for
like 10 bucks because back then Blue Cross Blue Shield, there

(01:13:58):
wasn't, it wasn't monopoly. It wasn't a monopoly.
It wasn't, it wasn't about the money.
It wasn't about the pharmaceutical companies.
You know, like you probably heard how insanely expensive
diabetes medication is and but you can get Viagra for fucking
$5. Like really?
There's a disconnect here, boys and girls.
OK, let's like, like I, I, there's more and more stuff
coming out now and again. I don't know how much of his

(01:14:19):
tied to AI and all that nonsensebecause it's hard.
It's hard to to discriminate what's fact and fiction
nowadays, but there's been stuffbeing dropped that I've seen as
of late that there's there's newmedicine, medicine they're
they're discovering in other parts of the world that they're
there's one that I saw that I want to say I don't, I'm not
going to quote, I'm not going toguess the country, but somebody
developed something to where it's, it can help prevent 14

(01:14:42):
different various varieties of cancer, right?
Or that's true, I don't know. But if you look at cancer in a
whole, especially in the United States, it's a multi $1,000,000
a year industry and it's one of the most, you know, given to
from a charity standpoint, if any other things.
How long does it take to find a cure, man?

(01:15:03):
Like how many trillions of dollars do you have to funnel
into something? There's no money.
What's that cure? But right so.
What are we giving the money for?
That's the that's the insane. Thing so, so I don't get the
health care either, but it's it's over the years it's
completely evolved and it's it'sit's turned into more I think a
more of a money making monopoly than anything else because like
my wife's a school teacher goingon her 20th year she pays her

(01:15:24):
medical insurance. So she's the sugar Mama medical
right and it keeps going up every year so they'll get
they'll get like this 5% cost ofliving raise, but the insurance
will go up 12% So yeah, that's fun.
Now I'm 6% in the hole again, right so.
Our daughter her. Husband jacked his ankle up so
they went to an urgent care 1 I don't know, two weeks ago or so.

(01:15:46):
It kind of cost her 5 bucks withthe insurance she has, which is
through the state because the income that they make, which is
insane. So we have universal healthcare
over here, right? And see.
Where I was going with that is then us.
The other taxpayers, we pick allthat up.
So then, you know, it's it's it's bullshit.
So universal Healthcare is like a social, it's like socialism

(01:16:07):
type thing. I don't want.
Yeah. So we we, as is called Medicare.
So all our hospitals and GPS, soGPS are starting more and more.
In fact, it's getting harder to find one that doesn't have an
out of pocket because they're the GP.
Even general raised General practitioner.
OK, Yes, yes, OK. Yeah.
I think you guys call them primary practitioners.

(01:16:28):
Same thing. Yeah, so, but if, if, if you had
a heart attack, if you broke your broke your leg, you go to
hospital. So so earlier this year my wife
we we discovered she had a football size growth on her
uterus and just my wife had the same thing like shoot you not
like 3 or. Four years ago.
Wow. Like on her?

(01:16:48):
Yeah. And.
She. She.
So she had a, an MRI done on, onBoxing Day and then and then six
weeks later it doubled in size and she had to get a full
surgery and you know, full, fulllabyrotics, a full zip, zip down
the stomach and get it, get it all out.
Hysterectomy. The lot didn't cost us a cent,

(01:17:09):
right? And anything, anything like
that, it just general, General Healthcare doesn't cost you
anything. Now, if it's, if it's an
elective surgery, if you have arthritic knees and you need a
knee replacement, then you mightbe waiting two years.
OK. If you have private health
insurance, which we do, we do have, and that's a choice to pay

(01:17:34):
extra. You can go to a private
hospital, you'll get get in and but there's cost, there's cost
to that. So you can pay for getting.
It's not better healthcare, it'sgenerally quicker healthcare
through a different system. So you.
So by paying for it, you're not stopping somebody else getting
it through the public system. You know, you're just kind of
going through a privately funded1.

(01:17:56):
So but, but if you're sick like I, I, I remember seeing some
comparisons of drug costs for American versus what we pay.
This would be interesting. I was blown away.
So really. Oh.
I, I, I would love to find that the, the chart, the things that
you guys were paying $1000 for, we were paying 6-6 dollars all

(01:18:21):
Yeah. Wow, wow, that's where our.
System is what we call the PBS. The Pharm.
Pharmaceutical Benefits. Scheme.
And that's where the government subsidizes a vast amount of
drugs. Vast amount.
The maximum you'll pay for something on the PBS, I believe,
is $32. Wow.
Now let's talk. Let's let's talk.
About keep this in mind, there'sonly two countries.

(01:18:45):
In the civilized world that allows drug advertising, the
United States and Peter, New Zealand.
Thank you, really. So my question.
My question is this. About money. $32 in Australia
equates to 32 how many dollars in America I think.
Any idea? $32.
I think it's. I think. $1.00 Australian is

(01:19:09):
buying about 70 US OK cents OK cents $0.70.
Yeah, it's so 70. So, so yeah, so if it's if it's
if let's say it's $30 here, thatwould be let's say 40, yeah,
about 40. OK, OK, OK.
I just perspective, that's all. No, sorry.

(01:19:29):
It'd be about 20 dollars, $20 USthe other way around, yeah.
Yeah. OK.
So I so I like that. I like that.
We need to. Can we figure out how to make
that happen here in America? Well, that's why your drug costs
are so high. Because every 10.
Seconds. There's an ad on television
saying, Chris, you need this, Chris, you need this, Mike, you
need this. No, I don't know how correct it
is, but I heard that the pharmaceutical.
Industry over there spends $2 billion a year in advertising.

(01:19:53):
That's probably, that's probablyconservative.
And and half of it's for for erectile dysfunction.
Or testosterone, because that's all they seem to focus on is, is
just testosterone, wrong erections.
It's like, OK, let's talk about this, Let's talk about that,
right? You know, it's, it's ridiculous.
So again with my ignorance if wewill find if a if a new drug.

(01:20:14):
Comes on the market that's important and let's say, let's
say a Zimpick or you know, although that type of drug not a
Zimpick itself, well that's going to come back to bite
everybody agreed. Very, very much.
That potential? Absolutely.
But but let's say there's something a new white control
drug comes out on, the government will actually do some

(01:20:38):
advertising and say speak to your doctor.
There's no brands. They'll just say speak to your
doctor and then your doctor can decide.
So, yeah, yeah. But at the same time, so you
can't do any of that. But they'll there's gambling,
especially sports gambling advertising has gone through the
roof in the last. Well, here too, man.

(01:20:59):
Here too. Just especially once the NFL
opened. Up gambling and and partnered
with and sort of the NBA and then it's just it's non-stop
it's insane. How about casinos do you guys?
Good question. Are you a casino culture?
Not really there. There's no way that has.
I think most major cities have one casino.

(01:21:22):
OK, otherwise that wasn't mine. Yeah.
So, so I mean, we've got, we've got a casino.
Up here in Townsville, so Townsville.
'S a a a regional city. We've got about, we've got about
260,000 people here and there's probably, there's probably six.

(01:21:42):
Yeah, there's, there's 11 casinoand it's probably got 2 or two
roulette tables in it, 6 blackjack.
I can't play craps. There's.
No craps up here. There is in some of.
The other ones in some of the bigger ones, That's my game man.
I love playing craps. Never played.

(01:22:02):
It oh fantastic seen it played but.
Never played it. Fantastic.
Do yourself a favor. Put it on your bucket.
List here's Here's a political question.
Like America, you know. We have a president.
What do you have in Australia? Are you great, president?
Democracy. So we use the We're the.
Westminster system which? Is the same as the United
Kingdom, so we have a Prime Minister.

(01:22:23):
So the way it works over here isthe country is divided into
seats. And I think you did.
We've only just had the election.
I'm trying to think of the number.
I think it was 75. You need 75 seats in your party.
And then of those people that inthat party, they vote for the

(01:22:45):
leader and the leader becomes the Prime Minister.
OK. So there's no one person that
you're, you're, you're not voting for the leader, although
they kind of try and make it that way.
You're voting for your local member.
And then those local members work out who's going to lead
them and they, they become the leader.
So in the middle of, let's say, I don't know.

(01:23:08):
So Anthony Albanese is our PrimeMinister.
He just got reelected if in two years time we three years, I
think is our our cycle for federal.
If in two years time the the Labour Party who are current
current government party. If they decide that I don't
think Albanese stands no chance in hell of being re elected for

(01:23:30):
the next one, that somebody can challenge him for the
leadership. And if he gets and if they he or
she gets more votes, then they become Prime Minister and he
gets the boot. He just goes back to the
backbenchers. So is there a term limb like
like in America? It's it's 2 terms.
And that's it. You can't, you can't run for 1/3
even though, you know, Donald thinks he's going to run for
another term. But here's it's 2 terms.

(01:23:52):
That's it for president, Congress and Senate.
They can, they can be in office for 70 years and, and not even
show up to vote because they're,they're so old and decrepit, but
they're still getting, you know,voted in, which is ridiculous.
So do you have term limits in Australia?
No, we don't. No.
And and and I think that. That's part of the problem.
Like we're, yeah, there's peoplebeen in politics for 30-40

(01:24:14):
years, but they, they, so, yeah,we, we have three different
levels of government. We have local councils, we have
state governments and federal governments and they, they all
run off the same type of system.So we.
So for our federal system, we have what we call the House of
Representatives, which is where generally, but Yep.

(01:24:37):
And then then they're sort of check is what they call the
upper house or the Senate. So, so basically things have to
go through the we can see how westole our system of government.
Yeah. Yeah, Yeah.
This is all I think the biggest.The biggest problem is that it.
It has become very, we are becoming more and more American,

(01:25:00):
Americanized and we are becomingmore and more polarized, very
much leading on from American sort of culture.
So the So that would be the bad side of it.
Yeah, I think so. It's it's.
Not something I'm a fan of. So our head of state, a lot of
people don't know, and I can't imagine too many Americans would

(01:25:22):
know we our head of state is theking.
Oh, OK, King Charles. King Charles.
So we. Are a part of the.
Commonwealth from over in England.
So you're still an English Commonwealth?
OK. Yes, yeah, we're part.
We are. Called the our our actual.
Name is the Commonwealth of Australia.
So we there was a, there was a what's the word?

(01:25:47):
There was a vote of shit. There's a word for a.
Referendum. There was a referendum a few,
well probably about 15 years agoto change to A, to leave the
monarchy and become a, a, a, itsown Republic.
And it got defeated and, and it was simply and, and it was
defeated simply because there was no real advantage for the

(01:26:11):
cost that it would have had. No one could sell.
It I like I voted. No, because no one sold me on
the advantage. Like, I don't know, how's my
life going to get better? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I mean they. They're they're purely.
In your big, big ceremonial facet, that's all, yeah.
They're your Big Brother. Yeah.

(01:26:33):
Oh yeah. England I.
Mean again, we're the most. We're the most.
Epic sporting rivals. But yeah, we're we're the one
thing I do love about Australia.Compared to other.
Countries is that sporting rivals over here are fun.
There's never any any animosity.Like you might have a jab at
somebody, but it's always done in jest.

(01:26:54):
Yeah, you very rarely get get fights at sporting events.
Yeah, it's, it is. Starting.
To sneak in. With.
Clubs that are a lot more ethnically based so that you
know, that can't that is and that used to be a massive issue
in soccer. So within soccer back in the day

(01:27:15):
before it became what what's nowcalled the A league, they had
they had clubs based on ethnicities.
So they had Melbourne, Croatia and, and you know, and so you,
you were always going to have this massive, massive fight.
So they, they cleaned that up a lot.

(01:27:35):
So yes, so the most, the most epic rivalry or in the biggest
game is probably what we call state of Origin, which is
Queensland versus NSW, which is actually what those balls are
behind. He just got balls.
And that's like you're. I would call that the equivalent
of your All Stars. Nice balloons.

(01:27:56):
I don't. Know how I did?
Yeah, I was just going to say. What the hell?
Just saw balloons going. It would be the equivalent of
your All Stars, but it's All Stars with meaning.
So it's, it's, it's mate versus.Mate, state versus state.
But it's fun and it's, it's there's never any animosity and
and we don't have to worry aboutcoming out and getting shot.

(01:28:18):
Yeah, well, and that's not indicative of everything in
America. Because the ones of us that are
adults like Mike and myself, it's it, it, it's a game.
It is what it is. I mean, if you know, if the
Giants from the Super Bowl, I'm not going to go outside and and
and lift my my neighbor's vehicle upside down, you know,
in celebration, that's just monumentally stupid.
But you have that mindset still,unfortunately.

(01:28:39):
But it's not it's not something that's shared on a whole.
You have Philadelphia, there's like that.
Their fans are stupid like that.Well, there's isolated
incidents, right? Right.
And. But that's the thing, you take,
you take. You take the isolated, you know,
you take one small core of fans that are just idiots and then
they run it for everybody else. It's like, that's why we can't
have nice things, right? I think what he's saying no, and
correct me if I'm wrong, they don't, but.

(01:29:00):
That kind of stuff just doesn't happen there.
Right, Right. That's what that's what I yeah,
but that's what I was saying like.
From, from I was, I was kind of debating with him a little bit
that well, let me also put this into perspective for people
that's. Also going to be a debatable
issue, but I don't think so because we have to consider the
population density, right? There's 350 million people in

(01:29:22):
the same size as how many peopledo you guys have?
3027 million, 27,000,000 I was pretty close.
That's yeah. So they're basically the size.
Of Orange County, our biggest city.
Is I think for maybe 5 million for Melbourne and Sydney.
They're about 5 million each. OK, So another thing that we

(01:29:43):
need to clear up for. Our listeners and viewers.
Because Australia is completely upside down for us, right?
Like we could dig a hole and find you is Christmas in July
we. Have Christmas in summer and
that is something. I still am not used to after 30
years. OK, so that's legit.
That's great question. When is is it?

(01:30:04):
Is it December? In the summer.
December the 25th, but it's in the December 25th so they they
do do Christmas. In July.
And that's just a marketing gimmick so that people can wear
winter, you know, Christmas jumpers and stuff like that.
So, but yeah, our. Christmas is generally.

(01:30:24):
Seafood and sitting around the pool and playing cricket or, you
know, or or whatever it is. It is not normal.
It is to me. It's really odd because I came
from England when I was young and cold.
Christmas is associated with thecold in every literature and
movie. Us too, right?
Yeah, right. I grew up that way.

(01:30:44):
Yeah. Me.
Too so, but it's so it's like 100 and. 20° outside and you're
hanging out by the barbecue and,you know, playing cricket.
Yep. Yeah, it's yeah and and.
Drinking beer and eating. Seafood there's no you know,
some places do Turkey, but yeah it's it's seafood is probably
our number one Christmas food now OK and then all your seafood

(01:31:06):
obviously is fresh because you. You're surrounded by ocean.
It's. Crazy, we export way more.
Than we actually import and eat more imported seafood because
it's cheap and believe it or not, it's cheaper to get prawns
or a lot of seafood sent overseas, processed and sent
back than it is to actually do it.

(01:31:29):
Yeah, it's it's just so ridiculous.
So barramundi is probably our number one most famous fish.
Yeah, and, and, and it's a bit of a staple.
And I think it's something like 70% of all the barramundi eaten
in Australia is imported. Wow, I would have never guessed
that. So what's it is?

(01:31:49):
It's. Just nuts.
What's the What's 1? Thing that that Australians.
Like you just gravitate towards from an American thing like like
like certain countries, like they just they just fall head
over heels of a red tag of Levi's, right.
And certain countries, they justgot to have the Jordans.
Is there something like that that Australians would just, you
know, move Earth and stone to get something that it's

(01:32:11):
American? That's a good question.
Thanks. That is a great question.
Nothing that, nothing that really.
Springs to mind. There's a lot.
Of. I mean, fashion, yeah, fashion
is very much influenced by all the different cultural, you

(01:32:32):
know, influences music or whatever.
Sure, Yeah. I don't know.
It's funny, isn't it? Because we.
The the world is so it's it's come together.
So much with the Internet like. There's just, you know, and, and

(01:32:53):
if we want something from America, we just jump on Amazon
and buy it right, right now. So that's interesting.
I was going to bring up Amazon. Because Amazon's worldwide,
right? Yeah.
So, so let's. OK.
So like what's the normal cost of a brand new vehicle?
In Australia, like here? If you want to buy a 4 door Crew
Cab pickup truck, you're like 120 grand brand spanking new

(01:33:14):
that doesn't have all the bells and whistles right.
So say like do you have, do you have American products as far as
vehicles like Fords and Chevys over there, the Chevys and.
Dodge Rams and that. Sort of thing have just started
to come over here and then they're around 200 grand.
Wow. So that's about 150.

(01:33:34):
In American. Yeah, probably slightly more
than that. So yeah.
They're they're pretty. Expensive.
So what's the main thing you? Guys manufacture vehicle wise
over there. Is it the Subaru Outback?
No, we we lost all our. Manufacturing.
There is no cars manufactured inAustralia anymore.
I think the Holden factory, we used to do Holdens and Fords,

(01:34:00):
the Holden factory closed, if I had to guess, I'd say maybe six
years ago, seven years ago. So you know how you guys have
NASCAR, We have super cars over here and the the ultimate and,
and it was Ford versus Holden and that that was the the big
thing and it went for many, manyyears and it was a real rival,

(01:34:20):
you a real rivalry. You kind of went for one or the
other. And they since Holden and Ford
now go overseas, they're they'venow brought in like Nissan and
other manufacturers and it's lost its kind of lost its
Australianism of it, that real tribalism.
So yeah, unfortunately there is nothing that we make over here

(01:34:44):
anymore, which is really sad. So with.
So I don't, I don't, I don't, I correct me if I'm wrong, but
Trump can't control the whateveryou guys do from Australia to
other countries, only between USand America, right?
Like he wants to tear a few fromAmerican stuff.
He can do that. But you, you, you're not getting
tariffs like crazy for stuff that you come from Britain or

(01:35:04):
other countries around you asidefrom America, right?
No, we've just, we've, I think we've got free trade agreements
with. Pretty much everywhere, very
cool. Australia is net positive for
America. So you guys in you guys export
more to us than you import. So and one of our biggest
imports to you guys is steel andit's going to hurt us when with

(01:35:28):
that that 20% tariff that's because it was going to be 10
and then he's doubling it to 20 announced yesterday or day
before. So that could have some some
flow on effects. But at the same time, we have
such broad export partners, thenI don't think it's going to make

(01:35:50):
too much of a difference. The difference will become will
be the flow on effects from America's influence on the
world. So.
So when when you go when when those tariffs were first arrived
and your stock market tanked as as followed suit, we just went
yeah, straight down the game. I think a lot of I think a lot
of his thing is wishful thinking.
And then he. He's just, he's who knows what

(01:36:11):
the hell he's doing. He's he's a whack A mole.
But I don't, I don't, I'm hopeful that it doesn't.
It doesn't do every because every time he's tried to do
something with guards to that, we've shut it down.
Like, yeah, you're not doing that.
Yeah, you're not doing that. Yep.
Not doing that. Now I get the China thing
because China has been sticking it to us for years.
So I'm let's stick it right backto them, right?
Turnabout is fair play. If we get, if we get charged,

(01:36:34):
you know, if any people are charging us to export import,
then I'm, I'm the same. OK, if they're going to charge
us 10%, let's charge them 10%. But don't do it to Peter.
Peter's been my representative. For Australia, as far as the
Chris and Mike's show goes, and he's been his outstanding
representative of Australia. So let's not let's not mess with
Peter. He seems like a friendly fellow.
Yeah, I guess the the problem with tariffs is that if.

(01:36:56):
I'm, If I am a manufacturer overhere, I'd probably buy a huge,
huge proportion of my things from various countries,
including China. They're obviously the the, the
world's biggest exporter of pretty much everything, which I
don't get that because China being.
That is that just because you know, it's because they're cheap

(01:37:17):
slightly. OK, OK.
Yeah, you. Can do a lot when you
essentially comes down to what the what.
They have little hands. Exactly, you know.
And it's it's one of those things every, everybody gets.
On their high horse and says ouriPhones or Samsung should be
made in America. But you could probably going to
be paying $5000 for it right? Well, Apple came out and said.

(01:37:41):
They're going to invest $400 billion over the next four years
so they can actually produce allof their products in America,
which I think is cool. And and we'll see what kind of
cost that carries over to the consumer.
But like, you know, there's the reason why Detroit was Detroit
was because all the manufacturing cars that were
made, right? I mean, that's that put the
industrial revolution was America.

(01:38:03):
That's what our foundation is. So now that everything's gone
and being exported and we're going to go build a factory in
Mexico to build cars instead of in America.
Well, you know, it hurts our economy, but it boosted that
economy. Yeah.
And then you have all the tariffstuff going back and forth.
So I think it's just a vicious cycle that you just need to find
a happy medium. And so, to play devil's
advocate, do you think that would have happened if Trump?

(01:38:23):
Didn't do these tariffs? No, I don't think so.
So you know, is there a method? Is that you know?
So. It's one of those things that it
could have good things for America and very bad things for
the rest of the world, but it's kind of it's going to take a
generation or two to actually make up that that difference.

(01:38:46):
Well, here's what I told Chris. Many.
Episodes ago when this first started, in my opinion,
everybody's looking at it in reverse.
They're not concerned about whatthe results are to you and I,
because what I was seeing was stock market manipulation right
before everybody's eyes. The rich got richer right there.

(01:39:07):
They pulled the market down, they bought it up and they,
they're starting to drive it back up.
The rich are getting richer, right?
That's how they do it. Yep, absolutely.
Do you have stock market in Australia?
Yeah, absolutely. OK.
Absolutely. We.
Heavily influenced by by America, but it's also the hang
Sai like the, the the Japanese and and yeah, it's we're part of

(01:39:31):
the world, the world economy. Do you guys drill your own oil
and stuff? You're self-sufficient in that.
Aspect we actually export. We export.
We have some of the highest gas and oil prices in a in the world
and we export the majority of it.
So see how then how is Mad Max possible man?

(01:39:51):
Because. Mad Max was all about dystopian,
you know, they ran out of everything was at that point,
but no but. But they were.
But all those vehicles, man, were.
Driving, they all had gas. They that's what what they were
on the hunt for though, remember?
So they're wasting all the fuel hunting for fuel, yes.
And then, and then he had the Thunderdome and all hell broke
loose. Tina Turner just raised hell.

(01:40:13):
One man enter. Two man 80s.
That was 25 lbs of chain link fence she wore.
Yes, we export more more. Oil.
And natural. Gas than we actually use how do
you how do you which is so stupid how do you.
Export natural. Gas.
Man. Is it just to?
Throw a pipe, pipelines and tankers.

(01:40:33):
So the pipeline goes under the ocean.
Ocean. Floor pipeline to yes, OK makes.
Sense. Yeah, I look.
I don't. Know enough to.
Yeah, I don't know how to do it.There's coal.
Coal is a big one as well. We do a lot of.
Mining OK. OK, cool all.
Right. Well, boys and girls.
This is the Crystal Mike show you can find.

(01:40:54):
Us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, this is Peter Vinnicol
as I say that Peter, we're goingto, as far as I'm concerned,
we're going to put. You on our list of people to
head back because I'm fascinatedwith Australia and you've been
awesome, man. Thank you so much for your time
and humoring us with all our questions.
And if you want everyone, a couple Americans on your show,
we'd be. Glad to be guests as well.

(01:41:15):
You know, million percent or so.Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely. I'll give everything a plug you
want, man. That's what we're doing.
Whatever. You want to talk about you'd lay
it on. Yeah, my.
Podcast is called Beyond the Call.
Experiences of high trauma occupations say that one more
thing have long conversation beyond the.
Call. Experiences of high trauma

(01:41:36):
occupations, OK. And I talked to people in and
around the high trauma space. So be it defence or, or, or
first responders. I, I've had a professional, I
had an NRL referee, I've had a, I had an escort, a high class
escort from America on there as well.
Because, you know, all, all trauma, trauma is a lot more

(01:41:59):
than what we see and what we think and the, the effects it
can have is huge. I, I suffer from PTSI hate the
word PTSD. It's to me, it should be PTSI.
It's an injury, not a disorder. Nice.
I like that. I like that too.
Yeah. Disorder has such a negative.
Connotation. It does to it internally a dis

(01:42:23):
I've got a disorder, whereas an injury is a temporary can, can
be a temporary thing. So I'm still in the process of
getting through that. And I found it really
therapeutic. I've yeah, it's it's it's long
form, but it's yeah. And it's deep, dark and can get
graphic. So, you know, if you're easily

(01:42:44):
offended, don't, don't go there.But yeah, it's, yeah, it's, it's
really therapeutic. So from a, from a, from a trauma
standpoint are. And so you have something like
I, I went through a fair amount of trauma in my child and
growing up. So from a vantage points I had
come on, we talked about my my trauma and stuff.
Are you somebody that that certified to kind of work

(01:43:04):
through the trauma with someone you just kind of sharing stories
and how they how they adapt, recover and survive through all
of it. So what I'm generally doing?
Is trying to get stories. That and no, I'm not certified,
although it is something I'm interested in, in becoming.
I've spent time in mental mentalfacilities myself as a patient

(01:43:25):
and got a lot out of that. I get people to come in and tell
their stories and I like to try and get them to, I want my
audience to be able to identify if they might be feeling or
thinking something similar and it might be enough for them to
reach out and get some help. So I'll go through the emotional

(01:43:47):
stuff that people go through andand because the worst feeling
about any sort of mental health trauma is that you feel alone,
right? Couldn't agree with you.
The only person. Going through this, that's why
we always. Drop our show up with with if.
If, if you're, if you're feelingdown, depressed, suicidal, you
know Somebody Loves You, somebody's going to miss you,

(01:44:09):
make the call. Go on Google, find somebody that
can help you talk through the problem.
If if nobody else is there, you can reach out to Mike and I
because somebody will miss you. You don't, don't create a hole
in somebody's heart because you were struggling and didn't know
how to deal. Because everybody on some level
has dealt with trauma in a similar fashion and has has felt
the same way at some point in time in life.
Because nobody can say my life is perfect from day one.

(01:44:31):
No matter who you are, what stage you are in life, what
class level you are, you know, low class, middle class, upper
class, it doesn't matter. Everybody has to deal with the
bullshit that everybody else hasto deal with.
It's just different for each person and how they carry it and
how they process it. So we never let the bad days
when somebody's going to miss you, Somebody Loves You.
Remember that. Because that's kind of why we

(01:44:52):
started this because we're both recovering out.
I'm a recovering alcoholic, he'srecovering drug addict.
You know, we both had those darkperiods of our life.
Everybody does. But it's, it's something like
you, which is really cool. I didn't realize that's what
your show is about, but that's fantastic because you're you're
helping people release that and get it out of their systems.
That could be very cathartic. I know some of the stuff I've

(01:45:14):
gone through getting it out. My my benefit was writing and
singing and performing. I was able to purge that
darkness and turn into somethingpositive as far as, you know,
that aspect. But a lot of people don't have
that. That's a million percent what
music did for me, right? And a lot of people don't have
that outlet, so that's a cool thing.
That you do, man. Well, the next time we have him
on, well, that will be the wholeshow, man.

(01:45:34):
We'll just talk about this, you know what, how you've started
and how you got going. And I'm super interested in that
myself and I'll be tuning into your show.
So yeah, absolutely. Thanks, guys.
Yeah, I. Mean the, the the. 2 words that
are probably the most dangerous,worthlessness and helplessness.
If you feel worthless or helpless, if you feel those two

(01:45:56):
things combined, your risk of suicide is so high that that
that's a red flag. That's when you need to get some
help. Because if we don't have things
that where we're going to look forward, that's yeah, your risk
is just through the roof. And I've been to so many, I've
been to hundreds in my career, and every one of them is one

(01:46:17):
more than the needs to happen. Yeah.
Agreed. Amen to that, man.
That's Peter. He's Chris.
I'm Mike. Thank you for tuning in for
Chris and Mike. Sure.
You can find this episode on YouTube when it drops as well as
Spotify have a podcast, etcetera.
Although we were recording this live simultaneously on YouTube,
which is kind of cool. We will drop a whole bunch of
information about Peter so you can follow his podcast as well
on our Facebook page. Give us a follow, give us a

(01:46:37):
like. We love you all.
Thank you very much, Peter, for being here.
We truly appreciate. And and yeah, let's have you on
again. Thanks guys.
Sounds great. Feel the trail behind your eyes.

(01:47:18):
Feel yourself and need yourself.Take a moment, look until you
see it. Fight the battle and tear.
Fight the battle. But you fuck will put you.
Back there to your. Come down here, we haven't found

(01:49:01):
solids in the sand. You can fuck fight him.
Wait for the dead. Wait for the the wild you.
Ain't. No creature.
Quick on the almighty day. You got a dream.

(01:49:24):
Who in your life to keep our soul in every man.
Take the trail behind your eyes.Feel the soul, everyone.
You shine now. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

(01:49:44):
yeah. Take

(01:50:12):
a. Moment.

(01:50:59):
The.

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#105 - Peter Vinnicomb - Australian First Responder

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}#105 - Peter Vinnicomb - Australian First Responder