It’s time to make sense of the senseless with 4BC Drive’s Wokey Pokey. This week, New South Wales barristers are being schooled on pronouns, a university is paying a six-figure salary to recruit people to indigenise its curriculum, and the Queensland Human Rights Commissioner isn't happy with the police service.

Within the last 24 hours, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton delivered his budget reply, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the federal election for May 3rd.  Gary Hardgrave breaks down both announcements and shares his thoughts. 

Labor's federal budget was released earlier this week and revealed where Australia sits in debt. Economist and Research Fellow at RMIT University Dr Nataliya Ilyushina told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "The budget that has been just delivered has given us absolutely no hope." "It's not only in deficit now, meaning they were going to go deeper and deeper in debt," Dr Ilyushina continued. 

The Brisbane City Council has pulled funding and support from the Queensland Music Awards after a composer won the Jazz award for a pro-Palestinian song titled “River to Sea." Kellee Green used her acceptance speech to accuse the federal government of supporting Israel in the killing of "innocent Palestinian men, women, and children." Queensland Holocaust Museum Chair, Jason Steinberg, told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "When I listened to the acceptance speech of this, this artist, I felt sick in my stomach because it's another example of the hatred that's left to flourish in Queensland and across Australia from the arts sector, that it's anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, anti-Semitic." "It is absolutely appalling that it was allowed to happen, that it's not being condemned by the organisers." "I commend the Brisbane City Council for making a decision to say no, it's not good enough," Mr Steinberg continued. 

Today marks 21 years of LNP rule in the Brisbane City Council, and Labor says some cracks may be starting to show. Opposition Leader in Council, Councillor Jared Cassidy, told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "The fundamental approach I think has been eroding, eroding the value for money people used to get from council.  "I think the liveability of Brisbane and particularly suburban Brisbane is under threat," Counillor Cassidy continued.

The federal budget was handed down last night,  with tax cuts, cost-of-living relief, and healthcare at the forefront.  But what does that mean for you? Gary Hardgrave explains on 4BC Drive. 

The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic infrastructure review was handed down yesterday, and gymnastics was not included.  Gymnastics Queensland CEO Chris Rushton told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "We weren't named in the 36-page report yesterday and the sport wasn't there." "Gymnastics is a key part of the Olympics and has been for many years. It's a key sport that everyone wants to watch." "We're trying to understand where we'll be at for the actual games, but also the legacy for the sport as well," Mr Rushton continued. 

Today is Purple Day, which raises awareness for epilepsy.  King Wally Lewis has had his own experience with epilepsy.  Mr Lewis, told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "It wasn't something that I felt proud of, but it was something that I was pretty scared that I was unable to keep control in the way that that it had been going." "I'd had it for quite some time, but there was the denial there rather than just owning up," Mr Lewis continued.

The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic infrastructure review has revealed that the Centenary Pool will be upgraded to a National Aquatic Centre.  Australian Olympian Emily Seebohm told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "I'm just glad that finally a big decision that's going to change sport forever has been made the right way." "To have it in such a place [Centenary Pool] that I think has had such good legacy with swimming and just a great venue, like there's so many things close by that people can just walk there and catch public transport, which is a massive win." "I think this dream has been coming for such a long time, and it will be nice to put it all into place," Ms Seebohm continued. 

The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic infrastructure review has revealed an Athlete Village and new arena will be on the Gold Coast.  Mayor of the Gold Coast Tom Tate told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "I'm quite happy that we're going to get on with it now.  "From the Gold Coast point of view, we had a good facility as a legacy from the Commonwealth Games already, and that means we have nine sports already slotted in." "Today, we're able to add to that," Mayor Tate continued. 

The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic infrastructure review has revealed a new stadium will be built at Victoria Park.  Former Queensland Premier, Campbell Newman, told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "The people of Brisbane have lost because 160 years ago, visionary people set aside Victoria Park, 300 acres at the time 130 hectares in the modern measurement to be a park for the people of Brisbane for all time." "Over the last 160 years, there's been idea after idea where we've salami sliced away our park." "Great cities need great parks, not just fantastic sporting stadiums," Mr Newman continued. 

The designer of 4BC Drive's 2032 Olympic Games mascot has provided an update on Katter the Cassowary. Robin Worship from Costume Designs by Robin on the Sunshine Coast told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "It's not the most comfortable thing to wear, but, it's certainly doable." "It came up a lot better than what I thought it was going to come up in the drawing," Mr Worship continued. 

A community in the Somerset Region is facing a strange issue.  Flying foxes are plaguing Esk, with residents reporting stenches, screeching, and health concerns to the council, but little has been done.  Esk residents, Codie Lukricz and Annette told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "In the last two years, the bats have moved into what we call our little piece of paradise by the creek in Esk here, and unfortunately, they've moved in like a plague." "For us as a community, we can't quite understand why the council doesn't want to help us come up with some form of solution," they continued. 

Wokey Pokey is back this week with Gary taking a look at the latest coming out of Macquarie University and more!

Police are investigating after the bomb squad was called to the Bunnings in Virginia this afternoon due to reports of a "suspicious package".

Women have come up with a way to catch men out for being unfaithful.

A media commentator is warning Australians to remain alert of a "trojan voice" currently before parliament.

Video has emerged of the moment a man took Simon Holmes A Court, the man behind Climate 200, to task at an event. Barclay McGain interrupted the event to question the lack of discussion surrounding how renewables would lower power bills.

The Coalition has matched Labor's commitment to lowering the price of medications on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to $25. Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston says the cost-of-living measure is necessary with the cost of healthcare through the roof.

Two NASA astronauts, stranded in orbit for nine months, have landed on home soil after returning to Earth this morning. Astrophysicist & Cosmologist, Brad Tucker, told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "I think the beauty of it was this was so routine and executed so well." "This is the beautiful part of how the commercial sector has entered space now is to be able to focus on a couple of things not everything like NASA is trying to do." "That's what they're good at, trying to focus on a few things and just do it really well and really often so that it does become a commonplace," Mr Tucker continued. 

March is Epilepsy Queensland’s annual fundraising and awareness month. CEO of Epilepsy Queensland, Sandi Rodiger, told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "Epilepsy affects far more people than what is probably known. We say roughly 1 in 25 people will be diagnosed with epilepsy in their lifetime, and that's roughly about 270,000 people in Australia currently living with epilepsy and around 40 odd thousand in Queensland, so it is very prevalent."  Mum of a young athlete who has epilepsy, Natalie Sandow added, "Aamira did not allow epilepsy to stand in her way at all." "Once she got the clearance, she just went full force on that sporting field. She has, focal seizures, so she has awareness when she has seizures and is quite capable to play her sports because of that," Ms Sandow continued. 

As the federal election is set to be called for May and the budget is due to be released next week, Australian politics is heating up for 2025.  Independent Senator Gerard Rennick has represented Queensland with outspoken views and strong stances on various issues.  Senator Rennick told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "If Peter wants my vote, he's going to have to hold true to the conservative values and not roll over to the left wing of the Liberal Party and the Labor and the Greens."

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says Peter Dutton is doing the right thing by calling for a referendum on changing the legislation deporting dual-citizen criminals.

A leading advocacy group has urged the federal government to invest $3 million over the next three years on a collaborative care pilot program for veterans and their families. Chief executive officer of Legacy Brisbane Brendan Cox says the discussion surrounding veterans and their families needs to be expanded.

Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor has taken aim at Jim Chalmers ahead of the federal budget next week. He says the treasurer does not understand how Australians are being "smashed" with the cost of living.

4BC Drive host Gary Hardgrave has reacted to a news story which came out over the weekend which claimed Queensland was at risk of losing the tennis to Melbourne. Calling it awful, he says Melbourne shouldn't get any events, pointing to their handling of the Commonwealth Games.

It’s time to make sense of the senseless with 4BC Drive’s Wokey Pokey. This week, Gary looks at what the New South Wales Minister for Women had to say about who could access women's change rooms, why a groom was left at the altar by his bride on a reality TV show, and why Disney has scaled down an upcoming premiere for its remake of Snow White.

An expert says Australia needs to understand the ocean better, pointing to unscrewed surface vehicles as a potential solution.

Listeners have revealed to 4BC Drive they're growing increasingly concerned following a major push from energy retailers to implement smart meters. Canstar Blue Utilities editor Tara Donnelly says a major rollout is expected by 2030 as the energy retailers try to "deploy as many as possible".

A video of a US influencer picking up a wombat has gone viral for all the wrong reasons.  Ranger Stacey joined Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive to discuss the video and share information about wombats.

In 2023, Chris Sanders was a victim of youth crime, after he was attacked by teens at the Alexandra Hills Shopping Centre. Today, the perpetrator was sentenced.  For the most serious offense, he was charged with a 3-month conditional release program, with conditions including regular reporting to his local youth centre. For the two other offences, he was sentenced to 15 months of probation. Mr Sanders told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "He showed no remorse. I was a centimetre and a half off of death, and they want to downgrade everything all the time. It's just wrong."

After days of torrential rain and flooding due to ex-Cyclone Alfred, many gardens across South East Queensland have been damaged.  Horicultural and gardening expert Paul Plant joined Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive to share how to revive your garden after extreme weather. 

US President Donald Trump has decided not to grant Australia an exemption to tariffs on aluminium and steel exports. National Secretary Paul Farrow joined Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "Tariffs aren't the main game because if we secure an exemption, China's not going to secure an exemption. "What we need to worry about is where is Chinese steel going at the moment if not to the US." "And my bet is it's headed straight for Australian shores at a very, very cheap price. It's going to really affect our industries," Mr Farrow continued. 

The federal and state governments have activated Personal Hardship Assistance for eligible residents in parts of seven South East Queensland council areas due to ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.  Individuals can receive $180 for Emergency Hardship Assistance, and a family of five or more can get up to $900 to cover essentials like food, clothing, and medicine.  Minister for Local Government and Water, and Minister for Fire, Disaster Recovery and Volunteers, Ann Leahy, told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "We have certainly been making sure that we are right behind these communities who have been impacted by Ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred." "That's why we have activated that personal hardship assistance in those areas of eligible and targeted areas of Redlands, Gold Coast, Logan, Moreton Bay, Fraser Coast, Brisbane and also Scenic Rim." "I expect there will be more activations to come, they will come through in waves as the assessments are done and the information is provided to us by local councils, and we are trying to get this information through as swiftly as possible," Minister Leahy continued. 

Severe weather from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred has caused coastal erosion at beaches along the Gold Coast and further north in the Sunshine Coast.  Main Beach on the Gold Coast had waves as high as 12 metres. Coastal Engineer and Director of Gold Coast-based International Costal Management, Aaron Salyer, told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "The Gold Coast just can't wait a couple of years to fully regenerate." "So it steps in and does these things, with dredging and nourishment pipelines and whatever it can to help that process along as quick as possible," Mr Salyer continued. 

As the clean-up from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred begins, there could be hazards hidden in the water. Microbiologist at the University of the Sunshine Coast Associate Professor Erin Price told Gary Hargrave on 4BC Drive, "Melioidosis is not very common in South East Queensland, thankfully." "This is an infectious disease that does lurk in the soil, and it loves when there's wet weather, especially flooding events and cyclones." "So we have a perfect storm of conditions for this organism and for this disease right now in South East Queensland." "We want people to just be aware that it is potentially going to be an issue, especially if you've come into contact with flood waters or mud, for instance, during cyclone clean up," Associate Professor Price continued. 

Unrest in Syria is affecting hundreds of civilians, many of whom have been killed. A Syrian man who lives in Brisbane has been back to bury his mother, who was killed.  He told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "It is against humanity, it's against liberty, it's against freedom, it’s against any form of life." "There’s no border there. People can't even get out. If you do, they stop you and say, 'What are you, a Christian?' and that’s it. Slaughter will happen," he continued. 

There have been many questions regarding the disposal of sandbags after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.  Deputy Mayor of Brisbane, Fiona Cunningham, told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "We were encouraging people to actually hold on to those plastic bags." "You can get rid of the sand that's in them, but keep your actual sandbags inside, not in sunlight, and they'll be fine to use again in the future." "That way we don't have them in our landfill, but we can use them again," the Deputy Mayor continued. 

As of 5:15, there are still 149,729 homes without power, with Energex working around the clock to get power restored.  Energex Spokesperson Danny Donald told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "Tonight we're releasing our restoration plan on our Outage Viewer." "If people can Google Energex outages, text view or Energex Emergency Outages Text View." "Later this evening, we will have the approximate time each street, each suburb will be restored back to the network," Mr Donald continued. 

The Bureau of Meteorology has provided the latest update on the conditions after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.  BOM Senior Meterologist, Jonathan How, told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "We are seeing rain ease across Brisbane and we've just issued the latest severe weather warning." "Brisbane has now been removed from that, so no longer expecting heavy rainfall across Brisbane." "But we still have that warning current for the Lockyer Valley and for places north of Caboolture, but the good news is that rain is easing across the metro area," Mr How continued. 

An ‘Insurance Catastrophe’ was declared yesterday by the Insurance Council of Australia. More than 9000 insurance claims have already been lodged due to ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred as of midday today. CEO of the Insurance Council of Australia, Andrew Hall, told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "This only come comes about when we can see claims getting up to very high levels and around 9000 claims in a couple of days already." "But that's climbing quickly because people are getting back to their properties and realizing they've got damage." "I think this weather event that we're living through at the moment here in South East Queensland is exactly the sort of opportunity we've got to just get on top of and not do the definition of insanity, do the same thing and hope for a different outcome," Mr Hall continued. 

A major flood warning is in place for the Lockyer Valley as a severe storm system moves through the area.  Lockyer Valley Councillor and Deputy Chair of the Local Disaster Management Group, Michael Hagan, told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "So we've had to enact some emergency warnings." "The police did another door knocking in Grantham, and then we had to actually set off our flood warning system, which is a siren at Grantham." "So we've had great help from all emergency services," Councillor Michael Hagan continued.

It’s time to make sense of the senseless with 4BC Drive’s Wokey Pokey. This week, a uni forces students to complete 'woke' test to unlock access to their student portals, dozens of ‘endangered’ aboriginal languages to be taught in primary schools, and government bodies hand out millions in grants to diversity initiatives that push ‘woke agendas.'

A man has gone missing after driving through flood waters near Dorrigo, west of Coffs Harbour. He was able to get out of his four-wheel drive when it was washed off a bridge.  The man held on to a branch for about half an hour before being swept from a tree and dragged underwater.

As of Friday 5:30pm, over 50,000 homes are without power prior to Tropical Cyclone Alfred making landfall.  Danny Donald from Energex told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "The Gold Coast, that's really copping a whack, and have done all day, but that we expect that, those outages to start, creeping north into the Redlands, more into parts of Logan possibly, and into Brisbane and north again."

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has provided the latest details on Tropical Cyclone Alfred as of Friday at 3pm. 

As South East Queensland awaits Tropcial Cyclone Alfred, here is the latest information from the Bureau of Meterology as of Friday 2pm.  Daniel Hayes from the Bureau of Meterology told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "The system is still a Category 2 out there moving towards the coast." "The expectation is we'll see it cross over the Moreton Bay Islands, later or early hours of tomorrow morning before making its way across the bay and crossing over the mainland sometime later tomorrow morning," Mr Hayes continued. 

South East Queensland will experience the effects of Tropical Cyclone Alfred differently. Residents of the Moreton Bay islands are facing unique challenges caused by their location, which have already begun.  Member for Bowman, Henry Pike, told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "They're very rough at the moment, and unfortunately for the residents of North Stradbroke Island and the residents of the southern Moreton Bay Islands and Coochiemudlo Island, they've now been cut off for a couple of days." "We're just concerned about what the impact of this is going to be, we're already seeing trees falling, and we had a power loss as well on Russell Island, and we know we haven't even got the front of the storm." "I'm quite concerned about what the impact is going to be and what the isolation is going to mean for those communities over the next couple of days," Mr Pike continued.

There has been debate regarding whether it is necessary to turn solar power off prior to Tropical Cyclone Alfred making landfall.  Area Manager at Energex, Chris Graham, told Gary Hardgrave on 4BC Drive, "People should be shutting down their solar, and if they've got any questions or any doubts, talking to their installers and checking their manufacturer's instructions is the way to go."

Bunnings has released a statement that stores in impacted regions are closed for the safety of their staff and customers.