Australia Talks

A weekly podcast with relaxed discussion of Australian topics, history, a featured town and a couple of trivia questions with your hosts DK and Ardeet. Contact us at AustraliaTalks@proton.me DarkestKnight and Ardeet discuss: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:01:06 – Croc watch - Croc farming in Australia Part 1 00:17:55 – Gas Tax! 00:45:04 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Bunbury, Western Australia 01:11:11 – NDIS cuts 01:37:31 – This week in Australian history 24-30 April 01:48:41 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Hartley's Creek Crocodile Farm - Hartley's Crocodile Adventures Northern Territory crocodile farming industry strategic plan 2015-2021 Code of practice on the humane treatment of wild and farmed Australian crocodiles The economic value of the Northern Territory’s crocodile industry Why the gas tax momentum is building as Australia looks to properly cash in on its abundant natural resources - ABC News Foreign companies are making billions off Australia’s gas. It’s time that changed The government wants to curb NDIS spending. Here’s how it might succeed How the NDIS grew to four times the size that was expected - ABC News NDIS Minister Mark Butler denies NDIS cuts will force disabled Australians to pay out of pocket for support services | Sky News Australia Bunbury History - City of Bunbury Bunbury, Western Australia - Wikipedia The inside story of how Bunnings became a multi-billion-dollar household name Robert Bunning - Wikipedia Bunnings - Wikipedia Bunbury, WA - Aussie Towns Bunbury woodchip bombing - Wikipedia Two Ticks Town Talk - Geraldton Part 2, Western Australia (from 24 Apr 2025 Australia Talks) | Australia Talks Wikipedia - Australian anniversaries #Australia #Australian

A weekly podcast with relaxed discussion of Australian topics, history, a featured town and a couple of trivia questions with your hosts DK and Ardeet. Contact us at AustraliaTalks@proton.me DarkestKnight and Ardeet discuss: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:10:14 – New warship and Defence budget 00:37:27 – Two Ticks Town Talk – HMQS Gayundah, Queensland 01:08:50 – Homegrown biofuels 01:29:46 – This week in Australian history 17-23 April 01:42:16 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Australia, Japan sign contracts to start $7 billion warship deal | Reuters Defence spending to lift by $53 billion over the next decade as government warns of 'intensifying' risks - ABC News Japan, Australia sign deal for first three Mogami frigate warships - ABC News General purpose frigate | Royal Australian Navy 2026 National Defence Strategy and 2026 Integrated Investment Program | About | Defence Biofuels could bolster Australia's fuel security but right now, we're exporting what we need to make them - ABC News CEFC Refined Ambitions LCLF Opportunities Investment Insight - Clean Energy Finance Corporation Ethanol fuel - Wikipedia Colonial navies of Australia - Wikipedia HMQS Gayundah - Wikipedia HMQS Gayundah – The gunboats Gayundah, Paluma & Queensland's colonial navy. HMAS Gayundah | Sea Power Centre H.M.Q.S. Gayundah | Moreton Bay Our Story HMQS "Gayundah" - Conduct Unbecoming - 1888 - Naval Historical Society of Australia Wikipedia - Australian anniversaries #Australia #Australian

A weekly podcast with relaxed discussion of Australian topics, history, a featured town and a couple of trivia questions with your hosts DK and Ardeet. Contact us at AustraliaTalks@proton.me DarkestKnight and Ardeet discuss: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:12:30 – Australia Establishes Fertilizer Coordination Body, Seeks New Urea Supply Sources 00:42:05 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Toowoomba, Queensland 01:00:45 – BYD and EV truck imports increase 01:29:03 – This week in Australian history 10-16 April 01:37:54 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Australia Establishes Fertilizer Coordination Body, Seeks New Urea Supply Sources :: Content :: Tập đoàn Hoá chất Việt Nam (Vinachem) Australia turns to less-established urea origins Why Australia turned to Brunei to shore up supplies of critical crop fertiliser during Middle East war - ABC News Visit to Brunei and Malaysia | Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Virgin to trim domestic flights ahead of fuel costs rising by up to $40 million - ABC News BYD tripling shipment volumes to Australia to 30,000 cars amid fuel price surge | CarExpert 18 May 2012 - Multuggerah - Monument Australia (www.monumentaustralia.org.au) - Trove Battle of One Tree Hill - Wikipedia Multuggerah - Wikipedia Toowoomba, QLD - Aussie Towns Toowoomba - Wikipedia Toowoomba — Grokipedia Battle of One Tree Hill: remembering an Indigenous victory and a warrior who routed the whites | Frontier wars | The Guardian Battle of One Tree Hill, Australian Frontier Wars - History Guild Multuggerah and the Battle of One Tree Hill - Australian Geographic Biography - Multuggerah - Indigenous Australia Wikipedia - Australian anniversaries #Australia #Australian

A weekly podcast with relaxed discussion of Australian topics, history, a featured town and a couple of trivia questions with your hosts DK and Ardeet. Contact us at AustraliaTalks@proton.me DarkestKnight and Ardeet discuss: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:13:39 – Bilby populations 00:39:13 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Mallee Cliffs National Park, New South Wales 01:00:07 – Ebikes and the Straight of Hormuz 01:20:41 – This week in Australian history 3-9 April 01:30:38 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: 'Easter bilby' populations quadruple across Australian sanctuaries - ABC News Macrotis - Wikipedia Easter Bilby - Wikipedia Commuters swap the car for e-bikes as fuel prices soar amid Middle East war - ABC News Australia given fuel supply assurances as plans in works for visit by Japan's prime minister - ABC News Defence Minister says Australia may support measures to provide safe passage in the Straits of Hormuz Numbats reintroduced to NSW National Park | Australian Wildlife Conservancy Mallee Cliffs National Park | NSW National Parks Review of Environmental Factors Wikipedia - Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area Mallee Cliffs National Park Review of Environmental Factors for the Reintroduction of Locally Extinct Mammals | Environment and Heritage Numbat - Wikipedia Wikipedia - Australian anniversaries #Australia #Australian

A weekly podcast with relaxed discussion of Australian topics, history, a featured town and a couple of trivia questions with your hosts DK and Ardeet. Contact us at AustraliaTalks@proton.me DarkestKnight and Ardeet discuss: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:07:53 – Fuel security 00:35:37 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Leeton, New South Wales 00:55:22 – Pauline Hanson’s ABC plan 01:22:21 – This week in Australian history 27-31 March & 1-2 April 01:32:25 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Labor to use new fuel security powers to underwrite extra shipments to Australia Securing Australia’s future fuel supply and critical minerals strategic reserve | Minister for Trade and Tourism Labor cuts fuel excise for three months, saving Australians 26c a litre on petrol and diesel Minimum stockholding obligation (MSO) for liquid fuels: statistics - DCCEEW Pauline Hanson’s plan to ‘defund’ ABC, introduce subscriptions ‘Defund it’: One Nation leader Pauline Hanson calls for ABC to be stripped of taxpayer funding and go subscriber-based ABC Transparency portal What would – and should – happen to the ABC under the next federal government? Wikipedia - Leeton, New South Wales Wikipedia - Riverina Wikipedia - Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area About Leeton | Visit Leeton A complete guide to Leeton, NSW - Australian Geographic Wikipedia - Murrumbidgee River Wikipedia - Australian anniversaries #Australia #Australian

A weekly podcast with relaxed discussion of Australian topics, history, a featured town and a couple of trivia questions with your hosts DK and Ardeet. Contact us at AustraliaTalks@proton.me DarkestKnight and Ardeet discuss: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:00:53 – Croc watch 00:15:10 – Police drones in Australia 00:40:32 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Gawler Ranges, South Australia 01:04:29 – $1B medical research fund unused 01:21:11 – This week in Australian history 20-26 March 01:31:19 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Catching Sweetheart: Australia’s Most Notorious Boat-Flipping Crocodile | Part 1 Documentary Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory Sweetheart the crocodile was famous for attacking fishing boats. But was another croc to blame? Australia sitting on over $1 billion of unused medical research funding as scientists abandon the field Sydney police are using drones to chase suspects 500km away. Is a vulnerable town being targeted? NSW Police’s drone trial: questions of risk, governance and resilience Police commissioner claims drones over Moree will not be used for surveillance Gawler Ranges National Park - Gawler Ranges Gawler Ranges - Wikipedia Gawler Ranges… - National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia Gawler Ranges National Park Management Plan 2017 Gawler Ranges National Park Wikipedia - Australian anniversaries #Australia #Australian

A weekly podcast with relaxed discussion of Australian topics, history, a featured town and a couple of trivia questions with your hosts DK and Ardeet. Contact us at AustraliaTalks@proton.me DarkestKnight and Ardeet discuss: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:08:34 – Australian fuel supply issues and challenges 00:43:04 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Kiama, New South Wales 00:57:44 – Has Australia joined the Iran war? 01:27:16 – This week in Australian history 13-19 March 01:37:41 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Australia to release nearly 20% of fuel stockpile as Bowen insists country ‘nowhere near’ running out Minimum stockholding obligation (MSO) for liquid fuels: statistics Australia has never been more vulnerable to an energy crisis Fuel rationing a chance in Australia if war continues to trim global oil supplies, experts say Trump says he doesn't 'need or desire' Australia's help in outburst over Strait of Hormuz Federal politics: Australia will not send navy ship to Strait of Hormuz, minister says — as it happened With the Wedgetail deployment, Australia is now part of the Iran War Taylor urges Australia to back Trump on securing Strait of Hormuz Australian facilities damaged in Iranian attack on Middle East air base Australia is sending an aircraft and personnel to the Middle East. Does this mean we are entering the war Aussietowns - Kiama, NSW Kiama baker Les Warby was jailed for baking bread at weekends Wikipedia - Kiama New South Wales Wikipedia - Kiama blowhole NSW Legislation - Bread Act 1969 No 54 Wikipedia - Australian anniversaries #Australia #Australian

A weekly podcast with relaxed discussion of Australian topics, history, a featured town and a couple of trivia questions with your hosts DK and Ardeet. Contact us at AustraliaTalks@proton.me DarkestKnight and Ardeet discuss: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:12:58 – Fortnightly rubbish collection ‘inevitable’ as waste costs mount 00:37:48 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Streaky Bay, South Australia 01:01:29 – Australia can’t easily reduce its military dependence on the US, but with Canada, we can mitigate risk 01:31:16 – This week in Australian history 6-12 March 01:40:08 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Fortnightly rubbish collection ‘inevitable’ as waste costs mount Council bin collection changes blamed for ‘revolting tide’ of maggots and flies Australia can’t easily reduce its military dependence on the US, but with Canada, we can mitigate risk Anthony Albanese confirms Australian navy personnel on US submarine that sank Iranian vessel National security is getting more complex, and Australia needs a plan A regional maritime forum can create sweeter cooperation in Southeast Asia Wikipedia - Streaky Bay, South Australia Streaky Bay - Our History Wikipedia - Murphy's Haystacks Murphy's Haystacks Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, Incorporated Streaky Bay, South Australia Wikipedia - Australian anniversaries #Australia #Australian

A weekly podcast with relaxed discussion of Australian topics, history, a featured town and a couple of trivia questions with your hosts DK and Ardeet. Contact us at AustraliaTalks@proton.me DarkestKnight and Ardeet discuss: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:11:14 – Signs of psychosis seen in Australian users’ interactions with AI chatbots, expert warns 00:41:16 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Moruya, New South Wales 01:00:40 – Newcastle to Sydney in 1 hour - Albanese Government lays foundation for high-speed rail in Australia 01:30:28 – This week in Australian history 27-28 February & 1-5 March 01:42:09 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Newcastle to Sydney in 1 hour - Albanese Government lays foundation for high-speed rail in Australia High-speed rail from Sydney to Newcastle is a step closer. But what about Sydney to Melbourne? High-speed rail link between Sydney and Newcastle could be ‘shovel-ready’ in two years, Albanese government says Why the PM’s $93b high-speed rail project will never happen Signs of psychosis seen in Australian users’ interactions with AI chatbots, expert warns Reports of ‘AI psychosis’ are emerging — here’s what a psychiatric clinician has to say Aussietowns - Moruya John Gilmore, Quarry Manager Moruya granite and the Harbour Bridge The Significant Legacy of Moruya Granite ‘Quarry Scotties’: the story of the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s forgotten migrant workers Moruya: a source of stone Granite Town: Honoring a Legacy Carved in Stone Moruya Granite Quarry Monument Australia - Moruya Granite Wikipedia - Moruya, New South Wales Wikipedia - Australian anniversaries #Australia #Australian

A weekly podcast with relaxed discussion of Australian topics, history, a featured town and a couple of trivia questions with your hosts DK and Ardeet. Contact us at AustraliaTalks@proton.me DarkestKnight and Ardeet discuss: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:00:55 – Croc watch 00:19:17 – Humanoid home robots are on the market – but do we really want them? 00:49:59 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Bald Rock National Park, New South Wales 01:00:32 – Scammers fleeced pensioner Ian Williams out of $1,338. So he sued his bank for $379 million 01:26:51 – This week in Australian history 20-26 February 01:37:12 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Cahill's Crossing - The World's Deadliest Crossing Australia’s most terrifying wildlife spectacle: 50 saltwater crocs crammed into one small stretch of river waiting to strike Scammers fleeced pensioner Ian Williams out of $1,338. So he sued his bank for $379 million Leigh Sales reveals chilling reason why ABC Australian Story episode about pensioner who 'captured the hearts of Australia' was pulled off the air at the last minute Scam victim at centre of ABC’s axed Australian Story episode admits he hid dark past from show Humanoid home robots are on the market – but do we really want them? Wikipedia - Bald Rock National Park NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service - Bald Rock National Park Wikipedia - Australian anniversaries #Australia #Australian

A weekly podcast with relaxed discussion of Australian topics, history, a featured town and a couple of trivia questions with your hosts DK and Ardeet. Contact us at AustraliaTalks@proton.me DarkestKnight and Ardeet discuss: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:10:01 – Australian firearms laws developments 00:38:53 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Tennant Creek (part 2), Northern Territory 00:53:48 – Fortescue’s electric locomotives 01:17:37 – This week in Australian history 13-19 February 01:30:28 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Shooters Union Australia Gun licence applications explode after Bondi terror attack crackdown Firearms Collection New hope for national gun register 30 years after it was first proposed Gun licence applications in NSW up 7000 per cent in some categories Fortescue launches its first electric locomotives – with batteries the size of more than 200 Tesla EVs Fortescue trials battery-electric locomotives in Pilbara as decarbonisation race tightens In the Australian outback, we're listening for nuclear tests. What we hear matters more than ever Warramunga Seismic and Infrasound Research Station Wikipedia - Tennant Creek Wikipedia - Warumungu The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty The International Monitoring System (IMS) map Aussietowns - Tennant Creek, NT Two Ticks Town Talk – Tennant Creek, NT (from 4 Jul 2023 Australia Talks) Wikipedia - Australian anniversaries #Australia #Australian

A weekly podcast with relaxed discussion of Australian topics, history, a featured town and a couple of trivia questions with your hosts DK and Ardeet. Contact us at AustraliaTalks@proton.me DarkestKnight and Ardeet discuss: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:07:35 – Albanese government fire sale of Defence properties 00:36:57 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Mount Coolum, Queensland 00:53:59 – Bunnings given green light to use facial recognition tech on customers to combat crime 01:23:12 – This week in Australian history 6-12 February 01:33:01 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: National Defence: Defence Strategic Review 2023 Government eyes off fire sale of historic defence properties around Australia Albanese government to sell off $3bn worth of historic defence sites amid push to free up space for new homes Bunnings decision may open door to facial recognition surveillance free-for-all Bunnings Group Limited and Privacy Commissioner (Guidance and Appeals Panel) [2026] ARTA 130 (4 February 2026) PRIVACY ACT 1988 - SECT 16A Bunnings given green light to use facial recognition tech on customers to combat crime 'Worth the squeeze': Bunnings vows to minimise store crime after approval to use facial recognition technology Wikipedia - Mount Coolum, Queensland Trove - Mt Coolun Ore samples go to Melbourne Trove - No uranium at Mount Coolum Climb Mount Coolum Wikipedia - Laccolith Mount Coolum National Park Coolum Advertiser Australia's nuclear age & the unsettling truth about Mt Coolum Australia's nuclear age & the unsettling truth about Mt Coolum Australia Talks - 28 Nov 2024: Bunnings breaches privacy Wikipedia - Australian anniversaries #Australia #Australian