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 00:01:09 – Croc Watch 00:13:11 – Live facial recognition in Western Australia 00:46:25 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Stanley (Part 1), Tasmania 01:07:54 – Defence sales to Canada and local US stockpile 01:32:26 – This week in Australian history 19-25 June 01:47:48 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: New crocodile killing behaviour captured by Aussie tour guide - Yahoo News Australia Australia lands biggest-ever defence export deal in $2.5bn radar sale to Canada | PerthNow Australia and Canada ink $2.5 billion over-the-horizon radar deal - ABC News Jindalee Operational Radar Network - Wikipedia US military plans major war stockpile on Australian soil | SBS News Overt Live Facial Recognition Trial Live facial recognition technology to be used by WA Police in Australian first - ABC News Stanley, Tasmania - Wikipedia Van Diemen's Land Company - Wikipedia Van Diemen's Land Company Van Diemen's Land Company Stanley, TAS - Aussie Towns Cape Grim massacre - Wikipedia Thylacine - Wikipedia Tasmanian emu - Wikipedia Two Ticks Town Talk - Burra, South Australia (from 17 Jul 2025 Australia Talks) | Australia Talks Wikipedia - Australian anniversaries #Australian #Australia

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 00:08:40 – China missiles to Australia 00:28:58 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Korumburra, Victoria 00:45:43 – Huge whale graveyard 01:15:40 – This week in Australian history 12-18 June 01:25:11 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Understanding the Chinese military threat to Australia | Lowy Institute China's ability to hit Australia with missiles 'real and growing', Lowy Institute says - ABC News World's biggest whale graveyard found in Indian Ocean off Australia - ABC News Whale Fall 101 | National Marine Sanctuary Foundation Korumburra Travel Guide: Where to Eat, Stay and Play | Visit Gippsland Korumburra - Travel Victoria: accommodation & visitor guide Korumburra - Wikipedia Giant Gippsland earthworm - Wikipedia National Recovery Plan for the Giant Gippsland Earthworm Megascolides australis Megascolides australis — Giant Gippsland Earthworm Nautilus Live | Ocean Exploration Trust Inside abandoned Victorian wildlife park with decaying great white shark | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site for latest headlines Two Ticks Town Talk - Eugowra, New South Wales (from 20 Jun 2024) | Australia Talks Wikipedia - Australian anniversaries #Australian #Australia

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 00:07:33 – Defence strategy with NZ and the Solomon Islands 00:27:30 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Sorrento (Part 2), Victoria 00:47:56 – Australia's driverless future 01:20:30 – This week in Australian history 5-11 June 01:31:59 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Solomon Islands agrees to treaty negotiation with Australia - ABC News Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says New Zealand friendship is important to endure volatile world - ABC News Driverless taxi service Waymo could soon be coming to Sydney streets | 7NEWS Tesla to release most advanced version of its FSD Supervised in Australia Autonomous taxis will come to Australia, if this tech giant has its way Two Ticks Town Talk – Sorrento, Victoria (from 28 May 2026 Australia Talks) | Australia Talks William Buckley (convict) - Wikipedia Wadawurrung - Wikipedia William Buckley's escape | Ergo 29 Jan 1935 - COLONY OF VICTORIA - Trove Biography - William Buckley - Australian Dictionary of Biography Buckley and the Aborigines | Ergo William Buckley, National Portrait Gallery Buckley’s Chance - Queenscliffe Historical Museum The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Buckley, William - Wikisource, the free online library 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 00:05:44 – AUKUS update 00:38:50 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Australian submarine fleets 01:10:37 – Avoiding arrest by harvesting sea urchins 01:27:13 – This week in Australian history 30-31 May & 1-4 June 01:38:34 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Instead of Arresting Indigenous Fishermen, Australia Begins to Pay Them to Control Sea Urchin Plague NSW government funds Aboriginal-led south coast sea urchin enterprise with $1.48m grant - ABC News Defence Minister says Australia could still buy five US submarines under AUKUS - ABC News AUKUS partners unveil plan to develop underwater drones by 2027 - ABC News Australia has been the victim of an AUKUS ‘bait and switch’ AUKUS to develop unmanned undersea vehicles, delivery set for 2027 | Reuters Australia to receive second-hand submarines - Australian Defence Magazine Two Ticks Town Talk – HMQS Gayundah, Queensland (from 22 Apr 2026 Australia Talks) | Australia Talks Royal Australian Navy Submarine Force - Wikipedia HMAS AE1 - Wikipedia HMAS AE2 - Wikipedia J-class submarine - Wikipedia HMS J7 - Wikipedia HMAS Platypus (1917) - Wikipedia J Class Submarine in Royal Australian Navy service Not many marinas can boast a 100-year-old submarine, but this one does - ABC News J7 Submarine - Sandringham Yacht Club 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 00:00:38 – Croc watch 00:14:42 – Australians increasingly staying put when it comes to jobs and housing 00:34:35 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Sorrento, Victoria 01:01:21 – One Nation and a new Independents party 01:26:24 – This week in Australian history 22-28 May 01:36:03 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Two Ticks Town Talk – Bunbury, Western Australia (from 30 Apr 2026 Australia Talks) | Australia Talks Australians increasingly staying put when it comes to jobs and housing, economic data suggests - ABC News Moving to the country: Analysing regional migrant outcomes – e61 INSTITUTE Death of a Salesperson: The decline in self-employment in the 21st century – e61 INSTITUTE One Nation would become federal opposition if election held today, poll forecasts - ABC News Independent senator David Pocock won't rule out starting party of independents in response to One Nation - ABC News Independents confirm they are in talks to form alternative party - ABC News Settlement at Sullivan Bay | Ergo Sullivan Bay, Victoria - Wikipedia Collins 1803 Settlement | Nepean Historical Society Sorrento, Victoria - Wikipedia Sorrento, VIC - Aussie Towns 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 00:10:21 – 1 in 3 adults are illiterate 00:32:25 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Sandy Island, Australia 00:49:10 – ISIS brides in Australia 01:11:23 – This week in Australian history 15-21 May 01:22:39 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: More than 1 in 3 Australian adults are functionally illiterate. How can we fix this? Survey Participant Information - Survey of Adult Skills in Australia Introduction to a multi-tiered system of supports | Australian Education Research Organisation Read Write Now The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation | ALNF Adult Learning Australia Ltd - ala.asn.au ACAL Australian Council for Adult Literacy | supporting literacy and numeracy education for adults Welcome to the Reading Writing Hotline - Reading Writing Hotline Three ISIS-linked women arrested after arriving back in Australia from Syria via Doha - ABC News More ISIS-linked women and children set to return to Australia - ABC News ISIS brides' arrest in Australia prompts anger in Syrian camp - ABC News Hansard - House of Representatives 23/11/2022 Parliament of Australia The disappearing Sandy Island - Scientist may have the answer. Sandy Island, New Caledonia - Wikipedia South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist' - BBC News Sandy Island does exist - on a 1908 chart This floating pumice raft in the Pacific could help save the Great Barrier Reef 8209721222_740033147e_o.jpg 2,000×1,366 pixels 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 00:13:17 – The 2026 Budget, Part 1 00:55:22 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Cunnamulla, Queensland 01:20:04 – The 2026 Budget, Part 2 01:54:05 – This week in Australian history 8-14 May 02:03:51 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Federal budget 2026: Winners and losers - ABC News $250 tax break for millions of workers in federal budget 2026 - ABC News Economists divided on extent of property price hit from budget tax overhaul - ABC News Here's how federal budget negative gearing and capital gains tax changes will affect you - ABC News The budget we’ve been waiting for - Grattan Institute 2026–27 Budget speech, Parliament House, Canberra | Treasury Ministers Budget.gov.au | Budget 2026–27 Cunnamulla, QLD - Aussie Towns James Tyson - Wikipedia Biography - James Tyson - Australian Dictionary of Biography Outback Queensland Cunnamulla - Outback Queensland Cunnamulla - Wikipedia Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary Currawinya National Park | Parks and forests | Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation Outback Queensland Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary - Outback Queensland Bowra Sanctuary - Birds Queensland T.y.s.o.n. poem - Andrew Barton Paterson Cunnamulla Hot Springs | Discover Wellness Now Outback Queensland Currawinya National Park - Outback Queensland Currawinya National Park - Aussie Bushwalking 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 00:06:57 – PM Takaishi’s visit to Aus and the Trade agreement 00:27:58 – Two Ticks Town Talk – Yea, Victoria 00:49:40 – New fossil fuel exploration in Australia 01:14:02 – This week in Australian history 1-7 May 01:21:20 – XXXX bottle top quiz Sources: Takaichi visits Australia to bolster economic and defense ties - The Japan Times Australia and Japan sign agreements on energy, defence and critical minerals - ABC News Japan's 'Iron Lady' to visit Australia for PM talks | The Canberra Times | Canberra, ACT Queensland fast-tracks Australia’s first new oil province in 50 years Taroom Trough petroleum exploration | Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing and Regional and Rural Development Taroom Trough's oil field touted as solution to fuel security but no-one knows how much oil is there - ABC News Flora Fossil Site - Yea - DCCEEW Yea Fossil Time Path - Yea Wetlands Discovery Centre Yea and Yea Shire | Victorian Places Yea, Victoria - Wikipedia Baragwanathia - Wikipedia History - Town | Rotary Club of Yea 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 00:01:06 – 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