4BC Breakfast

Queensland Police has secured the extradition of a 54-year-old man from New Zealand who was arrested in connection with one of the state's biggest drug busts.

Back in 2019, 766kg of MDMA powder was seized in the same operation that also led to the interception of 200kg of methamphetamine in New Zealand.

Detective Superintendent Craig McGrath told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, "At the time, that amount of drugs accounted for approximately 70 per cent of the national consumption of MDMA."

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In North Queensland, the rain is slowly starting to ease and flood waters are subsiding which means the the mammoth clean-up is beginning.

The Federal Government has announced this morning that disaster loans have been activated for flood affected farmers, small businesses and not-for-profits, but they will have to pay interest.

Peter Fegan has slammed the government for charging interest on disaster loans for flood-impacted farmers.

Federal Minister for Emergency Management Senator, Jenny McAllister told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, "It's a really modest rate of interest, it's usually around two per cent."

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Listen to 4BC Breakfast with Peter Fegan weekdays from 5.30am-9am.

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Australian Neo Nazi’s are thriving on Social Media thanks to Elon Musk providing them a platform on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Shadow Home Affairs Minister Senator James Patterson told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, "I think a lot of young lives are being harmed when people don't know any better and they are looking for meaning in their life, and they fall into crews like this."

"We should make that process as hard as possible, not as easy as possible, to divert them from those pathways."

"Hopefully they grow up and grow out of it and lead normal lives like everyone else."

"Right now, there's a bill before the Parliament to make our federal incitement to violence laws fit for purpose, because they're not," Senator Patterson said.

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Federal parliament resumes today with two of the major topics being antisemitism and the Coalition's decision to splash $250 million on a long lunch.

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, "Anyone who takes Jim Chalmers seriously as our Treasurer really needs to reconsider their judgment of people."

"If people can say that they're better off now than they were three years ago under Treasurer Jim Chalmers, then I'd like to hear the story, because most families I speak to are struggling to pay bills and struggling to keep their heads above water."

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Listen to 4BC Breakfast with Peter Fegan weekdays from 5.30am-9am.

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Peter Fegan has ripped into Sam Kerr on 4BC Breakfast after new evidence came to light following the start of the Matildas and Chelsea star's racial harassment trial.

Peter Fegan said, "What did Football Australia know, what did Sam Kerr tell Football Australia and where is Football Australia this morning?"

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The Redlands City Council has prohibited the driving of vehicles onto bathing reserves meaning Hey Gelati Man, which has been in operation for 40 years, cannot sell ice-cream on the beach.

Deb Bliss told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, "They contacted my ex-partner and he contacted me to say that I wasn't allowed to go on the beach, that I had to hand the key back in."

"So, I put in an application for them to look at it and said, can we reach an agreement and they denied that."

"Then I put in a formal review and that was denied as well," Deb Bliss said.

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Local government employed 213,500 people nationally last financial year with the total wages bill rising 7.3 per cent to $16.4 billion.

Australia has 537 local councils with 77 in Queensland.

Lobby Group Council Watch President Dean Hurlston told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, "The more we've been digging into what councils are spending your money on, our hard-earned ratepayers' money on, what we find is that the vast majority are pen-pushers."

"We keep getting asked for these exorbitant rate rises every year and all we keep doing is paying more but seeing less."

"We don't see our streets as clean as they were, we see potholes everywhere."

"We see problems that council's no longer fixing, but the bureaucracy, well, it's just ballooning and the fat cats are earning massive salaries, bigger than those in state and federal government," Dean Hurlston said.

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North Queensland is currently in the middle of catastrophic floods and dire conditions which don't look like easing.

Ingham has received over 400 millimetres of rain in the past 24 hours, leading to major flooding along the Herbert River. 

The collapse of the Ollera Creek Bridge on the Bruce Highway has isolated Ingham, complicating the delivery of essential supplies. 

Member for Hinchinbrook Nick Dametto told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, "I would say every one of those insurance companies right now that are considering their fiscal position on a natural disaster that's really ripped the lives apart of North Queenslanders, we'll be watching you very closely over the next couple of days."

"We go for years without insurance claims up here in North Queensland, so when we do need your help, we'll be turning to you and if you aren't there to help out insurance companies, we'll be after you."

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