Wake Up Australia

Listen to the full show podcast with Michael McLaren.

Michael talks to Darren Davis, Snowy Hydro Engineer, about the construction of the Snowy Hydro scheme which commenced 70 years ago this week.

As a means of offsetting the disastrous effects of droughts, the concept of diverting water from some of Australia’s best-known rivers – the Murray, Murrumbidgee, Snowy and Tumut Rivers – dates back as far as the 1880s.  

However, it was not until 1944 that a committee of Commonwealth and State representatives was formed to examine, from a broad, national viewpoint, the development of the water resources of the Snowy Mountains area.

On July 7 1949, the Commonwealth Parliament passed The Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Power Act 1949, which established the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority, the operating body of the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

Construction started on the Scheme on 17 October 1949, when the Governor-General, Sir William McKell, Prime Minister Ben Chifley and William Hudson fired the first blast at Adaminaby.

Construction was completed in 1974, for a total historical cost (funded by Commonwealth Government advances) of $820 million.

Listen to the full show podcast with Michael Mclaren

Michael talks to Jim Toohey, Chair of Carers Australia Queensland, about National Carers Week which is dedicated to acknowledging and celebrating carers in Australia.

 

Running from Sunday 13th through to Saturday 19th October, National Carers Week is about recognising the outstanding contribution unpaid carers make to our nation.

 

There are over 2.7 million family and friend carers in Australia providing 36 million hours of care and support every week to a family member or friend who has a disability, mental illness, drug and/or alcohol dependency, chronic condition, terminal illness or who is frail.

 

Anyone at any time can become a carer. National Carers Week is an opportunity to educate and raise awareness among all Australians about the diversity of carers and their caring roles.

Listen to the full show podcast with Michael Mclaren

Michael is joined by Michael Kaine, Transport Workers Union National Secretary, about the union’s survey of 67 Uber Eats drivers in Sydney, Melbourne and Geelong that shows some on-demand food delivery drivers have been pushed to the brink of homelessness.

 

It follows changes to Uber Eats’ delivery system, which TWU claims saw cyclists and scooter-riders preferred over drivers, which has in turn driven a fall in delivery volume for drivers and subsequently their pay.

 

Uber Eats drivers saw their pay fall by half from $26.70 an hour to $13.90 on average, according to TWU.

Listen to the full show podcast with Michael Mclaren

James Ha, an associate at the Grattan Institute joins Michael to discuss the institute’s latest report that says a congestion charge should be introduced in Australia’s largest cities.

 

Their analysis also finds that the people who commute to the Melbourne and Sydney CBDs by driving are two to three times as likely to earn six-figure salaries as other Australian workers.

 

One of the main concerns about charging drivers who use the busiest roads at the busiest times has been about fairness.

 

But sensible congestion charges could be designed to avoid burdening financially vulnerable people who lack alternatives to using particular roads at busy times.

Michael talks to Andrew Melrose, co-owner operator of Live Reptile Displays & Shire snake catcher, for some expert advice regarding the huge, freshly-shed boa constrictor skin found at a construction site in western Sydney.

 

The state government have advised locals that biosecurity officers were “currently working to locate and capture the animal”.

 

The warning letter to resident in the area says… “NSW government has reason to believe there is an adult boa constrictor snake ‘at large’ in or around the Cascades Estate.”

 

“A freshly shed snake skin was found at a property on Torumba Circuit on 9 October 2019, NSW government is in the process of trying to locate and capture the animal and is requesting the residents be on the lookout for it and to report any sightings.”

Listen to the full show podcast with Michael Mlaren