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Michael is joined by Andrew Rule, Associate Editor of the Herald Sun Newspaper, who wrote yesterday that ‘dodgy parlours are as common as abandoned shopping trolleys in the Boroondara municipality, which has a town hall as big as the Taj Mahal and one of the biggest police stations in Melbourne.’

 

‘But it seems policing massage parlours isn’t easy. Given the tricky legalities of proving what goes on behind closed doors, it’s easier to let sleeping dogs lie their heads off.’

 

‘It’s the same all over. Police and council by-laws officers would rather turn a blind eye to the bleeding obvious than risk an unhappy ending in court. When it comes to policing a grey area, it’s easier for the thin blue line to give red lights a green light.’

Michael speaks to Ruth Wilson, balloonist, adventurer & ‘Bicentennial Balloon Challenge’ director, who is working on a gas balloon race across Australia next year similar to the 1988 Bicentennial Balloon Challenge, which saw 78 balloons travel from Perth to Sydney to celebrate 200 years since the landing of the first British settlers. .

 

Her goal is to organise a hydrogen balloon race across our country and though the event is still in the planning stages, says there will be stopovers in regional towns which have yet to be decided.

 

Ms Wilson has been involved with both forms of ballooning - hot air since 1975 - gas ballooning since 1985 in Switzerland... representing Australia in the Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon race in 1999 from Albuquerque USW and again in 2018 from Bern Switzerland.

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Michael is joined by Craig Kelly MP, Liberal Member for Hughes & Committee Chair of the inquiry into illicit tobacco, who says it’s clear that while the cigarette excise increases were helping to drive down smoking rates, they had also encouraged criminals into the sector.

"The history of smuggling for hundreds of years is, if you put a tax on something, then you encourage people to smuggle," he said.

"The biggest cheer whenever excise goes up comes from the organised criminals."

Michael is joined by travel commentator / Co-founder of Australian Traveller & International Traveller, about Australian holiday-makers now able to snap up last-minute cruise bargains as some of the world’s biggest ships divert to Australian waters in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

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Michael is joined by Peter Cochran, Former Member for Monaro & owner/operator of Cochran Horse Treks, about the decision to remove about 4,000 feral horses from Kosciuszko national as part of an emergency response to protect the alpine ecosystem after devastating bushfires.

 

The NSW government says relocation will be the priority, but will not rule out some brumbies may be killed during the largest removal of horses in the park's history

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