Opinion: Triple M’s Jay and Dave talk Mackay issues in the Daily Mercury

With the masks mandate and the latest news and stats on the omicron variant, I feel Covid is just another topic for families to discuss around the table this Christmas, writes Jay Shipston.

Jay: Saturday is the big day. Plans are in place for Christmas, check, presents, check, food list fulfilled, check, drinks, check... I’m missing something?

Hmmm oh yes, the mass text message to my family and friends to ask if they have been double vaccinated before coming over for Christmas.

Before you allow your opinion to fall out at me, no it’s not something I have done, but believe it or not, there are families in Mackay who have done just as I mentioned.

Text the family to see where they are in the vaccination statistics to decide if it is safe for them to attend.

Families have been divided by the vaccine since the pandemic began.

But where is the line? Do you set the boundaries by asking the unvaxed to not attend? Or do you welcome them with open and socially distanced arms? It’s a tough one, isn’t it?

I have some friends whose family members refuse to have the vaccination, which is absolutely their choice, but how do they as a close-knit family, allow them to attend a family get-together when they have high-risk individuals also attending the same party.

One has a respiratory issue, three are elderly and immune-compromised.

On the flip side of this scenario, do you just risk it and have every man and their dog at the party (like the good old days) and hope for the best?

Whether you are part of the majority (vaccinated) or the minority (very loud unvaccinated) we have to agree, that this is a very strange situation we all find ourselves in.

Friends and families are being divided on their vaxstatus.

Now with the re-introduction of masks and the latest news and stats on the omicron variant gaining momentum, I feel it’s just added another topic for families to discuss around the table this Christmas.

No doubt it will be spoken about and there will be opinions flying around like the bad jokes you get from your bonbons.

Christmas is always a stressful time for some.

It’s the time of the year that we all get together, have a few ales with members of the family we haven’t seen all year (some people we haven’t seen for a couple of years due to the pandemic), and instead of disagreeing on politics, religion, sports teams and which is the best TV show, the vaccine will take place at the most spoken about and argued topic this year.

No matter where you sit on the vax status maybe we just be a little tolerant of each other, and the choices we have made.

If you do have a barney, no kissing and making up. Social distanced air hugs only.

Dave: There’s been a lot of, well let’s call them “abrasive discussions”, on a lot of public Facebook pages the past few weeks.

These relate to the state government’s public health and social measures linked to vaccination status coming into play on December 17.

If you’ve been living under a rock, here’s a basic overview: from today, pubs, clubs, taverns, bars, restaurants, cafes and fast food outlets, any indoor entertainment venues including cinemas and nightclubs, outdoor places such as stadiums and footy games (all codes) and even the showgrounds have the chance to go back to full capacity, but only allowing fully vaccinated people.

In other words, you’re going to need to show your Covid-19 digital certificate, unless you have a medical exemption and a way to prove such.

Which honestly, sucks.

We have a hell of a lot of freedoms in Australia (and especially Queensland) with what we can do. As Aussies, we like to get out and catch up with mates.

We love going out to dinner with the family.

We love going to cheer on our favourite team or connecting with others over coffee.

With those freedoms though, do come responsibilities.

It’s the responsibility of the pub, club, cinema, or other venues to provide us all with a clean, safe, and healthy place for us all to enjoy our time out of the house.

But it’s also our responsibility to play by the rules.

You can’t go into a club not wearing a shirt, or thongs after a certain time of the day.

You’ve got to drink responsibly as well or you’re asked to leave. It’s all a part of the normal process.

With these new rules, it’s going to take some time to adjust.

Just like what I’m seeing on a lot of Facebook pages right now with unvaxxed people saying “well I’m never going to that place again,” the exact same thing happened when mandatory no smoking in nightclubs was introduced in December 2006.

From personal experience, while working in clubs, there was an uproar, and people argued with staff.

And this is where I’m heading, with a simple message:

Don’t pick a fight with staff at pubs, clubs, cinemas, etc - it’s not their fault.

I’m sure you feel victimised by your choice (and I want to stress I’m not being judgmental).

I’m feeling sorry for the staff who are going to have to deal with the fallout of all this because from what happened in the past it got quite nasty at times. Here comes the “new” new norm.

Media personalities Jay Shipston and Dave Peters are Triple M brekky host for Mackay and Whitsundays alongside.

Let festive spirit guide actions as borders reopen, families unite

Jay: Finally, the words we have all wanted to hear.

The borders will be reopened on Monday after being closed for the majority of the year with strict criteria to get into Queensland.

With just 15 days until Christmas Day, it’s the words a lot of families in Mackay have been wanting to hear, so they can finally spend some time with their loved ones again.

I’ve been lucky to have my Mum and some of my relatives close by throughout the pandemic so far.

But for others, it has been devastatingly hard.

On the breakfast show, we have heard from listeners who haven’t been able to meet their grandchildren or attend funerals of loved ones.

Some have even resorted to sneaking through the closed borders to try and see their family, only to be caught and slapped with fines and fighting the law.

This is the desperation that some of our community has had to endure. Heartbreaking.

With the reopening, there seems to be a lot of hoops to jump through just to be together again.

Is this the “new normal” that we keep hearing about?

Santa and reindeers have gone up out the front of the North Mackay Ambulance Station to celebrate the 2021 festive season. Picture: Rae Wilson

If it means seeing your family again, although not convenient, I don’t know too many who wouldn’t do it.

Would you? We have been warned that when the borders open we will see, without doubt, an increase of Covid cases in Mackay and the Whitsundays.

Does that mean more lockdowns or more restrictions for the sunshine state, and now with the Omicron variant to add to the mix?

Whatever happens in the future, one thing this whole Covid situation has taught us these past two years is to be present in every moment, enjoy the time with our families (if we are lucky enough to be together), our friends and be flexible with an ever-changing situation.

While I’ve just penned how excited most people would be with the gates opening to Queensland again, there will be some in our community who will still be without families this Christmas due to financial changes, jobs lost, mandates preventing different situations, etc.

Please look out for these people, invite them in.

Buy them a gift to make their Christmas just as special as it will be for the rest of us.

“Covid-19” was something that we had never heard of three years ago, and now it’s something that none of us can escape.

It has certainly divided the community as a whole and globally.... let’s not let it affect another Christmas.

Media personality Jay Shipston is a Triple M brekky host for Mackay and Whitsundays alongside Dave Peters.

Cartoonist Harry Bruce’s take on George Christensen’s appearance on far-right US chat show.

Spare a thought for our cane farmers as deluge drowns hopes

Dave: The amount of wet weather we’ve seen this week has been amazing, no doubt about it. Many of those who grew up around Mackay were reminded of how the beginning of the wet season used to be.

Many on Facebook reminisced about how it used to be, which is great – looking back at our childhood with fond memories is how it should be.

And I think we can all agree we certainly could do with a little more rain – just not as much as earlier this week in such a small amount of time.

Many, though, were reminded of the 2008 floods.

Sure, this week wasn’t as severe, but it had a few of us on edge that if the rain didn’t slow down a little we could see a repeat of the devastation that ravaged our unique paradise.

This week was also a timely reminder of where we live – it’s absolutely stunning, but it can sometimes come with a bite.

The number of flooded roads (and the foolish among us who run the risk of driving through those roads) is part and parcel of what makes Mackay, well, Mackay.

We complain about how long it takes to get to work or how we can’t get the kids to school on time.

Not going to lie, it was one of those days on Monday that was just blah – all you want to really do is stay at home, watch Netflix and eat comfort food.

But what we had to endure on that rainy day is nothing compared to the plight of the sugar cane farmers.

Cartoonist Harry Bruce takes a light-hearted look at Mackay's crushing season delays.

This year the wet weather came at an awful time.

And Jay and I were reminded how the rain affects the crop that Mackay is world famous for.

A mutual friend commented on their Facebook page, “well, that’s the end of crushing season”.

Before you say “here they go, complaining again”, I want you to think about it for a second.

How would you feel if you basically got paid once a year, and whatever you sold was cut down to about a quarter or a third of what you worked your backside off to achieve? You’d be gutted, right?

I feel for our cane farmers. It’s a bloody tough gig working on the land and for a drenching to come through like it did and finish your season halfway through would hurt.

So spare a thought for them, and let’s hope for a little more rain – but not too much.

And let’s hope the cane farmers can get a little more out of this crushing season.

Media personality Dave Peters is a Triple M brekky host for Mackay and Whitsundays alongside Jay Shipston.

Graduates, stay true to your dreams of what you want to do

Jay: Congratulations to the class of 2021 graduates. School is finally over. Hooray. Now what?

It’s something these young people have no doubt, been thinking about for the past few years.

What will I do after school finishes? It’s also a question some of their family and friends would have asked them.

It’s a lot of pressure, and the pressure I had felt when I graduated in 1997.

For me, I always wanted to work in radio and television – I knew as a 6-year-old when I was given a transistor radio.

I was fascinated by it and constantly asked my mum, “how can I do what the man is doing on the radio”.

To some, it was a “phase” I was going through. Just like the “magician” phase and many others. But radio stuck with me. When I was 16 I volunteered at a local radio station because I was so obsessed with the art of broadcasting.

A few years later I had a number of family members ask me why I was still doing little bits of radio work and working a full-time job at a fast-food joint.

I replied with, “Because it is my passion and something I want to do in my life”.

I was met with comments like, “If you were any good, you would have a full-time job in radio now”.

Cruel, huh? But I used that negativity to put myself ­
through radio school and took little radio jobs here in there to get my skills up.

If I can offer some advice to the graduating class, it’s this. Don’t listen to anyone but yourself.

Now, before parents and relatives come at me, you have to remember these young people have to live their own lives in a job they want to succeed in.

Yep, there will have to be some side work/jobs to keep living and there will be failures along the way. There will also be negative comments thrown at them and their choices. I know there are “radio pros” who listen to what I do and judge heavily.

But that’s not any of my business.

I get paid to do what I love, and the opinions of others mean nothing to me.

If I had my time over, I would love nothing more than the people closest to me supporting me in what I wanted to do for my career.

Good luck to you all. I’m in your corner.

Media personality Jay Shipston is a Triple M brekky host for Mackay and Whitsundays alongside Dave Peters.

Let the festivities be spread across the entire community

Christmas. The word alone reminds you of so many things: time spent with family or close friends, laughs and good times, and the sparkle in children’s eyes when they open their presents.

At least for most of us.

The word Christmas also strikes fear in some of us struggling to make ends meet at the best of times.

Putting a roof over the kid’s head and food on the table week in week out, and then adding the stress of presents and the array of food that comes with the traditional Christmas lunch or dinner, it can play on your mind.

Even if you try to scale it back as much as possible, you don’t want your children to miss out on the magic of Christmas Day.

Maybe you’ve been in that situation in the past.

I bet now that you’ve recovered, there’s a tendency to go a little overboard with the gifts and food – like you’re attempting to make up for those times where there wasn’t enough?

Jay and I have been urging both people and businesses to donate to the Triple M Toy Drive Appeal for the past 11 years and this year is no different.

Porters Mitre 10 have been helping us out over those years and they are more than happy to help out again.

Christmas is a special time of year, especially for kids. To take that away because a family has fallen on hard times is something both of us can’t let happen.

The Salvos, especially, would tell you each year they see more and more families that need a helping hand. I didn’t know this until I was an adult, but my mother worked double shifts in a factory for a month leading into the festive season.

This was in the 1980s, when mortgage interest rates hovered between 13 and 15 per cent a year.

Us kids had no idea what our parents had to do to make sure we had the sparkle in our eye on the morning of December 25.

Now, more than ever, we need to help each other out. And from what we have experienced in the past, Mackay and the Whitsundays are a giving bunch.

Last year, all of us raised more than $65,000 worth of presents. This year, we would love to see that amount of generosity again.

If you’re a business and wish to donate, Jay and I will buy the presents on your behalf if you can’t get away from work to join us.

But just a simple act of putting one or two extra gifts in the shopping basket on a personal level and then placing it under one of the Porters Mitre 10 Christmas trees goes to the cause.

You may not meet the child or family you’ve helped bring happiness to, but put yourself in their shoes – if someone did this for you in your hour of need, you, too, would feel eternally grateful.

There’s no drama when you’re blessed with nice neighbours

Neighbours. Yep, it’s a TV show we have been seeing on our screens since the ’80s, with lots of twists and turns and story plots that make us say out loud, “That wouldn’t even happen in real life.”

You’re probably asking, “Like what, Jay?”

I’m not talking about the constant affairs or annual car crashes that threaten to take the life of one of the main stalwarts of the street.

I’m talking about the nice stuff, like borrowing a cup of sugar, or having someone take in and out your rubbish bins, etc. Right? Right!?!

Is it just me, or am I one of the very lucky people in Mackay and the Whitsundays who likes their own neighbours?

I won’t name them, because I respect their privacy, but that’s why I like them.

They respect me as much as I do them.

I went through a relationship break-up a few years ago and I remember having a ready-made meal waiting for me on the front porch.

I’ve come home to homemade sauces for me.

Birthday presents and Christmas presents.

Our circle of neighbours always looks out for each other.

When we have incoming storms, we have contacted each other to let the other know and, even if my dogs are barking a lot, I have received a message to let me know.

I think that’s what’s missing in most neighbourhoods.

Communication and respect.

I always dreaded moving into a street where you fight with your neighbours and end up in an episode of A Current Affair about “streets that clash”.

Why do we Aussies have such issues with people who live just metres away?

Not all of us, but a lot. So here is my challenge to you.

If you don’t know your neighbours, now is a perfect time to get to know them.

Christmas is just around the corner. Reach out and have a chat, get to know them.

You honestly never know when you’re going to need someone to bring in your bins, or someone to borrow a cup of sugar from.

To my neighbours, I hope you read this.

I thank you for being tolerant with my 3am starts, my grass, which isn’t as green and sexy as yours, and I’m sorry that my dogs feel the need to let the whole region know when I arrive home.

I guess that’s why they say, “That’s when good neighbours become good … friends.”

Harry Bruce's cartoon. Daily Mercury November 5 2021 edition. Picture: Harry Bruce

Let’s rock the world with our wonderful paradise

Yeehaw baby, we are on the cusp of the Queensland border being opened back up again and with that brings all the tourists into the Whitsundays as well as Mackay.

You can feel the excitement – it’s like a shot of electricity into the industries that have been struggling for like feels an eternity.

December 17 can’t come
around soon enough – what a Christmas present!

Unfortunately, it’s not in time to bring in the followers for great live music and festival lovers.

The Airlie Beach Festival of Music kicks off on Friday to limited numbers because of Covid-related social distance measures, and there’s been a change needed to the line-up of bands and artists because the border closure meant it was too hard to come here.

What a shame because there were some seriously good live bands on their way.

But Butto and his team have done a fantastic job of securing the artists who can make it!

But let’s start looking at the bigger picture – how can we get more of the international bands and artists to come to Mackay and the Whitsundays?

Surely we’ve shown over the past few years that Mackay and the Whitsundays can mix it with the creme de la creme of locations on the world stage?

We were all blown away when KISS, one of the biggest rock acts, decided to bring their 2013 Monster tour, along with two fantastic bands in support with the likes of Motley Crue and Thin Lizzy, to Mackay?

Sure we don’t have the biggest stadium but we had more than 12,000 there at what was then called Virgin Australia Stadium.

KISS lead singer Paul Stanley was asked by the Daily Mercury crew why on Earth would you play in Mackay? His exact words: “Mackay is going to show you that size doesn’t matter.”

Then, 17,000 Elton John fans had one the best nights Mackay and the Whitsundays has seen during his Yellow Brick Road tour in 2017.

And there was a strong showing from intrastate and interstate visitors to the region.

That meant money for local accommodation, cafes, bars and restaurants.

Plus, the whole town got into the spirit with Wood St blocked off the next day for a full day of fun.

Here’s a thought: How good would it look on the big screen if someone like the Red Hot Chili Peppers or the Foo Fighters played on one of the larger Whitsunday islands to more than 20,000 people with the beach in the background and the sun going down on a balmy Saturday night?

How good would that paint as a promotional video to the rest of the world?

We’ve shown we can mix it with the best. We’ve done it with big acts in the past.

We smashed it out of the ballpark with the NRL games here recently. Now two questions need to be asked: 1) who is the biggest artist in the world; and, 2) who do we speak to, to get them to play in Mackay and the Whitsundays.

Media personalities Dave Peters and Jay Shipston are
Triple M brekky hosts for Mackay and Whitsundays. They are also game-day hosts for North Queensland Cowboys home games in Townsville.

Harry Bruce's cartoon. Daily Mercury November 5 2021 edition. Picture: Harry Bruce

Trick or treat, or fun police? The reality of ’Aussie’ traditions

Dave says: Halloween is becoming more and more popular in Australia each and every year.

It’s a bit of fun mainly geared towards kids, but parents and adults are getting into the spirit.

Jay and I have both been celebrating since the 1980s. Trick or Treat – there’s no harm, right?

Well that depends on who you talk to.

There are quite a few people that say Halloween is an American tradition not Australian.

I’m not going to debate you on the fact Halloween comes from Celtic and Pagan origins in Ireland and Scotland.

But I WILL say this: Australia doesn’t have any unique traditions.

Australia Day is only 83 years old – and it’s not celebrating when Australia was discovered by Europeans!

Think of all the Christmas traditions. They aren’t ours, those are all imported.

Decorating the Christmas tree with tinsel and baubles comes from Germany. Funnily enough, so does Santa Claus.

Cartoonist Harry Bruce’s take on Halloween.

Seeing him dressed in red is a Coca-Cola tradition (he was originally in a green suit).

The tradition of having Boxing Day after Christmas Day started in England – servants in the Middle Ages had to work Christmas Day so they had the next day off (the box part of the tradition was them receiving money for a job well done the day before).

The only two things we can really lay claim to is eating prawns on Christmas Day and Carols By Candlelight (a radio promotion from Melbourne that has stuck with us).

What about Easter? Another occasion marked in Australia.

The religious break is to acknowledge the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The Easter Bunny tradition comes from Germany where the bunny would drop coloured eggs in nests and they would make pastries in the shape of the bunny.

If you want to say Halloween is an American tradition well you’d better stop eating chocolate eggs at Easter – that comes from America too!

At the end of the day, Halloween is here to stay.

It’s just a bit of fun and the kids (and adults) to dress up and score some lollies -does it really matter where the tradition comes from?

Christmas turkeys? Well, it depends on who you agree with

Jay says: Don’t yell at me, but including today (Friday), there are ONLY 10 Fridays until Christmas!!! This means any week now, we will be hearing “All I want for Christmas is you” on repeat at Mount Pleasant and Caneland shopping centres!

Now hear me out, these past 18 months have been the toughest time for a lot of people, not just here in Mackay and the Whitsundays, but around the world.

This is why I think Christmas needs to be celebrated early and more ferociously this year! Agree? I know you do!

Of course, we are all looking forward to seeing families again, but who doesn’t like a good fruit mince tart, a juicy fat mango, some Christmas drinks with friends and presents!!

I don’t know why we have so many grinches in our region.

We have so much to be thankful for and yet I hear so often “It’s too early to celebrate Christmas” – Says who???!!!

Where is that rule book? Bring it to me and I will burn it because if anything we need right now, it’s a lot of Christmas cheer!

I know Dave will disagree with everything I have written, so it’s over to you grinch!

Dave says:

Damn straight I’m gonna disagree with you Jay! Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas – but I prefer to start the celebrations on the first day of Advent, December 1. It’s not only tradition, I just don’t want to shortchange any other part of the year.

If you’re so gung-ho on starting Christmas early, you might as well start straight after Easter!

I personally feel that it just takes away that magic of waiting until the end of the year if we drag things out to November and, god-forbid, October to put up decorations and crack out the Michael Buble CD.

It dilutes the potency of the celebration of the occasion. Two months or more of Merry Christmas tinsel thrown around the house or office just makes it all just … blah … If you start celebrating Christmas early by a couple of months, come December you’re already sick of seeing the decorations and the music played in the shops!

To me, if you start setting up your lights and tree early just feeds into the entire commercialisation of Christmas.

The supermarkets crank out the fruit mince pies in May and even though we get angry about it all – people still buy them at that time of the year!

And as for Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You – even Mariah Carey is sick of Mariah Carey.

Can we get a few uniquely-Aussie Christmas carols please?

Jay and Dave open up on mental health to get us all talking

Jay and Dave always start the conversation, and this week they want you to speak up and reach out.

They have had their struggles so never feel you’re alone.

Jay says:

Run for MI Life is back for 2021 and it’s a charity and an event that I wholeheartedly support!

Walking or running with a group of people and starting conversations while doing so can be the start to working on your mental health issues.

“How would you know, you have a very easy life – You have had everything handed to you” is a comment that was said to me just a few weeks ago, when I suggested that I have had some draining weeks this year.

Well to respond to that comment, I would know a lot about mental health issues. I was within seconds of ending my own life in the early 2000s.

I was not in a great place at all.

Fast forward to 2021 and I’m in a much better place, stronger and happier. I have been open about my struggles with mental health over the years, and the reason I have been, is to make it less confronting for those who have had their own battles and make it easier to talk about.

One problem in your life can really affect your mental health, yet that same issue might be looked at by someone else as something that doesn’t even need thinking about.

Mental health issues don’t discriminate, and neither should we be against those who are struggling.

Dave says:

Is it tough to talk about our own mental health? It sure is.

But it’s important to acknowledge that you’re not perfect – nobody is.

There’s been a couple of moments over the years where I haven’t been the best.

Only a few years ago the whole world just became numb. I wasn’t myself, far from it.

But the worst I’ve ever been was after the disintegration of the marriage.

Being a guy, we feel we need to be the “fixer” of things.

But some things you can’t, and that’s where the bottle became my toxic friend.

It was so bad if it wasn’t for the housemate at the time coming home I’m not too sure if I’d be here to write this.

Even after all this time, it’s still kinda raw. That’s where I’ll leave the story.

Life can be tough and although there is still a stigma to showing your weaknesses as a guy, the more we acknowledge and talk about mental health the less of a taboo subject it becomes.

And it’s dedicated people like Jo Shanks from Run For MI Life, who has turned her own pain of losing her brother to help others in a positive way.

So, if you haven’t registered to be a part of Sunday’s event – do so.

You may or may not have gone through your own personal struggle, but you’re helping others you may never meet.

Daylight saving debate is back, just like clockwork

Jay says:

Mackay, am I in the minority?

Surely not?!

I lived in Victoria for a few years and the time difference threw me right out of whack!

Let alone the curtains, they faded, the cow’s schedules were all over the place, but at least the kids all had an hour extra to play at night time.

Right? Agree?

Well, if you do, you should join the other southerners because I still believe that Queensland would be against the introduction of daylight saving if we had to vote again, as we did in 1992 after a three-year trial.

As a result of that vote, 54.5 per cent said “no thanks”.

What does it have to offer?

Yep, our tourist operators might have an extra hour of sunlight, and the kids can play sports until 8pm, but are those good reasons to change our clocks forward?

No way!

I will agree that the time difference is confusing between us and the others.

If anyone should change, it should be the other states to bring their clocks in line with us.

They already do it for half the year.

It is more of an inconvenience for us to change for them.

As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

Dave says:

The thought of cow’s schedules being all over the place is an absurd reason not to have daylight saving – have you ever seen one cow say to the other, “Hey Frank, I’m all over the shop because the sun is up at a different time on my watch”?

Seriously, there’s still the same number of hours in the day, it’s not like they have short-changed our time to sleep.

It’s a trade-off – more time with darkness in the morning and a little extra time in the afternoon with sunshine (to either do more family-based activities, walk the dog, whatever you’d like to do).

Fading curtains? Seriously?

They will still fade, regardless!

But what it WILL do is put us here in Queensland in line with the rest of the country, either for business purposes or whatever.

How odd is it that it’s knock-off time half an hour early in Adelaide before it is in Airlie Beach?

It doesn’t make sense – especially on a Friday afternoon!

It’s time we got with the times and introduced daylight saving for one very important reason – who the hell wants to be woken

up on a Sunday morning by the sun?

Media personalities Dave Peters and Jay Shipston are Triple M brekky hosts for Mackay and Whitsundays. They are also game-day hosts for North Queensland Cowboys home games in Townsville.

Private health cover: Is it really worth the extra cost?

Recently Jay and I have been discussing private health insurance.

Is it worth it or is it wasting money when we have medical services free of charge in Australia?

Here are the stats: almost 53 per cent of Aussies have private health insurance, while 44 per cent of all of us have hospital cover.

We’ve been taught that we need to cover ourselves just in case something goes wrong.

And we are rewarded with tax incentives to keep it going through the Medicare rebate come tax time.

But how often have you really needed it and when you do, have you ever been caught out without the right cover?

In the past, I was out of pocket $7500 because it wasn’t covered.

Yes, a mistake thinking I was covered I know, and learned a big lesson.

That was just the once since the age of 21 and I’m still paying high premiums just like everyone else because it is meant to be the right thing to do.

But is it really? Channel 7 Sunrise host and economist David Koch is on the record as saying it is cheaper, in the long run, to set up an account with the bank and put the money you would normally spend on premiums into that account for any health-related issues that would not normally be covered by Medicare (we aren’t talking about the GP visits).

Australia’s public health care is some of the best in the world.

Sure, there are long waiting times for non-life-threatening surgery like a hip replacement or a cataract operation.

But at least we aren’t paying to have an operation to save our life (like in some of the states in America).

On the positive side though, private health gives us choice.

A choice to have surgery in a private hospital where the waiting times for elective surgery are a lot shorter, with the doctor of your choice.

But the big tick, for me, is extras cover – especially dental and optical.

To have private health insurance or run the risk if, god forbid, something happens?

The premiums are expensive but for me, the older I get the more I think it’s good to have it as a backup plan – just in case.

Media personality Dave Peters is a Triple M brekky host with Jay Shipston for Mackay and Whitsundays. They are also game-day hosts for NQ Cowboys home games in Townsville.

What happens to me when I pass away? Who will organise my funeral?

Death! What a way to start this week’s column.

But as they say — though I don’t know who ‘they’ are — death is as certain as taxes. And it’s true!

Is it just me, or is there already so much to think about?

What happens to me when I pass away? Who will organise my funeral?

Who will make sure my wishes are upheld? Wait! Do I even have a funeral plan yet?

So many things to think about for an event that I won’t even be here to celebrate.

Well, it just got even trickier.

Whitsunday Funerals owner Jeff Boyle has revealed he has created a gentle option as an alternative to burials or cremations — ‘The Gentle Way’.

He says it is a zero-pollution service using DNA from corpses to create rich plant memories. While that sounds amazing for the environment, I still don’t know what I would choose to do.

I don’t like bugs, so burial is off the table.

I’ve never liked the heat, so cremation … No thanks!

I’m also not great with water, so being placed in a basket and into a pressurised water-filled chamber with lye (a caustic liquid commonly used to make soap) still hasn’t helped me make a decision on my final resting location.

I’m just about to turn 41 and I know a lot of my friends and family have organised their final wishes.

I feel like I am the only one who hasn’t put any thought into what I would like to happen when it’s “my time”.

You see it on the telly in the lunchtime advertorials, these couples so over-the-top happy that they have taken out their final plans and made the tough decisions that their family would otherwise have to make.

I’m flat out making a decision at the McDonald’s drive-through when I get a meal on the run. I get “food regret”.

So how am I to make a decision on my remains and where I am going to be placed for the rest of eternity?

This all comes down to star signs and being a Libran is the worst for making decisions, as you have read.

So this is a shout-out to you Jeff Boyle from Whitsundays Funerals. Thank you.

No, honestly, thank you for making me have to think about just another option in a world of already too many options to choose from.

I just don’t want to suffer from “final resting place regret”. Ha!

Media personality Jay Shipston is a Triple M brekky host with Dave Peters for Mackay and Whitsundays. They are also game-day hosts for NQ Cowboys home games in Townsville.

It’s time to admit our approach to youth crime is not working

Is it just us or do kids these days not know the boundaries?

Although the rate of youth crime in Mackay and the Whitsundays isn’t as bad as in other parts of the country (in fact in Queensland it’s at a 10-year low), we really need to look at the underlying problems we face today.

The State Government began a “hard-line” crackdown earlier this year on repeat young offenders.

It was meant to address this issue and implement strategies to filter through to other regions, but as yet we haven’t seen anything come of it – have you?

It’s not the rate that is the problem, its repeat offenders, with one in 10 committing half the crimes. They know the rules and how to play the system.

Did you know it is not a criminal offence to breach bail? We did not up until a few weeks ago.

This week there was an attack on a young woman sunbaking on Blacks Beach.

A 16-year-old allegedly stabbed her multiple times in an unprovoked attack. It has had the whole of Mackay talking.

Some are saying the town isn’t what it used to be, or kids these days are out of control.

Both of us were completely shocked when we heard the news and emotions can get the better of us all in the heat of the moment.

But is there a better way to tackle the underlying causes of youth crime?

Do kids need more discipline than what they receive now?

Do they guidance or counselling so they can make better decisions in the future?

What’s working now just isn’t working and it needs to change.

The police do a fantastic job at what they do, but we are sure a few would be frustrated with seeing the same kids, some as young as 7 or 8, out at 3am roaming the streets.

Now before you ask ‘how do the parents not know they are out’, just remember you were a kid too and would sneak out of the house. But you knew the boundaries.

Today’s kids, their boundaries extend way past ours back in the day (and then some).

Is it a question of demanding more from our lawmakers by making sure some would-be criminals think twice about stealing cars or breaking into people’s houses?

Maybe bringing in breach of bail as a criminal offence would be a good start (we think it could work with adult criminals too).

Do we need to petition our state members to change some of the laws to reflect what we expect?

Or do we tackle youth crime in a completely fresh way to try and get to the root causes?

Send through your thoughts as a letter to the editor to [e-mail]

Friday September 17: Is taking someone else’s hard rubbish frugal or feng shui?

Is it wrong to pick something up from the side of the road?

Jay:

I feel like I need to start this column with a disclosure. If you see me in the streets of Mackay, please don’t yell at me as our listeners did during the week.

What was it about? Covid vaccine? Nope!

Politics? Nope!

I have caused a little bit of a stir because I admitted to taking a small cupboard that was on the side of Oak St, in Andergrove, (someone’s hard rubbish) home to make it over and give it a new life.

“That’s stealing,” said one listener, while another said, “you look desperate.”

Apparently, this isn’t the “right thing to do” anymore, since the Incredable Tip Shop in Paget opened to the public.

Even my co-host Dave, who mind you has been known for buying second-hand underwear from the second-hand shops, said I was part of the minority crowd.

We see recycling in the news often, and ways to reduce our carbon footprint.

I thought it was something that would be helping the owner of the house, by ridding them of their “junk” and helping to save the environment.

Surely I can’t be the only one still doing this? If so, why?

Dave:

Grabbing something from the side of the road doesn’t make you look desperate, but I do agree with some listeners saying it’s stealing – you’re stealing from a charity.

Would you go up to a clothing bin and have look to see which items you like and take them home with you?

Of course you wouldn’t!

Why do it with someone’s unwanted furniture?

The days of rummaging through the hard rubbish before the collection are long gone – let’s leave this in the past!

We never had the opportunity to give the furniture to charities such as the Incredable Tip Shop back in the day, the fantastic work they do to help those less fortunate than us need the money raised from on-selling these items.

Sure, it’s no secret I’m frugal (and yes, I have bought second-hand underwear) but the money goes to charity.

Time to get with the times – don’t just take, buy it from a charity.

Or at the absolute very least, go and ask the previous owners if you can have it!

Media personalities Jay Shipston and Dave Peters are the Triple M brekky hosts for Mackay and Whitsundays. They are also game-day hosts for NQ Cowboys home games in Townsville.

Friday, September 3

Today's Harry Bruce cartoon has been brought to you by Dawson MP George Christensen. George is a proud supporter of free speech and the ability of our cartoonists to take the mickey out of the political class. Picture: Harry Bruce

Covid Kilos is something we have been hearing since the start of the pandemic.

Mackay and the Whitsundays residents (including the two of us) were reaching for the comfort foods in the lockdown last year.

It was used as a coping mechanism for dealing with the unknown, for dealing with the boredom, and dealing with the copious amounts of TV and streaming we were all doing at the time.

Fast forward to present day and a big chunk (pun intended) of us have the extra holes in the belt buckle as proof of those Covid kilos.

It has been well publicised that we as a region are among the fattest in the country.

That’s something we don’t want to have on our resumes.

We have started to slim down as much as we can with 200 of our listeners on the Breakfast Show so we can get a kickstart to feeling better, healthier, and feel better about the way we look.

I remember being told as kids ‘weight is so much harder to lose as you get older’ and I tell you what, it’s not a lie.

For me (Jay – 40), it’s something I have always struggled with.

You would understand the term “emotional eater” – eat when you’re happy, eat when you’re sad and the cycle continues.

I’ve been pretty open about my battles with weight over the years because as men, the pressure is on us to look a certain way just as much as it is for women.

But the women have it much harder.

I remember doing a Real Women’s Fashion Parade a few years ago at Caneland Central where we invited real women of all shapes and sizes to grace the catwalk to promote body positivity.

I wasn’t expecting some of the negative comments that followed.

Weight has been turned into a currency, about how valued we should be and how others see us.

That stigma needs to change.

So if you’re reading this, and you recognise that you have a few kilos to lose, then you do what you need to do to make that happen.

If you’re happy with that extra Covid coverage, that’s great!

Anyone who doesn’t fit into those categories I just mentioned, all I ask is to be kind.

Chances are those people you’re judging are already judging themselves and aware they have some work to do to get to that healthier goal.

Friday, August 27

Harry Bruce's take on the Mackay stadium expansion. Today's Harry Bruce cartoon has been brought to you by Dawson MP George Christensen. George is a proud supporter of free speech and the ability of our cartoonists to take the mickey out of the political class. Picture: Harry Bruce

How lucky did we feel when the NRL decided Mackay was going to be the town to host the Roosters vs. the Eels match on July 29?

Finally we were able to see some of the best players of the game in our beautiful part of the world for the first time since 2012.

And didn’t we lay it on for the NRL? They were so impressed with how well the night ran, they gifted Mackay an extra game on top of the two-game deal Mackay Regional Council secured.

Over the years, BB Print Stadium has shown we can host world-class events.

Think KISS in 2015, Elton John in 2017 and now quality regular-season NRL matches can be included.

But after opening in August 2011, it’s time to take it to the next level.

We have always batted above our average when it comes to sporting heroes and our main rectangle arena should reflect the same – the home of The QCCS Mackay Cutters not only needs, it deserves to be a stadium the envy of other towns not only in Queensland but the entire country.

Triple M Breakfast Show hosts Jay Shipston and Dave Peters have presented on air together in the Mackay region for 10 years. Picture: Supplied

So Mackay, let’s get behind a push to turn BB Print Stadium into one of the best.

There’s a solid argument to redevelop the stadium.

Regular NRL regular season matches each season being brought to Mackay would be great to see, there is also a need for top-notch facilities for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics so one (or more) countries can train.

We may even snare one of the Olympic rugby games if we’re lucky.

The Brisbane Roar come to town regularly to play pre-season matches too, we could give them an option to bring a season game regularly.

This is just the sporting arena we are talking about, but there’s a massive need for more high-quality convention space which could be built into a new stadium complex.

Economically, it just makes sense.

The Daily Mercury is behind a push to overhaul our sporting precinct to attract high-level events.

There are funding grants to make these infrastructure ideas come to life.

Look at the latest news for Browne Park in Rockhampton.

They have just secured $23 million to redevelop into a 10,000-seat stadium.

Do we want to be beaten by the beef capital? No way!

We offer so much more in Mackay and for Rocky to get a better stadium is out of the question.

So Mackay, start the talk. Let’s grab this opportunity to redevelop and future-proof the stadium.

It’s time to bring more NRL games (and other first-class events) to town.

Media personalities Jay Shipston and Dave Peters are the Triple M brekky hosts for Mackay and Whitsundays. They are also game-day hosts for NQ Cowboys home games in Townsville.

Originally published as Opinion: Triple M’s Jay and Dave talk Mackay issues in the Daily Mercury