18 years ago, satirical group The Chaser were part of a now legendary stunt at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Summit in Sydney. The area was heavily restricted due to the high-profile world governing figures attending. And yet, a vehicle with innocuous Canadian flags, stickers saying ‘this dude likes trees and poetry and certain types of carnivorous plants excite him’ and an exuberant ‘bodyguard’ was allowed entrance by police to the venue.
Then Osama Bin Laden stepped from the vehicle. Or should I say Chas Licciardello dressed as Osama.
All hell broke loose with the incident making national and international headlines. It also caused vigorous public debate from Australians delighted and horrified.
The 11 Chaser participants were arrested, questioned by police and charged, with the charges dropped the following year. There was obvious immense personal risk at conducting the stunt. ABC lawyers only permitting it assuming that police would stop them at the first checkpoint. The Chaser team had also been warned beforehand to stay away and were decked out in obvious ways to raise suspicion. And yet, they made it onto centre stage.
Nearly 3 million Australians watched the APEC heist when the episode aired on The Chaser’s War on Everything. Despite their motto “Striving for Mediocrity in a World of Excellence” their subplot of rousing outrage at patent hypocrisy saw the Chaser boys go on to significant media careers. Founding member Craig Reucassel, who they call ‘the successful one’, is now the breakfast presenter on ABC Radio Sydney.
Craig is a keynote speaker at this year’s CBAA Conference, being held in Hobart from the 23rd – 25th of October. Since the Chaser, Craig has broadened his war to waste on ABC television, climate change in Fight For Planet A, the elements and emergency services in Big Weather, the politics of politics in the documentary A Big Deal and next up, as writer and executive producer, the housing crisis in SOLD! Who Broke the Australian Dream?
The influence of these shows are immense. Think of the eradication of plastic bags from supermarkets, your reusable coffee cup, paper straws at McDonald’s and even water refilling stations at music festivals and airports. Craig walks the walk too. He attended the Logies in an entirely op shopped outfit (except his undies). And, on the day he joined ABC Radio Sydney, his colleagues decided to surprise him and make him feel welcome by all sourcing and wearing something similar to his preferred checkered shirt. He was unimpressed and spoke up about the unnecessary clothing waste.
When I spoke to Craig I was reflecting on a different kind of waste that I was particularly guilty of. My time.
Craig had said in an interview with Money Mag that ‘your inertia is a favourite tool used to take your money’ and it’s horribly, awfully true. When plastic bags were being phased out of supermarkets the bigger incentive to bring your own from home was avoiding paying 15c to buy a plastic one. But if you did forget them you just paid the 15c because its easier. We waste time and money on a lot of things because they’re presented right in front of us.
I wondered if, 25 years on from the newspaper that was the starting point of The Chaser, Craig still felt the same outrage:
“I still find the hypocrisy of a system or people who are abusing that system is a motivating factor that gets you interested in a story. But you might cover it in a different way on radio than we would have necessarily on The Chaser. There are a mix of other things that get you interested in a story too. With radio, people don’t want outrage all the time.
With The Chaser paper we were extremely lucky to be doing what we were doing. We had a publish and be damned approach where, like all university students at the time, we had no assets, we had no jobs or just part time jobs. We had a lot of freedom that way.
I don’t think we probably realised how much freedom we had until we experienced the alternative, which is we then did a TV show with the ABC. Of course, suddenly everything’s going through editorial, legal, all these different processes, which were all great. I’m not complaining about them, but it was very different.
To go from the newspaper where we would write it and do the whole thing ourselves, to TV where you had a whole team around you. Makeup, wardrobe, cameramen, editorial. Because you’ve got all those different talents coming from different people, you get a better end result. But you do lose the quick ability to just publish an idea immediately. Actually, the thing I love most about radio is that extremely quick turnaround between having an idea and getting it to air.”
Craig’s keynote address at the CBAA Conference explores how grassroots media can be a force for change and how this voice can be made stronger. When I put to him that me taking my reusable coffee cup wherever I go is because of him, he says:
“When we did War on Waste I came to it from a perspective of having studied politics at university and thought that we’d go to the politicians and say to them this is what’s not working and why aren’t you fixing that? And I would say that achieved almost nothing.
The way in which War on Waste over these years achieved change was people that watched it started in their own lives, trying to do little things, trying to change behaviours. They then would often call their councils and say, how come we can’t do this? Or, can you tell me why this doesn’t exist?
Councils got lots and lots of calls after War on Waste and it motivated change at a local level, that fed up to the state government and then years later, war on waste conversations began happening at a federal level. It changed my conception of how things change. Local based storytelling, local based stories are still so crucial.
I love that people come up and say, I’ve made this change because I watched your show. But, even more important is when they say I’ve contacted this person or I spoke to my councillor.
Any change came because of people adapting it into their own life and taking it to the next step. And that’s what was amazing. I love those stories. I still have people come up and go, what bin do I put this in?”
Craig advised me that what belongs in which bin will not be part of his keynote. Nor should people bring any examples. He would like you to bring reusable water bottles though.
The full CBAA Conference program has now been released with some of the highlights:
- Two free workshops on Thursday (Small Station, Big Impact workshop for smaller stations, Fundraising Masterclass with Adrian Sargeant)
- AI and Media session from UTS scholar Dr Michael Davis which asks questions including:
- What is AI being used for by media?
- How it is being implemented?
- What key issues are arising?
- What governance principles and practical guidelines are being developed to manage risks?
- How are media organisations maintaining audience trust?
- Mix It Up – a panel session on stations working to attract new listeners with new music genres and formats
- The Next Step in Station Fundraising with 3MBS’ Stephen Pyk, who has worked extensively in donor engagement, philanthropic and partnership roles
- The WA Tech Hub Showcase, which explores a promising pilot project by the CBAA and funded by the CBF, in which a technician (Ben Menaglio) is made available to stations throughout southwest WA
- The Future is Accessible: Innovation Through Inclusion, a session led by incoming Powerd Media lead Eliza Hull that brings together content creators with a focus on media by and for people with disability that explores the value and importance of lived experience in disability media
- 5 Things to Learn from Community Radio Abroad by Radioinfo Founding Editor Steve Ahern which looks at the challenges facing a diverse range of international broadcasters and lessons we can apply at home
- Getting Amongst It: Community Radio on the Scene (AMRAP Community Hubs), a panel exploring the experiences of community broadcasters in being hubs for their local live music scenes
- Behind the Mic: The Hidden Risks in Running a Station, KBI Director Alex Coombes tells the story of a fictional station facing mishaps and how it could have avoided trouble
CBAA CEO Jon Bissett said:
“The CBAA Conference brings together community broadcasters from across Australia to tackle key issues and share solutions. This year focuses on two priorities – strengthening fundraising and understanding the changing role of AI – alongside other topics for all sector roles. It’s a chance to connect, learn, and gain insights to make a bigger impact.”
Craig Reucassel’s keynote address will close the conference before the CBAA Community Broadcasting Awards Dinner and Gala. It is on Saturday October 25, commencing at 3pm.
Further details including registration can be found via this link.
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo.