Northern Territory Country Hour NT Country Hour
Aug 29, 2025
Charles Geary, known as the 'Big Rig,' reports live from the Australian Festival of Transport in Alice Springs. He shares his love for trucking and the vibrant community surrounding it. The conversation highlights the challenges of road conditions and the critical role of the North Australia Fire Information website. Discussions also focus on the invasive threat of fire ants and the financial hurdles faced by biosecurity efforts. Geary provides insights into current weather patterns and their implications for the upcoming fire season, making for a riveting listen!
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Truckie Shows Up From Perth
- Nick Pavlinovich drove his 1998 Kenworth from Perth to Alice Springs to join the Festival of Transport and show off his rig.
- He enjoyed comparing trucks from every state and hearing old-timers share stories about how tough the job used to be.
NAFI Is Critical And Underfunded
- The NAFI fire-tracking website is used daily by ranger groups, cattle producers and carbon farmers across northern Australia.
- NAFI's usage has roughly tripled in recent years and requires stable multi-year federal funding to stay sustainable.
Fund NAFI For Sustainability
- NAFI sought about $5 million over three years (roughly $800k per year) to hire staff and handle growing workloads.
- Support calls aim to embed NAFI into a federal funding system to avoid annual uncertainty.