The irony of course being that Stubbsy was another commercial radio retiree, but your point is taken
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Haha, good point! 
Monday 2 November and Tuesday 3 November -
Brett McLeod filling in for Sharnelle and Bob on ABC Melbourne breakfast today.
Justin Smith filling in for Rafael Epstein later this morning.
No ABC staff capable of filling in? Might as well ask Neil Mitchell to have a crack. Justin Smith is dreadful.
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Poor old 3WV was struggling to stay on the air this afternoon. Carrier on the 594AM signal kept dropping out. And now it’s on-air with a much weaker than normal signal. Stand by arrangement in use?
Might have been some storm damage, there are some small isolated cells floating around Victoria at the moment. Got a fair bit of lightning crackles on the dial this afternoon.
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ABC Radio teams around Australia will hold a Giveathon on Thursday, November 13, with special programs to raise funds for OzHarvest.
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Ali Moore will host ABC Melbourne Drive live from Federation Square this afternoon, featuring 334 people playing bagpipes together in a world record attempt. This is ahead of AC/DC’s first concert at the MCG tonight.
UPDATE: the new record was achieved with 374 bagpipers.
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Mary Gearin filling in for Jacinta Parsons on ABC Radio Melbourne this morning.
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Paul Verhoeven filled in for Brian Nankervis this morning.
Sharnelle Vella read an emotional statement live on air after 7.20am AEDT today, which said she was diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis in March this year and had an operation. It continued that she fell pregnant in June with her first child, a baby girl who is due in March next year.
Update
Sharnelle later revealed that she planned to go on maternity leave in late February and hoped to return on air before the end of 2026.
Update 2
Update 3
Video from ABC Melbourne Facebook page
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Part of NT is now under cyclone warning, with Darwin called for “destructive” winds.
From what I’ve heard, special coverage starts 6am tomorrow on ABC Radio Darwin.
Which definitely doesn’t make promoting Ashes awkward at all.
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Justin Smith filling in for Rafael Epstein on ABC Radio Melbourne this morning.
The presenter could have told Darwin listeners that Ashes coverage will still be available on ABC Listen app if they are keen.
As usual, Steve Austin, ABC Brisbane mornings presenter takes weeks off when cricket coverage is on, smart for him.
Fill in, the much lighter Kelly Higgins-Devine has made a point of reading the many audience queries of what’s happened to Steve.
He is missed by many, no one at ABC Brisbane could come close to emulating the quality of his show.
Steve is in his early 60s, the ABC have a big problem as to replacing him in coming years with similar calibre and respect when he does choose to retire or is pushed. Hopefully a long time away.
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ABC’s Country Hour Celebrates 80 Years of Telling Rural Stories
The Country Hour , Australia’s longest-running radio program, will soon mark a major milestone. On 3 December it will be 80 years since the program first aired in 1945, with presenter Dick Snedden welcoming listeners to “a program for the farm families of Australia”.
Initially The Country Hour was a way to communicate farming information to a generation of new farmers, many of them soldier settlers who had been sent to the country to make a new life.
Today its seven state and territory editions continue to provide a unique and valuable service, reporting the news and reflecting the voices and views from regional and rural Australia,
From this weekend special coverage across the ABC will build up to the anniversary and continue into 2026 with the theme "Celebrating 80 years of telling rural stories”.
Among the special content:
- This weekend, a Landline special presented by Warwick Long on ABC NEWS Channel and ABC iview will tell the story of The Country Hour’s rich history and current rural reporters explain how it remains relevant today
- On Wednesday 26 November: Victorian Country Hour presenter Warwick Long and Queensland Rural Lead Kallee Buchanan will host a special national Country Hour Outside Broadcast from Parliament House in Canberra, where the program’s anniversary will also be marked at the ABC’s annual Parliamentary Showcase
- The ABC web homepage will link to dedicated Country Hour content on the rural page
- On the anniversary on Wednesday 3 December Country Hour OBs will air in every state and territory to celebrate the milestone and News Breakfast will cross to four Country Hour presenters on location in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory. A special segment will run nationally on the 7PM News and the ABC NEWS Channel focusing on intergenerational farming families who have listened to and benefited from The Country Hour over the decades
ABC Director, News Justin Stevens: “The Country Hour exemplifies the ABC’s deep and enduring connection with rural and regional Australia, which remains integral to our service and purpose.
“The program’s seven editions cover every aspect of country life, reporting on and breaking stories that have huge impacts for rural Australia and our whole nation.”
The ABC has around 600 employees working and living in rural and regional Australia across 56 locations and produces more than 800 hours of unique regional radio every week. In addition, our dedicated Emergency Broadcasting service operates around the clock when lives and property are under threat.
Other dedicated rural and regional programming includes Landline, Australia Wide and 16 editions of the Rural Report.
The Country Hour is broadcast on all regional ABC Local Radio stations from midday to 1pm each weekday and streamed on the ABC listen app,
Join the celebration and explore 80 years of rural storytelling at abc.net.au/rural.
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Currently aired on ABC Radio Darwin:
Actually, it’s Nightlife now.
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Chris Bath leaving Sydney Drive at the end of this year, will 10-12 Sunday mornings instead.
Thomas Oriti will replace her.
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Thomas Oriti is fantastic. Glad he’s been back on NR lately. I’ll be sad to see him go, but he has deserved a bigger audience.
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