Who gives a toss about Kyle and Jackie O?

Kyle and Jackie O's Radio Royalty fallout is the quintessential binfire. 

This week the news cycle has been dominated by the spectacular implosion of Australia’s highest-paid radio duo, Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson.

After more than two decades of on-air banter, celebrity interviews, and the occasional boundary-pushing stunt, their partnership ended (perhaps) in a blaze of recriminations, contract terminations, and a reported $200 million deal gone up in smoke. Jackie O has walked, Kyle has been suspended, and the KIIS FM breakfast show looks like it is off the air effective immediately.

And yet, today, as I experienced my first heavy vehicle food delivery job from Yass via Temora, listening to ABC Radio doing its best to recruit ‘future Wokerati’, I wondered if ‘I’ was the only person in the country who genuinely doesn’t give a toss about ‘K’ and ‘O’?

Writng in Unfiltered, Alexandra Marshall was unapologetic:

I hate our Canberra correspondent, Michael de Percy. I rang him this afternoon to tell him as much. He was terribly pleased by the news. Let me explain. While the world teeters on the edge of hot war between empires, Michael was being vexed by the endless Kyle and Jackie O coverage on his local regional radio. Print media is just as bad. A full two-thirds of the Daily Mail was devoted to the saga (instead of … you know … world war three). And so he wrote a piece for me about how pointless Kyle and Jackie O are to our society, asking, ‘Does anyone actually care?’ Google picked this up and instantly his rant about two vacuous radio presenters became the top trending piece. It’s infuriating. And I hate him. That said, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Humans are ruthlessly social creatures. Even on the day Hitler died, the front page was shared with celebrity gossip. Maybe it’s a good thing that our species always carves out room for entertainment. Or maybe Michael is right.

Terry Barnes was less direct in Morning Double Shot:

Now for what really matters. Kyle Sandilands and Jacki ‘O’ Henderson have busted up spectacularly, and hopefully their brand of broadcast filth is at an end. Michael de Percy asks who cares, and answers: nobody. Speaking of de Percy, he’s written a cracker chapter in a new book, The Menzies Legacy, which I plan to review shortly.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Who gives a toss about Kyle and Jackie O?

Seriously, who gives a toss?

The real question isn’t whether Kyle was out of line or whether Jackie O deserved better. It’s why so many people seem invested in the personal dramas of two people they’ve never met.

We’ve elevated shock jocks and tabloid personalities to the… pic.twitter.com/4XGDmKR8X1

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) March 5, 2026

The Ayatollah is no A-more-ah!

Ding, dong the witch is dead! The funders of terrorists are in disarray.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese finally found his spine and backed Donald Trump. In the process, he whispered to his dog: ‘We’re not in Marrickville anymore, Toto!’

What happened in Iran echoes in Australia.

Staff at the ABC and SBS are gnashing their teeth and wondering why such a biblical reckoning is so apt to describe their situation. Don’t look back, you salty few, or you may end up like Lot’s wife and then succumb to a pathetic Iranian missile counter-attack east of the Jordan.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, The Ayatollah is no A-more-ah!

Just as #Iran’s people may finally get their chance to rip their country back from the mullahs, Australia has its own opportunity to reclaim ours from the domestic extremists...

We also have to convince politicians to prioritise urgent issues such as fresh drinking water over… pic.twitter.com/dFBhL03e6U

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) March 2, 2026

Uniparty is out of touch with the realities of growing old

We’ve lost something of late, but I think AI might just bring it back.

Last month at the National Press Club, Council of the Ageing (COTA) Chair Christopher Pyne laid out the findings of the State of the Older Nation report. Ageism is rife, older Australians feel dismissed, and policy remains stuck in outdated stereotypes. My question to Mr Pyne cut to the heart of it: Why does ageing policy so often feel designed for older people by an elite, progressive bubble rather than with them?

The answer, unfortunately, is that both major parties have lost touch with the lived experience of ageing in modern Australia. They see the grey tsunami coming – the number of Australians aged 65 and over projected to double within decades, the 70-plus cohort up 68 per cent in just 20 years – yet treat it as a budgetary headache or a voting bloc to be placated with press releases, not a profound demographic shift demanding honest, flexible policy.

My latest in The Spectatir Australia, Uniparty is out of touch with the realities of growing old.

Ageism is rife, older Australians feel dismissed, and policy remains stuck in outdated stereotypes.

My question to Mr Pyne cut to the heart of it: Why does ageing policy so often feel designed for older people by an elite, progressive bubble rather than with them?

The answer,… pic.twitter.com/RmxfLeat7i

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) February 26, 2026