Bonafide with Luke Bona

Bonafide with Luke Bona is the unfiltered voice of everyday Australia. After decades in national radio, Luke brings his legendary no-BS approach to the podcast world. We tackle the real issues the mainstream media ignores: Australian politics, the cost of living, motoring, technology, culture, and the transport industry. From the realities of the road on Truckie Tuesday to wild true crime in the Man Cave, get the raw, unhinged truth you’ve been looking for. No censors. No apologies. Subscribe to join the conversation.

Bonafide with Luke Bona is a news podcast hosted by Luke Bona, with 146 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Luke Bona hosts Bonafide with Luke Bona, a news show with 146 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Bonafide with Luke Bona

  Truckie Tuesday: Tax, Close Calls, & Australia's Biggest Trucking Collapse?

  Aug 18, 202648 min

  This week's Truckie Tuesday: container logistics giant ACFS Port Logistics — the operator behind Coles, Kmart and Bunnings' freight — has collapsed into external administration owing the ATO an alleged $60 million, with up to 1,500 jobs on the line. Luke Bona and Rod Hannifey break down what it means for the industry, and Hughes Law's Belinda Hughes joins with her Legal Win of the Week: a trucking company client's 37 charges and $2.54 million in maximum penalties, negotiated down to 8 charges and $549,000, all before it reached court. Plus: a postmortem on the Casino Truck Show, the physics of why a triple road train can swing its back trailer a metre sideways from the smallest steering input, the story of a 44-year veteran driver who just walked away from the industry over new heavy-vehicle fines, New South Wales' roundabout and U-turn rules explained properly, and Rod's question of the week for the NHVR's new CEO, Nicole Rosie. Guests: Rod Hannifey (Truckie Tuesday co-host, National Road Freighters Association) · Belinda Hughes (Principal, Hughes Law) (00:00) GME Sponsor Open & Intro (00:51) Checking In With Rod From Dubbo (01:16) A Postmortem On The Casino Truck Show (06:49) A Listener's Dashcam Near-Miss (09:45) Inside A Triple Road Train's Physics (15:58) New Fines: Why A 44-Year Veteran Just Quit (19:00) Listener Mail: Roundabouts And U-Turns (30:04) ACFS Port Logistics Collapses (35:57) Hughes Law: 37 Charges Down To 8 (42:14) Rod's Question For The NHVR's New CEO (46:02) Sign-Off ❤️ Cheers to GME for making Truckie Tuesday possible! Outfit your rig with the very best, Australian-made communication technology here: https://www.gme.net.au/au/ Join The Bonafide Family Get Your Bonafide Merch here: https://bonafidepod.com/en-aud Follow Me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LukeBonaThatRadioGuy/ Catch Up On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lukey.bona/ Subscribe to us on YouTube to stay updated with LIVE SHOWS: ️ Get Involved Leave us a digital voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/Bonafide Call the Bonafide Hotline to leave a voicemail: (02) 9128 9311 Want to be a guest or suggest a topic? Reach out at: community@bonafidepod.com Support: Griefline 1300 845 745 (Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat–Sun 12pm–6pm) · Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7)

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  Bonafide with Luke Bona

  2,800 Missing Australians, A Cambridge Tragedy & NSW's New Gun Laws

  Aug 17, 20262h 27m

  Every year, 49,000 Australians are reported missing — most are found within weeks. 2,800 are not. True-crime author and Australian Missing Persons Register founder Nicole Morris sits down with Luke Bona to tell the stories behind the numbers: a crossbow murder on Sydney's northern beaches, the still-unsolved 2001 disappearance of Janine Vaughan, the 1978 case of Trudy Adams that stopped a generation of girls hitchhiking, and the hundreds of unidentified bodies still sitting in Australian morgues today. Channel Seven's UK bureau chief Ben Downie joins live from London to unpack the tragic academic scandal dominating British headlines — a Cambridge professor's resignation, and his death days later, and the very real question of who's to blame. Former National Party leader David Littleproud breaks down NSW's sweeping new gun laws in the wake of the Bondi attack, and weighs in on Pauline Hanson's latest Mardi Gras comments. Then it's Truckie Tuesday with Rod Hanafi: a national truckers' apprenticeship push, the extraordinary story of driver-advocate Sharon Horne, and a live legal fight with Hughes Law over a trucking company shut down overnight. Guests: Nicole Morris (author, Australian Missing Persons Register) · Ben Downie (Channel Seven, UK) · David Littleproud MP · Rod Hannifey (Truckie Tuesday) · Sharon Horne · Belinda Hughes (Hughes Law) ⚠ Content warning: this episode discusses real missing-persons cases, murder and abduction (non-graphic, historical), a recent death by suicide, and gun violence in a policy context. Listener discretion advised. 00:00:00 Welcome to episode 134 00:01:43 Luke's off to Vietnam 00:05:09 Coming up this episode 00:11:49 Pauline Hanson wants to scrap compulsory super 00:16:20 Sam Pang wins the Gold Logie 00:17:13 NSW's gun buyback begins 00:18:33 Listener mail 00:24:23 Ben Downie live from London 00:44:28 Nicole Morris — Australia's missing 00:45:06 49,000 go missing a year. 2,800 stay missing 00:45:33 Peter Rolfe and the murder of Stephen Dempsey 00:51:22 Janine Vaughan — missing since 2001 00:55:49 Trudy Adams — the disappearance that ended a generation's hitchhiking 01:00:59 Hundreds of unidentified bodies in Australian morgues 01:04:24 Christopher "Mr Rentokil" Flannery and Australia's hitmen 01:17:58 David Littleproud on NSW's new gun laws 01:28:44 Pauline Hanson on Mardi Gras 01:37:39 Truckie Tuesday begins 01:45:20 An angry driver's voicemail 01:50:06 Sharon Horne — trucking's mental health advocate 01:51:12 The crash that changed everything 02:15:08 Belinda Hughes — a trucking company shut down overnight 02:23:19 Rod's rant of the week 02:26:02 Sign-off Join The Bonafide Family Get Your Bonafide Merch here: https://bonafidepod.com/en-aud Follow Me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LukeBonaThatRadioGuy/ Catch Up On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lukey.bona/ Subscribe to us on YouTube to stay updated with LIVE SHOWS: ️ Get Involved Leave us a digital voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/Bonafide Call the Bonafide Hotline to leave a voicemail: (02) 9128 9311 Want to be a guest or suggest a topic? Reach out at: community@bonafidepod.com ❤️ Cheers to GME for making Truckie Tuesday possible! Outfit your rig with the very best, Australian-made communication technology here: https://www.gme.net.au/au/ Support: Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7) · 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 (24/7, pending Decision 6)

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  Bonafide with Luke Bona

  Pauline Hanson on Protests, Truckies, & Beetroot on Brugers

  Aug 14, 202644 min

  She's home for one night between flights, and Senator Pauline Hanson isn't pulling any punches. Luke Bona sits down with the One Nation leader for a full solo interview, starting with yesterday's nationwide student walkout against her and One Nation — and her blunt response to it, including a secret recording of a teacher she says abused students in class, which she says she's about to release. From there: whether she could genuinely become Prime Minister off the back of One Nation's poll surge, how she'd handle Donald Trump one-on-one, the AUKUS tightrope between the US and China, Albanese's awkward melon moment with Japan's PM, her friendship with Gina Rinehart, the real cost of Nauru, overtime tax reform, a push for a national truckies' apprenticeship scheme, and the fish and chip shop she ran for a decade before politics. Guests: Senator Pauline Hanson (Leader, Pauline Hanson's One Nation) ⚠️ Contains a protester's sign quoting strong language (not repeated in these notes) and a brief, non-graphic reference to self-harm in immigration detention. 00:00 Welcome back, Senator Hanson 00:34 The National Union of Students walkout 01:29 The high school protest sign that went viral 04:53 Are the kids being led, or thinking for themselves? 05:19 "I'm going to release it" — the secret teacher recording 06:11 Marked down from an A to a C- for writing about Hanson 07:26 Should classrooms run CCTV? 10:11 Could Hanson become PM? The poll surge to 26% 11:26 Targeting Coalition seats at the next election 14:07 Her relationship with Matt Canavan 15:33 Albanese's melon gaffe with Japan's PM 19:12 How Hanson would handle Donald Trump 21:20 AUKUS, China and Australia's "two masters" 25:16 A national truckies' apprenticeship scheme 28:23 Overtime tax and the true cost of Nauru 31:31 On Gina Rinehart: "no one buys me" 34:20 Left school at 15 — Hanson's first job 41:26 A legend: Fred Brophy's boxing tent Join The Bonafide Family Get Your Bonafide Merch here: https://bonafidepod.com/en-aud Follow Me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LukeBonaThatRadioGuy/ Catch Up On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lukey.bona/ Subscribe to us on YouTube to stay updated with LIVE SHOWS: ️ Get Involved Leave us a digital voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/Bonafide Call the Bonafide Hotline to leave a voicemail: (02) 9128 9311 Want to be a guest or suggest a topic? Reach out at: community@bonafidepod.com

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  Bonafide with Luke Bona

  Alan Jones's 5-Year Sentencing Shock, Tim Costello vs. Gambling, and Melon Gate

  Aug 13, 20262h 38m

  Local court, no jury, and a maximum sentence nowhere near what most people assume — even if every charge sticks. Criminal lawyer James Glissan joins Luke Bona to break down how Alan Jones's 22-charge hearing actually works, why the cap is five years, and what "tendency evidence" means for a case built on unproven allegations. Then Reverend Tim Costello returns to unpack why Australia has the world's worst gambling losses, three decades of policy failure, and who's funding both sides of politics to keep it that way. Plus: Kelsey and Adam McDonald in the Man Cave on Anthony Albanese's "Melon Gate" — the PM's undiplomatic gift-giving story about the Japanese Prime Minister that's now made international headlines — a self-checkout stealing debate, a sex doll mistaken for human remains, and What's In Adam's Hand. ⚠ Content warning: this episode discusses an active, unresolved criminal matter involving allegations of sexual misconduct (the accused has pleaded not guilty; the matter is before the courts) and gambling-related financial harm. Listener discretion advised. Guests: James Glissan (Glissan & Associates Lawyers) · Reverend Tim Costello · Adam McDonald [Timestamp chapters — one per line, HH:MM:SS, first 00:00:00 — withheld pending Decision 5, same as the YouTube chapters above] Join The Bonafide Family Get Your Bonafide Merch here: https://bonafidepod.com/en-aud Follow Me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LukeBonaThatRadioGuy/ Catch Up On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lukey.bona/ Subscribe to us on YouTube to stay updated with LIVE SHOWS: ️ Get Involved Leave us a digital voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/Bonafide Call the Bonafide Hotline to leave a voicemail: (02) 9128 9311 Want to be a guest or suggest a topic? Reach out at: community@bonafidepod.com Support: 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 (24/7) · Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7)

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  Bonafide with Luke Bona

  Truckie Tuesday: Live From The Casino Truck Show, Meet Trucking With CJ

  Aug 11, 202651 min

  (Replay) Truckie Tuesday goes on the road for the first time at this scale, broadcasting live from the Casino Truck Show, one of the biggest truck shows in the Southern Hemisphere. Luke sits down with Richmond Valley Council's Vaughan Macdonald on what it takes to grow a truck show from 150 trucks to a capped 550, then talks with Casuarina "CJ" Smith, the truck driver and creator behind Trucking with CJ, about her path from insurance broker to fuel tankers to road trains, why fewer than 2% of Australian truckies are women, and a live crowd vote on who's actually the better driver. Plus: a new Heavy Vehicle National Law lands the very next day and Rod Hannifey isn't impressed, 14-year-old Fergie tells Luke why he's chasing a truckie apprenticeship, a trucker's mental health project that started with a sign on the back of a trailer, and a look at how the show's judges pick a winner out of 550 trucks. Guests: Vaughan Macdonald (General Manager, Richmond Valley Council) · Casuarina "CJ" Smith (Trucking with CJ) · Rod Hannifey (Truckie Tuesday co-host, National Road Freighters Association) (00:00) GME Sponsor Open & Intro (00:31) Live From The Casino Truck Show (02:29) Vaughan Macdonald On Running The Show (05:38) Why Casino Runs One Of The Biggest Truck Shows In The Country (08:01) Meet Fergie, 14 (Teaser) (09:02) The New Heavy Vehicle Law: Rod's Verdict (11:51) A Trucker's Mental Health Project (14:35) Trucking With CJ: Insurance Broker To Big Rigs (16:04) Why Are Only 2% Of Truck Drivers Women? (16:30) The Crowd Weighs In: Who's The Better Driver? (21:29) CJ On The New Law: "No Carrot, Only Stick" (22:08) The Demerit-Points Debate (29:49) Steering The Future: Getting Kids Into Trucking (32:38) Back To Vaughan Macdonald: Casino House Prices (33:43) Fergie, 14, On Chasing His Truckie Dream (39:22) An O'Brien Co Heavy Driver On Life Behind The Wheel (47:26) A Listener's Email On Truckie Etiquette (48:46) How The Judges Pick The Winner From 550 Trucks ❤️ Cheers to GME for making Truckie Tuesday possible! Outfit your rig with the very best, Australian-made communication technology here: https://www.gme.net.au/au/ Join The Bonafide Family Get Your Bonafide Merch here: https://bonafidepod.com/en-aud Follow Me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LukeBonaThatRadioGuy/ Catch Up On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lukey.bona/ Subscribe to us on YouTube to stay updated with LIVE SHOWS: ️ Get Involved Leave us a digital voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/Bonafide Call the Bonafide Hotline to leave a voicemail: (02) 9128 9311 Want to be a guest or suggest a topic? Reach out at: community@bonafidepod.com

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