big question for you and I, for all of

us as writers, and ladies and gentlemen, you as well, if you were to Google something, often the AI answer is provided at the very top of the search results.

I refuse to read the AI results because I don't want it to affect me.

I think it will change us as human beings, and I'm taking a stand.

It's not virtue signalling.

I see myself at the vanguard, at the very pointy end of what it is to be a human being.

I want a point.

According to MP David Farley, one nation would let an extra 100,000 immigrants into Australia with what occupation, Sean? If the,

love with her.

It's great.

It's a good role for me because whenever I'm not on stage, everyone's talking about either me or my partner, how wonderful she is.

And everyone seems to fall in love with my partner, less so me.

And the idea of me playing a disruptor and then having something about me that everybody wants, i.e. my partner.

kind of actually motivates most of the action, it would be fair to say.

But really, and Anne-Louise can speak to this, it's a story as seen through the eyes of the niece because that's why it's called Uncle Vanya.

You've

And what's the look on their faces? And what are some things that they said, yeah, no, that can't happen?

Well, look, this is about, oh, I can't remember how many years ago.

It's 2010. one, I hosted the Logies and I followed Andrew Denton.

And Andrew had followed Darryl Summers who had done maybe three or four in a row, I think at that point.

And I think as a result of Andrew's comments about the way Darryl was hosting the Logies, they took up his challenge and said, all right, you do it, see what happens.

So Andrew had signed up to do three and he did two very, very well.

And But the result of Andrew doing it is that he'd torn it all down.

What would you say to people about how those things change and how you identify with yourself might shift and change?

[laughs]

'Cause, you know, the, the life, it goes on and you need to do stuff.

But yeah, I hang on until I was four.

And, um, it was the first time that I ever performed in front of people, I guess.

I, I, I was a, you know, a fun kid I think, and, uh, we had a lot of, uh, laughs in the house.

But in terms of actually the idea of actually recreating something that you'd learned and performing it in front of an audience, that was the first time that happened.

So I'm four years old.

Mm.

Absolutely I would love to hear it.

All right, here we go.

[clears throat] "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this sun of York, and all the clouds that loured upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried.

Grim-visaged war has smoothed his wrinkled front; and now, instead of mounting barbed steeds, he frights the soul with fearful adversaries."

Exploration, okay.

Yeah, I kind of, I, because I don't, uh, just as drinking, you know, I, uh, I gambled once.

You know, it's not like I was a, an addict and decided to stop.

But I've never done it, so I was very curious about it, and I have three young sons, uh, 23, 25, and 27, and they're kind of the age that are being courted by the gambling companies to get apps and-

Let's get rid of problem gambling advertising."

I think that's, uh, in a way, the federal government, if they are to set up any guardrails, that's the only way they can do it, is either, uh, through the Department of Communications or through the health department, and they seem reluctant to treat it like a health issue, even though there'd be more levers and controls that they could, they could use.

So yes, at the moment it seems to be just about, uh, advertising.

And I did go into this, uh, series think- rather cynically thinking, "Ah, people don't care about advertising.

They're not...

It's annoying.

You know, they'll, they could filter through it and see through it." Um, but if there's one thing I know about living in Australia and meeting people who are Australian, it's that, uh, they don't like being told what to do.

Mm

What was his two cents?

Well, yeah, we spoke before any of them had been adopted, and his forecast for what was likely to happen was pretty bleak and kind of came true.

I think it had been almost...

It was certainly over 1,000 days since the Murphy Report was handed down when I spoke to him.

It's probably been six months, I think, since we spoke.

And one and a half, two recommendations, which are currently going through the Parliament and will be discussed, and, you know, there'll be certain parts of the process that will hopefully... intensify those changes and there'll be other parts which will dilute it.

But because it's a communications portfolio that's dealing with it, they have fewer levers than if it was a health department issue.

I'm not saying that these are things that we should necessarily fight for, but does it strike you as a harder thing to untangle?

Mm.

The Zong case, a very famous case where, um, this is in the late 1700s and there was a, uh, in the old days during the, uh, you know, if you, uh, had a bit of trouble with your, your ship and it was starting to founder, you were able to throw over the c- the car- the cargo over into the water to stop the ship from, uh, smashing itself up and sinking.

So, uh, this was a, this was a legal case in England because they were throwing enslaved people-

Do you think Australia's pretty good at regulating ourselves?

Generally, I mean, I've got a show on the S- on SBS where I take, uh, you know, usually younger, diverse comedians back to their ancestral homelands and say, "Well, okay, if your great-grandfather hadn't come to Australia, you know, why did he leave? Why did your great-grandmother leave or whatever it was?" Um, we, we learn a little bit about the history and we learn about, by contrast, how appealing Australia is and, and was at the time.

... um, speak more generally?

Yeah.

Well, yes, it's, uh, yes, you could u- you could argue that the documentary form or the genre has been, um, bastardized, uh, or it's been exploited.

I, I'm not sure I'd, I'd use those words, but I, I think it's probably split off into a whole bunch of different things.

So there's a certain, there's a certain, uh, value in unprocessed footage, and we see that with our children.

Maybe come up to us with their phone and say, "Hey, have a look at this," and it's somebody hitting their head or someone, or a near miss with a car in China or whatever it is.

Uh, those moments of reality seem to have more value to people than, uh, something, like a concrete comedy show where you, where you, where you d- or even just a piece of drama where you're, you're acting and pretending and recreating something that may or may not have happened in real life.

Um, do you still hold that belief?

I'm ready to, to go, "Yes, yes, yes."

All right, here we go.

"Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York, and all the clouds that low'red upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried.

Grim-visaged war hath smoothed his wrinkled front; and now, instead of mounting barbed steeds, he frights the soul with fearful adversaries."

Okay.

Yeah, I kind of, I, because I don't, uh, just as drinking, you know, I, uh, I gambled once, you know.

It's not like I was a, an addict and decided to stop, but I've never done it, so I was very curious about it.

And I have three young sons, uh, 23, 25 and 27, and they're kind of the age that are being courted by the gambling companies to get apps and-

Absolutely, I would love to hear it.

All right, here we go.Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York, and all the clouds that low'red upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried.

Grim-visaged war hath smoothed his wrinkled front; and now, instead of mounting barded steeds, he frights the soul with fearful adversaries.

Okay.

Yeah, I kind of, I, because I don't, uh, just as drinking, you know, I, uh, I gambled once, you know.

It's not like I was a, an addict and decided to stop, but I've never done it, so I was very curious about it.

And I have three young sons, uh, 23, 25 and 27, and they're kind of the age that are being courted by the gambling companies to get apps and-

That's right, yeah.

So we have a bit of a chat, and I'm just hopeful that, um, you know, uh, like JB and I, we have, we have kids.

Uh, they're, at the moment, they're now, according to the government, not allowed to watch as many, won't be watching as many ads during, uh, sports, apparently-

Yeah.

But there are laughs to be had.

I mean, there are, you know...

Like I say, it's, it's not all doom and gloom, and there's, uh, there's a lot of social utility in having a community-driven event.

Like I went to the, um, I went to the country races, for example.

So okay, but you were winning, right? Like, did you get that buzz? Did you sort of s- understand that attraction for people?

No, I didn't.

No, that's the other thing.

And I think there might be three groups of people, people who, like me, just, it doesn't do anything.

Like, if I'm sitting on a rollercoaster, nothing happens.

Like, I don't get excited, and I don't get worried.

You know, it's, uh, uh, maybe I'm not a, maybe I'm not a human being.

What did the gambling industry have to say in their defense?

So okay, but you were winning, right? Like, did you get that buzz? Did you sort of s- understand that attraction for people?

No, I didn't.

No, that's the other thing, and I think there might be three groups of people, people who, like me, just, it doesn't do anything.

Like, if I'm sitting on a rollercoaster, nothing happens.

Like, I don't get excited, and I don't get worried, you know? It's, uh, uh, maybe I'm not a, maybe I'm not a human being.

I don't know.

It just no- it just d- didn't tap into anything.

What did the gambling industry have to say in their defense?

Yes

... was ha- having a chat to her.

So, so this is the nature of the show.

We go and we, uh, I go into their world and, uh, spend some time with people who are, um, you know, enjoying it or not enjoying it, and, uh, and we try and get a, you know, a level view of the, the whole thing.

Yeah

... was that that, uh, the apps you mentioned, the, the fact we've got that little, that little rectangle in our pocket and, and it's there most of the time.

If it's not in our pocket, it's in our hand, and that's usually where it lives.

And so, um, uh, yeah, look, uh, just a moment alone will enable you to bet on a horse race in Abu Dhabi, whereas in the old days you'd actually have to, you know, get on a bus and go to the racecourse-

Yes

... uh, ha- having a chat to her.

So, so this is the nature of the show.

We go, we...

I- I go into their world and, uh, spend some time with people who are, um, you know, enjoying it or not enjoying it.

And, uh, and we try and get a, you know, a level view of the, the whole thing.

Yeah

... was that, that, uh, the apps you mentioned, the, the fact we've got that little, that little rectangle in our pocket, and, and it's there most of the time.

Yeah.

You know, we, we lo- we love to draw a tree and we love to paint a picture of a person or a place, and it's as close as we can get to creating it.

We can't build a tree, but we can certainly paint one, and we can certainly manifest one.

So the idea, this drive that we have to be the modern Prometheus, you know, to...

Which is happening now.

I mean, I suppose AI is an idea.

Um, we are, we have now cast ourselves in the role of God, and we've created a monster probably in the way that Dr. Frankenstein's created a monster.

Mm.

Yeah.

It is a story of how vampires came to exist, because I feel that's a deficiency in all of the ...

You know, you read Twilight or you watch the movies.

Mm-hmm.

He was completely covered in ice for most of the time.

Kyle, uh, Schilling, uh, g- he, he had, um, uh, something wrong with his knee, and it was about the size of a basketball.