Carrie Bickmore, Tommy Little end Hit Network radio show

Shadow police minister Brad Battin has, for the second week running, had Melbourne’s plague of arson attacks fall on his doorstep.

Last week, CBD brought news of an attempted firebombing at the cafe next to Battin’s Berwick electorate office on October 12.

Now it’s been revealed that in the very early hours of Sunday, the offenders returned for a second attempt at incinerating the joint with police discovering “tens of litres of accelerant” left inside the cafe when the crooks were disturbed. Fortunately, no one was injured.

In a highly disturbing twist, Victoria Police has confirmed that the offenders have been targeting the wrong address.

Arson and explosives squad Detective Inspector Chris Murray didn’t mince words, describing the two attacks as incredibly reckless and dangerous acts that have caused fear, disruption and significant distress.

Murray said there was the “potential for catastrophic consequences not only for the business owners but also for surrounding properties and members of the public” from the latest attack.

“This level of violence and disregard for community safety is completely unacceptable,” Murray said.

“In this case, the business and its owners appear to have been wrongly targeted, while the person believed to be the intended victim has no association whatsoever with the cafe.

“Innocent people are being placed at risk because criminals are treating serious violence as a contract.”

We reached out to Battin on Wednesday for his view on crime across our city and the repeated firebombing attempts next door to his office.

“Innocent small business owners are being put in danger because violent criminals are running amok under Labor,” Battin told us.

“This is the frightening reality of crime after 12 years of Labor.”

De Blasio, Moreno kick on in Melbourne

In Melbourne, it is a given that any visiting international guest will have a brush with a football.

So it was just a matter of time before former mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio would eventually get his hands on a Sherrin – the only surprise was that it took four days.

De Blasio and urbanist Carlos Moreno, both in town as guests of the Melbourne Assembly, were gifted footballs at a Committee For Melbourne networking evening on Wednesday.

De Blasio showed some sporting form, immediately having a short kick to kick with the Committee For Melbourne’s Agostino Giramondo at the gathering.

“Who here has insurance,” de Blasio asked before putting boot to ball.

We are pleased to report nothing got broken.

Earlier in the week, de Blasio and Moreno were presented with AFL club jumpers – Carlton for Moreno and a Melbourne for de Blasio.

Just what they will do with them is anyone’s guess, but footy as the city’s diplomatic currency continues unabated.

‘Not how I wanted it to end’: Carrie Bickmore, Tommy Little end radio show

After almost a decade as a radio team, Gold Logie winner Carrie Bickmore and comedian Tommy Little have called time on their Carrie & Tommy national drive show and will exit the Hit Network at the end of the year.

Bickmore fought back tears while making the announcement on air on Wednesday, while her co-host Little said it was “certainly not how I wanted it to end”.

The future of the show had been a talking point in industry circles for some months.

“It’s not every day you get to come and have a laugh and call it your job with your best mate and the funniest guy in the country,” an emotional Bickmore said.

“I think we’ve been able to do something on this show that often people are too scared to do, to talk about stuff that sometimes is uncomfortable. We hope that we’ve had some small impact on your life in some small way … [and been] company for you on shitty days and [made] you laugh.”

Little said he was sad that this chapter of his radio career was coming to an end.

“I loved this job and I would have kept doing it for a long time, but
I don’t always get my way,” Little said.

“I feel very grateful. I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity. We’re going to be on air until the end of the year, and we’re going to try and make the best radio we can.”

Bickmore is rumoured to have been courted by ARN over recent months to move to rival KIIS FM to helm that station’s drive show in 2027. Whether Little was part of that discussion is unclear.

The KIIS drive shift is up for grabs with the Will & Woody drive show, hosted by Will McMahon and Woody Whitelaw, finishing up at the end of the year.

Matthew O’Reilly, the head of broadcast content for Southern Cross Austereo, owner of the Hit Network, informed staff via an internal memo of the end of the Carrie & Tommy show.

“Over the next few weeks, we look forward to celebrating everything Carrie and Tommy have given to their listeners over the last 10 years,” O’Reilly said in the note.

“Thank you to Carrie, Tommy and everyone who worked on the show, pouring their energy, creativity, and passion into making it what it is today. We wish them the very best for what’s next.”

No announcement has been made yet as to who will replace the pair in the drive shift next year.

Pencil case to blame for premier’s petrol station blunder

It is not quite the dog-ate-my-homework excuse, but Premier Ben Carroll has blamed a pencil case, forgetfulness and human error for an embarrassing moment at the bowser.

Carroll, who has toughened up the state government’s crackdown on crime since assuming the role of premier in July, found himself on the wrong side of the law on Monday night after he filled up his car at a petrol station in Airport West and drove off without paying.

“Late Monday night, I was running some errands and filled up the car with petrol. Found out yesterday I forgot to pay,” he fessed up on Wednesday morning.

A call from Victoria Police to the Department of Parliamentary Services alerted the premier to the bungle, and Carroll returned to the service station to settle his bill on Tuesday night.

“It shows that politicians are human beings and even premiers make mistakes,” Carroll said of the forgetful moment on Wednesday morning.

Speaking at Melbourne Assembly, he said he was on dad duty and running errands when the accidental drive-off occurred.

“Monday was a tough day for a lot of reasons, and I got home and I had a busy night on the phone, and my wife and I had a discussion,” Carroll said, referencing the attack on federal MP Helen Haines.

“She [Carroll’s wife, Fiona] was going to return [daughter] Maddie’s friend’s pencil case. I said, ‘I’ll do it and I’ll get petrol’. And then I found out the following day I didn’t pay,” he said.

“That has since been rectified.”

As it happens, Carroll is not alone in being a politician with problems at the petrol pump.

“I have been contacted by the former deputy premier John Thwaites, who told me, ‘Don’t worry, Ben. I didn’t pay for the petrol, and I also drove off with the nozzle in the car, with the petrol hose together’,” Carroll said. “And that made me feel a lot better.”

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush also weighed in on the petrol palaver on Wednesday, saying not every drive-off was a criminal matter.

“Our point of view is that a petrol drive-off is a civil matter until it’s proven otherwise,” Bush said.

“If it turns out that it’s a criminal matter, there was intent, etc, etc, charges will follow subsequently. But everyone’s got the opportunity to address an error.”

The commissioner said he was aware that the premier had paid his outstanding debt.

“We’re very careful not to criminalise every petrol drive-off. We do understand, and I’m very empathetic and sympathetic to petrol station owners who do suffer, but it’s not always criminal.”

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