Aaron: Welcome back to the Izzy Right Day Podcast where today's special guest, a friend of mine, someone that's watched some of the other podcasters that have come in prior to it. he's a officer of twenty years now, age retired. I don't know how he feels about me saying that, but that's Rob Majewski, mate. Welcome. Morning, mate. Thanks for having me. No, thank you. it's a pleasure to have you down my way, mate. And from what I've heard, you've made a bit of a a few days of it to come down here and make the most of it. Yes, mate. Yeah, and taking the sights of the the Gold Coast. I don't get down here very often. So Yeah. And the main reason was I didn't have to fight traffic on the way down and fight traffic on the way back. So it gets worse every day. That's part of the reason I created these podcasts, kept myself calm, listen to and have something I'm interested in for these long drives where you're stuck in traffic. So Hopefully you'll listen to yourself back, mate, in the future. Go I don't know. So yeah, it'll be interesting to see what you come up with today. Yeah, yeah. Mate, awesome it's awesome to have you in here. if you've listened to any of the other podcasts, always start them the same way. We're gonna crack straight off to tell me about a young Rob. Mate, a young Rob. I was well was b born in Brisbane. we lived in Brisbane till I was around about ten, eleven years old. we went down to Melbourne, with my my dad was in advertising, so you got a a job down in Melbourne. that's living in Melbourne, I guess, as a young boy because I developed my love for AFL football. so follow that religiously, quite fanatically. And before we go any further, because we we might end the podcast here depending on who's your team mate? Hawthorne mate. Yeah, I thought it was the most successful team in the modern era. Al, what's your thoughts on Sam Mitchell at the moment? Coaching? Good mate, yeah. He's doing good job. Yeah. I won't touch on the the Brisbane Hawthorne Freelimb final. We stitched up for it, but anyway, life goes on. It does, mate. So sorry to interrupt you there, mate. You you were in Brizzy, you then moved to Melbourne. Yeah, then moved to Melbourne. Yeah. and then when I was in my probably mid teens, we moved back to Brisbane. And mum and dad bought a house up in Redcliffe. So I lived at Redcliffe. Went to Redcliffe High. and sort of just became a Redcliffe boy, I suppose. All right. And How would you describe or how how was your time in Melbourne? How many years were you there for? Was a younger? mate, probably three or four years. Yeah. like I was only very young, but I just remember getting involved in the AFL football and playing football at a junior l junior level down there and just enjoyed my time in Melbourne. But mum and dad said we were moving back to Redcliffe and I do remember saying that where's Redcliffe? Is there a beach? Mate, that I had the same thing when I got as an adult, I got sent that was the station I got out of the Academy, Redcliffe. Where is it? Yep. And then I got told there was a beach. Yeah. Then I arrived. Well, where are the bloody waves? That's not a beach to me. So I get it, mate. I get it. So you're playing AFL in Victoria, Melbourne. Yeah. just junior level. Yeah. Yeah. But then you come to Redcliffe, which is well known for league. Yes. Well known for league. And, you know, back in my my station days you didn't have the Dolphins as an N R L team, but obviously do now. So did you make the leap into NRL, so to speak, or just stick with AF. I had a couple of seasons with the Redcliffe Tigers. Yeah. Down on the old McGay Street. Back of Rothwell. Back of Rothwell. And every time it even looked like rain, the place would flood. So I mean it had a couple of seasons there. It was all just lower level stuff and what was your position? mate, wherever they wherever they'd fit me in, so a lot of time off the bench. Yeah, okay. But yeah. And what were the you you hear the old rumors and that sort of thing? You know, Redcliffe Police Station is right next to Red Cliff High School there. What was it like as a school to go to, mate, back in the day? mate, it was good. I met some like lifelong friends here. I was still sort of in in touch with them a little bit, a few of the boys. yeah, it was just like you're going to high school, you you're having fun with your mates, you're sort of trying to dodge doing your homework and hope you get through the exams. No, it w was good fun. So So did you finish year twelve? Finished year twelve, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And what would you what were you like at school? mate, I was just middle of the pack, sort of didn't want to stand out, sort of wasn't certainly wasn't an academic, certainly wasn't a sports star. Yeah. It just I like to think that people think fondly of me and I've got a a lot of friends that you know, we're still obviously Facebook social media is a a good way for people to to keep in touch. Yeah. a few a few of the guys end up moving overseas, so still contact with them and they come back to Brisbane and might get out get down and meet up, whatnot. So it's good mate. But yeah, one of the pluses of social media. And can I ask as well, because I I need to go over and do a bit of a headcount on this, but there's been a bit of a patent with people I've had on the podcast here that have come in with no hair. So are you young Rob? Mate, what was the hairstyle back then? What colour? Mate, it was sort of like beachy blonde. Okay, okay. I did have comparisons made to Laf Garrett from the time. Okay. I was happy to run with that, but I couldn't see it. But yeah, but it's sort of like the beachy sandy sort of look. Yeah, right. And then As sort of got older, it started receding, and then I thought, well, one day I'm just gonna go the whole hog and razor. And razor, and that was it, mate. Yeah. The amount of money I saved on haircut since has been I've only ever known you, mate, as the as the current you. I've yeah, I can't imagine that the young Rob getting around with a bit of hair. And I'd I'd go and do a a hairdresser and ask them, you know, how much did it cost, and they'd say twenty bucks and I'd what for? And they gave a search fee. So that's heavy. Love that. Mate, you finished year twelve. Yep. What do you do? What what happens? What do you go? mate, I just honestly I've had a couple of months off and just, you know, went up the coast and, you know, did a beach bum kind of thing, but probably within about three months of leaving school I got a job in the local hardware store, which is in Sutton Street. It was price right. Yeah, okay. yeah. So I just did I know, probably about twelve months there and yeah, was was working. Mate, I'd proudly say I was never in r receipt of any unemployment benefits or something. So I've never had any government sort of handout. So yeah. yeah, did that for a while and then I started playing underwater hockey. under water hockey. Yeah. It's fine that one. It's like you have an ice hockey puck, it's the same sort of lead puck. Yeah. You have a a set of fins and a mask and snorkel. And you have six aside and you dive down and you'd have a little pusher about so big. Yeah. shaped like a T and the idea was to get the puck and then obviously get to the other end and flick it into the goal. So do have a referee underwater as well? Sort of was, but it's it's very hard. It's it's it's not a spectator sport because all the action's underwater. So yeah. And then through that I met a a a mate of mine, Shane, and just started becoming good friends with him. And then his father had a home improvement business, so glass den patios, glass enclosures, patio roofs, all those sort of things. So so I went and worked for them for a while. So sort of learnt my few few skills. On the on the tools. Yeah. Did that for a while and then did that for about or four years and then I ent to metal roofing. Okay. Yeah. Queensland metal roofing. Hot. Mm. Yeah, very hot. Yeah. At what stage did you find that out? How hot it was? my pretty much first day. But mate, it was just back in those days it was yeah, it it was good money. I remember getting my first paycheck from metal roofing. Yeah. And we got paid weekly. And it was cash. It's like the little yellow envelopes. It was cash. So it's all went through the books, but it was just you'd get paid. And it was like five hundred and ten bucks for a week. And I'm going, my God. That's a big bit of money. Yeah, I'm gonna be a gazillion next year. Yeah, yeah, that's it. This is only the bottom going all the way to the top. Yeah. So so I did that for a while and met some some great guys. still friends with a couple of them. Every two years we go on a big fishing trip up to up to Fraser Island and yeah, just talk about the old roofing days and And all of us, all the old roofers, we've all got dodgy backs. So Yeah, okay. Yeah, I get it. and then after I did that for a while, I went out on my own, had my own business, owned metal roofing business. Yep. mainly sort of domestic stuff. but there was another couple of boys that we'd team up, we all had our own businesses, but we'd worked together and we got into commercial stuff like big sheds and things, and that's where the money was. Yeah. 'Cause you could get a lot of square meter each laid per day and walls and things, so mate, basically did that for for twenty years and then I met my wife to be at the time. obviously we got married, we had three kids and then ultimately that relationship failed, but I've still got a really good relationship with all three kids, so that's the most important thing to do. Absolutely, mate. Absolutely. And you touched on a bit of it to a degree, but your lifestyle away from work, what what were you do you have for hobbies? I know you said you you were playing a couple of years of AFL. What what else did you get up to in your your days or? But there's always there's always something to do, but as the as you got older, well not not so much older, but like the the kids have the kids. the kids take up a lot of your time. and then there was always something I always loved going camping, going going over to Morton Island. just there's always always something to do, but obviously your your focus comes from yourself onto your kids to trying to provide, you know, and do the right thing by your kids to spend time with your kids. So definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So boating. Fish here. Not so much boating. Never had my own boat, but had friends that did, so that was always handy. Yeah. a lot cheaper. They say with when you buy a boat, there's two good days, the day you buy it and then the buy is the day you sell it. So Yeah, I love that, mate. So you've done twenty odd years at least of that sort of work. Yeah, yeah. And coming up to when I was around about forty, I thought, well, I'm not doing this forever. A lot of changes because I was basically self employed. And a lot of changes had come in from workplace health and safety, like if you're gonna do a a domestic re-roof, you had to have the the scaffolding around as a as a safety protection. And then so you'd spend a lot of time going and quoting jobs, and then coming back, you know, at night time and sitting down and, you know, doing a lot of paperwork and w which is quite very time consuming. And you'd go and submit the quote to the owner and you think you like it's a good price and you'd miss out on the job. And then you drive past two or three weeks later and you'd see that Some other cowboys have got the job and they haven't got the scaffolding. So obviously, you know. and that just sort of became very sort of hard and I thought, well, I'm not gonna I d I don't want to do this for the rest of my life. And then I'm thinking, well, what what else could I do? Yeah. And we were doing a job at the Norse Leagues Club on at Kalangar there. Yeah, on Anzac Avenue. And we had a bit of a A complicated morning, like materials are turned up, they're all the wrong size and just the wrong colour and it's just it's just you know, I thought I'm not doing this forever and we sat down at smoke and had the old paper back in those days. And I and I was flicking through the paper and there was an ad. And you might remember the ad, it actually had goon, so G O O N. So go go on. It said, Go on, challenge yourself. you know, join the Queensland police. And I thought, you know what, I'm gonna have a crack at that. So Came home and I tore the ad out of the the paper and then a couple of days later you get into it and you make the phone calls and they say, Well, you need a a diploma of of justice or not a d not not necessarily of justice, but you need some sort of tertiary education qualification. So so I didn't have anything. I just completed grade twelve. So I thought, Right, I'm gonna do a diploma of justice thinking. That would sort of give me sort of a bit of a an insight into the QPS, justice, whatnot. So I did Tuesday af Tuesday afternoon or Tuesday evenings, Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings at college to get my diploma. Yeah. And I remember I walked into my first classroom and I hadn't been in a classroom in twenty years. And so I've walked in and and mate, I remember I like a a deer in the headlights and there was one of the facilitators there, Dave Bradford, and I'm still mates with him. Okay. And he spotted me and he's gone, okay. And he took me under his wing, he said, Mate, we'll get you through this and whatnot and he was so good and even at my send off when I left the police, Dave was one of the people I invited and he came along and yeah, it was just like it was still really influential influential part of my decision 'cause I mean I was gonna walk out. Yeah. I thought I can't do this and yeah. And he could see the the terrified look on my face 'cause like you you walk in as a mature age student and you've got no idea. Yeah. Yeah. So no so Dave was very helpful in getting me through. Yeah. Yeah, no, I get it, mate. You had the life experience, so to speak, with dealing with people, talking to people, dealing with everyday problems. However, but scholastically. Yeah. It's it's one thing to then sit back down with pen and paper and retain things. And yeah, I get it. I had to do a justice administration course at Bond Uni on weekends as well because I was a young fella. So probably the opposite. I was a young fella. I had to prove that, you know, I I could go and do those things, so I didn't go to uni. So you're balancing that in between full time work to go, I want to do this, and you're having those questions on tough days going. fuck this shit. Yeah. But it's and then, you know, you've you've got the the the kids and you know the the marriage and everything to sort of look after as well. And yeah. And obviously something gave in the end that ended up being the marriage, but yeah that these things happen so they do. Yep. They do. That's another resume builder for the police service, isn't it? They always say that about the you know, the divorce rate and everything. Yeah. Mate, so you do that course, you I guess have that tuition proof. Yep. You then apply for the police service? Yeah, so obviously, you know, you do the application and then you sort of I there was a few hiccups. I I can't remember what it was, but it was sort of wasn't a a clear process. I think he might have had a one too many speedy infringements or something. Something might that they sort of looked for as an excuse to So I persevered and obviously eventually got in. when I got in back in those days you had a choice of you could live in if you wanted to because I still lived at What year are we talking? What was your first year At the Academy. mate, that'll be two thousand and one. Yeah, okay. Yeah, yeah. So you could live in at the Academy? We could live in at the Academy and and I just decided because obviously it was going to be a a reduction in pay because when you're doing the metal roofing, like, you know, it was like quite reasonable sort of money. So you're going down to a reduction in pave and then just the travel from r or North Lakes to the Academy and back every down at Oxley was sort of and plus I knew that When I was at home, yeah, I wouldn't get much study time because of the the kids and whatnot, so I decided to to live in and just went home on the weekend. So Yeah, okay. Yeah. What was your experience like living in? Five star accommodation. absolutely. Five star foods. Like like the like the Hilton, wasn't it? Was there a rec club back then? There was a rec club back then, mate. Yeah, yeah, and we'd we'd visit that and I've got some like, you know Very good friends as you would and everybody I guess who's gone through the academy, you make some lifelong friends there at the time, but you you don't know that at the time. Yeah. I was the first one to retire from my group. really? The oldest. So and I was very fortunate. One of the guys had left and gone down to Canberra ACT policing. So he came up from Canberra for for my farewell and and whatnot. And and still, you know, good friends, a lot of good friends from the Academy days nowadays. So it's i it's important, mate. Exactly what you said. You don't know it at the time. You're just jumping through the hoops and you look over your shoulder and you're still there and you start seeing the gazette. this person's a woman now or this person and Yeah, I I get it, mate. So you're at the Academy. Anything stand out or anything you can think of from the Academy days that still sticks with you to these days? not really, mate. Just obviously I was a little bit older than everybody and Yeah, I just Nothing nothing was over the top. I just remember the the the discipline and stuff like you all had to stand up for parade one morning and remember one of the facilitators came down to me and said, recruit Majuski, your your shirt's not ironed properly. And I replied with, boys can't iron. And then her response was as quick as a wig. She says, Well can boys do reports. all right. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. What about Marchman mate? How how were you? But the square gator. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, so so got got got got all that sorted. And obviously your your graduation day's a big day and like yeah, and you you're sharing something with, you know, people and like it's not easy, but like it's not overly over top hard, but it's like you still you take a level of commitment and and dedication saying, Okay, I'm gonna get through this. So and it's good to have your family turn up and watch you graduate and yeah and whatnot. And then You put in an application as to where you want to go. Did you get where you wanted? Where and to end up mate, my very first station was Fortitude Valley. All right. Did you put that down? I think I did. Yeah, okay. All right. So just straight into it. Yeah. Yeah. I 'cause remember, we weren't sort of we were sort of limited in preferences where we could get. So yeah. Yeah, so Fortitude Valley. I was very fortunate and I've said this to a lot of coppers, if you get a good FTO, yeah, that's half your battle. That's half a battle. And I was very lucky. I had a a young girl, Nikki Shannon, yeah, who was my FTO. So she was very good. She sort of Held my hand and whatnot. And yeah. So yeah, sometimes she'd get up me for doing the wrong things, but that's the job, you know? So Yeah, mate, exactly what you said. You you need that though. It's that bit of tough love and that in between. But it's it's that eight weeks is very vital in what sort of person you potentially pave you out to be. Yeah. mate. So can you think of do you remember your first day? I first day was night. I started on night work. And it was yeah, first yeah, first day night work in the valley. Yeah. it was very non eventful, nothing sort of happened. It was basically like, okay, this is where you get your gun, this is where you sign the keys out, blah, blah, blah. And you sort of like drive around and whatnot, and nothing sort of happened. Then and then the next night, there was a I remember there was a disturbance. 'cause that's all jobs were back then was a disturbance outside one of the pubs. Yeah. And we turned up, mate, and it was on. There was just like people just blew in everywhere. So it was just Really? Yeah. And as you know, like when you have your post training, everything's very structured and stuff. But like, you know, from going to your first full on blue, yeah, everything's out the window. It's just you do what you need to do. Yeah, I think Mal touched on it. You know, you you rarely have anyone that's coming up to you and go, Here, here's my arm, arm bar me. You know, like it's it's just a free thing. And it's yeah. And You sort of like just sort of do what you need to do and then at the end of it you're just sort of looking around like, you know, where's Nikki? Where's Nikki? And you she was fine and and then obviously, you know, all the the good guys normally win and yeah, the batteries locked up and then we have a bit of a a debrief and of course all the all the heat was on me. I had the new bloke go and then of course he went all right. Held his own. Yeah. Mate, if we're talking back, you know, two thousand one era, you've got a bat and handcuffs, cap scam spray and a gun. Is that about it? yeah, pretty much, yeah. There's no such thing as tasers or no L B Vs to you know, everything's on your hips. Yeah. That's where all all the weight's sitting on those hips, mate. Yeah. Yeah, okay, straight into it. And you know, as silly as it sounds, sometimes the size of those chunky radios, they sometimes end up becoming a weapon. And and you're running down the street and it's dragging behind you. Yeah, that's flinging out the side, connected to your epaulets. And yeah. But having said that, like after that first sort of like, I don't know, test I suppose, because you know, as you know, when you get a new cop, well, it's all well and good. how do they go when the heat's on? Yes. And after that you sort of felt like accepted. All right. Yeah. That's that fight or flight where they at. Yeah, absolutely. As Rob locked himself in the car and and I've had that happen with with other officers over the years, so that's sort of not a good feeling. No, I get it. Yeah. Any other jobs particular that stand out? Talk to me. You're not really a young fella, mate. You're a you're an you're an adult, you know, you've been around the block, mature aged, you know, in your forties versus you know, the equivalent of me when I started. See, so much starry eye, because you've had probably your nights out in the valley. Absolutely. was it what you expected? no, because obviously you see a whole different side of it. Like you you'd go out in the valley with your friends and you'd go out and you'd have some beers and you'd have a dance and whatnot, and then you'd just go home. And like you didn't actually see the the underside of it. And I remember when I was working in the valley, obviously I've got three little kids at home. I remember getting this real intense fear of like, my God, like this is what my kids are going to be exposed to in the upcoming years. And yeah, and it's that sort of like 'cause you you'd see like, you know, decent and mainly females who are victims of, you know, grubs that are trying to like spike their drinks, et cetera, et cetera. And yeah. And you'd see the the physical mess that they are on the on the ground and like they're not just unconscious, like they've they've, you know, they've urinated and they've defecated and whatnot. And you and And the and you'd know that the smell of blood, like it's it's raw. You can't you can watch a thousand videos of, you know, serious assaults and and things, but until you're actually there and you can it's the the the sensory overload of of the the blood, the smells, the sounds and Yeah, yeah. So that's that was yeah, so to answer your question, no, it wasn't what I expected at all. It's not all it's not all beer and Skittles. 'Cause I did my station duty in the valley. Because I hadn't really been out. I'd moved from obviously Gold Coaster. I applied for the Goldie, didn't get it. Yep. so I thought I'd at least do my station duty in the valley. Yeah. Because I knew as a young fella, I wanted to, I was in, you know, in many a bar fire on the gold coast and things like that. I thought, yeah. So I thought, you what, I want to be in amongst it, but in Brisbane, and there must have been a situation before when I had station duty where there was an incident, and as a result of the incident, you could only do day shift in the valley. Yeah. So Very bloody boring shifts for me. I remember walking around with one of the boys that I ended up working with many years later in PSRT. He was in the valley, that I worked with for that week. And yeah, as I said, it was just boring, mate. We're walking around, you know, waking drunks up in parks and and, you know, street checking and stuff like that. So I didn't get any part of that action until I was older and got to you know, go in there and get amongst it a bit more. But in your head, or I guess it still is. You think Fortitude Valley, you think Surfers Paradise, you think these things, and it's party safe precinct, meaning public order a lot of the time. But it's not just public order. You've got other types of jobs you're doing. What would you say, you know, without the facts, so to speak, your balance was of your type of work that you went to? I mean, a lot of it was was your public order and and your your drug offences, obviously. during my my time in the valley, I'd I'd separate it from the wife and then there was custody issues with the kids and obviously trying to present to lawyers and and things like a a a suitable agreement is when you could have the kids. Like you couldn't just as you know with rostered roster it's not easy. You can't just say, Well I'm gonna have the kids every second weekend because it just didn't work. Yeah like that. And and they were young. Like they were they weren't old enough to be sort of like looked after look after themselves and I remember I had a a good friend Linda and she used to come and just, you know, stay if I was working night work, she'd come and stay at my place and then just look after the kids and then she didn't have a car, so I'd get home from night work, and then just have to run her home and then come back and then I'm trying to get to sleep, but then the kids are waking up and they need to be taken to school and and it gets quite quite full on it and quite draining, like really draining. And then and then there was a superintendent at the valley. Tonya Carew, she was she was a really good, really good boss. she was establishing this CDSU Central District Support Unit. So basically it was a combination of officers from Fortitude Valley and officers from Brisbane City. And you'd sort of basically combine, you had two teams of a mixture of the of the officers, so which is good because you'd get local knowledge of the valley, local knowledge of the city. And our primary role was public order. We weren't to you know get involved in any sort of, you know, domestic violence things or anything. It was just we needed to be there, public order. So that actually suited me, because that way I could have the kids every second weekend because you had you work night work one weekend, you have the next weekend off. So it was either the weekends for a long time. For me it was about four years, was public order, night work on Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights, quick shift Sunday. Yeah. But you all know how taxing they are. And then the next weekend. I would had off I would have off. So the impact of my social life was was quite high because I was either working or I had the kids. Yeah. So but at that time it was just my priority to, you know, look after the the the kids and make sure that they were, you know, happy. Absolutely, mate. It is a it's a tough balance. I touched on it again. You know, I was twenty three when I started, I didn't have kids to start with. It's not that shock until I think I hit don't put me on the spot here, potentially twenty seven. Yeah. you know Have my daughter and then you start to have that bit of a balance of not having sleep even when you are home, you know, and and and that balance of being home at the right time to pick up from daycare, all sorts of other other things that although you finish work, sometimes that's when the real work starts. So it's it is quite the test. I was I was fortunate in one degree is where I lived and like the the family home and where the ex wife had moved to were relatively close. So when it was changeover, good the kids could just like say They'd leave my place on say a Monday morning, give them their lunch, school bags and things, they'd go to school and then after school they'd go to their mum's. So there wasn't the the hassle of, you know, getting in cars and driving, doing drop offs and pickoffs. So that's one thing I was grateful for. Yeah. So yeah. And if we go into the valley, types of jobs, any anything that sticks with you in particular from, you know, good, bad experiences? there was a lot of like public order and basically most of my time in the valley was with that. specific public order unit and as you know like you just you you're going to fights, that's what you're you're doing. And they'd all just sort of roll into one. And the I remember the training we got 'cause on Wednesdays we'd we'd work night work Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights, quick shift Sundays. Yeah. and normally Wednesday, dependent if you had a court date or not, Wednesday was training day. So we'd turn up for work at like eight A and we'd go into city headquarters. And there was two officers there were that sort of like ran the unit, there was Maynard Markham and Simon Townsend. And both of them were very well versed in martial arts. Yeah. So they'd teach us sort of like restraints and takedowns and and developing a a system. And you know it's like if you coppers like general duties, if they get called to a job and you're arresting Baddie, like there might be two officers wrestling with Baddie and then everyone else will pile in and they'll just stack on. But in the valley and and the city, you couldn't sort of do that because you didn't know there were so many other people around. So basically what we were sort of was really drilled into us is that you'd come in and it might be like two or three officers arresting Baddie and the rest of us would just form a cordon around them and just like just keeping people away. And they they teach us like chest checking techniques just enough to push people away without getting it fully involved with them and just it was the officer safety there was really good. Yeah. and we also say you you went to a a job at the Royal George Hotel and there was an accusation that old mate had started the fight with a bounce and throwing the first punch or whatever. You obviously, as you know, his side of the story, their side of the story, and then there's the truth in the middle. So what we'd do is we'd get the baddie and just detain him. It's not arrested this day, it's just detained. One of the officers would go in and have a look at the video footage. So we're clear in our mind exactly what happened. That officer would come back and go, Okay, Alpha. So A for Alpha. So he's going to be arrested. Mm-hmm. Or Delta's direction, just give him a d a move on direction. Yeah. So then they'd come back and they'd go, Alpha. So we all knew what exactly what was going to happen. That old mate was going to be arrested. And one of the things I I take from that training was that the most dangerous time for a police officer to get injured is at the moment of arrest. So as soon as Batty understands that he's going to get arrested, that's when he's going to be And he's most aggressive and most dangerous. Yeah. So what the the training did was you'd come back in and go, Right, Rob Alpha. So Batty didn't know what was going on. And the other officers, because we'd triangulate, you'd have one of because we had the numbers, it was good. Yeah. And you had one officer say, I was going to be the arresting officer, I'm talking to Baddie. Yeah. And the other two officers on either side of him. Yeah. You'd come in and go, Rob Alpha. So before he knew what was happening, the other officers would take hold of his arms and then I'll just go, mate. You're now under rest for assault or whatever whatever it may be. So yeah. Okay. And mate, it it works seamlessly. Like you had very, very few injuries and And that was my next question. Any injuries you got from a bit of a scrap? Not really, mate, just your bit of skin off your knuckles or elbows or something, but nothing, no, no injuries. Okay. There's nothing I can remember. So yeah. And I put that down to the training because everybody knew what everybody else was going to be doing. So was it was it was it was seamless. Yeah. Yeah. And how many years did you spend in the valley? I did about seven years. I think three years was general duties and because of my personal circumstances, with the the CCU yeah, with the with the custody of the kids and things, it just worked out. Mate, I was exhausted. Like I I really was. I was just absolutely cooked. I was just and then obviously that all all came to an end and the kids were getting a little bit older. And I got offered I used to go to the Recliffe PCYC just to go and use the weights room down there, whatnot, and did some judo down there and and sort of got to know the the management down there. And then I'd sort of got offered like half-heartedly, mate, there's a position coming up as the second officer at the PCYC. You'd be interested in doing that. And I thought, you know what, yeah, I would. so went through, put in the application and got the job as the senior as a second officer there. Yeah. So there was Lang Park. And Redcliffe, PCYC, two biggest PCYCs in Queensland. Mm. Most police positions at a PCYC are held by just one officer. Yeah. But because Lang Park and Redcliffe were such big, such big entities and the the two officers. A lot of people don't understand that the PCYCs are actually the you've got two bosses. You have the private sector and then you have the police as well. And so a lot of times I'd do some relieving is like if Parksy had gone away on long service leave. Found it was a real balance in act trying to please both aspects. And Redcliffe PCYC, a lot of their income came from childcare. Yes. So you'd have like before school care, after school care. And then there were so many activities at Redcliffe PCY C. There was like soccer, there was netball, there was trampolining, it was gymnastics and things. And so it was a a big it was a big club and there was a it always seemed to be at a meeting with subcommittees like the committee from the soccer club, the committee from the gymnastics. Yeah, whatever. Or the stakeholders. Yeah. Yeah. And at one stage there I was we had a a youth management team. So basically the young kids, sort of like you know, 15 and under, had to come up with activities and things. So they'd basically have to come up with the idea, put together a plan, and then present it to me. And because I'd done the Duke of Edinburgh training. And then basically it was me to oversee the kids and say, well, we can do this, we can't do that. How about we try this? Anyway, so it basically all all came together. But the best part of that job for me was my young bloke Nicholas. He was in this youth management team. Yeah. So on when they organise activities, we had a trip over to Morton Island one day, we had trips down to the the the glowworm caves down here on the Interland, the Gold Coast, yeah, and a few other places and sailing sailing expeditions and whatnot. And So I got to share that with my son whilst I'm getting paid. So yeah, so that that was good. Okay. And then then my role changed at the PCYC and I wasn't sort of enjoying it a as much. I had to be sort of more administrative and you know me, I'm not an administrative kind of guy. It's definitely not that. And then so then I thought, well, I wouldn't mind doing country policing. Yeah. I thought I'll I'll get into that, you know, if I can. So I went and saw Daryl Keyes, who was the OAC at Redcliffe Station at the time. Keysey was I loved Keysey. I actually Yeah, I'm the same, mate. I love dude. I I loved well, I knew him from doing judo at the before I even became a copper. So I had this bit of a It's a hard ass. he was funny, mate. You just make me laugh. Just old school. Just old school. Anyway, and then I came up and saw him and saw, mate, I want to go out and do country policing and cause Keyesy being an old ex country copper. Yeah. mate, yeah, do it's great. Best thing you've ever done, yeah. Blackwater country place. Yes, yes, yes, yeah. Anyway, so so I went and saw that and I I got back into into the one of the teams at Redcliffe and there was we're all a bunch of misfits, all divorced and separated and it was myself, Brad, Pam, and then we're very fortunate. We've got Patty O'Hearn came in to be our sergeant as well and yeah, and sergeant he was a great guy, yeah. great guy. Stunning to look at too. Just asking you to and then yeah so I just sort of like got some experience like you know basically reskilling because you had a out of the system for you know a couple of years you know because you didn't do many rests down at PCYC. So your Q prime and just all your you know it's like all your custody and all that sort of thing. So so it basically got reskilled and a few jobs started coming up and a senior Connie position came up at Farga Minder. And so I'd actually put in for that. I only ever thought that place was fake for scenario based stuff on the CDP. No, no, Thargaminder. Yeah. All right. And Thargaminder's about like a thousand kilometres or eleven hundred kilometers west of Brisbane, so it's long way out. Anyway, so came up as the there's a two officer stations, senior Connie, so and Keasey was away on long service leave. Yeah. Anyway, so I was away, I put in for it, and basically got shortlisted. And then Keyse came back from long service leave. He goes, Rop in my office. You know, he used to talk bruff and whatnot. And he goes, what's this we hear about you put in for Thargaminder, you know, rah rah rah and I said, Well boss, you always know I'd wanted to do country policing. He goes, yeah, he says, but go out as a sergeant. He said, you know, it'd be better for you and better super and whatnot. And I thought, well, 'cause I respected the guy and I well, so that'll that'll be okay. So So pulled out of the Thargaminder job and then couple of sergeant spots came up at because I'd done me D P and Yeah and all that was mate, that was just so painful. Jumping through the hoops. and mate it was literally jumping through. Did you do it though or did you just be a paste? No, no, I did it. I did it. Okay. And then but you think like I'll just get through it. And because all you need you didn't need a pass markers it just needed a J or an Yeah. What was J was competent and was not competent or whatever it was. One of the two. Yeah. Anyway, so I submitted it anyway and no, I think I got I think I got forty eight and a half or something out of a hundred. So fight. So anyway, so then I had to play the game, ring up MDP and go, no fix this. Yeah, can you help me? Anyway, and I think there's five sections you had to complete anyway. And so I rang up MDP, you know, play Well Is Me, can you help me? They go through it with you, they tell you what buzzwords to put in. So I did that and we got to the end of the third section and I said to us, Thanks very much. Like, that's done. That's all I need now. And she goes, what do you mean? I said, Well, I only need one and a half extra marks. I don't need to need to get a hundred out of a hundred, right? Yeah. And she goes, that's not the way it's meant to be. You know, you're supposed to be learning and that's not the way it works. And I like, Well, yes it is, like Yeah. And then so then I just did the three sections, resubmitted it, came back as a pass. Happy days. And then she had a little footnote on I note with interest that as per our conversation you did not make any adjustments to all that. Whatever. A bare minimum sorted. So yeah, so then a couple of sergeant spots come out. I put in for one at Winton and one at Connamullah. I interviewed for the Winton one on the Monday and then interviewed for Cunamulla on the following Wednesday. I got a phone call on the Wednesday evening from the O. I. C of Connamalla station and he said, mate, under interviews, your preferred applicant We also know your preferred applicant for Winton, but we want you to come out here. Okay. And I've gone, okay. Choices, you know, good. so then I sat down with Charlotte and sort of, you know, had a yarn with her and she was willing to move out with me, so to where I went. So I thought that was a big move and then we just settled on Cunamala 'cause it's just that little bit closer back to Brisbane. She had she had two kids. Yeah. And then she said, as long as there's a school for the kids. Mm. I said, Well, you say anything about bringing your kids, but Yeah. But like jet in jest, you know, yes. So then so we moved out to Cunamullah yeah. So I got the sergeant's position out there. So mate, my first couple of years at at Connamola, I thought, well, how good is this? Like I'm gonna stay here till I retire. It was we had a a great group of officers, everybody got on well. We had a police liaison officer, Lori, he was just he was a legend. Yeah, you called us out there for a job. Yeah. A week and meals and had some shit to clean up. Yeah. And so we got the boys out there and yeah, and Laurie was just like very he's actually a shearer actually holds a world holds a world record for shearing number of sheep a few years ago. So and he being local, he was such a great contact with yeah, and it was really still in the job? He's actually No, he's actually a police officer himself. good. Went through and get wasted staying where he was. He yeah, I'm glad he did that. Was it is he but did he go back out there, do you know? Where did he go? no, well he him and his wife had a a shop at Bollin, which is about two hundred Ks next to Brisbane. Had a little takeaway place. Yeah. Obviously Laurie joined the police and they had to sort of lease it out and then had problems with leasees because lease E's didn't work as hard as what they shouldn't and I believe they've just sold the sold it anyway. So and Laurie and his wife Deb, still good friends and they're up at I think Laurie's at the PCYC up at the Wit Sunday somewhere. So that that's him. He's a community officer. Yeah, he's he's a really good guy. But intimidating. Like you've met him, he's like six foot four and and to be a sheep shearer and as be as good as he's a bloody strong bastard. And he he's quick at it too, you know, like you said, he's got some records with it all. He's yeah, he's a weapon. He's a beast, he's yeah, excited and he's just lit up, you know, he's passionate, he's smiling, yeah, he's talking about the Abbeys and this and here and the goat curries and there's all sorts of things. He's always gone, you know. Yeah. Always got something happening. So yeah, that he was he was awesome to me when that when I was up there. and I remember that time you guys came out there and there was there was one guy in particular, he's like he wasn't the main target of why we got you guys out to we do like all these multiple arrests and there's this one guy who was just a just a knob jockey you you turn up to you you turn up to noise complaints in him and all the time and he'd come out and you know, go, mate, you know Noise complaints, you know, it's gotta be after ten o'clock at night. And so, mate, no, it doesn't. Yeah, yeah. He was he was trained. And he goes, he goes, You he said, You're the sergeant. He said, You should know. He said, I've studied law and order for for ten years and I said, What law and order the the T V show? Yeah, that that doesn't count, mate, you know? And then and then one day he says, he was a big fellow and he goes, mate, he said, You there's not enough coppers here in Karlamulla for you blokes to arrest me and At that stage we didn't have enough on him. Yeah. So I mean there was some b under you know behind the scenes work going on him. And so when you guys came out we left him to last and I don't know if you remember we we walked up there and he handed himself straight in. No, no, we walked up to him and I've gone and like all you boys get out behind us and so there's like a big and I said, mate, Sergeant Majewski, Caramola police, you know, under arrest for you know GBH or so whatever it might have been. Yeah. and I said, And do you remember that day that you told us there wasn't enough police in Karlamulla? Exhibit eight. Yeah. And yeah, and then then he just folded and walked out. Mate, I remember yeah, just the drive up there for us, you know, long period of time and you know, you're driving our our blacked out four drives and stuff and yeah, you're pulling up to either refuel or get something to eat and the town knows that we're coming before anything, you know. So tipped off from the town before the town before that. Absolutely, absolutely, yeah. I think the harshest thing for me, I'd just swapped over to Vodafone. Yeah. And as a result, reception. I lost my reception, which just killed me because you know, that was my way of ha at least having FaceTime with my kids. Yeah. I wasn't there. And yeah. Yeah, that was a struggle. But you know, yeah, it's at the end of the day, small country town and that sort of thing. And a good bit of rehydration and barbecue, mate, will get you through it all. So you like to look after the the visiting coppers. We had dr roadside drug testing unit come out as well. Yeah. A couple of times. And and the same deal, mate, like within Ten minutes. Everyone knows you're there. Everybody knows that they're there and and and the the car, the traffic at Karamala, like there's not much anyway, but the streets would be quiet, mate. There'd be no one driving. Yeah. Ex except for the the the locals, you know, the the the good citizens. So yeah, but it it was funny. Good fun. Yeah, yeah. Good fun, mate. And that was my only time I've seen Carnamallah mate. So yeah, and I only knew it from I think it was a Slim Dusty song. Yes, mate, yeah, yeah, yeah. The Carnamallah fellow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's the only way I knew it growing up. So Yeah. But but but country policing is is is totally different. like you need to get involved in the community and I remember when I first got there, a couple of boys were playing cricket and they said to me, come and play cricket and I said the worst thing I could have possibly said. I Mate, I haven't played cricket in twenty years. Yeah. you used to play, dude. Yeah, okay. Yeah. So within twelve months of that conversation, I was the president, the captain, opening bat. Yeah, right. And just, yeah, sort of organised the whole thing, which I enjoyed. But it was great way to get in with the community. The community. And the thing about the the country policing, and this I'll always advocate for people to get involved with the community is it's the Cunamalla cricket team, Cunamalla sand go in it. So when we first played everyone had different coloured shirts, you'd have be fielding and everyone have beers around where they're fielding and it was just it was just social. Anyway, so I did some fundraising with the the local pub, the local medical center out there. They were offering two hundred dollars or something for every one of the indigenous youth that would come into the the medical centre and get get a full medical. Yeah. They'd put two hundred dollars towards the sponsorship, you know. Yeah, good. So I did that and ended up getting a a bit of money together. So we needed new cricket bats, new we needed balls 'cause each ball each game you had to have a each team had to supply a b a ball. So cricket balls are quite expensive. we got some bats, pads helmets, wicked keeping gloves, all the stuff we sort of need, some new carry bags and whatnot. Anyway, instead of just ordering it online, we would have got a lot cheaper, I went through the local sports store and they were just so happy, like 'cause you know, there was it was it was probably three thousand dollars worth of of of gear. So they're just wrapped, you know. So that sort of stands you in good steed with the with the community. Big time. And then one of the local pubs would sponsor us two cartons of beer for every game. So and I'd sell the beers. for two dollars. So basically, you know, forty eight beers would nearly get a hundred bucks. Yeah. But even then, mate, they'd nicking Yeah. Two bucks. Give us a break, you know? Like anyway. And then so we got this money together, got all the new gear, went to a training session at the Nets. We had trainings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, whatever it may be. So I'd always get there early, I'd go and set the cones up round the field and put the stumps in and whatnot. Anyway, we had all these new bats. So, you know, the and the team was a combination of Some police officers, some teachers, some of the local farmers, and basically whoever wanted to play, and some of the indigenous boys. Yeah. And so they'd turn up and obviously like, you know, they knew who the coppers were and whatnot. And when you'd have practice sessions in the nets, some of them were quite slippery, like quite quick bowlers. And when you're having the practice sessions in the nets, whenever I was batting or one of the other coppers, they'd be a little bit shorter and a little bit faster. Yeah. So and and you build up a bit of a rapport with them. Definitely. And transferring that social side of it to policing. if you've ever been in a small country town, like heavy in indigenous population, and you ha that there's a a death, like a a family death. Yeah. They'll come from everywhere, like and basically the I believe that the government would give them money for travel, accommodation and fuel money so so they could get to the the funerals to pay their respects, et cetera. But they'd all just get together in someone's house and they'd just pull all the money. And they'd go and buy grog and they'd they'd party for a week. Yeah, they'd they'd party for a week. So we're always getting called into noise complaints, you know, because they're partying and whatnot. So you turn up and like normally I'd be rostered on and I'd be on with a you know, a a a constable. And you turn up to the party and mate, they're they're hanging out off the rafters and they're putting parent on and thinking, okay. So you'd walk up and you obviously you met with a bit of fire and brimstone and a bit of verbal. But mate, I can honestly look you in the line and tell you every single occasion we went to a noise complaint and had to shut it down. Yeah. There was someone there from the cricket team, yeah. Who'd come out and go, No, no, no, it's it's Rob, it's all good, we'll sort it out. Yeah. And so and we'd just stand back and they'd disperse. Normally they just moved somewhere else, but I honestly it just like it got so much leverage because yeah, you were you're still the coppers and like. They just had that little bit of respect. It's community. It's not us versus them. It's not a uniform versus whatever. It's just, no, this is this is Rob, but you I bloody split his head open in the nets the other day. You know, he's a good bike. It makes a big difference to have that human touch. Yes. Yeah. In fact, and what I do is like after the games, after the home games, we'd go back to the pub that sponsored us and take the away team, like normally it might be Quilt beer or a charge team or whatever, and I'd buy three jugs of beer out of my own money. For the team. Yeah. Not for the indigenous boys, but for the team. So coppers could have it, the farmers, teachers, whatever. Anyway, and after the three jugs were gone, 'cause didn't take long. Yeah. The boys go, more beer, more beer. I go, No. Well, yeah, that that's enough. Now and all that worked well for a while. And then we had there was a lot of internal politics at Carnamala Station, which unfortunately ruined the station, as as far as I was concerned. It was just like just went from being, you know, the best place or I've ever worked to stay in the the rest of my career to I just couldn't get out of there quick enough. Yeah. And and I won't I won't bore everyone with the details, but basically we had a a new D S, a detective sergeant, and obviously people would, you know, come in, report their crimes and anything was worth going up would go to the DS. Yeah. But with this new D S, he was never available. He wouldn't even give me a copy of his rosters to when he was working. And what I'd say to him, mate, I understand that a a detective's roster is going to be very fluid because of different requirements and things, but we need a guideline. And there was a there was a break in at one of the shops and some big firearms were stolen. About there was about eighteen firearms were stolen. And like so that's you know quite a significant job. And the guy had the firearms stolen, those are all reg like his weapons license all registered, like all totally above board. And he's coming in, he's going, mate, where's my firearms? We're what's the update? What the update? And I couldn't get anything from this DS is to like, you know, because he just basically wouldn't communicate with us. And yeah. Anyway, and that caused a lot of angst and and whatnot. And yeah, it's just it just it just became an unworkable situation. And so him and I were always butting heads. Yeah. And then because like my job as the as a sergeant was to sort of liaise with CIB on behalf of the troops. Yes, of course. And and then he'd go I turned up to work one morning. it was an eight o'clock start and I turned up for work and I was the only one there and I said to the AR, We said, Where's all the troops? She said, the DS has come in I won't say his name, but th the D S had come in and changed their roster to all start at six o'clock so he could go out and do a warrant, a search warrant. Right. And I said, okay. So yeah, fortunately Connamala wasn't you know wasn't overly busy. And when they came back in I went and pulled him aside I mate you've got no right to change my staff's roster without informing me. Yep. And he goes, well, operational requirements. I go, No. I said, if you're going to do that, at least give me the courtesy of letting me know. And I would, you know, I'm not going to say, no, you can't do it. Of course you can have him, but just do the courtesy me of letting me know. Yep. And so that just all escalated and whatnot. And then one of the Connies came in and said to me, he's given me this pinch and look an ab obstruct. Yep. And I said, Okay, what happened? She says, Well, I don't know. I wasn't even there. I was outside. I didn't even see it. And I said, Well, you didn't see any of it? She said, No. She said, At the end of the job, he just said, I've given this guy a notice and put her name on it and said, You can do it. Yeah, right. Anyway, so I've gone to front him about it and he said, mate, it's a walk up. I Mate, if it's a walk up, you do it. Yeah. So you know, and that just created a whole heap of Yeah, I can imagine. Yeah. So, Yeah, and unfortunately that was the beginning of the end in in Panama. So and then I had there was a new OIC had come in to the previous OIC, who was she'd have detective training background herself, so Yep. so she left and we got a new OIC and the new OIC came in and he was best mates with the D S. Okay. So I was in the firing line and mate, and it just it just went tits up like There's all these allegations and complaints and things made against me and the union got involved and came out and basically long story short, but basically I was talking to making a a bullying complaint against and you know me, that's just not me. Yeah. I said, I'm not comfortable doing that. Yeah. And they said, Well, no, they'd done their investigations and they'd got affidavits and statements from all the other troops that, you know, this guy was coming in to work and saying, we're gonna have a good day today, Rob's not here and Rob's the problem, blah, blah, blah, et cetera, et cetera. So And so on union advice, I I went down that path and unfortunately, you know, there's lot of hoops to jump through. But at the end of it, I was vindicated and saying like, you know, okay, you know, you were in the right. And to me personally, that was the main scratch because you start doubting yourself. Yeah. You start thinking like, Am I doing the wrong thing? Am I am I making the right decision? And like and I was like I was pretty confident doing what I was doing, but then you start second guessing yourself. think, yeah, this this isn't right. So yeah, so long process, mate, but basically I was vindicated and like, you know, everything I was doing was right. So And how was that? Like obviously small country town. there's no real escape no mate from that. So how how are you dealing with that? Mate, and at the same time, like I was with my partner out there, Charlotte. And you know, we had a really good relationship and whatnot. And she had two boys from a a previous relationship and Two boys were living with us and one of them was a boarding school and he was, you know, he was bit of a bit problematic. So he came back and was living with us because he'd been thrown out of the boarding school. Yeah. So I was finding I'm having all these dramas at work and then I was going home and having to deal with his stuff and there was no there was no escape. Okay. Yeah. And yeah, and like you you you have mates out there, but they're all sort of involved in the job and just like for a long time you just sort of think, Well, wow, like you know Where where's the relief? Where's where's my downtime? Yeah. Where's my downtime? B time. the one thing I did do was at Cunamullah they've got you've got a fifty metre pool out there, a full size Olympic pool. Okay. And so what I'd do is I'd go and I'd cut out a K, like so twenty laps just up and down. That was my bit of relief time and then you get out and you dry yourself down and you go, okay. Now either A, I'm walking back into a Hornet's nest at work. Yes. Yes or B, I'd have go back To home and and obviously the the relationship between Charlotte I started to deteriorate at that point. So yeah, so obviously, you know, what happens at your workplace, you don't mean to, but you carry it home. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. And the most minor small things that the becomes a big issue, yeah. Yeah. And and like you we were speaking before, like you say, you you you'll be at work and you can make decisions like bang, bang, bang, bang. Yeah. And all of a sudden you get home, it's like, what do you want for dinner? And you just can't. You just don't know. You just cook. You're just like, like, do I really have to make this decision? Like it it it's not important. Yeah. And then in hindsight, you look back and go, well, okay, well, is it important for them to let them know what I was wanting to do? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And even little things like you'd have a weekend off. Where do you want to go on the weekend? I don't know. Yeah. And and like it kind of like there was so many places you could go just for like trips by the river. And we're literally like three minutes out of town. Like so that but you're just you're empty. You're done. Yeah. You just like you just wanna for want of a better word, just sort of curl up into a ball and and not deal with with anyone. So yeah. Yeah, mate, it takes a toll. So you go from that, what's the next step from there? 'Cause you it's not retirement. No, mate, nah. No, mate. Like I said, I was I was ready to finish my my service out there, but basically the new IC what there was A female officer, just to give some context, there was a female officer, second year Connie, who'd come out to Connamullah and she'd been involved in a critical incident at her previous station where she had to discharge her firearm. she was a young girl. she's moved out to Connamala, she knew nobody, had no support. Yeah. anyway, and then she approached me, which she was quite entitled to do and say, I'm nervous about my firearm, like, you know, blah, blah, blah. I haven't done the And there was a couple of guys in the team in the team that were D FTO instructors. So I went in and saw the OIC because essentially it it's his decision and yeah, and to be informed of what's what state your your constable's in. And mate, I kid you not, this is exactly what he did. I walked in, said to me, mate, this constable, she's been involved in a critical incident. She's sort of finished that critical incident and boom straight out to Cunamala. She's got no support. She's really nervous. She's quite anxious. Yeah. His exact response was put his hands in his face, rubbed his face, pointed me out the door and said, pointed me room and said, You're the sergeant, you deal with it. So okay. So I went out, there was two DFTOs, so firearms instructors, which was perfect for me and I didn't have to get anyone down from Charlevore or anything. I had the keys to the Connamala Gun Club, which is where when we did our firearms training, we would use the gun club, so it was all approved and what the correct place to do it. Yeah. So I gave them the keys and I said, guys, this is a situation with the young Connie. Can you just take her out? and just don't make it formal, just you know, let her discharge the weapon a few times. So yeah. They did that. they came back, you know, an hour or two later or whatnot and said she was really nervous but she's fine now and they put her through not a not a full assessment, but what she would have to do to be assessed, like to pass it so pass your recoil. So she did that. So Thanks very much, boys. Really appreciate it. Blah, blah, blah. she came in, gave me a big hug and she says, thanks, Rob. She says, I needed that. You know, that was, you know. And 'cause she'd I'd try to have it all I'd just come back from leave. Yeah. And I'd told the senior sergeant, mate, this needs to be done. Yeah. And he did nothing about it. Yeah. And then she came to me and said, you know, he's done nothing and actually had told her it's part of policing, harden up. Yeah. So yeah, there's lots of that, mate. That goes off, yeah, that goes off another direction. So yeah. Anyway, so my part got the training done. And then the two boys, the firearms instructors, it was after shifts. So I authorised two hours overtime to them. He comes in a couple of days later, barking his head off at me, going, you know, why do you authorise the two hours overtime? I'm this is my station. I'm the only one that can authorise overtime as well. I said, I'm a sergeant, I can authorise up to three hours overtime and as I have done for years and every other sergeant in state can do. Yeah. and you knew about it 'cause you told me to deal with it. Deal with it. Yeah. And he's right in my office. So he walked in the office. He went to close the sword, mate, don't close the door. I said, I'm not staying. I said, I can't stay here. I can't work with you because you're a fucking dickhead. Yeah. And to make it worth make it worse, you're dangerous because you're a fucking liar. Yeah, okay. And walked out of the station. Yeah. And that was pretty much my last shift at at Connamoya. And I that's gonna come and bite you on the ass. And then there was a newly appointed inspector, yeah, who'd appointed him as the newly appointed senior sergeant. The inspector rang me and he said, Rob, this is what he's said has happened. And I said, Well it's not quite true. I sort of actually called him a fucking dickhead. Yeah. Fucking life. So you know, let's just be clear. Yeah. In the honest of interest in the interest of honesty. Yeah. That's what we said. Anyway, and then he sort of like, you know, played a dance. you know, we understand that, you know, you can't can't have we can't have this, you know, you're gonna have to move on and blah, blah, blah. I Yep, I understand that. Anyway, Then after that I was sent back to Brisbane, which put more of a strain on on my relationship because Charlotte had to stay in Katamalla 'cause she's got two boys at yes at school. So she couldn't sort of leave mid year. And then, you know, she was gonna stay until they finished that year. so I came back down to Brisbane and I was offered a a spot in Boundle policing, traff boundle traffic. Okay. And mate, I'd never done traffic in my in my life. Like I you know, flat out riding tickets because it wasn't sort of my my genre, so to speak. Yeah. But mate, I actually enjoyed it because you actually got to deal with half decent people half the times. And yeah, sure, you'd still get your dickheads and whatnot. But a lot of times it's just good, honest people just making a a simple mistake, like just going too fast. Yeah. And then so you've got to sort of I enjoyed that side of it. Okay. and obviously, I made some some good friends at at Boundle Traffic. But what I was very, very conscious of And I've spoken to a couple of boys after since I retired about this, was that I was coming down as a country copper sergeant into boundle traffic, like a specialized area with no traffic experience. Yeah. And I didn't want to come in as the sergeant going, right, you know, you do this, you do that, because those boys have got like some of them are are career traffic coppers. Yeah. They'd know more than about traffic policing than I'd ever know. So so I had to sort of like tread gently there. and so my job there wasn't to teach them about traffic, it was just to leadership. Yeah. Guide. Yeah, and then support. Yeah. And so that's basically pretty much what I did. And yeah. I you know, I've still got a lot of good friends from from traffic. But that was only a a t a temporary position. Yep. So I'm coming towards the end of my career, right? I've only got three years to go. So so I'm happy just to sort of like, you know, get through. And then they a position came up as a a permanent position with roadside drug testing unit. Okay. And one of the guys said to me, So Rob, that's a great job. There's some great people there. But there's some, you know, really good officers. And so once again, I'm going into that that position as a sergeant with all these coppers from roadside drug testing who a career that's all they want to do is just finish their careers out, you know. Anyway, but once again, mate, I I think I sort of fit it in and made some some good friends and and that was during the the COVID times. And because we weren't front line with such, we were deployed a lot to the hotels, airports, yes, Horn Islands, Bamiga, Gold Coast, Surfers. And mate, it was great. It was like ten days on, four days home, off to a different place. And it was it was just such a good such a good time. Yeah. And then obviously COVID sort of came to an end and whatnot. And then the drug trusting drug testing unit was shut down by so the drug testing unit was shut down. And so all these coppers and good coppers, traffic coppers have been like it ought to go all off into different positions. But then I was offered, like I live at North Lakes, I was offered a shift supervisor position at Yamanto. Wow. And like so for those not yeah understanding the logistics of that, as like probably a two hour drive from Salt Lakes to your mantle. And I just said, I'm not doing that. Yeah. I'm sorry, like I'd rather resign now, but I'm not doing that. And then no, no, no, that's the position and the the wording I got from one of those inspectors was actually we thought it might be good for you to have a change. Okay. I'm going, I'm a couple of years away from retiring. Why do I want to change? Like, you know, I've come back from out west. Why do I want to change? Like where I live? Yeah. Yeah. This close to retirement. So Yeah. Anyway, so I made it pretty obvious that I wasn't gonna go. and then once again you get threatened with all these things, things. And like I didn't care, mate. I really didn't care. No, I get it, mate. And then I was offered then another spot came up at Crime Stoppers. Yeah. which was just basically sitting in an office. it's a building, there's no natural light. And you know me, like with Q Prime and stuff, like like Yeah, you weren't the Wiz Kid. I wasn't the Wiz Kid. And then and it was all like you get these files through and then you had to work out what area it went into and then it was a different program and I just really struggled there and I just get it. I wasn't enjoying it and then I remember on day two, Crime Stoppers, I drive to work and then as you go in, there's a security gate, like the boom gate for the cars. Yeah, so I pull in, there's a car in front of me. Boom gate goes up, he drives through, I drive through. Go in, get my pass, go up, sit at my desk, go and get my coffee. And one of the sergeants from Police Link comes over. He goes, get out, mate, I'm such and such. yeah, I believe you'll robbed the the new guy. I said, Yes, mate, yeah. He goes, mate, we've had a complaint about you. I said, Well, I just got here, I've done nothing. Yeah. Like And he goes, I said apparently when you came into work this morning you didn't use your security pass. I said, Well, obviously I did because I'm in the building. Yeah. He goes, No, no, no, through the gate. He said, You followed another car in. Yeah. He goes, no. Can't do that. No, can't do that. Big, big no, no. Yeah. And I just remember my God, like how how do I end up here? Yeah. Yeah. Get to the end of the career and I said to the sergeant, I said, Well, mate, well, can you tell the guy that made the complaint that, you know, thanks very much for the information, but I've only been here day two. I haven't been given an orientation. I wasn't aware of that and that he's hanging on too tight. Yeah, okay. No, I get it, yeah. So and then that only lasted about three weeks. The OS came up to me, she said, You're not enjoying it here, are you? And I No, I'm not. I said, I didn't ask to be. Yeah, so and and I just don't understand the programming and at that stage I had about twelve months to go with my career. Well, like so twelve months isn't a long time. No. But it's a long time to be doing something you you're not happy with. Hundred percent. Yeah. Yep. Anyway, so then a a physician or like a a lateral transfer. To go to bound or tech crime for the last 12 months. So so I just went there, mate, and just around my career there. Okay. Yeah. So I want to go over quite a few bits. We've sort of skipped through. That's the, I guess, the fundamentals of your timeline, so to speak, as far as the careers go. One thing I I want to touch on, and we'll go back to the Connemulla and the rural policing, how good that country policing is and stuff like that, is yes, the Morton Division is not that. However, and things have changed since then. I've harped on about it before on other podcasts. But you had North Brisbane, then things were cut off at the bridge at Sandgate. Yes. Yep. And then it was Morton Division. And it was you're on your own, so to speak. And by on your own, I mean you didn't have obviously the same sort of funny. More importantly, you didn't have DDOs. Your access or time delay to specialist services were a little bit longer. Yes, it could get there. That's cool. So I've had obviously other people on and been criticized by some bosses on socials going. Well, it's done this way. I'm like, with all due respect, it might be in Brisbane and you've got a million people tripping over each other. Yeah. But the reality of that is when you don't have the certain leadership with Sea Sergeants, which has now changed, you didn't have that. So that's all well and good. And that's Morton Division, which is a minute outside Sandgate where they did have them. Yeah. Let's skip back to Cunamullah. Yes. I know how bloody long it took us to drive from Brisbane. I think it was estimated about nine hundred kilometres. Yes, just show I nine hundred. Nine hundred K. So it's not up the road, hey, can we get a specialist unit here? And and so what you're done is is you're required to obtain a certain skill set to get to the end result without using those people that are trained or methodologies in that simply not available. Absolutely. And you do you have to think outside the box. You don't have the fifteen people to check through things, but more importantly, as I mentioned, I got out there and my phone reception dropped off straight away. Yes. The radio receptions next to nothing. Yep. You've no doubt had some bigger incidents that have happened in that area. Yeah, obviously. Yeah. C communication. Have you got anything anything you can touch on in regards to s maybe some bigger incidents that you gotta think outside the box? There was one particular incident in in particular was I was in bed one night and it was I remember it was winter and it was like cold because like it gets hot out there, but it also gets cold in winter. I got a phone call from Comco saying that there was a a siege happening out at Yulow, which is another eighty kilometres further west from from Karnamalla. So yeah. And basically all the briefing was was that we had a a a guy was affected by drugs and he'd barricaded himself in a van in a residential area, had poured petrol all over the van and round the areas and that he had six twenty litre jerry cans okay in the van and he was gonna blow everything up. So okay, so all right. So I've obviously had to rally rally the troops, get a couple of troops together and one of the guys I got to come out with me was the police liaison officer. Yeah. who was like very well respected in the area. And I think I'd got some information that he he might have been a shearer. so and Lori's background was shearing so I thought well he'd be good because he might know this guy. And it turns out that Lorrie did actually know the guy. So that was that was a good call. Anyway, so we get out to the job and obviously you haven't got the resources. You don't have twenty units turn up so you can have every possible scenario. Okay, go The full SMEAC briefing, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And and actually turns out that there was two crime scenes because he'd actually had had tried to set fire to a bin or something earlier, but at the time there's there's like three of us, there's myself, there's one other officer and there's the police liaison officer. Yeah. So trying to coordinate this guy and and whatnot. Get out there and like first thing I established is like he was legit. Like you could smell the petrol, you could it was a like a high ace van with the door open. You could see the cans of fuel. So it was legit. we'd managed to catch up with a couple of people that he'd been with and they said he's just got off chops and he is gonna blow this thing up and whatnot. Anyway, and he'd come out and he was like quite a solid bloke, and he'd just had a pair of shorts on and he had these two knives. and he's like stabbing himself. It's just superficial stuff, but like, you know, he's he's obviously his intent was high. Anyway, so and obviously it it's pitch dark, it's just freezing cold and like saying communications you have none. mobile phones were all but useless. Yeah. comms, like your radio was virtually null. You might get a couple of keywords in, but that was basically it. There was there was no, you know, hey I need this, I need this, I need that. Yeah. Anyway, the night sort of progressed, like old mate contained, he was happy. He was sort of like getting tired. So I was just hoping he'd go and fall asleep. Yeah. Anyway, so then when we got a bit of a break, one of the locals had come out and I'd known him because I got involved with the community and I said, mate, can you go back to the station? sorry, make a phone call to the station 'cause they had landlines and just say this is what we need. So we had a sat phone. And so in hindsight, I probably should have grabbed the sat phone on the way out. But anyway. So we get the sat phone out of there, so then at least had a bit of communication so I could sort of relay what was going on. fiery's turned up, because obviously you went to fiery's out there, it all does go boom, and so they turn up and they're all in their breathing apparatus and and whatnot. And the night sort of progressed and Laurie was having quite a bit of success with this guy and keeping his calm, but he'd he'd elevate quickly and then he'd de escalate quickly and he was up and down, up and down. I remember the morning breaking, so it's sort of coming to daylight and I got a phone call on the SAT phone from an inspector, from I don't know where it was from in Brisbane somewhere, D D O or RDO or whatever it was. And he basically he starts like chastising me saying, Well mate, why haven't you got CERT out there or you know, or PSRT at least and why haven't you requested negotiators? And I said, Well, actually Sir I actually have. but c communications are poor. I tried getting it on comms and I just can't leave and go and Yeah. So I said, I actually have requested those things, but and they did get through and they said, Well, no, we can't we can't get them out there. And then he Well, what do you mean they can't get them out there? He said, where are you? You west of Brisbane. I said, Yes, sir. Well, where west of Brisbane? I said, Like, you know, nine hundred and eighty Ks. Yeah. He went, He said, I thought you were out in the Kenmore area. And then so that was the end of that conversation. So yeah. So anyway. Then I had a a senior sergeant from New South Wales police because it's quite close to the border. Yeah. He'd obviously, you know, heard through comms and stuff that what was and who the guy was. And he said to me, he rang me, he mate, this is gonna go one or two ways. You're gonna have to like shoot him, yeah, or he's just gonna naturally calm down. Okay, so so that happened. I start getting some more crew crew out. and then the local public and he's coming out and 'cause we're out there for like, I it was fourteen hours or so Publicans are coming out and he's making us food and water and stuff like that, keeping us all hydrated and replenished, which was great. Anyway, so I got another couple of coppers come out in the morning. Anyway, an old mate with the sun come up, he starts escalating. Anyway, he comes out, and fortunately it was a big white area, and he comes out with his knives, and for some reason he targeted me. Like he wasn't interested in anyone else. He was just he was gonna Right. Go me. So anyway, and then He starts coming at me like he wasn't running, but he's got these two knives and he's he's cut himself up and like obviously QAS are out there as well. Anyway, and I've spoken to the the local, you know, volunteer fire brigade to the local boss out there and I mate, just thinking outside the square, I said, That fire hose, if you crank that up, will that knock him off his feet? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm thinking, okay, that's an option. I know it's it's not in any post or Yeah, there's no training academy for that. But problem was, mate, was that Because the sun had come up and all the people starting to come about their business, they're all starting to get in behind him. So I'm here, bad he's there. Yeah. And they're behind him. Yeah. And like did just did not have the resources to get the cops and say, mate, go and get those people away. Anyway, so I'm thinking, like, yeah, the last thing you want to do is deploy the the firearm and miss. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. So but fortunately it didn't come to that anyway. And then he starts coming at me and like and I was walking back like had the had the whole area had a look so I'm fully prepped, all ready to go. yeah, when I ran out of space. And then then he just dropped. Yeah right. He just dropped and there was like a lot of blood starting to come out of him. Anyway, and I said to QA S I said, like the amount of blood that you can see, is that legit he's passed out or is he just foxing? Yeah. Anyway, so she said, possibly he's he's just had enough like anyway and then so we go to walk in on him. And one of the cornies pulls out his taser. I go, put that fucker thing away, because if you deploy that, we're all Yeah, sucked. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So that was one issue. So anyway, so you know, eventually we get old mate and you know, cuffed and taken to the hospital and whatnot. And then of course, you know, got to do the brief of evidence and all that sort of stuff. And then went to court and whatnot. And then fortunately we didn't have to go to court, but the magistrate made fine as he said that you know 'cause you had not only our body worn, but the body worn from the cameras from the cars as well. So we had every possible angle. And he said that he'd like to commend the police that they did a a really good job. And that he's just lucky that police hadn't opened fire because it would have been warranted. Yeah, okay. And man, that's a again, perfect example of the fact. Resources. Country policing, how different country policing is, but with the skill set it gives you to think outside the box, be a very competent officer. There are many officers and nothing against them, but they've never left their small circle of of Brisbane. They've gone up through the ranks and they're black and white in their mindset of this is how it is. It's not, it's a different world out there. And mate, it's it's impressive in that way. And there's you know, like you know, a job in suburbia, like there's a code too, like. Copper so I mean I didn't know that many coppers working. Like the everybody just turns up. Yeah. And then but out there, like if we had jobs go to shit, Your nearest help was two hours away. Mm-hmm. That's if you could get straight through to get onto t onto Charleville station. So Okay. yeah, and there was a few jobs like that, but you just had to contain them. Like there was a another job, it was I think it was New Year's Eve two thousand and seventeen. It was two rival indigenous groups just fighting with each other. Yeah. they were like, you know fence palings, batons, whatever they call Yeah, maybe it's only that one. And there was only the four of us there working. Yeah. So what I did was I just parked the van, the the two cars in the middle of the street to try and separate Yep. And I just said to the boys, I said, Right, we'll just stand here with our backs to the van so no one clocks us on the head from behind. Yeah. And we'll just monitor and then we'll go and make the arrests the next day or something. Gather the evidence today. Yeah. Yep. And then there was only one arrest made that night and there was a an offender over there who was transgender. Okay. Anyway, he came up and he assaulted one of the police officers and I said, mate, that's it, you're in. So literally 'cause he came up to us at the van, assaulted Adam. And so we just grabbed him and just threw him in the back of the van and just left him there. So you know, so 'cause that we didn't have to leave our area of safety kind of thing. Because if we walked into it, we would have been mate, that's the number one training, you know, over my my type of work and that sort of thing and big big events and public order and stuff like that is Gather there. What's the absolute necessity to arrest them right now? None really. No, I'd things like that. No. Let it go. Deal with that after the fact. Yep. And don't incite a riot, so to speak. So and that's what he would have done jumping in. absolutely, mate. Absolutely. Again. And again, there's no training for that. that's that's things you learn along the way. Sometimes through sometimes through, yeah, sometimes the silly bugger stuff. You know, I I was involved in an incident near Redcliffe RSL many, many years ago, my general duties days where one of the officers had come in an hour late. He was amped, he'd been to an AC D C tribute concert. So he's come in very, you know, boom. And you know, it's typical noise complaint. And you know, we go in there a couple of times. The person didn't tip their beer out when he asked him. And he took that as a personal issue and, you know, all all hell broke loose. And we'd I'd already said, nah, it's all right. We've been here once before, you know, Deba Eda guys don't need to come. Yep. And just that whole trying to force this bloke to tip out a beer instead of letting him to, yeah, turned into a a a bloody riot and all hell broke loose. There was two of us, yes, poppers versus two hundred. Yes, yes. And it was, yeah, I remember get I got a stiletto in the balls at night. all sorts of hell broke loose. But it was, yeah, try and get in the car and get protection and do that and then get the crews that I've cancelled to come in and yeah, mate, it's as simple as that. It's using that as brains and remaining calm instead of Letting your ego take over in that way. but yeah. Were you at the job, it was a Sunday morning, at the local library, the Samoans were having their their their church meetings and basically we'd had a complaint that they were trespassing because they were told that they could no longer use the premises but they'd got their own keys cut. right I know. So we turned up with like, you know, four of us and then like all these Samoans and like Samoans are lovely people, but they're big. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then One of the guys did exactly that. arrested the mother. Yeah. And mate, and it was just urgent. Yeah, a hundred percent. And that's just and Patty Hearn was in the station doing a statement, so he's ran out of doing the statement, came down. Yeah, but it's just that that little or just set the whole thing off. So mate, I've yeah, having having brain damage these days. Unfortunately, I don't have as many memories as as I do. I know, you know, you and I worked together and spent many years together and Yeah, you know, I I didn't know your full story, which we'll touch into very shortly if you wish to go into it. But I knew you as the PCYC copper that come to Redcliffe and then come into my team. Yep. And yeah, we we had some fun times, mate. And some some good bits and pieces. Another part that I want to touch on now before I step back into the Fortitude Valley way, I was remember having I don't think it was a send off, might have just been drinks and we had drinks at your place. I was walking through and I caught a couple of photos on the wall, went, Who the bl what's going on here? He he had look a a jockey top on. Yeah, it's going on here. There's horse racing, there's trophies. What's going on? Mate, you were a harnessed harness. Yeah. Tell us about that. mate, that was that was some really good times. It's obviously before I I joined the police because doing shift work you just didn't have time to to do it. Yeah. and I used to enjoy going to the the Recliffe Trots on a Friday night and Often my mates and I would go there, have a few pre drink drinks at the Recliffe Trots. Yeah. Try and get some cash for the night out. And then we'd head off to one of the the local pubs. And so I just got to know the guys and then I was talking to one of the guys. I said, mate, I'd love to get involved, like more hands on. He goes, Well mate, come down to the the stable on a Saturday morning and you know sit you behind a couple of horses and just I said, mate, love that. So so I did that. Yeah. he said, If you want to do it, you know, more permanent, he said, Go and get your strapper's licence. Yeah. So I went got my strapper's license for Queensland Harness Racing, had that for twelve months, then applied for a full on trainer's license. Okay. So you had to go and do a course in at Lbion Park and thing, which was really mate, I enjoyed it. It was it was exciting. Yeah. It was, you know, something for me to do. So so we did that and then got my trainer's license and then I literally bought a horse for two hundred and fifty dollars. he was literally gonna go under the I saw a guy loading him up. Give me glue. It was gonna be glue. And I said, where are you going with old Bob? And the guy says, he's no good. He said, Don't take him up the Kabuca, which is the glue factory, you know. Yeah. I said, mate, I'll give you two hundred and fifty bucks for him right now and it'll save you a trip to Kabulcha. Yeah. He goes, Right up, done. Yeah, right. So I got the horse, put the paperwork in. mate, and then 'cause I knew the horse, he had some sort of ability, the guy just wasn't doing it right. And then I was very fortunate to be friends with Don and Terry Hancock. I don't know if anyone's in the harness racing, but Brian Hancock was one of the leading trainers in Sydney for a long time. Okay. Terry was Brian's brother, so very well versed and so I they were fortunate enough to let me stable the horse there and they'd give me some tips and it I won my first race at Redcliffe with him. Okay. which was a big thing with some of the photos that used to all and then I won my first race at Albion Park, like a metropolitan winner with him. Okay. So that was that was pretty special. Yeah. And we're going off topic here, but I don't mind. The I've always wondered this, I've never asked it, it's only just come up now. The type of jacket that you wear, what what's the name of them? Are the like the shirt that you wear? Silks. Silks, yeah. Do you wear the same one each time? Are you always known as the same colour? Does that change based off what gate you're coming from? Or how does that work? that's the so each some owners, individual owners, will have their own set of colours. Yeah, right. The owners will give the horses to the trainers. Yeah. And sometimes the trainers will have their own set of colours. So depending on like you could either race the horse in the same the owner's colours or the trainer's colours. It didn't really matter. So And sports people, 'cause that's that's what you are in that way. there's all sorts of funny superstitions and stuff. Did you have a Certain colour you knew I'm on, I'm on, this is my go to colour here, or did you have certain things you'd do before you went out for a race that you'd have to be like, I've to touch my left leg or I've got to do this at this time? no, I I did, but one thing I I did do which and I could do it because I only had one or two horses, yeah, was before the race. I'd take the horse out and give a couple of laps, like half an hour before their race just to warm them up a little bit. But In regards to superstitions, we've all heard the the story about if you get shit on by a bird, it's supposed to be good luck. Yeah. I was walking this old horse, Bob, or Loco Fly was his race name, was walking into Albion Park, and as we walked into the old stabling area at the back of Albion Park, the birds go and it's big shit on my shoulder. like in it my night stinks and it's like, yeah. But having said that, the horse won that night. Yeah, so okay. Yeah, so if a bird chits on me now, it's all good. It's good. It's all good. Good to go. So you're standing under well Go down near my area, mate, and then you got pelicans everywhere here. You can stand out in the right light pole and you'll get a full shower. Okay. Mate, let's go right back now again. Fortitude Valley, there was I don't know if you want to talk about it, but investigations or incidents that you were Yeah involved in. There was one particular incident and to me at the time it was just a a regulation arrest. Yeah. mate, it went on for five and a half years. Yeah. held me up on promotion. Yeah. And And obviously it screws with your head. So I was working in the Valley Mall Posts one day and this couple came in, like a well presented couple, like you know, you came in, she's all hysterical. And the guy says, Mate, you said I've just taken my missus out for for lunch. And we're just getting about to get back on the car, and these group of Atsies have come in and they've attacked the car and they've you know smashed the windscreen, broken it or whatnot. And so he had the presence of mind to you know, get her in the car and then drive off. Yes. So he's done that and then he's obviously done a lap and he's come back and then come in, said, mate, this is what's happened. Because you parked the car right out in the Valley Mall. We're not supposed to park. Yeah. And then it's like okay emergent reason so yeah, no drama. So anyway, so I'm standing there, getting a notebook statement from him. And as I'm doing that, 'cause back in the old days, notebooks. Yeah. Yeah. Notebook statement from him. And then she starts freaking out again. She goes, my god, my god, my god, that's them. So I went into the mall post in the back room, grabbed a couple of the boys, and we went out and grabbed a couple of them and took them in. So the boys are doing that. I'm finished getting my notebook statement. And the guy actually said, he mate, he's not none of those guys are the main instigator. I thought, okay, so I'm getting the statement. And then this other actually guy walks in and like he's full of fire and brimstone. Yeah. And the plane they just finished saying to he mate, he had a a screwdriver or a syringe or something in his right hand pocket. So I definitely remember that. A couple of minutes later, old mate walks in and he goes, mate, that's him. Mm-hmm. And as soon as he said that, Old Mate turns around and legs it. Yeah. So I just took off after him. Yeah. Because obviously he's the the main guy we want. Anyway, and then as he's running down the mall, I sort of grabbed him and then end up getting an L V and R on him. and 'Cause that was just was effective. And then Which for that to break that one down because so many people listen to it, L V and Ratrovascular neck restraint. So essentially, you drop off block off the blood supply and the person will become sort of basically faint for pretend of words. And I don't know if you remember when you're at the academy, they'd set up the three mats. Yeah. And they'd go, pretend this is the bonnet of a police car, get your offender, throw him over it, put your leg under his leg, so spread his legs, cuff him. Mm-hmm. Anyway, so I've gone out, and just I was about to grab this guy, I've seen him put his hand in his pocket and I'm just thinking, Okay, sorry, screwdrivers are in or whatever. So L V and R drag him back, put him over the bottom of the police car and he bumped his head and he had a a minor abrasion. Like wasn't hospitalized or anything, it was just a minor abrasion. So anyway, drag him back in. A complaint gets made. so, you know, as you know, like it's it's weeks later before you even know it even existed. So basically, I'm informed that I was gonna be charged with assault. Okay. and they were considering issuing me a a notice or peer, and all this. Yeah. And you're thinking like like your head's just spinning like what am I doing? And like the basically 'cause in the valley you you arrest people like that all the time. Yes. And you're thinking, okay, which which one? Which one? Yeah, like you know, which one? And then so then yeah, you sort of realize which one it was and I think, well, you know and then then you get then you get interviewed and I said, Well, first of all, first of all they wanted to talk to me. I No, union rep. Yes. Yeah. As you do. So anyway, so then yeah, so long story. they interviewed me, they were gonna make a recommendation that I'm charged with GBH or or whatever, like assault or something. I can't remember what it was, but I think I'm like, Mark me, like I'm doing my job, like you know. Yeah. Anyway, and I just remember saying, Well, first of all That technique of throwing him over the bottom of the car was when he bumped his head. Yeah. You taught me that at the academy. Yeah. And like it was one on one, so it wasn't excessive. Like I haven't flogged him or or anything. Yeah. so that just escalated and it went on and then it was that I wasn't gonna get criminally charged and no notice. So that was a relief. Yeah. but then there's obviously as you know, any assault complaint with the Queensland police is is two edge, two edge sword. You Got the civil side of it and then you've got the criminal disciplinary side of Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, so I think originally they were gonna bust me down four pay points for twelve months. And I'm thinking, like, come on, like that's like 'cause I'd just gone up to senior Connie. Yeah. So that was gonna drop me back down to Connie. Two one three, yeah. Yeah. And I'm just thinking, like, you know, and so the union were very good. I'll I'd I'd never begrudge paying union fees because basically they sorted that matter for me for over five and a half years. Yeah. And then but it was all the The emotional strain. you going back to QCAT and all the time and all the you know, if, buts and maybes and yeah. And to take a line from what Brad said, he said, You know that your union and everyone who's in the know, all the post experts, and said, No, you've done everything right. Yeah. But you've still got in the back of your mind, is there something that I've done that no one's mentioned yet? Yes. Yeah. You know, and so mate, so that ended up going on and I end up getting I think it was two pay points for six months and I had to do a hundred hours community service. So you were found guilty in there. Pretty much, yeah. Yeah. And I'm just thinking, well, wow, you know, like at the end of the day, I got more punishment than what the offender did. Yeah, over five years of investigation, what people don't realise if they're not in the role is that then stops any promotion, any transfers, anything in between to assist with your mindset because what you said there, you you you're doing your own head in. Yeah. You're there going, hang on. 'Cause were you then able to operate or you were stood down as far as the typework you could No, I wasn't stood down, but it was just yeah. But it did hold me up on promotion. Of course. 'cause I you know, obviously got the the Cunamulla job. Yeah. And then it goes through vetting and then you get the phone call saying, sorry, you've Were you allowed to be operational at the time? Yeah, yeah. okay. but the the point In regards to that is because you've got that overshadowing you, you're double guessing every dealing with a human being past that point of how you're dealing with them, which not only puts your own safety at risk, push your teammates' safety at risk because you're going, well, hang on. Yeah, I'm not being backed here. Yeah. I don't need to continue to do my job lawfully the way I have, yep, and have something else over my shoulder and have them paint out away. So it starts double triple guessing everything. And that takes it toll. And not only that, it takes a toll on you mentally, but it can also take its toll physically because As you know, if you hesitate for a split second, that's it. That can give them the edge, you know? Like yeah. So yeah, and obviously it does affect the way that you yeah, you you police. Yeah. And I didn't think I did anything wrong. Like obviously I'd I'd learnt of I'd known of L V and Rs at the time, but at that time they were considered lethal use of force. Mm. And there and then, you know, we had to justify why. Yeah. And mate, my justification was well, I'm taking a notebook statement. He just told me that he had a screwdriver or a syringe or something in his right hand pocket. Yeah. And as I'm going to grab him, he's putting his hand into his right hand pocket. Like, okay. Of course. Yeah. So and like risk of serious injury or death. Yeah. So I was one on one. Yeah. So you know. But anyway, so Yeah, mate. I mean like you said that takes its toll. so again, I I knew none of that until today. I knew none of that. And I worked many a shift by your side for many years and you you know You didn't carry that with you and and and put that on because it is very easy to become jaded. It's very easy to become caught up in everything's fucked, everyone's fucked on that mindset. But you know, you did, you kept moving forward. You've you've gone all the way to retirement, mate. But you know, if we go through the Redcliffe times, are there any any jobs you can remember that stick out to you? They can be fun jobs, they can be shit jobs that you know, stick out to you in your time there. Mate, there there's always Funny moments. I remember we got a a drink driver one night early in my career and we were just driving around at night work and we were going down a one way street and a pair of headlights come up the other way and say, put the reds and blues on, get out, one down the window. And you could just smell our mate was pissed. Like you could just smell it on him. And I go, G'day, mate. well, you know, you go through your safeguards and things. I said, Mate, do you any reason why we pulled you over? He goes, No. I said, mate You're going the wrong way up a one way street, are you? He goes, didn't know that. I said, mate, didn't you see the arrows? He goes, No, mate, I didn't even see the fucking Indians. And I thought, that's funny. And like, yeah. You do get your funny stories like that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, mate, that's obviously you've you've got something that's just come to my mind now, unless it's someone else, and this just shows this could be brain damage. But went up to Talaman's saber, mate, years ago. Yeah. with PSRT up in Rocky and I remember talking to a girl there and she was just on the on the side talking, talking and then about you might know my dad. What? What? And yeah, Rob Majewski went, I'll be stunned. See your daughter for the first time ever. So that was yeah, that that threw me threw me aside there. Yeah, that's cool when you yeah, you see that sort of things. As I was touched on earlier about, you know, I was worried about the kids going to the valley and getting into troubles and stuff like I got a phone call one night from one of the boys in the valley. And I actually no, he didn't work in the valley. He was in doing that safe night precinct thing. Yeah. And he said, mate, I've I'm in the valley working in the valley. I said, mate, yeah, I there, blah, blah, blah. Why are you ringing me like, you two o'clock in the morning? He goes, I've got your daughter with me. I went, Really? I said, What's she done? And I hear Stacey in the background and it's not true. It's not true. Anyway, it turns out that she'd there was a a witch's hat or something and she'd picked up the witch's hat and thrown it up in the air or something. So something trivial. Yeah. So he just sort of Yeah. So mate, yeah, just smack her on the you know, give her a smack on the wrist and send her home. So yeah. Yeah. And then you know, Stacy gets, it wasn't like that at all and Yeah. No, yeah. Mate advice, you know, 'cause you're on the outside now. Like as in you you've retired in that way. If you could have, you know, some advice that you could give to you as you started in the job in hindsight, what would that be? Mate, I I know in your first year and I was guilty of it, and I know a lot of other motivated coppers, people are gonna be good coppers, will spend a lot of time and their own time finishing their paperwork. Yeah. You know, and and like spending hours at a time and like and whilst I understand their ethos of like, okay, I want to get it done for me, but you're also depriving yourself of family time because, you know, ninety nine percent of young coppers coming through have got wives and kids and things. And just trying to say to them like that is time that you'll never get back. Yeah. And then and if you if you've got a good FTO They will make time for you to get your paperwork done and and assist you. and like I know a few guys now that have just recently joined the police and their biggest bugbear is that FTO was good, but once they're out of their mentor period, they're sort of left on their own. Yeah. And nobody wants to sort of help Now I know that's not typical of of everywhere. Like I was very fortunate, always had g you know, good good coppers around me who'd who'd help you with the the tricky things. Like one of the mate's first pinches was a a a drug pinch like over schedule. So like that's quite complicated. And he's just finding me he's lost. Like he doesn't know what to do. No one's sort of people will come and say, you do this, do this, do that, but no one will show him how to do this, do that. Yeah. And that and that's where I think you need the the difference. So yeah. So yeah, don't I I wouldn't spend so much time in my own time doing doing the work, you know, because as we all know, like you you go and do do a job like you, you might be f doing a two to ten at nine o'clock a D V comes in and you get three or four hours overtime. Yeah. You don't want the overtime. You just want to go home to your family. but then when you're going to put your timesheet in like ten days later or something, you'll put like, you know, three hours overtime, QP number, whatever it might be, domestic violence. And they won't pay it. Yeah. Like, come on. Yeah. Like, you know. Yeah. And then and then you do that. And then what they'll come back to you and say was, well, you know, you and Aaron have both put down for three hours overtime. Only needed to be one of you. Only need to be one of you. Yeah. And I'm like, come on. Yeah. Like, you know, it's and then so but if you do that, then all of a sudden that three hours might become five hours because you've still got to get It's a lot to do. Yeah, especially with D V applications and things like it. It's probably all changed since once I was the job, but back then they were quite, you know, convoluted and time consuming. And then you had to do your your your custody indexes and and things like that. And then if old mate had done some other offences he's been charged with and had to go to the watch house, then you had to do all that paperwork for court in the morning. And a potential breach of bail. sorry, a breach of D V a I've lost I've lost the mindset here. That's how that's how long the potty's dragging, mate. But it's Yeah, it's the one I'm after. Yeah, it's good that I don't know that. It doesn't roll off the tongue right now. It means I've desensitized in a good way these days. But yeah, exactly, mate. You could be digging through that for a period of time, looking through their all their grim history to write that out. Again, not a quick process. And a lot of officers would have a a pro forma for, you know, yes objection to bail. Yeah. And then which is all good, but then you still need to go through and individualise it all. Yeah. And like you know, because you know, there's like all the different offences that that particular offender has committed. So You need to get all those on paper. So yeah. Okay. And I've had a few different podcasters on here, had one a couple of days ago that was talking about, you know, the the injuries you take away from the job, you know, over the t over time. And you're retired now. Again, hindsight. Yep. we'll go into your retirement plan or where you're at in a second. But mate, if you if you're looking from the outside in now, yeah, have you taken any injuries with you, either psychological, physical, things like that? Mate, Not that I'm aware of, like I can't actually like pinpoint it, but then you know, your partner s sort of says, you know, like you've changed, like you're you're moodier, you're crankier. and that's like from early in the career, yeah. Where it was all like, you know, just a learning curve to towards the end of your career. And maybe it's just a combination of of all the 'cause you do see Some shit things. And I've I've been fortunate. I've never been to like any sort of like, you know, nothing like Brad had to go through. So I'm fortunate in that aspect. Yeah. But it's a whole heap of little things and accumulation. Accumulation, mate. And then I think you had one of your guests was talking about that psychological effect. It's it's just little things which just keep adding up and adding up and you're not even aware of it at the time. Yeah. But then, you know, one day you'll get to that point and then you do something at home. Yeah. And your response to it, like you might Drop a tub of yogurt yoga or something. Something simple. And your response is just like And then think, well, okay, why why are you guys wearing it a tub of yogurt? Like you dropped it. Yeah. No, that's it. Exactly. Touched on that. big traumatic job. You're the boss. You're running a whole area. You're calling in different things. You're everything's just a buff board. You're really just on on point. And you've absolutely killed it. Yeah. And most traumatic shit, you've come home and like you said, tub of yogurt, a folded towel tail, something that, and you've just lost it. And Yeah. It's about I guess recognising when those things do happen and working out what works for you. That's the other big thing too is there's no black and white, you know, solving of just just go for a run. Well, yeah, no, I won't because I fucking hate running. Yeah. That's not gonna work for me, you know. So it's yeah, mate, I I found the the physical release of like, you know, going to the gym or something, it helps. But yeah, what I've also been reading lately is a lot of like self help books. Yeah. and like I find them quite you can actually relate to them. Yeah. not saying that, you know, you have mental issues or anything like that, but it just it's it's definitely a mental health effect though, because you you know you're not yourself for for for whatever reason. Yeah. And exactly what we're talking about before, some little thing all of a sudden will become a major thing. Yeah. And then so I've just been like doing some reflecting on these books and like, you know, ways to, you know, win friends, influence people, those sort of books and things. I'm gonna sound like a broken record saying it over and over and it is based off other tools you add to your belt, people you speak to on podcasts and things. Todd made a really good point. And it's you know, if you go you go and you're out, you're playing cricket, you do you know, you you stuff your knee, you roll your knee, you go and deal with that, you and ice it, you do your process and all that sort of thing. But we don't do anything for the trauma. We don't do anything for the psychological injury. Yeah. We just keep building up, building up, building up. Whereas if you leave that knee unaffected, over a period of time, it's gonna flare, it's gonna be long term, it's gonna be injury, it's not gonna heal the same way. Yeah, we do nothing for the the mindset and the brain. You can't see it, you can't. You can't see it. You just you brush it off and you know, if if you do do your knee on the side of the field and you're in a team, you probably wave into the side and go, Coach, I'm out or I'm limping around, I'm doing that. But who is putting their hand up when they're struggling? Yep. Mentally someone's going, Hey, yeah, hey, I'm struggling here, it's in here. No. Still a stigma attached to it. Yeah. And I think that I found disappointing with the police was when you first joined and and you'd go to a critical instant to be a a a dead body, whether it'd be like a natural death, but even like some natural deaths are are quite if you turn up a couple of days later, they're quite, you know, bloated and they're quite confronting. And once again, like I said, the smells and the like you can see a a hundred dead bodies on a video. Until you actually walk in and you get that smell. Yeah. And like you know yourself, you get home after that shift and you just throw that uniform out. I'm not washing that because it just it's impregnated in into your uniform. But Coppers were always good at having black humour. Yes. But now you can't do that because someone might take offense and they make a complaint. And I think, well, that's that's just coppers dealing with it the way that coppers deal with it with like minded people. Yeah. Like, you know, you you might say something which Is inappropriate, but it's in a contained environment. You're not you're not broadcasting, you're not saying it to the family of the deceased or or whatever it might be, but it's just just your way of dealing with it. And it can be, you know, you used deceased there. It can be absolutely any job. And and what triggers you'd be different to me. I could have a child the same age as whatever the missing person, for instance, that I'm going to, a simple report. That potentially sets me off because I put put things in there. Every Every single person, there's no black and white side of it, and there's no, again, measurement of trauma. okay. so you're struggling because of a missing point. Well, I just went to three of these. You know, there's no pull your dick sort of moments of my what I've gone through is more important. Everyone struggles differently. Yep. And I hate that there's some structure. The biggest thing we can do is put our hand up and go, Hey, yeah. I can feel I'm not myself at the moment. And you know I need to take. Yeah. And it just needs to be become more and more regular with speaking up, being open, being honest before it's too late. Yeah. Before you burn out, before you're exhausted, before you go, I can't do this anymore. You know, if there are other ways to solve it, that's the step. So mate, you're retired. I'm retired, mate. What's retired Rob doing? Mate, retired life is great. What's retired life for you? What's it like? Yeah, just great. And I've fortunate enough got a Airbnb rental over at Tangaluma. Yeah. so that that keeps me busy like like short term holiday lease at you know, probably from September through to March is is quite busy 'cause it's the the the warmer months and people love a Love a beach holiday, so and then during the the the cooler months I'll like try and travel. We've just come back from a seven week tour of all through Italy and England and Scotland and Greece and we actually went over to do the Anzac Day at Gallipoli. Awesome. Yeah, so that that was special. I did that with my three kids. it was it was supposed to be the three kids 'cause they're all done military service, got two in the army, one in the air force. Yeah. but young Nicholas couldn't come because he was gonna come on the trip with us. But he came up at Christmas last year and he said, Dad, I don't think I can do the Calipoli trip. And I'm going, why? Like, you know, let's he goes, I've been offered he's he's in the army, he's currently training recruits down at Walga. Okay. And he'd been offered a an exchange position with a an English officer for four months over in England, right over that time period. What do you do? He What do I I mate, take it. That what a fantastic opportunity. Yeah. Okay. And so he he took it. And then when we went to England, I went over to England and caught up with him for a couple of days. So that was really nice. Yeah. Had some pints of beer and Guinness and stuff with him over in England. What did he rate the Guinness? No. No, yeah. It's a hard, it's a hard fix, isn't it, that one? Yeah, but no, it was just nice. And then and the funny thing is, obviously army and police are both sort of like, you know, militant sort of organisations to a degree. And then Nick came back and he just he went back to Wagga came back up for his there was a touch footy comp that him and his brother playing in the the armed defence system. Anyway, and he's sitting at home one night and he says on his phone he goes, he says, Dad, I've got to go and see the boss when I get back to Wagga. I said, what for? He goes, I don't know. I mate, that's normally a complaint, like you know And it turns out that when he was in England, one of the recruits made a complaint. against him over there. And when I was over there, I said to him, Yeah, you're liking the work he was I dad, I hate it. He said, like, you know, these blokes are training for the British Army. Yeah. Couldn't swear at him. Yeah. Couldn't yell at them. Yeah. He said, and they're so soft. Yeah. so yeah, so he had a had a complaint. And and I tried talking up, saying, mate, this is great. I said they're going to interview you. You need to be back in England. So they need to fly you over. You need a support person. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So but nah so yeah unfortunately you missed out on the Lippoli trip with us. But and the rest of the kids For was it was great, it was special. So So the holiday house, the Airbnb that you've got at 10 Gloomer. When you're not renting it out, you're living in it? mate, I don't live it, but I I I spend a bit of time over there. All right. How do how do people find that Airbnb? You just jump on Airbnb direct or mate, as Airbnb stays platform, or there's also my personal website, which is www.banwaters, so b-a-n w a t-e-a-s dot com. And jump on that and mate, I'll give a ten percent discount off the nightly rate to any current or ex QPS member. Well you heard that. Okay. Perfect. Ten percent. We'll always chase the discount for it. Stick one of them out. mate, do you like to I've actually got some friends from the the job over there at the moment. So no, they got the ten percent. it's a beautiful place. Absolutely. Very very lucky to have it and yeah. A lot of maintenance on the place. Obviously being right on the on the beach and a lot of seaside and stuff and there's a just like there's a fortunate enough to have a pool. Yeah. The triple grips underneath where people are getting out of the pool because there's acid and salt water in the pool and it keeps rusting the the triple grips out. It's hold the the bear is up. So I'm and it's only five hundred mil high, so I'm crawling under there and with my bucket of tools and triple grips and replacing them and stuff. Yeah, right. Lot of maintenance, yeah. I I enjoy it. So I love it. it's good. Mate, this has been Epic podcast. I've learned a lot about you. You know, I've known you for a lot of years. I'm learning all this stuff. It's been awesome. but we don't just finish that way, and you know that. So we have two pet peeves, mate, to finish on. mate, I have a a a lot of pet peeves as you do as you get older, I suppose. You get less tolerant for things. But I guess one is, and it's probably from my policing background, is people in general, in the public, even walking here today. your situational awareness. Yeah. Like, okay, if you want to be on your mobile phone, well that's fine. Go and sit down somewhere, but don't be walking along the street and and bumping into people. Yeah. And then if you do bump into them, then look at them like they're at fault. And people just aren't situationally aware of of what's going on. Now whether that's just from policing or or whatever, but you always were. You had to be situation aware. You need to be aware of what was going on around you and And you find that with driving as well. Yeah. like people are just like their own little world. So and mate, just probably rude people. Mm. like I can be short and abrupt with people as well, but like it's generally warranted. Yeah. Like and if you're just walking down the street or something and G'day mate, how you going? And they don't respond. Mm. Like even walking here this morning, walking past and a guy goes ding ding on his bike. Okay. as he went on on his scooter as he goes past me and didn't even acknowledge me. Yeah. No, I just went, Thanks, mate. And he went, Right. Okay. Yeah. So I live in gangster world here though, mate. So that's my my little hideout. But yeah, no, I get it. I get it. I've got a billion pet peeves, mate. And every single day I'm like, I'm adding that to the list. there's another one. So I'm trying to curb my ways at the moment, bite my tongue, but love that. Mate, it's been a as I said, it's a been an epic podcast. You've pointed out where, people can find the Airbnb, which the important thing. Yes, mate. I'll drop a bit of a link on this one anyway. Yeah. Was there anything else you wish to say before we we tap out of this one? Mate, like I've obviously just started recently listening to to your podcast after you've had some like you know, mutual friends on and mate, I'd find them very informative and and mate, and kudos to you for for doing what you're doing. Yeah yeah it's a no bullshit approach to it and just there's no pretenses and not saying like everything's picture perfect and QPS because it's not. And as like a lot of other more well credentialed guests you've had on before me have pointed out. And I've learnt so many things of the of the for for want of a better word of the the corruption and the just the basic disrespect for the troops. Yeah. Yeah. And and your troops are your Your troops are the face and the QPS are wondering why they have retention problems. And yeah. just very briefly, I know we're at the end of it, but and I have heard you touch on it before, is the the gold card system. yeah. Yeah. Well I've got on Friday, I've got the union boss, Shane Pry, coming in to have a bit of a chat about that. Okay. Well, could you ask Shane on my behalf and on behalf of all the other previously retired police officers? Does it include us as well? Like, you know, d we get yeah. Yeah. that's that's definitely, you know, a a big part of the chat. And my understanding is from previous conversations, that was always the intention. Yeah. That it's ex serving as well. So yeah, but I think we're a long way off. But I won't I won't jump the jump the gate in that regard. I'll I'll ask the the boss in charge of that. So anyone else has got questions between now and and then get them to me so I can put them forward. But mate, they're they're genuinely kind words. It's Literally the purpose of these podcasts to do a lot of driving and I get a look I get very bored with what podcasts are there or podcasts to listen to. Yeah, I all of a sudden they don't have another one until next week. So I've got nothing to listen to on this long drive. So for me it was about, you know, highlighting bits and pieces, not about being negative. It's about telling people stories. If people have bits that might sound negative, yeah, that's their own lived life experience. And no one's better than another to say, No, you know, that didn't happen or anything in between. Yeah. Yeah. But that's why I've named it what I've named it. It's easy right though. You can disagree with me all you like. Yeah. But tell me why. Yeah. Yeah. Call me a fuck wit. Yeah. That's cool. Yeah. I'll probably agree with you. Yeah. But tell me why. Yeah. Yeah. Back it up. Yeah, back it up. Don't don't just say that. You know, have your evidence and understand that everyone's lived different experiences. everyone's had personal dramas that have happened. People have worked in rural communities as well. That's one part I need to harp on about. Some of the people that pull you up have lived a life that lives Inside the cityscape of always having people around. There's a total different advantage. One of the best career moves I made was going out and doing country policing, you're seeing a whole new perspective. And and even now, like I haven't been in Kannemala for seven years. Yep. I still have friends out there, not not from the police, but just from the community. Yeah. So absolutely. And if you come from any type of sporting background, it's absolutely epic to go and do that. So I yeah. And I you know you've gonna what you're saying about advice to young coppers. Yeah. Go into country. You love it. Yeah. You love it. Yeah. Totally different world. So Yep. Yep. If you've got the means to do that, whether you're you're single or whether you've got a partner that could potentially move out with you and work a a job, yeah, do it for sure. Great place to bring up kids. Yeah. Yep. Perfect. Different lifestyles. Absolutely. Mate, it's been a pleasure having you on, mate. Thank you for your service. You're in full retirement now, mate. Well done. Twenty, twenty years done. Just wait on those medals to arrive in the mail, hey? Yes, mate. Yeah. I won't hold my breath. Love it. No, it it is in the name, guys. Izzy right though. Let us know anything that's been said today. Let me know if you want anyone else on the podcast. a big part of learning the social media landscape and things like that is in order to get this podcast growing and and do things like that, I do need the feedback, the comments on Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube. Let us know also on Instagram on the handle there. and also on TikTok. So again, thank you for listening in, guys. Let us know in the comments. Izzy right though. And thank you for coming in, Rob. My pleasure, mate. Thanks for having me.