The Karl Stefanovic Show

She escaped Laos as a child, spent three months in a Thai jail and built a $25 million rice paper roll empire from nothing. Now Nahji Chu, better known as Lady Chu, is fed up. Her family crossed the Mekong at night and arrived in Australia as refugees. She built Miss Chu into a $25 million business and then lost it. Today she's fighting tax, council red tape and even some of her own customers, and she's ready to sit down for a bánh mì with Pauline Hanson. In this episode: • Crossing the Mekong at night and three months in a Thai jail • Life in a refugee camp • Refugees then and now: "We didn't take the piss" • From $90,000 in year one to $25 million turnover • Fines for fake chickens and her war with council • How Miss Chu went under • Is she really Sydney's "Soup Nazi"? Watch and listen on YouTube and all podcast apps. #LadyChu #MissChu #SmallBusiness

Kieran Cook grows grain near Tara on Queensland’s Western Downs, and he flies out there too, low and fast. The 110-metre wind monitoring towers that have gone up near local airstrips are so thin he says they’ve come up right under him. He calls them widow makers. Firebombers load up on his strip during fire season, and crop dusters and council choppers all work at tower height. Kieran says the towers went up with no consultation. For months the first one had no light at all, then it got a solar light that cut out overnight. He says it’s still non-compliant today. Vestas, the company behind the towers, says they’re lit and marked to best industry practice. Karl asks Kieran about his near misses, about the buck passing between CASA, council, the state and the developer, and about what he wants Canberra to do. In his words, out in the bush the only one who listens in the end is the coroner. Brought to you by Tanda. Rosters, payroll and HR in one system: tanda.com.au 00:00 Can you spot the tower? 00:46 Kieran Cook, flat out harvesting 02:27 What the towers are and why they matter 04:58 The near misses 07:10 What happens if you hit one? 07:23 “They’re widow makers” 08:50 Do they comply? 10:19 Safeguarding guidelines and the solar light 12:45 Buck passing between CASA, council and Vestas 14:58 “The only one that listens is the coroner” 17:17 What Kieran wants Canberra to hear #KarlStefanovic #Aviation #RuralAustralia #WindFarms #Farming

Interest rates, inflation and house prices in plain English. Three of AMP's economists answer your cost of living questions. Five rate rises this year. Prices up 4.3%. Thousands of you sent in questions, and I put them to AMP's Dr Shane Oliver, Diana Mousina and My Bui, the economists behind social media account Econosights. Who's to blame, where house prices go next, and what you can do while you wait it out. Then: a Queensland farmer and pilot on the wind monitoring towers he calls widow makers. In this episode: • Why mortgage holders carry the fight against inflation • Should the government cut spending to share the pain? • Productivity, explained with a cup of coffee • Are house prices still falling, and did the tax changes go too far? • What to ask your bank if you're struggling This episode is brought to you by Tanda. Rosters, pay and HR in one system: tanda.com.au Watch and listen on YouTube and all podcast apps. #InterestRates #CostOfLiving #HousePrices

Kogan.com founder Ruslan Kogan says Australia needs a circuit breaker. He warns David Jones won't be the last big name to fall, and says nobody in business is excited about the future right now. With families tightening their belts, his own business is doing well, and he says he feels bad about it. His fix: a tax system that rewards people who build and employ, two old rules gone for every new one, and politicians who act like they face an election every day. He also tells Karl how it all started. His parents arrived in Melbourne from the Soviet Union with $90 and worked three or four jobs while raising their kids. As a kid in a housing commission flat, he built his own computer and sold lost golf balls back to golfers. He quit a safe job at Accenture, made his mum cry, and started Kogan.com with two TVs and no money. Investors told him to bugger off. So he got customers to pay upfront, flew to China to test every TV himself, and paid a driver to follow the container to the shipping yard. He says Kogan.com now does more sales by quarter past midnight than it did in its entire first year. He picked a fight with Gerry Harvey on purpose, then nearly lost the business when COVID ended and the stock kept coming. What he built to survive is the business it is today. Karl sits down with the founder of Kogan.com to talk about: • David Jones, tax, red tape and why he says nobody in business is excited right now • Arriving from the Soviet Union with $90, and selling lost golf balls back to golfers • The TV order that started Kogan.com, and the investors who said no • Kogan vs Harvey Norman, and the Today Tonight story that started it • The COVID over-order that nearly put Kogan out of business CHAPTERS 0:00 AI and the end of brand loyalty 0:49 What sort of country are we building? 4:04 Arriving from the Soviet Union with $90 7:04 Teaching Mum about opportunity cost 9:58 Selling golf balls back to golfers 12:20 Quitting Accenture 14:46 Miami, and the TV that started Kogan.com 16:47 Customers paid upfront for the first container 19:19 What the TV store doesn't tell you 21:17 More sales by 12:15am than in year one 21:36 Kogan vs Harvey Norman 26:19 Is online retail good for Australia? 28:12 Sovereignty and supply chains 30:30 Winning COVID, then over-ordering 31:59 The edge of the cliff 33:43 What the crisis built 37:32 Back to profit, and going public 39:44 The daily share price 40:52 50 million products and Kogan First 45:09 What worries him about Australia 46:41 Tax, red tape and a trainer too scared to post 49:37 Why business people are never the heroes 51:18 Inflation and the blame game 52:47 Advice for small business 53:59 More David Joneses 54:30 An election every day This episode is brought to you by Tanda. Rostering, payroll and HR for Aussie businesses: tanda.com.au Watch and listen on YouTube and all podcast apps.

Barclay Nettlefold bought the whole sport in the middle of COVID. He's not a car guy, and he's never driven one. Now he wants to take Supercars to Singapore, Malaysia and the Middle East, the way the NRL took rugby league to Las Vegas.Karl sits down with the owner of Supercars to talk about:Toyota, and the next car maker coming to the gridThe decision to drop Neil Crompton from the commentary boxRacing NASCARKeeping a weekend at the track affordable for regional families in a cost of living crisisWhy he thinks sport is worth more than everChapters0:00 Why buy Supercars?1:11 Media, sport and sailing2:24 Buying the whole sport6:01 How much trouble Supercars was in7:33 The team owners9:13 From billboards to Europe's biggest football leagues13:07 When the car makers left16:36 Tickets, broadcast and the money17:28 Finals, concerts and a bigger show19:06 Free-to-air vs streaming19:44 Neil Crompton21:11 Toyota, a fourth car maker and going global22:28 Supercars vs NASCAR26:01 Dick Johnson and the characters27:14 Rating Australia's other sports bosses28:07 Bathurst31:37 Too scared to drive one34:18 Cost of living36:02 Women, families and camping at Bathurst37:40 Why sport is worth more than ever39:04 Fuel pricesThis episode is brought to you by Tanda. Rostering, payroll and HR for Aussie businesses: tanda.com.au/karlWatch and listen on YouTube and all podcast apps.#Supercars #Bathurst #thekarlstefanovicshow