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The Briefing

Karl Stefanovic to leave Nine + What a super El Niño summer could mean

24 Jun 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

2.63 - 9.28 Sacha Barbour Gatt

Hey, it's Chris Beer with you.

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9.32 - 21.098 Chris Spyrou

Welcome to The Briefing. El Niño is back and with some predicting it'll be a Godzilla one, there's concern we could be heading straight into a terrifyingly dry summer. But experts say that's not exactly the case.

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21.298 - 29.43 Dr. Kimberley Reid

A super El Niño doesn't mean a super drought or super bushfire. The relationship between the impacts is not a direct relationship.

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Chapter 2: What recent events have impacted Australia's bird flu situation?

29.41 - 34.278 Dr. Kimberley Reid

Whether or not there's an El Nino is a lot more important for us than the strength of an El Nino.

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34.298 - 44.955 Chris Spyrou

An explainer into the weather pattern and what it actually means for us here in Australia is coming up in the second half of this episode. First, though, let's get into the headlines with Sasha Barbagat on Thursday, the 25th of June.

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47.011 - 66.232 Sacha Barbour Gatt

Hey Chris, the deadly bird flu strain causing devastation across the globe has hit a second Aussie state with a case now confirmed in South Australia. The bird was first found on Knights Beach, about 45 minutes south of Adelaide, and is now the third confirmed case in the country with the other two cases in Western Australia.

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66.713 - 72.179 Sacha Barbour Gatt

Like those, the South Australian case was a migratory bird, according to the Premier, Peter Malinowskis.

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72.539 - 97.125

The key message for South Australians tonight is that where they see wildlife or bird life that is unwell or looks to have passed away in unclear circumstances to avoid record and report. We are asking South Australians where they see bird life that is unwell or deceased for unapparent reasons to avoid, report and record. They can do that through the hotline and we'd very much appreciate it.

97.305 - 113.485 Chris Spyrou

The Premier went on to say that there's no reason for concern or alarm and he thanked the wildlife volunteers who found the bird saying they would be able to access antivirals if they needed it but there were no signs that they were sick. The bird was first found by volunteers more than 10 days ago.

113.549 - 129.381 Sacha Barbour Gatt

Because it was a migratory bird, there's no indication that this was a case of an infection spreading from WA to South Australia. So these birds, the theory is they picked it up elsewhere and they're arriving on Australian shores, two so far in Western Australia and one in South Australia.

130.289 - 139.202 Chris Spyrou

The Coalition's continuing to struggle to find a consistent line on multiculturalism as Pauline Hanson doubles down on her push for Australia to become a monoculture.

139.442 - 164.682 Pauline Hanson

In the past week, the far left have naturally taken my comments into the realm of utter fantasy. I was going to ban foreign food and the Socceroos wouldn't have beaten Turkey under my policy. What rubbish. Predictable and pathetic. The Socceroos, in fact, represent my vision of a monocultural Australia.

Chapter 3: How is multiculturalism being debated in Australia?

712.493 - 729.827 Sacha Barbour Gatt

He'll bash up that cone and he'll move to where you want him to because basically he was blocking a road. That was the problem. So definitely a discussion that's going to be happening now. I think that video is going to continue going viral. And hey, look, just before we go, a clarification in Monday's deep dive into the millionaires backing Australia's neo-Nazis.

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729.807 - 750.297 Sacha Barbour Gatt

We referenced Gina Reinhart's support of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. We did not intend to suggest that supporting a registered Australian political party is equivalent to backing a prohibited hate group and regret any hurt or distress that may have caused. All right, it's time for your deep dive, Chris, looking into El Nino. Super interesting chat that's coming up next.

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760.587 - 782.19 Chris Spyrou

The world is officially in an El Nino event. UN, US and Japanese scientists declared it over the last couple weeks, with our own Bureau of Meteorology a few days behind but now officially on board. It ends a prolonged neutral stretch for our weather, and some experts aren't calling this a regular El Nino. They're calling it a Godzilla El Nino.

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782.17 - 802.33 Chris Spyrou

Now, I'm not going to lie, every time these terms come up, I need a refresher. And now that the name of a fictional monster is involved, I have questions. So what actually is an El Niño? How does this one compare to previous ones? And what does it mean for Australia's weather and bushfire season? Dr. Kimberly Reid is a climate scientist from the University of Melbourne who joins me now.

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802.43 - 811.519 Chris Spyrou

Dr. Kim, welcome to The Briefing. I want you to take us back to year eight science. What is the difference between El Niño and La Niña?

811.735 - 832.934 Dr. Kimberley Reid

So El Niño and the counterpart La Niña, they're naturally occurring phenomena. They've been going up thousands or millions of years even. And they're variations in sea surface temperatures and winds across the Pacific Ocean. So during El Niño, sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific are warmer than normal.

833.495 - 853.713 Dr. Kimberley Reid

And the trade winds that typically blow from east to west across the equator weaken. And as a result, a region of strong storm activity called the Walker Circulation shifts east out over the Pacific Ocean, drawing moisture and clouds away from Australia. And La Nina is the reverse of all that.

853.773 - 872.091 Dr. Kimberley Reid

So the ocean temperatures cool below normal, these trade winds strengthen, and that storm activity is pushed towards Australia. So La Nina is typically associated with wetter than normal conditions, whereas El Nino is typically associated with Hotter and drier conditions for eastern Australia.

872.551 - 891.135 Chris Spyrou

Alright, so I want to get to the point of declaring them. So the UN, the US, Japan, they all declared that this was happening and then the bomb came a few days later. We're a little late to the party, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology. What is the point, firstly, of declaring it and then why were we late to the party?

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