Latest / Salt of the Earth / Ep 119: ABC's Back Roads _ Lisa Millar

Transcript

Ep 119: ABC's Back Roads _ Lisa Millar · Salt of the Earth

0:05
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Salt of the Earth Farm Story.
0:08
SPEAKER_00: If you love ABC's Back Roads and the stories of regional Australia, you're going to love this episode.
0:15
SPEAKER_00: My guest today is award-winning journalist and television presenter Lisa Miller, the much-loved host of ABC's Backroads and Mustards.
0:26
SPEAKER_00: Lisa and the Backroads crew travel across regional and remote Australia, telling stories of resilience, community, humour, and heart.
0:36
SPEAKER_00: And Australians can't get enough of it.
0:39
SPEAKER_00: In this conversation, Lisa shares why life feels pretty special right now.
0:44
SPEAKER_01: There is that sense of being nourished in a small community.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: We hear what happens when the back roads crew rolls into town, how they build trust so quickly, and why country people are so generous with their stories.
1:01
SPEAKER_01: That little kid in Kilkeven with the big dreams of a big life, and this has been beyond anything, absolutely beyond.
1:11
SPEAKER_00: We also chat about Lisa's own country upbringing and the connection regional Australians have with the land.
1:18
SPEAKER_00: And of course, we talk about Mustard Dogs, why it's become such a hit and why the bond between people and their dogs resonates with so many Australians.
1:30
SPEAKER_00: I got to hold a Logie.
1:32
SPEAKER_00: The very same Logie that Lisa and the Mustard Dogs team won last year.
1:37
SPEAKER_00: It's a fascinating, funny, and uplifting conversation.
1:41
SPEAKER_00: And with Lisa nominated for the gold logi again this year, don't forget to cast your vote.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: This is Lisa Miller.
1:50
SPEAKER_00: Let's go.
1:54
SPEAKER_00: Well, how lucky am I?
1:55
SPEAKER_00: I'm sitting here with a gold logie nominee.
1:58
SPEAKER_00: Lisa Miller.
2:00
SPEAKER_01: Thank you very much.
2:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there's six others that have also been nominated, so we'll see some pretty tough competition.
2:06
SPEAKER_00: Some big names up there.
2:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, like Robert Irwin, Todd Woodbridge, The Gorgeous Poe, Julia Morris, Allie Langdon.
2:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they're all awesome.
2:17
SPEAKER_01: If any of them could win, and I'd be very happy because I think they are, they do incredible stuff.
2:23
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
2:24
SPEAKER_00: How are you feeling generally about life?
2:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I feel happier than I have ever been.
2:29
SPEAKER_01: I do a gratitude meditation on most mornings, and it's just five minutes, and it's just this wonderful reminder of life is pretty special at the moment, and I am very, very grateful.
2:44
SPEAKER_01: And I know it could change, but after the roller coaster of the last few decades, it's just really lovely to actually not be waking up in the middle of the night worrying about anything.
2:56
SPEAKER_01: So life is good.
2:58
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for asking.
2:59
SPEAKER_00: Well, as I said in the intro, we're going to talk a lot today about backroads, this incredible program.
3:05
SPEAKER_00: I've got a couple of quick questions to get started.
3:07
SPEAKER_00: A day shooting back roads, boots or shoes?
3:10
SPEAKER_01: Boots.
3:11
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
3:12
SPEAKER_00: Road crew in general, extroverts or introverts?
3:16
SPEAKER_01: Extroverts.
3:17
SPEAKER_00: All of them?
3:18
SPEAKER_01: Most of them.
3:19
SPEAKER_00: Really?
3:19
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
3:20
SPEAKER_00: All right, let's talk about backroads and the rural connection.
3:24
SPEAKER_00: As a viewer, I know when watching backroads, you instantly feel good.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: There's no stress and there's just positive vibes that we all need more of right now.
3:34
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think that's what people react to so powerfully with it.
3:40
SPEAKER_01: And it doesn't mean that we're sugarcoating things.
3:44
SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of stuff going on in regional communities I know that is tough, right?
3:49
SPEAKER_01: Um, I know there are drug problems in a lot of the small towns, but there's also a lot of great stuff.
3:56
SPEAKER_01: So I'm not going to shy away from, you know, shouting from the mountaintops about the good stuff because why not?
4:04
SPEAKER_01: You know, we can be so hard on ourselves sometimes.
4:08
SPEAKER_01: So it's okay to say, you know, we're doing okay in a community.
4:13
SPEAKER_01: Do you know what has surprised me the most about Backroads though is when I get the briefs sometimes and I'm told, okay, I'm going to wherever it might be.
4:22
SPEAKER_01: For example, Cunamble in New South Wales.
4:26
SPEAKER_01: And I think, all right, what's going to happen there?
4:30
SPEAKER_01: What's going on with that town?
4:32
SPEAKER_01: And it ended up being a glorious story that involved two out-of-towners, a director and a writer, who were going to help the town put on a show.
4:46
SPEAKER_01: And they were giving a couple of dozen people three minutes each to talk about the most important day of their life, something that had happened to them.
4:57
SPEAKER_01: And the stories that came out, and so we followed them for the last week of rehearsals.
5:02
SPEAKER_01: So here we were with farmers and a vet and all these people, for the first time in their lives, standing up on stage to talk about their own lives.
5:14
SPEAKER_01: And it was so powerful.
5:16
SPEAKER_01: It was really great and very powerful.
5:18
SPEAKER_01: One of the talent that we were interviewing, Sooty, he revealed for the first time that he'd been part of the stolen generation.
5:27
SPEAKER_01: And he'd been put on a train when he was four years old and sent away.
5:31
SPEAKER_01: And he'd been told he was going to the circus.
5:34
SPEAKER_01: And of course, he wasn't going to the circus.
5:37
SPEAKER_01: So being able to tell those stories for back roads, at the end of the show, I want people to feel hope and contentment and happiness, but also acknowledging that we are interviewing people who have been through tough times.
5:56
SPEAKER_01: But God, the resilience blows me away.
6:00
SPEAKER_01: The resilience of people in the country, they don't have time to sit around and moan about things.
6:05
SPEAKER_01: They've just got to crack on, you know?
6:08
SPEAKER_01: That's actually what we decided we were going to use for the gold logi slogan, for the campaign slogan.
6:14
SPEAKER_01: Because if you're going to have a campaign, you've got to have a slogan, right?
6:17
SPEAKER_01: And it's like, just crack on.
6:19
SPEAKER_01: Just crack on with it.
6:21
SPEAKER_01: Because that's what I've learned from the people that I have been interviewing for Backroads and Mustards.
6:28
SPEAKER_01: That it's just, they just get on with it.
6:31
SPEAKER_00: It's such a big audience you've got with Backroads.
6:34
SPEAKER_01: And I about a million per episode, actually.
6:37
SPEAKER_01: Really?
6:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
6:38
SPEAKER_01: That watch it on iView or live on air.
6:40
SPEAKER_01: So over the months after a show has gone to air, it's about a million that have watched it.
6:45
SPEAKER_00: And I find it so powerful in the way you're connecting all these city people to our rural communities.
6:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
6:51
SPEAKER_00: And that's where I think this podcast and Backroads, the values align a little bit.
6:56
SPEAKER_00: So thank you.
6:57
SPEAKER_00: This is why I really wanted to have this chat.
6:59
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
6:59
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
7:00
SPEAKER_01: It's because it doesn't take much to find the areas where we all agree and the things that bind us rather than separate us.
7:11
SPEAKER_01: And if we can be part of that with this program, then yeah, let's have more of it.
7:17
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I feel like we are a lot of people talk to me about having news avoidance and not wanting to see all the bad stuff that is going on.
7:26
SPEAKER_01: And you can't shut yourself off.
7:30
SPEAKER_01: It is the world we are in.
7:32
SPEAKER_01: But you can give yourself a little treat in acknowledging and knowing that there are people out there who are good and kind and generous and doing wonderful things and selflessly and not doing it, you know, to become megastars or to get pats on the back, but you know, happy not even with a thank you.
7:54
SPEAKER_01: They're doing it because it comes from deep inside them.
7:58
SPEAKER_01: And that's what I love with this program.
8:01
SPEAKER_00: What do you think a small country town gives you that we can't get in the cities?
8:05
SPEAKER_01: Um, I think it's that camaraderie of whether it's going to the pub or going to the football game and knowing all of the faces.
8:15
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes there might be faces there that you don't want to see.
8:18
SPEAKER_01: That's okay, you know, you don't have to be mates with everyone.
8:22
SPEAKER_01: But it's like there is that sense of being nourished in a small community that I feel like that's a very special thing.
8:33
SPEAKER_01: I I am so, so glad that I grew up in the country.
8:37
SPEAKER_01: So I feel like that is a privilege to have been a country kid.
8:42
SPEAKER_01: And I look at people who grew up in the city and I think, oh, you don't know what you've missed out on.
8:47
SPEAKER_01: What a pity for you.
8:49
SPEAKER_01: Like I actually feel sorry for them.
8:51
SPEAKER_01: I'm sure they don't feel that way.
8:52
SPEAKER_01: I'm sure they're very happy with their upbringing.
8:54
SPEAKER_01: But it's just, I I see it as a massive privilege.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: All right, so you and the crew, you've just rolled up to a small country town.
9:02
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
9:02
SPEAKER_00: What are you looking for first?
9:04
SPEAKER_00: Coffee, a toilet, or your first interview?
9:07
SPEAKER_01: Well, do you know the standard of coffee right across regional Australia has improved out of sight?
9:14
SPEAKER_01: It's incredible.
9:16
SPEAKER_01: There are some really great baristas out there.
9:18
SPEAKER_01: So thank you very much.
9:19
SPEAKER_01: If I've had one of your coffees in my travels around Australia.
9:23
SPEAKER_00: And often they're a little country caravan on the corner somewhere.
9:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
9:28
SPEAKER_01: I'll tell you, I'll let you into a little bit about the making of back roads.
9:32
SPEAKER_01: We have a pretty big team of researchers, like there'd be four or five, which I think is a great number for this program.
9:39
SPEAKER_01: And they are always working on stories.
9:42
SPEAKER_01: So they will be targeting a town and making loads of phone calls and talking to people and trying to get a sense of the place and what might be the theme of the story that we do if we go there.
9:56
SPEAKER_01: And they will write briefs for the rest of the team that might be 40 or 50 pages long about a particular town.
10:05
SPEAKER_01: And they could be working on that years before the story is even filmed.
10:11
SPEAKER_01: So we have so many stories already underway.
10:16
SPEAKER_01: And then a producer is assigned to that, and that producer will actually go to that town for a couple of days, they'll do a recce, they'll meet the people that we think might be our talent that we're going to be in the story, and then they will come back and they will start crafting the story.
10:36
SPEAKER_01: And then when all the hard work's been done, when everything's been sorted, I turn up.
10:44
SPEAKER_01: I kid you not, it's the best job in Australian television.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: Shh, you had it.
10:49
SPEAKER_00: It's not an easy day though, Lisa.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: I've seen you at it.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: It's full on.
10:53
SPEAKER_01: No, it is full on.
10:54
SPEAKER_01: And I kind of tell myself, oh well, I'm I'm here to bring the skills that I can bring, but gosh, all of the work honestly has been done before I turn up.
11:04
SPEAKER_01: We've got an incredible team.
11:06
SPEAKER_01: You might remember a two-part episode I did where we drove across Australia.
11:11
SPEAKER_01: It was called the Outback Way, and we went WA, Northern Territory on the longest, you know, dirt road across Australia.
11:21
SPEAKER_01: They had been trying to get that story done for seven years.
11:24
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
11:25
SPEAKER_01: To try and get the permissions to film in various places, to get the right time of year, because so many of our backroads stories you can only do at a particular time of year.
11:36
SPEAKER_01: You can't go to the Dane tree where I've just been in January.
11:40
SPEAKER_01: You can't go in the wet season.
11:42
SPEAKER_01: So when you put all of that jigsaw together, sometimes stories can take a long time to happen.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: And that was backroads to the true sense of the word.
11:54
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
11:54
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
11:54
SPEAKER_01: No, well, they've made me do a four-wheel drive course.
11:57
SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
11:58
SPEAKER_01: I'm still I still look at some of the four-wheel driving that people can do and I go, wow, that's impressive.
12:05
SPEAKER_01: I'm not there, but at least now I feel a bit more comfortable about when I should be letting pressure out of the tyres and you know what when we need to go into, you know, high four, low four, you name it.
12:19
SPEAKER_01: I'm kind of, I'm a bit more comfortable with that, but yeah.
12:23
SPEAKER_00: I'm impressed.
12:24
SPEAKER_01: Well, don't be.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: You roll into a small town, you've got often say a crew of two camera operators.
12:31
SPEAKER_01: There's always four of us.
12:31
SPEAKER_01: So we have a camera operator, a sounddo, a producer, and me.
12:36
SPEAKER_01: And every now and then we might have an extra camera operator.
12:39
SPEAKER_01: Just because of the high quality of the program, we want it to look glorious.
12:45
SPEAKER_01: And so sometimes we will have five, but that's a special occasion when that happens.
12:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's beautifully shot too and put together.
12:52
SPEAKER_00: And you spoke about your producer that then goes and follows up on these 30 to 40 pages of research.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: Then he's responsible then on the day to or she.
13:03
SPEAKER_00: I met Damien.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: Yes, one of your producers, to coordinate all the talent, but then you're there thrown in.
13:09
SPEAKER_00: You haven't got a script or an auto cure or anything like that.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: You are hitting the ground running.
13:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but these producers have briefed me so well.
13:17
SPEAKER_01: Like we'll often have conversations as we're driving to the place.
13:21
SPEAKER_01: I mean, we certainly have conversations in the lead up to it before we even travel anywhere.
13:27
SPEAKER_01: But then I'll say to the producer, what's your dream scenario here?
13:33
SPEAKER_01: What would you like out of today?
13:35
SPEAKER_01: What is going to make you happy?
13:37
SPEAKER_01: And I then try and deliver that.
13:39
SPEAKER_01: And that is kind of the question that I do ask them.
13:42
SPEAKER_01: I say, What would be the best thing that you would like to hear from Judy Brewer or Mary?
13:50
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
13:51
SPEAKER_01: And then someone as glorious as Mary, 95-year-old Mary, delivers something even better.
13:58
SPEAKER_01: Just beautiful.
14:00
SPEAKER_01: She was just made our day so fun.
14:04
SPEAKER_01: But yes, I kind of feel like I ask for the writing orders that I want to make sure that I'm finding what the producer has in their brain.
14:13
SPEAKER_01: And it's very different to what I've done for the last 30 years of my career because I was kind of playing the role of producer.
14:20
SPEAKER_01: I was writing the scripts, I was checking if we were going to be interviewing the right people.
14:25
SPEAKER_01: I was booking the planes and the cars and all the rest of it.
14:28
SPEAKER_01: Whereas now I'm in this glorious situation where all I have to do is try and deliver what all of my fabulous colleagues have put in place that they hope will come from a particular shoot.
14:43
SPEAKER_00: Talking about 95-year-old Mary Brewer, before when she first met you, she did not let go of your hand.
14:48
SPEAKER_00: And he had a producer at the other end of you trying to pull you over to interview more of these amazing autistic kids who are just delivering some beautiful messages.
14:57
SPEAKER_00: Mary loved you and we love Mary.
14:59
SPEAKER_00: And there's a great episode coming up, I think.
15:01
SPEAKER_00: Can we say that yet?
15:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
15:04
SPEAKER_00: And that'll include Judy and Mary.
15:06
SPEAKER_01: Oh gosh, what a the whole program just filled us with joy.
15:10
SPEAKER_01: I think Myrtleford is coming up over the next few months, actually.
15:14
SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
15:15
SPEAKER_00: Nice, can't wait.
15:17
SPEAKER_00: You roll into town.
15:18
SPEAKER_00: How do you build trust so quickly?
15:20
SPEAKER_01: That's interesting.
15:21
SPEAKER_01: I think straight away there is a great deal of trust for the ABC, and there should be, quite frankly.
15:27
SPEAKER_01: There should be, because I know how hard people work to make sure that they are finding the true essence of a story.
15:36
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, it breaks my heart when people say they don't trust mainstream media or they've been looking at stuff on Facebook and feeling like they're getting, you know, a different kind of story.
15:49
SPEAKER_01: I just want to reassure your listeners that people at the ABC work so hard to make sure that they are delivering a beautiful product for you that you can trust.
16:00
SPEAKER_01: So, having said that, how do we roll into a town?
16:04
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
16:05
SPEAKER_01: We just sit down and have a yarn to people, you know?
16:07
SPEAKER_01: It's your curiosity, isn't it?
16:09
SPEAKER_01: Well, you're always on.
16:10
SPEAKER_01: You never, when you turn up for a back road story for the next week, you are always kind of working in a way because it's not like you can go to the pub at night for a schnitz and you switch off.
16:23
SPEAKER_01: Switch off.
16:24
SPEAKER_01: You don't because people want to come over and chat to you.
16:26
SPEAKER_01: And I will always chat to people.
16:28
SPEAKER_01: I'm happy to do that.
16:29
SPEAKER_01: I love it, you know, as like I'm so curious.
16:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
16:33
SPEAKER_01: And you learn things, you find out something different and new.
16:37
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I feel like it's very, you know, when we turn up in a town, we are strangers.
16:43
SPEAKER_01: And by the end of the week, I'll go for a walk to the bakery in the morning, and you know, I'll be saying, Oh, get a Bill, hi John, get a Cheryl.
16:52
SPEAKER_01: And you know, Cheryl will be saying, Oh, did you catch up with so and so?
16:56
SPEAKER_01: And it's like suddenly you are part of that community, and I see it happen on every story, and it's just so glorious.
17:05
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
17:06
SPEAKER_00: That was my next question.
17:07
SPEAKER_00: Do they often try and adopt you then?
17:09
SPEAKER_00: You and the crew?
17:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:11
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
17:12
SPEAKER_01: And it's always, and you know, I I kind of will write a little thank you note to some people, and we stay in touch, and yeah, you know, because the producers are doing many stories a year as well.
17:26
SPEAKER_01: And I mean, I do about 18 backroads episodes, which is why I'm on the road for about 125 days a year.
17:34
SPEAKER_01: Is that right?
17:35
SPEAKER_01: And the producers as well, but they'll always take phone calls from people who are in stories, you know, because we are very conscious that this is what we do.
17:44
SPEAKER_01: It's natural to us to get up in front of a camera, to talk, to be confident around equipment.
17:51
SPEAKER_01: But we know that's not the normal life for most people.
17:55
SPEAKER_01: And so they are often revealing something vulnerable about themselves, they might feel a bit a little bit anxious.
18:03
SPEAKER_01: So we don't want to ever leave town and then think that's the last time they're going to hear from us or talk to us.
18:09
SPEAKER_01: You know, I want people to feel that we are still part of their life and their community.
18:16
SPEAKER_01: That makes me feel good.
18:17
SPEAKER_00: Like well after you've gone.
18:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: I've actually seen that.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:20
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:21
SPEAKER_01: But don't you worry, I'll be messaging everyone and saying, hey, vote for me in the lowies.
18:28
SPEAKER_00: Lisa, I've seen you diving in the ocean and monitoring the seabed in WA, planting seagrass.
18:34
SPEAKER_00: You've been on paddle boards with kids pushing you off.
18:37
SPEAKER_00: I love all these places you get to, and you've got to roll with the punches every time.
18:42
SPEAKER_01: Scary.
18:42
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I've been rock climbing for the very first time in my life.
18:46
SPEAKER_01: And funnily enough, I'm halfway up the rock face, and it was the sounddo who had his headphones on, and I had a microphone on me, and he was the one that actually said to the producer, I think we need to get her down.
19:01
SPEAKER_01: I think she's too scared to keep going with this.
19:05
SPEAKER_01: And I was so grateful for him that he cared, and they all care, but it wasn't just about making television, it was that actually is Lisa okay with this because it's pretty and anyway.
19:21
SPEAKER_01: I kept going and I got to the top.
19:23
SPEAKER_01: That won't surprise you because after our chat, but the the the person who was helping me climb said, if you walk away now, you are going to kick yourself.
19:35
SPEAKER_01: And he was absolutely right.
19:37
SPEAKER_01: So we kept going, but the sound o could hear me going, and we've had to beep it out.
19:42
SPEAKER_00: I was wondering that.
19:43
SPEAKER_01: So you're gonna see it in this winter series.
19:45
SPEAKER_01: So it's the last story of the series, and you'll see it's just beep, beep, beep, and here I am kind, you know, and of course, my most fabulous view, right?
19:58
SPEAKER_01: It's like the camera is just on my ass.
20:00
SPEAKER_01: So it's like this is not how I thought my television career would go.
20:05
SPEAKER_01: But anyway, keeping it real, Miller, whatever.
20:07
SPEAKER_00: The big life, Lisa, the big life.
20:09
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly, exactly.
20:11
SPEAKER_01: And when are you ever gonna go rock climbing, you know, and have someone whose sole interest is to help you get to the top and feel good about it.
20:19
SPEAKER_01: So I thought, well, I'm not gonna say no to that.
20:21
SPEAKER_01: I think the other thing about me that helps with that is that I don't mind failing because I have failed in the past and I know that I will fail again at something, but that's okay.
20:32
SPEAKER_01: You know, I would rather give something a go than not give it a go.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
20:39
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: I think we can all learn a bit from that.
20:40
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, I feel like if you if you're comfortable with not being a perfectionist, which I'm not, yes, I would like to do a great job at things that I do, but it's okay to fail.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
20:51
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:51
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
20:52
SPEAKER_00: We can all learn a bit from that.
20:53
SPEAKER_00: Uh Lisa, is there something that City Australia misunderstands about rural Australia?
20:59
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I think I don't want to presume that I know what people are thinking, right?
21:05
SPEAKER_01: So I just really need to qualify what I'm gonna say.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: Perception.
21:09
SPEAKER_01: Yes, exactly.
21:11
SPEAKER_01: But I do think people in regional Australia are very open to ideas and open to learning.
21:18
SPEAKER_01: And I feel that people in the city don't get that.
21:22
SPEAKER_01: They don't understand that actually people in the country are lifelong learners.
21:28
SPEAKER_01: They have to do it, they have to do it with their crops, they have to pivot and change with the weather, they have to be open to new ideas, they can't be rigid in the way that they approach life.
21:41
SPEAKER_01: And I I feel that that is such a strength of people in the country.
21:47
SPEAKER_01: And that I think is a message that I would like to keep telling.
21:53
SPEAKER_01: Because I see it, I see it.
21:54
SPEAKER_01: I've been this year alone, I've been to WA Queensland, Tassie twice.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: South Australia, Queensland twice.
22:02
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I feel like I am meeting more people in more diverse parts of the country than pretty much anyone at the ABC.
22:11
SPEAKER_01: And I know when a backroad story goes to where and the reaction that it gets.
22:15
SPEAKER_01: And I think about this gorgeous immigrant from Vietnam called Thomas, who was in our story on Gainder, which is a citrus town in Queensland.
22:26
SPEAKER_01: And Thomas has arrived, he's been embraced by the community, he's opened up a Vietnamese restaurant in Gander.
22:34
SPEAKER_01: And people loved that story.
22:36
SPEAKER_01: And I got messages from people saying, if this is Australia, then I am so happy to see the inclusiveness and the community.
22:46
SPEAKER_01: And that is a message that I just think needs to keep getting through.
22:51
SPEAKER_00: And do you think sometimes we misunderstand where our food and fibre actually comes from?
22:56
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
22:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
22:57
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
22:58
SPEAKER_01: And I don't blame people in the city for that because it's just there on the shelves.
23:02
SPEAKER_01: No, I don't blame them either, but yeah.
23:04
SPEAKER_01: I think people in the country are trying to look after the land and are trying to continually improve the quality of what they're doing.
23:15
SPEAKER_01: And you know, that that's what I've seen with mustard dogs and the use of the working dogs to try and cut down on the amount of machinery that's being used and how much care goes into what these people are doing.
23:29
SPEAKER_01: So that just keeps coming through to us all the time as well.
23:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
23:33
SPEAKER_00: Is there another common thread that you see through all these rural communities?
23:37
SPEAKER_01: A common thread is dwelling more on what they have rather than what they don't have.
23:44
SPEAKER_01: I think that is the common thread in these communities.
23:47
SPEAKER_01: They find the goodness, they celebrate the good.
23:54
SPEAKER_01: And I think this sense of kind of people whinging or moaning out in the country is a misperception.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: Oh, you've said that well.
24:04
SPEAKER_01: Well it that is my honest feeling when I go to these communities.
24:09
SPEAKER_01: There is a lot of celebration of the good without the dwelling on the bad.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: Uh this is powerful, Lisa.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: I've also seen you throwing wool in a large shearing shed with competitions, badly.
24:22
SPEAKER_00: Um, swimming at Shark Bay, your far north Queensland uh shooting a story on coral.
24:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Mission Beach.
24:30
SPEAKER_00: So you just pinch yourself.
24:32
SPEAKER_01: Totally, every day.
24:33
SPEAKER_01: I am so grateful.
24:35
SPEAKER_01: And if it all ended tomorrow, I would say, what a ride, what a ride, because I think about that little kid in Kilkeven with the big dreams of a big life.
24:48
SPEAKER_01: And this has been beyond anything, absolutely beyond.
24:53
SPEAKER_01: And I do feel like the universe is just thinking, what fun can I have with Lisa today?
24:59
SPEAKER_01: And I'm loving it, like I'm here for it, but I also know that it's only happened because of so many people who have helped me along the way and have given me a lot of love and support and still do.
25:12
SPEAKER_01: And I just, you know, if I had to sum up how I kind of feel about things, it's just I am so utterly grateful.
25:21
SPEAKER_01: So grateful.
25:22
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
25:23
SPEAKER_00: You might have answered my next question, but planned moments versus unplanned moments, which wins?
25:30
SPEAKER_01: Oh, unplanned for sure.
25:33
SPEAKER_01: I mean, unplanned moments, the first thing that pops into my mind is the fact that at the age of 57, I am now engaged to an old friend that I just went to lunch with one day.
25:45
SPEAKER_01: And and it turned out it was an unplanned moment where we fell in love.
25:50
SPEAKER_01: So there's a whole lot of wonderful things that get dished up.
25:55
SPEAKER_01: I feel like if you don't take those, if you're not open to those opportunities and the randomness of life, then you're gonna miss out on a lot of stuff.
26:05
SPEAKER_01: So thank you.
26:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
26:07
SPEAKER_00: What's your toughest filming day so far with Backroads?
26:10
SPEAKER_01: Probably the Cocos Islands.
26:13
SPEAKER_01: We arrived there when there was a wonderful traditional Muslim wedding happening, but that meant that the one kind of grocery shop was shut and we were a bit short on food.
26:30
SPEAKER_01: But you know what?
26:31
SPEAKER_01: They invited us to the wedding.
26:33
SPEAKER_01: We ended up being able to eat some of the feast.
26:35
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's yeah, so this is what I mean about when you think you've got something difficult, actually, it ends up being something glorious.
26:44
SPEAKER_01: So you know, I'm such a big believer in there being silver linings and unexpected, wonderful things happening.
26:52
SPEAKER_01: So, but there was a tough day because I like to eat.
26:55
SPEAKER_01: I'm yeah, yeah.
26:57
SPEAKER_01: Lisa does not do hungry well.
26:59
SPEAKER_00: You mentioned mustard dogs before and and the human connection that they can offer.
27:04
SPEAKER_00: Hey, this one's another one that's up for a logi.
27:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
27:07
SPEAKER_00: Nomination.
27:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
27:08
SPEAKER_01: Best structured reality program.
27:10
SPEAKER_01: We won the logie last year, and that was such an unexpected moment because the year before we got beaten by Goggle Box, and last year we were up against Goggle Box and Married at First Sight and Farmer Wants a Wife, and all those programs that have a lot of support and a lot of viewers.
27:31
SPEAKER_01: And when they announced that we were the winner, I was like a deer in the headlight because I did not anticipate it was coming, and it was just so wonderful because I knew that every single person we'd interviewed for Mustard Dogs would be so thrilled, and just I felt like, man, this is for them.
27:51
SPEAKER_01: And we took the logi on tour.
27:54
SPEAKER_01: Is that one the scratched one?
27:55
SPEAKER_01: Oh no, I think the scratched one because the dogs chewed on.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: Well, listeners, I'm holding the silver logie right now from last year.
28:04
SPEAKER_00: It's incredible, it's quite heavy.
28:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think the Mustard Dogs crew got me a new one because the one that was originally given out had all these um teeth marks from the dogs who gave it a bit of love because we took it on tour.
28:15
SPEAKER_00: Well, it's real.
28:17
SPEAKER_00: Why do you think Mustard Dogs connected so strongly to our audience?
28:21
SPEAKER_01: Authenticity.
28:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
28:22
SPEAKER_01: Because the people who were and are the participants are very real characters who aren't trying to be, you know, TV stars.
28:34
SPEAKER_01: They just want to get a message across about how they care for their animals and their properties, and also back to this theme of lifelong learning that they're open to new ideas.
28:48
SPEAKER_01: Someone can teach them how to do it a bit better.
28:51
SPEAKER_01: Well, they're up for it, you know.
28:52
SPEAKER_01: And I just think that's magical.
28:54
SPEAKER_01: And I feel like, yes, puppies are cute and all the rest of it, but people also want to see people who are real.
29:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
29:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
29:03
SPEAKER_00: And I guess dogs, they can unlock some emotional times for some of these people you're interviewing.
29:09
SPEAKER_01: Most people ask me if I have a dog.
29:11
SPEAKER_01: I don't have a dog.
29:12
SPEAKER_01: We're sitting in an apartment in Melbourne and I travel a lot, but my dream is that one day I will have my own.
29:20
SPEAKER_00: We need this big life of Lisa to slow down a little bit, but don't do it yet.
29:24
SPEAKER_00: Not yet.
29:24
SPEAKER_00: You're still young.
29:26
SPEAKER_00: Media and trust.
29:28
SPEAKER_00: We talked a little bit about it before.
29:30
SPEAKER_00: How do you build trust in an age where media trust is sometimes a bit challenged?
29:35
SPEAKER_01: Look, it is it's difficult times in the media.
29:38
SPEAKER_01: I would say just get things right, that I can only do what I can do individually, I suppose.
29:45
SPEAKER_01: That is a really big question because there's so many other forces at play, and we've become a very polarized world.
29:54
SPEAKER_01: And I don't know, other than I know what myself and my colleagues are producing, and I would urge people to know that they can trust that.
30:05
SPEAKER_01: But it's it's tricky.
30:07
SPEAKER_01: I don't have any answers for it.
30:08
SPEAKER_01: When I think about how things started, you know, back when I was at the Gimpy Times as a cadet, and people would get the paper and they believed every word, you know, and they trusted the paper.
30:20
SPEAKER_01: They trusted whether it was the results of the lawn bowls or the astrology signs, you know, they they trusted it.
30:28
SPEAKER_01: And there isn't that trust now.
30:29
SPEAKER_01: And I feel like there's a lot of things that the media have done over the years that have contributed to destroying that trust, and that's unfortunate.
30:36
SPEAKER_00: And social media too, perhaps.
30:38
SPEAKER_01: And social media.
30:39
SPEAKER_01: So I I have no answers, I'm afraid.
30:42
SPEAKER_01: I'm glad that I'm I'm at this end of my career than at the beginning end, to be honest, because I feel like it's it's a tough old world out there if you were just starting in it.
30:52
SPEAKER_00: Going back to well, both shows, Mustards and Back Roads, what's one moment you still think about long after filming?
31:00
SPEAKER_01: Well, for Mustards, I would say that it's it's a sad note in a way, because it was Frank Finger, our lovely first series winner with his dog Annie, who then passed away just a few days after Frank's wife passed away.
31:20
SPEAKER_01: So he lost his wife and then he lost Annie in a matter of days.
31:25
SPEAKER_01: And what I want to take away from that, and what I want to remember, is going to Frank's place and seeing thousands, thousands of cards and letters that had been sent to him by viewers from around Australia.
31:41
SPEAKER_01: And Frank was like, Oh, I I don't know if I'm gonna be able to reply to all of them.
31:45
SPEAKER_01: And we're like, Frank, you did not have to reply to all of them, but that just made me feel good that in this moment of terrible sadness, that our viewers just wanted to wrap their arms around Frank.
31:59
SPEAKER_00: That's incredible.
32:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so that that walking into his home and seeing these boxes, these boxes filled with cards and letters, just gave me a bit of well.
32:10
SPEAKER_00: That just goes to show that you've built that trust with your audience.
32:13
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that they will go and send that card to that person.
32:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
32:16
SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
32:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and they can know fully well that it got to him because he sat there and he was reading them all.
32:22
SPEAKER_01: Beautiful.
32:22
SPEAKER_00: Do you think sometimes small town stories often feel bigger than city ones?
32:28
SPEAKER_01: Oh no, I think everyone's got a story.
32:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
32:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
32:32
SPEAKER_01: I feel like there's things that we've learned and benefited from in country towns, but I feel like everyone has, everyone's got a story.
32:43
SPEAKER_01: Everyone's got a story.
32:44
SPEAKER_01: You just need to ask the questions.
32:46
SPEAKER_01: It's we're sitting in the city here in Melbourne, but we could go downstairs and we could find someone having a coffee and we could talk to them for half an hour, and they would have an amazing story.
32:57
SPEAKER_01: I know it, I guarantee it.
32:59
SPEAKER_00: I hear you.
33:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, totally.
33:00
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
33:01
SPEAKER_00: If you could preserve one thing about rural Australia, what would it be?
33:06
SPEAKER_01: Town halls, like the little halls, the country halls.
33:10
SPEAKER_01: How important are they?
33:11
SPEAKER_01: That's just come to me right now that that is where people learn to dance, or the craft shows were held, or the Esteadford was held.
33:21
SPEAKER_01: Those were the meeting places.
33:24
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
33:25
SPEAKER_01: And I feel like that sense of still meeting in real life and having that personal connection.
33:32
SPEAKER_01: And I know there's a whole lot of connections that are now made online, but gosh, I go past some old halls on my travels, and I think, please be there when I come back next time.
33:44
SPEAKER_01: Because you are a symbol of communities that gathered and the generations that have come together in those halls.
33:52
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
33:53
SPEAKER_01: I love the halls.
33:54
SPEAKER_00: Alyssa, are you up for some more off-the-wall questions?
33:58
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
33:58
SPEAKER_00: If Backroads had a warning label, what would it say?
34:02
SPEAKER_01: Tears coming.
34:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there's a few tears in the next series.
34:07
SPEAKER_00: Really?
34:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
34:08
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
34:08
SPEAKER_01: Generally mine.
34:09
SPEAKER_01: I'm a big fryer.
34:10
SPEAKER_00: Are you okay?
34:13
SPEAKER_01: I just feel it.
34:14
SPEAKER_01: I feel people's, you know, happiness or sadness, and and I don't mind crying.
34:21
SPEAKER_01: I'm not ashamed of it.
34:22
SPEAKER_01: It's like it's, yeah.
34:24
SPEAKER_00: Makes you very real, Lisa.
34:26
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
34:27
SPEAKER_00: You're on location.
34:28
SPEAKER_00: What's more likely to derail a shoot?
34:31
SPEAKER_00: Weather, livestock, or someone's famous country hospitality.
34:36
SPEAKER_01: Weather.
34:37
SPEAKER_01: Rain can send us having to look for a whole different approach to something.
34:43
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
34:44
SPEAKER_00: If a mustard dog's pup could narrate an episode, what would they absolutely roast the humans about?
34:52
SPEAKER_01: The fact that they're not allowed in the house.
34:56
SPEAKER_01: They'd be like, come on, guys, give me a break.
34:58
SPEAKER_01: It's cold out here.
35:00
SPEAKER_01: Just let me on the veranda, huh?
35:03
SPEAKER_00: It's an episode.
35:05
SPEAKER_00: What's the most this is not in the production schedule moment you've had on the road?
35:11
SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow.
35:13
SPEAKER_01: Just recently trying to boil water in the communal kitchen so I could have my nighttime sleepy tea and having to watch the snake that it was making its way through the dame tree.
35:27
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
35:28
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, how much do I want this nighttime cup of tea?
35:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
35:32
SPEAKER_01: That was not in the production schedule.
35:34
SPEAKER_00: That was just recently.
35:35
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
35:36
SPEAKER_00: Last week, perhaps.
35:37
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
35:38
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
35:38
SPEAKER_01: It's still fresh in my mind.
35:40
SPEAKER_00: All right, you've just arrived in town for a back road shoot.
35:43
SPEAKER_00: What's the first sign things are about to go off script?
35:49
SPEAKER_01: When the crew member turns up with a bad back and can't lift the gear, which sadly has happened.
35:59
SPEAKER_01: But we work around it.
36:00
SPEAKER_01: That is the thing that happens.
36:01
SPEAKER_01: We always pivot.
36:03
SPEAKER_01: We find an answer.
36:04
SPEAKER_01: We find a way to do things.
36:05
SPEAKER_00: All right.
36:06
SPEAKER_00: Well, if the Backroads crew had a walk of shame moment, what would it usually involve?
36:12
SPEAKER_01: Um getting caught up with the locals after a football match at the pub and not making it back to the motel until well after midnight.
36:20
SPEAKER_00: Should we be publishing this?
36:21
SPEAKER_01: That's all right.
36:22
SPEAKER_01: It's part of the building trust and being part of the community.
36:26
SPEAKER_00: Connecting.
36:27
SPEAKER_01: That is perfectly fine.
36:28
SPEAKER_00: If Mustard Dogs had a pub trivia night, which breed wins?
36:33
SPEAKER_01: Kelpies.
36:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
36:35
SPEAKER_00: What's the most we absolutely did not plan this that's ever ended up on camera?
36:40
SPEAKER_01: Me playing walking soccer in the Candelow episode with an ex-Matilda and getting so excited about the game that I ended up causing an injury.
36:50
SPEAKER_00: Did you what'd you do?
36:51
SPEAKER_01: Well, I got them in the calf and they were out for a while.
36:55
SPEAKER_01: I know, terrible.
36:56
SPEAKER_01: I felt terrible.
36:58
SPEAKER_01: But I've got a goal.
36:59
SPEAKER_01: No, it's going to be in the Candelo episode.
37:01
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
37:02
SPEAKER_01: It's there.
37:02
SPEAKER_01: Don't be worried.
37:03
SPEAKER_01: We keep it all real.
37:05
SPEAKER_00: Well, uh, listeners, don't forget, Google TV Week Logie Awards.
37:10
SPEAKER_00: You'll find Mustard Dogs are up for a nomination.
37:14
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
37:14
SPEAKER_01: And the Gold Logie and the Burt Newton most popular presenter.
37:19
SPEAKER_01: And I'm so honoured and so thrilled, and I would love people's support, but more than anything, it's just lovely to be able to have the platform to talk about the things that I care about so much, which is very much regional Australia.
37:35
SPEAKER_00: Lisa Miller, the big life, it's been a big life.
37:38
SPEAKER_00: You've been very generous with your time today.
37:41
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
37:42
SPEAKER_00: I love your storytelling style, your honesty, and your trust in me to tell your story.
37:48
SPEAKER_01: Oh well, thank you for having me.
37:50
SPEAKER_01: It's been a great chat.
37:51
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, April.
37:57
SPEAKER_00: Well, what a great conversation.
37:59
SPEAKER_00: A huge thank you to Lisa Miller for sharing her stories, her passion for backroads and mustards, and for introducing us to some of the incredible people she meets along the way.
38:11
SPEAKER_00: I think what shines through is the connection.
38:14
SPEAKER_00: The connection between people, communities, the land, and the stories that make regional Australia so special.
38:22
SPEAKER_00: Lisa, thank you for your time.
38:24
SPEAKER_00: It's been an absolute pleasure.
38:26
SPEAKER_00: And don't forget, Lisa is in the running for this year's gold logie.
38:31
SPEAKER_00: So cast your vote now.
38:33
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening.
38:35
SPEAKER_00: And remember, keep your hands dirty and your spirits high.