Career
He hosted the "Australia overnight" programme (12:00am – 330 am) up until 11th December 2015. The signature of the show was the tune, "Hanky Panky", by Pete Fountain. Brian Wilshire began his radio career in November 1969 at 2NZ in Inverell.
Wilshire is well-known for expressing sceptical views on mainstream climate change science.
On 16 December 2005, Wilshire was forced to make a public apology, after allegedly saying on air that many Middle Eastern immigrants were inbred as a result of consanguinity and thus hard to educate. "Many of them (referring to the carloads of youths who invaded the Sutherland Shire following the Cronulla riots) have parents who are first cousins whose parents were first cousins.
The result of this is inbreeding – the result of which is uneducationable (sic) people..and very low intelligence quotient.” At no stage during the discussion was there any mention of the race of the rioters. The media assumed Wilshire was talking about Lebanese.
His comments were met with outrage.
"lieutenant reveals an uneducated comment on his part – they are disgraceful comments," then Premier, Morris Iemma, said. Stephen Stanton, spokesman for the Lebanese human rights organisation Cedarwatch:
"One is 2GB and the moronic manner that gargling boofhead has been berating and denigrating you. The airwaves are useless if they are used by people such as that.
The other is newspapers such as The Australian."
Following widespread condemnation, including by Premier Iemma, Wilshire has since apologised for his comments.
He has since returned to 2GB Overnights.
