Ben Fordham tells NSW Opposition leader he’s too ‘boring’ and ‘woke’ to regularly appear on his show

Radio host Ben Fordham has branded New South Wales Liberal leader Mark Speakman as too “woke” to be on his show, let alone win the next election.

Fordham told Mr Speakman he was not interesting enough to appear regularly on his show after the NSW Opposition Leader offered to come in every fortnight.

“Do you want to be here once a fortnight?” he asked Mr Spekman.

The Liberal leader laughed and said, “Yes, if you want me.”

Fordham then replied bluntly, “You need to be a little more interesting.”

Mr Speakman appeared on the program on Friday to respond to various criticisms.

“I have offered the Liberal leader of New South Wales some feedback and some hard truths about his leadership to date,” Mr Fordham said as he introduced Mr Speakman.

“I said he’s a nice person, a decent person, but he’s boring and he’s woke.”

In response to accusations that he is too “woke,” Speakman claimed he was “a lifelong liberal who had been a member of the Liberal Party since he was eighteen.”

“I’m not there because it’s an easy haven because of my beliefs – I’m committed to individual freedom, I’m committed to family, I’m committed to small business, I’m committed to ambition and opportunity,” he said.

“You don’t join the Liberal Party to be left-wing.”

Fordham responded to Mr Speakman’s many replies by saying he would lose the 2027 NSW state election to Labor leader Chris Minns because he is “boring”.

“You’re going to have to do more, I’m afraid, if you’re going to rattle Chris Minns’ cage,” Fordham said.

“I made the comment last week that opposition leaders only become known when they stick their neck out, when they take a stand on major issues and when they lead the conversation.”

When told he wasn’t “interesting” enough to appear regularly on Fordham’s show, Speakman claimed voters weren’t just interested in showmanship.

Instead, he focused on how his policies as a “conventional liberal” would help improve the cost of living and housing.

Mr Speakman (pictured) appeared on the program after several criticisms of Fordham, including that he was ‘boring’ and ‘too woke’

“Look, if you want me to come over and tell a few jokes, I can do that,” he said.

“But I think at the moment the people of New South Wales are more interested in balancing their budgets, paying their rent and paying interest.

“Those are the big problems.”

The two went back and forth over Speakman’s policies, including whether he will support federal Liberal Leader Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy plan.

Mr Speakman repeatedly declined to share his approval or disapproval of nuclear power stations in Lithgow and the Hunter Valley, instead telling Fordham: “I support lifting the nuclear ban.”

The coalition outlined plans in June to build reactors in the Hunter Valley and Lithgow in NSW, the Latrobe Valley in Victoria, Callide and Tarong in Queensland, Port Augusta in South Australia and Collie in Western Australia if voted on.

If the proposal goes ahead, it will take ten to twelve years for the first reactor to be completed, while the rest will be built from 2040 onwards.

Mr Dutton has previously said nuclear power stations would provide reliable baseload energy as coal is phased out, with renewables to complement it, rather than relying on them to provide the bulk of energy supply.