Karl Stefanovic has returned to Australia after an extended break overseas and, in reassuring news for anyone concerned he might have come back refreshed, relaxed and at peace with the world, a late-night visit to a petrol station appears to have fixed that.
The former Today host announced his return in a video filmed at a servo around midnight, declaring himself back in Australia and “ready to rumble”.
And rumble he did.
Standing beside the bowser, Stefanovic said he had been away for some time and had returned to find Australians still being slugged at the petrol pump.
His particular concern was the gap between what Australians are paying for fuel and what he believes it should be costing, with Stefanovic questioning why prices remained so high despite changes in the international oil market.
He told followers he had been watching oil prices while overseas and suggested the numbers simply did not add up once he arrived back home and saw what motorists were being charged.
For anyone who has ever stood beside a petrol pump watching the dollars climb considerably faster than the litres, it was perhaps not the most difficult rant to relate to.
Stefanovic went on to question who was making money from the difference, turning his midnight refuelling stop into an impromptu investigation of Australia’s fuel market.
He wanted to know where the money was going, who was benefiting and why ordinary Australians were continuing to pay so much.
There was also a warning for those responsible: Karl was home, paying attention and apparently in no mood to let the matter go.
It was classic Stefanovic – part cost-of-living complaint, part declaration of war and all delivered from a petrol station in the middle of the night.
The video marks one of Stefanovic’s more conspicuous appearances since he largely disappeared from public view following a turbulent few months.
After leaving Nine and the Today show in June, the veteran broadcaster turned his attention to his independent digital ventures and The Karl Stefanovic Show podcast. The podcast subsequently went quiet for several weeks amid a legal dispute involving Stefanovic and business partner Keshnee Kemp, before new material began appearing again this month.
Stefanovic has also recently made it clear he is not rushing back to breakfast television.
Asked about the prospect during an appearance on Mark Beretta’s Beretts’ Best podcast, his answer was simple: “No, not now.”
Instead, he said he was excited about the freedom offered by digital media, where he can record from home, travel for interviews and produce content without the machinery and expense of traditional television.
His irritation with petrol prices also comes at an interesting time.
Just last week Stefanovic interviewed billionaire entrepreneur Adrian Portelli, who has opened a members-only petrol station in Preston, Melbourne. Portelli claimed the operation had saved the local community upwards of $2 million by selling fuel to members at the price he buys it for.
Stefanovic’s assessment of the business model was typically concise: “You’re a clever bugger.”
Now he appears to have returned from his travels with fuel prices very much on his mind.
Whether his midnight servo investigation develops into something more remains to be seen, but his message to followers was unmistakable: he is back, he is watching and he has questions.
And if nothing else, Stefanovic has rediscovered one of the quickest ways to reacquaint yourself with life in Australia.
Get off the plane, unpack the suitcase, fill up the car – and wonder where on earth all your money went.
