New line up for Radio 6PR

6PR's Gareth Parker, Liam Bartlett, Steve 'Millsy' Mills and Oliver Peterson
Gareth Parker, Liam Bartlett, Steve 'Millsy' Mills and Oliver Peterson

Radio 6PR’s interviewers are always ready with the big questions but Have a Go News has put the boot on the other foot. We are asking the questions.

The Perth talk station’s new on-air line-up is an eclectic mix of talent, aiming to conquer the airwaves. So what are they thinking? What have they got in mind? 

We asked the five new presenters these questions:

Q1: What can listeners expect from you and your program this year?

Q2: What’s the one big thing you hope to achieve?

Q3: What are some highlights of your career?

Q4: Tell us something fascinating about an on-air colleague.

Gareth Parker

1. A fast paced, newsy, informative breakfast program that brings you up to date with everything you need to know to set up your day. We’ll have three hits a day of sport, 9News’ Paddy Sweeney, a daily finance report with Scott Haywood, entertainment with Peter Ford, US and UK report, the John Hughes Rumour File and $1000 Minute. In between, the latest news and interviews from around our city, state and country, opinions that matter, your calls and of course a bit of fun along the way.

2. Getting used to an alarm at 2.45am. It’s a new timeslot and a new challenge so I’m just really looking forward to finding our groove and bringing people an entertaining and relevant way to wake up. 

3. I don’t think there will ever be a bigger story (at least I hope not) than Covid. Especially in March and April when everything was up in the air and the rules and restrictions were changing by the hour. We went into full-on public service mode and I have never been prouder of the work we did keeping the community informed and reassured amid the most uncertain environment I have ever experienced, probably the most dynamic and uncertain of any period outside world wars. 

4. Oliver Peterson narrowly escaped serious injury after he was hit in the head by a bouncer at a cricket match in Sydney a few years back. Uncharacteristically, he ducked straight into it when he should have just had a crack and played a pull shot. 

Liam Bartlett

1. Our goal is to put together a program that puts our listeners first. We need to bring them information, insight and opinions based on fact. The aim ultimately is to ensure our listeners can be part of a conversation that reflects the world around them.

2. To build a loyal listener base which understands what we’re trying to achieve, regardless of political bias or personal favouritism.

3. In pursuit of the truth over the killing of Alexander Litvinenko, ex-KGB, in a London hotel, we flew to Moscow and confronted accused assassin Andrey Lugovoi. The confrontation would probably be unacceptable now to our risk assessment officers but it was certainly worth it to see the look on Lugovoi’s face. Unfortunately, there has never been a conviction as Lugovoi refuses to travel to Britain to attend court.

An interview with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili during the South Ossetian war. We began talking at 1.15am under heavy guard in the presidential palace in Tbilisi. A fascinating experience.

4. I shouldn’t really reveal this but my colleague Oly Peterson often wears slippers on-air. I realise his term for them is ‘loafers’ but if you were able to witness this phenomenon first-hand, I’m sure you would agree they are most certainly, unabashedly, slippers. I’m thinking of buying him a pair of Ugg boots just so he can upgrade.

Steve Mills

1. We’ll have a chat, keep you up to date with breaking news, have a laugh (with a joke or two), the occasional cry and play the odd song. We will discuss, debate, agree and disagree. We intend to make Millsy At Midday a fun destination to restart your day.

2. On a personal note, I would love to get fit. My beautiful daughter Lucy is getting married in September and I would like to be able to burn the dance floor.

3. A big interview for me was movie star Debbie Reynolds. I can say she was a star in real life. What a lovely woman. The interviews you remember are the ones with our listeners. They are heart and soul of our radio station. They are witty, knowledgeable and empathic and usually let you know when you are off-track.

4. I think people will be surprised by the extra-curricular activities my colleagues get up to. We all know that Tod Johnston and Simon Beaumont are fantastic musicians. Karl Langdon is a fabulous speedway caller. Gareth Parker umpired in the AFL, Oliver Peterson turned his back on a professional golf career to do talkback radio and Liam Bartlett toyed with a ballet career early in his life.

Oliver Peterson

1. I want to give you everything you need for that chat around the dinner table. We will cut through the day’s news and let you know how the stories of the day affect you so make sure you let me know what you think. 

2. I want to be able to get to a stage where life is back to normal and we are free to go where we and when we want. There’s been too much pain, anguish and heartache for families and friends separated in the country and around the world. 

3. Big guests can certainly deliver an adrenaline rush: Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Malcolm Turnbull and for me as a cricket tragic, Steve Waugh or Patrick Cummins. At Nine, I covered the Bali 9 execution, terrorist attacks, MH17. Being able to help and hear the stories of our listeners to help them find solutions is a driving force. During lockdown, helping a lady visit her husband in his aged care home. A listener had issues selling his home because of a bureaucratic bungle. They won’t necessarily be headline stories but they make a difference to someone’s personal circumstances and improve their lives. It’s very satisfying to right a wrong or help resolve a problem. 

4. Gareth Parker is a huge fan of Human Nature but he doesn’t like to publicise it. Liam Bartlett has the nickname of POTUS. When we first crossed paths I was watching The West Wing where Martin Sheen played President Jed Bartlett, so POTUS (President of the US) makes sense.

Tod Johnston
Tod Johnston

Tod Johnston

1. Definitely nothing too serious on the nightshift. After the year we have had, some music and conversation seems like a good idea.

2. I would love to keep up with this fast-moving world and reduce a few of my stress-rings.

3. I’m the new voice at 6PR so the best is still to come. But I did enjoy talking to the historian at Graceland on Elvis’s birthday.

4. I know Millsy and have worked with Liam before but nothing to reveal there.

6PR’s New Line-Up

  • 6PR Breakfast with Gareth Parker. 5.30am-9am.
  • Mornings with Liam Bartlett. 9am-12pm.
  • Millsy at Midday. 12pm-3pm.
  • Perth Live with Oliver Peterson. 3pm-6pm.
  • The Nightshift with Tod Johnston. 8pm-midnight.
  • (Simon Beaumont moved to a new Saturday/Sunday morning program).