Brian Wilshire (born 30 March 1944 in Strathfield, Australia) is a radio DJ for 2GB. His show is currently the longest-running program in the city, and is also the highest rating at night, with (as of Dec 15, 2009) a 23.9% audience share. The signature of the show is the tune, "Hanky Panky", by Pete Fountain.
His radio career started in November 1969 with stations in places like Tamworth, Canberra and Sydney. His program averages twice the audience share of the station as a whole.
Wilshire has many interests including snow skiing, car racing (having won his class in 1993 at Bathurst), writing books, and playing drums in bands "Stringybark" and "Koala Soup".
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On 16 December 2005, Wilshire was forced to make a public apology, after saying on air that the Cronulla rioters were inbred as a result of consanguinity and thus hard to educate.[1]
"Many of them 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 IQ.”
His comments were greeted with outrage. "It reveals an uneducated comment on his part - they are disgraceful comments," then Premier, Morris Iemma, said.
Stephen Stanton, spokesman for the Lebanese human rights organization Cedarwatch:
"One is [Sydney radio] 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."[2]
Following widespread condemnation, including by Premier Iemma, Wilshire has since apologized for his comments.