ABC Radio Sydney Weekend Mornings presenter Simon Marnie has announced he will finish with the ABC at the end of the year.

Simon started his career at 2UW in the 1980s where his love of radio really took hold.

In 1993 he joined the ABC in his first on air role as a presenter on triple j. He spent 10 years with the youth network but says, “it’s like being at Woodstock: if you can remember it, you probably weren’t there”.

Simon has also worked in Television conceiving and producing the SBS music show, nomad and reported on TVTV on the ABC.

Simon returned to ABC Radio in 1996, this time to ABC Radio Sydney where he has remained since.

Simon broke the news of the September 11 attacks to local radio across the nation and continued to broadcast for 15 hours across that night

He presented various programs on 702 ABC Radio Sydney including NightLife before landing his much-loved Weekend Mornings slot in 2000.

Since then, Simon has spent his weekends connecting city and country by sharing stories and broadcasting from communities across metropolitan and regional areas.

His programs enticed audiences with discussions about food, culture and the diversity of Sydney and NSW life and he has been recognised by some of the state’s leading chefs as a great supporter of Australian food and hospitality.

Simon continued to broadcast throughout COVID, setting up a studio in his sunroom throughout the peak of the pandemic.

Simon says, “Sydney weekends are about leisure, relaxing and fun and this city is one of the best in Australia – we cover as many events as possible to show the diversity of cultures, people and regions that make up the Greater Sydney Region.”

Simon has presented 100s of hours of Emergency Broadcasting for communities throughout NSW during floods, bushfires and other natural disasters.

He demonstrated his support for bushfire impacted communities from Bermagui to Nymboida by taking the program on the road for a series of live Road to Recovery broadcasts following the 2019/20 bushfire season.

Simon said: “While saddened to leave my colleagues and my treasured audience I am looking forward to the many opportunities that this opportunity will present. My parents had 2BL on every morning, it was such a rich part of my life and I’m eagerly awaiting the next stage. I will miss everyone very much”

ABC Director Audio Ben Latimer said “Our audience have loved easing into the weekends with Simon over the years and learning about what was happening in Sydney and beyond. I am sure many of our audience have discovered something new about where they live by listening to Simon on a Saturday or Sunday morning.

“I would like to thank Simon for his contribution to the program, and his dedication to bringing the audience the very best experiences from Sydney and across the state and his commitment to connecting with audiences in metro and regional areas.”

Simon is inviting audiences to join him one last time for the Weekend Show Christmas Picnic at Jazz @ The House at Government House in Sydney tomorrow, Sunday 1 December.

Nine Entertainment (Nine) has today shared an Action Plan to accelerate, address and measure its cultural transformation, following a review into its culture by independent workplace firm, Intersection.

The Action Plan, which has been endorsed by Nine’s Board, is designed to deliver lasting change and outlines how the 22 recommendations will be sequenced, measured, and embedded across the organisation. It focuses Nine’s efforts into four priority areas: People and Culture; Leadership; Policy, Procedures and Governance; and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Since releasing the Intersection Report in full in October, more than 60 per cent of the recommendations are complete or underway. Two additional commitments have also been identified and invested in to address and uplift Nine’s culture. This includes transitioning to a new, holistic Employee Wellbeing Provider and delivering a new leadership development program including 1:1 coaching to 200 of Nine’s leaders.

Today, Nine has announced it will conduct a cultural pulse check in two years, a year ahead of the recommended time frame. This will allow Nine to gain an understanding of its impact and progress, and refine the Action Plan if required. A more indepth review will be conducted in three years, in line with the recommendations.

To ensure Nine’s cultural transformation is led from the top, its senior leaders will have their remuneration and incentives connected to cultural-specific measurements and outcomes.

Nine Entertainment Acting CEO Matt Stanton said: “Nine’s Action Plan forms an important part of Nine2028, which is the acceleration of our strategy and encompasses our business and culture transformation. Spearheaded by the Board and management team, everyone at Nine is united by the need for change. The progress made over the past six weeks is reflective of our collective desire to move quickly and build a Nine we can all be proud of.

“Since the release of the Intersection Report, Nine has taken decisive action which will positively contribute to our cultural uplift. We’ve also spent a lot of time connecting and communicating with our people, reflecting on how we can learn from this difficult yet necessary process and make lasting change.

“While our commitments to embedding our Action Plan remain unwavering, our cultural transformation ambitions are broader than the 22 recommendations alone, and indeed broader than Nine itself. Of course, our unrelenting focus remains on addressing Nine’s cultural issues, however there is no denying the prevalence of poor behaviour in the media industry is unacceptable and change is required.

“As the largest employer in the industry we believe we can play an active role in shaping the cultural change required to create a safe, respectful and thriving industry. At the appropriate time, we look forward to engaging with our industry peers to address these issues,” Mr Stanton said.

Nine management will regularly report to the Board on the progress and outcomes of its Action Plan. The Action Plan can be viewed here.