Furious star brands Australians 'lazy pieces of s**t' and says the country is 'breeding a weaker race' in stunning rant on live radio

Radio star Stephen Rowe has claimed Australia is so over-governed that the country is breeding a 'weaker race' of people and producing 'lazy piece of s**t' in a vicious rant that left his co-host stunned on Thursday.

The former Adelaide Crows AFL player launched into the astonishing tirade as he and fellow FIVEAA commentator Stacey Lee discussed the installation of cameras that detect when drivers are using mobile phones behind the wheel.

After claiming the new devices are only being brought in to raise revenue for South Australia and not to improve safety, Rowe blew up at what he saw as a nanny state move as he previewed his show on Lee's program.

'We don't need help to stay safe, we know not to be on mobile phones, we know not to drink and drive, we know we've gotta wear our seatbelts — we're just over-governed,' he said.

Lee then asked if he was worried about the risk posed by drivers who are distracted to their mobile phones, prompting Rowe to tee off on Australia in general.

'I don't know, we're breeding a weaker race,' he said.

'We've got to be governed and fined and sanctioned and policed just to be a proper human, to just live a good life.

'We never had this back in the '30s, '40s, '50s and '60s. I tell you what, no one would've stepped out of line then because you had respect for your elders, you had respect for your headmaster or your schoolteacher.'

The 58-year-old then bizarrely referenced the country's most notorious bushranger as he harked back to what he saw as an older, wiser Australia where criminals got their just desserts: 'In the bow and arrow days we had the horse and cart ... a bit like Ned Kelly, we shot him, we hung him, you know what I mean?

'Do you think there would've been less crime in the, I don't know, let's go back to the World War One era. Do you think we were better people then? Do you think we were more family-orientated, harder workers, had better principles and better morals?'

When Lee disagreed and said she believes Aussies are hard workers, Rowe responded: 'Australians are lazy pieces of s**t at the moment.'

A clearly shocked Lee tried to laugh off the remark before saying, 'Why do you do this on the afternoon show? Why don't you save it for your show? I don't want to get into trouble.'

Nicknamed 'Rowey', the veteran of almost 200 SANFL games for Norwood and 29 matches for the Crows is billed as Adelaide's most passionate sports broadcaster on the station's website.

His son James also played for the Crows, and Rowe was commentating when he kicked his first AFL goal back in March 2021.

Rowe made headlines in South Australia when he smashed the club over its poor form after their loss to Richmond earlier this month.

He branded the team's board 'weak' and said their recruiting has been 'pathetic' and said head coach Matthew Nicks doesn't deserve to keep his job.

'I know what will happen, they will throw an assistant [coach] under the bridge, they will say the development is not right and the same key people that I have been onto for a number of years will still remain in their chairs,' Rowe said.

'And that is the frustration I think a lot of Crows fans have ... I see people who have paid $1000 for their membership and they have had a bloody gutful.'