BtN: Episode 32 Transcripts 10/11/09 On this week's Behind the News: We meet some feathered and furry war heroes. Plans for the most powerful telescope ever. And why some of our rugby stars are kicking it overseas. Hi I'm Nathan Bazley welcome to Behind the News. Also on the show today why was there a huge blaze in the middle of the ocean? We ll look at all that in a sec. but first Catherine has the headlines. The Wire There's a big clean-up happening around NSW's mid-north Coast this week after flash floods hit on the weekend. More than 500 millimetres of rain fell in 6 hours on Friday, damaging roads and buildings and leaving people stranded. It was a double blow for many residents whose homes were damaged by floods in March. *********** New South Wales is getting tough new anti graffiti laws. Kids as young as 13 could face jail if they're caught carrying a spray can. The government's getting tougher after laws brought in earlier this year were unsuccessful. *********** In South Australia a 24-year-old man is recovering in hospital after being attacked by a two metre shark. He was spear fishing when the shark bit him on the leg but, luckily he managed to fight it off. *********** And you might remember a few weeks ago we told you about the Kokoda Track which is one of the most difficult walks in the world. 1
Well how about doing it with no legs! Kurt Fernley is a champion wheelchair racer but he'll be leaving behind his wheels and instead will crawl the steep and muddy Kokoda track. Fernley reckons it'll be his biggest challenge yet - but he's up to it! Presenter: Huge challenge. We ll let you know how he goes. Sea Rescues Reporter: Sarah Larsen INTRO: Onto our top story now. If you were on a boat that became lost at sea, what would happen to you? Would anyone come to your aid? It's a question 16 year old Jessica Watson will face if she ever gets into trouble on her solo sailing trip. And it's also come up in the news after asylum seekers were found in the middle of the ocean and debate raged about who should look after them. Sarah takes a look at the rules in international waters. SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Going out onto the water can be a lot of fun, as long as you don't get into trouble. KID 1: Have you got the oars? KID 2: No, I thought you had the oars! BOTH KIDS: Help! Somebody? Help? REPORTER: If you get into trouble close to shore at least you know where help is going to come from but imagine getting stuck out at sea, where help can be thousands of kilometres away. KID 1: So who rescues people out at sea? KID 2: Yeah, who's in charge of the oceans? That's not a simple question. Let's look at Australia. It ends where the land meets the sea. But then there's a 22 km stretch of ocean which is under Australia's control called its 2
territorial water. Then there's another zone that only Australia is allowed to mine or fish but anyone's allowed to sail through it. Beyond that are what's known as international waters or the high seas. They belong to everybody and it's been that way ever since the dawn of the exploration age. Countries decided the seas were too important for travelling and trading and exploring and fishing to be owned by any one nation. But they've agreed to obey certain rules out there; known as the law of the sea. It covers the rescue of stranded sailors. Many countries that are next to oceans have promised to help ships in distress. They might send out helicopters or ships or planes. Which country does depends on where the ship is. The world's been divided up into search and rescue zones, so if a boat goes down here it's Australia's job to help and if it gets into trouble here it's Canada's job. Any ships or boats nearby also have to help and if the captain is asked they're expected to do what they can. Whether they're an oil tanker or a little yacht they might have to stop what they're doing, turn around and go to the rescue. Some really famous rescues have happened, like when the Titanic sent out its distress call, a passenger ship call the Carpathia came to the rescue and saved many lives. Usually survivors are taken to the nearest port, or taken to the ship s next point of call. But occasionally that can cause problems, especially when the boat is carrying asylum seekers. That's what happened with this Aussie ship which picked up some asylum seekers whose boat got into trouble in Indonesia's rescue zone. Some people say it should have taken them to Australia because they want to become refugees here. So you can see the law of the sea is complicated and sometimes controversial, but it basically means you have to help someone if they're in trouble. Even if it does mean getting a bit stinky! Presenter: Bit of a relief. Might think about a cruise for my next holiday. In fact, let s start the research for it now with a quiz. Quiz 1 The question is: Which is the largest ocean? 1. Atlantic 2. Southern 3. Pacific Answer: Pacific Presenter: The Pacific covers a third of the world's surface... so that's one place you wouldn't want to get lost. 3
Oil Rig Reporter: Kirsty Bennett INTRO: Moving onto other stories we're following and if you've tuned into the news lately you might have seen a fire in the middle of the ocean near Australia. It's an odd sight an oil rig surrounded by water fully ablaze. But there is more to this story than amazing pics. Let's find out what's going on with Kirsty. KIRSTY BENNETT, REPORTER: No matter where you look, crude oil is there. It's used to make or power all these things, so you can see why it's called "black gold". But getting it isn't that easy. Oil lies deep beneath the earth's surface. It was created by these guys. When ancient marine life and plants died they fell to the bottom of the ocean floor. And over millions of years they were covered in mud and transformed into oil. But it's a limited resource, so companies go anywhere to try to find it. This is where most of Australia's oil comes from - the sea. It's tricky and very expensive to get to. And the drilling units you need can cost half-a-million dollars a day to hire. They're towed out to sea by ships and sit on giant legs on the ocean floor. It's a slow trip which can only be made in calm waters so it doesn't topple over. Once it's set up they whip out a big drill. Not like that! A bit more like this! These drills can go down for kilometres and in all directions depending on how far away the oil is. That means drilling can last for ages! Sometimes it can take up to a year to get to the oil! If there's a lot there the company then sends out another platform to get the stuff out of the ground. It's pretty hard to see one of these rigs in action because they often work in faraway places. But when an oil rig caught fire recently it caught the attention of a lot of people. The West Atlas oil rig is out in the Timor Sea just off Western Australia. It had been leaking oil for weeks and that was spreading towards Indonesia and Australia. The company tried to stop the leak by pumping mud in to block the hole. It tried three times but on the fourth attempt fire erupted. The company says it knows what caused the fire but won't release any details. But why couldn't they put it out? KIRSTY: On your kitchen stove it's pretty easy to turn off the gas and stop the flame. But on the rig it wasn't that simple. You see, when oil is found there's heaps of pressure around it. So when a company taps into it, it shoots out of the ground. The leak was eventually stopped and the fire was put 4
out but there are still lots of problems. The company reckons it could take up to seven years to deal with the oil spill and the impact it's had on the environment. The industry says Australian oil isn't heaps thick so most of it would have evaporated. But environmentalists say there could be some big consequences for the marine life later on. They want the Federal Government to stop oil and gas developments in the area. At this stage though, everyone is still trying to work out what went wrong. Remembrance Day Reporter: Catherine Ellis INTRO: Ever since the first world war ended - when the guns fell silent at the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, we have stopped each year at the same time to remember those who have died in war. It's called Remembrance Day. This year we want to look at a group that made a huge impact during times of war, but they're not diggers as such... Although some of the might have enjoyed a good dig if there was a bone involved. Catherine's got the story. CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: A special dog training camp, in Sydney, during World War Two. MOVIETONE NEWS, 1942: "Dalmatians, Great Danes, Airedales, Collies and Alsatians are now members of the army". Canines have a great sense of smell, so they could help sniff out the enemy and explosives and find fallen soldiers. They were messengers. And with their incredible hearing, they could warn soldiers early if the enemy was approaching. Special masks were even made to protect them from poisonous enemy gasses. But as well as serving alongside our armies, some simply provided comfort and friendship. Driver, who was smuggled as a puppy by a Sydney soldier into World War One, became a mascot and expert rat catcher! 5
He survived the war and a special coat was made to smuggle him back to Aus. KATE DETHRIDGE, AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL: And when they were waiting on docks, Driver sat carefully in this coat for 20 minutes while the troops were inspected and then he was smuggled back out by the troops to live happily ever after in Sydney. All sorts of animals have acted as war mascots and pets. Rachael a pet bear from the Vietnam War is still alive today! But many animals haven't been so lucky. It's believed more than 136,000 Australian horses were sent to World War One and only one came home. That one horse was Sandy who is now on display at the Australian War Memorial. Horses were used to carry big packs of food and ammunition. Camels and mules couldn't charge into battle, but they could travel long distances, in tough weather conditions, without needing much water. CATHERINE: Now moving from big animals to tiny creatures - guess what helped the soldiers read their maps in the dark trenches during World War One? - Glow worms!! - It's true! As for communication, pigeons have played a huge role. CATHERINE: Pigeons carried notes between troops in tiny metal cylinders attached to their legs. And they'd fly long distances, sometimes wounded, to deliver these messages that saved thousands of lives. Pigeons were actually the first animals to receive war medals! The Dickin medal is said to be the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, which is the highest bravery award for humans. DeeDee got one after being released from a sinking ship and flying through a tropical storm. KATE: Thanks to DeeDee the boat was saved, the men were saved, and Dee was awarded the Dickin medal after the second world war. Simon the cat got one. 6
When the ship he was on was attacked during a war in China, it was held captive for 100 days, but the fearless feline continued to catch rats to stop them eating the crew s precious food. Even today animals are still serving in places like Afghanistan. SERVICE: At the going down of the sun and in the morning we shall remember them. Sadly, just like humans, many animals have died at war and we should also remember them. SERVICE: Lest we forget. Presenter: Who knew? Some very brave animals there. Poll Some people reckon that animals shouldn t be used in war at all, so what do you reckon? Tell us what you think in our online poll. The question is: Should animals be used in war time? If you want to vote, go to our website. Massive Telescope Reporter: Alfie Tieu INTRO: Australia is in the running for a project that could completely change what we know about the universe. It will be the most powerful telescope ever built - but it doesn't 'see' like you and I do. It's called a radio telescope and here's Alfie to explain how it works. ALFIE TIEU, REPORTER: Humans have always been fascinated by what's going on above them - in fact astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. In the beginning astronomers used to just climb a hill and use their eyes and they came up with drawings like this. But then came a revolution - the telescope. They could see much further than ever before and the universe started to open up. 7
REPORTER: Telescopes have been around for hundreds of years. This one at Sydney Observatory was built in 1874, but they were around long before that. They're called optical telescopes because they collect light using lenses and mirrors. They've told us a lot about space, but there are still things we don't know, especially in the far corners of the universe. That is so many billions of k s away that the light coming from there is really weak and hard to see. But light is only one type of energy. There're other types that are invisible, like radio waves. And that's why astronomers came up with these - they're called radio telescopes. This one is at Parkes in New South Wales and that huge white dish is an antenna! REPORTER: They're like the antennas on your radio, but they won't let you send text messages to aliens or tune into the Martian Top 40! Stars and galaxies send out radio waves, and some waves are stronger than others. A radio telescope collects them in the dish and the information goes into a computer. The waves are then used to make images like this. Astronomers can then see what objects far far away look like, and what they're made of. Amazingly, this helps them learn more about how the universe and life began. They even try to predict when some of the stars will die! A radio telescope also helps astronomers see through space dust which blocks ordinary telescopes. But if you think a radio telescope is pretty amazing you ain t seen nothin yet. This is the square kilometre array telescope, or SKA for short. A team of international astronomers wants to build a massive group of radio telescopes in a field and link them together electronically. There'd be about 3 thousand 6 hundred antennas. And because they're all linked they work together like one gigantic telescope. Australia is now one of two places picked as the possible site. 8
If chosen, it will make us the leader in radio astronomy for the rest of the century, and home to the biggest and fastest telescope in the world! Maybe there is life out there, or maybe there are planets we haven't found. Who knows what scientists around the world could learn from it! Presenter: Exciting stuff. And while we all dream about what aliens might look like, we might distract you with an intergalactic quiz. Quiz 2 What is the largest planet in our solar system? Answer: Jupiter. Presenter: Jupiter is about 11 times the diameter of Earth, about the size of basketball compared to a ping pong ball, and that's the cue for Catherine and the Score. The Score Our Aussie cricketers are celebrating after what their captain described as the best and most satisfying one day series victory ever. Despite having lots of injury worries they've managed to win the seven match series in India. ****** Lots of excitement in the golf world with the world s best player in Australia at the moment.. Tiger Woods is here for the masters at Kingston Heath in Melbourne. ****** Now to something a little more action packed - The Wild Water World Cup in Tassie. These guys are some of the best kayakers in the world, but even for them the Tassie course was tough and it certainly took its toll. Many described the course as the toughest they've ever raced. Presenter: Wonder if the law of the sea relates to that course? I think I'd need help. Rugby Exports 9
Reporter: Nathan Bazley INTRO: In other sport news, on the weekend the Wallabies beat England, but before that it had been a pretty tough year for the national team. Maybe the reason might be in our next story! Some of our best League and Union players are being lured overseas to play and that's got fans worried about what will happen to our local comps. Let's check out what's behind this dash for cash. NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: It's one of the oldest rivalries our country has; the Wallabies v. the All Blacks. But there was something different about this match-up. The game was held in Tokyo, Japan, in front of nearly 45 thousand screaming fans. Seems a little random - but there's a good reason. NATHAN: Japan is getting into rugby union in a big way, and when Japan gets into something big money can often follow. Japan is a country north of Australia and it has one of the top economies in the world. You'd know many of the big companies here, and lots of them have splashed out buying their very own rugby teams. You have the Honda Heat, Sanyo Wild Knights, Toyota Verblitz and the Coca Cola West Red Sparks, just to name a few. BEN DARWIN, RUGBY PLAYER AND COACH: Coca Cola doesn't compete with Honda in the beverage market or the car market but they do compete with each other on the rugby field. And so when you're talking about large organisations, there's no depths to some of their pockets. This is a training session for one of Japan's second division teams, the Shining Arcs, which is owned by a huge phone company. And with that backing, it s splashed out on former wallaby Mark Gerrard. MARK GERRARD, RUGBY PLAYER: I'm loving this place at the moment, people are great, food is fantastic, and I probably needed a bit of a change in my career. 10
By coming here Mark has given up international rugby and his home in Australia. He says he came to experience another culture, but he'll also get a massive pay rise. Some people reckon he could be on as much as half a million a year now; way more than most players in Australia! MARK GERRARD: To me, I deserve it. I worked fairly hard for where I am right now. Mate, happy to have a couple of extra zeros at the end of the salary pack at the end of the day. And it seems he's not the only one. Stephen Larkham and George Gregan are two other big union names who have made the move to Japan and more are likely to follow. Rugby league star Craig Wing has even swapped codes to come over. CRAIG WING, RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER: I won't lie. It's a great package that I'm going over for. But while all these Aussie stars come over to get the big bucks, their Japanese teammates still often work fulltime jobs. The captain of the team both Craig and Mark are joining works in their owner s office during the week. KOJE NAKAYAMA, NTT CAPTAIN (TRANSLATED): Of course I would be happy to be paid as much as the foreign players, but their experience and playing ability is higher. I just hope the Japanese players can learn from them. So I don't particularly think about money. You'd think he'd be more jealous, but I suppose he gets some international champions to help his side win, and they get big bucks to make it happen. The only question is; what happens to the sport back home in Aus? Some experts are worried it will make our comps weaker, but only time and lost matches will tell. Presenter: Latest rumours are that Sydney Roosters player Willie Mason is looking to head over to a Japanese Rugby club too, so we'll let you know if that ends up happening. We're coming to the end of the show now, but before you relax - one last quiz. Quiz 3 Which country is closest to Japan? 11
1. South Korea 2. China 3. Russia Answer: Russia Presenter: An island controlled by Russia is about 40 k s away - how random. Closer That's it for another show. Catch you later. 12