EASYPRINT TRANSCRIPTS29/2/08
Episode 1.
On this week's show…
Saying sorry stops the nation.
The 15 year old stunning the science world.
And the battler who became a champion.
Hello I'm Nathan Bazley. Welcome to Behind the News. Also on today's show we're going to see how Rusty the python came home after being lost for a month.
But first let's have a look at our top story.
STOLEN GENERATIONS
Sarah Larsen, Reporter
INTRO: Last week we saw one of the most important days in Australian history. The Prime Minister's apology to the Stolen Generations might have sounded like just another speech... but it meant an enormous amount to a lot of people and it might change the country forever. So why is it so important? Well first Sarah will explain what the Stolen Generations are.
SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Can you imagine being taken away from your home and family, being given a new name, even a new religion and maybe never knowing who you are or where you come from?
That's what happened to a lot of kids who belong to what are called the Stolen Generations.
In the 1900s the Australian government took thousands of Indigenous children away from their families and put them into missions or orphanages or with white foster families. That's what happened to Helen Moran and her brother and sister.
HELEN MORAN: Mum and Dad had heard that the welfare was going to come and take the children.
TRISHA MORAN: And next minute we were bundled into two cars and I can remember trying to get out of the police car and screaming and getting into trouble. We had to sit down and be quiet and we saw this dear old lady standing at the gate with tears waving to us and next minute we were just driven away.
HELEN MORAN: We were a family of eight, we lost everybody, we lost each other, we lost our grandparents, my aunts were looking for us. My aunts were knocking on doors and ringing the welfare. We lost our whole family. They changed our names, they changed our whole heritage, our identity.
How could this have happened? Well mostly, it was a lack of understanding.
REPORTER: You've probably read books like this or seen movies telling the stories of Aboriginal people. You might even learn about things like the Dreamtime at school. But you probably know heaps more about Aboriginal culture than your mum and dad did when they were kids.
Now there are Indigenous television stations, authors, artists and filmmakers telling their side of the story. But it hasn't always been that way. When European settlers first came to Australia they thought their own way of life was the only way and Aboriginal people should try to behave more like them.
They thought taking Indigenous kids away from their families would help them blend in with non-Indigenous Australians. Many didn't realise how much pain they were causing. The Prime Minister says up to 50 thousand kids were removed from their homes.
In the 1960s people began to campaign for Aborigines to get better rights. There were protests and Indigenous people started to get their stories heard.
JIMMY LITTLE, SINGER: Tonight I'm not appearing as Jimmy Little the singer but as Jimmy Little the member of a very proud race, the Aborigines. Australia's first people.
In the late 1960s the government stopped taking away Indigenous kids and Australia started to learn about the Stolen Generations from people like singer Archie Roach.
ARCHIE ROACH: I don’t want people to feel guilty, I just want them to feel. Something should be done. This history should be told, it's part of Australia's history.
Members of the Stolen Generations like this have been campaigning for many years for an apology and they see the speech by the federal government as a huge step in their lives - a chance to build a new future with the rest of Australia.
GOVERNMENT APOLOGY
Nathan Bazley, Reporter
INTRO: So now we know about the Stolen Generations let's talk about the apology. It was a huge event with hundreds of people making a special trip to Canberra to hear the speech. There was a big television audience around the country as well. It was also supported by the opposition which is pretty unusual. But despite that support there was still some controversy.
Australians have achieved some amazing things in history.
Everything from building a huge bridge, to beating all comers with the bat and ball.
But there are some things in our history that we might not like to admit to, like the Stolen Generations.
But if we want to be proud of the awesome things our nation has done, shouldn't we also be prepared to admit responsibility for the bad things.
You might remember last year when Kevin Rudd was elected Prime Minister, he promised he would say sorry to the Stolen Generations and their families.
Fast forward to the first day of parliament this year -
KEVIN RUDD, PRIME MINISTER: As Prime Minister of Australia, I am sorry. On behalf of the government of Australia, I am sorry. On behalf of the parliament of Australia, I am sorry.
There was a huge reaction to the speech. Almost everyone in parliament stood to applaud it.
The opposition spoke in support of the apology and former Prime Ministers were also there to back it.
But the Government's apology didn't only look backwards; it also talked about the future.
The new Prime Minister promises to improve the health and education of Indigenous Australians.
Many Indigenous people also travelled to Canberra for the historic event.
They gathered outside Parliament House as the apology was read out - many were crying, hugging and cheering.
INDIGENOUS WOMAN: Finally you know I feel some pride, that's how I feel. Pride. And healing, you know?
Earlier in the week, they showed just how much this event meant to them with these candles on the lawn of Parliament House.
Lots of people listened to the speech on TV and radio. Crowds gathered in public places to watch it on big screens.
Kids at school also tuned in.
But there are some people who don't think we should be saying sorry for something that happened so long ago.
They say it's a bit like you apologising for something your great grandparents did.
JOHN HOWARD, FORMER PRIME MINISTER: Australians of this generation should not be required to accept guilt and blame for past actions and policies over which they had no control.
Our last Prime Minister, John Howard is one of those who opposed the apology.
During his eleven years in office, many people called on him to say the S word, but he said no.
Other people say an apology is wrong because people back then were trying to do what they thought was the right thing. They were trying to help the Indigenous people.
And there are those who say that some of the children who were taken away ended up with better education and health care.
But the other big debate about saying sorry is money.
Some people say the apology is not enough - and that the Stolen Generations should be paid compensation.
At this stage the government says it won't give them special funding .. but some might take them to court to get some money.
So there could still be more arguments around this really emotional subject .. but for many, that one little word was all they'd been waiting for.
MAN: Overwhelmed, it was a great day for moving forward as a nation.
WOMAN: Just very proud to be Australian at that point, it was beautiful, we finally had an apology.
We're running an online poll on that this week .
The question is "Should the government have apologised about the Stolen Generations?"
If you want to vote go to our website at abc.net.au/btn
THE WIRE
Now here's Catherine with some of the other stories making news.
Residents in Mackay in Northern Queensland are mopping up after more than 600 mils of rain fell on the city in 6 hours - that's a third of the their annual rainfall!
Over 2000 homes were damaged in the flooding... it's now been declared a disaster area.
***
Now cane toads are common in Queensland .. but not in South Australia which has always been cane toad free.
That was... until the weekend when one was found in an Adelaide suburb.
Authorities think it hitched a ride with a freight truck coming from the Northern Territory... making it one well-travelled amphibian.
Now people in Adelaide are trying to find out if any more made the trip.
They will play recordings of cane toad calls to try and flush them out.
***
And a carpet python in Victoria has been arrested by police!
Rusty slithered away from his owners two months ago and the family had thought they might never see him again.
But over the weekend some locals spotted the cheeky reptile in a suburban street and called police.
Unfortunately, by the time police arrived, rusty had slipped into a nearby drain.
Rusty was eventually saved, and aside from a small cut on his head, seemed pretty healthy after his months of camping outdoors.
EAST TIMOR
Sarah Larsen, Reporter
INTRO: That's one adventurous snake. Now back to some more serious news. Imagine what it'd be like if you woke up one morning and the person who is in charge of all of Australia - the Prime Minister - had been shot. Well... luckily for us there's not much chance of that happening .. but in another country very close to us something like that has just happened. Sarah's been finding out why lots of Australians are worried about what's going on in East Timor...
Kids fight over cricket bat.
SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: If there's trouble at your neighbours' place, it can cause lots of problems.
KID: "what's going on? What's all this noise?"
REPORTER: Well, Australia has neighbours too and we like to keep an eye on what's happening in the countries nearest to us and help out when we can.
This is East Timor, which is right next door to Australia. It might be small, but it's home to more than a million people. It's only about 650 kilometres from Darwin, so for people there it's closer than the other Australian capital cities
But at the moment people in East Timor are having a lot of trouble.
Last week their president was shot. He survived but was but badly hurt and had to be flown to Darwin for treatment. His name is Jose Ramos Horta and he's the country's first democratically elected president. He's even won a Nobel Peace Prize. The Prime Minister was also attacked but he wasn't hurt.
So why would someone want to kill them?
REPORTER: To answer that we have to rewind a bit, back to 1999.
That's when people in East Timor voted to become a separate country. That might sound strange, but for a while it had been part of Indonesia, a huge country which covers all these islands. Indonesia invaded East Timor back in 1975 and took it over.
Lots of people were angry about that. They said Indonesia had no right to be there and people were being mistreated. There was a lot of fighting.
Eventually, in 2002 with the help of the United Nations, East Timor became a separate country. The president had fought hard for independence and he was seen by many as a hero.
But sadly the violence didn't finish back then. Groups of rebels have been fighting the new government. To try and keep the peace Australia has sent over soldiers and police officers. So has the United Nations.
There's also lots of people there helping the locals to rebuild because the fighting has destroyed big parts of the country's economy. Now they’re worried that could be at risk because of the shooting.
A rebel leader was shot and killed during the attacks and you can see from these pictures he's pretty popular with his supporters. So everyone is nervous the fighting could get worse.
Australia's sent extra soldiers and we now have around a thousand there. Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd has also made a special visit to offer his support.
And meanwhile, back home, we'll all keep watching closely.
Alright... how closely were you watching Sarah's story - here's a quiz
How far is East Timor from Darwin?
a. 65 kilometres
b. 650
c. 6,500
Answer: b. 650
ORGAN DONOR
Catherine Ellis, Reporter
INTRO: There are thousands of kids, teenagers, mums, dads and grandparents all around the world who have had a second chance at life thanks to organ donors.
This week as part of Organ Donor Awareness Week, they'll be remembering and celebrating this act of kindness.
Among them is a young Sydney teenager who doctors have hailed as a miracle.
Here's Catherine.
CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: Demi-Lee Brennan is a normal, healthy, happy, 15-year-old girl who wants to study teaching and like many teens, wants to become a rock star.
But six years ago things were very different.
DEMI-LEE: When I was nine I just started getting sick, started to like get yellow and stopped eating and that.
A rare sickness caused Demi's liver to fail and doctors gave her just 48 hours to live.
She urgently needed a new liver. Luckily for Demi a donor became available.
A 12-year-old boy who had died from a brain injury - was able to save Demi's life.
DEMI-LEE: That gave me a chance to like fulfil my life and i just want to live it like the most i have for them just to show them I’m so grateful for them.
CATHERINE: Nine months after Demi's operation doctors did some tests and labelled her a miracle. Why? I'll tell you in just a moment, but first let’s take a look at how transplants actually work.
Sometimes people get extremely bad illnesses that make them so sick their lungs, heart, liver or kidneys begin to fail and they need a new one.
But that's no easy task for doctors.
Not only is it hard to find a donor organ that matches, with a similar blood and tissue type, there aren't enough organs to go around.
Around 2000 Australians need transplants at any one time, but only about 200 organs become available each year.
So depending on how sick the patient is they may have to wait a long time sometimes up to 15 years! And unfortunately, sometimes an organ is not available in time and they die waiting.
The organs mainly come from healthy people who have died suddenly.
When they become available doctors have to act very quickly.
The organ is pumped with a special fluid to keep it alive and an Australia wide registry is checked to work out who best matches the organ and who needs it the most.
It's sometimes sent in an aeroplane to get to the patient quick smart so the operation can be carried out.
Organs can also come from live donors.
For example we're born with two kidneys and we can give one away and still live a normal life.
Now when the organ is transplanted into the body of its new owner, the body realises it's foreign.
The immune system - the defences in the body which keep you healthy - begin to fight the organ.
To stop the body rejecting it, the patient has to take a special medication for the rest of their life.
CATHERINE: Now the reason doctors say Demi is so amazing is because her body became completely tolerant of her new organ so she doesn't need to take this medication at all. Which is great because it's potentially toxic.
You see, instead of taking the special medication so her immune system accepts the new liver, her immune system was taken over by the immune system of her donor.
Her blood type even changed from O negative to the donor's O positive.
Demi is very thankful not just to her donor but also her doctors.
DEMI-LEE: I love them they're just so good. They saved my life and they just helped me through it so much.
Medical researchers are still trying to work out exactly how this amazing change happened, in the hope of achieving the same result for others.
You might've noticed on your mum or dad's driver’s license it says whether they would like to donate their organs... but you can do the same... just have a chat to your parents about what you'd like done with yours...
THE SCORE
Now here's some sports news....
Mums and Dads may not even be able to cheer their kids on in this year's Olympics in Beijing.
China has decided to keep 75% of tickets for itself, meaning parents may struggle to get through the door.