Hi, I'm Nathan Bazley, Thanks for Joining Me Forbtn!
BTN: Episode 19 Transcript25/07/17
Hi, I'm Nathan Bazley, thanks for joining me forBTN!
Coming up today:
- Two major supermarkets announce they've had their fill of plastic bags.
- Why the classifications you see at the start of a movie could be in for a shakeup.
- And we find out how fireworks work and reveal how you could design one of your own.
All that soon but first.
Government Ministers
Reporter: Emma Davis
INTRO:The Prime Minister has announced a big change to how Australia's national security agencies will be run.He's decided to create a new super-ministry which will bring together all of the federal organisations in charge of protecting our country and working out who should be allowed to come here.But what is a ministry and how do they work?Take a look.
MINISTER: So sorry I'm late.
EMMA DAVIS, REPORTER: When it comes to politics in Australia, the Prime Minister is the boss.
PRIME MINISTER: Let's begin.
But it really takes a team to rule a nation and that team is known as the Cabinet.
PRIME MINISTER: Let's talk Cabinets.
The Cabinet is made up of politicians in the federal government. It's the PM's job to pick which ones get a spot. They're called Ministers and they're each given a special area to look after, called a department.
You've probably heard of the minister for health, education and immigration. But there are other ones too, like minister for tourism, sport and minister for magic! Just kidding! Oh, and some ministers can be in charge of more than one. Being a minister is an important job. It's up to them to know about and control everything that's going on in their department. It's also their responsibility to suggest new laws, which are first debated in top secret cabinet meetings before they get introduced to parliament.
MINISTER: I’d like to put forward a new bill from my department.
But PM's don't just assign ministries, they can also create new ones! In fact, recently Prime Minister Turnbull created a new super-ministry! It's going to be called Home Affairs and it brings together immigration, the Border Force, the Federal Police and Australia's spy agency ASIO.
MALCOLM TURNBULL, PRIME MINISTER: So, I want to stress we're taking the best elements of our intelligence and national security community and making them better.
There'll also be an Office of National Intelligence, which oversees the spy agencies and a new cyber-security centre working around the clock to stop online threats. Peter Dutton is going to be the minister in charge of all that. He used to be the Immigration Minister so this new super ministry is a big promotion!
PETER DUTTON, HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER: My sole purpose, as the Home Affairs Minister, will be to do everything within my power to keep Australians safe.
It'll be the biggest change to Australia's national security and intelligence in 40 years and the Prime Minister says he's been working on this plan for a long time.
MALCOLM TURNBULL, PRIME MINISTER: There is no room for complacency, there is no room for set and forget.
PETER DUTTON, HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER: It’s going to allow us the greatest capacity to keep Australian’s safe.
The new plan brings us closer to the way things are done in the UK, where all the departments that look after matters of national security report to one minister. But not everyone is convinced that it's needed. The Opposition says our spy agencies are working well as they are and some experts say it might actually be less efficient than before.
But the PM says it'll help the organisations work together, which is why we have a cabinet of people working together to run Australia instead of just one.
PRIME MINISTER: What are you waiting for, get going!
This Week in News
To other news now, and two Greens Senators have been forced to resign because it turned out that they are both still citizens of another country.
The Australian constitution says people with dual citizenship aren't allowed to sit in parliament.
That's why Queensland Senator Larissa Waters had to go. She was born in Canada even though she's lived here since she was 11 months old.
And before that, Scott Ludlum realised he was still a citizen of New Zealand and stepped down too.
Meanwhile it looks like Scott's replacement will be 22 -year old Uni student Jordan Steel-John.
He will become Australia's youngest ever Senator.
Dentists are calling on kids to take better care of their teeth.
They say in the past 10 years there's been a 50 percent increase in the number of kids younger than 8 needing serious dental treatment and that sugary drinks and foods are partly to blame.
DENTIST: Things like a tub of yoghurt for example which most people would think is healthy contains more than 6 teaspoons of sugar.
But they say brushing properly is really important as well as getting a regular check-up at the dentist.
The finalists for a prestigious Australian art prize have been announced and the entries are all from kids!
That's because it's the Young Archie competition which is the under-18 version of Australia's famous Archibald Prize.
This year there were more than 2000 entries and these are some of the talented finalists.
Poppy drew a self-portrait.
Callum drew his grandad.
Jessica painted her sister.
And Chantelle painted her Mum.
The finalists all get displayed at the gallery of New South Wales along with the Archibald finalists.
And we'll find out who the winners are on the 16th of September!
How much would you pay for an old dusty bag?
Well what if it had been to the moon?
A mystery buyer at a New York auction has paid more than two million dollars for a pouch that was part of a mission to the moon back in 1969.
Recent testing has revealed it still contains traces of moon dust.
The seller has pocketed an impressive profit.
She only paid about a thousand dollars for the bag a couple of years ago.
Plastic Bag Ban
Reporter: Jack Evans
INTRO:Next up today, Australia's two biggest supermarket chains have announced they're both phasing-out single-use plastic bags nationwide.The move is a big win for those campaigning for a ban on these types of bags like 12-year old Meg.We spoke to her to find out how she felt after the phase out was announced, and what her campaign is aiming for next.
MEG: Hi BTN I'm Meg from Mornington Peninsula, Victoria and I'm really excited that Coles and Woolworths have put a price on single use plastic bags and that's just the start.
As you can tell Meg is pretty passionate about plastic.
MEG: I'm passionate about banning plastic bags because I've grown up on the Mornington Peninsula where there are bays all around me. I've come to realise that our precious marine life are getting killed by the so called innocent plastic bag.
For the past 5 years, she's been campaigning to have single-use plastic bags banned from all shops in Australia. It's something South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory already do. If you live in one of these states or territories instead of plastic bags customers have to bring their own reusable bags to supermarkets or they can purchase tougher plastic bags that can be reused. But Meg is hoping to make that ban national. She's been working hard collecting signatures for a petition to ban plastic bags and has even written to some politicians.
MEG: I've been campaigning for 5 years now and I have written letters to Malcolm Turnbull, Josh Frydenberg and other local, state and federal ministers. I've had a response from multiple ministers including Malcolm Turnbull himself and Josh Frydenberg. They've said that it's up to local ministers to do something about it.
Plastic bags are really bad for the environment because they can take 1000 years to decompose and a lot of them end up in our waterways.
MEG: Over 5 trillion pieces of plastic end up in our ocean, 80% of that are plastic bags. Turtles think they're jelly fish so they eat, swallow then choke and die on our plastic bags. That's why we need to stop plastic bags, you can do something!
In the past, some supermarkets have provided drop off points where customers can recycle their used plastic bags. But now Woolworths and Coles have announced they'll be phasing out single use plastic bags in all of their stores.
Brad Banducci, Woolworths Group CEO: We've been looking at the feedback we get back from our customers, as well as the impact on the environment, and think it's an important thing to do and part of our commitment to a greener, more sustainable Australia. It's something Meg has been waiting to hear for a long time.
MEG: It's really good that Coles and Woolworths have put a price on single use plastic bags, but we really need to stop plastic bags all together.
She says she'll now be putting her efforts into getting smaller supermarkets to agree to a phase out too.
MEG: I also want to get local independent supermarkets on board. I'm going to write letters to them like I have to local, state and federal ministers.
Meg says it's important for kids like her to get involved.
MEG: I really want to spread the word to our generation because although children are 20% of the population we will be 100% of the future. Because we are the next generation and it is our world soon.
Did You Know?
Did you know: The reusable plastic bags supermarkets now sell to customers need to be used more than 50 times for there to be any environmental benefit.
Classification Review
Reporter: Emma Davis
INTRO: Next up, classifications are how you guys, or more likely your parents, work out which movies and TV shows are appropriate to watch.Most movies and TV shows are classified by independent Australian boards but currently, online streaming sites like Netflix decide their own.The Federal Government recently announced a review of their classifications after some controversial decisions.But some experts reckon it's time the whole system got a shakeup.
Whether you're at the movies or just sitting down to watch something at home on TV, chances are you've seen something like this before. All the films, shows, documentaries and even video games we watch in Australia are given a classification before we see them.
There's G for General, which everyone can watch. Then PG which means parents should keep in mind there could be a bit of bad language or violence. M means mature so while kids under 15 are legally allowed to watch it, it's not recommended. Then there are these two and it's against the law to watch them if you're under age.
These rules were set up by the Australian Classification Board way back in the 90s and the system's worked pretty well since. But over the past few years, classifying stuff has become a little trickier because of the rise of online streaming.
REPORTER: See a lot of the stuff on places like Netflix come straight from overseas and we like to see them at the same time other countries do. But the checking process can take a while.
So, last year the government agreed to let Netflix do the job itself. Experts say overall, that's worked pretty well, but there have been a few controversial decisions. So now the federal government's checking up on how Netflix classifies things. But some experts say we should actually come up with a completely new system instead.
The Australian Council for Children and the Media says the classification system has barely changed since it was created and it's become a little outdated.
Elizabeth Handsley, Australian Council on Children and the Media: We think there should be a change because the current system doesn't give parents enough information about the content and whether it's suitable for children of different ages.
That's why they've proposed using a different system that focuses on age ranges and gives people a better idea about what they'll be watching.
Elizabeth Handsley, Australian Council on Children and the Media: Because there's a difference between what's appropriate for a 5-year-old, what's appropriate for an 8-year-old, what's appropriate for a 10-year-old and so on.
For now though, the council says parents and kids should watch more TV together and talk about how they feel about different shows and why. But what do you think?
KID 1: Sometimes something on TV looks good and I want to watch it and mum or dad say maybe a bit later, when you're a bit older, not yet because it's too gruesome.
KID 2: My mum said I'll watch it first and then she normally says that if it's M when I was younger and it's not as bad then she'll watch it with me.
KID 3: If there's something on the TV that they're watching they'll just say watch your iPad and don't listen to it.
KID 4: I think sometimes that some movies are categorised in the wrong areas but like I think it's alright.
KID 2: I would like to change the school thing where you have to get a note signed for the PG thing because it's very annoying.
KID 5: It should be up to what people want to watch.
KID 6: I don't think it has to change although some movies are not rated high enough or too high I reckon.
Poll
And we'd like to know if you think our classification system needs an overhaul.
Let us knowin our online poll.
Finding Fungi
Reporter: Natasha Thiele
INTRO:Next, mushrooms are not the most exciting living things. But according to the expert in this story, they're actually the unsung heroes of nature. To find out more we joined a class of kids as they went on a schoolyard mushroom hunt. Take a look.
SAPPHIRE: Good morning, so why are we here today?
STUDENTS: Fungi!
SAPPHIRE: Fungi, yes!
SAPPHIRE McMULLAN-FISHER, FUNGUS EXPERT: They are the unsung heroes of nature. They are connected to everything. People can say my favourite animal is and I can find a fungus that is helping that animal live.
NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: These guys from Vale Park Primary School are learning all about humble fungi. You might not think of them much, but fungi expert Sapphire says the things we know as toadstools, mushrooms or truffles are actually some of the most important organisms on the planet! They're like the clean-up crew of nature, breaking down dead things to provide nutrients for living things.
SAPPHIRE: Fungi are really important because they do jobs that no other organisms are doing in the ecosystem and so life would actually not work if fungi didn't do the job they do.
There are more than 5 million different species of fungi around the world and did you know that fungi are not considered as types of plants or animals or bacteria? They're actually a whole kingdom of their own! And they're not all mushrooms. This kingdom also includes lots of moulds and yeasts.
SAPPHIRE: Since we've done DNA and all the rest we actually know how things are related much better and depending on which scientist you talk to there are 7 or 9 or 10 kingdoms, but most people agree the big, sort of macroscopic kingdoms are plants, fungi and animals.
Fungi can be found everywhere, even on your school oval! Sapphire's been teaching these guys how to identify different types of fungi.
REPORTER: Hey Josh, so what have you found here?
JOSH: I found an Earthstar Fungi. I'm pretty sure it's named after than because it kind of looks like a star.
TASH: Ah cool!
STUDENT: I think I've found some! Over here, look!
SAPPHIRE: What have you found?
STUDENTS: Possum poo!
SAPPHIRE: It's a huge possum poo, I think that must be a mushroom! And this is one of most common mates of mycorrhizal fungi found in Australia.
But it's worth remembering that while there are heaps of different types of fungi not all of them can be eaten. Some are actually poisonous and can make you really sick.
SAPPHIRE: There are very few that are edible and you really need to know what you're doing about identification if you're going to want to eat fungi, which is why it's a whole lot safer to get them from the shop!
These guys say that learning about fungi and looking for fungi today has made them look at them in a completely different way.
JOSH: I've learned that fungi are a different type of mushroom and they can help plants and trees grow.
SARAH: I've learned about how the mycelium and spores plant and decompose the wood and sticks.
JACK: Maybe next time I'll like look at them differently before you kind of like go off pick them up and go oh it's just that and chuck them.
Did You Know
Did you know: The largest living organism in the world is thought to be a Honey Fungus in the Blue Mountains of the U.S.It's at least 3.8kms across - but it's mostly underground.