BtN: Episode 31 Transcript 30/10/12
On this week's Behind the News
· We take a look at a big election overseas that seems to get lots of news coverage in Australia.
· There are calls to make swimming lessons compulsory in all primary schools - but is it a good idea?
· And Devils on the move - the latest step to save this endangered species.
Hi I'm Nathan Bazley, welcome to Behind the News.
Also on the show today, as an Aussie MotoGP legend calls it a day, we meet the kids that hope to follow in his footsteps. But first:
Uranium U-turn
Reporter: Sarah Larsen
INTRO: The government's given the go-ahead to sell more uranium overseas and that's lead one state to say it's going to start mining it again. Uranium is used to fuel nuclear power plants but not everyone thinks it's a good idea to dig it up or to sell it. Here's Sarah to explain why.
SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: For a long time Australians have been seeking fortune from the treasures found under the ground.
Things like Gold
KID: Eureka!
And Silver
KID: Eureka!
But there's one natural resource that's dug up a lot of controversy over the years
KID: Ur...anium?
Yep. Uranium. It's valuable and Australia has a lot of it. In fact around a third of all the known uranium in the world is in Australia and it’s thought to be worth about 300 billion dollars.
Uranium is special because it's radioactive. It naturally gives off energy called radiation. And that can be used for all sorts of like diagnosing and treating certain diseases. And creating electricity; lots of it.
In nuclear power plants like this specially treated uranium can produce tens of thousands of times more power than the same amount of coal and there's hardly any air pollution, so countries all around the world use it to power their cities.
But uranium isn't perfect. Radiation might be useful but it's also dangerous so handling and transporting uranium has to be done carefully. Left-over material from power plants and hospitals has to be stored safely so it can't get into the environment.
And occasionally things go wrong. Areas near Fukushima in Japan have had to be abandoned after nuclear power plants were damaged in last year's earthquake and radiation leaked into the soil and water.
Some reckon with new technology it's possible to build safe power plants but they're expensive and Australia doesn't use any nuclear power. Electricity isn't all uranium can be used for. If it's specially refined uranium can be used to make nuclear weapons. One bomb can kill hundreds of thousands. And that's another reason why mining and selling uranium has been controversial for a long time.
Several states have banned uranium mining altogether. And the government only sells it to countries that have agreed not to make or use nuclear weapons. But now some rules are changing.
Recently the PM was in India; a country that has nuclear weapons and hasn't signed an international agreement that it won't make more. But it's a big country and it needs electricity. For years it's wanted to buy Australian uranium. And now the PM has agreed with the provision that it's only to be used for electricity.
That'll mean more demand for uranium and more money for Australia. And last week Queensland's premier decided to get in on the rush, overturning a decades old ban on uranium mining in the state.
CAMPBELL NEWMAN, QLD PREMIER: I say to my fellow Queenslanders what good is it, of us sort of ignoring the fact that the federal Labor government are saying they're happy to see it exported.
Some reckon Australia should be making the most of its natural resources and giving other countries the chance to make power with less carbon pollution. There have even been calls for Australia to build nuclear power plants of its own.
But environmental groups are worried about the effect that more uranium mining will have on the environment. Some reckon the dangers of uranium will always outweigh its usefulness and no matter how much it's worth, it should be left in the ground.
Presenter: Let's see what else is making the news, here's Tash with the Wire
The Wire
The US has been hit with some nasty weather!
Hundreds of thousands of people in New York City have been told to leave their homes because of Hurricane Sandy.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK MAYOR: Let me stress if you don't evacuate, you're just putting your own life, you're not just putting your own life in danger you're also endangering the lives of our first respondents who may have to come in and rescue you.
Public transport has been shut down, schools have closed and 5-thousand flights have been cancelled.
The storm has already killed more than 60 people as it made its way through the Caribbean on the weekend.
The storm has also put the US Presidential campaign on hold. President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney have both cancelled campaign events.
****
A new report by the government suggests more Australian kids should learn an Asian language.
The report called the 'Asian Century White Paper' aims to develop closer links with economically powerful Asian countries.
Under that plan all students would be given an opportunity to study either Mandarin, Hindi, Indonesian or Japanese.
At the moment, the number of students studying Asian languages has fallen.
America Votes
Reporter: Nathan Bazley
INTRO: Elections in Australia are big news, but what about elections overseas? Right now, Americans are getting ready to go to the polls and the story seems to be on the Australian news most nights. So why should America's election matter to people living here? Let's take a look.
NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: American people are generally pretty passionate.
VOX POP: Football is my life. And our life.
VOX POP II: Everybody looks forward to football season.
But not just about football. Food rates pretty highly too.
MAN: We'll do bratwurst we'll do hamburgers. Sometimes we do a little steak.
Then, of course, comes politics.
It's fair to say elections are a big deal in the US.
The crowds are loud and the ads are nasty!
They're also expensive.
Estimates put the cost of this year's US poll at around 6 billion dollars.
But what sort of candidates do you get for that kind of cash?
Let's put it in a way Americans can get passionate about.
COMMENTATOR: Welcome to the 2012 US election final, proudly brought to you by our sponsors democracy.
Tonight, two captains go head-to-head, but only one can take the prize.
Let's take a look at the matchup.
COMMENTATOR: Last season's title holders, the Democrats, are once again led by Barack Obama here today.
He's hoping to make it back-to-back victories after a solid win last time around.
But one man stands in his way. Republican captain Mitt Romney is new to this arena, but after a few stumbles early in the season, he's now showing why he's made it to the top.
Before we head down to the kickoff, let's take at the new challenger Romney's stats.
COMMENTATOR: Thanks Jim.
Mitt Romney's background is in big business and he's been hugely successful at it.
He's built a personal wealth of more than 200 million bucks, a fact Obama says makes him out of touch with ordinary Americans.
He's run a winter Olympics and served as governor of the American state of Massachusetts.
So what are his plans for the country?
Well, he hasn't released a lot of information, but he has said he wants to get rid of Obama's health care plans and cut spending.
He also wants to cut something else.
MITT ROMNEY: I'm going to stop the subsidy to PBS, I love PBS, I love big bird.
REPORTER: He loves big bird so much, he's going to fire him!
OBAMA: Thank goodness someone is about to get tough on big bird! About time!
COMMENTATOR: Okay it's time for the siren now, let's cross to the field for all the action!
So that is an introduction to the two guys running for one of the world's most powerful jobs.
And at this stage, the polls have them pretty close.
But there is still one question left to answer. Why do Australians even care?
Well you might remember these scenes, two best buds laughing and enjoying each other’s company.
The reason they're doing that is because the US and Australia are pretty close friends.
We've gone through some pretty rough times and have always supported the other, even though it's sometimes meant big sacrifice.
And because our two countries are so close, the decision one leader makes can sometimes affect the other.
Making this one election competition that'll be watched here and all around the world.
Quiz 1
OK, let's have a quiz
The question is:
Which of these men was the first official President of the USA?
Abraham Lincoln
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Answer: George Washington
School Swimming
Reporter: Natasha Thiele
INTRO: America's political capital, Washington DC, is named after the first President. Now, summer is just around the corner and most of us love cooling off at the beach or in a swimming pool. But a new report's found a lot more young people are drowning because they don't know how to swim.
NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: One idea that's being talked about is making swimming lessons compulsory in primary schools.
So what do you think? Tash takes up the story.
These guys might only be young, but they're learning a pretty important life skill.
KID 1: I like swimming because it's fun and I learn how to be safe.
KID 2: I like swimming because it's fun and I like catching the toys at the bottom.
These year 2's are being taught basic swimming techniques like different strokes, how to float and survival skills like how to swim out of a rip. But while they're being taught how to swim at school, it's not something that all kids get the opportunity to learn.
A new report by the Royal Life Saving Society found there's been a big increase in the number of young adults drowning. It also says that one-in-five kids leaving primary school this year won't even be able to swim 50 metres or tread water for 2 minutes. The organisation reckons the main reason is because kids aren't learning to swim at an early age. And if something isn't done soon, it says the number of drownings could double in the next decade. So they've come up with an idea to make swimming lessons compulsory at primary school.
SEAN HODGES, ROYAL LIFE SAVING SOCIETY: If we leave it up to parents, there's too many kids that are going to slip through the gaps and we're seeing that already. So the only way that we can get to every child is to include it in the school curriculum, make it part of the compulsory component so that every kid learns how to swim whilst they're in primary school.
Some people think it's a good idea because ultimately it's about saving lives. It could also save parents hundreds of dollars on sending their kids to private lessons. But not everyone thinks it should be the schools' job. Some say parents should still be the ones responsible for teaching their kids to swim. They say schools have enough to cover in the national curriculum and making swimming compulsory would take time away from other things. And for some schools, getting access to pools and instructors would be hard.
But the Royal Life Saving Society says that it's important that no child should miss out. They would also like to see financial support for parents who can't afford swimming lessons and they want extra money to improve facilities in rural areas and indigenous communities. So what do you think?
KID 3: As it's Australia, it gets quite hot and people go down to the beach a lot, so it'd be good if they know how to swim.
KID 4: I think it's important because things can happen. They may accidentally fall in the water and if they know how to swim they can at least stay afloat until someone can help them.
KID 5: I think it's really important if they learn how to swim because if they don't, you know, they can drown.
Online Poll
OK let's make that our poll this week.
The question is:
Should swimming lessons be compulsory in primary schools?
To vote, just head to our website.
Last week, we asked if the sport of cycling would be able to repair its reputation after the Lance Armstrong scandal.
76% said yes. 24% said no
Thanks for taking part.
Devil Island
Reporter: Sarah Larsen
INTRO: Not that long ago Tassie devils were a common sight across Tasmania. But a nasty disease wiped out a big chunk of the population. Now they're trying to bring the species back from the brink by introducing them to a part of the state where they've never lived before. Sarah finds out more.
SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Here on Tasmania's Maria Island life is pretty quiet. The locals seem to get along with each other and don't mind the occasional tourist. They don't realise that they're about to get some new neighbours. Tranquillity isn't really something you associate with Tassie devils. They can be noisy and they can be grumpy.
Recently some Western Australians guys got a taste of devil temper when they found one of three young animals which escaped from a local zoo. But when they're not in bathrooms, these Tasmanians can be kind of cute. And they're in danger.
The native devil population has been devastated in the past 20 years by facial tumour disease. It's a type of cancer that's spread by biting. Experts reckon if it's not stopped it could eventually wipe out devils in the wild. To make sure that doesn't happen zoos around the country have spent the past 7 years breeding them in captivity.