BtN: Episode 27 Transcript 17/9/13
On this week's Behind the News

We look at the other half of Australia's Parliament: the Senate. Why is it there
and what does it do?

Are you being watched? We meet one family who are pretty shocked to
discover how they're being spied on.

And we check out energy drinks. Is there a down side to these popular pickme-ups?
Hi I'm Nathan Bazley, welcome to Behind the News. Also on the show today we meet
a champion animal athlete. And is it a horse? Is it a dog? No, it's a rabbit!
But first.
Senate
Reporter: Sarah Larsen
INTRO: As you probably know by now, the Liberal and National Parties have been
elected as Australia's new government. But there are some little-known political
parties who had unexpected success in the election. Have you heard of the Motoring
Enthusiasts Party? How about the Sporting Party? No? Well a lot of people hadn't
but now it looks like they have seats in the Upper House of Parliament, the Senate.
So what is the Senate and how do we choose its members? Here's Sarah.
KID: As leader of the galactic council I command a trade blockade. Also, destroy that
planet!
SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: If sci-fi movies have taught us anything it's that not
all leaders do the right thing all the time.
Lucky for us, Australia's politicians aren't evil emperors bent on intergalactic
domination.
But because you can never be too careful, Australia's founders built some checks and
balances into our system of government.
Before any new law can pass it has to be voted on in the lower house, or House of
Representatives, where the Government has most of the power. Then it goes to the
Senate, or the upper house, where at least half of the senators have to agree it's a
good idea before it's approved by the Governor-General.
KID: Um, your evilness.
KID: What.
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KID: It's the Senate. They've agreed to the blockade, but they've voted against
blowing up the planet.
KID: I am angry. Who are these senators?
Good question. While we can't speak for galaxies far, far away, in Australia there are
76 senators from right around the country. There are 12 from each state and two
from each of the territories. And this is where they sit, in the red Senate room.
Let’s take a look at how the Senate looks right now (the Australian one, that is).
These senators are on the Government's side and these ones are in the Labor Party.
Then there are these minor parties in the middle. At the moment, neither of the main
parties has more than half the seats, which means to pass a bill or block one they
need the help of these guys. It means in the Senate minor parties and independents
are pretty powerful.
KID: Why do they have many senators from minor parties? Why aren't they all from
the ruling party?
There are a few reasons for that. For starters, some people like the idea of smaller
parties keeping the big ones in check. But it also has a lot to do with the way voting
for the Senate works.
Just like the lower house, it's preferential so you can give candidates a number. One
for your favourite, two for your second favourite and so on. Except instead of three or
four candidates in the Senate there can be more than 100!
People who don't want to fill out all those numbers can just vote for their number
one and let that candidate decide where the preferences go. It's complicated but
sometimes it means candidates with not many number one votes end up winning
seats. That's what happened this year.
New, senators might include a guy from the Motoring Enthusiasts' Party: a group
devoted to cars. And a guy from a group called the Sports Party. They could play a
big part in deciding whether or not the Government's laws get passed. And some say
that's not right.
Last week there were calls for changes to the way senators are elected to make sure
only the most popular candidates win a seat. But these soon-to-be-senators say
they're happy with the way the system works and some others agree. They say it's all
part of Australian democracy and making sure there are lots of voices in this place to
make sure our leaders do the right thing.
PRESENTER: Let's see what else is making the news. Here's Tash with the Wire.
The Wire
Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott has announced his new leadership team. The big
winner was WA Senator Mathias Cormann. He's never served in government before
he's scored the position of Finance Minister. While there's only one woman in the
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cabinet and that's Julie Bishop. While it was bad news for Ian Macdonald and Terese
Gambaro, they've both lost their positions.
*****
The US and Russia have made a deal with Syria to surrender its chemical weapons.
The deal still needs to be approved by the United Nations. But if all goes well the
weapons will be destroyed by mid next year. It's thought chemical weapons were
used to kill hundreds of people during fighting in Syria.
******
The New South Wales Rural Fire Commission is investigating last week's bushfires in
Sydney's west and in the Blue Mountains. Hundreds of fire-fighters battled the
blazes. One home was destroyed and several fires suffered minor burns. It's believed
one of the fires might have been deliberately lit.
******
And the Voyager One spacecraft has become the first man-made object to exit the
solar system. It's one of two spacecraft that were launched back in 1977 with the job
of exploring Earth's neighbourhood and beyond. It beamed back up-close photos of
the planets showing us the red-spot of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn.
It took 36 years to reach the edge of the solar system and last week scientists
confirmed that it's officially crossed into interstellar space. The region between the
stars!
Data Security
Reporter: Matt Holbrook
INTRO: Did you know the devices you use, the places you go and the things you do
can all be tracked? And you might not even know it's happening. It's not as
unbelievable as it might sound. Matt checks out one Aussie family who have just
discovered how they've left a big trail of information that's being spied on.
It's morning, and Christina and Alexi are getting ready for school. And while their
day starts with a good breakfast, for them, and the rest of the family, technology's
never far away. They're about to find out just how much of what they do is tracked
and traced over 24 hours
CHRISTINA: First of all, I'd probably check my Instagram.
Christina's 12. Her favourite things online are Youtube, Tumblr and Instagram.
CHRISTINA: I like it because you can check out what people are getting up to and
what they're doing, you can usually see what celebrities are up to.
Out of all the family, she's the busiest online at this time of day. And as she leaves for
school, the data from those apps is already travelling to America, the Netherlands,
and Britain.
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Two dozen sites she's never even clicked on know she likes Selena Gomez, and have
watched her look at photos of friends, and plan a trip to the movies.
But what would anyone want with that information? And who is looking at it? Well,
it's valuable stuff for advertisers. Websites can make sure she sees ads about things
she's interested in. That's called targeted advertising. But Christina says it doesn't
really bother her.
CHRISTINA: I don't really mind because I'm not doing anything that secret on my
accounts, so it's not a big deal to me.
Back at home, Alexi's on his smart phone. He has more apps than anyone else in the
family!
TROY: Basically as soon as you open a webpage on your phone, all your requests can
be intercepted by people sitting in the middle of the traffic.
Troy's an internet security expert. He's helping Alexi work out how apps are using his
information. In one app, he puts in fake details and credit card information, only to
find those exact details are sent out over the internet without any protection. If this
were for real, those credit card numbers could have ended up in the hands of
criminals.
ALEXI: Just kind of shocked me a bit the apps that I thought were official and
trustworthy, they're not what they seem. It's just kind of interesting that something I
trust isn't trustworthy at all.
This family had no idea how much information they were sharing, or was being
collected about them. So what can you do to protect your data and privacy?
MATT: Well, there are no guarantees. But you can try to be more careful about the
sites and apps you use. That could mean doing a bit of research before downloading a
new app, or having a think about how you share your personal details.
But the reality is as we become more and more connected, our information trails are
only getting bigger.
Quiz 1
Ok, let's have a quiz about technology.
The question is: What year was the first mobile phone released for sale?
1975
1983
1991
Answer: 1983
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The first mobile phone was sold in the United States and cost nearly $4,000 US.
Energy Drinks
Reporter: Natasha Thiele
INTRO: Since energy drinks hit our shelves more than a decade ago there's been a
lot of debate about their health benefits. Researchers have found that some of the
brightly-coloured drinks can actually do more harm than good. So what affect can
they have on our bodies? Tash takes a look.
NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: Energy drinks are designed to give us, well more
energy right? But hold on. Do you know what's going into your body when you drink
them? Let's find out. There's a belief that energy drinks can make people perform
better and they're advertised as being able to give us a boost of energy. Most of that
energy comes from caffeine, the stuff that's found in coffee. It can stimulate our
nerves and make us feel more alert.
REPORTER: A standard energy drink like this can have up to 80 milligrams of
caffeine. That's about the same as a cup of coffee.
But there's other stuff in energy drinks too that we should think about. For starters,
there's plenty of sugar. There can be up to 13 teaspoons in just one can. And if you
look on the label there's a whole bunch of funny-sounding ingredients. Some people
say the mix of different ingredients in energy drinks can be bad for our health.
Researchers helped ABC show Catalyst to perform an experiment on reporter Anja
and some volunteers. They had to drink two energy drinks each, one after the other.
They then gave blood which was tested in a lab. The researchers found that their
blood became very sticky after having the energy drinks. This can be dangerous
because it can block veins and arteries and could lead to heart attack and stroke. In
one person, the blood stickiness actually doubled! In another, it was up to four times
more sticky!
RESEARCHER: I think Lauren was up to three-fold and Laura four-fold.
ANJA TAYLOR, CATALYST REPORTER: Right, so every single person had sticky
blood after drinking the energy drinks.
RESEARCHER: Yes.
They don't know exactly what causes sticky blood. They say it's probably not caffeine
alone, but it could be a mixture of that and the other ingredients. Australia has some
of the toughest rules on energy drinks in the world. Packaging needs to be clearly
labelled. They need to say that they're not recommended for children. The drinks also
need to state how much there is of each ingredient. With caffeine for example, there
can be no more than what's in an instant coffee. Whereas in the places like the US,
there's no limit on how much caffeine can be added.
Some medical experts would like to see more restrictions. At the moment anyone can
buy them from the shops including kids. So some people would like to see age
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restrictions on who can buy them. But not everyone reckons there's a problem. The
energy drink industry doesn't think we need tougher rules. It says their drinks are
clearly labelled and that they're safe to drink. So while we all need an energy boost
every now and again, you might want to take a closer look at what's going into your
body.
Online Poll
OK let's make that our poll this week.
The question is:
Should children be allowed to buy energy drinks?
To vote just head to our website.
Last week we asked you if it's ok for animal rights campaigners to use drones to
collect information.
59% of you said yes
41% said no.
Thanks for voting.
Alopecia
Reporter: Emma Davis
INTRO: Have you ever heard of a skin disease called alopecia areata? Most people
haven't. It makes a person's hair fall out and can happen to boys and girls of any
age. At the moment there's no real known cause or cure. Emma caught up with two
girls who have alopecia to see what it's like to live with the condition.
EMMA DAVIS, REPORTER: We all go for a trim, snip, shave, cut or style every now
and again. But very few of us can say we leave the hairdresser with more hair than we
arrived with. This is Hannah and Rebecca. They're here for their hairdressers’
appointment. But their trip is quite a bit different to most people! That's because
they have alopecia areata.
REBECCA: Alopecia is where you lose your hair and you can lose it on your arms and
legs.
Scientists think it's caused by a problem in our immune system. Signals are sent from
your brain to these hair follicles causing it to fall out. Alopecia doesn't make you sick
and it's not catching. But losing your hair can be a scary thing to go through.
REBECCA: First mum noticed it and then she told me and then I was a bit scared
because I thought I was going to lose my eyebrows and that.
There are some treatments that can help.
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HANNAH: Well I had to take tablets for a bit for I think 7 weeks and then I put foam
on my head and I'm still on that.
But many people with alopecia choose to wear a wig.
REBECCA: I had blonde hair before so I wanted to get a blonde one and I wanted it
long but then I had to wear it up so I got it cut to short.
But these aren't just wigs you might see at a fancy dress shop. Wigs for people with
alopecia are usually made to order and need to be specially fitted. First the
hairdresser checks out how much hair the person already has. Then they mark up
where the hairline of the wig would sit. Once the measurements are taken, the info is
sent away so a mould can be made.
HAIRDRESSER: It's a bit like going to a tailoress and having a dress made specially
for you to fit your body shape and size.
REPORTER: Okay, so tell me a little bit about some of the wigs you have here, like
the one in your hands right now. This is on a basis of say 1 to 10 this is on a cheaper
base.
There are heaps of different types of wigs depending on your needs.
REPORTER: And there's one over here that I see, now this one right here, that’s
made with human hair right? So this is human hair. How expensive is this type of
thing?
WOODROW: One like that, because it's not a full head, we'd be looking at 3 and a
half to 4 thousand dollars. Wow, and that's just for, like that's not even a full head? A
three quarter base, yeah.
On average, wigs can range from one thousand to five thousand dollars! A lot of wigs
are handmade and it takes a huge amount of painstaking work to get each wig
looking perfect. It can take between 8 and 10 weeks to complete the whole process.
So you have to be patient! But there is another vital ingredient you need besides time.
You need hair! And that's something I thought I could help with. As you can see my
hair was pretty long, so I decided it was time for a change!
REPORTER: This used to be attached to my head! But I had it all cut off so it can be
used to make a wig for someone with alopecia areata. I'll put it in the postbag then
send it away, so hopefully it can go to someone who needs it a lot more than I do!
Meanwhile back at the salon, Rebecca has already been measured up for her wig and
today she's here to be fitted. The hair has to be styled so it looks just right. A new
smile to match the new style.
Quiz 2
Let's have a quiz about hair.
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The question is: What substance gives hair its colour?
Melatonin
Keratin
Melanin
Answer: Melanin
The more melanin your hair has, the darker its colour. How much melanin you have
depends on your genes, which you get from your parents.
Now for all the news in sport here's Matt with the Score
The Score
Australia's back in the world group of the Davis Cup for the first time in six years.
Bernard Tomic helped secure the spot, winning both his matches in the tie against
Poland. The Davis Cup is played between 130 countries, with the world group made
up of the top 16.
******
It's been a controversial weekend in the NRL. North Queensland's season is over,
after losing to the sharks by two points. But a referee's mistake looks to have cost
them the win.
The NRL confirmed Cronulla shouldn't have been awarded their opening try.
Meanwhile, Newcastle is through to the semi finals after beating Canterbury by 22
points.
******
Sydney beat Carlton by 24 points. They'll face Freo in next week's prelim final.
Geelong beat Port Adelaide by 16 points. They'll play the Hawks in the prelim winner
of each game will go through to the grand final on the 28th of September
And in the AFL finals, Sydney will take on Fremantle in next week's preliminary
final, after beating Carlton by 24 points.
Geelong had a 16-point win over Port Adelaide and will now play Hawthorn in the
other prelim. The winner of each game will go through to the Grand Final on
September 28.
Jumping Rabbits
Reporter: Rebecca Opie
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INTRO: When you own a pet, it's a lot of fun training them and teaching them new
tricks. Dogs and horses are all commonly entered in competitions to show off their
skills. But lately another pet has been dominating the show world. And it's probably
not one you'd expect! Here's Bec.
REBECCA OPIE, REPORTER: This is Alvin. Don't let the cute and fluffy look deceive
you. This is one serious athlete and he's in training for the bunny sporting event of
the year. Yep, rabbit show jumping.
Strange as it might seem, competitive hopping has been around for a while, rabbit
jumping started in Scandinavia in the 1970s and now it's catching on in Australia. In
his two years as a competitive jumper Alvin has earned an impressive reputation.
DONNA: Last year he won three trophies and the year before that I think he won
about four trophies because he's done quite well since he started so Alvin is known as
the rabbit to beat in the show jumping competition, everyone is striving to beat Alvin.
Show jumping involves several events, testing the bunnies' speed, their ability to
navigate obstacles, jump high and to jump long. Of course bouncing comes naturally
to most rabbits but getting them to follow a course can be challenging and that's
where bunny coaches like Donna come in, coaxing their furry friends down the 8metre track.
DONNA: I picked Alvin because he's a little bit of a scatterbrain, so Alvin likes
following me around, he likes chasing me so we put Alvin onto the harness and over
the hurdles and he just loves following me so that's generally why Alvin makes a good
show jumper.
Donna always knew that one day Alvin would be a champ. After all, he comes from a
long line of top athletes.
DONNA: In the mid here we have Jordan. He's Alvin's dad, at the top here we have
Pipi, who's Alvin's grandmother, she's the one who won 4 trophies in the show
jumping competition at the show and down the bottom here he have Mocha who's
Alvin's brother.
But good jumping genes are no substitute for hard work and dedication. And as the
big race approached I thought I'd see how Alvin was faring.
BEC: So word on the street is you're the rabbit to beat! Is the pressure getting to you?
Well, Alvin's keeping quiet. He must be saving his concentration for his race.
Or maybe he needs his pre-competition good luck ritual a sugar hit for energy and
with that it's off to the show!
BEC: The crowd is gathering here at the show and inside the rabbit show jumping is
in full swing, let's see how Alvin's going.
DONNA: Alvin's feeling a little bit nervous, there's a few people for him to compete
against today so I think he's a bit concerned how that's going to go today.
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Looks like arch rival "Licorice" is going to give Alvin a run for his money. But at the
end of the day, it comes down to the judge.
SUZIE, RABBIT SHOWJUMPING JUDGE: A champion show jumping rabbit is
usually one that's really excitable, so that way they really like to jump over things and
you don't put them on a table and they end like a bit of a pancake, like some of them
we've seen today
As the crowd looks on and his competitors re-hydrate it's Alvin's time to shine!
And it's a winning run! Alvin's training has paid off and he'll add another trophy to
his collection! And while the other bunnies missed out this year they're honoured to
be in the presence of a true show jumping champion.
Closer
That's it for the show. You can jump onto our website if you want to get more info on
any of the stories. You can send us your comments and don't forget to vote in this
week's poll. I'll see you next time.
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