BtN: Episode 4 Transcripts
10/03/09
On this week's Behind the News:
 Should Aussie clothes be made in Australia?
 Studying the surf to find out why swimmers get ripped out
to sea.
 And why a painting of the Bananas in Pyjamas was once kicked out of a top art
competition.
Hi I'm Nathan Bazley welcome to Behind the News.
Also on the show today, we go on camp with kids wanting to be Australia's top cattle
breeders.
Those items later, but first to our top story:
The Wire
INTRO: Over the past few days Queensland has been in full emergency mode as a
cyclone swept down its coast. At times the storm was classified as the most destructive
possible type of cyclone. People were evacuated and authorities have been prepared for
the worst. The details lead off the Wire.
At one stage tropical Cyclone Hamish was classified as category 5 which is the most
destructive type you can get.
That's more powerful than Hurricane Katrina which hit the United States, and its winds
were sometimes stronger than 280 kilometres an hour.
Fortunately for Queensland it stayed out to sea but there was still heavy rain and flooding.
Thousands of people were evacuated from holiday resorts on islands.
______________________________________________________________
And an earthquake has shaken the Victorian town of Korumburra.
It was measured at 4 point 6 on the Richter scale.
“Our radio started changing channels and the volume was going up and down!”
“Everything just started to shake and bang and the dog took off, and next minute i hear
me wife scream.”
“All the shop walls were going back and forth - we had a lot of stuff fall off the shelves.”
The effects were also felt a hundred kilometres away in Melbourne.
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There were no reports of serious damage.
Pacific Brands
Reporter: Catherine Ellis
INTRO: Another big story in the news lately has been a decision by an Aussie clothing
company to get its stuff made overseas. Factories will close and hundreds of people will
lose their jobs. But why? Isn't it simpler and easier to just make the products where you
sell them? Catherine went searching for answers
CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: Trying to find an outfit that's truly Australian isn't easy.
Made in China, made in China, made in China, made in China, China, China.
Ah. Bonds - Now that's a big Aussie brand! It began in a small factory in Sydney in 1915
and nearly 100 years later it's massive.
But hang on, made in China!!!
CATHERINE: And that's the case for lots of brands in Australia - they may have been
designed here, but they're made in factories overseas.
The company that owns Bonds - called Pacific Brands - also owns lots of other Aussie
labels. Some of them are still made in Oz, but not for long!
It's just announced it's closing seven Australian factories, so even more stuff can be made
in China.
This means nearly 2000 Australians will lose their jobs.
WORKER: Devastated more than anything. I mean, it's really tough times and where are
we going to find a job nobody knows.
PROTESTER: We say to Pacific Brands, reconsider your decision. We want the company to
listen to us and keep our jobs in Australia.
So why do companies manufacture overseas? Well because it's cheaper.
Let's look at why.
Australia is what's classified as a 'developed' country - living standards and wages are
pretty high.
But places like China are what's known as 'developing' countries. Some who live there are
well off, but there's also a lot of poor people who badly need money.
They need money so badly they'll often put up with getting paid much lower wages than in
Australia.
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And that's what makes it cheaper to get stuff made there. If companies are paying less for
their products to be made, they'll have more money left over, which means bigger profits.
Now the companies say they have to do this. They say heading overseas allows them to
survive and compete against cheaper foreign brands.
It can also make prices in our shops lower.
But others say cheaper clothes are bad news.
They say workers in developing countries are being exploited - working long hours in
dangerous conditions because they don't have laws like Australia to protect them.
But companies here say that's not always the case and it's important for them to have the
work.
In recent years a lot of companies have done the same thing as Pacific Brands.
And it's now estimated - less than 10 per cent of the clothes sold in Australia are made
here.
In the year 2000 about 10 million pairs of shoes were produced, but that dropped to about
2 million last year. Clothes went from about 41 million units in 2000 to around 14 million
last year.
It's devastating for the Australian workers who lose their jobs and with the economic crisis
some say the situation is only going to get worse
Cricket Attack
Reporter, Sarah Larsen
INTRO: Last week the country of Pakistan was in the news again for all the wrong
reasons. The Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked by gunmen and some policemen were
killed. Now people can get pretty passionate about sport - but why would they try to kill
an opposition team? Well Sarah's been finding out it probably doesn't have much to with
the game.
SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: What do Australians and Pakistanis have in common? This
is a big one: Cricket! They love it! They're really proud of their teams and they love coming
out to see others play. But now people are saying there could be no more international
cricket in Pakistan.
KIDS: That's terrible. Why?
Last Tuesday armed men attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team as they drove towards a
match in Lahore. That's here, in Pakistan. Policemen were killed and two cricketers were
seriously injured.
KIDS: Why would anyone do that? Don't Pakistanis like the Sri Lankan Cricket team?
No, that's not it at all. In this part of the world cricket is a way of life and professional
players are treated like rock stars, no matter where they're from.
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KIDS: Why would anyone want to attack cricketers?
Well that's a question a lot of people are asking but at this stage it looks like an act of
terrorism. That's a word you've probably heard a lot of in the past few years.
REPORTER: Terrorists do things that are designed to shock people and attract a lot of
attention, usually to try and scare people into listening to their political or religious ideas.
Targeting famous people or places gets attention. Two years ago Pakistani terrorists killed
one of their big political leaders. They've also been blamed for attacking a Mumbai hotel in
India last year.
KIDS: I remember that. So what do the terrorists want?
There's a lot going on in Pakistan that's stirring up violence. Some people are unhappy
with the political system so they're trying to force the country to change. There's also
fighting happening in a country next door; Afghanistan. We've told you before how
Australian troops are there helping the government to keep the peace. It's thought that
some of the fighters from there are in Pakistan causing trouble. But there's another
possibility. The gunmen could have come from the Sri Lankan team's home country.
There's also been fighting there between the government and rebels. The Pakistani
Government has promised to find out who's behind the attack and bring them to justice.
KID: So what does it mean for cricket?
For Pakistan it's pretty devastating. There probably won't be any international games there
for quite a while and that could mean some big changes. Pakistan was due to co-host the
World Cup in 2011. That might not happen now. But international cricket will go on.
Australia will play Pakistan next month but it will be in a neutral country in the Middle
East. Organisers hope it will be safe from any violence and Pakistan is still one of the
world's best teams. Hopefully one day they'll be able to play at home without fear.
PRESENTER: And we’ll let you know how that story develops.
Quiz
In the meantime let’s test your knowledge of history.
Pakistan was once ruled by Britain but it was part of another country. Which country was
it?
Was it part of:
a) Afghanistan
b) India
c) China
Answer: India
Pakistan became a separate country when India was granted independence. Since then
there's always been tension between the two and even some fighting.
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Drowning Danger
Reporter, Catherine Ellis
INTRO: If someone asked your number one fear when you go for a dip in the ocean,
you'd probably say sharks, but there's something much more deadly - Surf Rips. The
scary thing is most beach goers have no idea about them and very few can spot them. You
would have heard of rips, but how much do you know about them? Catherine has some
info that could stop you getting in trouble.
CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: When the beach looks anything like this, it's obvious
you're asking for trouble if you go in.
But days like this can be just as deadly, if you don't understand what a rip is.
Rips cause around 50 deaths each year in Australia and around 15-thousand rescues.
And these are figures Dr Rob Brander reckons could be reduced if we just understood the
science of the surf!
He's been studying this stuff for years and this is his favourite demo; pouring purple dye
into the water shows where the rip is and how very quickly a swimmer can be swept from
here to here.
So what is a rip?
Well when waves break, the water is pushed towards the beach and piles up on the shore.
To get back out to sea it rushes back along strong narrow channels of water - called rips.
The water usually looks a little churned up because it's travelling in the opposite direction
to the waves.
And it's slightly deeper so the water may look darker.
CATHERINE: And see how the area where the rip is has no waves, well that gets lots of
swimmers in trouble because they think they've chosen the calmest safest spot for a swim
when really they're found the rip!
Rips can also 'pulse', which is when a large set of waves comes in all of a sudden, causing
the rip to accelerate.
Dr ROB BRANDER, SURF SCIENTIST: One minute you can be swimming safely and the
next minute you're in the rip and you're gone.
About 17-thousand rips exist on Aussie beaches at any one time.
And while choosing to swim between the flags can keep you safe, not all beaches have them
so look out for calm, dark gaps between waves, with bumpy surface water.
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ROB: And there's a classic example of this behind us. We've got waves breaking here further south by the rocks and in the middle there's this nice dark calm path it almost looks
like a road going out and that's your rip.
Getting up on higher land is a good way to look for rips.
But if you do get stuck in on, the most important thing is don't panic!
Being carried out to sea isn't the dangerous part - thrashing about and getting exhausted is
when people drown.
Especially if they try to swim against it - that doesn't work because rips can flow faster than
olympic swimmers!
Instead swim sideways out of the rip towards the white water - if it's too strong you may
need to wait.
Whole families have drowned in rips.
Last month a brave body boarder saved the lives of two teenage brothers and their friend
on the South Australian coast.
But he was unable to save the dad.
Perhaps you can help prevent tragedies like this by making smart decisions and sharing
your knowledge of the science of the surf.
Online Poll
And we'll make that this week's online poll
The question is "Should be people be fined if they swim outside the flags at beaches?"
If you want to vote go to our website at abc.net.au/btn
Archibald Prize
Reporter, Nathan Bazley
INTRO: Right, let's talk about art. We've all mucked around with paint brushes at school
- but the art industry is huge right around the world. Top works can change hands for
more than a hundred million dollars so it's something people get very passionate about.
It can also cause a lot of controversy .. and every year there's a competition in Australia
that creates headlines all over the country!
They say art is all a matter of taste. But just like a vegemite milkshake, some things are bad
to pretty much everyone.
NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: Okay so my portrait of Catherine and Sarah didn't work
out all that well. But there are some people who are much better than me and last week
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they had their special award ceremony. Think of it like the Logies of paint; the Arias of
canvas. It's called the 'Archibald Prize'.
It's an annual painting competition that's been going for 88 years and you'll notice
something about the rules of this competition just by looking at all the entries.
First up, the paintings have to be portraits. And they have to be someone who's well
known.
Here's some you might recognise. This is Heath Ledger and this is Ben Cousins.
But what about this one. Okay some of the paintings don't look exactly like the real people.
That's because the artists try to capture the character of the person, not just their outside
appearance.
Each year hundreds of artists enter the comp.
And with so many artists fighting for the $50,000 prize money, you can bet there is always
some controversy!
When this painting won the prize, some people complained that it shouldn't be eligible,
because it looked more like a cartoon than a life-like picture.
When the bananas in pyjamas were entered they were thrown out for not being real people.
And there was a huge fuss after this picture won - the artist was taken to the Supreme
Court by a competitor for using charcoal rather than paint.
He ended up winning the case and keeping the prize.
Now if all this painting action sounds like you, there's no reason you can't get into it!
One guy taking up the challenge is Tom. He's 16 and decided to enter the Archibald for the
first time.
He's been painting since he was 10 and has already won some prizes.
His subject this time is a lady called Geraldine Cox, who runs an orphanage in Cambodia.
And after lots of hard work, this is how his portrait turned out.
TOM: I think she's a very strong woman and has a very strong face and a great personality.
Unfortunately Tom didn't take it out this year. The winner was this portrait of Geoffrey
Gurrumul Yunupingu by Guy Maestri.
But for all those that didn't quite make it, there are a few other prizes that run alongside
the Archibald.
Every year there is a people's choice award. And there is one voted by the people who
unpack and hang the paintings, called the packers prize.
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Both are often completely different to the one the judges liked!
NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: But for those with portraits a little too silly for the
Archibald, there's even a competition out there for you!
It's called the Bald Archies and it draws ridiculous entries from all over Australia!
PRESENTER: Not sure painting is my thing... Meanwhile, the woman Tom painted in that
story, Geraldine Cox, has saved heaps of kids with her orphanage in Cambodia. She has an
amazing story to tell and we'll bring it to you in a couple of weeks.
Quiz 2
Alright let's do an art quiz.
Which of these has been used as a colour pigment?
a) Cattle urine
b) Snail mucus
c) Dried insects
Answer: All three!
PRESENTER: Yup, serious!
Cattle urine was used to make yellow, snail mucus made purple and dried insects made
red. Really makes you wonder why they call it fine art. Nowadays most colours are made
synthetically from things like minerals.
Time for some sports news with Sarah.
The Score
20-year-old Australian opener, Phillip Hughes has become the youngest player to score
centuries in each innings of a test cricket match.
The result has cemented his place in the top order, after only his second game with the
national side.
Staying with cricket, and Australia has gone down to New Zealand in the opening match of
the Women’s World Cup in Sydney.
New Zealand was dismissed for 205 and were in control of Australia's innings when rain
prevented any chance of a fight-back from the home side.
Nine times world surfing champion Kelly Slater has been knocked out in round three of the
world tour event on the Gold Coast.
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He was beaten by Australian junior champ. Julian Wilson.
In the women's event, Aussie Stephanie Gilmore defeated Hawaiian Melanie Bartels to
take out the opening event of the women's championship tour.
And New South Wales has again been crowned the winner of the King's cup, Australia's
most prestigious rowing competition.
Victoria picked up second in the race, which is seen as a stepping stone to the Australian
team trials next month.
Cattle Camp
Reporter, Jen Browning
INTRO: What did you do on your holidays? Well while most of us were chilling out
enjoying the break, 150 kids from across the country went on a road trip with their
prized cattle. It might seem a bit bizarre, but it's not really, they were just learning how
to be part of one of the country's biggest industries. One of our journos from Canberra,
Jen, has the story.
JEN BROWNING, REPORTER: Shower, blow dry and trim. This must be cow paradise.
But what does a trip to the hairdresser have to do with cattle farming? The answer is quite
a bit and that's what these kids were finding out at the youth national round-up in
Canberra. Every year young farmers from around the country get together for a camp
where they can learn a few tips. They can be as young as 5 or as old as 24. The older ones
act as buddies to teach the juniors.
GRANT: Get this part and put it over here
Grant is one of the kids taking part. He's 14, but he already knows that he wants to work on
his family's cattle farm and he says the camp is a great chance to catch up with other kids.
GRANT: Bit of socialising at the moment but just learning new things and finding what you
want to do with it in the future and how far you want to go.
But the trouble is there aren't enough kids like Grant who want work in the cattle industry.
There's a shortage of young people and the drought and economic downturn are making it
tougher. That's why the round-up is held to try to get more young people onto farms. The
beef industry is one of Australia's most important money earners, worth almost 8 billion
dollars a year. You can find Aussie beef in countries all over the world including Japan,
Korea and the United States and Australians eat, on average, 38 kilograms of beef a year.
So how does the hairdressing fit into all of that?
REPORTER: As part of the round-up the young farmers must take care of their cattle,
making sure their animals are well fed, watered and clean and that their living quarters are
in tip top shape.
And that isn't always the sweetest job.
KID: We have to keep them clean and if they poo we have to pick it up.
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REPORTER: That's a fun job?
KID: Nah, not really.
The moo make-overs are also preparing kids for another side of farming life. You might
think show time is all about fun but there is a serious side. One of the big parts of being a
successful farmer is proving you've got the best cattle by showing them at shows and that's
what these kids are learning.
KATE: I think once you've been to a round up it gets you more involved and if kids do go
on they start at their local shows and maybe do some royal shows as well.
Kate is a round-up regular and is already breeding her own cattle.
KATE: When I was just getting into breeding cattle I thought it was a good opportunity to
come and learn a little bit more about how we do this show thing and meet a few new
people in the industry.
Organisers hope there'll be more kids following Kate and Grant and making sure there's a
strong future ahead for the beef industry.
GRANT: Don't know how much money is going to be in it but I'll try and keep it going.
After all everyone has to eat.
Closer
Looks like a good feed there... Ok just before we go - some kids have been having a pretty
random music lesson - courtesy of some interesting performers.
These guys are called the Bedouin Jerry Can band and they come from Egypt . And I know
what you're thinking - why jerry can?
DRUMMING
Well they use cans and almost anything to create the rhythms for their music
The band was out here for the WOMAD Festival and gave kids some tips on how to make
music with whatever they can lay their hands on.
DRUMMING
Great stuff .. I've been working on this piece as well.
maybe next week . Catch ya later.
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