Questions for discussion

Jumps ban1. How did steeplechase races begin?2. Why are jumps races under threat?3. Which states still hold jumps races?4. Why is Llewellyn against the races?5. What do jumps races supporters say?6. Describe the hurdles the horses jump.7. Last year a review into jumps racing was held. What were the

recommendations?8. What happened at the jumps race in Warrnambool this year?9. Do you think jumps racing could be made safer? Explain your

answer.10. What do you think the future of jumps races is?

`Should jumps racing be banned? ’ Vote in the online poll.

Pension boost1. Briefly summarise the BtN story.2. What is a pension?3. What was announced in the budget that affects pensioners?4. What has happened to Australia’s population over 65 years old

and over 85 years old?5. Why does Australia have an aging population?6. What impact does an aging population have on society?7. The Government has lifted the age which people can receive a

pension. Do you think it is fair? Explain your answer.8. What are self-funded retirees?9. Can people receive a pension and be self-funded? Explain your

answer.10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the BtN

story?

Interview at least four people who receive a pension to find out what they think about the increases to the pension. What other support or benefits would they like the Government to provide to pensioners? Share your findings with the rest of the class.

Royal Commission1. What is a Royal Commission?2. Why is one being held into the Victorian bushfires?3. What questions are the Commission investigating?

© ABC 2009

EPISODE 12

19TH MAY 2009

4. Who is leading the Royal Commission?5. Why do you think a retired judge was chosen?6. Do you think a Royal Commission is important to people

affected by the bushfires? Explain your answer.7. Do you think it’s important for the public to be able to access

this information? Explain your answer.8. What other events have been investigated by Royal

Commissions in the past?9. Who decides what a Royal Commission investigates?10. Predict what some of the recommendations might be.

Send a message or tell us what you think on the BtN Guestbook.

Data storage1. What was the main point of the story?2. Give an example of stored data that you access on the

internet.3. Use words or pictures to describe what a data centre is.4. Data centres are like______________of the 21st century.5. Each rack in a data centre holds between 20-24 terabytes of

data. How many home computers is that equal to?6. Why is security important in terms of digital information?7. What is s a firewall and how does it work?8. Why do data centres need their own power generators?9. What sort of digital information do you access on the internet?10. What do you now know about storing digital information that

you didn’t know before watching the BtN story?

Test your knowledge in the online quiz.

Turtles1. How long does it take for turtle eggs to hatch?2. Out of 1000 hatchlings, how many turtles make it to

adulthood?3. Why is it a dangerous journey for the hatchlings?4. How is climate change thought to be affecting turtle

populations?5. What has Dr Col’s research found about sand temperature and

why is it a problem?6. What solution is he experimenting with?7. What is Dr David Booth researching on Heron Island?8. What were the findings of the research?9. What other factors are impacting on turtle hatchling survival? 10. Think of two or three questions to ask Dr Col or Dr David

Booth.

© ABC 2009

Create a poster or brochure that explains what factors are threatening some turtle species’ survival. Include the steps that are being taken by individuals or organisations to address the problems.

© ABC 2009

Royal CommissionA Royal Commission has just begun into the Victorian bushfires. So what is a Royal Commission and what will it be investigating?

Focus Questions

11. What is a Royal Commission?12. Why is one being held into the Victorian bushfires?13. What questions are the Commission investigating?14. Who is leading the Royal Commission?15. Why do you think a retired judge was chosen?16. Do you think a Royal Commission is important to people

affected by the bushfires? Explain your answer.17. Do you think it’s important for the public to be able to access

this information? Explain your answer.18. What other events have been investigated by Royal

Commissions in the past?19. Who decides what a Royal Commission investigates?20. Predict what some of the recommendations might be.

Kids CommissionStudents will be holding their version of a Royal Commission called a `Kids Commission’ into the Victorian bushfires. Using the key questions raised in the Behind the News story, students will research and discuss each question and arrive at some recommendation based on their information. Classes are encouraged to send their recommendations to Behind the News btn@your.abc.net.au to be published on the website. Begin by clarifying what the purpose of a Royal Commission is. Remind students that an important aspect of the Royal Commission is that the recommendations made try to prevent this sort of disaster happening again. Here is an excerpt from the transcript of the BtN story.

First, there was the weather... it was a sweltering day with strong winds...The grass and trees were dry from a long drought.

Then what started the flames? Faulty power lines, maybe a cigarette butt or maybe an arsonist. Could they have been stopped?

© ABC 2009

EPISODE 12

19TH MAY 2009

Learning AreaSociety and Environment

Key learningStudents will investigate key questions about the Victorian bushfires and come up with some recommendations.

.

Could fire fighters have been given better instructions?

Was there a better way of warning residents that the fire was coming? Should people have been made to evacuate? Should houses have even been built in the area?

The complete transcript can be downloaded from the story page on the website http://abc.net.au/news/btn/ . The list of questions isn’t definitive – students may have other questions or issues they want to investigate.Working in groups of 4-5, each group will investigate a question or issue relating to the fires. Use a large piece of paper to write the question students will be investigating and ask them to record their research on this paper (include the sources of information). Before they begin their research, each group brainstorms responses to their key question/issue. When students have completed their research, they will need to come up with recommendations that relate to their key questions.Collate the recommendations and discuss them.

Reflection

Students need to complete the following reflection with the group they worked with.What worked well with your investigation?What would you do differently next time? Why?

8 Related Research Links

ABC News – Retired judge to head bushfires Royal Commissionhttp://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/13/2491317.htm

No victim lockout at Royal Commission: QChttp://abc.com.au/news/stories/2009/04/20/2547125.htm

2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission – About the Royal Commissionhttp://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/About-Us

2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission – Live webcasthttp://vbrc.net.au/live1/

© ABC 2009

Turtle futureThe future of turtles is under threat. Even though turtles lay lots of eggs, not many make it to adulthood.

Focus Questions

21. How long does it take for turtle eggs to hatch?22. Out of 1000 hatchlings, how many turtles make it to

adulthood?23. Why is it a dangerous journey for the hatchlings?24. How is climate change thought to be affecting turtle

populations?25. What has Dr Col’s research found about sand temperature and

why is it a problem?26. What solution is he experimenting with?27. What is Dr David Booth researching on Heron Island?28. What were the findings of the research?29. What other factors are impacting on turtle hatchling survival? 30. Think of two or three questions to ask Dr Col or Dr David

Booth.

Turtle futurePre-viewing activityAsk students to make some predictions about what the BtN Turtle future story might be about before the watch the story. They can compare their predictions after viewing the story. Discuss the similarities and differences.Watch the BtN Turtle future story again and ask students to record as many key words as they can. Students then clarify their understanding of the key words by writing down what they think the word means. Swap definitions with a partner and ask them to add to or change the definition. Check them using a dictionary or other source.

Key word Definition

© ABC 2009

EPISODE 12

19TH MAY 2009

Learning AreaEnglish, Society and Environment

Key learningStudents will identify key words used in the BtN story and clarify their meaning.

.

Students can use the key words to: Retell the story using all the key words and as many

adjectives as they can Give an oral report of the BtN story Write their own sentences Create a true or false quiz

Further investigations

Create a poster or brochure that explains what factors are threatening some turtle species’ survival. Include the steps that are being taken by individuals or organisations to address the problems.

Develop a board game or multimedia game about turtles.

On a map of Australia, show where turtle species are under threat.

8 Related Research Links

ABC Catalyst – Turtles http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2544848.htm

ABC Rural – Turtles make trackshttp://www.abc.net.au/rural/content/2008/s2470761.htm

Queensland Government – `Cut the glow to help turtles go’ informationhttp://www.epa.qld.gov.au/nature_conservation/wildlife/watching_wildlife/turtles/cut_the_glow_to_help_turtles_go/

Australian Threatened Species Network – Green turtleshttp://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/pubs/tsd06green-turtle.pdf

© ABC 2009

BtN: Episode 12 Transcripts 19/05/09

On this week's Behind the News:

Is jumps racing cruel for horses? What a Royal Commission has to do with stopping

bushfires And saving turtles from extinction.

Hi I'm Nathan Bazley welcome to Behind the News.

Also on the show today – have you ever thought about what happens to all your personal information when you use the internet?

We’ll tell you later, but first to our stop story.

Jumps BanReporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: Horse racing is a sport we all know - jockeys and horses racing round a track, trying to make it first across the line.

But a variation of that sport with a long history in Australia is currently causing heaps of controversy.

It's called steeplechase, or 'jumps', and it's divided people for a very tragic reason.

© ABC 2009

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: It's a sport with a 177 year old tradition in Australia that started well before that as a bet between two Irishmen.

They were arguing about who could race from one church steeple, like this one, to the next; jumping all the obstacles in their path.

That wager eventually evolved into this!

But steeplechase, or 'jumps' as it's also known, might not survive here much longer.

Jumps races are run only in Victoria and South Australia these days, but they can draw huge crowds.

30,000 have turned up to this event in Warrnambool including 16 year old Llewellyn, who was trackside filming for a school assignment.

Her topic - whether this sport is cruel to its athletes, the horses.

LLEWELLYN: I like all animals really, but the thing about horses is just that they're so big, and they're graceful. The idea of them being hurt for pleasure of other people is just disgusting.

Llewellyn, and many animal protection groups, say the sport is too dangerous for both horses and their riders.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: Placed along the length of the track are these hurdles which are half metal and half brush. During the race the horses will hit them at up to 50 k’s an hour. One stumble and the horse can break a leg, or its neck. In either case they'd usually have to be put down.

© ABC 2009

Jumps racing supporters say they work very hard to make the sport as safe as possible, but accidents are inevitable.

STEVEN PATEMAN, JOCKEY: We're all sick in the guts about it. It's terrible, but it's part of the sport.

They insist the horses enjoy racing.

RODNEY RAY, AUSTRALIAN JUMP RACING ASSOCIATION: Horses love to jump.

MICHAEL TRINDER, TRAINER: Horses generally love to jump.

But that's something Llewellyn disagrees with and she says too many horses are being hurt.

Last year 12 horses died while racing.

This year was meant to be different though. A review after last year recommended new, safer hurdles and new education courses for riders.

Warrnambool's feature race was meant to be their test and Llewellyn wanted to see if it made a difference.

But unfortunately, it didn't seem too.

NATHAN BAZLEY: What happened after this is a bit too nasty for us to show you. The horse, called 'Pride of Westbury,' trips on the hurdle and falls heavily on its neck. The jockey is thrown off and breaks his wrist, but unfortunately 'Pride of Westbury' was too badly injured and died on the track.

© ABC 2009

LLEWELLYN: They sort of set up, like, a fence around the horse. It's just heartbreaking; you don't expect to see that, like, a horse died right in front of me.

All up, three horses died during that one meet, forcing racing authorities to suspend all racing in Victoria.

After reviewing the problem they decided to continue jumps racing but with more safeguards.

But critics like Llewellyn say that it's still too dangerous and the only way to protect horses is to ban the sport completely.

Online Poll

It's an emotional debate, so we'd like to know what you think.

Tell us in our online poll.

The question is: 'Should jumps racing be banned?'

If you want to vote go to our website.

Poll Results

Last week we asked you to vote about another ban - the push to stop plastic bags being used in supermarkets, and it looks like most of you think it's a good idea. 70 per cent said yes.

© ABC 2009

Pension BoostReporter: Catherine Ellis

INTRO: And while we're talking about trips to the supermarket, there's one group of people who will have a bit more money to spend there.

In last week's Federal Budget the Government announced it will give an extra 32 dollars a week to pensioners.

Why? Catherine went to meet some to find out.

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: We all know that when you grow up, you get a job to earn money so you pay for stuff.

Of course you can't do that forever, so after years of working and contributing to the country, people retire. How do they survive then?

Well I thought I'd head out to meet some retirees to find out - and join in PE class while I'm there!

CATHERINE: So Sheila what were you before you retired?

SHEILA: I was a company executive travelling all over Australia and Malaysia, and all over the islands in New Zealand.

CATHERINE: And what about you Bill?

BILL: Ah well I was in advertising. I had an advertising business.

© ABC 2009

RALPH: I was an engineer. I went to university and did engineering and I still do a bit of engineering.

IRENE: I worked in an office for years and then I worked in a childcare centre with children.

So how do they pay for stuff now they're not working? Well a couple of ways.

Some get money from the government - it's called the Pension.

And just last week the Government announced that the pension will increase.

CATHERINE: And did you have a bit of a celebration when it was announced you'd be getting an extra 32 dollars a week?

SHEILA: I thought oh goody! Yes!

Now not everyone in the PE class was on the pension, like Ralph who very kindly shared his water with me - so how do people like him cope?

Well some have saved up enough money from when they were working to be able to pay for stuff themselves.

Or they were getting enough money other ways.

For example, they own houses which someone pays them rent for.

Or they're getting money from a business they own - they're all called self-funded retirees.

© ABC 2009

Now some people are a mixture of self-funded retiree and pensioner - meaning they survive on a bit on money they get themselves, but the government gives them extra to help them make ends meet.

CATHERINE: And how important is it to budget then?

SHEILA: I think it's very important to budget. I write down every day every cent that I spend.

But looking after all retirees is becoming a big headache for the government because they're on the increase!

Let's take a look at Australia's population.

In the last ten years the number of people aged 15 to 64 has pretty much stayed the same, but the proportion of the population aged over 65 has increased, the proportion over 85 has more than doubled!

On the other end of the scale the number of people aged under 15 has decreased.

We have what's called an ageing population.

The reason for that is people are living longer these days. Health care and medicines are so much better and people are healthier.

Because of that the government has also decided to lift the age you're allowed to get the pension - from 65 to 67.

But regardless of whether you're a pensioner, self funded retiree or a mixture, life as a retiree is;

FAY: Busy. It is sooo busy.

© ABC 2009

It certainly seems like a heap of fun!

Presenter: Now you know a bit more about how your grandparents might get by.

Quiz

Meanwhile, if you stop working in your 60s - how much longer might you live for? Let's do a quiz.

What is the oldest age a human has reached?

1. 1062. 1123. 122

Answer: 122

The holder of the record was Jeanne Louise Calment and she died in France in 1997!

This photo was taken on her 121st birthday and she still looked pretty good, didn't she?

Here's Sarah with some of the week's other headlines.

The Wire

It’s a very rare sight - Lake Eyre in Central Australia almost full of water!

© ABC 2009

The desert lake is usually a big dry salt pan.

But thanks to February's floods in Northern Queensland, water has made its way inland, transforming the landscape.

Tourists are flocking to the lake and so is the wildlife. It’s thought that up to 60 thousand birds have come here to breed.

**************

The Hubble Telescope has been given an upgrade by astronauts.

The spacewalkers spent 8 hours replacing the telescope's instrument computer and removing an old camera.

That proved a little difficult because of a bolt that wouldn't budge.

"I can feel it slipping. Yep"

The work being done to the telescope should keep it working for another 5 years

***************

And meet the most popular guy in Norway!

23-year-old Alexander Rybak has won the Eurovision Song Contest, which is held every year between European countries.

© ABC 2009

"I'm in love with a fairytale, even though it hurts"

While some acts might seem a bit strange, Eurovision is a big deal, attracting more than 100 million viewers around the world.

The winning country gets to host next year’s competition, so Norway will be looking forward to 2010.

Royal CommissionReporter: Sarah Larsen

INTRO: It's been three months since the Black Saturday bushfires devastated huge parts of Victoria, but for many people the trauma is a long way from over.

They still want to know why so much damage was caused and why so many loved ones died.

In Melbourne there's a special group of people working on answering those questions. It's called a Royal Commission and Sarah has been finding out all about it.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Australia has seen many bushfires before but nothing like what happened on February 7th this year. More than 2000 homes were destroyed and more than 170 people died. Now people are starting to rebuild but summer will come again and so will the risk of fire.

© ABC 2009

Could Black Saturday happen again? And if it did, could we do anything to save more lives and property? It’s a really important question and to answer it you have to go back and look at all the ingredients that added up to Australia's worst ever natural disaster.

First, there was the weather. It was a sweltering day with strong winds. The grass and trees were dry from a long drought. Then, what started the flames? Faulty power lines? Maybe a cigarette butt or maybe an arsonist. Could they have been stopped? Could firefighters have been given better instructions? Was there a better way of warning residents that the fire was coming? Should people have been made to evacuate? Should houses have even been built in the area?

As you can see there are a lot of questions to ask and with so much happening on that day back in February, finding answers is a massive task. But in this building in Melbourne, that's exactly what's happening. This is a Royal Commission. You've probably heard that word before, and no, it's not run by these guys. It’s called Royal because it’s ordered by the Head of State, which is the Queen, or her representatives, the Governor or Governor General, but they do that on the advice of the government. A Royal Commission is a special inquiry set up to investigate just one important issue; kind of a cross between a detective squad and court of law. The person chosen to lead it is called the Commissioner. In this case it's a retired Judge called Justice Teague. The commission gathers evidence, calls witnesses and asks questions. No one can refuse to face it - not even police or politicians and no one can stop one once it’s started.

SARAH: Because Royal Commissions investigate things that are important to the public the public is allowed to see what goes on. The Royal Commission into the Victorian fires is being streamed live on the web so you can log on at any time and watch.

Australia's had Royal Commissions for all sorts of things. There was one when this bridge in Melbourne collapsed in the 70s. Some were held to look at how the police forces

© ABC 2009

were run. And there were Royal Commissions into other big bushfires. After the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983 a Royal Commission found firefighters couldn't communicate properly and that led to a new radio system. Royal Commissions can't actually change rules. They just report on what they discover and recommend ways to do things better. Then it's up to the Authorities. There will be many more witnesses, many more stories, and the commission will run for more than a year. It will cost millions of dollars - but hopefully it will mean we never see another Black Saturday.

PRESENTER: The commission is meant to go ‘til the middle of next year but will deliver some findings in August and we'll let you know what those are.

Data CentreReporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: When you sent an email or a message on the net do you ever wonder where it goes?

Well it's not just floating around, every piece of information on the internet has to be saved somewhere.

And with more and more of us using the internet to save all sorts of data, the space needed to hold all that info safely and securely is huge, and these days, providing that space is big business.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: Here's a riddle for you - what type of business would you access pretty much every day, leaving things and taking things out all the time, but never once step inside?

Not sure? Well I'll give you some clues.

© ABC 2009

On any given day you might check your emails, google some music gigs you'd been thinking about going to, upload some pics to facebook, then download a song or seven to listen to.

Every single one of those steps requires information to be saved somewhere out there for you to be able to grab when you need it.

Businesses are the same. They have to store all their customers’ information and the government saves huge amounts of information on each of us too.

Have you got the answer to the riddle yet? The business that we access every day, but never once step inside, is a place like this - a data centre!

They're like the warehouses of the 21st century, but everything stored here is virtual information.

This one is in Canberra, but there are thousands all over the place.

But unlike warehouses they need some pretty fancy technology to provide the world with the data they need!

First up, they need somewhere to hold all the information.

That's where these big racks come in, each one here holds between 20 and 24 terabytes of data.

How much is that?

Well if the average home computer holds around 200 gigabytes, then each one of these racks is equal to 122 of them!

© ABC 2009

That's a lot of computers!

NATHAN BAZLEY: But that's just one rack. Big data centres can have thousands! In fact, Google in America has at least 12 data centres for their information and many of them are the size of a footy field!

But all this information is very important to the people that own it, so one of the most important parts of a data centre is security.

Think about it this way. If you had a diary full of your deepest, darkest secrets, you wouldn't leave it just lying around for anyone to see.

You would make sure your diary is locked up and safe!

In the same way, data centres hide information behind virtual walls, called firewalls, and behind big walls with security guards as well.

But just in case someone breaks through all that security and tries to read your info, many places use encryption so the info looks like a different language anyway!

All this information also has to be accessed at any time of the day or night so a blackout is not an option!

That's why many data centres have their own huge power generators, to make sure they will always be up and running.

Because whether it’s interesting emails, or embarrassing pics of your mates, digital information has become the most important possession that we'll never even possess.

© ABC 2009

Quiz 2

It's a pretty amazing concept isn't it?

Let's look at memory a bit closer in a net quiz.

How many megabytes in a gigabyte hard drive?

1. 1002. 10003. 10 000

Answer: 1000

Although in a hard drive you don't get to use all the 1 thousand megabytes because the computer has to use some of the memory for its own filing system.

Now here's Sarah with some sport.

The Score

It's been a bad year for the Aussies in the Super 14 rugby comp.

The minor round finished on the weekend and no Australian teams are in the finals.

The Waratahs were depending on Queensland to win so they could get in, but the Reds lost.

© ABC 2009

********

Manchester United has won the English League title with a draw against Arsenal.

The scoreless result was enough to secure the championship with one round remaining.

The win gave the Red Devils their 18th League Title, equalling the record held by Liverpool.

********

And in South Australia a record number of entrants have competed in an annual pedal prix race.

Lots of kids and schools take part

Later in the year there's a 24 hour race.

Quiz 3

24 hours of pedalling - sounds painful.

Speaking of painful, let's do a quiz on some potentially painful animals.

Which is the oldest form of reptile still alive today?

© ABC 2009

1. Snakes2. Crocodiles3. Turtles

Answer: Turtles

Turtle FutureReporter: Catherine Ellis

INTRO: Turtles have been around for more than 200 million years, even while the dinosaurs were here!

But their future is under threat and many species are in danger of extinction. Even though turtles lay lots of eggs, not many survive to be adults.

So what's going wrong? And what's being done to help them? Catherine investigates.

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: This turtle has swum to shore to dig a hole and lay about a-hundred eggs and that's it, her duties as a mum are over!

About two months later the eggs hatch and the babies make their own way to the water.

But only about one in a thousand makes it to being an adult - is that because of natural causes or something humans are doing?

Well for starters some scientists like Dr Col believe climate change is a worry because of what it does to the sand.

© ABC 2009

He's been doing a lot of research at Mon Repos Beach near Bundaberg in Queensland.

And while the sand and its temperature used to be perfect as an incubator for turtle eggs he says it's getting hotter.

Now that's a problem for two reasons.

It means not as many eggs hatch.

And also temperature affects whether the hatchlings are males or females. The colder it is, the more males you get, the warmer it is, the more females you get.

So if it gets too warm, we could end up with all females!

Dr Col is now experimenting with using shade cloth to keep the nests cool.

Now north of where Dr Col is working - on Heron Island - another turtle expert, Dr David Booth has been looking at whether exhaustion is a factor in their survival.

It's a tough marathon swim for the tiny turtles! They have to get past waves and fish predators and travel thousands of k’s out to sea.

His study involved dressing the little guys in a bathing suit, which makes them feel like they're pulling against something - like the waves in the ocean.

It allowed him to measure the turtle's oxygen and energy use.

He worked out they swim really hard for the first two hours, ease off between two to six hours and then cruise.

© ABC 2009

CATHERINE: And after 18 hours of swimming they only use up about 5 kilojoules of energy, which is nothing considering they've got 50 kilojoules of energy stored in their body. They can actually keep going for ten days without needing food - I can't even go without morning tea!

So David's research showed exhaustion is clearly not a problem when it comes to the turtles’ survival.

People building houses and businesses along our coastlines is a problem though because the lights can disorientate the hatchlings.

They think they're heading towards the light on the horizon, but they're really heading inland and never make it to the ocean.

Fishing has been a problem for a long time because the turtles get caught in hooks or trapped in nets and drown.

Also foxes and other animals snack on the turtle eggs and attack hatchlings.

Scientists are working hard to protect the turtles - fox baits are keeping predators at bay and fishers are being encouraged to use nets that stop turtles getting caught.

Climate change and urban development is still a threat, but more work is being done, in the hope little guys like these can grow-up to be adults.

Closer

And those cute little guys bring us to the end of the show!

© ABC 2009

Don't forget you can watch any of those stories again on our new updated website and leave a comment about them as well. We'll leave you with an international kite festival from Queensland. Catch you later.

© ABC 2009