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BtN: Episode 14 Transcript 29/5/12

On this week's Behind the News

• They protect us from disease, so why are some people saying no to getting vaccinated?

• We join the fight against the Fruit Fly to see what’s being done to tackle this pest.

• And we meet a kid who’s trying to turn his bright idea into a big business.

Hi I'm Nathan Bazley, welcome to Behind the News. Also on the show today we introduce you to a sport that you probably haven’t played, or maybe haven’t even heard on. That’s later, but first.

Parliamentary Privilege

Reporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: A politician who's under investigation recently gave a speech in parliament where he accused people of deliberately trying to frame him. It's a big allegation, which they've denied. So why can't they sue him for what he said? It all comes down to something called 'parliamentary privilege'. Let's see what it is.

SARAH: I'm sorry teacher, I can't hand in my homework, because Harry stole it.

HARRY: No I didn't! Teacher, she should get in trouble for saying that!

TEACHER: I'm sorry, I can't get mad at Sarah, because she's in the invincibility chair.

HARRY: Oh.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: Invincibility in the classroom would clearly be pretty handy. But unfortunately, invincible students don't really exist. There are some people out there in our community that really do have a type of invincibility though.

This place may not look like all that much, other than a decorator's nightmare, but parliament house has a special power you can't see. Any politician that walks in here is granted a type of invincibility. It's called Parliamentary Privilege!

Okay so here's how it works. As long as I'm a politician and I'm talking in here, I can say pretty much whatever I want and not get in trouble for it. So right now I could claim that Justin Bieber once tried to pay One Direction to let him in the band, and Justin couldn't sue me for saying it even though it's pretty nasty. (and untrue!)

It all sounds a bit unfair though, doesn't it! I mean, why should pollies be able to say what they like about anyone they want? Well there is an important reason why these special powers were provided.

Politicians do have a tough job to do. Part of it is debating controversial topics and to do that properly, they have to be able to put their honest opinion forward, even if it could cause trouble. Parliamentary privilege has been used in the past to expose things like corruption. It's the same power that courts give people so witnesses feel they can tell the truth safely. So it's a pretty useful tool!

Politicians have used this special power heaps in the past. And the people on the receiving end of these comments could do little about it in return, whether they were guilty or innocent of what was said. But the latest example of its use was a little different.

You might have seen this man on the news a fair bit recently - Craig Thomson. He's a politician who's been accused of doing the wrong thing. So to try to clear his name, he gave a speech in parliament in which he accused these people of framing him and of doing some other bad things as well.

Normally, comments like that would get you in a lot of trouble if you didn't have facts to back it up. But because of where he said it, Craig is invincible!

MARCO BOLANO, HSU EAST: Any suggestion that I conspired to set up Mr Thomson as he has claimed from the shelter of Parliament, specifically the protection of his parliamentary privilege, is utterly false and an abuse of his parliamentary privilege.

Meanwhile back at school, the invincibility chair doesn't quite have the same legal power as Parliamentary Privilege does.

TEACHER: Wait a second, now what were you saying about that homework Sarah?

Presenter: Let's see what else is making the news. Here's Sophia with the Wire.

The Wire

A lot of investors have unliked Facebook after the company's disastrous entry to the stock exchange. Last week was the first time ordinary people could buy shares in Facebook and it had a lot of people excited, maybe too excited. Experts say the shares were sold for way too much. And while the price went up for a little while, it soon came crashing back down, which meant a lot of people lost a lot of money.

*****

Australian Schapelle Corby could be out of jail by the end of this year. The 35-year-old was arrested back in 2005 for trying to smuggle drugs into Bali. She said she was innocent and that someone else had planted the drugs in her body board bag. But an Indonesian court sentenced her to 20 years in a Balinese jail. Now the Indonesian President has reduced that sentence by 5 years and Corby can apply for parole this year.

*****

In Azerbaijan they're sweeping up the sequins after the country hosted this year's Eurovision Song Contest. Swedish singer Loreen was the big winner on the night while second prize went to some grooving grannies from Russia, the Buranovskiye Babushki. Ireland’s entry looked impressive, with some futuristic costumes and an onstage shower but Jedward failed to get a place. And neither did England's entry old-school crooner Engelbert Humperdinck.

Vaccinations

Reporter: Sarah Larsen

INTRO: Vaccines have helped wipe out some diseases and save millions of lives, but still some people refuse to get them. An outbreak of whooping cough in Tasmania has some doctors worried that the message to vaccinate isn't getting through. Here's Sarah.

SARHA LARSEN, REPORTER: It's that little jab most of us have felt before, as babies, or older, braver kids. People of all ages get vaccinations, even BtN reporters.

I've come to the clinic for a booster jab to protect me against a disease called whooping cough. It can make anyone sick but for little babies it can be fatal. So to make sure I can't pass it on I'm getting vaccinated.

That needle has a little bit of the whooping cough bacteria in it but it's been deactivated so it can't make me sick. What it will do is teach my body how to fight it so if the real thing comes along, I'll be ready. Vaccinations aren't just about protecting you from a disease, they're about protecting the people around us.

Some germs need people to live and breed in. And vaccinations make that difficult. So if enough people are protected it can stop the disease from spreading. Some diseases have been all but wiped out by vaccinations. When your grandparents were little Polio was a disease which affected tens of thousands of kids. Now it's almost unheard of in Australia. And medical experts say it's because so many people got vaccinated. But getting vaccinated is voluntary. It's up to parents and adults whether they get a jab and some decide against it.

If you look on the internet it's not hard to find people who don't agree with vaccination. Some say it cause serious side effects and that babies have died or been left with disabilities after being vaccinated. Nearly all doctors and scientists say that's not true and they're worried too many people are listening to the wrong advice.

WOMAN: And I really think that the vaccinations actually don't help with letting the body naturally build its own immune system.

WOMAN: I just feel that I don't really want to put anything unnatural in him, because I just don't feel it's natural, yeah.

TEENAGE GIRL: No, I haven't been vaccinated.

DR MARYANNE DEMASI: What's the reason for that?

TEENAGE GIRL: Um, well my parents did not believe in it

Here on the North Coast of New South Wales many parents are choosing not to vaccinate their kids and some are worried it's led to an increase in diseases like whooping cough. They say people are worried about side effects from vaccinations, even though they're usually very minor.

PROFESSOR ROBERT BOOY, IMMUNISATION SPECIALIST: It's common to get a bit of redness or swelling at the injection site. Bit of pain that lasts a couple of days, a fever, maybe for a day.

DOCTOR: Okay, all good.

MOTHER: Good girl.

PROFESSOR ROBERT BOOY, IMMUNISATION SPECIALIST: But they're minor and they go away quickly. Rare side effects are something in the order of one hundreds of thousands. An allergic reaction, for example.

Professor Booy says one of the problems is vaccinations have been too successful. People have forgotten how devastating diseases like polio were, so they're not getting vaccinated. But the majority of Aussies do get vaccinated both as babies and as older kids. With just a little jab, they're helping to keep themselves and others healthy.

Presenter: OK, let’s make that our poll this week.

Online Poll

The question is:

Should some vaccinations be made compulsory?

To vote, just head to our website.

And in last week’s show, we asked you if kids should be made to wear protective head gear in contact sports. 68 per cent said yes, 32 per cent said no. Thanks for voting.

Fruit Fly

Reporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: There’s nothing worse than going to take a bite of a big juicy piece of fruit, and realising it has bugs in it. But while that might be pretty gross for you, for the industry it can be a big problem. There is a pest out there that can cost growers millions. So let’s take a look at it and find out how you can help stop it.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: Flies are usually little more than an irritation.

Okay a pretty big irritation.

But there is one type of fly out there that is way more than an irritation.

Because it doesn't just annoy it causes millions of dollars in damage.

This pest is so dangerous, roadblocks are set up on state borders to search for it 24 hours a day.

CHECKPOINT OFFICIAL: Do you have any fruit, vegetables or plant material to declare?

DRIVER: Yes, can we eat them before?

CHECKPOINT OFFICIAL: No, not now that you're here. We'll have to confiscate them.

DRIVER: Alright.

They only catch around two cars a year carrying fruit infected with this pest, but that tiny risk is enough to justify this whole roadblock.

CHECKPOINT OFFICIAL: Every time you cross a state border you will have quarantine. You will either have permanent roadblocks or you'll have signs and things, so be very careful.

DRIVER: Oh, okay. Okay.

So what is this dangerous pest that could cause so much damage if left unchecked?

NATHAN: It's this little guy, the fruit fly. They don't look that scary, but they can cause huge problems for growers of fruit and some vegies because that's what they feed on and also where they breed.

There are thousands of different types of fruit fly around the world. And here in Australia, we have more than 80 species. But there are only two which are considered the most dangerous, the Mediterranean fruit fly and the Queensland fruit fly.

Peter is a fruit fly expert, so he knows a lot of about the little pests.

PETER CRISP, FRUIT FLY EXPERT, SARDI: They're just small little flies. They usually have patterned wings. If it's Mediterranean fruit fly, the wings will have a sort of black and yellow pattern. Queensland fruit fly have quite distinctive yellow bands on them, so they're actually quite pretty little things, we just don't want them!

Out here is the last place you'd want to find one of those little pests. But luckily, this fruit growing area is a PFA, or an official Pest Free Area. Well it's meant to be. Lately, they've been having heaps of outbreaks!

That could put their official title at risk. And every time there's an outbreak, all fruit that is exported overseas has to be sterilised by putting it in really cold rooms, then it has to be hand checked. And that costs the growers a lot of money.

So they, along with the government, are doing anything they can to fight back.

OFFICER: Good morning. How are you? I'm from the Department of Primary Industries and we have a major Queensland fruit fly outbreak in the area.

WOMAN: Yes.

One of the big places fruit flies breed is fruit trees in people's backyards. So inspections are done to make sure people aren't accidentally creating a breeding zone! Growers are doing their bit too, by spraying their crops weekly, to hopefully stop an outbreak before it begins.

But the flies don't usually get here on their own. People bring them in, in their fruit and veggies, ignoring signs like this on the side of the road. If caught, they can be fined. But that money is nothing, compared to the damage fruit flies can potentially do to the fruit and veg industries.

Presenter: Let’s have a quiz about flies now.

Quiz 1

The question is:

What amazing thing can houseflies do with their feet?

Hear

Taste

Drink

The answer is, taste.

That’s right, a housefly has tastebuds on its feet.

App Kid

Reporter: James Bartold

INTRO: If you've got a smartphone or a similar device you probably know all about apps. They've become such a hit that some app designers are making a lot of money from their creations. And as James found out, that's got people of all ages giving it a go!

HOST: Hello and welcome to how to get rich, the show where we teach you how to make the big bucks. For this week's get rich scheme all you need's a smart device and a smart idea for a new app. And then just sit back and watch the money roll in!

REPORTER, JAMES BARTOLD: Ok so it's not quite that easy, but the app market is quickly becoming a modern day gold rush. Applications, or apps, are tiny computer programs that let you do all kinds of things on a mobile device, from playing games to ordering a pizza.

Billions of apps have been downloaded over the last few years and that's meant some app designers are getting rich. The photo sharing app Instagram just sold for a billion dollars and the most popular game in the app world Angry Birds, which was created by three uni students, is now worth more than eight billion dollars.

You might've heard of the game bubble ball which is one of Angry Birds top rivals, but did you know that the man behind it isn't even a man, he's a boy. Robert Nay was just 14 years old when he created bubble ball.

STEPHEN FENECH, TECHGUIDE EDITOR: Any teenager with an idea can literally create an app that can be distributed around the world.

And that's exactly what Zeryab Cheema is trying to do. He's 15 and is already the CEO of his own business.

ZERYAB: This is gonna be the first ever international application gonna cause a lot of stir in industry worldwide.

His app is a simple idea. It's a new booking system for taxis.

ZERYAB: So you basically just hit passenger and then fill in your basic details and then you're led to a map where you can just basically choose any cabs. Hit a green button and you're talking directly with a driver.

And that ability to talk to drivers is what makes his taxi app different from others

ZERYAB: You're saving time and money and you're also using one of the best voice applications in the world.

Even if they're CEOs, 15 year olds still have to go to school, so Zeyrab's had to fit in the planning and designing of his app around his school work. But now he's getting some help. His taxi app has got the backing of some US software engineers, who've agreed to help develop it further.

Zeyrab's taxi app is still a work in progress so only time will tell if turns out to be a worldwide success. The reality is that for every successful app there are millions that never make it big.

STEPHEN FENECH: Your chances of becoming a billionaire are very slim, but at least it's an opportunity to get your idea out there, to show, to see if the world does embrace your idea.

So in an industry where ideas are more important than your age, it seems anyone can have a go. So maybe you could start thinking about that billion dollar idea of your own.

Presenter: Ok, on the subject of mobile phones, let’s have a quiz.

Quiz 2

The question is:

What does SMS stand for?

Short Message Service

Standard Messaging System

Simple Message Speak

The answer is, Short Message Service.

It’s estimated that around seven trillion text messages were sent in the world last year.

Ok let’s dial in for the sports news now, here’s Sophia with the score.

The Score

Aussie Mark Webber has won the Monaco Grand Prix. Webber started from pole and led the whole race. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg finished second with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso third. Webber's now the first Aussie to record two wins on the famous street circuit. His victory also means six different drivers have won the opening six races of the Formula one season.

*****

To Rugby League and Queensland has won the first State of Origin match. The game was left in controversy though after Queensland was awarded a late try. New South Wales were furious with the umpire’s decision.

PAUL GALLEN, NSW CAPTAIN: It's a game of State of Origin and things boil over the referee made the decision it's for other people to judge whether it was the right or wrong one but it definitely hurt us.

The Maroons went on to win the match 18 to 10.

Korfball

Reporter: Natasha Thiele

INTRO: We're going to introduce you to a sport that you might not have played before. In fact, lots of you might not even have heard of it. It's called Korfball. And with the World championships around the corner, we sent Tash to catch up with one of the bright young stars of the game.

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: It's not basketball and it's not netball. So, what is it? It's a sport called Korfball!

CHRIS, KORFBALL PLAYER: Never heard of it before, so my friend thought it would be really interesting to get my out and just give it a go.

JESS, KORFBALL PLAYER: It's something a bit different, obviously the mixed genders as well; it's a lot more fun.

DANIEL, KORFBALL PLAYER: I love the social atmosphere and the community, we all get along really well, everyone knows each other. It's not like a big commercial sport.

This funny-sounding sport gets its name from the Netherlands, as korf means basket in Dutch. And in the early days they actually used wicker baskets to shoot into. It was invented in the early 1900s by this guy, a teacher who wanted a sport that included girls and boys equally. And it's still the only sport in the world where you have to have guys and girls on both sides.

Although it's not in the Olympics, it was showcased at the Summer Games in 1920 and 1928. Over the years, more than 50 countries have taken to Korfball and it has a pretty big following in places like the Netherlands and Belgium. It started in Australia in the 1970s and is only played in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. And every four years, a national squad gets together for the Korfball World Championships.

Ashlee's part of the Under-23 national team and got into the sport three years ago.

ASHLEE, KORFBALL PLAYER: My mum's team needed a fill in and I decided I'd play and just never stopped playing. It's fun and it's fast and there's heap of opportunities to travel.

She trains three times a week, along with studying Year 12 and she's hoping to be picked to compete at this year's World Championships.

ASHLEE: It'll be so exciting to play in front of a crowd and play against some of the best people in the world, it would be amazing.

TASH: So Ashlee, what are the basics of playing Korfball?

ASHLEE: Well, there's eight people on each team, four girls and four boys. Only boys can defend boys and girls can defend girls. Anyone can shoot, as long as you're not being defended.

TASH: So that's pretty much it?

ASHLEE: Yep.

TASH: Okay, shall we give it a go?

ASHLEE: Yep, sure.

TASH: Awesome!

Okay, so you get the idea. Ashlee will find out in the next few weeks if she'll represent Australia at the World Championships in Barcelona and if she does, she'll be a step closer to reaching her goal!

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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