ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)



Questions for discussion

Asbestos Threat

1. The rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN) has recently hit some controversy. Discuss this statement as a class.

2. What TV show was recently criticised for not warning viewers about the dangers of DIY renovations?

3. Asbestos is a...

a. Plant

b. Mineral

c. Gas

4. Asbestos is fireproof but not waterproof. True or false?

5. What type of buildings materials is asbestos used in?

6. Describe how asbestos can get into your lungs.

7. What year was asbestos banned?

8. Is it safe for home renovators to remove asbestos?

9. Which telephone company has been installing the NBN?

10. How did this story make you feel?

Test your knowledge in the Asbestos Threat quiz. Go to the BtN website and follow the links.

Republic

1. Is Australia a republic or a monarchy?

2. What Australian politicians agree that Australia should become a republic?

3. Why do some Australians want to break away from their British Royal connections?

4. How could Australia become a republic?

5. What year was the last referendum held in which Australians were allowed to vote for a republic?

6. How does a referendum work?

7. What would change if Australia became a republic?

8. Why would some people vote against Australia becoming a republic?

9. Who do you think should rule Australia, the Queen or a new Australian President? Explain your answer.

10. What does becoming a republic mean to you?

Should Australia become a republic? Have your say on the BtN online poll. To vote head to the BtN website .

Use BtN’s Republic teacher resource.

Young Scientists

1. Discuss the Young Scientists BtN story with another student.

2. How many high school students enter the International Science and Engineering Fair?

a. 7 thousand

b. 700 hundred

c. 7 million

3. What is the aim of the fair?

4. Who judges the students inventions?

5. What school subjects have helped these students with their inventions?

6. Describe Eesha’s invention the ‘super capacitor’.

7. In what area of science did Henry win an award for?

8. Which invention won the competition?

9. Think of three adjectives to describe science.

10. Illustrate an aspect of the Young Scientists story.

Add your comment on the BtN Young Scientists story page to show your support.

Auction Idol

1. Summarise this story in your own words.

2. How do you feel about public speaking?

3. What skills do you need to be a good auctioneer?

4. What sorts of things can be auctioned?

5. Is it more beneficial to speak slowly or fast when auctioneering?

6. In Latin, what does the word auction mean?

a. I increase

b. I decrease

c. I sell houses

7. In the Auction Idol competition what do the final contestants have to sell?

8. What do you think are some of the challenges facing the young auctioneers?

9. What words do you associate with auctioneering? Make a list.

10. What surprised you about this story?

Add your comment on the BtN Auction Idol story page to show your support.

Bush Food

1. In your own words describe what bush tucker is.

2. What Australian state are the kids from in the BtN Bush Food story?

3. Why is it important to Rod that he teaches the kids in his family about Aboriginal culture, customs and bush foods?

4. Yulagi are also referred to as...

a. Wild mushrooms

b. Wild bananas

c. Wild limes

5. Describe what a witchetty grub tastes like.

6. How is a didgeridoo hollowed out?

7. What do Indigenous people use native plants for?

8. Have you tried bush tucker? If so, what did it taste like?

9. How does learning about bush tucker benefit the younger generations?

10. What did you learn from this story?

Use BtN’s Bush Food resource.

Activity

Republic

Key Learning

Students will discuss and evaluate the issue of whether Australia should become a republic.

The Australian Curriculum

|English / Language / Expressing and developing ideas | |Mathematics /Statistics and probability / Data representation and |

| | |interpretation |

|Incorporate new vocabulary from a range of sources into students’ | | |

|own texts including vocabulary encountered in research (ACELA1498) | |Select and trial methods for data collection, including survey |

|[pic] | |questions and recording sheets(ACMSP095) |

|Understand the use of vocabulary to express greater precision of | |[pic] |

|meaning, and know that words can have different meanings in | |Pose questions and collect categorical or numerical data by |

|different contexts(ACELA1512) | |observation or survey (ACMSP118) |

|[pic] | |[pic] |

|English / Literacy / Interacting with others | |Construct suitable data displays, with and without the use of digital |

| | |technologies, from given or collected data. Include tables, column |

|Use interaction skills such as acknowledging another’s point of | |graphs and picture graphs where one picture can represent |

|view and linking students’ response to the topic, using familiar and | |many data values (ACMSP096) |

|new vocabulary and a range of vocal effects such as tone, pace, pitch | |[pic] |

|and volume to speak clearly and coherently (ACELY1688) | |Construct displays, including column graphs, dot plots and tables, |

|[pic] | |appropriate for data type, with and without the use of digital |

|Participate in and contribute to discussions, clarifying and | |technologies (ACMSP119) |

|interrogating ideas, developing and supporting arguments, sharing and | |[pic] |

|evaluating information, experiences and opinions(ACELY1709) | | |

|[pic] | | |

Discussion Questions

1. Is Australia a republic or a monarchy?

2. What Australian politicians agree that Australia should become a republic?

3. Why do some Australians want to break away from their British Royal connections?

4. How could Australia become a republic?

5. What year was the last referendum held in which Australians were allowed to vote for a republic?

6. How does a referendum work?

7. What would change if Australia became a republic?

8. Why would some people vote against Australia becoming a republic?

9. Who do you think should rule Australia, the Queen or a new Australian President? Explain your answer.

10. What does becoming a republic mean to you?

Activities

|Remember and understand |

• Ask students to find definitions for the following terms and then use these words to construct sentences. Refer to the Parliamentary Glossary for definitions.

• Ask students to conduct research and find answers to the following questions.

|Plus, minus and interesting |

• As a class discuss the concept of Australia becoming a republic. Students will identify and explain the values that a constitutional monarchy represents for Australians.

• Use the plus, minus, interesting chart to evaluate the issue, compare advantages and disadvantages and make decisions. In the plus column enter all the positive elements, in the minus column enter all the negative elements and in the third column enter the elements that cannot be classified. A scoring system can be added to this chart to inform decision-making.

|Classroom opinion polls |

• Students will conduct their own opinion poll on the issue of Australia becoming a republic.

• Working in groups, students will need to decide on who their sample group will be and how many people will be polled. What method they will use to conduct the poll? (Face to face interviews or written responses).

• Ask students to graph the opinion poll results and display in the classroom. Students can reflect on how reliable they think the results were. What would they do differently next time?

• Students may want to film their interviews and then create a movie to present to other students.

Further investigation

How does Behind the News use polls? Go to the BtN website and look at past poll questions and results. Discuss in small groups why you think BtN includes an online poll question on the website?

|What is a referendum? |

A referendum is a vote by the people. Every citizen who is eligible to vote has the right to vote on a given issue. Voters can accept or reject a government proposal put directly to them.

• Students will find out more about what a referendum is before holding one in their own classroom or school.

• Further investigation: Conduct research into the history of referendums that have been held in Australia and then create a timeline of successful and unsuccessful referendums.

[pic]

Students will hold their own classroom referendum. Consider developing a campaign for the classroom referendum. Working in small groups develop speeches, posters and newspaper articles.

Further Investigation

Take a look at BtN’s Flag Debate story and associated teacher resources. Ask students to re-design the Australian Flag. Students will need to consider the 5 basic principles of flag design.



How much do you know about the Royal Family? Do BtN’s Royal Life quiz to find out more?



( Related Research Links

ABC Lateline – Turnbull re-launches campaign for Australian Republic



Civics and Citizenship Education – An Australian Republic?



Civics and Citizenship Education – Australian Identity activity



Discovering Democracy – Should Australia become a republic?



Australian Electoral Commission – Referendums



Behind the News – Flag Debate



Behind the News – Royal Family



Activity

Bush Food

Key Learning

Students will identify and deepen their knowledge of Indigenous bush food.

The Australian Curriculum

|Geography / Geographical Knowledge and Understanding | |Cross-curriculum priorities / Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander |

| | |histories and cultures |

|The types of natural vegetation and the significance of vegetation to | | |

|the environment and to people (ACHGK021) | |Country/Place |

|[pic] | |Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities maintain a special |

|The custodial responsibility Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander | |connection to and responsibility for Country/Place throughout all of |

|Peoples have for Country/Place, and how this influences their past and| |Australia. |

|present views about the use of resources (ACHGK023) | |Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have unique belief |

|[pic] | |systems and are spiritually connected to the land, sea, sky and |

|The natural resources provided by the environment, and different views| |waterways. |

|on how they could be used sustainably (ACHGK024) | |Culture |

|[pic] | |Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ ways of life are |

|Science / Science as a Human Endeavour / Use and influence of science | |uniquely expressed through ways of being, knowing, thinking and doing.|

| | |Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have lived in Australia |

|Science understanding influences the development of practices in areas| |for tens of thousands of years and experiences can be viewed through |

|of human activity such as industry, agriculture and marine and | |historical, social and political lenses. |

|terrestrial resource management (ACSHE121) | |People |

|[pic] | |The broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies encompass |

|Scientific knowledge is used to inform personal and community | |a diversity of nations across Australia. |

|decisions (ACSHE217)  (ACSHE220) | |Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have sophisticated |

|[pic] | |family and kinship structures. |

| | |Cross-curriculum priorities / Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander |

| | |histories and cultures |

Discussion Questions

1. In your own words describe what bush tucker is.

2. What Australian state are the kids from in the BtN Bush Food story?

3. Why is it important to Rod that he teaches the kids in his family about Aboriginal culture, customs and bush foods?

4. Yulagi are also referred to as...

a. Wild mushrooms

b. Wild bananas

c. Wild limes

5. Describe what a witchetty grub tastes like.

6. How is a didgeridoo hollowed out?

7. What do Indigenous people use native plants for?

8. Have you tried bush tucker? If so, what did it taste like?

9. How does learning about bush tucker benefit the younger generations?

10. What did you learn from this story?

Activities

|Remember and Understand |

• After watching the BtN Bush Food story hold a class discussion. Find out what your students know about bush tucker, what they learnt from the story and what questions they have about the topic. Here are some discussion starters:

|Classify |

• Ask students to discuss in small groups what they know about bush tucker and give examples of them. As a class make a list of different types of Indigenous bush tucker. Students will conduct further research one type of bush tucker and then record their findings in the following table.

Further Investigation

Create your own bush tucker garden at your school. Find plants that are native to your school area. Take a look at BtN’s Bush Tucker teacher resource for more information.

( Related Research Links

ABC Open – One foot in each culture



The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trusts – Aboriginal Bush Foods



ABC Splash – Making a garden for students



Behind the News – Bush Tucker



Behind the News – Bush Tucker activity



BtN: Episode 16 Transcript 11/6/13

On this week's Behind the News:

• The republic debate is back in the spotlight so should the Queen remain our head of state?

• Top scientists of the future, kids making their mark with some amazing inventions.

• And we check out auction idol a talent contest to find the auctioneers of the future.

Hi I'm Nathan Bazley, welcome to Behind the News. Also on the show today, we head to the outback with some city kids who are searching for bush tucker and learning about their culture along the way. But first, let’s get a wrap up of some of the main news stories this week. Here's Tash with the Wire.

The Wire

At least 55 asylum seekers have drowned after their ship overturned off the coast of Christmas Island.

The boat was first spotted by a passing aircraft last Wednesday but a huge search failed to find any survivors.

********

American spy agencies have been secretly accessing people's private information stored on websites such as Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Apple and YouTube.

A whistleblower that worked on the program released details of it to a newspaper saying that anyone's data could be viewed including search histories, emails, their social media stuff and more.

Many have been outraged by the revelation but the President has defended it as a valuable tool used to catch terrorists and other criminals.

*****

Australian scientists have released pictures of the device they hope will change the lives of people with a vision impairment.

It's hoped the world's first bionic eye will one day allow 85 percent of legally blind people to see outlines of the things around them.

A microchip is implanted in the skull and a digital camera sends signals to it from a pair of glasses.

Trials start next year.

*****

And 582 Australians have been recognised in this year's Queen's birthday honours list.

Among those recognised were Gabi Hollows who helped set up the Fred Hollows foundation to treat and prevent blindness.

And there was recognition for sporting talent too with Casey Stoner and Cadel Evans picking up honours.

Asbestos

Reporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: We told you a few weeks ago about the National Broadband Network which will see parts of Australia get faster internet. But the program hit some trouble recently when it was revealed that workers on the project uncovered asbestos and may have exposed people living nearby to the harmful dust. So what is asbestos and why is it so dangerous? Let's take a look.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: We tune in to see the drama, twists and dummy spits each week.

And oh yeah there's some renovating too! But in one episode, this bit of renovating managed to cause some drama all on its own. The ceiling being removed here is made of a material that can sometimes contain asbestos.

This one didn't, which is why it's being ripped out with reckless abandon. If it did contain asbestos, removal would look more like this. But even so, some complained that the show was sending a bad message by not warning DIY'ers about the dangers of trying the same thing at home.

That's how seriously people take the issue of asbestos. Here's why. This is asbestos, a mineral mined underground that has some pretty amazing qualities. It's fireproof, waterproof and really strong.

So back in the day, people decided this stuff would be perfect for use in heaps of building materials. It was used to make water pipes, wall coverings, roof insulation, floor coverings, paint and more. Asbestos soon became a massive industry. But many years later something disturbing started to happen. People who'd been exposed to asbestos in the past started getting sick. And soon enough, experts discovered why.

When asbestos is broken apart, dust fibres float in the air. If they're breathed in, they travel down into the lungs where the fibres lodge. Over time they can then cause cancers to start growing there that are very hard to stop. In many cases, the end result is a very painful death. Asbestos was eventually banned in 1989, but that was far too late for many. Some victims spent years fighting for compensation from asbestos companies angry that they knew about the dangers but didn't tell the workers or the public till years later.

These days, the focus is on stopping asbestos hurting anyone else. It's still found in 1 in 3 homes, but as long as it's not disturbed it's completely safe. If it is to be removed, it has to be done by professionals in a very careful way. And experts are constantly warning home renovators to make sure they don't put their lives at risk for a simple home makeover.

That's why people got so worked up about The Block. And that's also why this next situation caused a storm of controversy. For the past few years, the National Broadband Network has been spreading out across the country.

But recently, some homeowners noticed asbestos dust on their properties after installers had come through. It had come from telecommunication pits in the street that were ripped up, to put the NBN cables through.

Telstra, the company responsible, have said their procedures weren't followed and have promised to be more careful in the future. But it's a good reminder that asbestos, whether in the street or on the Block, is a very serious subject.

Republic

Reporter: Sarah Larsen

INTRO: Here's a question: Is the royal family important to you? That's a question that lots of people might have to think about if some politicians get their way. Some people want Australia to become a republic and have its own head of state while others want to keep the Queen. Sarah looks at the debate.

Imagine if you could be the Queen of Australia. You could live in an Australian royal palace. With Australian royal guards. And maybe even an Australian royal kelpie. You'd be the head of the whole country and the head on Aussie coins.

But, of course, Australia already has a queen. She's just not very Australian. She lives in England. In an English palace. With English guards. And English corgis’. So why isn't the head of Australia from Australia? Well that's what these guys want to know.

WAYNE SWAN, TREASURER: How could it be that in a modern democracy any one of our citizens can't aspire to be the head of state?

Wayne Swan and Malcolm Turnbull are from different political parties but they agree one thing. That Australia should become a republic. It's not a new argument. For years republicans have wanted Australia to break away from its British Royal ties. They say the Queen doesn't represent the many Aussies with no British ancestors. And they say it's not fair that a leader can be born into the job. They don't want an Aussie king or queen, they want an Aussie president.

KID: So how could Australia become a republic?

That wouldn't be easy.

REPORTER: If Australia wanted its own head of state we'd have to change the constitution, and this thing is designed to be hard to change.

The only way to do it is to have all Australians vote in a referendum. And that's what happened back in 1999. The referendum was a huge, legally binding poll. If the majority of Australians and the majority of people in at least four states voted yes then Australia would become a republic. There were some passionate arguments from both sides. But in the end the no vote won.

KID: Why did people vote against it?

Some say there are good reasons to keep the Queen and her heir as head of state. They say the Royals have played a big part in Australia's history and we should respect that. Unless they come for a visit they don't cost Australia any money.

And changing our head of state would be pretty expensive. Plus, many say Australia's system of government is working well as it is. The elected government makes the big decisions. And the Queen's Aussie representative, the Governor General, is mainly there to sign off on laws and perform ceremonies.

Then there was the question of how an Aussie president should be chosen, should she be elected by the people? Or picked by Parliament?

Some reckon the 1999 referendum failed because Australians couldn't agree on exactly how a republic would work. Since then republican debate has been pretty quiet. We've had royal visits, a royal wedding and a diamond jubilee that many Aussies celebrated.

But as the Queen gets older and her reign draws to and end, some reckon you guys should get a chance to have a say on who rules the country.

KIDS: I don't personally think that Australia should become a republic.

KIDS: We'll have to spend a lot of money on changing the flag and it could get confusing. Yeah, you might have to change coins.

KIDS: I think that if we were to become a republic then we should do that after the Queen’s reign so we can change the coins and we can just start over.

KIDS: I think we should become a republic so people can have a chance to rule who aren't royal blood.

KIDS: I think Australia should become a republic because it would be a nice change for Australia.

Online Poll

OK that's our poll question this week.

We're asking:

Should Australia become a republic?

To vote, just head to our website.

Last week we asked if the Government should give money to help car manufacturers.

82% said yes they should help

18% said no they shouldn't

Thanks for voting.

Young Scientists

Reporter: Natasha Thiele

INTRO: Have you ever had a great idea for an invention but weren't sure how to get it out there? Well in the United States there are science fairs that give kids from around the world the opportunity to share their amazing ideas with science experts. Tash checks out some of these brilliant, young scientists and finds out more about the very cool things they're inventing.

Seven million high-school students from 70 countries and it all comes down to this. It's the World Cup of inventing stuff. This is the International Science and Engineering Fair!

STUDENT 1: I'm a finalist, what!

STUDENT 2: Honestly I didn't even believe it was true until I got on the plane.

STUDENT 3: And then I think I ran to the bathroom, closed the door and jumped up and down for a good thirty seconds.

The aim of the fair is to showcase the world's best kid-produced inventions. Each one needs to address a global issue and has to be original. And they're judged by some of the world's top scientists.

The competition gives them a chance to talk about their amazing ideas with experts and people their age.

STUDENT 4: It's really amazing to talk to these people and be like wow, you're my age and you're trying to cure everything that I've heard of.

STUDENT 5: They're willing to share everything they know with everyone else.

STUDENT 6: There's other kids here who actually understand my research.

STUDENT 7: That's what I'm really looking forward to, meeting people who are just as excited about maths and science and learning a little bit about their work.

Eesha scored one of the big awards for her invention called the 'super-capacitor'. She wanted to find a solution to mobile phone batteries always going flat. So, she came up with this little gadget that can charge a phone battery within 30 seconds.

EESHA KHARE, INVENTOR: What it basically does is store a lot more energy is a smaller amount of volume and so these are actually nano-materials that I've grown onto this basic cloth material. You can't see the nano-materials. They're very, very small. But what's cool about this super capacitor is that it's solid and can easily bend. It's very flexible.

There were also projects about astronomy like this one by Henry, which also scored an award.

HENRY LIN, INVENTOR: I ran simulations of clusters of galaxies which are among the most massive objects in the universe and I did all of this to better understand this new type of telescope which is looking at galaxy clusters that are very, very old. And by doing this, we can learn a lot about things like dark matter, dark energy which male up 96 percent of the universe.

But it was this invention that took out the event. Ionut from Romania created a self-driving car using artificial intelligence. It can detect traffic lanes and curbs and it only failed three times during 50 tests. And unlike other self-driving car systems, this one would only cost 4-thousand dollars. He hopes it will be used in cars in the future to prevent accidents.

IONUT BUDISTEANU, INVENTOR: Self-driving cars in the future will be very safe and will save a lot of environment and people, a lot of people, lives of people, millions of people just in one year.

These students have certainly proven, you're never too young to invent something cool.

STUDENT 8: Basically we make our own futures. If you wanna prove your future, you have to take it upon yourself to kind of go out there and learn about new things that interest you.

STUDENT 9: With your own imagination and your own initiative, you can really make anything you want.

And at the same time these talented kids might just make a difference to our everyday lives!

Auction Idol

Reporter: Matthew Holbrook

INTRO: Alright, we're going to have a story about a talent contest. But the people in it aren't singing or dancing or even cooking. This competition is called Auction Idol and it's about trying to find the best young auctioneers around. Matt went along and found out that it's a lot harder than you might think.

MATT HOLBROOK, REPORTER: The judges are watching. The stage is set. And the performers are waiting for their moment in the spotlight. This is Auction Idol.

This isn't your average talent contest, but auctioneering is about performing, connecting with your audience and having that x-factor.

Auction comes from a Latin word meaning "I increase" and that's the idea; getting buyers to increase the price they're willing to pay for something, whether it's a horse, a piece of art or a house. And despite what you might see in the cartoons the idea isn't just to talk as fast as possible.

IVAN: Before I thought they were just speaking really fast so no-one understands but actually what you should do is speak slowly so everyone understands.

BEVAN: Auctioneering is mainly public speaking skills.

MITCH: Really it's just confidence, that's the main thing. It builds your confidence helps you think on your feet a bit quicker.

At the Auction Idol final contestants have to sell an imaginary house.

MITCH: Friends, family, neighbours and, of course, potential buyers welcome to auction day at 12 Willer Avenue.

JO: We have a speech that we talk about the home you know its feature it's pros you stay away from its cons.

They have to know the laws about selling houses... and answer questions from potential buyers. Then there are the bids.

JO: That's the hardest part. You're speaking to the audience trying to get them to have another bid and you've got all these numbers floating around in your head.

These auctioneering skills didn't come overnight.

For months these guys have been learning the tricks of the trade from professional auctioneers like AJ. He says the Auction Idol competition is about building confidence and public speaking skills. It's also a chance to try out a job that many kids don't know much about.

MITCH: I didn't know what I was in for but now I've started it I've really loved it really changed my perception on auctioneering profession.

But as I soon found out, auctioneering is harder than it seems.

REPORTER: I think 300,000 would be an excellent bid. What do you reckon? Probably a better increment would be nice, like 320? 320, more would be nice. We're at 360? Probably? Good 360? First call? 380,000 I like that we've got 380, we're looking for more. So, more?

Third and final call. Sold, to you sir for a very good price which I can't remember.

While I might not give up my day job, these guys say with practice and confidence anyone can auction. And some of them are now thinking of it as a career.

JO: It'd have to be the fun I'm having doing this I'd have to consider it in the future, unusually in a job you wanna have fun you wanna enjoy it, I'd consider it definitely.

MITCH: Before the competition I never considered it but now it's something I do have to consider.

MITCHELL: Definitely now I've seen how much fun this is definitely.

Whether or not they're closing on a career these guys are certainly sold on this fun competition.

Quiz 1

Let's have a quiz

The question is: What's the name of the hammer an auctioneer uses?

Gavel

Pummel

Sceptre

Answer: Gavel

A Gavel is also used by judges in court.

OK, let's catch up with the sports news now with this week's Score

The Score

Rafael Nadal has won the French Open making him the first man to win eight singles titles at the same grand slam tournament.

He did it comfortably over David Ferrer, in three sets.

*****

The controversy still hasn't died down from last week's State of Origin, game one.

While the Blues won the game the main talking point was Captain Paul Gallen's two punches to the head of Maroon's player Nate Miles which we're not going to show.

Many have branded it a low act and a terrible example to the kids watching the game but Gallen's defended himself saying Miles had done dodgy things to him in previous games.

*****

And finally learning to ride a bike is a sporting rite of passage for most kids. But for these kids with disabilities it just wasn't possible.

But now volunteers have helped build them custom bikes that let them get on two wheels despite their disabilities.

Each one is made to measure but what can't be measured is how much fun they are.

Quiz 2

We're going to have a story about bush tucker next but first let's have a quiz.

The question is: Which Aussie bush tucker is also known as the desert peach?

Quandong

Bunya nut

Muntries

Answer: Quandong

Bush Tucker

Reporter: Natasha Thiele

INTRO: For a lot of city kids the chance to go bush and learn about traditional food and medicine would be pretty special. But for the kids we're about to meet it was much more than that. The trip gave them the chance to learn about their Aboriginal heritage and hopefully pass on their knowledge to future generations. Here's Tash.

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: It's not every day you get the chance to experience how your grandparents lived. But these guys are about to do just that. They're off to Lake Moondarra in Queensland to learn about their Aboriginal culture. Taking them on the journey is Rod. He wants to pass on as much knowledge as possible to the kids in his family.

ROD: The world's so modern today that you know the culture is starting to be forgotten you know, Aboriginal culture, the customs, even about the bush foods you know so it's every important you pass it on to your children.

Part of the experience is finding bush food.

ROD: Get that nut up there. Get to that fork bit. Step up on me on my shoulder. Use me as a ladder. Alright, get me some of those nuts.

KID 1: It does taste like lime cordial, quite chewy.

ROD: Mainstream people called them wild bananas, but we call them yulagi. There's a heart in there and these are the seeds of the yulagi. Let them fly around there and we'll get more vines and more yulagi next year.

KID 2: What do you think it tastes like?

KID 3: Wild.

Witchetty grubs were a staple food for Aboriginal people. And today these guys were taught where to find them and how to get them out.

ROD: Let me unhook him, there you go. Look at his face!

ROD: Chew it up! Taste it properly. It's nutty, it's chewy (KID 1: Eat the head!) buttery.

KID 4: James, how was it? (KID 1: Nice.) What did it taste like? (KID 1: It tastes like egg but runny.)

Trees and native plants were also useful in making instruments and bush medicine.

ROD: This is a carved flute of a didgeridoo, made out of local wood from this area. They're hollowed out by termites as you can see.

ROD: This is medicine grass. This is good for when you've got sores, cuts. You boil it or you soak it in water 'til the actual oils come out of it. Bush medicine, it's a healing medicine.

KID 1: It smells like eucalyptus.

ROD: And this is another healing plant, this one here. Australian Native Sandalwood. It's good for arthritis, yeah people bath in it.

It's hoped that the knowledge and experience these city kids have learned today will be passed down to future generations.

KID 4: I wanna learn more about our culture. I'm gonna pass it down to my brother's kids and my kids and I'm gonna use it to help the community.

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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Episode 16

11th June 2013

Episode 16

11th June 2013

Monarchy

Republic

Referendum

Constitution

Head of State

Queen

President

Governor General

A bill

• Is Australia a republic or a monarchy?

• Who is the Head of State? What is their role?

• Who is the Governor General? What is their role?

• Who is the Prime Minister? What is their role?

P

M

I

1.

[pic]

1. A poll is a count of people, votes or opinions. The poll recorded the number of people for and against the proposal.

2. To poll is to ask and record the opinion of the people. The prime minister agreed that the poll reflected a deep level of community concern.

3. To poll is to receive a number of votes. The new party polled well during the election.

4. To go to the poll is to hold an election. The minority parties went to the poll hoping to win four more seats.

Research questions

• What is another word for referendum?

• How does a referendum work?

• When was the last referendum held on becoming a republic?

• Why are referendums important?

• Is it compulsory to vote in a referendum? Explain why?

Classroom referendum

1. Consider your classroom as a country. Give your country a name and describe how it is governed. This is your classroom’s Constitution.

2. Review your classroom Constitution; does it include equal rights for everyone in your class? How can you improve it? Remember any changes have to be put to a classroom vote!

3. As a class choose an issue that is important to you, and can be voted on in a classroom referendum.

4. Put together a proposal for your referendum.

5. Hold a direct vote asking to either accept or reject the proposal. Create a voting card and polling booth to lodge your votes.

6. Count the votes

Episode 16

11th June 2013

Discussion questions

• Have you heard of the term bush tucker?

• Have you tried bush tucker?

• Can you name some of the bush tucker that the children eat in the BtN Bush Food story?

• How does learning about bush tucker benefit the younger generations?

• What does Rod hope the children will learn from eating bush tucker?

• What is the name of the traditional custodians of the land featured in the story?

Research project: Indigenous bush tucker

Scientific and common name

Appearance/anatomy

Shape, size, colour

Use

How is it used?

Taste

What is the flavour like? How is it eaten?

Photograph of bush tucker or labelled diagram

Insert photo here

Insert diagram here

2.

Where is it found?

Name the traditional custodians of this land

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