Hello, I'm Nathan and This Is Btn

BtN: Episode 31 Transcript8/11/16

Hello, I'm Nathan and this is BtN.

Coming up today:

• One and a half million square kays of Antarctic Ocean has been protected. We find out why.

• Meet the kids researching the role their school played in World War I.

• And trekking 100ks to the North Pole - this girl did it and now she's preparing for her next big challenge.

All that soon but first.

Australiathe US

Reporter: Nic Maher

INTRO:This week. everyone is talking about who will be the next president of the United States. But why do we care so much about what happens all the way over there? Well the US and Australia have long had a close relationship. Take a look.

What things do you look for in a friend?

KID 1:Well, I look for someone who's hygienic.

KID 2: Someone who can make you laugh.

KID 3: I go for friends that dance a lot because I'm a dancer and I can relate to that.

KID 4: I'm not a normal person, I'm scared of normal people. So, like if I'm weird, I look for other people that are weird.

KID 5: I think it's important that a good friend makes time for the other friend.

KID 6: I like to make up crazy dance moves with my friends and they won't judge me if I'm doing something weird or if they don’t like what I’m doing. They'll just say, 'good on you for being a weird person'.

Choosing a friend can be tricky business. But, as a country it can be even harder. It's all about finding someone with similar interests. Someone that's willing to be fair, with a bit of give and take. And someone who can help out when you're in a fix.

Australia's got plenty of friends around the world, but one of its best mates is the United States. That's because the United States is one of Australia's official allies, which means, when one gets into trouble, the other will always step in to back them up.

Australia's alliance with the US officially started all the way back in World War II. Japan had recently launched a big attack on the US, in Pearl Harbour, and were starting to move their troops through parts of South East Asia.

Both Australia and the US were worried about Japan taking over the pacific. So the two nations formed an alliance and the US sent forces to Australia to help defend it. To this day, that alliance is still going strong.

Since then, an American military base has been set up in Australia, both nations' troops regularly train side by side and Australia has joined the US, in some major wars fought around the world.

The alliance isn't just about fighting though. America is also a really important business partner of Australia. They invest a lot of money into the Australian economy and both nation's leaders meet regularly, to discuss issues like trade, the environment and national security.

Some say our nation's close relationship with the US has helped keep Australia safe and allowed us to play a bigger role in world politics. However, just like some real-life friendships, not everyone is convinced our close relationship with the US always a good thing.

Some argue that it means we end up fighting in wars that we shouldn't have. Others worry that being really close to one country, can affect our relationship with other countries that might not always see eye to eye with them.

And others still, say being close with the US is fine, but we should make more effort to become good friends with other countries too. But for now, the friendship between the Australia and the US is still going strong. Meaning we're likely to continue to hear a lot about this huge country and their new president, as both nations work together as friends and allies in the years to come.

Ask a Reporter

Got a question about our relationship with the United States? Ask me live on Friday during Ask a Reporter!Head to our website for all the details.

And you can hear all about the winner of the US election and their plans for the country on BTN next week. Right, time to hear some of the other big headlines from around the world

This Week in News

First to an update on the situation in Mosul. Iraq's special forces have now made their way into Mosul as the battle against Islamic State continues. Mosul was home to two million people before the extremist group captured it in 2014 and now it's the last big area in Iraq controlled by IS. Special forces are about a kilometre into the city and approaching from both sides. But obstacles built by IS and the need to protect innocent people in the area means it's a slow process.

LADY: We are very scared, may God help the to army defeat the IS and drive them out.

¶Last term we told you about a jury of kids helping to decide whether South Australia should store the high-level nuclear waste generated by nuclear power plants. ¶Well the adult version of that jury has just released its recommendations.

¶And two-thirds of the 300 people randomly selected for the jury say they don't want the state to store nuclear waste in the future. ¶Most listed concerns about the environment, tourism and the feelings of local communities as the reason why they don't want a dump. But the Premier of the state says the result won't be the end of the debate.

Researchers and traditional owners have unearthed tools and bones from a site in the Flinders Ranges that prove Aboriginal people settled there 49 thousand years ago!

¶GILES HAMM, ARCHAEOLOGIST: We thought that deposit might only be about 5 or 6 thousand years old but the very fact it dates back to 49 is just an incredible shock.

Researchers say it shows the area was settled ten thousand years earlier than previously thought making it the oldest known evidence of Aboriginal settlement in inland Australia.

They also found the earliest proof of ochre pigment. ¶And bone fragments of an extinct marsupial known as the Diprotodon which helps prove they lived at the same time as people.

¶And finally a new, tiny species of frog has been discovered in swampland north of Newcastle. Mahony's Toadlet is barely bigger than a human fingertip and can be spotted by these small patches of orange which it flashes at predators to warn them off! The species was discovered by accident and so far, has only been found in a few locations.

Antarctic Marine Park

Reporter: Amelia Moseley

INTRO: Recently many countries around the world teamed up to protect one and a half million square kilometres of the Ross Sea, near Antarctica. The area is described as one of the most pristine on earth and protecting it means fishing, mining and other activities will be banned there. Here's the details

Antarctica. It may be the coldest, windiest, driest place on Earth, but for heaps of cool creatures - like mammals, birds, fish, even teeny, tiny organisms - the icy continent and its surrounding waters are home, sweet home! It's such a unique environment that while no country owns it, lots of them have agreed to protect it. In fact, every year scientists and representatives from around the globe get together in Hobart to talk about the best ways to do that. One area these guys have been talking about for a long time is the Ross Sea.

To find it, you have to go 4500 kays south of Tasmania to the Southern Ocean near Antarctica. It's an area about the size of Queensland! The Ross Sea is one of the most pristine environments in the world; mostly untouched by humans. That means it's almost totally free of things like pollution and introduced species. It's home to all sorts of unique animals, including a big percentage of the world's Adelie penguins, emperor penguins and South Pacific Weddell seals. There are also Ross Sea killer whales and it’s a breeding ground for blue whales.

Since 2011, the US and New Zealand have been pushing to protect the Ross Sea from potential threats like fishing, whaling and climate change. At this year's meeting representatives from 24 countries finally agreed to act by creating the world's biggest Marine Park in the Ross Sea! Something environmentalists and this unusually large penguin were very happy about.

MIKE WALKER, ANTARCTIC OCEAN ALLIANCE: Today we've seen history being made. Today is a day that kids will learn about for years to come.

Marine Parks are similar to National Parks on land in that they have rules about what you can do in them, in order to protect the environment and native species. The Ross Sea Marine Protection Park will cover more than 1.5 million square kilometres, and more than 70 per cent will be fully protected. That means there won't be any fishing allowed in those areas. Some fishing for scientific reasons will be allowed in the other parts, and scientists say that'll help them study the effects of climate change in the area.

The protection will last for 35 years. While that might seem like ages, some say it's should've been longer.

CHRIS JOHNSON WORLD WILDLIFE FUND:It's a slight concern, but I think with the amount of negotiation that's been happening over the years, this is a great first step.

At next year's meeting reps will talk about creating two more marine protected areas around Antarctica to make sure this untouched wilderness stays exactly that way.

Quiz

Time for our first quiz.What is the average surface temperature of the Ross Sea?

• 7 degrees

• -2 degrees

• Or -14 degrees

The answer is -2 degrees

Remembrance Day Research

Reporter: Amelia Moseley

INTRO: This Friday is Remembrance Day when Australians pause to remember those who died in war. As part of last year's commemorations, some kids from Colonel Light Gardens Primary School in Adelaide decided to investigate the role their school grounds played in preparing Aussie troops for World War I. Here's what they discovered.

VARIOUS KIDS: The Mitcham army camp was located here during World War One from 1914 to 1918. 100 years ago in 1915, there were no houses here in Colonel Light Gardens. This was all a big World War One training site called the Mitcham Camp.

Men volunteered to join the Australian Imperial Force and they came here from all over South Australia.Four thousand men lived here at once and 30 thousand soldiers trained at the Mitcham Camp in four years. Over 12 weeks they did physical exercise, rifle, bayonet and bomb practice, marching drills and trench work.

For the first year, the Mitcham Camp men slept in tents; eight men to each tent. But the camp was really dusty in summer and super muddy in winter.

Mitcham camp did Light horse training. Light horsemen were soldiers who used their horses to get to the battlefields.

The Mitcham camp soldiers had sports days for recreation. They had all sorts of crazy games like boxing, obstacle courses and tug of war!

Marching was important for army discipline.

The young lady who lived at our house married a soldier from the Mitcham Camp. She walked with him to the station when he left for Egypt.

After 12 weeks, they travelled by ship to train more in Egypt. The men fought in Gallipoli, France and Belgium; some fought in Egypt and Palestine.

As soon as the war ended, Mitcham Camp was dismantled and the streets and homes of Colonel Light Gardens sprang up. Many of the new residents were returned soldiers with their young families. Our school opened in 1926.

Of the 30 thousand men who trained at the Mitcham Camp, six thousand were killed in the war.

SISTER AND BROTHER:Our great uncle Roy Larwood and his cousin William Larwood trained at the Mitcham Camp. Roy was killed in France and William was killed in Belgium.

BOY: This is the grave of my great grandfather Gordon McLachlan. He served at Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine and trained at Mitcham Army Camp.

GIRL 1:They were very brave to go and fight for us and now we have a free country.

GIRL 2:I'm sad and happy that the war is over now and I hope they all rest in peace.

Yarloop School

Reporter: Jack Evans

INTRO: Imagine having to move your entire school to a new location about 18 kays away from your home. That's exactly what the students and teachers of Yarloop Primary School in Western Australia had to go through after a massive fire tore through their town in January. But now nearly a year on, they've not been told if or when they'll be able to return.

RODY: I'm Rody and I'm in year 3 and I'm from Yarloop.

EDEN: My name's Eden and I'm grade 6.

COLLIN: My name's Collin and I love Yarloop school because all the kids there are friendly

For the kids of Yarloop, there's a lot to love about their school. But for the past 10 months it's been closed. Yarloop Primary School was shut after a massive fire tore through the town. It destroyed a third of the town's buildings. But the school survived and authorities began using it as a base to rebuild the town. Because of the damage many families decided to leave Yarloop.

ELIJAH: A lot of my friends moved away and went to different schools.

For those that stayed, a temporary school was set up on the grounds of another school 18ks away. But these guys say it's just not the same as Yarloop.

CRYSTAL: I want to come back to Yarloop because at Harvey we don't have much room and we don’t have very many things to play with and there's no playground and we don’t have internet - year 3s, 4s, 5s and 6s we're all in the same room. So it makes it really hard to learn sometimes, because we have to back track.

These kids were hoping they'd be able to return to their old school next year. But the West Australian Education Minister now says it won't happen. Because there aren't enough kids left in Yarloop to make it worthwhile.

CRYSTAL: I was really, really upset because the education department at the beginning of the year, they came in and they actually promised us that we would be coming back next year and they were saying all these things like we'd be coming back and we'd be able to stay here.

CLAIRE: This school may be small but it has a really big heart and community spirit.

The WA government says it'll consider reopening the school if enough people move back to the town. But for the time being it'll stay shut. Something these guys say they're going to fight, so they can one day return to the school they love.

PARENT: Today we have got to fight for our children.

EDEN: It'd mean a lot to me 'cause I've been there for four years and I want to do my graduation there.

JOEL: I would love it because it's closer and everything and I get to see my friends and play around

LUCIA & SABI: It would mean we'd have our own classrooms back. And our own school. And we'd have all our friends and families. And we think our teachers and school is the best school in the world!

Quiz

Quiz number 2 now.Approximately how many schools are there in Australia?

• 400

• 4400

• 9400

Answer: 9400

Sport

Aussie young gun Kyle Chalmers has been named Australia's Olympic Swimmer of the Year. The 18-year-old picked up the award over the weekend at Swimming Australia's Gala Dinner. Chalmers was also awarded the Golden Moment of the Year ¶for his gold medal in the 100 metre freestyle in Rio.

¶Meanwhile Mack Horton picked up Swimmers' Swimmer of the year, an award voted on by other top swimmers while 18-year-old Maddison Elliott was named Paralympic Swimmer of the Year.

¶One of the longest droughts in sporting history is finally over! For the first time in 98 years the Chicago Cubs have won the World Series - America's top baseball comp. ¶To get the win the Cubs had to launch a huge comeback after falling behind early in the series 3-1.

¶But the team rallied winning the final 3 matches. The city of Chicago went absolutely nuts after the game with a whopping 5 million people taking to the streets to cheer on their heroes.

A Canadian teenager is set to be the second youngest formula 1 driver to hit the track.18-year-old Lance Stroll has just been signed by the Williams team. He's a pretty amazing driver. He won this year's Euro Formula 3 series. But out on the road he can't drive a car yet. Because he doesn't have a licence!

¶And Aussie rookie, Thon Maker has turned heads over his first NBA bucket. In just over a minute of play. He sunk this three and followed it up moments later with another. ¶But this is probably his best performance so far: Thon and the rest of the Milwaukee Bucks taking part in the latest online sensation - the Mannequin Challenge.