BtN: Episode 27 Transcript 21/09/10
On this week's Behind the News:
· The Commonwealth Games are just weeks away, but what's a commonwealth?
· We'll find out why investors think bling is the thing.
· And we'll go trackside to a high stakes competition with a difference.
Hi I'm Sarah Larsen, welcome to Behind the News.
Also on the show today, how early do you get out of bed? We'll catch up with some dedicated swimmers who are up at 4.30am for training!
News Ministers
Reporter: Nathan Bazley
INTRO: Well there's no time for training for our new government.
Just days after being confirmed as Australia's Prime Minister, Julia Gillard named her new team.
And when I say team I don't mean she's planning a footy game on the lawns of parliament house.
Her team are playing politics and just like sports stars they all have positions they need to play here's Nathan.
NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: Julia Gillard loves her footy.
She's the number one ticket holder for the Bulldogs, but you get the feeling she'd love to have a shot at coach.
JULIA GILLARD: I'm pretty good at nerves of steel.
Unfortunately she's already got a coaching job that keeps her hands pretty full, Prime Minister of Australia.
But how is being PM like coaching, you might ask?
Well just like a footy coach, the PM gets to pick the team she'll lead against the opposition.
And just like a coach, she looks at her player’s strengths and weaknesses to decide who'll get a guernsey.
Let's imagine you're running a school footy team.
Before giving everyone their positions, you want to make sure everyone is put in a position that suits them best.
First up, you might ask if anyone has any experience.
Then you might look for people that have the natural abilities needed like height or strength.
And finally you might look for some kids that have done well in the last game and give them some more responsibility.
It's exactly the same choosing ministers, but instead of positions on a field, they're given portfolios or area's they're in charge of.
There's Treasurer, Defence, Transport, Foreign Affairs, Climate Change, Health and Schools, to name a few.
So just like a coach, you look for people that have experience in those areas.
You look for people that have natural interest.
And you look for people that did really well in their last portfolio.
And at the end of it all, instead of winning the game, your team can hopefully do their best running the whole country!
REPORTER: So that's how it's done. Now let's have a look at who Julia Gillard called up to her team.
Wayne Swan was once again picked as her deputy or her right hand man.
He also takes the most important portfolio, Treasurer, meaning he's in charge of all the cash.
Next down the list is Kevin Rudd, who was promised the Foreign Affairs portfolio, after being chucked out as Prime Minister only a few months ago.
Julia lived up to her promise and put him in as the man in charge of our interests overseas.
But will they be able to work together despite their nasty past?
JULIA GILLARD: Of Course.
Well, the distance will help. Kevin's already jetting out to America to get started.
But that leaves Stephen Smith, the last Foreign Affairs minister, jobless.
STEPHEN SMITH: When the Prime Minister told me she was going to appoint Kevin Rudd as Foreign Affairs minister she asked me what I'd like to do, and I said defence.
That means he'll be in charge of all our armed forces and have responsibility for wars like Afghanistan.
But most importantly, who's the minister in charge of things that matter to you?
Well that'd be Peter Garrett, who's in charge of school education, early childhood and youth.
All up, 30 ministers were sworn into their various roles by the Governor-General.
And over at Parliament House, Tony Abbott was naming the opposition members that would be taking them on, called shadow ministers.
So now the teams are picked, the leaders are ready, let's hear the siren for the start of play.
Presenter: We'll be keeping our eye on that game!
The Wire
Let's see what else is happening in the news with Tash.
People living near the mouth of the Murray River are breathing a sigh of relief as South Australia’s lower lakes fill with water.
For years lakes Albert and Alexandrina have been drying out.
The drought meant there wasn't enough water flowing down the Murray to fill them
And lakeside towns were left high and dry.
But the recent rain which brought floods to Victoria has brought hope to these communities.
LADY: The water's moving and so is the land. We can hear the frogs, we can see the birds are feeding, the fish are running, the tube worm on the back of the turtles are going away. The country's refreshed and there's new life and the communities are feeling happier too.
And there's been some more good news from the Gulf of Mexico in the US.
The broken well which caused the worst oil spill in the country's history is now officially plugged.
For months the company responsible for the leak has been drilling holes down to the base of the well.
Then they pumped in cement to squeeze it shut.
Even though the oil isn't leaking out anymore the disaster isn't over
"It’s not finished we've still got a lot of oil out here to pick up".
It could be years before coastal environments recover and some are worried about what affect the oil will have on sea creatures.
Commonwealth
Reporter: Sarah Larsen
INTRO: If you tune into the Commonwealth Games next month you'll see athletes from all over the world, from Canada to South Africa to Tonga and Tuvalu.
But there are a few big countries you won't see represented, like China and the US. So what's with that? And what is the commonwealth anyway? Let’s find out.
SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Once upon a time there was a little country called England.
It wasn't very big, but being an island the English knew a thing or two about ships.
So they sailed around the world trading with other countries and eventually claimed some for their own.
KID: I claim this new found land in the name of the Queen of England!
And that's how the British Empire began. Britain being the old Roman name for England and Empire meaning the collection of countries it ruled.
England claimed countries all over the world, sometimes through wars, sometimes through business dealings, and sometimes through discoveries of land that they said was empty.
REPORTER: Of course, Australia wasn't empty at all. Indigenous people had been living here for tens of thousands of years, but nevertheless Australia became a part of the British Empire.
At first it was ruled by England, but in 1901 Australia got a government of its own.
Soon after, England came up with a new name for its old Empire, the 'Commonwealth'.
It means a collection of countries that come together for the common good.
REPORTER: It's a word that you've probably seen around the place and that's because we still live in the Commonwealth of Australia. That bank used to be owned by the government, that's why it's called the commonwealth.
As part of the Empire, Australia shared a lot with England. We kept the English king or queen as our head of state and we followed some English laws. We also shared a love of cricket!
And when England went to war, so did Australia.
But over the years, Australia grew more of its own identity and stopped relying so much on England.
Other countries broke away from the empire, either peacefully or by force, and eventually it came to an end.
But there is still a commonwealth. These days it's called the Commonwealth of Nations and 53 countries are active members. It's not like the Empire. It's more like a club that countries can choose to belong to.
They work together to support each other and encourage peace and human rights.
But the Commonwealth is probably best known for this, the Commonwealth Games. They were first run in 1930 to try to bring together countries in the British Empire. In fact, back then they were known as the Empire Games.
But while the Empire faded the games continued.
Like the Olympics, they're held every four years in different Commonwealth countries and this year it's India's turn.
They've been racing to get new sporting venues finished on time and they want to put on a spectacular show, because next month a lot of people will be watching.
Presenter: As you know the games are held every four years so let's have a quick quiz.
Quiz 1
Which city will host the 2014 Commonwealth Games?
Brisbane, Australia
Glasgow, Scotland
Vancouver, Canada
Answer: Glasgow
And that will be the 20th Commonwealth Games.
Gold Price
Reporter: Nathasha Thiele
INTRO: Now at the Commonwealth Games a lot of athletes will be chasing gold.
But it’s not just sports people who are obsessed with the precious yellow metal.
Investors and finance experts spend a lot of time thinking about the price of gold. And at the moment it's at a record high.
So why is that important? And why is gold so precious? Tash has been investigating.
"Aztec Gold. All the gods placed upon the gold a terrible curse"
"His gold! Fort Knox, the world's biggest bank!"
"Look MacKenna, I'm covered in gold!"
NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: It's pretty obvious gold is one precious metal!
The name 'gold' comes from an Old English word meaning 'yellow'.
Its soft compared to other metals and can be turned into different shapes without fire or other heat.
Gold is valued for its shine and it's been used for thousands of years to make jewellery.
REPORTER: This is what real gold looks like. It's pretty cool and it’s quite heavy. And all this gold here in my hand is worth 20 thousand dollars!
Besides the bling factor, gold is also used in medicine, technology like computers and electronics, that's because it's a great electrical conductor and it doesn't corrode.
It even gets used for cake decorations. It's extremely thin pieces called gold leaf.
But hold on! When did people start realising gold was so precious?
Many thousands of years ago, gold was used to pay for things and was turned into coins.
Before that, people would use things like stones or feathers to buy or swap items like food, clothing and shelter.
But they discovered the precious metal was better because it lasted longer and was rare. It was difficult to find.
Gold hasn't just been a currency, these days some people buy it as an investment so they can make money from it!
Experts say you can always fall back on gold because it'll always keep its value.
And at the moment the price of gold has hit a record high!
That means investors don't have a lot of confidence in how the world is going at the moment.
So people can either sell their bit of gold and make a profit or buy more!
But they don't actually get to hold the gold in their hand; it's kept in secure places like banks and government storage vaults.
Like many precious metals, gold is bought and sold every day on what are called 'gold markets'.
You've probably even seen people talk about these markets on the news.
FINANCE REPORTS: Gold is flirting with its record high. And gold this morning is trading at one thousand two hundred and sixty six dollars and eighty cents an ounce.
These bulletins tell us how much gold is being bought and sold.
Although we don't see people use gold as money any more, it's still being traded.
So with gold becoming more valuable, we could see more people investing in the precious metal.
Presenter: Ok let's have a quiz about gold now and this one's pretty tricky.
Quiz 2
The question is: What is the chemical symbol for gold?
Gd
Au
Na
Answer: Au
Like lots of science things, the symbol comes from a Latin word and the Latin name for gold is Aurum.
Ok next up is a story about some kids in search of their own bit of Aurum!
Swim Comeback
Reporter: Sarah Larsen
INTRO: Would you fancy a dip at 4.30am? What a way to wake up!
For swimmers in training that's a part of their normal day.
I 'volunteered' to jump out of bed nice and early to catch up with some kids hoping to be stars of the future.
And along the way found out about a star swimmer from the past who's making an amazing comeback.
SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: What were you doing at 4.30 this morning?
These guys put in two and a half hours of training before school starts.
MIA: Sometimes we fall asleep in some lessons. But that's the life we choose.
They have nine training sessions a week, in the mornings and the afternoons. All up it’s about twenty hours of hard work. But to compete at the National level they need every minute and Mia reckons it’s worth it.
MIA: Definitely when you hit that finishing line and you see everyone finish behind you it’s just the best feeling you know you've done your best.
Getting to an elite level of just about any sport you can think of takes years of hard work and dedication. And you don't get to stay at the top for very long.
Many athletes retire in their thirties or even their twenties because their body slows down or because they get tired of devoting their life to sport.
That's something Geoff Huegill knows all about.
Ten years ago he was on top of the world. Years of hard work were paid off with a silver and a bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics.