Questions for discussion

Hospital Check-up1. Explain the BtN story to another student.2. What is the difference between public and private hospitals?3. What is Medicare?4. Who is covered by it?5. How is Medicare funded?6. Why do some people have private health insurance?7. What is the missing word? `Some people reckon there’s_____________ in our public hospitals.’8. What changes does Tony Abbott want to make to the hospital system?9. How have some politicians responded to this?10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the BtN story?

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

Food Bowl1. Briefly summarise the key points from the BtN story.2. Why is the Murray-Darling Basin called the `food bowl’?3. What percentage of food production in Australia comes from the Murray-Darling Basin?4. What is happening to the Basin and what effect is it having on food production?5. Where in Australia did they think might be a future food bowl?6. What is a key factor when considering places to grow food?7. What did a panel of experts decide?8. Why is Tasmania now being considered as Australia’s future food bowl?9. On a scale of 1-10, how important do you think this issue is? Explain your answer.10. What are some other solutions to the problem of growing food in Australia?

Research the major challenges facing the Murray-Darling Basin and what action is being taken to address the challenges.

Gold Rush1. When was gold first found in Australia?2. Describe what happened after the first discovery.3. Why do gold mines close?4. Describe the different ways gold was mined.5. `If the costs outweighed the benefits the mine would close.’ What are the costs and benefits of

mining gold?6. Why are they now opening some gold mines again?7. What has happened to the price of gold recently?8. Why are some people against mines being re-opened?9. Illustrate an aspect of the Gold rush story.10. Name three facts you learnt in the Gold rush story.

©ABC 2010

Episode 223rd February 2010

`Do you think old mines should be re-opened or left as museums? Vote in the online poll.

Wild Dogs1. Discuss the issues raised in the BtN story with another student.2. In your own words, describe what a wild dog is.3. What impact are they having on farming?4. Why was the `dog fence’ originally built?5. How long is the fence?6. Describe the damage wild dogs can cause?7. How are scientists trying to manage wild dog numbers?8. What are they hoping the experiment will achieve?9. What are farmers worried about?10. What could be the long term effects on farming if wild dog numbers aren’t reduced?

Create a facts sheet about dingoes and publish it in an interesting way.

Unicycling1. Retell the BtN story.2. How was unicycling thought to have started?3. What skills do you think are needed to ride a unicycle?4. In your own words, explain extreme unicycling.5. Describe Brandon’s successes in the extreme unicycling championships. 6. What character traits do you think an extreme unicyclist needs? 7. Describe the risks of extreme unicycling.8. How has unicycling changed over the years?9. What do you now know about unicycling that you didn’t know before watching the BtN story?10. Unicycle team sports have become more popular recently. Research what the different sports

are with a brief explanation of each.

Test your knowledge in the online quiz.

©ABC 2010

Activity

Food BowlKey LearningStudents will develop a deeper understanding of the `food bowl’ in the Murray-Darling Basin and the areas being considered as future food bowls.

The Australian CurriculumGeography / Geographical Knowledge and Understanding

The influence of people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, on the environmental characteristics of Australian places  (ACHGK027)

investigating the influence of landforms, for example, river valleys such as the Murray-Darling, Yellow (Huang He), Yangtze, Amazon, Mekong or Ganges, on the development of settlements that are involved in food and fibre production

Geography / Geographical Knowledge and Understanding

The natural resources provided by the environment, and different views on how they could be used sustainably (ACHGK024)

identifying some of the resources produced by the environment and where they come from, for example, water, food, and raw materials, fibres, timber and metals that make the things they use

Discussion Questions1. Briefly summarise the key points from the BtN story.

2. Why is the Murray-Darling Basin called the `food bowl’?

3. What percentage of food production in Australia comes from the Murray-Darling Basin?

4. What is happening to the Basin and what effect is it having on food production?

5. Where in Australia did they think might be a future food bowl?

6. What is a key factor when considering places to grow food?

7. What did a panel of experts decide?

8. Why is Tasmania now being considered as Australia’s future food bowl?

9. On a scale of 1-10, how important do you think this issue is? Explain your answer.

10. What are some other solutions to the problem of growing food in Australia?

Activities

Food Bowl

After watching the BtN Food Bowl story, divide students into groups of 3-4. Provide each group with a printed transcript of the story. These are in the Teachers section on the BtN website http://www.abc.net.au/btn/teachers.htm

©ABC 2010

Episode 223rd February 2010

Each group member takes it in turns to read a sentence aloud while the others in that group listen. When the transcript has been read completely, ask the students to answer Who, What, Where and Why questions about that topic. Students record their responses on a large sheet of paper. Regroup as a class and discuss the answers given. Each group can present any points they would like clarified or that they would like to discuss or research further. They can also highlight any words or phrases they are unsure about and research the meaning.

Students then need to write a paragraph explaining what the food bowl is. Include the following:

A brief description of the food bowl in the Murray-Darling Basin

Why the search is on for another food bowl

Places in Australia being considered as future food bowls and pros and cons of each

Students can use maps, illustrations or photographs to support their explanations.

Organise with another class to share students’ explanations. This can be done as an oral presentation, poster or a multimedia format.

Further InvestigationResearch the major challenges facing the Murray-Darling Basin and what action is being taken to address the challenges.

8 Related Research Links

ABC News – Report kills northern food bowl dreamhttp://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/08/2812753.htm

ABC News – Indigenous `fear’ northern food bowlhttp://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/08/2813594.htm

ABC 730 Report – Northern Food Bowl dream crushedhttp://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2010/s2822834.htm

ABC Science – Food bowl to dustbowl?http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/08/14/2335296.htm

ABC Science – Food crisis looms warn scientistshttp://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/02/12/2816954.htm?topic=enviro&WT.mc_id=news_climatechange

Murray-Darling Basin Authority – Official websitehttp://www.mdba.gov.au/

Murray-Darling Basin Authority – Basin Kidshttp://kids.mdbc.gov.au/

©ABC 2010

Activity

Gold RushKey LearningStudents will develop a deeper understanding of gold as a resource and the history of gold mining in Australia.

The Australian CurriculumHistory / Historical Knowledge and Understanding / The Australian Colonies

The impact of a significant development or event on a colony; for example, frontier conflict, the gold rushes, the Eureka Stockade, internal exploration, the advent of rail, the expansion of farming, drought. (ACHHK095)

The reasons people migrated to Australia from Europe and Asia, and the experiences and contributions of a particular migrant group within a colony. (ACHHK096)

The nature of convict or colonial presence, including the factors that influenced patterns of development, aspects of the daily life of the inhabitants (including Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples) and how the environment changed. (ACHHK094)

History / Historical Skills / Chronology, terms and concepts

Sequence historical people and events (ACHHS098)

Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia

Achievements and contributions of the peoples of Asia

Asia-Australia engagement

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/CrossCurriculumPriorities/Asia-and-Australias-engagement-with-Asia

Discussion Questions1. When was gold first found in Australia?

2. Describe what happened after the first discovery.

3. Why do gold mines close?

4. Describe the different ways gold was mined.

5. `If the costs outweighed the benefits the mine would close’. What are the costs and benefits of

mining gold?

6. Why are they now opening some gold mines again?

7. What has happened to the price of gold recently?

8. Why are some people against mines being re-opened?

9. Illustrate an aspect of the Gold rush story.

10. Name three facts you learnt in the Gold rush story.

©ABC 2010

Episode 223rd February 2010

Activities

Students will learn more about gold and the history of gold mining in Australia through the following activities. Negotiate with students how many activities they will need to complete.

Remember and Understand

List and illustrate some uses for gold.

Research and create a map of gold fields and mines (both past and present) in Australia.

Create a glossary of key gold fossicking and mining words.

Which of the bushrangers operated on the gold fields? Make a list, and select one to research in depth.

Find out what the value of gold is at the moment. Calculate the value of an ounce of gold in Australian

dollars.

Apply and Analyse

Research what the role and responsibilities of women were during the gold rush. Using a Venn diagram

(two overlapping circles) compare the life of women during the gold rush to that of women today.

The gold fields were Australia’s first experience of a truly multicultural population. Investigate the cultural

differences and racism in the gold fields. Present your findings in a 1-2 minute talk to the class.

What was the Eureka Stockade? Create a brochure, booklet or poster that addresses: Who, what when,

where and why. To extend the activity, investigate why it was a key event in the development of

democracy in Australia.

Investigate the effect that the gold rush had on the Aboriginal population. Create a list of advantages

and disadvantages for Indigenous people.

Evaluate and Create

Working with 2-3 other students, invent a new use for gold. Create an advertisement that persuades

people to buy it.

Imagine you a person living and working in the gold fields. Either write a journal entry describing a day in

the gold fields or write a simple song about your experiences on the gold fields, using a tune you already

know.

Create an artwork that represents an aspect of life in the gold fields.

Research and create a `how to’ book on the methods used to find gold. Each method will need to be

written as a procedure. The following website has information about how to write a procedure.

http://www.writingfun.com/

©ABC 2010

8 Related Research Links

ABC Stateline – Gold rushhttp://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2010/02/12/2818529.htm

Australian Government – The Australian gold rushhttp://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-gold-rush

Kidcyber – Gold http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/gold.htm

SBS – Goldhttp://www.sbs.com.au/gold/

National Museum of Australia – Gold and Civilisation: Student Activitieshttp://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/18966/gold_civilisation_student_colour.pdf

National Museum of Australia – Gold rush interactive for kidshttp://www.nma.gov.au/kidz/learn_and_play/gold_rush/

©ABC 2010

BtN: Episode 2 Transcript 23/02/10

On this week's Behind the News:

Gold fever breathing life back into ghost towns. Fresh ideas to keep the Aussie food bowl full. And some extreme one-wheel action!

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

Also on the show today, we’ll have a look at why dogs go wild and cause all sorts of problems for farmers.

Hospital Check-upReporter: Natasha Thiele

INTRO: But first up, if you get sick and end up in hospital, the last thing you're thinking about is how much you'll have to pay for treatment.

But depending on which hospital you go to you could either pay nothing, or heaps!

So what's the difference?

Tash went out to compare public and private hospitals, and found out why some pollies are thinking about changing how they're set up.

TASH THIELE, REPORTER: We hear about pollies talking about health all the time. It can be a way of winning votes with the Aussie public. But do you know the difference between public and private hospitals?

KID: Public you've got like twice as many people in there and private's for all the rich people

KID: Private is like you can get people in without others knowing and you can get more treatment there and public it's like out in the open.

KID: Public hospitals are where there's more than one people in a room and visitors are allowed and private hospitals are where there's like one person in a room and visitors are still allowed to visit them.

Let me explain. There's something called Medicare, a system that's run by the Federal Government. It helps pay for medical treatment and all people living permanently in Australia are covered by it.

©ABC 2010

Medicare is funded by taxpayers and the big guns in Canberra spend billions of dollars each year on what's called the 'public health system' and 'public hospitals'. So if you get sick and need to go to hospital for treatment, Medicare will pay the costs!

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: Hospitals like this aren't cheap to run. It's a huge operation! Medical specialists, equipment, feeding patients, even the gardens all cost money!

Okay, so we've got public hospitals but what about private? Private hospitals are private businesses, so they're not actually run by the government.

To go to one you need to pay for it yourself. But it's not cheap! To have a baby at a private hospital and stay a few nights, it'll cost around 5-thousand dollars.

So some people choose to have 'private health insurance', where they pay a certain amount each year to help cover the costs of private health care. They prefer it because they think it gives them more choices of hospitals, doctors and faster service for some types of operations.

Health and hospitals are very complex issues and they get everyone talking! Some people reckon there's overcrowding in our public hospitals because lots of us don't want to pay or can't afford private health insurance.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is one person who wants to change a few things, if he's elected Prime Minister at the next Federal Election.

He wants local communities to take control of major hospitals in New South Wales and Queensland, because he thinks the local people know what's best for their area and more people would be happy.

But the state governments are a little worried. They think it would lead to those hospitals being left out of big decisions around the country. The Rudd Government also doesn't think it would work and says their plan is working just fine.

Health and education are always big issues and get used to hearing about them! Come the next Federal Election, pollies will be all over the issues!

PRESENTER: There's pro's and con's there on both sides and we'll let you know if there's any more updates to that story.

Gold RushReporter: Sarah Larsen

INTRO: Have you ever heard about the gold rush of the past and wished you could strike it rich?

©ABC 2010

Well now might be your chance!

Gold mines that have been closed for years are opening up again, but before you grab a pick-axe and start digging Sarah discovered that it's new technology that's blowing the cobwebs off some historic mine sites.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: It was the precious metal that transformed Australia. When a spec was found in a Victorian creek in 1851 gold fever took hold. In the years that followed hundreds of thousands of people came to Australia from all over the world to try their luck in the goldfields. Entire towns grew around gold and the economy took off.

Travel around Australia and it’s not hard to find evidence of the country's gold mining history in ghost towns like this.

KIDS: So what happened to the gold? Why were towns abandoned?

REPORTER: When a mine closes its not necessarily because all the precious metal's gone. There's probably still gold down there somewhere, it's just that getting it out got too expensive.

When the gold rush started you could find gold just by panning in the mud. It cost almost nothing to get out and anyone could do it. Once that ran out you had to dig into the rock. That was much harder and more expensive. Once the stuff close to the surface was gone things got even more expensive. Mining companies took over, spending big on equipment and workers to get to the underground gold. Mining has always been about weighing up the costs; the machinery, the worker's wages, and the price of processing the gold, against the benefits; the amount of money you got from selling the gold. If costs outweighed the benefits the mine would close. That's what happened here at Cowarra in the ACT and locals like Greg still remember it.

GREG HAYDEN: Yeah, well we had playmates and all of a sudden we didn't.

But Cowarra may not be a ghost town for that much longer. A company is considering opening a new mine here and there are similar things happening at a number of old gold fields across the country. So what's changed? We have way better technology these days which lets you get more gold out of the rock for less money. Then there's the price of gold. Like many precious metals it's bought and sold in financial markets. Gold's always been seen as a pretty solid investment, so when the economy's not so good people tend to buy more of it so it's worth more. Some people reckon China's also had a lot to do with gold prices going up. There are a lot of people there and they're spending more money now. All of this is good news for mining companies. Last year Australia became the world's second biggest gold producer. Companies are looking for new gold deposits and opening new mines. But not everyone's happy with the thought of old mines like this being re-explored. Some think they should be left alone, as a living museum to Australia's golden past.

©ABC 2010

PRESENTER: We might do a poll on that.

PollThe question is: Do you think old mines should be re-opened or left as museums?

If you want to vote just go to our website.

Food BowlReporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: Making sure we have enough food to feed everyone in the country is a pretty important thing; right up there with making sure we have enough water to drink!

But because we've got less and less water in some big food producing areas, it's leading to less tucker too!

It's got people thinking about the best place to grow all the food we'll need in the future.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: This is a bowl of food.

But this is a food bowl.

It's the agricultural land of the Murray Darling basin, a huge area that stretches through New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia; and all up accounts for 40 percent of the food we produce in this country.

But lately things have been getting drier and drier, and the food bowl of the Murray Darling Basin is looking decidedly empty.

NATHAN: A lot of people are now wondering where we could start growing the food we need to fill this bowl back up. Water is the big key, so the first place they looked to is the Northern Territory.

The top end is known for its monsoon season which can dump around 2m of rain a year on some places.

That's about 4 times the rainfall the basin gets.

That's huge, but this area still might not be the key to our food future.

A panel of experts toured around the whole area and decided that there was one big problem in growing more crops here.

©ABC 2010

While the north gets massive amounts of rain over a few months, the rest of the year it's pretty much bone dry.

That's not so bad for cattle and not bad for the few farmers that can keep lots of water in dams to use later, but overall the panel ruled NT not going to be the nation’s future food bowl. Building enough dams to keep water all year round is just not worth it.

So where to now? Well from there, people started looking way down south to Tasmania.

It might be the country's smallest state, but Tasmania is big on one thing - water!

This guy, who's done a report into farming the state, reckons the huge rainfall is the reason Tassie should be the next food bowl.

He says they may have only 1 percent of the landmass of Australia, but they have 12 percent of the rain!

And that makes Tasmania a pretty promising place to grow lots more food in the future!

At this stage Tassie only accounts for a small part of the food making it to plates both here and overseas, but some people have high hopes for its growing future.

They hope to excel at wine, dairy, fruits and vegies, meat and fish.

David Bartlett, Premier of Tasmania: We have started, or are soon to commence, 400million dollars worth of irrigation projects that will transform Tasmania into the food bowl of the nation.

And while a lot has to be done, and a lot of money has to be spent, it might not be too long before we see this little island making up a huge part of that delicious bowl.

PRESENTER: Ok, I need something to take my mind off all that food. Let’s try a quiz.

Quiz 1When did Australia win its first Gold Medal at the Winter Olympics?

2010

2006

©ABC 2010

2002

Answer: 2002

PRESENTER: Steven Bradbury grabbed it for speed skating and he won when everyone in front of him stacked it!

Alisa Camplin also won gold that year in the freestyle skiing aerials event.

Let's see what else is happening in sport.

The ScoreCelebrations are continuing for Australia's newest gold medallist, Torah Bright, after her amazing win in the snowboarding on Friday.

The young star got a call from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to congratulate her for the win which is only the country's fourth gold in history.

She now plans to relax and focus on her up-coming wedding in June.

*********

Back home now and in the A league and two teams have been eliminated from the finals after penalty shootouts.

Wellington Phoenix and Perth Glory ended up 1 all after time with the Phoenix prevailing in a shootout.

And in the other elimination match Newcastle Jets and Gold Coast United had a lot of chances but were forced to penalties after both remained scoreless.

Gold Coast faltered there leaving themselves and Perth out of the race to the title.

Wild DogsReporter: Tash Thiele

INTRO: OK, there are lots of us who love dogs - the way they look, their nature and personality but they aren't so lovable when they escape into the wild.

They can breed with dingos and can end up killing livestock.

Tash looks at the new tricks scientists are using to try to stop them.

©ABC 2010

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: They can be cute, aggressive, fun and energetic and they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: But that's not what we're talking about! Domestic dogs like this may seem tame, but when they escape into the wild and breed with dingos, things can change!

Here in south-western Queensland, farmers have got a problem with wild dogs. They can mix with native dingos and crossbreed.

The problem is the wild dog population is growing and spreading and it's got people worried.

Farmers aren't happy because they're losing millions of dollars when the dogs kill their livestock, like sheep and cattle. Some farmers are even giving up on breeding sheep because it's that bad!

Back in the 1800s, what is now called 'the dog fence' was put up in places like South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland.

It was originally built to keep out rabbits, but that didn't work. The fence was better at keeping animals like pigs, kangaroos and emus away from farming properties and was eventually turned into a dog-proof fence around 1914.

The fence is pretty famous! It's the world's longest fence, stretching more than five and a half thousand kilometres! It worked for a bit, but lots of the dogs have broken through damaged sections of the fence.

Experts say two dogs can kill up to 60 sheep in a night, but they don't actually eat them!

The dogs are also really tough! They can travel long distances. Apparently one walked 600 k’s from Queensland into New South Wales in 30 days!

Locals and scientists are trying to catch the dogs by calling them in a special way.

This is Tony. He calls himself the Wild Dog Trapper.

TONY TOWNSEND, WILD DOG TRAPPER: The whole idea is to actually go out, in a sense, make a public announcement that you are another dog in their area, and get them to come over.

Scientists then put radio transmitters on them, so they know where they're going and learn more about how they behave. The experiment is a way of stopping them, before they do damage to animals!

The farmers are worried the wild dogs could eventually spread closer to towns and cities and cause more problems for other animals and even people.

©ABC 2010

But let's hope locals and scientists can control them, so farmers can keep breeding their livestock without dogs getting in their way and causing trouble!

PRESENTER: I think it's a good idea to keep well away from any dog you don't know.

OK time for a quiz.

Quiz 2A velocipede is a kind of...

Speed detector

Bicycle

Dinosaur centipede

Answer: Bicycle

PRESENTER: A Velocipede is what the early bicycles and tricycles were sometimes called and it means 'fast foot'.

Uni-cyclingReporter: Sarah Larsen

INTRO: And fast feet are what you'll need to ride another type a unicycle!

You've probably seen them in circuses and street performances, but have you seen them ridden as an extreme sport?!

Sarah got out on one wheel to see why this amazing new sport is taking off.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: A Velocipede is what the early bicycles and tricycles were sometimes called and it means 'fast foot' and fast feet are what you'll need to ride another type; a unicycle! You've probably seen them in circuses and street performances, but have you seen them ridden as an extreme sport? Sarah got out on one wheel to see why this amazing new sport is taking off.

They're masters of balance, speed and skill on the streets or off the track. What? Two wheels? Yeah right! I 'm talking about uni-cyclists, the people that make riding a bike look as easy as, well, riding a bike!

©ABC 2010

BRANDON:I guess it’s just a lot of fun and a challenge.

Brandon might be having fun but he's a seriously good unicyclist. In fact, for his age he's one of the world's best! and he's taught his older brother Tirryn a trick or two!

BRANDON: I first saw a kid down town riding and I always wanted to be a clown so I went to a bike shop and bought my first unicycle and started practicing

TIRRYN: Watching Brandon so kinda thought, yeah, I'll give that a go.

In the old days uni-cycling was pretty standard circus fare and while it’s still popular under the big top in the past few decades things have got a little more extreme.

TIRRYN: As a general rule people with a unicycle are like look there's the circus but there's also this extreme side of it - jumping down stairs doing tricks and spins and jumps and stuff

You can also play a whole bunch of sports on a unicycle and there are comps testing riders in categories like street cycling, mountain cycling and jumping.

BRANDON: There was a comp held last April called Uninats - the main one was called street which was like skateboarding but with a unicycle

Brandon won that and last school holidays he went on to beat the best from around the world at an international competition in New Zealand.

BRANDON: There were some really talented people even one who could do a front flip on a unicycle so we saw some really good things

Back in their home town people are starting to get used to the sight of school kids on one wheel.

BRANDON: Sometimes we ride around town and jump down stair and stuff. Every so often we do get horns beeping, lots of jokes, where's the other wheel and stuff.

But at school they've definitely got fans.

Student: Awesome! It's awesome! KID: I wish I could do it! But I'd probably fall flat on my face

Now, deep down I knew this was a bad idea but I had to give it go!

REPORTER: Don't fall off, don't fall off. I'm going to break my arm!

Wow. That was embarrassing. But the guys assure me everyone falls off at first.

©ABC 2010

REPORTER: How many times have you fallen off? BRANDON & TIRRYN: Countless. When you don't wear shin guards the pedals hit your legs and they start to bleed.

But it’s going to take more than a few stumbles to keep these guys down as they unicycle their way to the top!

PRESENTER: I think I'll stick to as many wheels as possible.

CloserAnd that's it for today's show!

Don't forget you can see out any of today's stories on our web site at abc.net.au/btn.

And you can get across all the big stories with News on 3 at 5 to 7 weeknights on ABC3.

Now to wrap up today let's have a look at a bit more of that unicycle action.

I'll see you next time!

©ABC 2010