The Australian Bite
Asylum seekers, Green votes & locusts set to swarm
26 August 2010
Listen and download: MP3
This week on the Bite, it’s been called a greenslide – the largest vote for the Greens in Australia’s electoral history. But with the Greens not only winning their first lower house seat, but also soon to hold the balance of power in the Senate, Irene Scott talkes a look at the opportunities and possible pitfalls they’ll face. Also, asylum seekers – calls have been made for a bipartisan approach to addressing this very divisive issue. And locusts – farmers in many parts of Australia are bracing themselves for what’s expected to be one of the worst locust plagues in recent history.
It may be a Greenslide – but what happens now?
The Federal Election on Aug 21 was a very uncertain affair, with neither Labour nor the Coalition winning sufficient seats to win government in their own right. But one thing that was made clear was the rise in support for the Australian Greens. They now have nine senators, and for the very first time, a seat in the House of Representatives. However as Franklin Roosevelt (or was it Uncle Ben from Spiderman?) famously said, with great power comes great responsibility. So Irene Scott from the ABC’s youth network Triple J, takes a look at what Green power may mean for Australia’s government.
You can listen to this story again on the Triple J Hack website
Call for bipartisan approach to asylum seekers
More than 2,500 asylum seekers have arrived on around 60 boats in Australian waters this year, and it’s a very divisive issue among the electorate, and the various political parties. Labor and the Coalition both like to talk tough on the issue. They both aim to ‘stop the boats’ and get tough on people smugglers, but they have different policies to tackle the issue. They both support off-shore processing, though in different places. And Coalition Leader Tony Abbott said that if he becomes Prime Minister, he will re-introduce the controversial temporary protection visas. Well earlier this week Heather Ridout, a senior business voice and chief executive of the Australian Industry Group put forward a suggestion for a new, bipartisan approach to asylum seeker policy by Labor and the Coalition. Rather than focusing on stopping the boats – and talking tough on refugees, Heather Ridout proposes the next government appoint an independent mediator to help the our politicians reach a consensus on the issue. As Ali Benton reports, the idea has been welcomed by refugee groups.
Digging for locust eggs
Farmers in large parts of eastern Australia from Queensland through Victoria and into South Australia are on watch for what is expected to be one of the worst locust plagues on record. Under the ground, tens of thousands of locust eggs are sitting waiting to hatch in spring. In northern Victoria, ABC Rural reporter Nikolai Beilharz went hunting for locust eggs with Melissa Cann from the Victorian Department of Primary Industries.
Cyclist returns from fact-finding tour of Africa
Eleven months have passed since we spoke to Western Australian cyclist and activist Kate Leeming on the Australian Bite. At that time, Kate was about to set off on a journey to become the first person to cycle from the most western point of Africa across to the east coast. Well Kate has not completed that journey: a 23,000 kilometre adventure aimed at finding the causes and consequences of extreme poverty in Africa. She speaks with Alison Caldwell.
You can view Kate’s route across Africa and read about her experiences at breakingthecycleafrica.ning.com
Music (not in podcast)
Sydney based singer/songwriter, Ohad Rein makes melodic and soulful music under the moniker of Old Man River. His recently released second album Trust follows on from his well-received 2007 album “Good Morning”, which featured the hit Sunshine.
Artist: Old Man River
Track: Norway (I like it like this)
Album: Trust (2010)
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