The Australian Bite

Bush survival & internet censorship

21 March 2009

Listen and download: MP3

How would you survive if your car broke down deep in the Australian bush?  On this week’s Australian Bite we get some great advice from survival expert Bob Cooper.  We also look at controversial plan by the Australian government to censor the internet.  And we hear why Darwin’s market gardens face an uncertain future.

Concern over internet censorship plan

In 2007, the Rudd Federal Government announced a mandatory “clean feed” for all computers used by Australian children.  The idea was to block child pornography and nasty violent material coming over the net. However now the censorship plan seems to have morphed into something much bigger: censorship of the internet overall.  As Wendy Carlisle reports, this means Australia may become the first Western Democracy to do something like this.

An in depth report prepared by Wendy Carlisle for Radio National’s Background Briefing program can be heard and read here http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/stories/2009/2512171.htm#transcript

Survival in the Australian bush

Every year people die an agonising death in the outback and it just shouldn’t happen. Because apart from keeping an eye out on those deadly snakes and crocodiles, all they really need is a little bit of bush survival training and a well thought out survival kit.  After 30 years as a survivalist Bob Cooper knows all the tricks. Most of them are pretty simple, and rely on the use of everyday items. He shares his experience with Babs McHugh.

For more information on this story, including photos and videos, visit the ABC Rural website here: http://www.abc.net.au/rural/content/2008/s2514689.htm

Darwin’s market gardens face uncertain future

If you’ve ever been to Darwin, you’ll know just how big a role Asian food plays in that city. There are plenty of fresh Asian herbs, spices and greens readily available in shops, markets and in cafes and restaurants, and many of these are grown in market gardens just outside Darwin. But there’s real concern that those market gardens may soon disappear. James Panichi talks to local restaurateur Jimmy Shu to find out why.

You can hear Jimmy Shu talk about his background and passion for cooking here: http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2007/08/22/2011634.htm

Music – not in podcast

Australian singer and actor Ben Lee recently released his eighth solo album called “The Rebirth of Venus” which he describes as “a tribute to the feminine way of doing things in life.” This new album follows on from 2007′s Ripe, (featuring the track “Love Me Like the World is Ending”) and the critically acclaimed “Awake Is the New Sleep” released in 2005.
Artist: Ben Lee
Track: What’s So Bad (About Feeling Good)
Album: The Rebirth of Venus