The Australian Bite

Hoon drivers & a fair go for older workers

11 March 2010

Listen and download: MP3

This week on the Australian Bite, they’re young, reckless and think they’re indestructible . . . . we head out to Melbourne’s Northern suburbs, where its kids versus cops in a big police crackdown on hotted-up cars and illegal drag racing.  We’ll hear why older Australians are finding it tough when it comes to getting a job.  And finger lime anyone?  We find out about a delicious Australian native fruit.  

Older workers face job discrimination

Last year the Federal government announced plans to encourage people to delay retirement, increasing the aged pension age from 65 in 2017 to 67 by 2023. But it seems that while the government is encourages older workers to stick around on the job, but the workplace still very much favours the young. In fact the Federal Age Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick believes there’s a culture of age discrimination which is ‘pervasive and systemic’ and she wants the law amended to ensure that older workers get a fair go. She speaks to Jane Caro.

You can find out more about age discrimination in Australia at the Australian Human Rights Commission website

“Hoon” drivers targeted in police sting

Last Sunday evening was a very long night for a couple of hundred drivers in Melbourne. Police blitzed an industrial estate in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, in a crackdown against hoon drivers. And if you’re wondering what a hoon is, its a term often used in Australian and New Zealand to describe reckless, aggressive and basically dangerous drivers. For the last 3 months the police have been preparing for this night, dubbed “Operation Friction”. There were police from five traffic management units, the air wing, the dog squad, the sheriff’s office, plus the environmental protection authority. Reporter Irene Scott was also there, and she put together this story, which contains strong language.

You can listen to this story again and see more of Irene Scott’s photos of the night at the Triple J Hack website

Native finger limes growing in popularity

Finger limes are a native Australian bush food – a rainforest fruit that grows in northern New South Wales and South East Queensland. They are shaped long like a finger, have caviar-like flesh on the inside, and different varieties are different colours both inside and out!  After a rain-affected season last year, producers of the native finger lime are busy harvesting this year’s crop.  Cheryl Rennie is from the Australian Finger Lime Growers Associations and she tells rural reporter Nadine Maloney all about this increasingly popular fruit.

You can see more on this story at the ABC Rural website

Music (not in podcast)

From his latest album, this is the brand new single from Melbourne singer-songwriter Whitley.  

Artist: Whitley

Track: Killer

Album:  Go Forth Find Mammoth

Radio Australia often provides links to external websites to complement program information. While producers have taken care with all selections, we can neither endorse nor take final responsibility for the content of those sites.