The Australian Bite

Human rights, jumps racing & life under the sea

14 May 2010

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This week on the Australian Bite, does Australia need a Human Rights Act?  The federal government says no, but not everyone is convinced.   We look at the arguments for and against horse jumps racing:  it’s already banned in all but two Australian states, and its future in Victoria looks uncertain to say the least.  And we meet Marine Engineer Officer Lindsay Gordon, who tells us what it’s like to spend months at sea on board a submarine.

No Human Rights Act for Australia

The Federal Government dropped a quiet bombshell when the Attorney-General, Robert McLelland, recently announced that despite the recommendations of the government appointed National Human Rights Consultation Committee, there will be no Human Rights Act in Australia. Instead, a new Human Rights Framework is being implemented, signalling the end, perhaps, of quite a big campaign to change the fact that Australia is the only democracy without a Human Rights Bill. However the Chair of the Human Rights Group Susan Ryan is still committed to working for change in the area. The Human Rights Group is a coalition of around 80 non government organisations committed to securing a Human Rights Act Richard Aedy asked Susan Ryan her why she thinks the dropping of the bill is such a big loss.

You can download a brochure about the Australian Human Rights Framework at http://www.ag.gov.au/humanrightsframework

More information about the  National Human Rights Consultation Report

A lawyer’s perspective on a human rights Act

Former NSW Premier Bob Carr expresses his satisfaction that there will be no human rights act: 

An article about the National Human Rights Consultation Committee’s findings written by Susan Ryan 

Jumps racing on its last legs?

Last year Racing Victoria Limited announced that jumps racing would be banned after this year’s season. But not long afterwards, it changed its mind – announcing instead that the sport would need to halve the horse fatality rate from last season and reduce the fall rate if jumps is to continue next year. So how are things going so far? The Warrnambool Racing Carnival in south western Victoria is the premier event on the jumps racing calendar. It was held last weekend and had both a death and falls: narrowing the chances of jumps racing surviving. Reporter Laura Poole was there.

* Due to animal welfare concerns, horse jumps racing has been phased out in all Australian states except Victoria and South Australia.

This story was originally broadcast on the ABC Rural website.  You can see Laura’s pictures of the day here       

Racing  Victoria’s jumps racing page        

The RSPCA’s anti-jumps racing campaign website has footage of the horse Sirrocean Storm coming to grief at the Warrnambool Racing Carnival. 

Warning – this footage is graphic and may be distressing to some people.

Life on a submarine

Growing up in the wide open spaces of Port Augusta, Adelaide and Port Lincoln in South Australia, Lindsay Gordon now spends most of his time under the sea in a steel cylinder that’s just under 100m metres long and around 8 metres across. Lindsay is a Marine Engineer Officer on the HMAS Dechaineux, one of Australia’s six Collins class submarines. So what’s life like 100 metres under the sea? Reporter Brett Williamson climbed aboard to ask him.

See more of Brett’s pictures on this story at the ABC Adelaide website

Music (not in podcast)

Country songstress Barb Waters has been in the business for 25 years. Her new album Buffalo Mountain Girl is a great collection of songs written about and inspired by growing up in Northeast Victoria.

Artist: Barb Waters and the Mothers of Pearl

Track: Sleepytown

Album: Buffalo Mountain Girl (2010)

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