The Australian Bite
Platypuses in peril & hip hop indigenous style
10 September 2009
Listen and download: MP3
On this week’s Australian Bite hear how the platypus is coming under threat from yabbie traps. Caitlyn Sawrey travels to the Garama Festival in Arnhem land, and talks to hip hop artists from around the Territory. And sustainable burials – find out how to reduce your carbon footprint when you die – and give something back to the earth.
Platypuses in peril from traps
The platypus is a unique Australian animal found in streams, rivers and dams mainly in Australia’s eastern states, including Tasmania. But it’s coming under threat from the enclosed nets that are used by many people to catch yabbies, or freshwater crayfish. A new coalition has come together to try and raise awareness on the impact of these traps on platypus – and to try and get the laws changed on their use. One of those groups making up the coalition is the Victorian based Australian Platypus Conservancy – and Heather Jarvis speaks with APC biologist Geoff Williams, about the traps, and the things that make the platypus so special. You can also find out more about the platypus in this excerpt from the book Platypus by Dr Tom Grant. He’s part of the coalition along with the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland.
. . . and if you’re wondering what a yabby looks like, wonder no more!
Indigenous hip hop
Hip hop or rap, originally sprang from the socially disadvantaged streets of the Bronx in New York in the 1970’s. But in the Australian outback, a world away from the urban ghetto, hip hop has become hugely popular among young indigenous Australians, who are bringing their own distinct style to the genre. As Caitlyn Sawrey, from the Hack program on the ABC’s youth radio network Triple J found out, there’s some amazing talent to be found in the most unlikely places. A discovery shared by Melbourne MC Elf Tranzporter when he was visiting Yuendumu in Central Australia.
Sitting on the edge of the Tanami Desert, 350 kilometres north west of Alice Springs, the remote community of Yuendumu is one of the largest Aboriginal communities in central Australia.
Natural Burials – a choice for the environment
How would you feel if your death led to not only increased carbon emissions, but also toxic emissions into the atmosphere? If like 70 per cent of Australians, you plan to be cremated, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Currently we are the only species that don’t fully return to the ecosystem after death, but Bryan Furnass is a retired doctor who has some ideas about how we can change that. He’s an advocate for natural burials, and he discusses the idea with Michael Mackenzie from ABC Radio National’s Bush Telegraph program.
Music (not in podcast)
Tjimba Possum-Burns is a young hip hop artist who has lived in his mother’s traditional country west of Alice Springs and also in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. His brother Narjic and guest DJ’s join him to perform on stage
Artist: Tjimba & the Yung Warriors
Track: Things Will Get Better
Album: Making Waves (2009 compilation)
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