It Was Christmas Eve 1974 When a Powerful Cyclone Called Tracy Did This to Darwin

EASYPRINT SCRIPTS 15/03/05

CYCLONES It was Christmas eve 1974 when a powerful cyclone called Tracy did this to Darwin. Sixty-five people died and many more were injured and as you can see there wasn't much left standing afterwards. Cyclone Tracy was a category four.

So was Ingrid, when it crossed the far north Queensland coast last week, although you wouldn't guess it from these pictures. More about categories in a moment!

Fortunately not many people live in the area where Ingrid struck, and these days’ buildings are designed to be much stronger and withstand cyclones.

Australia's cyclone season is between November and April, when the ocean's temperature is above 26.5 degrees, but they can occur at other times too. On average about ten hit northern Australia a year.

The word Cyclone actually means turning wind with one eye. As you can see by the photo taken from above the clouds look like they are turning in a circle.

Cyclones form over warm oceans when air, heated by the sun and ocean, quickly rises. The air is loaded with water from the ocean and as it cools it creates huge thunderclouds. This rising air spirals upwards creating very windy conditions.

Although these winds swirl around at very high speeds it can be quite calm in the centre of the cyclone, which is called the eye. But either side of the eye is where the Cyclone's wind is strongest. Once the Cyclone is over land it quickly loses power.

Similar severe tropical storms are found in equatorial regions across the world, all of them rotate in a circle. In Asia they're called Typhoons and in the Americas, hurricanes. In the northern hemisphere they rotate in an anti-clockwise direction. Cyclones in the southern hemisphere rotate in a clockwise direction.

You are seeing the roofing sheeting are blowing off. Journalist

Now you wouldn't catch me doing that. This is another storm you may be familiar with, a Tornado. Although it may look similar it is not a tropical storm, Tornados usually form over land and are most common in northern America and Africa.

But back to cyclones. There are five categories of cyclones, depending on their wind speed. This is what category one would be like. In fact category one winds are a bit faster than in this wind tunnel where the speed is about 100 km/h. A category one reaches about 125 kilometres an hour.

That's the weakest cyclone, they get a lot more powerful. Category two has winds of between 125 and 169 km/h. Category three up to 224 km/h. When tropical cyclone Ingrid hit land it was a category 4, which can have wind speeds of up to 279 km/h. At one point earlier it was a Category five with winds of more than 280 km/h. That's about three times faster than this.

It's not just wind that causes damage. This isn't normal flooding. It's a storm surge and they often occur with a cyclone. The strong winds whip up waves and push the water onto land. The ocean rises over several hours as a cyclone moves closer to the coast.

A storm surge does the most damage if it reaches land at the same time as a high tide. As for naming a cyclone, well, it prevents confusion when there's more than one cyclone in an area. There are set lists of names for Cyclones. You can check out the BTN websites to find out the name of the next one.

Thanks to the University of Adelaide's School of Mechanical Engineering for providing their wind tunnel. www.mecheng.adelaide.edu.au

Useful Links http://www.srh.weather.gov/srh/jetstream/tropics/tc_names.htm http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/Students_Teachers/cycmod.shtml# APPRENTICESHIPS

Want job do you want to do when you finish school?

"A marine engineer or medical practitioner."

"Something in the area of the performing arts, maybe in opera."

"I would like to become a vet or a doctor."

"I'd like to become lawyer."

"Probably be like a mathematician or something."

There's been a lot of debate in the past week about what school leavers should do. Well if the Prime Minister had his way, more of you would be apprentices - especially in the building industry, doing things like carpentry, building, mechanics, welding, and plumbing. Experts reckon Australia has a shortage of skilled people in these areas.

Across the country about 420 000 people are doing apprenticeships and traineeships, but that's not enough. We need more people to learn to do things like build houses, put in electrical cables or taps, make furniture, and fix cars!

"So why aren't there enough trades people? Well, not enough people want to have a career in those sorts of areas, it's seen as hard work, not very glamorous, and not high paying."

"It depends really on what the pay is and what the hours are."

"More people nowadays want to go to university and get like better jobs."

"I don't really feel that they get paid enough."

But that's not exactly true, and especially now there is a skills shortage in the building industry, people with skills in carpentry, plumbing and electrical trades are very valuable, so they can charge a lot of money!

This is Zev, he's an apprentice electrician. That means he works four days a week, then studies at TAFE for one day.

"My job's enjoyable cos I get to go out and do things I've always wanted to do. I've found that what I've learnt so far is extremely helpful not only in the workplace but in everyday life. You learn a lot of things about being a handyman and how to do a variety of things not just electrical work." Zev, electrician

And as for the idea of not earning much money:

"At the moment as an apprentice the money's not that great but later on down the track once I'm a qualified tradesman it will get better. Eventually I would like to own my own business but at the moment I'm happy working and learning."

If only more teenagers thought like Zev. Some industry groups want the federal government to bring in tens of thousands of skilled workers from overseas. But other countries are also facing the same skills shortage. And in New Zealand, the government is planning to tempt some of the 250 thousand New Zealanders who live and work in Australia, to go back home, to meet that country's needs! The Prime Minister wants more kids to finish school early, and go and learn a trade.

"And what they should do is at year 10, decide they are going to become a tradesman." John Howard, Prime Minister

Others disagree, saying that apprentices still need to finish their high school education. In the end it's really your decision.

"It would be a good thing cos then you wouldn't have to go to uni for 4 years and pay all those horrible taxes and stuff."

"If that was the way that things led to then I probably would consider it."

GST MONEY

When you buy lollies you have to pay GST - a Goods and Services Tax, because lollies are considered goods. When you pay for a riding lesson you also have to pay a Goods and Services Tax, because that's considered a service. In fact lots of the things we like to buy and use come with GST. The tax rate is ten percent. So if the original cost of my chocolate treat here was $1.50, the GST would be fifteen cents and the final price would be $1.65.

"Fifteen cents ... doesn't look much does it?" Kerry Staight, reporter

Yet add up all the GST we pay in a year and you'd be amazed how much money is raised.

"Yes, this year the GST is expected to raise thirty-five billion dollars." Kerry Staight, reporter

So what happens to the money?

Well as you know we give it to businesses. They give it to the Federal Government. Hang on... I'm not finished yet. It divides the money up into eight different amounts and then hands it over to the state and territory governments. These governments then divide it up again and spend it on services like hospitals and schools.

Now the Federal Government can't take a short cut and spend the money on schools itself, because it's not responsible for schools, the states are. Just like the states can't spend money on say defence, because the Federal Government looks after that.

"So that's how the GST works. You might already know a fair bit of that. I mean the GST isn't new. In fact here are our state and federal leaders signing the GST deal five years ago. So why is it in the news again now? Well the Federal Government doesn't think all the states are sticking to that deal." Kerry Staight, reporter

Before the GST, there used to be a whole bunch of other taxes the states used to raise money, but it all was all a bit messy really. The GST was meant to simplify things by replacing those taxes... well that was the idea anyway.

"You see while the states have got rid of some of them, they've kept others, like certain stamp duties."

They say the stamp duties weren't part of the deal.

You pay stamp duty when you buy a house, property or a motor vehicle and a whole lot of other things. But the stamp duties the Federal Government is cranky about are the ones businesses are paying the state governments. It says the states are getting enough money from the GST and shouldn't be receiving seconds. But some of the big states like NSW say they're not getting their fair share and too much is going to smaller states.

"We need more money."

"You've got enough."

"Sounds like the state and federal leaders have plenty to talk about when they meet next week to review the whole GST deal." Kerry Staight, reporter

TASMANIAN DEVILS

The Tasmanian Devil is the world's largest meat-eating marsupial and just look at the jaws on this one!

Devils live on dead animals, so they need to be able to crunch down on bones, and break through thick skin. Which is why a Tasmanian Devil has biting power as strong as a dog about four times its weight.

"Although this one's in an enclosure at the Adelaide Zoo, I'm still not taking any chances. But Tasmanian Devils are facing a huge problem right now. In the wild in Tasmania, they’re dying from a nasty disease, and the race is on to help them!" Sarah Martinelli, BTN Reporter

The problem - and I'm warning you, it's pretty gross. Scientists think it's some sort of cancer. These cancers make it difficult for the animals to eat, which makes them weak. After about three to five months the animal dies from starvation and breakdown of body functions.

Tasmanian Devils are famous for their nasty sounding screams and growls, but they really do it just to bluff each other. But when they bite, they're serious! No one is really sure, but it's thought the cancer may be spread when the devils bite each other, which they do a lot! This disease first appeared nine years ago. Since then, it's wiped out about half the wild population of Tasmania's 100-150 thousand devils. If it continues like this, it could mean the end of the Tasmanian Devil in the wild.

SOLUTIONS

One idea is to fence them off, finding disease- free areas and building devil-proof fences around them, to prevent any further spread. Or keeping them on islands, where they can be free from another big problem - the fox! But perhaps the best chances for the survival of these creatures are the populations in the zoos.

Here at this National Park in Tasmania’s north, devil keepers are pretty sure these devils are disease free. The plan is to take a few babies to other zoos around the country, where they can hopefully breed more disease-free devils. But devils only live for about six years, and in their lifetime, will only produce a few litters of pups. If a solution isn't found, they may go the same way as another famous Tasmanian creature, the thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger.

HATING ALISON ASHLEY

"Why Alison Ashley? Why did you have to be better than me at everything? Why did you have to have a better life? Why did you have to be slightly better looking? Why?" Excerpt from Hating Alison Ashley

Erica Yurkin may not be too thrilled with her life, but Saskia Burmeister, who plays Erica, couldn't be happier with how hers is turning out. Saskia is considered one of Australia's rising stars after scoring the lead role in Hating Alison Ashley.

"It's about Erica Yurkin and she believes she's going to be this famous fabulous actress and go straight to Hollywood. And she's very ashamed of her family and her school and she believes she deserves a whole lot better." Saskia Burmeister, actor

"Well to tell you the truth I'm kind of stuck here for the next six weeks." "I don't belong here either." "No?" "Well I would have thought that was obvious." Excerpt from Hating Alison Ashley

Fourteen-year-old Erica certainly isn't the typical teenage heroine, we often see on the screen. And that's exactly why Saskia wanted to play her.

"Teens are going to go and watch this film and go I don't want to be Erica Yurkin, I am Erica Yurkin. She's so realistic. What she goes through is something which is a universal tween teenage want, which is that need for acceptance." Saskia Burmeister, actor

"You're twenty at the moment and the character you're playing is fourteen. Was that difficult to go back those few years?" Kerry Staight, reporter

"No not really. It was there on the page for me and certainly I did relate to her in the sense that I could look back and go that was me and I felt that as well and I remember my first kiss." Saskia Burmeister, actor

So what else did she have in common with her character?

"She has this obsession with Romeo and Juliet and I read the script and went ‘that's me’.” Saskia Burmeister, actor

"But I've learnt every line in Romeo and Juliet. It's a classic." Excerpt from Hating Alison Ashley

While Erica's acting career never takes off Saskia has had no such trouble. She was still at school in Sydney, when she scored her first big break - a role alongside Heath Ledger in the film Ned Kelly.

"You don't remember me do you? You were just a boy then." Excerpt from Ned Kelly

"I was so excited about working with Heath. He's such a sweet guy." Saskia Burmeister, actor In her latest movie, Saskia works alongside another big name, Delta Goodrem, who plays the glamorous Alison Ashley.

"You just think you're better than us cause you live up on snob hill." Excerpt from Hating Alison Ashley

So did the two actors get along better than their characters?

"She was a wonderful support to me on the set, because you work these crazy hours on a film set - you work from four in the morning to nine at night. You're like my gosh and just to have somebody in the morning who came up and gave me a hug and was like how are you today... she's just a sweetheart." Saskia Burmeister, actor

The hours may be long, but Saskia says it's all worth it. She's doing what she's always wanted to do.

"I was about five years old and I saw this film with an actor Meryl Streep in it. It was just something that I went these aren't people living inside the TV; this is acting and what is acting? And yeah it was that moment that it clicked and I had a name for something that I knew I was going to be doing for the rest of my life." Saskia Burmeister, actor