BTN: Episode 10 Transcript 1/5/18

Hey, Amelia here, welcome to BTN.

Coming up today.

• We find out why some big Aussie banks are in a bit of trouble.

• Kids around the country tell us how they've been contributing to their communities.

• And a ten-year-old business owner tells us the secrets of his success.

But first up let’s find out about some of the big stories that have been in the news over the past week.

This Week in News

There's been some good news about North and South Korea. The leaders of the two countries have met for the first time in 10 years and they say they're working towards a peace treaty.

That's a big deal because North and South Korea have been enemies since a civil war back in the 1950s. North Korea has made threats against its neighbour in the past and it's tested nuclear weapons. But for the past few months it's been making an effort to start friendlier talks with the South.

Australia's Government's announced it's going to put half a billion dollars towards protecting the Great Barrier Reef. For a while now, experts have been worried about threats to the reef like pollution, climate change, and an invasive species called crown of thorns starfish.

Now the government says it'll put the funds towards stuff like improving water quality on the reef and fighting crown of thorns. It's also planning to research ways to make the coral stronger.

And finally, the newest member of the British royal family has been named. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge decided to call their newborn son Louis Arthur Charles with his official title being His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge.

Louis's the middle name of his dad Prince William and his brother George. And he's the fifth in line to the throne.

Banking Royal Commission Reporter: Ruby Cornish

©ABC 2018

INTRO: Another story that you might've heard a lot about lately involves Australia's banks. They're the subject of a big investigation going on called a Royal Commission and it's found that some big finance companies have been doing some pretty dodgy things. Let’s find out more.

If you were going to put someone in charge of all your money, you'd have to trust them, right?

BANKER: Thank you.

Well, that's basically what we're doing when we use banks. As well as looking after your money for you, banks can lend you money (maybe to buy a house, or start a business), and they can give you advice about what you should do with your dosh.

RUBY: So, I don't actually have a job but I'm really good at baking, so I was thinking about opening my own cupcake shop.

But for a while now, there have been worries that not all Aussie banks deserve our trust and have actually been ripping us off.

RUBY: So, what do you think?

BANKER: Oh yes, we can definitely give you that loan.

RUBY: Great.

See, as well as helping us out with our money matters, banks are businesses, which means they're out to make a profit. And they make big profits. Just last year, our biggest four banks made a combined 31.5 billion dollars profit. They do it through things like charging us fees for our accounts and credit cards, and interest on our loans. Recently we've found out that some banks have been using dodgy methods to boost their profits.

BANKER: How many zeros should I put on your cheque?

RUBY: Ah, I’m not actually sure that I can afford to borrow that much.

BANKER: Oh don't worry, you can afford it. You could open a whole chain of cupcake stores.

RUBY: Really?

And they've also made people pay for services they never actually got.

BANKER: Oh, I almost forgot. You didn't pay us for the advice we gave you on your new boat.

RUBY: My boat? I never bought a boat, I've never even thought about buying a boat -

BANKER: Time's up. Next.

©ABC 2018 Banks have even charged people for services they couldn't possibly have asked for because they'd died years ago.

BANKER: Ah yes sir, here are your bills for this month.

Right now, there's a Royal Commission going on into the behaviour of our banks. It's a big investigation which was started by the Aussie government last year after a lot of political and public pressure. So far, the commission's heard that Aussie banks might have taken hundreds of millions of dollars they weren't entitled to and left a lot of people in financial trouble. It's left many of Australia's money experts shocked, and two managers of one big company have already resigned.

It'll be a while before the Commission wraps up, but some people are saying there need to be tough consequences for banks that did the wrong thing, that could include things fines or even jail time if people have broken the law. There are worries that punishing banks could affect their customers and the Australian economy, but many agree that something has to be done if banks want to seem trustworthy into the future.

Villers-Bretonneux Centenary Reporter: Amelia Moseley

INTRO: Last week we commemorated ANZAC Day, a time to remember Australians who served in wars and conflicts. Now you probably know that the date, April 25th, was when ANZAC troops landed in Gallipoli during the First World War. But it's also the anniversary of another really important battle that happened a few years later in a little French town called Villers-Bretonneux. Let’s find out more about it.

It's known as the Great War, the First World War, and there are plenty of tales of great bravery from that time. But the story of thousands of Australian soldiers who fought to free this small town in France is sometimes overlooked back home. Yet, these men helped change the course of history.

In early 1918, the world had been at war for nearly four years. Allied forces including Britain, France and Australia, were trying to hold back the German Army at what was known as the Western Front. It was a series of trenches that ran hundreds of kilometres from Belgium to Switzerland and German forces were moving further into France. That's when a tiny French town called Villers-Bretonneux became one of the most important strategic points in the war.

You see on April 23rd, 1918, the town was taken over by the German Army. That was a big problem. Nearby was the city of Amiens. It was an important transport, communication and supply centre that helped the Allies control the region. If Amiens fell to Germany, Paris could be next, and the Allies could lose the war.

So, thousands of Australian soldiers were sent on a mission to help British forces take back Villers-Bretonneux. The thing was they were massively outnumbered by German soldiers and had to attack without much help from artillery, aircraft or tanks. Nonetheless, on the eve of ANZAC Day (April 24th, 1918) cloaked in the darkness of night. The Australian soldiers approached the town from two different directions and surprised the German forces. The battle ended in the deaths of at least 1,200 Australian soldiers in just

©ABC 2018 one night. But it was a victory for the Allies. The German Army retreated and Villers- Bretonneux was freed. Many agree it was a turning point in the war.

TIM FISCHER, VIETNAM WAR VETERAN: It was an unbelievable breakthrough. Fierce fighting. It was as far west as the Germans ever reached in World War One.

The victory was also the beginning of a lifelong friendship between Australia and Villers- Bretonneux. The people here have promised never to forget the Australian soldiers and their sacrifice, and little reminders of their home country can be seen across the town. From an Aussie flag flying on the town hall and kangaroo emblems in shop windows, to familiar street names and even a school named after the state of Victoria, which was rebuilt using donations collected by Victorian kids. Its students still learn about Australian ways.

Now a new memorial centre has been opened in Villers-Bretonneux to teach the next generations about the battle.

And this year on ANZAC Day, 100 years after the town was freed, many Australians including our PM attended a very special dawn service to honour the soldiers who gave their lives.

MALCOLM TURNBULL It was, to both friend and foe, one of the greatest feats of the war. And we meet here 100 years later; on land long healed - to remember them. Lest We Forget.

Quiz

In what year did World War One start?

Was it

1913

1914

1916

The answer is 1914.

Kids Contribute Results Reporter: Amelia Moseley

INTRO: Now, did you take part in the BTN Kids Contribute Survey? Well if you're one of the 11 thousand kids who did then I'd like to say a big thank you, on behalf of the whole BTN team, for sharing your thoughts and experiences. Over the holidays we put together all of your answers. So, let's find out how you're contributing.

Whether it's doing chores at home, lending a hand at school, or volunteering in your community; it seems a lot of Aussie kids like to do their bit to help others.

©ABC 2018 At home, a whopping 89% of you told us you do chores, even though only half of you get pocket money for doing them. For you lucky kids that do, most of you get around 5 to 10 bucks max.

CHLOE: On the weekends I would like sweep the deck or something for my dad and get like $5 or whatever.

FLYNN: So, if I do my homework and my chores, I get $25.

BLAKE: I generally get money for most of the chores I do, like feeding the cat. Sometimes like taking out the neighbours bins I don’t really get money for because that’s just, you know, kind.

Around one in three kids said they often help to look after their siblings or other family members. And it turns out around one in two kids have found themselves helping adults with technology.

LAURA: Yeah, I get asked to do that a lot.

CHLOE : It's kind of what we just know and so parents obviously didn't have that when they were little.

At school, a lot of you guys are prepared to do more than just your class work. Most of you said you often lend a hand at school events. But, you do other things too like helping your peers with their schoolwork, or helping to make others feel better, like when they're sad, angry or being bullied.

BLAKE: We sometimes help the younger kids with like all their spelling and that.

LAURA: At my school, if you're a year 7 coming into year 8 cause it's a high school there is a lot of girls that go out and we meet the new kids and make them familiar with the school environment before they start coming to school.

In the community, around one in five kids said they often volunteer or make donations, and three out of four kids told us they're part of a club or help out at one; mostly by supporting at games or other events, helping to clean or tidy up, or by raising money. More than half of kids surveyed also said they like to help take care of the environment.

LAURA: Simple things just like recycling or helping in committees that have like clean-up groups on the weekends, simple things like that can really help out the environment and help out the community.

And finally, heaps of you said contributing makes you feel happy, responsible, appreciated and like you're a part of something. And a lot of you contribute to help others feel better, to make the world a better place, or to have fun and learn new things.

FLYNN: I feel like I've like achieved something and I feel like I've helped somebody.

LAURA: Our parents and the adults around us do so much for us and they've always been there for us our whole lives, even our parents' parents, and I feel like giving back is just something that comes with the responsibility of being who we are.

©ABC 2018 So, kids of Australia - keep up the good work.

BTN Birthday Promo

Did you know that Aussie kids have been watching BTN for half a century? Yup, next term is our 50th birthday and we want you to help us celebrate. Send in a short video of your class or your whole school wishing Behind The News a happy 50th and upload it to our website and you could appear in our special birthday episode. For all the details just head to our website.

Composting Awareness Reporter: Jack Evans

INTRO: Now to a story about gross, rotten food. OK, so that might not sound so appealing to you... but trust me, if you were a plant you'd think it was delicious. I'm talking about compost. Next week is International Compost Awareness Week, so Jack got his gloves on to investigate.

These guys know the secret to a healthy and happy garden. I'll give you a hint it's got something to do with these food scraps.

KID 1: Shhh don't tell anyone but its composting.

REPORTER: So how do our left overs get turned into this nutrient rich fertiliser? Is it magic? Lettuce see what happens.

The compost story all starts with a bit of decomposition. That's when food scraps start to break down into smaller bits with a little help from things like Bacteria, insects and fungi. That's step one but there's still a long way to go for this stuff to be really useful.

REPORTER: So, what are you guys doing now?

KID 2: well we're moving the compost, like food scraps, from compost 1 and moving it into number 2.

KID 3: So, then we can add the blood and bones with the manure.

That’s a type of fertilizer made from dried animal blood and ground animals bones. Gross. But believe it or not these ingredients actually help to make the compost healthier.

REPORTER: So, what’s the next step?

KID 4: We need to mix it in.

KID 1: Just like this.

Once it's been mixed critters such as worms, slugs and other insects eat their way through the decomposed matter and poop it out improving the composts texture.

©ABC 2018 REPORTER: So, this is the finished product?

KID 5: Yeah, it's now time to put it in our garden.

KID 6: It will go on our plants and will give them lots of nutrients, so they can grow nice and big.

And as you can tell from their garden it seems to be working.

REPORTER: So, we know composting is good for our garden. But why can't we just send our food scraps to landfill? Wont it just become compost there?

KIDS: WRONG!

Food scraps that end up in a landfill create methane gas. That's a powerful Greenhouse Gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and scientists say that can impact climate change. But that's not the only problem. Organic materials like these contain a lot of water and when that water is combined with other landfill it creates a toxic sludge called Leachate. If Leachate ends up in our water ways it can harm the creatures that live there as well as make the water that we drink and swim in dirty.

These guys reckon that despite being a little bit smelly composting not only helps your garden but helps keep the rest of the world healthy and happier.

KID 2: It's important to compost cause it's free I guess, and it helps the plants grow and no point not.

KID 1: There’s something you've got to do with all those food scraps and the compost is really good for the garden anyway.

Ask a Reporter

Do you have a question about composting? Ask Jack live on Friday during Ask a Reporter. Just head to our website for the details.

Did you Know

Did you know around half of the rubbish Australians sent to landfill is organic waste that could be composted or put in the green waste bin.

Sport

The Newcastle Jets are through to their first A-league grand final in 10 years thanks to an amazing scorpion kick goal by Riley McGree.

The 19-year old's strike is being called the greatest goal in A-league history.

Newcastle will now face Melbourne Victory in the grand final this weekend after Victory pulled off a massive upset by knocking out reigning champs Sydney FC.

©ABC 2018

Meanwhile, there was some tension at the Formula one in Azerbaijan. Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen are on the same team but 11 laps from the finish line they crashed into each other and ruined the race for frontrunner Valtteri Bottas.

The pair have been asked to apologise for the mishap before their next round in Barcelona where hopefully they can steer clear of each other.

Believe it or not, the teeny speck on this 25-metre wave is one very brave surfer.

Rodrigo Koxa from Brazil rode this monster of a wave in Portugal last year and incredibly came out completely unscathed.

This week in California he was given the award for the largest wave ever surfed.

In the NFL, 22-year-Old Shaquem Griffin’s dream of being a line-backer for the Seattle Seahawks has just come true. It's also a historic moment for the NFL because Shaquem is the sport's first one-handed player.

His left hand was removed when he was four years old, but it hasn't slowed him down.

As an added bonus, his twin brother Shaqueel is also on the team.

Popcorn Business

Reporter: Erin Scott

INTRO: Finally today, running your own business is pretty hard work for anyone so imagine doing it while you're still at primary school. Well you're about to meet a 10-year- old entrepreneur who's doing just that. His name is Sam and his business is popping.

REPORTER: Man, I could really do with a snack.

SAM: Popcorn?

REPORTER: Ash thanks.

REPORTER: This is amazing.

SAM: Thanks, I make it myself.

REPORTER: No way. You have to show me how.

SAM: OK this way.

This is Sam and popcorn is his business. Literally for the past 5 months he's been running his own business called Sam's popcorn. He makes Himalayan salted popcorn and caramel popcorn and yep, they're just as delicious as they sound.

Sam's popcorn begins pretty much the same way most does. With a pan, some oil (coconut oil in this case) some corn and of course the pop.

SAM: I have to really be careful otherwise like it will be burnt, time is crucial for this.

SAM: So, its nearly done, so in it goes.

After the popcorn has cooled Sam adds his special ingredients which are, oh sorry, we can't tell you that.

SAM: I would like to but that's top secret

Then it's time to package it up for his customers. Sam says he'd always wanted to start a business and the idea just popped into his head.

SAM: I thought the popcorn in like markets wasn't as good as I thought it should be, so I decided to start doing popcorn.

He says while it can be fun, running a business is also hard work.

SAM: It is like kind of hard when I get up it's popcorn and then get ready for school and then go to school then I have a quick snack do a little popping do my school homework and then its deliveries and packaging and then it's like that every day.

Sam's parents helped him to do all the official paperwork that you need to do when you start a business and together they designed a logo and a website.

SAM: Currently people go on to the website and then they order the popcorn and then we make the popcorn and then its delivered to either the houses or wherever they want it to be.

Sam says delivering his sweet, salty, crunchy treats is one of the best bits.

SAM: I actually do like delivering the popcorn like personally and I can see their reactions.

Sam says his business is booming and he has some big plans for the future.

SAM: I'm planning to open a donation branch to research for cancer and all the profit of that area would be donated and maybe also open a store front.

He’s also got some great advice for other young entrepreneurs.

SAM: Pick carefully what you want to do and if you've got the drive for it and you want to do it then you can do it.

REPORTER: Well Sam thank you for showing us how it’s all done. Now to my favourite part of popcorn, eating it. Ready? 3, 2, 1.

SAM: It hit my tooth.

©ABC 2018

Closer

And that's it for today. But there's heaps more to see and do on our website and don't forget to send us your birthday messages. See you next week.