Description
NEIL THE SEAL
First, to Tasmania. Where a much loved local celebrity has left town after spending a few weeks crushing infrastructure and blocking traffic. Some would say he's a menace, others would say he's a national treasure. This is Neil the Seal. Neil is a five-year-old elephant seal who pops up twice a year in Southern Tasmania, where he was born, and puts on quite a show. He's a big celebrity. In both size, weighing in at 1000 kilos, and in popularity. Neil has a lot of fans, rightfully so, and even his own security person! Because, well, he is a wild animal and wildlife experts want to make sure he's protected. As Neil gets older he's going to get even bigger and possibly become territorial, so it's important that when he does visit, crowds keep their distance. For now, Neil is heading back out to sea. Though, experts reckon there's a chance he'll be back on Tassies shores later this year. So, it might not be a goodbye, but see you later.
MODI MELBOURNE
India's prime minister Narendra Modi was given a rock star welcome to Australia last night by more than 20,000 people in Melbourne. He's here to chat to our Prime Minister about ways the two countries can work together, on things like defence, energy and AI. They also signed a new agreement for Australia to export uranium to India for its nuclear power industry. But not all were celebrating the visit. Protest groups were gathered outside, including some who were calling for Mr Modi to address human rights issues in India.
ALBERT NAMATJIRA
Now, this week is NAIDOC Week, which is all about recognising the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. So to celebrate we're bringing you the stories of some iconic First Nations Aussies voiced by First Nations kids. This is Albert Namatjira. He was born in 1902 in Central Australia and was an Arunda man. Albert was always artistic, but he worked lots of different jobs, like as a camel driver and a carpenter. One day Albert visited an exhibition by an artist named Rex Battarbee, and he was inspired! He got in touch with Rex and he agreed to teach Albert how to paint with watercolours, and Albert agreed to show Rex beautiful places in the bush to paint. Albert developed his own unique style and his work started going on display. His landscape paintings became really popular in Australia and overseas. The Queen was even a fan! At the time, people thought his art showed how Aboriginal people could fit into Western society. But Albert's work also included many parts of traditional Aboriginal culture and art. In 1957, he became the first Aboriginal person to be granted citizenship, so he could vote and own land. He received a medal, and was even on a postage stamp! Despite his success, Albert still faced hardships and prejudice as an Aboriginal person. By the time he died, he had painted about two thousand artworks. He's seen as one of Australia's greatest artists and a pioneer for Aboriginal rights. He even inspired his Great-Grandson Vincent Namatjira to become an artist. And Vincent became the first Aboriginal person to win the Archibald Prize! Now you can see Albert, and Vincent Namatjira's artworks in national galleries all around the world, where he continues to inspire future artists.
BIN BOY
Finally, meet 6-year old Thomas! Perth's youngest bin collector. For Thomas, being a bin in collector is his ultimate passion. And one day a bin collector gave Thomas the chance to help out to push the bins back to the truck. His passion for cleaning the streets has turned him into a bit of a social media star. But being famous isn't what Thomas dreams about. One day, he hopes to run his very own waste management company, and the City of Perth's Waste Team is already impressed, saying they'd love to have him on their team in about 10 years' time!
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For the past 55 years, Behind the News has been helping to break down current issues and events for young people all around the world. The program is a high-energy, fun way for people to learn about the stories we see in the news while providing background information that isn’t usually given by other news bulletins.
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