Questions for discussion

Tony Abbott1. Who is the new Prime Minister of Australia?2. Where did Tony Abbott study in the United Kingdom?3. Tony Abbott studied to be a Catholic priest. True or false?4. What other interesting job has Tony Abbott had?5. What sports does Tony Abbott like to do?6. How many children does Tony Abbott have?7. In what year did Tony Abbott become the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia?

a. 1999b. 2009c. 2013

8. Name three issues that are on Tony Abbott’s ‘to do list’ now that he is Prime Minister.9. What do you know about Tony Abbott? Discuss as a class. 10. What qualities do you think are needed to be an effective Prime Minster?

Want to learn more about the federal election? Visit BtN’s Aussie Kids Vote 2013 page. Kids can vote on the issues or draw a pollie! http://www.abc.net.au/btn/government.htm

Drone Debate1. What are drones and what are they used for?2. What were the drones used for in the Drone Debate story?3. Why are drones controversial?4. Who owns the drone Hector?5. What is Hector taking photos of?6. What are the animal right activists trying to prove?7. Spying with Hector is illegal. True or false?8. What are some of the laws when using drones?9. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of drones?10. How important is privacy to you? Discuss as a class.

Is it ok for animal rights campaigners to use drones to collect information? Have your say in the BtN online poll. To vote head to the BtN website http://abc.net.au/btn/polls.htm

Check out BtN’s Drone Debate teacher resource. Students will develop a deeper understanding of the drone debate between animal activists and farmers in Australia http://www.abc.net.au/btn/resources/teacher/episode/20130910-dronedebate.pdf

Making Money1. Where are Australian coins made?2. Where in Australia is the Royal Australian Mint found? Locate using Google Maps.3. Describe what the factory looks like.4. What is the name of the largest and strongest robot found at the mint?5. What part of the process does Titan perform?6. How many coins are made per minute?

©ABC 2013

Episode 2610th September 2013

a. 65b. 650c. 6,500

7. The Royal Australian Mint is run entirely by robots. True or false?8. Describe how a new coin is designed.9. What is Australia’s currency called?10. Illustrate the coin making process from start to finish.

Check out BtN’s Making Money teacher resource. Students will use timelines to describe past events and changes in relation to Australian currency and solve mathematical problems involving currencies and exchange rates.http://www.abc.net.au/btn/resources/teacher/episode/20130910-makingmoney.pdf

Street Dogs1. In what well known mountain range would you find the town of Leh?2. What is the highest mountain peak in the world?3. Locate Leh using Google Maps.4. The street dogs in Leh survive on food scraps from...

a. The localsb. Touristsc. The government

5. The dog population is getting bigger and so is the number of dangerous dogs. True or false?6. Why are farmers concerned about the dog population in Leh?7. Around how many people go to hospital each day because of dog bites?8. What dangerous disease can the dogs carry?9. Who is trying to help control the street dog population in Leh?10. What procedure are vets performing on the street dogs to stop them from breeding?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the BtN Street Dogs story page. http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3840218.htm

Karate Kid1. Karate is a form of...

a. Wrestlingb. Classical dance c. Martial art

2. Before practising karate, Mary used to be a __________ __________.3. Name a ballet position.4. What choreographed karate moves did Mary perform?5. What skills are taught in karate?6. Some of the skills learnt in karate are similar to ballet. True or false?7. What is the highest grade belt you can achieve in karate?8. At the moment what colour belt does Mary have?9. How many gold medals did Mary win at the GKR karate club’s World Cup?10. Illustrate an aspect of the Karate Kid story.

Test your knowledge in the Karate Kid quiz. Go to the BtN website and follow the links.

©ABC 2013

Activity

Drone DebateKey LearningStudents will develop a deeper understanding of the drone debate between animal activists and farmers in Australia. Students will participate in and contribute to discussions about privacy and the moral/ethical issues surrounding the use of drones.

The Australian CurriculumEnglish / Literacy / Interacting with others

Clarify understanding of content as it unfolds in formal and informal situations, connecting ideas to students’ own experiences and present and justify a point of view (ACELY1699)

Participate in and contribute to discussions, clarifying and interrogating ideas, developing and supporting arguments, sharing and evaluating information, experiences and opinions(ACELY1709)

Identify and discuss main ideas, concepts and points of view in spoken texts to evaluate qualities, for example the strength of an argument or the lyrical power of a poetic rendition (ACELY1719)

English / Literacy / Interacting with others

Use interaction skills, for example paraphrasing, questioning and interpreting non-verbal cues and choose vocabulary and vocal effects appropriate for different audiences and purposes (ACELY1796)

Use interaction skills, varying conventions of spoken interactions such as voice volume, tone, pitch and pace, according to group size, formality of interaction and needs and expertise of the audience (ACELY1816)

Use interaction skills when discussing and presenting ideas and information, selecting body language, voice qualities and other elements, (for example music and sound) to add interest and meaning (ACELY1804)

Discussion Questions1. What are drones and what are they used for?

2. What were the drones used for in the Drone Debate story?

3. Why are drones controversial?

4. Who owns the drone Hector?

5. What is Hector taking photos of?

6. What are the animal right activists trying to prove?

7. Spying with Hector is illegal. True or false?

8. What are some of the laws when using drones?

9. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of drones?

10. How important is privacy to you? Discuss as a class.

©ABC 2013

Episode 2610th September 2013

Activities

Discussion and research

After watching the BtN Drone Debate story invite students to participate in a class discussion. Find out what your students know about drones, what they learnt from the story and what questions they have about the topic. Here are some discussion starters:

Brainstorm some of the issues associated with drones and their use over private property. Students will then conduct their own research into drones and privacy.

BtN would like to hear what your view is on drones and privacy. Post your comment on the Drone Debate story page. http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3840212.htm

©ABC 2013

Discussion questions What was surprising about this story? What rights do you think farmers should have? What are the pros and cons for using drones? Create a plus and minus chart.

Research questions What do drones do? What is privacy? As a class discuss the moral and ethical

issues. Do drones threaten our right to privacy? Why or why not? How would you feel if someone used a drone over your

school or backyard? Is privacy more important in some places than others? How would you decide what should be made public space

and what should remain private? Why are drones controversial? What position do you have on the issue? How important is privacy to you? Explain your answer.

What do you want to find out?

How will you find out?

What do you know? What did you learn?

Drone debate

Before preparing for your classroom debate invite students to participate in a class discussion on whether they think drones should be allowed over private property.

Consider creating a SWOT chart on drones.

Preparing for your mini debate Working in pairs, students will prepare a 1-2 minute speech for a mini debate on the topic of animal

rights. One person will speak for the affirmative and the other will speak for the negative.

Before students begin to construct their argument, ask them to record what they already know about the topic and what they would like to find out. Students then research the topic to gain a greater understanding of the issue.

Ask students to list their arguments in point form on paper (without their partner seeing them). When they have done this, ask them to choose the five best points that will form the basis for their debate.

Students will write in point form, their debate on cards that fit into the palm of their hand. Their debate needs to have an introduction (introducing the topic), middle (three main points) and a conclusion (restating their position). Students practise their speech and then present the mini debate to other students.

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Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

Guide for giving feedback Was the information clear and

accurate? Were the arguments logical? Were the counter arguments

accurate and relevant? Comments about the presentation

style (tone of voice, body language, enthusiastic, convincing).

Reflection How difficult was it to think of points to

support one side of the argument? Do you think you would have done a

better job supporting the other side of the argument?

Was I able to convince others of my opinion?

Did my opinion change? What did you learn from this activity?

8 Related Research Links

ABC Landline – Sky Warshttp://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2013/s3838274.htm

CBBC Newsround – India using drones to protect endangered rhinoshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/22081314

Behind the News – Drone Dilemmahttp://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3445945.htm

ABC News – Animal welfare group to monitor farms with dronehttp://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-31/animal-welfare-group-to-monitor-farms-with-drone/4602644

ABC News – Drone wars: The definition dogfighthttp://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-01/drone-wars-the-definition-dogfight/4546598

©ABC 2013

Activity

Making MoneyKey LearningStudents will use timelines to describe past events and changes in relation to Australian currency. Students will solve mathematical problems involving currencies and exchange rates.

The Australian CurriculumMathematics / Number and Algebra / Real numbers

Recognise and solve problems involving simple ratios (ACMNA173)

Express one quantity as a fraction of another, with and without the use of digital technologies(ACMNA155)

Multiply and divide fractions and decimals using efficient written strategies and digital technologies(ACMNA154)

Mathematics / Number and Algebra / Money and financial mathematics

Solve problems involving purchases and the calculation of change to the nearest five cents with and without digital technologies (ACMNA080)

History / Historical Skills / Chronology, terms and concepts

Use historical terms and concepts (ACHHS118) (ACHHS206) (ACHHS099)  (ACHHS082)

Sequence historical people and events. (ACHHS117) (ACHHS098) (ACHHS081)

Sequence historical events, developments and periods (ACHHS205)

Discussion Questions1. Where are Australian coins made?2. Where in Australia is the Royal Australian Mint found? Locate using Google Maps.3. Describe what the factory looks like.4. What is the name of the largest and strongest robot found at the mint?5. What part of the process does Titan perform?6. How many coins are made per minute?

a. 65b. 650c. 6,500

7. The Royal Australian Mint is run entirely by robots. True or false?8. Describe how a new coin is designed.9. What is Australia’s currency called?10. Illustrate the coin making process from start to finish.

©ABC 2013

Episode 2610th September 2013

Activities

Art and Design

Ask your students to match the Australian coins with their corresponding designs.

Provide students with the opportunity to find out more about Australian coins, and the images/symbols that are represented on Australian coins.

Do you know who is responsible for designing, minting, and releasing Australian coins? Meet the minties, the people behind the scenes at the Australian Royal Mint. http://www.ramint.gov.au/designs/meet-the-minties/

©ABC 2013

Research questions What do the images on Australian coins represent? Think about Australian symbols.

Introduce students to coins of other countries. Collect and print a selection of coins, via online research, from various countries around the world. Alternatively ask students to bring to school examples of coins that they have collected from other countries. Ask students to name what country the coins come from, and then research the significance of the designs.

Compare Australian coins and coins from another country. How are they similar or different?

What is numismatics? Conduct online research into the science, study or collection of coins.

What is the difference between a circulating and an uncirculating coin?

Students will design their own coin. Brainstorm some ideas as a class. Students will need to consider the following:

What elements make up the design of the coin? Consider shape, size, images, theme, colour and currency.

What are you trying to represent? Is it an event, a commemoration, your school logo/emblem or is it a new Australian coin? What symbols will you use?

Refer to the Royal Australian Mint’s Art & Design Investigation for more information on designing your own coin http://www.ramint.gov.au/education/downloads/2011_Art_Design_Investigation1a.pdf

Mathematics

Watch BtN’s Strong Dollar story to find out more about the Australian dollar, and then answer the following questions. http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3230857.htm

Find out more about Australia’s currency. http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/currency.html

Explain how the decimal currency system works.

What denominations do Australia’s coins and notes come in?

What is Australia’s currency called? Find and list the names of different currencies around the world.

The value of the Australian dollar against other currencies such as the US dollar, the Japanese yen and the British pound can vary on a daily basis depending on a number of factors.

Find out the rate of the Aussie dollar compared to other currencies. List the rate today and then compare the rate the following day. Refer to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s website for up to date exchange rates http://www.rba.gov.au/statistics/frequency/exchange-rates.html

Australian dollar $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10

US dollar

Japanese yen

British pound

Using today’s exchange rate, how many US dollars would you receive for 100 Australian dollars? Complete this calculation for other currencies and other amounts. To check your calculations use an online currency calculator http://www.ratesfx.com/rates/rate-converter.html

What does a strong Aussie dollar mean? Who benefits from a strong Aussie dollar?

If you were travelling overseas to the US, would you rather a strong or weak Australian dollar? Why?

What does a high Aussie dollar means for the price of exports?

Is the Australian dollar doing well at the moment? Why or why not?

©ABC 2013

History

Provide students with the opportunity to create a timeline of significant historical events relating to the Royal Australian Mint. Consider adding photos and video. Refer to the Royal Australian Mint’s website for more information. http://www.ramint.gov.au/faq/

Watch this animation which was made to help Australians with the change from shillings and pounds to dollars and cents. http://vrroom.naa.gov.au/records/?ID=25372

This animated black-and-white television advertisement was designed to assist Australians with the transition from imperial to decimal currency on 14 February 1966. Through a question-and-answer format, a grandmother and a small girl explain the transition between currencies, the comparative value of each currency and the ability to use either dollars and cents or pounds, shillings and pence for up to two years after the new currency goes into circulation.

For inspiration take a look at these infographics which track the history of the British Royal Mint.http://visual.ly/tax-free-gold-and-royal-mint-historyhttp://visual.ly/changing-face-british-coins

©ABC 2013

Timeline investigation When was the Royal Australian Mint opened? What is Australia’s rarest coin? When was the name ‘dollar’ first approved? Which coin and note denominations were in use during the time of Federation? When was decimal currency introduced in Australia? When was the $1 coin first released? When was the $2 coin first released? When were 1c and 2c coins taken out of circulation? What is the origin of the $ sign? When did Australia change to a decimal currency system?

22 February 1965Australian Royal Mint opened

1984The $1 coin was first released

19901c and 2c coins taken out of circulation

Use templates provided by dipity or read write think to create your own timeline. http://www.dipity.com/http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/games-tools/timeline-a-30246.html

8 Related Research Links

Royal Australian Mint – Frequently Asked Questionshttp://www.ramint.gov.au/faq/

Royal Australian Mint – Education: At the minthttp://www.ramint.gov.au/education/

Rates FX – Currency Convertorhttp://www.ratesfx.com/rates/rate-converter.html

©ABC 2013

BtN: Episode 26 Transcript 10/9/13On this week's Behind the News

We learn more about the new guy running Australia.

Drones being used to spy on farmers - is it justified or an invasion of privacy?

And what's the true value of money? We head to the Royal Australian Mint to see how our coins are made.

Hi I'm Nathan Bazley, welcome to Behind the News.

Also on the show today we meet a girl who went from being a top ballet dancer to a karate champion. But first let's kick off with the main news story this week - the election. Here's Sarah with the Wire.

The WireAs you probably noticed there was an election on the weekend.

Right around the country people went to the polls to decide who they wanted to lead the country. As the counting started it became clear that many people wanted a change. And by quarter to ten - before all the seats were even decided - the Prime Minister took to the stage to concede defeat.

KEVIN RUDD: Geez, I thought we'd lost.

He thanked his supporters and wished the new Prime Minister well. Then it was Tony Abbott's turn to take the stage for a victory speech.

TONY ABBOTT: From today I declare that Australia is under new management and Australia is once more open for business.

Mr Abbott has started putting together his leadership team and has announced a few of the top jobs. Joe Hockey will be the new Treasurer; Deputy Liberal Leader Julie Bishop will be Foreign Affairs Minister.

In the Labor Party many of the top pollies - including Kevin Rudd - managed to keep their seats so they'll still be in parliament as members of the Opposition.

A few minor party members also scored seats in the lower house including Adam Bandt for the Greens.

©ABC 2013

In the senate it looks like quite a few minor party members will be heading for parliament. The senate has the power to block or approve bills so if they don't agree with the Government on big issues things could get interesting.

Poll ResultsAnd we did our own poll last week for you to have your say on the election.

54% of you thought that Kevin Rudd would make the better PM - over Tony Abbott.

Seems like the adults disagreed with you!

Tony AbbottReporter: Matt Holbrook

INTRO: So as you saw there we have a new PM - and it's Tony Abbott. Let's learn a bit more about him and what he plans to do. Here's Matt.

What do you know about Tony Abbott?

KID 1: Doesn't look as old as Kevin Rudd.

KID 2: He's very active, which is good, you need that in a Prime Minister.

KID 3: I think he likes to swim a lot.

KID 2: Did he used to be a lifesaver or something? He always has lifesaver caps on when he's swimming and stuff.

KID 1: He must be a really good listener because he's got really big ears.

KID 4: Cheapie.

KID 5: Sporty, yeah.

KID 3: Smart. He would be a good Prime Minister because he makes sensible choices

KID 1: Middle-aged

MATT HOLBROOK, REPORTER: So apart from age, and choice of swimming costume, what else should you know about the new PM? Well, here are some things that might surprise you about Tony Abbott.

He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in the UK. That's a scholarship given to some of the world's smartest and most successful people. And in his

©ABC 2013

time there, he even did a bit of boxing. After that, he came back to Australia, and studied to be a Catholic priest. He later worked as a journalist, and for a while, ran a concrete plant. So the Prime Minister's had his fair share of interesting jobs.

These days, he's married, and has three kids Louise, Bridget and Frances. And while he's given up boxing, he's still got a sporty side.

As a politician, Tony Abbott's been around for a while. He's been a member of parliament for nearly twenty years and was the Health Minister under an old Prime Minister, John Howard. He's been leader of the Liberal party since 2009.

But now that he's PM, he's got a pretty big "to do" list. Let's take a look at it.

You've probably heard this phrase more than once:

TONY ABBOTT: Who do you trust to stop the boats? Stop the boats. Stopping the boats.

Yep, Tony Abbott's promised to stop asylum seekers arriving by boat. He's giving more money to Indonesia to stop people smugglers before they begin the journey to Australia. He also has a plan to buy unsafe, dangerous boats, so they can't be used to transport asylum seekers.

And just in case you weren't sure:

TONY ABBOTT: We're going to stop the boats.

Next up - the Carbon Tax. Labor brought it in to help the environment, by making big polluters pay more money.

Tony Abbott says that he's going to scrap it. Instead, he wants to fund different projects to help reduce carbon emissions.

TONY ABBOTT: We will get as much environmental improvement, as much emissions reduction as we can, based on what we've budgeted.

And then there's broadband. The Coalition has been pretty negative about Labor's National Broadband Network. It's been designed to connect Aussie homes with fibre optic, the fastest network technology around. But the Coalition says that's too expensive. It's got its own plan that's a bit cheaper, and won't take as long to build, but also won't be as fast.

They're just some of the things on Tony Abbott's to do list. So while it's all smiles for now, for this new Prime Minister, there's some serious work ahead.

Drone DebateReporter: Natasha Thiele

©ABC 2013

INTRO: We've talked on BtN before about drones. They can fly in the sky and sometimes take videos of what's going on below. Recently some animal rights campaigners decided to use their own drone to look for evidence of animal cruelty.But as Sarah found out it's stirred up a lot of debate about whether it's right to spy from the sky.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: They're in the sky over cities and towns. They're exploring, searching, recording, and they could be watching you.

REPORTER: To some people the idea of being filmed from the sky by flying drones is pretty disturbing.

But with machines like this getting better and cheaper all the time it looks like drones are here to stay. A drone is any flying machine that can be controlled from the ground. And they've got all sorts of uses - from kids’ toys to multi-million dollar weapons.

But it's drones like this - remote controlled helicopters fitted with high definition cameras - that have recently been causing some debate. This drone has a name - Hector. It's worth 17,000 dollars and it's owned by an animal rights charity and today it's being used to take photos of a free range egg farm.

For eggs to be labelled as free range the chickens are supposed to be free to roam around during the day but the group suspects that some farmers are fibbing about how much their animals get out and about. And with Hector they're hoping to prove it.

ANIMAL RIGHTS CAMPAIGNERS: See, that's all really lush green.

ANIMAL RIGHTS CAMPAIGNERS: Yeah, there's no evidence at all.

ANIMAL RIGHTS CAMPAIGNERS: No evidence that the chooks have been scratching in any of that.

Spying on farmers isn't anything new for animal rights activists like Mark. He says he's been arrested many times for sneaking onto properties and taking videos. He says it's worth it, if he can expose cruelty.

But he says, the difference is with Hector spying is totally legal. You see, people don't own all of the sky above their land and as long as they don't get too close drones aren't actually trespassing.

There are some laws controlling where you can fly; for example you can't be higher than 122 metres, you can't be too close to an airport and you can't be too close to people. But some worry that the law as it stands doesn't give enough protection to people's privacy. And some don't appreciate being spied on.

©ABC 2013

MARK PEARSON: We're just filming in the area, that's all.

GLENN MONCRIEFF: Why?

MARK PEARSON: Sorry?

GLENN MONCRIEFF: Why? I just got a phone call to say that somebody was flying something over our farm.

MARK PEARSON: Oh, right, right. Yeah. Well, that's just some of the things we do, we document things, we film things around the area that are of interest to us.

GLENN MONCRIEFF: Where are you from?

MARK PEARSON: And that's probably pretty much all I'm going to say.

Farmer Glenn is one of the chook farm's owners. He says usually his hens roam around till dark but on that particular day they were inside being wormed. So, he says, the footage taken by Mark and his team is unfair and misleading.

GLENN MONCRIEFF: I find it extremely intrusive. I don't believe these people should have the right to do what they've just done. If they come and knock on me door and want to talk to me about - and ask questions, happy to help. If they want to fly things over my fence, I just don't agree with it.

Glenn isn't the only one. Some people reckon we need better laws to stop people from using drones to invade people's privacy. There are also worries about the safety of these machines if they're flown too close to aircraft or too close to people on the ground. But some reckon they can be valuable tools and if people have nothing to hide then they shouldn't be worried about having more eyes in the sky.

Online PollOK let's make that our poll this week.

The question is:

Is it ok for animal rights campaigners to use drones to collect information?

To vote just head to our website.

Making MoneyReporter: Emma Davis

©ABC 2013

INTRO: We often hear on the news about the changing value of the Aussie dollar. But what value does a dollar actually have? After all it's just a bit of metal isn't it? Emma went behind the scenes at the Royal Australian Mint to see how our coins are made.

EMMA DAVIS, REPORTER: These days it's hard to go a day without using money. Whether it's pocket money for doing chores, shopping at the supermarket or even for a new wardrobe. But have you ever stopped to think about where all these coins come from? Well all our coins come from this place, the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra. So let's check out how it's all done.

ANDREA LITTLE: Hello and welcome to the Royal Australian Mint. My name is Andrea and I'll be your guide. So follow me and we'll check out what there is to see at the mint. Be sure to look at the stairs as well.

Yep, they're all coins. This is what the factory looks like. It's a busy place. Robots and humans work together to get everything done, and a lot gets done here in a day.

ANDREA LITTLE: This is it. This is the only place in Australia that makes our circulating coins. So just behind us at the moment we've got all the robots working hard, they're actually packing and counting some coins at the moment. Before they will get boxed and go off to the banks and any moment now we're about to see our largest strongest robot Titan do a big lift of a drum of blanks and that will start the process of making coins today.

Titan weighs four point six tonnes and there's a good reason for that. He's in charge of lifting these big drums full of blanks and each drum weighs about 750 kilos. The blanks spill down onto this conveyor belt, so they can be lifted up and put into these blue coin pressers.

ANDREA LITTLE: Here in our circulating coining hall we can do 650 coins per minute so that's on average so it's very quick when we talk about our everyday coins.

See how fast it's moving? Every time it presses down, another coin gets imprinted with the design, like the 10 cent piece we all know so well. But they don't just make coins here, they also design them too. This is the coin designer’s office. All of the coins you've ever seen have gone through a coin design process. But before they can be sketched designers like Aaron have to research the design.

AARON BAGGIO: Then we generally produce finished art for ourselves which is 1 to 1 or I guess an enlarged image of our design and that design will then begin to be sculpted.

The plaster probably looks a bit strange because it's so much bigger than a regular coin. It needs to be big so the designer can get all the details just right. You wouldn't want to make a mistake and see it every time you reach

©ABC 2013

for your change. Once it's finished, it's scanned on to the computer where the finer details are added. And then this design is ready to be pressed into the blanks.

But most of the specialist coins Aaron makes aren't used by the public. These fancy coins are called 'uncirculated coins'. These types of coins are mostly for people to collect and while you can use them to buy things, you wouldn't want to. That's because some cost a lot to buy, since they took a lot of time to design and only a small number are minted. Take these ones for instance. They might look like normal, everyday coins but the whole set costs $125 to buy.

Back to the factory and once the coins have been stamped they're bagged, tagged and loaded into trucks. These trucks take the coins to banks all over Australia and that's how they get into our cash system. So next time you grab a coin out of your pocket, take some time to think about what kind of journey that small piece of metal has made.

Quiz 1Let’s see how closely you were paying attention to that.

Here’s a quiz.

The question is: Which animal is on the one dollar coin?

Platypus

Echidna

Kangaroo

Answer: Kangaroo

Street DogsReporter: Natasha Thiele

INTRO: The platypus is on the twenty cent coin and the echidna is on the five cent coin. Now to a story about another favourite animal of ours dogs. Did you know that in some countries there are lots of stray dogs roaming the streets? It can be a big problem they can be aggressive and can carry diseases. Tash finds out about an Aussie vet who's travelled overseas to help fix the problem.

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: The beautiful Himalayas, home to some of the world's highest mountain peaks including the famous Mount Everest. Every summer, tens of thousands of tourists head to the Himalayan town of Leh. But there's another side of the town they might not know about. Thousands of dogs roam the streets here. They don't have owners and they

©ABC 2013

survive on food scraps from tourists. Most of them can be pretty friendly and well-behaved but there are some that aren't. The problem is the dog population is getting bigger and so is the number of dangerous dogs.

SARAH MATTHEWS, VET: They go hunting, they'll attack the local stock so that's obviously an economic concern for farmers but also they are hungry and aggressive and they will attack each other and will attack humans so obviously there's a risk.

The local hospital says around 15 people come in with dog bites every day. This can be dangerous because the dogs can carry a disease called 'rabies'. It can be passed on to people and it can make you really sick. Chemists need to have anti-rabies vaccines on standby but supplies often run out. Nothing is really done to stop the dangerous animals. Most of the locals are Buddhists, who don't believe in putting them down.

Sarah is a vet from Sydney and her partner Andy is training to be a vet nurse. They're part of a volunteer group called 'Vets Beyond Borders' that are trying to control the street dog population in Leh. Their four-month trip involves de-sexing as many dogs as possible so they can't breed with one another. To do that, the dogs need to be caught by dog catchers which can be a hard task. Then they're taken to a clinic where they're treated.

SARAH MATTHEWS, VET: Okay, so this is a male adult dog. So basically we've anaesthetised him. We've put him onto fluids so he's supported during surgery and just put a sterile drape over him.

They're also vaccinated against rabies. After a couple of days, they're taken back to where they were found. So far in Leh, more than 700 dogs have been desexed by volunteer vets. They hope to get to 1000 before the end of the season.

ANDY GRAFTON, VOLUNTEER: Well it's nice to drive down the street and see dogs with giant shaved patches which you know you did a few days ago and you know that that dog's not gonna have any puppies.

Sarah and Andy are worried the program will suffer, after they head back home to Australia. There aren't enough local vets showing interest in the program.

SARAH MATTHEWS, VET: This year is a transition year. I come in as a reasonably qualified surgeon, I do a lot of desexing myself, but I also train the local vets to do surgery and you know here I am two and a half months in; I've had one vet attend on three days.

The ScoreLet's get some sports news now here's James with the Score.

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`The Games of the 32nd Olympiad in 2020 are awarded to the city of Tokyo!’ After two years of campaigning, Tokyo has won a bid to host the Olympic Games in 20-20. The Japanese capital city beat Istanbul 60 votes to 36. The last time the Games were held in Tokyo was all the way back in 1964.

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Still on the Olympics and wrestling has been voted back in as an Olympic sport. It was taken out of the Olympics program seven months ago to make room for something new. But even though other sports, including squash, baseball and softball were put forward the International Olympic Committee decided that wrestling will get its spot back at the 20-20 Tokyo games.

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To AFL and it was a big first week of finals with some surprising results. Port Power defeated Collingwood in the first elimination final 87 to 63. Richmond's season is also over after Carlton came from behind to beat the Tigers by twenty points.

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In Formula One, Sebastian Vettel has won the Italian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso finished second while Aussie, Mark Webber, finished third.

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The Aussie cricket side might have lost the Ashes but they're leading their one day international series with England 1 - nil. Captain, Michael Clarke, helped Australia to a total of 316 with an impressive century and England couldn't chase the score down.They were bowled out for 227.

Quiz 2We're going to have a story about karate next but first let's have quiz.

The question is: What does the word `karate' mean?

Empty hand

Strong arm

Spiritual fighter

Answer: Empty hand

Karate Kid©ABC 2013

Reporter: Natasha Thiele

INTRO: Recently some of Australia's best young karate kids took part in the international karate championships. Two of the gold medals went to a teenage girl who'd come into the sport from a rather unusual background. Tash went to meet her.

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: From pirouettes to hook kicks and arabesque to round-house kicks, it's a big change from tutu's and tights. Mary used to be a dancer. But three years ago, she decided to give up dancing. Instead she turned her focus to the ancient art form of karate.

MARY: Well someone came knocking on our door promoting GKR handing out flyers and me and a few friends thought it'd be a good idea and our parents liked the idea because it can keep us fit and we could learn how to protect ourselves, so me and a few friends started up and they lasted a month but I kept going.

Karate is practised right around the world. It teaches physical and mental strength, as well as confidence and self-defence. And Mary says some of the skills are similar to ballet.

MARY: In karate believe it or not there's actually a lot of technical work and a lot of remembering routines, so that's where my dancing and ballet really comes in handy. It was a little bit hard at first because when I was kicking in karate I used to point my toes but after a few months it was easy to make the adjustment.

REPORTER: So Mary, is there a move you can show me that might be similar to ballet, but a karate move?

MARY: Well this is a stance in karate that's similar to a plié in ballet. So if you step into second position in ballet and plié down, that there is stance.

REPORTER: Okay cool, that's good for your thighs.

MARY: It's a bit of a work out. How about I show you a combination? So you wanna start in hikidashi then you wanna step back and do a block, then you wanna punch and step up and kick and step down.

REPORTER: Should we give it a go then a bit faster?

Every karate student hopes to one day become a black belt - that's the highest grading you can get. But depending on your club, there are a few other colours you need to pass first. It takes a lot of training and experience to get there. At the moment Mary is a red belt, but she's proving she has what it takes to one day get the black. This year, she competed in the GKR Karate Club's World Cup in Sydney. It's one of the biggest clubs in the world. She did really well taking home two gold medals! One was in a sparring category called 'kumite' which involves scoring points against your opponent. The other

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was in 'kata' where Mary performed a pattern of choreographed karate moves.

MARY: It was quite overwhelming it was just, I was almost in tears. It was just so good to know that all my hard work had paid off.

CloserThat's it for the show.

You can jump onto our website if you want to get more info on any of the stories. You can send us your comments and don't forget to vote in this week's poll. I'll see you next time.

©ABC 2013