Feature: 'Fear and Carbon in Canberra' for The Isthmus

In my final semester of uni I worked on a collection of articles for a new intelligent pop culture journal called The Isthmus, a project headed by Stephen Harrington. I also acted as online editor, subbing and workshopping all articles before publication. It was a fantastic experience and the team was made up almost exclusively of fun, creative pop culture enthusiasts. 

I've held off posting them until now because there's been a few kinks with the site meaning it never properly launched. I'm like a kid holding up finger painting: 'look, mummy, look what I did!' I just can't wait. 

So, here's a research/opinion piece I wrote in late July on the heated carbon tax debate - before it was passed. You can read it online here. 

Fear and Loathing in Canberra: a savage journey into the heart of Australian politics

By Anna Angel

There is nothing to fear but fear itself, except the pricing of carbon, that is. The debate over the proposed carbon tax has divided the nation like nothing since the introduction of the GST. Tony Abbott advised his party members to keep the argument ‘civil’ only moments before they called on a national rally in Canberra to “maintain the rage”. “We don’t want our country reduced to two warring camps,” he said.  Sorry, Tony, but it might be a little late for that. Rhetoric and commentary from both sides of the war on carbon have been nothing less than hysterical since the pricing scheme was introduced in July.  In this all-out screaming match, fear mongering is the favoured tack.  We are presented with an apparently impossible choice: implement the tax and our families will go hungry,

fail to do so and eventually, our families will go hungry. Whichever side of the fence you’re on, heavy spin from politicians and media alike aims to ensure you’re not left sitting on it.

News: various for QUT News on 4EB

Here's a link to various news packages I did for QUT News on 4EB 98.1 FM over the last week.

Unfortunately they're missing their newsreader intros, but the general gist remains.

http://soundcloud.com/annaeangel/sets/4eb-radio-packages

News: 'October's veggie challenge' for QUT News

Friday 30 September 2011

October is shaping up to be the month to turn over a new leaf.

Australians are being challenged to go vegetarian from tomorrow, in time for International Vegetarian Week.

Anna Angel reports.

For the transcript and original story, see here.

News: 'Storms, strikes cause commuter chaos' for QUT News

Thursday 29 September 2011

Thousands of airline passengers have faced long delays across eastern Australia because of major storms and industrial disputes.

Anyone planning to fly over the next few days is advised to check times before going to the airport.

Anna Angel reports.

For the transcript and original story, see here.

News: 'Murdered Kiesha given proper burial', for QUT News

Wednesday 28 September 2011

Friends and family of murdered six-year-old Kiesha Abrahams have finally laid her to rest at a private funeral service in Sydney’s west.

Kiesha was reported missing from her Mount Druitt home in August last year.

Anna Angel reports.

For the transcript and original story, see here.

News: 'Custom workers strike over stalled pay negotiations' for QUT News

I've just wrapped up a week with QUT's TV web bulletin - very interesting and outside of my comfort zone.

I'll be posting up some examples of the work I did.

Custom workers strike over stalled pay negotiations

Tuesday 27 September 2011

Thousands of custom and quarantine workers at international airports across the country walked off the job today protesting about stalled pay negotiations.

The union leading the work stoppages has apologised to passengers for any delays but says it had no other choice.

See the transcript and the original story here.

Feature: 'Parks to put the roses in your cheeks' for The Courier Mail

16 September 2011

Vital escapes in busy cities, our world-class green spaces give us plenty of fresh reasons to play and relax, writes Anna Angel.

A BREATH of fresh air does a world of good, so get a few lungsful tomorrow, on World Parks Day.

Whether you fancy a cheap and adventurous camping weekend in a national park, a romantic picnic on the foredunes, or a family barbecue in a city park, the choice across Queensland is limitless.

David Clarke, CEO of Australia and New Zealand's leading parks organisation, Parks Forum, says healthy parks lead to healthy communities.

``Not only do they contribute to physical health, but also to mental health: exposure to the natural world is therapeutic,'' he says.

Queensland University of Technology community space expert Dr Gillian Lawson says councils recognise the importance of harnessing our natural blessings. ``We've got a strong tradition of sporting groups using parks, but not of a diverse range of physical activities that are much more widely accessible than a cricket match,'' Dr Lawson says.

But she praised Brisbane and Gold Coast councils for providing locals with fresh reasons pull out the picnic hampers.

One example is Brisbane City Council's LIVE arts program, which will see parks across the city play host to a mix of free music events throughout September.

Another is the city's Active Parks series with free and low-cost activities in more than 50 of the city's parks. The program varies throughout the week and comes alive on weekends.

News: 'No gravity, no trouble for beer bubbles' for The Courier-Mail

This is a story that first appeared on The Courier-Mail website, then in the app edition. It can be viewed here. A shortened version also appeared in the print edition, April 8.

No gravity, no trouble for beer bubbles

By Anna Angel

IT might not be long before beer connoisseurs can sip a pint in space, but you probably wouldn't be able to keep it down, or even want to. 
 
A special blend of 4-Pines Brewery's 'space beer' flowed freely at Queensland University of Technology's zero-gravity research facility yesterday, in a trial of the beverage's behaviour in the low gravity of space.

The lab's director Professor Ted Steinberg said the project, which began in October last year, focuses on tweaking the brew's carbonation levels for safe consumption in space.

News: 'Real 'service' station keeps paying the Bill' for The Courier-Mail

First day on the job (okay, internship) at The Courier-Mail. Found in the paper on April 5.

Real 'service' station keeps paying the Bill

 Anna Angel
5 April 2011
The Courier-Mail

NUNDAH'S Buckland Auto Service doesn't sell bread or milk, but more than 50 years of old-fashioned service has kept the customers coming back.

Owner Bill Russell and his wife Marilyn have survived offering more than just fuel - they take the time to personally look after each customer - giving something the large service stations no longer provide.

The pair offer full driveway service - filling up motorists' tanks, pumping tyres and greeting each one with a smile and a bit of a chat through the car window.

Mr Russell said it was a simple but rare level of service that keeps their business afloat.

``If you keep them happy they will come back,'' he said.

He said he would be giving the fuel away for free if he tried to compete in the service station price wars.

Instead, as a skilled mechanic, he is able to to provide quality car care and much more than customer fuel vouchers.

``If you've got a little problem with your car, and it's just somebody behind a counter, they're not going to get off their bum to help anyone,'' he said.

He said motoring enthusiasts trust him with their classic vehicles because ``younger mechanics have no idea what to do with them''.

Mr Russell said while many smaller service stations had struggled to compete, the Nundah garage has been in business since 1956 and showed no sign of slowing.

``We make a living, we look after them and they're all happy," he said.

News: 'Child pageants down under?' for Biscuit Magazine

Contribution to Biscuit Magazine's April issue. Read online here, pg nine.

News: 'Queensland property bargains off beaten track' for The Courier Mail

 Monday 26th 
Queensland property bargains off the beaten track

AUSSIE families are now paying off mortgages of more than $350,000 on average, but you can own your own piece of Queensland for a fraction of that.
In corners of the state mostly forgotten by the major cities, family homes are going for as little as $40,000.

If you want to snare your own real estate bargain, be prepared for a long commute, and a little wear and tear.
Etc.

Online version here. Featured on Pg 14 of print edition, and front feature on the site.

News: 'Galactic basketball bound for Oz' for The Courier-Mail

For the Courier online.

Tiny Japanese spacecraft scheduled to land in Australia  

Anna Angel

A JAPANESE spacecraft the size of a basketball carrying material from an asteroid is set to touch down in Woomera in June.

The Hayabusa spacecraft, which weighs only 17 kilograms, will be the first craft to bring asteroid materials back to Earth.

Defence Minister Senator John Faulkner said Australian authorities will assist the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency in ensuring a safe return for Hayabusa.

The Australian innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr said this was a great example of Australia's ongoing contribution to international space programs.

"Australia is proud to support Japan in this world-first expedition," Senator Carr said.
The craft, which first made contact with the asteroid Itokawa in 2005, will land in Australian defence land, at the Woomera Prohibited Area in Southern Australia.


Dr Michael Green of the department of innovation said the capsule is protected by heat-sensors that activate as it nears Earth, and a parachute will be deployed before its landing.

"People looking at the night sky at the right time will be able to see a shooting star like object," Dr Green said.   

Original story here.

News: 'Rent levels too high for single parents, students' for The Courier-Mail Online

 For the Courier online.

Rent levels too high for single parents, students in southeast Queensland - study  

Anna Angel

THERE are no affordable rentals in Brisbane and surrounding council areas for single parents and students on benefits, according to a new study.

The Anglican Community Services Commission surveyed all properties listed over the weekend of April 11 and 12 and found only 3 per cent would be viable for those living off benefits.

Some household specifications turned up no results, with no properties found to be affordable for singles on Austudy and Youth Allowance or single parent benefits.

Almost 80 per cent of the properties deemed affordable for other benefit receivers - that is, lower than 30 per cent of the renter’s total income - were in shared accommodation.

ACSC executive director Don Luke said that the hunt for reasonable shared accommodation was harder for some low-income earners than others.


“Share house ads, understandably, often specify the characteristics the advertisers would prefer in their new housemate,” Mr Luke said.

“Usually they are looking for a younger person with a job rather than a single age pensioner or disability support pensioner, yet often rents in share houses are the only ones low enough to be affordable on a single benefit."

The ACSC “snapshot” research, which included online and print rental listings, suggests Queensland housing has become some of the most expensive in the world.

Researcher Dr Joanne Copp said further research was being done on the issue, but that the findings so far had brought up some important questions.

“For me, it’s an issue of seeing what is out there for shared accommodation, and what the quality actually is, and the appropriateness,” she said.

“It may be that we need to look at the level of benefits they are receiving and, even if nothing can be done in the short term, it’s a matter of just knowing how much of their income is actually going on rent, and thinking about how to improve the situation in the medium-to-long term.”

Original story here.

News: 'Show Anzac spirit and donate blood' for The Courier-Mail

 Currently interning at The Courier Mail.

Show Anzac spirit and donate blood  
By Anna Angel

DIGGERS DONATE: Ken Cross and son Nick have blood taken for the Red Cross. Source: Supplied

 

MUCH is made of the Anzac spirit in this country and the Red Cross is calling for every Australian to show a little of that famous generosity and self sacrifice.

The number of Australian soldiers that died in the Gallipoli campaign, some 26,000, is slightly lower than the number of blood donors needed in Australia each week.
The national blood service, which says only one in every 30 Australians will donate blood, is using the holiday to try to change that statistic.
''Anzac Day is a time for reflection, but we ask that Australians also adopt a bit of the Anzac spirit, do something selfless, and become a blood or plasma donor,'' Belinda Haynes of the Blood Service said.
Ms Haynes said the push for donations in the lead up to Anzac Day was especially crucial because collection centres would be closed over the national holiday but they still need to meet the same targets.

Original story can be found, here.

Updates and inspirations: QUT Online Journalism

Was given a prize for being amungst the three finalists for the QUT Online Journalism 'Great Ones' award for my stories on Subtropic.com.au. Whoo, free USB!

News: various for Subtropic Online

Some feature news pieces for Subtropic.com.au, a QUT journalism collaboration.

Hot rods and cool cats hit West End

Thousands of revellers from around Australia and internationally cruised to the 10th Greazefest Kustom Kulture Festival in West End last weekend.
Organisers say it is the largest celebration of vintage cars and fashion, rockabilly music, lowbrow art, and tattooing in the Southern Hemisphere.
The four-day event sold out its late night performances on Friday and Saturday nights.
The celebrations culminated in the all-ages hot rod show on Sunday, where vintage and customised car lovers young and old could get a taste of yesteryear.
The festival included some of the premier rockabilly acts in the world, Marti Brom – based in the US, Australia’s The Satellites, and Johnny Law and The Pistol Packin’ Daddies.

Etc.

Hawkins graces Myer’s Brisbane spring-summer launch.

Australian model Jennifer Hawkins hit the catwalk in Myer Brisbane last week to debut the store’s Spring-Summer collection.
The arrival of Hawkins on the runway caused a stir with the crowd, with many lining up afterwards to score an autograph.
Ex-Miss Universe Hawkins was not the only one to elicit cheers and wolf whistles from the audience – with shirtless male models and a trio of plus-sized models also crowd pleasers.

Etc. 

Cruelty concerns won't deter Warwick rodeo

Cruelty concerns forced wild horse racing off the Warwick rodeo program on Queensland’s Darling Downs, but animal welfare groups say they cannot target other events.
The Warwick Show Association cancelled the event a week before the RSPCA planned to approach them with concerns, following the animal welfare group’s successful bid to stop the event at the Mt Isa rodeo.
The Warwick rodeo is regulated by the Australian Professional Rodeo Association, which does not sanction wild horse racing or the tactics such as ‘ear biting’ used during the event.
RSPCA Queensland spokesman Michael Beatty said they see the cancellation as a victory and believe there would be grounds to prosecute riders for animal cruelty if it continued.
“We believe, certainly in the past there’s been clear evidence of cruelty to the animals in the wild horse races,” Mr Beatty said.

Etc.