Our Footprint

Garma Festival 2019 Last weekend thousands of Aussies headed to North East Arnhem Land for the Garma festival. It's an annual celebration of Yolngu and other Indigenous cultures and an important forum for talking about the issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. As usual, there were plenty of young Australians at Garma and we asked some of them to show us around and tell us why the festival is important to them. Constitutional Recognition At this year's Garma Festival there was a lot of talk about constitutional recognition. For a long time, many Indigenous and non-Indigenous Aussies have been calling for some changes to the constitution and now the prime minister has promised it'll soon be taken to a vote. We find out more about what constitutional recognition means and how it could be achieved. Sports Supplements Warning Last week some experts warned athletes about the risk of sports supplements after swimmer Shayna Jack tested positive to a banned substance. She says she doesn't know how a banned drug got into her system, but she suggested it might have been a contaminated batch of supplement. We look at why sports people take supplements, how they're different to banned drugs and why they can be risky. Fatbergs This week Olivia takes a closer look at what we flush down the loo! While that might seem obvious (and unpleasant) the organisation in charge of South Australia's sewerage system says a lot of people aren't getting the message. It says things like "flushable" wipes (which aren't actually flushable!) are creating big, gross blockages known as "fatbergs" in sewerage pipes. It's even released a jingle to remind people of what should and shouldn't go down the toilet. Radiated Tortoises We go to the zoo to meet some very cute tortoises which had a lucky escape from poachers. Their species is targeted by animal traffickers who sell them for their shells, their meat or as pets. We find out more about animal trafficking and what's being done to stop it.

Heather visits one of the flattest places on Earth, the dusty Hay Plains. Home to a fascinating bunch with a dry sense of humour, the town hosts the Hay Rodeo and Rainbow on the Plains - the Hay Mardi Gras.

Olive Knight lives in Wangkatjunka one of the larger communities south east of Fitzroy Crossing. Her love is her music. She is a gospel and blues singer and draws her influences from her country.