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It's Friday again, and time for our review of the week's English Bites stories. Today we're going to talk about Australian governments.
There's quite a lot of them, and sometimes it can be quite confusing. Let's start by watching a clip from a story about the furniture industry. Listen to hear where this story is from. PAUL MCCARTHY: Australia in the '70s was a land of opportunity for a European migrant and South Australia was a hub of furniture making. But over the past decade that success has turned sour. Cheap overseas imports have begun flooding in and now make up to 50% of the market. And like the clothing and footwear industries, local furniture makers are struggling. MARTIN VIDEON: How many companies have fallen by the wayside? Probably 50%. The South Australian market was the biggest and the leading furniture manufacturer in Australia. It has slipped down that ladder. They talk about South Australia being an important place for furniture making. South Australia is one the 6 Australian states. The other states are Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. But what about the other areas? Well they are called territories. There are 2 territories - the Northern Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory. All these areas have their own governments, but states and territories are different in the way they are governed, and in the rules that established them. All the states and capitals have capital cities, where the government for each area sits. Now listen to this clip from the story on breakfast clubs. It comes from Tasmania. See if you can hear the name of Tasmania's capital. JOURNALIST: At Risdonvale Primary School, on Hobart's eastern shore, the neighbourhood centre introduced breakfasts five years ago. The number of growing bodies starting the day with empty stomachs alarmed members. ANNE HARRISON: (RISDON VALE NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE) We did a survey down at the school to find out how many kids were actually eating breakfast, and when we did the survey, we found that there were over half of the school, the kids at the school weren't eating breakfast. JOURNALIST: Research has proven that breakfast helps a child's physical and mental development. After initial start-up funding through the State Government, it's managed to keep providing breakfasts two days a week through grants, volunteers and helpful local businesses. There is a breakfast club at Risdonvale Primary School in Hobart. Hobart is the capital of Tasmania. The other capitals are Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Of course Canberra is the national capital as well - the capital city of Australia. In all the capital cities you'll find parliament houses for the different governments. Notice that the breakfast club got funding from the State Government. The State Governments are the governments in charge of each state. The Territory Governments are the governments in charge of the territories. But notice that there is also the Federal Government. The Federal government is the national government in charge of the whole country. Federal here means central. A federal system of government is where a number of different states are all governed by a single, central government. Notice that the 'Federal government' in Australia is also called the Commonwealth government. Australia is a commonwealth - a group of states that join together to form a country. Each state in a commonwealth has its own government that is responsible for some things, but there is also a commonwealth, central, federal or national government. OK. Now let's look at the story about women in the Northern Territory Parliament. LINDY KERIN: These women from the remote gulf community of Borroloola travelled hundreds of kilometres to Darwin this week to take part in the official opening of the tenth Legislative Assembly. They were there to usher in the new Member for Arnhem Barbara McCarthy, and a new era of Territory politics. The Yanyuwa woman and former ABC newsreader is one of three Indigenous women in Territory parliament. Labor's Alison Anderson who won the seat of MacDonnell hopes that her example will send a strong message to young Territorians. It's a very different looking chamber compared with the last parliament. Not only does Labor hold a 19 seat majority, but 10 of the 25 seats are held by women, including what's now being touted as the triangle of women in key leadership roles. At the last election, 10 women were elected to parliament. The parliament is the group of elected people, people who have been voted for by the community. The party that has the most people in parliament forms the government. This story starts at the opening of the Legislative Assembly. That's another name for the parliament. Most state parliaments in Australia have 2 houses, 2 separate bodies or sections of parliament that have different functions. They are called the lower house and the upper house. In federal parliament, the lower house is called the House of Representatives and the upper house is called the Senate. The territories only have one house. They only have the lower house. It's called the Legislative Assembly. And this was the opening. LINDY KERIN: They were there to usher in the new Member for Arnhem Barbara McCarthy, and a new era of Territory politics. They were there to usher in the new member for Arnhem. A member is a person elected to parliament. Each member represents an electorate, a voting district. An electorate is an area containing a certain number of voters. Notice that to elect means to vote. Every Australian state and territory is divided into electorates. There is one member of parliament for each electorate. When a party forms government after the election, it chooses Ministers, people responsible for a certain department or area. In the Territories, the head of the government is called a Chief Minister,and the head of the Federal Government is called the Prime Minister. But notice that the head of a State Government is called a Premier. And that's all for English Bites today. You'll find much more about the language of parliament and elections on our website. And of course you can always email us if you have any questions.
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land of opportunity A land of opportunity means a good, lucky country, a country where you could do very well. European migrant European migrants are people from Europe who came to live in Australia. South Australia South Australia is one the 6 Australian states.  The other states are Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.  There are 2 territories - the Northern Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory.  hub A hub is a centre. decade ten years turned sour If something turned sour, it went bad or became unpleasant. Example: Living in the big city turned sour after he lost his job. imports Imports are goods brought into a country. They’re the opposite of exports, goods sold overseas by a country. begun Begun is the past participle of the irregular verb begin. Follow the link below to find out more and to listen to some examples. more information: begin flooding in coming in large numbers the market The furniture market is the total amount of furniture sold in Australia. struggling If you are struggling, you are having difficulties. fallen by the wayside To fall by the wayside is to fail or not to be able to continue. Example: A lot of students fall by the wayside in the first few months of a degree. more information: fall Hobart Hobart is the capital of Tasmania.  The other capitals are Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Of course Canberra is the national capital as well - the capital city of Australia.  survey A survey is an examination of opinions or facts made by asking people questions. physical and mental development Development means the process of growing and changing. Physical development is the way a child’s body grows and changes. Mental development is the way a child’s brain grows and changes. Legislative Assembly Most state parliaments in Australia have 2 houses, 2 separate bodies or sections of parliament that have different functions.They are called the lower house and the upper house .In federal parliament, the lower house is called the House of Representatives and the upper house is called the Senate.The territories only have one house. They only have the lower house. It’s called the Legislative Assembly. usher in introduce Member for Arnhem A member is a person who is in parliament. Every Australian state and territory is divided into sections called electorates. These are voting districts. There is one member of parliament for each electorate. Barbara McCarthy is from the electorate of Arnhem.  Territory Today’s story comes from Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory. You’ll notice in the story that it’s usually just called the Territory. And the people who live there are called Territorians.  Yanyuwa woman Barbara is a Yanyuwa woman, a woman from the Yanyuwa people.   former Former means past. In this sense it means someone used to have a certain job. Example: Bill Clinton is a former President. Indigenous Indigenous means someone who is originally from an area. In Australia, the proper noun Indigenous is often used to mean Aboriginal and being a proper noun means that it is written with a capital letter. more information: capital letters seat of MacDonnell A seat is another word for an electorate, the area which votes for a particular member of parliament. breaking down the barrier Breaking down the barriers means getting rid of the things that block your way and that make it difficult or impossible to do something. Example: We need to break down the barriers of racial prejudice. chamber Chamber is another word for paliament. It can also be called the house. 19 seat majority This means that the Labor Party have most of the seats in parliament - 19 of the 25 available. held Here held is the past participle of the irregular verb hold. Follow the link below to find out more and to listen to some examples. more information: hold
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Friday review - Governments
