Stateline Northern Territory

21/11/2008

Interview Chris Sarra, Queensland University of Technology

Last year, nearly 2/3 of students in Years 3, 5 and 7 in remote communities failed to reach the Northern Territory Government's benchmark for reading and almost 3/4 failed to meet the Territory standard for writing. Debate over how to improve these appalling results is raging across the country. One academic and former principal has weighed-in in particularly controversial style. Doctor Chris Sarra is the Executive Director of the Indigenous Education Leadership Institute at the Queensland University of Technology. He's caused a storm by saying aboriginal people are being blamed for poor results when the finger should really be pointed at incompetent and lazy teachers - or in his words "white trash" - who are not held accountable for the under-achievement of their students.

Movie Tourism

Well the reviews are in and 'Australia' has been generally praised, despite some criticism about its length and some cliched drama. But what will the film do for tourism in the Northern Territory? Tourism authorities have launched campaigns hoping to piggy-back off the film's success, but the global financial crisis is looming large. David Coady takes a look at what it takes to convert movie-goers into tourists in tough economic times.

Interview, Graeme Sawyer, Darwin Lord Mayor

Like local governments around Australia, Darwin City Council is busy contemplating how it will spend its new one-off infrastructure grant from the Commonwealth. In the face of the global financial crisis, the cash injection is aimed at stimulating the economy in the regions. The 300-million dollar package was announced by the Prime Minister in Canberra this week. Darwin's Lord Mayor Graeme Sawyer was there. He talks to Stateline about the meeting and the council's role in dealing with the Territory's child care woes.

Taxidermist

Taxidermy might not be high on the list of career options for most school leavers. But for one Darwin man, work experience at one of the country's leading museums started a life-long obsession with preserving and displaying the natural world. Ewin Wood is an exhibition preparator, taxidermist and model maker who's just finished a new wax crocodile display for a Darwin theme park. He talked to Stateline's Danielle Parry about his unusual career.