The Wire with Joel

The Western Australian government is re-drafting its heritage protection laws, after mining company Rio Tinto destroyed a FORTY SIX THOUSAND year old sacred site. 

However, under these new proposed laws, the Western Australia Government still retains the final decision in heritage disputes.

A group of Aboriginal Australians including Nyungar human rights lawyer and academic, Dr Hannah McGlade have made a formal request for the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to review the draft Cultural Heritage Bill.

Jessica Hopkins spoke to McGlade, who says the proposed legislation is insufficient protection of the right to culture, which prohibits states from destroying significant Indigenous cultural heritage.

Here is that interview...

Ilena spoke to Professor Bruce Robertson, from the Zoology department at the University of Otago, about the first ever study to genomically sequence kākāpō. The study was conducted with researchers from Sweden and New Zealand. Researchers looked at how the inbreeding of kākāpō on the small Stewart Island has, over a long time, been surprisingly positive in reducing harmful mutations. Bruce talks about what these findings mean for continuing efforts to sustain the population of the severely endangered kākāpō. 

A new study has found cannabidiol gels may help children with a severe form of epilepsy. Noah Ferguson-Dudding spoke to one of the authors of the study, Professor Lynette Sadlier from the University of Otago, about the findings.

Various governments around the world are reportedly preparing to provide citizens with booster shots to their vaccines against Covid-19. Noah Ferguson-Dudding spoke to Professor Nikki Turner, Director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre which advises the New Zealand government on vaccinations. They discussed what boosters do, why they may be useful, and whether they are ethical given the struggles many other countries are currently having with Covid-19.