Voice of Real Australia

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Discover new people, places and perspectives with Voice of Real Australia. Each episode showcases stories from rural and regional Australia. A podcast from ACM -- Australia's largest independent media network.


    • Jun 29, 2022 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 27m AVG DURATION
    • 53 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Voice of Real Australia

    What's the buzz about delivery drones?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2022 32:11


    This isn't just a story about flying take-out.

    The Roadkill State

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2022 29:52


    Tasmania has earned a reputation as the roadkill capital of Australia. The stats say 32 animals are killed every hour - that's more than 500,000 marsupials, reptiles and birds killed on the state's roads every single year. And this is despite Tasmania being an island that's known for its unique biodiversity and world heritage wilderness. You could argue that there're more animals here so there's going to be more dead ones. But when you look closer you see holes in animal protection policy that leaves even endangered species exposed. Read about it: https://www.examiner.com.au/story/7780267/ This podcast was produced by Laura Corrigan and Tom Melville.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    What happened to Bendigo's Chinese miners?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2022 29:46


    During the gold rush Chinese immigrants made up a quarter of Bendigo's population, but now only one percent trace their ancestry back to these diggers. The goldfields were a dangerous place in the 19th century particularly for Chinese miners who faced inhibitory discrimination and suffered xenophobic attacks. Despite this many made Bendigo their home and helped shape the city it is today. Their legacy can be seen in the annual Chinese Dragon parade, Golden Dragon Museum, and Chinese gardens. And some miners still haunt the Chinese section of a local cemetery although many of the bodies were exhumed.  Reporting by Bendigo Advertiser journalists Petula Bowa and Tom O'Callaghan who writes a semi-regular history series on his hometown, called ‘What Happened?' Read the feature article: https://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/7763262/ More about 'Swedish Charlie;: https://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/7762980/  This podcast was produced by Laura Corrigan and Tom Melville. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Farmers and fishers feud over riverside camping in Victoria

    Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2022 34:28


    A simple policy change to allow camping on public land - Crown river frontages - has become a divisive issue among farmers a...

    Disaster Country Part 2: Living in an unlivable world

    Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2022 39:27


    When a disaster strikes it's amazing to see the number of people who are ready to lend a helping hand. Neighbours saving neighbours,...

    Disaster Country Part 1: It's getting harder to live here

    Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2022 34:30


    Floods, fires, drought, and blistering heat have always been a part of Australian life. But, with rising global temperatures, are they...

    Coming on Tuesday May 10: Disaster Country

    Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2022 1:35


    The recent floods in the northern rivers were the worst on record, by around two whole metres in some...

    Goat yoga sets the baa for mental health care

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2022 33:22


    What have goats got to do with yoga? And what does any of it have to do with mental health? It can be tough to get mental health...

    Finding a place for autistic kids in regional Australia

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2022 31:35


    In Tamworth, Melissa Reinikka is struggling to get her son into the right class at school. Eight-year-old Jacob has autism, anxiety and...

    Carbon farming for big and small change

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 23, 2022 31:27


    Carbon farming is being touted as a way to slow down and reverse climate change. The idea is that you can suck carbon from the...

    Should we turn waste into watts?

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2022 35:18


    Plastic waste is a huge and growing problem in Australia. What can't be reused or recycled ends up in landfill. An alternative is to...

    Will the Hunter Valley be ready when the change comes?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2022 30:50


    Coal employs around 14,000 people in the Hunter Valley. Whole communities have risen up out of the dark soil, established on lucrative...

    Sins of the Fathers: Clergy abuse weighs on western Victoria

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 9, 2022 32:24


    School should be a safe space, not a peadophile's playground. The community was in shock after the 2013 Royal Commission revealed...

    Waves of nostalgia at legendary South Coast break

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2022 20:43


    The surfer's getaway Don Hearn's Cabins is a throwback to when a break was a break on the South Coast. The cabins at Cunjurong Point...

    Diabetes: The silent assassin

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2022 24:52


    Type 2 diabetes is everywhere in this country and around the world - there could be 700 million cases worldwide in the next 25 years....

    Should we eat our national animal?

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2021 34:04


    Kangaroos are an Aussie emblem, but they're also a source of native red meat. Roo harvesting divides Australians but there's evidence...

    When culture is a crime: Fishing on the South Coast

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2021 37:12


    Aboriginal people are being prosecuted on the South Coast of NSW for fishing, something their ancestors had done there for thousands of...

    Why wombats are rotting to death

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2021 30:43


    Mange riddled wombats die an agonising death without treatment, but governments don't consider the parasite a conservation issue. This...

    Closing the map: Restoring Aboriginal place names

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2021 24:32


    Some Aboriginal place names are so iconic, like Noosa or Wollongong, that we don't even think about them. But over two centuries of...

    Regenerating a valley and a community

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2021 30:59


    Bylong's population dwindled after a coal mine bought up family farms, the school, the general store and the Catholic church. Over a...

    Forgotten River 4: There's money in mud

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2021 36:20


    It's been nearly a decade since the river at Kallara Station broke its banks and Justin McClure had to get around his property by boat....

    Forgotten River 3: Where will the river people go?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2021 33:16


    The fate of the Barkindji is tied to the fate of the river - the Barka. When it is flowing, the mostly Aboriginal town of Wilcannia i...

    Forgotten River 2: Piggy in the middle

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2021 36:47


    Caught between thirsty cash croppers upstream and down, the people who live along the Darling/Barka are fighting a battle on two...

    Forgotten River 1: Dead fish and an empty lake

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2021 39:33


    The sudden death of over a million fish around the Menindee Lakes focused international attention on the plight of the Darling River....

    Introducing Forgotten River a Voice of Real Australia mini-series

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 8, 2021 1:27


    From September 16 Voice of Real Australia brings you a very special mini-series, Forgotten River: An outback tragedy. This three part...

    Rescued boy meets hero's family 60 years after Mudgee flood

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2021 16:56


    All towns have their legends, Mudgee is no exception. In 1959, a six-year-old boy was rescued during a flood on the town's main street...

    Hidden treasures of White Cliffs

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2021 32:09


    In this remote town lives a woman in her 70s who delivered mail across 3500km of outback. It's also home to three mates in their 20s...

    Eight kids and a nun walk into court, and it's no joke for rural Aussies

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2021 28:24


    A new mine in Boggabri was at the centre of a landmark court ruling that found the Environment Minister has a duty of care to protect...

    How can you run a tourism business when your staff have nowhere to live?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2021 23:53


    In Jindabyne, ongoing staff shortages mean businesses struggle to keep up with demand. We speak to Jindabyne business owners to...

    How a Devonport dad took control of a 30-year drug addiction

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2021 23:47


    Recovering drug addict Steven* is looking forward to a holiday with his kids. But this couldn't have been possible if he was put behind...

    Warrnambool site may rewrite human history, and the mouse plague explained

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2021 34:06


    Regional NSW is under attack. So what's with the mouse plague and is there an end in sight? And how long exactly have humans occupied...

    Latrobe Valley demise a warning as Australia moves away from coal

    Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2021 31:33


    For over 100 years coal has ruled Latrobe Valley. But now as power stations close down the community is being left behind. The people...

    Take part in our listener survey!

    Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2021 0:35


    We want to hear from you! Follow this link to complete our listener survey:...

    Port Arthur massacre first responders speak after 25 years

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2021 29:24


    The mass murder of 35 people at Port Arthur is a difficult subject to broach in Tasmania, the shooting is surrounded by an unofficial...

    Community power play: Towns making their own electricity

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2021 28:47


    The way Australia produces electricity is changing. The traditional one-way, centralised market is being disrupted. Small communities...

    Indigenous agriculture: Can native crops heal our country?

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2021 29:58


    Before wheat was wheat, it was an introduced grass. Every year it battles our fickle climate. But we do have native grasses that First...

    Beaudesert's heritage saleyard stands up to council bulldozing

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2021 28:35


    A beloved pig and calf saleyard in Beaudesert, south east Queensland, was recently given heritage status. But in an unusual case,...

    PEP 11 gas rigs loom on the horizon, and Launceston stuck in the mud

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2021 35:47


    Offshore gas rigs have been touted as a solution for the pandemic recession and energy transition. But the PEP 11 exploration licence...

    Voice of Real Australia Presents: Talk of the Times

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2021 12:31


    Dr Liz Allen is now a top academic at the ANU in Canberra, but she might have ended up in the gutter with a needle in her...

    What's killing our Snow Gums?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2021 29:35


    The iconic snow gum is dying out. Scientists believe a beetle is killing off the trees in the Snowy Mountains and throughout the...

    Uncovering Canowindra's forgotten fish fossils

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2021 25:51


    In 1993 near Canowindra, in the Central West of New South Wales, paleontologist Dr Alex Ritchie was given just 10 days for an...

    Devils on the mainland, and Australia's biggest whale stranding

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2021 31:14


    There are now 26 Tasmanian Devils calling Barrington Tops home. They're the first wild mainland devils since they were wiped out 3000...

    Pale, male and stale: Where are all our Indigenous cricketers?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2021 30:51


    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have a long and complicated relationship with cricket. A team of Indigenous players was the...

    Voice of Real Australia Presents: Hear Them Raw

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2020 25:10


    Most people know Mike Wilson as the bloke at the bull sale with a pen in his hand and notepad in his back pocket. On the outside you'd...

    Bawley Point brigade's new recruits take fight to bushfire fears

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2020 22:36


    Bawley Point was one of the first South Coast villages to be threatened by the ferocious Currowan fire that ravaged the region....

    Wytaliba and Torrington fires: When wilderness escapes become death traps

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2020 30:50


    On November 8 2019 there were a record 17 fires burning at emergency level in New South Wales. The New England region of New South...

    Dubbo's drug problem, and Black Summer still haunts Cobargo

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 11, 2020 37:11


    In Dubbo, drugs are everywhere. The crisis here has brought with it an epidemic of mental health struggles, homelessness, family...

    The Drip Gorge and the women fighting for it

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2020 27:54


    About half an hour north of Mudgee, on the Ulan Road, is a stunning natural sandstone formation which runs along the Goulburn...

    On board the Aurora Australis, the only Australian-made Antarctic icebreaker

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2020 22:41


    The retired Aurora Australis was built at Carrington Slipways upriver from Newcastle and is the only Australian-made...

    Dungog's biking boom, and the telehealth revolution in the bush

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2020 28:32


    Have you used telehealth before? Around 30 million Australians have since March. The uptick was made possible because of changes to...

    Majura Valley: Lease insecurity and Canberra's farming past, present and potential

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2020 30:00


    You have heard of the Barossa Valley, Hunter Valley and Yarra Valley. These are regions praised for their boutique produce and...

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