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Why do 55 per cent of Australian women report a lack of interest in sex? Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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On tonight's Catalyst special, Dr Jonica Newby investigates why a large percentage of Australian women report a lack of interest in sex. And while many might expect much of the blame to fall on tiredness, stress or the presence of children, there's a missing ingredient that most wouldn't pick: testosterone. Dr Newby spoke to many women whose lack of libido was fixed by testosterone treatment, and tried it herself for sake of science.
Topics: sexuality, health, medical-research, sexual-health, research, women, australia
Drought in Vanuatu compounding destruction caused by Cyclone Pam Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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In Vanuatu a drought caused by the el Nino climate system is drying up water sources, crops are failing and people are surviving on meagre food hand-outs. And it's the very young suffering the most.
Topics: drought, community-and-society, cyclones, environment, health, children, vanuatu
Reserve Bank leave cash rate on hold at record low 2 per cent Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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The Reserve Bank left the cash rate on hold today, surprising some pundits who thought it might cut again to offset rate rises by the major banks. The Big Four banks have all put up home lending rates in recent weeks, they say in response to new capital requirements imposed by regulators. While it didn't move today, the RBA has left the door open to a further rate cut down the track.
Topics: banking, business-economics-and-finance, australia
Michelle Payne becomes first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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More than 100,000 people have been trackside at Flemington Racecourse to watch Michelle Payne become the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup. Local longshot, Prince of Penzance took out the $6 million race. Another horse, Red Cadeaux was injured during the race. Jockey Frankie Dettori, on runner up Max Dynamite, has been suspended and fined for careless riding.
Topics: horse-racing, melbourne-3000, australia
Bioterrorism risk requires new laws: health expert Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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A leading public health expert says Australia's counter-terrorism laws should be strengthened to prepare for the risk of a bioterrorism attack. Bioterrorism relates to the deliberate spread of deadly viruses and bacteria. Some health experts believe it's now easy than ever to engineer dangerous viruses to transmit among humans.
Topics: terrorism, government-and-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, australia
EU report catalogues Turkey's slide towards authoritarian rule Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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Just two days after Turkey's ruling AKP or Justice and Development Party scored a surprisingly strong election win, the European Union has released a report noting a crackdown on media and the opposition, and the politicisation of the bureaucracy and courts in the months leading up to the election, as signs the country's democracy could be wavering. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in its report says the suppression of media voices raises concerns about the election results. PM speaks to a former member of Turkey's parliament, Dr. Aykan Erdemir.
Topics: elections, government-and-politics, turkey
Remembrance Day campaign evokes wartime fundraising effort Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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A campaign this Remembrance Day will echo the efforts of Australian children in the 1920s to rebuild a war-torn school in France. The 'war pennies' collected by Victorian school children helped to replace the school building at Villers-Bretonneux. Now the not-for-profit group Camp Gallipoli wants to do the same, and repair a dilapidated school at the site of one of Australia's deadliest battles in Pozieres.
Topics: world-war-1, community-and-society, history, schools, charities, france, australia
Dire warnings linked to button batteries Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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A Queensland Coroner has warned more children will die unless state and federal governments act to reduce risks associated with small button-shaped batteries. The Coroner today handed down findings from the Inquest into the death of a four-year-old girl who swallowed one of the 'coin cell' batteries in 2013.
Topics: children, death, science-and-technology, safety, australia
Abuse inquiry told former school counsellor 'hypnotised' students Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard evidence that a former school counsellor hypnotised students before he assaulted them. The inquiry into Brisbane Grammar School and St Paul's School is expected to hear evidence from high-profile witnesses, including a former governor-general and the Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane.
Topics: child-abuse, community-and-society, schools, royal-commissions, brisbane-4000, australia, qld
Ocean acidification puts small Southern Ocean sea creatures at increasing risk Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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A US study has found that ocean acidification in the Southern Ocean is increasingly creating conditions which make it hard for small sea snails known as pteropods to form their shells. Scientists have in the past found the sea creatures with partly dissolved and acid damaged shells, and this study projects that the conditions harmful to the animals will increase in future.
Topics: oceans-and-reefs, climate-change, australia
International Space Station crew celebrate 15th anniversary in orbit Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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Crew members of the international space station have held a celebratory dinner to mark the 15th anniversary of the project. The station has been occupied continuously by humans since it became operational over a decade ago. It's an achievement that astronauts say could shape travel within the solar system.
Topics: spacecraft, australia
Chinese authorities prosecute newspaper editor for opposing party line Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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China's Communist party has publicly condemned a senior newspaper editor for opposing the government's policies. The party has ousted and is prosecuting the former editor of its paper in the far-western region of Xinjiang. The province has been the focal point of an anti-terrorism crackdown that has seen restrictions placed on its large Muslim population.
Topics: journalism, communism, china
NT Government yet to act on eight month-old fetal alcohol report Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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Eight months after the Northern Territory Government was given a report on how to tackle foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, it hasn't acted on a single recommendation. A parliamentary committee has been examining the problem which is caused by drinking alcohol during pregnancy. The committee handed over its report to the Northern Territory Government in February.
Topics: pregnancy-and-childbirth, alcohol-education, alcohol, nt
UK mental health campaigners push for equal standing Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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There's a push in the United Kingdom to give mental health issues an equal standing with the treatment of physical health. Campaigners are pushing for a major financial investment in mental health so that suffers get timely access to care, but those tackling Britain's high suicide rate among men say a medical approach will only have a limited impact, and that social and cultural factors need to change in order to keep people alive.
Topics: mental-health, suicide, united-kingdom
Putin may use jet liner crash to justify Syria involvement: expert Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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If the Russian plane was deliberately targeted, how will that change the reaction from the Russian government? Professor Graeme Gill is a Russia analyst at the University of Sydney.
Topics: air-and-space, world-politics, egypt
Air crash investigators focusing on 'external factors' in downing of Russian jetliner Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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Investigators examining what caused the crash of a Russian airliner over Egypt on the weekend are now focussing on the liklihood that "external factors" brought the plane down, killing all 224 people on board. A local branch of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the crash, and while that was initially dismissed by Russian and Egyptian authorities, the aircraft's flight recorders show no indication of human error or a technical fault.
Topics: air-and-space, world-politics, egypt
Bowel cancer affecting survivors' brain power: study Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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Researchers from the University of Sydney have found cancer survivors are three times more likely to have cognitive impairment than the general population, regardless of whether they underwent chemotherapy. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, followed patients for two years and found just under half continued to suffer lapses in concentration and memory even when there was no trace of cancer in their bodies.
At what age should children start school? Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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There are renewed calls for a uniform starting age for primary school in Australia. One in six Australian children is being held back from starting school at the eligible age because parents often believe an older child will have more confidence in their first year of school. Delayed school entry is putting extra burden on pre-school and childcare enrolments, and is creating big age gaps in classrooms across the country.
Topics: primary-schools, australia
Mountaineering adventurer seeks to raise awareness of climate change Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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As world leaders prepare for the climate talks in Paris this month, the governments of France and China have announced that they've struck a pre-conference deal to make any agreement reached legally binding. The talks have also prompted Australian based adventurer Tim Jarvis to stage an ambitious mountain climbing project that will span several years and many continents, and is aimed at raising awareness about climate change. He says his team plans to scale its first peak in time to be beamed in to the opening day of the Paris talks.
Topics: climate-change, offbeat, australia
Melbourne Cup: Animal protection charities 'benefitting from Cup backlash' Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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Animal protection charities say they are benefitting from a growing backlash against the Melbourne Cup and perceived cruelty in the racing industry. There's a growing number of anti-Melbourne Cup parties and events raising money in Australia for horse and animal causes.
Topics: horse-racing, australia
Melbourne Cup: Fame Game favourite to win the big race Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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The sun is out and drawing a big crowd to Flemington Racecourse for the Melbourne Cup. Fame Game, the Japanese five-year-old, is still the short-priced favourite to take out the race, but three-time runner up, Red Cadeaux, is the sentimental favourite.
Topics: horse-racing, flemington-3031
Royal Commission hears harrowing evidence of child abuse at two Brisbane schools Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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One of Queensland's most prestigious schools is preparing to re-live a dark chapter in its history, as the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse investigates a former counsellor. The man is accused of abusing dozens of students at Brisbane Grammar School, before he moved north to St Paul's School where the abuse continued.
Topics: royal-commissions, child-abuse, schools, brisbane-4000
Melbourne Cup: Online gambling can 'leave people at risk of problem gambling' Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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Australians are expected to wager more than $150 million on this afternoon's Melbourne Cup, with a significant proportion of that being bet online. Experts say gambling online, particularly with the larger multi-national betting agencies, will leave people vulnerable to constant targetted advertising and at risk of problem gambling.
Topics: gambling, horse-racing, australia
Paris climate conference targets legally binding: France and China strike a deal Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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France and China have struck a deal on climate change overnight including that any agreement reached at next month's Paris conference should be legally binding. France is lobbying big emitters in the lead-up to the talks and says China's decision to accept compliance measures and to review progress every five years is a major step towards an agreement in Paris. The Climate Institute in Australia says it is a positive signal.
Topics: climate-change, world-politics, france, china
No GST increase: we made a commitment and people remember, says LNP Senator Ian Macdonald Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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While the Turnbull Government looks set to fight the next election on tax reform, North Queensland LNP Senator Ian Macdonald has written to Treasurer Scott Morrison, saying he won't support lifting the tax to 15 per cent. The Senator is one of the few politicians left in the parliament, who campaigned for the introduction of the 10 per cent GST more than 15 years ago. Now, he's advocating for a return to the original proposal the then Prime Minister John Howard took to the people - a 10 per cent goods and services tax on everything.
