0:00:03 > 0:00:05I'm on a journey around Australia.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11A country the size of a continent.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20This is a vast land with extraordinary wildlife.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30A rich, booming country on the edge of Asia.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37It's not just cricket and kangaroos!
0:00:41 > 0:00:43- Thanks, ladies.- You're welcome.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47If you think you know Australia, think again.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52On this first leg of my journey,
0:00:52 > 0:00:55I'm travelling from the heart of the continent to the south coast
0:00:55 > 0:00:59and then across the country to the capital of Western Australia.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06On a vast outback ranch I join an extraordinary round-up.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08Jump start, bush-style!
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Give the glass a nice swirl, like that.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16A legendary winemaker gives me a tasting lesson.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20This is blowsy, this is...
0:01:20 > 0:01:23- This is first on the dance floor! - Yes, it is!
0:01:23 > 0:01:26And I witness the effects of a water crisis
0:01:26 > 0:01:29on the world's driest inhabited continent.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32There are hundreds and hundreds of dead trees here.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Before joining a real-life 21st-century gold rush.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38DETECTOR WHINES
0:01:38 > 0:01:42- That is gold, yeah.- Gold! - You're onto it.- Wahey!
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Now, that is... an extraordinary view.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06I'm here in the Red Centre of Australia,
0:02:06 > 0:02:08standing on the magnificent Mount Conner.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13And on this first part of my journey,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15I head towards the west coast
0:02:15 > 0:02:17and the city of Perth.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25My travels around Australia will take me thousands of miles
0:02:25 > 0:02:29across a country more than 30 times the size of the UK.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40Australia is a vast continental landmass
0:02:40 > 0:02:44that's been cut off from the rest of the world for millions of years,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47creating a unique and fragile environment.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56Hundreds of thousands of species here exist nowhere else on earth.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04But I was about to encounter a long-legged outsider.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13That is not what you expect to see, eh?
0:03:16 > 0:03:18Let's get out and see if we can get closer.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36There's a group just coming right here.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38A small herd of them.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44You can see two, four, five camels right here.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49But there are hundreds more in this area,
0:03:49 > 0:03:51thousands more in this region
0:03:51 > 0:03:54and hundreds of thousands across Australia.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Every time we trot towards them, they trot off.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Let's go the other side of these bushes.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12Camels have adapted perfectly to Australia.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15You could say they are a huge Australian success story.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17They we're originally introduced into the country
0:04:17 > 0:04:19to help with exploration
0:04:19 > 0:04:25and the expansion of the rail network and the telegraph network.
0:04:25 > 0:04:26Motorcars made them redundant,
0:04:26 > 0:04:30and several thousand of them were released into the outback.
0:04:30 > 0:04:35There is now thought to be about three quarters of a million camels
0:04:35 > 0:04:38roaming wild in Australia.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41They are the largest wild herd in the world.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47With no natural predators, these feral camels have thrived here
0:04:47 > 0:04:49and they're having a huge impact on this wilderness.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59Now, this is a, erm... what you call a stock fence.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03So this is running...well, it looks like kilometres in each direction,
0:05:03 > 0:05:08and this is just to keep cattle in place, we're on a farm out here.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12This land, although it does look and is fairly infertile,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15it is farmed, they do have cattle on the land.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19This keeps it in place, stops cattle, doesn't stop a camel.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25Ranching out here on this dry land is a tough business.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28In their search for water and food, camels cause
0:05:28 > 0:05:31millions of pounds' worth of damage to farms and waterholes.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Lyndee Severin has a one million acre ranch
0:05:36 > 0:05:39that's been overrun by wild camels.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44Camels are our biggest management issue.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46How do camels cause problems for you?
0:05:46 > 0:05:51A number of ways. They do a lot of damage to infrastructure for us,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53so there's a lot of damage to fences.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56They do a lot of damage around water points and bores.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59- In what way?- They knock things over trying to get to the water.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01So they break things.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05So they break pumps, they break tanks, they break pipes.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09They break fences - fences have been our biggest concern.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14But Lyndee's worried about more than just damaged fences.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17A million animals in this environment
0:06:17 > 0:06:20do a lot of damage to the environment.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22They will just take everything in the landscape
0:06:22 > 0:06:26and if they destroy the trees, if they eat the grasses,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29there's no kangaroos, there's no emus.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33There's no small birds if there's no trees, there's no reptiles.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35- A catastrophe, basically?- Yeah.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38The fundamental issue is that there are too many.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41- And what...what do you do? - We shoot them.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45So we shoot the camels where we see them and we leave them.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48It's not something that we enjoy doing,
0:06:48 > 0:06:50but it's something that we have to do.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Camels are just one of dozens of species
0:06:55 > 0:06:58that humans have introduced into Australia
0:06:58 > 0:07:02which have become a major problem for this vulnerable ecosystem.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Culling feral camels is controversial.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11But many farmers out here don't feel they have much choice.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20I went to visit Ian Conway, who runs Kings Creek station,
0:07:20 > 0:07:22another huge cattle ranch.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26- ELECTRICITY BUZZES - Oh, shucks, Jesus!
0:07:26 > 0:07:27That was a bloody kick and a half!
0:07:27 > 0:07:30About 600 volts. They reckon it's good for the heart
0:07:30 > 0:07:32to get a bit of a kick now and again.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36Rather than shooting the camels,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Ian thinks there's a better way of managing their numbers.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47I was here to join a camel round-up.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49You can get a bit of pressure on it.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Are they likely to rip it off, or something?
0:07:52 > 0:07:56- You're going to have a helicopter blowing over the top of this.- Right.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58So everything has to be fairly secure.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04To round up camels in this rough, outback terrain, Ian uses
0:08:04 > 0:08:08heavily modified off-road vehicles and puts eyes in the sky.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14The area they are operating in is so huge
0:08:14 > 0:08:18that the chopper goes up to look for the mobs of camels,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21as they call them here,
0:08:21 > 0:08:23and then he's going to call in the cars
0:08:23 > 0:08:25and we're going to go out and bring the camels in.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Finding a mob of camels here is no mean feat.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44They range over a vast area and can travel more than 40 miles in a day.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54So, Ian, what's, erm... what's happening?
0:08:54 > 0:08:56We've got the helicopter coming in.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00He's got a herd of camels coming in, it looks to be about 20 to 30 head,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02and they'll just keep moving forwards.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04So the idea is they're going to come up here,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06we're going to stay quiet while they go past,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08and then we get the cars in behind them.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12We'll get in behind and give him a hand to push them along a little quicker than they are.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22First of all, we had to get everyone up and running.
0:09:22 > 0:09:23Second gear!
0:09:26 > 0:09:27Jump start, bush-style!
0:09:31 > 0:09:34So now we're going after the camels.
0:09:37 > 0:09:38Chopper's at two o'clock.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Here, what's that dead ahead? Look.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Just ahead!
0:09:48 > 0:09:52Two, four, six, eight, ten, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55Maybe 25 there.
0:09:55 > 0:09:5625 camels.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59That is a sight. We go round the corner
0:09:59 > 0:10:02and suddenly there's a whopping great camel.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09We're just going to let them go until they get up close
0:10:09 > 0:10:11to the yards, before we do any forcing, you know.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16We'd kept the camels herded together.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Now it was time for the trickiest part of the whole round-up -
0:10:18 > 0:10:20getting them into the holding pen.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27- This is the key moment, isn't it? - This is the key moment, yeah.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29You're putting your seat belt on.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33Yeah, my daughters insist, because I roll over quite often.
0:10:33 > 0:10:34Wonderful(!)
0:10:37 > 0:10:39OK, let's go, fellas.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45Where are you, Alan? Where are you?
0:10:47 > 0:10:51Ian has been mustering animals out here for more than 40 years.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54It's difficult and dangerous.
0:10:57 > 0:10:58IAN WHISTLES
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Whoo! Ow, ow, ow!
0:11:33 > 0:11:36He'd managed to round up 15 of the camels.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Ian was going to sell them on to the Middle East for their meat.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44- They don't taste different to beef. You've eaten it, haven't you?- Yes.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47There's no difference between camel and beef.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50In fact, to a lot of people who live on camel, like we do,
0:11:50 > 0:11:52we prefer it to beef.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57And so are all the camels that you catch and sell on sold for meat?
0:11:57 > 0:11:59No, not all of them.
0:11:59 > 0:12:05Quite a few of them are sold for riding camels and also for, um...
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Like, the Saudis are always interested in them,
0:12:07 > 0:12:09but they're looking for a specific camel.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14I've got a bloke who wants beauty camels at the moment.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16Like, these bulls are no good.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19They like the cows because they've thin heads.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21But the cows have got to have their lips hanging.
0:12:21 > 0:12:22For what reason, I don't know.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26It may seem harsh for these camels to be rounded up
0:12:26 > 0:12:29because they're pretty or to be sold on for meat,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32but few experts doubt that camel numbers need controlling.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36And Ian thinks a round-up is more humane than the alternative.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39They just shoot them and they lay on the ground, and that's it.
0:12:39 > 0:12:40Nothing is done with them.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42We don't know whether there's any system of where they might
0:12:42 > 0:12:46go along and check to see if they're dead or whatever they are.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48So they might lay there for a few days.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50What would you like to see happen?
0:12:50 > 0:12:53I'd like to see them come into a yard like this
0:12:53 > 0:12:55and be sent away and sold as meat,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58or riding camels or whatever else you can pull out of it.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02At the moment, a lack of abattoirs means
0:13:02 > 0:13:05that in many outback areas it isn't cost-effective
0:13:05 > 0:13:07to round up camels and sell them for their meat.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10But Ian's convinced that, with the right investment,
0:13:10 > 0:13:15this can be a profitable way of protecting ranches and the environment.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24I left Kings Creek in the dusty heart of the country.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27The neighbouring state is South Australia.
0:13:32 > 0:13:37South Australia is the driest state in the whole country.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40But farmers here have managed to make the outback bloom.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44These look like... Are these fruit trees?
0:13:46 > 0:13:48I was travelling through an area
0:13:48 > 0:13:50that produces vast quantities of fruit.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53And one crop in particular has put it on the map.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Bill Hardy is the great-great-grandson
0:14:03 > 0:14:07of the founder of one of the world's best-known wine brands, Hardys.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14- What should I be looking for?- OK.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17If you're going to do it strictly, you should look at colour first.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21Get a lovely backdrop. Look at the colour of that. Isn't it beautiful?
0:14:21 > 0:14:25It's got a nice straw-yellow colour. It's not light and green yellow.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29- It is a strawy yellow.- Yeah. - This is good language.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32And when do I start getting a sense of vanilla?
0:14:32 > 0:14:37- Give the glass a nice swirl like that.- Can we try it, Bill?- Yes.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39You're allowed to put it on the palate.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Leave it there for three or four seconds.
0:14:42 > 0:14:43Let it move around your mouth.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47Let it warm up in your mouth and it will release more flavour.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51Yeah, as something gets warmer, it releases more flavour.
0:14:51 > 0:14:52HE MAKES MUFFLED SOUNDS
0:14:52 > 0:14:54No, no! Swallow, swallow!
0:14:54 > 0:14:56Ah. It's much better that way.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59I thought you were supposed to spit it out. It's delicious.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02- It is good, isn't it?- Delicious. - Very much an Aussie Chardonnay.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05It's quite big and rich in body, quite a lot of flavour.
0:15:05 > 0:15:10It's not a light, thin, aromatic wine.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12'As I talked to this aristocrat of the wine world,
0:15:12 > 0:15:15'I was hoping to pick up just a bit of the lingo.'
0:15:15 > 0:15:19- So I know what I'm looking for now. It's a swirl.- Yep.- A sniff.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24- And a swallow.- It's a big wine, but it's not aggressive in any way.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27- It's got a generosity to it. - A gener...!
0:15:27 > 0:15:29- Yeah. - How do you keep this up when...?!
0:15:29 > 0:15:34We talk about it being voluptuous often. This is blowsy, this is...
0:15:34 > 0:15:37- This is first on the dance floor. - Yes, it is!
0:15:38 > 0:15:43This saucy little Shiraz has its roots in the region's dry land.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45All of the vines here need tender care
0:15:45 > 0:15:48and, of course, plenty of water.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50They look in good nick.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53Vines would not exist here unless you irrigated them.
0:15:53 > 0:15:59A vine tends to need 600, 700mm of rain to work properly.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03- So we need to irrigate.- And that's what's going on here?- It is.
0:16:03 > 0:16:09- So you are watering tens of thousands of vines, presumably, this way?- Yes, yes.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13'These vines drink millions of gallons of water,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16'which is pumped out of South Australia's main river system.'
0:16:16 > 0:16:19What sort of figures, in terms of bottles,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23- is your company producing each year? - Well, the overall group these days
0:16:23 > 0:16:28produces somewhere around the 20 to 25 million bottles a year.
0:16:29 > 0:16:3320 to 25 million bottles? That's...
0:16:33 > 0:16:35That would supply a country, wouldn't it?
0:16:35 > 0:16:38HE CHUCKLES It probably would.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41In fact, it supplies about 80 countries around the world.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44This isn't rustic wine-making, of course.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49This region is producing wine on a truly industrial scale.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55Just a few miles from Hardys vineyard
0:16:55 > 0:16:58is the biggest winery in the southern hemisphere.
0:17:01 > 0:17:02Oh, my goodness.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Yeah, so a sea of tanks.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11The scale of this!
0:17:11 > 0:17:13So each of these tanks
0:17:13 > 0:17:19can hold roughly 350,000 bottles of wine,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22and they've got a thousand of them.
0:17:22 > 0:17:29So, er...350 million bottles of wine at this one facility.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Of course, if you're going to put a decent bottle of wine
0:17:34 > 0:17:37on a table in Britain for a few quid,
0:17:37 > 0:17:39this is how you have to make it.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43It has to be done industrially, and the process has to be mechanised.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Australia has changed the way the world drinks wine
0:17:50 > 0:17:53with mass production, big-name brands like Hardys
0:17:53 > 0:17:54and clever marketing.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58Whoa!
0:18:01 > 0:18:06Central to the entire wine-making process is vast quantities of water.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09It's estimated that on average it takes around 500 litres
0:18:09 > 0:18:12to make a single bottle of wine.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16The precious resource is carefully managed here.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18But this region still faces a water crisis.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24For those of us who come from countries
0:18:24 > 0:18:28where water does fall quite regularly from the sky,
0:18:28 > 0:18:33we can very easily forget how utterly fundamental, erm...
0:18:33 > 0:18:37drops, pints, gallons, gigalitres of water is
0:18:37 > 0:18:41in creating and sustaining communities in a dry place like this.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44If you haven't got the water, you don't have life.
0:18:45 > 0:18:50And it's very easy for us all to take it for granted.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53But here, it's such a precious resource.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58The River Murray is the longest river in Australia,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02running for more than 1,400 miles.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05I was heading to meet environmental engineer Tim Stubbs,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08who was taking me out on the water.
0:19:08 > 0:19:09Tim?
0:19:09 > 0:19:12- How are you doing? - Doing very well, thank you.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14Flipping heck, look at this!
0:19:14 > 0:19:17This is a houseboat, one of the best ways to see the river
0:19:17 > 0:19:19- and actually understand it. How are you doing?- Thank you.
0:19:23 > 0:19:24Get off!
0:19:30 > 0:19:32Along with its major tributary, the Darling,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35the River Murray forms one of the most important river basins
0:19:35 > 0:19:39in the world, with a catchment area twice the size of Spain.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45This is Australia's Mississippi.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48It really is.
0:19:50 > 0:19:56This vital agricultural region is completely dependent on fresh water from the Murray-Darling.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01It's not just the wine producers that are drawing water
0:20:01 > 0:20:05from these rivers, and they're by no means the thirstiest.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09There are cotton farmers and even rice paddies here,
0:20:09 > 0:20:12which can use more than 2,000 litres of water
0:20:12 > 0:20:14to make a single kilo of rice.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23Why is what has been happening here with the Murray-Darling so important?
0:20:23 > 0:20:28The Murray-Darling is just a microcosm for what is happening around the world.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Our fresh water, both here and around the world, is critical
0:20:31 > 0:20:34to how we are going to continue to survive as a human race
0:20:34 > 0:20:38and it will be critical to geopolitics around the world.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43The next great migrations, I think, will be partially based on fresh water and how we use it.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47Do you mean that we have been overusing our freshwater supplies
0:20:47 > 0:20:49- and just taking it for granted? - I think we have.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52There's a rule of thumb that is used in Australia that says
0:20:52 > 0:20:56if you have two thirds of the natural flow in the river,
0:20:56 > 0:20:57your river should be OK.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59That kind of says there is a third there
0:20:59 > 0:21:02that we can use for irrigation and different industry
0:21:02 > 0:21:05and still have a healthy, functioning river system.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09But the problem for us in Australia is we've gone too far.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16Tim's research suggests that more than 60% of the natural flow
0:21:16 > 0:21:19of the Murray system is now being diverted to provide water
0:21:19 > 0:21:22for farms, homes and businesses.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27And that's having serious consequences for some parts of this river basin.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31Bloody hell.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33It's devastating.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36There are hundreds and hundreds of dead trees here.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47This is what made people in Australia start to stop and think we need to change what we are doing.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49This is an indicator of what's coming.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53If we want to live here and if we want to irrigate for the next 50,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56100 and 150 years, we need to get this right.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58If this river system crashes
0:21:58 > 0:22:02and the devastation we see here extends up and down the system,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05we're not going to have a healthy river for our healthy industries,
0:22:05 > 0:22:07and then we are not going to have healthy communities.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11The Australian government is now regulating how much water
0:22:11 > 0:22:14farmers can take out of the Murray Basin.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17But critics like Tim don't think they're doing enough.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24This is something that is going to be a much bigger issue in the century we're in now
0:22:24 > 0:22:26than it perhaps has been in centuries past,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28when there were fewer of us
0:22:28 > 0:22:32and the demands on our freshwater supply were much lower.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36What Australia is experiencing here now is something
0:22:36 > 0:22:39that's going to start affecting many more countries
0:22:39 > 0:22:42and hundreds of millions more people around the world.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44BIRD SQUAWKS
0:22:47 > 0:22:51I left the Murray River and headed west towards Port Lincoln,
0:22:51 > 0:22:53known as the fishing capital of Australia.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07This looks like a prosperous and comfortable little town.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Port Lincoln has grown rich fishing for tuna.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Before dawn the next morning, I headed to the dock to join
0:23:20 > 0:23:24one of the scores of commercial fishing boats based in the town.
0:23:24 > 0:23:29It's ten to six on a Wednesday morning. We're heading out to sea.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41The boat took us out into the Southern Ocean
0:23:41 > 0:23:44and some of the roughest waters on the planet.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50The pens out here are what we are heading for,
0:23:50 > 0:23:54because the guys we're with are more like farmers than fishermen.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58These pens, which are anchored to the ocean floor,
0:23:58 > 0:24:02are stocked with southern bluefin tuna.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07Captain Ben Bartley and his crew caught the fish in the open ocean
0:24:07 > 0:24:11and herded them here to these pens, where they will fatten and grow.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13It's known as tuna ranching.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17- How long ago were this lot caught? - Two weeks ago, these ones.- Right.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21And they've just been transferred into these holding cages a week ago.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23So you're fattening them up, basically?
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Yeah. They should almost double in size in the next six months.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32To monitor their progress, specialist divers
0:24:32 > 0:24:35check on the fish every day, and I was going to join them.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45The southern bluefin tuna can grow to more than 2m long
0:24:45 > 0:24:48and weigh nearly a quarter of a tonne.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53But it can still propel itself to more than 40 miles an hour.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57It's a magnificent, elegant and powerful fish.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02It is a weird sight.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05Like being on the hard shoulder of a motorway.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11They zip past you and every so often a tuna will suddenly accelerate
0:25:11 > 0:25:15to super-fast speed, like a cheetah or something.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22This fish is a delicacy beloved of sushi eaters,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26making it the most lucrative commercial fish in the world.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31When fully grown and flown off to Japan,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34the fish in this pen should be worth millions of pounds.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39The value we put on this creature means that, in recent decades,
0:25:39 > 0:25:43bluefin tuna has been heavily over-fished from our oceans.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50Tuna ranching like this allows the authorities to monitor
0:25:50 > 0:25:53the catch and regulate the amount of fish caught.
0:25:53 > 0:25:59Nevertheless, the southern bluefin is still classed as critically endangered in the wild.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09Tuna ranching has made Port Lincoln rich
0:26:09 > 0:26:12and the city is believed to have one of the highest number
0:26:12 > 0:26:14of millionaires per capita in the southern hemisphere.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22I went to meet one of the richest men in town.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29- Afternoon.- Good afternoon, how are you?
0:26:29 > 0:26:30Hello, I'm Simon Reeve.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Welcome to my humble cottage!
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Your humble cottage is quite large, Hagen.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41'Hagen Stehr is a German-born fisherman who jumped ship here in 1960
0:26:41 > 0:26:43'with just 3 in his pocket.'
0:26:43 > 0:26:46They put me in jail for two days or three days,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49and then they threw me out of jail and said, "Now do some work."
0:26:49 > 0:26:55They said if you don't get drunk for six months, you've got the makings of a good Australian.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57And that was 53 years ago, and I'm still here,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59in the greatest country in the world.
0:26:59 > 0:27:04When I arrived here, tuna fishing was just starting here in Port Lincoln
0:27:04 > 0:27:08and they were catching fish with small vessels.
0:27:08 > 0:27:13It was sort of dog eat dog and very fierce in the early stages.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17'Fishing here developed into a huge industry.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20'But Hagen now believes we can't keep emptying the seas of fish.'
0:27:20 > 0:27:23The government know for the future
0:27:23 > 0:27:29food security will become more and more and more relevant in years to come.
0:27:29 > 0:27:311.3 billion people in China.
0:27:31 > 0:27:38Ten years ago, each Chinese person ate between 9 to 10 kilos of fish.
0:27:38 > 0:27:43The latest figures coming out are saying that, in another 15 years,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46that will go up to 30 kilo.
0:27:46 > 0:27:47Where is it going to come from?
0:27:50 > 0:27:55With wild tuna stocks collapsing around the world, Hagen has come up with a new plan.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01The Holy Grail, really, for fish farmers is to be able
0:28:01 > 0:28:05to breed their fish under relatively controlled circumstances.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09And I'm on my way to a fairly secret facility
0:28:09 > 0:28:11where they're trying to do just that.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14Hagen has invested millions of pounds
0:28:14 > 0:28:16in a secretive new venture.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26- What is it you're doing here? - We're developing new technology.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28It's costing a lot of money to get it going,
0:28:28 > 0:28:32so we try to restrict access to it, and that's why it's no windows!
0:28:37 > 0:28:42Dr Craig Foster has worked at the cutting edge of the fisheries industry for 20 years.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45The fish in here cost us multi-millions to get in here
0:28:45 > 0:28:50and we look after them 12 months a year, 365 days, 24 hours a day,
0:28:50 > 0:28:53and I don't want to take any chances in losing them.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56In case you've been somewhere you shouldn't have been.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02- OK.- My goodness. - This is our brood-stock tank.
0:29:04 > 0:29:09- It's huge! - You get a better view from up here.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12They're massive. Look at the size of them!
0:29:12 > 0:29:14These fish, they're about 150 kilos,
0:29:14 > 0:29:16they're about as long as you and me.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19The technology Craig's team are developing could mean
0:29:19 > 0:29:25that, one day, wild southern bluefin tuna no longer need to be fished from our oceans.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28They're trying to breed the tuna,
0:29:28 > 0:29:30but it's not as easy as you might think.
0:29:30 > 0:29:35This tank is all about reliably producing eggs to enable us to produce juveniles.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39Why is it so hard to get them to breed in this sort of situation?
0:29:39 > 0:29:41Because the reality is there is very little known about them.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43These tuna are temperature spawners,
0:29:43 > 0:29:47so their major breeding cycle is governed by temperature.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51Naturally, they'd spawn in the Java Sea at about 27 degrees.
0:29:52 > 0:29:57In the wild, tuna only breed after they migrate thousands of miles.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02To recreate those conditions, this state-of-the-art facility
0:30:02 > 0:30:04mimics the daylight, moonlight
0:30:04 > 0:30:07and water temperatures that they'd encounter
0:30:07 > 0:30:10on that epic journey around Australia to the Java Sea.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17So are you businessmen, businesspeople,
0:30:17 > 0:30:20or are you conservationists, or a bit of both?
0:30:20 > 0:30:22Though we're not doing this as a conservation project,
0:30:22 > 0:30:25there is a declining supply of tuna.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29With declining supply becomes increasing prices.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33So there's an opportunity to support that supply
0:30:33 > 0:30:36and take the pressure off the wild fishery
0:30:36 > 0:30:38by producing it in a farm manner.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40Hopefully, if we can succeed,
0:30:40 > 0:30:43we will take pressure off fishing stocks
0:30:43 > 0:30:47and the world will go on as we would have found it years ago.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52Southern bluefin tuna have been successfully spawned
0:30:52 > 0:30:56at this research centre - the first time ever in captivity.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58But that's only the first stage.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02You probably need your glasses on for this,
0:31:02 > 0:31:07- but these are tuna eggs, gold dust!- Look at that.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11Those things will grow into a fish very rapidly, hatch within 30 hours.
0:31:11 > 0:31:16But if all the tuna in here were to grow to full size
0:31:16 > 0:31:20and be sold on to a market in Japan, let's say,
0:31:20 > 0:31:24that could be £200-300,000 of fish.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26Correct. And I'd be a happy person.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30If they can raise tuna to full size,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32they may be able to change how we fish our oceans
0:31:32 > 0:31:35and help save the southern bluefin tuna.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40Of course, it is sad to see such magnificent creatures
0:31:40 > 0:31:43being held captive like this and farmed.
0:31:43 > 0:31:48But we've been doing the same to cattle for thousands of years.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50And at the moment the human population of the planet
0:31:50 > 0:31:52is increasing by tens of millions every year.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55We're emptying our oceans of fish.
0:31:55 > 0:32:00Maybe fish farming, aquaculture, can play a role in finding
0:32:00 > 0:32:05a solution which feeds humans, but protects life in our seas.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16The sun's going down,
0:32:16 > 0:32:18and we've got another couple of hours of driving to do
0:32:18 > 0:32:21before we going to get to Port Augusta,
0:32:21 > 0:32:23which is our next destination,
0:32:23 > 0:32:26and there we're supposed to be hopping on a train
0:32:26 > 0:32:28which is going to take us west.
0:32:28 > 0:32:29But it's going to be quite tight,
0:32:29 > 0:32:33and the problem with this train is it only goes once a week.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39The town of Port Augusta was a quick drive by Australian standards -
0:32:39 > 0:32:42just 140 miles further along the coast.
0:32:42 > 0:32:43It's ten o'clock now.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46The train comes in soon.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50The train station, I can see, is over there.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56The Pichi Richi Railway Station.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59OK. I'll stop here.
0:33:05 > 0:33:10I'm really looking forward to this, I love travelling by train.
0:33:13 > 0:33:17And to be honest, Australia was pretty much designed for it,
0:33:17 > 0:33:24being utterly vast and having roads that never seem to end.
0:33:28 > 0:33:29Thank you.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35We're just going to lock the doors and we'll be on our way. Thank you.
0:33:42 > 0:33:43Oh, wow.
0:33:46 > 0:33:51- Bathroom's in there. It's pretty easy to work out. - The bathroom, yeah.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53You've got your towels and stuff here.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56- It's rather flashy, isn't it? - It is, yeah.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00- This is much better than driving. OK.- Just a little.- Thank you.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03Breakfast runs from 6:30 to 8:30.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07- Keep going till I can smell bacon, basically!- Yeah!- OK. Thank you.
0:34:07 > 0:34:08No worries.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12HE EXHALES DEEPLY
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Oh, lovely, lovely.
0:34:16 > 0:34:17Sleep well.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29The Indian Pacific Railway runs all the way across Australia
0:34:29 > 0:34:31from coast to coast.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34It's an astonishing 2,700 miles -
0:34:34 > 0:34:37further than a journey from London to Baghdad.
0:34:43 > 0:34:48"Available till 8:30 this morning, breakfast from the Queen Adelaide restaurant car."
0:34:51 > 0:34:54It's one of the world's greatest train journeys
0:34:54 > 0:34:56and carries 60,000 people a year.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10So we are now at the start of the Nullarbor Plain,
0:35:10 > 0:35:14a vast area of flat nothingness in some ways,
0:35:14 > 0:35:16but starkly beautiful in its own right.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25The world's longest straight stretch of railway track took me
0:35:25 > 0:35:28across the Nullarbor Plain and into the state of Western Australia,
0:35:28 > 0:35:33where I hopped off the train at the city of Kalgoorlie.
0:35:39 > 0:35:44In the late 1800s, three Irishmen, who stopped here to shoe a horse,
0:35:44 > 0:35:47found gold nuggets lying on the ground.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51So began one of the largest gold rushes in history.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56Thousands flooded into this remote region to make their fortune.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00When gold prices rocketed after the recent global financial crisis,
0:36:00 > 0:36:02a new gold rush began.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06Look.
0:36:06 > 0:36:11- Hey, guys.- Hello, Ted? Simon, Simon Reeve. - Pleased to meet you, mate.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15'Ted Mahoney is one of the biggest gold dealers in town.'
0:36:15 > 0:36:18Are people still coming in from outside the area,
0:36:18 > 0:36:23- are people coming here drawn by the obvious ancient lure of gold? - Oh, mate...
0:36:23 > 0:36:26Gold prices are very high, which draws a lot of people.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29And you're buying gold from people who are prospecting
0:36:29 > 0:36:34- just in this area?- Every day. That's what our shop runs on.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37That's all we do, is just buy gold.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39'And some of the locals are striking it rich.'
0:36:39 > 0:36:41- Simon, hello.- Hello.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44- Can we see what you've brought in? - Yes, certainly.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50- Look at this!- That's probably about a kilo of raw gold.
0:36:51 > 0:36:57At today's prices, a kilo of pure gold is worth around £30,000.
0:36:57 > 0:37:01- I told you it was a kilo. - Yeah, 18 grams out.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04- They say the streets are covered with... - SIMON LAUGHS LOUDLY
0:37:04 > 0:37:07Congratulations on this.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09You're very calm about it.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12- You should take some time off now. - No, I don't like taking time off.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16- Thank you so much. Best of luck. Cheers.- We'll see you again, eh?
0:37:16 > 0:37:19Hopefully. He's still going to be out there getting more.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22- Yeah.- One kilo is not enough.
0:37:22 > 0:37:27- Last year, the year before, we had a 24 kilo nugget come in. - A 24 kilo nugget.
0:37:27 > 0:37:32- They're still out there.- Yeah. Found by a guy with a metal detector, mate!
0:37:32 > 0:37:36He thought it was a tin can, dug it out and there was gold. Oh!
0:37:36 > 0:37:39They're drawn by the lure of gold because people are still finding gold.
0:37:39 > 0:37:45It is a very sort of fundamental human desire, isn't it?
0:37:45 > 0:37:48It is so attractive and shiny!
0:37:48 > 0:37:52- You live with this all the time. - That's gold fever. That's gold fever.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00With 24 kilo nuggets still being found, I headed straight for the hills.
0:38:02 > 0:38:07I was meeting a family who've moved to Kalgoorlie to seek their fortune.
0:38:07 > 0:38:08Now, where are they?
0:38:13 > 0:38:16- Steve?- How are you? - Rowanne?- Morning.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18Morning, morning, morning. Simon.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20It's a lovely morning after the rain. SIMON LAUGHS
0:38:20 > 0:38:25- Hello. Hello, my dear. Hello! Who are you?- Teela.
0:38:25 > 0:38:29- Teela.- She's got the spade. It's a family affair.- It is.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32METAL DETECTOR WHISTLES
0:38:32 > 0:38:36Steve Smith and his wife Rowanne try to get out here every weekend
0:38:36 > 0:38:37with their metal detectors,
0:38:37 > 0:38:40and they've had their fair share of luck.
0:38:40 > 0:38:41What's this here?
0:38:41 > 0:38:45- A gold nugget Steve found. - He found that?
0:38:46 > 0:38:50That is the sort of thing that is out here...under the ground.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54METAL DETECTOR WHISTLES
0:38:54 > 0:38:59- My chance... My bit now. - This is your part of fame.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03Just loosen the ground up around where you think it is.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05There could be gold right here.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08There could be. Get in with your hand.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12- Nothing in that.- There you go, there's something there.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15DETECTOR BEEPS QUICKEN
0:39:15 > 0:39:19- What's that?- It looks like a bit of an old lead shot.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23MUTED WHISTLING
0:39:23 > 0:39:28- Another lovely bit of rubbish, an old bullet, an old .22. - That really is. Look.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31When the gold rush really started here,
0:39:31 > 0:39:35it was really like the Wild West, and robbers would shoot anybody
0:39:35 > 0:39:38if they had gold or they knew where it was as well.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41I suppose knowing where the gold was
0:39:41 > 0:39:44was almost as valuable as having it in the first place.
0:39:44 > 0:39:45Yep, yep.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49So information and knowledge became very precious, didn't?
0:39:49 > 0:39:54Even now, you're keen for us not to show your car numberplates or precisely where we are.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56- Yeah, yeah. - Completely understandably.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01Prospecting is a serious business.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03But Steve was happy to let me have a go.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14- HIGH-PITCHED WHISTLES - Ooh!
0:40:14 > 0:40:18- Your gold ring!- My gold ring I realised as I did it, idiot!
0:40:18 > 0:40:19STEVE LAUGHS
0:40:19 > 0:40:22On that occasion, it's just this tiny bit of metal.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27But on other times, it could be gold.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35After an hour of searching, I failed miserably.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39'But Steve kept my hopes alive with a small pile of quartz.'
0:40:39 > 0:40:41I've got a few bits here. We can take it home
0:40:41 > 0:40:44and get you to crush it up.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46'He said it might contain gold.'
0:40:51 > 0:40:52Hey, hey, hey.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58That's it.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00Have you ever done any panning?
0:41:00 > 0:41:03- You know, strangely, no! - You haven't?- No.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06Basically, we're just going to drop it in. Just agitate it.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08Try and work the gold back down to the bottom,
0:41:08 > 0:41:11because your gold is obviously heavier.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13It will be down in this bottom riffle
0:41:13 > 0:41:15and then just going to work it around,
0:41:15 > 0:41:19try and work it back to this corner into the middle of the riffles.
0:41:19 > 0:41:24And then what you're doing is just washing and a nice little light wash.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28Like that. There you go. Look, look! There is gold in it.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31- Wahey!- There is, too. Sensational.
0:41:31 > 0:41:36- There you go. That is gold, yeah. - Gold!- You're onto it.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38Although it's not big, this weight accumulates up.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41And then you take it down to the gold shop and sell it on.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44And we go on holidays. BOTH LAUGH
0:41:44 > 0:41:45Yeah!
0:41:47 > 0:41:51- So this is your brew? - This is my brew.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54- Steve, thank you very much indeed for showing it to us.- And thank you.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57- And best of luck with your future prospecting.- Cheers.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59Down the hatch.
0:42:05 > 0:42:09- Steve, that's good. - That is good, isn't it?- Whoo-ah!
0:42:09 > 0:42:11STEVE LAUGHS
0:42:11 > 0:42:12Whoo-hoo!
0:42:23 > 0:42:26It is not just part-time prospectors like Steve who are making money
0:42:26 > 0:42:28from the Kalgoorlie gold rush.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34This is the site of one of the world's biggest goldmines.
0:42:36 > 0:42:40Kalgoorlie lies on what local say is the richest square mile on earth.
0:42:43 > 0:42:44Across Australia,
0:42:44 > 0:42:49vast mines like this are fuelling an unprecedented resources boom.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53Flipping heck.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01More than two miles long and one third of a mile deep,
0:43:01 > 0:43:05the Kalgoorlie Super Pit can be seen from space.
0:43:09 > 0:43:14When you start looking at the dumpers over there, I think you get an idea.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16Each one of the massive trucks
0:43:16 > 0:43:20can haul 225 tonnes of rock out of the pit.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28The mine operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
0:43:28 > 0:43:32producing 7% of the world's gold.
0:43:37 > 0:43:41I'm suddenly really just taken by this roundabout we're on.
0:43:41 > 0:43:46There is a sign here that says Tropicana gold mine that way.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50And then there is a sign here that says nickel mine that way,
0:43:50 > 0:43:52silver mine that way.
0:43:52 > 0:43:53HE LAUGHS
0:43:53 > 0:43:58This land is just peppered with resources
0:43:58 > 0:44:01and just incredible wealth.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08But that wealth didn't seem to be trickling down to everyone around here.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12Just a stone's throw from the super pit,
0:44:12 > 0:44:16this is an Aboriginal settlement called Ninga Mia.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18Like many across the country,
0:44:18 > 0:44:21it suffers from high unemployment, crime and addiction.
0:44:22 > 0:44:27This is...such a dark aspect of Australia.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34The pitiful suffering of Aboriginal people.
0:44:36 > 0:44:42We are just a short distance from one of the most valuable patches of land on planet earth
0:44:42 > 0:44:48and here, at the edge of this Aboriginal settlement, there is rubbish everywhere.
0:44:49 > 0:44:53And there are these cars that have almost been annihilated.
0:44:54 > 0:44:58It's as if people have taken out their anger on them.
0:45:01 > 0:45:05Across Australia, large deposits of valuable minerals have been found
0:45:05 > 0:45:07on traditional Aboriginal lands.
0:45:08 > 0:45:13In many cases, those Aboriginal communities have been paid for the right to mine the land.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17But the money has often done little to improve lives.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23Many people here in Ninga Mia don't feel they are benefiting
0:45:23 > 0:45:28from the gold that's being mined out of land they believe belongs to them.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32As a result, there is upset and anger.
0:45:33 > 0:45:37I met with Pastor Geoffrey Stokes, a local community leader.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41Can you tell us a little bit about this community. Where are we?
0:45:41 > 0:45:48The original reserves for Kalgoorlie and Boulder were just back over there.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51And they moved the people from there to here.
0:45:51 > 0:45:52That is the Kalgoorlie Super Pit.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55They get millions of dollars every day out of this.
0:45:55 > 0:46:00And, um...we don't get nothing, not a cent from it.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03Nothing. Everybody else is benefiting.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08It's 200 years since Europeans arrived, took this land
0:46:08 > 0:46:11and subjugated Aboriginal people.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14In recent decades, there have been committees, commissions,
0:46:14 > 0:46:16compensation.
0:46:16 > 0:46:18But in many Aboriginal communities,
0:46:18 > 0:46:20there's still suffering and resentment.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24The rest of Australian seems to be getting on with its happy lives,
0:46:24 > 0:46:28and its barbecues and its beaches and its resource boom.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32I come here and you start to see the other side of life here.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34For them to have their lifestyle
0:46:34 > 0:46:37and their jobs and their trucks and boats and planes
0:46:37 > 0:46:42and all the rest of it, someone had to pay for it.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44- Who's paying for it here? - The Aboriginal people.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46- I'm paying for their lifestyle. - In what way?
0:46:46 > 0:46:50Because I'm missing out on my inheritance and my birthright
0:46:50 > 0:46:52and my wealth
0:46:52 > 0:46:56- and the benefits that come out of the country.- Out of the ground?
0:46:56 > 0:46:59- Out of the ground.- Yeah.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01We're still living in Third World conditions.
0:47:05 > 0:47:07HE EXHALES HEAVILY
0:47:07 > 0:47:11There is a huge gulf
0:47:11 > 0:47:16between the lives of most Aboriginal people in this country
0:47:16 > 0:47:19and other Australians.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24Australians, most Australians, I think, they do,
0:47:24 > 0:47:27of course, care about what is happening in communities like this,
0:47:27 > 0:47:30and it would be completely wrong for anyone to suggest or imagine
0:47:30 > 0:47:34that the government isn't trying to help.
0:47:35 > 0:47:40But make no mistake, this is a hugely challenging situation
0:47:40 > 0:47:45and there are no quick fixes and definitely no easy answers.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53The plight and problems of Aboriginal communities
0:47:53 > 0:47:56was something I'd encounter and explore in more detail
0:47:56 > 0:47:58later on my journey around Australia.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09I drove nearly 400 miles west of Kalgoorlie
0:48:09 > 0:48:13to the coastal city of Perth, the capital of Western Australia.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22Money from Australia's resources boom is pouring into this city.
0:48:24 > 0:48:25So this is Perth.
0:48:26 > 0:48:30It's one of the fastest-growing cities in Australia
0:48:30 > 0:48:33and, to be honest, it feels more like a capital city
0:48:33 > 0:48:36than the capital of just a state in the country.
0:48:39 > 0:48:45Average household incomes here have risen 35% in just five years.
0:48:45 > 0:48:46There's no recession here.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51The unemployment rate is less than half of what it is in Europe,
0:48:51 > 0:48:53attracting workers from across the globe,
0:48:53 > 0:48:56including Brits in their droves.
0:48:58 > 0:49:02More than 11% of Perth's population are British expats.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04I headed off to meet one of them.
0:49:05 > 0:49:06I think this is it.
0:49:07 > 0:49:08They're busy!
0:49:08 > 0:49:11I'll just park here, I think.
0:49:12 > 0:49:16This is just one of hundreds of truck-driving schools in Australia.
0:49:16 > 0:49:21Thousands of men and women come here every year to get their heavy-goods licence,
0:49:21 > 0:49:24so they can go off and work on remote mining projects
0:49:24 > 0:49:25and earn a fortune.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32The success of this driving school, and the fact that so many people
0:49:32 > 0:49:38want to be truck drivers, is largely down to the resources boom here.
0:49:38 > 0:49:41In Australia, you don't just need to be a stockbroker
0:49:41 > 0:49:43or a banker to have a high income.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47You can be a blue-collar worker and still make a lot of money.
0:49:48 > 0:49:53Steve Mutch left his job as a binman in Hull when the recession hit.
0:49:53 > 0:49:55He's now a truck-driving instructor.
0:49:57 > 0:50:03- Steve.- Hello.- Hello, mate.- Nice to meet you.- Nice to meet you, too.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07I do about ten lessons a day. I have 50 lessons a week on average.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09- You've got that many pupils coming through here?- Yeah.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13- It's very busy, very busy. - Are you ready for another one?- I am.
0:50:13 > 0:50:14HE LAUGHS
0:50:17 > 0:50:21Right. It's like a plane, quite frankly.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24- Flipping heck, how many gears has this got?- This one's got 18 gears.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27- 18?- 18 forward gears, yeah.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29And it's two clutches for every gear change.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32Clutch, neutral, clutch, gear, tap-tap, that sort of speed.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35If I make it into second, I will consider that a major achievement.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37If I change gears without destroying the gearbox,
0:50:37 > 0:50:39- I'll be very happy.- So will I.
0:50:39 > 0:50:40BOTH LAUGH
0:50:40 > 0:50:43How reassuring. Thank you, Steve!
0:50:46 > 0:50:50'Steve took me out onto the open road to show me how it's done.'
0:50:50 > 0:50:54OK, so once your revs are about 1,250 revs,
0:50:54 > 0:50:57you go into neutral. So it's neutral, off the clutch, back on.
0:50:57 > 0:50:59Right.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02When it goes to 12½, it's clutch, neutral, clutch, gear.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05Stop doing everything so quickly! How am I supposed to...?!
0:51:10 > 0:51:12Suddenly, it was my turn.
0:51:13 > 0:51:17I was taking charge of a vehicle called a prime mover -
0:51:17 > 0:51:20a truck capable of pulling more than 40 tonnes -
0:51:20 > 0:51:23if I could get it started.
0:51:23 > 0:51:24Flipping heck.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34Don't rev to start with. You press your foot all the way to the floor on the clutch.
0:51:34 > 0:51:36Give the gearbox chance to stop spinning.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39You don't need to accelerate at first.
0:51:39 > 0:51:40Oh, goodness, we're moving!
0:51:42 > 0:51:44That's it. Now gently accelerate.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54Strewth! What am I doing?
0:51:54 > 0:51:56Clutch to the right.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59It will pop into neutral. It's off the clutch back on and into two.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02- That's it.- I just changed gear. We're in second gear now.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05It was a little bit jumpy, I'll grant you that.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08That's that kangaroo fuel they put in them!
0:52:08 > 0:52:11- CLANGING SOUND - Oh, God!
0:52:11 > 0:52:14We'll pick them bits of the gearbox back up when we come back round!
0:52:14 > 0:52:16- Steve, I'm sorry. - STEVE LAUGHS
0:52:16 > 0:52:17Really slow, yep.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24Steve, have you got a seat belt on?
0:52:24 > 0:52:26I have, yes. And I've had my Valium(!)
0:52:26 > 0:52:28- Had your Valium! - STEVE CHUCKLES
0:52:28 > 0:52:33- We're doing 38 kilometres an hour. - Start pulling back on that gear stick a little.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35Into neutral, release the clutch, back on the...
0:52:35 > 0:52:37GEARS GRIND Oof!
0:52:37 > 0:52:39Why's it doing that?!
0:52:39 > 0:52:43Steve, this can't be less stressful than working for the council in Hull.
0:52:43 > 0:52:47That's why they pay us so well. SIMON LAUGHS LOUDLY
0:52:47 > 0:52:48Danger money.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52Come on now, Steve, you're getting good money here.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55- Are you going to tell us what you're earning? Roughly.- Roughly.
0:52:55 > 0:53:00- I will probably earn 90,000 a year. - 90,000 a year.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03£60,000 a year.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06Before tax.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09'Many of Steve's pupils go on to work in Australia's mines,
0:53:09 > 0:53:12'earning even more than he does.'
0:53:12 > 0:53:14I was talking to a driver the other day,
0:53:14 > 0:53:17he's earning 4,000 a week after tax.
0:53:17 > 0:53:234,000 a week, 200,000 a year. That's 130,000...
0:53:23 > 0:53:25If we start to slow down again.
0:53:25 > 0:53:29Yep. £130,000, eh? Just for driving a truck.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33You'd probably pay your house off after one year.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36- It's quite a draw for people, isn't it?- Oh, yes.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39Neutral, big rev, clutch and into gear. That's it.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42Indicate to your right. Good.
0:53:42 > 0:53:44And we'll turn in the yard in this gear.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51- You want me to reverse between those two trucks there?- Yes.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55- Is that all right? - Look in that bottom mirror.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58You're very close to the yellow one.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02And stop there. Good. You did well.
0:54:02 > 0:54:06- Yay! Thank you so much. - You're welcome.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08You're very calm and reassuring.
0:54:11 > 0:54:12Phew!
0:54:17 > 0:54:20'Steve lives in a large house with a pool in the suburbs of Perth
0:54:20 > 0:54:24'with his wife Sharon, a nurse, and his daughter Jess.'
0:54:24 > 0:54:27Hello! Hello! Simon.
0:54:27 > 0:54:31- Hello.- Sharon.- Hello, Sharon, lovely to meet you. Hello. Hello.- Jess.
0:54:31 > 0:54:33- Lovely to meet you. Simon. How are you?- Good, thanks.
0:54:33 > 0:54:35- Have you cleaned up because you knew we were coming?- Yes.
0:54:35 > 0:54:39- All day I've been cleaning! - Oh, no!
0:54:44 > 0:54:46It was always a dream to get the boat
0:54:46 > 0:54:49and it's great just to be able to take that out on the weekend.
0:54:49 > 0:54:54Was there a point when you were in Hull and you heard that your salary
0:54:54 > 0:54:55was going to be more than halved
0:54:55 > 0:54:58and you just were pulling your hair out slightly,
0:54:58 > 0:54:59wondering what you were going to do?
0:54:59 > 0:55:02Well, I suppose after being in a job for so long,
0:55:02 > 0:55:05cos I worked there for 22½ years, it's a bit of a worry.
0:55:05 > 0:55:06And you come out here...
0:55:06 > 0:55:08I was expecting to have a few weeks off.
0:55:08 > 0:55:11The first job I applied for I was offered.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14- But you must be pleased with how things have turned out? - Oh, yeah, yeah.
0:55:14 > 0:55:19- No, it's great. Like I say, we're living the dream. - It does feel like that.
0:55:19 > 0:55:22It is, yeah. You'd never have this back home in England.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25You couldn't use a boat like that on the River Humber.
0:55:25 > 0:55:26HE LAUGHS
0:55:38 > 0:55:41Blue-collar workers like Steve are making a good living
0:55:41 > 0:55:44on the back of Australia's resources boom.
0:55:44 > 0:55:48To understand the scale of what is going on, I headed to Perth Airport.
0:55:48 > 0:55:50From here, thousands of workers
0:55:50 > 0:55:53head off to the mines of Western Australia every day.
0:55:53 > 0:55:57It is known as "fly in, fly out" or FIFO.
0:55:57 > 0:56:03So all the planes over here, these planes here
0:56:03 > 0:56:09and this lot over here, these are all for the FIFO workers.
0:56:11 > 0:56:16165 planes a day are shuttling people back and forwards
0:56:16 > 0:56:20to remote mining sites and drilling sites.
0:56:27 > 0:56:31So long as the giant economies of Asia keep growing, Australia
0:56:31 > 0:56:36will keep supplying them with iron, coal, copper, oil and gas.
0:56:36 > 0:56:38And people here will continue to cash in.
0:56:41 > 0:56:46I think basically everybody here is FIFO. It's extraordinary.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49It's like watching commuters in a London Underground station,
0:56:49 > 0:56:51except here, they're all flying out.
0:56:53 > 0:56:57- Where are you off to yourselves? - West Angeles.- West Angeles?
0:56:57 > 0:57:01And that's iron ore. You're iron-ore men?
0:57:01 > 0:57:04There's about 20 of us on this plane going up today for five days.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07Your accent's not local, is it?
0:57:07 > 0:57:11- 40 years ago, I used to live in Sheffield.- So what's your rotation?
0:57:11 > 0:57:13- You never know, or...?- Yeah.
0:57:13 > 0:57:17Because we're senior citizens, they sort of...
0:57:17 > 0:57:18They have us for a week
0:57:18 > 0:57:21and then we might not get a call for another three weeks,
0:57:21 > 0:57:24or four weeks, and then they want us for another four of five days.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27Do you remember that English phrase "cushy"?
0:57:27 > 0:57:30- Yeah. Dead cushy. - It sounds a bit cushy.
0:57:30 > 0:57:32It's real cushy. Because after that you can come out to Perth,
0:57:32 > 0:57:37cut the grass in the garden, go fishing and look after grandkids.
0:57:37 > 0:57:41- It's great.- It's a hard life, but someone's got to do it!
0:57:41 > 0:57:42Too right!
0:57:56 > 0:57:59So they're heading off on their commute.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02This is the end of this part of my journey.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04On the next programme, I'll be travelling
0:58:04 > 0:58:07across the north of Australia to the Great Barrier Reef.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14Next time, in Australia's tropical north,
0:58:14 > 0:58:17I go on patrol with a unique military force.
0:58:17 > 0:58:20- Green ant tea?- Green ant tea, yeah.
0:58:21 > 0:58:24And I'll find out how modern Australia is threatening
0:58:24 > 0:58:27the greatest coral reef in the world.
0:58:27 > 0:58:29Really like something from a sci-fi film.
0:58:54 > 0:58:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd