0:00:04 > 0:00:08Imagine a line more than 22,000 miles long
0:00:08 > 0:00:12that cuts through the most remote areas of the southern hemisphere.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16And look what's up ahead of us. Look at this! Look at this sight!
0:00:17 > 0:00:22The Tropic of Capricorn marks the southern edge of the Earth's tropical zone.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26It runs through southern Africa, Australia and South America.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29This is just nature showing off.
0:00:32 > 0:00:37Following the line will take me to beautiful but troubled regions of the world.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Oh! Bloody hell!
0:00:39 > 0:00:43Capricorn passes through areas of desperate poverty,
0:00:43 > 0:00:48political conflict and environmental devastation.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Just ripping it down. Look at this.
0:00:51 > 0:00:59This leg of my journey takes me thousands of miles across Australia through the red earth of the outback
0:00:59 > 0:01:03to the tropical waters of the Great Barrier Reef.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17They are one of the great natural wonders of the world.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Oh, my God, that is incredible...
0:01:24 > 0:01:27That makes the tears well up, that's just such an awesome sight.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35Off the coast of Western Australia, just to the north of the Tropic of Capricorn,
0:01:35 > 0:01:41hundreds of humpback whales are resting on their epic annual migration south to Antarctica.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Look at the size...look at this.
0:01:52 > 0:01:58Exmouth Gulf plays a critical role in the lives and survival of these awesome giants.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05It's a quiet spot where whales can bring their young to rest and put on half a ton of fat
0:02:05 > 0:02:11before travelling thousands of miles to their Antarctic feeding grounds.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13Ha ha, look at them...
0:02:13 > 0:02:17I just got some spray over me from them.
0:02:17 > 0:02:22Humpbacks were once hunted to near-extinction and need these rare
0:02:22 > 0:02:27sanctuaries to survive, as biologist Curt Jenner knows only too well.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31He's been studying them for 20 years.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34It's a privilege on this planet in this day and age
0:02:34 > 0:02:39to have a place like this that is so unique, so undisturbed.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43These are baby animals that need some place to rest and to grow.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46But like any nursery, there are silly things that go on.
0:02:46 > 0:02:51These are precocious little animals that'll be rolling over Mum's nose one moment,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54falling over backwards and getting their blowholes full of water...
0:02:54 > 0:02:59they'll come up, "Brrrrrrrfffff!" There's a lot of just sort of playing that goes on.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02To be able to see that in a place like this...
0:03:02 > 0:03:05where literally there's one whale every square mile...
0:03:05 > 0:03:08it's phenomenal, it's a fantastic place.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13They're that close...
0:03:13 > 0:03:16and hello to you... Look.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20'Curt's wife Mich is also a marine biologist.
0:03:20 > 0:03:26'She keeps a photographic record of thousands of whales to help identify individuals.'
0:03:26 > 0:03:28We've got a cow, calf escort pod here.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33And an escort is believed to be a male whale that is accompanying the female.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Now you might think that's noble.
0:03:35 > 0:03:40- For what purpose?- Really only because she is deemed successful,
0:03:40 > 0:03:45she has a calf already, and the breeding season means to pass on genes.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48- Ah, so she might be able to have another one.- Exactly.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50- One of his. Men, eh!- That's it.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52She invests two years of her life.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56- And he invests two hours. - And the male might invest two hours or two days.
0:04:01 > 0:04:07But over dinner, Curt tells me of plans he fears could see the whales leave this area for good.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11In last 6-12 months there's been plans put forward to develop
0:04:11 > 0:04:15a salt mine, an evaporative salt mine on eastern side of gulf.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19- It's a huge area from north to south, an extensive range. - Of salt pans?- That's right.
0:04:19 > 0:04:25Apparently the world has an amazing appetite for plastic these days, as if we haven't noticed...
0:04:25 > 0:04:29this is the key use for salt these days is in making plastic.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33So we all have an evil hand in the need for this product.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37How worried are you about the impact on the whales who are coming here?
0:04:37 > 0:04:44Basically what we're looking at as a key threat in this resting area is noise.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Shipping noise and that sort of noise is not compatible with resting.
0:04:48 > 0:04:54Imagine trying to rest with your newborn baby somewhere quiet
0:04:54 > 0:04:58with dump trucks going by and people banging garage doors shut.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03- I'd want to move. - And that's what we're worried will happen with these whales.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06It's a critical habitat for them. They have to rest here.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09If they can't do that it's a population-threatening event.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12- It's that serious. - Exactly. If these calves can't rest,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16they'll probably perish on their way to the Antarctic and that'll be the end of them.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24'Out on deck I could still see whales all around the boat.'
0:05:24 > 0:05:31The pregnant female has been lying on her back and slapping her fins
0:05:31 > 0:05:34on the surface of the water and it creates an incredible sound.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37It's an amazing sight. We've been so fortunate.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51The salt company say their plans won't affect the whales
0:05:51 > 0:05:54and they promise an economic boost to the area.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02But it was time for us to leave the coast and start our journey east across this enormous continent
0:06:02 > 0:06:06more than 2,500 miles wide.
0:06:06 > 0:06:13We would be zig-zagging along Capricorn, crossing the vast emptiness of Australia's outback.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18And the next morning I met my companion for the first leg of my trip.
0:06:18 > 0:06:25This is Steckie who is going to be driving and guiding us across a large chunk of Australia.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28And for some reason he seems to find our improvised hairnets
0:06:28 > 0:06:30to keep the flies off our faces amusing.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32What's so funny about this, Steckie?
0:06:32 > 0:06:36Well, if you didn't open your mouth so much you wouldn't catch so many!
0:06:36 > 0:06:38What's your advice for keeping the flies off?
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Just ordinary Black & Gold fly spray.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44- Just ordinary Black & Gold fly spray.- Personal insect repellent.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Have a look. Just spray it on yourself.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51- Right, I'll be quite pleased to get rid of the...- Sand flies, midgies.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54You can spray your face with it, close your eyes, spray your face.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56I'm very trusting... Is it ok to use?
0:06:56 > 0:06:58It only stings a little.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03What's this pass the salt... 100 years of opportunity.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06It's a local campaign for the salt,
0:07:06 > 0:07:10the evaporated ponds over on the salt mine on the other side of the Gulf.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12So you're in favour of it?
0:07:12 > 0:07:14Oh, definitely.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19You can't stop progress. It's a good industry, but the town's divided a bit, so...
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Progress, we need a boost in our economy quite a bit.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26- Why? - Because it's the way it happens.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29It's all going ahead. Western Australia, land of milk and honey.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Western Australia is enjoying a huge economic boom.
0:07:37 > 0:07:43This state, bigger than Western Europe, is stuffed full of valuable natural resources.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46But it hasn't always been the land of milk and honey.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51In the 1930s, miners started hacking thousands of tonnes of asbestos
0:07:51 > 0:07:54out of rocks in the beautiful Pilbara region.
0:07:56 > 0:08:01A large asbestos mine was situated next to what's now the Karijini National Park.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03The mine closed down 40 years ago
0:08:03 > 0:08:08and the nearby town of Wittenoom has been in decline ever since.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12The town is still there, but it's now closed.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14And why's it closed?
0:08:14 > 0:08:20Cos the government consider the asbestos is now hazardous to our health.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22The dust is quite contagious to our lungs
0:08:22 > 0:08:26so therefore the government in its best interest now closed the mine.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Steckie, can you just slow down. What does this say?
0:08:36 > 0:08:43Warning, asbestos fibres and dust are present and may be airborne in and around Wittenoom.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Let's not try to kick up too much dust if we can,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49let's just drive in nice and slow.
0:08:56 > 0:09:01'We'd studied the risks posed by visiting Wittenoom before making the journey.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05'Most reports suggest the threat to visitors is low,
0:09:05 > 0:09:08'but the signs made me nervous.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12'The state government has said the nearby mine is the most
0:09:12 > 0:09:14'asbestos-contaminated area in the world.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18'So we planned to make just a short visit to the town.'
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Look at this! You've got houses that are
0:09:22 > 0:09:28overgrown with weeds growing in the gardens and...boarded up there.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33This is creepy.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41When the nearby mine was operating, this was a dangerous place.
0:09:42 > 0:09:47Studies estimated hundreds, possibly thousands of workers have died from cancer
0:09:47 > 0:09:51after inhaling toxic fibres while mining the asbestos-lined rocks.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58The town of Wittenoom has been dying for years.
0:09:58 > 0:10:05Almost everyone has moved-out, the government has flattened houses and taken the town off maps.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07But a few hardy souls are refusing to leave.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11- Hello.- Hello. How are you going?
0:10:11 > 0:10:13- Would you be Meg?- Yes, I am.
0:10:13 > 0:10:14Hello, Meg.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18'Meg and Frank Timewell are two of the eight stalwarts who remain.'
0:10:18 > 0:10:22Who would want to go anyone else bar living here?
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Look at those mountains, beautiful!
0:10:26 > 0:10:30'Frank's been here in the Pilbara for more than four decades.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33'But the couple have been offered Government money to leave.'
0:10:33 > 0:10:41Some people say Wittenoom is the site of one of biggest industrial disasters in Australian history.
0:10:41 > 0:10:42Why do you want to stay here?
0:10:42 > 0:10:48It's our home. It was the first house in the town. This was the first house built in Wittenoom.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53- The first house in the town? - Yes, it's the first house, cost me 1,000 to buy.
0:10:53 > 0:10:54How much is it worth now?
0:10:55 > 0:10:59Well, the Government reckon it's only worth 40,000.
0:10:59 > 0:11:04It's worth nothing, because we don't want to sell it cos it's our home, we don't have a value on it.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09It's a bloody insult to come and offer us 40,000
0:11:09 > 0:11:15- for our home of all these years. - Is it not possible the Government wants you out
0:11:15 > 0:11:17just because they're worried about your health?
0:11:17 > 0:11:19Ohhhhhh!
0:11:20 > 0:11:22- That's crap!- Sorry!
0:11:22 > 0:11:24Absolute crap.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28'Despite evidence the threat from asbestos has declined,
0:11:28 > 0:11:32'the local government isn't taking chances and wants Meg and Frank out.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36'Gradually, all lifelines to the town have been cut.'
0:11:36 > 0:11:41What services have you lost, what's been turned off by the council?
0:11:41 > 0:11:45We've lost our power, through the grid, power grid.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50We now have to provide our own water, rubbish collection,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54street lighting, road maintenance, we've lost our postal services,
0:11:54 > 0:11:59police, the only thing we haven't really lost is our communication.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02And the other thing you haven't lost is each other.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Cos two of you quite a formidable partnership.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08We will never lose each other, despite any adversity,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11we will never lose each other.
0:12:11 > 0:12:17In actual fact this has made us all the more resilient and the more determined.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19We're just not bloody well going.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24And Mr Government can't kick us out,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27because it's freehold country.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30It's our country, it's our home.
0:12:30 > 0:12:37- Otherwise, we'll have to get Pilbara law going.- Pilbara law?
0:12:37 > 0:12:39We don't talk about Pilbara law.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43- Meg's trying to stop you there, what could that be?- Pilbara law?
0:12:43 > 0:12:45What have you done to these people?
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Are we going to drive down the road and find bodies hanging from trees?
0:12:48 > 0:12:54No, we will deal to them as they deal to us.
0:12:54 > 0:12:59If they steal our gear, we will steal some of their gear.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Not their life of course,
0:13:02 > 0:13:07but we might break a leg or an arm you know,
0:13:07 > 0:13:10just teach 'em a lesson of some sort,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13but I'm not saying that we would.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17- No, no of course not - perish the thought.- That would be terrible.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23'Meg and Frank are a tough outback couple determined to stay right where they are.'
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Is it a long way?
0:13:25 > 0:13:30'But there's not much of the town left to stay for. It's been pulled down around them.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33'Even their local church has gone.'
0:13:33 > 0:13:37So just around here, in this area, was where you got married?
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Yes, come over here, love.
0:13:41 > 0:13:48- You were standing that side of me. - Yes.- I want you to come over here.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53Because when we were getting married we were so nervous,
0:13:53 > 0:13:57I had to put the ring on Frank's finger and instead of getting this hand,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00I lent across and tried to push it on this finger.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03And it wouldn't go on the knuckle and I'm thinking "what have I done wrong?"
0:14:03 > 0:14:05And Frank said "Here, give it to me,"
0:14:05 > 0:14:10and he pulled it out of my hand and put it on this finger himself.
0:14:10 > 0:14:16This is where we were standing, arm in arm.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21I find it sad and I think you two are amazing to have been able to put up with it.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24- It's more than a lot of people could face.- If you let it get to you, it destroys you more.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27It makes you bitter and you get ill from the stress.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32We knew it had to go so yeah, that's it, let it go.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39'Asbestos can be deadly, and I can understand why the authorities
0:14:39 > 0:14:43'might want to get the residents out and bury Wittenoom.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51But I think the state government might have met its match in two of the most extraordinary
0:14:51 > 0:14:53characters I've met on my journey around Capricorn.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16'The next morning, I hitched a ride in one of the world's biggest trucks.
0:15:18 > 0:15:24'It's called a road train - this 50 metre giant costs half a million pounds, and today it's
0:15:24 > 0:15:30'carrying 120,000 litres of fuel towards the Tropic of Capricorn and the town of Newman.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34'Graham Wilcox, owner of the Capricorn Roadhouse,
0:15:34 > 0:15:37'the local petrol station, was giving me a lift.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44'He's making a small fortune out of the extraordinary resource boom gripping the area.'
0:15:44 > 0:15:49Can you just explain to me what's this resource boom, what is happening in this resource boom?
0:15:49 > 0:15:52It's all the minerals in the ground in this area,
0:15:52 > 0:15:57it's all the iron ore that goes to make steel and countries
0:15:57 > 0:16:02like China and India that are starting to lead the world market.
0:16:02 > 0:16:07They need the resources to make the steel and we've got the iron ore that makes it.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11Ten years ago there were 6 mines in this area, now there's 18.
0:16:11 > 0:16:18So they say China's going to go for another eight years and then India will be online
0:16:18 > 0:16:25and go for another ten years after that, so the resource boom for Australia is looking good.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Just up ahead
0:16:31 > 0:16:35is a sign by the side of the road that says Tropic of Capricorn.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40- Ahh fantastic, I feel we have to... - HORN BLARES
0:16:44 > 0:16:45We're on the line.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52Well, thank you very much indeed for that ride, Graham.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56Hope you enjoyed your trip down to Capricorn in a road train.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00We're here, we're back on Capricorn.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03Fantastic!
0:17:13 > 0:17:17'Newman, the town at the heart of the resources boom.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21'Workers are flooding here from all over Australia to make a quick buck.'
0:17:21 > 0:17:26Well, you can see they are bringing in houses on the back of trucks now
0:17:26 > 0:17:29cos there's such a need for accommodation in this town
0:17:29 > 0:17:33to try and cope with all the influx of new workers.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44'And this is what the boom is all about.
0:17:44 > 0:17:50'Mount Whaleback is the world's largest iron ore mine.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54It's more than three miles long and a mile wide.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58Each year, they dig up 22 million tonnes of iron ore to send to Asia
0:17:58 > 0:18:01to make steel to feed the world economy.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05People from across the country are packing in office jobs and coming
0:18:05 > 0:18:11here to drive huge mining trucks for huge pay packets.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Justin Edwards is one of them.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15What brought you here?
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Money.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19- In a nutshell.- In a nutshell, money.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23- What were you doing before you came here?- Bricklaying, then I tried to
0:18:23 > 0:18:31get out of the physical work side of things and get into suit jobs, I did sales and then I became
0:18:31 > 0:18:37a recruitment consultant for a bit, but yeah, it didn't suit me, I'm not a suit person at all.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41You're originally from Melbourne. How did you hear about Newman?
0:18:41 > 0:18:45I actually had a mate who I worked in sales with five years ago.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47I didn't hear about Newman until
0:18:47 > 0:18:52half way through January this year and by end of February I was here, just to try it out.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56- As quickly as that.- Since we've been here, it was originally was just going to be me
0:18:56 > 0:19:02and a partner for two years, but we can't see us leaving in short term, might turn into five or six years,
0:19:02 > 0:19:07cos it's just so cruisey and better lifestyle too.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Justin drives the monster of all dump trucks.
0:19:16 > 0:19:24In a country where wages are lower than in the UK workers here can earn £50-75,000 a year.
0:19:24 > 0:19:25This is your truck.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28It is, this is mine, for today.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33Before we start we have to walk around the truck for damage. So we walk under here.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36You walk under the truck?!
0:19:36 > 0:19:40The engine, all the way along there. Oil leaks and things like that.
0:19:40 > 0:19:46'These beasts, when full, weigh in at nearly 400 tonnes,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49'the same as a fully laden jumbo jet.
0:19:51 > 0:19:57'I left Justin to go and work his shift and headed down to the railway yard.'
0:20:00 > 0:20:04In front of us just here is the end or front of a huge train.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11Trains from here are the longest, heaviest in the world.
0:20:20 > 0:20:26'Trains leave the mine every day each filled with around 26,000 tonnes of iron ore.'
0:20:26 > 0:20:32This iron ore down here is going to be sent to the coast, put on boats,
0:20:32 > 0:20:39taken to China and turned into consumer goods that China is pumping out at this ferocious rate.
0:20:41 > 0:20:46It's extraordinary, really, cos this is globalisation,
0:20:46 > 0:20:53this is what is feeding this great Chinese economy that's emerged in the last few years,
0:20:53 > 0:20:57these raw materials coming out of ground here in Australia.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03'As the train headed off north, I continued my journey east.
0:21:03 > 0:21:09'I followed Capricorn into another country-sized chunk of Australia the Northern Territory.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13'We flew to Alice Springs in the baking centre of the continent.
0:21:19 > 0:21:25'Around 600 miles from the nearest beach, this is the centre of the outback.
0:21:27 > 0:21:34'Alice is home to more than 24,000 Aussies living the desert life in air-conditioned comfort.
0:21:36 > 0:21:42'As we explored the town I came across a refuge for one of the country's most famous residents.'
0:21:43 > 0:21:51Just spotted on the other side of the road, this Baby Kangaroo Rescue Centre.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53Well, I've got to have a look.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03'Joeys orphaned on the roads around Alice are cared for by Chris Barns,
0:22:03 > 0:22:07'outback man turned surrogate kangaroo mum.'
0:22:07 > 0:22:09What are the names of these two?
0:22:09 > 0:22:13This little one here's Tilly Grace and this one's Amy.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17So one little girl is about five-and-a-half to six months,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20this one six-and-a-half to seven months at a guess.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23Once you've got them in a pouch and you hold them to your body,
0:22:23 > 0:22:25the breathing and the warmth of your body,
0:22:25 > 0:22:27that motion of the body, calms them down.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31If you don't have them in the bag, they're gonna kick you in the face!
0:22:31 > 0:22:33I've got to ask.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Can I hold one next to my little beating chest?
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Certainly, mate.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40I'll pass Amy on to you.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43- Just make sure she doesn't kiss you. - Does she often try that?
0:22:43 > 0:22:47She can do, she does with me and my partner cos we're mum
0:22:47 > 0:22:51and baby kangas take a lot of saliva from their mum's mouth.
0:22:51 > 0:22:52How far does your devotion go?
0:22:52 > 0:22:54We take it all the way.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59I've given up my job now, I don't work any more, other than running the kangaroo rescue centre
0:22:59 > 0:23:01to talk with travellers. That's the whole idea.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05Trying to educate people to the fact that a dead animal out here is not
0:23:05 > 0:23:09just a dead animal, could have a baby still alive in its pouch.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11- So check the pouch.- Check the pouch.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18'Kangaroos have an unfortunate habit of jumping out in front of cars.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24'We'd been warned against driving at night because of the high chance we'd hit one.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Chris takes in about 80 Joeys a year, hand-rearing them to 16 months
0:23:28 > 0:23:31until they're ready to go back to the bush.
0:23:40 > 0:23:47Alice Springs is becoming famous as an important centre for Aboriginal paintings and culture.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Aboriginal people have been here for tens of thousands of years and their
0:23:51 > 0:23:55extraordinary artwork adorns gallery walls around the town.
0:24:01 > 0:24:07The paintings are internationally prized, with price tags to match.
0:24:07 > 0:24:12This is number eight. So this is about £11,000.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17OK, 12's not too bad -
0:24:17 > 0:24:19it's still costly about £1,500.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26This is about £4,000,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29About £3,000.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Number 52,
0:24:31 > 0:24:35well, it is fantastic, but that is about £20,000.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43'The paintings tell ancient stories of the first people of this land,
0:24:43 > 0:24:50'but the recent history of the Aboriginals is perhaps the darkest aspect of this country.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55'And at the moment Aboriginal people are at the centre of the biggest controversies in Australia.
0:25:00 > 0:25:07'I needed a guide to take me out into the Aboriginal heartland, traditionally closed to outsiders.'
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Hello. Hello.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13Just come to meet up with a guy called Vince,
0:25:13 > 0:25:18who's a respected member of the Aboriginal community.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21- Don't know who this is. Good morning, Vince.- How you going?
0:25:21 > 0:25:22I'm all right. Hello. Simon.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24- Welcome, Simon.- Nice to meet ya.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26Welcome.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28- Welcome. - Is this what they call a swag?- Yes.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30- That is the swag!- That's the swag.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35It's my precious's swag. Can Daddy use your swag?
0:25:35 > 0:25:37This has got your name on it, eh?
0:25:37 > 0:25:41Can daddy use your swag. Daddy gonna go bush. Yep?
0:25:41 > 0:25:44All right, then. Daddy can use your swag.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48You always travel with your bed, hey?
0:25:48 > 0:25:51- Very sensible.- You can lose everything except your swag.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56As long as you've got that and a glass of water, you can survive.
0:25:59 > 0:26:05Vince Forrester, an artist and Aboriginal elder, agreed to take me to visit some remote communities.
0:26:05 > 0:26:12He lives an integrated life with his wife in Alice Springs, and campaigns hard for Aboriginal rights.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17And he hasn't lost touch with the outback traditions.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20On the way out of Alice he thought he'd spotted something in the undergrowth.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26You see him?
0:26:26 > 0:26:28He was about that long.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30What were you looking for, Vince?
0:26:30 > 0:26:34- I was looking for a...- An iguana? - A lizard about this long
0:26:34 > 0:26:40and when you see one, you can hypnotise him.
0:26:40 > 0:26:46- You can do what? - You can hypnotise him. When he walks along you say the word "ullbaloo"
0:26:46 > 0:26:50and he turns his head that way... so you can hit him.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54Is it good eating?
0:26:54 > 0:26:59Awww, white meat, like chicken, mm-hmm, yeah.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03A lot gamier, of course, and not as tender as a chicken.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08'We were too late for any hypnotism, the lizard had got away.
0:27:08 > 0:27:13'But Vince took the opportunity to stock up on a bit of bush medicine.'
0:27:13 > 0:27:16When you have a wound that won't stop bleeding,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19you put this in the hot ash of the fire and then you run
0:27:19 > 0:27:24the smoke over the wound. This will congeal the blood
0:27:24 > 0:27:27and it'll stop bleeding. They've also got antiseptic in it.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31- Antiseptic as well? - And this one here,
0:27:31 > 0:27:35you can cook like beans in the hot ash of the fire.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37These little seeds.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44So this is my supermarket and pharmacy all in one.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49'While they still maintain some of the traditions of their hunter-gatherer past,
0:27:49 > 0:27:55'most Aboriginals were forced or encouraged to live in permanent settlements decades ago.
0:28:01 > 0:28:07'We travelled to Titjikala, a community of about 200 people just south of the Tropic of Capricorn.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14'On the outskirts of town we spotted someone who'd been a bit quicker
0:28:14 > 0:28:17'than Vince at catching a bush tucker meal.'
0:28:18 > 0:28:22- Where did you get it? - Not far from home.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25It took off to climb up a tree.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27So you had to climb up the tree after him?
0:28:27 > 0:28:29- No.- You waited?
0:28:29 > 0:28:32I just stunned him with an axe.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35- And this was today or yesterday? - Today.- Today.
0:28:35 > 0:28:41So it's a fresh kill, some fresh lizard ready to be cooked just over here.
0:28:42 > 0:28:47You'll cook it on the coals after putting the sand on top of it?
0:28:50 > 0:28:55'Ever since white settlers arrived in Australia more than 200 years ago
0:28:55 > 0:28:58'the indigenous people have been marginalised.
0:28:58 > 0:29:03'Alcoholism, poverty, violence and poor healthcare means the life expectancy of
0:29:03 > 0:29:09'Aboriginal people is now nearly 20 years less than white Australians.
0:29:12 > 0:29:17'But I have arrived in the Northern Territory during a critical period in Aboriginal history.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22'A recent government report has revealed that
0:29:22 > 0:29:26'some Aboriginal settlements were rife with child abuse and suffering.
0:29:26 > 0:29:31'A national emergency has been declared, and a powerful army-backed
0:29:31 > 0:29:34'taskforce has descended on Aboriginal communities.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37'So I've come here, in the middle of a dust storm,
0:29:37 > 0:29:41'to meet the head of the taskforce, Major General Dave Chalmers.'
0:29:44 > 0:29:50This intervention is as a result of a study done into
0:29:50 > 0:29:52child abuse in remote communities.
0:29:52 > 0:29:58The intervention is primarily designed to protect children.
0:29:58 > 0:30:04There are many measures we have to take and these are measures to increase the level of policing,
0:30:04 > 0:30:10to reduce the amount of alcohol that's coming into communities,
0:30:10 > 0:30:13to break the cycle of violence in communities.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19The report said alcohol abuse was fuelling widespread violence.
0:30:19 > 0:30:25So the taskforce is entering aboriginal communities to restore law and order.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29Government has tried many programmes in the past to address these issues.
0:30:29 > 0:30:34The difference now is that, for first time, mainstream Australia
0:30:34 > 0:30:41has really understood that we have people living in third world conditions of poverty in Australia.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45Can you understand why remote communities like this might feel
0:30:45 > 0:30:49intimidated, given the history of white and Aboriginal relationships,
0:30:49 > 0:30:55when you turn up in your combat fatigues, can you understand how that's intimidating for them?
0:30:55 > 0:31:00Sure, but I'm not a scary guy and most people, when I talk to them,
0:31:00 > 0:31:04then we get past that and get over that, I'd say for example...
0:31:04 > 0:31:11Let's just shelter over here, I think, between the cars cos the dust is gonna get out of control.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15If you look about you'll see that there are government officials
0:31:15 > 0:31:20from the department of employment and workplace relations, Centrelink, our welfare organisation,
0:31:20 > 0:31:24from the department of education, so there's no army invasion.
0:31:28 > 0:31:34After decades when the authorities left Aboriginal communities to run their own affairs,
0:31:34 > 0:31:40the government has now re-taken command of dozens of settlements across the Northern Territory.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43Alcohol and pornography have been banned.
0:31:43 > 0:31:48The taskforce is even taking control of how Aboriginal people spend their benefit money.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55Some settlements have welcomed promises of improved healthcare and new police patrols
0:31:55 > 0:32:00and there's no question that domestic violence has plagued many Aboriginal communities.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06To get to one of the communities at the very centre of the controversy,
0:32:06 > 0:32:12I headed south of Capricorn towards one of the most important indigenous sites in the country.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock.
0:32:24 > 0:32:29- Wow!- Yeah, what a sight.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31It's just a wow sight, isn't it?
0:32:31 > 0:32:38It is this country's most famous natural icon, an image used to promote Australia around the world.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41Yet just a few hundred metres from the rock is Mutitjulu,
0:32:41 > 0:32:46an aboriginal community in the spotlight for violence and abuse.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49It's Vince's hometown.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52My community that I belong to is Mutitjulu, just there.
0:32:54 > 0:33:01It's a third or even a fourth world community in this rich country.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04Them things didn't happen overnight.
0:33:04 > 0:33:11- It took decades to create the poverty.- What about the problems of sexual abuse?
0:33:11 > 0:33:14At the present time,
0:33:14 > 0:33:17we're being demonised in our own land.
0:33:17 > 0:33:22Demonised. Not every man bashes his wife,
0:33:22 > 0:33:27not every man is a drunk, not every man is a paedophile.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31They're saying that's what we do in our culture.
0:33:31 > 0:33:37That's rubbish, that's lies, that's demonising, that's racism at its best.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40'Vince believes the problems in aboriginal communities
0:33:40 > 0:33:43'are caused by the appalling conditions people are living in.'
0:33:43 > 0:33:47If the Australian knew the truth...
0:33:48 > 0:33:50..they'd be shocked.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54Hang on a minute, the conditions of the community,
0:33:54 > 0:33:57that's neglect from the government so they're blaming the victim.
0:34:01 > 0:34:07Vince invited me into Mutitjulu, a community normally closed by law to outsiders.
0:34:08 > 0:34:13The people here own Uluru and receive a rent for its inclusion in a national park.
0:34:15 > 0:34:20But within sight of the great rock, the poverty and squalor was shocking.
0:34:21 > 0:34:28Alleged child abuse in Mutitjulu was said to be one of the main reasons for the formation of the taskforce.
0:34:28 > 0:34:33Yet in the months since officials first appeared here, no-one has been charged with sexual abuse.
0:34:37 > 0:34:42It's something that confuses Dorothea Randall, the secretary of the local Aboriginal Council.
0:34:42 > 0:34:50Why was this community targeted so intensively by the task force?
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Well, that's a good question cos none of us in the community
0:34:53 > 0:34:57really understand that, because we don't know what we've done wrong.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01Have you been told what the taskforce is trying to achieve here,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04what they're planning to do, or what their goal is?
0:35:04 > 0:35:09There's no communication between the government and community people
0:35:09 > 0:35:12and that's what's really frustrating
0:35:12 > 0:35:13to individual people.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17We're going past these houses here.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22- Are people living in them at the moment?- No.
0:35:22 > 0:35:27Housing is very crucial here because we do have an overcrowding problem.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31They need to be debolished or refurnished.
0:35:31 > 0:35:37Money is filtered down but, by the time it gets down to the community, there is never enough.
0:35:37 > 0:35:38On the other side of the rock
0:35:38 > 0:35:41tourists got everything
0:35:41 > 0:35:45and people living on this side of the rock got nothing.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50One of the most striking things about Mutitjulu is the rubbish.
0:35:50 > 0:35:55The situation here is desperate, but I was puzzled why people
0:35:55 > 0:35:58haven't done more to improve conditions for themselves.
0:35:58 > 0:36:02It's as though the decades of deprivation
0:36:02 > 0:36:06have sent many Aboriginal people into a spiral of self-destruction.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09The conditions are bloody shocking.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11Any person can see that,
0:36:11 > 0:36:16but this hasn't happened overnight, we've got to understand that.
0:36:16 > 0:36:24- It still seems hard to understand why this community is in the state it is.- Mm-hm.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26Well, oppression and all that sort of thing.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30- Oppression.- And overcrowding of houses and all this type of thing.
0:36:30 > 0:36:36These houses, you've got 20 people in one house.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40- 20 people?- In one house, yeah. You'll see.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44I'd love to know what you feel, Vince...
0:36:44 > 0:36:49Ahh, my country...my country has just been...
0:36:49 > 0:36:51Look at the bloody rubbish.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55It would take nothing to clean this up but now,
0:36:55 > 0:36:59since the invasion happened, what's going on?
0:36:59 > 0:37:02People are dropping the bundle and all that type of thing.
0:37:02 > 0:37:08- Dropped the bundle, what, they've lost civic respect?- Hope, yeah.
0:37:12 > 0:37:18The taskforce says it wants to help communities and improve conditions and services.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22But the problems affecting Aboriginal settlements have deep, dark roots.
0:37:31 > 0:37:36That evening, the mood on the other side of the rock couldn't be more of a contrast.
0:37:36 > 0:37:42Each year, up to 500,000 tourists come to see Uluru.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44Hundreds of millions of years old,
0:37:44 > 0:37:48it is one of the most impressive natural sites on the planet.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55Well, there are coaches pulling in here all the time,
0:37:55 > 0:38:02loaded with wealthy tourists who are here obviously to see this incredible sight.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11You can hardly begrudge people
0:38:11 > 0:38:14the experience of a lifetime, coming to see Uluru,
0:38:14 > 0:38:16but...
0:38:16 > 0:38:21it does feel weird to have come straight out of the community
0:38:21 > 0:38:26which is, what, 10 minutes away down the road? And the conditions they've got there.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29And then to see people having this much fun.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31It does jar.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42The tourist industry makes millions here every year,
0:38:42 > 0:38:46but Vince's community, to whom this rock is so sacred,
0:38:46 > 0:38:48seem to get little benefit.
0:38:52 > 0:38:57After the visitors have gone, we sat down to watch the sunset.
0:38:57 > 0:39:02Daytime, the tourist industry own Uluru.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05Nighttime it belongs to me.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08I sit out, recharge my battery.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12We have stories of the land.
0:39:12 > 0:39:17I don't know how many ancestors of mine have walked through this sand
0:39:17 > 0:39:20I'm putting my hand through now, I don't know how many generations.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22Do you object to the tourists coming here?
0:39:22 > 0:39:28If only we can benefit from the tourist industry,
0:39:28 > 0:39:30but in equal partnerships.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34They call that one Ayers Rock.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37Who's Ayers? I got "ayers" on the back of my bum.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39If we can show...
0:39:39 > 0:39:43the world our land, let us participate, hey?
0:39:43 > 0:39:45Let us show it.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48I came here...
0:39:48 > 0:39:52I've been very excited coming to Uluru, seeing Uluru,
0:39:52 > 0:39:55and then you see how people are living just around it.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57I don't think it's going to change...
0:39:57 > 0:39:59very quickly any time soon.
0:40:05 > 0:40:13It was time to move on, leaving the Northern Territory and following the Tropic east to the Sunshine State.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17Queensland is famous for its rainforests and tropical coastline.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22But I was travelling through its parched interior.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30The town of Longreach sits right on the Tropic of Capricorn,
0:40:30 > 0:40:32and there's even a monument to mark it.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46It's not particularly big, but there you go, Tropic of Capricorn,
0:40:46 > 0:40:48a line running across here.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50Temperate zone here,
0:40:50 > 0:40:52a little bit chilly.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56On this side, the torrid zone, scorching.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00This is the planet turned on its side. This is north, this is south.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05This line here is the equator, this is the Tropic of Cancer,
0:41:05 > 0:41:09and this is the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12You've got the sun
0:41:12 > 0:41:15up here at the top.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17But this really explains what it is.
0:41:17 > 0:41:23The Tropic of Capricorn marks the southern boundary of the Tropics region of our planet.
0:41:29 > 0:41:35Longreach is famous throughout Australia as the home of the stockman.
0:41:37 > 0:41:43This is cowboy country, where the hats are big and farms are even bigger.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50But the future could be bleak for these stockmen,
0:41:50 > 0:41:54as they face up to a crisis that may one day affect us all.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00I drove south to visit a local farm to find out more.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04It was three hours away, just a short hop by Australian standards.
0:42:04 > 0:42:11The nearby hamlet is called Stonehenge, but this is far from green and pleasant Salisbury plain.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14The area is the centre of a modern-day dust-bowl.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19This is about as desolate as the planet can get.
0:42:19 > 0:42:24You look to the right, there's not a single tree or bush to the horizon.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28I was in the middle of the Big Dry,
0:42:28 > 0:42:32a harsh drought that has gripped vast areas of Australia.
0:42:32 > 0:42:37For miles I had been crossing a farm called Eldwick, but the weather appeared to be on the turn.
0:42:37 > 0:42:39Looks as though that's rain.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44Whether it's enough to end the drought, I doubt it.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50It's a bit of an oasis here.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53And here we are, this is Eldwick.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07Hello!
0:43:07 > 0:43:09Hi, I'm Simon.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13- I'm Donna.- Lovely to meet you, and this must be Peter.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16Hello, Peter. Simon.
0:43:16 > 0:43:17Nice to meet you. How are you?
0:43:17 > 0:43:19- So you found us, eh?- Found you, yes.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28Eldwick is a farm, or station, about half the size of Greater London.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31The population's a little smaller though.
0:43:31 > 0:43:35Just Donna and Peter Batt and a whole load of sheep and cows.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38They've been farming here for 19 years,
0:43:38 > 0:43:43and it seemed I might have brought a very welcome present with me.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45We've just got here,
0:43:45 > 0:43:49and I can just feel a couple of little drips.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52Little bit, little bit.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55This is what they say about the English, they bring the rain with them.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58If you can bring a couple of inches, that would be excellent.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00- You'd welcome that, wouldn't you? - Yeah.
0:44:00 > 0:44:04'Sadly, the clouds were teasing us.
0:44:04 > 0:44:09'After a few moments of a few drips, the rain was gone.'
0:44:09 > 0:44:10That is a parched land.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15I'm just wondering if you find it
0:44:15 > 0:44:21- a bit depressing? - Well, yes, just willing those clouds to bring us some rain.
0:44:21 > 0:44:28I do look out and think, "Why do I live here?" Yeah, you do.
0:44:28 > 0:44:33On the best years, when you've had enough rain, what do you see out here?
0:44:33 > 0:44:35Beautiful, lush.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37The ground's just covered in grass.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41When it's green and when it hays off it's that lovely yellow.
0:44:41 > 0:44:42We get magnificent wildflowers.
0:44:42 > 0:44:46It's just something you wouldn't believe, it's beautiful.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49And how many years is it since you've seen that?
0:44:49 > 0:44:51- Seven.- Seven years?
0:44:51 > 0:44:53- Yep.- Seven dry years.
0:44:53 > 0:44:55Seven dry years, yep.
0:44:58 > 0:45:04'Seven years into the Big Dry, they're still struggling to farm this land.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08'With the green grass gone, there's little for the animals to eat,
0:45:08 > 0:45:10'so I headed out with Peter to feed his cows.'
0:45:12 > 0:45:16Maybe it's just my eyes, but they are looking
0:45:16 > 0:45:19at you or us and licking their lips.
0:45:19 > 0:45:20That's it!
0:45:20 > 0:45:23They know what we're bringing.
0:45:23 > 0:45:25COWS MOO
0:45:26 > 0:45:28Right, Simon, shovel some in there.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32You'll have lots of friends, they'll like you.
0:45:32 > 0:45:33Here you go, ladies.
0:45:35 > 0:45:40Every time I come up here I tell them it's going to rain next week, I think they still believe me!
0:45:40 > 0:45:42- You tell them that every time?- Yep!
0:45:42 > 0:45:45Poor girls.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48Some people will attribute this to
0:45:48 > 0:45:52climate change, the global warming. What's your view?
0:45:52 > 0:45:55Ah well, bloody hell, Simon, I don't know.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58The jury is still out, I think.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01I mean, what does it mean to you out here?
0:46:01 > 0:46:04Well, better go and pack our port.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08- If that's the case. - You think it would be the end?
0:46:08 > 0:46:14I'm certainly not giving in yet, by no means, but if the rain is going to stop, we stop, don't we?
0:46:16 > 0:46:21Have you said to each other as a couple, if we have another summer, another year with no rain,
0:46:21 > 0:46:24we're going to have to think seriously about leaving.
0:46:24 > 0:46:25Have you set yourself a target at all?
0:46:25 > 0:46:30Another summer without rain, I don't know. Yeah, don't know.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34We don't want to leave, we love living here, but...
0:46:34 > 0:46:39economics will drive us away, won't it. We live in hope
0:46:39 > 0:46:42that it will stay green, as it is!
0:46:47 > 0:46:54Australians have been among the world's worst emitters of greenhouse gas per head of population,
0:46:54 > 0:47:00and Australia may be the first developed country experiencing the effects of global climate change.
0:47:00 > 0:47:07But it's not just a problem for Australia, the Big Dry has helped push up world food prices.
0:47:07 > 0:47:11That evening, some of Peter and Donna's neighbours popped round for dinner.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14Next door is 60 miles away.
0:47:14 > 0:47:18Jim Nunn has been farming there for 24 years.
0:47:18 > 0:47:23What do you think about the scientists who think the Big Dry is global warming?
0:47:23 > 0:47:25Nah, nah.
0:47:25 > 0:47:31Well, look at it this way. The world has been here for millions of years.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34It's not going to die in my lifetime, surely.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36Sometimes nature works quite quickly.
0:47:36 > 0:47:38No, I reckon it's a cycle.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40I have not given in.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42It's a cycle.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45You're pinning your hopes on this.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48Yeah, what else can you do?
0:47:48 > 0:47:51- Otherwise just throw the towel in and what?
0:47:51 > 0:47:53What then?
0:47:53 > 0:47:55So you carry on.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57Carry on. That's it, carry on.
0:47:57 > 0:48:03I don't...I'm not going to chuck the towel in yet, I'm going to hang
0:48:03 > 0:48:08in here till they give me some rain, they'll give in.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10They'll give in upstairs.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12They'll give me my 40 inches they owe me.
0:48:13 > 0:48:19- They'll give in before you do, basically.- They will.- Well, let's hope for that.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23Optimism is clearly vital in the Outback.
0:48:23 > 0:48:27But scientists predict that over the next few decades,
0:48:27 > 0:48:30Australia's droughts will get significantly worse.
0:48:30 > 0:48:35If that's the case, this land will only get hotter and drier.
0:48:38 > 0:48:39The life of a farmer is tough,
0:48:39 > 0:48:43and the next morning Peter dragged me out of bed at dawn.
0:48:45 > 0:48:49Peter, I haven't ridden a motorbike for years.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00I can't even remember what you do.
0:49:00 > 0:49:02What have you done to it, Simon?
0:49:02 > 0:49:05- Let me have a look. - Let the expert get on.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11ENGINE SPUTTERS
0:49:11 > 0:49:12What did you do?
0:49:12 > 0:49:16You were talking to it the wrong way.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19I'll give you talking to it!
0:49:24 > 0:49:31The farm covers almost 300 square miles and Peter's animals can be a long distance from his front door.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35It was a 20-minute ride to where sheep needed moving to a different field.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45So why are you moving them?
0:49:45 > 0:49:51Into a paddock that has got some grass in it. Not much, but some.
0:49:51 > 0:49:55- Grass?!- It's not green grass.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58Can it be(?)
0:49:58 > 0:50:05We're going to put these sheep into here. This is your last lot of sheep
0:50:05 > 0:50:11that are going into your last paddock that's got the last bit of grass
0:50:11 > 0:50:13on your whole land.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16Pretty well. That'd be about it, Simon.
0:50:16 > 0:50:17How big is this paddock?
0:50:17 > 0:50:21That paddock we're putting in is 16,000 acres.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24That's just colossal.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26Trying to save it for... Yeah.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28- For a rainy day?- That's it.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30- Or the opposite of.- Yeah.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32Save it for an un-rainy day.
0:50:32 > 0:50:37You're always smiling and you tell a few jokes about it, but this is crunch time, isn't it?
0:50:37 > 0:50:40Well, I suppose it is really.
0:50:40 > 0:50:43But it's going to rain. I'm sure it is.
0:50:43 > 0:50:45THEY LAUGH
0:50:50 > 0:50:55There's no green pasture, but Peter hopes the 25-square mile paddock
0:50:55 > 0:50:58will keep his sheep fed for a few weeks more.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01Well done, Simon, well done!
0:51:01 > 0:51:04Once this is gone, that's it.
0:51:04 > 0:51:09He either sells the stock or starts the expensive job of buying in feed.
0:51:12 > 0:51:14Where to, Peter?
0:51:14 > 0:51:20On the way back we passed the reservoir that supplies their farm house.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25So this is the dam for your house, or is supposed to be.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28House supply, yeah. House supply, it is.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30There's not a lot in there, is there?
0:51:30 > 0:51:31No, it's had it.
0:51:31 > 0:51:36When I hear the facts, it sounds pretty bad to me.
0:51:36 > 0:51:42But nothing is ever easy out in the Outback, on the land here, is it?
0:51:42 > 0:51:45- It's a pretty easy life, it is. - It's an easy life?!- Yeah.
0:51:45 > 0:51:47Oh, come on!
0:51:47 > 0:51:49You've got 40-degree heat here!
0:51:49 > 0:51:52But that's... Big deal.
0:51:52 > 0:51:55Bring it on!
0:51:55 > 0:51:58There's a lot easier ways of making a living as well.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01Ah, yeah, yes and no.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05Pain in the arse when it doesn't rain, but that's part of the deal
0:52:05 > 0:52:08- of where we're living! - Let's go and get some brekkie.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10Righto!
0:52:10 > 0:52:14Throughout their history, the Aussies have been brilliant
0:52:14 > 0:52:16at adapting to the tough conditions of the outback.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20If the warnings about climate change prove true,
0:52:20 > 0:52:22it's a skill they're going to need.
0:52:22 > 0:52:28After breakfast, I left Peter and Donna and got back on the road.
0:52:29 > 0:52:31The last stage of my journey, a drive
0:52:31 > 0:52:35east along the Capricorn Highway for hundreds of miles.
0:52:35 > 0:52:40Leaving the heat and the dust of the outback, I headed for the warm, tropical waters of the coast.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49I was leaving the dust bowl behind,
0:52:49 > 0:52:54but I couldn't escape the whole issue of climate change.
0:52:59 > 0:53:04In this part of Australia they're shipping out huge quantities of coal.
0:53:04 > 0:53:06What a graphic illustration.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10We've got a train coming back empty and another one going out full.
0:53:10 > 0:53:15But then just a few hours to the west of here, the environment is changing.
0:53:17 > 0:53:21These trains wind their way to an industrial coastline,
0:53:21 > 0:53:25home to one of the largest aluminium plants in the world.
0:53:25 > 0:53:30To find out more about how climate change might be affecting Australia,
0:53:30 > 0:53:32I headed east, away from the mainland.
0:53:35 > 0:53:41As the world warms, out here is one of our early warning systems.
0:53:42 > 0:53:46We're aiming for a tiny patch of land called Heron Island.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50It's home to one of the pre-eminent marine research centres in the world.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54It's slap bang next to Capricorn, and it's also at the southern end of
0:53:54 > 0:53:58perhaps Australia's greatest natural attraction, the Great Barrier Reef.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05This is a tropical paradise.
0:54:12 > 0:54:17The waters teem with a multitude of colourful fish and exotic sea life.
0:54:24 > 0:54:31And this tiny dot of an island, less than a mile long, is home to up to 100,000 birds.
0:54:31 > 0:54:35But just what does the future hold for this stunning ecosystem?
0:54:35 > 0:54:38Heron Island Research Station.
0:54:42 > 0:54:44Hello?!
0:54:44 > 0:54:46- Are you Doctor Ward?- Hi, I'm Selina.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49Hello, Selina. Simon Reeve. Nice to meet you.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52What hellish conditions that you live and work in(!)
0:54:52 > 0:54:54- Hard, isn't it?- How do you cope?!
0:54:54 > 0:54:56- We manage, just.- Just about.
0:54:56 > 0:55:04Marine biologist Dr Selina Ward is part of a team researching the impact of climate change on coral.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08She took me out for a walk on the reef flats.
0:55:08 > 0:55:11This is a sea cucumber. Beautiful things.
0:55:11 > 0:55:13- So soft.- Isn't it?
0:55:15 > 0:55:17- What exactly is it?- It's a sea...
0:55:17 > 0:55:22See it's spitting out that sticky tentacle?
0:55:22 > 0:55:24We don't really want it to do that!
0:55:24 > 0:55:29- So it shoots out superglue as a form of defence?- Yes, because they can't escape at high speed!
0:55:29 > 0:55:35- No.- Another trick they have is that if something is about to try and
0:55:35 > 0:55:39eat it, it can spit out its entire digestive system and leave it behind
0:55:39 > 0:55:43in the hope that the predator will eat just that bit and be satisfied and let it get away.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46How does something evolve to do that?
0:55:46 > 0:55:48Who knows?
0:55:48 > 0:55:54Selina, we know that coral is very susceptible to changes in climate and its environment.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57How do the changes manifest themselves? Is there something we can see?
0:55:57 > 0:56:01The main change if you have...
0:56:01 > 0:56:06warmer than usual water temperature is that the corals will, what we call, bleach.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09So, if we look at this piece...
0:56:09 > 0:56:12See this branch is really pale, these branches are really pale.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16If we turn it over, this is the colour we'd expect it to be.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18Hmmm.
0:56:20 > 0:56:24I've heard coral described as the canary in the coal mine.
0:56:24 > 0:56:26It offers us a warning.
0:56:26 > 0:56:32Yes. In 1998 we lost 16% of the world's corals in one bleaching event.
0:56:32 > 0:56:33- 16%?- Yes.
0:56:33 > 0:56:38You have no doubt that this is down to temperature change?
0:56:38 > 0:56:41I have no doubt at all. I'm convinced of that.
0:56:41 > 0:56:46I can't think of any coral scientists who wouldn't make that statement, not a single one.
0:56:46 > 0:56:52If we want coral reefs for future generations, we have to act quickly.
0:56:52 > 0:56:57We have to reduce emissions globally, and we have to reduce them a great deal.
0:56:57 > 0:57:03We're seeing big bleaching events with, so far, a small increase in temperature.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07I don't think we can say, well, we'll aim for a three-degree increase
0:57:07 > 0:57:10this century, or even a two-degree increase this century.
0:57:10 > 0:57:14If we do have that as our aim, we're aiming to lose these environments.
0:57:23 > 0:57:29The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is predicting catastrophic mortality
0:57:29 > 0:57:35for the Great Barrier Reef before the end of this century, unless climate change can be slowed.
0:57:43 > 0:57:46I crossed this vast continent expecting to find
0:57:46 > 0:57:49insular communities isolated from the rest of the world.
0:57:55 > 0:57:58But the issues I've seen here don't speak of isolation.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00Their resonance is global.
0:58:05 > 0:58:08I've really enjoyed travelling across Australia.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11It's an amazing country, and the people,
0:58:11 > 0:58:15to a person, have been welcoming and generous with their time.
0:58:15 > 0:58:17I can only hope we have as much excitement
0:58:17 > 0:58:22on the next leg of our trip, as we head east to South America.
0:58:22 > 0:58:26Next time on Tropic of Capricorn - I'll be crossing the driest desert
0:58:26 > 0:58:28in the world and the high Andes mountains.
0:58:28 > 0:58:32I'll be trying to round up some of the shyest animals on the planet.
0:58:32 > 0:58:34Can you please stand still?!
0:58:34 > 0:58:39And visiting one of the world's most anarchic border towns.
0:58:39 > 0:58:40It's crazy here!
0:58:40 > 0:58:44To find out more about the journey, visit our website.
0:58:59 > 0:59:01Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:59:01 > 0:59:03Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk