FCA Members Media Stories
Latest stories
6 July 2025
Nikkie Asia
Report by FCA Member Sophie Mak
Australia should have Plan B for nuclear submarine program;
Former Australian Prime Minister urges consideration as U.S. administration review raises concerns about delays in implementation
JiJi Press (Japan)
Report by FCA Member Hiroyuki Takahashi
Jiji Press Sydney Bureau Chief
Independence instead of flattery
2 July 2025
(Germany)
Story by FCA Member Barbara Barkhausen
Australian vineyard combats climate change with unique ideas making use of “sunscreen” and “radishes”
22 June 2025
JiJi Press (Japan)
Report by FCA Member Hiroyuki Takahashi
Jiji Press Sydney Bureau Chief
(rough translation in English)
[Hunter Valley (eastern Australia) Jiji Press] Australian vineyards are devising ingenious ways to combat climate change. To protect grapes from extreme heat before harvest, they spray a special “sunscreen” and plant radishes as ground cover to regenerate soil weakened by droughts and heavy rains.
The Hunter Valley, a hilly region approximately 250 kilometers north of Sydney, is one of the country’s leading wine-producing areas. Scarborough Wine Co, a vineyard whose main product is Chardonnay-type white wine, has developed a sunscreen for grapes made primarily from kaolinite, a clay-derived mineral. The sunscreen is sprayed over the entire grape canopy during summer to protect it from extreme heat.
When temperatures exceed 35 degrees Celsius, photosynthesis declines, and grape maturation slows down. However, using sunscreen suppresses the temperature rise of the vines, allowing maturation to proceed as planned. Ms. Liz Riley, a viticulturist of the vineyard emphasizes the taste benefits, stating that sunburned grapes are difficult to press and create fine flavor, but sunscreen prevents that. Drawing inspiration from sunscreen use in apple cultivation, the method was developed over approximately ten years of testing and has now been put into practical use.
Maintaining soil quality in vineyards is another challenge. In Hunter Valley, alternating droughts and floods in recent years have damaged the soil. To address this, Riley grows vegetables between rows of grapevines to maintain soil moisture and create habitats for insects and microorganisms, thereby revitalizing the soil. Radishes, in particular, have proven to be highly effective as they grow deeply into the soil.
Riley says, “The climate is changing rapidly and it brings catastrophic effects. We need to make grape cultivation sustainable with technology help.”
Tech Solutions for independent living
Using Tech and AI to cope with extreme weather
March 2025
DW Shift (Germany)
TV report by FCA Member Michelle Ostwald (filmed at Network Sensing Lab at UTS)
Charles III.: Opponents of the monarchy hope for “farewell” tour of King
17 October 2024
Die Presse (Germany)
Story by FCA Member Barbara Barkhausen
Australian debate on Monarchy from Adam Spencer FCA Briefing
16 October 2024
X tweet by FCA Member Raj Suri
King Charles & Queen Camilla will arrive in Australia on 18 October on a 6-day visit. Their arrival has reignited the debate whether Australia should lose the monarchy & become a republic. I asked a question to @adambspencer of Australian Republican Movement @AusRepublic pic.twitter.com/o4sLjvXqyi
— Raj Suri राज सूरी (@RajSuri) October 16, 2024
Australian dancers rekindle 65,000 years of Aboriginal culture
Bangarra, el grupo australiano que recrea con su danza 65.000 años de cultura aborigen (msn.com)
28 June 2024
Stories by FCA Member Rocio Otaya
Vivid Sydney 2024 in Japanese media
10 June and 27 May 2024
Stories by FCA Member Hioki Iijima, Australia and the South Pacific correspondent for TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System www.tbs.co.jp )
Stories in Chinese media
March 2024
Stories by FCA Member Lin Kuang
AUSTRALIEN: ABORIGINES VERZIERTEN EMU-EIER SCHON VOR 150 JAHREN
25 March 2024
Stories by FCA Member Barbara Barkhausen
Australien: Aborigines verzierten Emu-Eier schon vor 150 Jahren (rnd.de)
Aborigines verzieren Emu-Eier schon vor 150 Jahren – Wissen – DIE RHEINPFALZ
Keine «Stimme» für Australiens Ureinwohner
14 October 2023
Swiss Media – NZZ.CH
Story by FCA Member Barbara Barkhausen
Sports pay highlights glaring gender disparity in Australia
7 October 2023
NIKKEI ASIA
Story by FCA Member Geoff Hiscock
From the Panamanian Guna to the Sami, indigenous rights leaders in Australia
Sydney, Australia, 11 October 2023 (EFE) –
Story by FCA Member Rocio Otaya
Indigenous peoples such as the Guna in Panama or the European Sami already exercise their rights to decide their own destinies, a step that Australia seeks to take in the 14 October referendum to amend the Constitution and create a consultative body to give a voice to Aboriginal people.
The model proposed in the referendum is to add a section to the 1901 Constitution, which does not mention indigenous and Torres Strait Islander peoples, to create an advisory body to advise the Executive and the Legislature on matters concerning these native peoples.
Some sectors of the population believe that the proposed constitutional change gives disproportionate power to Aboriginal people or fear that the consultations will delay the country’s development, which is considered part of a disinformation campaign by the former president of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Megan Davis.
“Australia could benefit from looking at all the countries that have significant indigenous populations and operate with different constitutions and legal systems,” and yet demonstrate that there are many ways to “broaden indigenous participation in the democratic life of a state,” – Dr Megan Davis
De los gunas panameños a los samis, referentes de los derechos indígenas en Australia
11 October 2023
Media – www.abc.com.py
Story by FCA Member Rocio Otaya
Salvadoran indigenous leader supports Aboriginal people in Australia’s referendum campaign
Sydney, Australia, 10 October 2023 (EFE) –
Story by FCA Member Rocio Otaya
Salvadoran Leonel Chévez, who is the “hereditary chief” of the Lenca indigenous people, is campaigning on behalf of the aborigines in Australia, which next Saturday holds a referendum to decide whether to amend the Constitution to create a consultative body to give them a voice in Parliament. Chévez, who arrived in the Australian city of Brisbane as a refugee in 1996, explained to EFE that this solidarity is based on many common factors such as the traumatic past of the aborigines and the Lenca due to discrimination, dispossession of their lands, massacres and the destruction of their cultures since they were colonized.
The Salvadoran, who works as a consultant in the field of neuroscience in Australia, proclaims that the Mayan Lenca people of the Americas and their diaspora support the proposal in Australia to recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to decide on matters that concern them.
“I believe indigenous peoples have the wisdom and capacity to have their own voice. We must have the moral courage to trust and support. Say YES!!!” according to a statement posted on LinkedIn by this hereditary chief of the House of the Jaguar and Lenca Indigenous Nation.
In an interview by Zoom, Chévez explained that there are parallels between the Lenca – a Central American ancestral culture that lives mainly in what today is known as El Salvador and Honduras – and the aborigines due to the discrimination they both suffer and their claims to be recognized in the Constitution.
Líder indígena salvadoreño apoya a los aborígenes en la campaña del referendo en Australia
10 October 2023
Media – www.abc.com.py
Story by FCA Member Rocio Otaya
Malabar Exercises
11 August 2023
Exclusive report: Exercise Malabar, involves four Indo-Pacific partner nations: Australia, India, Japan and the United States, the 10-day naval exercise launched off Sydney coast. (Only one Foreign media with ABC, SBS and AFR journalists)
Report by FCA Member Hiroki Iijima – (in Japanese)
7 April 2023
Sydney, Australia, Apr 7 (EFE).- Lemon myrtle, bush tomatoes and local spinach are some of the native foods that have been used by Australia’s indigenous peoples for tens of thousands of years that are now having their time in the sun as essential elements of the country’s contemporary culinary scene>
Read More: English| Spanish
Story by FCA Member – Rocio Otoya
11 March 2023
Story by FCA member – Laurence Arthur
Read full article .. (in French)
BBC Story by FCA member Peter Hadfield
“Prawn Free”
Released on 7 March 2023
Where do the prawns in your takeaway curry or pad thai come from? Peter Hadfield travels to South-East Asia to investigate the environmental impact of prawn farming. Radio Podcast
24 February 2023
A festival like WorldPride in Sydney ‘can save lives’ –
The WorldPride 2023 can “save lives” because it helps break down prejudices against the LGBT+ community and reinforce the sense of belonging to a diverse and tolerant society, according to Anna Brown, activist and CEO of the NGO Equality Australia.
Read More: English| Spanish
Story by FCA Member – Rocio Otoya
26 January 2023
View More: Spanish
Video Story by FCA Member – Gonzalo Aguirregomezcorta
Keine «Stimme» für Australiens Ureinwohner
14 October 2023
