Wake Up Australia

Listen to the full show podcast with Michael McLaren.

Joel Katz, Managing Director of Cruise Lines International Association Australasia, who has along with its cruise line members, began creating a new health framework to uphold the safety of guests and prepare for future operations in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

Mr Katz says the industry is working with medical experts and health authorities internationally to lay a new foundation for the cruise sector as it prepared for its long-term recovery.

 “While cruise operations are suspended, we are using this time to define the new landscape we will work within and make sure we’re ready when the time comes to sail again,” Mr Katz said.

“Many teams of people around the world are working in tandem with experts to ensure we learn as much as possible from these unprecedented events and exceed community expectations in our response.”

Professor Kristine McCartney, Lead investigator at the National Centre for Immunisation Research & Surveillance, who have released their report which says there is no evidence that children have infected teachers with COVID-19 in NSW schools, and half of all confirmed cases at the schools studied were teachers themselves.

Professor Macartney's investigation, commissioned by NSW Health and the Education Department, tracked all 18 cases of COVID-19 among students and teachers across 15 schools.

“Our investigation found no evidence of children infecting teachers,” says the investigation which was the largest of its kind internationally.

“It is notable that half of the initial cases that occurred in schools were in staff."

Listen t the full show podcast with Luke Grant filling in for Michael Mclaren

Luke Grant is joined by Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward, CEO of the Australian College of Nursing, who calls for Vivian Bullwinkel to be celebrated this ANZAC Day for the incredible contribution she made to Australia’s way of life, much like many nurses and front-line staff are doing for the community in response to Coronavirus today.

In May 1941, Bullwinkel volunteered for the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) and sailed for Singapore, assigned to the 2/13th Australian General Hospital.

 

In February 1942, with 65 other nurses, she fled Singapore following an invasion by Japanese troops, however her ship, the SS Vyner Brooke, was sunk by Japanese aircraft two days later. Bullwinkel drifted for hours clinging to a lifeboat before she struggled ashore on Banka Island with other survivors.

When Japanese troops arrived, they corralled 22 nurses together and ordered them into the sea, where they machine-gunned them.

 

Sister Bullwinkel, badly wounded and feigning death, was the only survivor.

After a long while and as a sole survivor, Bullwinkel got back to the now empty beach. There she found a wounded British soldier from another massacre. They hid out for 12 days, and she cared for the man until he died.

 

Eventually, Vivian surrendered to the Japanese, but made no mention of the massacre. She was interned with other nurses and endured a further three years of hardship and brutality before her release enabled her to tell her harrowing story.

Bullwinkel served in Japan in 1946 and 1947 before resigning from the Army as Captain; she re-joined the Citizen Military Forces in 1955 and served until 1970, when she retired as Lieutenant Colonel.

Even as major oil-producers have agreed to cut output amid a massive glut, this hasn’t prevented the US oil price falling into negative territory for the first time ever.

 

Dr Lurion De Mello, Senior Lecturer, Department of Applied Finance at Macquarie University's Business School, joins Luke Grant to explain how this happened.

 

‘The extreme event of an actual negative oil price was triggered by speculation as much as by dwindling demand.’

 

‘The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price shock on 20 April was driven mainly by the expiry of the May oil futures contract which could not find a buyer to take delivery of barrels. This indicated to the market that there was little interest from buyers to take physical delivery of oil.’

 

‘The collapse in the price was exacerbated by an exchange traded fund with a 25 per cent stake in an expiring contract. The fund dumped its holding onto the market at whatever price it could get, driving the severe negative impact on the price.’

Listen to the full show podcast with Michael Mclaren

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection, but rarely mentioned is glue that binds a lot of the concerns about climate change, resources, water supply & wildlife and the catalyst for the majority of those problems… rapid population growth.

 

Michael is joined by Dick Smith A.C., Entrepreneur, Businessman, Aviator, Philanthropist & adviser to the Sustainable Australia Party, who for years has been calling for a cap on immigration arguing that Australian and global population growth carries enormous risks, dangers that none of our political parties is prepared to address.

Listen to the full show podcast with Michael Mclaren

Reports have surfaced that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to be incapacitated and may be seriously ill after undergoing a previous surgery.

 

Michael is joined by Professor Joe Siracusa, Professor of Human Security and International Diplomacy at RMIT, on what this will mean for the region and indeed the world should these reports prove to be accurate.