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ABC Listen. G'day, g'day.
It's Ruby here, and you are listening to News Time.
Hello! Hi, Ruby. Hi.
I hope you're enjoying your summer holidays.
It's almost a new year.
So, what better time to look back at some of the best good news stories of 2024?
Are you ready? Let's do it!
Story number five. Back in January, we visited an island that was welcoming more Aussies with disability.
I love going on holiday.
Where do you like to travel to?
To America, to see my grandparents and my cousins.
And I also go camping with my dad.
I like going to Byron and Jindabyne.
Yamba and Sydney, because at Sydney, there's the Sydney Opera House, and at Yamba, I like going surfing and fishing.
Chris Kerr from Western Australia loves travelling too.
She uses a wheelchair, so sometimes it can be difficult to get to places that aren't accessible.
Something that is accessible is something that you can easily access without any struggle.
That's right. When a place isn't accessible, it means it hasn't been designed for people who use wheelchairs or other people with limited mobility.
When Chris heard about a place called the Abrolis Islands, she wanted to go and visit, but she knew it wasn't very accessible.
The Abrolis Islands are off the coast of Western Australia.
They're full of sea birds and coral reefs and gorgeous plants, and they're a safe place for animals like sea lions and tamar wallabies.
Not many people live there, but it's an amazing place to visit, and Chris really wanted to go.
Well, that's not really fair.
She can't go to an island just because she's in a wheelchair.
Chris decided she was going to work out a way to get to the island so that she could explore and enjoy it in her wheelchair.
She spoke to the state government about how important accessibility is for all places.
And they agreed. Together, they figured out a solution for people who use wheelchairs to get onto the little plane that visits the Abrolis Islands using a chairlift.
They also found a solution for Chris so that she could explore the water using a device called a water scooter.
I think she's very, very smart to be doing that.
However, it's also very disappointing that she had to work that out herself.
That is a very good machine that she did.
It means that no matter what person, what you are, you can go anywhere.
Chris had a great time at the islands, and she's excited for more people who use wheelchairs or have limited mobility to be able to use what she used to enjoy the incredible natural environment.
Stow number four. In April, we heard about some awesome kids making a difference in their community.
A couple of years ago, two siblings named Lionel and Ella were on a walk at their local park in Earlwood in Sydney.
They noticed a sign at the park that was dedicated to a European settler.
It referred to the man as an original landowner of the area.
Lionel and Ella thought, that's not right.
They knew the land they were on belonged to the Bedigal people.
Why? Because that original people were here.
With a bit of help from their parents, Lionel and Ella decided to write a letter to the council to say the sign should be updated to recognise the Bedigal people as the true original landowners.
I think it's a really, really, really good idea.
I think it's a good idea too, because unless the council knows the truth.
And also, it's a good idea because it's true.
They were thinking right.
The letter was passed on to the First Nations Advisory Committee, and then it landed on Wiradjuri elder, Jennifer Newman's desk.
She says that her heart wells up with pride and joy when young people use the names of the clans of country.
After lots of meetings and two whole years, the council decided a new sign should be added.
That they realised that they might have made a mistake.
They changed their mind.
And they thought that was a bad idea to put that there.
It's not true. If we think that the people that were first want us, it might make the people who actually were first a bit sad.
The council took some of the words from the old sign and used them to make a new one, which talks about the Bedigal people, the early European settlers and new migrants to Australia too.
Lionel and Ella are very happy that the council has made this change and said it accurately reflects the history of where they live.
Very happy and amazed that they changed their mind.
Feeling good because they kind of changed the world.
Great stuff, Ella and Lionel.
Story number three.
You might remember this story from back in June.
It's about an animal shelter taking extra care of old cats.
A retirement village is a place where older people go to live.
In a place in England called Shrewsbury, a retirement village has just been set up, but it's not for humans, it's for cats.
Wild cats and cats.
Erm, sad cats. Cats that come out of the bush.
Probably cats that are lost.
The Shrewpshire Cat Rescue Retirement Village was created when someone noticed that the older cats were often overlooked at the shelters.
People are more likely to adopt younger cats and kittens to take home.
So the old cats sometimes get stuck in a cage without an owner for a long time.
I think that's wrong because it's not equal.
They should both get the same amount of love.
The Shrewpshire Cat Rescue Retirement Village became a place for these older cats to spend their days out and about.
Instead of being cooped up, the village is set up to look like a tiny town.
There are wooden cubby houses painted in bright colours and the cats can come and go as they please.
They get lots of pats and cuddles and the volunteers keep an eye on them just to make sure they're eating properly and staying healthy.
I think they'll love it.
They can eat food whenever they want to and they can run around as much as they can and then they can sleep whenever.
It's really nice for the older cat.
Once a month, a group of local kids come to visit the cats and read stories to them.
We get to pet a lot of kittens.
The cats seem very happy to have company.
Sounds like a perfect place to be.
Story number two. In September, we met Selwyn, a local hero looking out for our furry friends.
Selwyn Nutley loves dogs.
He loves them so much that he has four of them, Mindy, Mindy, Rover and Buddy.
In the small rural town where he lives in Queensland, which is called Emerald, Selwyn is known as the patron of pets.
A patron is someone who gives support to something and Selwyn's given a lot of support to his local pet rescue charity.
He's been raising money to donate to the charity by collecting empty bottles and containers and recycling them.
He recycled stuff instead of just throwing it out and putting it in landfill.
You get ten cents for each bottle.
If you do a lot, you might get, like, 50 or 30.
Yep, that's it. In most states around Australia, you can earn ten cents for each empty container that you recycle.
So, Selwyn spends his spare time collecting them.
He puts in more than 40 hours a week and he's already managed to recycle a million containers.
Those ten -cent payments have added up.
Selwyn has donated $100 ,000 to his favourite pet rescue charity.
It's a great cause.
It's good because you're also raising money for charity and helping the planet at the same time.
The people at the charity are very grateful for Selwyn's hard work.
They say that without his efforts and donations, they might have had to close a couple of years ago.
Selwyn's donations mean that more animals can be taken care of and given a chance to have a happy life.
Because, like, dogs might not have someone to live with.
I think they feel quite lucky that they are at that pet rescue.
I'd say to him. Rif!
Rif! Thanks for your hard work, Selwyn.
The canines of Queensland are lucky to have you.
Story number one. In November, we cranked up the tunes at a barber shop that had a surprising addition.
In the middle of New South Wales sits a small town named Burke in Numpah Country, and in the middle of Burke's main streets sits Yellowbelly Barber Shop.
You get your hair cut and if you're a man and old man and you have a beard, you get your beard cut.
Um, you can get your hair styled like Cristiana and Aldo.
You sure can. And hair cuts are what happens at most barber shops.
People come in for a trim and tame their wild head of hair.
But in the back room of Yellowbelly Barber Shop, you'll find more than just spare bottles of shampoo.
They've got a whole music and recording studio.
Maybe they make instruments out of their old mustaches.
Heh. Not quite. Last year, some rappers came out to Burke for a short stay to show local kids how to write music and produce it.
Once their time in Burke was finished, they discovered that the kids didn't have a permanent space to explore their passion or hone their skills.
So they worked with locals to set up shop at the back of the barber.
The idea came from Gomeroi and Watti Watti rapper Coby D and rapper P.
Smurf. They got help from Burke locals named Steven and Alex because they wanted to make sure the project was cared for by people in the community and by First Nations Australians.
But rapping is pretty cool because you get to rhyme while you rap.
It's important because all the kids might want to be famous singers.
They might want to learn how to play, like, the instruments.
This barbershop -slash -recording studio has already proven a success.
Kids are loving the art of rap workshops that are held every week and the adults and elders in the community have been loving the music they're making.
It might be an unexpected combination, but it seems to work for Burke.
Maybe after the haircut they wouldn't dance.
A post -haircut boogie sounds good to me.
Very convenient. And that is it, my friends.
Five good news stories counted down.
And that is Newstime for 2024.
I'll catch you next year.
