Seeking the wild: Alone Australia and connection to nature
Guests:
Corinne Ooms, finished as the second-runner-up on SBS' Alone Australia and last woman standing. Originally from Glasgow, she lives in Tasmania.
Anna Halafoff, Associate Professor in Sociology of Religion at Deakin University, Melbourne, and coordinator of the Spirituality and Wellbeing (SWell) Research Network. She is one of the authors of: Alone Australia. Nature connection and spiritual complexity in popular culture, Journal of Beliefs and Values, 2025
Further listening:
Solitude and the ache for humans - ABC listen, featuring Dr Kate Grarock, from Alone Australia season one.
Sacred landscapes: the forest as mirror and sanctuary - ABC listen
Sacred landscapes: snow and the high country - ABC listen
Remembering Buddhist teacher and deep ecology advocate Joanna Macy Love, Beauty and Solitude: Translating Rilke with Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy - ABC listen
Deep ecology and reconnecting with the natural world - ABC listen
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
31 minutes ago
- ABC News
Indonesian working holiday-makers' road deaths prompt calls for action
Read the story in Bahasa Indonesia Indonesian Robby Yahya Bachtiar was excited to come to Australia and live with his sister Armitha Safitri. But Mr Bachtiar's anticipation turned to devastation when Ms Safitri, known to her friends as Mitha, was killed by a car crash. "It hit me hard," Mr Bachtiar told the ABC. His parents were traumatised by Ms Safitri's death in 2023, and for a time refused to let Mr Bachtiar go to Australia out of fear for his safety. "They only had one child left," Mr Bachtiar explained. "They still post stories and talk about Mitha to remember her." Ms Safitri was on a work and holiday visa and had been packing oranges in a regional town in South Australia. She hit a ute while driving on the Karoonda Highway. An email from SA police provided to Mr Bachtiar and shared with the ABC said Ms Safitri "made a mistake while driving and that mistake resulted in her losing control of the vehicle". Mr Bachtiar said his sister did not have much driving experience at the time of the crash. Mr Bachtiar called on Australian governments to "tighten" drivers licence rules for international visitors. Even though there are fewer requirements to obtain a drivers licence in Indonesia, Indonesian visitors can still drive in Australia using their overseas licence. How long they can use an international licence, and other rules including what tests they need to do to get a local licence, varies between the states and territories. At least nine Indonesians died and 10 were injured in road crashes in 2023 and 2024, Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Ministry told ABC Indonesia. All were on work and holiday visas. They included Sophie Florence and David Lim, who were killed in a crash in New South Wales, and Rosanti Dwi Septiyani and Fina Febriyanti, who were killed in a crash in Western Australia. This year, at least two more Indonesians on work and holiday visas have been injured in two non-fatal car crashes. The road crashes occurred as the number of Indonesians coming to Australia on work and holiday visas dramatically increased after the Australian government upped the visa quota for Indonesians in 2020. Road accidents have deeply affected the Indonesian community both in Australia and abroad, prompting calls for better support for working holiday visa holders who need transport to work. Migrant Workers Centre chief executive Matt Kunkel said road safety issues impacted many temporary visa holders, and the risks of driving were especially high for those employed in agriculture and regional jobs. "No-one should lose their life getting to work," Mr Kunkel said. All the fatal crashes involving Indonesians since 2023 are still before the courts or being investigated by coroners with findings not yet made public — except for one. In 2024, Lius Chandra was sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order over a crash near Gunnedah in New South Wales in December 2023. He had pleaded guilty to three counts of negligent driving occasioning death and one charge of causing grievous bodily harm. Chandra was driving four friends to work at a poultry farm in NSW in the early morning when he overcorrected on a wet road. Three of the passengers died. The female passenger and Chandra were injured but survived. All were on work and holiday visas. The "horrific and tragic" crash was captured on dash-cam footage by a driver travelling in the opposite direction, the Gunnedah Local Court heard. A statement of facts tendered in court said Chandra held an international drivers licence at the time of the crash. Magistrate Mal Macpherson said during sentencing that the deaths of Chandra's friends would "remain with him for the rest of his life". In a statement to the ABC, Chandra urged fellow Indonesians to be careful on Australian roads, particularly if they were driving at high speed in wet conditions. "Slippery roads at high speeds are very dangerous," he said. "We must be careful by reducing speed, maintaining a distance from the vehicle in front, and avoiding sudden movements." Gunnedah Multicultural Women's Association president Lisanty Evans, who is Indonesian, supported Chandra in court and the victims' families after the crash. Along with the Indonesian consulate, the association recently held a seminar for the multicultural community in Tamworth that included a session on road safety. "We've always seen the need of educating about driving in the region because in Gunnedah itself there are also a lot of migrants," she said. Ms Evans said people who came to Australia should "adapt to the rules and regulations here". But she said employers should also run orientation programs, which include driving-safety information, for overseas workers. As an alternative, employers could arrange carpools or other transportation for their workers, she said. National Farmers Federation president David Jochinke said the farm sector relied on overseas workers, including people on working holiday maker visas. "Any death is a tragedy, and we feel for affected friends and families overseas who lose loved ones far from home," Mr Jochinke said. Mr Jochinke said it was common for employers, labour-hire firms and accommodation providers to offer transport for migrant and Australian workers in regional areas, where public transport was non-existent. "Many workers, however, will prefer to use their own transport," he said. The Department of Home Affairs granted 234,556 working holiday maker visas from July 2023 to the end of June 2024. However, a lack of data makes it difficult to get a complete picture of how many people on working holiday visas are dying in road crashes in Australia. Multiple federal government departments and authorities, including Home Affairs and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT), said they did not collect or hold data on the deaths of working holiday visa holders in Australia. According to DFAT, the authorities that register deaths in Australia — such as police or coroners — inform the relevant embassies or consulates. National Transport Research Organisation safety expert David McTiernan said there was no national approach or data collected on how many drivers were using international licences. "So, we are not able to quantify a crash rate that might inform how common a problem international licensed drivers might represent compared to the general population," he said. "Understanding the country of origin of drivers licences involved in road crashes would certainly provide valuable insight to where Australia might need to focus its efforts to improve road safety outcomes," he added. In South Australia, an Indonesian driver involved in a fatal crash in 2023 is currently facing court. Ari Hasan Asyari had worked an overnight shift cleaning a meat processing factory in the Adelaide Hills, and later that morning began to drive three other Indonesians home. A police statement issued at the time said the car veered off the road at 9:30am and hit a tree. One passenger was killed. Asyari pleaded guilty to two aggravated counts of driving a motor vehicle without due care. A third charge was withdrawn. He remains on bail and will face court again in September. Asyari and two passengers, including Naufal Hisyam, survived the crash. Mr Hisyam, who now lives with a physical disability, is back in Indonesia in the care of his mother, Teti Ofianti. "He was full of ideas, but not anymore. He is more passive now," Ms Ofianti said. Indonesian drivers needed to be more careful when driving on Australian roads and not be "too confident", she said. "I hope there will be no other victims aside from Naufal," she said. Berry Lukman from the Indonesia Diaspora Network in South Australia was working at the meat factory when the crash occurred and liaised with many working holiday visa holders in his role. "I often asked [visa holders], 'Why do you dare to drive?' [They say] because they have no choice. "To work this job, they need a vehicle," said Mr Lukman, who no longer works at the factory. Mr Lukman added that Indonesian drivers often did not understand Australian road terrain and dangers. University of Sydney migration and labour market researcher Chris Wright said research he had done with colleagues showed there was a lack of infrastructure, including transportation, in areas that relied on the working holiday-maker visa program. "That therefore requires an assurance that those people have the capabilities to be able to handle Australia's often pretty hairy roads in regional areas," he said. Professor Wright said the original purpose of the working holiday-maker visa program was cultural exchange, but the scheme had changed since 2005 and become a "de facto work visa". Home Affairs Department data showed 4,578 first-time work and holiday visas were granted to Indonesians between 2023 and 2024. In that same year, 3,578 Indonesians were granted a second visa, meaning that group had completed at least an 88-day stint working in a regional area. Several Indonesian community members told the ABC many workers did not have insurance when they arrived in Australia and suggested insurance should be mandatory for work and holiday visa holders. Indonesia's ambassador to Australia, Siswo Pramono, said mandatory insurance as a visa condition had been raised during consultations with the Australian government. "At the Indonesian embassy, on our website, there are instructions on what driving in Australia is like, and we urge [drivers] to switch to a local driving licence as soon as possible," Mr Pramono added. Low salaries and the cost of living in Indonesia mean Mr Bachtiar still wants to come to Australia on a work and holiday visa. He said he planned to drive but since his sister's death he was now focused on getting more driving experience. "My parents had held me back, but it wasn't until the end of last year that they went, 'It's OK if you want to go,'" he said. "My parents gave their blessings."
News.com.au
20 hours ago
- News.com.au
Seven hikers saved in Kosciuszko alpine rescue
A massive six-hour rescue operation has saved a group of hikers who were stranded in heavy snow in NSW's Snowy Mountains. The group of seven hikers activated a personal locator beacon (PLB) around 1.15pm on Saturday along a trek in the Kosciuszko National Park. Police, SES and NSW ambulance were part of the rescue team. The group, who were aged from 21 to 48, was found at about 7pm. They had reportedly become disoriented after a sudden change in weather on their hike. They were all assessed by paramedics at the scene and treated for exposure to the cold. The group were then taken to Thredbo Village using a specialised Snowcat vehicle. Monaro Police District Commander Detective Acting Superintendent Keith Price urged hikers to look for weather alerts before embarking on any treks. 'Activating the PLB meant rescuers had a precise location as well as information about the stranded group, enabling the appropriate resources to be deployed more quickly,' he said. 'Even experienced hikers with the right gear can be impacted by sudden weather changes and our advice to all hikers in the Alpine area is to always check for weather alerts, plan your route carefully, and take a PLB.' The Dead Horse Gap hike is considered one of the more accessible treks in the Thredbo region. It is a mostly downhill 10km circuit that takes hikers from the top of the Kosciuszko Chairlift to Dead Horse Gap.
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Drought relief truck convoy brings fodder to farms in time-honoured tradition
Australia's vast distances are perhaps the reason the idea of the cross-country trek — in the form of a convoy, a cavalcade or a relief column — has imprinted its tracks so deeply into the nation's collective consciousness. The inland mission of Burke and Wills met with disaster, but when the doomed duo left Melbourne months earlier in August 1860, the stately tread of their travelling party's horses and camels was accompanied by the cheers of a 15,000-strong crowd. The men were in search of pastures green — a sight that has, of late, been a little hard to come by across swathes of southern Australia. For months, drought has been ravaging the continent's temperate zone, leaving many South Australian farmers without water and fodder, and there is a prevailing sense of a final straw. But, in time-honoured tradition, help has been on the way — and it has been coming from way out west. Along the Eyre Highway and across the Nullarbor Plain, a veritable "hay fever" of sorts has broken out. For the past two days, a convoy that would stretch an estimated 3 kilometres if all its trucks were lined up bumper-to-bumper has been bringing thousands of bales of fodder from Western to South Australia. "This is logistically the biggest hay run ever and it is a massive machine," convoy participant Karen Smith said. The enterprise has been not so much a "bailout" as a "bales on" — on, that is, to the backs of the approximately 85 trucks that are now destined for 400 farming businesses across Eyre Peninsula, the Adelaide Hills and other South Australian regions that have been battling the impact of the drought. When Ms Smith — who runs a transport business in Esperance — got wind of what was brewing, she knew she had to be involved. "We were on a holiday in the Kimberleys up north and we cut it short to do this trip because it's very important to us," she said. "This is our third hay run … [and] once you get involved, that's it — it's kind of like a lifetime membership. "It's addictive in that you just love the fact that Aussies are helping Aussies, and I guess in this case it's farmers helping farmers, but you've also got the transport industry, which is obviously what helps get it there." The convoy is the brainchild of two charities, Farmers Across Borders and Need for Feed, and support has also been provided by the South Australian government. Transport costs have been covered by $2 million from the state's drought relief fund. Anyone overlooking the trucks before they set off from Norseman in WA on Friday might have been struck by their resemblance to a giant cattle drive or muster — the vehicles and their cargo of provender were packed together like sheep in a pen. But when they hit the road, they quickly metamorphosed into a narrow column. As that column arrived to a warm welcome in Ceduna on SA's west coast on Saturday afternoon, it presented the kind of spectacle that might have sparked the imagination of Henry Lawson, had the bush poet been born into the age of the B-double and the dual carriageway. "We've got truckies here from New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia," said Need for Feed chair Graham Cockerell as he refuelled his truck in Ceduna. "Ceduna is probably the first of the real welcoming committee but there's been a few farmers come out onto the road, which is a bit emotional for us. "We're blown away by that — by the level of support right from the top downwards." Among the army of drivers is Shepparton truckie and hay run veteran Andrew Linehan, who left for WA nine days ago in order to participate in the operation. For him, the chief appeal of the enterprise is the camaraderie afforded by the open road. "It's always been a bit of fun — you get to catch up with some like-minded people as well, and you get the added bonus of helping somebody out who's struggling a little bit," he said. Progress was painstaking — rain meant the drivers had to take extra care on the road. While some noted the irony of delivering drought relief amid downpours, Adelaide truckie David Aylett was delighted that the convoy had coincided with the wintry weather. "It's bringing the rain, which we need in South Australia," he said. "The farmers — they do it tough at times, and it's just good to do a bit for the country. But some of that spirit was very much on show along roadsides, where smiling, waving and cheering wellwishers gathered to salute the convoy. "You just see people out there who've got so much joy on their faces," Mr Aylett said. "It tingles down your spine, basically." Among those greeting the group was Ceduna resident of 14 years Karen Toft. Standing on the edge of the Eyre Highway, she was draped in an Australian flag, which she eagerly held aloft with the passing of each hay truck. "I think it's a big moment," she said with both local and national pride. "This is just really amazing — an amazing logistical exercise to get all these trucks through a small town, in Ceduna. "This is an extraordinary thing, this is what people do, Australians do, in times of need — everyone steps up, and this is part of it." On the farmers' side of the fence, there is a strong sense of appreciation, but it is being tempered by caution. Amid heavy rain on Friday, grain growers told the ABC that it was far too soon to be talking about recovery. "One rain doesn't break a drought," one said. "We'll still need follow-up, and we'll need a very kind spring to make a season of it." It's a message the state government understands. "The rains have come very, very late, which means that a lot of people either sowed crops which then got blown away or didn't grow or have had to re-sow, or both," Primary Industries Minister Clare Scriven said. "What this rain means is I think some hope for our farmers, who have been doing it so, so tough, but it means still that there is a long way to go. "We've been very, very grateful for the partnership with the charities." SA Dairyfarmers' Association president Robert Brokenshire said the deliveries of donated hay would make a difference at a difficult time for many. "If the state government didn't have a freight subsidy package — and if we weren't getting Need for Feed and others bringing in this fodder, frankly — sadly, some banks would be knocking on the doors, I'd suggest, of some farmers, because it's that tight," he said. "Many dairy farmers would have had to dry their cows off or indeed sell cows, and we probably would have had quite a shortage of milk to supply South Australia. "It's really been exhausting financially and mentally, so the government being behind us and the volunteer organisations … are an absolute saviour." The convoy has now reached its final destination in the township of Wudinna, on Eyre Peninsula's wheatbelt, but the job is hardly over. In fact, the most important stage has not yet begun. "We've brought just over 6,400 bales," Need for Feed chair Graham Cockerell said. "We've actually had to rejig some of our deliveries because it's too wet to get in on the farms." From Wudinna, the vehicles will go their separate ways, taking their fodder in all directions. "It'll get distributed throughout different parts of South Australia," driver Andrew Linehan said. "We could end up down the other side into the Adelaide Hills or into the outback areas." Towards the fateful end of their journey, Burke and Wills were famously confronted by the word "DIG" on a tree along the Cooper Creek — a message pointing them in the direction of buried supplies. It was not enough to save them. But digging deep in times of crisis is something that rural communities pride themselves on — a point made by many involved in this weekend's hay convoy. "It means everything," Karen Smith said.
