If an adult commits a crime they end up in jail. But what happens if a child commits a crime? First of all it depends how bad the crime was. If it is something minor then the child will get a warning. If it is worse than that like stealing a car or a violent assault then you will end up in a Juvenile Detention centre.

Children in Detention centres can be as young as 13 and as old as 18. A juvenile Detention centre is like a jail but they aren’t treated as bad. Children are locked in their rooms for up to 18 hours and have to do everything they are told. The boys are kept in one ward and the girls are kept in a different ward. One thing children don’t miss out on when they are locked up is school. The kids still have the same curriculum as any other child because people think it helps them.

Juvenile Detention centres are designed to help stop children live a life of crime. Some people disagree and say that detention centres aren’t working. They say that most children commit more crimes within a year of being released. People think that putting all these troubled kids together is a bad influence on each other. Children could also think of crimes to commit when they get out.

 I think children should be put in jail because if they are let off then they think they can get away with more crimes.

In NSW a small town called Bundanoon has decided to ban something that seems harmless but could contribute to killing our world. It’s BOTTLED WATER.

But why is bottled water so bad? Here is some reasons why bottled water is so bad. Bottled water costs so much money to create and to buy when it would be much easier and cheaper to get it out of the tap. The plastic bottles which hold the water go through many stages each deadly for the environment. First they have to be manufactured in big factories which use electricity and energy which burns one of the very important non renewable resource, coal. When the coal burns it lets out tones of harmful gasses. Each plastic bottle uses 200ml of oil which we are running out of. The water has to be refridgerated in the shop, which uses electricity. When people dispose of the plastic bottle it goes into land fill and takes hundreds of years to break down.

Some people disagree with banning bottled water. they argue that if people walk into a shop and are thirsty and there isn’t any water in the fridge, they will choose sugary drinks which are bad for your health. People also believe that after natural disasters such as floods and fires the victims have to survive on bottled water.

This story has to very good arguments to each side. Overall I think bottled water should be banned but they should keep making it incase there is a natural disaster.

Millions of camels are now living in the hot dusty climate of Australia. These camels came from India and were used as transport for the early settlers. Once people discovered a better faster way of travelling most of the camels were released into the wild.

But camels are not just helpful. In Australia these unruly animals have become pests. People estimate there is about 1 million camels living in the Central Australian region. Farmers in that part of Australia are having a lot of trouble with the camels. Because there isn’t much water, Camels go looking for water everywhere. Sadly nothing gets in the way of a thirsty camel. They are strong and weigh a lot. They crash through farm gates where water is scarce and has to be pumped out of the ground. They do so much damage and leave the poor farmers without anything to give to their cattle.

To stop these strong animals just walking through the fences, farmers have built heavy duty fences. But there are some places fences can’t be built around, like the aboriginal community of Docker River. Camels are just walking down the street and taking water.

Farmers in Central Australia hope to keep the number of camels down to a manageable number. The government and council are both trying to come up with the best solution which will make the farmers and camels happy

By Eliza N

Immigrants are people who come to live in other countries for a variety of reasons. So what’s the big issue? They aren’t doing any harm are they? But the government is starting to think some types of immigrants are causing our economy to sag.

There are three types of immigrants. People who have come to live with relations. Refugees who are fleeing from their country and skilled migrants who have come to work. Now the government is starting to stop some skilled migrants coming into Australia and the reason is simply money. At the moment the world is having a big economic crisis. Hundreds of people have lost their jobs and some people believe the skilled migrants are taking the valuable spare jobs that local people need. Because the immigrants are skilled they get the jobs easier than local people which means the locals don’t have the money to pay for things, which makes shop keepers jobs under threat and so on. 

Another group of people think skilled immigrants are good for Australia. They can set up their own businesses which boosts the economy. People also think there are still extra jobs which need to be filled and these immigrants are perfect for them.

I think they should only allow a number of skilled immigrants with trades that are usefull to keep Australia moving.

Orangutans are struggling for survival in Borneo after hundreds of trees have been cut down. Why would you cut trees down when you are threatning a wonderful species of ape close to extinction? That is a question many people would ask.

But some people depend on cutting down those trees. The trees have palm oil in them which people sell to be made into cosmetics and snacks which you can buy from the supermarket. The oil is mainly called vegetable oil in the ingredients on the back. They  do not say trees have been cut down in the process. If we banned cutting them down completely, peoples jobs will be lost which means they will have no money. Also if we stopped it happening we would not be able to have biscuits and shampoo which need this ingredient.

At the moment these orangutans whos parents have died, are in the care of a daycare especially for them. It looks after them and teaches them everyday things their parents would be teaching them in a large and safe environment.

I hope that the orangutans will not become extinct and that the land clearers will be able to come to an agreement not to kill the orangutans. The orangutans are funny and inteligent creatures who can not speak out for themselves. I think everybody should save the orangutans.

By Eliza N

Usually when the school bell rings for the last day of school for year twelves, they go with friends and party all night to celebrate the end of the of school. Lots of kids get drunk, get arrested and get into trouble with the police.

Last year at the end of the year a group of year twelves decided to ditch the parties and do some volunteer work for East Timor to celebrate their end of schooling. They were helping to rebuild East Timor after the bombing and fighting that had been happening. They helped transport water, plant trees and fix electricity for homes.

Going to East Timor was a brilliant idea for year twelves to do. Instead of getting into trouble they are helping someone else and a new country that needs rebuilding.

It was a fantastic idea for those year twelves to go and and help that community and i hope they keep doing it in years to come.

By Eliza N