Today Oprah Climbed the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge with her best friend Gayle King and a group of her audience members after it was lit up last night with a giant “O” to mark her arrival. Fans gathered underneath to watch the climb and waited to catch a glimpse of the chat show queen.

Last night Oprah enjoyed her first night in Sydney in style with a cocktail party on the harbour side that featured live music and a fireworks display over the water.

Image courtesy of Harpo Productions Inc.

Oprah with PM Julia Gillard

Oprah mania continued in Australia yesterday when Oprah arrived in Melbourne to meet Prime Minister Julia Gillard. They were filmed by Oprah’s film crew as they discussed their careers and the choices they have made while they walked along the banks of the Yarra River.

Next Oprah made her only official public appearance while in Australia. “The Oprah Winfrey Show” hosted a two hour public event in Federation Square where Oprah, Gillard and Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu appeared on stage in front of an estimated 10,000 strong crowd.

“Hello Melbourne! I’ve never had a welcome like this in my life,” Oprah said. She said that she had always wanted to visit Australia and that when choosing the location for the filming of her last series she decided to go to the country which, besides the US had supported her the most.  

The event saw performances by Jessica Mauboy and Human Nature and had a real celebratory feeling with some of Oprah’s Ultimate Viewers dancing on stage with Human Nature.

Oprah on stage at Federation Square

Oprah then made two surprise visits, the first of which was Catherine Schrank who had been hoping to travel to Sydney for taping of the Oprah show but could not because she is due to give birth in the next few days. Oprah surprised her with a baby shower, saying “You couldn’t travel to us, so I’m coming to you for your own baby shower.”

For her second visit Oprah went to the home of Megan Castran and family to surprise her during the family’s weekly taco night. Mrs Castran visited Chicago in 2008 for a taping of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and had invited Oprah to visit Australia. Oprah further surprised the family and their guests by inviting them to attend the shows being filmed at the Sydney Opera House.   

It has been evident so far that Oprah is intent upon spreading goodwill throughout her Australian visit.

Images courtesy of Harpo Productions Inc.

The location for Oprah's Australian chat shows

Oprah Winfrey kicked off her much anticipated Australian tour by landing at Cairns airport in Queensland and boarding a helicopter for an aerial tour of Uluru. The talk show host is expected to have a nonstop schedule during her visit.

She has already visited the Great Barrier Reef and Byron Bay, one of the world’s most beautiful beach locations. Winfrey’s 300 loyal fans have been experiencing the best Australia has to offer, courtesy of the great lady herself.  

So far they have been taking a balloon ride over the Hunter Valley wine region, taking surfing lessons in Byron Bay, visiting Kakadu National Park and many other cultural attractions.

While visiting a wildlife sanctuary Winfrey had her photo taken with a Koala and said “It’s spectacular, it is … God, I need to move here,”

In her first public appearance Winfrey is due to meet Prime Minister Julia Gillard tomorrow in front of an estimated 80,000 people in Melbourne. During her trip the chat show queen is also expected to meet some of the country’s indigenous people.   

Oprah Winfrey is famous not just for her chat show but for using it as a platform to achieve mega stardom. She is on the Forbes rich list with an estimated wealth of US$2.5 billion and her career has been marked out from her chat show competitors by the amount she gives away.

On Tuesday Oprah will be filming two shows at the Sydney Opera House, no doubt causing paparazzi and fans alike to descend on the city.

The official base rate puts mortgage payers out of pocket

The Reserve Bank of Australia has decided to keep the base rate at 4.75 for at least the next two months. The RBA announced an increase of 25 basis points last month which prompted outrage from the general public as the four big banks followed the rate rise by increasing their mortgage rates by an average of 40 basis points.

HSBC economist Paul Bloxham commented on the rate rise, saying that it ‘is plenty of tightening for now”.

RBA governor Glenn Stevens said that “Following the board’s decision last month to lift the cash rate, and the subsequent increases by financial institutions, lending rates in the economy are now a little above average.”

Mr Stevens also said that “The board views this setting of monetary policy as appropriate for the economic outlook.”

The decision to leave the official rate at 4.75 percent follows the announcement of economic growth for the September quarter of this year coming in at 0.2 percent.

This has not been helped by a combination of flood and drought which is having a negative effect on Australia’s agriculture industry and has already lost the industry hundreds of millions. There has also been a fall in retail trade and exports.

There has been pressure from consumers and smaller banks to encourage competition and choice. Treasurer Wayne Swan is expected to announce reforms to that effect this week.

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is one of the most anticipated and talked about sporting events of the year. It has grown over the last 65 years to become one of the most iconic Australian events, it rivals the tennis and the cricket for coverage and this year is no exception with coverage being broadcast to over 45 countries.

The race will begin at 1pm on Boxing Day when entrants must travel 628 nautical miles south from the iconic Sydney Harbour to Hobart in order to claim the prize of the coveted Rolex Yacht-Master timepiece and the silver Illingworth Trophy.

The race attracts skippers from all across the world, this year there is representation from the UK, USA, France and Italy however the 90 yacht fleet is predominantly Australian. The yachts which range from 50 feet up to 100 will have to battle the elements and each other to claim a place on the winner’s podium. Last year 100 yachts took part and 95 made it to the finish line.

Commodore Garry Linacre from the host club, the Cruising Yacht said “A significant feature this year fleet is that 30% will be first time starters in the great race,” the race is open to anyone with a yacht of suitable size that meets competitor safety specifications so if you’re interested in yachting take a trip down under this Christmas and maybe next year you could be taking part.

Australia has been ranked 17^th out of 21 developed countries in a new gender equality index called The Fairness and Families Index carried out by The Fatherhood Institute, a UK think-tank. The only countries to score lower were the United Kingdom, Austria, Japan and Switzerland.

The index was compiled by comparing countries’ policies on ten different issues based around the family unit. These include parental leave, childcare spending and gender pay gaps.

At the top of the list were Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark who give generous entitlements to fathers and are generally ahead of the pack in terms of female presence in the workplace.

Australia fared well on gender pay and female presence in the workplace and political circles. Australia’s childcare expenditure rates around average at 0.4 percent of GDP.   

Australia did not fare so well on paid parental leave, coming in second from last however they rated better on the sharing of care responsibilities with 29 percent of men taking on half of care responsibilities.

Dr Fletcher from the University of Newcastle, who assisted in compiling the data for the index said “The area we fall behind in, and will continue to fall behind in, is paid paternity leave.”

It is an exciting time for Australian politics; the first indigenous political party is due to be registered early in the New Year. It is a huge step forward for the rights of the indigenous population and the first real opportunity for their voice to be heard on a national and international level.  

Maurie Ryan, an indigenous rights campaigner who is also a former Labor party member has applied to have the First Nations Political Party registered. “Political parties are created to govern and I hope one day this political party will be in power,” Mr Ryan said.

“There are first nations political parties all around the world.

“But in Australia there hasn’t been any representation of indigenous people except the times of Neville Bonner, Aden Ridgeway and now Ken Wyatt.”

Mr Ryan made accusations about the two main political parties, claiming that their actions; the suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act, has highlighted underlying racism.    

The First Nations Political Party will be accessible to anyone who wished to support the party and while their core objectives will be to voice the values of the First Nations they will also tackle the wider issues that all legitimate political parties must campaign on.

Australia's education is world class

Thinking of moving to Australia? If relocating involves bringing the little ones then take a look at this quick guide to schools down under.

The Australian education system is similar to that of the UK, with school life starting at kindergarten at the age of 4 or 5 depending on which state you are looking in followed by 12 years of primary and secondary education. At the end of secondary school you can take an exam which will give you a Senior Secondary Certificate of Education, a certificate which is recognised by all Australian universities and vocational training institutions as well as many international universities.

This certificate has a lot in common with the American SAT system where every student’s chances of attending university rest almost entirely on achieving one grade.

As with the UK, Australian States have control over the funding of their schools however there also private sector schools which charge fees and are usually affiliated with religious institutions, catholic schools for example make up around two thirds of all private schools. 

The school system varies little from one state to another, of course funding is directed toward different areas however the ages for enrolment and the general quality of teaching does not really differ.

The school year is divided into terms which run from January until December with a long break over Christmas (remember that in Australia Christmas is during the summer). The school day varies but generally starts at 9am and finishes at 3.30 pm Monday to Friday.

It is an exciting time to be starting school in Australia because while schools in the UK are undergoing money saving reforms including a huge cut in funding which will see fewer teaching jobs and a cut in modernization programs in order to tackle the national deficit, Australia has no such problems.

There is a spending program called Building the Education Revolution which is a $16.2 billion investment in Australia’s school system and is the largest element of the $42 billion National Building Economic Stimulus Plan. 

There are three elements to the Building and Education revolution (BER), the first of which is $14.1 billion allocated to the Primary Schools for the 21^st Century program. In this element of the program funding has been approved for 10,521 projects in 7942 schools. This includes refurbishments and upgrading of facilities.

The second element is the $821.8 million Science and Language Centres for 21^st Secondary Schools which has allocated funding for the construction of new laboratories and language centres in 537 schools.

The third element is the $1.28 billion National School Pride program which has allocated funding for 12,680 projects in 9483 schools to include the upgrading of outside areas including both learning areas and sports grounds.

Those moving to Australia will find the transition easy as the Australian curriculum is very similar to that of the UK. It is based around 8 core subjects; English, Languages other than English, Health and Physical Education, Mathematics, Science, Studies of Society and the Environment, The Arts and Technology.

In Australia Secondary School or High School as it is generally called begins at the age of 12 and finishes at the age of 16 followed by two years of college. A student can leave education at 16 however they will be encouraged to complete their higher education unless they have a particular career path in mind which will not be complemented by further education.

Because of Australia’s long sunshine hours there is almost always a wide range of extracurricular activities for students to take part in. These include the obvious; Aussie Rules Football (a game that is somewhere between football and rugby), Cricket and water sports.

In order to move down under with your family you will need to apply for a Family Visa which can encompass a number of family set ups. Of course your children will not factor into your eligibility, the primary factor will be your career so make sure you check the up-to-date jobs list.  

Still having trouble deciding? Consider this; Australia has a 99 percent literacy rate which is on par with the UK. Australia has considerably more sunshine over the course of the year, crime rates are generally very low, job prospects are good as the economy is booming and Australia was rated one of the most desirable places to live in the world with a high quality of life, life expectancy, economic mobility, education, health care and human rights.

PM Julia Gillard is under pressure to put Nuclear Power on her agenda for the next ALP national conference. Gillard has stood strong on Labor’s ban on nuclear energy however there is strong support for the use of nuclear energy in a country that is heavily reliant on fossil fuels.

Some MP’s have indicated that the issue of nuclear power as a low carbon energy source deserves as much consideration as the issue of gay marriage if not more.

Former front bencher Mark Bishop spoke out about the unrest over the issue “My view is that all forms of energy supply should be under active consideration,” Senator Bishop said “Government should give more active consideration to putting nuclear into the equation of all forms of energy supply, particularly those that are subsidised”.

NSW Senator Steve Hutchins said “In my opinion it should be part of the [energy] debate if we want to have a clean future,” Senator Hutchins also said that “It is more important for the country’s future than gay marriage and it affects a lot more people.”

If Australia introduces a carbon tax, as it is expected to, nuclear power will be one of the cheapest forms of energy available.  

Labor MP Chris Hayes has been one of many to lend his voice to the debate saying “Why would we simply reject it out of hand?”

Despite the growing support for nuclear power Greenpeace Australia Pacific spokesman Stephen said that nuclear power is “not a solution to climate change”.

“It’s also too expensive and too unsafe. If the ALP went down that road, they would be costing the taxpayers billions of dollars to establish the technology, while renewable energy is safer, cheaper and much easier to build,” he said.

At The Taste you are never far from the water

The Taste, as it’s commonly known is, Tasmania’s largest food and drink festival and it runs from December 28^th to January 3^rd, the height of Tasmania’s summer and attracts hundreds of thousands of people. Based around the city’s wharves and marina, the festival will be host to more than 70 food and beverage stalls as well as a wealth of entertainment including singing, dancing and the best local comedy talent.

Because of Tasmania’s relatively small size (almost a third the size of the UK) everything produced there is local. At the festival you can taste a range of fresh seafood including oysters, salmon and blue fin tuna. Tuck into deserts made from fruit picked that morning and when you’re well and truly full sit back and relax with a glass of local wine or beer.      

This will be the festival’s 22^nd year and the beginning of a new direction for the organisers; festival goers will still be able to try some of the best food and drink the country has to offer but they will also be encouraged to learn about where the produce has come from.

Hobart alderman and Taste chairman Ron Christie said that there are many changes to the festival this year, most of which are the result of customer feedback from the previous year.

“We had our guys going around the Taste interviewing people,” he said.

The majority of the changes are aimed at making the festival more family orientated, they include a cinema on the Parliament lawns which will show family films and an area with games consoles to keep children entertained while their parents sample the local wines.

 Hobart Lord Mayor Rob Valentine said: “It’s exciting times for the Taste.”

One of the highlights of the seven day celebration is the New Years Eve party where there will be live music and a fireworks display on the waterfront where you can relax with a drink at one of the many restaurants around princes Wharf or get up and get moving to the music.

For anyone planning on visiting either Australia or Tasmania now is a great time to book that ticket and welcome 2011 somewhere warm. For those who don’t often fly check out The Right Flight for a quick intro to getting there.