It's been a massive week for us in the Australian Community Media video team. We've been working on some big projects that we're excited to finally be getting out to you. Our long-promised Forgotten River series dropped this week via our friends in the Voice of Real Australia podcast team. Give that a listen over here. Our full length documentary on the Darling River will be released very soon as part of that series. But in the meantime here's a sneak peek of what we've been up to: But, of course, that's not the only thing we've dished out for you to watch this week. In between all the press conferences and COVID-19 updates, we've been putting together some truly great videos. Here are some of the other that have kept us feeling alive in what has been an incredibly busy week of news. It's the most significant announcement surrounding Australia's defence direction in literally decades, and yet, you'd be forgiven for thinking Thursday's announcement was really just about whether or not the US president can remember Scott Morrison's name! The moment came during the early morning joint press conference with US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The three were announcing the AUKUS arrangements and the agreement to develop a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. It's a massive deal. But following the opening address, Mr Biden seems to have a complete brain fog. Though he thanked Mr Johnson by name, Mr Morrison's praise was relegated to a shifty, "I'd like to thank that fella from down under, thank you prime minister". Drones captured footage of a hundred humpback whales having a feeding frenzy off the coast of Bermagui, NSW. It's a pretty rare sight to see that many whales together, and especially to capture such clear footage of them going about their underwater business. Photographer David Rogers, who is also a crew member onboard the Sapphire Coastal Adventures boats, said filming the spectacular event was "a complete rush". But, he admitted, the footage doesn't not completely capture the entire experience. "It's not just a visual experience, it was a full sensory experience. The noise of the whales working together and blowing was very noisy - surprisingly noisy," Mr Rogers said. "It was also surprisingly smelly. Whale breath is really smelly and when you have 100s of them you get this intense fishy bad breath in the air." Dubbo Zoo has welcomed three newborn meerkat pups! Parents Mindra and Howell have proven to be quite the power couple. This is their second litter, with the first welcomed in November 2020. Keeper Karen James said the animals are incredibly social, and it's likely the older siblings will now take on 'babysitting' duties. "We are looking forward to watching the pups grow both in size and confidence as they start to explore their habitat more and more," Ms James said.
