Canberra CityNews November 26-December 2, 2009

Bianca packs a big punch

By Kathryn Vukovljak

“I LOVE fighting – everything about it,” says champion boxer and kick-boxer Bianca Elmir.

“It caters for my aggressive tendencies and has become a positive channel for my emotions!”

Bianca, who is Geens MLA Amanda Bresnan’s adviser, will compete in the Australian 2009 Olympic Style Boxing Championships, hosted by ACT Boxing, on December 3-6 at the AIS.

“I love getting in the ring and beating down my opponent,” she says. “It’s just two individuals that respect each other – but ultimately we’re both in it for the victory.

“It’s an emotional challenge as much as physical – you’re alone in the ring and can only rely on yourself.”

Bianca holds the World Kickboxing Association Australian bantamweight Thai Boxing title and the Australia Boxing 52kg Australian title.

“Kick-boxing is probably my preference – it’s more aggressive and you get judged

INDE X

November 26-December 2, 2009

Since 1993: Volume 15, Number 46

on how much you dominate your opponent,” she says.

“Boxing is about tactics, making contact in the right area, dancing around and getting points. They’re very different but training for both helps me in the other.”

The 26-year-old says the competitor she’s most watching out for in the championships is Kerri McGrath, from SA. “She has a few decent titles under her belt, so she’s the one I’ll have to rough up!” she says.

Bianca says she’s feeling confident in the run-up to the championships, with the support of her trainer Anthony Manning and mentor Martin Hodgson.

“Boxing is all I’m thinking about at the moment – in terms of what I eat, my training and even watching fights online to get me in the zone. There are so many fantastic boxers out there that I can learn from.,” she says.

“I’m focused, I’m taking this seriously. If I do well I could be on the road to qualifying for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games and the 2012 London Olympic Games, so it’s pretty huge.”

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Raffle for hams

THE Rotary Christmas Ham Raffle is aiming to give away 100 legs of ham and 50 meat vouchers at The Marketplace Shopping Centre, Gungahlin, over the three consecutive weekends in December starting on December 5. A joint venture between the Rotary Club of Mitchell-Gungahlin and the Rotary Club of Gungahlin, there will be a winner announced every 15 minutes between 10am and 4pm.

Griffin lecture

RENOWNED architect Jan Gehl will present the 2009 Walter Burley Griffin Memorial Lecture at the Shine Dome, Gordon Street, ANU, at 6pm on Monday, November 30. Professor Emeritus of Urban Design at the School of Architecture in Copenhagen, his 40-year career has focused on improving the quality of urban life, especially for pedestrians, through his work as urban design adviser to Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, New York Washington, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and many more. The lecture is open to the public and is free.

Drive for a car

PLAYERS in the Snowy Hydro SouthCare Annual Charity Golf Day, at Federal Golf Course on December 3, will be aiming for a hole-in-one on the 12th to win a $50,000 car from Lennock Motors. “Our aim with this golf day is to make it the biggest and best that Canberra has seen,” says CEO Steve Gregory. Participants can register online as an individual or as a team for $120 per player at www.snowyhydrosouthcare.com.au

The

bushy ‘green’ machine

SNAPPER Silas Brown swears he had nothing to do with it, but innocently came across this environmentally friendly four-wheel-drive in a Civic car park. It appears to have been parked so long it’s taken root. What’s with all the foliage? Who knows, but we presume the driver got a surprise when returning to the car.

Rates not the big housing problem

HOUSING affordability and interest rates are not interrelated, according to Daniel Grollo, one of Australia’s biggest property developers.

While ongoing affordability was an issue, it needed to be addressed through more effective planning, land supply and density, he told a recent Property Council lunch in Canberra.

He acknowledged that these three issues posed on-going challenges for Federal, State and Territory governments, but they were challenges that could be overcome.

Mr Grollo, national president of the Property Council of Australia and CEO of Grocon, said Australia had a “phenomenal future in front it” and that we needed to maximise those opportunities by making more of our energy, resources and environmental credentials and selling our wealth of innovation to the rest of the world.

As a centre between two “great” cities, Canberra had a huge advantage, limited only “by the mothers and fathers” that promoted ideas.

He said we needed to think big and bold in our infrastructure and population planning, land supply and density. And we needed to capitalise on our resource and environmental strengths.

property

By Catherine Carter

Australia and Canberra had a bright future if we were clever, creative, stepped up and contributed more to the world.

Like the Prime Minister, who is shooting for a population of 35 million by 2050, Mr Grollo also believed that a big Australia was a good Australia.

Yet growth did not have to be at the expense of the environment. As a proud director of the Green Building Council, Mr Grollo believed a big Australia could be achieved in harmony with the environment, by harnessing innovative ideas and looking to uranium as a solution.

But that required big and bold solutions to “take the nation to the next level” and maintaining the stimulus package until we “get well over the hump”.

“My view is the stimulus package has been an unbridled success. Don’t pull it back,” he said.

Catherine Carter is executive director of the Property Council of Australia (ACT).

You never forget your first one!

Broadcaster Mark partoN remembers the purr of falling in love for the first time

I WAS walking through the car park at Kaleen Plaza last week and I saw her. She instantly caught my eye. She was such a part of my life in younger years and she seemed not to have changed a bit. My heart began to beat faster and I remembered the times we shared together. I had to stop and reacquaint myself.

As I stood before her admiring her beautiful curves, her owner arrived, pushing a trolley and wondered what I was doing standing in front of his car.

“I used to have one just like it,” I said, “was my very first car.”

He understood.

I don’t know what it is about your first car, but it always has a special place in your motoring heart. Mine was an XC Falcon. She was light brown with a black trim. This was the XC with the round lights. It had a 4.1-litre, six-cylinder engine and it used to purr. I can remember driving through the main street of Northam in WA and checking myself out in the shop windows as I drove “my car”. I was 17 when I bought her. I’d been living at home and working and I paid cash, the last time I did that buying a car for 20 years. I had first dates in that car. I had my first little prang, an argument with a white post on the back road to York. I packed all of my possessions in it when I left home and moved to Perth and six months later when I ventured off across the Nullarbor to start working in regional radio in Victoria. I loved that car and the feeling hasn’t changed over the years. Not everybody feels the same about their first car. MLA Amanda Bresnan’s first was a Ford Laser and she tells me it was “an absolute lemon!”

Anne Kowalski, from Kowalski Recruitment, fondly remembers her first car, a blue Mini that “would go around corners on two wheels”. MLA Brendan Smyth kicked his motoring ownership off in a ’67 Volkswagen, which he “belted around in for many years”.

Catholic Bishop Pat Power broke the car ownership ice with a “gutless” Cortina back in the ‘60s.

And National Press Club President Ken Randall gets a sparkle in the eye when he reminisces about his two-tone Hillman Minx. It had a scarlet roof and a cream body and when he talks about it, I just want to go for a drive in it myself.

Mark Parton is the breakfast announcer at 2CC.

Little joy when Burch gets up

By Ian Meikle

“THANK you for the question, and do bear with me while I just try and find some information that I have on that, which seems to be escaping me just at the minute. Can you repeat the question, so I might be able to…”

Oh dear. Question Time for new Minister Joy Burch has been an uncomfortable daily ordeal during the ACT Assembly’s last sitting fortnight as she stumbled from one fumbled answer to the next.

The Greens and Liberals seemed initially gentle on the Minister for Umming as she struggled to find departmental briefing notes, but by the end of the second week the mood towards Ms Burch, who took over from John Hargreaves, was starting to harden in frustration against her continual fumblings and inability to answer direct questions.

Her colleagues tried to help her out of trouble, but there was an almost uniform look of anxiety along

the Labor front bench every time Ms Burch got to her feet to face the Assembly’s fairly straightforward portfolio questioning.

Hansard is littered with her reticence and uncertainty, her apologies and her tiresomely having to take the questions on notice.

Veteran Liberal MLA Vicki Dunne says: “Ms Burch’s performance as a minister over the last two weeks has been embarrassingly poor.

“She has floundered her way through two weeks of Question Time, often failing to answer basic questions and even misleading the Assembly over the future funding of a children’s day program.

“Time and time again, we have seen Ms Burch unable to answer a question that her Department or staff has not specifically drafted for her. In fact, Ms Burch gave an almost identical answer for three different questions in one sitting.

“When this fact was pointed out,

she threw her hands up and sat down.

“Ms Burch has taken so many questions on notice, the end of Question Time has turned into the ‘Joy Burch Show’, as she has to read statement after statement on questions she couldn’t answer on the previous day.

“When the minister has decided to respond, it has been a combination of rambling political shots followed by sometimes unintelligible answers. When Ms Burch was asked a question about the increased cost of child care and what effect this will have on ACT families, her answer typified her dismal two weeks: ‘Generally, across the community increased cost across a range of services is to be expected, as in so would the cost of corn flakes and bread increase’.”

Ms Burch has three more sitting days (December 8-10) to face before the Assembly rises for the year.

Spin’s the thing, but it can bite

on his third anniversary as “cityNews” political columnist, MicHaeL Moore looks at the pitfalls of “spin”

THE art of political spin is to put the best foot forward at the same time as avoiding deceit. The difficulty is that there is a very fine line between the two. It is a political tool that has to be used with great care as it has a habit of coming back to deliver a bite to its user.

Attorney General and Corrections

Minister Simon Corbell should now be reflecting on how he has used this political tool. Where should the line have been drawn when he argued that delays in construction of the ACT jail, the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC), were about failures in the security system?

The delays resulted in cost blowouts of around $3.5 million.

An ACT Assembly Committee reporting unanimously on the issue has argued that the delays were about much more than the security system and that Mr Corbell was not well briefed.

This was a relatively kind way of saying that he did not stay abreast of his responsibilities and had no idea of what was going on.

Furthermore, the Minister clearly showed disdain for the committee, as illustrated in the first finding: “Despite specific requests made in writing and repeated in hearings, copies of all relevant ministerial briefings were not provided to the committee”. What is he hiding?

The spin has come back to bite him. This report is just one illustration of a government that does not have a good understanding of where the line is drawn on spin.

There is another political tool that is also used extensively in politics. Attack the messenger. Do not worry about doing the hard work of reflecting on the findings, understanding the content of the report, and then modifying the approach or putting systems into place to rectify the situation. A bit of pillory is much more useful for the short-term politics.

“This inquiry has been a sham from go to whoa”, was his first reaction. No! Eight delays, an official opening in September (before an election) and then finally opening in March after a series of incidents at the Belconnen Remand Centre is what may better be described as a “sham”.

The minister is slammed in a report without a dissenting view from Labor backbencher Mary Porter, who is the deputy chair of the committee. It is very common for a member to write a dissenting report to protect their own side of politics, but such a report would have substantially weakened the 25 findings and 11 recommendations.

“This committee has the gall to operate as though it is some commission of inquiry or court,” screams Corbell and, in the process, reveals more about his own misunderstandings. Of course committees of the Assembly can and should play a role in vigorously inquiring into government processes – that is part of the accountability process.

The committee has also wrestled with failures in the application of the Human Rights Act to correctional facilities with four of the findings of the committee dealing with the issue. The Stanhope Government has earned many accolades for its much trumpeted Australian first “Bill of Rights”. I have made the point in previous columns in “CityNews” that, despite the announcement that the Human Rights Act applies to the AMC, the jail will remain non-compliant until such time as there is a needle and syringe program. Such a program would provide for prisoners the same healthcare protection from HIV and Hepatitis C as for other Australians. Instead of dealing with this issue, the Government’s approach will no doubt be to yet again attempt a positive spin.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health in the Carnell government.

Why we can’t stop caring about kids profile briefly

By Kathryn Vukovljak

INTERNATIONAL aid organisation Save the Children is celebrating 90 years of fighting for children’s rights, says Dr Lynne Reeder, chair of the ACT Council of Save the Children – and while the council is only 18 months young, it has big plans for the future.

“All our members are voluntary, but we have a lot of very senior professionals involved,” she says. “I feel that we will be able to make things happen!”

Save the Children is the world’s largest independent child’s rights agency, making a difference to children’s lives in more than 100 countries. From crisis aid to long-term development, Save the Children secures a child’s right to health, education and protection.

Lynne says education is a huge part of children’s rights.

“We’re working to provide better teaching, a safer place to learn, and ultimately children who have the confidence to write their own future,” she says. “Fundamentalism survives because people aren’t educated. We want to encourage them to think for themselves.”

This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In Australia, Save the Children is pushing for a national children’s commissioner, based in Canberra, who would place children’s rights higher on the national agenda and improve co-ordination between the existing State and Territory children’s commissions.

“Protecting and upholding children’s rights

Lynne Reeder…education is a huge part of children’s rights.

is so important,” says Lynne. “It’s our future. Children who are bullied or grow up in conflict or poverty will find it harder to flourish as an adult.

“If we can fix things for the children, they’re more likely to have a go at fixing the big things when they’re adults.

“The world is becoming more interdependent, and we need to work together. We’re going to need a greater level of co-operation than there is now. It can’t be us against them.”

Save the Children also works in Australia to provide health and education services to children in remote, regional areas and in capital cities.

turkish Embassy, social photos, Page 14

Clues to Europe

TRAVELMAKERS is holding its annual “Taste of France and Italy Travel Fair” in conjunction with the Alliance Francaise Language School on Saturday, November 28, at 66 McCaughey Street, Turner, 11.30am-3.30pm. There are seminars on independent travel in France and Italy, including independent go-as-you-please itineraries, river and ocean cruising, gourmet food tour, walking and cycling.

D-day for dogs

CANBERRANS have until December 7 to have their say on whether the new $250,000 off-leash dog park in central Canberra park should be built in Grevillea Park, Russell; Black Mountain Peninsula between the boat ramp and Garry Owen Drive, or in Weston Park in the existing dog exercise area next to Royal Canberra golf course. Feedback, through an online survey, is available at www. tams.act.gov.au.

Free concert

THE Canberra City Band’s annual free Christmas concert will be held at the new Glebe Park performance stage from 4pm, on Saturday, December 12.

environment

A green Christmas

By Tanya Davies

BLESSED with soaring temperatures at this time of year, Australia is best placed to make Christmas solar and there are heaps of innovative green toys on the market to get us started.

Socrates in Civic has an impressive range of solar toys to build and enjoy. The award-winning “6-in-1 Educational Solar Kit” is a greatlooking, green and white, Transformer-style toy that is easy to assemble, and re-assemble – making an airboat, windmill, puppy, and two planes. And best of all it negates those boring battery dilemmas.

Super Toyworld’s Eco Forensic Lab for $34.99 allows budding scientists (and fans of CSI) to discover chemicals hidden in water and monitor PH and CO2 levels in the air. Recommended for ages 10 and up.

If you’re really keen, check out Horizon Renewable Energy Science Kits online. The box set costs $US199. Or for a stocking filler, even Dick Smith is getting in on the act – selling toy robot kits that walk when powered by the sun. At 14.95, a really great excuse to play with the kids toys again this year!

The solar theme extends to Christmas lights, which means guilt-free enjoyment of festive house-dressing.

Mirabella has a large range of solar lights retailing through Target, including indoor and outdoor fairy lights and stick Santas for the front lawn.

Or pick up a string at Woollies, where a string

“TreasureBags”… fully washable and designed to be used year after year.

of eight, coloured, solar lanterns is retailing for less than $20. And what’s more, they save you on your electricity bills.

And there’s now a way to be super-green and still have beautifully wrapped gifts, too.

Mother turned entrepreneur Vanessa Stubbs invented “TreasureBags” because she hated throwing away all the wrapping paper at the end of Christmas and birthdays, but still wanted to wrap gifts for her daughter.

“For her last birthday, I tried putting her presents in home-made TreasureBags – the excitement in her eyes told me all I needed to know,” she says.

The bags, made from 20 per cent cotton and 80 per cent polyester, are fully washable and designed to be used year after year. Stubbs has also designed detachable ribbons so you can still enjoy playing around with colours and themes. Small TreasureBags cost just $5.50 – less than the price of a piece of fancy wrapping paper. More details at www.treasurebags.com.au

When there’s no escaping work

I’VE always liked the idea that your home is your castle – the place where, at the end of a long day, you pull up the metaphorical drawbridge and retreat into your inner sanctum.

But these days technology has well and truly breeched the walls that kept work time and family time separate.

When I was growing up in Adelaide, the work ended at five and that was it until the next day. Work stayed in the office. Unless it was an emergency no one rang you after 8pm and weekends were sacrosanct.

Of course, it wasn’t as idyllic as it sounds; back then I thought it was pretty boring – the shops shut at lunchtime on Saturday and practically nothing but the corner shop was open on a Sunday.

I was the first to applaud late trading and extended opening hours. After all, it just made life easier didn’t it? And when I started working, I had no problem with working beyond work hours. Work was a buzz and I wanted to do it really well. Then, over the past decade, it became so much easier to take work home. Home computers, laptops, mobile

letters

By Sonya Fladun

phones and email all enable us to always be in touch, available and able to work – seven days a week, any time of day.

The workplace is now wherever we happen to be and the separation of work and home life has evaporated. There really is no offswitch any more.

When people should be relaxing, they end up working. Whenever we take the kids to the swimming pool, sport or one of those indoor play centres more parents are hunched over laptops or glued to mobiles dealing with work and business.

I do wonder about the long-term effects of all this on our families, relationships and health (mental and physical). In the family/work balance, work increasingly seems to have the upper hand and if I can’t find the off-switch, I’m at least going to push the pause button a lot more often.

Don’t be caught short

T HE residents of the usually footpathless suburb of Campbell would like to congratulate the initiative of the Federal Government for building a footpath from the new ASIO Central in Constitution (al) Avenue, to Campbell shopping centre.

However, let me advise those who will take up tenancy in the building that it would be advisable for them to complete any toilet activities before ambling off to the shops, as public toilet facilities are not available at the shopping centre.

It would be unthinkable and cause a national crisis for an ASIO agent to be caught short.

Harold Grant, c ampbell

Carbon tax will bite

DO Australians really understand the Federal Government’s new carbon tax and how it is going to hurt them in the supermarkets? Australia will be the only country to tax agriculture under the Federal Government’s proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme.

As farmers, we know how much this tax is going to cost our farms. We also know these taxes will go straight into food prices which, inevitably, families will have to pay.

There’s not a lot of room left for farmers to move and we are worried that this latest tax will just force more farmers off the land.

The Government has to get off the farmers’ back or the cost of food we grow locally, our milk, our meat, will just keep increasing.

“concerned Farmers Group” of the south coast, via email

Opportunity lost?

MICHAEL Moore’s piece, “How ‘mates’ get top jobs” (CN, November 19) makes some good points.

Indeed, had the Assembly passed my Courts and Tribunal (Appointments) Amendment Bill

2009 in October, the Attorney-General would have been required to refer proposed judicial appointments to an Assembly Committee for scrutiny and comment. The committee would have had a certain period of time to provide comment and the executive would have been required to take those comments into account when making its decision.

As it was, the Greens and the Government banded together to considerably water down the intent of my Bill. This was on the basis of concerns they held that there would be an elevated risk that the names of proposed appointees might be leaked under the process contemplated by my Bill, thus perhaps discouraging potential future applicants.

Even more interestingly, shortly after this, the names of many of the applicants for the Chief Magistrate’s position appeared in the media. I wonder if those applicants will ever again consider such an opportunity in the ACT?

Vicki Dunne ML a

Poverty is the problem

AUSTRALIA’S refugee problems can be fixed, but not by increased border security or tighter laws. It has to be fixed by addressing the root cause of the problem, which in many cases is poverty.

By applying our effort and money to foreign aid we can reduce the number of people who need to seek asylum in Australia. Australia needs to comply with the Millennium Development Goals to try and half extreme poverty by 2015. That’s why I’m part of the Oaktree Foundation’s “Stand Up For Change” campaign, to help end extreme poverty.

As a young person I think this is of the utmost importance because by fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals we can improve the livelihood of millions.

a nna Himmelreich, Farrer

At the Canberra Girls’ Grammar School class of 1999 reunion party, the Ottoman, Barton

luncheon, Huntly, Weston Creek

At Independent Schools Association gala dinner, NPG

all about living

Naked body of work wins it for Min

By arts editor Helen Musa

A DARING Canberra artist, who has made the naked human body her art medium, has been named 2009 “CityNews” Artist of the Year.

Min Mae, 33, of Ainslie, received the “CityNews” $1000 cheque from the ACT Chief and Arts Minister Jon Stanhope, along with a painting presented by Solander Gallery owner Joy Warren, at the 19th annual ACT Arts Awards ceremony, staged by the Canberra Critics’ Circle at the new Belconnen Arts Centre.

Mae has, for the past two years, been giving a distinctly Canberran twist to the European art of the “tableau vivant”, where nude bodies pose, quite still, in pictorial compositions. These tableaux, usually accompanied by improvised music, have been seen at the Corinbank Festival in February, where she says “there may have been far too many naked bodies”; the Canberra Contemporary Art Space in March, where 12 apparently dead bodies on slabs were eulogised in print; the Front Gallery and Cafe in May, where models took on animal characteristics and the ANU’s “Cube” gallery in July with “three very beautiful young women”.

Her work has seen a convergence of writers, visual artists and photographers and members of the general public flocking to her creations, which she often initiates by calling for volunteers from the public.

The artist is a busy, single mother who also choreographs and dances for the Radiance women’s dance company, and was described by one judge as “a philosopher who takes the big questions in life and explores the possible answers to them by using the body”.

She is adamant that her artworks are empowering, not exploitative.

“Nudity is essentially human,” she told “CityNews”. She has also used the tableau form to explore her ideas including death, poetry, the subconscious and even art movements. “My medium is living flesh.”

Yet, Min Mae told “CityNews”, she is yet to appear nude in one of her own compositions. “I’m afraid,” she says.

At the Arts Awards Ceremony, Michael White from the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, an nounced the 2009 Green Room Award to actor Oliver Baudert, with a special Peer Recognition Award going to Street Theatre director Caroline Stacey.

During the ceremony, Canberra Centenary creative director Robyn Archer presented a Special Critics’ Award to retiring gallery owner Helen Maxwell, praised for her support of women, local and indigenous artists.

O ther Canberra Critics’ Circle awards presented by Archer went to visual art ists Johannes Kuhnen, Frank Thirion, Min Mae, Gilbert Riedelbauch, Jas Hugonnet, Julie Ryder and Geoffrey Farquhar-Still. Writ ing awards went to poet Tatjana Lukic (posthu mous), Omar Musa, Julian Fleetwood and the Traverse Poetry group and writers Kel Robertson, Jackie French and John Dargavel.

Documentarymaker Andrew Pike was singled out for the Circle’s inaugural film award, while dance awards went to choreographer-direc tors Sandra Griffin and Michelle Heine. For theatre and musicals, awards went to directors Geoffrey Borny, Cathie Clelland and Kate Shearer, playwright David Finnigan, designer Gillian Schwab the ensemble of “The History Boys”, actors Graham Robertson, Tim Sekuless, Jordan Best, Helen Brajkovic and Lexi Sekuless. Singers Moya Simpson and Karen Fitzgibbon joined conductorsinger Tobias Cole, composer Tim Hansen and directors of “The Voss Journey” Robyn Holmes and Vincent Plush in receiving music awards.

“CityNews” Artist of the Year Min Mae… yet to appear nude in one of her own compositions. “I’m afraid,” she says. Photo by Silas.

arts iN tHe city

By Jorian Gardner

Liszt of joy

VIRTUSOSO Canberra pianist Margaret Legge-Wilkinson returns to the concert platform at 3pm on Sunday, November 29, with Liszt’s mighty Sonata in B minor two of Rachmaninov’s preludes, Stockhausen’s radical Klavierstücke VII and IX and a set of preludes composed for her by Canberra composer and co-director of Canberra New Music Ensemble Stephanos Malikides. Tickets at door, Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, corner of Blackall Street and King’s Avenue, Barton.

THE final concert for the year by Canberra Choral Society under the direction of Peter Pocock, will be Handel’s Messiah featuring Queensland tenor Christopher Saunders and local soloists Rebecca Collins, Christina Wilson, and Stephen Bennett. Accompanied by the CCS Chamber Orchestra, the performance is at St Christopher’s Cathedral, Manuka, December 18 and 19. Bookings to 6275 2700.

THE Kim Harvey School of Dance will present the Grimm’s fairytale “Hansel and Gretel” at the Playhouse on December 4 and 5.

Last will and…

I HAVE written this column for over five years and this is my last. So I will finish the same way I started: Program funding and other arts funding announcements were made on November 11 for projects that are being run in 2010. On many occasions I have pointed out to the Arts Minister that that sort of timing is ridiculous – and that artists in the ACT need far more time to plan their year ahead. Last year, Mr Stanhope took some notice and announced program arts funding in September. So why the two-month delay this year? With a smile he replied: “Well, we were incredibly efficient last year and not so efficient this year”. Is that a good enough answer Chief Minister?

‘River’ runs dry Of frocks and finance

DANCE

“River” Mirramu Dance Company Street Theatre, seasoned ended. Reviewed by Bill Stephens

ELIZABETH Cameron Dalman is revered for her pioneering of contemporary dance in Australia. However, when expressing through dance her concerns for climate change, particularly as it affects our rivers, her choreographic pallet seems regretfully limited. Her latest collaborative effort, “River”, was presented on a black-draped stage hung with Christine Simpsons’ abstract organic sculptures. To the accompaniment of a set of short pieces composed by David Pereira, Peter Sculthorpe and Ross Edwards, all played on stage by Pereira and harpist Hilary Manning, the dancers moved through a series of episodes with titles such as “Flowing River”, “Cracked Earth”, Where Is She?” and “There Is No Convergence”. At various points, Ms Cameron Dalman, in the style of Martha Graham, moved around the stage making imploring or comforting gestures. The dancers, including the very accomplished Albert David, attacked the choreography with earnest commitment, but there was little they could do to bring any sense of meaning to the work. High point was a rather lovely duet danced by Albert David and Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal. Elsewhere, the choreography was repetitive and unfathomable.

“VALENTiNO:

THE LAST EMPEROR” (PG)

VALENTINO Garavani was the last of the post-World War II couturiers who learned their craft from master dressmakers of the ‘20s.

Matt Tyrnauer’s documentary covers Valentino’s final working years before retiring after a spectacular retrospective of his 45-year career in Rome in 2006. This extravaganza, occupying the film’s last segment, was an expensive logistic exercise in conspicuous consumption ultimately providing a field day for celebrity spotters.

The film is a compelling display of the fragile relationship between the art of designing gowns to make women feel beautiful, and the related high financial inputs. Valentino’s workroom once supported 100 virtuoso seamstresses (when the company bought a sewing machine, it never got used!). In later years, equity investors became involved with discomforting outcomes.

The film’s view of the symbiosis between creative autocrat Valentino and his business associate and partner of 45 years, Giancarlo Giametti, is warmly affectionate. Valentino seems to have scant understanding of the workroom skills that turn his sketches into diaphanous gowns implying breathtaking erotic delights beneath. His skills were the company’s principal asset, Giancarlo’s talents supervised the business

ciNeMa By Dougal Macdonald

converting designs into millions. Karl Lagerfeld summed it up neatly at the retrospective, unaware that the microphone heard him – “You and I are the last two… everyone else makes rags.”

At Greater Union, Manuka

“A SERIOuS MAN”

(M)

FROM multi-Oscar-winners Ethan and Joel Coen comes this dry blending of humour with a bleak study of relationships.

In 1967, Larry (Michael Stuhlbarg) lectures in physics at a small Jewish university in Minnesota. His wife wants to play house with widower Abelman. His indigent brother is a drain on the family’s resources. Daughter wants money for a nose job; son preparing for Bar Mitzvah conceals major problems. The Tenure Committee will soon determine Larry’s status. A Korean student has tried to bribe him to give an unearned passing mark. On one side, the neighbours are rednecks. On the other, a well-built pot-smoking divorcee sunbakes nude in the back garden.

In these unpropitious environments, Larry struggles to recover his marriage, pay bills, raise kids, find a modus vivendi with redneck neighbours, resist other nextdoor attractions and return the bribe.

The film is a picture of being Jewish in its time and place. Its humour is not joyous. Larry labours beneath an overwhelming timidness. The Coens don’t give him a feather to fly with to his own salvation. And, oh, how we wish they had!

At Dendy

AROUND the time of the invasion of Iraq in search of WMDs, Palestinian bank clerk Muna (Nisreen Faour) and teenage son Fadi get legal entry to the US where her sister and her medico husband lodge them in their Illinois home. Muna’s sweetly innocent expectations of employment lead her to a job as the slushy in a hamburger joint. Fadi’s classmates accuse him of intention to detonate a bomb.

In a gentle polemic about the Muslim immigrant experience in the land of the free and the home of the brave, Muna and Fadi confront ethnic issues, schoolyard xenophobia, economic stringency, post-9/11 paranoia, and saving face amid family tensions. “Amreeka” inhales the viewer’s emotions and doesn’t exhale them until waiting for dramatic relief has become close to unbearable.

American-born Muslim writer/director Cherian Dabis, in her feature film debut, knows her subject and invites us to seek unspoken meanings between its lines. Some may find that process flaccid, but the film’s optimistic outcome is a considerable relief. At Dendy

Treasures of pleasure

DiNiNG

By Wendy Johnson

CHENG Chia Chang, or Davis for short, worships the treasures of the sea, especially when combined with the fabulous flavours of Asia.

He has created an inspirational “Wednesday Seafood Night” at the National Press Club – for a limited time, a social membership is available for the general public and, of course, members can invite guests.

Originally from Taiwan, where his family own a seafood farm, Davis learned early that “fresh is best”.

The entrées all sit at $22. I went straight for the soft-shell chilli crab, a true delicacy. It was ever so lightly battered, tossed in an innovative chilli capsicum salsa and served with a refreshing orange and apple salad. It was a warm evening on the balcony, which made the cold Miang scallops especially inviting. They were plump, a perfect texture and married well with the lime, chilli, peanut, ginger and shallots. My friend adored the Thai influence and the presentation.

On top of the mains was the live lobster ($78 for about 850 grams). The next table indulged in the seafood platter, which looked sensational ($55). The rest of the mains are $32 and include a seafood laksa, loaded with prawns, scallops, fish, soft-shell crab, mussels, squid, hokkien noodles, fried tofu, fresh lime and chilli to add bite (nothing else could possibly have fitted in). The coconut broth showcased Davis’ talent and it rivalled some of the best my friend’s ever had.

My Asian-style, whole baby snapper

is described on the menu as “smothered in sautéed ginger, capsicum, shallots and shiitake mushrooms with sesame honey soy drizzle”. It was steamed and melted in the mouth.

However, I found it difficult to manage on such a small plate and would have preferred less “smothering”. The delicate flavours of the fish could easily have been overpowered by the topping (most of which I moved to the side). Still, I couldn’t argue with the quality of the snapper.

Davis will change the menu depending on what he can source from week to week.

For wine recommendations, the Press Club featured a Helm Classic Dry Riesling and a Henschke Innes Vineyard Pinot Gris, both of which went well with most of the seafood dishes ($36 a bottle or $8.50 a glass).

If you haven’t been to the Press Club since they completed their extensive renovations, give it a go. It’s radically different with a sophisticated décor and relaxing environment.

Wednesday Seafood Nights are on until Christmas and when the club re-opens in January, depending on demand. From 7pm. 16 National Circuit. Call 6121 2199.

A tangled web of whoppers

WHEN panicky Dr David Mortimer (Peter Holland) advises his nervous colleague Dr Hubert Bonney (Tony Falla): "If you’ve got to tell a lie, tell a whopper," he's not kidding. For this play is as tangled a web of lies as you'd ever expect to see on stage, all delivered at breakneck speed. Holland and Falla head up the cast and prove well able to deal with the ordered chaos on stage. These are fine performances. Not far behind them are Rachel Tyson and Steph Roberts as the

THEATRE "It Runs in the Family" By Ray Cooney, directed by Walter Learning for Canberra Repertory, at Theatre 3, until December 12.

Reviewed by Helen Musa

hapless but sharp women drawn into their totally ridiculous deceptions.

This is a good-looking production on a seamless set by Russell Brown, with elegant costuming by Anna Senior.

Canadian director Walter Learning guards the impeccable timing and makes sure that the weirder characters such as Dr Mike Connolly (Brandon Martignago) and Bill Leslie (Ian Hart) don't take over, leaving ample room for sympathetic portrayals by John Honey as the Sergeant and Marie Jensen as Mrs Bonney.

Above all, there is pleasant warmth about the production, especially in the demonstrative performance by Rep newcomer Josh Hogan as Leslie.

‘Fire’ burns hot

CANBERRA Theatre audiences are not given to standing ovations, so a performance that incites one must really connect with its audience. Bangarra’s “Fire” did just that.

Bangarra seamlessly blends contemporary dance with indigenous dance and culture with an influence of street urban.

“Fire”, which offers works from the 20 years since the company’s inception, has a phenomenal soundtrack, created largely by David Page, brother of artistic director and choreographer Stephen. To begin, a continual, hypnotic pulse of indigenous vocals, didgeridoo and rhythms inspire the movements of lithe dancers.

Muscular limbs, painted white, move effortlessly against a stark, black backdrop.

The acts depict the dynam -

DANCE

‘Fire’

Bangarra Dance Theatre Canberra Theatre, season ended.

Reviewed by Samara Purnell

ics of indigenous and Torres Strait Islander society and the rituals of birth, hunting, love, death. It acknowledges the challenges and social issues faced – incarceration, substance and sexual abuse and violence.

“Ochres” (1995) showcased some strong female talent. The male energy in the hunting ritual was intense and energetic, as the dancers transitioned from the hunter to the hunted.

With the finale, an uplifting and joyous Torres Strait Islander ensemble piece, the inspired audience rose to their feet.

Pushing the pedals to freedom...

Mountain bike rider and track builder

DarreN stewart is excited to see the increasing number of people now participating in the sport.

ONCE seen as an adrenalin sport limited to the thrill seeker, mountain biking now enjoys growing popularity as an activity the whole family can enjoy. It is one of those sports that don’t require a team, you don't have to wrangle with road traffic, and you can view our unique city from vantage points you have never been to before. Cross-country riding is an excellent introduction for the beginner, with downhill offering additional thrills for the more experienced.

There is a level of freedom that is hard to describe when riding on a well-built track. You can head off from a full car park to spend the next hour or two on

your own – riding in designated mountain bike parks means that riders are spread over a large area and you literally can feel like you are the only one there. Conversely, it is a great social sport where you can get together with your mates and share a fun and exhilarating experience and talk about how well you railed that last berm! And as a bonus, you get fit and healthy along the way.

Mountain biking offers far more than just social riding; for instance, an integral part of the sport is night riding. Once you have your mini spotlights on your helmet and handlebars, you are ready to experience the complete contrast of riding

the tracks at night – where you almost feel like you are riding the most familiar track for the first time.

If organised events are your thing, there is an ever-growing number to tempt you – the 24-hour format (you race for 24 hours over a set course in teams of 10 through to solo); point to points (generally 50 or 100km rides); club racing of all disciplines; super ‘d’ (a cross between down hill and cross country); mountain bike rogain

(mountain bike orienteering) and the list goes on.

Mountain biking is one of the few sports where you and the best riders in the country can participate in the same event at the same time.

Where can you ride in Canberra? Some great venues are Stromlo Forest Park, Majura Pines and Sparrow Hill.

More information from the Canberra Off Road Cyclist Club at www.corc.asn.au.

...cycles go far, too

By Kathryn Vukovljak

WITH its abundance of safe cycle paths connecting the city, Canberra is fantastic for casual bike riding, says Angus Harding, personal trainer at Alive Health and Fitness.

“You can easily avoid busy roads, take the whole family and have a healthy, fun day out,” he says. “Riding to work is easy, too – Canberra is just so geared to it, there’s really no reason to get the bus!”

The most important thing to remember is the safety aspect, he says. Make sure your helmet fits well and complies with Australian standards. Keep the tyres pumped up and ensure your bike is regularly serviced.

“Your equipment has to be in top condition to prevent accidents occurring,” he says.

“You could be caught out quite far from home if something goes wrong.”

Angus says it’s important to eat beforehand, because you don’t want your blood sugar to drop during the ride.

Cycling is fun, low impact and protects the joints, he says. “It’s a form of exercise that’s easy to get motivated for. It’s social, you can ride and chat to friends at the same time. You can go at whatever pace you want, but it also allows you to stay within a fat-burning zone quite easily.

“To really burn fat you need to be working to a point where your breathing is deep but not laboured,” says Angus.

“It’s a great cardio workout and it’s controllable – you can coast when you need to or step it up a level when you want to push yourself.”

general knowledge crossword No. 239

ACROSS

1 Name a passerine insectivorous bird, usually black with a long forked tail.

8 Who wrote the poem "Waltzing Matilda" in 1895, Andrew Barton ...

9 Name a chess piece which moves obliquely on squares of the same colour.

10 What do the US people call a locomotive driver?

11 Name a person who once took care of horses, especially at an inn.

13 The leaves of which tree are eaten by silkworms?

16 What are the young of geese called?

19 Name a vast, nearly level, treeless plain of the arctic regions.

22 What is an amusement show, especially one erected temporarily?

24 Which annual Christian festival commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

25 What is another term for haloes?

26 Which form of address is used for a registered nurse?

DOWN

2 What do we call the remains of a fallen building, etc?

3 Which word describes a thing of no value?

4 Name the Australian cyclist and politician, Sir Hubert ...

5 What is an adult male deer?

6 Name a non-reigning male member of a royal family.

7 What, broadly is a peeping Tom?

12 What are facial muscular twitches called?

14 To have no inclination towards, or interest in anything, is to feel how?

15 Name the thick and firm covering of cheeses and bacon, etc.

17 To be impenetrable to light is to be what?

18 Name a small surgical knife.

20 Through which organs do we breathe or smell?

21 In history, what was a person of high rank representing the crown?

23 Name the unit of electromotive force.

Solution next week

your week in the stars

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Around the time of the Full Moon you tend to run around like a Ram on steroids. Just remember there’s a fine line between making smart snap decisions, and being recklessly rash. Slow down and cool your hot head! And don’t hurry love – a burgeoning relationship needs to develop at its own pace.

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)

It’s not a good time to go on a spending spree, buy or sell property, or lend money to others. You’re liable to make decisions based purely on your emotions, which are fluctuating wildly under this week’s full moonbeams. If you are patient, you’ll soon be back to your sensible self again.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)

With the Full Moon in your sign on Wednesday, you’re firing on all cylinders. Doing things quickly doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing a good job though. Pace yourself. Your humorous, playful side is also highlighted. But don’t overdo the practical jokes or you may upset others – especially on Thursday.

CANCER (June 22 – July 22)

Sudoku is an 81square number grid with nine blocks each containing nine cells. To solve the puzzle, all the blank cells must be filled in using numbers from 1 to 9. Each number can only appear once in each row, column and in the nine 3x3 blocks. You can successfully solve the puzzle just by using logic and the process of elimination.

Solution next week

Expect issues from the past to come up or the resurfacing of an unresolved problem, as the Full Moon lights up your mystery zone. You could also bump into a long-lost friend or make contact with a never-forgotten ex. You’re a sentimental soul, so it should be an emotional and memorable week.

LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)

Most people are more unpredictable at Full Moon time. Wednesday’s full moonbeams fall in your eccentricity zone, so your behaviour is bound to surprise – or even shock – others. Sunday is the best day of the week to be creative, as you tap into the Leo artist within.

VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)

If you were hoping for a quiet week at work, forget it. With the Full Moon stimulating your career zone, it’s going to be hectic as you hurtle from one drama to the next. Creative problem-solving will help you through. If you’re looking for work, a bold and proactive approach is the best way to go.

With Joanne Madeline Moore

November 30 - December 6

LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)

This week’s Full Moon activates your adventure and travel zone, so it’s time to expand your horizons and be more adventurous. Your motto for the next seven days is from birthday great Mark Twain (born November 30): “Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)

What do you share with others? Whether it’s money, property or intimacy; joint endeavors will be put under the spotlight for examination and reassessment. Venus moves into your money zone on Wednesday (until Dec 26) so it’s a fortunate time for financial transactions – so long as you’ve done your homework.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

Are there long-standing ‘issues’ in your marriage (or long-term relationship) that you’ve been avoiding? Things may come to a head mid week. Best to clear the air and then you can both move on. Happily solo? Get ready for a gorgeous Gemini or a lusty Leo to catch your eye and rock your world!

CAPRICORN

(Dec 22 – Jan 19)

Capricorns love life to run along efficiently and according to plan. But there’s unpredictable Full Moon energy about, so drop the strict routine and just take things as they come. Your motto for the week is from Bette Midler (born Dec 1) “Things are constantly changing. Life is nothing but change.”

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

Uranus (your boss planet) turns direct this week, so projects that have been put on hold should start moving forwards again. Wednesday’s Full Moon falls in your drama zone, so those around you can expect some entertaining antics and manic moments from yours truly. Life certainly won’t be boring!

PISCES

(Feb 19 – Mar 20)

The current focus is on home sweet home. With the Full Moon activating your domestic zone, lavish loved ones with plenty of TLC plus pay attention to home maintenance. And you need to be more realistic about a friend or family member – are they taking advantage of your trusting nature?

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2009.