Canberra CityNews October 21-27

Critics pan grand city plan

“Canberra City a rea action Plan 2010-2016” has been delivered by the aCT Government after eight months of public consultations and development on the draft, but the final plan just isn’t enough for the Property Council or the Greens.

The plan is touted by the Government as putting rubber on the road, not about visions and changing policies, but it holds no mechanisms to fund the projects listed and serves to string together 14 existing

INDEX

October 21-27, 2010 Since 1993: Volume 16, Number 42

WHAT strange bedfellows urban planning in Civic makes, says ELERI HARRIS

development plans for areas of Civic.

Property Council aCT executive director Catherine Carter wants to see more than an outline of capital works expenditure, she wants a master plan.

“I don’t think anyone wants an accidental city,” Carter said.

“a master plan is urgently needed to provide certainty

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about future sequencing of development, so that the decisions can be made about future commercial investment opportunities, employment and accommodation options in Canberra’s central business district.”

The Greens are pleased to see their submissions regarding an affordable housing target, dedicated busways, increased bicycle parking and “soft

Editor: Ian Meikle, editor@citynews.com.au

Political reporter: Eleri Harris, 0414 618493 eleri@citynews.com.au

Lifestyle editor: Megan Haggan, 6262 9100 lifestyle@citynews.com.au

Arts editor: Helen Musa, 0400 043764 helen@citynews.com.au

Design and photography: Silas Brown, 0412 718086

Graphic designer: Louise Brooks, 6262 9100

Accounts manager: Bethany Freeman-Chandler accounts@citynews.com.au

Distribution and circulation: Richard Watson, 6262 9100 circulation@citynews.com.au

separation” cycle paths incorporated into the action plan, but say the plan lacks ambition and potentially underestimates population growth in Civic.

“It’s not a draft, but it’s not funded either,” Greens ML a Caroline Le Couteur said.

“I would echo the Property Council’s concerns that there needs to be an overarching master plan for Civic, not a miscellaneous collection of plans. We don’t think this is a substitute for a plan and a vision.”

Department of Land and Property Services executive director property and capital works Hamish Mcnulty could not tell “Citynews” if a “master plan” for Civic was on the cards, instead reiterating the role of the action plan as a linking document and the importance of flexibility in development.

Meanwhile, the Canberra Liberals are more focused on the numbers behind the projects outlined.

“The current Civic action plan is a lot like the draft city action plan – lots of bells and whistles, but little bricks and mortar,” leader Zed Seselja said.

“There are also no costings attached to any of these concepts – without money, it’s all just pie in the sky.

Little guy needs big help

‘How many times as a parent do you put your child to bed and they say they have a sore tummy?’ asks Andy Horton. MEGAN HAGGAN reports on wonderful people doing wonderful things for a very sick three-year-old.

rYan Little is three years old, boisterous and loves “Toy Story’s” buzz Lightyear and Woody – and he’s undergoing chemotherapy at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, to treat an aggressive form of cancer called neuroblastoma (stage 4).

earlier this year, the little boy began complaining of a sore stomach and hip. His parents, bungendore couple Stuart and rebecca, took him to the doctor, but for the most part thought the problem was nothing more serious than growing pains.

“One day his tummy became extremely swollen and tight. One day we had a perfectly healthy little boy, and the next he was on an air ambulance to Sydney, diagnosed with a lifethreatening illness,” says rebecca.

Parents and friends from the Fyshwick early Childhood Centre, which ryan attends, have rallied around the family and are asking Canberrans to help them support the family by “giving big for ryan Little”.

a ndy Horton, chair of the Give big for ryan Little Committee, is dad to ryan’s best mate, Spencer.

“My little three-year-old and ryan met a couple of years ago, and the families have become friends,” says a ndy.

“The two boys are just like a couple of bulls at a gate together, or a couple of front-row forwards. The fun doesn’t stop. Whenever we hear someone being told to ‘stop that’ or ‘knock that off’ at the centre it’s always ryan, Spencer or both of them at once.

“even in the hospital, when we’ve brought Spencer to play with ryan, they’re just two beautiful little boys together: Giving each other a cuddle and fighting over toys.

“We were all just devastated [when ryan was diagnosed] – almost a state of disbelief. How many times as a parent do you put your child to bed and they say they have a sore tummy?

“The parents at Fyshwick early Childhood Centre got together for a meeting, and we decided to do some serious fund-raising.

“The idea is to specifically support the family through its day-to-day and ongoing expenses, and those associated with being with ryan in Sydney.”

ryan’s treatment involves chemotherapy to shrink the tumour in his abdomen, followed by surgery and radiotherapy. The cancer has also spread to his bones and bone marrow, so it’s set to be a long treatment process.

So far, Give big for ryan Little has raised funds through sausage sizzles, an art show (the collection in question prepared by the kids of the early Childhood Centre) and chocolate sales, as well as a mini-triathlon which saw the centre’s kids sponsored to do a series of activities over a week.

The committee is seeking foundation status and has the support of Westpac, Minter ellison Lawyers and Kowalski recruiting.

Its big event will be a benefit dinner, to be held on Saturday, november 27 at the Hotel realm. The black-tie night will feature fundraising activities such as silent and traditional auctions – prizes will include signed memorabilia, diamonds and tickets to shows.

More information, to donate or to book a place at the benefit dinner, visit www.ryanlittle.com.au, email givebigforryanlittle@gmail. com, or call 0412 852 787.

exclusive, ‘money-can’t-buy’ experience

Chance to give a family break at Taronga Zoo

ELECTRICAL retailer Bing Lee is celebrating its new sponsorship of the giraffes at Taronga Zoo – and one lucky Canberra family will be invited to attend an exclusive family day on November 7.

Bing Lee has asked “CityNews” to help find a local family of up to two adult parents and up to five children that could really do with a break and benefit from a full day of family fun.

We are asking “CityNews” readers is they know a family that has been stretching themselves lately and would benefit from an exclusive “money-can’tbuy” experience at Taronga Zoo?

If so, we’d like to see them nominated for Bing Lee’s Exclusive Family Day at the zoo by logging on to citynews. com.au/win, and in 50 words or less, and tell us why you believe your nominated family deserves a special day at Taronga. And, of course, how we can contact them.

It could be a family that may have recently fallen on a tough time, but are still giving back to the community, or a family that otherwise wouldn’t be able to enjoy a day at the zoo, but really deserves one.

Although this really is a money-can’tbuy experience, the cost value of the promotion is about $2000.

The prize includes: Free entrance to the zoo; exclusive access to the zoo an hour before opening; catered breakfast

overlooking Sydney Harbour; exclusive opportunity to feed the giraffes with a professional family photograph; lunch vouchers for the entire family; additional VIP animal experiences throughout the day; transport to and from Sydney and an overnight stay in Sydney.

Enter and see full conditions by logging on to www.citynews.com.au/win

WHAT happened at the Commonwealth Games should provide a jolt to any sporting administrator who doubts the importance of having people at the venue, watching and supporting the Commonwealth’s best sports performances.

Television images of near-empty stadiums on the surface indicate that there was little interest in the Commonwealth Games. The lack of atmosphere because of the poor attendance of supporters at the venues unfortunately detracts from the performance of the athletes.

The lack of spectators at the road cycling for example, which was a free event through the streets, provided a stark reminder of the need for crowds to give an event credibility.

Having spent the past fortnight in New Delhi,

What’s in a crowd? Credibility and perception In fast lane and loving it!

By Kathryn Vukovljak

TH e couple that races together stays together, according to “car crazy” a rthur Kalimeris and Karla O’brien, whose love affair with their 1974 Ford Falcon X b coupe has led to a dream come true – competing in the annual tarmac rally and race, Targa Tasmania, in april – even if they had to be pushed over the finish line.

“We still finished mid-field, and it was the experience of a lifetime,” says Karla. “It’s disappointing that we had mechanical issues, but the big, blue beast is new and improved and ready for the next competition.”

The Campbell couple will compete in the first annual Targa High Country in Mansfield and Mt buller in Victoria on november 5-7, with a rthur behind the wheel and Karla navigating.

“It is generally the man who does the driving, although not always. but I’m more comfortable navigating,” she says. “It’s a big car to handle. Plus I enjoy telling a rthur what to do.

“It’s the only time he ever listens to me!”

Having bought the Coupe four years ago, when it was a real “rustbucket and rundown”, the couple say they enjoyed getting it fully restored.

“We’d always wanted to do up a car, and a rthur just loves Ford Coupes,” she says. “a nd this one is a 1974 model, the same year I was born, so it’s extra special!”

Tarmac rally involves racing at top speeds on public roads that have been carefully cleared and closed off beforehand. Karla admits it can be dangerous, but says it depends why you’re competing.

IF ever we needed confirmation of the role crowds play in sport, you need look no further than the past two weeks in India, writes broadcaster TIM GAVEL, who was reporting from the Commonwealth Games for the ABC

I can tell you people were lining up for hours to buy tickets, only to be told an event was sold out. The reality was there for all to see; near-empty stadiums reinforcing the perception that nobody could be bothered to go to events. This perceived lack of interest has wider ramifications with the media pushing the line: Does the Commonwealth Games have a future in the wake of the poor turnout at these Games?

You would hope that the images of the flat atmosphere are taken on board by NRL clubs.

For example, I can’t understand why clubs such as the Wests/Tigers would want to play home games at the Olympic Stadium.

Twenty thousand at Leichhardt Oval provides atmosphere, generating all the hype of a great contest that a crowd loves. Sure, financially it is beneficial for the Tigers to play games at

“For us, we love the car too much to put it in any danger,” she laughs. “Plus we’re in control, it’s a rthur behind the wheel and with me in there, too, he’s always careful. but it’s really exciting.”

Karla, 36, and a rthur, 43, say they’re one of the youngest couples competing at Targa.

“We’ve been together five years, and a lot of people are surprised we stay together and race together,” says Karla. “but we don’t

have time to argue when we’re racing – he has to listen to me and that’s that. I think it’s good for our relationship!

“Mainly we love the people we’ve met since getting involved in racing – the camaraderie is amazing and people can’t help you enough. We also love to show off the coupe, and it’s great fun to drive fast on public roads.

“a rthur calls me a bigger petrol-head than he is!”

Homebush, but it sends the wrong message. The Raiders over the past five years have lobbied the NRL to ensure games are not played at night during the chilly winter months at Canberra Stadium.

Sometimes it doesn’t take much to convince somebody to stay at home. It is not just the weather, it can be the cost of tickets, the lack of parking, transport problems or a combination of these factors.

As we have seen over the past two weeks, if we make it too hard for people to go to sporting events it can have a dramatic impact on the event itself.

Despite the small crowds, the Games have been thrilling with India colourful, chaotic and thriving.

‘Woody’

hits road for Camp Quality

TEAM Woody had a “fun-in” with the law as they prepared to leave from Civic on the start of their fundraising, 4000-kilometre esCarpade in aid of Camp Quality.

“Woody”, the team’s 1976 HJ Holden Kingswood Sedan entered by OPC IT, was about to leave from sponsor ActewAGL’s city office when it caught the attention of a passing police patrol, who joined in the fun of sending the team off to join the rally in Tamworth.

ActewAGL general manager retail Ayesha Razzaq said: “This is the fourth year we have sponsored a car for esCarpade and once again we’re proud to support this worthwhile event.”

Heading off with water pistols and 400 lollipops to give away, driver and OPC IT managing director Brett Norton said: “We share in the belief that laughter is the best medicine. As well as raising funds and awareness for Camp Quality, we hope to see plenty of laughter and smiles.”

The rally is now in its 19th year and has raised millions of dollars to Support Camp Quality’s objective of bringing optimism and happiness to the lives of children and families affected by cancer through fun therapy.

To make a donation visit opc.com.au/escarpade

Danielle thrives in new post

The turbulence at the WIN TV newsroom in Canberra continues to ripple, but ELERI HARRIS meets a new, steadying hand

Dan I eLL e Post, the new face at the WI n TV news desk, is about to become a program veteran after just two months on the job with the resignation of chief of staff and sports presenter Lachlan Kennedy, who is joining Channel 10 in Sydney, and departure of journalist erin Molan.

Post told “Citynews” she “loves” Canberra and has landed on her feet in the capital; already she’s been a Frocktober a mbassador, attended the Governor General’s bravery awards and is going out on the town three nights a week.

“I love Canberra, Canberra’s amazing,” Post said.

“It’s a city of opportunity, it’s motivational and the people here embrace that and nurture that. It’s a really good vibe – it’s alive.”

a fter six years working for Prime and WI n regional news in Orange and Wollongong, Post was offered Jessica Good’s position while on holiday with her brother in belgium.

“It was a very pleasant shock,” Post laughs.

“Things happened quickly, but it’s not anything I regret and it wasn’t an impulse decision, I thought about it long and hard. I haven’t looked back since.

“The people of Canberra have really embraced the changing of the guard at WI n,

really, really well. I really feel like I’m part of the community already and it’s only been two months.

“every newsroom goes through the phases of people moving on. When I left Wollongong a lot of people had already left there, it’s a cycle that happens.

“Lachlan’s leaving for his own reasons, there will be new faces, but the news values won’t change. WI n is still dedicated to the community. I can’t say whether it will work in its favour or not, but it’s change and things change all the time.”

While the position of newsreader is more station emblem than a journalistic role, 27 year-old Post says she’s honoured to have the job as the face of WI n news in Canberra.

“being in Wollongong as the senior journalist, I had a lot of room to move. I was doing all the hard-hitting stories.

“I did all the independent commission against corruption stories. I did lots of police interrogation hearings, I did lots of court cases, murders, car accidents, you name it. I uncovered a sexual harassment scandal. On a large scale it’s not that big, but in a town like Wollongong it’s huge.

“Grass roots journalism is where our philosophy is, you’re out there to seek the truth. That has been and always will be the reason I am in journalism.

“I’ve been out there. I’ve done the hard yards. I know how hard it is to bring in a good story and sometimes journalists are pushed to the limit.

“If you’re a newsreader, you’re capping off their story, leading into their package, and if you don’t nail it you’ve let them down. You’ve let the whole team down.

“For me it’s a huge responsibility, it’s a huge honour, it’s something that I’m trying to perfect.”

A little (more) advice

OKAY, hands up everyone who took my advice and sold the house in Red Hill and invested the proceeds in Emily Kame Kngwarrye paintings?

No one? I’m not surprised – all those who did are now living on the French Riviera or have a spare mansion at Tuross.

I provided this free advice for Canberrans as arts editor in a once great newspaper during its 1992 heyday. At the time you could buy a splendid Emily for four or five thousand dollars. These days the same picture is worth $200,000 and more.

So let’s say you cashed out your modest home at the time for $100,000 after you’d paid out the mortgage then invested the lot in Emilys; what are you looking at now? Think Harbourside!

Of course, Emily only comes along once in a lifetime, but I do have another idea for those who missed out first time round that’s almost as good. So gather round: A couple of weeks ago my wife Wendy and I went on one of our country rambles through the Canberra hinterland. Normally we confine ourselves to “bushranger country” – that area around Cowra, Young, Canowindra and Forbes where Frank Gardiner, Johnny Gilbert and Ben Hall cocked their snoots at the big squatters and the Troopers who did their bidding.

I wrote a book about Frank and one day, I’m sure, there’ll be a bushranger theme park out there. But that’s another story.

This time we extended our range through the most beautiful green and gold of the ripening wheat, rice and canola to Leeton, Hay, Deniliquin, Temora and Cootamundra. It was an absolute delight and sadly we saw nary an ACT numberplate. We stopped at each of the towns, breathed in that calm, country atmosphere and checked out the real estate.

By Robert Macklin

Wow.

Bargains? I’ll say there are bargains. It doesn’t much matter which of the towns you choose, you’ll get at least the equivalent of your present Canberra dwelling for half the price!

So what? I hear you cry. What would I do in Coota or Deni or even little Lockhart, for goodness sake? There’s no jobs.

Well, that’s true. They have all the infrastructure in place – good hospitals, fine schools, plenty of water storage, electricity, banks, government services – in fact everything you’d want except jobs. And it’ll probably get worse in the next few years if the government implements the Murray-Darling basin plan. The gap between city and bush real estate will actually increase.

BUT – and here’s the rub – then the National Broadband Network will come on stream and, suddenly, the great exodus from the crowded cities will begin as entrepreneurs and businesses relocate. That’s when the inland will come alive again. And those of us who have snapped up all those lovely homes for peanuts will be chortling all the way to the Riviera (or Tuross).

Now it’s not for me to give financial advice. And I’m not actually selling our place in Weston – much less the coastal hideaway – and putting it all into three country mansions and a pub. But by golly, the next time I win Powerball... robert@robertmacklin.com

The war for water has begun

By Michael Moore

TH e water wars are here. The irate people of Griffith arrived at a public meeting gnashing their teeth and ready to lynch the Murray Darling basin Commission. There were 1500 seats available and 5000 of them turned up. a ll in response to a discussion paper that will advise a policy which will lead to a plan!

In early 2007, in my “Citynews” column, I drew on the 1981 George Miller film “Mad Max 2 – The road Warrior” in which Mel Gibson lived in a world of anarchy with the main currency being fuel. I suggested the futuristic concept would actually be more applicable to water. even having made the prediction, I am flabbergasted at the impending water wars.

When there is high demand and limited resources societies the challenge is to find ways to distribute what is in demand in an equitable way, but the result is invariably that the strongest, the greediest and the loudest voices wind up with a bigger share.

Water politics was neatly illustrated at Griffith when one of the angry community members, perhaps recognising the town’s mafia notoriety, threw a fullsize (cloth replica) horse head on to the stage.

However, the strongest symbolism

was not so much the threat implied by the move as much as the response of the chair, Mike Taylor. He is known to many Canberrans as former head of the Department of Transport and regional Services. The symbolism was turned on its head as he quietly plucked the flying horse head from the air and, hardly breaking sentence, gently placed the projectile on the floor behind him.

Irrigators, although they refer to themselves as farmers, do have an important perspective.

Griffith farmer and irrigator David Merrylees addressing city folk through “abC Unleashed” argued: “before you

dismiss me as a whinging farmer, just think how you would get on if any of your essentials for business or home were cut by 40 per cent. Say electricity or water. From my own point of view, if we have our allocation cut by 40 per cent I will have to tell my children why they will not be the fifth generation to work this farm”.

The response should not so much come from city people as much as those at the lower end of the Murray r iver and from around Lake a lexandrina, Lake a lbert and the Coorong. For many years the upper ends of the Murray Darling basin have been slowly pilfer-

ing the water allocation of the southern lake and lower river farmers because they access it first.

The problem certainly included farmers like Merrylees, but it was exacerbated out of all proportion by the giant corporations that slurped up multi-gigalitres of water for huge cotton, rice and corn plantations.

a re they greedy or have the attendees at the Griffith meeting just misunderstood the goal of the discussion paper that they so gleefully ripped up? How is this limited resource shared if it has to include not only the farmers in the r iverina but those above and below them on the Murray-Darling basin. Should we allow the farming of rice and cotton?

a nd it has also has to include people living in australia’s inland cities such as Canberra, Mildura, a lbury-Wodonga and Murray bridge.

but this is not just about farmers, irrigators, urban dwellers and manufacturers (such as wineries); the environment also needs its share of the water if the river lands are not to be devastated by drought or salination.

Our region will face a cut of between 34 and 43 per cent in our water allocation in the proposed paper. So when the crunch comes and Canberrans are offered a fair share, just how greedy will we be?

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

Welsh wins again

2CC’s Mike Welsh has won his fourth consecutive title of Best Talk Show Host at the 2010 Australian Commercial Radio Awards awards. His producer, Monica Masters, was named Best Talk Show Producer.

Icon hosts dinner

CELEBRITY chef Adriano Zumbo, the man responsible for some of the more remarkable desserts on the television his show “MasterChef”, will hosting the CIT’s “Icon Dinner” at the CIT Restaurant in Reid from 6.30pm on October 27. He will also be working with CIT’s pastry/bakery and cookery students in the days leading up to the dinner. Limited seating at $79.95 per person is available, call CIT on 6207 3196.

Learning of love

BUDDHIST teacher Wayne Tebbutt is holding a meditation day course (“Love, Desire, Attachment”) at the Griffin Centre, 20 Genge Street, Civic, from 10am-4pm on Saturday, November 6. Course fee is $60 and includes refreshments. Booking and more information at www.meditateincanberra.org or call 9387 7717.

starlight drive-in letters

Archive offers to take on old sign

SOS (save our sign)… moves are afoot to save, maintain and preserve the iconic Starlight Drive-In sign that stands, mouldering, on the Federal Highway at Watson, reports ELERI HARRIS

TH e iconic and derelict Starlight drivein cinema sign on the Federal Highway in Watson may not be left to the destructive elements of Canberra’s weather much longer, with the national Film and Sound a rchive offering to help preserve the sign and an application for its heritage listing underway.

Chris Kimlin, the son of George Kimlin who opened the drive-in back in 1957, is lodging an application to have the sign heritage-listed while Steve Vogt, general manager for corporate and collection services at the n FSa, says they will “support efforts to maintain it as a local cultural icon”.

but there’s a catch, Canberra’s Independent body Corporate, who represent the occupants of the Starlight housing complex on the site were unaware the sign was their responsibility until contacted by the “Citynews”.

Initial communication with Independent body Corporate saw the property manager r achel McMillan point to the aCT Government.

“a nything within our boundary is our responsibility, as far as I know it’s on government land. The aCT Government would be the owners,” McMillan said.

but aCTPL a have told the “Citynews” the sign is on the privately leased property of 20 Federal Highway and they are not obliged to maintain it.

The executive committee for the Starlight apartments will respond following its next meeting.

If Chris Kimlin’s heritage application to recognise its cultural value is successful, the sign will become legally protected under the Heritage act 2004 and eligible for support and funding.

but, even if the application is rejected the n FSa and other community groups have offered to work with Independent body Corporate to ensure the sign is restored and preserved on site for the people of Canberra.

national Trust aCT President eric Martin has said the sign is best maintained where it is to retain the cultural context of the Starlight drive-in story.

Like a huge party

I LOVED your story on the Starlight (CN, October 7).

Our experiences started as a newly married couple, in the late ‘50s (we were there on opening night) and I remember we had several essential items of equipment to take with us in our tiny Fiat Bambino.

Of primary importance in winter was a kerosene heater, which we parked on the back seat. Luckily, it never caused any problems. Next was a milk bottle, so hubby didn’t have to brave the cold air...

The atmosphere was always like a huge party. Gosh it was great, especially when Johnny O’Keefe came to the Starlight. All the girls, including me, had our high heels on and spent the evening twirling around in our starched, full-skirted dresses, with at least four petticoats holding the skirt out. This attire wasn’t appropriate for our favourite activity though... a wee bit difficult in a tiny Fiat, but we managed, with practice.

We still continued to patronise the drive-in, complete with baby basket in the back seat instead of the heater, until the sad day it closed.

I do hope they keep the old sign as it brings back so many memories with every drive-past.

Janet, Weston c reek

The best time

IT was the best time of my life. Bring it back!

My fondest memories don’t take a letter, I just remember a knock on window that the movie had finished (was I asleep? Mmmm).

Michelle Jones, via email

Gigi’s off and running news

By Megan Haggan

SH

e’S off to a running start in the fashion stakes! First-year CIT student Georgina Gratton, from Weetangera, recently took out the Fashion Design prize at Thoroughbred Park.

It’s a boost to Georgina’s ambitions. Keen on retro styles with vintage elements, the young designer has created Gigi Designs and is making bespoke frocks for family and friends, including formal and 21st dresses.

“I was brought up around fashion – my mum is a textiles teacher, and so I was always around sewing machines, knitting and handicrafts,” she says.

“I use a lot of vintage materials, leftovers from mum and from scrap boxes. a nd I also use a lot of furnishing materials.

“Some of mum’s relatives will tell me they’ve seen a material on a couch! but I find that the weight of the material gives a lot of structure, which works well with a lot of the ‘50s-style dresses I make. They’re pinched in at the waist, like the outfit I made for the races, and heavier fabrics are really good for that.”

Georgina says she’s enjoying the experimental nature of her first year of fashion design at CIT. “The idea is that as we go, we develop our own style.”

Georgina won $300 and 50 hours of time at the venue, which she plans to use to help launch her own fashion label during or after her studies.

At ‘Twelfth Night’ opening night, Canberra Theatre At Megalo’s

all about living

Cinematic food for the soul

WE always knew that Canberra was a special place, but the organisers of the 14th Canberra International Film Festival have the statistics to prove it.

As festival president Virginia Hausseger pointed out, there are 70 diplomatic missions in this town and director Simon Weaving has taken advantage of this, with 53 films from 26 nations and no fewer than 14 Australian premieres. And if you have any doubts as to whether Canberrans are serious filmgoers, last year 12,000 fans attended, a 57 per cent increase on the previous year.

The cinematic soul food even includes seven horror movies. The National Film and Sound archive’s Arc Cinema will screen 11 of the festival’s films including a horror strand whose high point will be a Halloween Night performance of “House on Haunted Hill”, where adults are invited to dress up and “bring the family”. I wouldn’t have been allowed to go when I was a kid.

Last year, Weaving bemoaned the horrors of having to attend Cannes Film Festival in his gruelling search for exciting inclusions.

This year, once again sponsored by the University of Canberra, he has faced his duties manfully and come up with some beauties.

Weaving’s greatest coup is undoubtedly scoring the Australian premiere of “Fair Game”, the political thriller starring Naomi Watts And Sean Penn, based on Valerie Plame’s memoir, “Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House”. Weaving can hardly get the smile off his face as he thinks of how he’s out-manoeuvred other directors on this one.

Other Australian premieres include “The American”, with executive producer George Clooney also starring as an assassin hiding out in Italy and “Blue Valentine”, starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, a huge hit at Cannes and Sundance.

Weaving plainly loves docos – he’s chosen 13 of them. One of the most exciting is Australian filmmaker Charlie Hill-Smith’s “Strange Birds of Paradise”, which deals with the conflict between West Papuans and the Indonesian Government. Hill-Smith will be here for a Q&A.

Then there’s “Restrepo,” giving the perspective of soldiers in Afghanistan. The screening on October 30 will be followed by a panel discussion with Maj-Gen Jim Molan, photo-journalists Stephen Dupont and Gary Ramage, Defence Force photographer Cpl Rachel Ingram and Haussegger moderating.

Q&As and masterclasses feature prominently this year. Mexican director Carlos Carerra will be on hand for the screening of “On Childhood” and Aussie Ray Lawrence for the 25th anniversary screening of his Australian classic “Bliss”.

Finally, there’s the sensational closing night UK film “Monsters”. It’s not really science fiction, Weaving claims, although the film shows a journalist encountering weird new life forms in a futuristic “infected zone” in Mexico. British director Gareth Edwards will introduce the film and be available for a Q&A after the screening on November 7.

Tickets from Dendy (6221 8990) and Arc (6248 2000) cinemas respectively. For full program visit http://www.canberrafilmfestival. com.au

Now for the cultural capital

No, you weren’t seeing double, says arts editor HELEN MUSA, the latest Loxton report, still grappling with accuracy, is all about festivals

THE latest Loxton Report is not a rerun of an earlier report on our arts, but an entirely separate report on festivals commissioned by the ACT Government from Sydney consultants Peter Loxton & Associates.

The new report takes a swipe at the apparent present ad-hoc approach to festivals, preferring the consolidation of festivals into a series of major events marking spring and autumn, with “new seasons or festivals” in summer and winter. Curiously insensitive to detail, it identifies the Muslim month of Ramadan as a springtime event (it is a lunar festival that moves backwards annually).

Insensitive to local history, too. Director of the ACT office of Multicultural Affairs Nic Manikis was puzzled by a suggestion that the National Multicultural Festival, to him a highlight of the hot months (the report names Summernats as the summer highlight) be shifted into the autumn season to coincide with a “new enhanced season of events [which] would be called the Canberra Festival”. Canberrans will recall that an attempt by former ACT Chief Minister Kate Carnell to broker a shotgun marriage between those two festivals resulted in an annulment. Stressing a co-ordinated vision involving close relationships between festivals and national institutions and the adoption of the “Brand Canberra” approach, the Loxton Report also ticks all the right boxes, labelling Canberra as “the Cultural Capital” – creative, clean, green, and smart. It proposes that funding be based on “community benefit and/or ‘economic benefit’.”

The report suggests the establishment of the ACT Events Advisory Committee to advise the ACT Events Board, causing arts advocate director Domenic Mico to tag it as “a job-creation exercise for bureaucrats” and providing “no opportunity for anyone in the community to begin something fresh”.

Loxton is plainly unfamiliar with the talented individuals of Canberra. The arts report singled out non-Canberran conductor of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra Nicholas Milton as an outstanding cultural leader. This one looks to the creative director of the Canberra Centenary, Robyn Archer, as the person to lead our festivals into the future.

The Loxton report on festivals can be viewed at www. communityengagement.act.gov.au/engagements/cmd/ current/review_of_act_government_festival_and_events

Here come the Rolling Slovaks!

THE Slovak National Folklore Ballet Lucnica, popularly known as “the Rolling Stones of folklore”, will be at the Canberra Theatre on November 2 for “Beautiful and Young.” I hear the ambassador for the Slovak Republic is holding a swanky pre-show party for pollies and ambassadors. Thirty two gorgeously-garbed young dancers with a 12-piece professional orchestra, will present dances, folk tunes and songs from the regions of Slovakia. Bookings to 6275 2700.

FREE Rain Theatre loves famous plays and its latest, Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” is a modern classic. Andrea Close returns to Canberra to play Martha. Courtyard Studio from October 29 to November 14. Bookings to 6275 2700.

arts in the city

Helen Musa

TABLEAU artist and 2009 “CityNews” Artist of the Year, Min Mae, is staging “Still Standing” at The Street from October 28-30 with Jordan Best, Alison McGregor and Michael Ellis as guinea pigs in Mae’s “experiment with the human animal’s most essential means of communication: the wordless gesture”. Bookings to 6247 1223.

LLEWELLYN Hall will become the new home for the ACTEW Canberra and Area Theatre (CAT) Awards presentation night. Canberra Theatre,

where the popular awards have been held for many years, wasn’t able to confirm a date, but since Llewellyn Hall has a seating capacity about 300 greater than the theatre, it doesn’t sound like a problem.

HERE’S something unusual: In a bid to increase public understanding, local university student, Erin Bennett, who suffers from severe psoriasis, has agreed to be one of 10 subjects in a photo exhibit by war photographer Stephen Dupont called “Psoriasis: The Naked Truth” on display at Sydney’s Wynyard Park and several Westfield shopping centres from October 25, leading up to World Psoriasis Day on October 29.

Art that thrilled the Italians

By Helen Musa

THERE’S a whiff of Florence in the air, with the “Da Vinci Machines” exhibition still continuing after Floriade at Commonwealth Park and a veritable flood of high-culture activities in the ACT.

Now Canberra’s Aarwun Gallery, in Gold Creek Village, has snared the “Contemporanea” exhibition, a survey of works by 33 Australian artists who have, over the past 13 years, been selected for the Florence Biennale.

Melbourne artist Joy Engelman, who recently exhibited at Aarwun, has been mounting the exhibition at the SmartArtz Gallery in Melbourne from where it comes. She believes that “artists, just like sports people, compete on the world stage in competition against each other”.

Thus 12 of the artists exhibiting in Canberra have won medals, demonstrating, she says, that Italians find Australian art of all kinds “fresh, invigorating and modern”.

Although less well-known than its Venetian counterpart, the Florence Biennale began in 1997 under the UN

program “Dialogue among Civilisations” and uses the internet and a select group of judges from many countries to find artists from all over the globe, fostering, Engelman says, “a level playing-field approach”.

“Contemporanea”, Aarwun Gallery, 11 Federation Square, Nicholls, October 23-November 6. “First

Viewer alert: Disconnect your brain!

“RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE” (MA)

THIS fourth film in Paul Anderson’s comic-bookbased series is about a world where a virus has exterminated humanity, the dead have arisen as zombies, a greedy oligarch has taken control, a bunch of humans has survived the virus and a hero has appeared to bring them succour.

The hero is once again Alice (Milla Jovovich), one girl with whom you don’t mess about. Expert at killing bad guys, she fills out a body-hugging costume to divert attention from a credibilitydefying screenplay that subliminally delivers a strong recommendation to audience members to disconnect their brains.

Alice requires Ms Jovovich to be athletic but not to express internal human attributes like compassion and related emotions. One thing is clear – she’s no great acting talent. She’s currently in a relationship with Paul Anderson. Draw your own conclusions.

The film’s 3D process does little to enhance its merit. It relies heavily on special visual effects. Soon after the end credits begin, a brief sequence intrudes showing another tall woman in a figurehugging costume haranguing a squad of airborne troops about how their job is to exterminate the survivors of this Afterlife episode. A sequel seems portended. There’s a strong implication that Anderson and Jovovich know which side their bread is buttered.

At all cinemas

cinema

Dougal Macdonald

“Let Me In” is an American remake, directed by Matt Reeves, again using a screenplay by Lindqvist. Comparing it with the original serves little purpose. Made to put the story before an audience that prefers not to have to read subtitles, it stands well enough on its own merits.

Australian actor Kodi Smit-McPhee plays Owen, bullied at school, living in a family in the process of breaking up. Chloe Moretz plays 12-year-old Abby, newly moved into the adjacent apartment with an old man (Richard Jenkins). Abby only comes out at night, which is when the old man goes out to harvest her only food – fresh human blood. For Abby is a vampire.

elements of the vampire genre while avoiding its clichés. Smit-McPhee and Moretz are wonderful together. Jenkins, Elias Koteas as the policeman investigating the deaths of Abby’s feed-stock and Dylan Minette as leader of a trio of schoolyard bullies, are excellent in supporting roles.

At Dendy

“THE TOWN” (MA) “LET

IN 2008, Swedish director Tomas Alfredson and novelist/screenwriter John Ajvide Lindqvist released “Let the Right One In”.

These two beautiful, vulnerable, youngsters find comfort in a friendship uncomplicated by sexual pressures, made hazardous by the issues confronting them, developing out of sight of parents, teachers and schoolmates.

The film’s controlled style honors the traditional

IT would be unkind to accuse Ben Affleck of selfaggrandisement through this vigorous, violent, socially-aggressive crime thriller. But there’s no denying that as writer, director and leading actor, he’s heavily involved!

He plays Doug, leading a well-equipped, competent, violent team of Boston bank robbers. Today, they’re hitting the bank managed by Claire (Rebecca Hall) whom he takes hostage, contrary to the job plan, then releases. For Doug is smitten by Claire, despite having a child with Krista (Blake Lively), sister of team-mate Jimmy (Jeremy Renner).

The team works for Fergie, a gay florist and money-launderer untrammeled by morality. This minor role is important because of the character’s wickedness and actor Pete Postlethwaite’s evident delight in performing Fergie’s death scene, a great moment in cinema hyperbole!

The rest is high-energy drama, packed with gunfire, motor crashes, reflections on emotional baggage from Doug’s childhood and other lies. Affleck’s screenplay is a good one, although as I watched Doug smooching his way into Claire’s life, I wondered why it didn’t let her hear the same warning bells that some of his questions rang for me.

At all cinemas

fun and novelty

BELL Shakespeare’s production of “Twelfth Night” created a most entertaining and novel piece of theatre.

Max Cullen’s Feste was played with a gentle wisdom in a very grounded performance, which featured him singing unaccompanied much to the delight of the audience.

The gender bending of the text was reflected in the role of Olivia, played by Kit Brookman, who provided a dexterous and comical performance. Each of the other ensemble cast displayed excellent comedy timing and a high-energy attack to keep a confident engagement with the audience.

Lee Lewis’s direction linked the themes of the play with current world events through original, if not risky, theatrical devices. Her daring interpretation gave room for the actors to really play and produce the kind of work that has made Bell Shakespeare so unique. Such an approach will not please everyone.

The darker and more sinister undertones within the text were never explored. The false imprisonment of Malvolio was left as a joke through the conniving of the play’s most comical characters. The search for love was left as a kind of absurdity.

But the production speaks for itself. It’s a fun night out for the audience.

Canberra Theatre Centre Season 2011

Be certain of the best seats in the house

NEXT YEAR Canberra Theatre Centre invites you to leave your house and visit theirs in an outstanding season of theatre and dance from the best companies this country has to offer.

More than 700 invited guests attended the official Season 2011 launch on October 11 at Canberra Theatre Centre with a special performance by former Australian Idol winner Casey Donovan.

Donovan will star in the first show of the season, feel-good musical “The Sapphires” – a production CTC director Bruce Carmichael considers as one of the big highlights of 2011.

“I’ve had the great pleasure of seeing ‘The Sapphires’ in Adelaide,” Mr Carmichael said. “Not only is it a great story about four Koori sisters, but a wonderful celebration of the soul hits that defined a generation. And if you lived through the Vietnam War era, this is a story for you.”

Also in the season, the highly regarded international production from Ireland’s Gúna Nua Theatre Company “Little Gem”, Peter Houghton’s “A Commercial Farce”, Sydney Dance Company’s “Between Breath & Form”, Bangarra Dance Theatre’s “Belong”, Bell Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Julius Caesar”, Sydney Theatre Company’s “In The Next Room” or the “vibrator play”, Reg Livermore’s “Turns”, BIG hART’s “Namatjira” and Lucy Guerin Inc’s “Untrained”.

And following two sold-out seasons in 2010, The Wharf Revue return to Canberra.

“Season ticket holders, who buy tickets to

four or more shows not only get the best seats to these outstanding productions, but also save money and receive other special VIP benefits,” Mr Carmichael said.

“Being a season ticket holder means you can safely secure discounted tickets to our bonus shows, ‘Untrained’ and The Wharf Revue. Bear in mind, The Wharf Revue sold-out both their seasons last year so it’s one of our hottest tickets.”

Season tickets go on sale on Monday, October 11, with single tickets to see “The Sapphires” on sale Tuesday, November 2 and single tickets to the remaining shows in the season on sale from Monday, January 31.

The feel-good musical

SEASON 2011 starts with a bang with the feelgood musical “The Sapphires”.

Based on the true story of four Koori sisters from country Victoria, the production was written by Tony Briggs and stars the talents of Casey Donovan, Kylie Farmer and Hollie Andrew.

Set in 1969, this musical follows the story of a Supremes cover group called “The Sapphires” who, after being discovered by a talent scout, come to the realisation that the lifelong dream of performing overseas isn’t quite what they had in mind.

Instead they find themselves in Vietnam performing for the troops.

Directed by Wesley Enoch, “The Sapphires” features all the hits that defined a generation including “Heard it Through the Grapevine”, “Respect”, “Stop in the Name of Love” and “Sex Machine”.

“How exciting to see four beautiful indigenous women on stage telling such an empowering tale,” Enoch says. “The joy of the rehearsal room has infected this show and infects the audience with every dance step and every song. I find it so energising and enjoyable... even after seeing it 100 times.”

The production won Helpmann Awards for Best New Australian Work and Best Play in 2005.

“The Sapphires” , Canberra Theatre, February 9-12.

Untrained and on stage

IMAGINE yourself on stage, a theatre full of people, the heat of the stage lights and you have to perform the same actions as two highlytrained performers – are you willing?

That’s the idea behind Lucy Guerin’s piece “Untrained” coming to Canberra in July. Starring two former Canberran dancers James Shannon and Dean Cross, Lucy Guerin will be hosting

“Untrained” creator Lucy Guerin says: “The untrained always end up being the heroes of the show.”

auditions early next year to find two “untrained” dancers to star alongside them on stage.

“The untrained always end up being the heroes of the show and the ones that the audience actually end up warming to and relating to,” Guerin says.

“We also get to appreciate and admire just really how much effort, work and discipline goes into the life of a dancer, but also the admiration that we have for someone who just wants to get up and do their best. The only requirement – you can’t have any dance experience.”

“Untrained” works like a dance experiment with each dancer performing a certain task – either acting, singing, dancing or choreographing – and each interpret that task in their own individual way.

“It’s quite surprising which areas each one excels in,” Guerin says. “But the main thing about this show is it’s highly entertaining and generally has the audience in stitches.”

“Untrained”, The Playhouse, July 29-30.

Laughs in an Irish gem

AWARD-WINNING international theatre is proving to be a permanent addition to Canberra Theatre Centre’s season and in 2011 it’s Gúna Nua Theatre Company’s “Little Gem” making an appearance in March on The Playhouse stage.

“Little Gem” is the debut play by the Irish actress and writer Elaine Murphy, known for her numerous acting roles in television and films including Lenny Abrahamsson’s “Prosperity”, “Becoming Jane” alongside Anne Hathaway, and the award-winning “Pure Mule”.

According to Murphy, “Little Gem” is “a mish-mash of all the women I’ve met over the years”.

“Hardworking, not particularly rich or poor, ignored by the Celtic Tiger; and the recession

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probably won’t make much of a difference to them either, you know, women like us, getting on with it with that unique Dublin wit,” she says.

“Little Gem” follows the lives of three generations of Dublin women. Under the direction of Paul Meade the cast interweave their characters’ experiences as they cope with modern life’s daily pressures and the heartbreaking toll of inevitable tragedies, expertly blending slapstick humour and sharp comic timing with strength, courage and honesty. And it appears the writing medium suits Murphy – the piece was a hit at the 2008 Dublin Fringe Festival and the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and subsequently claimed a swag of awards.

“Little Gem”, The Playhouse, March 1-5.

arts&entertainment

Ona roll for smooth coffee

MOVE over, Melbourne. There are some hot barristas doing Canberra proud by picking up multiple awards for their talent in creating some of the smoothest coffee around.

Aaron Howman, pictured, and Sasa Sestic, of Ona Coffee, which has a master roasting operation in Fyshwick, a groovy little outlet in Manuka, an operation in Belconnen and even an espresso bar on the Gold Coast, are full of beans when it comes to their passion for coffee.

They’re roasting a tonne a week and, at any time, Ona Coffee in Manuka offers around 12 quality blends. They sell to other cafes and restaurants and to customers direct.

One of the lads’ proudest moments was when Ona Coffee competed nationally and picked up three bronze metals in

dining

Wendy Johnson

the Golden Bean Roasting Awards, the largest coffee competition in the southern hemisphere. They also picked up the top three awards in the latest ACT Barrista Championships. We visited Ona Coffee on the lawns in Manuka recently. The coffee tasted as stunning as it looked and if I hadn’t already indulged in a couple of cups earlier that day I would have ordered another. Instead we focused on the menu – non-pretentious, straightforward fare. Breakfast is available until 3pm daily and for lunch think wraps, focaccias, burgers, frittatas, salads. Pretty well everything is made on site with the same TLC as the coffee.

My friend opted for the home made pie of the day – chicken curry – served with salad ($12). The pie came in its own little pot, with light pastry and no skimping on the contents. She got stuck in and loved the spices, noting there wasn’t too much heat for the average punter.

I went straight for the Meditteranean vegetable stack, which was one of the best I’ve had in yonks ($12.50). I loved the grilled taste of the eggplant, capsicum, asparagus, mushroom and sundried tomato. It went so well with the salty fetta scattered about the dish, the generous serve of anchovies and the drizzle of basil pesto.

Next time I’ll order the warm Asian beef salad, with its chilli garlic dressing ($15) or the Ona Burger Deluxe (if I’m up to it). Aaron tells me that the big Ona breakfast ($15) is hugely popular, as is the scrambled special ($14), with chorizo, sundried tomatoes, shallots and parmesan cheese on toasted Turkish bread. You know a coffee joint is a good one when you can see a stream of customers with their take-away food – and coffee. Good onya, Ona. Ona Coffee, Manuka, open daily from 7.30am for breakfast and lunch. Call 6205 0057.

Exhibiting reverence and mystery

WHAT a marvellous exhibition the National Gallery of Australia has given us. And how expertly displayed are the more than 200 works, which come from the gallery’s own extensive collections and from collecting institutions on four continents. Objects in wood, gold, stone, bronze and fibres, with and without embellishments, record the continuity of animist beliefs of the many peoples throughout the region. From first to last, the exhibition engenders feelings of reverence and mystery. Monumental 19th cen -

tury stone seats and carved monuments from the island of Nias built to honour chiefs or noblemen carry the same ritualised marks as much smaller objects. In this repetitive mark making can be seen the evidence of centuries of trade, as familiar motifs from Persian and Indian cultures appear, with subtle variations, on textiles and objects.

Funerary items include three extraordinary wooden coffins, one shaped as a buffalo, intricately carved. The exquisite Balinese “Measure of the Dead” (19th century, gold, cotton and repousse), representing the skeleton and designed to be placed on the corpse so that the bones of the deceased can reassemble in the right order after rebirth, is composed of 42 diminutive, thinly beaten sheets of gold. From the finely wrought face mask to the representative feet, this is a most alluring object. Amongst a collection of precious objects discovered in 1990, from Central Java, is an early 10th century, gold, “ceremonial water dipper, imitating a palm leaf bucket”. Simple in construction, exquisitely beautiful, yet, in this fantastic exhibition, just one of a number of absolute standouts.

VISUAL ART

“Life, death and magic. 2000 years of Southeast Asian ancestral art”

National Gallery of Australia, until October 31. Reviewed by Anni Doyle Wawrzynczak

Kate’s terrible choice

By Megan Haggan

A DOUBLE mastectomy at age  isn’t a decision Kate Darcy regrets for an instant: “If I had not undergone the surgery, I feel I would no doubt have breast cancer by the time I was 0,” she says.

Kate, a public servant from Macarthur, has an extensive family history of the cancer. “Twelve females on my mother’s side have died from breast cancer, the youngest being 21,” she told “CityNews”. “One male found a benign lump, and recently on my dad’s side, my aunty was diagnosed with breast cancer and is currently undergoing treatment. She has the BRCA2 gene.”

BRCA2 is one of two gene mutations (the other is BRCA1) which increase a person’s chances of developing some cancers, including breast cancer.

“At a young age, 28, my mother had a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction; she had various complications and ended up with a complete bilateral mastectomy. Twelve years later, she had another reconstruction and they look fantastic.”

From about the age of 17, Kate was regularly seeing doctors about lumps in her breasts, and by the age of 23 had had five mammograms, numerous ultrasounds and an MRI.

“In 2004 I found a lump in my right breast and I had a biopsy done. That same day I had a lumpectomy.

“Not long after that surgery, I found another lump in my left breast, and that’s when I decided enough was enough. In 2005, I had a prophylactic mastectomy and reconstruction – I was 24. I have not regretted once having my surgery, and the choice I made was most definitely the right one. I know that by doing this I have most certainly given myself a better chance at life.”

Kate is now 29, and married with a six-year-old stepdaughter and daughter, Hannah, three. “I love my daughter to bits, and I really hope that a cure or prevention has been found by the time she is my age.”

She now works with Bosom Buddies to co-ordinate events such as its upcoming ABC Day dinner, a celebration of life that will see Senator Kate Lundy and former Federal MP Annette Ellis in attendance.

She also conducts workshops for women who have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer, who are undergoing treatment and those who have the gene.

“It’s a great opportunity to share my story, and allow other women to understand that they are not the only ones out there going through this rough period in their lives.”

Bosom Buddies is a local support group that assists women in facing breast cancer challenges at a personal level, by providing hospital visits and a 24-hour phone line.

“Without this support the journey is harder,” Kate says. “A doctor can only provide so much, and it’s usually clinical. Having that personal support base allows women to talk openly about their journey, something they may not be able to do with a doctor or even a family member.

“Knowing that there are other people out there doesn’t make you feel so alone.”

Kate urges all women, including those who think they may be too young to worry about breast cancer, to get any lumps checked. “Self examination is a must,” she says.

“Don’t ignore any changes in your breast. Even if it is only small, getting it checked could save your life. It’s never too early to start.”

She adds that she’s amazed at how well the Canberra community bands together during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October: “It’s nice to see and hear that we have such a wonderful support network!”

More information or to book a seat at the ABC Day Dinner at www.bosombuddies. com.au or call 6290 1984.

open garden

Down on the edible farm

Wo RDs: Kathryn Vukovljak

PH otos: s ilas Brown

WITH a “solarium” housing thriving avocados and mangoes, a kitchen garden on the back doorstep, acres of vegetables and an all-round relaxed, hippy vibe, solar-powered and “offthe-grid” Allsun Farm, near Gundaroo, is an inspiration for veggie-growers and anyone who’s dreamed of self-sufficiency.

“We like edible landscaping, and most of what goes on here is food,” say owners Joyce Wilkie and Michael Plane. “So we wanted vegetables to be the first thing people see when they drive up to the house.”

They certainly achieved their aim. Joyce and Michael’s 100-acre farm will open as part of the Australian Open Garden Scheme, hosting the scheme’s annual Organic Fair on the weekend of October 30-31.

The fair, in its third year, brings together materials, produce and advice to make growing produce easier. It coincides with the traditional time for planting frost-sensitive seedlings such as tomatoes, eggplant and basil, and locally-grown seedlings will be available for sale.

Demonstrations and tours will include seed raising, soil basics, using the right tools and cooking demonstrations with produce from the gardens. Stall holders will include beekeepers,

tool specialists, vegetable and herb seedlings, produce and books. The event will be held in the market garden, where the couple invite people to try tools for themselves, attend potting workshops and generally get their hands dirty.

“We want it to be a hands-on thing, where people can get ideas,” she says.

And when it comes to their personal garden, Joyce says it’s very much integrated with the house. “Every window has a view of something different,” she

says. “We wanted a garden without fences that would melt into the bush. We have perennial borders, lilies, irises, lots of roses and a small lawn – well, mowed weeds!

“I love the business of plants – much of what we have here was grown from cuttings from friends, it’s not an expensive garden. It also makes memories. People are alive in your garden if their plants are there.”

“Everything here is tough, we don’t do delicate in any way,” adds Mike.

Mike says he bought the land and built the house as a home – the commercial vegetable-growing business came second.

The farm is 75 per cent woodland, but there are plenty of clear, flat areas for farming the vegetables and free-range poultry that go to the couple’s subscription customers and restaurants. They have two acres under intensive cultivation, 25 acres of unimproved native pasture grazed by meat goats and two acres of improved pasture used for strip-grazing by around 100 laying hens. The couple also sell tools ideal for small-scale growers.

“Our home isn’t architecturally designed, and the garden isn’t landscaped. It’s very much a reflection of who we are – of what’s possible,” says Joyce.

The Organic Fair at Allsun Farm, 1318 Dicks Creek Road, Gundaroo, open Saturday, October 30 and Sunday, October 31, 10am-4.30pm. Adults $10, children under 18 are free. Funds raised will go to the Open Garden Scheme.

Other Open Gardens on the same weekend are 13 Stone Place, Garran, and 1 Spence Place, Hughes. More information at www.opengarden.org.au.

Garden plans to party

FROM high tea on the Eucalypt Lawn to a fashion parade and fascinator competition, the Australian National Botanic Gardens will be celebrating its 40th anniversary in style, says Dr Judy West, executive director of the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

The free Open Day Garden Party, on Sunday, October 24 from 10am-4pm, will have something for everyone, with children’s activities, including discovery walks, live music and entertainment all day and hop-on-hop-off bus tours for exploring the garden’s 40 hectares.

There will also be market stalls, craft, ice cream and coffee carts and local produce, as well as behind-the-scenes tours to the nursery, herbarium, display glasshouse and library, she says.

High tea will cost $38 a head, and bookings are required, says Dr West.

“We invite you to join in our celebrations, 40 years and still growing,” she says. “This is a wonderful opportunity to experience the Gardens at its very best with many of the plants in flower.”

To book high tea, call 6262 9460. $10 deposit payable by credit card.

Head south to the coast

A splash of Red

SIMPLY Red, on Albert Street, Berry, offers a range of clothing, handbags, jewellery and accessories including Mela Purdie clothing, which layers cleverly and packs easily.

There’s also Sequel and Cordelia Street, Bella b Wear, Spencer Lacy and more, plus a range of handbags including Spencer & Rutherford, Cellini, Olga Berg and more.

The shop also stocks a selection of unusual jewellery, as well as a range of Pandora beads to remember a trip to the south coast by.

More information on 4464 3088.

Escaping to the south coast is just part of being a Canberran... whether it’s Batemans Bay, Berry, Eden or any other part of NSW’s south coast, there’s something for everyone.

Now that spring’s in the air, it’s time to start thinking about planning our trips to the south coast for summer – or moving down there for good!

Where the rainforest meets the beach

TWOFOLD Bay Beach Resort is located minutes from Eden and, according to Dot Cousins, from Aspen Parks Property Management, it’s unique in that it’s right on the beachfront.

“It’s located right next to Ben Boyd National Park, and it has everything from caravans to camping facilities and villas as well,” she says.

“There’s a kids’ club, with activities available in the school holidays.

“Twofold Bay is where the rainforest meets the beach. It’s a gorgeous backdrop, close to amazing food and wine from Eden.

“There’s whale-watching through to November and there’s a lot of history in the area, such as the remnants of the Davidson Whaling Station. There’s the national park with the Boyd Tower as well.”

More information at www.aspenparks. com.au or call 1800 631 006.

coast

Real-time, online booking

GOTTAGETAWAY is perfect for Canberrans who want to find and book their own trip to the Wilderness Coast, says principal Jo Thorpe who, with her husband Don, created the portal specifically to make holidays easier and more streamlined.

“GottaGetaway provides a one-stop, online decision,” she says. “Normally, when you decide you want to go somewhere, you Google the destination and you come up with everything from people who are renting out a house as holiday accommodation, to real estate agents.

“You end up emailing 15 enquiries to people who then get back to you at their leisure. They might be quick, they might take a couple of days. And by the time all those people have gotten back to you, you may have already decided on somewhere else that you may not have liked as much.

“GottaGetaway provides real-time, online bookings with an incredibly broad

A house by the beach

range of options, from premium luxury to budget, from Tura Beach to Eden.”

GottaGetaway also provides one-on-one telephone service, ideal for people who need to enquire about pets, cots for babies and other queries.

With a background in real estate holiday

LOCATED just 15 minutes south of Batemans Bay, Reflections Barlings Beach is an opportunity to buy waterfront land, or a house-and-land package, on the south coast.

“The Reflections Project is a total of 190 lots, which will be completed in a number of stages,” says Blake Walker, of the Walker Corporation, which is developing the residential subdivision.

“Stage Two will be complete by about the middle of November, and it contains 39 lots. In Stage Two we’ve got pricing that starts about $195,000, through to lots that are true beachfront with only the dunes between the lots and the beach.

accommodation, Jo and Don say they’re about to expand GottaGetaway to a wider region, driven by the success of their Wilderness Coast operation.

More information at www.gottagetaway. com.au or call 6495 2000

“Effectively, we’re creating a new community, and we’re putting in pathways and cycleways throughout the development.”

Reflections is attracting a lot of Canberrans, he says, who are interested in a second home on the south coast or in a sea-change lifestyle.

“There’s also locals moving to a new home.

“Canberra’s lovely, but having a coastal escape at the beach has a lot to offer.”

Reflections offers house-and-land packages as well as lots, and Mr Walker says there’s a “good mix” of builders operating in the sub-division already, for a mix of houses.

More information at www.reflectionsbarlingsbeach.com.au or call First National Batemans Bay on 1800 092798.

Welcoming ways of Berry

KATRINA Owen, from the Berry Chamber of Commerce, says that while the town of Berry has attracted its fair share of sea or tree-changers, it’s kept its character as a small, welcoming town.

“Berry is only two hours from Sydney, and it’s not over-developed so – it has all the advantages of country living, but it’s not too far away from your cappucinos and skinny lattes,” she says.

“It has nice cafes and shopping, but it’s not the city, and we don’t want it to be. There’s no traffic and no parking meters; all around is countryside and we’re 10 minutes from the beach.”

Set among rolling green hills, Berry is famous for its antiques and boutique shopping as well as those cafes, but it’s also close to boutique wineries, outdoor and adventure pursuits, and a there’s a range of festivals, covering everything from gardens to music, throughout the year.

More information at www.berry.org.au

Precious water: Think carefully about it

IT’S National Water Week and the Australia Water Association is encouraging all Australians to think carefully about how they use water

N ATIONAL Water Week 2010 is aimed at raising public awareness and understanding of water issues, and this year’s focus is “Australia’s most precious resource”.

The Australia Water Association suggested several ways in which we can save water around the house

• The average house uses 43 per cent of its water “spend” on the garden and other outdoor use. The association suggests we wash our cars on the lawn and water the grass at the same time; use a rake or broom to clean paths and the driveway rather than a hose, and book a GardenSmart tune-up.

• In the kitchen, we can wash vegetables or rinse dishes in the sink or a bowl, rather than under a running tap; and only use the dishwasher when we have a full load, using the economy cycle. Each time we use the dishwasher we could be using between 18 and 40 litres depending on the age of the dishwasher.

• The average household uses 20 per cent of its water in the bathroom, and another 18 per cent in the toilet. The Australia Water Association suggests we can turn the tap off when we clean our teeth; use a plug in the basin when shaving, instead of letting the tap run; use the half flush option when possible on dual-flush toilets and install a displacement device in the tank of singleflush toilets – this can save a litre a flush.

“Water quality is everyone’s responsibility, and it is important that we all remember to keep our water catchments free from harmful substances,” says ActewAGL Water Division’s Asoka Wijeratne.

To book a GardenSmart tune-up, call 132281; and to register for an ACTEW Free Waterwise Gardening Workshop, call 6248 3131.

Protecting water sources

ACTEWAGL has called upon Canberrans to be aware of the important role they play in keeping Canberra’s water sources clean and healthy.

“Water quality is everyone’s responsibility, and it is important that we all remember to keep our

water catchments free from harmful substances,” says ActewAGL general manager, Water Division Asoka Wijeratne.

“Some of the major risks to the water quality supply include micro-organisms from human and domestic animal faeces, nutrients from detergents and fertilisers, chemicals and erosion of land.”

In the Canberra region there are three main

Keeping our water clean

ACTEWAGL offered the following tips to help keep different pollutants out of the drinking water catchments:

• clean up after your pets, especially when walking your dog;

• use public toilets in recreational areas such as Angle Crossing, Tharwa Reserve, Point Hut, Pine Island, Kambah Pool and the Cotter Reserve;

• provide water troughs for livestock and prevent them from accessing creeks and waterways;

• take care when using fuel and chemicals such as poisons near storm water drains and waterways – report any spills to ActewAGL on 131193.

drinking water catchments: The Cotter and Googong Dams, and the Murrumbidgee River.

Activities within each of these catchment areas can reduce water quality and impact on the treatment of our drinking water. For example, water from Lake Tuggeranong and Point Hut Pond can quickly flow into the Murrumbidgee River, says ActewAGL.

“In a region as dry as Canberra’s, water security is a priority, and with only a limited number of water sources available, ensuring they remain clean is very important.”

ActewAGL is delivering a Source Water Protection program, on behalf of ACTEW Corporation, to assist the community in protecting Canberra’s drinking water catchments.

More information at www.actewagl.com. au/water/networks

your week in the stars

With Joanne Madeline Moore October 25-31

ARIES (Mar  – Apr 0)

There’s nothing worse than a restless Ram! Gung-ho Mars charges into your adventure zone on Thursday so you need to stretch yourself in exciting new directions – physically, mentally and spiritually. The pressure’s on at work but it may be the preliminary to turning lead into gold. Cross each bridge as you come to it. Patience is the key.

TAURUS (Apr  – May 0)

Have others been taking advantage of your loyal and trusting nature? It’s time to be more realistic about relationships, but avoid making important decisions until after November 19. Single Bulls – look beyond the external package that a potential partner presents. If you can’t communicate with them in an open and honest way, it’s not going to last.

GEMINI (May  – June )

With Mercury in Scorpio, your investigative ability and powers of observation are at an all-time high. So it’s the perfect time to do research, tackle a tricky problem, get to the bottom of a relationship dilemma – or uncover a scintillating secret! You’re an expert at multi-tasking but complete current projects before you launch into a new batch.

CANCER (June  – July )

It’s time to connect with your inner muse. Don’t let a lack of confidence stifle your self-expression. As birthday great Sylvia Plath wrote: “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” You may be drawn to an intense person who has an unsettling effect on you. Don’t allow yourself to be intimidated – show your Crab claws and stand your ground!

LEO (July  – Aug )

The Sun hooks up with Venus on Friday, when you’ll feel like revisiting old relationships, or mending bridges you have broken over the last few weeks. Singles – be on the lookout for a lover who has similar passions and hobbies. Impatience will land you in hot water on the weekend. At the moment, good things come to clever Cats who wait.

VIRGO (Aug  – Sept )

If you expect those around you to behave in predictable or logical ways this week, you’ll be sadly disappointed. Loved ones and work colleagues will run the gamut from terrific to temperamental – and back again! Try to relax and take things (and people) as they come. On Thursday you’re in the mood to learn as you revise, review and research.

LIBRA (Sept  – Oct )

Be careful with your cash over the next seven days Libra. Otherwise, binge-spending could burn a hole in your wallet and you’ll feel like you’re losing control financially. Show some restraint – and common sense. Venus is retrograde until November 19 so complete existing projects, and avoid getting involved in complicated love affairs!

SCORPIO (Oct  – Nov )

Avoid blaming others for problems you encounter this week. And don’t push people’s buttons, or you’ll find you’ve bitten off more than you can chew. With four planets in your sign, it’s time to take charge of your life. Be inspired by Theodore Roosevelt: (born on October 27, 1858) “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov  – Dec )

With four planets in your seclusion zone, expect daily life to slow down early in the week, and your energy levels will be lower than usual. Make the most of this leisurely lull! The pace picks up on Thursday, when Mars barnstorms into your sign (until December 8) and you’re in the mood for adventure, excitement and plenty of passion.

CAPRICORN (Dec  – Jan )

Don’t be too dogmatic about how the week should proceed. The best approach is to remain disciplined yet flexible, then you can adjust your schedule as events unfold. Friday is the day to take a fresh look at your platonic relationships. Have some fair-weather friends passed their use-by date? Perhaps it’s time to move on….

AQUARIUS (Jan 0 – Feb )

Does it seem that everything you do at the moment becomes public news? (As Oscar Wilde observed: “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”) Don’t put all your professional eggs in the one work basket. Make sure you diversify your interests; expand your contacts; and keep your career options open.

PISCES (Feb  – Mar 0)

Being a passive Piscean won’t work this week. Mighty Mars marches into your career zone on Thursday, so you need to display your professional talents – and don’t let others intimidate you or undermine your confidence levels. If you are looking for employment, a proactive approach will bring the best results. Strike while the iron is hot!

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2010.

general knowledge crossword

Across

3 What is an alternative term for desserts or sweets?

7 Name the hard substance deposited on the teeth by saliva, etc.

8 Which word relates to the production, distribution and use of income and wealth?

9 What are pinafores?

10 A hotel-keeper was once known as a what?

11 What is a pointed stick of coloured wax?

14 Name the attendants who escort people to theatre seats.

17 Which horse won the Melbourne cup in 1958?

18 Name the windpipe cavity containing the vocal chords.

19 What is a vessel employed for heating substances to molten temperatures?

20 Who was Huckleberry Finn's friend, Tom ...?

21 To display no interest in anything, is to appear what?

Down

1 Name a compound used as an insect repellent.

2 Which term describes the wasting away of an organ or part?

3 Name the Melbourne metropolitan city, postcode 3072.

4 What is a more popular name for beasts of burden?

5 Which word describes someone appointed by another to act as their agent?

6 When one gets possession of something, one does what?

11 What designates being arithmetically of the third power?

12 Name the institutions for the care of the insane, etc.

13 To be before a court of law, is to be what (2,5)?

14 Which term implies something of no practical good?

15 Name the New Testament epistle preserved among the Epistles of Paul.

16 What is the name of a reigning prince of Monaco? Solution next week

There’s a beautiful side to being big

BEAUTY is, of course, in the eye of the beholder and I would never seek to dictate to those whose tastes in architecture differ from mine, but I am often surprised at the assumption that “big” is automatically also “ugly”.

Outraged critiques of a building’s design will often preface the adjective “ugly” with another – like “huge”, “enormous”, or “gigantic” – as if this compounds the offence of ugliness.

Surely in the country that celebrates its “bigness” this is un-Australian: Why is the Big Merino or the Big Banana something to celebrate, when an inner-city apartment building which provides homes for a number of families is scorned as “ugly” because of its size?

By c atherine c arter

Surely we can acknowledge that some sorts of “bigness” are good?

In my view, the sort of bigness that, during a housing affordability crisis, provides homes for many people on a modestly-sized piece of land, should be celebrated not deplored. And that’s what inner-urban apartment developments often achieve – especially in light of the recent Federal Government briefing book.

This document, released by the Department

of Parliamentary Services, has identified key issues for the new government and includes “The challenge of housing the nation” among them. It points out that housing supply has failed to keep up with demand, causing a resulting shortfall of 180,000 homes as of June 2009, housing stress for hundreds of thousands of low-income families, high homelessness levels, and rents which are rising faster than the rental assistance grant which works to keep them affordable. Causes include shortage of supply, planning approval delays, skills shortages in the construction industry and lack of co-ordination between infrastructure supply and housing planning.

Recommended solutions? Those from the

Henry Review: Removing stamp duties, streamlining land taxation to remove disincentives to property investment, a more neutral tax treatment of negative gearing and capital gains on residential property, reviewing infrastructure charges to ensure they don’t impede housing development, and refining and increasing rental assistance to ensure that renters can afford adequate homes.

I’m no advocate for “big” things just for the sake of being big, but consider the possibility that when dealing with problems that are inexorably growing bigger – the big solution can be beautiful.

BRUCE

CAMPBELL

BUNGENDORE

Canberra Region Property Summary

CHAPMAN

CONDER

CHARNWOOD

CHIFLEY

CHISHOLM