Canberra CityNews January 27 - February 2, 2011

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Dumping disgrace of the charity bins

MICHAEL MOORE The blame game begins

BRIAN ACWORTH Goodbye to banking

DOUGAL MACDONALD Movies not to miss! AUSTRALIA DAY Who got the gongs? JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2011

Changing attitudes to indigenous Australians

Rotting food, dirty nappies, dead animals left in charity bins... welcome to

Canberra’s dumping disgrace

By Megan Haggan

DIRTY nappies, household waste, rotting food, even dead animals… these are some of the sights faced by charity workers when they sort through items placed in Canberra’s donation bins.

Bins around the ACT are being surrounded with rubbish faster than it can be collected, and while it’s not all garbage, many people don’t understand what charities can and can’t accept as donations.

Linda Barry, from St Vincent de Paul Canberra/Goulburn, says that at a recent management meeting, some workers had been “just in tears” over the issue.

“We’ve had everything. People go on picnics, fold up their leftover chicken legs and everything else, and dump that in a donation bin,” she says.

“One worker opened a bag that had dirty baby clothes, dirty nappies and even a potty that hadn’t been emptied.

“And we’ve had more of it this year than ever before.”

The quality of donations is also a problem. Linda says that when donating, Canberrans should consider whether the item is in saleable condition, and clean.

“People put in shoes that might need a sole glued back on, a dress that might need its hem taken up, and furniture that’s missing a drawer. But we don’t have the people to make these sorts of repairs,” she says.

“We’re not even able to wash everything that comes through the place. Even with washing there’s water, washing powder and so on to pay for and we might only sell that item for $3.”

Salvos Stores ACT area manager Tony O’Connell says there’s been a recent increase in the number of old televisions dumped. “Everyone has gone mad for flat screens,” he says. “And we can’t get rid of the old TVs: Everybody’s upgrading to the new ones because of digital TV coming in. They’re worried their old TV won’t work, but they don’t want to pay the $10 to go to the tip.”

Anglicare’s Kaye Pritchard says that while the majority of the problem she sees is worn-out clothes that can’t be reused, the charity is also given unusable items such as used mattresses, furniture with legs missing, plus “household waste, where someone’s put kitchen garbage in with clothes, even dead cats and birds.

“Working at a sorting centre isn’t always fun.”

Kaye says that the Christmas and New Year period often sees an increase in dumping: “People are on holidays, they’ve got all their Christmas gifts and think they’ll have a clean-out while they can. It’s usually one of our worst times.”

Tony said that the Salvation Army had, for the most part, removed its charity bins in response to dumping, though this just meant people dumped their unwanted goods around the Salvos stores. Some Salvos shops are surrounded with piles of rubbish by Monday mornings, he says.

The Salvos now encourage donors to bring items into the shops during business hours instead, “instead of after hours when I’m sure they know people will knock them off, or break them.

“I really think some people just decide they won’t get caught dumping at a charity, rather than dumping it in the bush where they might

get fined.”

All charities contacted by “CityNews” said they suspected many people are dumping to avoid tip fees – in effect, passing these fees on to charities.

Lone Fathers’ Association president Barry Williams says the group is petitioning the Stanhope Government to institute hard rubbish collection, as the ACT is currently the only State or Territory without the service.

“People are saying they can’t afford the tip fees, but the government is doing nothing.

“This isn’t fair on people like us, because they dump it on us instead and it costs us a fortune to go through it all. And we want a clean city – dumping does bring vermin and the [nearby] shopkeepers do have a right to complain.”

The charities don’t want to discourage people from donating – just from dumping, they say.

“I’ve been with the Salvos for years, been to eastern Sydney and western Sydney operations and I have to say that people in Canberra are the most generous people,” says Tony O’Connell.

“A lot of the quality of donations we get in Canberra is fantastic. But please, bring them in during business hours – we would really appreciate it.”

“We just want people to be mindful of what they give us,” says Kaye. “And if it doesn’t fit in the bin, please don’t leave it there.”

General manager: Greg

418196, greg@citynews.com.au

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Brian says goodbye to banking

AFTER 45 years at Westpac and 18 years in Canberra, 14 as head of government business, ACT Government banker and capital board member extraordinaire Brian Acworth is retiring to focus on his golf... and some more boards.

“I hopefully will be doing a bit more board work,” Acworth told “CityNews”.

“I want to catch up on doing a few things for myself, I know that’s terribly selfish of me, but I’ve got to improve my golf, it’s a shocker!”

Hailing from Wynnum in Queensland, Acworth started working for Westpac at the tender age of 16 on February 15, 1966, the day after the decimal currency was introduced to Australia.

“The first few days were really hectic because everyone was changing their pound, all their paper money to the new currency and worried about how much they’d have because 10 shillings became a dollar.”

After moving up through the ranks from postage clerk to teller to manager, Acworth put his business nous to work for charities from 1990 and

points to his ongoing involvement with the John James Foundation as a life highlight. He has been a director since 1999.

Over this period, the foundation has seen more than 500 operations conducted by Canberra doctors in remote indigenous communities in the NT.

“It has been an incredibly rewarding experience in banking,” Acworth says, “But when you’ve come from basi-

cally nothing and end up being semiprivileged, it’s time to give something back.”

Appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his contribution to the community and business development, Acworth has mentored indigenous Australian business people since 1991, chaired the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal and been involved in countless other altruistic organisations.

Known for his public blue with Minister Andrew Barr over the running of EPIC in 2009, Acworth now emphasises the link between profit and community benefit at the site.

“I was chairman of EPIC for 11 years, the Minister and I didn’t see eye to eye on certain aspects of running the business towards the end of that term and when my time came it simply wasn’t renewed.

“When I was appointed to the role originally the then-treasurer for the ACT was David Lamont and he gave me a very specific instruction: ‘Can you make EPIC more commercial and hopefully start paying its own way’, because it was a huge drain on the ACT. We set about doing that and all our efforts were very commercial... we improved the amenities and everything there.

“In the year since I’ve gone it hasn’t been as profitable and there was a whole big thing about the fact the board was being paid, for the amount of work you did it was basically covering your costs. That whole board remuneration was probably less than $50,000 a year and it’s gone many multiples of that into the red since then.

“A good community service has got to be paid for by someone, whether it’s the government or whether it’s making profits out of what you do. With EPIC, we went about making a profit so we could deliver exceptional community services.”

Not-so-smart start to bus-ticket bliss

AFTER $8 million and 18 months, the launch of ACTION’s “Myway” smartcard system has been postponed until February, following problems with the GPS units on-board buses discovered in the December trial.

Myway smart-cards are rechargable and can be topped up on direct debt or BPAY, using the same swipe technology as your average building security pass, to tag on and off the bus.

Liberal transport spokesperson Alistair Coe says TAMS and Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd, the company supplying the new ticketing system, are taking too long.

“We have one of the most simple systems in the world, it’s a single modal system with a single fare,” Coe told “CityNews”.

“One would think you could buy an offthe-shelf ticketing system or at least one that works more easily.

“It definitely should have been done by now.”

TAMS director of transport planning Paul Peters assured “CityNews” the system, taken from the existing Perth model, would be as glitch-free as possible when it is rolled out.

“The important thing for us is to get it right,” he says.

“We won’t roll Myway out until we’re completely satisfied we’ve got it working the way it should be working.

“What we’ve done is bought a system we know works in Perth and we’re just modifying it for Canberra conditions.

In a nation beset with failing smart-card ticketing systems for public transport the ACT’s bus service is set to deliver its version within the next month… or is it? ELERI HARRIS reports

“We’ve installed all the machines on the buses, including a unit that the driver uses to control everything from where he sits for his shifts. We’ve installed all the technology in the depots.

“In December we actually did a trial of about 350 users where we tested about 98 per cent of the system bar one fare type, which is the school-term fare, from start to finish.

“The purpose of the trial was to find any problems as we roll it out from start to finish, it just showed up there that occasionally the driver’s unit in the bus would freeze. What that means is it wouldn’t collect fares and miss those stops, that was the technical issue. We’re working with the supplier on diagnosing that, which is why that issue happens and under what circumstances so we can introduce a fix before we roll the system out. [But] feedback was generally pretty good, not too many issues from a user point of view.”

Coe says ACTION should cut its losses and consider swapping over to Myway now, given ongoing revenue losses due to faulty old ticket machines.

“If everything else is working, if they’re able to collect the fare as it stands and they’re confident they can fix the problem, perhaps it’s worth going ahead

with the system now than going on with the loss of revenue we’re experiencing now.

“But it’s hard to actually quantify the total foregone revenue by removing all the old ticketing machines if we don’t know when the new ones are going to work.”

ACT Greens transport spokesperson Amanda Bresnan agrees with Coe.

“Introduce it now, the old system isn’t working, there’s no data, no revenue,” Bresnan says.

“We don’t have the problems they do in the rest of Australia.

“I don’t see why it’s not put on now, either.”

RMIT senior lecturer in planning Paul Mees says issues with introducing smart-card ticketing to public transport has cost Australian State governments billions, with Sydney sacking its supplier and scrapping its contract after a decade of failure to deliver and Melbourne still working through the Myki pickle after $1.4 billion and seven years.

“The problem is we have allowed the technology to drive outcomes,” Mees says.

“The number one issue in Canberra is not ticketing, it is a reasonable level of service so people aren’t kept waiting.”

Disaster drags out the usual blame games

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh may have been a star so far, says political columnist MICHAEL MOORE, but the sad reality is that the Opposition can’t have her looking too competent…

IT is the nature of modern politics that a disaster cannot possibly occur because there was a freak accident.

We can never accept that the impact of nature might have been overwhelming and out of all proportion to previous experience. There must be someone to blame.

And it was not a long wait for the blame game to start following the Queensland floods.

At least Premier Anna Bligh had the good sense to establish a Judicial Commission to determine if there are things that can be done to avoid such dire consequences should there be a similar event in the future.

The leadership shown by Anna Bligh was outstanding.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard was there as well – and doing a good job.

However, the Queensland Premier seemed to be everywhere, providing sage advice, encouraging others, remaining stoical in the face of enormous odds and ensuring that she was on top of the situation through weeks of crises.

There was irony in that the one time she was a little emotional (and appropriately so) was when she was talking about how tough Queenslanders are and they would manage.

Although some have been disparaging about this part of her performance, the reality is that it is tough to be able to show a little emotion in such circumstances.

The Federal and State Leaders of the Opposition made some attempts – and at least had the good grace not to be political in the middle of the crises. However, they were simply biting their lips waiting for the moment to launch their attacks.

Such is the nature of politics.

The Judicial Inquiry (a Royal Commission in all but name) announced by the Premier does head the Opposition off at the pass.

Any criticisms can be given the flick pass with – “that is a matter to be considered by the Commissioner”.

However, it is not without risk – such Commissions get a life of their own. Queensland politicians, more than any oth-

ers, would be aware of the ramifications of the Fitzgerald Royal Commission that marked the end of the Bjielke-Petersen era and even led to the incarceration of four cabinet ministers.

It is no surprise then, that Jon Stanhope did not have the political guts of Anna Bligh when he failed to appoint a Royal Commission into the 2003 Canberra bush fires.

Canberrans will never know how much of a cover-up occurred as the circumstances were never assessed at arm’s length through a judicial process.

There is a balance between stoically accepting that things have gone wrong and pointing the finger of blame at all and sundry.

The balance lies in seeking information that might help to avert a repetition of a disaster or at least provide the tools to mitigate against the level of damage.

The last part of the challenge is ensuring that the recommendations are accepted and are actually followed through to the implementation phase.

The floods in Queensland, Victoria and other parts of Australia have been a shock.

Most Australians would have friends or relatives touched by the floods. So we watch carefully.

Anna Bligh certainly shone brilliantly in the short term while Queensland was in the teeth of a disaster. However, her real test will come with the aftermath.

The Opposition cannot afford to have her looking competent through the long, hard task of rebuilding the State.

They have not been able to pin the floods on her.

However, the reality is that they have to find a way to ensure that she wears blame for something or they will languish even longer in Opposition.

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

Shannan’s aim: End racism

By Megan Haggan

AUSTRALIANS need to get talking about racism and indigenous disadvantage, says “Generation One” local supporter and website “success story” Shannan Dodson, a Yawuru woman who works at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.

Shannan was born in Katherine, NT, and has lived in Darwin as well as Sydney, and settled in Canberra where she undertook a double degree at the University of Canberra; a Bachelor of Arts majoring in international studies, and a Bachelor of Communications in media/multimedia production.

Shannan says she hopes the “Generation One” initiative, a grassroots movement aimed at bringing together all Australians, will end the disparity between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians during this generation.

It is financially supported by business leaders such as Andrew and Nicola Forrest, James Packer, Kerry Stokes and Lindsay Fox and its website has 90,000 supporters.

“It’s about reaching a broader audience, to try and reach out to the younger generation in particular and change people’s opinions of indigenous Australians,” she says.

“It’s not only about getting rid of the negative stuff that people think they know about indigenous people, but also giving people a picture of what needs to happen – it’s important to make people aware that we need to keep moving on this.”

This can include altering our perceptions of who can claim indigenous status, Shannan says.

“My dad’s Aboriginal, and my mum’s white, so in that sense I guess I’m not a stereotypical indigenous person with really dark skin.

“A lot of people don’t realise that Aboriginal people are completely different Australia-wide!

Shannan Dodson… “A lot of the time people don’t realise they’re being racist.”

“I’ve actually had some negative perceptions from some people because if someone doesn’t fall into that stereotype they’ll question their identity, try and make you feel that you’re not who you are.”

Shannan says one of the best ways we can help end negativity towards indigenous Australians is by standing up to those with racist attitudes – whether they realise they are being racist or not.

“A lot of the time people don’t realise they’re being racist. They’re used to being around people who feel the same way as they do, and don’t realise it’s wrong to make racist jokes, or whatever.

“This is a really good way to make a difference. It’s a way of making people aware of their own opinions, and I’ve had friends say to me that I challenge the way they think about indigenous people because I pull people up on what they say.

“It’s important to broaden people’s minds and challenge the stereotypes, and it is hard to stand up to people when they do have some views, but it’s very important.”

More information at www.generationone.org. au

flood fundraising Croquet club helps Brisbane sister

THE Canberra Croquet Club is holding an afternoon of croquet and high tea from 3pm on Sunday, January 30, at the Commonwealth Avenue club to assist the McIlwraith Croquet Club in Brisbane, which was ravaged by the recent floods. The $10 entry fee and any other donations received will be sent to the McIlwraith Croquet Club. RSVP to Alex Park (to assist with the catering) at alex.t.park@gmail.com or call 0450 052226.

Cinema ticket support

ON Sunday, January 30, Dendy Cinemas Canberra will contribute $2 from every ticket sold for every movie session that day with 80 per cent of the funds raised going to the Queensland Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal and 20 per cent to the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.

Vineyard chips in

SHAW Vineyard Estate is pledging $5 from every bottle sold at its Murrumbateman cellar door during February to the Queensland and NSW flood appeals. And the restaurant Flint in the Vines will also donate $1 from every meal sold in February. “I thought that as we at Shaw Vineyard Estate and others in the Canberra wine region have been so lucky to be spared by Mother Nature, it’s about time to jump on the bandwagon and do our bit,” said director Graeme Shaw.

dose of dorin

Toy convoy

A CONVOY of trucks filled with toys for Queensland kids affected by the floods will leave Canberra on March 19. Organisers are aiming to fill the trucks with more than 100,000 toys donated from the Canberra community. Unwanted toys for the Canberra Cares: Lost Toy Appeal can be left at the appeal bins located at designated Westpac Banks, three ACT Policing office fronts, Netspeed, Toytopia and other sites. Please see the appeal website at www. canberracares.com.au for details.

Dancers break record

MORE than 880 energetic and enthusiastic Canberrans took part in the a recordbreaking Zumba charity event at the National Convention Centre Canberra to raise $25,000 for the Queensland flood appeal. It is believed to be the largest Zumba event ever held in Australia. Instructors from the ACT, NSW and Tasmania donated their time to teach the two hour non-stop Zumba dance party.

Here comes the rabbit

CHIEF Minister Jon Stanhope will be among the expected 1000 people attending the lunar new year celebration of the Year of the Rabbit at the Sakyamuni Buddhist Centre, 32 Archibald Street, Lyneham, 7pm-midnight, on Wednesday, February 2. The community festival will include gourmet vegetarian food stalls, books, arts and crafts, cultural performance, a costume parade, dragon dance and fireworks (9pm and midnight).

Volunteer for Thailand

SUMALEE Milne, a former Canberran now director of the Ayui Foundation, a non-religious, independent charity group she founded based in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, is seeking volunteers (for any length of time that is convenient) to assist at the Baan Ayui hostel. The hostel looks after and helps educate impoverished Akha hilltribe children. She can be contacted at ayui.foundation@gmail.com and for more information on the foundation visit www.ayui.org briefly

Australia Day awards Locals recognised

ANU epidemiologist Prof Tony McMichael, has been appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day honours list for distinguished service to population health, particularly in the area of environmental impact. Prof McMichael’s primary research focus is on global climate change, environmental conditions and human health.

Companion in the Order of Australia, Military Division (AC)

Lt-Gen Kenneth James GILLESPIE AO

DSC CSM, ACT, for eminent service to the Australian Defence Force as Vice Chief of the Defence Force/Chief of Joint Operations and Chief of Army.

Officer in the Order of Australia (AO)

Prof Anthony John McMICHAEL Forrest, for distinguished service to population health, particularly in the area of environmental impact, as an academic and author and through leadership roles with international organisations.

AO (Military)

Air Commodore Kenneth Neal BIRRER AM , ACT, for distinguished service as head of special projects, Workforce Planning Branch, Defence People Strategy and Policy Group, and as director general personnel – Air Force.

Member in the Order of Australia (AM)

Roger Arthur BUTLER , Ainslie, for service to the visual arts, particularly through curatorial roles with the National Gallery of Australia, as an author, and through the promotion of Australian drawings and printmaking.

Jennifer Ann (Jennie) CAMERON, Deakin, for service to children through the National SIDS Council of Australia, as a supporter of organisations assisting people with a disability, and to the community.

David Joseph CROSSIN OBE Barton, for service to the law through executive roles with legal professional associations, and to the community, particularly aged care support services.

David John MARSHALL , Calwell, for service to the community, particularly through the promotion of tourism, and in roles with a range of business, charitable and health organisations.

Dr Penelope Diane (Penny) OLSEN, Turner, for service to the conservation sciences as an author and researcher,

Other local recipients include David Marshall, chairman of the ACT-based regional helicopter rescue service SouthCare, who has been honored as a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to the community, as has veteran legal identity David Crossin OBE, who also gets an AM for services to the law and aged-care support.

and through the study and documentation of Australian bird species and their history.

Kathy RAGLESS, Turner, for service to the community through roles assisting refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in the Canberra and Goulburn region, and to Companion House.

AM

(Military)

Commodore Michael James UZZELL , ACT, for exceptional service in the RAN as the director general munitions and director general major surface ships.

Maj-Gen Elizabeth COSSON CSC , ACT, for exceptional service to the Australian Army and Australian Defence Organisation as director general regions and bases and as head defence support operations.

Brig. David Anthony CREAGH, ACT, for exceptional service as commander 17th Combat Service Support Brigade, chief of staff Headquarters Training Command and director logistics – Army.

Col. John Malcolm HUTCHESON, ACT, for exceptional service as commander of Joint Task Force 635, commander International Stabilisation Force

– Timor Leste and director of studies Land, Australian Command and Staff College.

Air Commodore Andrew Eric DOWSE ACT, for exceptional service as director general integrated capability development and as director enabling capability – Air Force.

Wing Cdr Patrick James KEANE , ACT, for exceptional service in the field of legal support to the RAAF.

Air Commodore Stephen Charles SHEEDY, ACT, for exceptional service as director general surveillance and control and as director Over the Horizon Radar System Program Office.

Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) Graham Dennis CARTER , Reid, for service to hockey in the ACT.

Dorothy Elma HORSMAN, Yass, for service to local government, and to the

community of Yass.

Air Commodore Mark Roger LAX CSM (Ret’d), Wanniassa, for service to the community through the research, documentation and recording of Australia’s military history.

Rhonda Maree OBAD, McKellar, for service to youth through the Bridge Back to Life Foundation.

Eric Kurt SCHICK, Garran, for service to quantity surveying, and to dispute resolution and arbitration.

Peter STAPLETON, Fadden, for service to the community of Queanbeyan.

Margaret Helen WRIGHT, Mawson, for service to the community through music and education organisations.

OAM (Military)

WO1 Greggery Stephen BURNS, ACT, for meritorious service as regimental sergeant major of 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (Mechanised), on operations and the Royal Military College, Duntroon.

WO1 Simon Richard RENFREY, ACT, for meritorious service as a bandmaster and band sergeant major.

Wing Cdr David Mark SCHEUL , ACT, for meritorious service as a professional design engineer and project manager on the Armed Reconnaissance and Multi-Role Helicopter Projects.

Public Service Meda

HE Matthew John ANDERSON, Kingston; Dr Gordon John de BROUWER, Braddon; Dr Jason Paul GULBIN, ACT; Dr Alan Lynton JAQUES, Flynn; Erica Maree LAUCHLAND, Gordon; Geoffrey James LEEPER, Fadden; Frank Anthony LEVERETT CVO, Kambah; James Andrew MURPHY, Yarralumla; Delia Ann RICKARD, Ainslie; Christine Dorothy SILK, Queanbeyan; Catherine Eve WALKER, Barton.

ACT

Khalid Zaheer AHMED, Dunlop; Peter Frank KOWALD, Wanniassa; Jan Maree MARSHALL, Duffy.

Saris, the epitome of Indianness

IT is a six-yard drape binding the past and the present. From the ancient civilisations that straddled the valleys along the river Indus to the high streets of international fashion, the sari has encapsulated thousands of years of the spirit of the Indian subcontinent.

While the ancient Indus Valley women draped it in loose folds across their bare bodies, the modern Indian woman wears the unstitched stretch of fabric in myriad ways depending on where she comes from.

Pleating it and draping the embellished end (pallu) over the shoulder so it flares out in the front, like in the western state of Gujarat, or pushing the pallu over the shoulder to flow at the back. It is a garment of utility worn by millions of women across this country in a variety colours.

The sari signifies the coming of age of a young teen who wears it to her graduation and also at her wedding some years later.

The six yards (5.5 metres) of sheer elegance, femininity and haute couture has survived the changing silhouettes and fashion norms to emerge as the most resilient fashion statement, recognised and appreciated the world over.

“The sari is such a beautiful garment. It is a fine example of the enduring power of a piece of cloth. It is an object of desire that is nurtured and passed on to the next generation,” says Suzy Menkes, the fashion editor of “The New York Times” and an international authority on haute couture.

According to Menkes, the traditional Indian drape reflects the vibrant colours of India. And, as if on cue, the drape this season is going back in time to cull from antiquities and traditions to clothe the new Indian woman.

Weaves from various parts of the country – the

India shares the same date as Australia for its national day. In this reflection of Indian culture, MADHUSREE CHATTERJEE looks at the enduring power of a piece of cloth

rich silks from the eastern city of Varanasi called Benarasi, the finely woven kota from Rajasthan, the wispy jamdani cotton from West Bengal – in their restored and recreated forms are high on the country’s fashion roster this season.

“The market for antique and traditional saris is gradually growing though it is niche,” says antique textile collector and culture czarina Sobha Deepak Singh, who brought back 200-year-old saris and textiles recently in a novel period exhibition that featured 150 antique and traditional saris – some from her personal collection. Singh, who sources her saris from the homes of the erstwhile landlords, says every year she receives at least two consignments of old saris – some which are even frayed and torn – from royal homes that have declared bankruptcy.

“Some of these saris are priceless because of their embroidery, embellishments in semiprecious stones and zari (delicate silver and golden thread work). But the textiles are usually damaged. I restore them to their original state,” she said.

THE saris are mostly from Gujarat, Rajasthan and the south Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

She transposes the frayed textile on a dyed net base and mends the tears with a delicate needle and thread from the original sari to retain the warp and weft of their weave.

Consequently, a rare 100-year-old Patola silk sari from Patan priced at 50,000 Rupees (about $A1000) with a restored body and border looks

almost as good as new, while a fine aquamarine 200-year-old Benarasi sari embroidered with leaves and zari tendrils is delicate and crisp on a restored base.

ExPLAINING the significance of the motifs in the “thikana” (traditional family) saris embroidered with the family insignias such as the sun and tigers, Singh says the former Indian royalties were mostly worshippers of the sun – since it represents power and prosperity.

The animals, she says, depict might and “their love for hunting”.

“At times, the entire trail of the sari draped around the shoulder, known as the ‘pallu’, depict complete hunting scenes. The colours of these saris are basic and earthy, extracted from natural dyes.”

Cashing in on the demand for traditional and recreated antique saris, the apparel chain Fabindia has three lines of saris – “traditional” featuring crafts-based saris; “contemporary”, a collection that uses traditional techniques to create a modern idiom, and “revival” line that brings back saris that are in danger of dying out.

The saris on display at the chain’s flagship store in the Indian capital New Delhi are hand-woven by rural artisans at the 17 community-owned Fabindia companies in villages where artisans own 26 per cent of the stakes.

“Traditional weaves like the silk ‘telia rumals’, Koraput saris, upadas, ajrakh print on gajji silk, hand-painted kalamkari, madhubani paintings on maheshwari, chanderi and jamdanis are

dying because of lack of support,” says Prableen Sawhney, spokesperson for Fabindia.

The Madhya Pradesh-based Rehwa Society, which has revived the 1500-year-old weaving techniques from Maheshwar, an ancient princely town along the Narmada (Rehwa) river, recently presented its new summer line in the capital.

The tradition owes its resurgence to the ruling Holkar family that uses the family fortress as a “production unit” employing nearly 1000 weavers.

The collection brought back traditional hand-woven silk and cotton Maheshwari saris with embroidered surfaces in zaris and cotton threads – a fusion of two antique textile crafts. The saris were mostly in white, cream, gold and beige.

The mature Indian fashionista swears by saris. Writer and art promoter Ina Puri, who is just back from Dhaka, said she wears saris for every event across the world.

“It is appreciated worldwide. I am just back from Dhaka from where I purchased jamdani and old recreated katha saris,” she said.

PURI ’S wardrobe features traditional saris from all corners of the world.

“I buy Paithani (Marathi) saris from... Mumbai and Nilambari saris from a craftsperson from Benaras, who is reviving it,” she said. “It is an extension of my art.”

Bharatnatyam dancer Geeta Chandran has also made sari her personal style statement. She loves the Kanchipuram silk sari from south India because it provides a great drape and falls well in pleats.

“It does not crush easily. My favourite colours are maroon, orange and yellow because the dusky Indian skin glows in these colours,” she said.

Multi-cultural

“THE Multicultural Festival will be huge – I’m so excited to be a part of it,” says singer, songwriter and actress Jessica Mauboy, who will be the “Face” of the 0 National Multicultural Festival.

“I used to love going to the Darwin Festival, so I’m sure this will be a lot of fun,” she tells “CityNews” over the phone from Sydney.

The festival, in its second year as a weekend event, will be staged in City Walk from Friday, February 11 to Sunday, February 13.

There’ll be free outdoor entertainment, including the opening night concert featuring

the Chicago Paderewski Youth Symphony, Hoddle Irish band, Taro Terahara and Tenzin Cheogyal, Sol Nation from Melbourne and local groups Drumassault and the Canberra School of Bollywood Dancing. There will also be night markets, food stalls from all over the world, six performance stages, the new indigenous showcase in Civic Square, the Fyshwick Freshfood Markets’ “Food and

Jess is festival face

Dance Spectacular”, the Greek Glendi, India in the City and Chinese New Year celebrations.

“I hope I’ll be able to stay to see the whole festival,” says Jessica. “I have an auntie in Canberra, so I’ll stay with her. I love Canberra, it’s nice and quiet and small. I’m from a small town and I’m a country sort of girl, so I like that!”

“Australian Idol” star Jessica, from Darwin, says she’s happy to be back on home turf after an “exciting” year in America, songwriting and collaborating with the likes of Snoop Dog and Ludacris for her album “Get ‘Em Girls”, which debuted at number six on the ARIA Albums Chart

and was certified gold in its first week of release.

“It’s been amazing, I made so many friends and connections,” says Jessica. “I’m hanging on the side at the moment, seeing what happens.

“The plan is to work around Australia for a while, with a national tour mid-year.”

With a Timorese-Indonesian father and an indigenous Australian mother, Jessica says she’s proud of her multi-cultural background.

“I have the Australian culture, the Aboriginal culture and the Indonesian culture… I’ve had the experience to see into those cultures,” she says. “I’m really

proud, the cultures make me me.”

Jessica will launch the festival at 7.45pm on Friday night with Joy Burch ACT Minister for Multicultural Affairs, and will then perform at the opening concert.

She will also appear at the indigenous showcase on Saturday. She says she can’t wait to get out on stage on the first night.

“For me, performing live is probably the best part of what I do!” she says. “Being out there, playing my own personal music and having people relate to what I do is just an amazing feeling.”

At the Sculpture Bar, National Gallery of Australia

your week in the stars

With Joanne Madeline Moore

January 31 – February 6, 2011

ARIES (Mar  – Apr 0)

Look before you leap Rams, especially when it comes to relationships (whether they are of the romantic or platonic variety). Singles – you need a partner who’ll bring stability into your constantly changing world. Thursday’s New Moon highlights group activities – but can you put your own needs aside and contribute as a valued member of the team?

TAURUS

(Apr 21 – May 20)

Career-wise, there’s no denying you’re conscientious and capable but are you confident enough for big time success? With the New Moon in your professional zone, don’t sell yourself short. The Sun and Mars boost your creativity and confidence, while Mercury helps you multi-task like a pro. If you resist making changes, you’ll be left behind.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)

This week’s stars favour dreaming impossible dreams, taking calculated risks, and learning from the inevitable stuff-ups that happen along the way! Be inspired by birthday great James Joyce: “Mistakes are the portals of discovery.” Thursday’s New Moon stimulates your brain power so it’s the ideal time to study, read, research and investigate.

CANCER (June 22 – July 22)

Are you being a clingy Crab? You’ll feel emotionally insecure this week but, the more you hold on to others, the more they will push you away. Look for love and sustenance from within. The New Moon signals a fresh start in the areas of sex or money, as you overhaul a joint financial agreement or embark on a passionate new relationship.

LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)

Lions love to hog the limelight. With the New Moon in your relationship zone, this week’s challenge is to share the spotlight with someone else – whether it’s a lover, family member, friend or business partner. Putting others first (for a change!) puts a spring in your step and a smile on your dial. On the weekend, pay close attention to your dreams.

VIRGO (Aug  – Sept )

With the New Moon activating your health zone, it’s time to start a new diet and exercise program. Swap cream buns for carrot juice, and long TV sessions for power walks and gym workouts. When it comes to your career, is it time to look for a better job or even change vocation? The challenge is to make work a pleasure, rather than a chore.

LIBRA (Sept  – Oct )

It’s time to extend your circle of friends to include a bohemian new crowd, or tap into the creative muse within. Venus visits your domestic zone (from February 4-March 2) so you’re keen to cook, entertain, decorate or garden, as you make your home a heavenly haven and cocoon of calm, away from the hustle and bustle of the busy world outside.

SCORPIO (Oct  – Nov )

Home sweet home is the place to be on Thursday night, as the New Moon lights up your domestic zone. With Mercury also moving through your domestic zone (from February 4-22) now’s the time to speak up about family ‘issues’. You’re able to express yourself more eloquently than usual, and loved ones are intrigued to hear what you have to say.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

Autonomous Archers pride themselves on their independence and ability to go it alone. But this week’s New Moon urges you to find fresh ways to connect with those around you, whether at home, at work or in your local community. With four planets in your communication zone, you’re keen to chat as your conversational gene shifts into top gear.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

Is money on your mind? The New Moon encourages you to take stock of your financial situation and initiate some smart new strategies. Cash-strapped Capricorns – abundance is all around; you just have to tap into it. The more proactive and progressive you are, the better the future will be. With Venus in your sign this weekend, it’s your time to shine.

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

The New Moon’s in Aquarius so you’re twice as much fun (and twice as much trouble). You’re funny, friendly and fabulous - but also restless, reckless and rebellious, as you reboot an area of your life that hasn’t been working. Be inspired by Bob Marley (born on Feb 6, 1945): “Just can’t live that negative way… make way for the positive day.”

PISCES (Feb  – Mar 0)

PISCES (Feb 20-March 20)

Fish are such sentimental folk but don’t waste time brooding on the past – this week’s stars help heal your hurt feelings so you can finally move on. You’re also the masters of avoidance (especially now, with four planets in your ‘escaping’ zone). If you have a decision that needs to be made, stop procrastinating Pisces and just get on with it!

Joanne Madeline Moore

Across

3 What is another term for an ambassador?

7 Name a burrowing carnivorous mammal.

8 To take money for one's own use, in violation of a trust, is to do what?

9 What are segments of a boxing match?

10 Name another word for wages.

11 What do we call a person who supervises the morality of others?

14 Name the prolific US inventor, Thomas ...

17 What is an alternative word for a footpath?

18 Which term describes real estate?

19 What could we call one who joins the armed forces voluntarily?

20 Which opaque glassy substance is applied to pottery, etc, for protection?

21 The people who finance TV, radio programs are called what?

Down

1 Name the ornate style of musical composition of the 17th and early 18th centuries.

2 What are the lists of things to be discussed at meetings?

3 What is another name for a kitchen sideboard?

4 Name the point towards which the wind blows.

5 Colloquially, which insects transmit malaria?

6 Violation of allegiance towards one's country is known as what?

11 Which informal term describes policemen.

12 Name the Welsh actor, dramatist and composer, Ivor ...

13 What is the diffusion of fluids through porous partitions?

14 Those dishes served at dinner before main courses are called what?

15 What else are antelopes called?

16 To have left something out, is to have done what?

all about living

Morning tea with the Red Hill chooks

By Kathryn Vukovljak

A LOVELY Italian-style Red Hill garden, packed with fruit trees, grapevines and around  0 roses, will provide the venue for the debut event “Chooks in the City”, hosted by Australia’s Open Garden Scheme.

Owner Teresa Zarlenga has lived there for 16 years and created the garden entirely by herself using recycled materials and plants. She has four chickens – “the girls”, as they’re known – named after her Italian cousins Rita, Julia, Lala and Carla, who she says help with recycling, composting and turning the beds, and provide hours of enjoyment as she watches their antics.

“They’re white leghorns crossed with New Hampshires, and they make wonderful pets,” Teresa says. “They’re reliable layers, tame and friendly, and they eat absolutely everything. My friends even bring me leftover food scraps and their weeds now – and I love it!”

Teresa says she lets the girls out from their 3m x 6m enclosure to help with clearing up the garden. “They compost

everything and leave me with this lovely dark soil,” she says.

The “Chooks in the City” event in Teresa’s garden will be held on Saturday, February 19, 9.30am-noon.

Author of the book “Chooks in the City”, Alyson Hill, will be there to give a talk on the various breeds, the pros and cons of roosters, housing requirements, predators, breeding, feeding and general care. Morning tea, featuring egg recipes, will be available.

A keen gardener, Teresa says she was a member of the first Canberra Gardener’s Club, where she learnt everything she knows from experienced gardeners. Now she says she propagates all her plants herself and is completely hands-on.

“This is really a costless garden,” she says. “I designed it myself, and I like things to be neat and tidy. I love having a productive garden that is also beautiful, like the area with the water features and the little Italian-style corner around the side of the house. Sometimes I look around and wonder how I did all this.

“Having chickens and this garden is my childhood dream come true.”

“Chooks in the City”, 50 Investigator Street, Red Hill. Places are limited, so booking is essential. Visit www.opengarden. org.au or call 6230 3143 to make a booking. Tickets are $60 and morning tea is included.

Racette’s touching Butterfly

OPERA

“Madame Butterfly”

By Puccini, Opera Australia at Sydney Opera House until March 3.

Reviewed by Helen Musa

THIS is an old production originally created by Moffatt Oxenbould but with new life breathed into it in the guise of the American soprano Patricia Racette as the ill-fated Cio-Cio San.

Forget about the vacuousness of the pseudo-Butoh movements carried out by the chorus and supernumeraries, quite at odds with Puccini’s verismo style. No doubt he intended the degree of exoticism, but not quite this exotic, with the Shinto priest, the Bonze, made up to look like a ferocious savage from an old Hollywood movie.

This production stands and falls on the beauty of the singing. Racette is the most touching, sensitive Butterfly I have seen and heard (and that includes several fine Chinese and Japanese sopranos), gradually revealing the character’s growth from child-like bride to tragic woman.

Barry Ryan was sympathetic in the role of Sharpless with Jacqueline Dark as the faithful Suzuki and Jane Parkin as Kate Pinkerton underscoring the central action.

The conductor Massimo Zanetti chose to underplay Act I, the wedding scene, with an unusually quiet, subtle approach to Puccini’s lush music. Because of the utterly unconvincing casting of Rosario La Spina in the role of Pinkerton, this was not all together a bad thing, as it allowed the focus to fall on Act II, the tragic part of the opera, which came to life superbly.

Gems from across the generations

IT is impossible to overestimate the cultural and socio/political importance of the Marika family of north-east Arnhem Land. Pre-eminent custodians of Yalangbara (Port Bradshaw), their name is synonymous with the 1963 Yirrkala Bark Petition, displayed in Parliament House, and the 1998 Saltwater Exhibition, acquired by the Maritime Museum, that respectively assert land and sea rights for the Yolngu people, the traditional owners of the region.

This gem of an exhibition displays around 60 works of art from three generations of Marikas, including Mawalan 1, Mathaman, Milirrpum, Roy, Wandjuk, Banduk, Dhuwarrwarr, Mawalan 2, Jimmy Barrmula and Wanyubi Marika. The works tell the creation

VISUAL ARTIST

“Yalangbara: Art of the Djang’kawu” Gallery of First Australians, National Museum of Australia, until August14. Reviewed by Anni Doyle Wawrzynczak

stories of the Djang’kawu, the progenitors and lawgivers of the peoples of north-east Arnhem Land, whose digging sticks, feathered objects, mats and sacred regalia created the area’s geographic landforms.

Spanning the 1940s to the present, the exhibition includes ceremonial feather objects, marvellous examples of a woven mat and a conical basket and a series of large crayon drawings on brown paper, whose

vivid blues, greens and reds have survived more than 60 years. A number of arresting, minimalist linocuts from the mid-2000s are juxtaposed with many complex bark paintings from the ‘50s and ‘60s, as well as some extraordinary, large bark paintings from the last decade.

Amongst the latter is the mesmerising “Yalangbara”, (app.1500cms x 300cms, Banduk Marika, 2005, natural pigments on bark). The shimmering surface of this award-winning work is composed of intricate, rrark (crosshatch) rectangles of varying size, lined in black, that weave through each other in a dance that appears to increase in complexity the longer it’s viewed.

Funny side to being ‘off-Broadway’

By Helen Musa

CANBERRA becomes “off-Broadway” or “out of town” when stand-up comedians from “Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation”, Charlie Pickering and Josh Thomas, trial new material for their 2011 festival shows at The Courtyard Studio in early February.

Pickering is one of the several Australian lawyers to have turned to comedy and has performed solo at the Edinburgh and Adelaide Fringes, and the Melbourne, Brisbane and New Zealand Comedy Festivals. Thomas was named “GQ” magazine’s 2010 Comedian of the Year.

Pickering’s “A Work in Progress” will be at The Courtyard Studio on February 5-6. Thomas’s “A Work in Progress” can be seen February 7-12 in the same space.

Scholarship shows Belle the creative way to go

By Helen Musa

IT looked like a life-changing week for 17-yearold Belle Palmer, of Griffith, one of 16 Year 11 students chosen to participate in the National Gallery and National Australia Bank Summer Art Scholarship, now in its 15th year.

For Palmer, about to go into Year 12 at Narrabundah College, the program was a means of defining her artistic direction. While she’s so far focused on ceramics, the scholarship (recommended by her art teacher), gave her a chance to do life-drawing classes, which she’d never experienced before, as well as a class in glass, another eye-opener.

“By the end of the course I hope to know where I’m going,” she told “CityNews”.

From January 15 to 21, the lively group of selected students buzzed around the NGA attending workshops, talking to curators and meeting key figures such as contemporary artist Patricia Piccinini, chosen this year as the mentor to the participants and whose sculpture “The Stags” was used as a reference point for the scholars.

The scholarship, according to the manager of youth and community programs at the gallery

arts in the city

Music arrives from out of the academic cloud

By Helen Musa

THE ANU and the Manhattan School of Music in New York are setting up a state-of-the-art music videoconferencing facilities and highspeed internet network for one-on-one lessons, master classes, staff and student exchanges and research. ANU Vice-Chancellor Prof Ian Chubb says it will overcome the tyranny of distance.

AMERICAN storyteller and author Diane Wolkstein is coming to the National Gallery of Australia on February 2-3, partly to tell the story of “The Firebird” (2pm to 3pm) while the Ballets Russes show is on, and partly to stir up some fun with her account of the Chinese epic “Journey to the West” (7pm to 9pm), better known here as “Monkey Magic.” Bookings essential to 6240 6528.

AN exhibition of paintings by Russian landscape and botanical artist and “Honoured Cultural Worker of the Russian Federation” Galina Kizhapkina, can be seen at the ACT Civic Library until February 4 then at the ACT Legislative Assembly Gallery from February 7 to 18 as part of the National Multicultural Festival.

PARISIAN improvisation guru Caspar Schjelbred will be here soon to run workshops involving his method called “Impro Supreme”. He will also stage three performances of his show “Bubblesoup”, where “scenes and stories rise like soap bubbles”. It’s at the QL2 theatre in Gorman House at 7.30pm, January 28-30. Bookings to 1300 851055 or at www.impro.com.au/shows.

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EVE Sawa, who recently graduated in painting from the ANU School of Art, joins fellow painting graduate Marilyn Stretton in an exhibition at Belconnen Arts Centre until February 6 that investigates the forces of nature. Austrian-Aus-

tralian Sawa’s huge paintings reflect the alpine regions around Kosciuszko, while Stretton’s work investigates the negative and positive energies of yin and yang.

Meantime, at the old Belconnen Community Centre until February 4 is “Paint People,” portraits by ANU Art School graduates Lisa Twomey, Angela Parragi, Alison Chaplin, and Laine Stewart.

LEIGH Warren & Dancers’ 2011 interstate and regional tour of “Impulse” will not go ahead because of budgetary considerations. Spare a thought for the theatres, not least Queanbeyan’s The Q, which had included them in their 2011 seasons.

Coens saddle up for some gritty cinema

“TRUE GRIT” (M)

ETHAN and Joel Coen’s film is great cinema, cleaving affectionately and respectfully to Charles Portis’ novel, more than merely a remake of Henry Hathaway’s 1969 version.

In 1878, following the murder of her father by Clancy (Josh Brolin), 14-year-old Mattie arrives in Fort Smith seeking a man with true grit to bring Clancy in for trial and execution. She engages aged, overweight, whisky-guzzling one-eyed US Marshall “Rooster” Cogburn, with whom her insistence on joining in the chase does not sit comfortably. Clancy is riding with Ned Pepper (Barry Pepper) who’s on Rooster’s list of miscreants for apprehension.

Texas Ranger La Boeuf is also pursuing Clancy for killing a Texas senator. The two lawmen have a mutual disrespect for each other’s professional skills.

The film’s narrative economy provides a platform for issues that by their simplicity become important. Its appearance, less like a travelogue than many others of its ilk, effectively underpins and becomes an element of the drama. Improbable friendships develop, enhancing a central theme of vengeance. The plot pulls no punches. Its laconic humour mixes spontaneity with grim verity. The numerous dead are guys whose loss would do society no harm.

Jeff Bridges‘s performance as Rooster is impossible to fault. Matt Damon is impressive as La Boeuf. But the film’s shining star is Hailee Steinfeld, 13 at the time of filming, already accumulating accolades and award nominations as Mattie.

At Dendy, Greater Union, Limelight

“ANOTHER YEAR” (M)

THE rewards from Mike Leigh’s films come not from providing evanescent entertainment but from depicting the lives of ordinary folk.

Tom (Jim Broadbent) is an engineering geologist. Gerri (Ruth Sheen) counsels patients at a public hospital. They are warm, compassionate, comfortably adjusted people with one unmarried

With a big burst of new movie releases, “CityNews” reviewer DOUGAL MACDONALD has been wearing out cinema seats all over town this past week...

son, sharing an enduring, satisfying marriage.

Playing Gerri’s administrative assistant Mary is Lesley Manville, whom you’ve seen in many British films and TV perhaps without being much aware of her. This time is different.

Mary is a lost soul. Life has not showered her with joys, satisfactions, comforts. A childless divorcee, a raddled beauty, garrulous, close to being an alcoholic, she lives alone in a poky rented flat. Tom and Gerri are probably her only real friends. Apparently unaware of her inability to relate to others, not romantically, not domestically, not intellectually, she hasn’t sought professional help. Weep for her if you wish.

But it’s more rewarding to sit back and watch Manville’s powerful performance extracting every sad drop of pathos from her.

It’s an unforgettable cinema experience to walk away from, aware of just how special it has been.

Mike Leigh’s films do that to one.

At Dendy

THIS is an energetic study of a dysfunctional, impoverished American family of seven daughters and two sons who became professional boxers.

The highlight of older son Dickie’s (Christian

Bale) boxing career was once knocking Sugar Ray Leonard down. Mother Alice (Melissa Leo) wants Dickie to train Mickey (Mark Wahlberg) to contend the world welter-weight championship. But Dickie is a crack addict, a keeper of bad company, an all-round no-goodnik.

After losing a match against a bigger opponent, his motivation to keep boxing under constant pressure from Alice, Mickey begins a relationship with bartender Charlene (Amy Adams). This relationship becomes a major element in the film, transcending that between the two brothers.

Inevitably, the film’s focus moves toward Micky’s career path. He did in time become world champion. But that’s merely a coda to a story about a family trying to climb the ladder of social status from only a couple of rungs above its base. The film’s most memorable characters are not the brothers but mother Alice, doing Micky’s career more harm than good, and Charlene, a prickly, tough chick not fazed by the family’s antagonism toward her.

“The Fighter” is concerned less about boxing as a sport than the social origins of most boxers. Better perhaps to let young men dissipate their aggressions under supervised rules.

At all cinemas

IN 1936, a Detroit radio station began a series about a night-time crime fighter who by day ran a major newspaper. The Green Hornet boosted his street cred by pretending to be a villain, leaving the bad guys just ahead of the arrival of the cops. It’s taken a while for the Green Hornet to reach the big screen. Seth Rogen is the guilty party, losing weight to play Britt Reid, the Hornet’s feckless daytime persona, the playboy son of a newspaper magnate, a massive ego sustained by a bottomless bucket of money, unbounded by concern for the opinions of others or justified by achievement.

“The Green Hornet” is noisy, full of quick-moving chases, punch-ups, explosions, fortuitous coincidences, spectacular car wrecks and boozy parties.

The plot is pure vanilla – Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz) controls the city’s crime industry; the Hornet decides to bring him down with the aid of his Asian minion Kato (Jay Chou) and cute blonde office assistant Lenore (Cameron Diaz).

I wish it had been more truly funny, more exciting, less of a giant bore. I wish I knew next week’s Lotto numbers. Things don’t happen that way.

At Dendy, Hoyts, Limelight

BEFORE its release, Darren Aronofsky’s gothic melodrama set in a production of “Swan Lake” copped PR puffery about actress Natalie Portman doing her own dancing in the role of Nina, in line for one of the ballet’s principal roles.

Films about rather than of ballet productions often use the theme of ambitious young ballerina choosing between career and a relationship. Nina is ambitious enough. She wants the Act 2 solo role of the swan queen. So does Lily (Mila Kunis). Artistic director Thomas (Vincent Cassell) makes a choice. Lily befriends Nina. Or does she?

Nina’s over-protective mother (Barbara Hershey), a ballerina in her youth, is using Nina as a projection of her own frustrated ambition. Beth (Winona Ryder) says she is retiring from the role but actually Thomas has dropped her.

Chick flick? Thomas, its only important male character, while sexually straight, is only peripheral to the painful and improbable drama of opening night.

Early on, “Black Swan” makes passing reference to whether classical ballet still has artistic relevance. Probably many little girls are out there still, enduring the commitment and pain of learning its difficult and demanding skills.

Gertrude Bodenweiser, a pioneer teacher of modern dance in Australia, once told my mother in her thick Austrian accent: “I love bad ballet.” Sounds good to me.

At Dendy, Greater Union, Hoyts

087 834 3BR A

Sat 11:00-11:45 10/35 Brockway Cct Ray White Canberra 0418 294 192 4BR I Sat 11:00-11:45 16 House Cct Ray White Canberra 0414 622 926 3BR J Sat 12:00-1:00

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