Canberra CityNews March 31-06, 2011

Yes, minister, we have no billboards!

WHILE the Federal Government wrestles over an inquiry into the regulation of billboard and outdoor advertising, it may come as a surprise to Territory residents that Canberra officially has no “billboards”.

A spokesperson for the ACT Planning and Land Authority told “CityNews” housing signs are temporary and the advertisements plastered on the side of the Canberra Centre and flashing on the face of the National Convention Centre do not count as billboard advertisements.

“The advertising sign for the Convention Centre was determined by

INDEX

March 31- April 06, 2011

Since 1993: Volume 17, Number 12

Arts&Entertainment 17-20

Cinema 19

Crossword 24

Dining 20

Health&Fitness 22

Home&Garden 25-28

Horoscope 24

Letters 14

News 3-12

Politics 8

Property 29-48

Social Scene 15-16

Sudoku 24

ELERI HARRIS has been assured by the bureaucrats that the ACT has no billboards, but there is a complicated sign language that guides outdoor advertising in the ACT

the National Capital Authority as it is erected over land in a designated land,” she said.

“It was likely to have been considered as a ‘changeable message sign’.

The signs approved for the Canberra Centre were predominantly ‘wall signs’, ‘window signs’ and ‘information signs’ as per the Signs General Code in the Territory Plan.

“It would be reasonable to suggest, most people’s expectation of an advertising billboard is a large, freestanding advertising display around 42 square metres (often 12.66m x 3.35m) in size, generally illuminated and located on major arterial roads.”

The Australian Oxford Dictionary is not quite so specific, it defines a billboard as a “large outdoor advertising hording”.

The Department of Territory and Municipal Services told “CityNews” the billboards at Canberra Airport aren’t the ACT’s responsibility, as the airport

contact us

Phone 6262 9100 Fax 6262 9111

GPO Box 2448, Canberra City 2601 www.citynews.com.au twitter.com/city_news facebook.com/canberracitynews

General manager: Greg Jones 0419 418196, greg@citynews.com.au

Senior advertising executives: Melissa Delfino, 0415 137660 Ernie Nichols, 0421 077999

Advertising sales executives: Sebastien Kriegel, 0438 198701 Mara Stroppa, 0431 245130 Lyn Cram, 0458 028990

Advertising sales co-ordinator: Rebecca Darman, ad@citynews.com.au

Sydney advertising sales: Ad Sales Connect, 02 9420 1777

is on Commonwealth land.

Billboards and outdoor advertising come under a complicated range of laws in the Territory, starting with the 1937 Roads and Public Places Act that stipulates in Section 12:

“Any person who, without the permission of the minister or a roads and public places officer, exhibits, in any way, or on any property of the territory or adjoining any public place, any kind of advertisement or notice, commits an offence.”

Battles have been won and lost over A-frame business signs in Civic in recent years.

If the Federal Government’s Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs choose to institute national guidelines for advertising outdoors, it may find the ACT’s Signs General Code 2008 ensures there are no advertisements to guide.

Nothing to see here folks, move along.

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

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

Journalist: Kathryn Vukovljak, kathryn@citynews.com.au

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

Design and photography: Silas Brown, 0412 718086

Graphic designer: Louise Brooks

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

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

Contributing photographer: Andrew Finch

Speaker to look into laptops

By Eleri Harris

THE Speaker of the ACT

Legislative Assembly, Shane Rattenbury says he will look into creating rules for the conduct of laptop use in the chamber.

“When laptops were first allowed in the Assembly back in 2009, the Administration and Procedures Committee determined that there wouldn’t be any formal guidelines for their use, but that Members should exercise good judgement, and that I, as the Speaker, would monitor their use in regard to order in the chamber,” Rattenbury told “CityNews”.

At the Assembly’s last sitting, the Opposition’s manager of business, Vicki Dunne, was snapped looking at the ikea furniture site in during Question Time by “CityNews” photographer Silas Brown. Under the rules of the Assembly, “CityNews” is forbidden to publish the photographs of Ms Dunne looking at a selection of flat-pack “Billy” bookcases.

“There’s no rules about what members use their laptops for in the chamber,” Rattenbury later told 2CC.

Rattenbury agreed with broadcaster Mark Parton that it might be time to put some rules in place.

“That question’s certainly been put to me since this incident has come to light,” Rattenbury said.

“I think members should be able to use their laptops down there, as long they’ve got them turned down, they’re silent and they’re not interfering with conduct of the Assembly.

“At the time [laptops were introduced], there was a question of whether we should have rules about how members could use their laptops, I was of the view people

briefly

Hour of less power

CANBERRANS saved an estimated 26.93 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (the equivalent of taking 6.26 average cars off the road for a year) during Earth Hour on Saturday, March 26. ActewAGL says the estimated electricity use was 275,607kWhs, which is 25,172kWhs (or eight per cent) less than the hour’s predicted useage.

Vintage of promise

MURRUMBATEMAN winemaker Ken Helm says, despite the prospects of the national vintage looking poor, grapes in the Canberra district are showing promise. While his latest Riesling vintage is down 35 per cent on last year’s record vintage, he reports the grapes show “wonderful flavours with a near perfect balance of acid and sugar, providing the potential to produce outstanding wines”.

should take responsibility for their own use of their laptops.”

Rattenbury told “CityNews” that the rules for the running of the Assembly were developed in consultation with MLAs from all parties.

“In light of this incident, I will consider consulting again with Members as to whether or not guidelines for the use of laptops in the chamber should be reconsidered. However, the question of appropriateness of any particular members’ laptop use is, at this stage, really a question for them to answer,” he said.

Rattenbury said technological developments were creating emerging issues for the Assembly, including the use of online media in the chamber, but that to date, the use of laptops in the chamber had been helpful in allowing members to access parliamentary documents and other materials during the debate.

The Canberra Liberals have refused to comment on the appropriateness of Dunne’s conduct, as has Labor’s whip John Hargreaves.

“Matters pertaining to the behaviour of members in the chamber are matters for their party to address,” Hargreaves told “CityNews”.

“My responsibilities are restricted, most properly, to members of my own party.”

Uninvited, Kate’s off to London

By Kathryn Vukovljak

RADIO personality Kate

“Knuckles” Taylor is going to the royal wedding in London, undaunted by not actually having been invited to the April 9 ceremony at Westminster Abbey.

But Kate says she’s “nutting out strategies and exhausting all avenues” to be at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding, despite only being in London for a few days.

“I have to find a way! I’ve written to Julia Gillard and said, respectfully, if your partner isn’t up for going to the wedding, because weddings are more of a girl thing, aren’t they, then I’ll be your plus one,” she jokes.

“I haven’t heard anything back yet.

“And I’ll be calling the palace, on air, to see if I can get an invite.

“Scotty and Nige have been rolling their eyes a lot. They’re dubious!

“I love a good wedding – the flowers, the dress, the romance of it all,” says the 104.7 Breakfast Show newsreader and co-host with Scotty and Nige.

“I cannot express to you how excited I am!” she says. “I’ve been overexcited about the royal wedding ever since the date was announced. It’s

By Kathryn Vukovljak

going to be huge – and now that I’m actually going to be there, I’m even more excited.”

The first thing Kate’s planning to do when she gets there is check out the wedding route.

“I’ll need to get my bearings and suss out a good vantage point for the day, just in case I can’t get inside,” she says. “But it will basically be me out there doing what I can to get in to Westminster Abbey.

“It’s all about optimism and determination.”

She will also be providing daily phone reports about her experiences to Scotty and Nige while she’s overseas.

“I’ll be sharing the quirky stories, looking at the lighter, fun side of the wedding, meeting people who’ve come from far and wide, and chatting about my experiences being there at this amazing time,” she says.

“Seriously, I’ll be stoked. I’m so lucky and so thankful for the opportunity.

“The news journo side of me gets why I’m so caught up in this story, but other than that I couldn’t work out why it was so enthralling to me.

“But it’s the fairytale. Who doesn’t want to marry a prince?”

briefly

Young maths whiz

SEVEN-y EAR- OLD Eric Zhou, of Palmerston, is the World Maths Day champion for 2011, having beaten 156,803 students around the world to take home the top prize in his age group (4-7). Eric, answered more than 6995 questions in 100 games in the internet challenge.

New REIA chief

AMANDA Lynch is the new CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Australia. Currently director of government relations and public affairs at the Australian Local Government Association in Canberra, she starts her new role on April 11.

Centre celebrates

THE refurbished Westfield Belconnen shopping centre has been opened by Westfield MD Steven Lowy, Chief Minister Jon Stanhope, and model Anneliese Seubert. As part of the opening celebrations, UK celebrity stylist Gok Wan, will present a one-hour show at 12.30pm on Saturday, April 2.

Synthetic green

CANBERRA’S first all-weather synthetic bowling green has opened at the Weston Creek Labor Club. The National Indoor Bowls Competition is played on a synthetic green and the ACT team is already using the new green in preparation for the competition in Queensland.

Rock swap

THE Canberra Lapidary Club will hold its annual Rock Swap at Epic on April 2-3 from 8.30am to 5pm. Entry is free. There will be stalls selling rough and cut gemstones, jewellery, fossils, opals, crystals, beads, beading supplies, and lapidary equipment. More information on the club is at www.canberralapidary.org.au

Going to coffee, in an instant!

MARK PARTON, breakfast announcer at

CC, muses about the changing ways of coffee drinking

MY alarm goes off before 3am every day. It’s a test of stamina every week and I don’t think I could do it without coffee.

I don’t drink bucketloads of the stuff, but without coffee, I may have no personality at all!

We were musing at work the other day about how much coffee has changed in the last 25 years in Australia. If you sat down at a café or restaurant in the mid-’80s and ordered a coffee, there’s every chance you’d get a cup of instant. Coffee came from a jar back then. Can you imagine if it happened now? In 1985, if someone said they were a barista, you would have assumed they were working in the courts.

Everything has changed; thanks to an abundance of European migrants, coffee is now a culture in Australia. A quick stroll through any of the town centres in Canberra will reveal an endless collection of cafes churning out premium coffee to sit down or take away. How many deals have been finalised in front of a flat white at Cream? How many relationships have started sitting outside at Tosolini’s while sipping a latte?

For some people coffee is life. And it’s big business, too. According to Datamonitor and their “Hot Drinks in Australia to 2013” report, sales of hot-drink products in this country will be worth just shy of $1.5 billion annually within two years. For every seven cups of coffee consumed by Australians, one of them will be drunk out of the home. I think instant coffee tastes like finely ground cardboard, but at this stage 80 per cent of home sales are still of the instant variety.

Coffee is set to go up in price at the café with international price for beans buzzing at a 13-year high. Some of the world’s top roasters have hiked the price by 20 per cent in recent months. How much would you pay for a good coffee?

Bill told me on Twitter that “Canberra revolves around coffee, but anything over $4 is highway robbery”. Bill pays $2.90 for a skinny flat white. Tim conceded that “if I really needed a hit, I’d pay $6, but $3.50 seems fair these days”. Chris said that he can normally manage to get dressed and drive to work without coffee, but he can’t say much beyond that. And Graham said that coffee is so vitally essential to his life that on some mornings, no price would be too high.

When history’s hard lessons are lost to disunity

MANY years ago I used to do the election night commentary on television. On my first encounter with the new medium, with my family waiting eagerly to see how I would perform, I uttered the deathless line: “Bloggs is ahead, and if he stays that way he’ll win!”

My father cracked up, and liked to tell this story whenever people said they had seen his son on television.

Television is unforgiving. I’m not sure that Bob Hawke had been aware that he pulled at his earlobe when thinking about what to say next, but we all now think that he does this all the time.

I watched the NSW election night commentary until I heard Barry O’Farrell give his accession speech, with its pleasant little bow to the retiring Premier, and thought we in Canberra would be seeing and hearing a lot of him on television in the years to come. His is a different style to that of Kristina Keneally, bluff,

In some respects, the NSW election result is a re-run of that of 9 , says DON AITKIN

straightforward and “man-to-man”.

Those on the commentary tables kept on talking about Labor’s defeat as unprecedented, and I kept shaking my head. In some respects, the NSW election of 2011 is a re-run of that of 1932, when Labor was reduced to 24 seats in the Legislative Assembly, and the Liberals’ predecessor, the United Australia Party, could have governed on its own, although it had gone into the election as a coalition.

That 1932 election has been very important in Australian politics ever since. Labor was so battered by the outcome that it remained out of office for the next nine years, internally divided and unable to present any kind of appealing appearance to the electorate.

More, because NSW is the major State in

electoral terms, Labor’s weakness there spilled into Federal politics, and made it hard for Labor to get much traction in the Commonwealth parliament.

Had it not been for the coming of war in 1939, and the shift in preoccupation from getting out of a depression to surviving a world conflict, Labor might have struggled on in opposition for several more years.

It learned one great lesson from 1932; no party will be electable when it appears disunited. The NSW Labor Governments of McKell, McGirr, Cahill, Heffron and Renshaw kept whatever troubles they had hidden from the public.

Dr Evatt, who had been an MLA in NSW in the 1920s, forgot all that when he precipitated the split in the Federal ALP in the mid 1950s.

In NSW, the party closed ranks, and virtually avoided the split that convulsed Victoria and Queensland.

Alas for collective memory, the NSW Labor Party seemed to have forgotten it all. Disunity, spilling Premiers, complacency, dreadful selfdiscipline among Ministers, apparent indifference to the problems facing the electorate – to me it looked like a death-wish.

How long will it take Labor in NSW to recover its sense of purpose? It is easy to say that they are out for at least eight years.

The harder question to answer is the extent to which of its problems will spill over, as they did in the 1930s, into the Federal sphere.

My guess is that they will, especially if there are by-elections.

Prof Don Aitkin, political scientist and historian, served as vice-chancellor of the University of Canberra from 1991 to 2002.

Locals can learn from the landslide

THE extraordinary landslide against Labor in NSW provides some interesting lessons in the  -month build up to the ACT election on October 0 next year.

It is not just Labor that can learn – there are important lessons for the Liberals and the Greens.

The propensity for Labor facing a disastrous election is to attempt to tidy their mess, their poor performance and their economic ineptitude by moving a woman in as leader. It worked in Queensland with Anna Bligh grabbing victory when all polling indicated Labor was on the nose, as it did for Julie Gillard.

However, despite their personal popularity, it did not work for Kristina Keneally, Carmen Lawrence or Joan Kirner. Lara Giddings has been given the mantle in troubled Tasmania, but has yet to be tested in an election. Beware, Katy Gallagher! If things are not going well, if there is widespread dissatisfaction with Labor, despite your personal popularity the people of the ACT are unlikely to be fooled by

By Michael Moore

transferring leadership to you.

The disenchantment with Labor in NSW was not so much the specific bungles that were made (although there were enough of these) as the sense that things were slowly going downhill economically, in planning and transport, the environment and community services as well as in health and education.

These problems are a mark of a tired government and the solution for troubled government is invariably consolidating as much as possible into the hands of the leader.

This is exactly what is happening with Chief Minister Jon Stanhope at the moment. His recently announced public service reforms have sidelined his ministers by ensuring that all “directorate” heads will now answer to a single public servant responsible to the Chief Minister. The role of the Ministers has just been made second fiddle. They deserve to be marginalised for being so weak as to have allowed this travesty that undermines the democratic process to occur.

The lesson for the Liberals in the ACT comes from the previous NSW election along with the present resounding victory. In the 2008 election, the public were aware of the influence of David Clarke MLC in the Liberal Party and his efforts to ensure people of similar views to his own won preselection wherever possible. His conservative views and his close

alignment with Cardinal Pell caused community concern. John Dowd, a former NSW Liberal Opposition Leader, described Clarke on “Four Corners” in 2006 as “branch stacking and endeavouring to take control of a large measure of the party”.

Even though Labor was terribly unpopular at the time, the people of NSW seemed to see the Liberals as

just too conservative.

Premier-in-waiting, Barry O’Farrell, has contained his party members from the kind of conservative excesses that marked that era and the party has been rewarded with the trust of a huge majority of the people. No government has had this level of endorsement for a long time.

The ACT Liberals under Zed Seselja have not yet been able to overcome their innate conservative nature to claim the middle ground in the way Kate Carnell did to win government in 1995 and again in 1998.

The Greens in the ACT can take little comfort from the NSW election, although no doubt they will put the best spin on it that they can. It is likely they won an additional seat in the Upper House where the electoral system is proportional representation. However, considering the huge swings against Labor, their inability to capitalise on the circumstances bodes poorly for a prospect of any increase in the number of seats for them at the next ACT election.

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

Hitting the pavement again and again

The jackhammers are back in London Circuit and there are more to come, writes

ELERI HARRIS

THE gutters and pavement of London Circuit have been hit up by construction crews with jackhammers for the second time in less than a year, with another set to move in for further works before 2011 is out.

Works in 2010 were completed as part of a $3.8 million TAMS upgrade, the current works are fault repairs paid for by that contractor, with works later this year due to form part of the Department of Land and Property Services’ “Canberra City Area Coordinated Action Plan 2010-2016”.

Racking up $8.8 million of upgrades in 12 months, Liberal spokesperson Alistair Coe says London Circuit is emblematic of the communication troubles and overlaps that caused Dr Allan Hawke’s critique and proposed overhaul of the ACT planning bureaucracy.

“A lot of people do expect the beautification of the city to be core business for the Government,” Coe told “CityNews”.

“But hand-in-hand with that is the expectation it can be done reasonably, in a good time frame with a reasonable cost.

“Here we are with umpteen documents that seem to influence the plan-

ning process, but nobody seems to know which one is actually current.

“you’ve got LAPS, LDA, TAMS, ACTPLA, and there are a lot of inefficiencies with the way the departments operate.”

Greens TAMS and planning spokesperson Caroline Le Couteur has been questioning the efficiencies of Government works and planning overlaps in Civic since the 2010 London Circuit works.

“The Greens believe in ‘plan before you pour’,” Le Couteur told “CityNews”.

“The works on Northbourne Avenue and London Circuit cost the community about $8 million and three months of disruption. But both of these streets currently have redesign plans on the table that would make the work redundant.

“Did the Government undertake these works without giving any thought to the future plans for these parts of the city? In this case, it is bad planning and a careless use of public money.

“The work should have been postponed to be part of the more major changes in the Canberra City Area Action Plan.”

Both Coe and Le Couteur point to

the inconvenience for road users and the cost to the taxpayers generated by doubling up of works or multiple projects conducted at different stages.

“The average person in Canberra doesn’t care which department it goes through as long as the Government is delivering core services,” Coe said.

“How many times do people have to put up with the road works, how many times do we have to cough up the money to get improvements done to a street? They still haven’t put in the on road cycle path, which they sometimes

promise and sometimes back away from.

“The political cycle does make planning issues contentious.

“But when it comes down to it, you’ve got to spend taxpayers money wisely.”

Last year Coe pointed to the $1.65 million improvements to Alinga Street currently in progress, challenging the Government to show the difference between before and after illustrations of the site.

He says the 2011 construction

projects for Revitalising Canberra are superficial, failing to provide improvements in infrastructure the city really needs.

“Politicians, newspapers and people in general get captivated by artists’ impressions, they’re excited by them, they like seeing the way it was and getting a glimpse into the future.

“But perhaps the Government has been a little too honest in this last impression, they’re not really selling the vision because the proposed $1.8 [sic] million doesn’t change much.”

Sexual assault rife in unis, says new survey news

A RECENT survey by the National Union of Students has found that one in 0 female students have experienced sexual violence at an Australian university.

Fifteen hundred women participated in the survey that revealed more than a third of them reported having been sexually harassed at university. These startling preliminary figures highlight what Chrystina Stanford, executive officer of the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, calls a crime unlike any other.

“Sexual assault is unfortunately an issue that a lot of institutions don’t want to deal with,” Stanford said. “For victims there is a lot of shame, there’s a lot of self blame and there is a lot of fear about coming forward.”

Raveena Toor, an ANU law student and a former women’s officer at one of the university’s residential lodges, says she is very concerned about the situation.

In her first year of university, Toor lived in John XXIII College. Affiliated with the ANU but owned and operated by the Dominican Fathers, it’s home to just over 300 students.

Toor described an incident in which she opened her college bedroom door to witness the degradation of a rape victim:

“I went out into the corridor and then there was a girl who was naked and passed out and obviously had been assaulted because she was bruised and injured and guys came out and took photos of her and thought it was quite amusing, and she’d been raped.”

Another story recounted by Toor, who was more recently women’s officer at a separate ANU College (Uni Lodge), involved a practice known as “rock-spidering”.

This appalling “game” sees male students knocking on women resident’s doors during orientation week. If the girl answers the door, it is considered consent.

This practice has allegedly resulted in numerous sexual assaults – many of which have gone unreported – and the Canberra

By Elle Mackintosh

Rape Crisis Centre has confirmed that it is aware of this activity in the college.

Courtney Sloane, an ANU student and the women’s officer for the NUS, also used to live in John’s College during her first years at university. She says that she constantly felt unsafe in the college.

“I had people make comments on my sex life and the things that I do within that sex life which I found really intrusive and should have absolutely nothing to do with my time at university, or me as a person,” she said.

Toor and Sloane strongly criticised the administration at John’s college when it came to dealing with allegations of sexual assault.

They claim it was implied that if a woman was promiscuous or drunk that she could have expected subjection to that kind of behaviour.

The women also criticised the process of investigating allegations and claimed that victims were often bullied when they came forward without being made aware of their rights or given any guidance.

But the current head of John’s College, Sean Brito-Babapulle, says that these claims are ludicrous.

“Anything of this nature that gets put on to my desk is dealt with immediately. We [the administration] at John’s aren’t experts; I’m certainly not an expert in this area, which is why we turn to the relevant people such as the police, the university, the Rape Crisis Centre and other counselling services,” he says.

“We have to take many things into consideration when dealing with these issues, including confidentiality, the safety and feelings of the victim as well as the person being accused and the reputation of the college.”

However, Toor and Sloane stress that this problem is not isolated to one college; it is a problem on many campuses and within many residential colleges.

In fact, my university (the University

of Canberra) had the highest combined number of sexual assaults and indecent acts reported to the Australian Federal police between 2005-2010, with ANU coming in second among higher education institutions in the nation’s capital.

At ANU the students themselves are being forced to fight for their right to safety and protection on campus. Complaints of a lack of policy regarding sexual assault at the ANU have led to the establishment of a “safety on campus” group made up of concerned student representatives.

Their aim is to produce a comprehensive policy to present to university management outlining a suitable approach to dealing with sexual assault on campus and in colleges.

“With the safety group, we feel there is a greater sense of momentum with this issue than there has been before,” Toor says. “At present there is a lack of training, a lack of policy and a lack of disciplinary action outlined, so it’s not really treated as serious an issue as it should be.”

In response, the ANU has commissioned the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre to help with training for residential staff and leaders. Director of the ANU campus and residences committee, Luce Andrews, is very enthusiastic about the changes.

“We’re not approaching the whole issue only from the view of addressing assault, we’re trying to approach the whole issue from the point of view of increasing skills and increasing communication, trying to make a cultural shift in general for the people that we’re working with. So far, the feedback has been fantastic.”

The University of Canberra’s spokesman Ed O’Daly says the management of UC residences has recently been asked to explore training programs offered by the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre “… no assault, sexual or otherwise, is acceptable and the university remains committed to doing everything it can to keep its campus community safe.”

Elle Mackintosh is a third-year journalism-law student at the University of Canberra. This article was first published on crikey.com.au

briefly

Women’s health forum

THE Zonta (Dinner) Club is holding a women’s health forum and fundraising dinner (for Inanna Crisis Service for Women) at the Waldorf Hotel, Civic, on April 6. An expert panel, of Dr Linda Welberry, Prof Gabrielle Cooper and Prof Lynne MacCormack will speak on a range of women’s health issues and answer questions. The two-course meal, including wine, tea and coffee is $55. Bookings to marybroome@optusnet.com.au or enquiries to 6247 4445.

School’s centenary

THE centenary of the Hall School will be celebrated on the weekend of April 16 -17 as part of the ACT Heritage Week Festival. The school was the first public building opened after proclamation of the Federal Capital Territory in 1911. Now a museum, the school will be open from 10am to 4pm each day. On the Saturday, there will be a centenary ceremony with the opening and re-sealing of a time capsule in the school grounds. More information at www.hall.act.au/centenary.html

When Ben lost the brand new day

By Eleri Harris

POET, comedian, blogger and Canberra-born writer of political satire

Ben Pobjie has just launched his latest book, “Surveying the Wreckage”, an ode to the reign of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Comprising a collection of columns pulled directly from the pages of Australian online news and analysis site “New Matilda”, Pobjie says his book is an “evocation of a different era”.

“I started writing the columns that are in the book at the start of the Rudd years,” Pobjie told “CityNews”.

“It was a great time of hope and optimism, we had a new hero, everything seemed so lovely. It was like the world was new again!

“Gradually, as I kept writing, things changed somewhat, to say the least. That mood of a brand new day was no longer present in these parts.”

Due to funding issues, “New Matilda” ceased publication for a time on June 24, the day of the leadership spill that saw Rudd lose out to Julia Gillard.

While it’s back online now, Pobjie says he wants a more stable print record of his works.

“I love books,” Pobjie says. “I’ve got nothing against internet publications, but I thought it would be really great to have a lasting, solid artifact of these things. It’s the traditionalist in me, I suppose. I wanted to put them together in an actual thing that you can put on your shelf and people can read and years from now it will still be there in the same form, even when people have forgotten what the hell I was talking about at the time.”

As his birthplace and the central arena for events discussed in his column, Pobjie says he is a big fan of our nation’s capital, largely

Satirist Ben Pobjie... “I don’t go out at night. So I much prefer a city like this.”

because it is “educational”.

“It’s a cute little city,” Pobjie told “CityNews”.

“People put it down, but I like Canberra. People in Melbourne are obsessed with going out at night and drinking, so it’s like the wine bar or the night club is how you define how good a city is, but I don’t go out at night. So I much prefer a city like this. It’s got Questacon! The War Memorial! It’s the most educational city in Australia and I like that. I like going to places to learn.”

“Surveying the Wreckage” can be purchased online at www. aduki.net.au. Follow Ben Pobjie on Twitter @benpobjie

Amenity, in eye of beholder

THE ABS population forecasts released earlier this month have stimulated discussion, especially on increasing density in the ACT’s existing built areas.

One surprising view I’ve heard is the belief that greater density will inevitably hurt the community by reducing amenity.

I’m surprised because I recently moved with my family, including young children and small dog, from the traditional Australian dream home – in the suburbs on a quarter-acre block – to an apartment in a more central location. And the move has made our home life much more enjoyable, partly because of the greater density and closer proximity to amenities.

I can now walk to shops and restaurants, the children’s school, and beautiful, established parks. Already we’re riding our bikes more – for pleasure, as well as transport. The dog is pleased, too – because my travel times are shorter I have more time for walks.

The park is in my line of vision from the apartment so my children can play under my watchful (but not too intrusive) gaze. The difference to them? They now have to go through two doors instead of one, before they reach a green play area.

And I can enjoy the gardens around me without having to weed or mow them (though I do have plans for greenery on our terrace).

Moving to an apartment wouldn’t suit everyone. But I like the style, and I’m already finding myself part of a new community in my new neighbourhood.

When I hear people’s fears that increased density will cost amenity, I can only assume they mean that it will reduce open space. But city life, especially in Canberra, where many of our corridors and open spaces are protected, suits me fine.

Amenity, real amenity, involves a choice of how you want to live. And there are plenty of people in Canberra who, like me, enjoy the reduced travel time, the convenience and liveliness of urban living.

Catherine Carter is ACT executive director of the Property Council of Australia

Salt shock: More action, says Moore

“REDUCING salt in processed and catered foods is the only effective way to reduce population salt intakes in Australia and clear targets for the food industry to work towards are a fundamental driver of this process,” says Michael Moore, CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia.

The association has thrown its support behind a new report that recommends targets for salt levels in common food products.

“The report reveals shockingly high levels of salt hidden in food products, contributing to premature strokes, heart and kidney disease,” says Moore.

“The George Institute for Global Health’s new report shows that while many companies have been reducing salt levels in their foods, and the government’s Food and Health Dialogue has set salt targets for bread and breakfast cereals and is moving on other products, a greater effort is needed to ensure salt intake is reduced much more quickly.

“PHAA supports the 85 new salt targets for foods outlined in the report. “There is already a huge body of evidence showing that salt is the main cause of high blood pressure, causing premature cardio-vascular disease in thousands of Australians each year.

“Excess salt is also implicated in a range of other serious illnesses including stomach cancer, kidney disease, osteoporosis and asthma.

“PHAA will also continue to advocate for frontof-pack, multiple, traffic-light labelling of food as a fundamental preventive health measure, as part of a comprehensive approach to addressing salt intake along with fat and sugar. Ordinary mums and dads ought not to be forced to plough through complex labelling when trying to make healthy decisions for their children.

“A traffic light for salt, another for fat and one for sugar would send a simple clear message to a consumer about factors that are the prime causes of chronic disease.

“Appropriate traffic-light labelling is one important step in dealing with the growing epidemic of food-related illness. Of course, there is no single solution, and we need to develop a range of responses to addressing food-related illness and disease. Reducing salt content and implementing traffic-light labelling would be two large steps in the right direction.”

Beware what you can’t see

Food scientist AMANDA DOS SANTOS says we consume more salt than we think we do

TOO much salt is bad for your health and, more specifically, it is the sodium component of the common table salt which is the problem.

The concern is that 75-80 per cent of a person’s sodium intake comes from restaurants and processed foods.

Sodium is used in flavourings, flavour enhancers, leavening agents, curing agents, wetting agents, colours, preservatives and anti-caking agents, so it is difficult to see and difficult to reduce consumption without eliminating the products out of your diet completely.

The average daily consumption of sodium ranges from 2300mg up to a staggering 4700mg. Considering the recommended upper limit in Australia is 2300mg for an adult, this statistic is concerning.

Sodium is linked to high blood pressure (hypertension) and even cardiovascular disease.

How it exactly increases blood pressure is still disputed but the simplest explanation is that when salt intake is too high, the kidneys cannot pass it all into the urine and some ends up in the bloodstream. This then draws more water into the blood, increasing volume and pressure, resulting in higher blood pressure.

This hidden nasty is sometimes difficult to find when reading the ingredient lists on the back of food items. Most commonly, it is found in the supermarket in white bread rolls, processed meats, cheese, bottled sauces, seasoned rices or pasta mixes. The food industry

would not be able to provide shelf-stable, safe foods without salts, but it could be reduced, which many manufacturers are starting to do voluntarily and under legislative pressure. What do they replace this salt with? This is where it gets tricky.

Salt replacement is quite exciting from a research perspective. Substitutes such as potassium chloride enable sodium reductions of up to 20 per cent without consumer detection. Sodium granules are also having their surface area increased so as to taste the sodium more effectively, giving the perception of a saltier product.

The pressure on the industry is creating new and exciting challenges and outcomes, some which possibly need a little more research before they enter the marketplace.

Sodium is important to the functioning of the body, but unfortunately in developed countries the ease of convenient processed foods has led to sky-rocketing levels of consumption.

An interesting fact is that your palate for salt is learned, so if you slowly decrease your consumption, the flavour difference will not be detected and the perceived saltiness will be the same. Slowly you will be able to eat less “seasoned” foods without noticing the change. Try it. Amanda Dos Santos can be contacted via www.foodactive.org

A picnic rug and movies with the spooks?

NON-Canberrans who love to knock our national capital as being dull, boring, filled with grey bureaucrats, just don’t know what they are talking about.

Canberra can turn on a pretty good show – as the latest Canberra Balloon Festival Spectacular and the recent Enlighten Festival demonstrated. And whoever thought up the idea of getting the Electric Canvas Company to illuminate some of the iconic buildings in Parkes deserves a huge swag of brownie points.

It was a great family event. When we went to have a look, we found hundreds of people

letters

The sad reflection

ON March 20, the Prime Minister Julia Gillard made a significant statement of principle. She said: “I think that there are some important things from our past that need to continue to be part of our present and part of our future… I think for our culture, for our heritage, the Marriage Act and marriage being between a man and a woman has a special status”.

Referring to her upbringing, she added, “…we believed in lots of things that are old-fashioned in the modern age. We believed in politeness and thrift and fortitude and doing duty and discipline”.

That these things are thought of as old fashioned rather than common sense and common decency is a sad reflection on both the standards and rationality of modern behaviour.

Needless to say, the “progressives” of The Canberra Times avoided giving Miss Gillard’s statement any space, except for the predictably denigrating cartoon of Pope three days later.

No wonder its circulation is steadily dropping.

Pam Lai, via email

How pathetic!

LITTLE wonder the circulation of the “The Canberra Times” is sinking into the sunset when its gossip reporter on Saturday, while skimming off a facile item based on your snapping [Liberal MLA] Vicki Dunne looking at the ikea site during Question Time, couldn’t bring herself to credit “CityNews” for breaking the story, but was able to get 2CC’s follow-up into the sentence. How pathetic!

Penny Brew via email

Reorganised, says who?

THE newly announced reorganisation of the ACT bureaucracy into a single organisation under a chief officer answerable to the Chief Minister begs a question: Do ministers go the way of departmental heads?

But a more important question which when answered may steady the horses is: What is the authorisation process under which the Hawke recommendation is massaged in to a Chief Ministerial announcement that the change is implemented immediately?

Is this a government decision? Has it been considered by the Legislative Assembly? Is it an administrative order?

Given Michael Moore’s piece, “Stanhope’s

mum in the city

sonya Fladun

enjoying the stunning lighting display in the cool autumn evening. These easily accessible, low-key but fun events are part of what makes Canberra such a great place to raise a family.

The spectacular success of Enlighten got me thinking. Only Parliament House, old Parliament House, the National Library and the National Gallery were in on the act. Maybe next year they could illuminate the National Museum, Questacon, and the High Court.

Some of our supposedly dull, grey government departments could also be brought into the

dose of dorin

picture as well – the Treasury, the Environment Department in the John Gorton Building and the new Australian Federal Police headquarters in the Edmund Barton building. The Defence Department on Russell Hill could also be illuminated, maybe in a tasteful shade of pink, though they will probably say they don’t want to be made a target.

My children also came up with a great idea. They’ve been fascinated with the rise of the new ASIO headquarters and especially the sweep of what will be its dramatic glass frontage. My son, who at eight years of age has a keen appreciation of design and architecture, says it’s just like a giant IMAX theatre.

So why not turn the front of the ASIO building

power without glory” (CN, February 24), on this proposal, he may be interested in providing some experienced background.

a lan c hristie, Phillip

Belated recognition

CATHERINE Carter’s defence of the property industry (“In praise of property”, CN, March 24) is belated recognition of the growing criticism of the environmental gang rape perpetrated and continuing in ACT suburbs.

However until the community has incontrovertible evidence, government and developer greed no longer is the benchmark, the “government that works with the property industry” is selling out – at least until the next election.

Greg cornwell, Yarralumla

Silly cyclists

WE spend millions of dollars revamping the roads around Canberra to meet the needs of cyclists. Providing them with cycle paths along the road so they can ride safely around.

These cycle paths are well equipped to ensure they provide the cyclist with enough of a barrier from the cars zooming past. But just about every day I see cyclists riding in pairs, side by side, right on the edge of the path! Cars driving past have to reposition themselves in their lanes to ensure they are not too close to the rider, therefore going too close to the other cars in their lanes, creating havoc and, in some cases, accidents.

As a taxpayer, whose money goes into creating these costly additions to our roads, it annoys me that the cyclists still ride on the edge of the bloody path! Just ride in a single file, for your

safety and everyone else.

Laurie Beaver, Macgregor

Moore’s fallacy

EVEN more levies to hit consumers in the hip-pocket shows the fallacy of Michael Moore (“Tony, it’s just a muggaccino”, CN, February 3) just looking at the flood levy in isolation.

We now have ACT Environment Commissioner, Maxine Cooper, suggesting an environmental levy and the Productivity Commission recommending a national insurance injury levy.

Add these to the other ACT levies such as the fire and emergency services levy, the energy industry levy, the ambulance levy, the city centre marketing and improvement levy and the utilities (network facilities) levy and we see taxation by stealth which is hugely distorting in an economic sense. Combine this with increases in things such as food, fruit, petrol, insurance premiums, health insurance and the like, and we have negative multiplier effects on the economy through reductions in disposable income.

Even worse, Michael may be forced to cut out his muggaccinos altogether!

Ric Hingee, Duffy

Cut the carbon tax churn

I ACCEPT climate change as scientifically sound (however imprecisely projected), but as an economist am increasingly sceptical of the huge churn inherent in emissions trading and carbon tax.

I am amazed at the Greens reversal against emissions trading to now favour it, and the dishonesty of Gillard on her carbon tax policy breach. Projections of the costs of new power

into a giant outdoor movie screen? On Saturday nights Canberra families could unfold their picnic blankets on the lawns and watch an evening of films projected on the ASIO big screen. Maybe screenings could begin with “Spy Kids” followed by one of the classic James Bond movies.

With a construction budget of more than half a billion dollars for what my journalist husband calls the Canberra Lubyanka, ASIO ought to be giving something back to the local community. The occasional ASIO film night with a gold coin entry donation for charity strikes me as a pretty good idea.

So how about it ASIO? Maybe our grey-suited spooks could make their own unique contribution to Canberra’s image as a happening place.

generating plants (ACIL Tasman projected at $30.5b over the next decade), which is on top of the carbon tax, which is recycled into our pockets! Why not cut some tens of billions of dollars of churn out and get some “real change”? And can the emotional class-warfare rhetoric be turned off? It’s not the polluters that pay tax, but their customers, i.e. us.

M. Gordon, Flynn

In praise of democracy

IT was incredibly heart-warming to see democracy in action at Parliament House, with the anti-carbon tax rally outside, and groups such as the youth Climate Coalition presenting petitions inside. This is the way democracy should work, with people taking an active interest and letting their elected representatives know what they think about important matters of national interest.

And yet, despite this showing of our strong democracy, some people were unhappy about it. In particular, I’m thinking of Christine Milne, deputy leader of the Greens, who was on the TV news sneering at the anti-carbon tax rally, claiming that it was akin to the Tea Party rallies in the US.

Then there’s Wayne Swan, who was busy in parliament claiming that the anti-carbon tax rally people were telling lies about climate change.

This is in stark contrast to the likes of Tony Abbott and Barnaby Joyce, who addressed the rally and didn’t say a bad word about the people who are in favour of the carbon tax.

But it doesn’t really matter who is right or wrong in all of this. The fact is that our democracy is healthy, and our elected leaders would do well to acknowledge that protests are welcome. After all, people don’t like to vote for politicians who label them as “delusional” or “liars”. s amuel Gordon-stewart, Reid

Standing up for ACT

I READ with interest Michael Moore’s open letter (“Dear Kate and Gary, stand up for the ACT”) in the March 10 edition of “CityNews”.

I wholeheartedly agree that the people of the ACT deserve equal representation.

As Senator, I have always been a strong advocate for the rights of the people of the ACT and I will continue to champion their right to equal representation.

Labor has a proud record of supporting the rights of the ACT and we supported equivalent legislation in 2006.

Equality sits at the heart of this Bill and I am actively advocating on behalf of Canberrans for their right to equal representation.

senator Kate Lundy, c anberra Letters are invited from “CityNews” readers. Let loose to editor@citynews.com.au or write to the editor at GPO Box 2448, Canberra 2601. Letters of 200 words or less stand a better chance of publication.

At the 10th anniversary party for Morris Walker, Fyshwick

all about the arts

Creole with lots of sizzle

WHEN thinking about Cuban music, Haitian culture doesn’t normally come to mind, but that’s exactly what’s in store when the vocally sizzling Creole Choir of Cuba arrives in Canberra soon.

A group of classically-trained musicians, all from the same Haitian Creole background and who perform in the mixed Creole language of their home city, they call themselves Desandann, Cuban for “descendants”.

All are members of the “Provincial Choir”, founded by their director,

arts in the city

Emilia Chavez, in 1994.

According to English-born touring manager Eugenia Afonso, it’s the only choir in Haiti or Cuba singing Creole songs in Creole. Descendants of immigrants from Haiti, whose ancestors came to the city of Camaguey, the songs of the six women and four men choir members tell stories, both educational and entertaining, often involving the laments of their West African forebears, enslaved to the Caribbean.

We might not understand many

of the words, but with a kind of expressive choreography that is traditional for Haitians, it has a song and dance element that goes well beyond the conventions of stand-up choral singing. The group’s latest album “Tande-La” (meaning “listen”) tells the stories of their ancestors who were brought to Cuba to work in near-slave conditions in the sugar and coffee plantations.

“You understand the moves, you understand the feelings,” Afonso says. And, yes, of course, there are explanations in the program. In addition, their complex harmonies, Caribbean rhythms and bass underlay create an atmosphere of excitement for listeners.

Another very typically Haitian element is the audience participation,

which involves people singing and clapping and dancing to songs about colonialism, neo-colonial dictatorships, natural disasters and all the other things people have sung about since time immemorial. Incorporated into the choir are two composers who create original works while also coming up with new arrangements of old songs.

But, Afonso assures me, this participation is not forced – “It happens organically,” she says. How come?

“They’ve been singing together for 17 years professionally, so they’re like a family.”

The Haitian Creole choir from Cuba, Canberra Southern Cross Club, 6.30pm, April 8, bookings to 6283 7200.

‘Barney’

A room to remember our Jan

By Helen Musa

A MEETING room at the Australia Council’s Sydney headquarters in Surry Hills has been dedicated Canberra’s late community arts champion Jan Wawrzynczak.

At a ceremony attended by his family, his widow Anni Doyle Wawrzynczak and leading arts figures such as the director of Hobart’s IHOS opera, Con Koukias, Canberra performing artist Adam Hadley marked the occasion with his now-famous “Love Letter To Canberra”, written in Wawrzynczak’s memory.

One of Canberra’s most colourful arts personalities, Wawrzynczak was co-ordinator of the Belconnen Community Arts Centre, a member of the national Kultour touring network, general manager of Canberra Youth Theatre, multicultural arts officer in Western Sydney and later the ACT, all the while working as a stage manager, lighting designer and operator.

The Australia Council has summed up why they have so dedicated this meeting room, which will become the heartland of the council’s Community Partnerships, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and Literature boards: “Jan’s commitment to promoting cultural diversity in making the arts and culture central to Australia’s everyday life will continue to live on, wherever communities across Australia are involved in defining their own cultural development.” Wawrzynczak died in 2008.

Two Fires Festival remembers Judith Wright

BRAIDWOOD’S biennial Two Fires Festival, which celebrates the legacy of long-time Braidwood resident, the late Judith Wright runs until April 3. As well as literary events, the festival features hip-hop, storytelling, songwriting mask-making workshops, concerts and an exhibition by 19 Shoalhaven artists involved in a wetlands field study. Bookings to www.twofiresfestival.com.au

THEATRE-lovers will be saddened to learn of the death on March 18 of Hope Hewitt, a giant theatre and literary reviewer over many years and a generous supporter of the arts, especially of Canberra Repertory Society.

PACIFIC Opera and the National Trust are staging an afternoon of opera in the ravishing gardens of 1870s sandstone home Golden Vale, in the Southern Highlands, April 9. 2pm-5pm. Bookings to 9258 0181or email ngross@nationaltrust.com.au

ARGENTINE pianist Marcela Fiorillo will join poet Geoff Page in a belated celebration

arts in the city

Helen Musa

of “New Tango” composer Astor Piazzolla’s March birthday. Fiorillo will play and Page will recite his tribute, “Eight for Astor”. It’s at Tilley’s Devine Café, Lyneham, 9pm, April 9. Bookings to 6247 7753.

A COUPLE of years ago, Stephen Pike saw a production of Ray Cooney’s play “Funny Money” above a Cootamundra pub and found it so funny that he programmed in a new production, supported by the Queanbeyan City Council and directed by Robert DeFries, for The Q, April 6-16. Bookings to 6285 6250 or www.theq.net.au

THE three Austrian brothers, Christoph (piano), Georg (violin) and Florian (cello) make up the Eggner Trio and will perform at Llewellyn Hall for Musica Viva, 7pm, April 7. An exceptional feature will be works by

Australian composer Ian Munro. Bookings to www.ticketek.com.au or 132849.

THAT indefatigable portraitist Barbara van der Linden is launching her artistic impression of Mal Meninga at the Raiders’ game on April 2. That follows a low-key launch on March 18 of four portraits called “Just Friends”. All are part of her ongoing “Faces of Canberra” Canberra centenary project.

“CAFE Rebetika!” celebrates the raw sub-culture of Greek “rebetika”, the “Greek Blues” to you and me, and there’s a coarse language warning. It’s at The Street Theatre, April 7-16. Bookings to 6247 1223 or www. thestreet.org.au

Ain’t nothing like a ‘Mame’

THEATRE

“Auntie Mame”

By Jerome Lawrence and Robert E Lee, based on the novel by Patrick Dennis, directed by Cate Clelland at the Courtyard Studio until April 10. Reviewed by Helen Musa

THOUGH written for page, stage and screen in the 1950s (the musical came later), this script is as fresh as a daisy. The larger-than-life character of Mame at its centre is backed by tiny vignettes, many of them stereotypes, that make for an evening where the actors are having as much fun as the audience.

Director Cate Clelland struggles with the huge cast on a stage far too narrow to accommodate the goings-on. This makes for cumbersome changes in set and props.

Andrea Close resists taking Auntie Mame over the top, instead turning in a touchingly gentle interpretation of this dominant character, matching warm performances by Ben Burgess as little Patrick and Lachlan Ruffy as his older counterpart.

Riley Bell steals the show as the Slavic butler Ivan and Jason Savage plays a straight-laced trustee and later, in drag, brings the house down as Mother Burnside.

Along with sophisticated and subtle wit, this play has moments of

excruciating comedy, like the scene at a dinner party in Connecticut where Mame meets Patrick’s future motherin-law Doris, played unnervingly by Kiki Skountzos.

Like Auntie Mame herself, this evening is full of joie de vivre. And, no, I didn’t miss the music.

Le Grand’s career commands respect

DEEPLY rooted in rich formalist traditions, the work of Michael Le Grand has been at the forefront of Australian metal sculpture for the last 30 years.

Among his accolades; the inaugural Sydney Water Sculpture Prize, the Capital Arts Patron’s Fellowship and the ACTARTS Creative Arts Fellowship in 1997. Le Grand was also a driving force behind many of the early Floriade art and sculpture events.

His current exhibition is a retrospective of a career spanning back to 1979. Ranging from small table pieces to large and imposing outdoor compositions, Le Grand’s work demonstrates an impressive commitment to his medium.

It is characterised by balance and fluidity – often defying the aluminous and hardened nature of the material.

The sculptures feature twisting, snaky curves, metallic shiny colours, tortured sheet metal and the use of everyday domestic items. The

larger-scale ensembles include “Cadeaux” (2003), which you confront on entering the museum is a minimalist sculpture consisting of a row of four large boxes, each torn at its corner, each torn a little more than its predecessor.

“Sabre” (2007) combines a spiralling tube and chair conjoined at the hip – giving the impression of a crossed sword and sheath. The pieces

“Maketa” (2006) and “Until the Party is Over” (2001) exemplify Le Grand’s talent for constructing small-scale, elegant and intimate work.

This exhibition commands respect for the way it demonstrates and helps to explain the artistic achievement of one of Canberra’s leading artists.

Cliche-free ‘Barney’ has few equals

cinema

Dougal Macdonald

“BARNEy’S VERSION” (MA)

THE fidelity of Michael Konyves’s adaptation of Mordecai Richler’s novel is not an issue. It results in an intelligent, perceptive, loving, affectionate, challenging and, above all, credible film unhampered by cinematic cliché, surely with few equals in its romantic comedy-drama genre.

Miriam is a guest at the wedding to a rich man’s selfish, strident daughter of Barney, a freespirited, life-loving, creative Jewish Canadian TV producer unrestrained by convention. So begins a love story that advances through Miriam’s refusal to have an affair with a married man, divorce, marriage, parenthood, marital stress, separation and death, overshadowed by a detective’s determination to arrest Barney for murdering his best friend as soon as the body turns up.

Nothing unusual here, do I hear somebody sneer? Wrong. A screenplay reflecting Richler’s powerful understanding of the human condition, pulling no punches, avoiding no issues, provides a platform for Richard Lewis’s deft direction. To this, add virtuoso supporting performances from especially Dustin Hoffman as Barney’s retired cop dad, Minnie Driver as Barney’s intolerable wife and Scott Speedman as his best buddy.

Hirsute, shambling Paul Giamatti, not beautifully-buffed but a convincing romantic lead, and Rosamund Pike, exquisite beyond words, deliver splendidly-judged principal performances as Barney and Miriam.

I have reasons for not giving “Barney’s Version” the full five stars. But as may be apparent, I think it’s simply great.

At Dendy and Greater Union

“RED RIDING HOOD” (MA)

CATHERINE Hardwicke’s ill-crafted film unfolds one winter in a primitive, impoverished 15th century Balkan village with a remarkably wellnourished population.

David Johnson’s screenplay embellishes a story by the Brothers Grimm with a werewolf reappearing after a 20-year absence and a power-hungry, visiting priest protected by a team of black thugs and adds passing references to the three little pigs.

Innocent folk die. Red Riding Hood, originally described as “a dear little girl… loved by everyone who looked at her” becomes Valerie, a late teenager who in the hayshed hoists her skirt to rut in perfunctory passionless fashion with one of two village youths competing for her hand in marriage and engages in conversation with the wolf in view of a teenager who reports the event to the priest. Grandma makes soup in her forest

cottage. Valerie’s mother confesses adultery. The villagers allow the priest and his retinue to dominate village life. Is there anything new here?

Not a lot, alas.

Amanda Seyfried plays Valerie with little visible emotion. Such acting merit the film has comes from Julie Christie looking lovely at age 69 as Grandma and Gary Oldman as the priest. And in a community where cutting wood is the only visible economic activity, the standard of axemanship matches the film’s overall impact – woeful.

At all cinemas

“THE MECHANIC” (MA)

THERE are worse movies than this potboiler actioner starring stone-faced husky-throated tough guy Jason Statham as Arthur, a mechanic. Not the kind that fixes sick cars, but a high-priced people-killer.

Murder is everywhere a crime, but the first amendment of the US Constitution protects film-makers’ right to create fictional secret government agencies such as the one that engages Arthur to terminate US citizens on US soil in the interest of national policy unhindered by judicial process.

The agency employs consultant McKenna (Donald Sutherland) as Arthur’s handler. The agency engages Arthur to terminate McKenna for betraying an operation. McKenna’s son Steve (Ben Foster), unaware of Arthur’s role in the matter, brings himself into an uninvited apprenticeship to Arthur while searching for his father’s killer.

From there, writer Richard Wenk invites director Simon West to stage a series of complex, violent, destructive and ingenious terminations. They won’t exercise your brain. But their energy and imagination might divert it after a tough day at the office.

At Hoyts and Limelight

Festival brings heritage alive

THE annual Canberra and Region Heritage Festival will this year celebrate 100 years since the design competition for Australia’s new capital city.

THE festival, from Saturday, April 9 to Sunday, April 24, offers more than 114 events (many of which are free) to reveal and experience local historic, natural and Aboriginal heritage wonders.

Highlights include the restoration works at the Kiandra courthouse and chalet, Art

Dickens winners

WINNERS of the five “Dickens’ Secret Lover” DVDs are: Pana Thurston, of Nicholls; Robyn Scollen, Stirling; Barry Rollings, Condor; Michael McKenna, Waniassa, and Robyn Kelly, Melba.

Deco architecture in Acton and hearing from direct descendants about the colonial past at Parkwood Chapel.

There will be the Rolls Royce Rally and insights into the ingenuity of our industrial heritage at Cotter Dam, Kingston and Goulburn.

There will be school holiday attractions such as cow milking at the Duntroon Dairy Open Day; steam train rides to Queanbeyan; rangerguided activities at Tidbinbilla plus an Easter egg hunt at Lanyon homestead.

When looking good isn’t always enough

CRISP, white-linen table cloths, a still-life painting from 1901 by an artist named Harrison and chairs that replicate one of famous Phillipe Starck’s contemporary designs, all make up the décor at D’Browes, Narrabundah shops.

Other than it being a bit too dark, the décor is graceful. And the byo charge is priced just right at $8 a table cloth.

Owner Damien D’Browes, who worked at Marinetti’s Italian Restaurant in O’Connor for 15 years, has created a menu that draws heavily on European and Asian influences. Be prepared for rich dishes and rich sauces. And very big portions.

Our group agreed that the quality of the food during our dining experience is nowhere near a

dining

Wendy Johnson

match for the look of the place. Out of four entrees ($14.50 each) and four mains ($27.50 each), two dishes were fine, but the rest disappointing. And serious work is needed on presentation if it is true that you should be able to feast with your eyes.

My entrée duck livers served on pasta were tender. The scallops came with the coral, which we did not mind – although, as recently discussed, on an episode of “My Kitchen Rules”, this is a turn off for many. The problem was that the scallops were, to our taste, terribly undercooked.

The tempura prawns were served with two huge chunks of watermelon, mint and thick pieces of Spanish onion – all very unmanageable (why not a refined salsa?).

European favourites are on the menu, including osso bucco ordered by one of our party who was looking forward to tender veal with the full flavors that can only be accomplished with slow cooking. But the presentation was a shock, with the ingredients plonked on the plate. The chunks of tomatoes cried out to be cooked down and the gremolata, instead of being made with finely chopped herbs, appeared to be bits of raw garlic.

The ratatouille alongside my big piece of pork was cold so I asked for it to be heated up. My

book reviews

plate came back sans ratatouille.

The one main that was tender and tasty was the char-grilled eye fillet, although the beans seemed overcooked and not at all a bright green.

The seafood pie had some interesting flavours, but was far too salty to my fellow diner’s taste.

Much of the food went uneaten, although no-one asked – when clearing our plates – if there was an issue. And for desserts? We departed early and indulged at a new restaurant around the corner. Sorry D’Browes, but the experience was anything but savoury.

D’Browes, 59 Boolimba Crescent, Narrabundah shops. Call 6295 6990. Lunch and dinner Tuesday to Saturday. BYO only.

edited by Robert Macklin

Political gossip for the tragics

PHILLIP Adams is an Olympic-class gossip. There is no one in Australia with whom I’d rather spend a couple of hours in a coffee klatch. He not only knows everyone of note in this country, but he knows all their dirty secrets.

He does this by maintaining an emailing network of Herculean proportions. The last time we chatted at his Paddington home, his laptop on the coffee table was opened at his email page and I was bedazzled by the way in which a new message would arrive every two or three seconds.

This is what makes “Backstage Politics” such an intriguing read. He began it by writing to all Federal Politicians asking them for anecdotes. But the results were pretty lame and his other source – previously published works by Fred Daly, Barry Cohen and others – had been done to death. So he was forced to draw on his own rich store.

This means he is an actor as well as a reporter in many of the incidents. No doubt he’ll cop some flak for perceived self-promotion. But the truth is that he has been extraordinarily influential in the Australian political scene for at least four decades and his stories of backstage shenanigans are totally engrossing to all of us political tragics.

Some, alas, are self-censored. It will not be until one towering figure finally dies, I suspect, before Phillip can tell the real story of his motel adventures. And you have to read closely between the lines to identify the woman who declared her determination to take the bedroom route to the Lodge.

But these are quibbles. Truth is, it kept me reading far, far into the night.

When Grace comes home

SARA Foster is a WA migrant from Britain and her story is set in snowy Yorkshire.

Here’s the plot: Grace’s husband inherits a lonely cottage and they leave the city and the mortgage to live there with Millie, their baby girl.

About page two, hubby vanishes while on a walk with the baby and little Millie is found on the front step.

A year later, the shattered Grace comes back to pack up the house.

There have been no clues to explain hubby’s disappearance and this is all so incredible the reader has to keep going if only

to find out how the author can possibly get herself out of this one!

It’s a very old house and she hires a craggy, mysterious chap to do renovations. Grace is strangely stirred, but could he be a criminal?

To her credit, the author manages to solve the mystery in an acceptable way.

“Beneath the Shadows” is a nice little oasis – good for a drink, but of limited staying power.

Peeling away the decades

DECADES peel away and here we all are packed in the classroom; vulnerable and responsive to the smallest bit of encouragement.

It’s a world of blackboards, sachets of milk, rote learning and sometimes even wet undies. The idea for this wonderful anthology, came from a dinner party discussion during which a teacher told the editor about a touching thank you note received from a refugee student in her class.

There are a range of stories by high achievers included in the book, many of whom directly link their current success to the words of an encouraging teacher. Laura McHugh sums up the theme of the collection well in her entry: “Teachers are so important, especially to the young and impressionable. They give us belief in ourselves, nurture our talents, and teach us about the world. In a sense they shape us to be the people we are today.”

Many of these 90 nostalgic

accounts caused me to shed tears or laugh while reading. Some of the writers managed to contact their teachers years later and tell them how their teaching changed at least one student’s life. (I doubt Gary Humphries will be contacting his though.)

And my favourite teacher?

The principal/teacher I had in year 6 at St Mary’s Primary School, Warren. It was a year of hands-on discovery, with raft building, camping, laughter and the learning of tolerance. The hardest thing about that year was remembering to call him by his proper name in class – and not accidentally call him “dad”.

Editor’s note: Ms Britton is director of the ACT Writers Centre and hardly known to Robert Macklin, who is the “CityNews” literary editor.

health&fitness

Be wary of workplace eating

MORE than 0 per cent of Australian workers say that stress, particularly the sort generated at work, causes their healthy eating habits to lapse, according to Fruit at Work, which delivers fresh fruit to workplaces around the country.

Fruit at Work nutritionist Stephanie Stephenson says there’s a few handy ways to improve our workplace diets:

1. “A homemade lunch is always preferable, since you’ll know exactly what you’re putting in it,” she advises. “If your mornings are usually rushed, put five or six salad items in a bag to take to work. Add some protein in the form of a small can of tuna, a boiled egg or some chicken/lamb/ beef from last night’s dinner. Take five minutes to chop up and make a healthy, high-protein salad once in the office.”

2. Too much starch at lunchtime – including pasta, rice, thick bread or noodles – can raise blood sugar initially, followed by a mid-afternoon slump that makes us hungry again at around three. “Protein slows the release of sugar from your meal into the bloodstream, helping you to maintain an even blood sugar level which reduces cravings,” says Stephanie. “Fewer cravings means you’ll be less tempted to choose a high sugar snack.”

3. It’s a cliche for a reason: skipping

By Megan Haggan

breakfast is not good for us. “People who don’t eat breakfast tend to choose unhealthy snacks for morning tea, and/or overeat at lunchtime,” Stephanie says. “If you’re in a rush, blend some protein powder with a banana and some skim milk, and drink it on the bus.”

4. Don’t underestimate the importance of a good night’s sleep. “If you’re skimping on sleep and feeling tired at work, you’ll keep reaching for food as a source of energy even though you may not actually be hungry.”

5. Those who are likely to work late need to plan ahead. “Don’t wait until 7pm when you’re starving to think about dinner. Once hunger strikes, you’re far more likely to grab the nearest high-fat delivery menu or order a pizza for convenience. Plan for a long day at work by ducking out in the afternoon to buy your dinner. Pop it in the fridge, and you’ll be ready once your body is hankering for the evening meal.”

6. Those who are easily tempted by junk food shouldn’t keep it around, Stephanie says. “Sure, we can convince ourselves that the packet of lollies or block of chocolate we’re buying will only be for emergencies. But realistically – will it even last the day? The best way to cut down on sugary foods is not to buy them and to keep healthy snacks within arm’s reach instead. Grab

a piece of fruit, or keep some raw nuts at your desk to nibble on in between meals.”

7. Drinks count towards our daily caloric intake, and sugary soft drinks are an obvious culprit when it comes to weight gain. “Even fruit juice can be misleading, providing you all the calories from fruit without any of the fibre that will keep you fuller for longer. If you’re thirsty, drink water. It’s calorie free, and doesn’t cost you a cent from the tap.”

8. We should also examine just how many calories we’re getting from coffee. “The average full cream latte/capuccino/flat white contains 224 calories, not including the sugar you may be adding.” We should limit the number of takeaway coffees we consume, and replace full cream milk with skim, which has 75 per cent less calories, she says.

9. Meetings with unhealthy snacks on the table are another trap. Instead, we should bring our own: “Grab an apple or a box of nuts so you can join in the snacking without being tempted.”

10. Taking the time to actually notice what we’re eating is also important. “How many of us slam down our lunch while staring at a screen, paying absolutely no attention to what we’re eating?” says Stephanie. “Try to take 10 minutes (even at your desk) to concentrate on nothing but what you’re eating. “When we rush our food, the receptors that register when we’re full can’t get the message to the brain fast enough. By the time the message gets through – oops, you’ve overeaten and feel bloated and uncomfortable.”

your week in the stars

With Joanne Madeline Moore April 4-10

ARIES

(Mar  – Apr 0)

Restless Rams are raring to go! With the New Moon (plus five other planets) in Aries, it’s the best week of the year to initiate projects but there’s a danger you’ll overdo things, as your fiery energy goes into overdrive. Your motto for the next seven days is from painter Brett Whiteley (born on April 7, 1939): “I gotta learn how not to burn myself out.”

TAURUS

(Apr  – May 0)

Have you been bustling around like a busy Bull on steroids? The New Moon urges you to make room in your hectic life for some well-earned rest and recuperation. Simple solo pursuits are favored – such as meditating, reading, writing, drawing, crafting and walking in nature. Plus pay close attention to your dreams. Are they trying to tell you something?

GEMINI (May  – June )

Geminis are brilliant at juggling the minutiae of daily life like a circus pro but this week will test your multi-tasking talents to the max. If you pace yourself, then you’ll get through without a major meltdown. It’s also time to foster friendships and nurture your network of business contacts, but resist the urge to be the neighborhood nosey-parker.

CANCER (June  – July )

Cautious Crabs have a tendency to side-step problems (or just put your head in the sand!) With six planets in assertive Aries, it’s time to try a direct approach as you face challenges head on – especially at work. On Sunday, don’t let fiery feelings, manipulative behavior or unpredictable moods get in the way of open and honest communication.

LEO (July  – Aug )

Is life in Leo Land becoming boring and ho-hum? With no less than six planets activating your travel zone, you’re restless and ready for a new challenge so it’s time to introduce an exciting international flavor to the mix. Put on your thinking cap and start planning (and saving) for that Timbuktu trek, Amazonian adventure or Himalayan holiday now!

VIRGO (Aug  – Sept )

With the New Moon stimulating your sensuality zone, you’re in the mood to let your inhibitions run wild. Love and lust are in the air so make the most of it. Issues involving shared finances need to be dealt with (and updated) ASAP. When it comes to joint ventures, opportunities will appear suddenly and you may have to make a snap decision.

LIBRA (Sept  – Oct )

Beginnings are highlighted in personal relationships and it’s the best time of the year to start a hot new romance – or resuscitate an ailing one. The challenge is to get the balance right between give and take. (Make sure you’re not doing all the giving, and others all the taking!) Don’t make grand promises unless you are 100 per cent committed to keeping them.

SCORPIO (Oct  – Nov )

The New Moon lights up your wellbeing zone so it’s time to diet, detox or find fun ways to boost your fitness levels. You also need to shake up your daily routine so there’s room for spur-of-the-moment meetings, spontaneous happenings and plenty of outdoor activities. If something isn’t working out, don’t be afraid to change horses mid-stream.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov  – Dec )

You’ll be hard to ignore this week as you ruffle a few feathers with your impulsive ideas and spontaneous Sagittarian shenanigans. But too much hot-headed haste could land you in trouble – especially when it comes to children, teenagers or friends. On Thursday, the Sun and Jupiter join up in your entertainment zone so you’re ready to rock and roll!

CAPRICORN (Dec  – Jan 9)

Have you been burning the midnight oil? All work and no play make Goats grumpy to live with. The New Moon encourages you to lift your nose from the career grindstone and enjoy the comforts of casa Capricorn – and the company of loved ones. It’s also the perfect time for a domestic makeover, as you tweak the feng shui or dabble in some DIY.

AQUARIUS (Jan 0 – Feb )

Community activities are highlighted, as the New Moon increases your desire to be actively involved in your local neighborhood. With Mars and Uranus hooking up in your travel zone, you’re in the mood for speed (which makes you more accident-prone than usual). Slow down! Less haste and more concentration sees you arrive safe and sound.

PISCES

(Feb 9 – Mar 0)

Commit yourself to a responsible new financial plan. You’ll need a large emergency fund, as your cash flow fluctuates and unpredictable expenses keep popping up over the coming year. With Neptune moving into your sign, the currents of change are sweeping through your life. It’s time to release the creative, compassionate, spiritual soul within.

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore

Across

1 Name the metallic element, symbol Ag.

7 Which hourglass runs for about three minutes?

8 What is a more readily known term for a harbinger?

9 Which part of a mechanism transmits motion?

10 Name the Australian test captain who became the highest scoring test batsman in 1993, Allan ...

11 Who was the Australian physicist, and Governor of South Australia 1971-76, Sir Mark ...

14 What do we call incoming international sporting teams?

18 What is the harmonic combination of eight notes?

19 Name the metallic element, symbol Pt.

21 What is an alternative term for a serviette?

22 What do we call trash written or drawn on walls, etc?

23 Name the king who invaded Europe and who was known as "the Hun".

Down

1 Name the Austrian composer (1797-1828), Franz ...

2 What is another word for articles of choice food?

3 Name the international philanthropic organisation formed at the Geneva convention in 1864 (3,5).

4 What is a term describing "in a state of wonder and amazement"?

5 Which fraction is a half of a quarter?

6 To lower in dignity or standing is to do what?

12 What is chronic sleeplessness?

13 What are periods of three years?

15 Those who cast amorous impertinent glances are known as what?

16 To confirm by expressing approval is to do what?

17 Which term tells one to discontinue (4,2)?

20 What was the given name of the first person to walk on the moon?

all about home&garden

Rowena Abbey with Harlequin Great Danes Tiger and Jack… “We’re in the process of refurbishing the home and garden, in keeping with the original style.”

Bellevale brings a buzz to the annual plant fair

Wo RDs: Kathryn Vukovljak

PH otos: s ilas Brown

BELLEVALE is a wow-factor, -hectare garden with lush rolling lawns, pockets of fragrant roses, robust natives and a natural escarpment falling away to breathtaking views across the Yass countryside.

The historic property on Black Range Road Road, Yass, will be open on April 2-3 as part of Australia’s Open Garden Scheme, and will also host the annual plant fair bringing together “exciting” nurseries, garden art and specialist tools. Visitors can talk with specialist growers, admire garden sculptures, as well as enjoy talks and demonstrations from landscape designers such as Michael Bligh and plant specialists

such as Attila Kapitany, David Glenn and Ben Walcott.

Established in the early 1800s, Bellevale is now owned by Brendan and Rowena Abbey after 170 years in the Barbour family.

“She’s an elegant old lady,” says Rowena of the homestead, which was named after Hamilton Hume’s sister Isabella, the first mistress of the property. Rowena admits she is still wowed by the property on a daily basis.

“We’re in the process of refurbishing the home and garden, in keeping with the original style. That’s one of the benefits of purchasing such an old property – it has great bones.”

A Botanical Art Exhibition will be held in the ballroom of the homestead all

weekend, and keen gardener Rowena says she will be giving a talk on the past and future of the property.

“I love sitting out on the veranda at the end of the day with a gin and tonic, protected from the wind, enjoying the view,” she says. “It’s just lovely here.”

Bellevale is at 191 Black Range Road, Yass, and will host the plant fair on Saturday, April 2, and Sunday, April 3, 10am-4pm. Entry is $8, children under 18 are free. Tea, coffee, snacks and lunches will be available all day provided by the Yass Red Cross and Rotary groups with proceeds going directly to these groups as well as to the Yass District Education Foundation.

A wafting fragrance gives the ‘wow’ tree its name

gardening

cedric Bryant

THE fragrance of Osmanthus auruntiacus, now spectacularly in flower, is absolutely delicious.

Originating from China it is a variety of Osmanthus fragrans (Olea fragrans) with the common name of Sweet Olive and a fragrance of ripe apricots.

A few years ago clients were visiting our garden and suddenly commented: “Wow, what is that fragrance?” In fact, it had wafted from the other end of the garden. The request was immediately made to include it in their garden design. Since then, I have described it as the “wow” tree.

Most Osmanthus have white flowers in late winter or spring, whereas this variety is in flower now with clusters of rich, apricot flowers. It is a small evergreen tree to 3-4m tall, although it can be kept more bushy and lower with regular pruning.

THERE is an increasing interest in Oriental vegetables. Therefore, it is only natural that one of Australia’s largest growers of seedlings, Oasis, has announced new, tempting varieties.

for continuous

The leaves are best cut when young and succulent and, besides eating fresh, they can be steamed, stir-fried or pickled. It is a mixture of green and deep-red leaves with frilly edges and a mild flavour.

Microgreens

Check this out along with Mustard Red (Brassica juncea). This has a distinct mustard flavour that intensifies as the plant matures and the leaves attain their distinctive red colour.

Ready to harvest any time from 3-6 weeks after planting, it gives stir-fries a hotmustard flavour, although it is suggested by Oasis that for salads it is best to collect the

book to be won

“HOW to Grow Microgreens, Nature’s Own Superfood” by Fionna Hill (Bateman Press, distributed by CSIRO Publishing, rrp $29.95, paperback) is about the tiny seedlings of herbs and vegies. These are ideal for small townhouse gardens or growing in containers. It shows how to grow 25 popular varieties along with recipes and use ideas and great to encourage children to start a garden. Microgreens, as the CSIRO says “pack a powerful nutritious punch with higher levels of active plant compounds than mature plants”.

To be in the running to win this beautiful book, simply write your name and contact details on the back of an envelope, with the name of a favourite small vegetable in your garden and post it to Cedric Bryant Superfoods Competition, “CityNews”, GPO Box 2448, Canberra City 2601 by Thursday, April 14. I will announce the winner in my column on April 21.

leaves when young, mild and tender.

ANOTHER fragrant plant for every garden and in flower at present is Aloysia triphylla or Lemon-Scented Verbena. This is often listed and labelled as Lippia citriodora. A hardy deciduous shrub to 2-3m tall, originally from Brazil to Chile. The pale lilac flowers are delightfully fragrant appearing in panicles along the stems. Chefs use the strongly lemonscented leaves as flavouring for chicken and fish dishes. The leaves can be finely crushed to add to cakes, muffins, ice cream or sorbets. Fresh leaves make a cooling summer drink or dried to make a wonderful tea. There are many dozens of uses, too numerous to list here, which is why I recommend it for every garden.

ADVANCE notice for the Australian native plant sale by the Growing Friends of the Botanic Gardens, 8.30am-11am, on Saturday April 9, with all plants just $3 and $5. This is hugely popular, so I suggest an early arrival before the gates open. Take your own bags or boxes.

THIS week’s helpful hint: When planting hedges, dig a trench rather than individual holes for each plant. The roots will spread much faster and by applying Maxicrop Seaweed Plant Nutrient every few weeks will specifically encourage strong root growth.

Sit tight when picking sofas

By Kathryn Vukovljak

AUSTRALIANS are still after that modern and clean aesthetic when it comes to sofas, but there has been a recent shift in trends toward the modular sofa, according to Carine Rozen, Natuzzi’s marketing manager.

“We’re starting to see a greater demand for versatility and functional sofas, which combine modular configuration with reclining motion and storage chaise longue component, are extremely popular,” she says.

Choosing a sofa can be a long, arduous process – there are so many different elements to consider, explains Carine, and not everyone has the space for a modular configuration.

“A large sofa in a small room can look grand, but it can overcrowd a room,” she says. “The same can be said for a small sofa in a large room; this can sometimes make the room look awkward and out of proportion.”

says that the colour of the living space and sofa should also be considered.

“If the living space has dark walls, it’s generally best to avoid dark furniture as it will close the room in, making it appear smaller than it actually is,” she says.

“Don’t buy a sofa based purely on the style you like. The seat depth and lumbar support are critical, and a very personal

choice, so you should sit on a sofa for at least 15 minutes before you make your decision.”

Wood – friendly on bare feet

By Kathryn Vukovljak

WITH greater concern for creating healthy living environments, selecting a flooring material and style for a home renovation is increasingly important, says Robyn Barnes, marketing manager at Boral Timber Flooring.

“Timber floors are a natural alternative to other flooring options, including vinyl and carpets,” she says.

Replacing carpet with timber flooring can also assist for those sensitive to dust, including asthma and allergy sufferers, says Robyn.

“Unlike carpet, timber floors are less likely to trap dirt, dust mites, pollen or allergens, making

it one of the healthiest floor coverings available,” she says.

“Benefiting home health even further, the durable surface of timber floors is easy to wash, sweep and disinfect, standing up to the spills and mess created by kids, particularly in high-traffic living areas.

“Cool in summer and warm in winter, timber flooring is also friendlier on bare feet compared to stone or tiled surfaces.”

Robyn says that after years of wear and tear, timber floors are also easy to renew by sanding and refinishing – extending the value of the investment.

all about property

PERCHED high on a hill in Garran, with sweeping views across the Woden Valley and the Brindabellas, this Richardson Street property, presents an opportunity for a large or extended family, or anyone wanting to work from home.

Fully renovated three years ago, there are four double bedrooms with built-in robes, two ensuites, a bathroom and powder room. The upstairs family room overlooks a private backyard, while the lounge and separate dining room would suit large gatherings.

Big house, big views

There is easy access to the Red Hill walking trails, local shops, schools, and transport.

The property will be auctioned at 10am on Saturday, April 16. Inspection times from selling agent Nicky Symon on 0418 285797.

Thousands of houses, right here, right now!

A luxury destination

THE vision of a waterfront precinct that breathes new life into Canberra’s shoreline through a mix of residential, retail, commercial and recreational facilities, is being realised by the Aurora development at Kingston Foreshore.

“The unique advantage of this site is that it overlooks Lake Burley Griffin and the new boat harbour – and is in itself a destination,” said Rodney Moss, from COX Architects.

“To maximise the panoramic northerly views and feeling of almost being in the water, we designed something free and invigorating in an interesting and sculptured way using appealing, robust and earthy materials.”

Internationally acclaimed designers BKH were given freedom with the interiors, pushing design to the edge with colour, texture and decorative expression.

After a successful launch campaign, the Aurora Residences sales suite, at 17 Eastlake Parade is open to the public. Prospective purchasers can take a virtual tour of the project using 3D interactive technology. Apartments are priced from $405,000.

More information from marketing agent Craig Chapman, of McGrath Estate Agents. Call 0408 118519.

Backs on to golf course

A SPLIT-level, family home at 63 Brereton Street, Garran, on a block of more than 1600sqm and backing on to the Federal Golf Course, is for sale, by negotiation, for the first time.

It is in original, but sound condition, and accommodation includes four bedrooms, a large study, two bathrooms, an ensuite and separate living areas overlooking the private gardens.

“A paved terrace and barbecue area overlooks the inground salt water pool and the expansive block and adjacent golf course,” says selling agent Nicky Symon, of Philip Kouvelis Real Estate.

“Other features include a double carport, security alarm, ducted gas heating, reverse cycle air conditioning, a water tank and automatic watering system.”

The property is for sale by negotiation. Inspection and other details from Nicky Symon, on 0418 285797.

10/35 Brockway Cct Ray White Canberra 0414 962 066 4BR I

L.J. Hooker Tuggeranong 0438 627 772 4BR G

BONNER

Canberra Region Property Summary

BRUCE

BUNGENDORE

CRACE

Canberra Region Property Summary

FORREST

100%

FRANKLIN

HACKETT

Canberra Region Property Summary

HARCOURT HILL

HARRISON

LATHAM

LYNEHAM

NARRABUNDAH

Canberra Region Property Summary

NGUNNAWAL

NICHOLLS

Canberra Region Property Summary

THEODORE

First National Gungahlin 0417 687 379 4BR H

Sat 3:00-4:00 9 Liz O'Neil St First National Gungahlin 0433 557 337 4BR G

Sun 11:00-4:00 Blk L Section Cd First National Gungahlin

Sun 11:00-4:00 Block G Section Cb First National Gungahlin 0414 249 449 3BR I

Sun 11:00-4:00 Block Q Section Cd First National Gungahlin 0433 557 337 4BR H

Sun 11:00-4:00 Block R Section Cd First National Gungahlin 0433 557 337 4BR H

Sun 11:00-4:00 J Of Bh First National Gungahlin 0433 557 337 3BR I

Sun 11:00-4:00 22 Kevin Curtis First National Gungahlin 0417 687 379 4BR G Sun 11:00-4:00

Plimsoll Dr First National Gungahlin 0408 413 405 4BR H Sun 11:00-4:00 87b Plimsoll Dr First National Gungahlin 0408 413 405 2BR J

TORRENS

TURNER

WEETANGERA