Canberra CityNews September 8-14, 2011

Kevin’s still loosely in the saddle

Former PM Kevin Rudd has no chance of a comeback. Or has he? It’s all a matter of who you’re listening to, says ROBERT MACKLIN

THE favourite party game in the press gallery and among Canberra’s commentariat these days is “Pick the People”.

It’s based on the belief that sometime before the next election both major party leaders will be deposed. The question then is, who will take their place and in the reshuffle who will be the big winners and losers?

Regular readers will recall that, at the beginning of the year, I wrote that Julia Gillard would probably not establish an emotional connection with the electorate and that Tony Abbott wouldn’t see out the year as Opposition Leader.

At this stage it’s certainly true that Ms Gillard has failed to connect with the voters. Indeed, the latest figures from Queensland where she was able to score only 23 per cent approval, compared with 62 per cent for Kevin Rudd, were unprecedented. But were they terminal?

Will Kevin Rudd be the ultimate comeback kid riding to

the rescue of his beleaguered party? Most of the press gallery journalists don’t think so; they say his caucus colleagues wouldn’t have him back in a fit. However, the wiser heads such as Laurie Oakes and Peter Hartcher are not prepared to write him off.

The gallery’s lesser lights are listening to the apparatchiks such as the egregious Bill Shorten and Mark Arbib who would have no future at all under a resurgent Rudd.

However, it’s a different story among Labor members who are closer to their electorates. They know – as do the top journalists – that, short of a political miracle, Gillard is leading the party into the wilderness and themselves to the unemployment queues.

Kevin is the only viable alternative.

But if he returns, the “Pick the People” game says Swan will go, as Deputy PM – probably to Defence – replaced as Treasurer and Deputy by Stephen Smith. Gillard will be offered Education and

Craig Emerson will get Foreign Affairs.

The Rudd revival would immediately precipitate a leadership crisis in the Liberal Party. Abbott’s hold on the job is totally poll driven. He is detested by his own shadow cabinet and the wise heads on the backbench know their only hope against Rudd would be Malcolm Turnbull, newly resurrected as the “man of principle”.

Abbott would be offered Education (to oppose Gillard) and Andrew Robb would get Treasury to appease the right wingers. Poor old Joe Hockey would be given an expanded Regional portfolio much like Simon Crean’s bailiwick, nicely sweetened with the Arts and other high-profile goodies. And of course Julie Bishop would remain the eternal deputy.

And what a splendid battle it would be.

Truth is, it wouldn’t matter much who won; Australia would be well served at the top. The real problems would be with the parties them-

selves. Labor is full of union functionaries with little understanding of the real world. The Liberals are split between centrists such as Turnbull and an increasingly rabid right wing with echoes of the Tea Party that is growing like a cancer on the American Republican Party. So, will it happen as predicted before the end of the year? Probably not, but there’s plenty of time before the next election. robert@robertmacklin.com

Hyatt’s service star

JOHN Savona (pictured), of Hyatt Hotel Canberra, has been named “Front of House Employee of the Year” at the National Australian Hotels Association 2011 awards. Hotel general manager Mikael Svensson said of the senior bell attendant: “John typifies the standard of service delivery that is synonymous with the Park Hyatt brand.”

Arts awards

TWO Canberra arts bodies have been recognised at the Australia Business Arts Foundation’s NSW and ACT AbaF (Australian Business Arts Foundation) awards. The National Gallery of Australia and Wesfarmers have won the AbaF Partnering Award for their partnership in the Wesfarmers Arts Indigenous Fellowship and the Indigenous Arts Leadership program. Canberra Symphony Orchestra and Macquarie Group Foundation have received the Toyota Community Award for a series of free educational concerts called “Noteworthy”.

Mural to be unveiled

LOCAL artist Margaret Hadfield’s 30mx2.5m mural depicting life in historical Queanbeyan will be unveiled at Queanbeyan Museum, 10 Farrer Place, as part of history week on September 10 from 11am, free entry.

Figures show city graffiti on decline

GRAFFITI such as tags, posters, stickers, chalking and scratchings on public assets are all on the decline, according to statistics from the Australian Graffiti Register.

The register, used by the ACT Government, shows that in the period from January 1 this year to August 24, 114 sites in the Civic area were cleaned covering 265sqm, down from the same period last year that recorded 157 sites cleaned over 450sqm of space.

Territory and Municipal Services’ city operations manager Steve Amos said the decline in figures could be a result of a combination of factors including added surveillance and the efficiency of city cleaners.

“I can’t put a finger on what it is but it could be the combined strategy between the ACT Government and Canberra CBD Limited of removing graffiti as soon as we can,” he said.

He said bill posters were the main source of graffiti in the city and he hoped the strategy will prove this as a wasted effort.

The Australian Graffiti Register is an online database that allows the ACT Government to register, track, report and archive graffiti through photographs.

Mr Amos said the register has been a helpful tool in tracking the movements of vandals across the ACT.

INDEX

September 8-14, 2011

Since 1993: Volume 17, Number 34

Arts&Entertainment 18-20

Canberra Confidential 15

Cinema 19

Crossword 30

Dining 20

Fashion 21-29

Garden 31

Horoscope 30

Letters 11

News 4-12

Politics 10

Property 34-52

Social Scene 16-17

Sudoku 30

By Freyla Ferguson

“It’s great to have a record of the graffiti,” he said.

“We now have a lot of information and can work out the hot spots for graffiti and get a visual picture of what type of graffiti is being done.”

He said ridding the city of graffiti completely may not be a realistic goal, but TAMS and cleaning contractors would continue to work with the public to keep the city streets tidy.

“Graffiti does give [the public] the wrong impression,” he said.

“People don’t feel safe. It would be good to rid the city of tags and offensive graffiti completely.

“But we do remove offensive graffiti within 24 hours from the report and within three days for other graffiti.”

TAMS employs 24 staff cleaning the city area, working 365 days a year.

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It’s International

Prostate

Cancer

Awareness Month

and

medical writer MEGAN HAGGAN discovers that

it’s now the disease men are getting better at talking about

Support group president Peter Daley... “many men are concerned about not just testing for prostate cancer, but also the consequences of diagnosis.”

by Silas Brown

Men finally find the words

ONLY five or six years ago, Canberran blokes would do their best to just pass by the ACT Region Prostate Cancer Support Group’s awareness stalls, and the group were lucky to get an, “I’m all right, mate” as they walked by.

Today, men are willing to talk about prostate cancer, says Peter Daley, the group’s president.

“They’ll stop and talk to you; and they’re being tested – we very rarely find somebody who will walk past and ignore us these days,” Peter says.

“Up to about 50 per cent will stop and talk, and the rest will take a pamphlet. Awareness is so much better than it was just five years ago.”

September is International Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and the support group, alongside many other men’s groups, prostate cancer groups and supporters around the country, will be setting up a couple of Big Aussie Barbies to raise funds and awareness.

This year, around 20,000 Australian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 3300 will die of the disease.

“Last year, we challenged the Minister of Health, Katy Gallagher, to put on a barbecue during September, which she did outside King O’Malley’s pub in Civic,” Peter says.

“What we’ve done this year is challenge the Leader of the Opposition, Zed

Seselja, to do the same thing.”

The Support Group will also host three barbecues and Peter will visit Wagga Wagga to help finalise the establishment of a support group there.

Peter says that many men are concerned about not just testing for prostate cancer – mainly the digital rectal examination – but also the consequences of diagnosis, as some treatments can have significant side effects.

But it’s not as bad as blokes think.

“Most men, when you mention the digital rectal exam, will just shudder,” he laughs. “The message we try and get across is that’s not what happens initially. That’s the PSA test, which is just a simple blood test.

“That’s the only indicator that there might be a problem: that you have rising PSA levels over a period.”

This is a simple blood test which looks for prostate-specific antigen.

Treatment doesn’t always mean a radical prostatectomy, either; for example, Peter says that many men who develop the cancer are put on a program of “watchful waiting”.

“To put it bluntly, an awful lot of fellows die with prostate cancer, but not of prostate cancer,” he says.

“There’s also radiation therapy, and Canberra also now has brachytherapy, this involves inserting radioactive seeds

into the prostate.

“This is becoming more common nowadays and it appears to be reasonably successful – and I can speak from experience as I’ve got a very good friend from Melbourne who elected to have brachytherapy 12 years ago, though back then he had to pay for the seeds himself.

“He got over it completely, and is cancerfree.”

Peter, who at 75 is alternating cycles of hormone therapy with treatment-free periods while keeping a close check on his PSA levels, says that funds raised from the barbecues will go towards purchasing equipment for Canberra Hospital and supporting men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer and their families.

“As you can imagine, when somebody’s diagnosed, for a few days it’s the end of the world,” he says. “It’s important for these fellows to talk to others who’ve been diagnosed and undergone treatment, because these days you are given three or four different options and, as you don’t know much about them, you’re confused.

“We’ve got about 65 or 70 men in the ACT Region Support Group, and we try and provide somebody who’s been through the different types of treatment to help newly diagnosed men make up their minds.”

More information at www.prostate.org. au or call 1800 220099.

mum in the city

Yikes, the call of God!

IT is a bit of a worry how, in the general cacophony of daily family life, sometimes really quite big issues can get overlooked.

The other day when, in an effort to extract the truth about a particular atrocity committed to my pale lemon couch, I pulled out the really big guns and asked the eight-year-old to swear that he was “telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God”.

I should have gone for an affirmation. To my surprise the G-word brought forth a whole host of questions – “Who’s God?” “What does he do?” “Where does he live?”

To my horror, I realised that, yep, I’d forgotten to cover religion.

Now, this was never my intent. Although my parents were far from God-bothered and never thought it necessary to send us off to Sunday school or regularly go to church, I was brought up with Christian beliefs firmly in place.

My husband was raised as a very traditional South Australian Methodist and has sort-of lapsed, along with the Methodist Church itself.

But with regard to our children, and what they should or shouldn’t be encouraged to believe, well the truth is we’re unsure what to do about religion.

And I doubt we are alone. It will be interesting to see what the 2011 census reveals, but the 2006 census showed that 3.7 million or 19 per cent of Australians had no religious affilia-

By sonya Fladun

tion and I have no doubt the number of purely nominal religious adherents is large indeed.

Sitting down with the two children later and trying to rectify the situation was pretty challenging.

My eight-year-old boy has certainly embraced science, evolution and a confused form of social Darwinism in which God really doesn’t have any place at all.

Meanwhile, my five-year-old daughter quickly formulated an image of God as her own personal hitman, or rather hitwoman, who might smite her brother with a lightning bolt whenever he commits any atrocities against her. Clearly, we have some work ahead of us.

The thing is, whether or not you are committed to a particular religion or ethical system, are atheist or agnostic, or have taken your own path and developed your own personal beliefs, at some stage your children will confront you with a whole lot of questions about God, life after death, heaven, hell, angels, devils and everything in between.

Some parents see it as part of their parental responsibility to directly shape their children’s faith or beliefs, while others like me feel the need to allow our children to work out their own beliefs in their own time.

Of course, as I recently discovered, unless you want your children to get a total mishmash of ideas or have no idea at all, it’s best to get in early and open a discussion about the big questions.

opinion

Cricket’s new Lyon tamer

By Mark Parton

WHEN I was a lad, I played Test cricket for Australia. I think most of us did.

I represented the country playing in the backyard from the time I was nine. I had a cement slab resting on an angle against the barbecue and I used to bowl a golf ball into it and take spectacular catches off my own bowling.

In my mind, I would quickly rise through the ranks of grade cricket into the State side before being a surprise selection for Australia. I would typically take a wicket with my first ball before finishing with 5 for 34. That was my childhood fantasy.

Last week, in Sri Lanka, a young cricketer with a Canberra connection got to live that dream.

Nathan Lyon’s meteoric rise to international cricketing stardom is a triumph for Andrew Dawson and the ACT Cricket high-performance program.

Nathan came to Canberra from Young as a teenager in 2006. At the time, his brother Brendan was in the capital trying out for the U19s ACT program. Brendan made mention of his little brother who was keen to have a crack at the U17 team.

Andrew Dawson remembers the first time he cast an eye over young Lyon, who was, at that time, a batsman who could bowl a bit.

“There was a fair degree of talent there and we were keen to get him in the program,” Dawson told me.

“He’d just finished Year 12 and he wasn’t sure what to do next. An apprenticeship came up with the groundstaff at Manuka Oval and Nathan convinced us he was the man for the job.”

He took to the high-performance program like a duck to water and, before too long, he was a leading figure among the playing ranks. He captained the ACT U19 team in a successful series in Hobart and continued to play for the Comets and local club Western Districts.

The mentoring from the likes of Dawson, Comets players Mark Higgs and Ben Oakley and Matt and Allan McGann from Western Districts well and truly prepared him for his surprise recruitment by the SA Cricket Association a year ago.

Lyon moved to Adelaide to ply his trade at the Adelaide Oval both as a player and a groundsman. He was a sensation in the T20 form of the game before his surprise selection for the Sri Lankan tour. History shows that Lyon took a wicket with his first ball and finished his first innings as a test bowler with the Warnesque figures of 5/34. His story is remarkable. The man himself isn’t. He’s a talented cricketer, but the thing that strikes you when you first meet Australia’s newest Test cricketer is his laid back, well-grounded, country boy nature.

“I thought he’d be nervous when he went out to bat in his first test,” reflected Andrew Dawson, “but he had this big grin on his face when we strode out to the middle.”

Whatever the cricketing future holds for Nathan Lyon, you can guarantee that a lot of Canberrans will be watching every ball and celebrating every triumph.

The need

NO-ONE could rightly think that introducing measures to tackle HIV, hepatitis and drug use is ever easy.

Yet in Australia, we have a remarkable record of achievement in this area.

The reward for our innovation, courage and success is hard to measure at times, but we do know that Australia has one of the lowest rates of HIV amongst injecting drug users.

This has saved thousands of lives and billions of dollars. This success has also meant that the impact of HIV has been felt by far fewer people and families here than in nearly all other countries around the world.

At a time in the ACT where the first prison-based needle-and-syringe program in the country has been proposed, it is important to remember that initiatives we now accept as logical and necessary, such as widespread condom availability, needleand-syringe programs and graphic educational campaigns (remember the Grim Reaper) all began their journey to acceptance in a blaze of controversy and vehement opposition.

Since 2001, the Australian National Council on Drugs has held a position of supporting prisonbased needle and syringe programs. The council assessed the available evidence at the time, including ongoing injecting drug use in our prisons and the proven effectiveness of the needle-and-syringe programs in the community and overseas prisons. The evidence has become even clearer and stronger since then.

Supporting a prison needle-and-syringe program in the ACT prison is not “throwing in the towel” to drug use. It is accepting the uncomfortable reality

briefly Remembering America

THE ANU Choral Society and the National Capital Orchestra will present an orchestral and choral memorial concert to honour the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Centre and Washington. The concert, conducted by Jonathan Powles, will be in The Q, Queanbeyan, at 3pm on Sunday, September 11. Tickets at $25 (concession $20, child $10) from the box office, by phone at 6298 0290 or online at www.theq.net.au

‘Help’ for Zonta

THE Zonta Club of Canberra is holding a fund-raising screening of the critically acclaimed new movie, “The Help”, at Hoyts Belconnen Mall, 4pm, Sunday, September 18. Tickets are $15 and funds raised will go to the Inanna Crisis Service for Women. RSVP by Monday, September 12 to marybroome@optusnet. com.au

Boer War dinner

“THE Boer War Story Time Dinner”, for anyone who wants to tell or hear stories passed down by returned Boer War soldiers or nurses to descendants and friends, will be held in the Great Hall, University House at the ANU, 7.30pm, Thursday, September 22. Bookings to Nigel Webster on 0458 697747. Proceeds to erecting the National Boer War Memorial.

Students get cookin’

THE 19 members of Lanyon High School’s vocational food and hospitality class will be running a workexperience restaurant from September 19 to 21. The menu will offer a choice of three dishes in each of the three courses. All money raised will go back into upgrading equipment and supplies for the hospitality class. Places at the restaurant are limited to 24 diners. Bookings to cathy.wyatt@ed.act.edu.au

for prison needles

Has Chief Minister Katy Gallagher lost her nerve under pressure from the prison union to abandon a needleand-syringe program at the Alexander Maconochie Centre? GINO VUMBACA argues why she shouldn’t...

that drugs are available in prisons and always have been.

Unless we are prepared to accept a system that among a host of unacceptable measures includes a complete body cavity search of every man, woman and child that enters a prison, regardless of their age or position, there will be drugs in prisons. This is not unique to Australia. Indeed, it is impossible to think of a country anywhere that would declare its prisons completely drug free and believe it to be true.

In so many areas of life we accept reality rather than just the ideal. It would be great if prisons were drug-free centres of rehabilitation, where no-one re-offended or engaged in drug use after release.

That can still be an ideal, but we have to act on what happens in the real world. And that means lots of people with a drug dependency being locked up and limited resources for treatment as a result. Changing this investment structure would be far smarter.

The prison needle-and-syringe program also raises concerns of safety for people working in this system and this is a very valid concern.

The ACT Government’s commissioned Public Health Association Australia’s report by its CEO Michael Moore has correctly proposed various models that will restrict the opportunities for this to occur. An effort to reduce violence is

what’s also needed.

A dozen columns need to be written about the pressing need to start to address the transmission of hepatitis C as a result of drug use in this country.

Suffice to say, the numbers are staggering; with more than 200,000 people already living with chronic hepatitis C.

In prisons, hepatitis C remains an overwhelming problem that must be addressed. Estimates range as high as 40 per cent for male prisoners and 70 per cent for females.

Couple this situation with the excellent return on our investment in needle-and-syringe programs in the community, which recent research credits with preventing almost 100,000 new hepatitis C infections in the last 10 years, and a 0.1 per cent rate of HIV amongst people who inject drugs, rather than the 14 per cent it could have been without the program.

Then, quite simply, a prison needle-and-syringe program becomes critical for any effective response to hepatitis C and HIV.

This is why many around the country are quietly hoping that the ACT will show the rest of Australia that we have not lost our drive and determination for innovation in public health.

Gino Vumbaca is the executive director of the Australian National Council on Drugs

How did we lose our compassion?

By Michael Moore

A FEW hundred boat people have us all in a lather.

It might even grow to a couple of thousand. And supposedly our country, our way of life, the way we think, our religious beliefs, our cultural norms and the opportunities for our children will all come crumbling down!

How did we get to the point where we have lost all ability to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes?

Since Australian settlement there have been influxes of Irish and Chinese; postWorld War II Jews and others; Greeks, Italians and Vietnamese. More recently, it is the Middle East and Eurasia. All these groups have added to the rich tapestry of Australia’s culture.

Those who worry about the influence from places such as Afghanistan seem to forget the contribution made over the last century in opening inland Australia by earlier immigrants from that part of the world.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at Article 14 states: “Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution”. It is a pretty fundamental concept, but somehow the media barrage, exacerbating fear of boat people, has blinded many Australians to some of our main values.

The US grew to its greatness through a huge influx of immigrants. Their attitude from over a century ago is illustrated by the Emma Lazarus poem, “The New Colossus”, engraved on a bronze plaque inside the Statue of Liberty:

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me

Although the US no longer retains this tradition, it reminds us that this time of mass migration played a huge role in building a nation rather than destroying it. There is a fear of terrorists who will use the boats to by-pass Australian security. However, in August 2002, the director-general of ASIO told Parliament that of 5986 boat arrivals, not one was found to be a security risk; they were simply refugees looking to a country that upholds human rights.

So we throw them in detention. Or worse still, we throw them into detention somewhere off our shores.

Asylum seekers are not criminals or illegal immigrants. It is not the migrants that are undermining our way of life, but rather the response of consecutive Australian governments driven through an unfounded fear.

Italy received just less than 40,000 boat people in 2008, while Australia’s whole humanitarian program in 2008-09 was less than 14,000 and the numbers of boat people simply minuscule by comparison. Compare Australia’s humanitarian aid to Canada’s, which received over 30,000 refugees in 2009. Citizenship and Immigration Canada states: “Our refugee protection programs have helped refugees bring their experiences and skills and their hopes and dreams to Canada which, in turn, has contributed to an even richer and more prosperous society for us all”.

Moore should check his facts

I THINK Michael Moore should check his facts when he says that “we certainly do not condone animal cruelty” (“RSPCA loses the plot over Lucky”, CN August 25).

Humans condone animal cruelty every day in a thousand different ways, but it’s easier for us to live with ourselves if we justify that cruelty.

When it comes to animals having rights, I get confused as to what those rights are.

Animals have the right to be used in medical experiments, for testing cosmetic products, their skins used as fashion statements, their body parts harvested and sold for profit and for being used as cannon fodder in war zones to name just a few rights they already have.

Thank God for organisations such as the RSPCA and Animals Australia, who are there to “lose the plot” and protect and safeguard helpless animals from the inhumane treatment and neglect of some people.

If we can so easily forgo humane rights of animals it’s not a huge step for us to start denying the rights of other human beings, which unfortunately we are already doing!

a manda Medcalf,

via email

Couldn’t agree more

I COULDN’T agree more with Michael Moore, “RSPCA loses the plot over Lucky” (CN August 25). Michael Linke’s unfortunate comments on bomb-detection dogs sit nicely alongside his take on owning dangerous dog breeds, like his own, in the suburbs and the spending of large sums of donated money on political TV advertising against fireworks night rather than on specifically caring for animals or publicising just how many native, domestic and farm animals could be saved by spending more on bushfire prevention.

And who has forgotten the RSPCA’s misguided attempt to prosecute Neville Wran for mistreating donkeys when, in fact, he was trying to help them? The case was thrown out of court with the magistrate finding that a RSPCA inspector had fabricated evidence. I stopped supporting the RSPCA after that incident despite being pleased with obtaining my own dog through the RSPCA.

Ric Hingee, Duffy

should know by now not to publicly

Write to us

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.

attack Saunders women (letters, CN August 25) I am no relation to Patricia, but if Mr Hingee disagrees with what she has to say, then I agree with every word she says. More power to us.

Jennifer s aunders, barrister and solicitor, c anberra

Hooray, here’s the boats!

THE High Court decision to smack the Gillard pseudo-government senseless over their ridiculous Malaysian solution is excellent. The floodgates are blown asunder and the boats will flood in.

The people smugglers provide a brilliant screening mechanism. We need a go-get-’em attitude and plenty of cash in Australia. The people smugglers provide people with these attributes.

We get people who will make Australia great, while we can comfortably forget about those who rot in refugee camps and those who have nothing and no hope. We could probably base our entire immigration policy on those who have the right attitude, some skills (like how to put on a life jacket) and cash to get here.

And we will all sleep easy at night, knowing we are making the world a better place.

John c leland, Latham

But Weird Al’s funny

ZED Seselja seems to have an incredibly heightened opinion of himself and his party, suggesting that Shane Rattenbury should step down as Speaker simply because his cronies have moved a no-confidence motion against the Speaker of the Assembly.

In much the same way that you know you’ve made it in the music world, when Weird Al parodies your work, you know you’ve made it in ACT politics when the Liberals have moved a no-confidence motion against you. Of course, Weird Al is actually funny. a lex s atrapa, Isabella Plains

I BELIEVE that any person starting a political party would design a constitution that encompassed the ideals they were intending to achieve. The existing parties do not have those properties or principles.

I can only hope that Parliament makes sure that they do not make the mistakes that we have found so abhorrent and stop them destroying our own industries.

Mervyn Jacobi, via email

Stop the mistakes follow us on

twitter.com/city_news

Minister Barr’s sensible option

By c atherine c arter

ACT Treasurer Andrew Barr has taken a sensible and pragmatic approach to the controversy over the Government’s plans to build its own offices.

He will soon invite organisations to register their interest in designing and building the two new Territory government office blocks (in Gungahlin and Civic). The Civic project alone is forecast to cost $432 million and, at 53,000sqm, comparable in size to the large DFAT building in Barton, the most costly infrastructure project ever undertaken by the ACT Government.

It is as unusual for governments to build, own and run their own office accommodation as it is for large corporations to do so. The reason is simple – these organisations are there to do other work. Property design, development and management are not core business for them.

But providing office blocks is core business for the property sector, and inviting input from the experts is sensible, and might provide the ACT community with options for the same amenity at less cost.

In the meantime, there is choice for those in the market looking for office space. Right now the office vacancy rate for commercial buildings is 13.4 per cent, the highest for any capital city in the entire nation. It therefore might be possible to retrofit and upgrade some of that space to the standards required by the Government for its staff accommodation.

So the Treasurer’s announcement is welcome, provided the market testing will be open-ended enough, with reasonable time frames, to allow thorough examination of all the alternatives and innovative ideas.

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

THE ACT Down Syndrome Association’s AGM will be held at the Orion Room, Southern Cross Club, Woden, from 7.30pm on Wednesday, September 21. Patron, former MP Annette Ellis (pictured), will present certificates to members of the Confident Speakers group and the winners of the perpetual Kate Louise Alderson Award and the inaugural Alderson Family Award for Achievement (sponsored by ActewAGL).

Rotary carnival

THE Rotary Club of Gungahlin is holding its community fun event, the “Big Push Carnival”, at Yerrabi Pond, 10am-2pm, on Sunday, October 9. The day will feature RAAF balloon rides, a fire engine, jumping castle, face painting, treasure hunt and community stalls.

Bikers rejoice

THE ACT Motorcycle Riders Association is hosting Motorcycle Awareness Week 2011, October 22-30, concluding with Bike Fest at EPIC. For more information from 0418 215336 or email jenwoods@internode.on.net.

Canberra Confidential With Lisa Ridgley

Ray gunning for Monica?

BEHIND every great man there’s a great woman; well, that’s what 2GB’s Ray Hadley seems to believe.

“Confidential’s” learnt the talk-back radio host, whose program is syndicated to 2CC, has threatened to steal local presenter Mike Welsh’s producer Monica Masters.

“That’s where we got our last producer Michael from, we might just pinch Monica off you, too,” Hadley said on air.

And while “Confidential” understands Hadley’s comment was all in good fun – many a true word has been spoken in jest!

Masters has been named a 2011 Australian Commercial Radio Award finalist for Best Show Producer in the talk category.

Love on the big screen

HE might just be one of Canberra’s most romantic men. Arfan AlSous, 29, has proposed to his girlfriend Sarah Angullia, 24, in front of more than 80 movie-goers at Dendy Cinemas Canberra Centre. And “Confidential” just happened to be in the audience to witness the event – one which could only be described as an epic hit!

AlSous had been planning the proposal for months, arranging a slide show of the couple’s happy snaps to feature on the big screen during the trailers.

It took just moments for the audience

circumstance would a member ever be charged any sort of “cleaning fee”. It seems a budding entrepreneur saw it as a great way to make some cash on the side.

Tempranillo temptations

LOOKING for a good excuse to get some friends together for a few wines? “Confidential” has the perfect opportunity, all in the name of education!

has been out and about delivering Meals on Wheels. “Confidential” learnt Brodtmann has a personal connection to Meals on Wheels, having been part of the delivery service as a young girl in Victoria.

to realise what was happening, turning to see AlSous on bended knee declaring his desire to marry his leading lady.

“I knew I loved her the moment I saw her,” he says. “I was so nervous and Sarah was so shocked, I’m so happy she’s said yes.”

Sarah thought she was seeing “Jane Eyre” with her bestie until her slide show began and AlSous appeared in the darkness.

The audience applauded the happy ending as the pair, who originally met on Facebook, kissed and smiled.

Don’t make me sick!

BEING sick in front of everyone during a work-out is an experience I’m keen to avoid. And it seems a certain gym employee in Canberra is, too.

“Confidential” has learnt someone at a certain fitness centre has been attempting to charge clients $100 to cover the cost of cleaning up vomit. Management has been quick to apologise, stating under no certain

A group of six accomplished Australian winemakers will converge on Mount Majura Vineyard giving participants the chance to taste and learn more about the Tempranillo variety – the red that’s taking Australia by storm.

Limited spaces are available for one workshop only on Sunday, September 25. Bookings to 6262 3070.

Gai gives a serve

MEMBER for Canberra Gai Brodtmann

“I fondly remember doing the meal run with my best friend Marion and her mum over the holidays,” Brodtmann says. “My vivid memory is of the gratitude of the people we met, who appreciated the food, but appreciated the company of children even more.”

With hundreds of volunteers on its books, Meals on Wheels delivers to around 600 clients in the region.

Casey turns Mama

CASEY Donovan is set to pay tribute to one of the world’s most charismatic vocal stylists and a true ‘60s icon – Mama Cass. And the former Australian Idol told “Confidential” she couldn’t be happier.

“It’s taken me seven years to figure out who I am,” she says. “I might have missed out on work because of my size, but that’s just sad for the people who miss out on seeing me and who I really am.”

The singer songwriter says people should embrace who they are regardless of size. “I’m promoting big as a positive and sexy thing,” Casey says. “I exercise and eat healthy most of the time but we all fall off the wagon and who cares if you eat an extra biscuit – it’s just an f***ing biscuit,” she laughs.

The Mama Cass tour is not to be missed. Tickets are at canberratheatrecentre.com.au for the one show only, Friday, September 30.

Open your heart

MY dad had his first heart attack at the age of 38. I can remember the panic in my mum’s eyes as she somehow found the strength to lift him into the front seat of the car. She turned to me, then 12, and told me to get my brother – quickly.

As we made our way to the hospital, I can recall my brother asking mum if dad was going to die. We were lucky, he survived. So many people aren’t. Get behind the Heart Foundation’s annual door-knock appeal and help fund life-saving research and prevention programs in the ACT. Volunteers will be door knocking throughout September.

Lisa welcomes your feedback, thoughts and item ideas at lisa@ citynews.com.au or follow Lisa on Twitter @Lisa_Ridgley or at her blog at www.thegirlcantalk.com

arts&entertainment

Derek, the man of many parts

By arts editor Helen Musa

DEREK Lynch knows just what tough work it is being an actor.

In the coming production of “Namatjira”, he’s just one of two actors and plays between 12 and 14 (so many he can’t quite remember) characters.

The 24-year-old actor is a descendant of the famous artist who was, with his wife, the first Aboriginal to be granted Australian citizenship and who, after being jailed for supplying liquor to his family, died in misery in 1959.

He doesn’t get to play his celebrated ancestor – that honour goes to Trevor Jamieson. But he does get to play a variety of personalities and to inject a note of satirical humour and warmth into this production by Scott Rankin and Wayne Blair.

“I play a soldier, a cowboy and kids at school”. Lynch also plays “a Melbourne society lady,” Albert’s wife Rubina and the Queen, in a series of hilarious impersonations that have seen him praised by one interstate critic as being a “sharp drag artist.”

Jamieson also does a few characters, but not as

many as Lynch. One of the unusual features of the production, written by Scott Rankin in consultation with the Namatjira family, he said, was the creation of a huge chalk landscape on an upstage wall. As the show continues, artists, many of them relatives of Namatjira, add detail, so that “by the show’s end, the landscape is also complete.”

Added to this, a portraitist appears on stage painting Jamieson.

Lynch says that during the tour, the painters will “come and go”, but the role of painter was created by Robert Hannaford, and he will appear in Canberra. Indeed, the National Gallery of Australia is planning a forum (at 2pm on September 13) with Hannaford and contemporary artists from Hermannsburg, near Alice Springs, where Namatjira grew up.

Chapman Gallery will also stage an exhibition of Hermannsburg watercolours, some of which will hang in the Canberra Theatre Centre foyer.

Big hART’s “Namatjira”, The Playhouse, September 14 to 17. Bookings to 6275 2700 or canberratheatrecentre. com.au

The Street’s play time with the pollies

CAROLINE Stacey is working on a new play at The Street by Alana Valentine called “MP”. Stars are cabaret diva Geraldine Turner, Stephen Barker, Andrea Close, Leah Baulch and Soren Jensen. Valentine researched by interviewing politicians such as Julie Bishop, Kate Lundy and Vicki Dunne and journalists Annabel Crabb and Virginia Haussegger. In 1992, Tessa Bremner wrote and directed “Hot Property”, inspired by Greens Senator Christobel Chamarette, with another cabaret diva, Queenie van de Zandt, playing the lead. October 1-15, bookings to 6247 1223.

GRUMBLE, grumble... why does Canberra have such theatrical clashes? On September 16, Rep (6257 1950) will have “Pig Iron” by John (Roy Slaven) Doyle,

arts in the city

“Avenue Q” is at the ANU Arts Centre (6257 1950) and Free Rain Theatre’s Grease” opens at Tuggeranong Arts Centre (6293 1443).

IAN Robertson is everywhere. Now he’s exhibiting 15 oil and acrylic vistas of Ramshead Range in the Snowy Mountains National Park at The Q, Queanbeyan, until September 17, Monday to Saturday.

CABARET performers Melissa Langton, Libby O’Donovan and Mark Jones will take us through the best of Lennon and McCartney in “Get Back” at The Q,

Queanbeyan, on September 15. You’ll probably sing along, yeah yeah yeah. Bookings to 6285 6290.

IN “Two’s Company”, pianist Kathy Selby and cellist Emma-Jane Murphy will perform Mozart, Brahms, Sculthorpe, Rachmaninov and Schubert in the James O. Fairfax Theatre at the NGA, 7pm on September 12. Bookings to www. selbyandfriends.com.au

THEN Aria-winning diva Katie Noonan will be at The Street Theatre on September 14, with The Sydney Symphony Fellowship Quartet. Bookings to 6247 1223.

BELCONNEN Arts Centre is all go, with three simultaneous exhibitions running until September 18. You’ll see Kristin Morris’s oil-on-canvas self-portraits,

Cary James’ portraits and figure work and Canberra printmaker Jo Hollier’s new prints and artist’s books.

UNTIL September 11, you can catch all the following: “Staring into Space,” photographs by Helen Braund, Denise Ferris, Holly Granville-Edge, Cathy Laudenbach, Amy McGregor and Sharon O’Connor at M16 in Griffith; ANCA Gallery has “Showtime”, art by primary and preschool children; in “Imminent Change”, at CSIRO Discovery, Susan Hey explores the Coppins Crossing area in encaustic, oil, acrylic, pastel, mixed media, lino print and embellished felt; and at Watson Arts Centre, Steve Roper is having “Too Much Fun” with “silly figures and scenes” – acrylics, oils, ink drawings and clay sculptures.

By Helen Musa

IT’S springtime and music will be blossoming for the three-day Bloom Music Festival at the Ainslie Arts Centre in the former Ainslie Public School, in Elouera Street, Braddon. It has become Canberra’s music hub, say Vivienne Winther, from Music for Everyone, and Chris Latham, from Pro Musica. You might not care who James Ainslie was, but you will after the James Ainslie Recital Hall is launched at the festival, named after the reprobate Scot and ex-Napoleonic soldier who gave his name to the suburb.

The inaugural concert in the recital hall (using a newly-purchased grand piano), will see Latham in the role of violinist and pianist Tamara Anna Cislowska performing Kancheli, Gorecki, Rachmaninov and Kats-Chernin at 7.30pm on September 16. The following night the Griffyn Ensemble will explore the solar system with music by Holst, The Beatles, David Bowie, Stockhausen, Hovhaness and Michael Sollis. Both nights will wind up with the steamy Jazz@ Ainslie at 9.30pm. Bloom Music Festival, September 16-18. Tickets to jazz concerts at the door. Bookings for $60 festival pass and both night-time concerts to 6230 5880 or info@cimf.org.au. Other activities are free. Full program at www.bloommusicfestival.com

‘One Day’ is less of an education

“ONe DAy” (M)

“AN Education” gave me high expectations of director Lone Scherfig, but novelist David Nichols’ screenplay for “One Day” rather lets her down.

The idea is good. Follow Emma and Dexter for a couple of decades by watching them on each anniversary of the day they graduated, met, made love and became friends, in that order.

Emma, independent, self-managing, is happy to go along with a platonic one-daya-year relationship. Economically, her life isn’t a bed of roses. In time, she forms a relationship with Ian, another member of the graduation-day crowd.

Ian aspires to be a stand-up comic, one of the most difficult trades in Yellow Pages. Dexter achieves transient notoriety by hosting a late-night TV interview program, sips sexual nectar from many blossoms and develops an unjustified self-esteem.

The screenplay may have suffered in conversion from the novel, but the film’s shortcomings come mainly from demanding that we read between its lines in haste.

Emma is easily liked (Anne Hathaway, unfazed by close-ups, faithfully recording her skin blemishes and generally doing honour to the character).

We feel sympathy for Ian (Rafe Spall), but little for Dexter, thereby giving the story an edge and making actor Jim Sturgess work really hard.

At Dendy, Hoyts and Limelight

“FiNAL DeStiNAtiON: 5” (M)

THE flimsy plot of this fantasy splatter melodrama proposes that a bridge collapses. One member of a group in a bus crossing it, who watches the disaster unfold before experiencing a time shift to just before it began, warns his colleagues to de-bus and run like hell.

Seven of them do so, including some whom we have already seen meet grisly deaths. At the funeral for the others, a giant gaunt black figure clad in black tells one of them that his death register is out-of-kilter and he is working at putting it right.

Which is what the rest of the film sets out to do.

cinema

Dougal Macdonald

What merits it has come from director Steven Quale’s creativity in killing off seven characters. When writers Eric Heisserer and Geoffrey Reddick are not confecting banalities of plot and dialogue, they are writing trite suggestions about making the next event more gory than its predecessor.

No character has more than two dimensions; several have fewer. The staging of the bridge disaster twice – once when nobody survives, once when the seven do – is impressive.

The film’s 3D print hurls gore and body bits. Well-worn clichés add little to its slight worth.

At Hoyts and Limelight.

“CHALet GiRL” (PG)

NINETEEN-YEAR- OLD Kim’s (Felicity Jones) childhood achievements as a champion skateboarder are history. Now she lives with her widowed father (Bill Bailey) and works in a chook-frying takeaway.

Then fate puts her on a train to the Austrian snowfields to spend the season helping Georgie (Tamsin Egerton) manage the chalet to which squillionnaire Richard (“call me Dicky”), with an ex-air-hostess wife (Brooke Shields) and a handsome son (Ed Westwick), brings other rich men to mix business with pleasure.

I enjoyed “Chalet Girl” more than I expected, its sweet mindlessness suiting my mood after a long day at the movies. Its main elements – magnificent mountains, pristine snow, money, having fun, sport, partying – don’t need to work hard to reach what is obviously going to be a happy ending.

Romance, trials and tribulations, a snowboarding competition with a prize that Kim craves to improve her dad’s life, selfindulgence, and snow-bunny camaraderie, add variety to a light-weight movie.

Bill Nighy as Dicky is under-utilised as happens so often. I can’t put my finger on what’s so special about Tamsin Egerton but would take great joy from closer enquiry.

At Dendy, Hoyts and Limelight

Masahiro Asaka’s prize-winning “Surge 12”. Photo by Rob Little.

A ‘Surge’ of enthusiasm

VISUAL ART

Ranamok 2011 exhibition, Canberra Glassworks until September 22.

Reviewed by Helen Musa

FOR proof of Canberra’s importance as a centre of contemporary glass making, you have only to go to the 17th annual Ranamok prize exhibition, the tantalisingly titled showcase focusing on innovation in glass from Australia and NZ.

With an international line-up of judges from Australia and as far afield as the Corning Museum in New York, Ranamok is underwritten by Whitehaven Cold and XLX and has been correctly identified as a successful alliance between business and the arts.

But it is the success in sophisticated glassmaking of the 32 finalists (a much tighter selection than in last year’s) that most impresses. Serendipitously, this year’s $15,000 award has gone to Canberra artist Masahiro Asaka for his entry “Surge 12”, an impressive technical feat that takes advantage of the glass medium’s transformation from solid to liquid. Asaka says his Japanese heritage with its focus on nature, and the tragedy of the recent tsunami, have also played a part.

Among the finalists, the deceptively quiet work “High Tide”, by Mel Douglas, in blown, engraved and cold-worked glass, the asymmetric beauty of Anne Sorenson’s “Imbalance in Red” and the encapsulated digital images in glass by Warren Langley are most striking. Local artist Jenni Martiniello’s recent entry into serious glass making is reflected in her large, blown-glass interpretations of Aboriginal reed fish-traps.

Moves of distinction A welcome, new face in Manuka

dining

Wendy Johnson

I’M on a roll with Asian food. Love it. Love it. Love it!

A couple of weeks ago I indulged in a cheap and cheerful in Dickson — Pho Phu Quoc. This time it was the more upmarket, bright, modern, Bambusa in Manuka.

Positioned smack in the middle of Franklin Street (where Cons Seafood was), Bambusa is a must-visit for anyone whose heart pitter patters at the thought of dining on this incredibly diverse and flavoursome cuisine.

Bambusa’s aim is to take a fully modern approach to traditional Asian cooking, featuring new and classic dishes, which you can order for yourself or to share. And share we did.

The Peking-style duck pancakes were sensational ($12). The tender, oven-cooked duck was wrapped with julienne vegetables and hoisin sauce in fresh pancakes.

The crispy fried white bait also topped the chart, enhanced with a perfectly spiced sea salt ($10).

We were on a roll and stayed that way with steamed zucchini stuffed with pork mince and topped with XO sauce, considered the “emperor of all sauces”, with many chefs developing their own recipe and guarding it under lock and key.

Most mains were as delicious and innovative as the entrées, although I’ve had better hot rock salted prawns (the dish comes with dumplings, which the restaurant accidentally forgot – did not take long to correct the oversight though, with apologies all round).

Specials for the evening included a meltin-the-mouth beef shank, Asian style, and a special twice-cooked duck breast served with

bacon.

The duck was a bit tough and heavy, noted two diners, but there wasn’t much left on their plates.

Bambusa’s service is spot on – efficient, friendly, knowledgeable, and we will return to experience the degustation ($50 per person).

The restaurant is byo, but also has a considered, interesting wine list.

My bet is Bambusa will settle into Manuka nicely and is a welcome addition to a dining scene that has chopped and changed too much of late, including the recent closing of The Providore and Zeffirelli’s.

Bambusa, 36 Franklin Street, call 6295 1036. Open for lunch and dinner (times vary), Monday to Sunday.

Puppets, sluts and sex!

SUPA productions director Garrick

Smith isn’t coy about the notorious sex scene in the “Sesame Street” spoof “Avenue Q”, coming soon to the ANU Arts Centre.

It’s amazing how realistic these glove-and-stick puppets can become, partly achieved

by having double puppets, dressed and undressed.

But as he says, the show is not primarily intended for kids, although with parental supervision they may attend.

“I’ve been in the theatre for 35 years but I’ve never directed puppets before,” Smith tells me.

“But Amy Dunham and Max Gambale have both worked with puppets at Questacon and there are three real human beings in the show, so it’s all right.”

Other than that, it’s an experienced cast playing acting, singing, dancing and manipulating one or two rods for the arms.

Take Christine Forbes, fresh from playing the doomed Mrs Johnstone in the tragic Willy Russell musical “Blood Brothers”, who has turned into Lucy the Slut.

–Helen Musa

“Avenue Q”, ANU Arts Centre, September 16-October 1. Bookings to 6247 4222.

LIKE all great choreographers, Stephen Page has developed a lexicon of distinctive dance moves. His are deeply rooted in indigenous culture, which he mines continually to produce a cornucopia of ideas to tell his stories.

His choreographic style is completely recognisable, but despite 20 years choreographing for the Bangarra Dance Theatre, he shows no signs of becoming repetitive or predictable.

With “ID”, which formed the second half of the latest Bangarra program, he continues to fascinate with the fertility of his ideas as he explores contemporary indigenous identity, both urban and traditional.

Against a filmed backdrop in which the face of aboriginal elder, Kathy Marika dominates, Page presents a series of images reflecting aspects of Aboriginal life. Not all are easy to watch and drew audible gasps from the audience. No-less-fascinating was Elma Kris’ gentle, abstract work “About”, for which she focused on the four winds that influence the seasons on the Torres Strait Islands.

Apart from the choreography, “Belong” was particularly notable for the commitment with which the dancers performed works, the evocative soundscapes of David Page, the lovely flowing costumes by Emma Howell, and the beautifully lit, sculptural settings of Jacob Nash.

all about fashion

Bright & beautiful

Fashion editor

LIBBY ROLFE previews the new seasons’ fashion looks…

THERE is something to suit every individual style this season as bright colour and minimalist neutrals dominate.

Both trends are ideal for the warmer seasons as they fit easily into any wardrobe and are suitable for day and night. This season, white is overtaking black as the go-to colour for sleek dressing and stylist Lizzie Wagner says people shouldn’t be afraid of the trend.

“People are scared to wear it, but it looks amazing. It’s all about continuous colour and whenever you wear one colour straight through, you elongate the body,” she says.

“Keep accessories neutral, too. If you team white with beige, you’re on to a winner!

“There are lots of dresses around as well and we are seeing lovely scalloped and draped shapes.”

Another key trend for spring is prints and we’re wearing them bright and bold. Florals are oversized and graphic and popping up everywhere. Lizzie warns, though, there’s a trick to finding the right floral for you.

“Curvaceous and more shapely girls need to go for big, bold florals and petite girls can get away with smaller flowers,” she says.

Credits

Fabulous frocks

NOTHING says springtime like a gorgeous dress, whether it’s floaty and floral or a bold, block colour, anything goes! We’ve found a great mix of

Bright ideas

THIS season’s latest brights in pop colours are a great way to reinvent your wardrobe and look ultra modern. Colour blocking is a trend that’s been around for a few seasons, but there’s never been a better time to join the

Amazing accessories

WHETHER you’re rocking the minimalist look with continuous colour, or mixing it up in this season’s brights, these neutral accessories are great wardrobe staples to keep any outfit looking chic.

your week in the stars

With Joanne Madeline Moore

ARIES (Mar 1 – Apr 0)

September 12 – 18

The Full Moon highlights wellbeing issues – of a physical, emotional and spiritual nature. Issues from the past could also arise, as unresolved matters resurface and demand to be addressed. Venus moves into your relationship zone on Thursday, so it’s the perfect time for Rams to flex your romantic muscles. Singles – look for a lover who is mature and wise.

TAURUS

(Apr 1 – May 0)

This week’s Full Moon urges you to be more mentally flexible, as you take the rough with the smooth and search for the subtleties in every situation. Taureans are terrifically practical and logical but make sure you also utilise your imagination. Your quote for the week is from Lauren Bacall (born on September 16): “Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.”

GEMINI (May 1 – June 1)

Expect the unexpected at work this week, as the Full Moon shakes up your career zone. It’s time to focus on issues and details that would normally test your short attention span, as Jupiter and Pluto give your mental faculties a boost and help you concentrate. On the weekend, join forces with family and friends to find practical solutions to persistent problems.

CANCER

(June  – July )

With the Full Moon activating your adventure zone, crawl out of your comfy Crab cave and start exploring the big world beyond your door. And don’t let fear of failure deter you from attempting the impossible. Be inspired by birthday great Samuel Johnson: “Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must be first overcome.”

LEO

(July  – Aug )

Leos love luxury but it’s not a good time to go on a spending spree, enter into a joint business arrangement, or lend money to others. You’re liable to make financial decisions based on your emotional state, which is fluctuating wildly under this week’s full moonbeams. Creative communication is favoured, as you tap into the talent in your local community.

VIRGO

(Aug  – Sept )

Most people will have a hefty dose of Full Moon Fever early in the week, so don’t expect them to behave in predictable, logical ways. Positive Mercury/Jupiter aspects will boost your Virgo vim and vigour on Thursday (and stimulate your study gene). With the power of positive thinking on your side, you can climb any mountain and sail any stormy sea.

LIBRA

(Sept  – Oct )

Vampy Venus visits your sign (from September 15 until October 9) so prepare to be at your luscious Libran best as you charm the cynics and dazzle the doubters. If you are attached, plan an exciting escapade with your partner on the weekend. Some singles will experience love at first sight on Saturday, when Uranus revs up your relationship zone.

SCORPIO (Oct  – Nov 1)

Have the past few weeks been so frantic that you’ve had no time to catch up with close friends? The Full Moon stimulates your sociability gene, so you’re in the mood to re-connect with your peer group, as you get deep and meaningful about the things that really matter. And don’t be surprised if they have some unexpected (and dramatic) news to divulge.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov  – Dec 1)

Avoid being housebound early in the week otherwise, with the Full Moon stirring up your domestic zone, you’ll just drive yourself (and those around you) crazy with your impatient and impulsive ways. Relations with children, teenagers or friends will be unpredictable on the weekend. Singles – looking for love online sees you make a hot new connection!

CAPRICORN (Dec  – Jan 1)

Prepare for communication overload this week, as you are hit with information from a variety of sources. Travel is also highlighted but try to be flexible, as plans are likely to be changed at the last minute. Venus visits your career zone (from September 15-October 9) so cool cooperation – coupled with Capricorn charm – will help you move mountains at work.

AQUARIUS

(Jan 0 – Feb 1)

Your spending patterns are erratic at the best of times. This week, with the Full Moon stimulating your $$$ zone, it might be best to avoid shopping – and hide your credit card! Expect the unexpected on Saturday, as your rebellious attitude ruffles a few fragile feathers. Sunday is about excitement and adventure, as you spend time with family and friends.

PISCES

(Feb 1 – Mar 0)

With this week’s Full Moon in your sign, you may be affected by mood swings and dramas as pliant Pisceans become pensive and petulant. But you can also expect creative inspiration and spiritual insights, as your inner muse demands to be heard. When it comes to helping others, aim to get the balance right between being generous and gullible.

Daily astrology updates at www.twitter.com/JoMadelineMoore Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore

Across

8 What are the long, coiling extensions of certain climbing plants?

9 What is the incarnation of a god called?

10 Which crystallised violet quartz is used in jewellery?

11 Name the arched upper surface of the human foot.

13 What is said to be the final abode of the righteous?

16 What is used for plucking the strings of a guitar, etc?

19 Name another term for an antelope.

6

7 What are bottle-shaped containers?

Serious time to pick flowers

IT is easy to forget a forward planting program for summer flowers with spring bursting forth in all its floral splendour, Floriade and all that.

However, it is time to get serious about plants that are going to give you a continuity of flowers in summer and autumn.

Gladioli, lilies, dahlias and canna come to mind. It is of interest that gladioli are coming into their own again after losing popularity a few years ago. I have heard that this was in part due to Dame Edna Everage throwing gladdies into the audience in her shows. This may or may not be true, but they are back in vogue. It is a good idea to plant a few corms each week over a period to give you an extended flowering season.

DAHLIAS have never really gone out of fashion. Originating in Mexico, Central America and Colombia, the Aztecs used the dahlia for food and decorative purposes in their ceremonies.

They were first brought to the west by botanists via Spain and then the Netherlands in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Named after the 18th century Swedish botanist Anders Dahl, they became,

gardening

cedric Bryant

like the tulip, an instant hit.

There are 30 known species with well over 20,000 cultivars with new varieties bred every year. Just looking at some of the varieties at Heritage Nursery in Yarralumla one cannot help but be taken in with the tantalising pictorial labels. Such names as Dahlia “Winkle Whopper” with giant orange flowers, D. “Mrs Rees” has wine-red flowers, D. “Helena” with deep burgundy tipped, pink petals or the giant cactus type D. “My Love” with pure white flowers.

LILIES have been grown since Biblical times (“Consider the lilies of the field, they toil not neither do they weep and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these”).

Religious paintings show St. Anthony holding a bunch of lilies. A favourite with florists, one of the most popular is Lilium “Regale”. Another variety that is becoming very popular is Lilium “Conca D’Or” with creamy edges to the lemon-yellow, scented flowers. Unfortunately, I do not have space to discuss the different types of lilies, ie trumpet and oriental lilies for example, this

This week in the garden

While checking out mulches on my web site, look for the Cedfacts “Grow vegies for a healthy life”.

Tie up sweet peas as they grow.

Divide dahlia clumps left in the ground from last year. Divide chrysanthemums.

Kill weeds in paths with boiling water.

FOR sheer bold colours Cannas cannot be beaten. Originating in the southern US down to Argentina, in the western world they are often referred to as Canna Lilies, although not a true lily.

These grow very well here, dying down in winter and quickly springing to life with warmer spring weather.

FOR summer flowering plants, do not forget the exquisite Tuberous Begonias as anyone who has attended the famous Begonia Festival in Ballarat will testify.

I have only mentioned a fraction of the summer flowering bulbs, tubers and corms here just to remind you that now is their planting time.

IT is also time to mulch the garden. Question: are you mulching for the benefit of the plants or because it looks good? There are many mulches available, some good and others almost useless to provide real benefit to your garden.

In my Cedfacts Garden Information Sheet I pose a series of questions to consider before buying mulch. Check out “Mulch your Garden to Conserve Moisture” at www. cedricbryant.com and click on Cedfacts.

Garden design

DESIGNED specifically to attract birds and wildlife, Ben and Ros

Walcott’s one-hectare

Red Hill garden is a relaxing native haven with more than  000 plants and at least  species of native birds, say the owners.

Open to the public for one day only on Sunday, September 18, to kick off the new Open Gardens Australia season, the spectacular garden features many rare and unusual natives – mostly Australian, but some from NZ – three large ponds, waterfalls and winding pathways throughout.

“Every plant is documented and labelled,” Ben says. “Ros also has a long necrology of plants that didn’t work out!”

The couple birdscaped the garden from the start, creating three distinct layers of trees, ground shrub and prickly bushes for nesting, and made sure something would always be in bloom.

“It ensures the birds stay throughout winter,” says Ros.

“The meadow is a major bird attractor, although people always ask us when we’re

OPEN GARDEN

RDs:

going to fix up that area! But we needed an open area and it was never going to be a lawn.

“The meadow’s a mass of native grasses and absolutely full of seeds, so the birds love it. Unfortunately it gets a lot of weeds, too.

“In summer, the birds love the creek; they get in there and bathe.”

The water features are practical, too – rainwater is collected in the ponds, and it’s mixed with bore water for irrigation, says Ben.

“We use drip irrigation where practical, a microjet irrigation system for the plant areas and large jets for the meadow,” he says.

Ros says she and Ben love watching the birds and wildlife enjoying the garden.

“It’s like living in the country in the city,” she says. “We’ve learnt so much about native plants and birds over the years and it’s been an enjoyable process.”

“I love the pond area, with the infinity-edge pool,” adds Ben. “I like to sit out here before dinner and just enjoy the peace.”

that’s just for the birds

Ben and Ros Walcott’s garden at 10 Wickham Crescent, Red Hill, will be open between 10am and 4.30pm on Sunday September 18. Entry is $6 per adult. Children under 18 are free. Scones with coffee and tea are available. Native plants for sale. Funds raised will go to Open Gardens Australia and Friends of the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

Canberra Region Property Summary

I

Sat 1:30-2:25 9 Salisbury St First National Gungahlin 0417 687 379 4BR H

Sat 2:00-4:00 7 Winchester St Elders Belconnen 0428 486 692 4BR G

Sat 2:30-3:30 77 Overall Av First National Gungahlin 0417 687 379 4BR H

Sat 2:30-3:00 10 Winchester St EthicsRealEstate.com.au 0409 006 365 4BR G Sat 3:30-4:30 3 Dunk St Peter Blackshaw Inner North 0400 022 281 4BR H

3:30-4:30 5 Dunk St Peter Blackshaw Inner North 0400 022 281 4BR H

3:30-4:30 7 Dunk St Peter Blackshaw Inner North 0400 022 281 4BR H

CHIFLEY

Canberra Region Property Summary

CHISHOLM

FADDEN

FARRER

FLYNN

FORDE

12:30-2:00 13 David Walsh Av Peter Blackshaw Inner North 0400 022 281 4BR H Sat 12:30-2:00 2 Eric Wright St First National Gungahlin 0422 774 441 3BR H Sat 12:30-1:15 10 Marcus St First National Gungahlin 0417 687 379 3BR B Sat 12:30-2:00 10 Whyman La First National Gungahlin 0414 249 449 1BR K Sat 12:30-2:00 102 Zakharov Av First National Gungahlin 0422 774 441 3BR H Sat 12:45-1:45 44 Turbayne Cr First National Gungahlin 0414 249 449 4BR G Sat 12:45-1:45 48 Turbayne Cr First National Gungahlin 0414 249 449 4BR H Sat 12:45-1:45 65 Turbayne Cr First National Gungahlin 0408 413 405 4BR G Sat 1:00-1:45 6 Cleggett St McGrath Belconnen/Gungahlin 0414 212 332 3BR A Sat 1:20-2:05 13 Bromham St First National Gungahlin 0417 687

Sat 1:45-2:30 29 Neil Harris Cr McGrath Belconnen/Gungahlin

FRANKLIN

Sat 10:00-10:45 8 Doughty Pl McGrath Belconnen/Gungahlin 0413 503 312 4BR A Sat 10:00-10:45 43 Rischbieth Cr Ray White Canberra 0400 480 553 4BR A GIRALANG

Sat 2:00-3:00 42 Spica St PRD Nationwide Inner North 0412 370 759 3BR H Call Agent (10/51) 65 Canopus Cr L.J. Hooker Kaleen 0418 242 743 1BR A Call Agent 94 Chuculba Cr L.J. Hooker Tuggeranong 0412 281 735 4BR B Call Agent 2 Dudi Pl Ray White Canberra 0411 037 137 4BR G Call Agent 8 Kinalung Pl L.J. Hooker Kaleen 0418 242 743 3BR A

GLENEAGLES

Sat 1:00-1:45 77 Ivo Whitton Cct Peter Blackshaw Woden 0411 414 624 4BR D Sat 3:00-3:45 125 Mt Vernon Dr Luton Properties 0411 878 587 4BR A Call Agent 26 Apperly Cl Peter Blackshaw Woden 0411 414 624 4BR A

0422 201 027 4BR H

GOWRIE

Canberra Region Property Summary

GREENWAY

GRIFFITH

0412 281 735 3BR I

KALEEN

KAMBAH

MACQUARIE

Canberra Region Property Summary YOU C

NARRABUNDAH

MCKELLAR

5BR B

Sat 1:00-1:40 12/18 Schonell Cct McGrath Belconnen/Gungahlin 0418 624 913 3BR I

2:00-3:00 15 Nunan Cr Independent Dickson 0407 535 967 3BR I

Dalgarno

Peter Blackshaw Tuggeranong 0412 726 025 5BR B

Hodgkinson Tuggeranong 0413 453 489 3BR I

Cct L.J. Hooker Tuggeranong 0431 419 847 2BR J

0417 263 678 4BR H

Burkitt St Elders Real Estate Gungahlin 0412 908 248 2BR B

PEARCE

PHILLIP

QUEANBEYAN

Canberra Region Property Summary

WATSON

STIRLING

SWINGER HILL

THEODORE

WANNIASSA