Canberra CityNews February 21

Movie returns to the scene of the crime

SOTIRIS Dounoukos can still remember when news of one of Canberra’s most infamous crimes broke in October 1997.

Twenty-six-year-old engineer Joe Cinque had been killed at the hands of his girlfriend, ANU law student Anu Singh, who laced his coffee with Rohypnol and, while he was sedated, injected him with a lethal dose of heroin. For 36 hours she watched him vomit blood and slowly die in their Downer flat.

“I remember being overseas and checking the computer at home, and all these emails came through from friends from university saying this has happened,” Sotiris says.

“It was such an awful, extreme act, and as we found out more, it really affected the broader community.”

Over 15 years later, Canberra-based Sotiris will direct a feature film based on the crime, working with Sydney writer Matt Rubinstein, and Sue Murray from Fandango Australia, who produced the AFI award-winning film “Ten Canoes”.

LAURA EDWARDS meets the director of a movie that will look back at one of Canberra’s most infamous killings.

This will be Sotiris’ first feature film.

A graduate of the Film and Television School of the Victorian College of the Arts, his short films have screened extensively at international film festivals.

The screenplay, co-written by Sotiris, is based on author Helen Garner’s bestselling book, “Joe Cinque’s Consolation”, and the film will have the same name.

Garner gave Sotiris her blessing to write the script after they met through a mutual friend.

“She’s seen the script and is very happy with it,” Sotiris says.

“We weren’t interested in making the film without her feeling it was a worthy adaptation of the book she put six years of her life into. It’s also a book that means a lot to people.”

A great deal of additional detail and research went into writing the screenplay, says Sotiris, including finding old newspaper clippings, court transcripts, interviewing witnesses to the events, and visiting Cinque’s parents.

But trying to understand why Singh did what she did was one of the most difficult processes.

“Like the book, I wanted a balance of an interrogation of what actually happened and the awful nature of that act,

index / contacts

Arts&Entertainment 29-31

Black Opal Feature 23-27

Canberra Confidential 17

Cinema 30

Dining 31

Garden 32

Letters 15

News 5-15

Puzzles 33

Socials 18-22

Sport 12

without stepping away from the important questions raised,” Sotiris says.

“It certainly won’t be a painless process for those directly involved, nor will it be for people looking at these events again.”

Singh was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years’ prison, but served just four after the trial, released on parole in 2004.

Told from different viewpoints, the film will consider the involvement of the people surrounding the events, including Singh’s friends, who were at the house the night she killed Cinque.

“Given the film involves a group of people, there’s multiple perspectives we need to traverse to understand Joe’s death and reveal the multifaceted community that contextualises the crime,” Sotiris says.

“Joe Cinque’s Consolation” will be shot around Canberra and for local audiences, connecting the crime with a familiar location could be unsettling.

“Like a lot of people throughout Australia, I was affected by [Garner’s] book and with that additional connection being from Canberra, it draws you in and repels you in a way, looking at places and a time you know intimately,” Sotiris says.

The film, which has received funding from Screen Australia and ScreenACT, is currently in the process of casting and is due to start production at the end of the year.

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Paris calls Gess to fashion week

Laura Edwards reports

SHE’S been behind the scenes at Australian Fashion Week, but Canberra hairdresser Gess Mazis is expecting the “crème de la crème” when she jets off to the land of haute couture at Paris Fashion Week.

Gess was handpicked to join the team of stylists behind haircare brand La Biosthetique by its international creative director Alexander Dinter, and will style designer Talbot Runhof’s autumn/ winter collection show from March 1.

“You know you’ve made it when you’ve done Paris Fashion Week,” Gess says.

“It’s the biggest of all fashion weeks and it’s the icing on the cake. I’m so honoured as I’m the only Australian to be picked for the team.”

The owner and founder of La Bimbi hairdressing salons in NewActon and Belconnen, Gess has more than 25 years’ experience in the hairdressing industry.

And while this will be her first international fashion show, she’s certainly up for the challenge.

“I’m not really nervous about being backstage at all, I don’t really stress when under pressure too much, I just enjoy it,” she says.

“I’ll be working for a very glamorous designer, so I expect to be styling lots of beautiful, complicated updos.”

Gess says it’s “highly likely” she’ll be rubbing shoulders with some famous faces backstage –supermodels Miranda Kerr and Gisele Bundchen are regulars on the catwalk in Paris – but the

lovely locks Gess would most like to get her hands on belong to Heidi Klum.

“I look up to her because she’s a mum like me, I think she’s just amazing and that would be one of my dreams if she happens to be one of the models for these designers – I’d love to do her hair, I think

she’d be a really cool chick,” she says. She hopes her experience can show other hairdressers what they can achieve.

“You don’t even have to wait 25 years like me – if you’ve got the passion and the talent, that’s all you need,” she says.

Delicious meeting

THE Country Women’s Association’s Canberra Evening Branch will be baking up a storm at its meeting on Wednesday, March 6 when members will present their culinary delights for judging in the categories of large and small cakes, biscuits, slices, jams and relishes. This will be followed by an auction of the homemade goodies. Everyone’s welcome to the CWA rooms at 8 Barry Drive Civic at 7pm.

Hearing help group

THE Canberra branch of Better Hearing Australia holds hearing loss management classes on Tuesdays – Cameron Centre Holder, 2pm-4pm and the Hellenic Club, Woden, 5.30pm-7pm. The classes cover lip-reading, hearing-loss information, discussion, group support and coping strategies. More information from Sandy at aacarwardine@ bigpond.com

Eat the best

CRANKY Café’s giant paella will be among the offerings of up to 20 of the Sapphire Coast’s best chefs and food entrepreneurs providing plated premium local fare at the annual “Eat Merimbula”, at Fishpen, Merimbula Lake, 10am to 4pm, on Sunday, March 10.

Is there a missing link to church sexual perversions?

WE have all been shocked and appalled by the stories of Roman Catholic priests preying on many hundreds of Australian boys and girls in their care in the most despicable manner.

And no doubt the Royal Commission into child abuse will unearth more experiences from the victims that will make for heart-breaking reading. In this they will join similar revelations and commissions of inquiry in Ireland, Belgium, France, the US, Poland, Germany and a number of South American countries. And there are more to come.

In each case, the story has been the same. Victims of priestly rape and other forms of sexual assault have suffered for decades before the authorities have been prepared to listen, but now at last the crimes and the cover-ups are being revealed.

Robert Macklin the gadfly

However, in all the hundreds of reports and commentaries an essential ingredient has been missing. We have been so shocked by what’s been revealed in our own communities that no one has taken the larger view and asked the obvious questions:

Is it simply a coincidence that exactly the same perversions have been practiced in all these countries without any apparent link between them?

Are we really expected to believe that they arose spontaneously in all these different places?

Or was there an underground link that created the perverted mindset and/or facilitated the attacks?

We know, for example, that Church leaders frequently transferred paedophile priests from one

country to another to hide their crimes. Could that really have happened without the receiving priesthood knowing about it?

Alternatively, if indeed there was no conspiracy – either active or passive – in permitting its spread around the globe, was there something within the teaching and practices of the Church that led inevitably to this criminal pandemic?

And once established, did word spread among paedophiles that they could find an outlet for their lust within the protection of the Catholic hierarchy? Or did young priests, denied the natural outlet for their sexuality, quickly discover that their colleagues turned a blind eye to paedophilia and so they just joined in?

Perhaps there’s something within human nature that inclines us to take advantage of the smaller and weaker among us. That, after all, is why we have built an edifice of law to govern our behavioural excesses. The church, of course,

Push to protect religious freedoms

IN a free society, religious views, no matter the cult, denomination or perspective, have the right to be aired, discussed and debated.

Believers in liberty have fought for centuries to ensure that a true democracy does not disenfranchise on religious grounds.

Ironically, the very people who have been protected by these efforts often miss that the converse is also true if others’ freedoms are to be protected. Theocracies are not free societies. They disenfranchise other religions and believers in no god. The 2011 ABS report found 23.1 per cent of Australians identified in this category – despite the question being placed in such a manner that was likely to produce a bias. In the ACT, just 55.2 per cent of people identify as Christian.

ACT Assembly Speaker Vicki Dunne had years of clear guidance on how to be inclusive regarding religious and non-religious belief.

Unlike the Federal Parliament that starts its daily business with an archaic form of the “Lord’s Prayer”, the ACT Assembly under Standing Order 30 starts with the Speaker asking MLAs to “pray or reflect on

our responsibilities to the people” of the ACT.

It was a sad day when AttorneyGeneral, Simon Corbell, was forced to use a motion to highlight that the Assembly “has an obligation to represent the interests, views and values of all citizens” and “is an institution separate from adherence or affiliation to any religious faith”.

The wisdom of the motion is that it included “the right of members to profess their own personal religious faith or philosophical perspective and to organise activities which reflect or honour their religious belief or philosophical perspective separate from the institution of the legislature”.

For clarity, Corbell added “shall not in any way endorse or be affiliated with any ceremony that involves adherence or affiliation with any religious faith”.

The influence of religion in government across the world is so pervasive that it was worthwhile, appropriate and timely for the Attorney-General to act to protect the separation of church and state even on this relatively minor mat-

ter. Freedoms are usually lost in minute doses.

Prof James Haire explained why the Speaker’s church service was inappropriate. He is a professor at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, a previous president of the National Council of Churches and a Uniting Church minister, telling ABC radio: “The point is she is running services. The state is running services. She, representing the Assembly, is running a Christian service. That’s not how it works in a liberal democracy.” Alternatively, he agreed that Vicki Dunne, as an individual MLA, has the right to join with others to organise a church service – just as is the case with the Parliamentary Christian Fellowship in the Federal Parliament.

There were attempts during the Assembly debate to associate this service with the role of indigenous smoking ceremonies, veterans’ meetings and Islamic services.

The suggestion by the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Hanson, was that the motion would extend to prevent all such activities. He argued that the motion “risks tearing the (multi-faith religious community) fabric and damaging the relationship between this place and our religious communities”.

He was supported by his deputy Alistair Coe, arguing that the motion “will stifle freedom”. Even more preposterous was the assertion by Liberal Giulia Jones in suggesting the motion “is about extreme social progressives of the government imposing their beliefs and their will on those who hold a belief in God”. Nonsense! The opposite is true.

Former Speaker and now Greens Minister, Shane Rattenbury, before voting to support Mr Corbell, identified the Speaker’s intention was “to build a formal relationship between the Assembly and a religious body, one that would be ongoing”. His response to the invitation sums up the fundamentals of the issue: “As the Assembly is a modern, secular legislature, I feel that the introduction of a religious celebration that is formally connected to the institution would not be appropriate .. this should be done in a private capacity”.

Thank you, Simon Corbell, for your “eternal vigilance” to protect both the ability for people to practice their Christian or other religious beliefs as well as protecting the liberty of the non-religious of our community.

Michael Moore was an independent member of the ACT Legislative Assembly (1989 to 2001).

regards itself as being governed by different laws – those it says it has received from its God – and apparently they are able to “forgive” their priests their outrages against the young. Is that the key to unravelling the global scandal?

There is nothing in the terms of reference of our Royal Commission that requires it to address these questions. But until we do, we are not getting to the heart of the matter. It is highly unlikely that the perversion arose only in the 20th century. Who knows how many suffered in silence and spread the contagion in the lay community. We can but hope that Justice Peter McClellan and his fellow commissioners will delve a little deeper than simply exposing the crimes against youthful humanity.

The time has come to unearth the causes that underlie them… and to the have the courage to propose measures to end them.

www.robertmacklin.com

Lindy’s high life

CAMPBELL mum Lindy Kanan, 31, pictured, is aiming to climb Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, over 12 days in July in a fundraising effort for human rights on behalf of Amnesty International. She’s holding a fundraising event, “A Taste of Africa”, on Wednesday, March 6 at Mecca Bah Restaurant, Manuka, featuring a Moroccan banquet, wine and live Zimbabwean music. Tickets are $50 and can be booked at trybooking.com/chok.

Community says thanks

THE Murrumbateman Country Inn is hosting the Murrumbateman Masquerade Ball from 6pm on April 20, to raise funds for the district’s seven brigades of the Rural Fire Service and to thank their volunteer fire fighters. There will be an auction and raffles on the night, plus prizes for best mask, best dressed male/ female/couple and best dancer. Tickets are $60 and available from the venue and Murrumbateman Rural Supplies.

Name a nurse

NOMINATIONS are open until February 28 in the search for the ACT’s top nurses and midwives. The Australian Nursing Awards acknowledge the dedication and professionalism of Australia’s top nurses, midwives, personal care attendants and assistants in nursing. Finalists will be announced in April before the finals in Melbourne in May. Nominations to hestaawards.com.au

Rare sweet day for Ms Sugars

Reporter STEPHEN EASTON discovers what February 28 means to one young, determined Canberran

RHIANNEN Sugars wants people to know that February 28 is Rare Disease Day, a relatively new way of raising awareness of the many complex and mysterious medical conditions that each affect the lives of a small number of people.

A little under two years ago, the horse-mad, 24-year-old, UC student was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a connective tissue disorder with a long list of painful and debilitating symptoms including extremely loose joints, weakness and chronic fatigue.

Before that, all she and her family knew was that something was clearly wrong with her body, to the point where even walking was becoming difficult.

“When I was diagnosed a few years ago, my body was in crisis,” she says. “The condition had gone undiagnosed so it was basically out of control. For a while I was walking on crutches and I came very close to being in a wheelchair, because I was getting so unsteady on my feet it was getting dangerous.”

The diagnosis was a major

turning point for Rhiannen that allowed her to start rebuilding the strength in her weak muscles and joints, and came from a stroke of luck that demonstrates how greater awareness helps people with rare conditions.

Her friend Dr Jacqui Desovski, in her final year of medicine at the time, saw a patient with EDS and noticed striking parallels with Rhiannen’s symptoms. Luckily. this happened just before she went to see geneticist Dr Mary-Lousie Freckman, who followed up the lead and confirmed it was indeed EDS, hypermobility type.

“In two years I’ve come a long way,” says Rhiannen. “It’s been a lot of hard work but each day you see improvements.”

After working on her strength through conventional physical therapy, she is now able to manage the condition herself. Fortunately, these days she can do that mainly by indulging her passion for horse riding. It’s an activity that gently exercises her muscles while her upper body is supported by the sturdy back of her

mount, Chief, a resident of Forest Park Riding School in Curtin.

“Basically, horse riding is the reason I can still walk,” she says. “It’s really good that I can make [physical therapy] fun.

When I’m working with Chief in the arena I’m not really doing physical therapy; I’m just riding. And even though I’m working a whole lot of muscles at once, it’s

not as noticeable.”

Added together, there are more than 6000 rare conditions affecting about 10 per cent of any given population, according to Rare Disease Day organisers, amounting to more than 2.2 million Australians. This year’s theme is “Disorders without Borders”, which aims to foster international collaboration.

Off the bus and back into cars

By Catherine Carter

CANBERRA has been slammed as “a spectacular transport policy failure”, according to a recent report. In “Transport Policy at the Crossroads: Travel to work in Australian capital cities 1976-2011” RMIT academics Paul Mees and Lucy Groenhart say the share of Canberrans driving cars to work – at nearly 80 per cent – is the highest recorded for the city since 1976. This is at a time when commuting by car is in decline across most other major Australian cities. Canberra is the only city to have seen a reduction in public transport use in the five years to 2011.

The ACT Government in 2004 set targets for increasing sustainable transport use as a way to travel to work. While we have seen some significant and positive roads infrastructure development since then there has been almost no corresponding focus on innovative public transport policies.

Canberra (with Hobart) does have the highest rate of “active” commuting – cycling and walking to work –across the country. But at a time when Civic and other employment nodes have seen significant densification, our percentage of commuting pedestrians has surprisingly stayed the same. Mees and Groenhart suggest that most transport policies have failed to consider ways to persuade people to walk to work. Instead, policy makers concentrate on cycling as a sustainable choice – a commuting option that across Australia is dominated by “male, middle-class and inner-city” riders. More than 70 per cent of people riding to work in Canberra are men.

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

Sporting Confidential

Drugs

here? Tell them they’re dreamin’

ANY Canberra sportsperson, professional or otherwise, would have to be delusional to even contemplate taking banned performance-enhancing drugs.

It is a widely held belief that Canberra sporting teams are the most drug tested in the country because of their proximity to the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency. Around 250 tests were carried out with the Raiders last year. Brumbies’ coach, Jake White, believes that his club is the most tested in the Super 15 competition. The Canberra Capitals also believe they are the most tested in the WNBL. And it’s the same for the Canberra Cavalry men’s baseball team; the current ABL champions are the most drug-tested team in the league.

So it’s safe to say that athletes in Canberra are under more scrutiny when it comes to drug testing than elsewhere in Australia.

This is why the naming of the Canberra Raiders in the Crime Commission report has come as a shock. From what I have seen at the Raiders during pre-season and the season itself, they are meticulous in their handling of players’ use of supplements.

The hope is that the investigation doesn’t drag on for months.

Hello, world

IF ever you had any doubt about the worth of bankrolling major sporting events in terms of tourism it should have been put to rest after the first two major sporting events as part of Canberra’s Centenary celebrations.

The pictures beamed worldwide during the one-day cricket international attracted an audience that may not have previously considered Canberra as a tourist option.

The Australian Women’s Golf Open was also shown worldwide. On the Tuesday before the Open there were 24 individual television appearances by the players across the course with television networks spanning throughout Asia, Europe and America.

Hello, Canberra

IT would appear as though hockey and soccer may gain a reprieve and be included in the Centenary program.

Initially it was thought we wouldn’t be seeing the Socceroos, the Hockeyroos and the Kookaburras in Canberra this year.

At this stage nothing has been resolved and we could be running out of time.

Sports Minister Andrew Barr (pictured) says there is still hope that all three teams will be in Canberra later this year.

Talks will take place with Football Federation Australia in a bid to get the Socceroos playing in Canberra, possibly in a friendly.

Footy hopes

JUST on football, there is hope that Canberra teams may get a chance to play A League teams as part of FFA CEO David Gallop’s plan to establish a knockout FA Cup-style competition in Australia. This would allow semiprofessional clubs to take on A League teams.

There’s also the prospect of promotion and relegation to the A League that could open the door for Canberra. Canberra could also field a team in the proposed Super B rugby union competition put forward by Australian Rugby Union boss Bill Pulver. The Super B teams would be made up of fringe players from the Super 15 clubs and would play curtain raisers to the Super Rugby matches. It would give Australia the semblance of a second-tier competition to bridge the gap between club and Super Rugby. We can only wait to see if this eventuates.

Stories of magical care, come rain or shine

Libby Hill reports

SHIRLEY Sutton started working as a district nurse in Canberra in 1964 and, with a career spanning more than 30 years, she has countless stories to tell about district nursing during past decades.

“There are some magic stories from people in the early days,” says Shirley, who, together with author Alan Foskett, has written a book revisiting 100 years of district and community health nursing in the ACT called “Caring for the Community Rain, Hail or Shine”.

“The book is not only a magic read for nurses working in the area and for retired nurses, it’s a magic read for patients and people who lived through that time,” she says.

The 450-page book was researched by Shirley’s ACT Community Nursing History Group.

“The hardest job I had was to find all the old nurses... eventually all these people came to our attention and we interviewed them... some of the stories were so funny and we laughed so much that once we forgot to record the interview,” she says.

But Shirley says the stories, which date back to the beginning of nursing here in 1911, are wonderful.

“The differences between those days and today are the equipment that was used, the hours that were worked, the pay and the cost

of the visit, for example when I joined it was five shillings a visit.”

Shirley says the book’s stories date back to 1911, despite the fact that district and community nursing services didn’t formally

exist until 1950.

She believes that to understand fully the origins and development of district and community nursing, it is important to be aware of how health and hospital services

developed before 1950.

It was the National Council of Women that first raised the need for an ACT-based district nursing service outside the hospital environment.

The rapid population growth in Canberra in the ‘60s and ‘70s was cause for a growth in community nursing. The ageing population was also a factor and increased awareness of the importance of providing health services to people in their communities and their homes.

“Caring for the Community” also identifies the significance of home-based palliative care, a program that was introduced in 1985.

“Caring for the Community Rain Hail or Shine” will be launched at the Southern Cross Club on Sunday, March 24, at 2pm. No bookings required. The book costs $40 and can be pre-ordered by calling 6291 8410.

letters

The disgrace of our dying trees

WHILST the National Arboretum is a wonderful addition to Canberra, I – like Cedric Bryant – bemoan the scant attention paid to the care of Canberra’s existing street trees.

So many times I have seen young trees left unwatered and unpruned, only to succumb to the inevitable dry summers. Older specimens are visibly stressed and then, when beyond help, are removed. What a waste of time and money!

I take exception to the popular notion that many of our established trees have reached the end of their natural life. With care, most of the deciduous species in Canberra would outlive us all.

Other cities both here and overseas, water their mature trees when the conditions are dry because they realise that it is better financially and aesthetically to preserve them.

A case in point is the total neglect of our existing arboreta, such as the one at Yarralumla Equestrian Park, the Lindsay Pryor Arboretum and the Redwood plantation near the airport.

It is a disgrace that these trees have been so ignored for so many years, and that they, together with our dead and dying street trees, will no doubt be consigned to the graveyard on Lady Denman Drive, where ironically they will be turned into mulch for their more fortunate fellows at the National Arboretum.

As a professional gardener of almost 30 years and an enthusiastic tree lover, I have been privileged to observe some wonderful exotic and native specimens both here and abroad that are many hundreds of years old and I wonder why some of the species at the National Arboretum have been planted so closely when their mature size would dictate a need for more room so they could display their true form and beauty.

Virginia Dodson, Hughes

Deserted trust

IMAGINE that you are sitting down drinking a beer and eating a slice of pizza at the party to celebrate the victory of your candidate.

Your feet are sore after all the pavement pounding and your mouth dry from the continual chat with voters. Your winning candidate is thanking you for your efforts and saying how humble he is to represent you. All your weariness fades away.

Before the hangover can disappear, you hear that your “Young Lochinvar” has decided that he can see his name in lights on a larger stage and he prefers the sound of senator to MLA.

The candidate to whom you gave your trust has deserted you for greener pastures and his own advancement. My feet feel sore and my mouth is dry again.

David Ash, Narrabundah

‘Depart, I say’

CANBERRANS didn’t want self-government, but it was foisted on us. Now after several decades of rule by a Legislative Assembly, a minority government consisting mainly of atheists and agnostics (not that there is anything wrong with that!) has decided, after several decades, that prayers at Assembly openings breach church/state separation! But wait, there’s more: the Federal Government is passing legislation to allow the ACT Government to decide how many MLAs the Assembly should have.

Readers may put their own local interpretation on the following quote by Leo Amery, English statesman, addressed to Neville Chamberlain (May, 1940) quoting Cromwell’s words when he dismissed the Rump of the Long Parliament in 1653: “You have sat here too long for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go”.

My apologies for mixing politics and religion!

Colliss Parrett, Barton

Media shuns conference

CONGRATULATIONS to the committee and sponsors of the Order of Australia Association’s national conference in Canberra last week which drew almost 500 award recipients and partners.

As attendees, we were once more reminded of the extraordinary scope the national capital’s showpieces present to visitors including the magnificent latest addition, the National Arboretum, a credit to the ACT Government.

The conference highlight, the National Symposium: “Australia in the 21st Century – challenges and opportunities” was a gem. The addresses and debate spurred by former Governor-General, Michael Jeffery, and his panel colleagues set an enlightened agenda for our political leaders to embrace. They would do well to avail themselves of the symposium’s video at the first opportunity.

The chairman of the organising committee, Len Goodman AO, and his committee are to be commended on both the conference and symposium. It was regrettable that Canberra’s mainstream media largely ignored the conference and symposium.

Graham and Jenny Gorrel, Wagga Wagga

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.

Canberra Confidential

The member takes a wife

THE Centenary year is proving a big personal one for Liberal MLA for Ginninderra, Alistair Coe

First he has greatness thrust upon him and is elected Deputy Opposition Leader after outgoing leader Zed Seselja decides to take a run at Gary Humphries’ Senate spot and, next month, the young member takes a wife when he marries delightful fiance Yasmin Burraston, 28, a double-degree ANU graduate and champion rower, who lists on the Rowing Australia website, among other things, that her favourite movie is “Dirty Dancing” and her nickname is “Yas”.

Beware of imitations

“‘CANBERRA Confidential’ is a journey through the dark, chilling and frequently unbelievable tales of power-broking and deceit from inside the nation’s capital.” Hard to believe, but that is not a description of this paper’s compelling weekly column but of some televisual filmic outing on the ABC on March 14 that’s shamelessly ripped off this column’s moniker.

Apparently, journalist Annabel Crabb goes about the town in a trench coat (que?) in search of Canberra’s secrets over the past century.

“Her exploration into the city of secrets – how they are kept and how they are uncovered, now and in the past – goes to the heart of any functioning democracy. In celebrating the Centenary of Canberra in 2013, there’s no better time to lay bare its past sins and secrets.” Right, but we want our name back.

Meet Ray Clooney

RACHELLE Towart , CEO of the Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre, gets to the microphone swooning after Ray Martin introduces her to the Order of Australia Association’s national symposium

at the Lakeside, saying being welcomed by Martin was beyond even her bucket list and describes the TV legend as Australia’s answer to George Clooney. Gentleman Ray rewards her with a peck on the cheek and a “with respect” line that her description was being unfair to Clooney!

Julia in the dark

WHAT to do after you’ve announced a billion-dollar employment policy in Melbourne? Head straight to Canberra to see the splendid play “The Secret River”. Such is the lot of the PM Julia Gillard , who slipped in, almost unrecognisable sans specs, as the lights dimmed on The Playhouse matinee finale on Sunday afternoon.

The cast of the play, which prophetically climaxes with a massacre of an incumbent tribe, had respectfully wondered if they could have a post-show photo, but it was not to be as C1 cruised away from the theatre moments after the curtain came down. Duty calls, we guess.

Sorry, Kevin’s off

CC’s spy at the Healing Foundation’s “The Apology - Five Years On – Heal our Past, Build our Future” ceremony and concert on the Parliament House lawns celebrating the anniversary of the apology that the then-PM Kevin Rudd gave indigenous Australians in 2008, reports from backstage that: “Ruddy pops in, gets photos with EVERYONE, has a quick speech and bails without saying cheerio.”

Hmmms

EMAIL to us... “I am qualified English teacher and writer based in Scotland. I am due to travel to Australia on July 9 for a year on a working holiday visa. If I can, I would like to find writing work. I seen your advert for an online copywriter...”

CANBERRA Airport has an oddly compel -

‘Times’ is ticking

WHILE the newly reorganised and reduced editorial staff cling to their digital platforms, “The Canberra Times” newspaper continues to sink.

And yet, despite another extraordinary loss of circulation and readership in the latest figures (that would surely have its advertisers queuing for refunds), the paper is coy to volunteer its digital circulation numbers, unlike most of the nation’s other major titles (it becomes mandatory in September).

Having done a masterful marketing job in training Canberra to take for free on a tablet what it used to pay for, little wonder the latest circulation and readership figures are woeful.

The once mighty flagship Saturday edition has slumped another 10.5 per cent down to 43,641 copies sold. Weekdays lost another 7.6 per cent to average a woefully low 27,974 copies and Sunday showed an 8.3 per cent loss to 27,717.

ling webcam of its building site showing little, hard-hatted, Lego-like workers and trucks criss-crossing the screen. Google “Canberra Airport webcam” to see what they’re up to.

PUN... a rubber-band pistol was confiscated from an algebra class, because it was a, wait for it, weapon of math disruption.

scene / around canberra

At Women’s Australian Open gala dinner, Hotel Realm At the OAA Conference gala dinner, Gandel Hall, NGA

Oakton Consulting Technology / advertising feature

Oakton team assists clients leverage existing assets

OAKTON is one of Australia’s leading technology and business consulting services companies, with an extensive track record across government and industry in the planning, design, implementation and support of robust and reliable business and IT solutions, says general manager Bob Peebles.

“Be it packaged software implementation, customised solutions, information management or systems integration, Oakton collaborates with its clients to define the business problem upfront, then designs and delivers a quality solution, on time and on budget,” he says.

Mr Peebles says one of Oakton’s key strengths has been its ability to rapidly and cost-effectively address the challenges faced by its clients nationwide -– such as being able to quickly put in place solutions that address issues such as taming the huge volumes of data captured every day by a large number of applications, so the right data can be analysed quickly to enable better client decision-making processes, increase productivity and leverage existing assets – often moving to demonstrate proof-of-concept in under two weeks.

While the ACT market has been challenging and difficult over the past six months as a result of a general Federal Government spending slowdown, Mr Peebles believes that government is now ideally placed to deploy solutions in a more cost-effective and agile manner.

“What we try and talk about is how to get the best out of the assets you’ve got now, to solve the business

from what the market has come to know as Systems Integration to Service Integration. With ever-increasing business demand and over-stretched IT departments, both business and IT are becoming more open to the use of external services, sourced selectively to address a specific business need. This is often quicker and cheaper than building it yourself using internal IT resources.

“As this trend starts to take hold we are seeing an emerging need for organisations like Oakton that can source the right services and integrate them with other external services (possibly cloud-based) as well as with on-premise systems.

New face with lots of knowledge

PETER WARNER has joined Oakton as director of implementation services for the ACT, responsible for the delivery of all IT engagements in the ACT along with a team of more than 60 local employees.

problems you have now, without having to go to invest many millions of dollars in new investment projects, by leveraging current assets,” he says.

Developing and demonstrating agile proof of concepts rapidly, often in two to three week time frames, is a much quicker, much more appropriate investment currently and clients are also seeing a return in a much shorter period of time.

“Importantly, we can put a proof-ofconcept together and actually demonstrate to people what it’s going to look like, how it’s going to appear and the sort of data they’re going to get and then actually implement that proof-of-concept into a robust application.

“You don’t have to go through traditional system development methods to do this in many business solution scenarios.”

Mr Peebles says the team at Oakton applies the latest technology, customised where required, along with its own specialised “solution accelerators” to give clients the benefit of real-time business analytics, or collaboration solutions that can be surfaced displayed on any device to access relevant data, anytime, anywhere.

Oakton has recently assisted several large

clients, including a major retailer, a finance company and a State government entity, to do just that.

“Another interesting thing we’re doing in a number of different locations is that we’re enhancing the customer experience by using collaborative online techniques to revolutionise engagement with internal and external customers and I believe organisations like Canberra’s government departments can achieve strong productivity gains through these methods,” he says.

“We are also starting to see an evolution

“And all of this needs to be managed under a single umbrella with consistent tools and processes. Oakton see this as an opportunity to take a client business problem and respond with an integrated service involving one or more third parties (eg hosting providers) that can be implemented and managed for an ongoing monthly fee. In short, IT is having to re-think its role and how it adds value to ensure it maintains relevance.

“These are all things that government is looking at, but perhaps it needs to accelerate the take-up of innovative solutions to improve productivity and also to improve the consumer experience. You’ve got to think of everything from an online perspective. What else can you do online?”

Chance to join the winning team

WITH the tightening fiscal environment and the move to online provision of services, clients are increasingly looking towards enterprise-wide solutions, says Dana Spasenoska, Oakton’s ACT recruitment manager.

“Government agencies are seeking organisations to partner with them along the entire journey and develop solutions that enable services to be accessed in robust, costeffective and user-friendly ways,” she says.

“We are looking to increase our capacity in this area through the recruitment

of Microsoft architects and online and information management professionals to work with our experienced consultants, translating client business requirements into well-designed solutions that provide real and measurable benefit.

“Oakton prides itself on its commitment to delivering quality services to our customers and to the support and development of our staff. We offer outstanding career opportunities, empowerment in the workplace and a diverse and friendly team underpinned by competitive salary packages.”

Mr Warner has more than 20 years’ experience in the technology sector including senior positions at Avanade, CSC and BHP IT. In addition, he has extensive experience in consulting and delivery with enterprise and government customers across the Asia-Pacific region.

As a member of Avanade’s Asia-Pacific Leadership Team, Warner was responsible for all project delivery for customers across Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and China. In his new position, he is looking forward to applying this experience to the challenges faced by Oakton’s Canberra clients.

“I am excited about the opportunities Oakton offers to leverage our strong national business and brand to provide solutions for our customers and development opportunities for the Oakton delivery team in the ACT,” he says.

The national firm’s CEO and managing director, Neil Wilson, sees big things ahead in the capital with Peter on board.

“We’ve built a strong values-based culture at Oakton and believe there is significant future growth potential for Oakton, not only in the ACT, but all of Australia,” Wilson says.

“With Peter Warner leading an experienced and talented delivery team in Canberra, we are confident that we will achieve significant growth across the federal sector. We are thrilled to have Peter as part of Oakton’s future.”

For further information on current career opportunities at Oakton, call Dana Spasenoska for a confidential discussion on 6230 1997.

DibbsBarker Fyshwick / advertising feature

Law firm brings expertise to Fyshwick

WITH a 55-year history serving the Canberra region, DibbsBarker is making an important expansion in 2013, opening a new office in Fyshwick.

As specialists in property, commercial and employment law, the DibbsBarker team is well placed to assist the growing range of individuals and businesses in the Fyshwick area.

Being locally owned but part of the national DibbsBarker network means there is a national reach and expertise with offices also in Sydney and Brisbane, according to CEO Stephen Woolridge.

“Our firm is locally owned, run and managed. We are down-to-earth and flexible, adapting our recommendations and services to the client’s needs,” he says.

“Our advice will always be explicit, clearly showing you the implications of our recommendations. We strive to be valuable to our clients. The Fyshwick office will be specialised and provide a convenient location for the commercial businesses in the area.”

Woolridge says DibbsBarker aims to be competitive with fees and provide solutions in innovative and costeffective ways.

“Real value comes from our deep understanding of key sectors of the economy,” he says.

“While we advise clients in a broad range of industries, our experience means that we focus upon a number of core industry sectors.

“We anticipate assisting clients with all forms of personal and commercial transactions including buying and selling businesses, contract negotiation, litigation, employment law, succession planning, debt recovery, property acquisition and disposal, commercial leasing and estate planning”.

There are four solicitors based at the new Fyshwick premises:

John Hill

JOHN Hill is a partner and a member of the Canberra office’s commercial litigation group. He practises primarily

in the areas of insolvency, commercial litigation (including debt recovery) and commercial transactions (including buying and selling businesses and advising businesses in relation to their obligations under the Personal Property Securities Act).

David Robens

DAVID Robens is a senior associate within DibbsBarker’s commercial litigation group. He is able to assist with corporate disputes, recoveries, claims related to employment, insolvency and construction. He appears in courts and tribunals of all levels and can explain the expected process and how a commercial outcome may be achieved. David regularly advises on current workplace entitlements, employee

claims, discrimination and occupational health and safety. He can assist by providing workplace agreements and policies to avoid the disputes and penalties that can arise and cripple business.

Jason Wenning

JASON Wenning has experience in many areas of commercial practice, including banking and finance, large-scale residential and commercial property transactions and corporate structuring involving property syndicates.

Jason specialises in commercial leasing and sale of business transactions and in this regard acts for many well-known Canberra developers, property syndicates, local businesses and

national companies. Jason recognises the needs of landlords and tenants and is able to provide an efficient, effective and timely legal service.

Shelley Mulherin

SHELLEY Mulherin practices commercial law, with a litigation and transactional focus. Shelley is highly experienced in contractual disputes, shareholder disputes, intellectual property disputes and general property and commercial matters.

Shelley is a proven negotiator and the breadth of her experience in the commercial litigation sector has given her an ability to achieve commercial resolutions at an early stage and to provide efficient, effective and practical advice to clients.

Investors have ‘overlooked’ ACT market benefits

ACCORDING to DibbsBarker’s commercial leasing expert, Jason Wenning, the ACT houses the third largest office market in Australia, behind Sydney and Melbourne.

He says this niche commercial property market has been overlooked by many nationwide investors.

“However, since the introduction of Mandatory Disclosure in 2010, coupled with the National Green Leasing Policy, the Commonwealth and Territory Governments have driven industry investment in the ACT through their push to occupy energy efficient buildings,” Wenning says.

“Those investors, willing to either develop new ‘Green Buildings’ or substantially renovate aged building stock, have benefited greatly from high rental yields and secure office tenancies.

“ACT leasing legislation looks similar to legislation from other jurisdictions, yet, on closer analysis, differs in many significant aspects.

He says that unlike the statutes in other jurisdictions, which are generally confined to “Retail Premises”, the Leases (Commercial and Retail) Act 2001 (ACT) also applies to:

• commercial premises with a lettable area of 300 sqm or less;

• premises leased to an association;

• premises leased to charitable organisations;

• premises used to provide a combination of business accommodation and secretarial services (potentially very broad);

• child care centres;

• sports centres;

• art galleries; and

• gardening supply centres.

“Many clauses that are mainstays of non-retail leases in other jurisdictions are inconsistent with the ACT legislation and are thus void,” Wenning says.

“For example, discretionary rent review clauses (ie, ratchet clauses – whereby rent is reviewed in accordance with whichever of two or more methods would produce the highest result) are void. Further, bonds must not exceed a sum equivalent to three months’ gross rent and key money (ie, money or a benefit passing to the landlord from the tenant so as to secure the grant of a lease) is prohibited”.

He says the ACT legislation also affords tenants certain rights. For example, tenants have:

• a right to a minimum five-year lease term and a Disclosure Statement 14 days prior to entering into the lease (unless a solicitor’s certificate is provided);

• a prescribed method for terminating a tenancy;

• a right to compensation for disturbance; and

• a right to renew the lease (applicable only to premises located in the retail area of a shopping centre).

“Professional advice and a well-crafted commercial lease remain the keys to ‘capitalising on the Capital’, as it steadily morphs into a cosmopolitan centre capable of catering for the needs of commerce on a national scale,” Wenning says.

At Swiss Cheese presentation, Forrest At National Day of The Republic of Serbia, Albert Hall

At opening of Majura Park Medical Centre, Majura Park

Kamberra Wine Company

Hats to make headlines Black Opal Stakes

Centenary Cup adds to the big race day Prize record for Fashions on the Field

What to wear? We talk to top stylist T HOROUGHBRED PARK , S UNDAY, M ARCH 10

Kamberra Wine Company BLACK OPAL STAKES / special feature

Race guide for fashionable fillies

IF you only get to the races on the major race days and aren’t quite sure what you need to do here are some tips to help you out

ACTTAB – otherwise known as the Tote.

The ACTTAB is Canberra’s betting agent. It generally operates out of a betting window.

ACTTAB bets are not given at fixed odds –the price you get if your horse wins or runs a place is the last price the ACTTAB set before the race jumped.

BOOKIE – short for bookmaker. You will find these fellows in the betting ring and posted around the grounds. Bookies will take your bet and give you fixed odds at the time of betting.

ODDS – are a reflection of the chance of a horse to win the race. The higher the odds (ie 100/1) the less likely the horse is to win and the greater your payout if they do. Odds are likely to change many times before a race jumps. They change based on the number of bets and amount of money bet on each horse before the race.

FIXED ODDS – if your horse wins, your return is based on the odds at the time you placed your bet.

SCRATCHING – a horse has been removed from the race by it’s owner or trainer. If you have already made a bet on a scratched horse your money should be refunded.

TYPES OF BETS

First, a few basics: the smallest bet you can make is 50 cents, which is equal to one unit in betting lingo.

Bets can be placed in whole or half-dollar increments. All bets must be made before the horses start the race.

The most common types of bets are:

WIN – you are only betting on a horse to win the race. The payout if your horse wins is based on the winning odds only.

PLACE – you are betting on a horse to come first, second or third. The payout if your horse runs a place is based on the place odds only.

WIN AND A PLACE (also called Each Way) – you are betting on your horse to come first or to run a place. Making this type of bet costs double your wager ie if you bet on horse number 9 for $2, you will need $2 for bet for a win and $2 for the bet for a place, a total of $4.

QUINELLA – you are selecting the two horses that will come first or second in the race (in either order).

TRIFECTA – you are selecting the three horses that will come first, second and third in the exact order in a race. If you only want to select the horses that will run first, second and third in any order, you want a “box trifecta”. If you choose three horses in a box trifecta you will receive a payout if any

combination of the three you selected run first, second or third.

Quinella, trifecta and box trifecta bets cost more to place, but add to the excitement of the race. Ask the bookie or ACTTAB representative how much your bet will cost if you are unsure.

It’s customary when placing a bet to refer to the horse/s you want by their number and the race you are betting on them in by number also. This goes something like: “Can I please have $2 each way on number 3 in race 5 at Canberra?”

If you are unsure, don’t be afraid to ask the bookies and ACTTAB staff to help you with your bet. Do be aware though, it can get frantic in the last few minutes before the race start time, so if you are unsure it pays to put your bet on at least 10 minutes early.

More information on betting at acttab. com.au

Evermore to perform at the track

Evermore will perform on the day and into the evening on the main music stage.

Evermore, originally from NZ, are now based in Melbourne and consists of the Hume brothers – Jon (guitar, vocals), Peter (keyboards, bass, piano, vocals) and Dann (drums, vocals).

The band has released three

platinum-selling albums, Dreams (2004), Real Life (2006) and Truth of the World: Welcome to the Show (2009) and a self-titled greatest hits album including three new songs. The band has been nominated for seven ARIA Awards and has won two Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards.

Hospitality options to savour the fun

Home Straight Corporate Marquees

ENTERTAIN guests, network with clients or enjoy the Black Opal Stakes with friends in a corporate marquee, located on Home Straight with track views at the 300-metre mark and a short walk to the Myer Fashions on the field.

Package includes:

• Complimentary admission into the racecourse;

• Admission into your own private marquee;

• Marquee fence signage;

• Delicious hot buffet menu;

• Racebooks;

• Five-hour beverage package including a selection from the Kamberra Wine Company range of red, white and sparkling wine, heavy, mid and light beers, RTD Spirits, soft drink and orange juice from your private bar; and

• ACTTAB, bookmaker and amenities close by.

Price (incl GST), $240 per person (Bookings close February 25)

Catbird Lane

PURCHASE an all-inclusive ticket into Catbird Lane and let Thoroughbred Park do all the work for you!

DJ Rush will entertain inside the Catbird Lane area. Exclusive individual marquees for corporate or social groups. Book for a marquee of minimum 20 guests up to 200. Smaller groups are available in a shared marquee. Package includes complimentary admission, access to Catbird Lane, private marquee, shared bar with a five-hour standard beverage package and RTD spirits. Spit roast meal, race books, televisions, ACTTAB, bookmakers and amenities close by

and security. Catbird Lane is a short walk to track views.

Price (incl GST), $160 per person. Bookings close February 25.

The Centenary Marquee CELEBRATE Canberra’s 100th birthday in a marquee. The package includes:

• Complimentary admission into the racecourse;

• Admission into the exclusive marquee located just past the winning post with track views;

• Racebooks per table;

• Hot buffet luncheon;

• Four-hour beverage package from 12.45pm to 4.45pm. Cash bar outside these hours until 6pm including a selection from the Kamberra Wine Company range of red, white

and sparkling wine, heavy, mid and light beers, RTD Spirits, soft drink and orange juice.

• Private bar.

• Company table signage for tables of 10.

• Enjoy the live music from the band stage into the early evening.

Price (incl GST), $220 per person. Bookings close February 25.

Picnic Place

THIS popular feature race-day location is suitable for anyone seeking a secure position, close to the track and fashions on the field stage. Use it as your base while enjoying the freedom to mingle around the racecourse. View the races from a table in the reserved area with views of the trackside superscreen. Bring a own picnic hamper and enjoy a prime position at a fraction of the cost. Alcohol is not to be brought inside the racecourse. Bags will be searched at the gate.

Package includes:

• Complimentary admission into the racecourse;

• Admission into Picnic Place;

• Reserved picnic table, chairs and an umbrella. Seating for six guests only.

Price (incl GST), $330 per site.

Centenary Cup adds to premier race day briefly

THE Kamberra Wine Company

Black Opal Stakes is Canberra’s premier race day and this year will be doubly special as it combines with the ACTTAB Canberra Centenary Cup on Sunday, March 10.

Now, in its 40th year, Black Opal Day is one of the most important autumn race days on the calendar, a fun social event where horse racing and fashion play a key role in the event’s primary attraction.

This year Thoroughbred Park will run its 40th Black Opal Stakes event. The inaugural Black Opal Stakes was run in 1973 and won by Rich Reward.

High-profile horses, owners, trainers and visitors travel into the ACT from regional areas and major cities to contest and watch the running of this nationally recognised autumn event.

One of Thoroughbred Park’s main objectives is to maximise attendance at the Black Opal Stakes while retaining its position in the market as a high-quality event and one that , this year, will also encompass the 100th birthday of Canberra.

Now in its 75th year, the ACTTAB Canberra Centenary Cup is one of the oldest ongoing races in Canberra. It was first run in 1926.

In 1921 a race meeting was held to raise money for the Canberra Branch of

the Returned Soldiers. The group agreed to allow a mounted man by the name of Mr P F Douglas to gallop around the paddock and, on his safe return without breaking his neck or the horse’s leg, the ground was cleared and the filling of rabbit holes, digging up stumps and clearing trees began. Located just near the Molonglo River and Black Mountain, organised race meets were now up and running.

The Canberra Cup was first run in 1926 which technically makes the race at 87 years but was “on-hold” throughout the Great Depression from 1930 to 1935

and again during the World War II years (1941-1945).

Other events that continue today include the Royal National Agricultural Societies Canberra Show, this event was first organised in 1927 at Hall Showgrounds. The eight-race program includes four listed races on the day’s program including; the $250,000 Kamberra Wine Company Black Opal Stakes, the $200,000 ACTTAB Canberra Centenary Cup, $100,000 Mercedes-Benz (Canberra) National Sprint and the $100,000 Affinity Construction Management Canberra Guineas.

But the action takes place on and off the

track at Thoroughbred Park on Black Opal Stakes day.

The Myer Fashions on the Field competition offers some of the best prizes in the region. The competition has strict guidelines for each category entry.

Categories are Classic Ladies’ Racewear, Classic Men’s Racewear, Classic Couples Racewear and the Millinery Award (more information at thoroughbredpark.com.au/ fashions-on-the-field).

Registration for all categories will be between noon and 1.30pm on the day, no late entries accepted.

Other attractions this year include:

• Evermore in concert

• Face painting for children

• Centenary Marquee

• Children’s activities

• The Girls Girls Girls Trick Rider and Stunt Show

More information from 6204 0000.

Birthday chorus

BEFORE the running of the ACTTAB Canberra Centenary Cup at Thoroughbred Park, local band Hold Harbour will lead the crowd in a “Happy Birthday” sing-along for Canberra’s 100th birthday. Hold Harbour will also sing the National Anthem prior to the running of the Kamberra Wine Company Black Opal Stakes.

Angels return

ATTRACTIONS this year include the return of the XXXX Retreat and the XXXX Angels. The all-singing and dancing troupe was so popular in 2012 that they will return with all new performances.

Stuff for kids

THERE is face painting for the kids (and adults), free children’s rides and a special display on track of the Girls, Girls, Girls trick and stunt riding.

Charity begins here

PEGASUS Riding for the Disabled is the official charity for the Black Opal Stakes. Thoroughbred Park has kicked off the fundraising with a $3000 pony sponsorship. Patrons are urged to help the charity on the day.

Kamberra Wine Company BLACK OPAL STAKES / special feature

Release your inner show pony

IN 2013 the Myer Fashions on the Field returns for the biggest prize pool on offer yet.

Competition organisers say more than $20,000 in cash and prizes is on offer to be won.

Thoroughbred Park’s sales and marketing manager, Briony Young, says: “The quality of the entrants in all categories for the competition over the years has been incredibly impressive.

“To enter you really have to be conscious of current trends, add a touch of flair and your presentation must be immaculate. The Fashions on the Field competition has strict guidelines for each category entry.

“Registration for all categories will be between noon and 1.30pm on the day. No late entries will be accepted.”

The first Fashions on the Field competition started in Melbourne to entice more women to attend the races and now is one of the most popular elements of the races and is certainly a highlight event for major race meetings at Thoroughbred Park, Briony says.

Prizes at the Myer Fashions on the field competition include cash, holiday vouchers and Myer gift cards.

Categories are:

• Classic Ladies’ Racewear

• Millinery Award

• Classic Men’s Racewear

• Classic Couples Racewear

All ladies, providing they are wearing a hat or fascinator, and gentlemen attending Thoroughbred Park’s race meetings, are eligible to enter the Classic categories. Roaming fashion officials will also be inviting fashionably dressed racegoers to enter the competition in all categories.

Winners from Classic Men’s Racewear and Classic Ladies Racewear competitions are ineligible to enter

Glamour, style and key accessories are some important facets to include in your outfit, however some advice to consider for entering the Classic Ladies Fashion category include:

• Style and originality

• Appropriateness of outfit for the race day. Skirt is to be around knee length – no minis.

• Attention to detail of accessories.

• No denim.

• For Ladies Classic Racewear hats or fascinators are essential.

• For the Classic Men’s Racewear category:

• Jacket and tie are essential.

• Consider a hat or lapel flower. Matching cufflinks, handkerchief and tie are always beneficial. The official flower of the Canberra Cup is the red rose and the official lapel flower for the Kamberra Wine Company Black Opal Stakes day is the white rose.

• Understanding and interpretation of current fashion trends.

• Grooming and deportment.

• Suitability of the outfit.

Myer Fashions on the field prizes for Black Opal Stakes Day

CLASSIC LADIES’ RACEWEAR

1st Prize – Sash, floral bouquet, gold membership to Zaija Beauty (includes unlimited beauty and hair treatments for 12 months, value $1200), Myer gift card ($500), Snooze gift voucher ($1500), Vangeli Jewellers Opal and diamond enhancer and strand of pearls ($2800), Antler luggage ($820), Kerry McGlone Millinery donation ($200), $1000 cash, travel voucher ($2000), Terence Gregory Milliner gift card ($250) and a Hoyts double pass ($40).

2nd Prize – Myer gift card (Value $250), 3-hour Zaija time out ($330), Terence Gregory Milliner gift card ($150) and $200 cash.

3rd Prize - Myer gift card (Value $100), 2-hour Zaija time out ($220), Terence Gregory Milliner gift card ($75) and $100 cash.

MILLINERY AWARD

1st Prize - Sash, Myer gift card (Value $300), Terence Gregory Milliner gift card (Value $250).

2nd Prize - Myer gift card (Value $150), Terence Gregory Milliner gift card (Value $150).

3rd Prize - Myer gift card (Value $100), Terence

Gregory Milliner gift card (Value $75).

CLASSIC MEN’S RACEWEAR

1st Prize – Sash, $300 Myer gift card, Cash $1000, travel voucher ($1000), Antler luggage ($820), barbecue donated by Home ($500), Opal tie pin by Vangeli Jewellers ($500), Terence Gregory Milliner gift card ($250) and a Hoyts double pass ($40).

2nd Prize – $150 Myer gift card, Home voucher (value $100), Terence Gregory Milliner gift card ($150) and a Hoyts double pass ($40).

3rd Prize – $100 Myer gift card, Home voucher ($100), Terence Gregory Milliner gift card ($75) and a Hoyts double pass ($40).

CLASSIC COUPLES RACEWEAR 1st

– $150 Myer gift card, Terence Gregory Milliner gift card (value $150) and $100 cash.

Hot looks for autumn race fashion

Autumn may bring on the start of cooler weather, but it’s a different story on the racetrack – this is the time of year when racing fashion really heats up, says fashion writer LAURA EDWARDS

AT the centre of the Black Opal/ Canberra Cup day’s events is The Myer Fashions on the Field competition.

And while spring racing season was all about floral frocks, the fashion rules are very different when it comes to autumn racewear, says stylist Sofia Polak.

“In spring, open-toed shoes are okay, but definitely not for autumn, they should be closed heels,” Sofia says.

“Dresses should be more structured, past the knee and fitted – think Victoria Beckham.”

Colour-wise, autumn doesn’t have to be all browns and beiges – bright shades are still very much in style.

“I’d like to see bright accents, and clashing of prints - not floral prints but more so a combination of digital and artistic expression prints,” Sofia says.

“So turquoise, sapphires, reds, are going to be on trend as well as your general sort of muted tones, your merlots, those sort of tones as well.

“If you keep headwear or garments in muted tones, you can accessorise with bright accessories.

“In terms of accessories, the chunkier the better.”

It’s important to consider materials when choosing race headwear, says Sofia, with leather and felt her top picks for the season.

“Accents of leather will be quite

trendy, you wouldn’t wear a whole outfit with leather though,” she says.

“I think another trend is the 1920s style baroque style so I’m thinking laces and some metallics... I’d even love to see some glomesh bags.”

arts & entertainment

Imagining a fabulous century, with music

WHEN glamorous singersongwriter Alice Cottee takes to the stage in the Senate Rose Gardens outside Old Parliament House on March 10, she’ll be representing Canberra singing to the cosmos.

For Cottee, the prize-winning siren with the “velvet-coated mouth” who was once the creative producer for the Multicultural Fringe, has been asked to underscore film footage of the mighty Mt Stromlo Observatory with a famous Beatles song about the universe.

Artistic director David Sequeira... his selection of moving images “will move, inspire and challenge Canberrans”.

cover story

By arts editor Helen Musa

Artistic director of the “Imagining Canberra” film event, David Sequeira, has absolutely forbidden her from telling us which Beatles song, but you can bet clever “CityNews” readers will work it out.

The footage is definitely in the national treasure category, coming as it does from the huge collection of the National Film and Sound Archive, but Cottee is something of a treasure herself.

An immigrant from Queanbeyan at age 14, she’s been singing and playing here for 15 years, with various bands.

Cottee’s done the rounds from suburban folk rock to “a bit more of a worldly sound.” She and her band “No Hausfrau” won Best ACT Country Artist at the inaugural MAMAs last year.

“I’m honoured to have been asked to sing at this event,” Cottee tells “CityNews”. “I saw the footage and it brought me close to tears… I felt a sense of belonging.”

Offstage but equally glamorous is the flamboyant Sequeira, the best-dressed public programs manager ever to work at the NGA until he left to do art and his PhD.

Sequeira was hired by the livewire Michael

Loebenstein, head of the NFSA, to expose the archive’s internationally envied but largely hidden collection and “Imagining the Capital: Canberra on film” is it.

A lavish, free outdoor screening of Canberra-related footage from 1913 to the present day, it’s a chance “to look at where

Romko wins top CAT award

By Helen Musa WRITER,

director and teacher

Romko

Hordynsky has been named the ActewAGL Gold Cat winner at the 18th Canberra Area Theatre Awards held in Llewellyn Hall.

Hordynsky, a teacher at Kinross Wolaroi School in Orange, was praised by the CAT judges for his original scripts and music, set design, direction and musical direction. “He is incredible, he’s done it for years,” said CAT co-founder Coralie Wood.

The awards, the Canberra region’s theatrical night of nights, attracted a large crowd from as far afield as Griffith and Merimbula.

A new award at the glittering mini-Oscars ceremony was a prize, gifted in perpetuity by Mary Porter MLA, of a $2500 a year professional development scholarship for a young person to pursue a career in theatre. The inaugural award went to Pete Ricardo, star of “Hair” in Stephen Pike’s 2012 production.

Among the presenters at the “CATS” were showbiz personalities Jon English and Michael Cormick, to star this year at the Canberra theatre in “Phantom of the Opera.”

The full list of (CAT Awards): Best set and costume designers Sam Lloyd, Wendy Glover, Mal, Donna & Amy Copeland, Judi Sando & Kylie Dolan, Ritva Jokinen and Chelsea Wright; Best lighting designer : Cynthia Jolley-Rogers; Technical achievement: James McPherson; “Magic Moment” of theatre: Canberra Youth Theatre; Best original work : Romko Hordynsky of Kinross Wolaroi School and ANU Med Revue scriptwriting team; Best ensemble in a play Chevalier College; Best ensemble in a musical: Shevaun Brown, Christa Radley, Christie Green, Cath Adams and Belinda McGrath, of Parkes M&D; Encouragement award: Alexandra Davis; Best orchestra: Supa Productions; Best orchestra/school or youth ACT Senior Concert Band; Best youth actors in featured and leading roles: Sam Williams & Hannah Lawson, Emerson Garcia, Arabella Jorgensen-Hull,

Gold CAT winner Romko Hordynsky

Alex Richards, Bryson Grenfell, Jill Greig, Andrew Campbell, Jock Pryse Jones, Jessica Dunn and Steffanni Gardener; Best variety performances: Mark Oates, Sara Turner, Daniel Cotton and Zane Campbell; Best actors in featured and leading roles: Sam Hannan-Morrow, Andrea Close, Anthony Rule, Stephanie Rodriguez, Jarrad West, Naoné Carrel, Danny Condon, Pete Ricardo and Jenna Roberts; Best choreographer : Pauline Young; Best musical director/school or youth: Naida Blackley; Best musical director (adult): Leisa Keen; Best director/school or youth: Kate Price and Nathan Storen; Best director/play : Duncan Ley; Best director of a school or youth musical Tony Lazzarato and Clare Fealy; Best director of a musical or variety show: Wendy Glover; Best production of a school or youth play : Chevalier College; Best production of a school or youth musical: Kinross Wolaroi School; Best production of a variety show: Albury Wodonga Theatre Company; Best productions: “Pride and Prejudice” by Canberra Repertory and “Crazy for You” by MoonGlow Productions, Wollongong; “In The Spirit of the Community” award: Monaro Committee for Cancer Research for “Dancing With the Cooma Stars” ; Best contribution (on or off stage) by a senior : Wayne Shepherd.

we have come from, where we are and where we are going… bring your rugs, bring a picnic,” Sequeira advises.

“I feel like I have the best job in the world,” he enthuses, predicting that his selection of moving images “will move, inspire and challenge Canberrans.”

Creative director of the Centenary Robyn Archer agrees. “You’ll probably see yourself there, I’ll probably see myself there,” she tells me.

It was Loebenstein who came up with the idea of doing it in the famous Old Parliament House Rose Gardens, where a huge screen and stage will be pitched, but the music was all Sequeira’s idea.

He’s hunted down some of Canberra’s top musicians to perform live to the footage, which is grouped under themes such as politics, children, disasters, science and glamour.

Glamour? I ask. Yes, Canberra was the setting for some heavy-duty fashion parades back in the ‘60s, providing one of the fun parts in an evening which begins as soon as the sun goes down.

One brilliant idea was to engage the indigenous group the Stiff Gins, experts in endangered languages, to sing in Wiradjuri to the restored 1913 footage of the naming of Canberra. The effect is at once touching and chilling, and guess what? It all takes place within a stone’s throw of Canberra’s foundation stone.

“Imagining the Capital: Canberra on film,” in the Senate Rose Gardens, 7.30pm, Sunday, March 10. Cost: Free

arts & entertainment Romance meets melodrama

“Safe Haven” (M)

WHETHER Lasse Hallstrom’s latest film is melodramatic romance or romantic melodrama has been exercising my mind since leaving the cinema. There is a difference, if you care to think about it.

Distraught Katie (Julianne Hough) runs to a neighbour’s house. She later gets on a bus that makes a comfort stop in Southport. Back in Boston, detective Tierney (Aussie actor David Lyons) begins an inquiry about her.

In Southport’s balmy seaside climate, Katie gets a waitressing job. She rents a house in the woods. She meets storekeeper Alex (Josh Duhamel), a widower with two kids. Neighbour Jo (Cobie Smulders) strikes up a friendship. For Katie, life looks better than it did when she got on the bus. While she bonds with Alex’s kids and a slow-burning romance with Alex develops, Tierney has posted an APB in police stations all across the US to locate her.

Hallstrom delivers Katie’s story against a background of idyllic small-town life. Don’t let serendipity lull you into a comfort zone. Leslie Bohem and Dana Stevens’ screenplay confects a double-barrelled denouement that, while it doesn’t exactly whack you over the head with a baseball bat, sneaks up to deliver enough credibility to justify its precedents and send you out feeling moderately-well entertained without having any message forced on you. Nor any resolution of which of those two genres best fits.

At Dendy, Capitol 6, Hoyts and Limelight

Dougal Macdonald cinema

“The Sweeney” (MA)

THE squad of London’s Metropolitan Police that made its name detecting and preventing armed robberies and related crimes got its unofficial title from rhyming slang – beginning with “Flying Squad”, when it tore around in modified Wolseley saloons, rhyming with “Sweeney Todd”, that fictional demon barber created in a penny-dreadful weekly in 1846.

Filmic attention to it began in the 1970s TV series and a 1975 big-screen feature with John Thaw and Dennis Waterman as the two hard coppers Regan and Carter.

For this second feature, writer/director Nick Love has disinterred the same characters now played by Ray Winstone and Ben Drew. The plot is little different from that of any episode in the long-running TV series. Winstone’s Regan is a gutter-mouthed behemoth who takes police procedures beyond the boundaries of the rules and avoids the constant threat of heavy discipline only by getting results. The bad guys are bad. The cops are little better, the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. The unmitigated violence goes on and on, as if Nick Love didn’t quite know how to shape it into useful film time.

Bottom line? A strong candidate for nomination to the 2013 Razzies. Should have gone straight to DVD for the select audience that gets a buzz from such stuff.

At Dendy, Hoyts and Limelight

‘Girls’

theatre

“Movie 43” (MA)

A DESPERATE, out-of-work film director (Dennis Quaid) is pitching ideas to a studio executive (Greg Kinnear). Cut to the next idea, a short story directed by one of the 13 directors of this compilation film.

On its surface, “Movie 43” is totally crass. Coprophilia, nudity, a vocabulary spattered with the “f”, “c” and “s” words, menstruation, home schooling, implications of incest, bestiality, homosexuality and more. But crass and kinky don’t faze you, do they? For broad-enough minds, open to unconventional views of American culture and social practices, “Movie 43” might even be entertaining and illuminating.

The segments are performed by real-talent actors. Hugh Jackman plays a squillionaire on a blind date with Kate Winslet. Why can such a catch get only blind dates? Because his scrotum is where other men have their Adams apple! Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber are home-schooling their teenaged son. Uma Thurman plays Lois Lane in Superhero Speed Dating. In a ritzy restaurant, Halle Berry and Stephen Merchant play a wickedly funny game of Truth or Dare. Beezel the animated cat comes between lovers Elizabeth Banks and Josh Duhamel.

“Movie 43” parodies dramatic territory long explored in theatre. Listen to Malvolio recognising a lady’s handwriting in “Twelfth Night”, Act 2, Scene 5. There are many more and they amuse us, as was intended. At Hoyts and Limelight

just wanna have fun

“Calendar Girls” Canberra Rep, at Theatre 3 until March 2.

Reviewed by Len Power

GOOD comedy has drama just below the surface. Tim Firth’s play, “Calendar Girls”, based on the movie of the same name, is funny, moving and very, very real.

Canberra Rep’s production, directed by Catherine Hill, tells the true story of a group of women who are members of a Yorkshire village Womens’ Institute. When the husband of one of them dies of leukemia, the women devise an unusual fundraiser in his memory. Their actions unexpectedly produce self-doubt and strained friendships. At the core of this production is the excellent ensemble playing of Naone Carrel, Liz de Totth, Elaine Noon, Anne Yuille, Nikki-Lynne Hunter and Megs Skillicorn. Their interaction with each other is precise and believable. Judi Crane as Marie, the head of this Womens’ Institute, artfully plays a sour old dragon who eventually shows she’s a real person after all. Jonathan Garland gives a moving performance as the doomed husband, John, and the initially ill-at-ease photographer of Paul Jackson is nicely done. The set, designed by Russell Brown, has captured the atmosphere of a faded church hall. Costume designer, Miriam Miley-Read, has provided the cast with a practical and appealing set of costumes. They really look like the clothes those characters would wear. Catherine Hill, the director, has done a fine job, bringing out the warmth, wit and humanity of a good play that covers universal issues we can all relate to.

arts & entertainment

High expectations tested one Saturday night in Griffith

IT’S an honour to wear two chef hats – a true honour. And Aubergine’s owner and head chef, Ben Willis, was no doubt pleased as punch when he received the juicy news that the “Sydney Morning Herald’s 2012 Good Food Guide” critics had bestowed upon his restaurant the honour, for the second year running.

Aubergine is an elegant restaurant in Griffith, with a warm and inviting atmosphere,

Wendy Johnson dining

and expectations of diners who arrive for dinner are justifiably high. I know ours were.

Four of us dined on a recent Saturday evening when Aubergine offered us a set menu for $80 per person (wine not included and no byo allowed). We were asked to select from an early setting (6pm to 8.15pm) or an 8.30pm setting (you can stay till closing).

Service was attentive and we sipped on lovely champagne as we reviewed the menu

– five entrée options, five main options and five dessert options ($8 extra for the cheese selection).

Two of us ordered the crisp pork belly dish, served with hand-picked spanner crab, perfect cubes of watermelon and rouille. It was the dish of the night for me, with the pork belly tender, the spanner crab sweet and juicy and the rouille packed with flavour.

The cold and refreshing watermelon sat pretty on the plate, adding a welcoming dash of colour, but we found it overripe, which meant the flesh was not super crisp.

For entrees, the two others in our party ordered the lovely confit of ocean trout,

Pike invites a pig-in

Helen Musa

arts in the city

THE stage adaptation of Orwell’s “Animal Farm” by Brisbane’s “shake & stir” is coming to Queanbeyan soon. The Q’s Stephen Pike just couldn’t help himself when he advised prospective ticket buyers: “It’s your turn to pig in.” At The Q, March 5-7, bookings to 6285 6290. CANBERRA’S centenary is swinging into gear, with film at the forefront, but Queanbeyan is getting in first, with its 175th birthday festive screenings. Helped by the unbelievably busy National Film and Sound Archive, 14 films from 1925-1989 have been compiled showing aspects of “Struggletown’s” history. “Moving Memories”, at The Q, 2pm and 7.30pm, on Friday, March 1. Tickets are free, but phone 6285 6290 or theq.net.au.”

DANCER Albert David, Mirramu Dance Company and artists from Arnhem Land, are staging “Morning Star”, the result of a fabulous two-year project with direction from Elizabeth Cameron Dalman, cultural consultancy from Morning Star story custodian Banula Marika and an original music score by Airi Ingram. It’s at the James O Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia, March 1-3, bookings to ticketek.com.au

ART Song Canberra’s inaugural concert for 2013, “Centenary in Song”, will include “Seven Zen Songs for Voice and Viola” by Larry Sitsky and Peter J. Casey’s “Beautiful,” written in memory of the 2003

bushfires, performed by the brilliant husband and wife duo mezzo Christina Wilson and pianist Alan Hicks. At Wesley Music Centre, Forrest, 3pm, February 24, tickets only at the door.

YASS artist Kim Nelson has just been selected as a finalist in Tasmania’s $40,000 Glover Prize for his entry “The Sentinels (Looking towards Evandale from the Great Western Tiers)”.

THE Australian Haydn Ensemble will be here with “The Age of Elegance,” works by Haydn, Michael Haydn, Pleyel, Boccherini and Mozart, as the first in its 2013 series. At St John’s Reid, 7.30pm, February 27. Tickets at the door or australianhaydn.com.au

ANCA and Canberra Contemporary Art Space have a joint show, “BLAZE 7”, running at 1 Rosevear Place, Dickson, noon-5pm, Wednesday to Sunday, until March 3, showing the “crème de la crème” of emerging visual artists – Julia Boyd, Trish Roan, Steph Wilson, Holly Granville-Edge, Roman Stachurski, Elly Freer, Ruby Green, Hannah Bath and Patrick Larmour.

ANCA Gallery is also calling for exhibition proposals for the first half of 2014 – the deadline is before March 7. Visit anca.net.au/applications/gallery/

THE Australian Chamber Orchestra is diving into new territory in “The Reef”, where music by Bach, Rameau, Pete Seeger and Alice in Chains will be accompanied by Jon Frank’s projected images of the ocean, surfers, the desert and the night sky. At Llewellyn Hall, 8pm, Saturday, March 2, bookings to aco.com.au

served with smoked trout parfait. One diner found it disconcerting that the fish roe was quite hard.

With mains, the tender roast Tasmanian Cape Grim beef ribeye was cooked to perfection, but I felt the parsley emulsion was messy on the plate and the cabbage rather ordinary. The two orders of grilled lamb ribs, rump and pastille arrived with the meat, but missing the “ribs” the menu promised. Plating is critical with fine dining – food is to be a feast for the eyes. Most dishes featured many elements, but we agreed the presentation was busy and complex, not refined.

The evening didn’t end well on the

dessert front. Three of us didn’t finish our orange crème caramel because it was not silky smooth. The staff noticed and enquired, thanking us for our honest feedback.

In the end, we all wondered whether our Aubergine experience was true value for money. As one friend later noted, for only $100 you could go to famous Grossi Florentino in Melbourne, for a recent offer of four courses with matching wines, and perfection on the plate.

Aubergine, Griffith shops, open Monday to Saturday dinner. Call 6260 8666.

Quality flows in ‘River’ epic

“THE Secret River” is epic Australian theatre with maturity, nuance, pathos and humour.

Both historical and contemporary, this show is a collaboration between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. It depicts complex and confronting events that resonate down through generations to present day Australia. It is fitting that this show is part of the Centenary of Canberra, which is also a celebration of maturity and a coming of age.

“The Secret River” depicts the human side of atrocity; to quote the text, “a bastard made mean by life.” It shows how the new arrivals’ sense of their right to move up in the world turned these oppressed, deprived ex-prisoners into oppressors, murderers and, ultimately, land owners.

Everything about the show exuded a sense of quality. Particularly stunning were the aural elements: live music and striking ensemble voice work. From its opening

theatre

“The Secret River”

By Kate Grenville, adapted for the stage by Andrew Bovell, Sydney Theatre Company Canberra Theatre, season closed. Reviewed by Simone Penkethman

moments, the show blended the sounds of the land and of Aboriginal Australia with the songs and sounds of the British lower classes. At its climax, a well-known nursery rhyme became a macabre, punk symbol of massacre and self hate.

It’s rare for Australian audiences to see such a large professional cast (19 players) and such lavish production in a new work. Despite its length and the weight of the subject matter the show was lively and energised by cross-cultural physical comedy.

garden

Return of the early bulbs

THE early flowering bulbs have started to arrive at garden centres.

Walking through the Heritage Nursery in Yarralumla, I noticed Nerines, the common Nerine Bowdenii in pink and white, and the more unusual red and yellow varieties. Nerines make an excellent cut flower and can last several weeks indoors.

Also Belladonna lilies and Galanthus (or snowdrops), once again the common varieties plus limited stocks of the more unusual varieties. These will help to give you the gardening edge over your neighbours! However, you will not find the really rare varieties of snowdrops here that can be found in the UK, where many gardeners have caught the Galanthomania disease trying to outdo each other with this tiny flowering delicate plant. Recently, one single bulb of Galanthus woronewii “Elizabeth Harrison” was bought for a staggering 725 pounds ($A1005), doubling the 2011 record.

COLCHICUMS or autumn crocus, ideally suited to our hot climate as they originate in the Middle East and the Mediterranean regions, provide

autumn-to- early-winter colour in the garden. Until the autumn-flowering bulbs appear, Salvias are making a magnificent display of colour. One of my favourites is S alvia “greggii”, due not only to the rich, deep-red flowers, but the fragrance of the leaves. As a ground cover under the Salvias I have grown Convolvulus mauritanicus, with its profusion of pale-blue flowers which is great for spilling over walls. It flowers all summer and well into the autumn.

THE recent opening of the Arboretum was an outstanding success with congratulations to the ACT Government personnel, the Friends and Adam Burgess and his team in particular for getting the trees in the ground and growing.

The “wow” factor was evident on the day with possibly the Bonsai exhibition taking the pride of place, located in the stunning Village Centre. The magnificent timber roof structure is a sculpture

in itself. This is going to be the “in” place for coffee while enjoying a fantastic view across the lake. When viewed from this location, the Lake appears to be a series of lakes. Most of the trees are growing, despite the extremes of weather we have experienced in recent years, setting the scene to imagine the future of the forests.

IT was great to catch up with “CityNews” readers at the Arboretum opening, when I was giving talks for Actew Water’s Discovery Garden. The new area replaces the previous Xeriscape Garden at Weston. Ultra-modern in its presentation, it is not intended to be a blueprint of a home garden. Rather it demonstrates the wide range of hardy, drought-resistant plants that can be grown here using a minimum of water.

Some visitors on the day did comment that while they could see how the $70 million had been spent on this showpiece for the city for the next 100 years, it was a pity some of that money wasn’t spent on looking after the neglected trees in our streets and parks in our existing urban forest.

I have to agree. Maybe our new Environment Minister will take this on board? The Arboretum, including the Bonsai exhibition and Discovery Garden, is open every day from 10am to 4pm.

Now is the time to...

• Think about getting a compost heap ready for autumn leaves.

• Plant calendulas round the winter veggie patch. These discourage insect pests and are frost hardy.

• Go to www.cedricbryant.com scroll down to “Cedfacts” for the veggie guide of what to plant now.

• Check out the excellent quality of Correa “Canberra Bells”, our Centenary flower at The Heritage Nursery, the best I have seen. Plant a group of three or five to celebrate our 100 years.

• Plant Australian garlic now from your local garden centre. Not the imported Chinese garlic sold at many supermarkets. This has been chemically treated and will not grow.

Joanne Madeline Moore

your week in the stars / February 25 - March 3

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Mercury hooks up with Mars, which increases your ability to process information at lightning speed. You’re impatient for fresh ideas, but don’t throw old ones out just for the sake of it. Remember there is a fine line between reckless behaviour (leading to regrets) and spontaneous action (leading to success). Nurture your body with nutritious food and regular exercise.

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)

Be sensitive to the moods of children and teenagers, as the Full Moon triggers temper tantrums and emotional meltdowns. And don’t believe everything a fair-weather friend tells you – you may not be hearing the full story. Stay on top of the facts and leave fantasy for the movies! Friday is fabulous for creative projects or spiritual pursuits, as Venus links up with Neptune.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)

With Mercury reversing through your career zone, expect mix-ups, missed appointments or computer chaos at work. It’s not a good time to apply for jobs – wait until after March 18. And prepare for some domestic dramas as the Full Moon highlights havoc on the home front. So avoid making important family decisions until things settle down later in the week.

CANCER (June 22 – July 22)

Full Moon flare-ups are likely early in the week, when your moods run the gamut from crabby to cranky – and back again. Strive to be a more cooperative Crab. With Mercury reversing through your travel zone (until March 18), expect a holiday to be delayed, or the itinerary altered in some way. The best months to take a trip are April, May, August, September and December.

LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)

Leos love luxury, but with the Full Moon activating your $$$ zones, splashing cash around could lead to major money meltdowns this week –especially if you are involved in a financial partnership. So concentrate on smart saving rather than spontaneous spending. On Saturday, super Sun/ Pluto/Saturn aspects boost your Cat confidence and your need to succeed.

VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)

It’s the perfect week to blast out of a mental rut, as dynamic Mars links up with your ruler – but Mercury is still reversing, so it will be very easy to misinterpret what others are saying. Stop and think carefully before you react – or over-react! Plus the Full Moon increases your tendency to criticise others. If you can’t say something positive, then don’t say anything at all.

LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)

Friday’s fabulous Venus/Neptune conjunction promises love, romance and affection. Attached Librans – if you think you know what’s on your partner’s mind, you’re in for a few surprises. Singles – don’t be too conservative in the way you approach a potential relationship. The stars encourage novelty and experimentation with an adventurous Aries or an avant-garde Aquarian.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)

Stop sulking Scorpio! You have ambitious plans for the future but sometimes you hold yourself back, in case you make a mistake. The Full Moon urges you to forget the fear and go for gold. Plus Saturday’s Sun/ Pluto connection boosts your confidence and communication skills, so make the most of it. Some brave singles will feel compelled to re-visit an old romance.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

Two words describe this week – it’s complicated! The Full Moon energises your Brilliant Career zone, as you juggle extra work and conflicting schedules. And with fiery Mars and retrograde Mercury heating up your home zone, expect some crossed wires with a fractious family member. Venus and Neptune urge you to be kind, compassionate and super flexible.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

Be extra careful this week when emailing, texting or tweeting, as it will be very easy to send the wrong message to the wrong person – or your meaning could be misinterpreted. So proceed with plenty of Capricorn caution. Saturday is your pick of the week, as super Sun/Saturn aspects see you surge ahead with plenty of power, passion and persistence. Go Goats!

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

Money matters are on your mind this week, as you dream up novel ways to lower your debt levels. Being proactive is fine but avoid making hasty, half-baked moves. Attached Aquarians – the Full Moon stimulates your sensuality zone so it’s time to get hot and heavy with your partner. Singles – you are drawn to a charismatic character, but are you confusing lust with love?

PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)

You need to be firm and set personal boundaries, otherwise you’ll end up tired, overworked and no use to anyone. With mighty Mars charging through your sign, don’t be afraid to go off in exciting new directions. Your quote for the week is from birthday Piscean Elizabeth Taylor: “There are so many doors to be opened, and I’m not afraid to look behind them.”

General knowledge crossword No. 396

Across

4 Who succeeded Paul Keating as Australian prime minister in 1996, John ...?

7 Which male voice lies between a tenor and a bass?

8 What is imperturbable selfpossession, poise or the like?

9 To which animal group does the echidna belong?

11 What do we call one who denies the existence of God?

13 What, in a storm, follows lightning?

15 Name an altar attendant of minor rank

17 Which term describes the features of a language?

20 What is the bony framework of a body?

23 Name the Circle which is the southern boundary of the North Frigid Zone

24 In which places are fruit trees grown?

25 What is a cabinet for clothing, food, utensils, etc?

1 What is a young deer called?

2 Which domesticated bird is bred for racing, exhibiting, etc?

3 Name a complete assortment of printing type of one style and size

4 Which muscular organ keeps the blood flowing through the body?

5 What does the “W” stand for in George W Bush?

6 Who was the legendary twin brother of Romulus?

9 In which profession is Tom Cruise involved?

10 To set something aside for a specific purpose is to do what?

12 What is another name for a hotel or inn?

14 What do we call people who work with metals?

16 Which term relates to extra space, time, money, etc?

18 What describes that which relates to the country?

19 Name a renowned W Australian racecourse

21 To fix in the memory is to do what?

22 Which term indicates the likelihood of a certain event happening?