130704 citynews

Passion before political polls

MICHAEL MOORE

Did sexism sink Julia?

ROBERT MACKLIN

When the coach turns babysitter

TIM GAVEL

Woes of wine by the glass LETTERS

YOUNG

KIDS WITH BIG JOBS

Review your past. Refocus your present. Rebuild for your future.

Ball brings out best of Service

The innovative, annual Cancerians Ball has shocked the town with a $1000 ticket price this year, but the promise is that it will be worth it, reports LAURA EDWARDS

SINCE the first annual Cancerians Ball over 20 years ago, Dorothy Service has watched it grow from a modest fundraiser to a high-profile, 400-guest event that has raised more than $3m for cancer research.

“I remember when the [Canberra] Cancerians Committee first started in the 1980s, we had small functions rather than a ball and we were lucky to get even 100 guests,” Dorothy, the second president of the Canberra Cancerians Committee and wife of local businessman Jim Service, says.

“These things are slow builders... you can’t just say: ‘Oh I’m going to make $1m today’. You’ve got to slowly build up the trust of people. It’s turned into a wonderful, wonderful event with a new theme each year.”

The committee launched their first fundraiser in 1987 to raise money for the Australian Cancer Research Foundation and soon the event blossomed into one of the most sought-after and glamorous events on Canberra’s social calendar.

Dorothy’s son James took over as president of the Committee in 2008.

This year’s ball, to be held in August with a black and white theme,

will take a different approach than previous years, James says. The venue has switched from the usual Parliament House to the Hyatt Hotel, a maximum of 220 people will attend – and tickets for this year’s ball come with a $1000 price tag.

James explains the usual ticket price of $200 was increased to $1000 because of a mixture of the “competitive” nature of fundraising, entertainment costs, and the venue change.

“This is our main fundraising exercise, and it’s offering a different experience,” he says.

“This year there’ll also be less auctions and more entertainment, which includes an operatic singer, a band and a dance.”

He insists Canberrans haven’t been fazed by the price so far – 200 tickets have already been sold with only 20 more to reach their target.

“Last year, we had 440 people and tickets were around $200 so it works out to be the same amount raised,” he says.

“Every cent goes towards the Australian Cancer Research Foundation, so the price is worth it.”

The Cancerians Committee has

index / contacts

Arts&Entertainment 24-26

Canberra Confidential 15

Cinema 26

Dining 26

Home & Garden 30

Letters 8

News 3-10

Politics 10

Puzzles 31

Socials 16-19

Sport 4

Cover: Sarah Bannerman and Mick Spencer. Story Page 6.

by Brent McDonald.

raised more than $3m in the years the ball has been running – a figure Dorothy and James are “extremely proud” of.

“Canberrans are an amazingly generous group of people, they respond quickly to people in need,” says James.

“In the last two years alone the ball has raised $600,000.”

Dorothy, who is now on the National Breast Cancer Committee,

Since 1993: Volume 19, Number 23

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Responsibility for election comment is taken by Ian Meikle, Level 1, 143 London Circuit, Canberra.

Territory’s top cop named

AFP assistant commissioner Rudi Lammers is the ACT’s new chief police officer. He takes over from Roman Quaedvlieg, who announced his resignation in April to take up the role of deputy chief executive of Customs.

“Assistant commissioner Lammers worked in almost every police station in Canberra during his 20 years in community policing, so he is very familiar with what the job entails,” says police minister Simon Corbell.

He has worked in general duties, criminal investigations, taskforces, support and leadership roles.

says she’s “so pleased” with her son’s work.

“I’m really proud we’ve done so well for something that started so small,” she says.

The annual Cancerians Ball will be held at the Hyatt Hotel on August 31. For more information, visit acrf.com.au/volunteers-supporters/cancerians-committees/canberra-cancerians/

“Assistant commissioner Lammers also led ACT Policing’s brief management, coroner’s office, traffic adjudication, firearms registry and warrants execution. He was the Registrar of Firearms, significantly reducing the numbers of firearms in the ACT.”

Mr Lammers joined the AFP national team in 2002 where he is currently chief information officer.

He received the Australian Police Medal in the 2011 Australia Day Honours List and holds a bachelor of laws and a diploma of public safety, and was admitted as a lawyer in the ACT.

Novel tinged with author’s tears

Laura Edwards reports

WITH the death of her father and breakdown of her family, writing a fictional novel exploring grief and loss was a “cathartic” time for author Felicity Volk.

The part-time public servant and mother of two’s first novel, “Lightning”, centres around the relationship of two characters, Persia and refugee Ahmed, who are both dealing with grief in very different ways.

“I was writing this novel at quite a tough period in my life… my father had been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer and passed away within nine months, and my partner and I separated, splitting my family apart,” Felicity says.

“There were different levels at which I was experiencing intense grief and loss, and these ended up bleeding into the novel. When I wrote about Persia and her journey to rise above her grief and move forward with her life, I remember I had tears streaming down my face, because of the sense of my personal engagement of that journey. As a writer, you do become very attached to your characters.”

“Lightning’s” first chapter is set amid the sweeping chaos of bushfires in Canberra, a theme inspired by Felicity’s memories of the ACT bushfires in 2003.

of fire and wind became very emblematic in the story, and also the notion of an event not having a particular point at which it starts… in Canberra we experienced the fires as fires, but if you step back from where they hit Canberra, they were ignited by lightning, and so lightning became the novel’s starting point and ending point, and an important part of my story.”

Felicity, who studied English literature and law at the University of Queensland, moved to Canberra in 1989 for a position with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and now works as the department’s adviser to Australia’s Global Ambassador for Women.

She says an “insistent voice” called her back to her own blank page after diplomatic postings in Bangladesh and Laos, and following the birth of her two daughters.

With support from the Eleanor Dark Foundation (Varuna – the Writers’ Centre) in the form of two residential fellowships and a grant from artsACT, Felicity spent three years writing “Lightning”, which was published by Picador this year.

The 48-year-old says she is already working on her next novel, drawing motivation from the streets of her home suburb, Garran.

“All the streets there are named after Australian writers, and mine is named for a prolific female writer, so I think of it as a sign in a way,” she laughs.

sport

When the coach turns babysitter

Is there more difficult work these days than that of a sports coach, asks TIM GAVEL?

THE coach has become the first to be sacked if the team is not firing and, if the players are misbehaving off the field, it has suddenly become the responsibility of the coach.

I have seen coaches spend considerable time getting players out of trouble, counselling them and keeping them from off-field distractions. The game itself is almost a welcome relief!

With this current generation of sportsmen (and I am mainly referring to men here), the coach has become a virtual babysitter.

In the past, the coach would tell a player to do something and it would be taken on board, now coaches have to deal with players challenging their decisions and remonstrating if they are replaced or not selected.

Practically every professional footballer has a manager, who calls the coach if his star client is dropped; and if the player forgets to pay rent, the manager sorts it out. If there is an off-field behavioural issue, the manager takes over.

Many players don’t fall into this category and understand their responsibilities, but plenty don’t.

“The fires never reached us, but the elements

“My family was living in Kambah at the time, and I remember we could see the glowing embers from our window,” she says.

Lightning, $29.99, sold at most bookstores and online. More information at panmacmillan.com.au

Where they’re happy to be ‘Hitched’

By Laura Edwards

IN the latest issue of bridal magazine

“Hitched”, editor Renee Douros uses a word rarely seen in wedding publications – the D word.

“Yes, we have articles on divorce, and we’re not afraid to mention it,” laughs Renee, 25.

“I think it’s important not to shy away from it because in the end, a high percentage of marriages end in divorce, so we’re being realistic.”

With an illustration of a heavily tattooed bride on its cover, the second issue of the Canberra-based quarterly publication, released this month, is a far cry from conventional, mainstream bridal magazines.

Inside are articles from columnists

around Australia, with guest illustrators, photo shoots, style guides, and even an article on a same-sex wedding. Columnists answer frank questions such as “I hate the groom at my friend’s wedding, what do I do?” and “There’s no open bar. Is it bad form to bring a flask?”

The planning stages of “Hitched” started from Renee’s couch and eventually grew to a team of six, now independently published by Milkshake Creative in Kingston. The magazine’s inaugural issue, released in April to 12 countries, sold out twice in 4000 newsagencies across Australia and NZ with “overwhelming” feedback.

“So many people from all over Australia wrote in and said thank you, that it’s a breath of fresh air,” says Renee.

“We had a girl who said she got

engaged and held off buying wedding magazines because they were so cheesy, but that ours was a unique keepsake for her.”

The magazine’s success has prompted Renee to consider a men’s version for grooms-to-be.

Renee, a former event manager, launched the magazine this year after she saw a gap in the market for “realistic” bridal magazines.

“At the end of the day, weddings aren’t always that glossy, perfect day and you want someone to tell it like it really is,” she says.

“If it’s you, and if it’s your personality to a tee, then it’s really the perfect wedding.”

More information at hitchedmag. com.au

“Hitched” magazine editor Renee Douros... “Yes, we have articles on divorce.”

It is not just professional sportsmen in team sports; you see plenty of “entitlement behaviour” in other sports.

The worry I have is the lack of grounding many young, professional sportsmen have these days. Twenty years ago, players had jobs because they didn’t earn enough from sport; it kept them grounded.

These days sport is their full-time profession and many have little contact with the community apart from after-game functions and school visits.

From my observation, these problems are not as prevalent in women’s sports, where players generally earn less from sport than their male counterparts. They have jobs; they often have families to raise. They have less time on their hands to get into trouble.

Perhaps there is a lesson here worth heeding.

IN my previous column, I wrote about the lack of crowds this season at Canberra Stadium for the Raiders and the Brumbies. I have received many e-mails saying that despite the experience of watching live sport, sitting on plastic seats on a cold, wet night at Canberra Stadium was not everybody’s idea of a good time compared to watching it live on pay television at home.

Young and successful: the bright kids

FROM taking business calls in class to rubbing shoulders with Richard Branson, these local 20 somethings have all kick-started big careers at a modest age. LAURA EDWARDS meets five fresh faces with big jobs

ASHLEY THOMSON, 24

I’VE been editor of BMA for just over a year now. This is my first real job out of university, and I was lucky to get it. I was a voluntary contributor for two years while [studying international relations, sociology and literature at ANU] and when the editor left, she sent me an email telling me so. I asked if I could take the job, and here I am.

Q: What’s a typical day like?

A: Deadlines are a bit of a fickle beast, so I can spend anywhere between 40-60 hours per week editing, depending. We have Monday midday deadlines so every second weekend is no weekend at all, but it’s all part of the job.

Q: How many staff do you have?

A: There’s two other full-time employees, one part-time employee and a sub-editor. The rest of the staff write as contributors.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your work?

A: I enjoy being able to see a result every time a magazine is published and doing something new and interesting every day.

Q: The hardest part?

A: When I started this job it was very difficult to be able to look people who are a lot older than me in the face

and say “you need to change your work”. You’re not just fact checking when it comes to editing, sometimes you’re perhaps telling them to change their style and that can hurt some people.

Q: Does your age affect your role?

A: People politely try to hide their surprise when they find out my age, but most just segue immediately into saying “that must be an interesting job” and I’m only too happy to tell them it is.

For more on BMA magazine, visit bmamag.com/ home/

MICHAEL McGOOGAN, 26

Founder and director of software, web and cloud services provider UberGlobal

M Y interest in IT first started as a kid living in Rivett. I was the IT geek in my family and I’d often get asked to help family friends to get their business on the internet. I realised I could start a business for people who wanted to get their website built and at high school, when I was 14, I did so. It was late 2000, early 2001 and the internet was just starting to really take off – everyone wanted their business on the net.

Within six months I had 500 customers. I ended up farming out the web design work to the other “geeks” at my high school where they got a share of the pay.

Today, we have over 130,000 businesses which pay us for a monthly subscription-based service – they use our web designers, web developers and we’re there as a hosting partner for them. This year, we’ll do $15m in revenue.

Q: What’s a typical day like?

A: I have actually recently stepped out of my day-to-day role at UberGlobal, I’m now a director and own 13.5 per cent – so my day-to-day now is very comfortable and I’m investing in other businesses myself. But for many years, I worked 100 plus hour weeks to work the business up to a point that was profitable.

Q: How many staff do you have?

A: Currently there’s 55 people working in our Canberra office and another 30 in our Nashik office [near Mumbai] who are used for electronic support. Funnily enough, three of those same employees I hired back in high school are still in the Canberra office.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your work?

A: It’s rewarding to know how far we’ve come. We’ve got a great, positive team and I’m really excited about Uber’s future.

Q: The hardest part?

A: Back when I was working those 100 plus hours, it was sweat, blood and tears trying to build the business up. But of course, it was all worth it.

Q: Does your age affect your role?

A: It doesn’t now, because people are used to me. Back when I started the business when I was in Year 8 at [Melrose] High School, I was taking calls from clients while in class. Because I never dealt with them face to face, they never knew they were actually speaking to a 14 year old. I guess as long as I got the job done, they weren’t asking questions.

For more on UberGlobal, visit uber.com.au/

SARAH BANNERMAN, 21

Producer of Mike Welsh’s “Drive” show, on 2CC

I STARTED here in August. I was still [studying journalism at UC] at the time, and had two months left. I had done an internship at the ABC in the newsroom there and also did work experience for ABC’s “Four Corners” in Sydney so I knew I wanted a behind-the-scenes role. While at uni I was interning here for about a month, I applied for a trial and got it.

Q: What’s a typical day like?

A: I get in at 9am and Mike and I go through what story ideas we have for the first hour. We then organise “prerecords” or live interviews. Mike’s drive show is from 3pm-6pm, so I sit there and tell him what to do, put phone calls through to him, and also have to monitor breaking news on Twitter as well as the news sites. We have callers that phone in, so I have to screen them before I put them through to Mike. When we go off air at 6pm, there’s a few things we organise for the next day. We also do a lot of off-air poaching, trying to get people to tell their story. So we do a lot of that after the show.

Q: How many staff do you have?

A: One, I’m just managing Mike, thankfully!

Q: What do you enjoy most about your work?

A: I really like being behind the scenes, it’s a lot of fun. I’d love to stay in producing but perhaps move to TV. With producing, you get to know so much more – you get to know the stories so much better

rather than just what’s said on air.

Q: The hardest part?

A: I was just thrown in the deep end. On the first day I was so nervous, as I was producing by myself. I have to consistently make sure every piece of information I feed Mike is correct, so there is that pressure.

Q: Does your age affect your role?

A: When I tell people what I’m doing, they say it’s pretty good as I’m so young. Mike really respects me and my ideas, and doesn’t just shut them down. If he doesn’t agree we work to another angle, but normally he lets me do what I want – it’s a lot of responsibility. It’s learning and that’s what I want to do with my career. For more on 2CC, visit 2cc.net.au/

holding down big jobs

BEN DUGGAN, 24 Founder of mentoring organisation Raising Hope Education Foundation

I started Raising Hope last year. The idea came from when I was working for [member for Eden-Monaro] Mike Kelly for four years. We used to travel around regional areas outside of Canberra, visiting a lot of local high schools. Often I saw kids with dreams and aspirations, but they didn’t think they could achieve those dreams, they needed a leg up – they just didn’t think they were worthy. That got me down, and I found there were no organisations with the sole purpose to make kids believe in themselves. After talking to teachers and friends, I decided to set up Raising Hope, which aims to mentor these school kids who really need some confidence.

Q: What’s a typical day like?

A: It’s a full-time venture, despite the fact I’m doing this entirely voluntarily. We’ve got a board, sponsors, a government grant, and two schools [Merici College and UC High School Kaleen] on board, so we have 16 students in those two

schools that our mentors see once a week for about 10 weeks. We’re always getting requests from people wanting to get involved. Our focus is on helping students in years 9 and 10 to help boost confidence, so we come along and tell them they’re awesome and give them courage using one-on-one mentoring. We’ll talk about aspirations, ask questions, get to know each other.

Q: How many staff?

A: Currently we have 35 mentors, most of whom are university students working voluntarily.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your work?

A: I got an email from a teacher the other day, saying the students just loved the mentoring, they got a lot out of it, so it’s good to know it’s having a really positive effect. People said it was a crazy idea at first, but obviously my attitude is “this is what I want to do”.

Q: The hardest part?

MICK SPENCER, 23

A: It can be hard to see when kids are so down on themselves... but it is good to know sometimes all they need is a little push in the right direction.

Q: Does your age affect your role?

A: In a role like this I think it’s important that I’m the age I am – I can relate to the people we are mentoring easier. I’m

actually hoping to step back soon and have university students run the organisation as I’m currently studying at the ANU, and hope to become a teacher. We’ve got a co-ordinator on board who can train the mentors for Raising Hope. For more on Raising Hope visit raisinghope.org.au

Founder of OnTheGo, which sells custom-branded sports gear to businesses and teams around Australia and the world.

I started OnTheGo in late 2009 because I had a vision to create a brand that challenges individuals. I had a very different approach to life from a young age; I always wanted to own my own business. I started a window cleaning business at age 11 and through school I was generating my own income by buying things off the internet, rebranding them and then selling them. I realised the power of making my own mark on the world.

I saw a big gap in the sports market for delivery of good quality sports apparel that was affordable with a good customer focus, and that’s why I started OnTheGo. When I first started the business, I was studying a sports science degree at UC, but I dropped out in second semester when business really picked up. Today we have hit over 200,000 products since day one, we have offices in Hong Kong and China as well as Canberra, and we have thousands of customers from all over the world.

Q: What’s a typical day like?

A: I pretty much live and breathe the business and very rarely do I stop working. Because of our operations in China, there’s a big time difference and we’re often skyping with customers overseas until 7 or 8pm. I’m usually in the office from around 6am, and I work on the majority of my big projects in the morning, work with my team in the day, and at night I’m still doing work stuff. Since it’s a lifestyle brand, sometimes I can take customers on a bike ride and that can be work.

Q: How many staff do you have?

A: We have seven full time and four part time staff here in Canberra, with 10 employees between our Hong Kong and China offices.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your work?

A: It’s a fun place to work. Meeting Richard Branson at a business Q&A event this year and hearing him say he loved my business has been one of my highlights.

Q: The hardest part?

A: It’s hard to switch off sometimes when it’s your business. But because it’s something I love and am passionate about, it makes it a lot easier.

Q: Does your age affect your role?

A: I’m the youngest in the busi-

ness, which is pretty crazy. It’s a difficult one, sometimes it’s challenging as the average 23-year-old has a much different life to the one I lead. For more on OnTheGo, visit onthegosports.com.au

The second payment of the Schoolkids Bonus for 2013 is coming in July to help with your children’s mid-year expenses. If you’re eligible, it will be paid automatically into your bank account. You cannot claim it through your tax*.

$410 a year for each primary student

$820 a year for each secondary student

Half paid in January and half paid in July

Are you eligible?

You could be eligible if you have a child in primary or secondary school and receive a family or income support payment (including Family Tax Benefit Part A) or you are a primary or secondary student receiving an income support payment.

See if you’re eligible at australia.gov.au/schoolkidsbonus or call 132 468.

ACT launch in 2014

The ACT is one of six locations across the country to benefit from the launch of DisabilityCare Australia. Between now and June 2014, programs will be implemented to help people with a significant and permanent disability, their families, carers and service providers get ready for DisabilityCare Australia. The scheme will launch on 1 July 2014.

DisabilityCare Australia will have full coverage across the ACT for people up to age 65 by July 2016.

One scheme. One focus on individuals. One commitment to lifelong support.

From 1 July, Australia’s current support system for people living with disability is being progressively replaced with DisabilityCare Australia. This new scheme will help provide a better quality of life for Australians with a significant and permanent disability, and for their families and carers too.

What’s new about DisabilityCare Australia?

DisabilityCare Australia is a new way of funding personalised support for people with disability. As well as looking at a person’s immediate needs, it will take a lifelong approach and enable people with disability to have choice and control over their supports. It will focus on early intervention, recognising that timely support can minimise the impact of a disability on individuals, families and carers. Assistance will be provided at the right time, rather than only once people reach crisis.

Who is eligible?

DisabilityCare Australia will help people who have a significant and permanent disability and who need assistance with everyday activities. This includes people whose disabilities are attributed to intellectual, cognitive, neurological, sensory, or physical impairment, or a psychiatric condition.

Will I lose my current support?

No. Your current arrangements will stay in place until you have met DisabilityCare Australia to discuss your needs.

Will it affect my Disability Support Pension?

No. Your Disability Support Pension will not be affected.

When does it all begin?

DisabilityCare Australia is being rolled out in stages because it is a big change to the current system.

Locations that start from July 2013

Barwon region of Victoria People aged 0-64

Hunter region of NSW People aged 0-64

South Australia

Children aged 0-14

Tasmania Young people aged 15-24

Locations that start from July 2014

ACT .......................................................... People aged 0-64

Barkly region of NT People aged 0-64

From July 2016, DisabilityCare Australia will continue to extend to more locations and age groups around Australia, including Queensland.

For more information, visit australia.gov.au/disabilitycare or call 1800 800 110

For people with hearing or speech loss

TTY: 1800 555 677

Speak and Listen: 1800 555 727

One big difference to lots of lives.

Woes of wine by the glass

I WANT to have a whinge about the ridiculously high prices charged by many Canberra restaurants if you want to buy wine by the glass instead of by the bottle.

As an example of this, we recently had lunch at a Braddon restaurant that was charging $15 for a glass of French Sancerre and $60 for a bottle, but unlike some other restaurants that list 150mls as being the size of a glass serve, this one doesn’t show how many millilitres are served in a glass. From personal experience, I would guess that it was closer to 120mls than 150mls.

If the serve was, say, 125mls, the price of the same wine by the glass is 50 per cent higher than the price per bottle ($15 x 6 = $90). Even if the serve was 150 mls, the wine by the glass is 25 per cent higher than the price per bottle ($15 x 5 = $75).

I believe that wine-by-the-glass consumers are being ripped off. Most wines are now supplied in screw cap bottles and also keep well for several days after being opened.

The unit price of goods sold in supermarkets has to be clearly displayed on supermarket shelves.

I believe that all restaurant wine lists should be required to show the size of a glass serve and should, ideally, have a mark on the glass showing the level to which the glass should be filled.

Les Hegedus, via email

Suck it up

I HOPE Mark Parton (“I started a joke...”, CN, June 27) ignores any criticism he receives and does not succumb to “politically correct” wowsers who are devoid of any capacity to distinguish between jokes and comment.

The situation where one cannot

briefly

Couple celebrates

BOB and Yvonne Tutt, of Florey and previously of Ainslie, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at the Labor Club, Belconnen, at the weekend. They have lived in Canberra their whole married life.

Evening counselling

W ESTLUND House, which offers free counselling to individuals, couples and families across a wide range of emotional and behavioural issues, is expanding its

speak off-the-cuff for fear of offending someone has gone too far and I for one do not subscribe to it and never will. Those who object will just have to wear it!

Ric Hingee, Duffy

Illogical policy

ON the weekend of June 22-23, Chief Minister Katy Gallagher stated on TV that she still hoped to put needles into our prison. Many ask why the ACT Government persists with this Rubik cube drug policy. Whichever way you turn it, it’s still illogical!

Alcoholics Anonymous doesn’t run a maintenance program which attempts to dry out alcoholics by giving them a tot of spirits or a beer (legal drugs) once or twice a day. So why maintenance programs for illegal drugs?

Colliss Parrett, Barton

Misunderstood

COLLISS Parrett (Letters, CN June 19) and Ric Hingee (Letters, CN July 4) have misunderstood and misrepresented my point about asylum seekers and people smugglers (Letters, CN June 12), which was simply that the people-smuggling business is an example of the free market in operation, that the solution is complex and multifaceted and that punishing asylum seekers who pay for this service (the “customers” in free-market terms) is not the solution.

Parrett and Hingee mistakenly assume this means that I am not sympathetic to refugees, including those “who sit patiently in UN refugee camps”. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Patricia Saunders, Chapman

counselling services to evenings. A program of the AIDS Action Council of the ACT, the centre’s counsellors provide assistance for issues such as HIV, coming to terms with sexuality, relationships and all aspects of emotional and physical health. Enquiries to 6257 2855.

Smile starts

THE Airport Smile Lounge, Canberra’s newest dental practice catering for orthodontics, braces, Invisalign, dental implants, teeth whitening, porcelain veneers, crowns and bridges, root canal therapy, smile makeovers, fillings and extractions has opened at the Majura Park Medical Centre, Canberra Airport. More information at 6247 1999.

Passion before polls, says Gary

Michael Moore comments

“CREATING communities that are stronger, more prosperous and more secure,” is the challenge outgoing Senator Gary Humphries put to his colleagues in the Liberal Party in his valedictory speech to the Australian Senate.

The politician who has served the ACT for the best part of two and a half decades also had some relevant and insightful parting words of advice for an incoming government.

Perhaps the words were motivated by observation of the first Rudd Labor government or perhaps it was his long personal experience as a politician. Humphries warned about bending under the day-to-day pressures that are put upon governments.

“Having chosen those goals, stick to them; talk about them with passion so that the Australian people never fail to associate you with those goals,” he said.

“They may not always share those goals but they will give you credit for having convictions that do not crumble in the face of an adverse opinion poll.”

The advice preceded the toppling of Prime Minister Julia Gillard by a couple of hours.

The demise first of Kevin Rudd and more recently of Julia Gillard in the face of poor polling illustrates a significant shift in Australian politics from those who stand up for their beliefs, their positions or their principles to those who will now spend even more time with carefully selected focus groups, polling and analysis.

It is the day of the “hollow men” of poet TS Eliot (or more recently the ABC program of that name). These are the people who sit behind each of the elected leaders and the party officials defining new directions at any given moment.

The alternative is leadership. To generate a new idea that might not be popular at the time and to sell it to the community through sound leadership and a strong will.

There is much that I disagree with that is done by Queensland Premier Campbell Newman. However, he has a clear vision for his State and he is determined to deliver despite strong and continuing criticism. With the way he has approached the role it is difficult to imagine that he would have folded on the super profits taxes of the miners or not fought down to the wire on gambling reform despite what the polling might be dictating.

It is worth noting that Gillard personally remained steadfast in the light of less and less favourable polling. She had a clear direction and clear leadership on issues such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Gonski education, health reforms and a price on carbon. However, this was not a vision shared by all of her colleagues and her leadership was undermined for three years by Kevin Rudd and his colleagues.

There is an irony in another piece of advice given to his Liberal colleagues by Humphries: “Calibrate

We are the hollow men

We are the stuffed men

Leaning together

your actions not by the next news poll but by what historians will say about those actions.”

If such advice is applied personally to Julia Gillard, history is likely to treat her kindly.

Did sexism sink Julia?

ROBERT MACKLIN, official biographer of Kevin Rudd who has argued for the re-election of Julia Gillard, looks at the place of sexism in her downfall

IS Julia Gillard a victim of sexism? Was she singled out by the misogynists for special treatment? Is this the reason that she had such awful numbers in the opinion polls that her party sacked her?

Her feminist supporters have no doubt that the answer is overwhelmingly “yes”. I’m not so sure. I suspect the reality is much more deeply rooted in our social structure.

Regular readers will recall that recently I put the case for the re-election of the Labor Government based on its obvious achievements in health, education, the economy, foreign policy and pricing carbon.

To my astonishment the column went “viral” and scored 34,000 hits. And the commentary that followed was overwhelmingly supportive.

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Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! Our dried voices, when We whisper together

Are quiet and meaningless

As wind in dry grass

Or rats’ feet over broken glass

In our dry cellar

–from “The Hollow Men” by T

S Eliot

The “stronger, more prosperous and more secure” theme of Humphries’ valedictory speech was reiterated by his suggestion on how success in government should be measured. An objective assessment is needed of whether “Australians have more control over their lives – whether more of what they earn stays in their pocket, whether they have more chance of building something or producing something or achieving something worthwhile than they had before you came along, and whether they are more hopeful about their future”.

Clearly there is a body of opinion that supports the Government’s policies. Indeed, on the specific issues – apart from boat people –the Government far outpolls the Opposition. But at the same time the polls showed that a majority did not support their architect, Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

If only Humphries had made that “all Australians” – knowing Gary personally, as I do, I can accept it was implied. However, considering the growth in disparity of wealth in the Howard years, it is important that the “stronger, more prosperous and secure community” should surely be also clearly identified as a more equitable one.

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

So, was the problem Ms Gillard, or would any woman in that role suffer the same fate? Her political opponents deny they are sexist. They point to Julie Bishop, for example, their Deputy Leader, as irrefutable evidence of their even-handedness in matters of gender. But, of course, she was Deputy when the Liberal leadership was declared vacant and she had so few supporters for the top job that she didn’t even bother to nominate. And when Julia Gillard was deputy, she too was very popular indeed.

It is here, I think, that we have the real evidence of sexism in politics. It has almost nothing to do with the individual woman seeking leadership. The real problem is with the rules of the game.

Our politics, like our law, was invented by men based on essentially male values. Men decide issues by confrontation. They glory in the adversarial contest. Their favourite sports are about conflict, with the prize going to the winner and the devil take the hindmost. There is no middle ground. Our politics is not the art of the possible; it’s the business of winning.

The only way that could change is if women became the majority in Parliament and rewrote the rules. In their system, confrontation would give way to genuine compromise. And in different circumstances Julia Gillard might have taken some steps towards that goal. But as bad luck would have it, her opponent – whose favoured sport is boxing – was Mr Testosterone himself. Confrontation was pure joy for him; and Ms Gillard was simply ill-equipped by nature to deal with him. It was like a left-handed person trying to play a game invented exclusively for right-handers. It just couldn’t work. Some feminists believe there should be a quota providing 50 per cent women in our Parliament. It’s a nice, sensible idea. However, they are asking men to surrender the power they so patently relish. It’s just not going to happen. And Julia Gillard, it seems, has joined that list of women whose brief grasp of power revealed so clearly the handicap under which they operate.

www.robertmacklin.com

Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service / advertising feature

Special health service celebrates 25 years

WINNUNGA Nimmityjah

Aboriginal Health Service in Narrabundah is holding a big celebration on July 10 to celebrate 25 years of providing healthcare to people of indigenous heritage from Canberra and surrounding regions.

The huge 25th birthday party will include loads of food and heaps of fun activities for kids like rides, a petting zoo and a rock climbing wall, along with live music from the likes of Angry Anderson and the hip-hop trio Last Kinection, whose members Joel and Naomi Wenitong belong to the Kabbi Kabbi people of south-east Queensland.

From grassroots beginnings within the Aboriginal community, Winnunga Nimmityjah (“strong health” in the Wiradjuri language) is now one of the most successful Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in the nation.

Proudly displayed around the walls of its boardroom are the countless awards it has won, alongside beautiful traditional art and other mementos such as a framed copy of the National Apology to the stolen generations.

Its long-serving chief executive, Julie Tongs, has been at the helm for more than 15 years and also picked up her fair share of accolades. Just last year she received an Order of Australia Medal and an ACT Local Hero Award; in 2001 she was the ACT recipient of the Governor-General’s Centenary Medal and she’s also a past ACT Indigenous Person of the Year.

But the story of Winnunga Nimmityjah is one of Aboriginal people working together to create something of their own.

“By having an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service, it gives the Aboriginal people ownership, and it’s that ownership that is important,” Julie says.

“People come because they feel safe, supported, and they’re in a culturally safe environment. But in saying that, 18 per cent of our clients are non-Aboriginal people.”

Anyone can come to the health centre on Boolimba Crescent next to the Narrabundah shops to access the GP service, but for indigenous people there are a huge range of other services such as psychiatry, dentistry, physiotherapy, podiatry, dietetics and audiology to name a few.

“Anybody with Aboriginal heritage is eligible,” Julie says, explaining that lots of clients feel more comfortable talking

about their health in a non-judgemental environment, run by people who understand the unique experiences that are shared by Australia’s indigenous people. This is borne out by statistics showing that clients attend appointments far less often when referred to parts of the mainstream health system.

“People’s experiences when they were younger were very different to what they are now,” she says.

“People carry those experiences with them... so it doesn’t matter whether you’re the richest Aboriginal person in Australia or you’re the poorest, anybody can access Win -

nunga – and it’s about choice, it’s absolutely about choice – there are Aboriginal people who choose not to come here, but that is their choice.”

The Winnunga Nimmityjah story also includes heroic individuals such as Olive Brown, who founded the health service in Grevillea Park, on the north-east side of Kings Avenue bridge, and gave it a name.

“She was a trailblazer; she was a really

good woman and we always acknowledge her contribution,” says Julie. “I’m sure she’d be proud of where we are today and how Winnunga’s grown over the years.”

Winnunga Nimmityjah’s birthday was actually on May 22; it was founded in 1988 in the midst of protests that centred around the opening of Parliament House, which also has its 25th anniversary this year. What was a jubilant occasion for white Australians was also a chance for Aboriginal Australians to show the Queen their very different perspective on her Commonwealth.

Julie explains that the 25-year celebration will be a joyous, positive occasion and is being held from July 7 to 14 to coincide with NAIDOC Week, another example of something created by Aboriginal people, for Aboriginal people.

“NAIDOC Week is about celebrating our achievements; it’s about recognising and acknowledging those that have gone before us, and making sure that the wider community understands that importance,” she says.

25 Years On

Come celebrate this big birthday as we do it Winnunga style. We are going all out for this birthday. There will be loads of food, live entertainment, kids activities, rides etc. Plenty of party food including birthday cakes and plenty of products and surprises on the day.

Health plan brings positive results

NAIDOC Week celebrates putting Aboriginal health in Aboriginal hands, says Justin Mohamed, chair of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.

He says it is about more than respect and understanding of cultural values, it is also an efficient, effective model that is improving health outcomes for Aboriginal people, with three quarters of the Close the Gap target gains credited to Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations.

The report by the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare showed that there were many positive signs that health service delivery by Aboriginal people, for Aboriginal people, was having an impact.

“The average birthweight of Aboriginal babies has increased by 66 grams, and the number of Aboriginal babies with a normal birthweight grew to 84.2 per cent,” says Mr Mohamed.

“The number of Aboriginal clients with Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease saw an increase in both GP management plans and team care arrangements to provide extra

support and monitoring of their condition.

“With health indicators such as overall mortality, we have seen a 33 per cent decline from 1991 to 2010 and a 62 per cent decline in infant mortality over the same period.

“NACCHO is keen to see continued investment in a bottom-up approach to Aboriginal health, which is clearly having strong and positive results in communities.

“With culturally appropriate health providers with majority Aboriginal governance, this risk is minimised considerably – and the report card shows that ACCHOs are having a very real effect in improving health outcomes for Aboriginal people.

“ACCHOs provide primary health care to over 310,000 Aboriginal people each year which is just under half of the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. They are also one of the largest employers of Aboriginal people in Australia, providing stable and meaningful jobs to Aboriginal people in urban, rural and remote communities.

“Our Ten-Point plan is about planning for the next stage, because there is absolutely more to be done to Close the Gap and reduce disadvantage.”

School celebrates

Giralang Primary School is holding its annual NAIDOC Week Aboriginal Art Show, featuring the work of local artist and Wiradjuri man, Duncan Smith, and all the students, preparatory to year 6 from Giralang Primary School.

“The NAIDOC Week theme 2013 is ‘We value the vision: Yirrkala Bark Petitions 1963 celebrating the 50th anniversary of the presentation to the Federal Parliament by the Yolngu People of Arnhem Land’,” says principal Trish Keller.

“The students collected bark from around the school and under Duncan’s tutelage have created their own bark paintings.”

The artwork is open to the public until Thursday, July 5, and the school will hold a NAIDOC Week Assembly, 2pm, on Friday, July 5.

years

a helping hand

SINCE 1973, Aboriginal Hostels

Limited has been delivering accommodation and support services that give its indigenous clients access to education, employment, health and other services.

This support is delivered through a national network of hostels providing safe, comfortable, culturally appropriate and affordable accommodation for indigenous people who must live away from home to access services and economic opportunity.

AHL’s 40th anniversary will be celebrated at a gala luncheon, during NAIDOC Week, on Friday, July 12, at the National Convention Centre.

Guest artists include emerging singer-songwriter Thelma Plum and The Belle Flowers from Queensland’s Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts.

Other local and national celebrations will continue throughout this 40th anniversary year.

AHL was incorporated on June 6, 1973 after several years of advocacy by many prominent Australians and primarily led by the late Charles Perkins.

Dr Perkins, who had made numerous representations about the plight of Aboriginal people, was AHL’s inaugural chairperson.

Over its 40 years, AHL has

maintained the commitment to deliver short-term accommodation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who must live away from their country to access economic opportunity or services, including medical treatment, education, training and employment, and for those needing to be in town for other appointments or waiting for permanent housing.

AHL, a Commonwealth-owned company, has provided for many of its residents, employees and communities in which its hostels are established, a road map that leads to closing the gap in the areas of health, education, housing and employment.

Some of Australia’s finest indigenous doctors, university graduates, tradesmen and women, dancers, artists and sportsmen and sportswomen have benefited at some stage or another from the support received by staying at one of the company’s many hostels.

Aboriginal Hostels Limited directly operates 68 hostels and houses, and provides additional funding for 46 community operated hostels across Australia, providing more than 500,000 person nights of accommodation and meals to people living away from home.

Canberra Confidential

The naked sportsreader

AS WIN Television fantasises about being taken seriously in Canberra after decamping the broadcast of its local news service from Kingston to Wollongong following the defection of three of its key journalists, CC discovers that the sports newsreader replacing the departing Greg Thomson appears to have a rather revealing past.

Google the name Amy Duggan and it won’t come up with much. But switch to her maiden name, Amy Taylor, and the former Matildas player and sportsreader’s nude photos and saucy bikini shots for calendars and lads’ mags are there for all to see.

The presenter replacing the hard-working Danielle Post is a Wollongong-based stranger called Kerryn Johnston. Dear Peter Leonard, who made WIN so much a part of our community, must be spinning...

Suspended belief

FIRST it was suspended coffee, where a customer buys anonymously for someone who can’t afford a cup, and now comes the uncomfortable-sounding “suspended massage”. A mobile massage service is inviting clients to add $5 to their next visit to pay for a 15-minute massage for women who have been subjected to domestic violence.

All very laudable, but CC wonders how these acts of public generosity (and useful cashflow fillips) are acquitted when a business is, in effect, behaving like a charity, with none of the governance responsibilities beyond good intention.

Oi, oi, oh!

Taylor

for the Matildas’ 1999

Brave boys survive the polio parade

Hmmms

HOW about the Canberra printer who charged a $50 fee to quote on a $150 job!

“WHEN Heinz sacked their workers and dumped our farmers I was pretty-well convinced there would be many Aussies who would be prepared to pay 30c more for a beautiful Australian product that employs Australian workers receiving Australian wages. How wrong I was!”

Yep, another familiar whinge from food entrepreneur Dick Smith in his latest newspaper campaign bemoaning the failure of his tomato Ozesauce in generating only 1.6 per cent of the market and the looming prospect of its being dumped from Coles. Oddly, beneficiaries of his press campaigns are never independent papers like this one, but those owned by the American Rupert Murodoch’s US-based News Corp and by Fairfax, who have been shedding Aussie jobs for a couple of years now.

OUCH! These brave little boys at Turner School in June, 1956 emerge unscathed and proudly certified from the new school’s queue for a polio injection in this Australian News and Information Bureau. It was the first year the Salk polio vaccines started in

Where’s Zed?

Australia. The school, one of the oldest in Canberra, this year celebrates its 60th birthday and is looking to contact former staff, students and families to join in its celebratory ‘50s style Tea Party on Thursday, August 8. Call 6205 6622 or email tnrp@turners.act.edu.au

Taught a lesson

A MYSTERIOUS email observation from someone (who can’t spell) called canberraliberal@yahoo. com.au says: “Just a quick email to let you know that, while Kate Carnell, Margaret Ried [sic], Simon Shiekh [sic], and many others were in the gallery watching Gary Humphries’s Validictory [sic] speech Zed Sasejia [sic] was not. It seems strange that Zed was missing from this important speech, in fact very few current MLAs were present.” So we asked the endorsed Liberal Senate candidate why he didn’t front. And we’re still none the wiser. He hasn’t responded.

AT an upmarket southside primary school, an impish – and rather political – relief teacher was surprised to see a prominent sign on the notice board: “Special ALP Meeting –Tuesday afternoon”. So she wrote neatly beneath it: “Subject: Should Julia stay or go?”

Next day she discovered her helpful words erased... and learned that ALP stood for “Accelerated Learning Program”!

THE Tuggeranong Community Council’s “Valley Voice” e-newsletter, a potpourri of politics and local news, lists the ACT Government among its “supporters” despite the council characterising itself as a “voluntary, not-for-profit, non-political, community-based association”.

DESPITE dedicating their work to getting married, only one of the seven all-female team of Canberra-based “Hitched” magazine has tied the knot. “I don’t know if I even want to get married, but it’s fun writing about it,” editor Renee Douros defiantly told “CityNews” . NO place like... “Am sitting here at 8am in Toronto and it flashes on the news that some Aussie politician has said Mandela is dead and another one has been attacked by a roo while jogging. It’s a small world!” writes “CityNews” dining reviewer Wendy Johnson, who is holidaying in Canada.

scene / around canberra

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Ablume first

Sally Mansfield, Chief of Protocol, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Canberra’s diplomatic community continues to grow, and has just celebrated the 100th country to open a resident mission here which currently has or has had a fully-accredited head of mission. On 26 June, two countries, Azerbaijan and El Salvador, had their first resident Ambassadors present credentials to the Governor-General at a ceremony held at Government House in Yarralumla.

100 missions is a great landmark to achieve in Canberra’s own centenary year and is testament to Australia’s ever increasing engagement in the international community. Sometimes Australia thinks of itself in modest terms, but we should not forget that we are not that small in any sense. Of the 193 countries that make up the UN, we are the sixth largest in land area, the 13th or14th largest economy and about the 50th most populous – in other words, of the 193 countries in the UN about 140 or so have a smaller population than Australia. 2014 will see Australia host the G20 leaders’ meeting in Brisbane which should cement the constructive role we’re playing in the world economy.

We are often asked what the difference is between an embassy and a high commission – quite simply, a high commission is from a Commonwealth country, whereas an embassy is from a non-Commonwealth country, so for example Argentina has an Ambassador to Australia, whereas Papua New Guinea has a High Commissioner.

Australia had a High Commissioner to Britain from 1909, not long after Federation, while Britain first appointed a representative to Australian in 1930, when a British migration officer arrived in Canberra and became the first Canberra-based representative of a foreign government. The United States was the first country to build a purpose-built embassy in the new diplomatic estate in Yarralumla. Immediately after World War II, there were 12 diplomatic missions in Canberra. That number grew to 42 by 1965, ten years later was 59, and now stands at 100.

The National Capital Authority has a brochure on a self-guided tour of the diplomatic estate that highlights many of the more culturally diverse missions around the Parliamentary Triangle.

The presence of the diplomatic corps in Canberra, as well as the Consulates and Honorary Consuls in Australia’s State capitals, brings many positives to our broader community. Our schools and universities host their children; their missions employ Canberrans in many roles; their buildings add colour to our architectural richness; all of which contribute to making Canberra Australia’s capital.

There’s always lots to do

A NEW addition to the family brings much excitement, but it’s also a time of great change, with a lot of new products and services needed.

From maternity wear to setting up a nursery, finding clothes and shoes for little ones and buying toys, there’s always plenty to do!

Classes with fitness to the fore – and bring baby

“LOOKING after your own health and physical activity needs as a mum with a young baby can be difficult,” says Rob Billingham from YMCA Canberra.

“That is why we have developed a couple of programs for mums where you can bring your baby along.”

YMCA Fit for Mums runs a prenatal exercise class called

Blooming Fit, which offers gentle, safe movements especially designed for expectant mothers, while Baby Fit is for mums with babies between about three and 12 months old.

“The classes are designed specifically for mums with babies, so if you need to stop and feed or pop out for an urgent nappy change your instructor and fellow

participants will totally understand,” says Rob.

“These classes are also a great place to meet other mums,”

YMCA Fit for Mums also offers Baby Play, a “fun and stimulating program designed to enhance baby development and nurture relationships between parent and child”.

The YMCA Fit classes All of our

Home of the unique gets more room

LELLOW Kids has moved to a larger store just up the street from its old location, with more than twice the room to display clothes, shoes, toys and bedroom decor for babies and young children.

Owner Loretta Hately focuses on unique, highquality products that she knows babies will love, based on her own experience as a mum, and she’s got a whole new range of babies’ products that have just hit the shelves.

“We’ve just started stocking a beautiful new range called Eeni Meeni Miini Moh,” she says. “They have a range called Pure Newborn, which is a beautiful range of basic essentials specifically for newborn babies.”

The Pure Newborn lineup comes in neutral colours such as grey and white, and includes all the items babies need, from singlets to sleeping sacks, bucket hats to bodysuits, muslin wraps to mittens, and everything in between.

“We also have these really nice wooden toys made by Bajo - the “snail sorter” is really popular with 1 year olds - and our Aloka night lights are fantastic, too,” says Loretta.

Lellow Kids is also the only stockist in Canberra for the luxurious soft toys made by Moulin Roty.

“They’re an exquisite French brand that use the finest fabrics and materials, and they’re presented in really nice gift boxes as well,” she says. “You can get rabbits, lions, penguins and lots of other different types of toys.”

Lellow Kids, 129/24 Lonsdale Street, Braddon. Call 6162 1272 or go to lellow.com.au

Keep calm and get excited

MATERNITY wear is the sort of product that is best bought from someone who understands the needs of pregnant and nursing mothers, such as Samantha Fooks, who took over Motherly Instincts in July last year.

Samantha’s first child Curtis came along only eight months before that, so she understands that comfortable, versatile and stylish maternity wear can make a big difference to the amazing experience of becoming a mum.

“We work hard to provide a calm and exciting environment for new mums and the wonderful existing mums,” she says.

“I run the business online, and from my house in Wanniassa.

People are welcome to shop at any time of the day or night that suits them; they just need to contact us to make an appointment.”

The home business also has some standard opening hours – Fridays from 2pm to 7pm and Saturdays from 10am to 4pm.

Motherly Instincts also offers a hire service for formal dresses, because pregnancy is no reason to miss out on those special events.

Samantha knows that every mum is different and her focus is on customer service and building a business that is “strong and reliable”.

Motherly Instincts, 12 Rutledge Place, Wanniassa. Call 6156 2471 or go to motherlyinstincts.com.au

Physi-Kids and are all held at the YMCA Early Learning Centre in Jamison. Classes run in line with school terms and enrolment is essential.

YMCA Fit for Mums, Bowman Street, Macquarie (adjacent to the Jamison Shopping Centre). Call 6242 4040 or go to canberra.ymca.org.au

Fun with squeaks and squawks

MUMS who haven’t been out to Gold Creek Village in a while should take another look, says Mick Logan, owner of Canberra Walk-in Aviary.

“There’s now five cafes and four tourist attractions – Cockington Green, the Dinosaur Museum, the Reptile Zoo and us – as well as the garden centres and knick knacks, so you can come out and have the whole Gold Creek experience,” he says.

The Walk-in Aviary’s 1000 square metres of gardens is currently home to about 500 birds from 52 different species from Australia and overseas, including cockatiels, budgies and all seven types of lorikeets.

“We give you a small plate of apple and some of the birds will come and take the food from you,” Mick says. “It’s an interactive experience with the birds and it’s suitable for all ages. We get people from infants right up to... well, the oldest was 101.”

Mick says the Walk-in Aviary is popular with groups of young mothers, who keep coming back week-in, week-out. Babies are fascinated by all the squeaks and squawks, the flapping of wings and the bright colours; those with toddlers often choose to sit back and drink a coffee as they watch their child interact with the safe, friendly animals.

Having the birds come and land on you may seem a little daunting, says Mick, but there really is nothing to fear.

“It’s a rewarding and interactive experience,” he says.

Canberra Walk-in Aviary, 13/26 O’Hanlon Place, Gold Creek Village, Nicholls. Call 6230 2044 or go to canberrawalkinaviary.com.au

advertising feature

when the baby arrives

Getting little people started on their own journies

KIDSTART Northside runs activity classes for children as young as eight months old, right up till they’re old enough for preschool.

“In our Introduction to Kidstart program, the parents attend with the babies and they do a range of activities together like music, craft, stories and songs, led by our qualified teacher,” says teacher and operations manager Letitia Deeble.

“They’re in a nice small group, where the parents can socialise and the children are able to get together with others of a similar age, and they can practise their fine and gross motor skills in a safe environment. It’s a nice stepping stone to the more structured programs that we run.”

Developed and taught by experienced, qualified teachers, Kidstart Northside’s sequential program helps children get used to basic concepts and group interaction in a specially designed environment.

The second stepping stone is Movement and Music classes for children from 18 months to two-anda-half years of age, which start with 15 minutes to explore the centre’s special “gym room” before the little musicians explore songs, dances and instruments.

“The Kidstart PLUS program is similar to Movement Music class, but also has the added opportunity to explore creativity through imaginary play, arts and craft activities as well as letters, numbers and shapes,” says Letitia.

The final step at Kidstart is the prepreschool program for three-year-olds, which makes sure they’re ready to hit the ground running.

“It really is a pleasure to be part of each child’s own little journey,” says Letitia.

Kidstart Northside, 6 Gold Creek Road, Nicholls. Call 6230 9191 or go to kidstart. com.au

Healthy mum can mean a happy baby

THERE are a lot of benefits to keeping fit during and after pregnancy, says Rachael Bursell, whose small business Fit 4 Two specialises in prenatal and postnatal fitness.

According to Rachael, one of the major benefits of staying fit and healthy before giving birth is that it helps new mums recover quicker afterwards.

“Some say prenatal exercise means you’ll have an easier labour,” she says. “That’s not necessarily the case for all, but you’ll

definitely bounce back quicker after the pregnancy if you’re active throughout.”

She also points out the wellknown positive effect that exercise has on mental health, which is another big plus for mums.

“That’s pretty much why I started the business,” she explains. “I suffered from severe postnatal depression myself, after my now seven-year-old son was born, and I have no doubt that an exercise program played a huge part in

SAVE THE DATE, OR BETTER STILL BOOK NOW, FOR THE SAVE THE CHILDREN ACT COUNCIL’S ELEGANT...

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Gala Wine Dinner

When: Saturday, September 21, 7pm for 7.30pm.

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my recovery. A healthy and happy mum means a healthy and happy bub.”

For prenatal fitness, Rachael offers personal training only, instead of a class, which is how she delivers her postnatal regime of resistance training and cardio work.

“Personal training allows me to focus on any muscular imbalances expecting mums may have, and cater for varying fitness levels,” she explains.

For the group classes, she uses the term “postnatal” fairly loosely, welcoming mums who gave birth anywhere from a couple of months to 17 years ago.

“It’s more a focus on women’s fitness. I’m just very passionate about making exercise for pre and postnatal women safe, effective and enjoyable.”

Fit 4 Two, 5/134-136 Gladstone Street, Fyshwick. Call 0404 831 554 or go to fit4two.com.au

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Kidstart provides children from 8 months to 4 years of age with a major advantage to grow socially, creatively and academically. Fun and interactive programs are designed for specific age groups to nurture each individual child.

• Led by qualified and experienced teachers, children thrive with social contact with other children, parents & guardians

• music and movement

• arts & crafts

• carefully structured and sequenced materials and activities on letter recognition, writing and numeracy.

parties up to 6 years of age also available

For session times, and bookings, please contact us: 0404 831 554 fit4two@live.com.au

134/136 Gladstone St, Fyshwick ACT www.fit4two.com.au

mums&bubs

The biggest way to play and meet indoors

PARENTS looking for a way to tire out even the most rambunctious of children need look no further than Canberra’s biggest indoor play centre, KidCity.

The fun and safe environment caters for newborn babies all the way up to 12-year-olds, and the cafe and adults lounge make it a great meeting place for friends to catch up over morning tea, lunch or afternoon tea, while their children play. KidCity also has separate areas for crawlers up to two years old, toddlers and the older kids.

“Mothers often come in and just pop the little

bubs down on the padded ground and they roll around or crawl, and the mums are all lounging around on the padded floor, socialising at the same time,” says owner Heather Perkins, herself a mother of five.

“It’s a good place for them to meet and catch up with their friends and have their sanity time.”

KidCity is not just a drop-in indoor playground, she says, but also runs school holiday programs, birthday parties and other functions, for adults as well as kids.

“We also run disco nights as well,” she says.

“We have a professional children’s DJ that comes

Kids’ gear at the market

along and the kids all get moving and grooving to the tunes – I’m sure we’re going to hear a bit of Gangnam Style this Friday night – and the parents also get to show the kids how it’s done with a bit of ‘YMCA’, so everyone gets involved.”

In the last few months, KidCity has also started bringing in a personal trainer who runs a boot camp for mums, while their kids are supervised by the KidCity staff.

KidCity, Kemble Court, Mitchell. Call 6241 3144 or go to kidcity.com.au

New boutique experience

DRESSING for Two is Canberra’s newest maternity boutique, having opened on May 11, and owner Theresa Scarano has thought of everything.

“I’ve spent the last five years talking to mums in Canberra about their difficulties in finding maternity fashions,” says Theresa, explaining how the new shop was shaped by what her customers told her during five years running the business online.

“We’ve fitted it out for the complete boutique experience, with an area for prams, a play area for children, a lounge area for their partners and extra ‘room for two’ in the dressing rooms, as well as bottled water and free parking just at the door,” she says.

affordable but keep up with the latest fashions as well.

“Sometimes maternity fashion can be very expensive, but this is not the case at Dressing for Two,” she says, adding that prices will be 10-25 per cent more affordable during her upcoming winter sale, which runs for two weeks from July 6.

“We provide high-quality garments that cater for the needs of pregnancy and beyond,” Theresa adds.

THERE are Baby & Kids Markets held all around the country, including at our own Exhibition Park, where the next one will be on Saturday, August 10.

Held roughly every six weeks, the indoor market is an opportunity for parents to sell the large amount of child-related items that kids grow out of, which means it’s full of excellent quality pre-loved goods from the top brands at bargain prices, according to the organiser of the Canberra event, Cathie Wall.

“It’s the perfect place to stock up on furniture, prams, toys, clothes, books and just about anything imaginable for babies and children,” Cathie says. “Mums sell their gently used baby and kids goods at very reasonable prices and it’s a fun way to grab some amazing bargains while

recycling at the same time.”

And for those items that are best bought new, the Baby and Kids Market also has business stalls with a lot of the latest unique products for babies and kids.

“There’s 100 stallholders at every market so the range of goods on display is huge and shoppers are always delighted with what they can find at very low prices,” says Cathie.

“New stallholders are always welcome at the market and it is easy to register as a stallholder through the BKM website – it’s always a fun morning!”

Baby and Kids Market, Fitzroy Pavilion, Exhibition Park, Flemington Road, Mitchell. $4 entry, more information at babykidsmarket. com.au

“I tried to provide everything I could think of for mums, to make their experience as comfortable and relaxing as possible.”

Theresa has also concentrated on sourcing products that are not only

“Maternity fashion has changed in recent years and now sees designers incorporating the requirements for post pregnancy into their designs. Most items in the store hold value in their ability to be worn well after pregnancy with diverse style options.”

Dressing for Two, Ground floor, 3/10 Kett Street, Kambah. Call 0410 429991 or go to dressingfortwo. com.au

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A social bonding with unborn baby

ULTRASOUND examinations are an exciting part of pregnancy but, of course, they’re mainly done for medical reasons.

“Often mums and dads want to bond with the baby, but they don’t have the time to do that in the medical scans; most of the time is spent checking the baby is healthy,” says Jeanette Dyer, director of Bundles Baby Ultrasound, which specialises in helping expectant parents get to know their child before it is even born.

“We offer them a social bonding experience, so they can spend more time looking at their baby on a monitor screen,” says Jeanette. “They can also bring up to five guests with them, and we really encourage them to do that because it’s always really enjoyable. They can discuss if it has mum’s nose or dad’s nose; things like that.”

Often her clients will also want to know the baby’s gender, especially if they were unable to find out at a medical ultrasound appointment.

“But the flipside is that people often don’t want to accidentally see that, and our qualified sonographers know how to steer clear of that area so the surprise isn’t ruined.”

Sometimes clients aren’t sure if they want to know so

they ask the staff to write it down for them and put it in an envelope, she adds.

Bundles Baby Ultrasound offers a 10-minute ”sneak peek” for $160 that comes with photos to take home, or a 20-minute session for $240 that comes with a DVD of the baby, set to music. Gift vouchers are also available.

Bundles Baby Ultrasound, 1/9 Sydney Avenue, Barton. Call 6282 4321 or go to bundlesbaby.com.au

When sweat is good during pregnancy

WHAT women can and can’t do in terms of exercise while pregnant is still shrouded in mystery and perhaps even slightly tinged with fear, according to Lauren Gabriel, founder of Preggi Bellies prenatal fitness, which has its first classes in Canberra on August 4.

Lauren says the company is leading the charge in “debunking the myths about what pregnant women can do to maintain and increase their fitness”.

“Today the world knows what we have been saying for years – women can and should be doing cardio

exercise during pregnancy,” she says.

“They can get their heart rates up, sweat is good and strength and toning exercises can only benefit these women in the labour room, and in their postnatal recovery.”

She adds that women who exercise while pregnant tend to cope better in labour, recover faster and suffer less “maternal exhaustion”.

Preggi Bellies, Mitchell. Call 1300 727171 or go to preggibellies.com.au

Why Preggi Bellies?

Preggi Bellies is an exercise-to-music program developed over 16 years by physiotherapists, doctors, exercise specialists and obstetricians. The program draws inspiration from the latest research, exercise trends and valuable feedback from over 40,000 participating pregnant women. Classes are run in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and now launching in Canberra 4th August!

For further information head to www.preggibellies.com.au or call 1300 72 71 71 to book a trial class today!

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PHYSi Mums & Bubs

for children aged from

to 10

also

a range of fun and upbeat programs for parents and babies, as well as pre-natal exercise classes for mums to be!

Baby Fit

for parents & their babies

A fun and upbeat class for parents and their babies to enjoy together. Come and join other parents and their bubs as we ease you back into exercise. Most classes will be held in our air conditioned gymnasium, but we will also make use of the great outdoors from time to time for some stroller aerobics! Focusing on core strength, cardio and weights, this is the class for those wishing to improve their overall fitness as well as being a great social outing!

Baby Play

(Free program) 3 months - 1 year olds

YMCA Baby Play is a fun and stimulating program designed to enhance baby development and nurture relationships between parent & child. The program incorporates activities like singing, dancing, rhymes, tummy play, rolling & relaxation, all of which help to build thriving children.

Blooming Fit

Pre - natal exercise for expectant mothers

Our prenatal exercise classes are especially designed for expectant mums who would like some gentle safe exercise during this special time in their lives. Each week our qualified fitness instructors will get you moving with a focus on maintaining your health and fitness whilst in a supportive caring environment. A great opportunity to meet other mums, come and share some stories and laughs with your new friends!

Brilliance on the one bill

YOU may have to claw your way into this recital. Two of Canberra’s most brilliant musical products, violinist Kristian Winther and pianist Daniel de Borah, will perform at the Wesley Music Centre, 3pm, on July 7. Bookings to trybookings.com/CQRT or at the door.

THAT diplomatic troubadour, Fred Smith, is back from Tarin Kowt to present a concert marking the 10th anniversary of the withdrawal of the Peace Monitoring Group in Bougainville and the commencement of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, where Smith spent time. “Peace in the Pacific” concert in The Playhouse, 8pm, on July 13, bookings to 6275 2700 or canberratheatrecentre.com.au

CONGRATULATIONS to Annette Blair, Canberra Glassworks Young Art awardee for 2013, who receives $1000 from the perennially generous Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society of Canberra to assist in her technical and creative development.

CANBERRA-raised soprano Amanda Forbes will perform the Duchess in Sciarrino’s “The Killing Flower” for Music Theatre Wales, first at the Buxton Festival in July and in October in a studio theatre at Covent Garden.

BRISBANE composer and singer

Helen Musa arts in the city

R J Shearer joined forces last week with playwright and director Tessa Bremner to workshop an operatic treatment of her play, “The Darkside of Midnight,” which premièred in The Courtyard studio in 2001 by Free Rain Theatre’s Anne Somes.

THE Sydney Comedy Festival is staging a hand-picked two-hour showcase from the 2013 event next week at Zierholz @ UC, 7.30pm, July 10 (bookings to tickets.oztix.com.au) and The Q at 8pm, July11 (bookings to 6285 6290).

THE Canberra Short Film Festival needs local entries by July 15. With about 300 films expected in the categories of Schools, local, documentary, national and international, judges Michael Loebenstein, Charles Cottier and Demi Harman will be busy. Entries to csff.com.au.

“ONE Man Star Wars” performer, Canadian Charles Ross, plans to perform the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy in a one hour show. If you think it’s impossible, I once saw the one-hour “Ring” cycle at the Perth Festival. At The Playhouse, 8pm, on July 12, bookings to canberratheatrecentre. com.au or 6275 2700.

MONDAYITIS Cabaret is about to stage a bacchanal, “Before the Tempest”, with profits going to the ACT Domestic Violence Crisis Service. At the Abbey, 6.30pm for a 7.30pm start, Monday July 8, Tickets at the door.

Music on the ‘Blak’ side

Arts editor HELEN MUSA previews the Bangarra Dance Theatre’s new Canberra season

IT’S not every day that the score to a dance work receives almost as many accolades as the dance itself, but David Page and Paul Mac’s composition for Bangarra Dance Theatre’s newest production, “Blak”, has been described as “a stand-alone triumph”.

“That’s good for CD sales,” says Page when “CityNews” catches up with him by phone in Brisbane.

Page is, along with dancer/choreographer Stephen and the late dancer Russell, one of three brilliant Brisbane brothers who originally formed the backbone of Australia’s most exciting indigenous dance company.

But Page was famous long before that, as “Little Davey Page”, Australia’s answer to Michael Jackson. His hilarious autobiographical show “Page 8” entertained audiences around the country with stories of that time, but these days he prefers to sit in the foyer signing CDs rather than take centre stage, and if anyone tells him he should be a dancer, he just laughs and tells them: “I missed my calling there”.

Page’s real calling is music and his original,

subtle amalgam of indigenous and western music has underpinned Bangarra’s success.

For “Blak” he’s teamed up with one of Australia’s best-known popular composers, Paul Mac.

Purely abstract electronic music just isn’t Page’s kind of music and he says: “Sometimes I do use weird sounds, but not too much or it gets boring”.

“My music is more tuneful. That abstract music is all right, but don’t forget we are Bangarra Dance Theatre, not just a dance company.

“We like to tell stories, to take people on a journey and I think it’s important to keep to that genre.”

The music, he believes, unifies the whole program, which is broken down into three parts under the general title “Blak”.

The first section, choreographed by former Canberran Daniel Riley McKinley, deals with men’s initiation rituals and is more abstract.

The second section, “Yearning”, choreographed by his brother, is “very theatrical… it tells women’s stories.

“It’s about their longing and the women’s spirit in surviving abuse,” he says.

Page’s favourite part is called

“Unearthed”, with seven women sitting exposed and vulnerable in a row of chairs .

The final piece, where Stephen and Riley McKinley collaborate, is called “Keepers” – both men’s and women’s – and to family relationships, sister and brother, husband and wife, grandparent and grandchild.

“It’s our homage to tradition,” Page says.

“Blak”, Canberra Theatre, July 11 to 13. Bookings to 6275 2700 or canberratheatrecentre.com.au

arts & entertainment / reviews

Gorilla gets girl, sort of musical

theatre

“King Kong” Book by Craig Lucas, original music by Marius de Vries, directed by Daniel Kramer At the Regent Theatre, Melbourne only, until 2014.

Reviewed by Helen Musa

“KING Kong” the musical – a Broadway style blockbuster? A song and dance spectacular with an exotic story?

No, silly, it’s the gorilla and the girl, pretty well everything else is superfluous.

If there’s anything spectacular about this extraordinary production, which officially premiered last weekend in Melbourne, it’s the extraordinary level of collaboration in which technical, theatrical, cinematic, aerial, acrobatic and puppetry skills have been used together.

But to what purpose?

You can safely discount the excessive technoed-up 42nd Street type chorus lines that dominate the early part.

And alas, we didn’t need the introduction of a weirdlycostumed high priestess and prophet of doom, sung superbly by former Canberran Queenie Van de Zandt.

No, the success or failure of this Australian world premiere production rests entirely on the capacity of Peter Wilson and his puppeteers to bring Sonny Tilders’ six-metrehigh silverback gorilla to life. It’s quite a challenge for Esther Hannaford, playing the tiny Ann Darrow, as she roars back at the giant ape, teases him, then tenderly dresses his wounds.

No “nice night out at the theatre”, this is a powerful attack on greed, materialism, selfishness and cultural imperialism, as an American film crew takes off to capture and exploit a creature.

As for King Kong himself, at times the full height of the proscenium arch, this creature lives and breathes, all the more so because you can see puppeteers holding the strings.

As planes, searchlights and an utterly irrelevant chorus of Radio City girls attempt to re-create the chaos of gorilla-ridden Manhattan, the real focus belongs to the huge dying King Kong and the little girl he worships.

I, for one, was totally convinced.

Getting a big bite of the Big Apple

Arts editor HELEN MUSA is just back from New York where she found the Big Apple hopping with Canberrans, and creative ones at that.

HARDLY off the plane to New York, I was whizzed around the $US12m state-of-the art recital hall at Adelphi University in Long Island by conductor, composer and former ANU School of Music lecturer, Christopher Lyndon Gee.

Then, at a wedding, I bumped into the Canberra operatic repetiteur Adam Laslett. Later, over coffee, I met four brilliant young exCanberrans making good in the arts, more of which in future weeks, including Tim Hansen.

I knew him as a Canberra actor, cabaret artist and tutor at Canberra Youth Theatre who’d studied composition with Jim Cotter and Larry Sitsky, then gone to do his masters in composition and theory at New York University.

Hansen will be back here soon to rehearse for a touring show with The Song Company.

While Manhattan is very much his kinda place, so was Canberra, “full of life and arts”.

Originally from Orange, he did an honours degree in theatre and media at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, then came here to study composition.

In Canberra, he has composed scores for Centrepiece Theatre’s “A Most Curious Dream” and ARTS Theatre Company’s “Telling Moments” and written a chamber opera based on Shaun Tan’s “Distant Rain”. He’s directed the Canberra Mandolin Ensemble and the jazz vocal group Rhythm Syndicate, as well as performing with Philo and in The Street Theatre’s cabaret, “Berlin”.

In New York, he’s relished his studies at NYU under mentors Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe (from the Bang on a Can Allstars ensemble) while wilting somewhat in the “education factory” milieu of a big, expensive institution.

It’s got him thinking. “At small universities in small places, you can get involved,” he says, sighing when he thinks about cutbacks at the ANU, which he had always thought would have been a great place to work.

At ANU he had been exposed to composition Sitsky-style.

“Larry’s idea was you write something, you talk about it, you test it out, you make it happen by being immersed in it,” he says.

Once he’d finished his masters, though, he found NYC more than simpatico. His cello quartet composition “Traveller” was performed at a summer festival, he taught with the Lucy Moses School and The New Group, he cofounded the W4 Music Collective and directed the Australian new music ensemble exhAust. He’s performed, often as an accompanist and he’s been collaborating on a new cabaret, “Freddy Malaboca’s [Freddy Badmouth] Woodland Spectacular” and on a children’s show, taking him back to one of his first loves – “kids help you to stay natural, there’s no pretension”.

Now, about to turn homeward, Hansen is figuring out how to promote his own compositions.

First up is The Song Company commission,

“Howls of the House”. It’s a 20-minute cantata by Hansen and Canberra poet Hal Judge, a satirical musical snapshot of life in the chambers of Parliament House, its corridors, estimates rooms and rest rooms, which they say is “a city

within a city”. Just like Manhattan.

“Howls of the House” by Song Co & Co, at Llewellyn Hall, 4pm, Sunday, July 7. Bookings to (02) 8256 2222.

arts & entertainment Rich spiv with a clever passion for sex

“The Look of Love” (MA)

NIPPLES and pubic hair. Once it was a crime in Britain to show them in live performance or print.

Then along came a spiv from the Midlands with 5/- in his pocket who saw opportunities, exploited them and when he died in 2008 was Britain’s wealthiest individual. But at personal cost.

Writer Matt Greenhalgh has deftly assembled a screenplay from archival material for director Michael Winterbottom to tell the story of Paul Raymond who once said: “There will always be sex” which he set about selling in lavish sex-focused theatrical productions and magazines forming fundamental elements of Winterbottom’s film.

But its real meat is actor Steve Coogan playing Raymond defying Grundyism and influential in the sexual revolution of the 1960s while enjoying a lifestyle that, in his last years, turned to ashes in his mouth. He bequeathed some 24 hectares of prime Soho real estate to the two daughters born to his

Dougal Macdonald cinema

beloved daughter, whose death at 36 from drugs and alcohol devastated him.

A towering figure in cinema, Winterbottom pulls no punches in staging Raymond’s theatrical career and offers no moral judgements about sexuality which Raymond recognised as merely an element of the human condition. He may have sold erotica but he was not a pimp.

The film presents him as somebody for whom we feel little compassion after his private life went sour. But there can be no denying that the hedonism of his journey must have been fun. On that ground alone, the film merits a look.

At Palace Electric

“Everybody Has a Plan” (M)

IN Argentinean writer/director Ana

Our version of the famous French Fish & shellfish soup

Available:- Fri 5 July to Thur 11 July BOOK on-line or 6162 0122

Piterbarg’s debut feature (after much TV experience), plans unfold almost accidentally, threads slowly combining to display dramatic issues in a tense and involving crime thriller.

With employee Rosa (Sofia Gala), Pedro operates an apiary beside one of the streams forming the Tigre river delta, just north of Buenos Aires, where paediatrician Agustin and his wife Claudia (Soledad Villamil) are about to finalise an adoption.

Viggo Mortensen plays both men, twins who have not contacted each other for more than a decade.

When Agustin opts out of the adoption, Claudia leaves him. Shortly after, Pedro, suffering terminal cancer, arrives at their apartment. Agustin drowns him in the bath and returns to the apiary pretending to be Pedro.

These events establish the platform for a drama in which every sequence either provides a new tension or ratchets an old one tighter. Rosa, Adrian and Agustin move the plot toward resolution in a beautiful if

somewhat bleak river environment.

The absence of happiness or humour don’t diminish the effectiveness of the film’s unhurried pace, deftly defined relationships and performances all on the mark, especially Mortensen playing two characters often in the same scene.

At Capitol 6 and Palace Electric

“In the House” (MA)

FROM French writer/director Frances Ozon comes a drama in which serious considerations underpin wickedly and wonderfully clever comedy.

Germain (Fabrice Luchini) teaches literature at Gustav Flaubert High School. His emotional life with waspish wife Jeanne (Kristen Scott Thomas) is neither picnic nor battleground. He knows about the craft of writing but carries the burden of having written a novel that failed to meet his own high standards.

In his class only Claude (Ernst Umhauer) has writing skill. Claude is tutoring classmate

Rapha Artole in maths. This may seem altruistic. But Claude, coping with sombre family issues that Ozon conceals until well along the story, more than anything wants to see inside the lower-middle class Artole home. And when he does, the vision of Esther Artole (Emmanuelle Seigner) kicks him squarely in his adolescent hormones. We should not be surprised!

As Germain and Jeanne discuss Claude’s assignments, boy and teacher are on a collision course about the boundaries between reality and imagination. Claude blackmails Germain into an academic fraud that will eventually have severe consequences. In sub-plots, Jeanne has difficulty with falling custom at the art gallery she manages and a Japanese client is taking Rapha’s dad to the financial cleaners.

It’s tasty stuff, taking us to a very satisfying outcome that augurs well for the two characters who most need it. But they’re going to have to earn it.

At Palace Electric and Capitol 6

Civic’s home of the endless dumpling

THE name says it all about the cuisine dished up at Shanghai Dumpling on Childers Street, Civic.

This popular café offers an astonishing array of steamed buns, dumplings, dim sim, wontons and cakes, as well as noodle dishes, rice dishes and soups. An astonishing array –seafood, pork, beef, chicken and vegetarian served dozens of ways, all with authentic Shanghai flavours.

When you first walk in you can’t miss the tall sculpture of a colourful orange coy fish, widely referred to in China and Japan as “living jewels in the pond”.

Shanghai Dumpling Café was opened in 2009 by Liu Min Zhu, who hails from Shanghai. Liu spends his time covered in flour making up to 1000 dumplings a day. He believes that in the best cafés, owners roll up their sleeves and stay hands on.

We sat on the gold and brown striped cloth chairs (comfy) and were immediately served a welcome pot of tea (complimentary), which we enjoyed while pouring over the extensive menu.

It’s easy to be a little overwhelmed at the choice at Shanghai Dumpling Café, but that’s part of the experience. Chilli oil dumplings?

Soya sauce yellow eel noodles? Would we complement that with a cold dish such as seaweed with fried nuts?

Some flavours are more mainstream at the café and some unchartered territory for many.

Our Sichuan spicy pork noodle dish ($12.50) was a massive serve and the intense flavours

soul satisfying. Some of the “pork” pieces were more fat than meat, but we enjoyed the dish nonetheless. We thought we’d be a bit daring and go for the steamed dumplings with peanut butter and chili sauce ($12.50). While the dozen or so dumplings were superb, the sauce didn’t suit our palettes – but, hey, you win some and you lose some. We certainly didn’t go wrong with our good old Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce ($13.50).

Shanghai Dumpling Café has high turnover. Prices are super reasonable and attractive to the many students living in the area. Indeed, several students popped in for a quick bite, pouring over textbooks while slurping soup and savouring dumplings. But it’s not just students who frequent this casual café. During the week it attracts a constant stream of office workers.

Our only concern related to cleanliness. Our teapot was dirty and had rust spots on the outside, and we returned our wine glasses because they needed a good scrub. The used serviettes on the floor beside our table, from previous customers, left us uncomfortable.

Shanghai Dumpling Café. Shop 2, 35 Childers Street. 6262 8884. Open seven days for dinner and six days for lunch (closed Saturday).

come dancing advertising feature

Tripping the light fantastic

DESPITE various claims to the contrary, everyone can dance! From training in the serious side of the artform, to the fun, social styles, “CityNews” looks at the movers and shakers in the Canberra dance scene.

Leg up for urban dancing

FRESH Funk at Tuggeranong Arts Centre is already Canberra’s biggest urban dance program, and with the addition of another dance studio to the Centre, it’s likely to get even bigger.

Thanks to a refurbishment that’s currently underway, the Centre will soon have several new programs to make use of its updated gallery and theatre spaces, as well as the new dance room, of course.

“Fresh Funk is a huge program, and has been bursting at the seams of the Tuggeranong Arts Centre,” says manager Caroline Wall.

According to Caroline, the hip-hop and contemporary dance program for ages 10 and up has been making a name for Canberra on the national and international dance circuit for more than 12 years.

“Fresh Funk dancers are

extremely hard working,” she says, and with two major show seasons each year at Erindale Theatre, local crew competitions and “Young Choreographer Initiatives”, as well as participation in the Choreographer’s Carnival in Sydney, Melbourne and Los Angeles, it’s not hard to agree with that description.

“The shows always explore issues relevant to young people, within the framework of dance, and feature all of our 300 dancers,” she explains.

The upcoming show “Faceless” on July 5 and 6 explores the rise of social media and issues that relate to it – cyber bullying, addiction to social media and privacy.

Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 22 Anketell Street, Tuggeranong (temporary shop front). Call 6293 1443 or go to tuggeranongarts.com

For the love of Latin

SOCIAL dancing is a great way to meet people, maybe even that special someone. Just one heartwarming example is recently married couple Shinta and Damon, who met at a Salsabor Dance Company social night in 2007 before teaming up to take private lessons together.

Shinta says she “can’t recommend dancing enough” and that she and Damon have returned to Salsabor this year to reinvigorate their relationship.

Director Raquel Paez says the range of different styles on offer at Salsabor – such as Salsa, Brazilian Samba, Cha Cha,

Bachata, Zouk or even Zumba dance fitness – means anyone can find one to suit their personal “sabor”, or flavour.

“Dance is a very powerful art,” says Raquel. “Shinta and Damon are a great example of the connection that two people can have from dancing together.”

And while Latin dance styles are Salsabor’s specialty, there’s also Hip-Hop, belly dancing, burlesque and bridal dance on offer.

Salsabor Dance Company, 11-13 East Row, Canberra City. Call 0404 181862 or go to salsabor.com.au

Calisthenics for confidence

CALI-DANCE is team-based dance sport for children under the age of 10, which they can try out at one of Canberra’s seven calisthenics clubs.

“Cali-dance is an artistic physical activity for children that complements childhood development as well as building fitness,” says Calisthenics ACT president Kerry Sargent.

Cali-dance involves a combination of physical performance skills –ballet-style dance, precision marching and routines using props such as clubs and rods, as well as singing, acting and the highly energetic “free exercise” category, which resembles rhythmic gymnastics.

“At cali-dance competitions, teams have to perform in each routine so the range of dances helps

enormously with children’s development, teamwork and confidence,” Kerry says, explaining that the young cali-dancers learn poise and grace, strength and agility as well as flexibility and fine motor skills. More information at calisthenicsact. com.au

Cali-Dance - so much more!

Looking for a dancing activity for your child?

Cali-dance is an artistic team sport unique to Australia. It combines dance, gymnastics, singing, apparatus manipulation (rods and clubs) and ballet. Choreographed routines to music are performed on stage in theatres.

Cali-Dance encourages physical, artistic, social and emotional development in children. It is a great way for children of all ages to keep fit, feel part of a team, and make friends.

Canberra’s seven Cali-Dance clubs will be recruiting children from 3 years of age in late 2013 and early 2014 for the 2014 competition year.

Interested?

come dancing

Amy keeps dancing

ELITE Dance Studio’s artistic director, Amy Peacock, learned the ropes of the industry at age four with QL2 Dance at Gorman House. It wasn’t long before she was working with some of Australia’s best dancers and creating her own works.

Now, Amy is determined to make sure Elite Dance Studio continues to be one of Canberra’s leading dance schools, building on the 20-year legacy of Dynamic Dance Studio, which was run by her family friend Nicole Georgiou.

“Nicole approached

me and said she wanted to close, but she didn’t want her students to go to just anybody, she wanted them to go to someone she could trust,” says Amy. Her versatile team includes multi-talented teachers with specialist expertise and experience in major styles such as Hip-Hop, ballet, jazz, lyrical and contemporary.

Elite Dance Studio, Level 1, Units 11-15, Corner of Brookes and Heffernan Streets, Mitchell. Call 0422 985438 or email elitedancestudiocanberra@ hotmail.com

Ballet star home to present special dance class

FOR aspiring ballet dancers, an upcoming workshop with international ballet star Paul Knobloch could turn out to be the chance of a lifetime.

The workshop’s illustrious presenter is currently in the Swiss company Béjart Ballet Lausanne.

Knobloch is returning to his hometown in mid-July to present “Direct from America II” at Canberra Dance Development Centre, where he studied from a young age, before being accepted into the Australian Ballet School in 1994.

“Paul brings home the wealth of knowledge he has accumulated while working with some of the world’s top choreographers,” says CDDC board member Emma Dykes.

“In this workshop you can expect to work through classical ballet, contemporary, pas de deux, choreography, variations, repertoire and also experience new dance styles.”

“Direct from America II” is open to junior and senior students separately, on July 15 and 16 for the younger ones and July 17 and 19 for those aged 13 and over.

Canberra Dance Development Centre, 55 Crofts Crescent, Spence. Call 6259 1550 or go to dancedevelopment.com.au

Check the “Join a Club” page on the Calisthenics ACT website: www.calisthenicsact.com.au, or email president@calisthenicsact.com.au for more information. Term 3 starting 22 July FREE

‘Sabor’ is Spanish for ‘flavour’ and there is plenty of it at Canberra’s friendliest & most passionate dance school - Salsabor Dance Studio!

MON - Hip Hop 7.20pm TUES – Burlesque 6.15pm WED – Zouk 6.15pm THUR - Brazilian Samba 6.15pm THUR – Bachata 7.20pm

Bookings are essential, register your spot now at www.salsabor.com.au

A Leap of faith

QL2 Dance runs classes in breakdancing, classical, and contemporary dance, but it’s not a dance school.

In fact it’s a lot more than that, offering a range of dance and choreography programs for young people between the ages of 8 and 26, which aim to ignite creativity and provide a pathway from absolute beginner to professional.

QL2’s flagship vehicle that takes young people down that pathway to the world of dance is its auditioned dance ensemble, Quantum Leap. One special course called “License to Move” introduces young boys to the masculine side of dance using hip-hop, martial arts and gymnastics, giving them confidence to express themselves.

QL2 Dance, Gorman House Arts Centre, 55 Ainslie Avenue, Braddon. Call 6247 3103 or go to ql2.org.au

Big winners

WINNING isn’t everything, but it is nice, especially when teamwork and dedicated training pay off, as it did for Dance Central at the Battlegrounds Canberra Hip-Hop Dance Championship.

The massive dance battle brought together 200 of Canberra’s best exponents of the hip-hop style to face off in a series of one-on-one battles – for teams and individuals – in front of an audience of about

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500 at the Erindale Theatre.

Overall, Dance Central came out on top of the massive dance-off for the second year in a row, but this year, made a clean sweep with wins in every category.

Dance Central director Julie Scheer says the competition was tougher than ever and that all of Canberra’s dancers “can hold their heads high” after impressing the international judging panel by matching it with crews brought down from Sydney by Battlegrounds organiser Marco Selorio.

“We were blown away by the quality of the competition,” says Julie. “I am so proud of our crews in coming first in all divisions.”

Dance Central, Level 1, 21 Altree Court, Phillip. Call 6282 7609 or go to dance-central.com.au

Dance your pants off

MISS Kitka’s House of Burlesque runs courses for people of all ages, shapes and sizes to learn the exotic art of old-fashioned striptease.

“A lot of what we do focuses heavily on the person and finding what it is that makes them unique,” says Rebecca Gail, also known as Miss Kitka.

“They’re taught about the history of where burlesque comes from, skills like how to twirl tassels, different basic moves and three or four routines.”

At the end of the course,

yrs to adult

students give a short graduation performance at Miss Kitka’s Burlesque Bazaar, a quarterly market day where “all things burlesque” can be found for sale.

Miss Kitka’s House of Burlesque classes are held at the Canberra Irish Club, 6 Parkinson Street, Weston, and the North Oval Pavillion, ANU. Email misskitka@hotmail.com

Swing’s the thing

SWING dancing has been around since the 1920s but was very popular during and after World War II, when Australian troops refused to stand by while the visiting US troops upstaged them on the dancefloor.

Nowadays, swing is firmly back in style with a new generation of young people looking for something that’s truly social, and that’s exactly what they’ll find at Canberra Swing Katz, according to organiser Philippa Reville.

The six-week beginner’s course is $60 and focuses on two major swing styles, the Lindy Hop and the Charleston. Beginners learn all the basic steps as well as the fundamentals of leading and following, and there’s no need to bring a partner, although it helps if you can.

Canberra Swing Katz, Majura Hall, 2 Rosevear Place, Dickson (Thursdays) and Canberra Seniors Centre, 10 Watson Street, Turner (Fridays). Email canberraswingkatz@ gmail.com

garden

‘Joy’ from winter pruning

Cedric Bryant gardening

ONE of my favourite perennials, the pink Sedum spectabile “Autumn Joy”, is an amazing plant in its own right and also a firm favourite in Britain and Holland, where it is planted en masse for a wonderful autumnal flower display.

Interestingly, when it finishes flowering in autumn, the first frosts quickly wither the leaves and flower stalks. If you have not already done so, cut all the frost-affected top to ground level. Immediately, you will see a mass of tiny green shoots, which will continue to grow all through winter and although the top growth of autumn is killed off by frost, the tiny, seemingly delicate, new shoots are unaffected by frost at all.

By the middle of spring these will be centimetres tall providing lush green growth all summer. Look out also for the white-flowering Sedum spectabile “Iceberg”.

SINCE returning from holidays, I have been busy raking leaves and filling the compost heap, at the same time adding a good handful of garden lime to each barrow load of leaves etcetera. I have previously mentioned the damage that can result with an accumulation of wet leaves on hedges. It is equally important to remove wet leaves that can easily kill plants from ground covers such as thyme or convolvulus. I have also been busy cutting back perennial plants.

Which ones? To start with, all the salvias, asters (Michaelmas daisies), campanulas (Canterbury Bells), Sedum “Autumn Joy” and chrysanthemums can be cut to ground level.

When doing this, you will immediately notice the first green shoots of new spring growth. All of these can be dug up and divided, using two thirds to fill vacant spots in the garden and one third to place back in the original planting hole.

This is a cheap and easy way to increase the number of plants in your garden. They also pot up nicely for the church or school spring fete.

In my case, I underestimated the ultimate size of salvias planted last season, such as Salvia “Heatwave Brilliance” growing to more than 75cm tall and getting tangled with other nearby plants.

Obviously, I need to relocate these to allow sufficient space to do them justice. Now is the time to do the relocating and, at the same time, try to remember where I had planted bulbs!

HERE’S something different when it comes to family pets. Recently, I visited a large Dutch garden owned by Albert Tielens, a garden designer like me.

Walking around this amazing garden I noticed, from a distance, what looked like a stone pig. Getting closer, this huge pig was gently snoring away in the sunshine. Albert seem unperturbed that the pet pig was lying on the clipped box hedging plants. I understand in larger gardens, in England and Holland, pigs are becoming popular as pets, although there are smaller types than shown here!

WITH the winter solstice behind us, it is now

downhill all the way to spring. It may not seem so but the days will gradually get longer as we think about the coming splash of colour of spring bulbs.

In the meantime, continue to feed them with a high-potassium plant food to encourage flowering right up until you see evidence of flower heads forming.

In the winter garden...

• Break the ice on the bird bath before leaving for work.

• Wait until frosts are over before pruning frost-damaged leaves on evergreen shrubs.

• Wait until late winter before planting onion seedlings.

• Remove old wood on hydrangeas and reduce last year’s growth to three leaf nodes (joints).

Joanne Madeline Moore

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

There’s plenty happening on the home front as the New Moon, Mercury, Jupiter and Mars shake up your domestic zone. You may decide to redecorate, renovate, move house or revitalise a stale relationship. Avoid stirring up a stressed relative though, as you’re likely to get an angry response! Single Rams – love is likely with someone who’s not your usual type.

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)

Expect a busy week communication-wise as you talk, text, tweet or blog up a storm. The stars also encourage you to explore your neighbourhood and become more involved in your local community. There are some fabulous new faces just waiting to meet you. Single Bulls – you could find love with someone you meet through a family member, friend or neighbour.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)

The New Moon, Mercury, Jupiter and Mars shine a spotlight on money matters. Don’t just muddle through Twins! If your finances are in a mess, now’s the time to develop some fiscal skills – hopefully with the guidance of a professional. The Sun and Mercury link up on Wednesday which favours communication, conversation, commerce, education and travel.

CANCER (June 22 – July 22)

Get ready for a full-on week Crabs, as five planets fire up your sign – and shake you out of your comfort zone! It’s the perfect time to be proactive as you initiate an idea, start a project, update your appearance, or head off in a completely new direction. Be inspired by Harrison Ford (born on July 13): “We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.”

LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)

Don’t be in such a hurry that you lose sight of where you’re going. The New Moon stimulates your privacy zone, so slow down and contemplate where you’re heading, and where you’ve been. Solitude is soul food for you at the moment as you slow down, calm down, re-charge and re-focus. Single Lions – love and travel are linked in unexpected ways.

VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)

It’s a wonderful week to re-formulate your goals for the future, as five planets activate your aspirations zone. Steer clear of negative thinkers. Make sure the people around you are a positive influence, as you surround yourself with family and friends who promote your talents and encourage your dreams. And that includes you, Virgo – don’t talk yourself down.

LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)

Being laidback won’t work this week Libra, as the New Moon encourages you to be your personal best and go for professional gold. Venus and Uranus also liven up your lacklustre love life. If you’re attached, plan to do something wildly exciting with your partner. Singles, don’t play it safe. Look for love with a lusty Leo, an amorous Aries or an adventurous Aquarian.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)

It’s time to travel, read, research or study as the New Moon stimulates your gypsy gene and boosts your brain power. You’re impatient to find the answer to a puzzling problem, but don’t step on other people’s toes in the process. Strive to be more subtle. Single Scorpios – love and work are linked as you view a colleague, client or customer in a romantic new light.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

Over the next few months, some lucky Sagittarians will benefit from a pay rise, bonus, real estate sale, divorce settlement, superannuation payout, inheritance or bumper tax return. Just make sure you spend, save and invest any profits wisely. When dealing with a child, teenager or friend, resist the urge to jump to hasty conclusions. Check the facts thoroughly first.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

If you channel all your energy into work-related projects, then your close relationships will suffer. The New Moon urges you to nurture family and friends with the time and attention they deserve. If you are having ongoing problems with a loved one, be proactive about finding a solution. Clear communication and good listening skills are the secrets to a satisfying week.

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

Get creative Aquarius! Boredom is a big no-no this week, as you search out unusual people, places and activities. You’ll favour excitement and novel ideas over your usual daily routine. When it comes to a financial matter or business deal be cautious, as the situation may not be as straight-forward as it seems. Don’t put your head in the sand – do your homework.

PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)

Pliable Pisceans are keen to please this week but is that really such a good idea? If you adapt your plans and dilute your ideas too much, then there’ll be nothing of you left in the mix. Heed the wise words of birthday great Bill Cosby: “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” It’s time for Fish to be strong, centred and focused.

astrology updates at www.twitter.com/JoMadelineMoore

Joanne Madeline Moore

4 What are wall paintings called?

7 Name a greenish yellow gaseous element used as a bleaching agent

8 To which plant family do many table vegetables belong?

9 The turning of which protuberance opens a movable barrier?

11 What is a more familiar term for xenophobes?

13 Name the untanned skin of cattle or the like

15 Which sea lies to the north of Australia?

17 Name the fatty substance extracted from wool, and used in ointments

20 Which musical piece is appropriate to the night or evening?

23 What are the young of insects called?

24 Name a card game played by one person alone

25 What is a shaped foundation garment?

Down

1 Columbus is the capital of which US state?

2 Independence Day in the US falls on which day in July?

3 Name a furnace for baking bricks

4 Helen Porter Mitchell was better known as Dame Nellie...

5 To get back, is to do what?

6 What, in poker, is the maximum sum by which a bet may be raised?

9 Which protruding fin indicates the presence of a shark, perhaps?

10 Name a particular plant of the mint family used in cookery

12 Which TV series includes the Muppets? ( Street)

14 Name some large, wild, carnivorous dog-like creatures

16 What is another name for a tap?

18 Name the historic mission building in San Antonio, Texas

19 To be unsuitable is to be what?

21 Which term is used for the Geelong AFL team?

22 Name a coastal resort in SE France on the Riviera

My client Erik was really on the ball.

He greeted me with: “Happy new financial year, Gail” and the determined desire to know if there was anything he needed to do before getting too far into this financial year.

“And to you, Erik,” I said. “There are some important things to remember. Firstly, you have to complete the payment summaries and give them to your staff before July 14.

“The copies of the payment summaries or your computer file need to be sent to the Australian Taxation Office before August 14 and you need to make sure that the figures shown in your payroll records agree with the amounts paid to the ATO, as shown in your general ledger.

“Next, you have to pay the superannuation for your employees by July 28, remembering that you and your partner Linda are regarded as employees.

“If you do not pay your superannuation by the due date you have to pay the superannuation guarantee charge. That is you have to pay the outstanding superannuation and interest on the outstanding amount as well as a charge for every employee each quarter that payments are made late. In addition, all the payments that you make are not tax deductible!”

For employees who earn more than $183,000, the maximum superannuation payable is $16,470, that is $4117.50 per quarter. This figure increases in the 2014 year to $4323.60 per quarter.

Erik reminded me that I had offered to prepare Linda’s tax return this year.

“Of course,” I replied. “But we have just been advised by the ATO that in view of all the scams around, we should check the identity of all new clients, preferably by checking photo id, so please remind Linda to bring that with her. In addition, we will need her bank account details because from July 1 the ATO will not issue refund cheques and will only pay credits to bank accounts.

“The account should be in either Linda’s name or your joint names and cannot be a credit card account.

“This year we also have to put spouse information into both returns because the private health insurance rebate, the Medicare levy surcharge and net medical expenses claims are all subject to income testing.

“And lastly, Erik, ASIC’s annual review fee has increased from $230 to $236 from July 1 and penalties for late lodgement have also increased. So you will need to remember to pay this fee on time.”

If you need guidance on what could affect you this year contact the friendly team at Gail Freeman.