160310 citynews

When tolerance trumps prejudice

MICHAEL MOORE

The joy of watching chuggers struggle

JOHN GRIFFITHS

Unhappy images of an untidy city GRUMPY

Kiss & tell: llama snogs snapper!

news / women of the year

Violent world that drives Mirjana

MIRJANA Wilson is the inaugural ACT Violence Prevention Woman of the Year.

She was one of the four women publicly recognised at the annual ACT Women of the Year announcement at the High Court of Australia on International Women’s Day on March 8.

The annual awards honour individual women who have made an outstanding contribution and demonstrated courage in improving the status and lives of women and girls in the ACT.

This year an additional category of award, the ACT Violence Prevention Woman of the Year, was presented to acknowledge the dedicated and impressive work in the area of countering domestic violence over the last 18 months.

Mirjana, as the executive director of the Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS), is credited with leading her team into the changing landscape of domestic and family violence, rising to the challenge of the increased public profile of DVCS and supporting staff to cope with the increased workload and pressures with a contribution that extends well beyond her paid role.

Entrepreneur Amanda Whitley was named ACT Woman of the Year

and is credited with promoting Canberra to the world and creating an inclusive community for Canberra women.

ACT Young Woman of the Year, Rachael Stevens, is an author, artist, advocate and mentor who encourages and inspires women and girls who are struggling with mental illness. She shares her personal experiences to open up communication and improve the lives of young women and girls, particularly those im-

pacted by eating disorders.

Retired social worker Krishna Sadhana won the ACT Senior Woman of the Year title and was recognised for her work in voluntarily organising numerous social events for women, including the annual Fruit Tingles Women’s Dance as a part of SpringOUT Pride Festival. She also uses her skills to support women who have experienced sudden death, domestic violence, mental illness and other traumas.

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

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

Journalists: Kate Meikle, kate@citynews.com.au; Kathryn Vukovljak, kathryn@citynews.com.au

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

Photographer: Andrew Finch

Advertising manager: Greg Jones, 0419 418196

Senior advertising account executive: David Cusack, 0435 380656

Advertising account executives: Kathy Leigh, 0400 293991; Liam Jones, 0400 092095

Sydney advertising sales: Ad Sales Connect, 02 9420 1777

Production manager / graphic design: Janet Ewen Graphic designer: Paulette Leo

Proof reader: Glenda Anderson

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

Distribution: 02 6262 1900, circulation@citynews.com.au

6262 9100 Fax 6262 9111 GPO Box 2448, Canberra 2601

PLUS 2 complimentary Omnilux treatments with any of the above (valued at $250).

We’ve significantly reduced three of our major “game changing” treatments; and we’ve timed our offers so that you can take advantage of the downtime over the Easter long weekend.

Canberra & Sydney

info@clearcomplexions.com.au

clearcomplexions.com.au

Triumphant Trump, deaf George and poor Peter

MOST of the big news this past week arrived from overseas, and none more troubling than the “Super Tuesday” results in the American presidential election that showered votes on Republican frontrunner Donald Trump

The New York billionaire’s domination of the state primaries has thrown his party into a panic, and rightly so. If he becomes their nominee the Republican brand will be excoriated for a decade.

Little wonder party heavyweights such as Mitt Romney are waging war against him as “a phony and a fraud”. Some say his nomination would ensure the election of the Democrats’ Hillary Clinton, but as all punters know, you can never guarantee the result of a two-horse race.

DELICIOUS synchronicity that just as Cardinal George Pell in Rome came under the spotlight of the Royal Commission into child abuse by Catholic priests and others, “Spotlight” won best picture at the Oscars. The movie is a scarifying account of a group of reporters on “The Boston Globe” who exposed rampant priestly paedophilia in that city.

The Pell interrogation focused on a similar scandal in his home town of Ballarat where, it seems, everyone knew of the criminal

acts of his fellow priests except George himself.

INCIDENTALLY, those Academy Awards delivered a bonanza of six statuettes for Australia’s “Mad Max: Fury Road”. Once that would have sparked cheering from the rooftops; these days our movie talents are so well recognised it’s all a bit ho-hum.

ROBERT MACKLIN

Family Lawyers at their best

PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill gave a sad speech to the Press Club bemoaning the Manus Island detention centre wished on him by former PM Kevin Rudd in the dying days of Labor in 2013. More than 900 refugees are now in their third year at the centre with little prospect of resettlement abroad. Indeed, one of the first to be resettled in Lae found the fear, loneliness and poverty so awful he pleaded to be returned to the “limbo” of Manus.

LOCAL shenanigans forced their way into the news with the former Oxford Boxing Blue Tony Abbott aiming a roundhouse right at his prime ministerial successor

Donald Trump’s domination of the state primaries has thrown his party into a panic, and rightly so.

Malcolm Turnbull on the supposed delay in building our new submarines.

It missed.

While Abbott said he was “flabbergasted” by the White Paper revelation, Defence Secretary Dennis Richardson insisted nothing had changed since Tony’s day. Turnbull responded with a leak inquiry. As Julia Gillard might say: “Plus ca change…”

GOOD to see local kangaroo cull opponent Marcus Fillinger putting his own more humane methods to the test with Sydney’s University of Technology. Fillinger has pioneered fertility control using darts to inject “chemical condoms” into the female ‘roo population.

ACT Government ecologist Claire Wimpenny complains that the darts might cause “quite substantial tissue damage”. Perhaps so Claire, but not quite as much as a bullet to the brain. Anyway, we await UT’s test results with interest.

FINALLY, more good news from abroad with figures just in that Canberra attracted a record number of international visitors last year – 195,118 headed our way. Most came from China but even the distant US recorded a thumping increase of 35 per cent on 2014. All most welcome, but if Trump wins the presidency that could become an exodus.

In boats!

robert@robertmacklin.com

5, 11 London Circuit, Canberra City Phone: 6230 0199 Email: reception@mfamilylawyers.com.au www.mfamilylawyers.com.au

Busy Laurie gets a big, surprise burst of fame

MIA Freedman, Michelle Bridges, Janine Allis, Maggie Beer, Collette Dinnigan and now Canberra’s Laurie McDonald has joined the ranks of some of Australia’s prominent and inspiring business owners with her surprise induction into the national Businesswoman’s Hall of Fame.

“I had heard of the Hall of Fame, as there are some seriously amazing businesswomen on that list,” says the founder of Canberra Furnished Accommodation.

“When they called to tell me I was being inducted, I thought, are you sure it’s me? Is there another Laurie McDonald with a business, maybe?”

HerBusiness (formerly the Australian Businesswomen’s Network) has been recognising and profiling leading female entrepreneurs through the Businesswomen’s Hall of Fame for 18 years, with more than 200 women honoured in that time.

CEO Suzi Dafnis says they all serve as an inspiration to women in business everywhere, through sharing their

success, insights and wisdom.

“It was so lovely because HerBusiness don’t tell you anything about it – they just investigate you through the community, and I don’t know what anyone said about me!” says Laurie.

“But it feels like a true honour because I didn’t apply for this; it was a total surprise.”

Laurie says she started her business in 2003 to make some extra cash while on maternity leave with her first child Connor.

Starting out with just her credit card and an investment property, she now has around 50 properties on the books and provides fully furnished corporate and holiday accommodation

for long or short stays in Canberra.

Laurie says her Aboriginal background is entrenched in the business too, as an extension of herself.

“I’m an Aboriginal woman with a business but it’s not an Aboriginal business, although the culture is at the heart of how I run the business, because it’s just who I am,” she says.

“We’re a microbusiness with only six staff, so they feel like family to me and we share our personal values of honesty, loyalty, authenticity and the Japanese practice of Kaizen, or continual improvement.

“We always have each other’s back, we know the essentials of each other’s jobs so that if one of us gets sick no one has to come back to a lot of stress.”

Laurie says her great grandparents Ferdy and Ivy Bell lived at the Hollywood Mission in Yass, and her grandmother was born there.

“My Aboriginal background is just who I am, it’s my culture and it’s ingrained in who I am and what I do,” she says.

“For my family, it’s about telling stories and drinking tea together. I always say to my kids, give me a topic and I’ll tell you a story!

“It’s also a culture of respect, of listening to your elders.

“There’s a confidence and cheekiness too, which is great, and I encour -

age my staff to have that and to call me out when necessary – I don’t want to be surrounded with people who just say yes to me because I’m the boss. It’s dangerous.”

Laurie says she has worked and worked at the business and always done the best she could.

“I just seem to have to keep going, I never feel that I’m successful enough, I just have to work at it,” she says.

“Not everyone’s definition of success is a billion dollar company, and for me freedom is success.

“It’s a lot of work, but I can cope with that as long as I’m able to manage it myself in a way that I think is right, and balance it with time for my family.

“I want to be working smart, not hard, I don’t like repetition and I recognise that I can’t do it all.”

“In terms of business success, I’m a believer in using the best systems possible, and in empowering the staff to use their own common sense and judgement,” she says.

“I also have an old-fashioned approach to financial management, with good collection systems in place and paying on time.

“I also like to celebrate and share mistakes – they’re valuable learning experiences that can’t be bought through traditional education.”

ANU College of Law: Student Academic Awards for 2015

Presented Thursday 3 March 2016

The ANU College of Law celebrates the academic achievements of our students and acknowledges the generosity of our many sponsors and supporters.

ACT Human Rights

Commission Prize for International Law of Human Rights (shared)

Adelajda Soltysik

Kamilya Nelson

Liz and Bill Allen Prize for Practical Legal Training

Erin-Jura Turner Manners

ACT Baha’i Community Prize for International Law

Emily Deng

ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Prize for Criminal Law (shared)

Robert Allen

Emma Jaggot

ACT Justice and Community Safety Directorate Prize for Law Reform (shared)

Penelope Rumble

Eunju Baker

ACT Women Lawyers’ Association Prize for Law Studies

Naomi Wootton

AMPLA Prize for Resources and Energy Law

Katherine Gole

Ann Downer Memorial Prize in Law

Joshua Ling

Dean’s Merit List for 2015

Dean’s International Student Prize (shared)

Hui Min Thiang

Muhammad Taufiq Bin

Suraidi

Dean’s Juris Doctor

Prize

James Barrett

Animals and the Law Prize

Phimister Dowell

Ashurst Australia Prize for Corporations Law

Heather Cork

Ashurst Australia Prize for Federal Judicial Systems

Shona Moyse

Australia and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law Prize

Tanja Cobden

Australian Capital Territory Bar Association Prize for Evidence

Heather Cork Commonwealth

Attorney-General’s Department and Australian Government

Solicitor Prize

Roseanna Bricknell

B C Meagher Prize for Commonwealth Constitutional Law

Sascha Kouvelis

Bailey Prize for Human Rights

Pia Walker

Dean’s Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Masters Program in Law (shared)

Alison Doeck

Susan Tridgell

Dean’s Certificate

Law and Sexualities

Jessica Tighe

Baker and McKenzie Prize for Intellectual Property

Prashant Kelshiker

Blackburn Medal for Research in Law

Adrienne Elmitt

Clayton Utz Prize for Administrative Law

Tristian Delroy

Clayton Utz Prize for Migration Law

Naomi Wootton

Clayton Utz Prize for Torts

Elizabeth Harris

Daphne Olive Memorial Prize in Legal Theory

Marcel Delany

DLA Piper Prize for Selected Topics in Australian-American Comparative Law

Claire Schwager

Elizabeth Allen Prize for Foundations of Australian Law

Emma Roff

Farrar Gesini & Dunn Prize for Family Law

Tess Kelly

Fragomen Prize for Migration Law and Practice

Richelle Delany

Contemporary Issues in Constitutional Law

Tristian Delroy

Selected Topics in Torts

Max Butler

Environmental Law

Lauren Evans

Introduction to Roman Law

Victor Ferguson

George Knowles

Memorial Prize

Naomi Wootton

Herbert Smith Freehills Prize for Commercial Law

Dana Rich

James Davis Prize for Conflict of Laws

Kieran Pender

King & Wood Mallesons Prize for Law Studies

Naomi Wootton

Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory Prize for Contracts

Helen Whalan

Legal Aid ACT Prize for Community Law Program

Jordan Bulley

Legal Aid ACT Prize for Clinical Youth Law Program (shared)

Ho Guo

Tammy Cho

LexisNexis Prize for Consumer Protection and Product Law

Julia McLean

LexisNexis Prize for Federal Criminal Law

Rebecca Beard

Labour Law

Naomi Wootton

International Organisations (Geneva)

Helen Trezise

Law Internship

Nelson Mendonca

Survey of US Law (Alabama)

Katelyn Ewart

LexisNexis Prize for Succession

Sarah Martine

LexisNexis Prize for Chinese Law and Society (shared)

Sarah Dobbie

Lucy Nichols

LexisNexis Prize for Competition Law

Rebecca Prior

LexisNexis Prize for Law and Humanities

Arisha Arif

LexisNexis Prize for Feminist Law and Critical Theory

Ellie Greenwood

LexisNexis Prize for Health Law and Bioethics & Human Rights

Caitlin Burke

LexisNexis Prize for International Dispute Resolution

Marcel Delany

Mick Dodson

Indigenous Prize

Amelia Noble

Minter Ellison Prize for Litigation and Dispute

Management

Adrienne Elmitt

Environmental Law

Clinical Program

Elsa Merrick

Indigenous Community Legal Clinic

Jane Thomson

Income Tax (shared)

Rebecca Lucas

Alexandra Norris

Ranked among the world’s top 20 law schools, the ANU College of Law is Australia’s national law school.

Providing students with a unique understanding of current law and policy, the College has a longstanding reputation for excellence in education, research and community outreach. Find out more at law.anu.edu.au

Meyer Vandenberg Prize for Property

Naomi Wootton

Norton Rose Fulbright

Postgraduate Prize for Law

Lisa Tomlins

PCA People/DFP

Recruitment – Prize for Lawyers, Justice and Ethics (shared)

Freya Henfrey

Chieh-An Chen

Peggy and Stephen Tsang Prize for Takeovers and

Securities Industry Law

Jacqueline Williams

Sir Victor Windeyer Prize in Legal History

Joshua Gani

Sparke Helmore Prize for Equity and Trusts

Prashant Kelshiker

Supreme Court Judges’ Prize

Marcel Delany

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Prize for Refugee Law

Helen Trezise

Consumer Protection and Product Liability Law

Julia McLean

Jessup Moot (shared)

Veronica Finn

Muhammad Taufiq Bin

Suraidi

Lucy Nichols

Rebecca Niumeitolu

Alexandra Norris

The king of shaves

KING O’Malley’s in City Walk, Civic, is calling for heads to support its contribution to the World’s Greatest Shave. From 4pm, on Friday, March 11, professional hairdressers will shave heads for a $10 donation or colour hair for a $5 donation. More information at kingomalleys.com.au/

St Patrick’s celebration

THE Friends of Ireland are extending the traditional céad míle fáilte (100,000 welcomes!) to everyone joining its St Patrick’s Day Celebration at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, 15 Blackall Street, Barton, noon, on Saturday, March 12. Canberra’s Irish organisations led by Clare-born John Kirk, the founder of Clonakilla Winery, will be joined by representatives of the Irish and American embassies; the ACT Assembly and the Catholic, Uniting, Anglican and Presbyterian churches. Enquiries to 6241 2698 or 6288 4248.

Mike’s ‘pithy’ lecture

PIONEERING desert archaeologist Mike Smith is the guest speaker at the next meeting of the Canberra Archaeological Society, Theatre 6, Manning Clark Centre (Building 26a), Union Court, ANU, 6pm on Wednesday, March 16. The author of many books, Mike has worked extensively across the Australian arid zone for more than 30 years and his lecture will be a “pithy summation” of the issues in Australian archaeology drawn from the writings of many greats in the field. Entry is free for members and a gold-coin donation for visitors. All welcome.

As tolerance trumps prejudice

THE Trump campaign in the US and the celebration of difference at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras marks a stark illustration of the choices facing modern society.

The choices are between acceptance, tolerance and equality on the one hand and prejudice, inequality and divisiveness on the other.

Donald Trump’s campaign gains more and more momentum as it appeals to prejudice, social difference and discord by:

• Threatening to build a wall to keep the Mexicans out.

• Dismissing any form of detente in favour of conquest, “we don’t have victories any more”.

• Being a misogynist as he refers to journalist Rosie O’Donnell asking him hard questions. “Rosie is crude, rude, obnoxious and dumb – other than that I like her very much” and “she talks like a truck driver” and another journalist “unattractive both inside and out”.

• Excluding Muslims: “They’re not coming to this country if I’m President”.

Trump has a mixed message on gay and lesbian policy but has stated he would appoint judges to overturn samesex marriage.

Dr Cassandra Goldie, the CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service, exemplifies the alternative.

“The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade has become one of our nation’s most popular events, drawing people from all over the world,” she says.

“It is a spectacular celebration of all that has been achieved in the past 40 years. But it’s also a reminder that we’ve still got much work to do to achieve true equality”.

The Mardi Gras is the largest of its kind in the world and projects Australia as a tolerant nation that celebrates diversity, that accepts understanding. However, the reality is different. Australia has a Prime Minister, person-

At a time when the world is becoming more tolerant, more understanding, more accepting of difference there is also the backlash – represented most clearly by the growing support for Donald Trump.

ally expressed agreement with marriage equality, but is prepared to use delaying tactics in an attempt to take the issue off the political agenda.

A plebiscite is not needed. He knows that every poll on marriage equality is overwhelmingly in favour with recent Galaxy polls showing around two thirds of people in support.

A binding referendum in Catholic Ireland made marriage equality a reality. Ireland did not collapse into moral turpitude.

A referendum is not needed in Australia. A simple conscience vote is what is required. Let ordinary people see which of our politicians are tolerant and which continue to support divisiveness.

In the ACT, we know that our Federal Labor members, Andrew Leigh, Katy Gallagher and Gai Brodtmann support marriage equality while the proudly conservative Zed Seselja from the Liberals opposes.

The ACT Assembly has tried on a number of occasions to introduce marriage equality. The government is led by Andrew Barr. He is judged by his performance as Chief Minister rather than being a gay man. Liberal Brendan Smyth has regularly marched (with me) in the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras as a recognition of the positive role that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex people play in our community. This year Smyth was joined by Nicole Lawder MLA from the Brindabella electorate marching with me and the “Camp-berra” float along with Canberra Liberal, Paul Sweeney. History will be a harsh judge on those who resist marriage equality.

Ms Goldie summed up why this will be the case: “As long as loving, same-sex relationships are invalidated through the failure to recognise marriage equality, those of us affected remain virtual second-class citizens. As long as lesbian,

gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people continue to suffer discrimination in the workplace, in our schools and in the streets through bullying, harassment and violence, those affected remain on the margins of society.”

At a time when the world is becoming more tolerant, more understanding, more accepting of difference there is also the backlash – represented most clearly by the growing support for Donald Trump. However, Australians should also be looking in the mirror. The Abbott government was the most intolerant of governments for decades. There was a reasonable expectation of change under Malcolm Turnbull – and, although there has been a change in tone, the attitude to marriage equality and the harsh attitude to refugees (also shared by Labor) reflects a growing intolerance in our community.

Striving for an inclusive society is a worthwhile goal. Australia has the potential to be a society that resists persecution, pits itself against the judgemental and values difference.

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

Joy of watching chuggers struggle

SITTING in Garema Place for lunch last week I enjoyed a fun round of Chugger Bingo. If, as a society, we’re going to allow highpressure sales tactics to be applied by English backpackers, dredged out of Bondi hostels, to our citizens on the streets we may as well get some pleasure out of it.

It’s important to remember, when thinking about chuggers, that they’re not actually working for the charity emblazoned on their T-shirts. They’re working for marketing companies with complex systems of trailing commissions that eventually, often years later, dribble money to the charity after clipping your credit card relentlessly.

In the interest of full disclosure I note that 15 years ago, before the word chugger was even coined in 2002, I fell victim to a charming young lady on City Walk and have been giving $25 a month to Médicins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) ever since, somewhere north of $4500 in aggregate.

I console myself for this moment of weakness with three points:

1. This was a wholly new sales tactic back then and the idea that this charming, friendly and pretty young woman was playing me took some time to set in. I started the conversation thinking I was just going to hand over $20 and be on my merry way.

2. By this time all the money I’m giving is actually going to the charity, not the marketing company.

3. MSF are a truly amazing group, one of the most unremittingly decent forces for good in the world. You know your society is in truly

Chugger – Licensed charity muggers with coloured tabards and clipboards laying in wait on every high street in the land to pounce on you and relieve you of your dosh by pressing all your guilt buttons and making you sign up to their cause.”

deep trouble when MSF sets up a hospital in your town, but things would be even worse if they weren’t there.

No matter, having long ago fallen victim and having done some door-to-door sales work in my distant past, I do enjoy watching them at work.

The pair in Garema Place last week was ostensibly working for Amnesty International, which is one of those groups it’s hard to be against.

Somewhere there’s a person who thinks torturing political dissidents is a really good idea, but thankfully those people tend to keep their views to themselves.

The two chuggers were a study in contrasts. One was a tall, tanned leggy blonde in ludicrously short cutoff denim shorts. The other was stockier with henna-dyed hair in braided dreadlocks.

The blonde was playing sales games that I imagine work better in cities that aren’t Canberra. Rushing up to sad-looking men and trying to take their hand was a favoured tactic.

– Urban Dictionary

She probably pitched unsuccessfully to 20 people while I was eating lunch. A couple she managed to get into conversation but the body language was going against her and after a few minutes they were backing away.

However, her colleague was talking intently to a scruffy looking young couple the whole time. A passerby actually joined in the conversation.

Finally, the high point of Chugger Bingo, the clipboard, was out and the victims were filling out their credit card numbers!

If it hadn’t been lunch on a work day I’d have taken a stiff drink in celebration.

One almost feels sorry for those in the safe, sterile Canberra Centre denied this sort of street theatre.

John Griffiths is the online editor of citynews.com.au

JOHN GRIFFITHS

Ladies’ night out

BREAST cancer support group Bosom Buddies is hosting a “Ladies Night” at Rodney’s Plants Plus, Beltana Road, Pialligo, on Thursday, March 17. Highlights of the night will include champagne and canapes, a fashion parade, late-night shopping and textile and jewellery designers. Entry is $25 and bookings via “events” at rodneys.com.au

Fete in Lyons

LYONS Early Childhood School is holding its school fete at 38 Tarraleah Crescent, Lyons, 11am-3pm, on Saturday, March 19, promising nachos, coffee, sausage sizzle, tombola, face painting, children’s rides, a reptile show, a cake stall, a silent auction and a “massive” second-hand stall.

For the work of Fred

THE Friends for Fred Hollows group is holding a trivia night to raise funds for the work of The Fred Hollows Foundation. Every $25 raised will help restore sight to someone with avoidable blindness. Tickets are $50 and include a Nepalese buffet dinner, five rounds of trivia and entry to a lucky door prize. There will also be a silent auction and raffles. At the Hungry Buddha, Curtin, starting at 6pm, on Saturday, March 22. Tickets via email to friendsforfredhollows@gmail.com

Stuff wanted

THE Canberra Seniors Centre will be holding its popular autumn fete on Saturday, May 7 and would welcome donations of trash and treasure, clothes, games, toys and books. Donations to the centre, 10 Watson Street, Turner, on weekday mornings, please. Enquiries to 6248 9509.

At Capon and Hubert Lawyers we ensure that your estate goes to family or friends of your choice. Having a valid and up-to-date Will can help reduce stress for your family and friends, limit administration costs, and lessen the possibility for dispute over your estate. We understand your situation is different and may require a unique specialist approach.

Unhappy images of an untidy city

COLIN DALTON, of Harrison, is grumpy with untidy streetscapes in Canberra

I HAVE forwarded photographic evidence to both sides of politics showing the untidy streetscapes in Canberra.

It shows the complete lack of planning for carparking spaces in front of business premises fronting Flemington Road and Anthony Rolfe Avenue, Gungahlin, forcing residents and patrons to park on the inside median strip.

This is turning the strips into churned up, ugly and muddy failures. Is this good planning?

The lack of enough contractors to keep grassed areas mown is evident all over Canberra and further the lack of staff to prune and maintain trees planted on the nature strips results from lack of staff.

I recently spoke to TAMS ground staff who advised me that they had 96,000 trees to prune, maintain and clean up.

They have got to be joking; 96,000 trees between four men equates to 100 trees a day. There is a lack of funding. Compare this to all the money wasted on the poor planning of our roads that require later rectification work at huge costs.

The trend towards mulched nature strips, be it wood mulch or gravel, is leading to lack of maintenance by residents and landlords, grass nature strips when mown are a far more tidier proposition.

Grass will always regenerate even after a dry spell. Veggies on the nature strips are all well and good if proper guidelines were in place and adhered to.

I don’t know which way our pollies drive, but I am sure if they had to put up with untidy and unkempt nature strips next door and with cars parked all over them their attitude might be different and perhaps they can encourage locals to take some pride in their homes.

So, come on pollies and come on Aussies, have a go at returning Canberra to the proud city it once was.

Grumpy is an occasional column dedicated purely to things that get up your nose. Readers are invited to vent (no more than 300 words, please) at editor@citynews.com.au

Grow up, you complainers and whiners

AS complainers, whiners and generally “Me First” folks, Canberrans, particularly those who’ve lived here, for, let’s say one public service career (amounting to about two or three lifetimes in one of “Dante’s Circles of the Damned”) win hands down.

As well, living in the national capital seems to give its residents a sense of entitlement seldom found elsewhere in Australia. Streetlight shining into your window at night?

Complain and they’ll send someone around to paint that part of the lamp a shade black (don’t laugh. Incredulously, this has really happened)!

Don’t like dogs? Just dob the owners into Domestic Animals or the RSPCA (don’t worry about whether your complaint is justified, those damn dogs shouldn’t be living next door and barking at the possums you feed).

And gosh, those people who’ve just moved in, not really our type of people, are they now ? (Unless, of course, they are genuine, persecuted asylum seekers, in which case we can make them welcome into our multicultural Canberra).

Robert Macklin complained that he hadn’t received a full, contrite apology for his $2 “salmonella lettuce” from Woolies (“Canberra Confidential”, February 11).

Well, Robert, if you’d been on your feet for the last six or seven hours, dealing with customers, you probably wouldn’t feel inclined to say: “We greatly regret your inconvenience, dear sir, please accept our most sincere and heartfelt apologies and we earnestly hope that the $1 lettuce you have just purchased fulfils your highest expectations.”

briefly

Antiques galore

PEGASUS Riding for the Disabled’s fundraising gets off to a flying start when the Rotary Club of Canberra City hosts its annual Autumn Antique and Collectables Fair at the Albert Hall between March 18 and 20. Twenty-three dealers from around Australia are bringing items to entice visitors with periods ranging from Georgian to Art Nouveau. The fair opens at 6pm on Friday, March 18, and runs to 4 pm, Sunday, March 20.

A view of music

MUSIC whiz David Kilby is the guest speaker at the Gungahlin Day VIEW Club’s next lunch meeting at the Versatile Restaurant, Gold Creek Village, Nicholls, from 11.30am on Wednesday, March 23. Interested ladies and visitors are welcome. Lunch is $35. Bookings to 6166 2874 by noon, Monday, March 21.

‘Inclusive’ theme

“AN Inclusive Commonwealth” is the theme for a multi-faith celebration to mark Commonwealth Day at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, 17 Blackall Street, Barton, 11am, Monday, March 14. The Queen’s Commonwealth Day message will be read by Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove and well-known, local multicultural activist Diana Abdel-Rahman will give a presentation on the theme. Representatives of Commonwealth and Territory governments, Commonwealth High Commissions and religious leaders of many faiths will be in attendance.

Grow up, people! Canberra doesn’t register in the consciousness of most of your countrymen. Perhaps that’s just as well, because after learning your endearing neighbourly ways, would wonder what’s so special about the national capital and frankly sympathise with politicians who have to spend time here.

Christina Faulk, Swinger Hill

Unkempt Haig Park

JOHN Griffiths, I think you’ll find the difference between your view and others’ on Haig Park stems from the fact you’re not a woman (“Shadow of ‘progress’ looms over Haig Park”, CN, March 3). Even away from the public housing flats, the place is unkempt with few paths and mostly deserted, so yes, even a lone man like you walking a dog can be seen as a potential threat. Hence the nickname “Rape Park”.

Claire Ridgewell, via email

Alternative to light rail

I AM writing as a deeply concerned citizen who fears the government is committing a huge sum of our tax money on a light rail system that is inappropriate for Canberra and will potentially only benefit a small proportion of the population.

Cities with much higher population density like Sydney and the Gold Coast have made the mistake and are now left with light rails that are costly to ride, noisy if you live near them, but useless to you if you don’t.

I am proposing a system that I think is much better and cheaper.

In a nutshell, the system is government-operated electric mini vans, which will cost the government and taxpayers less than one tenth of the proposed cost of light rail.

I am proposing a fleet of 14 to 20-seat electric mini vans that are equipped with GPS so that potential commuters can look up when the next one is coming and how many seats are available. The system will be operated by Action Buses and driven by part-time drivers. The position of part-time drivers would suit retirees or near-retirees who have a good driving record.

Potential commuters only need to look up their smart phone to see when the next mini-van will be passing by, flag the van down and be dropped at a point closest to their destinations.

When a government makes so many spend so much for the benefit of so few with light rail, someone (an investigative journalist) needs to ask: “What is going on?”

Dr Doug Lee, Erindale

Finding the courage to seek help on hearing

“IT can take courage to admit there is a problem with your hearing,” says independent doctor of audiology Bill Vass.

With 38 years in audiology and more than 20 of them serving the Canberra community, Dr Vass says that the patient journey is what matters most.

“Everyone has a story – whether you have suffered hearing loss since childhood, had a head trauma, virus, or you have started to notice the effects of ageing, I respect and understand the journey you go on before even getting into my clinic. Every patient is unique,” he says.

“And it can take courage for many patients to seek help, there is a lot of negativity especially around the ageing process.

“It can also be an emotional journey to accept the need of a hearing aid.”

Dr Vass, principal of Dr Vass Hearing Clinic, has a significant history within the hearing industry and is the longest-serving private practitioner in Canberra.

He is also the first of only 20 doctors of audiology in Australia, with vast experience gained throughout his career that makes him a specialist in the field of hearing.

Patients have the certainty that they will only be seeing Dr Vass when they visit the clinic and that he will provide one-on-one, tailored care and advice.

Dr Vass graduated in 1978 from West Virginia University with a Masters of Science degree in Audiology and began his first clinical practice in 1979.

Seven years later he started working for Starkey International in the US, in the technical lab and research department that led the way in technology, pioneering “in-the-ear hearing aids”.

Dr Vass says that research was and still remains at the heart of his approach.

“It was during my time at Starkey I realised how quickly the technology of hearing was moving and the importance of education as well as keeping up with and, where possible, being ahead of the times,” he says.

In 2007, Dr Vass completed his Doctorate of

Audiology, in line with his belief that you can never stop learning or have too much knowledge.

A founding member and fellow of the ACAud, Dr Vass is also on the executive committee and education committee of this organisation and says he is extremely active within the community of audiology.

He is an occasional guest lecturer at the ANU School of Medicine and in 2014 he lectured for the Starkey Foundation on “Moving with the Times” in Las Vegas, along with former presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush and presidential aspirant Donald Trump.

When Dr Vass moved to Canberra in 1994, he brought with him a wealth of knowledge and an enthusiasm for independent practice.

Based at John James Medical Centre, the Dr Vass Hearing Clinic is proud to be part of the medical precinct in Deakin.

Being independent allows Dr Vass to make sure his patients come first.

“I strongly believe that giving my patients a choice is hugely important and this is why I prefer not to be affiliated with any particular brands,” he says. “I’m proud to offer unbiased advice and recommendations, and I have always believed in taking an individual approach with my patients.”

Dr Vass recognises that not everyone needs a hearing aid.

“It’s about listening to the individual’s needs and making the best decisions together,” he says.

“It’s a privilege to have such long-standing relationships with so many of my patients. I am dedicated to giving my patients the best possible outcome.”

The Dr Vass Hearing Clinic, Suite 14, John James Medical Centre, 175 Strickland Crescent, Deakin. Visit hearingclinic.com.au or call 6282 2717.

Canberra Confidential

Story goes off the rails

IN praising last week’s article by local historian Nichole Overall about how the collapse in 1922 of the Molonglo Rail Bridge scuppered the ambitions of getting the railway from Kingston and into Civic, reader Ron Boardman suggested a follow-up.

He’d heard that when the bridge was washed away a railway engine was trapped on the rail line on the north side of Canberra for a year or so before it was rescued by road. No so, Ron.

“It appears it is one of those things I love so much, an urban myth!” says Nichole.

She writes that in 1964 former secretary of the Federal Capital Commission C.S. Daley wrote an article in “The Canberra Times” of a story passed around about an engine that had been inadvertently left behind – not straight after the flood, but during the piecemeal removal of the rails – “preventing it being run back to the main Queanbeyan line”.

“This is not true,” writes Daley, “but the story is probably related to a light 2ft. gauge constructional railway that we brought over from the abandoned Henderson Naval Base in WA and laid to connect the railway station with Parliament House, the brickworks and Civic Centre.

“There were three light engines for this service, and these had to be lifted, for transport elsewhere, on to railway trucks of the standard 4ft. 8in. gauge.” Another urban myth nailed.

When the llama snogged the snapper

HERE’S the ultimate selfie… snogging a male llama!

Our llama-sized snapper Andrew Finch found himself eye-to-eye with brunette Zumba’s big, coy eyelashes during an assignment in Bywong for this week’s open garden page.

Reporter Kathryn Vukovljak says Zumba nudged seven or so other curious

llamas and alpacas out of the way and started sniffing the usually unflappable photographer.

“The kiss was a spontaneous gesture,” she worryingly reports, without saying who made the first move.

“Zumba kept on going in for a smooch and so Andrew took the selfie, not expecting it to turn out that well!”

Omar in the Big Apple

THAT’S local novelist Omar Musa at a bookshop in Brooklyn with the US edition of his acclaimed “Here Come the Dogs” novel. New York is the first stop of the US tour through New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle to promote the book.

Initially published by Penguin, the novel has been picked up by US publisher The New Press, whose graphic designers have changed the cover image of a bushfire to one suggesting hip-hop graffiti.

A review is due to come out in “The New Yorker” on March 14 and the day after, there’ll be a formal launch. But what, CC wonders, will American readers make of a novel about three young men hanging out in Canberra and Queanbeyan?

Don’s making history

MR “American Pie”, the veteran American singer Don McLean, has suddenly cancelled his Australian tour this month, including a night at Canberra Theatre slated for March 19.

The no-doubt disappointed promoters dolefully issued the statement from Don’s management that thanked them for freeing him up “in order to allow Don McLean and his family time to work at reuniting”.

Then this curious flourish: “This is an unprecedented moment in the family history.”

Don promises to resume the postponed tour at “exactly the same time” next year.

Michael’s Euro vision

HOW does hosting “the ultimate Eurovision viewing party” on Sunday, May 15, at the Arc Cinema, fit with the National Film and Sound Archive’s mission, we mused.

Stretching the bow a little, CEO Michael Loebenstein had the answer: ‘‘The NFSA is the place where Australia’s television heritage lives on. Given that Eurovision is one of our nation’s most beloved television events, we’re proud to partner with SBS and the Embassy of Sweden to present this year’s Superfan Party.”

Anyway, it’s free and participants are urged to dress ABBA and be there for a night of trivia, prizes and music. Bookings can be made online.

Nuts are the duck’s?

THE cheeky logo for the new Dickson bar and grill Ducks Nuts is grabbing some attention.

CC, of course, is less troubled by the illustration than the missing possessive apostrophe that would ascribe ownership of the nuts to the duck.

At the Black Opal race meeting, Thoroughbred Park

a superb, one-of-a kind getaway in a unique location

Lilli Pilli Sublime is a destination unlike any other. We offer holiday accommodation in a spacious, delightfully decorated 4 bedroom house with rumpus/games room, and a Moroccan themed outdoor kitchen area with BBQ.

LPS is nestled in the stunning surrounds of Lilli Pilli Beach Estate in an idyllic position overlooking natural bush land on the outskirts of Batemans Bay, NSW.

For families, couples, executives or anybody who needs to get away from it all, relax and wind down, LPS offers something special. We provide WiFi, Foxtel with all channels, playstation with games, Nespresso Coffee Machine, linen including beach towels and baby

items. We accept our guests well mannered dogs on application.

The LPS vibe is very much a tropical one with its hot and cold private outdoor shower. Its Bali inspired garden adds a touch of paradise and is pleasantly styled with Asian stone sculptures, fountains and bamboo.

Guests can enjoy the many beaches in the area; Lilli Pilli Beach is just a 300 m walk. Take in the fresh ocean air and sounds of the wildlife.

Luxury comfort and style - these are the three principles upon which the hosts have built the LPSublime experiences.

receive: 10% OFF

the Thoroughbred Club’s Canberra autumn lunch

Stay in touch with the names making news on Sundays from 10am as 2CC and “CityNews”

Be part of the conversation and call 6255 1206 between 10am and noon.

At

the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club’s dinner

ACT Seniors Week / March 12-20

Week celebrates special role of seniors

SENIORS Week celebrates the special role of seniors in our community, with a jam-packed events schedule across March 12-20, presented by the Council on the Ageing (COTA ACT), supported by the ACT Government and Beyond Bank.

Helen Taylor, COTA ACT events manager says that Seniors Week carries the message “love later life” and is, above all, an opportunity to thank seniors for their contribution to our community.

“We encourage seniors to continue to participate in the community and prepare to face new challenges by eating well, staying fit and getting involved in new activities and educational programs on offer,” she says. The Street Theatre will launch Seniors Week with a special performance of “All This Living” on Friday, March 11. The ACT Chief Minister’s Concert will be a highlight, featuring the RMC Band and Australian Rugby Choir for a free performance on March 16 at The Auditorium at the Erindale Vikings Club.

Helen says that the free Seniors Week Expo on March 17 at Thoroughbred Park will be bigger and better than ever.

“There will be more than 200 exhibitors from retirement, lifestyle, health, government and community,” she says. At 1pm, Keith Potger, a founding member of legendary pop-folk group, The Seekers, will perform.

For the full program, visit cotaact.org.au/ seniorsweek or call 6282 3777.

Cruising and grooving!

THE Southlands Travel and Cruise team provides professional and attentive service for holiday, corporate, special interest and cruise travel. The team are passionate about travel and each have at least 20 years’ experience in the industry.

Owner and manager Cathy Schroder has run Southlands Travel and Cruise over more than 20 years and has been in the industry for 30 years. She says it would be hard to find a region that at least one of the team hasn’t travelled to!

Cathy says that as most of the team are approaching the “senior” age bracket, they are well placed to help seniors find the best holiday – be it tours of Vietnam and Cambodia or a European river cruise.

“A large market of seniors enjoy an ocean cruise within Australia, the Mediterranean, or America,” says Cathy.

“On selected cruising products, customers can also earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points.”

As an official Cruiseco agent, Cathy says that Southlands Travel and Cruise is able to offer seniors the opportunity to join musicalthemed cruises, including Rock the Boat – a tribute to the ‘60s with international acts; Bravo – a performing-arts cruise with stars such as Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Marina Pryor and Guy Noble; and classic rock stars from the ‘60s and ‘80s such as John Farnham and John Paul Young headline the Cruise and Groove cruise.

“These cruises are typically a seven-night trip and are very popular this year,” says Cathy.

Southlands Travel and Cruise, 93 Mawson Place, Mawson. Call 6286 5540, email sltravel@ bigpond.com or visit southlandstravel.com.au

Programs to energise and empower

“WHY not have it all?” asks Greg Ward, centre manager of Active Leisure Centre.

“We are Canberra’s most diverse health and fitness facility with a wide range of programs to give the community a variety of options to help them enjoy and make the most of their exercise routine,” he says. With a pool, gym, squash courts and ovals, Greg says the range of facilities offers people a wide variety of programs.

“We find a lot of seniors take advantage of the pool and gym during off-peak times at 11am-3pm,” says Greg.

“Our aqua aerobics program, as well as our Energise, Align and Empower classes are very popular with seniors,” says Greg.

Energise is a gentle, low-impact cardio class full of easy-to-follow moves, designed to boost fitness levels, says Greg.

Align strengthens, stretches and relaxes participants in an innovative mind/body class. It targets the core and increases range of movement and flexibility.

“Empower is the workout with it all. Participants will complete resistance and fitness stations which target every part of your body, and can be completed at their own pace.” he says.

“All our programs focus on what really matters and that is you!”

Active Leisure Centre, McBryde Crescent, Wanniassa. Visit activelc.com.au for more information or call 6142 2944.

Village people enjoy safe, caring environment

PROVIDING a caring, safe, home-like atmosphere, Adria Village in Stirling has been delivering low and high-level aged care for more than 20 years.

Adria Village contains low and and high-level residential care for 42 residents, as well as 36 independent living villas.

“Our emphasis is on person-centred care. We provide care that is tailored to meet the individual needs of each person,” says manager, Iva Vujica.

“We are also very multicultural. We were established by the Croatian community in 1994 and have expanded over the years. Our residents and staff come from diverse multicultural backgrounds.”

With a landscaped environment, a vegetable garden, a community room and events and activities throughout

the year, Iva says that Adria is very homelike. As well as organised social programs the village provides multilingual staff, bus services, regular mass, an on-site chapel, a psychologist, podiatrist, chemist, hairdresser and pharmacist.

Adria Village also provides special-care units for residents with dementia and any other special needs, and has two respite care rooms for short-term care by arrangement.

“Adria Village is located 500 metres from Cooleman Court, and bus services connect it to Woden, Civic, Belconnen and Tuggeranong town centres,” says Iva. “It’s close to everything!”

Adria Village, 89 Fremantle Drive, Stirling, adria.org.au, 6288 0198.

Dr Geoffrey Speldewinde and Dr Keith T Chan, specialist pain and rehabilitation physicians, along with our multidisciplinary team provide the highest level of service for:

• Chronic persistent pain

• Rehabilitation – reconditioning after injury, surgery and neurological conditions

• Medical Pain and Rehabilitation

Procedures such as blocks, neurotomy, discography, stimulators, Botulinum toxin injections all to the highest International Standards

• Diagnostic and therapeutic injections seen rapidly with GP referral

Hydrotherapy

Gym • Acupuncture and Massage • Dru Yoga • Pain Education • Psychology, Counselling and Hypnotherapy • Diet and Nutrition

• Mindfulness Course

• STEPS one day pain management Workshop Free parking

ACT Seniors Week / March 12-20

Curvette winner Pat is feeling ‘fabulous’

CURVES is the largest network of fitness centres for women in the world, famous for its 30-minute circuit that works every major muscle group with strength training, cardio and stretching.

Pat Gozzard, who is a member of Curves at Weston, was awarded the 2016 Senior Curvette winner for the ACT, in recognition of her hard work, commitment and dedication to the Curves Complete Program.

Pat joined Curves in 2012 and says that Curves has given back her life!

“I have lost 48 kilograms and with the support of staff and members I have continued to increase fitness and

strength and maintain my weight loss,” she says.

Pat says she loves going to Curves four or five times each week for a 30-minute, full-body workout, including stretching.

“It is convenient and I know it works!

I would recommend Curves for anyone who is looking for a gym regardless of age, size, or fitness level,” she says.

“Curves is a community of great support and offers a complete program that allows you to work at your level, whether it be hard and fast or just to get started at your own pace. You have a coach available at all times to

motivate you on the circuit and to set regular goals which allows you to be the best you can.

“I really don’t feel like a senior these days due to the improvements of my overall health and fitness levels. I continue to set weight loss goals, which I never thought possible and I thank Curves for their commitment, encouragement, inspiration and 100 per cent effort which assisted me to feel so fabulous!”

Curves is at Gungahlin, Weston, Wanniassa and Belconnen. For information about membership call 1300 287837 or visit curves.com.au

Representatives from the Public Trustee and the Public Guardians Office will be attending the Seniors Week Expo 2016. Staff will be available to provide advice on Wills, Estates, Guardianship and Power of Attorney. See them at Stall 114.

DR Geoffrey Speldewinde, a well-known specialist at Capital Pain and Rehabilitation Clinic, is committed to making a positive impact on chronic pain.

According to the clinic, one in five people who have an episode of acute pain will go on to have chronic or persistent pain (pain that has gone on for three months). This can have devastating personal consequences and there are huge costs to the economy with 36.5 million workdays lost each year.

Capital Pain and Rehabilitation Clinic takes a multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary approach that includes retraining the brain through neuroplasticity techniques such as measured pacing, “movement is medicine”, visualisation techniques, intensive training and repetition, which Dr Speldewinde says is the key to seeing the greatest improvement for chronic sufferers.

Dr Speldewinde, who is also the current president of the Australian Pain Society says: “Being involved in the APS has ensured that in Canberra I am able to offer the best evidence-based treatments for my patients from a wide range of medical procedures, enhanced education, optimising self-empowerment, and incorporating neuroplasticity strategies.”

Capital Pain and Rehabilitation Clinic, 25 Napier Close, Deakin. Call 6282 6240 or visit capitalrehab.com.au

advertising feature

Fitness options for the over 55s

THE friendly, professional team at Fernwood Women’s Health Club and Day Spa at Woden welcomes women of all ages and fitness levels, says manager, Vivia Hale.

“We run specific over 55s classes on Mondays and Fridays each week, which are very popular. The ladies absolutely love it!” she says. “In between these, we have a lot of classes that are relevant to senior ladies, such as circuit, body balance, yoga and power-plate. Zumba is also loved by ladies old and young!”

“Every class has options so seniors can go into our classes and adapt it, if they need to,” she says.

Fernwood Woden offers a special seniors membership, giving them access to the gym during “off peak” times between 9am and 4pm.

Vivia says that when new members start at the gym, they will have a goal-setting session with a fitness coach to make sure the member is directed to the right workout and exercise for their specific needs.

“We also run challenges throughout the year to keep our members motivated. We have a dietitian on board and a day spa to give our members a holistic experience of mind, body and soul,” she says.

Fernwood Woden, ground level, Cosmopolitan Centre, 21 Bowes Street, Woden. Visit fernwoodfitness.com.au or call 6281 7199.

Time to increase the nutrients

NUTRITION Australia ACT is a not-forprofit community organisation and health promotion charity. Dietitian and program manager, Leanne Elliston, says its message to seniors is to be mindful of specific nutritional needs as we age.

Nutrition Australia ACT recommends that seniors become aware of and have plenty of the following in their diet:

• Calcium (dairy intake)

• Protein, which is important to maintain and repair muscle and skin

• Colourful fruits and vegetables, which are high in antioxidants

• Fluids, such as tea or water

• Fibre

Leanne says as we age, we don’t need so many kilojoules but need to increase nutrients to stay healthy. She says that Nutrition Australia ACT will be running cooking demonstrations at the Seniors Expo to showcase simple recipes that meet the nutritional criteria.

“We also run cooking classes throughout the year to help seniors stay motivated and inspired in the kitchen, giving them skills and recipes,” says Leanne.

“We can also work one-on-one with people by appointment to tailor the class to their needs and requirements,” she says.

More information at actnss.org or call 6162 2583.

Nutrition for Seniors

ACT Nutrition Support Service

The ACT Nutrition Support Service* is your one-stop-shop for free nutrition information and advice available by phone or email. Subscribers to the service have access to free weekly News Bites nutrition tips and seasonal e-newsletters. To access these free services, subscribe now by visiting www.actnss.org/subscribe-now

*Funded by ACT Government’s Healthy Canberra Grants.

Project Dinnertime

Nutrition Australia ACT is pleased to announce dates for our 2016 Project Dinnertime - Simple Eats for Seniors cooking workshops.

If you would prefer a tailored oneon-one cooking experience with an Accredited Practising Dietitian, our Project Dinnertime - Cooking Clinic is for you.

For more information about these services visit www.projectdinnertime. org or call 6162 2583.

Visit us at the Seniors Expo

Check out our healthy eating stand and be sure to attend our cooking demonstrations during the morning. Free taste testing opportunities will be available and you will also have a chance to talk to one of our friendly Dietitians who can answer any of your burning nutrition questions.

Established in 1994 by the Canberra and Queanbeyan Croatian community. Created by the many selfless volunteers in admin and construction.

Adria Village was named after the Adriatic sea where it is renowned for its unique landscapes, islands and history.

Adria Village has 36 independent living units and 42 high care and dementia rooms incorporating 2 respite rooms with care provided by quality trained nurses and care staff.

ACT Seniors Week / March 12-20

Mobility specialists make home calls

SCOOTERS and Mobility ACT (SAM ACT) began as Southern Electric Scooters P/L in 1992 and is widely regarded as the original scooter specialist in the ACT and surrounds.

SAM ACT offers a wide variety of tried and proven products to the mobility and disability industries.

This includes mobility scooters, power chairs, stair lifts and platforms, lift chairs, beds and patient-handling equipment and a wide range of daily living aids including manual wheelchairs, rollators and walking sticks.

SAM ACT offers a full range of warranty and repair services and stocks popular accessories, spare parts, tyres and batteries.

“While we maintain a fully equipped workshop and are well stocked with leading products, our speciality is providing obligation-free home demonstrations and assessments. This is on the basis that many people with mobility issues are unable to be active shoppers,” says manager/director, Cliff Carey.

Cliff says SAM ACT has strong ties to the community sector, having worked or volunteered in several senior or disability focused organisations. This has influenced the development of his business model, says Cliff who is assisted by family members, co-director Elaine and daughter Genevieve, who works in office administration.

SAM ACT is a registered NDIS service provider and proudly supports the work of Technical Aid for the Disabled in the ACT.

Scooters and Mobility ACT, visit scootersandmobility.com.au or call 6258 1111.

Safe, secure and enjoyable lifestyle

AMONG the gumtrees and gardens of South Bruce, Calvary Haydon Retirement Community provides quality residential care and support to 100 residents, offering dementia-specific services and 78, two and three-bedroom, independent living units.

All rooms are single with en suites and generous in size.

Situated minutes from a large shopping centre, public transport and with a major local hospital just across the road, Calvary Haydon provides residents with a safe, secure and enjoyable lifestyle.

Each room has been finished with interior designer co-ordinated furnishings and is surrounded by fully landscaped gardens.

Spacious dining areas and separate lounge rooms are located throughout for residents and families to relax in.

Calvary Haydon offers:

• Qualified care staff, guided by its 125-year history of caring.

• Access to medical coverage when required.

• Dedicated physiotherapy assistants who facilitate specialised physiotherapy care designed to maintain mobility.

• Recreational activity officers who design individual and group activity programs aimed at encouraging enjoyment, rehabilitation and promotion of self-esteem.

• Qualified pastoral care staff who care for residents’ spiritual and emotional needs.

• Catholic Mass and Ecumenical church services.

• Ministers of various denominations who can visit on request and minister to residents’ particular spiritual needs.

• Hairdressing salon plus a qualified hairdresser who is available by appointment.

• Indoor/outdoor cafe.

• Specialised menu catering to varied tastes and offering a wide choice of meals.

• Secure building.

Calvary Haydon Retirement Community, 2 Jaeger Circuit, Bruce. Call 6264 7400 or visit calvarycare.org.au

Dedicated to ‘honouring the individual’

WITH 125 years of experience in arranging funerals in the Canberra and Queanbeyan area, M.H. O’Rourke branch manager, Jason says they “always strive for simple, respectful and honest ways to honour the individual”.

Established in 1890 by Cornelius O’Rourke and relocated in 1929 to its current Queanbeyan location, M.H. O’Rourke Funeral Services has maintained the traditional values of service and caring for families in times of need.

M.H. O’Rourke provides pre-paid, pre-arranged and at-need funerals, offering full mortuary care, transport for the deceased and the family on the day of the funeral and liaising with government departments, venues, the crematorium, members of the clergy and officiators.

“Our pre-paid funerals ensure that everything is arranged exactly to your personal choice and takes the burden off your family. It’s peace of mind knowing that it’s all paid for and your wishes will be carried out,” says Jason.

Not only do they connect families with all the people involved in arranging a funeral, depending on the person’s background, they can also arrange cultural services that include religious and cultural customs, rituals, extra services and viewings.

M.H. O’Rourke Funeral Services has a resident manager on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide quality after-hours support and assistance.

advertising feature

Check your hearing at the Expo

THE ACT Deafness Resource Centre (DRC) will be exhibiting in partnership with Better Hearing Australia Canberra (BHA) at the Seniors Expo at Thoroughbred Park on March 17. Free hearing tests will be available throughout the day of the Expo.

“We have many years of experience in advising strategies of how to take charge and to manage your hearing loss and our commitment to the deaf and hearing impaired of Canberra and the surrounding regions of NSW remains steadfast,” says CEO, Pete Halsey.

The DRC provides hearing loops for hire or sale and has assistive hearing devices for demonstration to manage hearing loss.

To Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card holders, the DRC can provide assistive listening devices, such as headphones for TV or a hearing loop (with a recent audiogram demonstrating your hearing loss).

The DRC offers a lip-reading class conducted by BHA in Holder and at the Hellenic Club in Woden, as well as a special program with ACT Fire & Rescue to install special smoke alarms in homes for hearing-impaired people that do not qualify under other programs.

Hearing tips from DRC

• Around 50 per cent of seniors have a hearing loss.

• Hearing loss sneaks up on you – like gaining weight.

• If no action is taken the amount you don’t hear increases over time, which makes learning to wear hearing aids later more difficult.

• Untreated hearing loss may lead to other health problems later. Help is available.

ACT Deafness Resource Centre, Grant Cameron Community Centre, Level 1B, 27 Mulley Street, Holder. Visit actdrc.org.au or call 6287 4393.

• Wills and Probate

• Elder Law

• Succession Law

• Family Provision Disputes

• Conveyancing

• Commercial Law Phone 6248 8544

Fax 6247 3755

8 Petrie Plaza Canberra City

WHY JUST WALK WHEN YOU CAN BUNGYPUMP?

BungyPumps are a unique training pole with built in suspension offering 4, 6 or 10kg of weight resistance. The poles activate 90% of your body’s muscles, burning up to 77% more kilojoules whilst you walk. Bungypump poles offer stability and pain relief, with the suspension absorbing the pressure on your joints bringing back the joy of walking!

Come and experience BungyPump walking MON 14th, WED 16th & FRI 18th of March - meet 9am at the National Exhibition Centre Regatta Point. Walks are free, booking essential Phone Duncan on 0404 373 157

Come see us at the Seniors Expo Thurs 17th March • 9.30am to 3pm Thoroughbred Park, Lyneham. www.bungypump.com.au

Enjoy a Caring and Supporting Community

Calvary Haydon Retirement Community enables you to enjoy safe, secure and relaxed community living through our residential aged care, respite accommodation and over 55’s retirement village.

Located within the beautiful surrounds of South Bruce, Calvary Haydon prides itself on offering an array of care and accommodation options to suit most needs.

For more information on our services visit us at 2 Jaegar Circuit, call 02 6264 7407 or log onto www.calvarycare.org.au

Get more out of walking

THE BungyPump is the only walking pole with in-built resistance in Australia, says ACT representative, Duncan Craig.

Swedish-made BungyPump, designed to boost the benefits and reduce the impacts of walking, arrived in Australia in September, 2014.

“BungyPump boosts the benefits of walking, activating 90 per cent of your muscles and burning 77 per cent more calories than walking without poles,” says Duncan.

“It’s a case of ‘no pain, more gain’ as the poles’ in-built suspension eliminates hard shocks. This means that elbows and shoulders are not over-exerted and the pressure is relieved on knees and hips, giving your body a low-impact exercise.”

Duncan says that many of his customers who suffered from knee, hip or back injuries now sing the praises of BungyPump.

Available in three weights – the “Number One” (4kg), “The Energy” (6kg) or “The Power” (10kg) –BungyPump is suitable for all ages and fitness levels.

Duncan organises the Canberra Walkers Group that meets at Lake Burley Griffin on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings.

He says the group is affiliated with the Heart Foundation and has many BungyPump walkers.

“Walking is such a social activity, BungyPump allows you to get active and get more out of your walk,” he says.

Duncan will be demonstrating BungyPumps at the Seniors Expo at Thoroughbred Park, on March 17.

“If you can’t make it to the Expo, give me a call and come for a walk with me so I can introduce you to BungyPump and you can experience it for yourself, obligation free,” he says.

Call Duncan on 0404 373157 or visit bungypump.com.au

The eco-friendly way to go

TOSCAN Dinn Funerals is locally owned and operated and prides itself on offering simple choices, an honest approach and dignified care. Part of the suite of offerings Toscan Dinn gives is the opportunity to have an environmentally-conscious burial.

“We were the first in Canberra to offer environmentally-friendly ecocoffins made from recycled materials and now, with the opening of the new Natural Burial Area in Gungahlin, we are keen to help people fulfil their wishes, especially for those who feel passionately about the environment,” says funeral director Lauren Nelson.

“A natural burial is the act of returning a body as naturally as possible to the earth,” she says.

“To achieve this, we recommend that the body not be embalmed or cremated, but instead buried in a simple casket or shroud made from wicker or wool coated.

“Making the choice for natural burial means you are choosing a low-impact burial that reduces energy and resource consumption and is less toxic.

“We can offer all our full services in a chapel or church, and then move on to the Natural Burial Site.”

Toscan Dinn Funerals, 10 Liardet Street, Weston. Visit toscandinn.com.au or call 6287 3466.

to see ‘Ghost: The Musical” in Sydney

Phone: 02 6296 4009

Mobile: 0407 066 110

Email: dale_harris@bigpond.com

Web: www.dalesballroomdancing.com.au

Principal: Dale Harris

Got a book idea but don’t know how to get it written, let alone published? This intensive one-day workshop will give you all the tools needed to plan, write, publish, market your book.

A hanging of small, original works from 20 fine artists Opens Saturday 2 April 2.00 pm Join us for Champagne and Light Refreshments. RSVP. aarwungallery.com • 02 6230 2055

arts & entertainment arts in the city Swift work gets wider audience

Power and the passion comes to Tuggeranong

By Helen Musa

“OH, the power and the passion; oh, the temper of the time!” That’s Midnight Oil capturing the zeitgeist of Australia circa 1982.

“Sunburnt faces around, with skin so brown/ Smiling zinc cream and crowds,” it goes on, true blue Aussies, right?

Canberra doesn’t exactly own Midnight Oil, but it feels as if it does.

For one thing, it was while vocalist Peter Garrett was studying at ANU he applied for and got the lead singer’s spot. For another, with their impassioned championing of causes ranging from indigenous rights to environmental issues, “The Oils” have always made a good match for conscientious Canberrans.

Their influence has spread far and wide in the ACT. Local theatre teacher and writer George Huitker and his band Junk Sculpture regularly hold jam-packed Midnight Oil tribute gigs and I’ve walked into many school and college halls to find bands practising the 1987 hit “Beds Are Burning”.

Now Tuggeranong Arts Centre is picking up on this sense of ownership with a project themed around the touring exhibition “Making of Midnight Oil”. Developed by Manly Art Gallery & Museum, the show explores the band’s 40-year history, looking at Midnight Oil through stage props, musical instruments, protest banners, costumes and previously unseen film footage. There’ll also be events involving two band members, Rob Hirst and Jim Moginie.

In a canny move, the centre has commissioned Bungendore lyricist and music researcher John Shortis – half of the satirical duo Shortis & Simpson – to create a one-night stand of power and passion that pays homage to The Oils.

Shortis admits to being steeped in the overtly rebellious lyrics and music of the ‘50s and ‘60s, so was at first moderately daunted by the commission.

He’s been reading Peter Garrett’s recently

John Shortis… “I really enjoyed exploring the interesting tonalities and the way their songs work”.

published autobiography “Big Blue Sky” and Mark Dodshon’s “Beds are Burning”.

“I found it hard to get into, the lyrics were more oblique, you have to read into the words of ‘Power and Passion’,” he tells “CityNews”.

In songs such as the 1990 “Blue Sky Mining”, he says the social message was clearer.

“But I really enjoyed exploring the interesting tonalities and the way their songs work,” he says.

The first half of the show will focus on The Oils’ catalogue while the second half will zero in through the wider political lens, with Shortis reprising Whitlam’s 1972 campaign song “It’s Time”. Anecdotes will be intertwined with personal stories and he will also sing “In the Valley” about the deaths of Garrett’s parents and “Home” about Moginie’s search for his birth mother.

“The Power and the Passion”, Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 7.30pm, Friday, March 18. Bookings to tuggeranongarts.com or 6293 1443. “Making of Midnight Oil” exhibition, Tuggeranong Arts Centre, March 11-May 14.

ONE of our brightest stars is Dickson composer Olivia Swift, also music director of the Canberra choir Kompactus. She’s having a work performed by the Sydney Chamber Choir at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith, on March 13 and at City Recital Hall, Sydney, on March 19. Encouraged by the choir’s new music director Richard Gill, Swift has written a new piece for the 100-strong choir’s “Carmina Burana” recital. Bookings and details at sydneychamberchoir. org/carmina-burana

THE Canberra Museum and Gallery aims to further the enjoyment of the complexity of the nature of the Canberra region and our “bush capital” with a new exhibition of photos, paintings, sculpture, natural history illustration and drawing, scientific specimens and audio-visual material and a program of walks and talks. “Bush Capital: the natural history of the ACT”, CMAG, March 12-June 26.

GEOFF Grey’s Canberra Wind Symphony has taken up a residency at The Street Theatre for 2016 kicking off with a concert dedicated to the idiom of the march, from Elgar to Strauss, Walton, Saint-Saëns, and John Philip Sousa, Friday, March 18, bookings to thestreet.org.au or 6247 1223.

THE Garage, the independent project directed by Sabrina Baker and Sara d’Alessandro, will surface again soon in a spot offered by Julian Hobba and Bryan Foong. “Woody” is a show by Sydney artist Natalya Hughes, whose works cross psychological theories and feminism with a “pop, ironic quality”. At 34 Longstaff Street, Lyneham, Friday-Sunday, 2pm-6pm until March 20.

WHILE Enlighten explores the science of whisky, the Canberra Comedy Festival, March 15-20, investigates the joys of Cooper’s ale. You won’t get into either of the festival’s packed opening galas, but you can get into dozens of other comedy choices at canberraticketing. com.au and the beer tasting at Chez Frederic, 4/14 Lonsdale Street, Braddon, 5pm, March 18, bookings via trybooking.com

THE next free Sunday concert at the High Court of Australia will be at 1.30pm, Sunday, March 13, and featuring ChattertonMcCright Duo, flautist Linda Chatterton, pictured, and pianist Matthew McCright (on tour from the US). Bookings to hcourt.gov.au/about/concerts

GALLERY@BCS is marking Seniors Week 2016 with “Homage”, a mixed media exhibition for which local artists were invited to reflect on their relationship with a “significant senior”. At Belconnen Community Centre, Swanson Court, March 9 to 18. Opening 6pm, Wednesday March 16, all welcome.

Fresh circus troupe tumbles into town

By Helen Musa

ROLL up! Roll up! The Great Moscow Circus is in town as part of its 50th anniversary tour, and if your listen to entrepreneur Michael Edgley, it’s all fresh.

Not just that, the two-hour show will be happening in what he calls a “virgin tent”, to be pitched for its first time in the Majura Park precinct.

I’m talking to Edgley by phone at his Gold Coast home, where he and his young family are struggling with the flu. But that doesn’t dampen his enthusiasm as he tells “CityNews”: “My father first brought The Great Moscow Circus to Australia in about 1965 and since then it’s been here 15 times and something like eight million people have seen it – it’s obviously been popular.”

You can say that again. The three-year, 80-city tour of Australia opened in Queensland and now it’s coming to Canberra for the school holidays. “We’ll be doing a wonderful charity show on April 6… so far we’ve raised $700,000, a success for everybody,” he enthuses.

Edgley speaks of his long association with Canberra publicist Coralie Wood, telling us: “We’ve been at least 30 years with Coralie, she is wonderful and we love her dearly.”

He’s wrong, it’s nearer to 40 years since his father, Eric Edgley, died in 1967 and Michael took over, often hiring Wood to publicise his circus up and down the east coast of Australia.

A lot’s changed since then. In the early days they could only bring the Russian circus in for three months at a time because officials feared circus members defecting, so they balanced the books with rock shows, operas, musicals and Russian ballet.

After the Soviet empire broke up, Edgley says, they formed a solid relationship with the Moscow Circus, which now releases its artists for up to three years.

“We now live in the commercial world and Moscow sends us guys who are at the top of the profession, who

Michael Edgley… “We don’t want people to get bored.”

speak either very good or fluent English because they have to,” he says.

“We don’t want people to get bored so we are bringing a totally fresh company.”

He singles out “a wonderful flying trapeze act… we haven’t had that for a few years” and the South American clown Nino, of whom he says, “words don’t do him justice”.

Even better, the motorbike riders will take their thrills to a new level with six bikes in the Globe at once, a Guinness record, he says.

And though Edgley stresses the commercial slickness of the 2016 circus, there’s a nostalgic nod to the ballet days in a duo act from China — “Ballet on the Shoulder”.

by April DeAngelis

Eatery off to a delicious start

It offers innovative Chinese at its best with modern twists on classics dished up with confidence.

THE fitout is elegant, the service subtle and sophisticated and the food pretty fine. Cinnabar on the Kingston Foreshore is off to a delicious start.

This is one of the many new eateries on Eastlake Parade. Cinnabar offers a relaxing atmosphere if you’re not in the mood for buzz (sometimes I am and sometimes I’m not). It also offers innovative Chinese at its best with modern twists on classics dished up with confidence.

Our first dish was the subtle and succulent Grandma’s Shanghai-style drunken chicken ($16.80). It’s a soul-satisfying dish with the chicken moist and the flavours delicate. Another intriguing choice on the starters menu is the special duck floss rolls (four pieces for $28.80). We’re big duck fans and will give this a go on our next visit.

Cinnabar’s menu is not extensive, but we’d rather a smaller number of carefully planned and executed

dishes anyway.

Dishes on the meat section range from about $21 up to just under $40, averaging out at around $27. It’s quality you’re paying for at Cinnabar.

The dry chilli beef ($22.80) was tangy and sweet and no doubt created with another selection of secret ingredients (maybe even pulled together by “Grandma”). However, we would be more careful next time since we also ordered the crispy eggplant with honey and sesame sauce, which meant we ended up with two sweet options.

Not everyone is a fan of eggplant ($18.80) and I was disappointed that the hefty helping of sauce drowned matters out a bit and the “crisp” notion was lost.

Cinnabar staff could engage more with customers and advise on selection. It’s definitely not their fault we ordered two sweet options – they

may have thought this deliberate, but a quick bit of guidance would have steered us in another direction.

We didn’t order from the rice and noodles section, but the special fried rice with scallop, king prawn, sweetcorn ($26.80) sounds intriguing, as does the Hong Kong-style beef, stir-fried rice noodle with bean sprouts and garlic chives ($18.80). We had already indulged in too much “sweet” but may well try, on a future visit, the black sticky rice with coconut cream ($12.80).

Cinnabar’s line up of big windows at the front of the restaurant allow you views of the water. They can be fully opened bringing the outdoors inside. We favour the different zones, including an area with booths, a lounge section where you can relax with a drink and square tables that can easily be connected for larger groups.

The colour scheme is fabulous –

dark browns, taupes, coppers and silvers. The many textural elements combine to create a sophisticated ambiance that stands out in the crowd of places now open on the Foreshore.

Cinnabar, 56/45 Eastlake Parade, Kingston Foreshore. Open seven days for lunch and dinner. Call 6140 7038.

New cop thriller scrapes the barrel

By Dougal Macdonald

“Triple 9” (MA)

IN Atlanta, Georgia, four hooded men rob a bank. A security device triggers, covering the money with red dye, negating its value to the annoyance, fury even, of Irina who needs the funds to buy freedom for her husband, a Russian criminal so vile and violent that even Putin’s sufficiently scared of him to bang him up without trial.

What looks like a bogstandard, cops ‘n robbers heist movie takes a different path.

For the gang of four aren’t off-the-street crims who will come to justice in the last reel through dogged police work taking advantage of their stupidity. No. After the robbery, the four change clothes and report for their day jobs as Atlanta police detectives!

Just when you thought that the movies had scraped the bottom of the barrel labelled cop-thriller plots, Matt Cook’s screenplay provides Aussie director John Hillcoat with a modicum of freshness. To deliver it, “Triple 9” has a quality cast (Chiwetel Ejiofor as the gang leader, Kate Winslet as Irina, Woody Harrelson as the detective assigned to solve the case and Casey Affleck as his nephew, also a detective).

So, given those plus points, why only two stars?

As well as graphic close-ups of so many murders that they become rather old hat, a ferociously aggressive music score often drowns the dialogue and insufficient light diminishes many night and interior sequences. Flicky editing and what appears to be a hand-held camera moving nearly as much as the action combine to make reading the film difficult

In American police radio code, “999” is shorthand for “officer down”, bringing every cop vehicle in town to the scene with lights flashing and sirens blaring. And when both sides of the crime are cops, it does tend to confuse things right to the end.

At Dendy and Hoyts

IN its depiction of matters maritime, well-informed purists will probably find faults, goofs and technical errors in director Craig Gillespie’s film recreating the night in February, 1952, when four young US Coast Guard members took a 36-foot lifeboat to sea to rescue the crew of TS Pendleton, torn in two after colliding with another tanker in a big storm off Cape Cod.

But most people watching “The Finest Hours” won’t care a whit about such shortcomings. What will grab their attention and stimulate their adrenalin will be the giant waves that the film shows time and again completely submerging the plucky little vessel as Bernie Webber (Chris Pine) takes it out despite the pleas of his fiancee Miriam (Holliday Grainger) that she needed him to be on hand for their April wedding.

In the stern half of Pendleton, Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck) is in the engine room supervising the blocking of the leaks and working out how to save the crew.

It’s a good story that Gillespie tells with obvious sincerity. The sea conditions are the creation of moviemaking magic and their ferocity is pervasive.

Ashore, Miriam is bogged in a snow drift. Townsfolk come to her aid and subsequently drive to the shoreline to shine their cars’ lights to sea and give Bernie a course reference after the lifeboat’s compass was torn away (Bernie, a local lad, had worked out a heading from the wind direction).

The closing credits remember Bernie and his crew from newspaper reports of the time. The people’s onshore stuff is basically authentic. Bernie and Miriam enjoyed 57 years of marriage before he died.

Older people may remember Winston Churchill’s speech in the House of Commons on June 18, 1940: “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, this was their finest hour.” Such oratory has no copyright limitation, but I can’t help feeling that quoting it for this film’s title does draw a bit of a long bow.

At Dendy, Hoyts and Limelight

Joanne Madeline Moore

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

With planetary emphasis in your contemplation zone, you’ll feel more reflective than usual. Use the power of your imagination to solve problems and soar into higher realms of creativity. Your motto for the moment is from birthday great Albert Einstein: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” Personal projects are favoured on the weekend, when the terrific fire trine encourages you to tackle tasks with plenty of passion, energy and enthusiasm.

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)

The week starts with a relationship glitch but then Lady Luck is on your side mid-week and friendships are particularly favoured, as you link up with pals from home and far away. You’re in the mood to help a loved one through a rough patch or cheer up a colleague who is down-in-the-dumps. Children, creativity, sport, hobbies, travel and international connections are all highlighted. The week will work best if you share your good luck and generosity with those around you.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)

The more impulsive and hasty you are on Monday and Tuesday, the more disappointing the days will be. Short-cuts will get you nowhere fast. Strive to be physically organised and mentally disciplined. The mid-week stars sharpen your problemsolving skills, as you look at issues in a deeper and vaster way. Open and honest communication is the secret to a wonderful weekend. There’ll be opportunities to expand your peer group, but don’t neglect your long-term friends in the process.

CANCER (June 22 – July 22)

Reach out and help others, both within your circle of family and friends and within your local neighbourhood. The close community connections you foster now will prove beneficial in the future. As fellow Cancerian Princess Diana said: “Everyone has the potential to give something back.” When you’re communicating with others, avoid being superficial and glossing over important details. The more deeply you connect with loved ones, the more satisfying the week will be.

LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)

The Jupiter/Pluto trine is fabulous for work, business and financial matters. Lady Luck is definitely on your side as you make positive changes and accept exciting new challenges. And, for some lucky Lions, an ambitious idea is set to boost your bank balance! Then, courtesy of the fire trine, it’s a wonderful weekend to work hard on cultivating your Cat creativity. So take the time to express yourself as you write, act, dance, draw, paint, perform, play music or sing up a storm.

VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)

Expect some drama early in the week, when poor communication could disrupt an otherwise solid relationship. Two-way conversation is the secret to resolving difficulties. So keep the lines of communication open, and resist the temptation to be critical or judgmental of others. Mid-week onwards is the time to initiate ideas and create waves within your circle of influence. But steer clear of negative thinkers! Make sure the people around you are a positive and inspiring influence.

LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)

Have you been burning the candle at both ends? You’ve got a lot of commitments on your plate but try to put aside some special ‘me time’ this week Libra. Solitude is soul food for you at the moment. When it comes to a frustrating family matter, avoid quick fixes. You’ll find a solution if you are patient and look for crucial information that is hidden deep beneath the surface. Then you will truly understand the current complexities, and the path ahead will be clearer.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)

This week’s auspicious Jupiter/Pluto trine encourages you to broaden your horizons, expand your circle of influence, and make positive changes personally – plus within your local community or further afield. But Scorpio is the sign of intense extremes, and you can have trouble de-stressing and winding down. As we celebrate the Equinox on Sunday, March 20 (when day and night are of equal length) strive to bring more balance and relaxation into your busy world.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

Are you ready, willing and able to capitalise on good luck? This week (courtesy of the mid-week Jupiter/Pluto trine) you’ll be given the opportunity to lead and/ or influence those around you. Others are looking for you to come up with the goods so get organised and don’t disappoint! The one thing that will stop you from achieving your goals is impatience. So smart Sagittarians will calm down, cool down, and recalibrate to a slower, steadier and more sustainable pace.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

Pluto is moving slowly through your sign, which boosts your ambition. But it also ensures that – if you don’t play by the rules – then you will get caught. This week the Jupiter/Pluto trine gives you a welcome boost as you turn up the Capricorn charisma, win professional friends and influence important people. Inspiration for the week is from Albert Einstein (born on May 14, 1879): “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

Your involvement with a group, club or organisation has others looking to you for extra inspiration. Avoid walking around in a daze though – you need to prioritise your current commitments and clarify your long-term goals for the future. If you work out a firm direction forward, then financial luck is waiting in the wings via a new job, promotion, bonus or gift. Use your networking skills to drum up support, and don’t be afraid to ask others for assistance when you need it.

PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)

With the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Neptune in your sign, you’re the quintessential Piscean at the moment as your creativity and compassion are on display for all to see. Partnerships are given a welcome boost, as Jupiter and Pluto increase optimism and help you reform a rickety relationship that’s been experiencing problems. Financial matters and business ventures are favoured on the weekend, when you combine common sense with intuition to achieve a positive result.

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2016 Daily astrology updates at twitter.com/JoMadelineMoore

General knowledge crossword No. 539

Shane came bounding into my office bubbling with excitement.

“Gail, great news! My offer to buy the shop has been accepted and I take over on April 1,” he enthused.

“I am very excited, but I don’t know much about registrations and the other things that I need to do. What do you reckon, any advice for me?” In congratulating Shane, I offered to give him as much compliance information as I could, but told him we’d need another session to properly discuss the financial aspects of his owning a business and the software requirements.

“You need to consider your business structure,” I advised.

Down

1 Name the first European explorer to

the

8 Which WA irrigation scheme has resurfaced somewhat (3,5)?

9 What is another term for a merchant or businessman?

10 What else is a hatchet called?

11 Which device is used for turning an electric current on or off?

13 Which term describes things to be imitated?

16 What is a Latin-American dance in triple time?

19 What is an account book of final entry?

22 On which day of the week did Solomon Grundy fall ill?

24 What is the cube root of 1728?

25 Name a substance used for sticking things together.

26 To be oppressively hot and moist, characterises which weather condition?

Sudoku hard No. 169

2 What is a slender, straight, generally pointed, missile weapon?

3 Which term describes the middle point of something?

4 Which hemisphere lies between the equator and the North Pole?

5 What was the Biblical name of the first man?

6 Which chess piece moves obliquely on squares of the same colour?

7 What is a magpie lark more readily known as?

12 Name the metal with the symbol Fe.

14 What are altar attendants of minor rank?

15 Name the NSW premier who was dismissed by the governor in 1932, Jack ...

17 What are some plant-sucking insects called?

18 What are funeral songs known as?

20 To continue for a time, is to do what?

21 Which term describes a young eel?

23 Name an alternative word for a lecturer’s desk, etc.

“We have previously talked about the liability aspect and decided that operating as a sole trader was not suitable for you.

“By using a company, you will have limited liability and it’s my understanding that you want to use a company rather than a trust structure.”

Shane agreed that the company structure seemed best for him.

“That’s good. I will get on with registering the company,” I said. “And the business name can be transferred to that company at settlement.

“The lawyers will prepare the settlement statement and advise you of the cheques you need to draw.

“I’ll be there to help with the necessary registrations and provide general advice on running the business as well as specific taxation advice and assistance with Business Activity statements (BAS) and income tax return lodgments.

“It is a requirement of my professional body that I send you a letter setting out the terms of our engagement.

“As the business turnover exceeds $75,000 annually you will need to register for GST. We can help you register for the Australian Business Number (ABN).

“You’ll also be required to register for Pay as You Go Withholding (PAYGW) so that you can pay your staff’s wages. You pay GST, PAYGW and any income tax in the quarterly BAS that you are required to lodge. “GST is payable by your customers on all sales, when you purchase goods most of them will contain GST and you receive an input tax credit.

“At the end of each quarter, your accounting system adds up all the GST that you have collected through sales and you offset the credits on all the items that you’ve purchased.

“You show both of these figures in the BAS and pay the Australian Taxation Office the difference between the two or receive a refund.

“When you pay your staff each week, you deduct tax. As your annual tax bill will exceed $25,000, you’ll pay tax for your staff monthly.

“For the months of July, August, October, November, January, February, April and May you’ll have to lodge Instalment Activity Statements (IAS) and for the months of September, December, March and June you pay the PAYGW in the BAS with the GST.”

While admitting it was a lot to take in, Shane said he was keen know if there was anything else.

“Yes, you’ll also have to pay superannuation for your staff at 9.5 per cent of their gross wage, provided that they earn more than $450 in the month,” I said.

“The legislated payment dates are October, January, April and July, but your fund may have different requirements, some funds require monthly payments.”

If you require any information on setting up a new business or anything tax or business related contact the friendly team at Gail Freeman & Co Pty Ltd.

Having designs on living sustainably

DESCRIBING their 10-hectare property in Bywong as “experimental”, landscape designers Jennie and Chris Curtis say they use their small farm as a way of trying out ways of living and gardening sustainably.

“We want to work out how we can move on with ideas of sustainability and eco-restorative approaches to landscape design in the 21st century,” says Jennie.

Chris says they are almost self-sufficient, with a huge kitchen garden full of vegetables, espaliered apples and berries, as well as self-watering wicking beds in a polytunnel for frost-sensitive plants.

Around the house, Jennie and Chris have removed much of the native grasses and replaced them with native shrubs, including bluebells, blue devils and everlastings, which they say require less maintenance and present less of a fire hazard. Natural irrigation is provided by a dry creek bed.

The farm also houses Babydoll Southdown sheep, broody Silkie chickens, ducks, llamas and alpacas, and will be open to the public on the weekend of March 19-20 as part of Open Gardens Canberra.

“For us, it’s about growing as much as we can and sourcing the rest of what we need locally,” says Chris.

“It’s satisfying when we can cook dinner entirely from the property, but we don’t have any hard and fast rules.”

The couple have recently moved their landscape

Words: Kathryn Vukovljak

Photos: Andrew Finch

design office out to the property and, in line with their philosophy of using recycled materials where possible, have built their office out of a tin roof salvaged from Chris’ mother’s house in Ainslie.

An edible food forest based on permaculture principles is thriving, with peaches, apricots, nectarines, strawberries, herbs and raspberries growing under a tree canopy, and wattles grown to provide mulch.

A favourite spot for Jennie is the “bath house”, where several old baths converted to wicking beds in a polytunnel house “the most incredible scented mint, herbs and citrus”.

“When I planted them I didn’t really think about how it would smell in there, but it’s just amazing,” she says.

On the open weekend, visitors can join farm tours at 11am both days, and Bywong nursery will sell native plant cultivars. Abbeyfield House, Bungendore, will be offering morning and afternoon teas.

Roogulli, 45 Glendale Lane, Bywong, open 10am-4pm, Saturday, March 19, and Sunday, March 20. Admission $8; free to under-18s and Open Gardens Canberra members. It costs $25 to join for free entry to all open gardens until August 31. More information at opengardenscanberra.org.au/join

gardening Sweet and seasonal, but why?

ST Patrick’s Day, on March 17, is traditionally the time to plant sweet peas.

In Britain, St. Patrick’s Day is, of course, in spring. So, how did this tradition take hold here in autumn, with sweet-pea supplier Yates recommending we sow the seeds now? Maybe a reader has the answer.

Australia leads the world in the development of sweet pea varieties, largely thanks to Dr. Keith Hammett, a New Zealander who works closely with Yates Seeds in its main growing areas in Tasmania.

While sweet peas originated in Sicily and Malta, where they grow wild, modern sweet peas were originally developed in the gardens and glasshouses of the Spencer family estate, Althorp, in Britain in 1901.

Unlike the wild species, the new sweet peas had larger frills and bigger wings and took the world by storm at the time.

They were named “Countess Spencer” or just “Spencer” sweet peas, after the grandmother of Princess Diana.

Every year the Royal Horticultural Society trials beds of sweet peas, as seen here at its Wisley Garden in Surrey, England, where amateur growers submit seeds for evaluation, hoping their sweet peas are selected as a new variety and hopefully sold on to a major seed company. They are evaluated for the flowers and their fragrance.

THE Australian Nursery and Garden Industry body has selected the heady perfumed daphne “Perfume Princess” as its Plant of the Year 2016.

The prestigious award recognises this great addition to the daphne family and its many years of development. Happy with full sun, the “Perfume Princess” is available now from the Heritage Nursery, Yarralumla.

MOST native plants won’t tolerate phosphorus, which is the bane of anyone who has bought a sub-divided country block to find their native plants not surviving.

Often this is due to farmers having previously applied phosphorus

to get pastures to grow. Phosphorus stays in the ground for many years.

Most soils in Australia have low phosphorus that, over millennia, native plants have adapted to. Ideally, native plant fertilisers should contain no more than 1-1.5 per cent of phosphorus as an NPK rating.

Three years in the making, Neutrog has developed “Bush Tucker”, a revolutionary new native plant fertiliser.

It follows extensive research by two of Australia’s leading plant and soil authorities – Angus Stewart (I recently reviewed his new book “The Australian Native Garden”) and Dr. Simon Leake, principal soil scientist and managing director of the Sydney Environmental and Soil Laboratory.

The new fertiliser will be available at garden centres over the next few weeks.

Biodynamically speaking

BIODYNAMIC Agriculture

Australia’s master preparations maker Alan Johnson will give a simple explanation and participate in making cow horn manure and stirring

and spraying out a biodynamic preparation at a workshop and open garden to be held on the rural property Felix on Urila Road, in the Tinderry Ranges, 10am-4pm, on Sunday, March 20. He will speak at 11am and from 1pm-3pm will give hands-on advice on making and spraying biodynamic preparations. Tea, coffee, homemade cakes and jams available, plus biodynamic preparations for sale.

Jottings...

• Love them or hate them, autumn leaves are great for the garden, either rotting as compost or shredded with the mower and used

as an instant mulch.

• Trim conifer hedges now, but don’t cut into the old wood as they will not shoot again. Always trim hedges narrower at the top and broader at the base, allowing the sun into the whole plant.

• Encourage children into gardening by sowing seeds in egg cartons using seed-raising mix.

• A garden spectacular not to be missed, the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, the largest in the southern hemisphere, is being held at the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens, March 16-20. More information at melbflowershow.com.au

17thMARCH

Everyone feels like a local

Happy St Patri y

THURSDAY 17 T H MA R C H : Celebrations star t at 12 noon!

Are you willing to make the ultimate sacri ce and shave o or colour your BEARD for the World’s Greatest Shave?

FRIDAY 11th MARCH

4pm to 7:30pm – Shave, colour and banish the beards for the Leukaemia Foundation’s World’s Greatest Shave.

WEDNESDAY 16 T H MA R C H ST PRAC TICE DAY!

THURSDAY 17 T H MA R C H ST PATRICK’S DAY – 12 noon

Irish dancing, hairspraying, face painting by the Gecko Gang and GREAT LIVE MUSIC from Fir Croi, Cassidy Ceili, Oscar, Chicago Charles and many more Irish Folk musicians.