Off to the showers before mud sticks
ROBERT MACKLIN
Health starts to hurt election prospects
MICHAEL MOORE
Masons and the ‘secret’ Canberra plan
NICHOLE OVERALL
Shining through life’s growing junk
JOHN GRIFFITHS
Lifting the low bar of democracy
NICK JENSEN
How Carmen O’Keefe’s precast concrete plan took her to national prominence
IT may have started with Harry Potter, but the ANU’s quidditch team, the ANU Owls, say they’re playing the sport for the complex, multi-ball, broomstick-wielding game it is.
And now, Canberra has won the bid to host the Australian national quidditch tournament, also known as QUAFL 2016, at the Australian Institute of Sport on December 9-10.
“It stands for Quidditch United Australian Federation League, but it’s basically so it can be called QUAFL, which is a ball used in the game,” says tournament organiser Merryn Christian.
Merryn says it’s a huge honour for Canberra to be hosting the sixth annual event, which has previously only been held in Sydney and once in Melbourne.
“Most states and territories will compete, with 20-25 teams – around 400 people – coming for the two-day event,” she says.
“We’re very excited. It’s the culmination of the state league matches, and it’s great to have the backing of the AIS, as QUAFL has never been held at a proper sporting venue before.”
Merryn says the weekend aims to bring the quidditch experience to Canberra, and will include wheelchair quidditch and kidditch for kids.
“The thing I love about quidditch is that you have to be a quick thinker – you need a good brain more than athletic skill,” she says.
“Anyone can play, and I really like that.
“I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and when I joined the Harry Potter society at ANU I thought quidditch looked exciting and complicated, in a good way.”
Merryn says the game is still evolving all the time.
“There are new rules and tweaks happening
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all the time, such as pulling the broomstick up so you don’t impale your opponent,” she says.
“I like that the rules are still changing to incorporate new elements. That hasn’t happened in sport in a while and it’s exciting to be playing the game as it takes shape.”
Adapted from JK Rowling’s books, Merryn
says quidditch has three games running concurrently, whereby chasers try to get balls (quaffles) through the three hoops, while being derailed by beaters who throw larger balls (bludgers) at them, Dodgeball-style. Then there’s the seeker, a person in gold shorts-slash-referee with a ball in a yellow sock (the golden snitch), who comes on after a designated time and whose capture means the end of the game.
“There have been some logical amendments from the book, for example the snitch is only worth 30 points instead of 150, so the game isn’t necessarily won by whoever catches it,” Merryn says.
Logan Davis, captain of the ANU Owls, says the broomstick has been incorporated into the game, but as a straight stick of regulated material and size.
“The stick is our handicap, like in soccer where you can’t touch the ball with your hands, or in netball where you can’t run with the ball,” he says.
“Quidditch is basically a one-armed game.”
Three of the ANU Owls – coach James Mortensen, beater Shu Ying Lee and president Oscar Cozens – play for Australia’s national squad, the Dropbears. Merryn says the team will be competing in the Quidditch World Cup in Frankfurt in July, where it will compete against 25 other countries.
“Previously, there have only been as many as seven countries involved, so this is a big year and shows how much quidditch is growing,” says Merryn.
“Some people think the game is strange, but we think it’s the best thing ever.
“And a small part of it for me is the origins of the sport and that it’s part of Harry Potter.”
THE election race turned nasty as Peter Dutton came zooming through the pack with oil and muck squirting from his old white Australian jalopy spreading its smelly load across the track.
PM Malcolm Turnbull fought his controls briefly before allowing his Mercedes to be dragged along by the Dutton slipstream.
Bill Shorten in his souped-up Mini had been happily following Dutton before the eruption. But when he swerved to an inside lane he clipped one of his own team, David Feeney who was changing down to one of his previously undeclared negative gears. And a Lib named Sufi dropped out of the race after blowing his horn and shouting: “Same sex marriage will lead to polygamy!” By week’s end the spectators were not happy. “Where’s the showers?” they cried. “Who wants to be tarred with the same brush as this mob.” And so it goes…
THE arts community realised belatedly that the reviled 2014 Hockey-Abbott Budget had not only defunded 65 national arts companies but had cut grants to artists and writers by a massive 70 per cent. And to their shock and dismay, their much preferred PM had declined to restore them. Word has it they are wondering when, if ever, the “real” Malcolm will stand up and be counted.
HOWEVER, there were some self-satisfied smiles when the bovver boys of the Border Force were revealed as tainted by corrupt insiders among their NSW Customs Examination Facility. State police have linked them to illegal drug and tobacco imports… yet another casualty in the combat zone of the war on drugs.
THE five-bearded-men-in-a-boat saga also provoked a chuckle from Border Force observers. The Islamist clowns had towed their tinny from Melbourne to Cooktown from whence to cross the Arafura Sea to Indonesia and somehow to Syria to be cannon fodder for ISIS. The good old Border Force saved them! And now they want the Aussie taxpayer to keep them tucked up in jail for the rest of their sad, benighted lives. Nice work, chaps.
THE AFP, not to be outdone, did their own “Monty Python” impersonation with a raid on the office of
What a wonderful monument Romaldo Giurgola left behind; Parliament House… If only its inhabitants could live up to the standard it set.
Labor’s Stephen Conroy and the home of a staffer. And in an election campaign! As though anyone gives a toss who leaked stuff about the NBN. Both sides seem to have made a hash of it.
HAPPILY, we could switch over to “Masterchef”, which is getting very emotional this year. When Indian-born Nidhi paid her respect by touching the judges’ feet before departing there was hardly a dry eye in the house.
THEN there was the Eurovision Song Contest, which has never rated highly among our viewing favourites. But who could resist the wonderful celebration of Australia’s multicultural success when the gorgeous KoreanAustralian Queenslander, Dami Im, hit that magnificent high note that won her the runner-up spot in only our second appearance. Will they be game to invite us back next year? Not likely.
WHAT a wonderful monument Romaldo Giurgola left behind when he died last week and was eulogised in the “New York Times”. The “new” Parliament House is one of the country’s finest architectural achievements. Now, if only its inhabitants could live up to the standard it set...
robert@robertmacklin.com
So popular was Freemasonry in Australia, particularly with veterans returning from World War II when it was estimated one in six men were part of the fraternity, that between 1924 and 1967 up to four Lodges or Chapters existed in Queanbeyan alone.
POWER struggles, clandestine activities and conspiracy theories… just another day in the nation’s capital?
Not exactly, but in this tale there’s no shortage of intrigue, political and otherwise, as well as things known and unknown: just one of the latter, that both Queanbeyan and Canberra have a long-standing association with the most obscure and arcane of organisations, Freemasonry.
It may even surprise many to learn that the man dubbed the “father of Canberra” for helping ensure the new Federal Territory was sited alongside his hometown of Queanbeyan, John Gale, was a founding member of the brotherhood in this region.
The ancient craft, said to be linked to the Knights Templar –themselves decimated on Friday the 13th, 1307 when King Philip IV of France condemned them rather than repay a debt owed – and identified with fancy outfits, prestigious titles and an exclusively male membership, arrived on these shores with the First Fleet. In 1845, Sydney Lodge No.1 was instigated.
Thirty-two years later, Lodge St Andrew Queanbeyan No. 56 was brought into being with Gale one of the leading lights (and later leader), while the newly installed principal of the equally new Queanbeyan Public School, Richard Van Heythuysen, was its first Right Worshipful Master.
In the early days, the local Masons were a peripatetic lot with meetings moving from the Protestant Hall to
the Loyal Happy Home Lodge of the Independent Order of Oddfellows of the Manchester Unity (I kid you not).
By 1924, enough resources were at hand for the Freemasons to construct their own imposing Temple, directly opposite the current Council Chambers – and, yes, replete with every conceivable emblem and symbol associated with the organisation from the tools of its original stonemason membership such as the square and compass, to allusions to mortality, which often includes skeletons (literally in the closet).
So popular was Freemasonry in Australia, particularly with veterans returning from World War II when it was estimated one in six men were part of the fraternity, that between 1924 and 1967 up to four Lodges or Chapters existed in Queanbeyan alone.
Canberra followed suit only a decade after it was declared the Seat of the Commonwealth: in 1923, Lodge Canberra No. 465 was established and within four years the city would boast a second.
Always endeavouring not to be outdone by its neighbour, today the capital claims seven operating Lodges, the first of the modern batch, Lodge Ethos, appearing
in 1964. It’s no coincidence it sports the same moniker as the statue which stands in Civic Square: Ethos translates to “spirit of the community”, to which Freemasons claim their ultimate duty is oriented, while the sculpture holds aloft another most significant Masonic symbol, the sun, signifying enlightenment.
Similar to the theory that Washington DC is Masonic in design, in 1994 author Peter Proudfoot suggested there was a “secret plan of Canberra” bearing all the hallmarks of the architecture and influence of Freemasonry. Perhaps providing some support to these assertions, Masonry symbology can easily be found in prominent places, amongst them, the War Memorial.
And notable Canberrans to have worn the apron? Many a Prime Minister, from an originator of the Australian Labor Party, Sir Joseph Cook (1860-1947), to the Conservative Sir Robert Menzies (1894-1978), as well as Governor-General Lord Gowrie (1872-1955) for whom another ACT Lodge was named.
Et tu, Queanbeyan? Well, it would go on to boast one of the most wellknown Freemasons in the country;
Brother William Thompson, a member of the NSW Legislative Assembly, appointed Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of NSW in 1914 and lauded for significantly increasing membership, Temple numbers and the creation of the Masonic school at Baulkham Hills, which still bears his name.
For all the alleged secrecy though, it’s surprising how regularly the local papers reported most of the goings-on and even the membership lists – perhaps everything except who brought the goat (another fallacy it seems: it’s actually an acronym for “God of all things” – despite the fact the organisation unequivocally states they’re non-religious).
And female I may be, but I’m on the level with you when I tell you I know these things first-hand. So mote it be.
Nichole Overall is a Queanbeyanbased historian, author and journalist.
RE the letter about an unwanted tree in Campbell (CN, May 12). We have had a tree, of similar size, next to our house in Chisholm for six years and have many times tried to have it removed, as have all previous tenants in the last 32 years.
The government’s policy has been explained as: we don’t remove trees, we do (they removed one, refused the other) or we do if you pensioners pay the very substantial costs.
This monster hangs over our house, not just yard. We continually replace gutters. The leaves leave such a mess.
If the tree falls down, most of our house will be destroyed. We’re happy to plant smaller, non-intrusive substitutes.
No politician or senior public servant expressing love for these trees, demanding their survival, has ever been seen at our house.
John Wright, Chisholm
THANKS for the light rail chain-around-the-neck legacy, Simon Corbell; $710 million would have built the best all-motorsport resource in the southern hemisphere and assisted businesses, the motor registration branch and the accommodation industry.
It’s all in the “National Automotive and Driver Education Centre Proposal”, presented in 2008, which your bumbling, fumbling lot took no notice of at the time but have since pinched the new registration facility proposal from.
Michael Attwell, Dunlop ACT
THE annual general meeting of CanTheTram has unanimously endorsed the new committee and its actions to stop construction of light rail before the ACT election.
The president of CanTheTram, Dr John Smith, welcomed the support of the people who attended and announced that its website had attracted 1260 supporters, which makes it a large political force in the ACT.
Now that an expensive contract has been signed by the Barr government that creates few jobs, raises rates and creates a legacy of debt; the CanTheTram committee will meet to discuss its further campaign actions leading up to the ACT elections in October.
Julian Fitzgerald, communications officer, CanTheTram
your help to guide the future of transport in Canberra.
AT both the Federal and ACT elections, health is shaping up to be a key election issue.
Federally, the Coalition government has made a rod for its own back by attacking family doctors in a manner that has turned long-term allies into antagonistic forces.
Locally, the ACT Labor government will attempt to use its health achievements to divert attention from the Liberals’ preferred issues of light rail, increases in rates and Labor’s close relationship with the unions.
The conservative government under Tony Abbott and then-health minister, Peter Dutton, attempted to introduce a compulsory co-payment to Medicare. A vigorous attack by almost every non-government organisation involved in health made them back down from a poorly thought-out policy.
An alliance of the Australian Medical Association with the wide range of health groups effectively put the government on the back foot in primary health care policy.
Instead of seeing the writing on the wall, the government took a back-door approach to achieving its aim. By freezing the level of payment to the primary healthcare providers, the conservatives have effectively forced general practitioners to do their dirty work. As costs go up with a static payment, GPs will not be able to afford to bulk bill patients. One by one, they will be forced to introduce their own co-payments.
The government was also recently forced to back down over changes to pathology payments that would have seriously disadvantaged cancer patients. Whether by stealth or direct action, this ideological push will be strongly resisted by the same forces that embarrassed the government on its initial introduction.
A universal health care system is one that provides appropriate access to the community without distinguishing on the grounds of ability to pay. The conservatives, who have largely railed against Medicare since its introduction by Gough Whitlam, have yet to really grasp how widely Medicare is understood and adopted by Australians across the socio-economic spectrum.
Hospital funding is yet another weeping sore for the conservatives.
The government has attempted to argue that as the long-term commitment for increased spending on hospital funding was not in the four-year Budget, that it was not real – and therefore the changes are
The Coalition government has made a rod for its own back by attacking family doctors in a manner that has turned long-term allies into antagonistic forces.
not cuts. They have been hoisted on their own petard. The decade-long increases in funding for the military clearly illustrate that commitments can be made beyond the Budget period. They cannot have it both ways.
My own organisation, the Public Health Association of Australia, has identified prevention as a key element for governments wishing to demonstrate a long-term vision.
With around just two per cent of health expenditure going into prevention, it is fair to say that governments are only paying lip service to the key areas of health protection, prevention and promotion. Action has been taken on tobacco. Little has been achieved on the harms associated with alcohol or junk food.
Climate change is a serious health issue which should provide an advantage for Labor and the Greens. Despite a hope for a changed approach in this area, the Turnbull government has been as disappointing on this issue as the Abbott government that preceded it. Oral health may prove another election issue. The conservatives have resisted the previous Labor call for a system of “denticare”.
The final nail in the coffin of the Liberal government on health is its string of broken promises. When Tony Abbott went to the last election promising “no cuts to health and education” and then moved rapidly to break those promises, he not only undermined trust in his own party and his coalition partners but also generally undermined trust in the political process.
Michael Moore was an independ ent member of the ACT Legislative Assembly (1989 to 2001) and was minister for health. He is the of the Public Health Associa tion of Australia.
“We want to talk to anyone in the
MORE than 400 local children removed from their families due to abuse and neglect need a home, says Kate Buckmaster.
The regional manager, out-of-home care, for ACT Together – a group led by Barnardos Australia – says all of these children have experienced significant trauma in their young lives.
“So we are looking for foster carers who can provide short-term care as well as long-term care forever for that childhood,” she says.
Ms Buckmaster says being a foster carer is “incredibly challenging”; but Barnardos provides a 10-week training program that looks at what children in care have been through and how they can engage in helping to heal them.
“We want people to know that we need carers – all types of carers – and we want to talk to anyone in the community that feels they may have time to help care for Canberra’s kids,” she says.
“These children require safe and stable homes and carers who are really committed to providing them the safe homes that they require and also helping them heal from the trauma they’ve experienced.
“Restoration for family is always
the first thing that we try if it’s possible. Children should grow up within their family of origin, so everything is put into making sure that happens. But sometimes that’s just not possible.
“And then there’s other sorts of care. We require crisis carers who are available to take a child at any time of the day or night.
“When those children have been removed from their families and are in intense, unstable situations these are the families that are available to provide that welcoming face.”
Another significant need within the ACT community is for teenagers.
“It’s often hard for us to find foster carers who are confident enough to put their hand up and say, yeah, we can care for teenagers,” says Ms Buckmaster.
“If you think you have the skills, please talk to us because we provide support, assistance, training, peer support, lots of things that can help you really take on that role.”
Ms Buckmaster says Barnardos is looking for foster carers from all walks of life.
“The carers we recruit are from everyday, every type of person in the community – single, couples, people with children, people without, people
who’ve had their families and now have the experience of parenting but no longer have the children at home with them,” she says.
“There’s no real prerequisite for carers except that you can provide safety and stability and you’re willing to engage in the training to parent these children in a therapeutic way.
“We also need carers who are willing to care for children on a long-term basis. So for those children that are not able to return home, then we need those long-term, permanent carers who will care for these children as their own and move to a permanent situation.”
She said applicants are individually assessed for their suitability as part of the application process.
“We go into people’s homes and we talk with them, we carry out an assessment process and some screening. We do police checks, working with vulnerable people checks and we do home safety checks. We really just make sure you’re the sort of person that is willing to work in a team. That you can provide care to children and that you’re willing to learn,” she said.
Barnardos Canberra runs fortnightly foster care information sessions. More information at 6228 9500.
I am not advocating for teachers to have to come in earlier, but maybe some more thought needs to be given to staggering school start times.
YOU wouldn’t believe what parents can do in the space of half an hour. In our case, I am talking about getting one child dropped off at primary school each morning on the southside, but not before 8.30am, negotiating peak-hour traffic through the centre of the city to get another dropped off at high school on the northside by 8.50am on the dot, and still making it to work (well, sometimes) back south of the lake by 9am.
It can be a white-knuckle ride! The other day we were already running late when we had to stop to wait for a family of ducks to cross the road. I love ducks but, damn, they were slow. The clock was ticking and my son was insisting we play the song “Stressed Out” as his face grew ever more worried about being late for school.
There’s a huge bureaucratic rigmarole if any student is late. Fortunately, the ducks shook their tail feathers and we just managed to get to the school on time (all the while staying under the speed limit, I hasten to add).
Of course, we could have picked schools closer together, but that wasn’t the way it played out for numerous perfectly valid reasons at the time. Both schools are a perfect fit for our children, but there is a big logistical challenge every morning to get the kids to school on time, but not getting there too early.
For anyone unfamiliar with the system at most primary schools, children should not be dropped off before 8.30am when teachers are available to supervise them.
Our daughter’s primary school starts at 9am. However, many high schools start before 9am and are strict about pupils needing to arrive on time. This does not leave much of a window of opportunity to execute the double drop off.
My daughter often pipes up about wanting to walk to school. It’s healthier. It’s only a 10-minute walk. She could walk with
her friends. She could let herself out of the house at 8.30am and walk down to school with heaps of time to spare. I do think it would be great. As far as our mornings go, it’s a very tempting idea and I may agree sooner or later.
However, the other day a friend at work got an official phone call telling her that, while walking to school, her daughter and another girl had been closely followed by a man driving a van and had to run to get away from what could have been the sort of situation that all parents fear. That put an end to any talk of walking to school for quite a while longer.
Some schools through various organisations such as the YMCA and Communities@ Work do offer great before-school care programs, but if you are struggling to make ends meet the fees can be prohibitive, places can be limited and quite a few schools don’t have this option anyway. For us and many families like us, the difference in time between the arrival of teachers to supervise the kids in the playground and the time available for a second drop off and work is very limited.
Maybe it’s unavoidable, but I do remember a prominent former politician once saying that the dreaded double drop off was something that needed to be fixed. That didn’t happen.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating for teachers to have to come in earlier, but maybe some more thought needs to be given to staggering school start times or some other measures might better accommodate what are the realities of modern family life.
great place for the whole family to shop… every day!
AT times our technological future may seem a little bleak as our lives fill up with semi-functional junk funnelling all the money in the world to a small coterie of contemptible nerds in Silicon Valley (not that all nerds are contemptible, I hasten to add).
But while we wait for our ever more intelligent mechanical masters to decide what to do with their human problem, there are a few upsides to the last days of late-stage capitalism.
ParkMobile
The ACT Government has, against all experience and expectation, produced a useful smartphone app.
Search “ParkMobile” in your phone’s app store (Apple and Android only, begone luddite freaks of other platforms) and take a minute to set it up (sadly, it does need your credit card details).
It’s clunky and broken in places. But without too much difficulty you can pay for parking without needing to cart around bags of coins. Even better it will text you as the parking is about to expire and let you renew the parking without needing to hoof back out to the car.
It does, of course, mean the end of community minded motorists handing over unexpired vouchers to other drivers. The future is social only to the extent it harvests your personal data for commercial gain.
Google Maps
Years ago, when all the world was young, a friend called me at an ungodly hour announcing they were lost and wanting my help for them to get home.
“Haven’t you just bought a new iPhone?” I asked, as this was at the time a wondrous thing to have.
Anyone
asking for directions without prefacing ‘my phone has run out of charge’ is
“Yes,” they slurred piteously.
probably
trying
to
rob you and you should run away from them.
“Then you’re not lost,” I replied hanging up.
Anyone asking for directions without prefacing “my phone has run out of charge” is probably trying to rob you and you should run away from them.
From sorting out public transport routes for you, to just getting you to new places in strange locales, if you don’t know how to use Google Maps then get to work on it before someone reports you as a suspected mugger.
TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor reviewers are an ignorant and spiteful lot. But there are a very great many of them enthusiastically talking down cafes for failing to put enough froth on the top of cappuccinos and the laws of large numbers work in their favour in the end.
If you want to know where to go near you for a meal, it’s a fantastic resource and, of course, once you know how to use a mapping app you’ll be able to find the little gems you unearth.
Thor’s Hammer firewood briquettes
The Yarralumla timber recyclers have stopped selling
their waste sawdust for landscaping and starting compressing it into firewood briquettes.
A one-tonne pallet for $350 arrives on a truck with its own forklift truck and plonks the pallet where you want it.
Last winter I paid $300 a tonne for firewood that normally lasted around six weeks.
The briquettes are cleaner, easier, less infested with insects, cleaner burning, hotter burning, longer burning and infinitely less prone to spitting. In three weeks I’ve used less than a quarter of the tonne.
Lighting a fire in a corner of the room for heat is not exactly a high technology activity, but it beats being locked into a gas contract and compared to messing around with uneven chunks of yellow box, from god knows where, I highly recommend it.
John Griffiths is the online editor of citynews.com.au
NOT long ago I took a visiting Canadian academic into Parliament House. We went into the Senate Question Time to get a glimpse of the Australian democratic system in action.
After 15 minutes of significant volume but minimal content, he informed me he had seen enough. As we left he said: “Well, one thing is for sure, salvation is not going to come from in there!”.
This year provides Canberrans with tremendous opportunities to participate in the governing of our society. With our Federal double dissolution election, the expansion of the ACT Assembly and various national plebiscites planned, our input is significant. However there are many who, like my visitor, are starting to shift away from a positive view about the political institutions and those who hold the power within them. However, I am optimistic. Not that government can bring salvation (Psalm 146), but rather that the decisions we make can lead to policies which in turn bring us closer to a flourishing city. There does need to be some “Rules of Engagement” set down though if we are to see this actualise. Here is my guide on helping to lift the bar in these upcoming votes:
1. Put aside slander
If a candidate uses personal insults rather than dealing with the content of an argument then they do not reflect an honourable leader. The other day I listened to a Federal parliamentarian use 10 different personal attacks within the space of a one-minute statement. All this demonstrates is immaturity and an inadequacy in one’s own position.
2. With humility comes wisdom
No matter how much time you have to give - you can change a child’s life.
ACT Together is looking for a range of foster carers in the Canberra region to provide a safe and stable home to children (between 8 and 11 years old) who can no longer live with their birth families. You can give these children a happier, safer childhood.
We offer all of our carers extensive training, 24hr support and a generous allowance. Call our office in Canberra to find out more.
Count yourself in and become a foster carer.
ENERGETIC retro band George Huitker & Junk Sculpture will be performing at MLA Steve Doszpot’s annual, non-political, charity trivia fundraiser, this year in support of breast cancer support group Bosom Buddies. It’s at the Hellenic Club, Woden, June 3. Tickets are $60 or $500 for a table of 10 and bookings via email to bosombuddies@shout.org.au
LOCAL and regional artists, craftspeople, cooks, community groups and charitable organisations are encouraged to apply for a stall site at the inaugural Queanbeyan Christmas in July Fair – the region’s only annual Christmas-themed market day – at the Queanbeyan Showground on Sunday, July 24. The fair will feature Christmas-inspired foods and treats, along with markets showcasing regionally-based makers and producers. Apply via qcc.nsw.gov.au/christmasmarket2016, email cultural.services@qcc.nsw.gov.au or call 6285 6170.
PLANET Ark is appealing for volunteers to be site co-ordinators for Schools Tree Day on Friday, July 29, or National Tree Day, Sunday, July 31. Participants don’t need to be planting professionals or even have a green thumb, as Planet Ark provides advice and ideas. Last year nearly 300,000 people took part in National Tree Day at more than 3500 sites across the country planting more than 1.2 million native trees, shrubs and edibles. More information at treeday.planetark.org or call 1300 885000.
The reluctant leader is usually the one best suited to lead. Power is so corrupting that a leader’s motivation often shifts to becoming more about pride and holding power than the fundamental virtue of serving the common good. As you watch your candidates, keep an eye out for respect, gentleness and self-control, as these are the kind of character traits that are reflected in genuine listeners.
3. Let us reason together
Emotion does have its part to play in the rhetoric of public debate, but often it is used to cover an inadequacy of reason. Tears for refugees may flow, but what we really need is intelligent and practical solutions to a damaging situation. Choose leaders who are able to bring experience, depth and creativity to policy, not simply passionate displays.
4. Blessed are the peacemakers
Currently in the US you can get an app which shows which shops in the mall are Republican and which are Democrat so you can avoid supporting a different party. In fact inter-political marriage in the US is now frowned upon more than inter-racial marriage was! Seek people who attempt to transcend the political lines, not ones who seek division to further their own ambition.
5. Do not let truth leave you
Despite claims to the contrary, the reality is that truth is not simply subjective. The promises people make, the evidence of their claims, and the logic of their policies all matter a great deal. We must ensure as best we can that those who hold truth lightly, convinced that the ends justify the means, should not hold the trust of our power. If we want to see an ethical society, this starts from the top.
So, as you consider what role you want to play as a citizen this year, remember that somebody’s morality is always legislated.
Nick Jensen is the director of the Lachlan Macquarie Institute, which helps develop leaders in public policy (lmi.org.au)
Kate Meikle reports
A NEWCOMER to the construction industry, Carmen O’Keefe, has been awarded national finalist and runner up in this year’s Australian Women in Business Awards this month.
The Canberra mother of three was acknowledged for her success in starting up and leading her business, Riga Precast, which provides precast concrete products to the construction industry.
Carmen admits that the construction industry was new to her, having spent the past 10 years working at Army Headquarters.
“Precast concrete panels form the structure of most commercial buildings in Canberra. There’s a lot more to it than dirt and water!” she says.
A year ago her friend and business partner, Gavin Reid, identified a gap in the precast products market.
“He saw that a large percentage of precast concrete was trucked in from Sydney, Newcastle or Adelaide,” she says.
With the growth of construction projects around Canberra, Gavin and Carmen put together their business plan to create Riga Precast, now operating in a covered 1800sqm facility in Queanbeyan and employing 11 staff.
“Everywhere we looked there was development and tower cranes all around town, so it seemed the right time to enter the market,” she says.
“The beauty of it is that it’s low risk for developers and being based locally we remove their costs of
freight and transport. That is how we remain competitive.”
Having won four commercial projects, including the Aranda Fire and Ambulance Station, Carmen says she is excited that the business has achieved its three-year goals in only nine months of operation.
Her realistic, achievable and impressive business goals were one of the reasons that she was a standout applicant for the Women in Business Awards and was recognised as an emerging entrepreneur by a judging panel, which included CPA Australia CEO, Alex Malley; chair of Australian Super and board member of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Heather Ridout and Minister for Small Business, Kelly O’Dwyer.
Carmen says she spent three days in Sydney being mentored by the best in business, and hopes to take the knowledge she gained to take her business to the next level.
“My focus is on governance and safety. I hope we can be one of the leaders in the industry and have a modern facility that is well run – not just a concrete yard,” she says.
“We are still on our journey of establishing and making our way and are thankful to the local construction industry for giving us these opportunities.”
Carmen says that since owning her own business she has become driven to find new opportunities to grow and perform better.
“Every night I sit at my computer and think, ‘What can I do to make this better? A new trainee? Year 10 school group visits?’ I am inspired to do well, with Riga making a difference,” she says.
“We are changing perceptions within the precast industry.”
WITH a reputation for providing caring and gentle dentistry, Dr Vicky Pusnjak at Canberra City Dentistry is celebrating five years of running the practice on University Avenue.
“These five years have gone by so quickly,” she says. “It’s been busy, but I’ve always made sure I keep my focus on giving my clients the best service; providing gentle, professional, caring dentistry.
“I just keep coming back to that.”
Vicky says that providing good quality work is a hugely important consideration for her and that she has received incredible feedback through repeat business and referrals.
“I love it when people tell their friends, families or colleagues about us when they are looking for a dentist,” she says.
“It’s also great to see our regulars continue to come back from the very beginning.”
Canberra City Dentistry offers quality dental services including general dentistry, teeth whitening, cleaning, routine fillings, crowns and bridges, Invisalign, dentures and emergency appointments.
“The practice is growing and I’m booked up well in advance,” says Vicky.
“I still love what I’m doing. In the not-too-distant future I would love to expand to another part of Canberra.”
Vicky, who runs the practice with her husband Shane Lloyd, says they are planning to celebrate Canberra City Dentistry’s five-year anniversary with a staff dinner.
“It will be great to thank everyone and take the whole
team to a restaurant near here, which will also support the local places that have supported us,” she says.
Dr Michael Newman has recently joined the practice, and Shane says they have also taken on an apprentice,
Shamea Fawcett.
Shane says that Shamea started out doing a week’s
work experience with the team and fitted in so well that they offered her a job as a part-time dental assistant when one became available.
He says Shamea is now studying for her Cert 3 in Dental Assisting.
Dr Newman is a born and bred Canberran, and says
he had a number of careers before dentistry, including a stint at ADFA and as a teacher at Radford College and Burgmann College. He then studied dentistry at the University of Sydney.
“My passion now is family dentistry, from kids through to parents, and I’m looking forward to expanding my experiences here at Canberra City Dentistry – there is a wealth of knowledge here and a great deal of experience to draw on,” he says.
Dr Newman says that in the future he is interested in going into implant dentistry, but for now he is thrilled to be living and working in Canberra.
“Canberra is the perfect place to raise our young family,” he says.
“Working here has been a wonderful experience. It’s a very professional environment with a relaxed pace, which promotes good communication between patient and dentist.
“It means that complex cases can be discussed in detail and solved properly and comprehensively.”
Shane says that Canberra City Dentistry also offers quick and painless ZOOM teeth whitening, which is popular with brides and grooms before their big day. Starting with a free 15-minute consultation, eligible patients can then opt for the treatment from a Philips ZOOM Whitespeed Light-Activated Whitening System, which uses advanced LED light technology that can whiten teeth up to eight shades in 45 minutes.
Canberra City Dentistry is currently offering 50 per cent off this procedure.
Canberra City Dentistry, Level 4, 28 University Avenue, Canberra City. Call 6162 0880 to make an appointment.
Stay in touch with the names making news on Sundays from 10am as 2CC and “CityNews” present Canberra’s only local weekend news and current affairs program.
It’s a revolving panel show that brings to the microphone great “CityNews” commentators and 2CC personalities.
Be part of the conversation and call 6255 1206 between 10am and noon.
8–11 June 2016
Along with Italians all over the world, Canberra’s Italian community will celebrate the 70th Festa della Repubblica (Festival of the Republic) on June 2.
THIS important Italian national holiday marks the day when, in 1946, the Kingdom of Italy voted to replace its king with a president, to be chosen democratically by the citizens of a new Italian republic with a new parliament. But the actual result of the referendum was far from a landslide, with only about 54 per cent of the voters choosing to remove their monarch as head of state through this peaceful revolution at the ballot box.
On the one hand, it was a big step to end the line of kings that had ruled Italy since its unification about a century earlier, and it was not strictly necessary to get rid of the king in order to have a new constitutional democracy. But on the other hand, many Italians were disappointed in the royal family for letting the country become a Fascist dictatorship, and for its military defeat in World War II.
Democracy was not new to Italy in 1946; the Italian Parliament having played a strong role as a check on the power of the king and his ministers since the mid-1800s.
But, with the king’s support, the Fascist Party, led by Benito Mussolini, was able to seize power in the early ‘20s, and later pass a law in 1926 that freed Mussolini from any responsibility to Parliament whatsoever.
In this way, the Festa della Repubblica can be seen to celebrate the return of democracy to Italy in a stronger, more permanent form.
The first period of Italian democracy was based on a constitution agreed to by the King of Piedmont-Sardinia, Charles Albert, in 1848, when Italy was still in the process of uniting as a single nation. The Statuto Albertino, as it is known, was so important to Italy’s formation that the day it was signed became the first Italian National Day.
In Rome, a grand military parade is held every year with the president of the republic – currently Sergio Mattarella – demonstrating his key role as supreme commander of the armed forces, a role once played by the king.
Some Italians joke that the only time Italy was ever truly unified was when the national soccer team won the World Cup, but Festa della Repubblica is a day when all Italians can celebrate the rich, shared culture and bright future of their modern republic.
IN Canberra, a free community event will be presented by the Com.It.Es Canberra/ ACT (Committee of Italians abroad) at the Italian Cultural Centre on Sunday, May 29.
The committee encourages Canberrans to experience and enjoy all aspects of Italian culture at the Festa della Repubblica festivities, which will be officially opened by the Italian ambassador, Pier Francesco Zazo.
“The festa will be a great family day out where multicultural Canberra will meet and enjoy Italy,” says Com.It.Es Canberra/ACT president, Paola Cerrato.
UMBERTO II, born Umberto Nicola Tommaso Giovanni Maria di Savoia, was the last King of Italy, reigning for slightly over a month, from May 9 to June 12, 1946.
Umberto was the only son of the five children of King Victor Emmanuel III and Queen Elena. As the referendum was in preparation on the abolition of the monarchy in 1946, Victor Emmanuel abdicated in favour of Umberto in an unsuccessful attempt to gain support for the monarchy. Umberto lived out the rest of his life in exile in Portugal and was not permitted to return to Italy in 1983 when he was dying.
The Festa della Repubblica will offer a variety of food, gelato, sweets, and coffee stalls. Live entertainment includes accordion virtuoso Lucio Ventresca, Fleur Di Lis will provide a taste of Italian opera throughout the ages and the day’s musical performances will conclude with the spectacular Dante Musica Viva Choir. There will also be a chance to learn how to expertly prepare an Italian dish with international acclaimed chef Francesco Balestrieri.
The Festa della Repubblica, Italian Cultural Centre, 80 Franklin Street, Forrest, 10.30am-4pm, Sunday, May 29. Entry is free.
– Personal Assistant to a Senior Federal Cabinet Minister
Successful businesses rely on the quality and efficiency of their IT systems, so it pays to get expert advice and support from specialists. Huge gains can be made simply through improving efficiency, and
the right software package can revitalise a business in lots of other ways, too.
In this special section, “CityNews” finds out what some leading firms can do for Canberra businesses.
BluePackets managing director Andrew Donehue… “We strive to provide satisfaction, stability, security and usability so our customers can feel confident in their IT systems.”
BLUEPACKETS is a local IT and business service provider with a focus on the long term rather than a quick fix, says managing director Andrew Donehue.
BluePackets’ services include complete IT servicing, documentation and reporting, network and system audits, backup and data protection solutions, onsite and remote servicing, VPN solutions, managed maintenance, network monitoring, system integration, security services, VoIP telephony, high-speed data and internet connectivity, hosting solutions, hardware procurement, cloud and hybrid cloud, and disaster recovery.
“We are a stable and reliable team and pride ourselves on our long-term customer base,” says Andrew.
BluePackets’ clients are small to medium-sized
businesses, and Andrew says the company prides itself on providing a high-quality service that focuses on customers’ specific needs.
“We can tailor a package to meet any individual business needs, from complete IT support to supplementing and complementing existing in-house IT services, and make sure our customers get the most out of their IT resources,” he says.
“We strive to provide satisfaction, stability, security and usability so our customers can feel confident in their IT systems.
“We have a good understanding of all business requirements, not just IT servicing and communications.”
BluePackets, visit bluepackets.com.au or call 1300 664262.
• Server and Network Installation
• Virus Removal
• Data Recovery
• Onsite and remote Support
• Managed IT Services
• Security and Backup Solutions
FOR seven years, the team at Technowand has been providing Canberra’s small businesses with a specialised “one-stop-shop” service for all their IT and web needs, says owner Rahul Chawla.
“In the past, small businesses have had to work with three different companies to help them with their IT, web and VoIP phone services. We provide all these services under a fixed-fee structure, so there are no monthly surprises,” he says.
Technowand’s current clients range from plastic surgeons to GPs, hotels and not-for-profit organisations.
FOR 25 years, Random Computing has been a leading independent software vendor, specialising in diary resource management, parliamentary workflow systems and exchange-domino synchronisation.
Founding director Jed Johnson says they are based in Barton amongst their key clients which include Chief Minister Barr’s office, the GovernorsGeneral of Australia and NZ and Premier Baird in NSW.
The diary resource management software called “mobileX” is Microsoft Outlook and Exchange savvy and keeps standard calendars going, but provides advanced features designed around the workflow of a busy government office, says Jed.
“Our solution handles all aspects of correspondence and diary management, from meeting requests and prioritisation, to the creation of a speech and background information for the minister or official attending the meeting or event,” he says.
“It has a mobile capability so staff can access the system on the go.”
Random Computing also provides the correspondence workflow system “ExecCorro”, which enables the public to write to government via email or through the website and handles the workflow and response system for the department.
Recently named one of five companies identified by the Small Business Innovation Partner Program, Jed says it was an honour to be recognised as an innovator and looks forward to working more closely with ACT government departments in the future.
Random Computing, visit randomcomputing.com
Rahul says they take care of IT systems including anti-virus, spam and upgrades and provide preventative maintenance.
“Before the server goes down, we are alerted of the issue through our error logs. We are then able to fix the problem before the computer breaks,” says Rahul.
The team can also build websites and create custom-built software, depending on the client’s requirements.
POPES Electrical and Data Supplies was founded by John Pope in 1979 and was a niche electrical wholesale business.
Now owned by Canberra couple Daryl and Wendy Read since 2002, the business still maintains its track record as a leader in supplying industrial control equipment, but has also expanded into specialising in domestic and commercial electrical, lighting and data markets.
With three branches at Mitchell, Phillip and Fyshwick, Popes sells a comprehensive range of equipment for all data and communications projects.
Branch manager of the Fyshwick store Ray Whaling says they sell everything designers and installers need from patch panels and leads, cabinets, racks, data jacks, structured wiring systems to test equipment, fibre cable and equipment and hubs.
“We are also able to work with IT teams based at companies or government departments to supply them directly,” he says.
Ray says that the Fyshwick store has recently relocated to a modern and large premises on Barrier Street.
Visit popeselectrical.com.au or call Popes Fyshwick on 6280 6576.
CRAIG the Computer Geek has a passion for providing quality service and fixing computers at a reasonable price.
With 30 years of experience in IT, Craig Plaister provides services to suit the technology needs of his customers, private and small businesses, in the home or in the workplace across Canberra and Queanbeyan.
Craig the Computer Geek offers business solutions, home services and web services including home and office network set-up, virus removal, off-site backups, disaster recovery, custom PC builds, security systems and more.
“We can help small businesses, community organisations and embassies with their web presence by creating a website that is user
friendly and suits their needs,” says Craig. Craig recommends the end of financial year is a good time to consider upgrading PCs that are around five years old and he can help customers find the right computer to fit their requirements. He also has this advice to users of Windows 7 and 8: “The free Windows 10 upgrade that Microsoft has made available to Windows 7 and 8 users will finish at the end of July so I suggest people start looking into making the most of the free upgrade now to save themselves a couple of hundred dollars,” he says.
Craig the Computer Geek. Call 0411 147909 or visit craigthecomputergeek.com.au. Email enquiries@ craigthecomputergeek.com.au
FOR 10 years, Mike Petrou, of Axis Digital World, has been helping his customers’ computers run smoothly. Axis Digital World provides IT support for small businesses, including server and network installations and repairs.
“Our team will design and install a robust reliable network, and we’ll also monitor and maintain your business IT infrastructure,” he says.
“Our server-based and desktop monitoring systems will ensure that the security of your network will have ongoing protection from the many known potential threats.”
Mike says that Axis Digital World also fixes personal PCs and laptops.
“We can fix and replace LCD screens, motherboards and provide virus removal and data recovery services,” he says.
“Over the years, I have built a great base of clients. I focus on client relationships by making sure they are helped within 24 hours of being in touch, most of the time even earlier. I also avoid speaking jargon.”
Axis Digital World, visit axisdigitalworld.com or call 6262 3000.
SECURE Data Recovery (SDR) is a specialist in the field of data recovery, helping customers retrieve personal and business data from broken phones, tablets or computers.
“We have been in business providing IT services in Canberra and surrounds for close to 15 years,” says director Dean Sims.
Right: Mike Petrou…
“Over the years, I have built a great base of clients. I focus on client relationships by making sure they are helped within 24 hours of being in touch.”
As CBIT Digital Forensics Services’ data recovery arm and being based in Canberra allows the team to provide customers with better response times and savings on shipping fees.
“Our experience and knowledge in the field has allowed us to be the recommended option for many computer suppliers,” says Dean.
Even if others have tried to get back your missing data, Dean says his team loves a challenge and has the experience and technical skills to recover data even when others have failed.
“Try us now – you will have a lot more to gain than lose!” he says.
Visit cbit.com.au or call 1300 553324.
FIRST it’s the spy festival, now go-getting Goulburn has come up with another original reason to visit the town – Streamliners 2016, a long weekend of celebrating 65 years of streamlined diesel locomotives in Australia.
Organiser Bernie Baker is expecting national and international fans to the October 1-3 festival of diesel.
“Like many, I’ve developed a passion for these old diesels. I can’t stay away from them and I don’t think I’m alone,” Mr Baker said.
“It’s time to get the classics together while we still can.”
And so they will with more than 20 of the locomotives in different colour schemes on display at the Goulburn Rail Preservation Centre. Smooth, sleek streamliners were first built in Australia in the early ‘50s and quickly proved their superiority to steam and required less maintenance.
More information at streamliners2016.com
RED faces at the cop shop the other day. CC was sitting in a meditative state when, suddenly, out of the universe drops a curious email titled “Endof-Day Brief” from the police media group.
There, listed for all (the media) to see, was the day’s inbound media enquiries and outbound press releases. This daily report names inquisitive reporters, their media outlets and what they were bothering plod about.
Inevitably, a short while later came the hapless “recall” of the report. We love recalls because they serve only to draw attention to email that’s trying to be withdrawn. We also love the optimism of recalls; as if they can suddenly suck those unintended missives off the screen without a trace. They totally don’t.
AS they say in Yorkshire, there’s brass in muck and few would know this better than the ACT’s garbage truck drivers, who have been upsetting their Sydney-based contractor bosses Suez and the ACT public with work stoppages aimed at improving their lot.
In calling on the Transport Workers’ Union to help sort the impasse, local manager Jason Stewart revealed that the drivers were paid well above award and, on average, earned $95,000 a year, with the offer of a 2.2 per cent wage increase, well above the national CPI of 1.3 per cent. Toss in the bracket-creep tax benefit from the recent Federal Budget and you’d have to wonder how much better it could get for them.
RADIO presenter Chris Coleman’s rare piece of Canberra memorabilia has taken on special meaning with the passing of Parliament House architect Romaldo Giurgola
The 2CC drive announcer’s engineer dad John Coleman had worked on the building and scored a “private collection No. 36” bottle of the Parliament House Construction Authority Employees’ Port. The PHCA staff are named on the back of the bottle.
John gave it to Chris, who selflessly popped the top and shared a drop when editor Ian Meikle called by the studio for the weekly “CityNews” Thursday spot. The port got the thumbs up, but it’s the bottle itself that’s priceless.
By Helen Musa
BARB Jungr’s hard-edged and incisive interpretations of the songs of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen have become legendary in the music industry and yet she’s never met either of them.
I’m talking to Jungr by phone to New York where she is about to perform at Joe’s Pub (Russell Crowe’s favourite hang-out when he’s performing rock ‘n’ roll) for four nights.
While there, she’ll also be rehearsing for the upcoming Connecticut Cabaret Convention and laying down a new album of Beatles songs.
It’s all in a day’s work for the hard-working singer, who was born in the north-west English mill town, Rochdale, also home to Gracie Fields, but she’s not the least fazed by interpreting the greats.
No eyebrows have been raised at her interpretations of Piaf, Simone, Dylan or Cohen, she tells me.
“We don’t have the same sense of things being culturally ‘ours’ that we had 40 years ago, so it’s not a problem,” she says.
And, besides, people have been very generous to her, she says, especially Bob Dylan’s manager, who told her that “these are very hard songs and you have done justice to them”.
She likes to call his songs “strong and powerful”, but denies approaching them with an ice-pick, angry though they may seem.
Jungr spends much of her time in Corby, Northamptonshire, where she’s been artistic director of the Deep Roots Tall Trees Community Arts Project since 2011. She also writes stage plays for kids, such as “We’re Going On A Bear Hunt” for the Little Angel Theatre in London.
Jungr will be at The Street Theatre in June performing songs from her album “Hard Rain” as part of the annual Capital Jazz Project. Although we could just as easily talk about “Hard Rain” or about “Blowin’ in the Wind”, which are both on the album, it’s another Dylan number, “Masters of War”, that we turn to.
Jungr describes it as “a song from a mother in a graveyard, a mother singing, coming from a place of deep grief”.
And not just any mother.
“I’m talking about The Mother as a
kind of archetype, maybe like one of those Hindu goddess mothers with thousands of children, each of them being cut off – that’s the only way I could deliver it, this song doesn’t cloak itself in poetry,” she says.
By contrast, Leonard Cohen’s songs are deliberately elusive and none quite so enigmatic as “First We Take Manhattan (then we take Berlin)”.
I’ve been reading how Cohen once described it as “a terrorist song”. That’s news to Jungr.
“Really?” she says. “It speaks to me of the Holocaust.”
Either way, it’s not about anything very pleasant.
“I feel with the songs, I try not to analyse them intellectually,” she says.
“I have to feel the song is coming from somewhere new, I have to grab it.
“A song is in a constant state
of uncertainty, it has a capacity to give you a sense of things, but not give you an actual meaning… it gives you words and says, ‘what do you think?’ like a painting, like ‘Guernica,’ you go again and again and again – I like that.
“The best plays and poems and songs are those that are enigmatic, that get you asking questions.”
To her, great theatre, great art
and great music are all as one.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s the Beatles or Bach – these are things that transcend,” she says.
Barb Jungr presents “Hard Rain: The songs of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen”, The Street Theatre, June 8, part of the June 8-13 Capital Jazz Project. Bookings to thestreet.org.au or 6247 1233.
LI Cunxin’s celebrated book “Mao’s Last Dancer” tells a real-life story and so does his children’s book “The Peasant Prince”, now an optimistic children’s play being brought to Canberra by Monkey Baa Theatre Company. In it, a 10-year old peasant boy is plucked from his village in rural China and sent to a ballet academy in the big city, later becoming a giant of the international dance scene. At The Playhouse, June 3-4.
MORE than 200 works will be on show at the 32nd annual Radford Art Show, to be opened in the TB Millar Hall, 1 College Street, Bruce, by Belconnen Arts Centre’s Daniel Ballantyne on Friday, May 27 and continuing 10am-4pm, on May 28 and 29. Gold coin entry.
THE annual Canberra Region Feltmakers’ show “Rapt in Felt” opens at The Q, Queanbeyan, 5.30pm, on Tuesday, May 31. Almost 40 feltmakers will have their creations on display, including 10-year-old Tomas Keily’s fedora. There will be felt jackets, dresses, skirts, hats, wraps and scarves, bags and jewellery and homewares on sale. June 1-11, 10am-4pm weekdays and 10am-2pm Saturdays. Fashion parade 11am, Saturday, June 4.
VOCALIST Lisa McClelland and pianist John Black will preview their upcoming CD “But Beautiful” in Cooinda Hall, Kangara Waters Community Centre. The program includes the Jimmy Van Heusen song “But Beautiful” and popular classics such as “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man”. At 2 Joy Cummings Place, Belconnen, 2.15pm, Sunday, May 29. Bookings to trybooking.com/201431 or at the door.
ARTISTS Ned Bott, Christopher Dalzell, Hannah Gason, Hilary Hanrahan, Sanne Koelemij, Jacob Potter and Fiona Veikkanen will be featured in “Reverb”, the
By Helen Musa
THE Imperial Bells of China return with a new production of dance and folk songs. In 1978, the 2400-year-old bronze and stone chime bells of Duke Zeng’s Tomb, together with other ancient instruments, were unearthed in Hubei, China, and the company is inspired by these discoveries. At The Playhouse, Tuesday, May 31. Bookings to canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6265 2700.
THAT indefatigable Canberra performer Chrissie Shaw and our top piano man Alan Hicks will soon hit the boards of La Mama’s Courthouse Theatre, Melbourne, for five nights with their show “Bijou –A Cabaret of Secrets and Seduction”. Good news is that the show will later travel to Sydney’s Depot Theatre, Marrickville.
INDIAN has to be one of the most exotic foods in the world, so it’s no surprise that more and more restaurants specialising in this intriguing cuisine are popping up around Canberra.
That includes 7 by the Lake at Kingston Foreshore.
The restaurant has settled in now, after a few months of trading and, if my first visit was anything to go by, it’s on a roll.
The dining room is spacious, with a massive gold and ochre motif on one wall, meant to represent “the waves” of Lake Burley Griffin. It’s a formal decor with warm colours that glow at night. Intricate silver inlay features on dark-brown chairs and the ornate stone water fountain is a special touch.
The “7” in the restaurant’s name represents the seven regions represented in the dishes served – from Goa to Maharashtra. This involves different ingredients as well as food preparation styles, cooking techniques
The restaurant has settled in now, after a few months of trading and, if my first visit was anything to go by, it’s on a roll.
and presentation, all spearheaded in the kitchen by chef Ramesh Gould.
The Chicken Chettinad, from the region of the same name, was wonderful, featuring roasted dry coconut and a secret combination of spices such as star anise and fennel seeds ($23.90).
We worshipped the vindaloo, a specialty of Goa, which you can order with chicken, lamb or beef. Each dish involves cooking the meat in vinegar, garlic, red chilli and an onion-based gravy that has incredible depth of flavour. You’ve gotta luv a bit of heat to luv these vindaloos ($23.90 to $25.90).
The meats the restaurant uses are premium cuts, including the three mains featuring goat ($25.90), marinated cutlets slow cooked and tossed in special spices; a spicy goat curry and a more aromatic and mild curry.
If you’re a fan of daal, which we all are, you can opt for the dish combining black daal and red kidney beans or the yellow lentil variety. This was our choice
By Dougal Macdonald
“Highly Strung” (PG)
THE time scale of this feature documentary begins in Italy, 305 years ago, with the birth of GB Guadagnini.
It ends a mere few months ago in South Australia where German-born Ulrike Klein has spent a goodly slab of wealth from making and selling skincare products to build a 150seat hall for chamber music performances on her property Ngeringa near Mount Barker.
Geographically, “Highly Strung” takes writer/director/cinematographer Scott Hicks (whose 1996 bio-pic of pianist David Helfgott “Shine” garnered a big scrunch of awards) from Melbourne to New York to Cremona in Italy.
The names of two great 18th-century Italian luthiers have become bywords for bowed instruments that now, if they come on the market, command astronomical prices.
In 1996, Hicks devoted time, money, creative energy and passion to making a magnificent film about a then-little-known concert pianist.
they also spend a lot of time thinking about money, which seems to be a misplacement of attitude toward their tools of trade. Sure, the money is important. But without the music, the money would not exist.
At Palace Electric
“The Meddler” (M)
WRITER/director Lorene Scafaria’s film about the relationship between a widow and her unmarried adult daughter has a predominantly female cast, without conforming to the conventional notion of a chick flick.
Information available about Ms Scafaria suggests that major themes in the screenplay for “The Meddler” reflect her own life. Yes, “life imitating art” is a well-worn cliché, but in this case, it’s sensitively developed, agreeably combining viewer frustrations with the comfort that comes from watching a fiction that doesn’t hold back on credibility.
and it was stunning. The lentils are pressure cooked and tempered with garlic, mustard, cumin seeds, curry leaves and whole red chilli ($18.90). The chopped coriander added colour and freshness to the dish. It’s a super option for vegetarians who are well looked after with 10 dishes on the menu ($18.90 to $23.90).
Other intriguing dishes include the Chicken Lollypop, a marinated chicken winglet, deep fried and served with Szechuan sauce that makes your lips tingle. Fish lovers can order the spiced lemony snapper or crunchy, crispy prawns (a popular Mumbai dish) or a fish fry (chef’s special). Breads include Puran Poli, a Maharashtrian delicacy of sweet bread stuffed with gram daal and cane sugar and infused with cardamom and nutmeg.
7 by the Lake. 143/41 Eastlake Parade, Kingston Foreshore. Call 6140 7040. BYO. Open seven days. Takeaway and home delivery available.
In 2015, his theme is the third luthier who made bowed instruments contemporaneously with Stradivari and Guarneri but, for some reason (perhaps the media frenzy whenever a newsworthy event involves that famous pair), has remained relatively little-known except among virtuoso performers.
Ulrike Klein owns four Guadagnini instruments, which she loaned to the members of the Australian String Quartet. The film spends a goodly portion of its time with Hicks filming and talking with the quartet members, lovely, smart, enthusiastic, brilliant young musicians, about themselves, how the quartet functions, and their tools of trade, collectively valued at around $6 million.
Why such a price? Hicks goes to Cremona where a young Italian luthier is building a cello. The film’s intimate observation of the process begins in the forest from which the tree was harvested. It’s a labour of love, working timber to meticulously-measured shapes and sizes. There is no room for error. Haste is not part of the exercise. You come to realise, watching the craftsman using tools sharper than verbal description allows, to liberate the instrument from the wood, that luthiers are sculptors.
In the US, Hicks searches out other Guadagnini instruments. This phase of the film is somewhat discomforting. The Americans love their music and their instruments. But
Susan Sarandon plays Marnie, left well-provided for in New York by her late Italo-American husband; Rose Byrne plays her daughter trying to carve herself a career in Los Angeles writing drama for TV series and JK Simmons plays retired cop Zipper.
Looking delightful, Ms Sarandon handles with consummate ease a role encompassing a wide emotional range, well-stocked with comic moments, making demands on our sympathy simultaneously with making us wish she’d quickly do something about her propensity for interfering with other people’s lives, yet reflecting a credibility that most people might recognise.
Rose Byrne, yet another Australian leading lady seduced by Hollywood, gives a workwoman-like portrayal of someone doing the best she can with leading her own life as she and not her mother wishes.
JK Simmons has had a long and varied career in cinema and TV series. Here he’s the romantic lead and, by golly, he does it well. The nicely-rounded set of behaviours that Scafaria has provided him with invite us to feel good about him.
And all those other women? They could be the housewife next door, your workmate’s sister or the lady behind the shop counter. Bear with them. They provide the story with a garnish that it might not work so well without.
At Palace Electric
IT’S that time again to dig up dahlias, lifting them when the foliage blackens after frost, but if this hasn’t occurred by the end of this month, lift them anyway.
Stems should be cut to about 15cm above ground level. Loosen the soil with a spade (a fork can damage the tuber) taking care not to cut or bruise them as they are lifted. Remove excess soil and trim any fine roots.
If they are named varieties, it’s a good idea to write on the dry tuber the name with a waterproof pen.
Store upside down for about three weeks in a frost-free area allowing the stems to dry. Place in trays and cover with dry, washed river sand, not builders’ sand, leaving the stems exposed in a frost-free shed. Check periodically for any showing signs of rot.
LAST year, while holidaying in Provence, in the south of France, we visited the 2000-year-old Pont du Gard aqueduct at Arles, built by the Romans in the 1st century AD to carry water to Nimes.
Fifty metres high and 360 metres long with its three levels of arches, it is the most famous Roman monument in France.
The best cool climate orchid. Large plants with many spikes which will flower for months and months. Dendrobium tubes available now.
Discover the advantage of being a Diggers Club member at the Heritage Nursery
Street, Weston Park, Yarralumla • 6281 7373 heritagenursery.com.au /TheHeritageNursery
My interest in visiting was also to see the site’s many olive trees, which have been verified by carbon dating as being at least 3000 years old.
Imagine Roman aqueduct construction workers picking olives from trees that were already 1000 years old! In Australia we think of old eucalypts as several hundred years old.
Today carbon dating is vitally important in accessing climate change. We can now see how the climate has changed over the last couple of hundred years and even how atomic testing in Australia and the Pacific shows in trees.
READING a review of a new book, “Wild Storms”, made me wonder if anything positive came from storms.
I was reminded of the great storm in Britain in 1987 when more than 15 million mature trees were felled in the half hour the storm passed through any given area.
And yet, amid this devastation, there was an incredible amount of valuable information on trees, many of them hundreds of years old.
Counting the growth rings of trees is still
Dahlias… it’s time to dig them up for winter.
a remarkably accurate way of assessing the age of the tree and, in many cases, the spacing of the tree rings tallied with the records of old monasteries, where monks kept amazingly accurate records of dry and wet years, years of prolonged drought and failed harvests.
• Plant winter-flowering Clematis nepaulensis or the lemon-scented Clematis cirrhosa “Wisley Cream”.
• Kangaroos eating your lawn? Readers Robyn and Derek have found sprinkling blood and bone on the grass to be a good deterrent.
• When planting trees dig a square hole, which will allow roots to spread into the surrounding soil more easily.
• Possibly the last mow of the lawn for the season, but not too short.
• Plant calendulas around the edge of the veggie patch.
• The series of free, indoor, Tuesday garden talks at the Garden Plant Nursery, 148 Parkwood Road, Macgregor, have recommenced. Upcoming subjects include home floristry, rose pruning, right tools for the right job and orchid growing. Full details of all classes from don@thegardenplant nursery.com.au or call 6254 6726.
ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)
Avoid being insensitive and passing on unsubstantiated information. Clear, careful communication will help improve relations with family and friends, as you get your message out loud and clear. Use your intuition to guide you; look beneath the surface; and discover what’s really going on. You relish your independence and freedom but don’t be a solitary Ram! Saturday night’s New Moon encourages you to find fresh ways to connect with others – both in person and online.
TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)
Financial matters look confusing, as you underestimate a major expense or waste money via an inappropriate purchase. You could also doubt your ability to follow through with a major project or promise. Just take things one step at a time. And learn to feel secure and strong within, no matter what is happening in the outside world. Be inspired by fellow Taurean, Cate Blanchett: “It’s always good to take on things that at first seem bigger than you. Then you just surmount them.”
GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)
You’re impatient to make changes but avoid charging in with guns blazing, and don’t underestimate the value of examining people and situations in a careful and considered way. The devil is definitely in the detail as you slow down, don your detective cap, and have a serious second-look. Saturday’s New Moon’s in Gemini, so it’s the best time of the year to refresh your appearance; update your wardrobe; review your personal beliefs; launch a website or reboot a rickety relationship.
CANCER (June 22 – July 22)
Avoid the temptation to rush communication and jump to crazy conclusions this week. It will be very easy to over-extend yourself and then find you’ve bitten off more than you can comfortably chew! So re-calibrate your expectations and pace yourself. On the weekend you’ll feel inclined to withdraw into your cosy Crab cave, as the New Moon highlights your contemplation zone. So enjoy solo activities like yoga, meditation, reading, journal writing or listening to music.
LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)
You won’t feel particularly confident, energetic or motivated on Thursday, when nebulous Neptune squares the Sun and takes the gas out of your tank. So use the prevailing astro-winds wisely as you wind down, relax and recharge! If you rush projects on Friday then you’ll just have to re-do them later on, so roll up your sleeves and complete tasks properly. When it comes to a child, teenager or friend, it will take plenty of patience to get the relationship back on track again.
VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)
This week you’re preoccupied with serious issues as you read, write or research. It’s also a terrific time to delve into a mystery, solve a problem or be a detective and find something that’s been missing. But don’t assume you know what others are thinking and feeling. If you do make assumptions, then you’ll just complicate and confuse matters even more. Saturday night’s New Moon charges up your career zone, but you won’t get ahead if you waste time worrying about minor details.
LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)
With Saturn reversing through your conversation and travel zone (and opposing the Sun) expect frustrations involving cars, computers or communication. A relationship (or an idea) seems too good to be true on Friday, and then you are brought down to earth with a thud on Saturday. The weekend New Moon activates your travel zone so a heavenly holiday is likely sometime over the next 12 months. Plus take a good long look at your aspirations for the future – are they ambitious enough?
SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)
Smart Scorpios know that sustainable success doesn’t just drop out of the sky. So this week’s stars are super for utilising every opportunity that comes your way, as you make things happen through consistent hard work, awesome organisation and forensic attention to details. Money matters are also on your mind, as you are hit with extra bills or rising costs. So it’s imperative that you have a strict budget and stick to it, otherwise your bank balance could slide backwards.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)
Rushing a personal project seems like a good idea, but it will just cause problems further down the track. With Saturn reversing through your sign, slow and steady wins the race. And don’t let what’s happened in the past mar relations with others. Strive to approach relationships with a clean slate, an open mind and a generous heart. Attached Archers – it’s time to add some red-hot sizzle to a stalled partnership. Singles – love and foreign countries or cultures are linked.
CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)
Expect some frustrations, delays or challenges this week as Saturn (your patron planet) seems to stymie every move you make. Don’t waste time stressing and worrying! Use the down time to review your approach, revise your ideas and reassess your plans. Plus avoid the temptation to put professional success before love, and work before family. As birthday great Marilyn Monroe observed: “A career is wonderful, but you can’t curl up with it on a cold night.” Balance is the key.
AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)
Money matters will be confusing this week, as nebulous Neptune scrambles your antennae and confuses communication. Don’t accept things at face value. Make sure you fine-tune financial figures, double-check paperwork and if in doubt get a second opinion. The weekend New Moon signals it’s the perfect time to build bridges with a child or teenager; initiate a new friendship; start a challenging sport; or take up a hobby you’ve always been interested in.
PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)
The focus is on family matters as the planets highlight your home zone. But it will be very easy to misconstrue what others say so don’t hesitate to ask for some clarification. And are you viewing a romantic relationship through ridiculously rose-coloured glasses? The higher you place your partner on a pedestal, the further they have to fall. Learn to love them, faults and all. Saturn sends a reality check on Friday or Saturday, so take your head out of the clouds and get real.
Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2016 Daily astrology updates at twitter.com/JoMadelineMoore
Across
1 On which English river does London lie?
8 What, in mathematics, is the concept of increasing without bound?
9 What is a dish served at dinner, before the main course?
10 Which name is applicable to the Sydney City NRL team?
11 What do we call one who takes part in some game?
12 Which term describes an indefinitely long period of time?
13 What is a unit consisting of twelve dozen, or 144?
16 Which transparent substance has silica as its base?
19 To force down by repeated strokes, is to do what?
21 Name a fairly well-known type of soup.
22 Which male voice part is between a tenor and bass?
23 What are narrow strips of hide or leather?
24 Which soft-toned flute is played in a vertical position?
25 What is a name given to an inhabitant of the US? Down
2 Name an Australian pioneer aviator (18921933), Bert ...
3 What are those who willingly suffer death, rather than renounce their religion, etc?
4 Name a chain of mountains, the peaks of which suggest the teeth of a saw.
5 Name an aromatic root which is used extensively in herbal medicine.
6 Abuja is the capital of which W African federal republic?
7 What is an alternative name for Romanies?
13 Which N Queensland river rises north of the Gregory Range, and flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria?
14 Name the African flightless bird, closely related to the emu?
15 What refers to moral greatness?
17 Which term is descriptive of a disillusionment?
18 What, colloquially, is a small signboard, especially that of a professional person?
20 What is a literary work, in metrical form?
Many children have the benefit of a good relationship with their Grandparents through the cooperation of their parents. However, in some circumstances family relationships can break down and Grandparents can be left unable to negotiate time or communication with their grandchildren.
Do I have any rights to see my Grandchild?
The Family Law Act recognises that children have a right to a meaningful relationship with other people significant to their care, welfare and development, such as Grandparents. Your Grandchild has a right to spend time or communicate with you as a Grandparent if it is in their best interests.
In determining what will be in your Grandchild’s best interests, the Court may look at your prior relationship with your Grandchild and the effect a reintroduction of time or communication may have on their daily arrangements in their parent’s care. You will need to consider the reason for any problems in your relationship with the parents of your Grandchild and may need to consider strategies such as counselling to improve that relationship.
Do I just go straight to
If you need some assistance coordinating spending time or communicating with your Grandchild, you should first try to reach an agreement with their parents. Dispute Resolution through a Family Relationship Centre or other Mediation service can be an effective way to reach an agreement about these issues. Reaching an agreement everyone can commit to and live with is often a better start than having an arrangement imposed upon you by a Court. Through such a process you could enter into an agreement through a Parenting Plan or Consent Orders to protect the arrangements for your relationship with your Grandchild as they grow.
Yeend & Associates Family Lawyers is a specialist Family Law firm in Gungahlin and Canberra City. Our lawyers can provide you with advice and guidance as a Grandparent in reaching an agreement to spend time with your Grandchild or where necessary, to assist you in a family law Court process.
If you require further information, contact our office on 02 6154 5090 or mail@yeendassociates.com.au for your initial no obligation appointment.
