161013 citynews

Rates rises under

What

Higher Rates Mean for Your Household

Four facts you need to know about the coming squeeze on your household budget.

1. Canberra residents have been hit already by rates rises between 40% to 60% in most suburbs since the last ACT election. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr planned to triple your rates in ten years, and rates are on track to triple.

2. This year rates are going up an extraordinary 20% on units. That will hit renters hard, as well as first home buyers.

3. Rates rises are too large for landlords to absorb the cost, so they are passing on the cost to renters. Higher rents hit students and our lowest paid workers. This is making Canberra an unaffordable home for our next generation.

4. Under the Labor-Green scheme, higher rates will make you pay the equivalent of stamp duty every few years. For both residents who have already paid stamp duty, and for renters who don’t own their own home, that’s a plain swindle.

Your annual bill for Stage 1 of the Tram

ACT Public servants have leaked a damning report which shows how much you will be forced to pay for a tram under a re-elected Labor Green Government.

The ACT Government suppressed this information twice before, blacking out the information in responses to Freedom of Information requests.

Last week the full report was leaked, revealing that Andrew Barr looked at several options for a ‘Tram Tax’ on top of rates.

The expert study found that the Tram was too expensive to fund from just selling off public housing and other government land.

It even found that taxing residents who live in the suburbs closest to the Tram doesn’t raise anywhere near enough.

Instead the report concluded that the Tram can only be funded

by making every Canberra household pay massive annual taxes, on top of tripling rates.

How much will you have to pay under Labor or the Greens? $500 per household, every year, for 20 years. And you’ll be made to pay regardless whether you use the tram or not. And only 3% of Canberrans are actually close enough to use the Tram.

Renters get hit too because landlords will have to increase rent to recover this huge cost from their tenants.

Worse still, $500 a year is only what you’ll be charged for stage 1 of the 7 stage Tram network. To fund the full network, Labor and the Greens will make you pay thousands more every year on top of your rates or rent.

ACT Labor’s record on building infrastructure has not been pretty. Remember Gungahlin Drive: half

built, years late and four times the original price. Or Cotter Dam: double the original price. Or the prison: full on the day it opened, and still needing money spent on it.

Imagine the extra hit on your rates to pay for the whole $14 billion Tram network. The full cost for households is a figure Andrew Barr is still hiding. But this Saturday he wants to lock you into the Tram for all time. You’ve got only one chance to stop the Tram, before it’s too late.

Greens leader buys properties near Tram.

Just weeks ago it was revealed that ACT Greens Leader Shane Rattenbury bought two investment properties, each located just metres from planned Tram stops. He could stand to make capital gains from his Tram policy and get a tax benefit from negatively gearing the two properties.

The irony is that the Greens Party has a policy opposed to Negative Gearing.

The Canberra Liberals have questioned whether the purchase of two properties may be in breach of the Code of Conduct covering politicians in the ACT. “Mr Rattenbury has been privy to Cabinet-in-Confidence documents and has made decisions in Cabinet that could arguably lead to direct benefit from his recent investments,” said Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Hanson.

The Labor/Green Tram = higher rates

Instead, the Canberra Liberals will:

Authorised by Dan Clode for the Canberra Liberals

 Fix Canberra’s hospital waiting lists, by expanding Canberra Hospital and building satellite facilities in Gungahlin and Tuggeranong.

 Create 52 nursing positions to relieve pressure across the health system. That’s on top of extra nurses, doctors and specialists for our hospital expansions.

 Invest around $100 million in our schools, supporting kids with disabilities and special needs schools. And we’ll install flashing lights in all school zones.

 Recruit 30 new police officers to replace positions cut by Labor and the Greens.

 Invest in additional fire fighters and new fire fighting equipment to protect our city, and retain firefighters in the call centre.

 Fix Northbourne Avenue by replacing on-road cycle lanes with express bus lanes and putting a cycle path on the median strip.

When they worry about jobs, it’s about their own!

Andrew Barr is looking increasingly desperate to retain his job. And he was not helped by former CM Jon Stanhope accusing his government of increasing the cost of housing by 25 per cent since 2011.

JOBS were the focus of newsmakers this past week – either keeping their own or securing a better one next time around.

Lib Leader Jeremy Hanson was certainly among the latter as he brought PM Malcolm Turnbull into the electoral fray in his quest to become Chief Minister.

Turnbull found himself in a neat dilemma: his government had promised $60 million to the Barr-Rattenbury tram yet Hanson’s opposition had become the key election issue. The PM solved it (more or less) by noting that the ACT Budget was in deficit and declaring that “only the Liberals will deliver fiscal responsibility”.

TURNBULL himself has been given notice that his own job is on the line as word leaked out that rival Tony Abbott told right-wing allies in Britain that he had “a reasonable chance” of returning to the Lodge. Abbott denied it (surprise, surprise) but “Seven Days” can confirm that he has also told certain Aboriginal leaders that he expects to resume the prime ministerial mantle “in due course”.

CM Andrew Barr is looking increasingly desperate in his quest to retain his job. And he was not helped by former CM Jon Stanhope who, in a “CityNews” article, accused his government of taking ‘“a conscious policy decision to constrain the supply of land for detached housing” thereby increasing the cost of housing by 25 per cent since 2011. No wonder first home buyers are doing it tough.

NOR was he much helped by an ABC analysis of his decision to extend light rail to the Woden/Weston area that incorporates

the key seat of Murrumbidgee. While Associate Professor Matthew Burke called it “a sensible choice”, ANU economist Leo Dobes said the lack of a business case for the extension “should be of concern to voters”.

ROBERT MACKLIN

CBA boss Ian Narev employed all his Kiwi charm in the parliamentary hearings to retain his job and head off Labor’s royal commission. Not surprising since he was paid an obscene $12.3 million last financial year. That in itself should be grounds for inquiry.

EVEN as the UN Security Council was choosing former Portuguese PM Antonio

Guterres as the next Secretary-General, Kevin Rudd was protesting that he could have accepted the nomination from “another country”. So, which international powerhouse was it – PNG or East Timor?

OUR “Hamilton Hume” book tour took us to Cairns this week which Asian tourism has turned into the most prosperous provincial city in Australia.

Canberra could certainly grab a piece of the action with Floriade which attracts Asian tourists like bees to honey. But it would have to be much better than this year’s effort which got thumbs down from almost half the visitors.

WARMEST congratulations to Lauren Jackson who announced a new sprout in the making this week. Lauren’s parents live at that south coast wonderland, Tuross Head, where no doubt the littlest Jackson will soon be tossing basketballs through Pop’s and Nana’s hoops.

ANOTHER famous Jackson – Pollock – is causing a stir in London’s artistic circles with “Blue Poles” on exhibition at the National Academy. The $1.3 million painting acquired by the Whitlam government in 1973 is now worth an estimated $350 million. Cripes, that’s a third of the cost of the Gungahlin tram! robert@robertmacklin.com

Last crisis centre still standing up for victims

By Freyla Ferguson

STARTING out as Canberra’s response to a feminist movement that swept the globe in the 1970s – 40 years on, the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre is now the last surviving rape crisis centre in the country.

Opened in 1976 by a group of feminists who wanted to work with sexual violence services at the time, the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre (CRCC) was part of a movement that wanted to break the stigma around rape and help women seek help after sexual violence.

“There is an energy around this form of violence that you don’t see around other forms of violence… that victim-blaming stuff that we still see now,” says Chrystina Stanford, CEO of the CRCC.

“The feminist movement reached a point to respond to sexual assault on a global scale.”

Canberra joined other cities in Australia and, predominantly, the UK by opening up a Rape Crisis Centre.

It’s now the second oldest, continuously operating service for victims of sexual abuse in Australia.

and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community service, Nguru, that provides crisis and counselling support for the impacts and effects of recent and historical trauma

Although many of the other Rape Crisis Centres in Australia have continued to operate in similar capacities, many of them have changed their names. Chrystina says for CRCC, it’s important to keep its name and its link to the centre’s original mission.

“It’s an important part of the name having the word ‘rape’,” she says.

“It’s quite confronting. Rape is terrible and there’s no way of making it positive. It’s such a shocking crime that toning it down would remove the impact.”

She says one in three girls and one in six boys before the age of 18 have been sexually assaulted, while one in 30 men and one in four/five women have been sexually assaulted.

“The challenge we face is there are more and more calls, but we operate at the same level of funding,” Chrystina says.

“When calls increase by 3000 each year and call-outs increase, trying to match that sort of thing with funding is a real challenge.”

However, Chrystina and her team continue to forge ahead and now face an evolving form of sexual violence that’s occurring online.

“About a decade ago there was a huge focus on date rape and I would often say that drugs and alcohol were the latest weapon facilitating sexual assault,” she says.

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14-15

She says in those days it was the police that were seen as the enemy. However that has taken a 180-degree turnaround; now the centre works closely with police and medical forensics.

“We provide a first-response ser-

In its early days, CRCC offered a limited crisis phone line and call-out service, Chrystina says, working with a list of doctors and lawyers who were sympathetic to their cause.

vice. I like to think we’re a lot like the ambulance and police services, we have to respond in that first moment.”

Over the years, CRCC has continued to evolve. Although it still regards itself as a feminist organisation, it now encompasses the Service Assisting Male Survivors of Sexual Assault

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

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

Journalists: Freyla Ferguson, freyla@citynews.com.au; 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

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

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

“The most prevalent sexual violence is child sexual assault and the true incidence of that is hard to determine as some people seek help so many years after,” Chrystina says.

“As the community grows in awareness and readiness, the flow-on effect is that people are seeking help sooner than previous years.”

“Now I would say electronic media is and in instantaneous ways. Young women are grappling with the social media component.”

To mark its 40th anniversary, CRCC will host a luncheon featuring Dame Quentin Bryce in conversation with patron Virginia Haussegger on Tuesday, October 18, at the National Museum of Australia. Tickets are $75 with all proceeds going to the CRCC.

In 2014, CRCC received 15,000 calls for help. That has grown to 17,500 in 2015 and in the first half of this year, there are already 10,000 calls. Seven years ago it received 4500 calls and 40 call-outs to police. In 2016, more than 360 (at least one a day) call-outs to police are projected.

Luncheon tickets can be booked via everbrite.com.au

COMING OCT 15 • REGISTER YOUR INTEREST TODAY

Make your vote count. Use numbers.

To record a valid vote in the ACT election on Saturday write numbers in the squares on the ballot paper –no ticks or crosses. Start from 1 and don’t use the same number twice.

You should fill in at least five squares. You may then show as many further preferences as you wish.

Electronic voting is also available at some polling places. If you choose to vote electronically, the program will guide you through the voting process.

Remember, distributing how-to-vote cards is banned within 100 metres of polling places, so plan how you want to vote in advance.

For more information visit www.elections.act.gov.au or call Elections ACT on (02) 6205 0033

Are you ready to vote?

SHOWTIMES

Friday 14 October 7:00pm

Saturday 15 October 3:00pm & 7:00pm

Sunday 16 October 11:00am & 3:00pm Thursday 20 October 7:00pm Friday 21 October 7:00pm

Saturday 22 October 3:00pm & 7:00pm Sunday 23 October 11:00am ONLY

MP for Canberra, Gai Brodtmann, will be one of the speakers at the 21st annual remembrance ceremony for those who lose their life to illicit drugs. Other speakers will be Sione Crawford, former manager of Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy and the Rev Dr Jeanette Mathews. The ceremony will be held at the memorial, Weston Park Road, Weston Park, Yarralumla (opposite the junction with Prescott Lane), 12.30pm, on Monday, October 24. Refreshments will be served following the ceremony. Anyone with a loved one they’d like remembered by name at the ceremony should email president@ffdlr.org.au or call 6259 9899.

Hungarians reflect

EYE-witness accounts in English of the 1956 Hungarian uprising and freedom fight will be part of a 60th commemoration and exhibition at the Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre, North Building, Civic, 2.30pm-5pm, on Sunday, October 23. The exhibition, “Hungarian Life and Culture”, which includes a documentation of the 1956 events, will be open until Friday, October 28.

Books galore!

THERE’S a sale of secondhand books and magazines, including fiction and non-fiction, cookery, gardening, manuals and children’s at St Ninian’s Uniting Hall, corner of Mouat and Brigalow Streets, Lyneham, 9am-1pm, on Friday, October 21, and Saturday, October 22. Morning tea and lunch will be available. Scones are baked on the premises.

Cakes galore!

THE Hackett Preschool’s garage sale’s “famous” cake stall promises to be “overflowing with delectable treats” along with a sausage sizzle and coffee for the grown ups at this “vital” annual fundraiser, Mills and Maitland Streets, 10am-2pm, on Saturday, October 22. Beyond face-painting and a roving magician, there will be kids’ clothes, toys, books and bikes for sale. The home-grown stall will be full of plants, jams, pickles and funky craft.

Christmas fete!

INTERNATIONAL food, craft, cakes, jams, books, plants, clothes, toys and games are on offer at the Canberra Seniors Centre’s fundraising Christmas fete at 10 Watson Street, Turner, 9am-3pm, on Saturday, November 5. Enquiries to 6248 9509.

Evening of odes

SAHAJA Yoga ACT is hosting an evening of Sufi odes and peace featuring the Antarika Qawwali Group and Music Of Joy as a fundraiser in support of Mahboba’s Promise, an Australian charity dedicated to helping orphans and widows in Afghanistan. It’s at Albert Hall on November 5. Tickets are $28 and bookings via eventbrite.com.au

Labor in strife as voters look for a change

LABOR are in strife for the ACT election; the tram, the deals, indebtedness to the unions and the millstone of such a long term in government play against them. Assuming the Greens will support Labor for government, the final determination is likely to be in the hands of independent Marea Fatseas or the Canberra Community Voters Party. Predicting the outcome of a HareClark election is fraught with pitfalls. Many Canberra voters mark their preferences across parties. There are now five electorates with an additional eight members. Moreover, last election delivered a Labor government with the support of the Greens despite the Liberals having a whisker more primary

Assuming the Greens will support Labor for government, the final determination is likely to be in the hands of independent Marea Fatseas or the Canberra Community Voters Party.

votes with 86,032 to Labor’s 85,991.

Three major factors influence the outcome of an election under Hare-Clark. First is the profile of individual members; second, the positioning and policies of the candidates and third, the behaviour or standing of individuals or parties.

On all three of these factors Labor is struggling. The Liberals and Greens also have their challenges. The alternative are the independents

and small parties. Building a profile, establishing policies and recognition are a tall order for most. In the electorate of Kurrajong, the former Yarralumla Residents’ Association president and Southside Community Council member, Marea Fatseas, has managed all three. The same is true in Ginninderra of former CEO of ACT Shelter, Leigh Watson. Both of these independents are credible and deserve a chance.

The small parties are variable. Richard Farmer’s Canberra Community Voters has some profile in supporting ACT clubs in their battle against poker machines for the casino and integrity in government. Similarly, the Sustainable Australia Party and Robbie Swan in Murrumbidgee and Steven Bailey in Brindabella for the Australian Sex Party need to build a broader profile.

The Greens have the profile and the standing amongst their own constituency. Although outsiders and some purists might be critical of Shane Rattenbury for accepting a ministry, Green voters will generally see this option as better than voting Labor.

Voters are looking for a change. Supporting sensible independents and minor parties just might provide a cross-bench that restores integrity and keeps government accountable.

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

Vote for those who are suffering

I’ve spent many weekends door knocking middle-class Canberra on the campaign trail. When we ask voters what issues concern them most they say: “Everything is pretty good, no complaints”. People have homes, jobs, decent health care and education. Roads are being duplicated. The grumbles are minor. So, I want to make a plea to Canberrans: please have a heart and vote this time on behalf of ones who don’t have it so good, the ones who are really suffering. Vote for affordable housing, more places for the homeless in this cold town, to put the funding back into refuges for women and children fleeing violence and for continuing action to attempt to stop the worst effects of global warming.

Dr Julie Kidd, Bonner

Public transport goes in circles

IN 2012 the Greens rejected bus rapid transit, in the naive belief that light rail would cost less than $300 million. Labor rejected a $215 million bus rapid transit system, despite secretly estimating that the $254 million extra cost of light rail would produce less than $45 million in extra benefits. Without the benefit of transit lanes, the public transport mode share fell from 7.8 per cent in 2012 to 7.2 per cent in 2014.

Now the Liberals naively believe that they can build three quarters of Gungahlin-Civic kerbside bus rapid transit for only $58 million. Labor and the Greens again reject bus rapid transit, apparently without having estimated either the costs or the benefits of their proposed alternative.

Leon Arundell, Downer

Transport mix is ‘wrong’

DAMIEN Haas’ view that light rail and buses plus ordinary road users will provide an efficient mix is wrong (“Don’t wait for driverless cars”, CN, October 6). If light rail takes over the link from Civic, along Athllon Drive to Tuggeranong there will be a 70kph tram replac-

ing buses that can cruise at 120kph. If the trip is from Civic to Tuggeranong, the time difference is 20 minutes. Additionally, the cost of installing rails and overhead wiring plus the cost of the trams themselves, which are five times the cost of buses, is prohibitive. Damien lives in a world that is changing faster than he can imagine. It is a shame that his thinking cannot change with it.

Howard Carew, Isaacs

We’ve already paid for buses!

DAMIEN Haas (CN, October 6) and most Labor-Greens (and pro-tram commentators also) overlook the cause of our public-transport problems. They would say that congestion is the problem, when it is the symptom of a much bigger issue.

For years Canberra motorists have turned their noses up at catching the bus and are unlikely to catch the few trams ultimately available. Convincing motorists to shift to public transport will go a long way to improving public transport patronage. Oh, by the way, we already have paid for our buses!

Russ Morison, Canberra Public Transport Alliance, Theodore

Gas idea ‘crass’

ONE of the rattiest ideas promoted by the Greens at this election is the stopping of reticulated natural gas to all new suburbs.

I was involved for 25 years in the gas industry coming to Canberra as the manager of Esso Australia in 1968. In a relatively short time we had thousands of homes using bottled gas with the advantage of an easy switch to piped natural gas when it did come to the ACT.

The idea of no natural gas for new suburbs is as crass as the light rail with the Greens eliminating a popular option for a clean and efficient energy source.

Cedric Bryant, Watson

Moore’s call of the electorates

• In KURRAJONG, Chief Minister Andrew Barr will be elected. Shane Rattenbury has the profile and standing to also win a seat. The Liberals have sitting member Steve Doszpot and Elizabeth Lee has a high enough profile to win the second seat for the Liberals. There is an outside chance for Labor in the fifth seat, but it is more likely to go to Canberra Community Voters or independent Marea Fatseas

• In BRINDABELLA , the Labor vote and profile of Mick Gentleman is enough to get him elected. Angie Drake or Joy Burch are the best chances for Labor having a second seat. At the last election, the Liberals had 46 per cent of the vote in this seat and Labor 35 per cent. Nicole Lawder, Andrew Wall and Mark Parton are all strong candidates for the Liberals and I suspect they will secure the three seats.

• MURRUMBIDGEE will favour the Liberals because of the profile of the leader, Jeremy Hanson. With sitting MLA Giulia Jones they may pull enough preferences for a third Liberal. Labor has no sitting members. Rebecca Cody has had her banners everywhere, but it is difficult to determine which Labor candidate will be elected. The last seat will go to Labor or former Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur

• YERRABI is difficult to pick. Liberal Alistair Coe has run a long and sustained campaign opposing the tram despite living in the electorate it favours. He is likely to bring a second person with him. The tram will not be such a problem for Labor in this electorate. Therefore, Meegan Fitzharris will be elected most likely with Jayson Hinder. Labor’s Deepak-Raj Gupta and Greens’ Veronica Wensing will be arm wrestling for the last seat with independent David Pollard from Crace Community Association and Gungahlin Community Council.

• The GINNINDERRA electorate has Vicki Dunne leading the Liberals with a number of strong-profile second candidates including Denise Fisher and Paul Sweeney. They have a chance for three seats. Labor’s Yvette Berry will have one seat. Chris Bourke, Kim Fischer and Gordon Ramsay will fight for the second with independent Leigh Watson the Greens’ Esguerra

Want a vote? Love my dogs Anxiety of the election-night anchorman

AS the closest thing Canberra gets to a festival of democracy winds to a conclusion this weekend I came across an instructive tableau vivant in the Civic bus interchange recently.

The Greens’ Shane Rattenbury was being berated by an irate citizen for some failing of the government, in which he has served the last four years.

He waved at me in a hopeful manner, I waved back. His body language suggested he’d rather like me to come over and interrupt the conversation he was having.

Sadly for Shane, I was running late for work and kept going.

On the other side of the road the Liberal candidate Elizabeth Lee was trying to convince people to talk to her. It looked to me as if she was jealous of the attention Shane was getting.

For these few short weeks the residents of the Legislative Assembly, and the political hopefuls, are actually mad keen to talk to members of the public.

Sadly for them, this is often counter productive, as no small number of them are appalling human beings (I stress this is a cross-party proposition). The best way for these people to get votes is to make as little human contact as possible.

A candidate recently tried to knock on my door, but couldn’t handle the fact there

Democracy – Four wolves and one lamb voting on lunch.” – Urban Dictionary

were dogs in the house.

Considering that 39 per cent of Australian households have dogs, and being rude about a person’s dog is a very quick way to get that person’s back up, this doesn’t seem like smart campaigning.

When I stand in the booth on election day and consider which candidates deserve a number (remember not to give any numbers at all to those which you truly despise), the candidates who hate my dogs are not likely to trouble the scorer.

However ill-advised it may be, we can be sure this interest in we the people will last like a snowball in hell after election day.

This is probably just as well, as annoying random strangers at shopping centres doesn’t give a great feel for the mood of the community.

As on social media, or indeed government consultation processes, only the most motivated of cranks (with lots of time on their hands) will be heard. Meanwhile,

ordinary people leading busy lives will scurry past and hope that somewhere a sensible adult is in charge.

At least the door knocking and standing sadly in areas of high foot traffic is an attempt to engage with the community.

The great war of the corflutes is more an assault upon us all.

To begin with, this business is an insult to our intelligence. There’s not a whiff of policy to be seen and, often, not even the name of the party.

They’re just hoping that our liking their photoshopped faces and the sound of their names will convince us to allocate them a precious number on the ballot.

To do that they’re willing to pollute the very spaces we live in.

I’m certainly tempted to de-number any candidate whose name I’ve seen on a corflute poster as well as the ones who hate my dogs.

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

The clear winner in Tharwa is “We’ll never see a tram this century” closely followed by “Why didn’t we get as many corflutes as the rest of Canberra put up here?”

I HAVE a dream. Actually, it’s more a nightmare.

On Saturday night I’ll be the anchorman for 2CC’s election night coverage. In a 30-year career, it’ll be the first time I’ve hosted an event like this and that’s frightening because having had numerous roles on election nights, I know what can go wrong.

Hence my nightmares about what could happen once the polls close and our coverage starts… (in a TV show, this is where you’d hear a harp glissando. Feel free to imagine one of your own).

SATURDAY, 6.15PM:

Well, it’s 15 minutes since the polls closed. And the first vote count has come in. We were expecting it to be from Oaks Estate, but it’s been held up. It seems there’s been some sort of late protest from the locals. They’ve taken the ballot boxes hostage and said they’ll only release them if they can get them on some sort of direct ACTION bus to the Electoral Commission office in Civic. I’m not sure how that’ll be resolved, so instead we have the count from the Tharwa booth in the seat of Brindabella.

Can’t get to a polling place this Saturday?

If you can’t get to a polling place on ACT election day, 15 October, you can cast an early vote at a pre-poll voting centre. Remember, voting is compulsory.

Pre-poll voting centres:

Belconnen: Belconnen Community Centre,Swanson Court

Canberra City: Pilgrim House, 69 Northbourne Avenue / Eclipse House, 197 London Circuit

Gungahlin: Gungahlin Library, Hibberson St

Tuggeranong: Salvation Army Hall, Corner Anketell St and Reed St North Woden/Phillip: Callam Offices, 58 Easty St

These centres are open 9am - 5pm today and 9am - 8pm tomorrow.

For more information visit www.elections.act.gov.au, call Elections ACT on (02) 6205 0033 or see the Election Guide which has been delivered to your letterbox.

Are you ready to vote?

With less than a couple of hundred votes to count there it was always going to be a fast set of numbers, and it seems the clear winner in Tharwa is “We’ll never see a tram this century” closely followed by “Why didn’t we get as many corflutes as the rest of Canberra put up here?”. One of those results is a bit of a surprise. We’ll check back later for more detailed preference flows.

8.42PM:

The hotly-contested Ginninderra electorate has turned up some surprises tonight, but it has also turned up its share of problems. The biggest one being that the number of people who voted electronically being way down. It’s had us here in the studio mystified all night

but the reason for this has become clear. It seems some people who wanted to make a protest write-in vote scrawled “Don’t close our walk-in centre” on the e-voting screens, effectively rendering them useless.

9.38 PM:

We were hoping to have a good indication of who’ll be forming the next ACT government by now, but as we’ve been saying all night, the votes in Murrumbidgee have been particularly slow in coming through. Mainly residents turned en-masse up at polling stations across the electorate with roadside signs of all varieties and stuffed them into the ballot boxes. A bit of community anger there.

SUNDAY, 1.34 AM:

The longest political night in ACT history and we’re still no closer to finding out a winner. The confusion across the ACT has taken its toll. Chief Minister Andrew Barr was last seen looking for a length of light rail track to tie himself to in protest, while Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson has reportedly been muttering stuff at Liberal HQ about getting some of his old army mates and equipment to “sort out the mess”. We’ve promised to stay with you until there’s some clarity over the result, grab yourself another coffee, we could be here for quite a while longer yet...

Chris Coleman is the drive host on 2CC and will be presenting the station’s election-night coverage from 6pm on Saturday, October 15.

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election confidential

Revealed: naked Northbourne

CANBERRANS traversing the soon-to-be-highrise corridor we used to know as Northbourne Avenue now have their first glimpse of the Labor government’s promised “urban meadow” as the surreptitious logging of the median-strip tramway carries on regardless of our preelection sensibilities.

This week another 40 are for the lopper, this time the explanation is as a result of the recent wet weather and windy conditions with those loveable tree-huggers Canberra Metro targetting 17 in the median between Antill Street and Macarthur Avenue to be felled as soon as possible.

Reader Suzanne Mitchell, of Lyneham, wrote in gentle sorrow to us the other day.

“I hope that motorists are sparing a few seconds as they pace up and down Northbourne Avenue to appreciate the beauty of the eucalypts (that will disappear if light rail comes),” she says.

“In full bloom at the moment [are] the parchment-coloured blossoms weighing down the branches like snow. They are magnificent this year. Are they trying to reproduce now their future is uncertain?

“I want to grumble about what has already happened in the first block from Mouat to Murdoch Streets; one lonely eucalypt survives. All the others went under the cover of darkness.

“I looked with sadness that the tree near the plaque to someone who lost their life on the crossing some years ago has gone, too; the yellow sunflowers taped to a pipe suffices.”

Interest piqued, CC drove the avenue and

she’s right. There on the Braddon-Turner border is a wide section completely denuded of trees, save for the sawdust and mulch covering the spots where the eucalypts used to be.

Get stuffed, Josh!

MEANWHILE Kingston Foreshore resident Trish Burritt spent time and $108 dealing with maintenance issues caused by Kurrajong Labor candidate Josh Ceramidas’ 20-page, thick booklet “telling us his life story” stuffed in her “No Junk Mail” letterbox.

“Apart from the impact on the environment of the use of expensive, good-quality paper for this purpose, his need to tell me his life story by stuffing literature in the box jammed the mechanism and caused even the locksmith difficulty opening the postbox to repair the lock!

“When I tried to tell ‘my story’ about the subsequent $108 bill, with an email to Ceramidas and a call to the ACT Labor Party headquarters, nobody responded to my frustration with even an apology!

“We have had weeks of mailbox dropping of political material. Why do

the candidates not respect the fact that, unless something is posted with a resident’s name, it is classified as ‘junk mail’ and is not welcome?”

Shane wanes

RATEPAYER Denise Page wrote to Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury in response to a letterbox drop he made around Yarralumla inviting residents to let him “know their thoughts”.

So she did, fuming about the “deplorable” state of her local shops – overflowing garbage, poor footpaths, broken seating – before questioning the value of the tram and the morality of signing a contract so close to the election.

“Canberra has been my husband’s and my home for 47 years, a city we love, but a city that is increasingly seeing less services including trees not trimmed, grass not mowed, gutters not cleaned, roads in a bad state and a sad shocking statistic of over 2000 homeless.”

Shane clearly wasn’t so keen to know her thoughts. She emailed him on Saturday, April 2, and still no reply.

Gone with the wind

IT’S dog-eat-dog out there on the hustings as candidates battle daily with the Great Corflute Caper.

In Yerrabi, independent Labor candidate Deepak-Raj Gupta has had 500 of his 600 signs hammered into the highways and byways of the Gungahlin electorate. He drove around the other night to find only 50 still in place. Who’s nicking them, political foes or competitors on the Labor ticket? Deepak’s not saying beyond: “They’ve gone with the wind.”

Kula goes the Long way

UNFLAPPABLE, affable independent Labor aspirant for Murrumbidgee, Mark Kulasingham, told a constituent on Facebook that he’d had more than 120 of his signs go missing in the last two weeks, confessing: “I’m not sure of their real effectiveness, anyhow”. Given he only started with a couple of hundred, his theory will be tested soon enough.

“Kula” is also using humour to get elected. His latest cheeky tickle on Facebook is at the expense of his fellow candidate Brendan Long. He has adapted Brendan’s “Vote Labor, Vote Long” sign to say vote for the guy with the long surname.

Steve for Topspot?

LIBERAL candidate and sitting MLA Steve Doszpot , who has also been enduring lost, defaced and damaged ground-level signage, lifted his campaign to a new height with a sign that says “Vote 1 DOSZPOT for TOPSPOT”, which is out of reach (and largely out of sight) above his local shops at Yarralumla. And we thought he was standing for Kurrajong!

Winning chef who thinks big

By Freyla Ferguson

COOKING up creative dishes for up to 1400 people at one time is no easy feat, but for Nikhil Jain, the executive chef at the National Convention Centre, it’s all in a day’s work.

And his work has been recognised nationally after winning the Chef of the Year award at the Australian Hotels Association National Awards for Excellence, on the Gold Coast.

Jain remains modest in his win, saying that it’s a team effort. “You can’t do it on your own,” he says.

The top chef has been in the food industry for more than 20 years, training in some of the best hotels in India, before working in some of the best hotel restaurants throughout Asia, the UK and in Australia.

“Hotels have always fascinated me,” Jain says of his early days in hospitality.

“When you walk into a hotel, it’s like a different world. In India, hotel restaurants are live kitchens. They work in great co-ordination – it’s more like watching an orchestra – everything is very precise.

“It excites me to be a part of that, where you can be performing with others without even saying a word.”

Although first trained in India, Jain describes his cooking style as European, in particular Italian.

This can be seen in many of his culinary offerings, in particular his “Deer Footprint” menu, which includes venison with “soil” made from dry bread and deer sauce.

Originally moving to Canberra to work at the Hyatt, Jain has been at the Convention Centre for more than four years. He says initially it was very challenging moving from cooking a la carte to the banquet style that’s offered at the convention centre. He says it took him about six months to really transition into cooking for large functions. Last year, Jain and his team served almost 150,000 guests.

“There’s always a bit more anxiety,” he says.

“But planning is very important, there is no room for error. That’s just not possible. Everything needs to be simplified to eliminate any mistakes that could happen.

“After a function is over it’s great to see how we’ve pushed our boundaries and achieved something we haven’t achieved before.”

Another winner for the ACT at the National Awards for Excellence was East Hotel, which took out Best Suite/Apartment Hotel.

pets The snake season calls for care

By Heike Hahner

SNAKES are a great concern to many pet owners and with spring now in full swing reptiles, including snakes, are making a comeback to our local environment.

Dogs frequently get bitten because they harass or attack snakes.

Killing snakes in front of a dog, apart from being illegal, will increase the chances that it will take on snakes, as dogs can learn through observation.

If a dog is allowed to kill lizards and skinks, it will have no hesitation to attack a snake and may receive a lethal bite as the reptile defends itself.

However scary snakes may seem, they don’t set out to bite people and, in general, are elusive and try and hide from humans. Coming across a snake is often as scary for the reptile as it is for us and there are things we can do to avoid getting dogs – and ourselves – bitten by snakes, for instance:

• Keep dogs away from or under control near potential snake shelters such as rocks, logs, hollow trees, long grass, rabbit and wombat hollows, culverts and rubbish piles.

• Be extra cautious anywhere near waterways. If taking a dog for a swim, seek out areas with flat and open ground, that don’t offer hiding spots for snakes.

• Walk dogs in the morning, rather than in the afternoon. Snakes will need to warm up in the morning after the cooler night, so they’re more sluggish. Once we get hotter nights, care must be taken at all times.

• Walk dogs on pathways or roads or in mowed or grazed paddocks where there’s a good view of the ground ahead.

• Protect gardens and houses from snakes by covering the lower part of garden fences with a fine mesh, such as bird netting.

• Avoid providing shelter and food for snakes. Avoid clutter around the house to discourage snakes from taking up residence.

• Chook food and scraps attract rats and mice, providing snakes with some tempting meals. Feed chooks with just as much as they will eat in about 10 minutes and avoid having scraps lying around to keep mice and rats at bay.

• Encourage less aggressive snakes to stay around to help to keep the more aggressive snakes away. Black snake and the red-belly black snake are calm and reluctant to bite. They are also cannibals and will eat other snakes.

• Encourage birds such as kookaburras and herons into your local environment. They will keep the baby snake population under control.

Always use extreme caution around snakes and call a professional snake handler for advice and help to remove the reptile. Help can be found at: Access Canberra, 132281; Canberra Reptile Rescue, 0405 405304; snake catcher, Alex Borg, 0421 281439; Queanbeyan Wildcare, 6299 1966 and RSPCA Injured Wildlife, 6287 8100.

Heike Hahner is a dog and pet training and psychology consultant, hhahner@bigpond.com

At the Diabetes NSW & ACT cocktail reception, Greek Embassy

At RAW’s Arts showcase, Belconnen Arts Centre

TWILIGHT FAIR

all about Curtin The close community with lots to offer

CURTIN is named after John Curtin, the Australian prime minister between 1941 and 1945. Its streets are named for state premiers.

‘Wicked’ WINNERS

Curtin, a charismatic, compelling orator, was widely respected for his strong and inspirational leadership during World War II.

In 1964 people first moved into the suburb of Curtin and many of the early settlers liked the rustic surrounds – sheep grazing over the back fence, a real creek in which to find yabbies on the northern side of what would become the overpass to Hughes. Now, 52 years later, Curtin has matured into a close community that offers a range of products and services that may be hard to find anywhere else in Canberra.

Elizabeth Yuille

Counselling to adults. Special areas of interest include grief and loss, trauma, and clinical supervision. PACFA registrant p: 0414 320 665

Jane Keany – Social Worker and Sex Therapist

Sex & Health Counselling; Building sexual and relationships’ strength

m: 0402 222 408 e: jane@keanyhill.wattle.id.au

Karen Ivkovic

Effective & long lasting pain relief for chronic conditions and injuries.

Bowtech trained Bowen Therapist with a Diploma in Specialised Procedures. m: 0409 662 832 e: karen.ivkovic@gmail.com

Lisa Grant – Mental Health Social Worker and Sex Therapist Counselling for Anxiety and depression; Relationships & wellbeing; Sexual therapy & wellbeing; Sexual and gender diversity; Recovery from trauma, abuse & loss. Medicare rebates may apply m: 0422 224 872 e: lisag.ccr@gmail.com

Olivia Wilson Psychology and Psychotherapy

Somatic psychotherapy for body, trauma, pain, inner balance p: 6161 3411 m: 0405 436 021 e: oliviawilson108@gmail.com

Paul Miller

General counselling for individuals and couples, often utilising narrative, existential, Jungian & philosophical counselling m: 0401 002 716 e: drpaulmiller@canberracounselling.org www.canberracounselling.org

Theodore St, Curtin • www.tinyurl.com/dantien

Holistic health options in warm environment

DANTIEN Integrative Health Practices brings the expertise and experience of a number of holistic health practitioners in a warm and friendly environment, just opposite the Curtin shops.

“All of us contribute to a holistic approach and believe that the wellness of the body reflects the wellness of the psychological and emotional self,” says counsellor Lisa Grant.

From somatic therapies to psychology, social work, Bowen therapy, Craniosacral therapy and other body work, Dantien Integrative Health Practices provides bodyoriented somatic psychotherapy, individual and couple counselling, touch therapies, remedial massage, kinesiology and energy work such as reflexology.

“Our practice is growing,” says Lisa. “The benefits of an integrated approach mean that people seeking help can be assured a professional and well-established practice and we can also, when required, refer people to other practitioners.”

Lisa has practised counselling for more than 20 years and came to Dantien four years ago – offering support on a range of issues such as relationships, sex therapy, anxiety, depression and loss.

“People can feel comfortable in our quiet and respectful space,” she says.

Dantien Integrative Health Practices, 13 Theodore Street, visit tinyurl.com/dantien to contact each practitioner directly.

School upgrades offer vibrant learning

CURTIN Primary School’s recent upgrades have created classrooms that are “vibrant, engaging spaces that stimulate collaboration and communication, vital skills in the 21st century,” says principal Kerri Clark.

“This year, Curtin Primary has undergone a major upgrade of its teaching and learning environments to create flexible learning opportunities, which cater for the diverse learning needs of all students,” she says.

“It is in this backdrop that the quality teaching that makes the difference for our students can happen.”

The school has 549 students ranging from preschool to year 6 (4-12 years old).

“I am so very proud of the students who consistently demonstrate our 6Cs (the values of Caring, Co-operation, Courtesy, Confidence and Common sense in Critical moments), our staff who work collectively and collaboratively to support students in their academic and social-emotional wellbeing, and our parent community who are the most supportive advocates for their child’s school,” she says.

“This makes coming to school every day a pleasure.” Curtin Primary School, Theodore Street, visit curtinps.act.edu.au or call 6205 5622.

advertising feature

Independent optician offers personal service

OWNER of Curtin Optical, Corey Nicholls, says that their independence from large chains gives customers “personalised service, quality, we go that extra step to be helpful and provide excellent product knowledge”.

Having been a part of the Curtin community for 20 years, Curtin Optical has three experienced optometrists – Renita Chou, Susan Hallissy and Margaret McCreath – available for appointments from Tuesdays to Saturdays. Corey and his team stock a wide range of eyewear, contact lenses and accessories.

“We cater to all tastes – from budget to wellknown brands,” says Corey.

The range of designer sunglasses includes Bill Bass, Nike, Dragon, Calvin Klein and its latest addition Ugly Fish.

It also offers mobile optical dispensing services –spectacle selections and deliveries to the elderly or people unable to come into store due to disability. This also includes spectacle repairs and adjustments, and an after-hours service.

In addition, Curtin Optical offers an express service for those who have lost or broken their spectacles. In

its full workshop facility, Curtin Optical’s fullyqualified optical mechanic offers an express service on most (stock) single vision jobs, including rimless spectacles. This service also includes instore/sameday service and is a mobile, 24-hour service.

“We enjoy being part of Curtin’s warm community atmosphere – chatting to locals when they come in and waving to them as they pass!” says Corey.

Curtin Optical, Shop 1B Curtin Place, 6281 1220, curtinoptical.com.au

All-round health solutions

NOT just the place to get your prescription medication, the Capital Chemist Curtin now provides an all-round health solution for customers, says pharmacist-in-charge and partner Susan Le.

The pharmacy now has a fully-qualified and accredited naturopath, who is also a registered pharmacist, making the pharmacy one of a handful of pharmacies in Australia that can offer complementary medicine advice adjunct to Western medicine from a qualified professional.

This is in addition to a range of services the pharmacy offers, including a wound-care clinic, specialist testing for iron, blood glucose and blood pressure, free home delivery, ear piercing plus it also supplies and specialises in fertility medicines.

“Our trained pharmacists offer the best possible advice and the most appropriate advice for patients,” says Susan.

“People traditionally think that a pharmacy is where you just get scripts, but now we are the first port of call.

“We offer non-prescription items and an all-round health solution.

“Our vision is to offer the highest level of customer service we can, with knowledge and advice.”

The pharmacy also hires and sells Medela breast pumps, crutches, wheelchairs, shower chairs and aids to daily living.

“Curtin is a really special community,” says Susan. “Its location is central – many say it’s the geographical centre of Canberra which makes it very convenient for people.

“Everyone around here has a strong community feel.”

Capital Chemist Curtin, 42 Curtin Place, call 6281 1058, capitalchemist.com.au

A winning lunch for Melbourne Cup

FOR a great day out this Melbourne Cup race day, visit the Statesman Hotel in Curtin, one of Canberra’s most iconic hotels since the 1960s.

For the Melbourne Cup, the Statesman will be hosting its race-day function in “The Menzies Room”. Tickets to the event include all-you-can-eat buffet, two drink vouchers and a gift bag. On the buffet menu is a range of hot and cold dishes including roasted pork belly with chilli orange salsa and fresh oysters, king prawns and baked Atlantic salmon with creamy dill mustard sauce.

Punters are also invited to dress to impress and enter the “Best Dressed” race wear competition.

“Being a smaller establishment of 64 newly renovated motel rooms in one of Canberra’s leafy central suburbs we can offer personal friendly service in a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere,” says hotel manager Michelle Hood.

The Statesman has two bars: the

and H2O Bistro and the sports bar where

and

meet to enjoy the full TAB facilities.

“Our drive-through bottleshop is also a

for our locals with all the benefits of Local Liquor pricing complemented with a large range of fine wines and boutique beers,” Michelle

The Statesman Hotel, corner of Strangeway and Theodore Streets, call 6281 1777, statesmanhotel.com.au

Biggest book shop, by miles!

SPEND some time exploring the bookshelves at Canberra’s largest bookstore, Beyond Q – Books, Bar, Barista, in the heart of Curtin.

Beyond Q owner Simon Maddox likens the experience of exploring his bookstore to falling down the rabbit hole with Alice.

“The whole atmosphere is ‘chillout’ – we’ve got a cafe where you can relax first before you explore our 4kms worth of bookshelves,” he says.

Beyond Q has been in Curtin for 13 years and stocks a wide range of second-hand fiction and non-fiction books. This also includes rare books –some of which date back to 1515. They also have a collection of DVDs, LPs on vinyl and comic books.

“Within two-three minutes, our staff can locate a book, which is rare in a second-hand bookshop,” Simon says.

“There’s stuff in Curtin that you don’t find in any other shopping centres in Canberra.”

As well as a bookshop and cafe,

Beyond Q has regular events including live music, local book launches and book clubs. It’s little wonder it was named by Qantas as one of the top seven bookshops in Australia.

Simon says Beyond Q is licensed for BYO and can also host functions from Christmas parties through to weddings.

Beyond Q, 44 Curtin Place. Visit beyondq.com.au or call 6162 3999.

Jazz musician Paul Grabowsky and singer Kate Ceberano… the simplest songs are often the best.

Kate’s gotta whole lotta love to share

Arts editor HELEN MUSA talks to a singer who believes classic love songs can take listeners to a particular time and place.

SELF-styled “professional minstrel and showgirl” Kate Ceberano and trailblazing jazz musician Paul Grabowsky have been working together for years on and off, but the show they’re bringing to The Street Theatre soon is one they first cooked up in 1991.

Egged on by family and friends, including film director Fred Schepisi, they knocked up a Valentine’s Day set-list of unabashed love songs – like those we’ll be hearing at The Street.

That was at the old Continental Café in Prahran, Melbourne, home to semi-acoustic gigs that saw a veritable honour roll of top Aussie performers, in what Ceberano calls “ramshackle gorgeous events”, on their nights off.

Ceberano says, by phone from her Melbourne home, that apart from protest songs and songs she describes as “self-help therapy”, most of the “greats” are the classic love songs that can take listeners to a particular time and place.

Top of the list will be Burt Bacharach’s “What the World Needs Now is Love”, but there’ll also be a few enigmatic Leonard Cohen numbers and lots of popular covers. Both Ceberano and Grabowsky, in compiling their set-list, have borne in mind that the simplest songs are often the best. Grabowsky has written 30 or more film soundtracks and so, in a nod to French cinema, they’ve included a French medley that Ceberano believes is “sublime”. There’ll be some of the moody, ubiquitous Eric Satie music and a tribute to the 1964 movie “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”, songs by Michel Legrand.

“Paul and I are just cogs in a great big machine, he’s a professor of music and I’m a professional minstrel and showgirl, but we’re both highly prolific,” she says. Occasionally the two things come together and she recently did some masterclasses with his Monash students.

Ceberano is a proud ambassador for pop music and points out that there are many different styles within the genre. She acknowledges her debt to the work of Cilla Black, Bacharach and Dionne Warwick, and harbours a sneaking suspicion that she has the perfect Bacharach voice – move over, Dionne. But generationally, she fits right into the Blondie and Michael Jackson era, describing them as “perfect pop artists, equal to anyone in their music”.

Constantly mindful of her audience’s needs, Ceberano describes a “beautiful” feature of their Brisbane Powerhouse gig that took place on the same day as the Grand Final. Aware that the auditorium included some young men she suspected would have preferred to be at the Big Game, she arranged for a timekeeper to come on stage with the scores. When Ceberano takes time to chat with “CityNews” she’s deep in the very private life she combines with touring – that of being a mum. Her daughter Gypsy will be 13 in January and, as Ceberano says: “I’m trying to inhale that last breath of her youth, I just want to do things with her”.

“Love Songs: Kate Ceberano & Paul Grabowsky” at The Street Theatre, 4pm and 7.30pm, Sunday, October 23, bookings to thestreet.org.au or 6247 1223.

Sculpted shapes along the lake

By Helen Musa

MUCH-awarded Brisbane artist Archie

Moore is planning an installation of 700 edible yam daisies sourced from Greening Australia as his contribution to the upcoming “Contour 556: Interventions in the Landscape” sculpture festival.

Moore, who is known for tackling issues related to Aboriginal identity, has selected 20 encyclopedias to be partly buried alongside the daisies, packed into one-metre-square boxes, in Bowen Place in a symbolic gesture.

“The yam daisy represents a point where Western science and indigenous knowledge came into contact,” says summit director and Canberra landscape architect Neil Hobbs. “[to the Europeans] the yam daisy was just a field of flowers and not a crop.”

Setting foot in the Parliamentary Triangle and the Kingston Arts Precinct on October 21, the new event is the first major sculpture festival seen in Canberra since the late, lamented Canberra National Sculpture Forum of the mid-’90s.

“CityNews” recently caught up with Hobbs at his Deakin studio/offices for a talk-through of the event, which will see around 35 Canberra sculptors, a dozen from interstate and two from overseas joining a celebration of site-specific art.

Hobbs points out the crates of light tubes and scaffold clamps from Germany for Bonn artist Christoph Dahlhausen’s installation on the Fitters Workshop’s northern facade. “More Light” will be the topic of his artist’s talk.

It’s a who’s who of Canberra’s sculpture, with names such as Michael le Grand, Wendy Teakel, Suzie Bleach and Andy Townsend, Katy Mutton and Philip Spelman on the list.

Canberra artist Haeli Van Veen, he says, has created Canberra’s answer to the Bunyip in a mythical beast called “Committee Meeting” to emerge from the lake.

Hobbs has been an art collector from way back. Rather than footy on weekends, his father took him around Sydney galleries, so he was hooked at an early age.

Rejoicing in the promise of spring, Hobbs hopes his festival will be more than a pleasant frolic around the lake, with performances enhancing the event. David Capra and Teena the Dachshund will perform “Eau De Wet Dogge”, while A Chorus of Women will perform songs and dances on-site at the Bourdelle “Penelope” bronze in the NGA Sculpture Garden.

He’s managed to get grants from the ACT government, the Australia Council and private sources such as ActewAGL, Tactify, the Doma Group and Canberra Airport, which is providing an acquisitive sculpture prize of $30,000.

Hobbs laments the buying habits of Canberrans who, although they have a relatively high disposable income, simply don’t spend on art, seeing the creation of “a city of sculpture” as the job of government.

And yet, as he says, there is no reason why they couldn’t be buying sculptures even if, like him, they’ve run out of wall space for painting. “There’s always somewhere,” he says of sculpture.

“Contour 556: Interventions in the Landscape”, Lake Burley Griffin Foreshore from the National Library to Kingston Arts Precinct, October 21-November 13, details at contour556.com.au

Presented by QL2 Dance 14 & 15 October 2016. Theatre 3, Acton Tickets: QL2.org.au

arts cinema

Disaster with real appeal

By Dougal Macdonald

“Deepwater Horizon” (M)

WHAT distinguishes “Deepwater Horizon” from the majority of so-called disaster movies is its claim to authenticity as it invites us to get involved from our safe cinema seats.

time than necessary. No matter. Our awareness of the verity of the story’s origins reinforces the terrors and dangers of those minutes in a way that the contrivance of fictional disaster movies simply cannot equal.

At all cinemas

“The Girl on the Train” (MA)

Back with a beating ‘Heart’

new contemporary dance work. Created by Jack Ziesing (Expressions Dance Company) Caitlin Comerford (Stompin) and Jamie Winbank (ACT Youth Dance Festival) under QL2 Artistic Director Ruth Osborne

Matthew Michael Carnahan and Matthew Sand had plenty of detailed forensic evidence and personal accounts to draw from when writing the screenplay for Peter Berg’s film telling about the morning of April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico. That’s when “Deepwater Horizon”, BP’s enormous semi-submersible drilling platform exploring the Macondo Prospect blew out, caught fire, killed 11 workers, and released oil and gas estimated to total 4.9 million barrels into the sea and atmosphere.

Mike (Mark Wahlberg), the rig’s chief electrical engineer, Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell), operational supervisor for the drilling company and Vidrine (John Malkovich) BP’s representative on the platform, disagree about the best response to unexpected telemetry from the drill pipe. When she blows, images of the ensuing fire generate credible tension even though we already know the story’s outcome and how long it will take before the hole in the seabed gets capped (87 days).

The fire sequences of the platform furiously ablaze are a tribute to the compilers of the CG code. Some may feel it gets more screen

APPARENTLY, six decades of coastto-coast TV morning network news inspired academic Paula Hawkins to write a novel that, in turn, inspired Erin Cressida Wilson to write a screenplay, which gave director Tate Taylor the inspiration to make this mix of chick-lit and forensic mystery.

The title should correctly be

“The Girl From the Train” carrying Rachel (Emily Blunt) past a semi-rural suburban house and one day seeing a man enthusiastically embracing Megan (Haley Bennett) on the balcony.

Rachel has no difficulty in recognising him. He’s Tom (Justin Theroux), from whom she has been divorced long enough for him to marry Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) and beget in her the child whom Rachel had never had and whom Megan is in fact nannying.

What’s going on? Within the small network of spousal confusions basically arising out of Rachel’s unstable behaviour, quite a lot. She dominates a mystery that guides us along pathways tangled by her employment history, her drinking habits and her mental instability.

At all cinemas

CANBERRA’S Everyman Theatre makes a welcome return to the stage with “The Normal Heart”, by Larry Kramer, directed by Karen Vickery with an all-star local cast – Riley Bell, Christopher Carroll, Robert DeFries, Will Huang, Teig Sadhana, Michael Sparks, Jarrad West, Chris Zuber and Jordan Best. It’s set in 1981, New York, when freedom and equality seem to be just around the corner. At the Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre Centre, October 21-29. Bookings to canberratheatrecentre.com. au or 6275 2700.

THE Groove Warehouse will celebrate Canberra Drummers Day with themed talks, demonstrations and performances. A giant outdoor stage will host live performances of local Canberra artists at 1 Sawmill Circuit, Hume, 10am-6pm, on October 22. Details at groovewarehouse.com.au

MATT Okine, host of Triple J Breakfast and ABC TV’s “How Not to Behave”, is performing his solo show at The Street Theatre on October 21-22. Bookings to thestreet.org.au or 6247 1223.

Canberra Theatre Centre, in association with the Royal Military College Band and proudly supported by the Canberra Labor Club, presents Music At Midday six times a year.

CTC is seeking registered charities to apply to participate in Music At Midday in 2017. Selected charities will be recipients of all donations collected on concert day.

For more information and an application form, please visit canberratheatrecentre.com.au

APPLICATIONS CLOSE MONDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2016

“CITYNEWS” theatre reviewer Joe Woodward is raising eyes at Daramalan College with his production of Bertolt Brecht’s play “The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui”, coming to the College’s McCowage Hall on October 12-15. Arturo runs a greengrocery protection racket where the main players strangely resemble architects of the Third Reich. Bookings to trybooking.com

THE Japanese Film Festival is back for its 20th anniversary, opening here with the comedy-drama “What a Wonderful Family”, which is about a woman seeking to divorce her husband of 50 years. There’s also “Chihayafuru”, based on the popular manga series of the same name. At Capitol Cinemas, Manuka, October 14-23. Bookings and program at japanesefilmfestival.net

THE centrepiece of the Australian String Quartet’s next program in Canberra will be Ligeti’s String Quartet no 1, “Métamorphoses Nocturnes”, in which the composer merges 17 contrasting miniatures, stretching the capabilities and sound world of the modern string quartet. “Metamorphoses”, Gandel Hall, NGA, 2pm, Sunday, October 16. Bookings to nga.gov.au

Where the accent is on Italian

Molto mixes modern and traditional dishes.

The wood-fire pizza oven, which hasn’t worked for 10 months, is now fired up.

Molto is at the Kingston Foreshore and I applaud the place for being one of a very small number of eateries along the water to open on a holiday Monday, during Floriade, a major tourist season for Canberra (duh).

Molto mixes modern and traditional dishes. The wood-fire pizza oven, which hasn’t worked

for 10 months, is now fired up, at least that was the report the day we lunched.

The head chef, Giuseppe Pappalardo, is from Sicily (he used to work at Italian & Sons). Many dishes, including pastas, are made by hand

and the traditional Neapolitan pizzas are crafted with dough that rises for 48 hours. Ten styles of pizza are on offer, from $20 to $26, with the price of the seafood option based on availability.

We shared the beef carpaccio with truffle oil, Testun Barolo cheese and micro herbs ($19).

The beef was sliced super thin and the flavours delightful – no sparing on the oil. My heart goes pitter patter when presented with a quality carpaccio.

The next share plate was the fresh Burrata cheese filled with crustacean oil and served with super ripe cherry tomatoes, salty capers and black olives ($20). The dish is known for its unusual texture – a combo of solid and soft. We weren’t big fans. There wasn’t anything wrong with the dish, it just didn’t tickle our fancy.

Next up, the pasta options caught my eye (ranging from $27 to $32) and I’ll be back one day to try the spaghetti cacio e pepe, served with flair at the table straight out of a pecorino wheel.

I found the heartier macaroni with cured pork cheek, a rich and inviting slow-cooked tomato sugo and tasty pecorino romano cheese, divine and comforting at the same time.

The beef cheek (specials’ board) was out of this world. It was amazingly tender and married well with a bright beetroot puree and pureed artichokes. The veal with tangy lemon, also from the specials’ board, was equally tender and inviting.

The desserts are to die for, including Nonna’s famous tiramisu and the squiggly vanilla pannacotta (both $15).

Inspiration flows when poetry takes to grapes

By Richard Calver

ALL writers have a Vogon nightmare. Vogons are the creation of Douglas Adams.

In Adams’ “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” they are responsible for the destruction of the Earth. They are also the third worst poets in the universe but, even with that rating, sufficiently bad that members of the audience died of internal haemorrhaging during a recitation by their poet master Grunthos the Flatulent.

In my recent search for the muse when taken by wine, I hoped to the heavens that the Vogon affliction would not be the order of the day either for me in my musings and writing or in the search for what it is about wine that inspires the poetic and where best is that connection expressed?

Alas, I found a lot of material that was frankly poor. One even associated the art of what is in truth distilling with some sort of sci-fi time burn:

Ripened grapes turned to wine.

Brandy’s wine, burned in time.

Brenda Meier-Hans

What is it about wine that inspires the poetic and where best is that connection expressed?

with love and its connection with emotions that are generally buried in our day-to-day lives.

For in loosening the inhibitions wine permits the saying of what is often ordinarily unsayable but should be more often expressed. Perhaps as Zart has remarked, you lose wisdom with love, the same affliction as with too much wine:

The first sign of love is the last of wisdom.

The Greeks knew the connection between love and wine and the loosening of inhibitions: Dionysus was the god of fertility and wine. That connection has lived on over the centuries. As Ogden Nash said: “Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker.”

Molto Italian’s interior is sleek and sophisticated, with an open kitchen, high ceilings and timber finishes. The exterior is large and gets sun for part of the day.

Molto Italian, Element Building, Eastlake Parade, Kingston Foreshore. Call 6140 7039. Open seven days for lunch and dinner.

But, sorry, Brenda, it’s actually not wine, it’s a spirit, and rhyming the word “wine” with “time” is banal. Brandy is a spirit distilled from wine or even fruit juice. And if it’s burning then it’s probably not very good brandy.

I must say though that I did enjoy the short and distinct: “Wine is bottled poetry”, a remark attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson. That statement has enough resonance and ambiguity to stand as its own poem. But the real inspiration induced by wine is its affiliation

From Ogden Nash to perhaps my favourite poet, Pablo Neruda, is a stretch both of genre and mood. But where Nash makes a joke that holds the attention, Neruda’s “Ode to Wine” makes me glory in the way that language can capture and hold what we sometimes feel in the moments that truly count, where the notion of what holds each of us together is expressed sublimely, where his metaphors of love and wine cut through.

I hope this extract will show you what I mean:

A jug of wine, and thou beside me in the wilderness, sang the ancient poet. Let the wine pitcher add to the kiss of love its own.

My darling, suddenly the line of your hip becomes the brimming curve of the wine goblet, your breast is the grape cluster, your nipples are the grapes, the gleam of spirits lights your hair,

and your navel is a chaste seal stamped on the vessel of your belly, your love an inexhaustible cascade of wine, light that illuminates my senses, the earthly splendor of life.

It is that earthly splendour that the Vogons could never master. But something we all should cherish: raise your glass.

Joanne Madeline Moore

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

This week there’s a powerful celestial punch as Mars links up with Pluto (on Wednesday) which helps you take on momentous challenges and slay scary dragons. But there’s also the potential for power struggles (especially with authority figures or work colleagues), so try to moderate your tempestuous side. Then Mercury opposes Uranus on Thursday, which shortens your already limited patience and increases your need for speed. So slow down or you might just blow a fuse!

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)

Venus (your patron planet) powers through speedy Sagittarius (from Tuesday until November 12). So buying something extravagant appeals, as you spring into spontaneous spending spree mode. Just make sure you can afford any purchases you make! And avoid being too black and white about joint financial matters or sensitive intimacy issues. There are many shades of grey at the moment, as you navigate and negotiate your way through a constantly changing landscape.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)

Don’t underestimate the positive effect you can have on those around you. Personal projects need to be put on the backburner (temporarily) as you roll up your sleeves and serve others. So take a look around and see if there is someone you can help or a cause you can champion. Are you experiencing problems with a loved one? With Venus visiting your partnership zone, your motto for the moment is from Robert Louis Stevenson: “Compromise is the best and cheapest lawyer.”

CANCER (June 22 – July 22)

Be extra diplomatic when dealing with others mid-week, when Mars and Pluto pile on the pressure and hidden tensions could bubble to the surface. Power struggles and arguments are likely, especially if you try to boss loved ones around. When it comes to a work issue or a family matter, avoid being hasty on Thursday. If you are too slap-dash, then you’ll just make messy mistakes along the way. Smart Crabs will come up with a carefully formulated strategy and stick to it.

LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)

Vivacious Venus visits your entertainment zone (from Tuesday until November 12) which gives a welcome boost to your social life. It’s also time to take a long hard look at your daily diet and exercise routine. Healthy habits established now will lead to less problems in the future, so aim to be disciplined and proactive. But be careful what you say (in person and online) on Thursday. An impulsive comment could lead to ongoing problems, so choose your words wisely.

VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)

There’s no substitute for hard work this week (and no clever short cuts) so roll up your sleeves and power through the pile of paperwork on your desk. But are you viewing a loved one through ridiculously rose-coloured glasses? Perhaps they’re not telling you the whole story? Have you asked the right questions? Honesty and clear communication are vital. But impulsive actions on Thursday could lead to mix-ups over money. So slow down and take things one logical step at a time.

LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)

When it comes to a frustrating family matter, you’ll have to ask some hard questions to discover what’s really going on. You won’t get far if you continue to sit on the fence. With the Sun, Mercury and Jupiter all jumping through your sign it’s time to replace procrastination with plenty of proactive passion. So your motto for the week is from birthday great, actress Sarah Bernhardt: “Life begets life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich.”

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)

You may become obsessed with someone or something – whether the addiction is to love, sex, money, food, booze, shopping, drugs or gambling. The antidote for this orgy of excess is something that’s quite foreign to you – moderation. Yes, you can eat just one piece of chocolate cake; say no to alcoholic beverage number three; and love someone in a non-possessive way! But you’ll need to de-stress and relax, as you strive to connect with the wise and well-balanced Scorpio within.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

Stop endlessly complaining about the tough time you’re going through! We all know you have Saturn moving (slowly) through your sign. This week things improve when Venus shifts into Sagittarius (from Tuesday until November 12) which will improve your outlook and lighten your mood. It also pumps up your fiery charisma, as you charm the cynics and dazzle the doubters. But avoid the temptation to be lazy and self-indulgent. No one wants to be around a selfish Sagittarian!

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

Goats can easily get stuck in a self-satisfied rut, as you keep doing things you are comfortable with. But are you challenging yourself? This week Jupiter encourages you to be more adventurous, while Mars and Pluto rev up your need to push the boundaries in ambitious new directions. But if you try to control loved ones they will resist. So strive to give others plenty of options, personal space and room to shine. Criticising less and praising more is a good place to start.

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

Travel, adventure, hiking, camping, rural destinations and foreign countries are all highlighted this week, as you explore the big wide world outside your door. But impulsive words or actions could lead to an argument or accident so pace yourself Aquarius. Be extra cautious when travelling, driving, cycling, jogging and walking, especially on Thursday. The weekend is a wonderful time to open your heart and be extra generous with your nearest and dearest.

PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)

When it comes to work, it’s time for Fish to focus! Creative brainstorming – followed by carefully targetted action – will lead to professional progress and success. But a group activity looks problematic on Wednesday, when someone tries to take over. Your natural inclination is to go into hibernation mode but the more passive you are Pisces, the more stressful the situation will be. Creativity is highlighted on Friday, when a delicious daydream whisks you away into fantasy land.

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

General

knowledge crossword No. 569

When it comes to travelling, I try hard not to have favourites because each place has its own unique qualities making it special. When it comes to Australia though, I do have a favourite. Tasmania, as a state, is so beautiful that I cannot help but love it because it has something for every type of traveller at any age.

Across

1 Which material, such as straw, rushes, leaves, or their like, is used to cover roofs?

8 Which Latin term means “and so forth” (2,6)?

9 What is a small sailing vessel often associated with island trading?

10 Name the islands forming an archipelago as part of Alaska.

11 Name one of the numerous seabirds such as the mutton-bird.

13 What are overwhelming disasters called?

16 Which crystallised purple quartz is used in jewellery?

19 Kampala is the capital of which republic in eastern Africa?

22 What is a break, as between acts of a play in a theatre?

24 What are forms of expression peculiar to languages?

25 Name a shrub that has broad, showy, short-lived flowers.

26 Which plant species includes the Acacia or Wattle?

Down

2 What is a building for human habitation?

3 Name one of the world’s greatest golfers, ... Woods.

4 What is the science of armorial bearings?

5 Which imperial land measurement equals 4840 square yards?

6 What is atmospheric electricity called?

7 What is an arched, roofed-in gallery?

12 Name the tunnel in which the London underground railway runs.

14 Which disease of the nervous system is caused by a particular toxin?

15 Name a type of security over property whereby the creditor has the right to hold the property until the debt is paid.

17 Name a will-o’-the-wisp light, seen in Australian outback areas (3,3).

18 Which dissertation is presented by a candidate for a postgraduate degree?

20 What is a recognised truth known as?

21 Who wrote The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre ...?

23 What is an evil habit called?

My first trip to Tassie was with my family and I was only young and yet I still remember every adventure as if it were yesterday. From the ghost tour at Port Arthur or the pirate play in Strachan, to flying over Wine Glass Bay or walking along the Tahune AirWalk in the Huon Vally only to name a few, were all things that I enjoyed so much that I hope one day I can share them with my children. Years later I returned again, only this time to experience it as an adult and instead of being on a self drive like when I was a child, I was on a coach tour with a group of people ranging in age from early 30s to late 60s. We had the opportunity to taste the delicious local produce and wines, appreciate the large number of galleries and to gain a greater understanding of the convict history.

Both of my trips were reasonably short in duration and yet I feel like I saw and experienced so many things on each trip. Tasmania has so much to offer so you will never be bored. Tassie also boasts a wide selection of accommodation from B&Bs to Design Hotels so your budget can always be catered for.

If you are interested in visiting Tassie but have not yet found the right tour, one of our most experienced guides, Roy Forward is hosting a lovely program around his home state in January. For further details please contact my team.

TOP TIP: If a tour is not your thing, Tassie is a great destination for hiring a car or even a campervan so you can explore at your own pace.

Drivers urged to keep an eye out

ALL motorists will be reminded of the importance of motorcycle and scooter awareness when Motorcycle Awareness Week starts on October 15.

“Motorcycle and Scooter riders often hear: ‘Sorry, mate, I didn’t see you’ from a motorist who has either hit a motorcycle rider or had a near miss – it’s an all-too-common story,” says David Formica, president of the Motorcycle Riders Association of the ACT.

“Some years ago, the association decided to address that question by having one week every year to raise awareness of riders on Canberra roads – of course, we expect that it then flows to the rest of the year.”

The MRA ACT will also be launching its annual rider-awareness campaign, Joe Rider. As part of the campaign, riders will take to the Canberra streets wearing vests with “JOE” written on the back.

“We ask all road users to look for Joe and they can log their sighting at joe.rider@internode. on.net,” says David.

“Joe can be on the road any time of the day or night, so always be alert and watch out for Joe.

“If you see Joe, you have seen a rider.

“The two-year, lane-filtering trial continued this year, allowing riders to filter between slowing (less than 30 kmh) or stopped traffic.

“We remind other road users of this, especially during Motorcycle Awareness Week.”

Other events include a rider forum on Wednesday, October 19, at the Spanish Australian Club in Narrabundah featuring a presentation by Dr

Liz de Rome and Dr Chris Hurran, the researchers who appeared in the ABC’s “Catalyst” program about motorcycle protective clothing.

The Bikers Breakfast will be held on Friday, October 21, from 7am on the East Lawns of King Edward Terrace, in front of Old Parliament House. This will be followed by Ride to Work Day.

The week concludes with the Pink Ribbon Ride on Saturday, October 22, starting at 9.30am from Old Parliament House. The mass ride will head to Bungendore for a barbecue lunch. Entrance fee is $20 and there will be prizes awarded for best decorated bike and best dressed pillion and rider.

Money raised goes to the Breast Cancer Network Australia.

“The MRA ACT is committed to raising awareness of riders on our roads, but also reminds riders to take responsibility for their safety on the roads – stay visible, be predictable, ride to the conditions,” says David.

More information at mraact.org.au

Bruce knows all about motorbikes

BRUCE, of Bruce’s Motorcycle Repairs, has been servicing and repairing motorcycles for more than 35 years in Canberra.

Bruce and his qualified team specialise in all Japanese motorcycles and European dirt bikes.

“Customers value my personalised service and appreciate discussing their mechanical needs directly with the mechanic working on their bike,” says Bruce.

“Whether you have an older or current model motorcycle, we will offer the most efficient and cost effective way to get you back on the road.

“Call myself or Charlie today to discuss your mechanical needs.”

Bruce’s Motorcycle Repairs, open 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, Shop 3, 44-46 Grimwade Street, Mitchell, call 6241 1175.

Joe

Top quality on two wheels

ROLFE Classic BMW Motorrad sells the full BMW motorcycle and accessory range and has a large workshop on the premises to service all BMW models.

“We offer the highest quality BMW rider wear that offers high protection and visibility,” says Michael Andrews, sales executive.

“Also our motorcycles have class-leading safety features such as anti-lock braking and traction control, and were the first to do so in the motorcycle industry – keeping riders safe!”

Rolfe Classic BMW Motorrad is set to introduce the new BMW G310R Lams-approved, learner legal motorcycle that Michael says will be very affordable for new riders.

“We also have an upcoming open day on October 29 where we will be raffling a weekend away on a BMW vehicle or Mini of your choice,” he says.

Michael says having been established for 11 years now, the team at Rolfe Classic BMW Motorrad have high professionalism and understanding for our customers.

“We all ride our brand of motorcycles and have a strong knowledge in what we sell and service here at Rolfe Classic BMW Motorrad,” he says.

Rolfe Classic BMW Motorrad Centre, 2 Botany Street, Phillip. Visit rolfeclassicmotorcycles. bmw.com.au or call 6208 4133.

Motorcycle Awareness Week open garden

Big on batteries and advice

ALL Type Battery Solutions in Mitchell is a family business owned and run by Peter and Michelle Macaulay, who took over the shop 12 months ago.

It offers expert battery advice and sells a wide range of quality batteries for motorcycles, cars, trucks, caravans, motorhomes, 4X4s, marine, mobile phones, deep cycle, mobility equipment, security, remotes, cordless phones, solar and now hearing-aid batteries.

The business is a Bosch battery dealership, offering a nationwide warranty on all Bosch batteries.

“We stock a wide range of the XR Series Super Start motorbike batteries that have a proven record,” says Michelle.

“Although we only stock a few of the lithium motorbike batteries for the sport-minded riders, we are able to supply as wide a range as needed.

“Our aim is to ensure that people have the right batteries when they

need them.

“We are here to offer friendly service to help people make the right battery choices.”

All Type Battery Solutions has a call-out service that operates seven days a week plus a separate afterhours phone line for emergency assistance.

Michelle says the Mitchell location is well located on Sandford Street and includes parking out front and a back entry into the workshop, which means customers can pull straight into the shop to get batteries changed out of the weather.

All Type Battery Solutions, 12-16 Sandford Street, Mitchell. Visit batteriescanberra.com.au or call 6241 1671.

Where art meets motorcycles

ANDERS Mykkeltvedt, owner of Eurotune Motorcycles dealership and gallery in Queanbeyan says his shop is a great little Aussie bike shop where motorcycles, art, music and lifestyle matter.

“We’ve connected with local artists in our shop and although we’re still involved in motorcycles we’ve backed away from being a mainstream motorcycle dealership,” says Anders.

Customers can expect something different from his dealership and art gallery.

“We have an interesting range of bikes, which are outside the norm,” says Anders.

“My art studio is set up in the

shop, as well as a display of glassworks, ceramics and clothing.”

Most recently, Anders has partnered with American apparel manufacturer Vida to create a new range of women’s fashion clothing influenced by motorcycles and music. Anders also has a “direct-togarment” printing machine that gives customers the opportunity to create a high-quality, customised T-shirt from any image they like or to choose from Anders’ original designs.

Eurotune Motorcycles, 144 Uriarra Road, Queanbeyan. Visit eurotunemotorcycles.com, shopvida.com/ collections/anders-mykkeltvedt or call 6297 8636.

Also open this weekend: “Kathleen”, 21 Downey Street, Karabar

DESCRIBED by the landscape-gardener owners as “experimental but inspired by the romance of Japan”, this zen space features a sacred garden of white stones and a Buddha statue, various “microviews” and successfully combines natives and exotics with remnants of the old cottage-style, “granny” garden that grew there before.

Open 10am-4pm, on Saturday, October 15 and Sunday, October 16. Admission $8; free to under-18s and Open Gardens Canberra members.

Pretty garden at the heart of the farm

A PEACEFUL garden that’s both pretty and productive lies at the centre of Jane Vincent’s beef cattle farm in Sutton, though when she and her husband David moved in 32 years ago it was nothing more than a paddock.

“There were a few stringy barks, but that’s it,” she says.

“The first thing we did was plant deciduous trees to the north and started our orchard, then we set about building our solar-passive house in the side of a hill out of the wind.”

Jane and David’s 0.4-hectare garden in Sutton will be open to the public for the first time through Open Gardens Canberra on the weekend of October 15-16.

The garden now includes many large deciduous trees, including desert ash, four wicking beds for veggies and three big orchards that yield serious amounts of fruit, says Jane.

“We grow pretty much everything it’s possible to grow in the area, from cherries, stone fruits, apples and pears to figs, quinces and a variety of nuts.”

Words: Kathryn Vukovljak

Photos: Andrew Finch

Year-round colour is a priority for Jane, too, with camellias in winter, bulbs in spring, roses for half the year and herbaceous perennials such as wallflowers.

“The garden being productive is very important but I love that it looks pretty, too, with flowers for the house all year round,” she says.

Favourite elements of the garden for keen gardener Jane include the cottage garden and the roses.

“I love the scent and the variety, and being out in the garden is one of my main sources of enjoyment and relaxation,” she says.

The couple preserve anything they can’t use, but aim to cook daily with the freshest ingredients from the garden.

“We have several large composts in the garden, too, which is integral to the rest of the farm,” she says.

“Gollion”, 93 Westmead Lane, Sutton, open 10am-4pm, on Saturday, October 15 and Sunday October 16. Admission $8; free to under-18s and Open Gardens Canberra members. It costs $25 to join Open Gardens Canberra and gain free entry to all open gardens until August 31, 2017. More information at opengardenscanberra.org.au/join.

Sleeves up, it’s springtime!

OCTOBER heralds the real start of spring and one of the busiest times of the year for gardeners.

What to do first? Concentrate on the summer floral display or prune shrubs to keep under control and encourage more flowers?

This is the recommended month to trim conifers, but be sure not to cut into the older wood, as they don’t grow back from there. As with conifer hedges and all hedges, trim the top of the hedge narrower than the base to allow the sun to reach all parts of the plant.

As the spring bulbs finish flowering, it’s time to plant summer and autumn flowering bulbs and annuals, which should be planted without delay. Improve the soil by digging in home compost or rotted leaves, both of which help to retain moisture in summer.

From planting time to full flowering usually takes six to eight weeks. After planting, water in with an organic seaweed plant nutrient. Apply this every few weeks to encourage good root growth and more flowers.

WHILE it’s tempting to wait until they are in flower, I’d suggest planting clematis now. With today’s labels it’s easy to see the

colours and, by planting now, the roots will be well established before the heat of summer.

Here are a few growing hints to get them off to a good start:

• Plant clematis with the roots in the shade and the stems in the sun, if possible. Alternatively, shade the root zone with a large, old tile to keep the roots cool and moist in the summer.

• New shoots in our garden are already taking off, growing up to 30cm a day, as the warmer weather combines with plenty of moisture in the soil. It’s important to tie new shoots to a frame or lattice as they grow, otherwise they will quickly get out of hand and start tangling with other shrubs in the garden.

• Use Velcro tape to prevent damage to the soft, new shoots. About the same width as sticky tape, this is a better alternative than using the green, plastic-covered wire that can ring-bark stems, even on thick stems of roses.

Jottings...

• It’s unnecessary to wait until the leaves of spring bulbs die before cutting them back. This can be done to keep the garden looking tidy four to six weeks after flowering.

• Plant seedlings of lettuce, broccoli and cabbage and seeds of French beans.

• Encourage children into gardening by sowing sunflower seeds. Dwarf varieties can be grown in containers.

• Plant peonies, the princess of flowers, without delay in a sunny spot.

• The Horticultural Society of Canberra’s popular Rhododendron and Azalea Show, featuring spectacular floral displays, floral art and the ever popular plant stall, will be held at the Wesley Church Centre, National Circuit, Forrest, on the weekend of October 22-23 (noon-5pm, Saturday and 11.30am3.45pm, Sunday). Entry by donation. Refreshments available.