JON STANHOPE bemoans the minister who’s hurting vulnerable people
NICHOLE OVERALL shares the twists of the dead-train tale
MICHAEL MOORE wonders how tough is Malcolm Turnbull
CHRIS COLEMAN starts a queue for the next big thing
TIM GAVEL thinks soccer can’t win a trick in Canberra
Stuart Devlin AO is best known in Australia as the designer of our decimal coins, a springboard for an international career as an influential designer including, gold and silversmith to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
General admission is free, or take a special guided tour for a unique insight into the stories behind the dazzling objects of the exhibition.
Book a tour now by visiting eventbrite.com.au and searching ‘Stuart Devlin’. For more information visit www.ramint.gov.au
By Danielle Nohra
MORE than 55 years ago, SA geologist Reg Sprigg, with his wife and two children, crossed the Simpson Desert for the first time in a conventional car.
Now, two local engineers have decided to up that feat and complete the trip in eight days in an electric car, which they will convert themselves.
The two mates and electrical engineers, 26-year-old Dan Clements and 29-year-old Tom Creek, who together form Clements X Creek, are raising money to build the “first EV in history to cross the world’s largest sand-dune desert”.
“Over the past year we have been working on the idea that a 4x4 can be converted from its original internal combustion engine set up into a fully renewable, powered electric vehicle that is capable of crossing the Simpson Desert,” Tom says.
Last year in a Canberra beer garden, while reminiscing over a previous Simpson Desert adventure, a friend challenged Tom and Dan to build an electric vehicle capable of the same journey.
That simple jest grew into something they just couldn’t turn away from.
Dan and Tom are hoping this will stand as a catalyst for electric vehicle
use in Australia.
“We are striving to promote renewable energy as an imperative, not an alternative,” Dan says.
The two hope to provide an information hub where everything people need to know about converting conventional cars into electric vehicles will be in the one place.
“There’s a bit of information online for how to do it, but not enough,” Tom says.
“We want to create a ‘how to’ video. You have a petrol car, but how do you take the engine out?
“We also want to make a series of videos and supporting documentation, whether it be documents for how to pass rego.
“It’ll be an off-the shelf product, so anyone out there can do it.”
To achieve all this, Dan and Tom aim to raise $95,000 through crowd funding and fundraising events.
“The crowd funding is for the vehicle, not for the trip,” Dan says.
“It’s more than the vehicle, because there are fees and rewards. That in itself adds costs to the trip.
“We’ve had to build a platform and
are going to produce and give away content.”
Both full-time workers, Dan and Tom will be busy with the car and the fundraising on nights and during the weekends in order to have it running by August.
“We have a rough timeline, but plan to have it ready by August. This will allow us enough time to build it and test it,” Tom says.
“We’ll get the car to the western part of the Simpson Desert out of our own time and budget.”
To raise awareness they will be giving away “the adventure”, allow-
ing a few people to join them cross the desert.
All people have to do is like or share their posts on the Facebook page, “Outback EV”.
“People have the chance to become part of the actual adventure,” Dan says.
Tom says people have to be 18 years old to be eligible and capable of making the trip.
“We’re looking for people who like adventures,” he says.
To support Dan and Tom visit clementsxcreek.com.au
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Photographer & creative director, Tina Nikolovski (tinanikolovski.com); make-up, Katie Saarikko; hair, Lexi Bannister; designer, Bianca Pavlic – The Label; stylist, Tina Nikolovski; assistant, Laurynn Myles; model, Emma Yates at Devojka Models. Story Page 7.
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The sport is convinced the Barr government is hell bent on banning greyhound racing in the territory.
A PROMINENT drug advocate has challenged local MLAs to back a Greens’ call for a pill testing trial (on-site analysis of illicit pills at music festivals) in the territory. President of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, Dr Alex Wodak , says ACT politicians should “pluck up the courage” and support the campaign. Greens’ leader Shane Rattenbury says a trial is an opportunity to lead the way in harm minimisation.
However Chief Minister Andrew Barr remains circumspect, warning: “A complex range of legal and health implications needs to be considered before any formal pill-testing service could operate safely”.
ALL bets appear to be off in the funding battle between the ACT government and the local greyhound industry. Following the reversal of a ban in NSW in October, ACT Minister for Regulatory Servic-
es Gordon Ramsay undertook to “really look at things with clean eyes”. But as a promised follow-up meeting failed to materialise, the sport is convinced the Barr government is hell bent on banning greyhound racing in the territory. The Canberra Greyhound Racing Club cited positive comments on the NSW industry made by Dr John Keniry, handpicked by the Baird government to advise it on the greyhound racing transition, as further proof the Barr government mishandled the complex issue and acted in a knee-jerk and hasty fashion.
WITH youth detention centres nationally providing frightening headlines, another crisis is looming for the Barr government over the controversial Bimberi Youth Justice Centre.
Opened in 2008, the facility promised “a human-rights-compliant, youth detention facility providing safe and secure accommodation”. An inquiry into allegations that three detainees severely bashed a staff member last May, is yet to be completed. Calls (off air) to my radio program detailing violent attacks on staff, low morale, staffing
shortages and human rights breaches were common. In 2010 staff alleged then-Minister for Children and Young People Joy Burch, stuck her fingers in her ears and yelled “la, la, la” when challenged over issues at a meeting. It would appear very little has changed.
RADIO traffic reporters will need to dig deep into their cliche caches over the next nine months as pace on the light rail project quickens turning peak time into a frustrating snarl.
Radio music programmers also may need
dose of dorin
to adjust playlists to calm the commute.
James Taylor’s 1977 hit “Traffic Jam” might be one hit worth considering:
Well I left my job about 5 o’clock It took fifteen minutes go three blocks
Just in time to stand in line
With a freeway looking like a parking lot
STILL on the radio, and traffic, Tanya Hennessy from FM 104.7’s Ryan and Tanya has amassed some impressive traffic numbers on social media. Hennessy’s Facebook post “a realistic make-up tutorial” scored 4.9
million views taking out the number one spot on radio’s top social posts. Tanya’s tute went viral scoring mentions in the “Daily Mail”, “Glamour”, “Teen Vogue” and Fairfax publications.
FORMER Hawke Government minister Bob McMullan suggests if Canberra is concerned over losing Commonwealth departments to provincial areas, it should think outside the square, but only just.
Writing as a visiting fellow at the ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy, the former ALP national secretary says while the relocation of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority to Armidale was “a terrible waste of money and a brutally cynical piece of pork-barrelling”, there are measures locals can adopt to fight back. The former member for Fraser says serious consideration should be given to relocations to Queanbeyan, Yass and Goulburn.
AFTER winning only three NEAFL games last year the Canberra Demons look set to shine in 2017 after a stunning pre-season performance against Ovens and Murray powerhouse Albury.
Under the mentorship of former Queanbeyan premiership coach Kade Klemke, the home side thumped the Tigers, who’ve won six O&M premierships in the past decade, by 81 points.
The Demons travel to Brisbane to kick off their season on Saturday, April 1, against Redlands.
free sustainable home advice workshops
Understanding Solar
Tuesday 7 March 6pm – 8pm Dame Pattie Menzies House Dickson
March - June
Thursday 18 May 6pm – 8pm Gungahlin Library
It would be nice if Ministers Stephen-Smith and Fitzharris would meet children with brain injury, women with breast cancer, people with motor neurone disease and explain why the $5 billion ACT Budget can no longer afford to cover the $110,000 a year needed to help them.
DIY Draught Proofing
Wednesday 15 March 6pm – 8pm Weston Creek Community Centre
Wednesday 24 May 6pm – 8pm Belconnen Arts Centre
Actsmart about heating your home
Tuesday 4 April 6pm – 8pm Tuggeranong Library
Wednesday 14 June 6pm – 8pm Weston Creek Community Centre
ONE of Canberra’s most enduring and valuable community-sector organisations, SHOUT Inc (Self Help Organisations United Together), announced on March 16 that it will cease operations on May 31. It took this decision following a meeting SHOUT had with the Minister for Community and Disability Services, Rachel StephenSmith, at which she advised that the ACT government had terminated its base funding. This is a tragedy and it is hoped that the Cabinet will reconsider the decision.
SHOUT is seeking $110,000 a year to continue to support its core functions. Of this amount, $40,000 would be repaid to the government as rent leaving the net requirement as $70,000.
in attracting infrastructure funding or other government support.
The range of Canberra organisations that SHOUT currently supports, including with the provision of an office, include: ACT Down Syndrome Association, ACT ME/CFS Society, ACT Motor Neurone Association, Brain Tumour Alliance Australia, Bosom Buddies ACT, Canberra and Queanbeyan ADD Support Group, Canberra Region Kidney Support Group, Friends of Brain Injured Children ACT, Heart Support Australia, Parkinson’s ACT, People with Disabilities ACT and Prostate Cancer Support Group ACT.
through the Independent Living Centre (ILC). However, this misunderstands the very nature of SHOUT and its role.
In the first place, SHOUT does not deliver services to people with a disability, it is a shared-services centre and it is highly unlikely that it would be successful in attracting ILC funding. Secondly, without a continuation of base funding SHOUT could not maintain its office and essential infrastructure in any event.
Reducing energy bills and saving money is quick and easy.Borrow the DIY Home Energy Action Kit from any ACT library
For more information and bookings: visit actsmart.act.gov.au email actsmartadvice@act.gov.au or phone 1300 141 777
All workshops are free with limited places available. Bookings are essential.
The Carbon Challenge is a fun way to become sustainable at home. Will you take the challenge? It’s FREE actsmart.act.gov.au
SHOUT has operated in Canberra for more than 35 years. It is a not-for-profit corporation that acts as a shared services centre for the Canberra community sector. It provides office space, high-level administrative support, access to computers and printing and a range of support services. It has meeting rooms and facilitates and co-ordinates education, training and intrasector collaboration.
SHOUT was established in recognition of the difficulty that small community organisations, which have a small client group, had and continue to have
Some of these organisations have advised that it is highly likely that they, too, will fold when SHOUT shuts down.
It will be sad if that occurs, but even for those organisations that continue it is likely the best they can hope for is that a member of their board or a supporter has some spare space in a back room in their house for a desk and, hopefully, a home computer and a printer.
The ACT government appears, conveniently, to have based its decision to end its support for SHOUT on the NDIS. The government insists that SHOUT pursue funding
Every government in Canberra since the 1980s has, for starkly obvious reasons, regarded the funding of SHOUT as a priority. The decision to cease funding SHOUT has, therefore, to be interpreted as meaning that the government believes that it is either now redundant or at best that its existence and operations are not now regarded as a priority. We can all accept that prioritising expenditure is a necessary and often difficult task. However, when a government puts a Budget together it does it on behalf of all of us, with our money and, hopefully, mindful of the community’s expectation that the priority accorded to expenditure is consistent with its values and its priorities. It behoves the government to explain in detail why a program of inestimable value to the community, such as SHOUT that has been funded for decades with the full support of the community, is to be defunded.
It would be nice, for example, if the relevant Ministers, Rachel StephenSmith and Megan Fitzharris, would agree to meet with the affected organisations and their clients, say children with brain injury, women with breast cancer, people with motor neurone or Parkinson’s disease and explain why the ACT Budget, which is now in excess of $5 billion, can no longer afford to cover the $110,000 a year needed to guarantee their capacity to continue to lead a full and meaningful life as valued members of our community.
Jon Stanhope was Chief Minister from 2001 to 2011. He is the patron of SHOUT Inc.
By Kathryn Vukovljak
BIANCA Pavlic’s talent for creating delicate, feminine clothes has seen her designs featured in US fashion magazine “Coco”, following a collaborative shoot that pooled the talents of several local artists.
Bianca worked together with photographer Tina Nikolovski, who she met at Fashfest last year, to create the shoot, which was published as “Spectrum”.
The 20-year-old CIT fashion design and technology student says she was thrilled with how the photos turned out, and that “Coco” magazine had agreed to publish them based on a coldcall submission.
“It’s been an exciting time, and I was so happy to see the photos in the actual magazine, which looked even more beautiful than they did online,” she says.
“The day the magazine arrived I was screaming, there were happy tears.”
Having drawn dresses and made designs since she was a little girl, Bianca says she always
wanted to do exactly this.
“I have this thing in my life where I always come back to my initial idea – that first inspiration I get is usually the best one for me,” she says.
“Fashion design is definitely my passion and I love creating clothes that are bespoke, beautiful and unique.”
Bianca says that her designs appeal to women aged between 16-30 who love experimenting with fashion and enjoy clothes that are a bit out of the ordinary but appreciate quality.
“My designs are things I would wear myself, that have a minimal aesthetic mixed with pretty,” she says.
THE best thing about Donald Trump’s election to the most visible office on earth is his stupidity.
For the first time ever, the consequences of that lovely catch-phrase “I’m with stupid” are emblazoned across the stratosphere for all to see.
It’s quite a turnaround.
In the days before Donald, the clever folk ran the show based largely on what produced the greatest good for the greatest number. Whether the issue was climate change or globalisation, they looked at the facts and based their response on reason and logic. The stupid people congregated in the shadows and fired their dum dum bullets from weapons forged by ignorance, prejudice and self-interest.
Now the shoe is on the other foot – ignorance and prejudice rule the roost; and the clever folk don’t quite know how to respond, especially since their “facts” are derided as “fake news” and their reason is “dishonesty”.
In this new world, Trump’s chaotic administration is, according to Donald, “a fine tuned machine” and the naysayers who report the judicial rejection of his anti-Muslim travel decree or the sacking of his National Security Adviser are “out of control”.
Of course, the clever people were not perfect. They did a terrible job of selling the awful consequences of climate change and they failed to provide the semiskilled workers of the First World with interesting and well-paid new jobs when their old ones were exported to the Third World or were lost to technology.
Britain has begun the slow slide into irrelevance; and in America the stupid people are glorying in their
moment in charge while the clever people wring their hands in tearful frustration.
And no one knows what will happen next.
But lest we become too smug and superior, a moment’s reflection reveals that we’ve all contributed to the rise of stupidity. Think of all the people who prefer the fairytales of religion over the progressive discoveries – via reason and logic – that make a mockery of the claims of the faithful.
Think of the reluctance of the clever people to call for the dissolution of a church that became a worldwide front for paedophiles who preyed on children in their care.
Think of our ready acceptance of a clever President Obama who ended every speech with a benediction that “God bless America”; or of our own continuing devotion to a foreign hereditary aristocracy to produce our head of state.
Even closer to home, think of our own august journal “CityNews” that devotes a third of a page to an astrology column. And what of your “clever” columnist himself, who – against all reason and logic – contributes $16.70 a week to a numbers game (Powerball) without the slightest possibility of the promised riches! Yep, much as I hate to admit it, “I’m with stupid”, too.
How about you?
robert@robertmacklin.com
“Neutrals with embellishments, lace and beading, something unique that makes simple designs pop. The beaded jacket used in the photo shoot took me hours and hours of work but it’s so beautiful.
“And designing my own clothes is good for me as I’m short, so I can make them fit perfectly!”
Bianca sells her clothes under “Bianca Pavlic – The Label”, mainly through word of mouth and markets, and says she creates crop tops from $55, bralettes from $30-$40, as well as custom designs for formals.
She says she plans to study an advanced diploma of fashion business at the FBI college in Sydney after graduating CIT in June.
“Eventually, I’d like to have a little shop with a studio where I could work and sell garments, as well as building an online presence as I grow,” she says.
“It’s a tough industry but I know my passion is in design, and I can see myself doing it long term – and with perseverance you can do anything.”
More information at facebook. com/biancapavlic.thelabel
CREDITS: “Coco” magazine fashion shoot credits: Photographer & creative director, Tina Nikolovski (tinanikolovski.com); Make-up, Katie Saarikko; Hair, Lexi Bannister; Designer, Bianca Pavlic –The Label;
ROOKWOOD Cemetery in Sydney’s heart is the world’s largest Victorian-era necropolis – literally, a city of the dead – the final resting place for the mortal remains of up to a million souls.
Originally known as the Haslem’s Creek Cemetery, legend has it that Rookwood was either named for a gothic novel from 1834 or is a derivation of Brookwood Cemetery, the biggest in the UK. Having come to envelope some 314 hectares over almost 150 years, Rookwood is so large it earned its own postcode (2141). It caters to all comers, multicultural in the broadest sense, and is home to five separate offices and chapels for various denominations, seven major memorials, a handful of flower shops,
and a couple of cafes. And once, it even had its own railway – the Cemetery Line, used to transport the dearly departed through the city to their last stop.
The Mortuary Station, completed on March 22, 1869, just down the way from Central Station (itself built atop a former burial ground), was where the bereaved and their associated accoutrements would take their leave. They would then be received at Cemetery Station No. 1 (No. 2, 3 and 4 were added later) inside the consecrated bounds of Rookwood.
So what, pray tell, does this valley of the shadow of death have to do with the Canberra region?
Like something straight out of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, the ornate, gothicstyle stations, replete with “angels, cherubs and gargoyles” (and, yes, of course they’re said to be haunted) were designed by the NSW Colonial Architect of the day, James Barnet.
No slouch, Mr Barnet was better known for his other landmark structures including Sydney’s GPO and the cathedral-like Grand Palace, which housed the Sydney International Exhibition until it was destroyed by fire in 1882.
After almost a century of use, it was decided the stations were to go the way of the majority of their passengers.
Ensconced behind locked, wroughtiron gates, the first remains in situ, though rarely accessible, on Regent Street. The
second, at which the dead arrived, vanished – from the environs of the NSW capital in any regard.
Far from the end of the line for the Mortuary Terminus, it wound up in perhaps the least likely location; not perched on some remote Transylvanian clifftop, rather, right here in the national capital, as a church no less. It was re-erected stone-by-backbreakingstone as the Anglican All Saints in Ainslie in 1957, after the forwardthinking reverend Edward Buckle shelled out 100 pounds (plus another 23,900 for transport and construction) in order to replace the congregation’s draughty hall with something eminently more suitable.
But, of course, this twisty tale doesn’t end there.
Soon after the Mortuary Stations were crafted for their purpose, Queanbeyan’s similarly gothic St Stephen’s Presbyterian Church was constructed in 1874.
James Barnet was a member of this Reformed Protestant flock and, in a coup for a town with a population of around 1000, in 1881 the NSW Colonial Architect agreed to design the Queanbeyan manse (the residence of the minister), one of the few minor projects to which he ever turned his considerable talents.
And if that gem of historic serendipity isn’t quite obscure enough to satisfy
the ever-curious, a decade-and-a-half later, that very building would be the place of death of his own daughter, Mrs Amy Steel, at the age of 40.
Amy and her husband, one of the colony’s most “popular divines”, the reverend Robert Alexander Steel, had moved to Queanbeyan to preach the word at the same time her good old dad offered to lend a hand.
The Steels had lived there happily until Amy’s unexpected death in 1897. Three short months later, Mr Steel moved back to Sydney and when he died almost 20 years on, he was buried – you guessed it – in Rookwood.
No funeral train would carry Amy on though, and just like the manse and All Saints, she remains among us still, her grave to be found in the distinctly smaller but equally historic Queanbeyan Riverside Cemetery of 1846.
Nichole Overall is a Queanbeyan-based journalist and social historian with a predilection for bringing to light the unsolved mysteries and conundrums of the capital region.
FEWER people are cycling into Civic of a morning, according to data collected by Pedal Power ACT.
The review, put together on behalf of the ACT government, shows that on the first Tuesday of March for the past three years, on average, there’s been a 2.1 per cent drop.
Pedal Power ACT’s communications manager Anne Treasure says that riding needs to be more viable for women, who only made up 30.7 per cent of commuter bike riders this year.
The organisation has been collecting data since 2004 to better understand how Canberra chooses to travel in and out of Civic.
The annual percentage increase in cycling numbers from 2004 has exceeded eight per cent in all but one year (due to inclement weather).
The 2017 figures indicate a 6.1 per cent increase in the number of riders who travel into the city between 7.30am and 9am since 2004. And between 2004 and 2010 there was a rapid rise with an annual growth of at least 10 per cent. But in recent years the numbers have started to plateau.
Anne says that with Canberra’s population set to grow to 421,000 by 2020, the ACT needs stronger leadership to make cycling, as transport, appealing to more Canberrans.
“Many people haven’t considered the idea of riding a bike for transport, and may simply need more information on how they can make active travel part of their lives,” Anne says.
Despite 114,000 Canberrans riding a bike every month, only 2.9 per cent use their bikes to commute.
More information via pedalpower.org.au
IT is sad that Chief Minister Andrew Barr hasn’t seen fit to introduce a safe schools program to include all students.
Students can be bullied because of skin colour, ethnicity, religion, physical, mental or social attributes, and even clothing if from a disadvantaged background. It would have been good to also stress these points. Young people going through puberty can develop some bisexual physical and mental attributes as they develop. They can also experiment, particularly in a same-sex environment. Most end up going with the sexual attributes with which they were born.
However, the sexually explicit nature of the Safe Sex Program can help promote body dissatisfaction and confusion at this vulnerable stage of their lives, leading them to change gender appearance and self harm. Such a program should be reserved for genuine LGBT students.
THOSE who oppose Safe Schools fail to throw up alternative measures that might deal with the very real issues faced by LGBT students who, according to beyondblue, have a 14 per cent higher risk of suicide.
The reality would seem to be that the anti-Safe Schools campaigners would prefer to resist letting kids learn about diversity yet insist that the “identity politics” of their own god is imposed upon all others without question.
Harry Yim, Kingston
TODAY, and every day, over one and a half million young, healthy animals will be slaughtered here in Australia – animals who, just like your cat or dog, have the capacity for affection, fear, pain and joy.
Not one of them is going to give his or her life, it will be brutally, degradingly taken.
Not one of the worn out dairy cows amongst them ever gave her milk, it was forcibly sucked out of her –after the calf for whom it was intended was also forcibly taken from her.
Not one of the spent layer hens (all of 18 months old)
GED Fitzsimmons points out (letters, CN, March 9) that columnist Nichole Overall’s piece on the Dixon case (CN, February 23) was not the only death sentence handed down by the ACT Supreme Court.
Apart from the 1965 Velonias case, which Fitzsimmons describes, there were several death sentences imposed in the 1960s in both murder and rape cases.
In one particularly nasty pack rape case, it was only the frank and fearless advice of a senior Attorney-General’s Department officer that saved the young men concerned from the gallows.
There was a strong desire in Federal cabinet for the sentences to be carried out until the ministers were persuaded that it was not practical to set up a gallows in Canberra nor take the men to Darwin.
Stephen Brown, Forrest
This caused the NSW government to reject the program and many in Canberra would agree. Columnist Nick Jensen (“Parents lose power to the ‘rainbow ideology’’, CN, March 2) has simply reflected this view.
“CityNews” readers are well aware of Jensen’s ideologies and former affiliations. He has not been disingenuous, as one reader would suggest. His views have been expressed in numerous articles previously.
Prof Patrick Parkinson has also done a lot of research on this subject and his findings should also be considered, even if they don’t espouse the views of some readers.
People read “CityNews” because of its balanced journalism. “CityNews” expresses the differing views of all Canberrans, not just the vocal Canberrans.
Rewa Bate, Coombs
CLEARLY, yesteryear’s schoolyard bullies have grown up and found that they simply can’t bring themselves to stop vilifying LGBT people as adults, so now they’re obsessing over the Safe Schools program.
These people should realise that the world has changed and peacefully step aside to let the new generation experience tolerance and understanding in their schools.
Hate and misunderstanding has a toxic effect, but not all should have to be affected.
John Smeeve, Downer
gave her eggs, which she saw as her children. They, too were taken from her.
None of the meat or other products harvested as human food from today’s dead bodies is essential for our health or wellbeing. Nor is the milk or eggs taken from these animals during their short, miserable existence, necessary for us to live happy, healthy, sustainable lives. We need to start moving toward more healthy, sustainable, compassionate, plant-based foods.
FOLLOWING blackouts in SA, we are now being told that the “PM declares a gas crisis to prevent this island nation from running out of gas”. This will be the start of a situation that is predicted to worsen rapidly, even possibly in Canberra. Our Greens Minister Shane Rattenbury says gas is the preferred energy source for heating, cooking and hot water in Canberra. And yet, recently, he is quoted as saying gas reticulation will not be extended into new suburbs.
Besides gas for home use I would suggest every restaurant in Canberra/Queanbeyan uses gas for cooking for obvious reasons.
From the early ‘60s, I was employed in the gas and oil business for 23 years. In 1968 I joined the largest energy company in the world, Exxon, known here as Esso, as the Canberra manager to promote bottled gas to build up a base for both domestic and commercial use. Esso was installing bottled gas for thousands of houses as most people realised it would only be a matter of time before natural gas by pipeline would arrive. Esso was also supplying bottled gas to virtually every
If you’re looking to buy a property, this is the seminar for you. Designed to provide practical information on all aspects of buying a home, you will arm yourself with the knowledge you need to enter the housing market.
Specifically we’ll be covering off on:
ü understanding the total cost of a home
ü tips on how to find the right property
ü understanding the home buying process, including conveyancing
ü assistance for first home buyers, and
ü understanding the different home loan products and features available.
Mike O’Shaughnessy, Spence
restaurant and other industries in Canberra.
Substantial gas discoveries were being made all over the country and it was assumed that Australia would/could never run out of gas for industry and/or the domestic market.
Then greed came into the picture. The big companies saw the opportunity of exporting, in particular to Japan and later China. Now, two thirds of our gas supplies are exported! This isn’t leaving us with sufficient gas for home consumption and now, in desperation, the Prime Minister says it’s time to call the well-heeled executives of our major gas companies to a meeting to prevent this island nation of running out of gas!
We are not running out of gas, we have some of the largest gas reserves in the world and we are selling it off. It is time someone got real and decided that Australia comes first. And yes, Mr Rattenbury, householders and restaurants in the new suburbs will want the option to use gas.
Cedric Bryant, Watson
Where: Mercure Canberra
Date: Tuesday 4 April 2017
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PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been talking tough, which might impress many people including, no doubt, the conservative rump of his own party.
However, even the shirt-fronting, tough-talking Tony Abbott lost support with this kind of approach.
The energy crisis has provided a neat opportunity for Mr Turnbull to show what he’s made of, to demonstrate how a genuinely “strong” Prime Minister operates. Calling the captains of the energy industry into Parliament House to lay down the law certainly made for effective media. It provided the opportunity for the PM to demonstrate his genuine concern over energy shortages and the supply of natural gas with its impact for business and householders.
Government and industry now have an agreed position. Adequate supplies of natural gas will be made available to electricity suppliers in the event of high demand situations – such as heatwaves. Australia must have priority and the Prime Minister is even prepared to use the Commonwealth government’s external powers to ensure security of supply for Australia. However, at what price will the gas be delivered?
When will the mining industry begin to pay its fair share of revenue?
The successful attacks by the mining
While Australia wrestles with shortages of natural gas, US-based Chevron and ExxonMobil, the owners of Gorgon, are exporting huge amounts of LNG without paying revenue to Australia.
industry on former WA Nationals
Leader Brendon Grylls illustrate how hard it is to take a tough stance with this industry. Grylls, an MP from the Pilbara, was calling for a significant increase in mining tax to be used for the benefit of the community as a whole. It cost him his seat in the recent WA elections.
He had struck a deal with thenPremier Colin Barnett to form a minority government in 2008 on the proviso that more than a billiondollar commitment was made to the Royalties for Regions program. After eight years, $6.9 billion had been spent on around 3700 projects, building halls, pools and apartment blocks, and upgrading streets.
This demonstrates how mining revenue could be used for the benefit of the nation whose resources are being depleted. It is in marked contrast to the story of natural gas from Australia’s north-west shelf, off the coast of WA, where our governments have handed over the resource on half-baked promises. The
Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in WA is so gargantuan it will transform Australia into the world’s biggest LNG exporter by 2018.
While Australia wrestles with shortages of natural gas, US-based Chevron and ExxonMobil, the owners of Gorgon, are exporting huge amounts of LNG without paying revenue to Australia. They are being investigated by the Australian Tax Office regarding use of international tax havens.
Michael West pointed out in “The Conversation” that Japanese consumers spend less on LNG from Bass Strait than do Victorian consumers. He went on to explain that just six companies control the price and supply of LNG. He suggests that these six – Santos, Exxon, BHP, Origin, Arrow Energy and Shell – act more like a cartel than a market.
“Japan, which is the single-biggest
buyer of Australian LNG at 30 million tonnes a year, levies an import tax that will deliver $2.9 billion to its national coffers over the next four years”, according to Heath Aston in “The Sydney Morning Herald”.
In the meantime, the Australian people are simply handing over their shared natural resources and being told that we need to tighten our belts. Apparently, we have “a spending problem rather than a revenue problem”.
No, Prime Minister; we have a revenue problem. We also have a focus problem. While the government focuses on cutting Sunday penalty rates for the poorest workers, the wealthiest companies escalate prices for Australians and then find ways to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.
A strong Prime Minister would take them on.
Michael Moore was an independent member of the ACT Legislative Assembly (1989 to 2001) and was minister for health.
THE Wanniassa chemist is hosting a “Wanni White Coats Winners’ Party” at the pharmacy, 11am-1pm, on Saturday, April 1, to celebrate its unprecedented three wins at the Australian Pharmacy Professional Conference on the Gold Coast. The Capital Chemist pharmacy was awarded 2017 GuildCare Pharmacy of the Year for professional innovation, GuildCare Pharmacy of the Year and the Pharmacy Guild Intern of the Year, for newcomer Morgan Kennedy.
IN its 30th anniversary of the Antiques and Collectables Fair, the Rotary Club of Canberra will donate the proceeds this year to CanTeen, the charity supporting young people between 12 and 24 living with cancer.
Twenty-three antique dealers from around Australia will be at Albert Hall offering pieces from Georgian to Art Nouveau. It opens 6pm on Friday, March 31 and again on Saturday, 10am-5pm, and Sunday 10am-4pm. Entry is $8, concession $6 and children 14 and under are free.
YOUTHCARE Canberra will be the winner of the proceeds of a trivia night at the Hellenic Club, Woden, on Friday, April 28. YCC aims to improve the lives of alienated and excluded street youth. Hosted by the Rotary Club of Canberra Sunrise, the night includes trivia, raffles and a silent auction. Tickets are $31.50, including booking and credit card fees. Bookings to trybooking.com/259292
MEN’S soccer in Canberra is in no man’s land with the Football Federation Australia set to again overlook the ACT as a potential destination for an A League side.
There is enormous momentum for a team in southern Sydney that embraces Wollongong, while South Melbourne is well positioned to be a future part of the A League.
Even though there’s no bid as such from Canberra, we seem to be in a perpetual state of semi-readiness for the FFA to deem the time is right for an A League expansion. For the time being, we appear to have missed the boat this time. This makes the proposed second-tier national competition attractive. If it were to go ahead, featuring at least one Canberra side, it would at least provide a pathway for young players who, at the moment, aspire to leave the ACT as soon as they can to further their football careers.
However, there needs to be caution, having seen many a Canberra team over the years come close to falling apart, burdened by the financial strain created by a well-intentioned desire for success.
I HAVE written before about Ben Freeman, the young Canberra-based swimmer who became the first ACT swimmer to conquer the English Channel. He also won the Champions of the Channel Rottnest Island Channel Swim last year. He has now set his sights on the Oceans Seven. This is, as the name suggests, seven of the toughest ocean swims in the world ranging from the English Channel to the Catalina Channel in California, the Cook Strait, the North Channel and the Strait of Gibraltar. Many describe the Oceans Seven marathon swims as the equivalent to the seven summits in mountaineering.
Only six swimmers have ever completed all seven swims and Ben is aiming to become the first Australian to do so.
Under the rules, swimmers are prohibited from wearing a wetsuit. Given the water is generally cold, training on Lake Burley Griffin and in the Phillip pool in winter provides the ideal preparation. Harder to prepare for though, are the vagaries of the ocean such as the man of war, which has the appearance of a giant blue bottle crossed with a jellyfish.
ANOTHER Canberran I have profiled in this column is 20-year-old driver Cameron Hill. He came third in the Toyota 86 series last year, which is the support race to the Super Cars. He will race again this year in the five rounds of the Toyota series in the hope of being picked up by a Super Car team. With a budget of between $40,000 and $50,000 it makes the cost of junior football registrations seem relatively cheap!
Cameron starts his campaign next month at Phillip Island.
SO, we’re now officially the Bush Capital. Or at least we will soon be, according to our numberplates; but has the ACT missed the opportunity to partake in a little ambush marketing?
You see, for the best part of the first decade of this century, SA proudly emblazoned its plates with “The Festival State” and, so far as I can tell, they didn’t give motorists a choice of slogans. If you lived there, you got those plates, until they decided it was more efficient to go with a simple “South Australia” under the registration. Either that or they ran out of power before adding a new slogan, but I digress...
Anyhow, Canberra is now the Festival City. We have the Multicultural Festival, the Comedy Festival, the Wine Harvest Festival, the National Folk Festival and more. You could justifiably throw other events into the mix that don’t include the word “festival” in their names such as Enlighten, Floriade, Australia Day and Christmas in the City.
While this proliferation of festivals (and the increasing promotion of our festivals far and wide) means an increasing number of things for locals and visitors to do; it also means an increasing number of people attending the festivals. And it’s this increasing number of people that could give Canberra a unique marketing edge.
If you are one of the tens of thousands who went to the Enlighten Night Noodle Markets or if you’re one of the hundreds of thousands who crammed into the Multicultural Festival,
SANDIE Parkes and Elaine Stanford, of The Green Shed, are the guest speakers at the next lunch meeting of the Weston Creek VIEW Club at the Southern Cross Club, Corinna Street, Woden from 11.30am, on Tuesday, April 4. Interested ladies and new members welcome. Lunch costs $28 and bookings to 6288 7625 by Thursday, March 30.
If you’re one of the tens of thousands who went to the Enlighten Night Noodle Markets or crammed into the Multicultural Festival, I’m sure one of your memories will be the time you had to stand in queues.
I’m sure one of your memories will be the time you had to stand in queues. Ten or 15 minutes in a line for a burger or a piece of lamb on a gourmet bun, five minutes to eat it, then another 10 minutes in a different line for some marinated bacon or a wild rice dish. The notable exception being the number of people selling potato on a stick, they are so plentiful you can almost be served before you order at some of them.
It does speak to the quality and popularity of the food on offer that queuing for sustenance has become de rigueur for our events, but it means we’re missing out on a huge number of people.
There are certain places where people know how to queue. Domestically, think of Melbourne. They’ll stand in line for ages to get their hands on a tall, half-caff, half-soy, half-goat-milk cappuccino with a splash of caramel syrup and a Madagascan vanilla bean served in a latte glass down there. Can’t you see it now? “Come to Canberra for a
festival, stand in a queue, it’s just like being in Melbourne”.
Why stop at Melbourne? Londoners and Brits know how to queue properly as do New Yorkers and there are still plenty of Russians who would remember the days of Communism where it wasn’t uncommon for people to join a queue first and ask what they were queuing for later.
It could become a year round marketing push. Put all of Canberra’s festivals and events under one banner: “The Canberra Queuing Festival”. You know it’s a winning idea, so get on board. Take a number and join the queue to support it.
Chris Coleman presents “Canberra Live”, 3pm-6pm, weekdays on 2CC.
FOLK Dance Canberra is teaching Greek dancing – featuring the Hasapiko, Kalamatianos, Tsamikos, Ikariotikos and Zorba – at the Hackett Community Centre, 114 Maitland Street, 1.30pm-4.30pm, Saturday, April 1. Cost is $10, no experience or partners needed. More information from 6231 4472.
CHRISTIANS Against Poverty (CAP) is running two free money-management courses that teach budgeting skills and a simple, cashbased system at Tuggeranong Baptist Church, Jenke Circuit, Kambah, in May. The first runs for three weeks, 7pm-9pm, from Wednesday, May 3. The second option is an all-day course on Saturday, May 6. Registrations via capaust. org, email capmoney@tbcchurch.com.au or call 0401 301193.
SUNDAY 2 APRIL
INCLUDING: Beds and Bedroom Furniture, Mattresses, Bookcases, Dining Suites, Bunkbeds, Television Cabinets, Sideboards and Side Tables, Chests of Drawers, Leather and Material Lounge Suites, Bar Stools, Wall Units, Sundry Homewares including Lamps, Cushions, Mirrors, Rugs, Pillows, Clocks, Artworks and more…
ALL NEW AND MUST BE SOLD
PLUS: Pallet Racking, Office Furniture, Mezzanine Floor, Industrial Fans, Shop Counters and Fittings.
INSPECTION: 10am-5pm Friday, 31st March and 10am-5pm Saturday, 1st April
16.5% Buyer’s Premium Applicable
ACT agencies are among the shortlisted nominees vying for national recognition when the the Real Estate Institute of Australia identifies the top performers in the real estate industry at its National Awards for Excellence, at the Hyatt Hotel Canberra on March 23.
Co-hosted by the Real Estate Institute of the ACT, the awards encourage, recognise and promote excellence and best practice in the profession. The ACT nominees are:
• Peter Blackshaw Manuka (Large Residential Agency of the Year)
• Ray White Belconnen (Medium Agency of the Year)
• Maria Selleck Properties (Small Residential Agency of the Year)
• CBRE ACT (Commercial Agency of the Year)
• Nick Cotis from Raine & Horne Commercial Canberra (Commercial Salesperson of the Year)
• Stephanie Graham from Independent Property Group (Achievement Award)
• Peter Blackshaw Belconnen (Innovation Award)
• CBRE Canberra (Community Service Award)
• Jorgie Gorman from Knight Frank Australia (Commercial Property Manager of the Year)
• Renee Bink from Independent Property Group (Residential Property Manager of the Year)
• Sofia Ligeros from Independent Property Group (Corporate Support Person of the Year)
WITH a successful background in law and a passion for real estate, it was an obvious transition for Jorgie Gorman to take on a more active role in the commercial property industry.
Within a few short years as senior property manager with Knight Frank Australia, Jorgie’s meticulous level of managing high demands and delivering exceptional outcomes has led to her becoming a finalist in the REIA Awards for Excellence.
“I am so fortunate to work within such a fantastic team and to learn from some of the most talented people within the commercial property industry,” Jorgie says.
“The wealth of knowledge and diverse range of disciplines within the Knight Frank business is the most valuable resource available to me as property manager and it has certainly enabled me to resolve many of the challenges I have faced in my role to date.”
These attributes were instrumental in Jorgie becoming a finalist in the REIA awards
and in winning the Real Estate Institute of Canberra’s Commercial Property Manager of the Year in 2016.
“My legal background, experience and professional skills gained as a commercial lawyer are an asset in my role as a property manager having provided me with the skills and advice that is often sought by clients,” she says.
Jorgie is now responsible for the management of a 55,000 square metre commercial property portfolio with a value of circa $310 million.
But, Jorgie says, although the portfolio she manages is significant in size, what’s more relevant to her is the people that work in, visit, maintain and own the buildings she’s responsible for managing.
“I am fully aware of the responsibility, demands and expectations of all of the stakeholders involved and I am committed to continual improvement and finding ways to manage these often competing expectations,” she says.
Peter Blackshaw Belconnen
Nominated for the Innovation award
OPENING in 1998 Peter Blackshaw Belconnen, the third office in the Peter Blackshaw network continues to grow, particularly through innovation.
As winners of the ACT awards for innovation Peter Blackshaw Belconnen now qualifies as a finalist at the national awards.
Peter Blackshaw Belconnen principal and sales consultant Peter Walker says: “It may seem contrived, but it does mean a lot to be recognised for efforts invested into improving the services we offer through innovation.”
“After 30 years of listing and selling real estate, it’s also evidence that we are continuing to look for new and innovative ways of marketing homes,” he says.
Peter Blackshaw Belconnen is specifically proud of its creation of the “community video”, which has been a significant breakthrough in marketing property.
The “community video” is an advancement of an idea used by a NSW agency. The video promotes amenities and locational benefits of various local areas.
“We were aware of many buyers new to a suburb wanting to know more about the community of a suburb. What were the locals like? Was it safe? Was the
local schooling good?” Peter says.
Peter Blackshaw Belconnen was determined to take this video further, which it did.
“The ‘community video’ was intended to be a progression on this concept by way of advising prospective buyers about the suburb as a community and place to live,” Peter says.
“We interviewed locals, both new and old to the suburb, and asked them a range of questions including why they bought into the suburb, what they liked about their suburb and what factors seemed to make it such an attractive suburb to live in.
“The response was encouraging with many prospective buyers attending our open homes advising that the people on the video seemed nice and the comments made gave them confidence in considering the suburb as a place to live and raise a family.”
Peter says these videos also included footage from on-site auctions, which show healthy numbers of smiling locals in attendance.
Post-auction interviews of owners and buyers were included, too, to reinforce what a good area the suburb is according to them.
Peter Blackshaw Belconnen. Unit 8 & 9, 102 Emu Bank, Belconnen. Call 6251 9111 or visit peterblackshaw.com.au
On average, Peter Blackshaw agents individually sell more properties than any other Real Estate agent in Canberra. As a result, they hold more open homes, talk to more buyers and have their fingers on the pulse of the property market. They were responsible for 27% of the recordbreaking suburb sale prices of 2016.
Peter Blackshaw Real Estate has the highest percentage of its agents in the Greater Canberra region’s Top 100 Agents. They leverage their extensive knowledge of the market and strong network to obtain the best outcomes for their clients.
PETER BLACKSHAW BELCONNEN AGENTS ARE COMMITED TO ACHIEVING THE BEST RESULT FOR YOU. CALL US ON 6251 9111.
Ray White Belconnen
Nominated for the Medium Agency of the Year award
ESTABLISHED in January 2010, Ray White Belconnen principal Ben Faulks describes the beginning in one word, “humble”, given that two of the three founders had never sold a house before.
“We literally started with nothing – no database, no listings, no previous clients,” he says.
Since then, the philosophy at Ray White Belconnen has been to focus on delivering peace of mind for its clients in every real estate transaction, with emphasis on building relationships for the longer term rather than focusing on individual transactions.
This approach has led to some significant milestones in the last 12 months. But the achievement that Ray White Belconnen is especially proud of is its ranking as the most recommended real estate agency in 2015 and 2016 by the independent website, ratemyagent.com.au.
“The values of our company have also been integral in the way that we have gone about our business, and are not typical of what you might think of when you think about a real estate agency,” Ben says.
“Success and leadership are championed, but so are reliability, teamwork, and humility.”
And the “truly local” team at Ray White Belconnen plays a fundamental role in the business working together with a combined industry experience of nearly 50 years to bring unprecedented energy to every client’s sale.
All the directors are born and bred in the Belconnen region and Ben and his brother Sam, also a principal, are third generation Belconnen residents.
In a short period of time the Ray White Belconnen team has won multiple awards, including being home to the Number One agent in the Ray White Canberra network and with two agents in the top five for regional NSW.
Ben says: “Ultimately ours is a service role and we are privileged to be serving more and more Canberra home owners as each year passes.”
Ray White Belconnen. Shop 3, Corner of Luxton and Josephson Streets, Belconnen. Call 6173 6300, email ben.faulks@raywhite.com or visit raywhitebelconnen.com.au
Further enquiries:
Ben Faulks
ben.faulks@raywhite.com
Ray White Belconnen
Shop 3, Cnr Luxton and Josephson Streets (02) 6173 6300
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For the second year running, Ray White Belconnen was named the number one real estate agency in the ACT at the 2017 RateMyAgent awards.
The rankings, which are determined by independent customer reviews, highlight the quality of the selling experience through an office across five categories including market knowledge, communication skills, credibility, negotiation skills and overall satisfaction.
Ray White Belconnen also ranked 19 out of all agencies Australia wide, and was number one for the majority of suburbs in the Belconnen region.
“It is extremely rewarding to get this type of feedback and receiving this award for the second year in a row reinforces that we’re delivering an experience which our customers value,” said Ben Faulks, Principal of Ray White Belconnen.
“Our whole team follow a disciplined process so that we never miss a step. We do our
utmost to cover all bases ensure nothing slips through the cracks, and I am so thrilled that our customers have appreciated the service that we deliver.”
Top local agent Jake Battenally also ranked highly, being the number three individual agent for the Canberra region.
Ray White Chairman, Brian White said the recognition is the result of hard work.
“At Ray White, we’re invested in delivering the best tools and technology to enable our members to provide a world class customer experience. It is so wonderful to see our people build successful businesses around ensuring that their customers receive a positive real estate experience,” he said.
STARTING in 1984 at Weston Park, Auto Italia Canberra has continued its annual display of Italian automotive design for 33 years. This year cars, motorbikes and scooters from around the country will be exhibited on the lawns of Old Parliament House on Sunday, 10am-3pm, on April 2. It’s a great chance to meet local Italian automotive enthusiasts, business owners – and also try some authentic Italian-style gelato.
WITH a passion for racing and motor cars, Ray Gulson started Gulson Canberra in 1963.
What begun as a motorsport and tuning shop quickly grew into a successful motor dealership.
After Ray’s retirement in 1998, his son, Graham moved back to the ACT to take the reins as owner.
“I come from an engineering background, but have always been a part of the family business,” Graham says.
Gulson Canberra has attended Auto Italia for as long as it’s been around and this year it will be showcasing the Fiat 500, Fiat 500X, Alfa Romeo Giulietta, the new Alfa Romeo Giulia and one of the first public showings of the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV with a twin turbo V6 Ferrari motor.
Gulson Fiat and Alfa Romeo, 279 Canberra Avenue, Fyshwick. Call 6280 4440 or visit gulson.com.au
LATIN Motors has provided mechanical repairs and servicing to the Canberra region since 1979. The family-owned, long-established workshop specialises in European makes and models.
Owner Damian Jones says that its customers can feel comfortable knowing that they are dealing directly with the mechanic looking after their car.
“We always put our customers first, making sure they are notified and assured if any extra work is found on their car,” he says.
“I did my apprenticeship in European cars and appreciate their fine engineering,” he says.
Damian says that Latin Motors is a supplier and installer of Torqit pedal and power modules that help eliminate lag, boost performance and fuel economy in diesel cars.
Latin Motors, 56 Townsville Street, Fyshwick, call 6280 5586 or visit latinmotors.com.au
Hundreds of gelato flavours for every diet and occasion
WITH more than 200 flavours that are made from hand-selected fruit, farm-fresh milk and rich, fresh cream it would seem that the gelato choices at Pure Gelato in Mitchell would stop there.
They don’t.
Owner Zoltan says people can mix and match these flavours to customise a gelato cake for any occasion or dietary requirement.
OWNER of Moro Motors, Ferdinando Moro, has brought his passion of Italian cars from Italy to Canberra.
Ferdinando’s dream was to work for himself and since he opened, more than 30 years ago, he has been living that dream every day.
The family-owned business specialises in repairing and servicing Italian models such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Fiat and more.
Based in Mitchell, Moro Motors has a team of knowledgeable and friendly
professionals and uses genuine parts to give customers a log-book service that ensures their cars remain under warranty.
Ferdinando will be at Auto Italia and looks forward to talking to people and new customers about his love of Italian cars.
Moro Motors, 1/160 Lysaght Street, Mitchell. Call 6241 4912, visit moromotors.com.au
Gelato flavours are available for people who are dairy free, gluten free, diabetic and also for people who can’t have soy and nuts.
Pure Gelato will be at Auto Italia serving all the traditional Italian flavours. But until then, Zoltan says you can try the more unusual ones in Mitchell, such as, durian, pavlova or dairy free chocolate.
“We’re a little gem hidden away in Mitchell with a quiet seating area,” Zoltan says.
Pure Gelato ACT, 189 Flemington Road, Mitchell. Call 6299 7995 or visit act.puregelato.com.au
TWENTY-five years ago, when the Italian Travel Bureau owner Michael Perrone started consulting, he wanted to show people a different side of Italy.
“People only seemed to know about the main cities of Italy,” he says.
“I wanted to create something to give people a place to trust with the right information about Italy.”
As well as being an avid traveller, Michael gained a lot of his knowledge from growing up in Italy and also travelling around its surrounding countries.
Michael moved to Australia 27 years ago and has since shared many Italian locations, including one of his favourites, the Umbria Region.
“We always look for something that is a little bit different,” Michael says.
“The tours and guides are run by English-speaking locals.
“We’re very specialised and we know the area very well.”
Michael will be at Auto Italia happy to chat in detail about what the Italian Travel Bureau has to offer.
Italian Travel Bureau. 21 Eastlake Parade, corner of Trevillian Quay. Kingston Foreshore. Call 6257 6452 or visit italianbureau.com.au
Street, Mitchell www.motocentral.com.au DOUGAL MACDONALD
every week in... reviews
WHETHER for ease, financial or fitness reasons, more workers are seeing and enjoying the benefits of commuting on bicycles, motorbikes and scooters. As well as the addition of more free motorbike and scooter parking spaces and with the intricate network of cycle paths and off-road trails that Canberra offers, the route to work can become a scenic and inexpensive ride.
FORMED in the 70s, the Motorcycle Riders Association of the ACT (MRA ACT) continues to represent motorcycle riders and protect their rights.
The MRA ACT has evolved over the decades to provide a unified voice to the territory government of the day and to join with other state representative bodies (MRA’s and MCC’s) in forming the Australian Motorcycle Council.
MRA ACT says the community will often identify the association through its charity work, which
MOTO Central in Mitchell is a one-stop-shop for motorcycle service needs in north Canberra.
Moto Central stocks a wide range of tyres, oils and accessories for road and off road motorcycles as well as a wide range of scooter tyres.
Moto Central has trained technicians to service most modern motorcycles and scooters in its fullservice workshop.
It also has courtesy bikes or scooters available for customers who book ahead.
Moto Central, 12 Sandford Street, Mitchell, call 6162 2660 or visit sales@motocentral.com.au
The annual motorcyclists Blanket Run is being held on Saturday 13 May, Leaving at 10am from Old Parliament House.
Our aim is to provide blankets, non-perishable food and donations to those in our community less well off, via the Salvation Army.
The MRA ACT organises the event and it is well supported by riders in Canberra and surrounds.
www.MRAACT.org.au
email: secretary@mraact.org.au or committee@mraact.org.au
Phone: 0448 336 111
Motorcycle Riders Association of the ACT.
has grown steadily under the stewardship of many volunteers, with rides of more than 1000 riders becoming a benchmark rather than an aspiration.
The MRA ACT is also working actively to get motorcycles into the Sustainable Transport Plan for the ACT and is a member of the ACT e-vehicle council.
Motorcycle Riders Association ACT. Call 0417 488038, email info@mraact.org.au or visit mraact.org.au
COOKIES Cycles Franklin is proud to be the only store in Canberra that stocks the Micro Emicro One electric scooter.
With the motor in the rear wheel and the battery in the footboard the Emicro One is described by Cookies;’ owner David Cook as a sleek-looking scooter.
“With all the electronics in the wheel and deck there are no cables so the scooter folds up easily and is very compact,” says David.
The motor starts when the scooter reaches a certain speed and the rider can influence the motor with their body, having a range of 10-15 kilometres.
“It is a great scooter for the person who wants to catch the bus, or future light rail, as they can scoot to and from the stops,” David says.
Priced at $1499, Cookies has the Emicro One in stock and ready for delivery.
Cookies Cycles. 227 Flemington Road, Franklin. Call 6242 0338.
By Helen Musa
“O TIGER’S heart wrapped in a woman’s hide!” the Duke of York roars at Queen Margaret in Shakespeare’s “Henry VI Part III.”
It’s a ferocious image of Margaret of Anjou, widow of the weak Lancastrian King Henry VI and one of the most unforgettable characters in “Richard 3”, coming to The Playhouse soon in Bell Shakespeare’s latest iteration of this murky political melodrama.
If you dismiss the ageing Queen Margaret as “Mad Meg” or in Richard’s words, a “withered hag”, don’t expect much sympathy from veteran performer Sandy Gore, who gets to play the part in Richard Evans’ production. And, as for critic Harold Bloom’s assertion
that she should be cut entirely from the play, Gore can only growl: “I heartily disagree”.
For one thing Margaret, who was the real-life Queen of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, provides the historical perspective in this piece of Tudor propaganda that shows Richard as a Machiavellian anti-hero.
For another, she proves to be the only character in the play to be a match for Richard, verbally attacking him with an onslaught of insults unsurpassed in the whole Shakespearean repertoire.
“Thou elvish-marked, abortive, rooting hog… The slave of nature and the son of hell,” she proclaims as she accuses him of killing her husband and her only son.
“The real Margaret actually went to battle,” Gore tells me. “I’m not playing her as Mad Meg, I don’t see it that way at all, it’s a very
easy road to take.”
Naturally enough, Gore is largely on Margaret’s side.
“She’s not mad, she’s just driven by this unutterable grief so that, rather than be banished to France, she likes to stick around and see if what she hopes for will come true – her grief has torn her apart, that is my notion,” says Gore.
Each of the curses she pronounces on Richard do come true and she achieves her ambition of living long enough to say: “The dog is dead.”
“She is actually Richard’s match, they are absolute equals and they understand each other extremely well,” Gore says.
“He wouldn’t dare have her beheaded because it would put him in such a bad light.”
Occasionally Richard catches her out.
“Yes,” Gore agrees. “He says ‘come on don’t pull that one on me after what you did to my
father’ [she had him beheaded].
“But she’s so full of fire, and can someone be blamed for the loss of her only child and being so ostracised after having been a queen… she is not a lunatic.”
It doesn’t concern Gore in the least bit that she’s playing a woman historically regarded as manlike, facing up in this production to a female performer, Kate Mulvany, playing Richard in a bravura performance – “my goodness, does she tear up the carpet!”
“As far as I’m concerned, she is Richard, not Kate playing Richard, I don’t even think I’m a woman and she’s a woman playing a man –she’s him.”
“Richard 3”, Bell Shakespeare at The Playhouse, April 6-15. Bookings to canberratheatrecentre. com.au or 6275 2700.
ON Sunday, March 26, it’s music, music and more music with:
• Canberra Choral Society, under the baton of Dianna Nixon, in “Verdure” at the National Arboretum, 5.30pm, bookings to trybooking.com;
• Czech organ virtuoso Pavel Kohout’s piano and organ recital “From Bach to Widor” in Wesley Music Centre at 3pm, bookings to trybooking.com;
• International violin sensation Charlie Siem playing his 1735 Guarneri del Gesù violin with the Omega Ensemble at the National Gallery at 3.30pm, bookings to eventbrite.com or 0438 865217;
• Ron Vincent singing Cat Stevens at Teatro Vivaldi from 5pm, bookings to vivaldirestaurant.com.au or 6257 2718;
• Mezzo-soprano chanteuse Bron Riley and pianist Colin Forbes performing French love songs at Cooinda Hall, Kangara Waters, 2 Joy Cummings Place, Belconnen, at 2.15pm. Tickets at door only.
• At the High Court, a concert featuring the Luminescence Chamber Singers and the Luminescence’s Children’s Choir at 1.30pm. It’s free but registrations to eventbrite.com.au
RUSSELL Cheek is performing his “Who Am I?” at The Street Theatre. It tells of his efforts to win the jackpot on “Sale of the Century”. Cheek was the creator of “The Flying-Trapeze-
Cockatoos” for Circus Oz and a former panellist for “The Einstein Factor” and the show is directed by Stephen (“The Sandman”) Abbott. At The Street, March 30-April 2. Bookings to thestreet.org.au or 6247 1223.
“PAW Patrol Live! – Race to the
Rescue”, the musical stage show based on the animated Nickelodeon kids’ TV series, is coming to Canberra from the US. It’s a canine take on the Great Race theme and is suitable for the very young. Canberra Theatre, March 31-April 2. Bookings to canberratheatrecentre. com.au or ticketek.com.au
THE Design Institute of Australia is kicking off its annual “5 x 5” ACT speaker series with five superstar speakers giving five-minute insights into their professional creative practices. At Zenith Interiors, 6 Pirie Street, Fyshwick, 6pm, March 29. Book ings to eventbrite. com.au
By Helen Musa
CANBERRA
first venture for the year is “I’m Me”, a twilight
festival
aimed at exploring new ways to make theatre while celebrating the idea of “being me”. The company believes it’s also
a
Seven
– in
in
“the
for
that
works have
by seven
directors, each starting from a “word” in some way and to be presented on a rotational basis over four hours. There’ll be dance theatre, roving comedy, physical poetry, musical theatre, immersive art and invisible theatre. It all winds up with an outdoor dance party in the courtyard.
“I’m Me” features a rehearsed reading of a new play called “The Skywhale: A Play for Ten Children”, written by Julian Hobba to look at “empathy” through children’s eyes. But will there be room for a very large floating female whale?
“I’m Me” festival, Gorman Arts Centre, 5pm-9pm, March 31, staggered entry at 5pm, 5.10pm and 5.20pm. Bookings to cytc.net
By Helen Musa
“FIENDISHLY difficult” is how most people think of the French horn and WA horn master Rob Gladstones is not about to deny it.
“We like to make sure people know that,” he tells “CityNews” with some pride by phone from Perth, where he’s been performing with the WA Symphony Orchestra since 1989.
Gladstones will be in Canberra soon to perform Reinhold Glière’s unashamedly romantic Concerto for Horn and Orchestra in B-flat major with the National Capital Orchestra.
He’s no stranger to the ACT, having studied French horn at the old School of Music in the ‘80s under Hector McDonald, partnered with another musician and member of a prominent musical family, Lucie Holmes, then after a stint with the Sydney Elizabethan Orchestra, returned to his home state to play a part in its musical life.
He and Lucie, he reports, quite frequently come back to Canberra for visits, during which he has been known to organise horn days – NCO conductor Leonard Weiss took part in one of them.
He says horn playing requires great patience and accuracy, since if you know the “physics of acoustics”, the higher in pitch, the harder it becomes.
The concerto he’ll be playing comes from the Soviet Union in the first half of the 20th century, when pleasing Stalin was a must, unless one wanted to get into trouble, like Shostakovich.
“Glière wrote all the right sort of stuff to get past Stalin – it’s sort of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov-ish,” says Gladstones.
In 1951 he came up with this lushly-orchestrated work that Gladstones calls “very romantic and beautiful” and Weiss judges to be “a pinnacle of romanticism”.
It’s a busy season for Gladstones, with performances of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony and Bruch’s “Scottish Fantasy” coming up in Perth and his regular teaching jobs at the WA Academy of Performing Arts, the University of WA and John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School. His
flying visit to Canberra will also see him playing horn in the CSO’s coming concert under the baton of Jessica Cottis.
Weiss is not keen on the old tag for the NCO as “Canberra’s other orchestra”, although he is quick to note: “Ultimately, we are not a professional orchestra, though we fill an important spot in the Canberra community.
“I like to challenge the musicians, but we don’t have a huge budget. We are looking to showcase music that is lesser-known and in this program the composers are well known, but the pieces are not necessarily the most obvious.”
That’s a reference to the Glière and the other works to be performed in the coming concert, Dvořák’s Symphony No. 5 in F major, Op. 76, and Sibelius’ little-known tone poem, “The Wood Nymph”, considered to be effectively “lost” for 60 years and only re-discovered in 1996.
As he looks to the future of the orchestra, Weiss hopes to program in more premieres and more Australian works, saying: “There’s a great plethora of Australian compositions heard once only.”
In early June the NCO will combine with the Canberra Choral Society to perform works by leading Australian composer Carl Vine with two other Australian pieces. Vine will be here for two days and Weiss declares himself “suitably nervous but really enjoying discussing the piece with him”.
The National Capital Orchestra, at The Q, Queanbeyan, 3pm, Sunday, March 26, bookings to theq.net.au or 6285 6290.
By Richard Calver
AS I get older, nostalgia tends to infiltrate the thought processes.
So, recently when tasting a couple of wines that are made from the grape variety vermentino, a light bodied dry Italian wine, I thought back on how, similar to the phrasing of this variety’s name, the Italian girlfriends I had decades ago had the most mellifluous names: Melita and Morena, I hope you are happy, wherever you are.
I was certainly happy trying two kinds of vermentino where the finished product seemed to perfectly reflect the different growing conditions: a Jackson Hill 2016 and a Box Grove Vineyard 2015. The Jackson Hill is from Mount View, in NSW, which is part of the Hunter Valley region. The Box Grove is from central Victoria, the Goulburn Valley, where the summers are especially hot and dry.
Where the Jackson Hill was straw green in colour, bold and zesty, the Box Grove was light and floral with a citrus finish.
The grape variety obviously responds differently to different terroir. Originally grown on the island of Sardinia, there are established Australian plantings in King Valley, Victoria, and in McLaren Vale, SA, with more coming of age in other wine-growing areas.
Italian migrants have been a part of Australian history since earliest settlement. One web site tells me that on Capt James Cook’s ship, HMS Endeavour, was an Italian seaman named Antonio Ponto, so the first Italian to set foot on Australian soil did so at the very beginning of the country’s “official” history.
Similarly, there appears to have been a sure but steady increase in the number of Italian grape varieties
grown in Australia. In part this is because of the natural inclination of Australian vintners to want an increased diversity of smells and flavours. But, according to Tim White, wine writer for the “Australian Financial Review”, the move to Italian grape varietals is about structure: specifically, acid.
He said in 2015 that the vast majority of Italian cultivars “all maintain good levels of natural acidity in warm – and getting warmer – Australian winegrowing regions, unlike most (although not all) of the more widely planted French-origin grape varieties.”
Having grapes that provide a good natural acid balance is good for winemaking as it involves less chemical intervention and additions by the winemaker. Increased temperatures mean hastened acid degradation and different flavour compounds, so the more heat the more wine making is a gamble.
Brian Martin, of Ravensworth Wines and winemaker at Clonakilla, said that in Canberra sangiovese is the main Italian wine grape variety grown. I asked him the acid question: “The level of acidity is important when you look at preservation so there are benefits in planting the sangiovese variety over shiraz even though it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
“We are getting more Mediterranean here. Pinot grigio is the white growing in plantings. As well, fiano and vermentino and the like are being planted.
“There are so many Italian varieties but sangiovese and nebbiolo predominate in the Canberra district. We are more likely to plant red here as it suits the climate and the style.”
So in a few years’ time I see myself sitting back in my armchair savouring a Canberra district Italian varietal, red or white, wondering if nostalgia is as good as it used to be.
Buried somewhere deep in the Food Act 2001, is the rule that mince cannot be served with any visible signs of pink.
PERCHED at the east end of Kingston Foreshore, this laidback eatery wants you to chill when visiting.
At Beef and Barley they encourage you to borrow one of the board or card games they have hanging about to entertain yourself while dining (including the popular “Cards Against Humanity”).
We began with crumbed calamari and quickly gave the dish a thumb’s up. The batter was light and the calamari tender. It was a delish dish.
Then it was time to get serious about the burger line-up. Two of us chose the “Atomic Boss” and one the “Turbo Bird”.
The “Atomic Boss” features a beef patty. We asked that it not be super well done (thinking dry and tough). After a quick visit to the kitchen, the staff member returned with the sad news that we had no choice. The burger had to be well done – ACT law demands it.
Was this mincing the truth we wondered?
Well it turns out it is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
I called ACT Health and discovered that, buried somewhere deep in the Food Act 2001, is the rule that mince cannot be served with any visible signs
cooked they taste like cardboard, but they must be cooked through to the centre to avoid food poisoning.
It’s a contentious issue with some in the food industry believing that there’s next to no risk of food poisoning if you use quality, freshly sourced, freshly ground meat, with properly sterilised equipment and in a clean kitchen. I wonder what the famous Neil Perry, of Rockpool and Sydney’s gourmet Burger Project, thinks about all this fuss?
Our next thought was beef tartare, which is raw. Well that’s different, says the ACT Health Officer.
That’s steak and so it’s okay.
Now that we’re over all this welldone advice, how was our “Atomic Boss” burger? It was good and not dry. It came loaded with goodies such as chorizo, fried onion, Swiss cheese, slow-roasted peppers, sliced jalapenos (that’s what motivated me!), tomato relish and more ($20 for a 170-gram burger). If you’re keen on house fire sauce, just ask (it’s free).
The Turbo bird featured fried chicken with streaky bacon, tomato relish, fried onion, jalapenos and a creamy aioli ($18.50). It went down the hatch quite well.
By Dougal Macdonald
“Loving” (PG)
KNOWING before it begins how a film ends compels the writer to work hard to make the screenplay claim and keep our interest on the way to that result.
The smooth flow of the creative process is easier when the writer (Jeff Nichols) is also the director. “Loving” covers from 1958 when Sheriff Brooks burst into the room where white builder’s labourer Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton) was in bed with his wife of six weeks Mildred (Ethiopian-born Ruth Negga) and arrested them for breach of the State of Virginia law declaring marriages between white and coloured persons, and travelling out of the State to avoid that provision, to be unlawful.
While the film makes no reference to the “Pocahontas Exception”, which Mildred put forward in their defence (throughout the case she insisted that she was an American Indian), it covers a mesh of legal elements including Virginia’s 1924 Racial Integrity Act, which defined a white person as having only Caucasian blood.
Nichols largely focuses the film on Richard and Mildred’s responses to the effect of Virginia law on their family. It doesn’t appear before the US Supreme Court which, nine years after county court judge Bazile (David Jensen) ordered their banishment from Virginia for 25 years, unanimously declared proscriptions against interracial marriage to be unconstitutional. Not even the President can trump the Supreme Court card!
The screenplay combines the family’s life during those nine years with dissection of a law perpetuating the oppression of black people a century after a civil war fought to end slavery. Edgerton and Negga make Richard and Mildred a credible pair. Filmed mostly where its events actually happened, the film’s treatment of their emotional burden and their loving loyalty to their family is as credible as one might wish to watch.
At Dendy and Palace Electric
“The Eagle Huntress” (PG)
INFORMATION about Otto Bell, the US-based, British-born producer/director of this quite delicious documentary, isn’t easy to find. In 2004 Cambridge awarded him an MA. And he is reported as having spent his $US80,000 life savings to make this film.
Thirteen-year-old Aisholpan lives in western Mongolia with her nomadic family. For 12 generations, her family’s men have used eagles to hunt for food and fur in the Altai Mountains. Aisholpan wants to have her own eagle and train it to hunt.
First catch your eaglet. Aisholpan and her father Rys ride shaggy, tough, little Mongolian ponies into the foothills to catch an eaglet during the brief period between when its parents no longer feed it but it’s not yet strong enough to fly.
Rys ties a rope around Aisholpan’s waist and lowers her down a sheer rock face while she robs the nest. DP Simon Niblett’s cinematography during this long sequence is a reminder that, whenever someone comes into shot after a difficult climb, the cinematographer got there first! However, close-ups indicate that Aisholpan necessarily wore a camera.
Aisholpan and her eagle annoy die-hard male traditionalists by taking first prize at a field day. Then she and Rys ride into those precipitous snow-covered mountains to find and catch a fox. These passages provide a wondrous mix of visual beauty and elemental survival. It’s hard country for any living thing. The fox isn’t going to go down without a fight. The eagle hasn’t killed before. Watching it happen is exciting.
And Aisholpan? She’s a sweet-faced youngster, brave, determined and womanly aware. She doesn’t say much, she smiles a lot and sends us out with a warm sense of optimism.
At Dendy and Palace Electric
“A
IF you’re feeling more well than you wish to be, the cure is simple. Stop living!
Director Gore Verbinski and writer Justin Haythe visit the gothic horror film genre with this 146-minute stay in a sanatorium at the top of a Swiss mountain (actually, long-abandoned Castle Hohenzollern at Baden-Württemberg, Germany, also the location for Stanley Kubrick’s “Barry Lyndon”).
Directors of an American financial institution order sales executive Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) to bring home resigned former director Pembroke (Harry Groener) to ease the firm’s path through a Securities and Exchange Commission enquiry that might derail a hugely profitable merger.
Pembroke is in the institute run by Volmer (Jason Isaacs). One look at Volmer and you quickly realise that his handsome, smiling face conceals something sinister.
Volmer tells Lockhart that Pembroke is a patient and cannot travel. Lockhart leaves to catch his return flight. Halfway along the spectacular road down the mountain, a stag crashes the car in as spectacular an example of its kind as you might ever see. Lockhart wakes with his leg in plaster and an abjuration from the oh-so-caring Volmer to drink plenty of water. By this point and Lockhart’s meetings with other patients who have no wish to leave the sanatorium, we know that something’s very wrong. Teenaged Hannah (Mia Goth) wanders barefoot around the place. Eels form an important component of the film’s horror budget. Lockhart’s treatment includes immersion in a tank filled with them. And drink lots of water.
The screenplay is packed with improbabilities, which is okay provided their credibility is, well, credible. Lockhart is a bunny and fall guy with no concern for his own welfare.
Verbinski’s elegant, beautiful, illogical but not particularly scary film reportedly costing $US40 million looks, from its first month’s box office, unlikely to make a quick profit.
At Dendy, Capitol 6 and Hoyts
ficer I spoke to said beef patties don’t
be so
Both burgers came with a massive order of beer-battered chips and a sweet slaw, which I thought was well done (as in delicious, not overcooked). BTW, burgers are each paired with a selected beer or wine at a reduced price.
Beef and Barley, Kingston Foreshore, 153/45 Eastlake Parade. Call 6199 3366. Open seven days.
By Cedric Bryant
WITH our warmer climate, exotic trees grow faster in Australia than in Britain or Europe, although they have to tolerate huge weather extremes.
European settlement has only been in Australia for a couple of hundred years and, apart from having difficulty managing the native trees (primarily eucalypts), the early settlers brought many exotic trees to plant to remind them of home.
One example is the rare Picconia excelsa, from the Canary Islands, of which there are only about five known specimens in Australia, one of which is at Hamilton Hume’s “Cooma Cottage” in Yass. This could be an interesting tree for the arboretum?
LAST year, I wrote about olive trees growing in Provence, France, which were known to be 3000 years old.
Interestingly, a new book published in Britain – “The Long, Long Life of Trees” by Fiona Stafford (Yale University Press) – discusses the longevity of trees.
For example, there are more ancient Taxus baccata, or yew trees, in Britain than anywhere else in Europe. Extracts of this tree are still used
in cancer research.
Once, the only way of accessing the age of a tree was to count the growth rings, which indicate rainfall over the years. Today there are many other ways, including carbon dating.
The oldest Yew tree in Britain, in a churchyard in the village of Llangernyw, Conwy, North Wales, is at least 5000 years old. For an amazing story of ancient trees visit treeregister.org
THE recent terrific storm illustrated the effects of nature’s thinning of trees in Canberra, but this paled to insignificance when compared to the storm in Britain in 1987, which toppled over 15-metre trees with a trunk diameter of more than half a metre.
Dutch Elm disease also hit, with a similar number of trees lost in Britain. Incidentally, this disease didn’t originate in Holland, but was diagnosed by a Dutch tree scientist. Now a similar disease is threatening to wipe out ash trees in Britain. Fortunately, Australia’s quarantine rules help prevent the spread of these diseases here.
Imagine if such a disease hit our eucalypts! Massive tree-planting schemes are being undertaken across Britain to address the losses, while here we still smash down trees with ball and chain tractors in Queensland and land clearing in NSW.
To think we have a go at the Indonesians for their clear felling of trees!
In urban areas, street and park trees are being neglected with ever increasing concern being expressed by our community councils. Will we ever learn?
WHILE I have tried, the task of identifying trees and shrubs for readers has become too much. For exotic trees and shrubs, most garden centres will be able to assist and for native trees the Botanic Gardens is best.
• With the cooler days, start to trim evergreen shrubs, but only after flowering. Remember, remove only up to but not more than one third at any one time.
• It’s to time to think about fallen leaves; if you are to compost, now is the time think about getting a bin.
• If strawberries are more than 3-4 years old it’s time to replace them, preferably in a different place. Always buy government-certified, virusfree strawberries rather than getting runners from friends.
Joanne Madeline Moore
ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)
There’s a New Moon in your sign so it’s the best week of the year to set intentions, hatch ideas and take steps to initiate bold new projects. But with Jupiter squaring Pluto (and no less than five planets in fiery Aries) don’t get carried away; promise the Moon (and the stars); and then fail to follow through. Especially with work colleagues and loved ones. So your motto for the moment is from fellow Aries, movie legend Charlie Chaplin: “Imagination means nothing without doing.”
TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)
Are you stubbornly holding onto outdated ideas? Are you obstinately sticking to old ways of working, as if you’re on auto-pilot? It’s time to put aside preconceived notions and examine your beliefs in a philosophical new light. Mercury moves into Taurus on Friday, which will boost concentration and help you focus on practical projects that need to be done. So your motto for the week is from Taurean movie great, Katharine Hepburn: “My greatest strength is my common sense.”
GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)
Expect a welcome boost on Monday, when the tail-wind of the Mercury/Uranus connection precipitates a brilliant light-bulb moment, and you could solve a problem or think up a stunning idea. But, when it comes to a relationship issue, are you desperately trying to fix a frustrating situation? Prepare for some resistance from others – especially a child, partner or friend. A quick-fix won’t work. Instead, you need to slow down and take the time to really think things through.
CANCER (June 22 – July 22)
The New Moon shakes up your career/reputation zone so prepare for a few surprises. But the more you try to control those around you, the more they will tend to push back. So it’s time to take a good long look at your motives. Perhaps you need to be less possessive? Perhaps you should give a loved one more freedom, so they can fight their own battles and make their own mistakes? Food for thought this week, as you connect with family, friends and colleagues.
LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)
With the New Moon, Mercury, Uranus and retro Venus all in fellow fire sign Aries, you’re feeling mighty feisty at the moment! But hubris, pride and over-confidence often come before a fall. Especially when Jupiter squares Pluto. So the buzz word for this week is humility. If you’re a clever Cat you’ll be super humble, otherwise you’ll come a cropper. Heed the wise words of Saint Augustine “Do you plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.”
VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)
Strive to get the balance right between spontaneously changing things, and maintaining the status quo. The trick is to keep what’s working and change what isn’t. Jupiter and Pluto also place money matters or self-esteem issues under the microscope. But don’t waste too much time weighing up the pros and cons of a given situation. The planets encourage you to stop pondering and postulating. Instead, start turning your thoughts and ideas into active and productive projects.
LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)
Venus is still retrograde so make sure you communicate clearly, otherwise misunderstandings are likely. If in doubt, take the time to double-check. And be careful that your perfectionist streak doesn’t get out of control! The more you try to make things ‘perfect’ (including yourself) the more you will attract opposition from others (especially family members). So do your best to focus on the process rather than the outcome; and the journey rather than the destination.
SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)
Proceed carefully with all forms of communication this week, especially social media. Otherwise you could provoke a negative response from a cranky ex, a hidden enemy or a known frenemy! The Jupiter/Pluto square can also make you much more self-critical. By all means examine your inner motivations but don’t spend too much time navel-gazing. As fellow Scorpio Joni Mitchell says: “It’s very hard, peeling the layers off your own onion.” So try to lighten up a little!
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)
Under the influence of the Jupiter/Pluto square you could blow your budget with a spontaneous spending spree. Or commit yourself to an ambitious project that you really don’t have the time (or enthusiasm) for. You’ll find short-term big talk is no good if it doesn’t translate into long-term dynamic action. So this week’s special celestial message is from fellow Sagittarian, writer George Eliot: “Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.”
CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)
This week’s powerful Jupiter/Pluto square boosts your desire for attention and success in the outside world. Which certainly suits your Capricorn drive and ambition. But it also fans your control-freak tendencies, which could end up alienating authority figures (like your boss) or loved ones (like your partner). Remember – the only person you truly can control is yourself! The New Moon also urges you to spend some quality time nurturing your home and helping loved ones.
AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)
Early in the week your wonderfully witty side is set to blossom, as you brainstorm ideas and amaze others with your quick-witted quips and controversial comments. Avoid taking short cuts mid-week though. Instead, try your best to do everything by the book. Thursday’s Jupiter/Pluto square could complicate travel plans; exacerbate a current legal matter; or stir up a tricky situation that started last November. So proceed with plenty of extra tact and (uncustomary) caution!
PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)
Tuesday’s New Moon lights up your cash zone, which encourages you to start a fresh financial chapter. You’ll find the more proactive and informed you are about money matters, the better your financial future will be. Plus Jupiter and Pluto also send a powerful message your way this week. When it comes to your peer group and social circle, aim to be much more discriminating. And definitely don’t waste precious time on fickle friends who sabotage your dreams.
Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2017
Across
4 Name the crocus with handsome purple flowers. (7)
8 Which term describes one of the twelve disciples? (7)
9 What is another name for a corpse? (7)
10 Name a small explosive shell, thrown by hand. (7)
11 What do we call those who regulate their food intake? (7)
12 Name the base unit of electric current. (6)
14 What, in music, suggests quick tempo? (6)
18 What, in Australian history, was a mounted police officer? (7)
21 Which people are hired to carry golf players’ clubs, etc? (7)
22 What is another word for width? (7)
23 Name a more familiar term for otalgia. (7)
24 What, in the US, is a goods train called? (7)
Down
1 What are bundles of nerve-cells outside brains and spinal cords? (7)
2 Name a river in the NT, rising east of Katherine. (5)
3 What is a steamship also known as? (7)
4 To withdraw formerly from an alliance, is to do what? (6)
5 Name a kind of soft sweet composed of sugar, butter, milk and chocolate. (5)
6 What are judicial re-examinations by higher courts, of decisions, etc? (7)
7 Which colloquial term describes fools? (5)
13 What, in sport, is a formal expression of objection, placed with an official? (7)
15 Which epithet is applied to the Canberra NRL team? (7)
16 Fellows who row boats are called what? (7)
17 Name the zodiacal sign of Sagittarius. (6)
18 To which subterranean outgrowth does the potato belong? (5)
19 Which foot lever propels a bicycle? (5)
20 Name an Australian stage and film actor, Peter ... (5)
Independence in the hearing industry has never been so important
As an independent, Doctor of Audiology it saddens me to see the current state of the hearing industry. I began my career as an audiologist over 37 years ago and have always strived to achieve positive outcomes for my patients regardless of the profit to my business.
However, it seems the focus within the hearing industry has shifted, from what is the best outcome for an individual to what is best for business. In an industry that is being bought out by large hearing aid manufacturers, never before has being an independent practitioner been so important to me. Too many hearing clinics are focusing on sales targets and not the patient and their outcome. I have people come to me for a second opinion and tell me that they have been sold hearing aids they never wear or that don’t work for their lifestyle. Patients tell me they felt pressured to purchase hearing aids they couldn’t afford or don’t even need. Too often the sole focus is on the sale of hearing aids when the reality is hearing loss is a complex issue and simply purchasing a hearing aid is not an instant fix. Hence the need for professional advice and care. Some common questions I am asked:
What does being an independent practitioner mean?
Running my own independent practice means that I never have to compromise on my patient’s care. I have the freedom to provide my clients with choice, unbiased advice and the opportunity to work together on positive outcomes. Being an independent practitioner means that I can run my practice with integrity, transparency and on my terms.
Do I need a referral to see an Audiologist?
No referral is needed to come and see me. I welcome anyone who is experiencing any difficulty with their hearing to make an appointment to come and see me for unbiased, professional advice.
“Working to create the best place possible –that’s what keeps me motivated.”
Stephen Harding Project Director, Ginninderry
The land at Ginninderry is a spectacular setting. Our mission is to do it justice by creating a place that is comfortable, affordable and environmentally friendly.
Our big focus is on creating smarter homes with more diversity. So as well as providing free standing homes and higher density living, we’ve created a Flexi-living series of homes – that addresses the need in the market for those looking for something in between.
Regardless of the home type you’re after, everyone who lives here will have access to nature, recreational areas and community services, to provide an exceptional quality of life.
To find out more about how people like Steve are helping Ginninderry inspire a new way of living, go to ginninderry.com
