A new day off, but what’s to celebrate?
JON STANHOPE
What’s with the fawning over Harry and her?
ROBERT MACKLIN
Lovely new park where you can’t spend a penny
PAUL COSTIGAN
Right light rail decision goes the wrong way
JOHN-PAUL ROMANO
Silly songs of a very naughty boy
HELEN MUSA
How SADIA NABILA stumbled on to the Indian silver screen
By Danielle NOHRA
GROWING up in a small city in Bangladesh, Sadia Nabila would often sit in front of the television, point at the glamorous actresses and say to anyone who’d listen: “That’ll be me one day”.
through movies as a child, dancing and then later teaching at the Canberra School of Bollywood Dancing, Sadia slipped into the pageant well and came runner up.
And her dream recently came true with the Ngunnawal local playing the main character in the Bollywood movie “Pareshaan Parinda”.
Feeling overwhelmed (in a good way) Sadia, 23, says the journey she’s been on over the last few years has been exciting.
She moved to Canberra in 2013 to study IT at the University of Canberra.
Not wanting to give up on the modelling and dancing she did back home, she continued to model and teach dance while studying.
“I wanted to see myself in the same platform so started doing it professionally,” she says.
“I didn’t want to restrict myself from just doing one thing, I just wanted to keep trying other things.”
Although from Bangladesh, last year Sadia competed in the Miss India Worldwide competition.
Always immersed in Indian culture
After that requests came flooding in, asking for her to be in a music video or do some modelling and then, the big one – a movie.
“From the pageant, the production team came to know me and said: ‘We’re doing a film in Australia, do you want to come to an audition?’,” she says.
Three auditions later Sadia was given the role of Reena, but there was only one issue, she was not familiar with Hindi.
Sadia Nabila… “I want to be a voice for other girls who want to try something similar. It doesn’t matter if they fail, as long as they try.”
After three weeks of workshops, Sadia was ready for the production but it wasn’t enough time to master the Mumbai accent.
“This was a big step for me, I’d been doing theatre and short films but not a feature film like this,” she says.
“But I thought I should give it a try because I’ve always wanted to do it.”
With her first performance at the
Above left: A poster from the Bollywood movie “Pareshaan Parinda”; that’s Canberra’s Sadia Nabila on the right.
age of five, Sadia slipped into her role comfortably, while it was being filmed in Sydney.
She says she owes the movie, which was released on March 28 across several theatres in India and is soon coming to Melbourne, to her parents, who live in Bangladesh.
“I’m very lucky to have such supportive parents,” she says.
“Back home I would see so many talented people who were restricted by their parents.
“Unless your kids are trying to do something bad, you should let them do something they love.
“I want to be a voice for other girls who want to try something similar. It doesn’t matter if they fail, as long as they try.”
AS the ACT marks its first Reconciliation Day public holiday on Monday, May 27, the next IGPA “Canberra Conversation” lecture will explore the extent to which sustainable progress has been made in achieving reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Aboriginal people in the ACT.
The discussion panel includes the CEO of Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service, Julie Tongs; the deputy CEO of Legal Aid ACT, Louise Taylor; the executive director of Gugan Gulwan Aboriginal Youth Corporation, Kim Davison and former chief minister Jon Stanhope.
The event, which will be held at the Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre, 180 London Circuit, Civic, 12.30pm-1.30pm, on Thursday, May 31, is free but registrations via eventbrite.com.au
Thanks for the day off, but why are we here? – Jon Stanhope, Page 5.
WOMEN of all ages are invited to attend a free pelvic-floor workshop to provide information, education and self-help strategies for women who are experiencing continence problems or wishing to prevent them. At the Belconnen Community Health Centre, 56 Lathlain Street, 1pm-4pm, Tuesday, June 5. Bookings to 6207 9977.
Arts & Entertainment 19-21
Cinema 20
Crossword 23
Dining 21
Gardening 22
Horoscopes 23
Letters 7
News 3-9
Politics 7
Socials 18
Edward Ferrars. Photo by Chris Herzfeld. Story Page 19.
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UGLY crowd behaviour at a recent Australian Ice Hockey League match between CBR Brave and Sydney Bears has been described as a total aberration.
The line being run by some involved in the sport comes after CBR Brave chairman Peter Chamberlain was forced to apologise and step down. Brave manager Andrew Deans says Chamberlain retaliated to being squirted with water pistols by “tipping a little bit of his beer down on a guy” before a rubbish bin was tossed into the crowd sparking an all-in shoving match.
without warning in March last year.
ONCE light rail crosses Commonwealth Avenue bridge a whole new set of problems will present itself. Stage two of the project won’t just have the unique challenge of dealing with the National Capital Authority. In addition to a parliamentary inquiry, the Deakin and Yarralumla residents’ associations are seeking public input via a community survey. And there is no truth to the rumour that the southside trams will feature a bell ringing a semitone higher than the northside trolleys to distinguish the two systems!
RAINBOWS don’t last forever. In November, Canberra airport was breaking new ground with its pro-same-sexmarriage campaign and singing from the same songbook as high-profile, same-sex advocate Qantas CEO Alan Joyce. Now they are locked in a nasty fight, with airport managing director Stephen Byron describing as “absolute baloney” claims that a Qantas Boeing 737-800 was held to “virtual ransom” after the flight was diverted to Canberra
THE lack of a roof over its head may mean curtains for the ACT Brumbies. That’s the dire prediction for the Canberra-based Super League outfit by CEO Michael Thompson who warns small crowds may eventually bring the franchise to an end. The lack of a roofed stadium is increasingly being cited as one of the club’s problems on and off the paddock.
Thompson is backed by ABC sports journalist and “CityNews” columnist Tim Gavel in calling for an indoor stadium. Gavel tweeted “with freezing conditions forecast this weekend and both the Brumbies and Raiders playing at home, surely time to consider building a new
indoor stadium”. Gavel said he’d “seen a proposal for a covered stadium but little progress at this stage”.
WHILE NRL fans mostly only see the serious and competitive (and occasionally grumpy) side of Green Machine mentor Ricky Stuart , the Queanbeyan-born, dual international described being among 25 players nominated for six spots on the NRL Hall of Fame as “very humbling”. Stuart told NRL
for what they have done”. The champion halfback remains highly motivated declaring: “I won’t be happy if I finish my career if I haven’t won a comp [as coach] at the club.”
A HECKLE of top notch comedians has been entertaining locals. The list stretches from the legendary Barry Humphries – who once joked Canberra was “a bunch of suburbs
looking for a city” – to contemporary clowns such as Rove McManus and Wil Anderson To his credit, McManus vowed not to tread the unfunny, well-worn road taken by many visiting stand-ups of poking fun at porn, fireworks and roundabouts.
COMEDY was not Wil Anderson’s original vocation choice. The “Gruen” host studied economics at UC and played AFL with Ainslie. Anderson tells of being up against a teammate for a spot in the senior side and still complains bitterly that his “promising” AFL career was abruptly ended after a local youngster by the name of James Hird got the senior call up.
STUDENTS at Hawker College have been entertained by a rockstar. Sydney based mathematician Eddie Woo, described as a rockstar maths teacher took year 11 and 12 students through a specialist maths class. Woo, recently named as one of 10 finalists for the 2018 Global Teacher Prize has a large audience through his Wootube YouTube channel, which peaks at 14 million views.
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THE ACT government has decided, with significant fanfare, to rename an existing public holiday Reconciliation Day. The holiday will be held for the first time on Monday, May 28.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Rachel StephenSmith said, in a press release announcing Reconciliation Day as a public holiday, that “Canberrans should be proud to be part of a community where we can all come together to recognise and celebrate the important place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history in our city and nation.”
She has also undertaken to work with the community to consider “the best way to celebrate” Reconciliation Day.
The decision to dedicate a day as a public holiday is, of course, a very significant thing to do. It seems moot, therefore, that we ensure that those of us who will take advantage of the holiday understand why it is an issue deserving of such recognition.
In this regard Reconciliation Australia, the national body charged with facilitating Aboriginal reconciliation in Australia has developed a framework for measuring progress towards its achievement. The framework identifies five critical dimensions to Aboriginal reconciliation. These five dimensions provide a convenient definition of reconciliation. One which we can use to measure how far along the path to reconciliation Canberra has travelled.
A fleeting review of the ACT government’s response and attitude to indigenous disadvantage will confirm why the situation of so many Aboriginal people living in Canberra is so dire.
the government’s response and attitude to indigenous disadvantage in the ACT will also confirm why the situation of so many Aboriginal people living in Canberra is so dire.
A brief summary of just a few of the more startling and distressing outcomes of the ACT government’s stewardship of indigenous affairs in Canberra is:
• The second highest rate of Aboriginal children in care and protection in Australia nevertheless the ACT government has excluded the Aboriginal community from an active role in the care and protection of Aboriginal children;
• The second highest rate of Aboriginal incarceration in Australia and the ACT government defunded the Aboriginal Justice Centre;
“I was able to halve my gas bill after implementing the advice offered in two of these outstanding workshops. I highly recommend attending if you want to save
The five elements of reconciliation identified by Reconciliation Australia are:
• There is a positive two-way relationship built on trust and respect between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-indigenous Australians throughout society;
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians participate equally and equitably in all areas of life – i.e. we have closed the gap in life outcomes;
• All political, business and community institutions actively support all dimensions of reconciliation;
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and rights are a valued and recognised part of a shared national identity and as a result there is national unity;
• There is widespread acceptance of our nation’s history and agreement that the wrongs of the past will never be repeated –there is truth, justice, healing and historical acceptance.
It would not be surprising if most Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people in Canberra felt that none of these critical requirements for achieving reconciliation is anywhere near being met in the ACT.
Such scepticism would, unfortunately, be justified by even the most cursory glance at any of the voluminous data on the circumstances of Aboriginal people living in Canberra.
A fleeting review of
• An Aboriginal child at school in the ACT is on average two years behind a non-Aboriginal child in educational attainment. The gap in educational outcomes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in the ACT, as measured by NAPLAN, has widened over the last eight years;
• Approximately 35 per cent, or about 700, Aboriginal children living in the ACT live in households below or at the poverty line. The ACT government has regardless rejected repeated requests for an inquiry into poverty;
• The ACT does not have an indigenous housing policy even though an Aboriginal person is twice as likely as a non-Aboriginal person to live in rental accommodation. The ACT government has rejected repeated requests for an indigenous housing policy;
• 46 per cent of Aboriginal males and 39 per cent of Aboriginal females over the age of 15 used an illicit substance in the last 12 months.
The ACT government has built an $11 million indigenous specific residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre but it is being used instead for non-therapeutic day programs. Reconciliation in the ACT will not, on the basis of the Reconciliation Australia formulation of reconciliation, be achieved until the disparity in outcomes listed above, as well of course as a myriad of others, are addressed. On almost all of the measures listed above the ACT is actually going backwards.
Which raises the rather awkward question: What exactly are we “celebrating” on Reconciliation Day in the ACT?
Jon Stanhope was chief minister from 2001 to 2011 and represented Ginninderra for the Labor Party from 1998. He is the only chief minister to have governed with a majority in the Assembly.
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.
SOME of my best friends are English. But honestly, what’s with our fawning over that marriage of a royal redhead to an American actor?
And why, for goodness sake, did the Turnbull government set aside $48 million for another memorial to James Cook?
We already have a perfectly adequate one squirting water in Lake Burley Griffin.
Unless it be thought that I’m racially (or rather nationally) prejudiced against all English, both my grandmothers were English and I have enjoyed my visits there almost as much as other foreign climes such as Indonesia, China and the Philippines where we lived for almost five years. I often roar with laughter at the brilliant wit of Lee Mack and David Mitchell in “Would I Lie To You?”; and “Vera” is easily one of the best police procedurals on television.
But over the last six years I have spent countless hours and days researching Australian history for my books on the convict horrors of Norfolk Island (“Dark Paradise”), colonial exploration (“Hamilton Hume”), relations with China (“Dragon and Kangaroo”) and the frontier war in the soon-to-be published, “Castaway”. And I have to say that taken together it’s a chronicle of cruelty, actuated by English notions of race and class.
Perhaps they’re not exclusively English, but they are certainly not the hallmarks of the Australian “fair go”. And they are perpetuated by the conservative Anglo-Australians such as Tony Abbott, Scott Morrison and, apparently, Malcolm Turnbull. Moreover, the seemingly endless stream of English migrants means that in some quarters such attitudes have become normalised, even celebrated.
The whole idea of a “Royal” family is, of course, anathema to a country that prides itself on its equality of opportunity and the dignity of labour.
Even though our daughters and granddaughters are brought up as “little princesses”, it does seem odd that we go to such lengths to toady to the “Royal” nuptials.
But that’s pretty harmless compared to the Cook memorial. This new proposal comes
The whole idea of a ‘Royal’ family is, of course, anathema to a country that prides itself on its equality of opportunity and the dignity of labour.
just at a time when our First Australians are beginning to find their voice. And writers such as Paul Daley, Peter Thompson, Chloe Hooper, Don Watson and many others, myself included, are taking up the cause of Australian history as opposed to the British history of Australia that was taught in our schools.
Cook didn’t “discover” Australia. The Aboriginal people did that at least 65,000 years before him. He wasn’t even the first European to set foot on the continent; that honour fell to a Dutchman two centuries previously. But Cook – bless his cotton socks – cruised up the east coast and, after holing his ship on the Barrier Reef, repaired it and headed off to an island of no consequence where he “claimed it” for his king.
His Majesty’s Government was so impressed that they packed 11 ships with convicts and their jailers and sent them to rot on the other side of the known world. And that began a reign of genocide in Tasmania and mass murder elsewhere that almost destroyed the Aboriginal people.
It was a bad beginning. But while no one can deny that since then migrants from England, Ireland, Scotland, other parts of Europe and now Asia, have turned the continent into a financial bonanza, we have never accounted for the sins of our fathers (or grandmothers). Another big memorial to the man who started it all is a foolish slap in the face for real Australians of any stripe or colour.
robert@robertmacklin.com
DONALD Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear disarmament treaty with Iran may have suited his own local politics. However, his action resulted in the Iranian theocracy taking a much more principled stance than the US. Americans masquerading as the world’s leading democracy is now looking very fraught.
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has indicated that his country would continue to work with other nations to limit the development of a nuclear arsenal. Fortunately, other countries, notably under the leadership of French President Emmanuel Macron are pursuing an alternative to the approach taken by the US under the leadership of President Trump.
Tony Walker, writing in “The Conversation”, pointed out that the French, German and British leaders “raised the possibility of the US being in breach of a UN Security Council resolution endorsing the deal”. At the time the US is planning to update its own nuclear arsenal, an Islam-based theocracy is playing a part in nuclear disarmament.
This is simply frightening. Russia and China are also likely to support the UN resolution that underpins the nuclear disarmament of Iran.
It is not just Iran. Moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has provided another blow to the high moral ground of democracies. In the past, Israel has been able to claim a high moral ground as the only democracy in the Middle East. Israeli actions in dealing with Palestinian protests have shattered its credibility. How
China is rapidly moving away from fossil fuels towards renewable sources of energy. Can the same be said for many of the world’s
can a democratic state act so inhumanely?
Former NZ prime minister Helen Clark summed up her horror at Israeli action in a tweet: “Shocking scenes of live ammunition used against protestors. This is disproportionate force. Never was it more obvious that occupation must end”. She went on to call for the implementation of the two-state solution.
Israel pays lip service while resisting the two-state solution. Hardly the path to a peaceful solution with its neighbours. And the Americans pander. The Palestinians also have much to answer for – but the ongoing occupation of Palestine, seizure of lands and homes hardly bodes well for the future.
It is not just the Middle East. Donald Trump withdraws from the Paris Climate Change Accord. President Xi Jinping of China commits his country of more than a billion people to do all it can to meet the targets. And it is not just on climate change that Xi Jinping and China are leading the way for the future.
The leadership of the Chinese Communist Party made a strong commitment to implement the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2015 there were 193 countries that committed
democracies?
to these goals. Sadly, progress has been slow. However, at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on October 18, in Xi Jinping’s address there were five occasions when he called on his people to commit to sustainable development.
China is rapidly moving away from fossil fuels towards renewable sources of energy. Can the same be said for many of the world’s democracies? Such failures open democracy for accusations of visions being limited to the next election, of short-term thinking and of failure to care about the future.
Democracy is at a crossroads. Human rights, freedom of the individual, protection from arbitrary decisions and a say in who governs us are key democratic elements. However, if these advantages are lost, then how can we expect others to adopt a democratic approach?
Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health in the Carnell government.
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MOTORISTS visiting Gungahlin are met with a nightmare of picketfence traffic lights some 50 metres apart that cause chaos, frustration and anger either when trying to gain access to underground parking or when leaving.
Shopkeepers must be hurting due to the restricted footpath access caused by the white elephant tram line that ends 200 metres short. Speaking of this fiasco, where are the tram users who will travel from distant suburbs going to park?
What can one say about the debacle of road works; Gundaroo Drive duplication (a three-month job that has taken near two years of disruption and still not finished) that wanders around a dead tree and, at this stage, contractors cannot work out how to negotiate the Ginn Street roundabout. Added to this engineering disaster is the Mirrabei Drive duplication; well, not really as it meanders from three lanes to two lanes and then a single lane midway across the dam embankment in a total of some 200 metres. This grand exercise, which should have taken no more than three months to complete, is far from finished possibly because the “successful” contractor only works one weekday and nearly every Saturday at penalty rates! Of course, when one considers the limited intelligence of our government and its “trust” in engineers the result is there for all to see.
Ray
Leister, Amaroo
THE dark ages are returning to a suburb near you.
The Legislative Assembly is exciting us about deep space and Canberra’s role, the construction of a roofed football stadium and light rail while failing to keep the lights on in the city.
Parts of Flynn, in Belconnen, have been relegated to the dark ages following the storm of February 24, which knocked out street
and footpath lighting and this still remains unresolved.
It’s about time those in charge told the troops to “get this fixed or pack your bags”.
As for the rest of you, we will communicate at the next election and we will urge hundreds of others in the impacted areas to act likewise.
John Lawrence, Belconnen
Locals are very aware that this new park has another reason. It will now be used as part of the attraction for the sale of land nearby and new apartments.
THERE’S a danger in reviewing landscape works. Plants need to mature so that you can see whether they are effective and suitable. So with the new Canberra lakeside park, Henry Rolland Park, I will avoid commenting on the new plantings.
Let’s hope that the ACT government maintains them and next year we should be able to see for ourselves how good the planting design is for this celebrated space.
Much has been made of the boardwalk, the jetty, the gym equipment, the patches of lawn and the barbeque areas. All these ingredients should add up to a space to be enjoyed by many. I agree it looks good, and having spent time observing how people reacted to the various elements, it should appeal to a mix of people.
Your family and friends could have a picnic by the lake, cook
some food and have a few drinks. Then an issue will occur to you. There are no toilets. The nearest being across Commonwealth Avenue near the Regatta Point or further along the western shore at the boat shed. With the urge to go, this will be a challenge for individuals and for parents with children. It is a 15-minute walk in either direction (and then back again). I fear those bushes by the lake will be too attractive.
Then there’s the gym equipment. Obviously this was installed ready for the coming apartment dwellers. But what is missing is the children’s play equipment for families. So points for keeping some people fit but zero from parents looking to keep small children amused.
I made a point of observing the 10kph-shared roadway. Obviously it is very necessary to allow access to and from this area near Commonwealth Bridge. I believe in such shared spaces when designed correctly. This one is not so.
Most vehicles did more than 10kph
with a couple treating the roadway as a normal street – hitting speeds closer to 50 or 60 kph. The other danger was some cyclists. This area is on the major around-the-lake cycle path and not every cyclist was making an effort to slow down. Given the shared space design and the ease with which the play areas join this road, parents will have to keep an eye on children as they run about – being alert for vehicles as well as fast-moving cyclists. The biggest attraction is the chance to sit by the lake. On this score the designers get top marks. It’s a great place to watch a sunset. There is loads of seating, both the bench type and concrete walls in various locations, being immediately by the water as
well as behind the boardwalk and alongside the green spaces – and more undercover with the barbecues.
Much of the money was spent on claiming back part of the lake, creating the boardwalk and the long jetty. These are great assets and only time will tell whether they are justified. Our lake provides many other opportunities for lakeside recreation and sitting, so we wait to see who comes to this new area.
Locals are very aware that this new park has another reason. It will now be used as part of the attraction for the sale of land nearby and the subsequent encouragement of people to buy into those new apartments along the West Basin. The so-called City to
development
This creates a critical window for quality early education as your child develops new skills and explores new learning opportunities.
YMCA Canberra is a leading provider of highquality education and care with Early Learning Centres located in Gungahlin, Belconnen, Holder, Holt and Jamison.
Both nature and nurture (genes and environment) influence each child’s development. The quality of a child’s earliest environments and the availability of appropriate
the Lake project, bringing loads of apartments along these shorelines, is a proposed development with too much wrong with it. Is there any way of having a serious rethink about how to use these precious lakeside spaces?
Henry Rolland Park is a place to visit (provided you do not need a toilet). There are many good bits, so let’s see how popular it becomes and how those 23,000 plants mature and what they do for the ambience and biodiversity of the area.
Paul Costigan is an independent commentator and consultant on the visual arts, photography, urban design, environmental issues and everyday life matters.
experiences at the right stages of development are crucial to the way each child’s brain develops. YMCA Centres promote caring and supportive environments that ensure optimal early childhood development.
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AS the days draw nearer to the 2020 ACT election, the Canberra Liberals will inevitably need to decide their light rail policy, an issue which has dominated local politics for the last two election cycles. Indeed, there has been no shortage of media on the difficulties the government is facing with their proposed route from Civic to Woden via Barton, a path that requires new or converted light-rail vehicles and a possible cost blow out due to the National Capital Authority’s requirements on how it’s to cross the lake.
While I support the government’s vision of urban revitalisation and understand what light rail will do for the territory’s economy and certainly for Woden’s town centre, this route doesn’t make sense to me, not yet at least.
So what is a viable alternative? Belconnen to the airport.
This route provides Canberra with a firm east-to-west link, something that earlier this month Infrastructure Australia said is critically required.
Economically and logically, each day this route would serve a greater number of Canberrans, including five current and one future higher education facilities, two schools, the now-shelved
Stage two of the light rail project is the right decision, but it’s going the wrong way writes 18-year-old Canberra entrepreneur JOHN-PAUL ROMANO
new stadium and convention centre, GIO Stadium/AIS, Calvary hospital, Russell offices, and the Belconnen town centre. Population density is also significantly higher along this route, reducing stage two’s chance of failure.
For students coming to Canberra, navigating our sparse city can often be a challenge, especially when bus routes often weave in and out of unfamiliar suburbs. By linking our major tertiary and vocational facilities, as well as student accommodation hubs across the capital, we not only make the lives of students more comfortable but we also make Canberra a more viable and inviting place to study.
To me, light rail serves three purposes; one, to build infrastructure for the future and to create jobs; two, to get cars off the road, and three, to allow for urban renewal.
Now, no one discounts the effect
of significant infrastructure works on the economy, nor does anyone discount the benefit of thousands of new jobs. However, I believe it is imperative that the government prioritises local construction companies and workers where possible. This prioritisation allows the highest return on investment for Canberra, after all, it is better for money that is earnt here to be spent here.
By using this route, it allows the government to help renew one of the most troubled urban areas in Canberra – City Walk and Garema Place. Revitalisation can occur by running the light rail straight through the middle of City Walk, to create a welldesigned mall, similar to that of Bourke Street in Melbourne.
While it is unlikely that anyone will ride all the way from Belconnen to the airport, commuters will utilise this route as a hop-on, hop-off service; for example
between city east and city west. Seemingly, that usage is precisely how this route will service the greatest number of Canberrans. This route is the simplest to build and the most economical and viable light rail route for Canberra. While it is unlikely the government will backflip on Woden as its stage-two, light-rail destination it isn’t impossible. Hopefully, the government will have the foresight to look beyond politics and do what is most effective, most efficient, and best for our small, but great and growing city.
John-Paul Romano (@johnpauldromano) is the founder of The PURE Network (thepurenetwork.com)
It’s the pedestrians who need a fair
Reader SANDRA EXALL is grumpy about how pedestrians are treated by cyclists and motorists.
IT’S good to see so many people cycling to work and I fully support good facilities for cyclists. On the other hand, pedestrians are not so well provided for.
Some areas lack footpaths and nature strips, and roads can be narrow with blind bends giving pedestrians the only option of walking in the road, which can test even the most alert motorist.
It seems to me that the funds that could be used to build new footpaths are being used to repair existing paths that have been damaged by inappropriate tree plantings along suburban streets.
Despite this, it should be possible to budget for new footpaths where none exist at present.
The cheapest option has been to paint a line down the middle of cycle tracks and call them “shared” paths. Unfortunately, at least half the cyclists give no warning of their approach and the only indication of their presence is a “whoosh” as they come alongside. It is very intimidating because just one step out of line and one would become a casualty.
Also, I have found some drivers ignore pedestrian safety at zebra crossings. At Casey shops I was waiting at the kerb. A vehicle had stopped on the other side. Several seconds had passed when a driver drove through without a glance. She had ample time to slow down and stop.
If I had not waited to ensure vehicles had stopped on both sides, I would have become a casualty.
Grumpy is an occasional column dedicated to things that get up your nose. Readers are invited to vent (no more than 300 words, please) at editor@citynews.com.au
HOME to more than 57,000 residents, Queanbeyan is the largest city in south-east NSW and Canberra’s nearest municipal neighbour.
Its name is the anglicised form of “quinbean” – an Aboriginal word meaning “clear waters”.
It was officially proclaimed a township in 1838 when the population numbered about 50. The local parish was also known by that name and later still the member for the electorate of Queanbeyan held a seat in the legislative assembly of the colony of NSW.
Traces of gold were discovered in 1851 and lead and silver mines also flourished briefly. Settlers were harassed by bushrangers, of which James Shaw, William Millet, John Rueben, John Tennant, Jacky Jacky, Frank Gardiner and Ben Hall were some of the more notorious.
In 1880 the residence of John James Wright, the first mayor of Queanbeyan, was constructed along the edge of the Queanbeyan River. In 1982 that building became the Queanbeyan Art Centre.
At the height of its rural prosperity Queanbeyan boasted 16 public houses and six flour mills powered by wind, water, horse and steam. The Royal Hotel on Monaro Street opened in 1926.
In Canberra alcohol was prohibited from 1911, at the time of the territory’s foundation, until 1928, when Federal Parliament had relocated from Melbourne. In that period many of the capital’s residents crossed the border to drink at one of Queanbeyan’s hotels.
Queanbeyan was granted city status on 7 July 1972 and continues to flourish as an independent community.
influence its students to have vigour and interest in education, says principal Chris Hunter.
This includes its extension maths classes for students in years 2 to 6, with its year 6 group recently invited to attend an exciting and stimulating morning at Queanbeyan High School with maths teacher extraordinaire, Eddie Woo.
Australian Hero for 2018, Eddie had been invited to attend Queanbeyan High by principal Jenny Green and that invitation was then extended to other local schools.
Eddie, who has featured on the ABC’s “Australian
SAVE A Bob Or Two in Karabar Mall sells a little bit of everything, says owner Victor Seisun.
Starting at the Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets about five years ago, the store found its new home on Queenbar Road one year ago where it remains selling new and pre-loved household goods such as vases, plates, furniture, books and CDs.
Victor describes the store full of nick-nacks as a friendly place where there’s something for everyone.
“There’s a lot to have a look at, so people take their time walking through,” he says.
“At the moment, with the cold weather, people are going crazy for books and DVDs.”
Victor is constantly picking up new and unique items for the store and says he recently got his hands on a set of beautiful old scales.
and exciting students to like maths and participate and extend themselves.
“He has changed the way thousands of students perceive maths and helped them to understand concepts,” Chris says.
“The Jerrabomberra students responded to the morning with the teacher with super rockstar status and were bubbling excitedly on return.”
Jerrabomberra Public School, Coachwood Avenue, Jerrabomberra. Call 6299 8860, email jerra-p.school@det. nsw.edu.au or visit jerra-p.schools.nsw.edu.au
FOLLOWING the retirement of Bayldon Ag’s owner Roger Keft, the general manager of nearly three years, Paul Nicholl, has taken over with the intention of building on the strong customer focus that Bayldon Ag has already built over its many years.
Proud to be the Canberra region dealer for the number one off-road vehicle, Polaris, Paul and the team are focused on ensuring that Polaris and Bayldon Ag are the first choice for customers looking for the best off-road vehicle in the market and the best parts and service delivery in the region.
needs of its community
BUILT on the needs of the community, YMCA Queanbeyan has been providing childcare and programs within the Queanbeyan region since 1975.
As a not-for-profit association, CEO Peta Virgo says all money is put back into supporting programs for the community.
Growing with the community’s needs, Queanbeyan and Bungendore benefit from its fitness programs, where locals can make friendships in a fun and safe way.
“We have a very strong and continually growing Get Up & Go program,” Peta says.
“This is a fitness program for our older community under the watchful eye of instructor Vasa. It is growing from strength to strength. We now offer three classes a week.
“We continue to offer a highly respected childcare with before and after-school care and vacation care.
“And, as always, our gymnastics and kinder gym programs are still running very strong.”
Queanbeyan YMCA also supports the local park run, the Convoy for Cancer, Relay for Life and local youth events.
YMCA Queanbeyan, 2 Southbar Road, Queanbeyan. Call 6297 2334, email queanbeyan@ymca.org.au or visit queanbeyan.ymca.org.au
Approaching the end of the financial year, Paul says it’s an ideal time to make some great savings, with $1000 off most models and $2000 off the Ranger Diesel.
He says it’s also a great time to buy for ABN holders with the end of financial year fast approaching.
“[Also], winter is the best time to get your mowers serviced to ensure they are ready for spring, give Bayldon Ag service department a call now to book it in to our workshop or Bayldon Ag can service the mower at your place,” he says.
Bayldon Ag, 10 Bayldon Road, Queanbeyan, bayldonag.com.au or call 6297 2833.
THE perfect smile is possible with the help of Karabar Private Dental Surgery.
Located on the ground floor of Karabar Shopping Mall, Queanbeyan, the surgery is open for emergencies seven days and holidays (by appointment) to provide a full range of dentistry treatments – general and cosmetic – for adults and children. Oral health therapist and hygienist Koco Clarke says: “We offer bleaching and whitening for $450, where the customer can come in, we clean and freshen their teeth and they go home with a kit, which is very easy to use. They can have perfect teeth in a non-harmful way and not spend a fortune”.
With 20 years’ experience, Karabar Private Dental Surgery has developed a friendly, approachable service that helps relieve the anxiety of visiting the dentist.
Karabar Private Dental Surgery, Karabar Shopping Mall, Queanbeyan. Call 6297 3760 or visit karabarprivatedental.com.au
WHEN long-term customer Tascha Loadsman heard Mainstreet Shoes Queanbeyan was closing she decided to take over because she didn’t want to lose such a good quality shoe store.
“The shop holds unique European shoes for a good price, which fit better on people’s feet,” she says.
“It’s good quality, with mostly genuine leather – no synthetics – and we just like to get different things in for a reasonable price.”
Tascha says Mainstreet Shoes Queanbeyan provides a personal and friendly experience of buying women’s shoes, which are sourced from countries such as Spain, Portugal, Brazil and Italy.
“We are constantly changing our stock,” Tascha says. “This is because we only get in each style of shoe with only one pair in each size.
and luxury designer shoes and fashion
“We do this to ensure that the shoes are kept as unique as possible, meaning you have very little chance of passing someone on the street with the same shoe – and that you will often receive compliments on the shoes you wear.”
The store also has scarfs and handmade jackets made by a lady in the Blue Mountains, Australian-made socks and handmade jewellery made by two local Queanbeyan women.
But overall, the store’s focus is on its shoes, which Tascha says they pride themselves on making sure the customers get the right shoe with the right fit.
Mainstreet Shoes Queanbeyan, 56 Monaro Street, Queanbeyan. Email enquiries@mainstreetshoes.com.au, call 6297 5672 or visit mainstreetshoes.com.au
Glen (Michael Jordan), Julia (Emily Ridge), Holly (Josie Dunham), Robbie Hart (Dave Smith), George (David Santolin) and Sammy (Tim Stiles) and ensemble members rehearse for “The Wedding Singer”.
QUEANBEYAN Players will soon be taking audiences back in time with its production of “The Wedding Singer” based on the hit Adam Sandler movie.
The musical takes place in 1985, a time when hair was big, greed was good, collars were up and a wedding singer might have just been the coolest guy in the room.
In a New Jersey setting, rockstar wannabe Robbie Hart, played by Dave Smith, is the life of the party until his own fiancée Linda (Emma White) leaves him at the altar.
Shot through the heart, Robbie makes every wedding as disastrous as his own, until Julia (Emily Ridge), a winsome waitress, wins his affection. As luck would have it, Julia is about to be married to a Wall Street shark Glen (Michael Jordan) and, unless Robbie can pull off the performance of a decade, the girl of his dreams will be gone forever.
Co-director Sarah Hull says: “I think that it’s a show that’s full of amusing references to ‘80s culture but it’s also a show that has real people to identify with and also laugh with.”
“The Wedding Singer”, The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, 253 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan, June 22-July 1. Bookings at theq.net.au
BASED in Queanbeyan, Oskar Memorials has been delivering respectful and professional memorial services to the region for 25 years, says the team at Oskar Memorials.
“What means the world to us is when a customer has viewed the item and is happy with it because it will be an everlasting tribute to their loved ones,” says Oskar Memorials.
“Unfortunately, we’ve experienced what the customer goes through, we have all lost family members, so we really empathise with them.
“We go the extra mile. If some people don’t have the money, we will work something out to suit their budget. There’s no job too little or too big, we treat everyone the same.”
Oskar Memorials provides services such as building monuments for all areas of the cemetery, it makes headstones out of all-rock materials and makes bronze plaques to be added to headstones.
“We try to start off by meeting the customer at the cemetery so we can look at the plot and explain the process,” says the company.
Oskar Memorials offers free quotes and Steve says the company has a high reputation with all the funeral directors in Canberra.
Oskar Memorials, 34 Waterloo Street, Queanbeyan.
Call 6299 7711 or email oskarmemorials@ netspeed.com.au
We ensure that the monument created will be visible to family members for generations.
Our speciality is providing the best possible design, with the highest quality materials and craftsmanship.
We have the expertise and knowledge to create anything you have in mind.
WHEN land on the eastern side of the Queanbeyan River was declared and set aside for public recreation in 1901 and again in 1913 a few hardy souls designed their own golf course and began to play there on an ad hoc basis.
Ninety years on and the Queanbeyan Golf Club says it offers one of the best golfing experiences in the Canberra region.
Located within walking distance of the Queanbeyan CBD, this par 70 golf course offers a challenge to all golfers with true, fast greens and tree-lined fairways.
For prospective members the club says it offers the best value in the region with no nomination fee.
“You will be hard pressed to find a comparable product for the price,” says Queanbeyan Golf Club.
“The Clubhouse offers the very best in off-course comfort. Enjoy a drink in the bar and lounge, take in the action on any of the five big screens, or just sit back and relax on the outdoor deck and watch all the golfing action over the 18th green.
“The Queanbeyan Golf Club offers a great all round golfing and social experience.”
Queanbeyan Golf Club, 5 Brown Street, Queanbeyan. Call 6297 1669 or visit queanbeyangolf.com.au
MORE than just a motorcycle store, the family-run business Eurotune Motorcycles has a growing space, Art by Anders, which sells vintage, retro, old wares and antiques, says co-owner Helen Whigham.
“We’re always sourcing new stock of good quality, so there’s constantly different items,” she says.
“There’s so much to see, often people need to do a couple of laps to take it all in.”
At the moment, Helen says linen items such as tablecloths, tea towels and doilies are popular as people change their house colour schemes to match the seasons.
“The Onkaparinga pure-wool blankets, which are great quality, are also popular at the moment,” she says.
Helen describes the store as a friendly and relaxed space, where people can come in and feel no pressure to spend money.
Art by Anders is also open to buying, if people have any items of interest.
Art by Anders, 144 Uriarra Road, Queanbeyan. Visit shopvida.com/collections/anders-mykkeltvedt or call 6297 8636.
Art glass, Baskets, Bric-a-brac, Cane, Canisters, Chandeliers, Clocks, Collectables, Crockery, Fashion, Fine china, Furniture, Games, Handbags, Kitchenalia, Ladders, Lamps, Lanterns, Linen, Mirrors, Ornaments, Outdoor furniture, Plant stands & pots, Pottery, Prams, Purses, Retro goods, Rusty relics, Scales, Scooters, Sewing boxes, Stained glass, Stemware, Suitcases, Teapots, Tins, Vases, World globes & so much more.
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WITH benefits such as reduced inflammation, a stronger immune system, maintained weight and improved mental health, it’s important to stay fit, even in the colder months.
The term “fitness” became popular in the western world in the ‘50s, which led to global fitness and fitness-equipment industries.
‘Everything’ to
Fitness is described as a state of health and wellbeing, or more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations and daily activities.
But to get or stay fit is often challenging, so this week “CityNews” talks to experts who can help people on the right track to fitness.
COOKIES Cycles, the home of bikes, skateboards, scooters and electric scooters, has everything needed to help people get fit or for an easy solution to commute to work.
Owner David Cooke says one way to stay fit and enjoy the outdoors is cycling, which is a great thing for the family to do together.
“It’s a matter of continuing to ride through the cooler months and the longer people keep it up, the better it is for their health,” he says.
But for people who prefer scooters, David says they have Canberra’s biggest range, with more than 80 different scooters in stock.
Cookies Cycles also has a range of electric scooters such as Razor, Micro and Globber, which David says are a great option for commuters.
“They give the rider as much assistance as you need to get up the hills and a lot less effort to get to work,” he says.
Cookies Cycles is open six days a week and stocks a wide range of bicycles, skateboards and scooters, as well as parts, accessories and a repair workshop.
Cookies Cycles, 227 Flemington Road, Franklin. Call 6242 0338.
Jenny seeks out the source of pain
AT Canberra Myotherapy, owner and therapist Jenny Richardson works with her clients to help them understand where their original source of pain is coming from.
“As a therapist, I have learnt over the years that what has happened to someone’s body in the past helps to create what is happening now,” she says.
“That badly sprained ankle 20 years ago made someone walk differently and now they have hip or lower-back pain.
“Or that surgery five years ago has scar tissue that is pulling, but the pain is now further away and no one has looked back to see if the scar is relevant.”
To help resolve these issues, Jenny uses Myotherapy, which encompasses soft-tissue techniques to treat musculoskeletal pain and injury.
“I take into account your past injuries, surgeries and illnesses to determine where it may be coming from; and somewhat more importantly, how I can help you fix it,” she says.
“Figuring out that reason is key to getting someone out of pain and back into the activities they love.”
Canberra Myotherapy, 35 MacGillivray Street, Yarralumla. Call
CANBERRA Police Community Youth Club (PCYC) is calling on Canberrans to take the “plunge” and abseil or zipline from Woden’s tallest commercial building to help them raise funds
“We’re looking for up to 400 people to register, get on board and raise funds to support more young people across the region,” says executive manager Cheryl O’Donnell.
Serving the local community for more than 60 years, PCYC offers a range of low-cost and high-quality programs and activities to engage young people and the community.
If people take the “plunge” from October 25 to 28, Cheryl says the money will enable them to deliver more staff and programs in areas such as mental health, training, bullying or
Canberra PCYC already offers a wide range of sporting and recreational options in an inclusive environment, such as Firebelly, which is a Wednesday night program that includes
Cheryl says these programs create an environment of belonging, which increases a person’s health and mental wellbeing.
PCYC also offers targeted programs for young people exhibiting anti-social behaviour, disengagement from school or
“Whatever journey people may have been on, it is our mission to empower people to create pathways to a better future
Canberra Police Community Youth Club, 17 Grattan Court, Wanniassa. Call 6296 1292, email erindale@pcyc.net.au or visit pcyc.net.au
and unfit, and found the F45 classes fitted easily into her days.
With a background as a Zumba instructor and a love for F45’s circuit training, which includes both cardio and resistance training, Pip now gets to help others transform their fitness.
“At F45, you’ll work harder than you’ll ever work on your own,” she says.
“It’s circuit-style, high-intensity interval training in small group classes, that are adjustable for
which is important when there are tough sessions involved.
But even though it’s tough, she says the classes are varied for all levels, whether it’s beginners, people coming back after injury or people looking for a challenge.
F45 Queanbeyan, 1/27 Paterson Parade, Queanbeyan West. Email queanbeyan@f45training.com.au, call 0417 817266 or visit f45training.com.au/queanbeyan
TO mark the 72nd anniversary of the Italian Republic, Com. It.Es. Canberra is hosting a free event, Festa della Repubblica.
Traditionally celebrated on June 2, the day commemorates the institutional referendum held by universal suffrage in 1946 in which the Italian people were called to the polls to decide on the form of government following the end of World War II and the fall of Fascism.
The Canberra community event will be held at the Italian Cultural Centre, 80 Franklin Street, Forrest, on Sunday, May 27, and everyone is invited to experience and enjoy all aspects of Italian culture.
Franco Barilaro, Canberra president of the Com.It.Es., says the Italian community is thrilled to invite all Canberrans to share the celebrations of the Italian National Day.
“The Festa is an opportunity for families to enjoy good food, great coffee, fun activities and immerse themselves in a very Italian atmosphere,” he says.
The Italian ambassador Stefano Gatti will officially open the festivities at 10.30am, where there will be Italian food, gelato, sweets and coffee stalls.
Live music will add to the Italian atmosphere with a special performance by accordion virtuoso Lucio Ventresca and the spectacular Dante Musica Viva Choir, which will perform a range of Italian songs from famous opera arias to regional songs.
There will also be a chance to learn how to expertly prepare an Italian dish with internationally acclaimed chef Francesco Balestrieri.
Festa della Repubblica, Italian Cultural Centre, 80 Franklin Street, Forrest. 10.30am-4pm, Sunday, May 27.
BUILT on Italian values, the Canberra franchise, Vergola, based in Fyshwick, offers an Australian design that’s delivered with Italian integrity and honesty.
Owned and run by a family with roots in Monza, Italy, supervisor Andre Barilaro says Vergola has been offering a quality opening roof system to communities in the ACT and southern NSW for more than 30 years.
“We pride ourselves on doing quality work, which is why we’ve been around for so long,” he says.
Vergola is the original, energy-efficient, open/ close roof system that adds versatility and functionality to a home, creating a comfortable space all year round.
A normal roof cuts the sun out completely, but with a Vergola roof it can be opened up, allowing the sun to come through, which would heat up the house in winter.
Andre says the Vergola is unique because it’s designed specifically for the Australian environment.
“We can do decks and Vergolas from small-scale
Vergola ACT & Southern NSW, 52 Kembla Street, Fyshwick. Call 6280 9809, email sales@vergola.com. au or visit vergola.com.au
SHOWING the history of Italy through its travel groups, the Italian Travel Bureau says Festa della Repubblica is connected to what makes the country what it is today.
With every tour packed full of information, owner Michael Perrone says the Italian Travel Bureau has strong and deep roots in the Italian culture.
“Ninety-nine per cent of our tours are led by expert guides, who are also Italian locals from the region, so they can share the real experience of that spot,” he says.
“They’re giving a tour that’s from generations of experience and knowledge of the area, not from a book.”
Italian-born and an avid traveller, Michael started the Italian Travel Bureau more than 25 years ago because he wanted to show people a
different side of Italy.
At the moment, he says their tour to Sardinia, which “unveils the secret of long life”, is very popular because it visits some of the areas of the island where many residents live more than a hundred years.
“Escorted by a fully qualified biologist and nutritionist (PHD), this tour aims to introduce you to the benefits of genuine organic and locally grown food and wine, part of the diet of the inhabitants, but also to Sardinian traditions, prehistoric heritage sites, recipes, conviviality and, therefore, the local approach to life itself,” he says.
Italian Travel Bureau. 21 Eastlake Parade, corner of Trevillian Quay, Kingston Foreshore. Call 6223 2780 or visit italianbureau.com.au
Every Saturday afternoon at Yarralumla
CELEBRATING the Italian culture through its specialisation of Italian and European cars, Latin Motors has provided mechanical repairs and servic ing to the Canberra region since 1979.
The family-owned, longestablished workshop specialises in European makes and models.
Owner Damian Jones says that its customers can feel comfortable know ing 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 there is any extra work 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
At home with happiness and welfare
VILLAGGIO Sant’ Antonio’s reputation for distinction in aged-care services and accommodation throughout the Canberra region is, they say, the result of applied dedication and experience over many years.
It provides high-quality preeminence in independent living, in-home community care and inclusion so that all members of the aged population have suitable and appropriate options.
Villaggio Sant’ Antonio is keenly aware of the importance of feeling “at home” within Villaggio and with each other.
“We also support and appreciate the need of some of our residents to continue to be active participants within their environments and so assist, where possible, in the accomplishment of a variety of activities, interests, hobbies, pursuits and pastimes,” says a Villaggio Sant’ Antonio spokesperson.
“The interaction between residents and their families is also encouraged as part of caring for our residents and visits, outings and stays are encouraged where practicable and possible.
“We care about the happiness and welfare of our residents and know that feelings of isolation, insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty can impact upon their health and contentment.
“Our highly experienced and expert staff are there to give the advice, support, comfort and practical input needed for peace of mind and tranquillity.”
Villaggio Sant’ Antonio. 35 Burkitt Street, Page. Call 6255 1794, email reception@villaggio.com.au or visit villaggio.com.au
ZECCA, a restaurant that embodies the “roots of regional Italian food”, is celebrating this Festa della Repubblica by commemorating an important part of Italy’s history through its food.
Based in Griffith, NSW, which has a large Italian population, owners Michaela Cangelli-Di Rosa, Ben Di Rosa, who is also the chef, and Daniel D’Aquino say it’s very important for them to keep the history of the Italian cucina alive.
“We aim to nourish our community with wholesome, quality, seasonal and authentic regional Italian food, using fresh, locally sourced produce,” Michaela says.
“We represent our Italian heritage (Abruzzo, Veneto, Lazio & Sicily) and culture in the preparation, education and sharing of our food.
“Our restaurant is focused on the true regional Italian food; food you will find in the back streets of small Italian villages, not the touristy Italian you find in most places.
“We work closely with a number of remarkable local farmers who provide us with beautiful seasonal produce that we showcase in our (Italian) region specific menu which changes all the time (sometimes daily!).
“We are also the only producer of dried artisan pasta in the Riverina which we produce and package by hand in our restaurant.”
ZECCA, 239 Banna Avenue, Griffith, NSW. Call 6964 4050, email ciao@zeccagriffith.com.au or visit zeccagriffith.com.au
• Fresh food prepared onsite with dietician consultation
• Ageing in place care – transition from lifestyle to care
• Beautifully landscaped grounds
• Excellent activities targeting social connectedness and stimulation www.villaggio.com.au
Please call us today for an appointment to view our accommodation, community areas, living areas and meet our friendly and supportive staff.
35 Burkitt St, Page • reception@villaggio.com.au • 02 6255 1794
WITH two main focuses, one on community and another on great coffee, Biginelli’s has revitalised the Manheim Street shops in Kambah with its local vibe and Italian delifeel, says owner Ben Biginelli.
Connecting with the community is important to Biginelli’s, which tries to source all its products locally from honey to milk, eggs and vegetables.
Ben says people even come in and swap their home-grown products, such as tomatoes, for coffee.
Its coffee though, all five blends that are woodfire roasted, comes from his family in Sydney.
“We specialise in all aspects of fine coffee and coffee products,” Ben says. “Our aim is to bring you the freshest and richest premium quality coffee so that you truly experience the espresso taste of life.”
When walking into Biginelli’s, customers experience a deli-feel, with stock such as tinned tomatoes at the front.
“We can talk about what to use a something for and what goes best with it,” he says.
Biginelli’s in Kamah is one of two Biginelli’s, with its other at the Canberra School of Music, on the city side of the ANU.
Biginelli’s, 3/48 Mannheim Street, Kambah. Call 6296 7544 or visit biginelli.com
Cost: $160 per child or $295 per adult
Students from 5 to 15 years age and their parents and carers For information email: italianlanguageschool@gmail.com
Biginelli’s is a small family business in the heart of Kambah specialising in homemade cakes and the fine art of coffee.
From Monday - Saturday Biginelli’s offers a comprehensive all day breakfast menu complemented by a range of Italian inspired food.
Wednesday night is Italian pizza night with BYO available. Biginelli’s also has vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options available.
3/48 Mannheim St, Kambah • Phone 62967544
Be part of the conversation and call 6255 1206 between 10am and noon. At the Digital Canberra
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By Helen MUSA
JANE Austen haters can breathe a collective sigh of relief, says actor Nathan O’Keefe; American playwright Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Austen’s 1811 novel “Sense and Sensibility” cuts straight to the fun.
O’Keefe is part of the recently-formed State Theatre Company Ensemble heading from Adelaide soon to perform a cavalcade of roles.
“It’s a wonderful adaptation, grounded in characters that I can really get my claws into,” he says. “Kate Hamill goes straight to the audience and puts a smile on their faces.”
She is, of course, aided and abetted by Austen, whose original is full of humour and dry social observation as she puts the boot into the wannabes and those already at the top.
Briefly, the story concerns the Dashwood family who are unexpectedly down on their uppers when their father dies without property, necessitating
a move to a new community and a small cottage. And for a family with three daughters, there is no question, as Austen wrote elsewhere, “that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife”.
O’Keefe gets to play two of those single men, the shy Edward Ferrars and his silly brother Robert, as well as Lady Middleton, the local dowager.
Gender-bending is just one of the many opportunities O’Keefe says that director Geordie Brookman opened up last year when forming the ensemble, a group of emerging actors and more experienced players who were guaranteed solid work on four theatre classics – “A Doll’s House”, “Macbeth”, “The Club” and “Sense And Sensibility”.
O’Keefe may be a veteran of Sydney and Melbourne Theatre Companies, Windmill, Griffin, Malthouse, Bell and the mainstage State Theatre Company of SA, but says he’s never had the chance to be in a real ensemble rather than jumping from role to role, so when joining up he thought: “Let’s do it, let’s build something special”.
As well as playing those three identifiable characters, he and other actors play the chorus-like “gossips” and a couple of servants.
“Also, we invite the audience to enter into the multiple characters and it’s quite a ‘wiggy’ show,
we’ve all got our own wigs, Robert and Edward included,” he says.
“The key point of the show is always the heart and the two main female leads, Anna Steen as Elinor [Sense] and Miranda Daughtry as Marianne [Sensibility] go on an emotional rollercoaster – you can’t take that away.”
His primary character Edward is the romantic interest for Elinor, the older sister.
“We meet early in the play but we’re both very proper… we want to make sure the audience feels our deep-seated, emotional commitment,” he says.
“The small roles are always fun to play because you do that with a burst of energy and then you go off,” he says, and Austen’s over-the-top caricatures live in the same world as the fully fleshed-out human characters.
“Lady Middleton is a woman of few words but quite a presence and Robert shows the family that Edward comes from.
“But, I get most satisfaction playing Edward, living within the heart of the show, a beautiful love story.”
“Sense and Sensibility”, The Playhouse, May 29 (preview) to June 2. Bookings to canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700.
By Helen Musa
TEMPO Theatre is forsaking Agatha Christie for that great Sherlock Holmes mystery, “The Hound of the Baskervilles” for its next production. Kim Wilson is directing and it’s at Belconnen Community Theatre, May 25-June 2. Bookings to canberraticketing.com.au or 6275 2700.
THE German Film Festival has a youthful focus this year, with the opener “The Silent Revolution” following 1956 true events in which a group of East German high school students stage a silent protest. Then in “Teenosaurus Rex” a teenage daughter turns into a pubescent nightmare. At Palace Electric, May 23-June 6. Bookings to palacecinemas.com.au
CHENOEH Miller, of Little Dove Theatre Art, has managed to secure just over $74,000 through the City Renewal Authority’s City Grants0 program to produce the “Hurly Burley [as in the Walter Burley Griffin] Winter Fair”. Now in its second year, it aims to transform Civic with multiple stages showcasing “100 per cent local” food, drink and entertainment. At Garema Place, noon-10pm, Saturday, June 2.
FLUSHED with success at the recent Canberra International Music Festival, Geoff Grey and the Canberra Wind Symphony will perform music of living composers, including Martyn Hancock’s newest work, “Aurora Australis” at The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, on Thursday, May 31. Bookings to theq.net.au or 6285 6290.
JACKLINE Okot, a young poet from Wagga Wagga who was born in a refugee camp in Kenya, will be the featured poet for “Mother Tongue – Winter Words”, where she will perform poetry in her mother tongue Acholi and in English. At the Woden Youth Centre, 2pm-5pm, Saturday, June 2. Tickets at the door. Anyone wanting to share a poem in a language other than English should email mothertonguemic@gmail.com or call 0433 845900.
“WILD Strings” is a Young Music Society program for violinists, violists, cellists and double-bass players between 10 and 21, directed by string duo Chris Stone and Holly Downes, at Canberra Girls Grammar School, July 9-13. As well, in the winter school holidays YMS will offer alternative styles of playing experiences. At Macquarie Primary School, July 16-20. Details at youngmusicsociety.org.au
THE Australian Haydn Ensemble, joined by classical period guitarist Simon Martyn-Ellis, will perform Latin-inspired works, at Albert Hall, 7pm, Thursday, May 31. Bookings to 1800 334388 or australianhaydn.com.au or purchase at the door.
SELECTIONS for this year’s Human Rights Arts and Film Festival look at the pressures of being a female musician, reproductive rights, food waste, guilt, capital punishment, rights of people with disabilities and besieged citizens in Aleppo, Syria. At Palace Electric Cinemas, NewActon, May 29-June 2. Bookings to hraff.org.au
By Helen Musa
RECONCILIATION Day is coming up on May 28, celebrated for the first time as a public holiday in the ACT, and the Canberra Theatre is marking the occasion the night before in a typically theatrical way – with a big party.
Replacing the Family and Community Day, the holiday and the festivities form part of National Reconciliation Week (May 27-June 3) under the theme “Don’t Keep History a Mystery: Learn. Share. Grow.”
The idea, Reconciliation Australia says, is for all of us to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories, and music, the lingua franca of all people, is the chosen medium for the theatre’s contribution.
First up on Reconciliation Eve, Australian singer-songwriting legend Archie Roach teams up with Tiddas – Amy Saunders, Lou Bennett and Sally Dastey – on The Playhouse stage from 8pm-10pm with a show titled “Dancing with
My Spirit”, named after one of Roach’s hits. He’ll also perform crowd-pleasers such as “A Child was Born Here” and “Dancing Shoes”.
From 9.30pm in the Canberra Theatre bar the Bad Apples Music House Party begins, hosted by Queanbeyan boy-made-good and long-time Triple J hip-hop presenter Hau Latukefu.
That’s headlined by the formidable Yorta Yorta rapper Briggs, familiar to TV viewers from the drama series “Cleverman” and “The Weekly with Charlie Pickering” and founder in 2015 of indigenous record label Bad Apples Music and supported by Birdz, Nooky, Alice Skye, Omar Musa and Kobie Dee.
“CityNews” caught up with rapper Nathan Bird by phone to Melbourne.
“I put a ‘z’ on the end of my name and became ‘Birdz’,” he tells us of his rap name.
A busy recording and performing artist raised in Katherine, NT, he rose to fame through three singles in late 2016 – “Black Lives Matter”, “Hunger Voodoo” and with rapper Jimblah, “Rise”. Then in August his debut album “Train of Thought” was released through Bad Apples, exposing him to a wider audience.
Birdz now lives in Melbourne, where he is
Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm, Saturday 10am-4pm, closed Sunday and public holidays
Pure Gelato ACT • 4 /189 Flemington Rd, Mitchell (enter via Darling St.) • Phone: 02 6299 7995
the proud father of a two-and-a-half-year-old son, but tells us he leaps at the chance to visit family back in the NT as he did last year during the “Voodoo Laksa” tour when he travelled to Katherine, also doing hip-hop workshops and sharing stories with kids at the local high school.
“Right now I’m working on my new album playing as many shows as possible, balancing family in between the two,” he says.
Birdz applauds the ACT’s establishment of Reconciliation Day as a public holiday, describ ing it as “an opportunity for everyone to learn more about the country we live in, our history, our indigenous people and their relationship with Australia – both the good and the bad.”
And who better than younger Australians to get involved?
“Young people provide a cool example… they get it, coming together and having an exchange,” he says.
Archie Roach and Tiddas at The Playhouse, 8pm, Sunday, May 27; Bad Apple Music House Party, Canberra Theatre bar. Bookings for both to canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700.
“Aurore”
BLANDINE Lenoir may not be the best-known of women directing films in France, but what she has done here is a lovely examination of a woman past reproductive age but not yet past living life fully.
In a medium-sized coastal city, Aurore (Agnes Jaoui) lives with her two adult daughters, one of whom is pregnant. She’s having what the screen play by Anne-Francoise Brillot and Benjamin Dupas describes as hot flashes. The restaurant where she works has a gung-ho new owner who wants customers to call her Samantha. Her close friend Mano (Pascale Arbillot) is a man not to be taken lightly.
The plot unhurriedly follows Aurore during an unremarkable summer, mothering her daughters, managing her finances, consulting an endocrinologist who explains what her hormones are doing about menopause. Does this sound dull? It’s gently hilarious and very informative. Then she bumps into Totoche (Thibault de Montalembert) her teenage boyfriend before she married Nanar (Philippe Rebbot) from whom she is now divorced.
At this point, you might be forgiven for looking ahead and expecting a familiar outcome. But no. We are about to follow her through a minor cavalcade of experiences – job, parenting, a lover.
The film’s destination is not that obvious. Aurore gets a job as caretaker for four women sharing old age and a household economy funded by their pooled pensions. Here she finds answers to some of the questions bedevilling her as she negotiates menopause, on the way to an enigmatic conclusion to a film that relishes and admires women who have reached a certain age but are not yet ready for the scrap heap.
“Aurore” rang familiar bells for me. I liked it a lot. It has great charm throughout. Sequences where Aurore finds congenial work among restaurant waiters who
guys, what else? And coming close to disaster until the last reel. The language is unprintable. The references to intimate body parts and some of the instruments used to provide sensory satisfactions are unabashed. The visual effects are spectacular – well, these days that’s the norm. Reported budget was $US110 million and it shows. It’s released here simultaneously with
perform songs from opera are delightful, as is Agnes Jaoui’s performance.
At Palace Electric
NO, my critical faculties have not led me astray in awarding three stars for a blockbuster from Marvel Pictures!
Director David Leitch, a stuntman with 89 credits to his CV since 1995, directs his second feature and this guy knows how to make the impossible seem everyday and violence to be simultaneously convincing and survivable.
The screenplay isn’t merely in touch with global issues, the politics of the mainstream movie industry and life’s little lunacies. It’s wildly comical, verging on hilarious.
All that comes packed in a grab-bag of ideas as manifested in fantasy blockbuster movies that take themselves seriously when telling stories set in other worlds or in times yet to be experienced. The Marvel label has grown fat on them. The “Deadpool” line takes the next step and embroiders it with a polished sense of the ridiculous. It works. I smiled often at its inanities. What’s it about? Good guys confronting bad
THIS feature-length version of a seven-minute film screened at Tropfest in 2013 runs for 102 minutes. Shot in SA, on locations ranging from desert country to Wilpena Pound, it tells a grim story about the aftermath of an apocalypse that is turning its victims into zombies.
Andy (English actor Martin Freeman) and Kay (the admirable Susie Porter) and not-yet-toddling Rosie are trying to flee the pandemic on a River Murray houseboat. In the nearby bush, young Aboriginal girl Thoomi is on a quest to cure her infected grandfather (David Gulpilil) by returning his departed soul.
This is a very serious horror film, directed by Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke (who also made the short version and wrote the screenplay for both iterations of the story).
The plot confronts a deadline. Kay dies in a car crash as Andy tries to drive her and Rosie to a remote place that may be safe. Andy knows he has but 48 hours to find somewhere safe for Rosie before he too succumbs to the illness (visually manifested by an exudation through the skin with a viscosity and colour looking rather like honey but don’t let that deny its vicious effect).
One might quibble about discontinuities based on how “Cargo” mixes telling the story into geography and landscape. But its treatment of Aboriginal matters is respectful and affectionate. Simone Landers as Thoomi has potential. David Gulpilil is dignified in a role evoking his youthful 1971 debut in “Walkabout”. And the film is dedicated to the memory of Dr G Yunupingu who co-operated in developing the music.
At Dendy
By Helen Musa
“THERE’S a lot of comedy in the songs I choose, but I haven’t done much in big shows,” says singer Louise Page.
That’s about to change when she switches from soprano to mezzo to play the mother of Brian in the coming concert version of “Not the Messiah… He’s a Very Naughty Boy.”
The full Canberra Choral Society will join the National Capital Orchestra on stage, where the Idea of North’s tenor Nick Begbie will play Brian alongside an almost heavenly line-up of soloists – Tobias Cole, Demi Smith, David Pearson and Louise Page. It’s directed by former Canberran Ylaria Rogers and conducted by Leonard Weiss.
For readers ignorant of Monty Python, “Not the Messiah” is a spoof of Handel’s “Messiah” created by Eric Idle and “Spamalot” composer John Du Prez in 2007 and based on the 1979 religious satire, “The Life of Brian”. Eric Idle once described it as “baroque ‘n’ roll”.
It features numbers such as “We Love Sheep” (Handel followers will get the reference), “Brian’s Dream”, “What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?”, “Hail to the Shoe!” (a Bob Dylan take-off) and “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”, where the audience sings along.
It’s not at all what Page is used to.
“I’m doing something odd, I’m singing as a mezzo… it’s very nice and it sits well,” Page tells “CityNews”.
“But I’m in a quandary during rehearsals… I’m playing the mother of Brian, meaning I’m a woman playing a man playing a woman.
Her fellow soloists are a bit confused, too, as they work out who their characters actually are but reports are that everyone is having a rollicking time rehearsing.
“My generation grew up with the ‘Life of Brian’ and now my kids know it all, too,” Page says, noting that the Americans didn’t “get” Python until the ‘90s and now they’re right into it.
Recalling the furore she says: “In the late ‘70s when the film came out, I was singing in the St Georges Cathedral Choir in Perth… our dean, bless him, went to see it before he commented and told us it was wonderful and that there was no problem.
“It begins like a classic oratorio but more and sillier Monty Python-type things keep coming in. It’s very uplifting and musically very funny, with a lot of in-jokes,” Page says. Helping them all sort out this musical mayhem is Ylaria Rogers, who will be back again directing “Shrek the Musical” for Free Rain Theatre very soon.
Rogers finished her studies at the Australian Institute of Music in 2013 then plunged into professional assistant directing jobs in Melbourne before founding Freefall Productions with another former Canberran, Derek Walker. She still acts, playing Fran in Philo’s “Strictly Ballroom” last year and “Proof”, seen this year at The Q.
While she and conductor Weiss were workshopping the play “Camelia” at The
THE hospitality industry continues to chop and change, including at the Kingston Foreshore.
Bean and Table has popped up where Merchant Brasserie used to be and we thought we’d give it a try.
Breakfast is served all day on weekends at Bean and Table. It was Mother’s Day and we wondered how the service would go, but it was pretty efficient given the crowds and the staff operated without being stressed to the max (or at least they didn’t appear to be).
Bean and Table has plenty of sunshine sweeping over its outdoor dining area, which is quite large. You rock up to the long, long counter area at the back of the café to order.
My friend craved the smashed avo bruschetta ($19). Some say smashed avo dishes are going out of style. I don’t think they ever will. This came with tomato salsa which my friend didn’t want (she has a thing about tomatoes, which is fair enough). The poached eggs were cooked to perfection and the dish all the more exciting with caramelised balsamic
Photo by Wendy Johnson
and parmesan cheese. The extra side of bacon came crispy as ordered and was a generous serve. I was in the mood for mushrooms ($16) which were sautéed exceptionally well and nicely sweet with balsamic. They appeared on top of rye toast and fresh spinach with bits of creamy goat’s cheese. My poached egg was cooked to perfection also (I have a thing about them being too runny or hard).
What we both eyed passing by to several other tables, which caused a severe case of food envy, was the Red Velvet Hotcakes (vegetarian) for $18. They looked sensational and so colourful with fresh raspberries and chocolate crumble. Bet the mascarpone gelato was amazing and,
of course, who cannot do anything but worship maple syrup, which is pure liquid gold in my books. As I say, it was Mother’s Day so it was no surprise that so many were rolling out of the kitchen.
The “good start bowl” also looked appealing ($17) and is packed with goodness – quinoa, brown rice, kale, spinach, broccoli, haloumi, poached egg and almonds. If you’re not wanting to kickstart the day with anything substantial, good old toast is on the menu ($8) and you can select sourdough, rye, seeded loaf or fruit load. Banana bread with butter is also an option, for the same price.
Coffee beans are by ACT Black Mountain Coffee and made on a La Marzocco machine that was working overtime during our visit. They were good coffees but late in coming (have I mentioned it was Mother’s Day?). And Bean and Table is great for those wanting gluten-free, dairy free or vegetarian options.
Bean and Table is relaxed and the food not pretentious or expensive. Give it a go.
Bean and Table, 3/2 Trevillian Quay, Kingston. Call 0481 972775. Open seven days, 6.30am-4 pm. Surcharge of 10 per cent on Sundays and 15 per cent on public holidays.
Street Theatre in November with Tobias Cole, Weiss told her he needed an extra hand and she was up for it.
“I’m really more of a dramaturg, dealing with the text, accents and delivery of characters and making sure they’re going in the right way,” she says.
“The Monty Python actors themselves are so iconic that there’s the question of how to stay true to them and ‘own’ the roles.”
There have been tricky moments, exemplified in the song, “I Want to Be a Girl” sung by members of the Judean People’s Front.
“There is a risk of offending people, because some people don’t appreciate religious questions put to satirical use,” but that ‘70s take on being a woman, she believes, is just as relevant these days.
“I loved Monty Python… all of those comedians really changed the way comedy is. It’s very funny – if that’s your kind of thing.”
“Not the Messiah… He’s a Very Naughty Boy”, Llewellyn Hall, 7.30pm, Saturday, June 2. Bookings to premier.ticketek.com.au
The ACT Budget Breakfast is an important event in Canberra’s business calendar.
It provides a valuable opportunity to hear the details of the Budget first hand and for constructive dialogue between the Government and representatives of the business community.
The ACT Chief Minister and Treasurer, Mr Andrew Barr MLA will deliver the presentation on the 2018-19 ACT Budget followed by commentary from Commsec Chief Economist, Craig James. The morning will conclude with a panel discussion with representatives from key business sectors within the ACT and region.
I LOVE perennial plants; not just for the flowers but also for their year-round, multi-coloured foliage.
An example is the Euphorbia family, with more than 2000 species commonly referred to as “spurge” and classed as succulents.
I am about to plant a group of five Euphorbia “Ascot Rainbow” in our front garden to provide colour throughout winter. An evergreen perennial, its leaves change colour according to the season.
Look out also for “Cherokee”, “Tiny Tim” and especially “Rudolf”, which are all reliably bred by Plant Growers of Australia for our local climate. All make perfect pot specimens and, like most succulents, can survive long periods with a minimum of water. Perfect for the long, hot summers we increasingly now experience. They’re all available at garden centres.
IT’S some time since cyclamen
and enquiries
has had a mention, but I want to share this picture of a hanging basket in our garden. It is lined with multi-coloured foam carpet underfelt with plastic backing. The multi-colours of this liner fit perfectly with the garden. The liner and cyclamen are now at least eight years old, demonstrating how long it lasts. Also how much better it is compared to, say, coconut liner, which the birds love to pull apart at nesting time. Most carpet shops will give you offcuts of the foam underlay. Place the plastic backing on the inside of the basket and punch just a few holes for drainage.
And cyclamen bought in a pot will be very happy to be planted in a shady spot in the garden once it finishes flowering.
PLASTIC weed mats are often touted as ideal for suppressing weeds in the garden, at the same time allowing water to penetrate to the roots of plants.
So, does it stop weeds? No! Most weeds do not grow from under the matting but are blown in on top.
This year with long super-hot days weed seeds dried very quickly and with our strong winds this summer seeds were spread far and wide. These seeds will grow beautifully in garden mulch on top of the matting.
And on the question of water penetration, I have also found this isn’t so. If the garden is on even a slight slope, water simply runs off. Try this experiment; you will need a second pair of hands – form a section of weed mat in the shape of a container to hold several litres of water. Hold under a tap and have the tap turned on. Does water run readily through the weedmat? No! There is only a slow drip and that’s when the “container” is full with the weight of the water.
• Be sure you have the space in the garden when deciding to plant extra shrubs or trees.
• What about some extra roses? They will also need space, allowing at least a metre apart.
• When planting where roses were growing previously it’s essential to dig out and replace a whole barrowful of soil to prevent “rose sickness”.
• Many plant food manufacturers have online garden clubs and previously I have recommended Yates Garden Club. Another certified organic manufacturer with an online garden club is ecoorganic. com.au
Joanne Madeline Moore
ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)
This week’s stars are all about communication, confidence, creative visualisation and ambitious aspirations. Tuesday night’s Full Moon motivates you to dream big dreams for the future and then act on them. And Friday’s fabulous celestial cocktail encourages you to network with inspiring and influential people, both in person and online. The power of the group (and positive thinking) is on your side! In the words of Aries actress Reese Witherspoon: “Confidence is everything.”
TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)
Relationships are in the spotlight this week. Attached Bulls – things could get hot and heavy at Casa Taurus on Tuesday night, when the Full Moon invigorates your intimacy zone. Singles – you’re in a hurry to find your soul mate but you’ll have to be patient. Take your time and don’t accept second-best. With Jupiter jumping through your partnership zone (until November 8) love and travel are linked. So start planning a dream holiday (interstate or overseas) ASAP!
GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)
Tuesday night’s Full Moon urges you to focus on a rickety close relationship. Don’t worry if you’re going over old ground – that’s exactly what’s needed at the moment. With your ruler Mercury moving into your sign (where it joins the Sun) are you being the real you? Or are you constantly distracted as you dance to other people’s agendas? Friday’s Mercury/Mars connection reinforces the importance of living your life as boldly and authentically as you possibly can.
CANCER (June 22 – July 23)
The Full Moon encourages you to get physical as you walk, jog, run, cycle, swim or play sport. The extra endorphins will give you a much-needed energy boost. With Venus visiting your sign (and aspecting lucky Jupiter) it’s your week to sparkle and shine! Confidence is high (especially on Friday) as you initiate a personal project or activate a creative joint venture. Be inspired by birthday great Marilyn Monroe: “We are all stars and deserve the right to twinkle.”
LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)
It’s a wonderful week to put plans in place to follow your true destiny. The more adventurous the path is, the better. You’re also in the mood to socialise up a storm and pamper yourself, as you party like a pro or just enjoy life’s little luxuries. Don’t assume you have all the answers though. You have much to learn from others –especially the children in your life. The Full Moon urges you to pay attention to the wise words that come out of the mouths of babes!
VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)
Mercury (your patron planet) is now moving through your career zone, until June 12. So – if you want to get ahead – strive to work smarter, not just harder. And if you choose to take on a professional challenge, you’ll find the benefits will far outweigh the difficulties. When it comes to a complicated family matter, avoid quick fixes. Instead, be patient and do all the research that’s required. Virgo vigilance and close attention to details will lead you to a satisfactory solution.
LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)
The Full Moon highlights your kind and charitable nature. So it’s a terrific time to get involved in formal volunteer work (especially within your local community) or just lend a hand to a friend, relative or neighbour who’s in need. Friday is one of your luckiest days of the year, when Venus (your patron planet) links up with lucky Jupiter. Financial, business and career matters are particularly favoured. Making a bold romantic move could also turn out surprisingly well.
SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)
Lady Luck is waiting in the wings via extra business, an exciting idea, an auspicious offer or a fabulous foreign connection. So use your substantial Scorpio networking skills to drum up support and don’t be afraid to ask others for help when it’s required. The Full Moon favours money matters… as long as you have been scrupulous with facts and figures. If you can’t do the numbers yourself, then employ an expert who can sort it out for you. Financial knowledge is power.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)
It’s a big week for bold and boisterous Sagittarians! Tuesday night’s fiery Full Moon (in your sign) promises a positive, passionate and action-packed week. Your motivation and energy levels are set on high… and so is your hot-headed impatience. Then Friday is one of your more fabulous days of the year, when lucky Venus trines prosperity planet Jupiter. So make sure you are ready, willing and able to capitalise on good fortune and fun projects when they come along.
CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)
On Tuesday night, lift your nose from the daily routine grindstone and take a look within. Indulge in some quiet contemplation, as the Full Moon stimulates your spirituality zone and you receive important guidance from your inner self. With Venus and Jupiter revving up your relationship zone, make romantic and platonic love a major priority. So your motto for the week is from Franklin P. Jones: “Love doesn’t make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.”
AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)
Calling all avant-garde Aquarians! With independent Mars charging through your sign and the Full Moon firing up your bohemian zone, it’s time to do your own thing, in your own highly individual way. Don’t play it too safe. Forge your own unique path and follow your heart-felt dreams. The more adventurous and inventive you are, the luckier you’ll be. Inspiration for the week is from birthday great Marilyn Monroe: “If I’d observed all the rules, I’d never have got anywhere.”
PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)
Tuesday night’s Full Moon fires up your career zone, so some Fish will feel frustrated and frazzled with too much (or too little) work. Be careful what you wish for – ambitious aspirations are fine, but you also need to keep your feet on the ground and your goals realistic. Other Pisceans will be given the chance to lead and/or influence others in creative ways. Don’t waste the opportunity. People are looking for you to come up with the goods, so get cracking and don’t disappoint!
Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2018
4 Dakar is the capital of which African republic. (7)
8 What is a synthetic replacement for a part of the body? (7)
9 When one practises stealing, one is doing what? (7)
10 Which horse won the 1966 Melbourne Cup? (7)
11 What is a constituent part of a whole? (7)
12 What do we call the back of the neck? (6)
14 Name another term for a rubber. (6)
18 Which bank is the central bank? (7)
21 What is an excessively stingy person called? (7)
22 What is a tree, cut back nearly to the trunk? (7)
23 Which term indicates one who holds a commission in the armed services? (7)
24 What else might we call an estate agent? (7)
Down
1 Name the best shearers in the shed. (7)
2 Lightning Ridge is noted for which valued gems? (5)
3 Which officer of the sheriff is employed to serve writs, etc? (7)
4 Name the NSW Chief Justice 1974-88, Sir Laurence ... (6)
5 Boxing is known as which art? (5)
6 Until decimal currency, which monies had a value of 21 shillings? (7)
7 Name the founder of Adelaide, William ... (5)
13 Name a brilliantly coloured parrot. (7)
15 To hang up the telephone is to do what? (4,3)
16 Which nickname applies to the Canberra NRL club? (7)
17 What is another term for a seller? (6)
18 Which NT river rises east of Katherine and flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria? (5)
19 To respond to a stimulus in a particular manner, is to do what? (5)
20 During which month, in Australia, does the autumnal equinox take place? (5)
Chen has just bought a new rental property and came to see me to understand what was claimable in his next tax return.
“Good timing, Chen, there are some important changes that are effective this financial year, the first of which relates to travel claims.
"You cannot claim travel to inspect your property, collect rents or to effect repairs unless you are carrying on a business of property rental or if a company or superannuation fund owns the property. It has applied to all rental properties since July 1, 2017.
"The other major change relates to depreciation. If you exchanged contracts on your property on or after 7.30pm on May 9, 2017, you cannot claim depreciation on the equipment in the property unless you purchased a new property.
"So if you purchased an established property, you cannot claim depreciation on the carpets, curtains and blinds, stove, dishwasher, hot water service or other previously depreciable items.
"However, you can still claim construction expenditure write down deductions on the established property if it is eligible for these.
"In order to claim this deduction you will need a quantity surveyor’s report. If you bought a new property you can still claim the deductions for depreciation and construction expenditure write down as you did in previous years.”
“It is also appropriate to mention that if you buy new equipment or replace an existing item in an established property you can depreciate it even if you could not claim depreciation on any of the items that were in the property when you purchased it. For example, if you re-carpet the residence you can claim depreciation on the new carpet but cannot claim depreciation on the carpet that was in the residence when you bought it.”
Chen said: “It seems rather complex; are you saying that the property I bought before May 8 is treated differently to the one I acquired on May 11?’
I replied: “That's exactly right.”
Chen was still keen to know if there was anything else he needed to look out for.
“One of the things that often gets forgotten is that it is the purpose of borrowing that determines the deductibility of interest and not the security used," I told him.
"So if you borrowed 100 per cent of the purchase price and mortgaged 8 per cent on the new residence and borrowed 20 per cent by way of mortgage on your own home, you can claim 100 per cent of the interest because all the funds were borrowed to buy the new property.
"If your loan is for $500,000 and you spend $463,000 on purchasing the property plus on costs while the balance gets spent on a new kitchen in your own home, then you have to apportion the interest every year to calculate the deductible component because you cannot claim the interest on the new kitchen.
“Also, If you buy a property in the ACT, which is leasehold, you can claim the stamp duty on that property as a deduction. There is a small amount of freehold land in the ACT in Oaks Estate, Hall and Tharwa for which stamp duty cannot be claimed on purchase but a deduction can be claimed for stamp duty in the capital gains tax calculation when the property is sold.”
Chen said there was a lot to take in, but found the advice especially helpful given he was planning in acquiring more property.
If you need advice on your rental property investments contact the friendly team at Gail Freeman & Co Pty Ltd
Faster, easy to control and delightfully cosy –there’s a lot to love about natural gas heating. And with a range of manufacturer incentives across a wide selection of appliances, natural gas might just be your new best friend. Discover what modern natural gas heating and hot water can do for you (and your budget) this winter. Find your nearest appliance retailer at evoenergy.com.au/gasrewards
Natural Gas. Better now.
