CityNews 181122

Democracy’s cancer lingers on MICHAEL MOORE

When revolution comes with risk

HELEN MUSA

Fuchsia grows back into affection

CEDRIC BRYANT

SEVEN PAGES OF WOMEN BUSINESS in Progressive

DOWNSTAIRS Upstairs

Bad tidings we bring… card shop closes

After raising nearly $1.5 million over 44 years, the Canberra Combined Charities Christmas Card Shop won’t be opening this year. KATHRYN VUKOVLJAK finds out why

THE Canberra Combined Charities Christmas Card Shop has closed after 44 years, says volunteer Dianne Moir.

She says a drop in sales, fewer charities getting involved and the burnout of volunteers contributed to the decline of the shop, which won’t open its doors this year.

“Not enough charities meant not enough choice for consumers,” Dianne says.

“There’s also a general lack of people buying Christmas cards, it’s only really the older generation that are still sending them.

“I don’t send as many as I used to, either.”

The volunteer-run card shop was an informal group of ACT-based charities with groups who were interested in selling cards and calendars.

“We’d buy in small gift items to cover costs and distribute the surplus evenly among the charities,” Dianne says.

Over the years, Dianne says 99 charities had been involved to varying degrees, but once it fell below 10 they found it was no longer viable.

“In 2000 we sold $61,000 worth of cards, but then in 2017 we sold $12,000,” she says.

“Another volunteer, Keith Fair brother, and I were running the shop for the past 10 years, and when it got down to nine charities we gave notice that we would have to close.”

The number of participating chari ties varied from eight to 32 charities in any one year, with some only involved for one year.

Dianne has calculated that $1,435,927.95 was distributed to partici pating charities from 1973-2017.

“When I did the spreadsheet I thought it was actually a pretty sig nificant amount that the government didn’t have to give to those charities,” she says.

“For some of the smaller charities it was their only source of income for the year.”

Finding a location for the shop wasn’t always easy, she says, though it was based mainly in the Health Commission Building, CMAG and the Canberra City Uniting Church.

“It became so difficult we almost folded, but the Uniting Church said they were happy to have us for as long as we needed, rent-free, and that was our saving grace,” she says.

The Tuggeranong card shop has

Moir... “There’s a general lack of people buying Christmas cards, it’s only really the older generation that are still sending them.”

BRIEFLY Dinner against violence

Arts & Entertainment 16-18

Cinema 18

Crossword 27

Dining 18

Gardening 26

Horoscopes 27

Letters 12

News 3-12

Politics 8

Social photos 13

Cover: Royal Hotel Queanbeyan’s events manager Naomi Chen, left, and owner Sandy McDonald. Photo by Luke Foster. Story Page 14-15.

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The Zonta Club of Canberra is hosting a joint dinner – “Zonta Says No to Violence Against Women”– at Old Parliament House on Saturday, November 24. Speakers include Peter Sunday from Menslink and Robyn Martin from Beryl Refuge. Tickets are $55 and bookable via trybooking.com

Folk dancing lunch

FOLK dancers will entertain the ladies of the Gungahlin Day VIEW Club at their next lunch meeting in Federation Square, Nicholls on November 28. Lunch costs $35 and visitors are welcome. Bookings to 6262 2556 by Sunday, November 25.

Christmas stall

ORGANISERS promise a “huge range of gifts and homemade goodies” at the annual Calvary Hospital Auxiliary’s Christmas stall in the Lewisham Building foyer, Calvary Public Hospital, Bruce, 8am-4pm, Wednesday, November 28 and Thursday, November 29, 8am-4pm. All proceeds go to medical equipment and items for patient comfort.

Busy Bandannas

THE Bold Bandannas’ Relay for Life Team will sell homemade preserves, lemon butter, shortbread, rocky road, Christmas puddings and cakes, plus a range of hand sewn and knitted items, including children’s dress up and doll’s clothes in aid of cancer research at Fyshwick Markets, 8am-5pm, on the weekend of December 8-9. For more information please contact: 6231 0761.

Braddon traders want a rainbow of roundabouts

ONE solitary rainbow roundabout in a city of roundabouts is nothing more than a lonely landmark. That’s according to spokesperson for BURT (Braddon United Retailers and Traders) Kel Watt

A year on from the “Yes” marriage equality postal survey, Watt says: “There are multiple roundabouts in Braddon, with two less than 100 metres from the Rainbow Roundabout” that “could also become symbols of adversity, challenges and triumphs for other causes”.

The BURT mouthpiece says rather than being the “butt of jokes by the rest of the country” Braddon’s roundabouts could become “celebrated icons”.

PENIS-owl envy is

a piece of public art recently unveiled in the northern Serbian town of Kikinda, prompting many “eagle eyed” Canberrans to make a comparison between it and the phallic structure standing proud at the end of Benjamin Way.

SOME Canberra Liberals are seriously questioning Zed Seselja’s political judgement with the ACT senator inviting former PM Tony Abbott to an upcoming fundraiser. For $150 a head ($60 for members) supporters can enjoy drinks and canapes with the member for Warringah at Menzies House in Barton, Tuesday, November 27. Senior Liberal and longtime Abbott pal Michael Yabsley recently said: “The Liberal Party’s healing process would be accelerated if Tony Abbott were to vacate”.

PRIME Minister Scott Morrison’s recent Queensland bus tour seems to have unleashed his inner Trump. ScoMo’s constant

dose of dorin

Shanahan accuses the Barr government of “living in a world of their own” referring to the ACT as a “little socialist republic”. Given the size of the territory and Angela’s special insight into the “bubble”, is it too much to ask she shed light on where the “world of their own” ends and the “bubble” begins?

negative reference to the “Canberra bubble” has the US President’s “drain the swamp” written all over it. Morrison’s double thumbs up gesture and glib and dismissive responses to journalists’ questions are also more than a little Trumplike. But the real test for the bornagain bonza bloke from the Shire will be ockerising his dog whistling on immigration policy borrowing the Don’s “we have some bad hombres here and we are gonna get them out”.

CANBERRA’S six-month trial of a dockless bike share is almost over and it appears Canberrans have treated the scheme with more respect than other jurisdictions. While

there is no evidence of Airbike bikes finishing up in lakes, many are drifting outside the “dedicated bike parking zones” and slipping under the “geo-fencing technologies”. One bike spent days leaning outside the public toilets at O’Connor shops, another was spotted parked on a traffic island on Commonwealth Avenue and a third has been buried in a hedge near Black Mountain School for most of the past two weeks.

FOR those struggling with the precise parameters of the “Canberra bubble”, Canberra freelance writer Angela Shanahan has made the task more difficult. In a piece in “The Australian” on the territory’s eliminating legal exemptions to the anti-discrimination laws pertaining to freedom of religion,

Alan Jones’ loyal Canberra listeners have been forced to wait to see any change to his presentation. The man they call “the parrot” reportedly had his wings clipped by management for a number of on-air indiscretions but has been forced off-air with a bad back. The 78-year-old, syndicated through 2CC, was apparently in strife for, among other “sins”, uttering the “N” word, being found guilty of defaming three Queensland brothers at a cost of $3.7 million and for his ungentlemanly conduct during a recent interview with Opera House CEO Louise Herron. Speculation among Sydney radio types is that with the Nine/Fairfax merger (which includes 2GB) kicking in soon, Jones’ long-term future is unclear.

Quality

From

• Talented & friendly staff

• Limited edition prints from Canberra and around the world

• Shag, Angelique Houtkamp, Lora Zombie, Handiedan and Rhys Cooper

• Officially licences artworks from Disney and FOX Studios

• Large range of Pop Culture prints based on cult movies and video games

• Large range of Canberra themed prints by Trevor Dickinson, including the bus stop series.

Stuart helps people to make the right moves

By Danielle NOHRA

STUART Andrews was on the Australian bobsleigh team in a 1991 World Cup event in Italy when the sleigh lost control and dragged him on the ice for about two kilometres.

“I could feel the ice tearing the flesh off my shoulder and I honestly thought I was going to die,” he says.

“I could hear screaming and thought it was my driver but it was actually me.

“I woke up from surgery and the crash was playing on the telly.”

Stuart’s shoulder was ripped apart during the accident and he was left injured, scared and depressed.

And while he didn’t know it at the time, it ended up being the most defining point of his life.

“This was the first time I’d ever been involved in a bad accident and I realised at that point I wasn’t bullet proof and these things don’t just happen to other people, they could also happen to me,” says Stuart, who is now 56 and lives in Deakin.

“After the crash I had issues with the feelings in my fingers.

“Sometimes I had to look at them to know I was gripping something.

“I didn’t like the way I felt and I didn’t like the way I was thinking.

“One night I was laying on my bed thinking about what my future may hold and I came up with a little saying: ‘You may own your injury, but don’t adopt it’.”

Stuart also had a wake up call from blind paralympian Russell Short who told him: “You just have to stop feeling sorry for yourself.”

They’ve since become good mates and when Stuart got moving again they went rock climbing, Stuart created underwater braille for Russell so they could go diving and they paddled sea kayaks from Australia to Papua New Guinea via the Torres Strait.

Since then Stuart has spent his time designing

and making things with the purpose to get people moving again, no matter what their ability.

“The freedom to move is a gift that shouldn’t be taken for granted and in my line of work I am reminded of that every day,” he says.

“I’ve invented software and hardware systems that I now have international patents on to teach people to move.”

In 1991, using his background as a former Australian decathlon champion and Olympic bobsleigh competitor, Stuart and his wife, Bronwyn Thompson, using her experience as a twotime Olympic rowing competitor, established Fit to Manage in Canberra.

How they met is a story in itself.

Stuart was walking across a road one day near the AIS when he saw a girl who had been hit by a car.

“I picked her up off the road and put her on the lawn,” he says.

“Then I went into one of the residences and no-one was there so I picked her up and took her to Calvary Hospital.”

And that was that until 11 years later when Stuart was invited to a friend’s dinner party.

“I glanced across the table and said: ‘I carried you to hospital 11 years ago’.

“I was at the end of my career as she was coming into hers.”

But after she finished her Olympic career Stuart says they wanted to use their experience as competitive athletes to get people moving again.

“An athlete’s mentality is: ‘I’m injured and I want to go back to what I used to do’,” says Stuart.

“Why don’t you see this in the general public? So I decided to come up with a system that not only prevents but treats injuries.

“Drugs work, but drugs don’t make you move again.”

Stuart invented the Lower Limber technology to help align and support clients’ spines, which he says is crucial in achieving an effective stretching response.

“Three years ago I had 20 users using my system and now we’re heading towards 400,” he says.

Stuart says an 84-year-old came in with chronic back pain and couldn’t sit or touch her toes but after half an hour using his Lower Limber technology she was touching her toes.

POLITICS / corporate donations

Democracy’s cancer lingers on

The major parties know what needs to be done.

Multiple parliamentary inquiries have heard of donation iniquities and the solutions… so what’s stopping them?

CORPORATE donations are a cancer on democracy. There was a missed opportunity to address this cancer while our politicians were taking the first step in addressing large foreign donations.

They know the problem of donations, the disproportionate influence and the lack of transparency. And they know what actions are needed to treat it.

The missed opportunity came to a conclusion late on the Thursday night of the last sitting of the Senate while debating the “Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Bill”.

Clover Master Jeweller

continue to influence our democracy. That is one of our main beefs with this Bill: it’s pretending to fix a real problem.”

key. Disproportionate influence. The voice of the people is the purpose of democracy.

The legislation will have some impact on foreign donations – but not enough. As Sydney University professor Anne Twomey told an inquiry in February: “Foreign nationals can still, under this Bill, make enormous and influential donations to political parties, if it is done through a permanent resident or a foreign-owned corporation or a subsidiary that is incorporated in Australia.”

So what’s stopping them? The major parties are simply structured to be dependent on large donations. The scandals over the influence of foreign donations have been embarrassing and there is no excuse for ignorance. They know what needs to be done. Multiple parliamentary inquiries have heard of donation iniquities and the solutions.

Greens’ Senator Larissa Waters outlined the key issue while speaking on the influence of foreign donations: “It’s a small step forward, and we support those provisions, but it leaves massive loopholes which will allow big money to

The influence of corporate donations permeates our politics at the Federal, state and territory levels. Some jurisdictions have acted with more transparency and a cap on expenditure. The ACT was one of the first. An important step. However, there is still a long way to go.

The aim, as put by Senator Waters, is “to get vested influence and interest by corporate interests and big money truly out of politics”. Her proposal is to ban donations from “listed vested interests” and to put a $1000 cap on donations. Vested interests that have undermined open political decision making might include the fossil-fuel industry, large land developers, tobacco companies, the gun and other arms lobby, the transport industry, pharmaceuticals, alcohol companies and the junk-food industry. But this is just a start.

Democracies will work much more effectively if decision making and policies are based on the evidence at hand and are made in the community interest. Large donations buy access and, through access, they purchase disproportionate influence. Specific industry influence trumps community interest. This is the

Donations are not an issue just for the left of politics. Australian Conservatives’ senator Cory Bernardi identified that his small party had received $2.4 million in a 12-month period. However, he moved amendments for greater transparency requiring reporting of donations to be placed on websites and to the Australian Electoral Commission within 14 days. Deputy leader of the Opposition in the Senate Don Farrell put Labor’s position: “There is broad consensus that we need more transparency around the money that supports political activity in our system. Reducing the disclosure threshold to $1000 is Labor policy. We understand the importance of greater financial accountability and we are going to act”.

So, with cross-bench support, why didn’t Labor make this happen on Thursday?

The passage of this Bill through the Senate, with its many amendments, does mean progress. However, there is still a long way to go.

As Senator Farrell put to the chamber: “Foreign donations are eroding faith in our democracy, are compromising our representatives and must be stopped”. It is not just foreign donations, Senator, it is all major donations. Democracy, not “corporatocracy”.

A day to be Italian

“THE week of the Italian way of living” culminates with Vivere all’Italiana Day and an open day at the Italian embassy on Sunday, November 25.

Visitors will be invited into the embassy gardens where Italian food will be on offer and the Committee of the Italians in Canberra will prepare iconic Italian dishes. There will be live entertainment. The ambassador’s residence will be open for guided tours, during which guests will have the chance to see its interior design and look at the World War I photos of the Vittorio Veneto exhibition.

GOOD PEOPLE Empathy, loyalty and a kookaburra tray

Another story in our occasional series on good people in our community. Reader ANNE STEARMAN, of Downer, praises an empathetic market stall holder...

WANDERING around the Trash and Treasure markets at Jamison, I saw a little tray (pictured) that I told myself if it was still there when I was leaving it was meant to be mine.

It was a particular shade I like and had beautiful, laughing kookaburras on it, a bird that I love for its seeming optimism and cheekiness.

It can break into laughter and suddenly things can seem so much lighter in the world.

I went back and the little tray was still there, but the man who ran the stall was in conversation with a woman.

I loitered nearby with the $3 tray in hand, he caught my eye and acknowledged me but also conveyed that the conversation he was having should not be interrupted.

I soon realised why. The woman speaking had just come back to the market after a period away, she was explaining that her husband had passed away and this was

her first visit back without him.

The stallholder listened and told her what a nice man her husband had been and I could see that meant a great deal to her.

After their conversation had finished and she moved off he took my $3 and I said I had overheard some of their conversation and he had handled it so well.

He told me that the woman’s husband had had dementia but she brought him to the market every week and that was a significant outing for both of them.

I was so impressed with his empathy and with her loyalty and resilience. The tray with the kookaburras with their beaks open with laughter now sits in our bathroom and symbolises that meaningful encounter. Three dollars well spent.

Have you met any “good people” lately? Tell us about them at editor@citynews.com.au

SUMMER IS COMING

CANBERRA MATTERS

The minister, the bureaucrats and the donkeys

What is the difference between some bureaucrats and donkeys? Maybe it’s levels of intelligence. What do some bureaucrats share with donkeys? Both can be stubborn.

In the earlier years of selfgovernment the ACT bureaucracy was known to work with residents to enhance the city we cherish and to improve it for future generations. People would contact bureaucrats to find solutions to urban issues.

We lost those bureaucrats and in the 21st century we have a publicsector workforce that is perceived as having the task of being regulators.

It is now common to encounter ACT bureaucrats who work as if the locals are something they have to put up with in their efforts to administer and regulate everything.

The planning minister leaves most of the running to the bureaucrats and so we have a government of non-democratic processes.

There are many people who have wasted time writing to this planning minister,

It is now common to encounter ACT bureaucrats who work as if the locals are something they have to put up with in their efforts to administer and regulate everything.

Mick Gentleman. What people share is the lack of response or maybe a boring letter written by a bureaucratic spin-doctor. The ACT bureaucracy is bulging with spin-doctors – communications officers.

This is the background to events affecting the life of a very caring and intelligent Weston Creek senior resident. Her background, education, experience and family connections involve a passion for the environment, animals and landscapes. Her life has the added complexity of having the NDIS increase her difficulties in accessing relevant programs to assist in the on-going care for her daughter.

For a couple of decades she has made sense of her life through the care of horses on a small piece of land on the northern side of Holder in Weston Creek. This was originally arranged through the permission of a helpful bureaucrat – when they existed.

She has always accepted that one

day the government would want this land for another reason. But she was not ready for the events of this year.

Another letter to Minister Gentle man has yielded a hasty response obviously written by the same need-to-control bureaucrats. The end-of-licence extension draws near.

If the day has arrived that this plot is to be for apartments or whatever, then probably fair enough. So far this is not the case.

What it seems to be is a couple of bu reaucrats who are being extra stubborn about this minor piece of administra tive difference. Bureaucratically it seems that the boys need this to fit in with other arrangements whatever they are, and so her access must be terminated. Very mean and silly!

No one has answered if there are plans for this open space. Meanwhile, it is kept in good order by having the animals graze there and through the efforts of this woman to remove unwanted weeds etcetera.

This kind person has used this plot for her solace and to provide a space for a few animals and entertainments for interested locals who visit to share

the experience of the animals. She is politely seeking a licence extension to continue to care for this land and her few animals until there are real reasons for the licence to end.

Mr Gentleman, can you please rule that a licence be issued to allow this woman to care for this small plot and to allow for the enjoyment of her few wise animals – until there is another use? This would be budget neutral and would make someone very happy over Christmas.

Donkeys, Christmas, wise men… there’s a link there, Mr Gentleman. Back to the questions at the top: donkeys are very strong – stronger than horses – and are very intelligent with an amazing memory, and will not do unsafe and silly things.

Paul Costigan is an independent commentator and consultant on the visual arts, photography, urban design, environmental issues and everyday matters.

Kelly is an amazing teacher; hardworking, caring, and highly knowledgeable in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and protocol. Kelly has implemented the 8 Ways pedagogy, coaching and enabling teachers to include Aboriginal perspectives by using Aboriginal learning techniques.

Kelly has created a cultural group called Gudhaya Yadhang or “Deadly Kids”. Students meet once a week and are currently learning about acknowledgement & importance of country.

Kelly has invited local Aboriginal Elders to work with her students; improving & strengthening the school’s relationship with this community, deepening the students’ connection to their culture and creating an ethos of respect.

Kelly’s students have improved school attendance, social and emotional wellbeing, engagement and learning.

Connect, feel, expand and reflect through the powerful dance world of Siva! Dance meditation practice based on the legendary 108 karanas or movements of the Indian deity of dance-Siva. No previous experience of dance required.

Upselling hearing loss: retail hearing aids

Recently, I was approached by a patient looking for a second opinion. The week prior she had been to a retail hearing aid store in her local shopping centre, hoping to get some advice regarding her hearing loss. As a pensioner, she should have been able to claim free hearing aids as part of the Australian Government’s hearing loss scheme under the Office of Hearing Services, but when she inquired about the program she was told by the salesperson that the governmentissued hearing aids were of poor quality and inadequate for her needs.

”We need to speak out and about what is going on in the hearing aid industry if we want change.”

– Dr Vass

The salesperson insisted what she needed was one of their more expensive hearing aids, priced at over $7,000 for a pair. Anxious about not being able to afford what seemed to be a necessity, she reached out to a friend who suggested she make an appointment with me for a second opinion.

After consulting with the patient and looking over her results, it became

clear to me that the assessment from the shopping centre was completely wrong. The patient had had surgery on one ear 20 years ago which had resulted in worse hearing loss in that ear and not the other. Yet the “hearing test” from the shopping centre showed that her hearing was equal in both ears. Was this because the tester was incompetent or the equipment was faulty? Or was it just an attempt to cover up a medical condition that would have required the patient to be seen by a doctor before hearing aids could even be considered for her? It is likely we’ll never know the answer, but any of the above explanations would be unacceptable.

We need to speak out and about what is going on in the hearing aid industry if we want change. Anyone who has a similar story can report it to the ACCC.

If you would like to have a complimentary second opinion with Dr Vass please phone 02 6282 2717 to make an appointment.

GADFLY / four corners LETTERS

Program falls short of high ideals

The ABC let itself down very badly with its final “Four Corners” of the year where it attempted to throw some light on the imbroglio surrounding the sacking of its managing director Michelle Guthrie. The result was pathetic – and quite unworthy of a program that has been the investigative flagship of the ABC for half a century.

In the first place it was a silly decision to investigate itself. That was just the sort of foolishness it would have decried if other organisations – the NSW police, for instance – had attempted it. The better plan would have been to commission an outside company to do it. There would have been no shortage of volunteers.

But once they did choose to do it themselves, then at least they should have applied the same rigorous standards they have brought to their better efforts over the years, from Chris Masters’ corruption busting in “The Moonlight State”, or more recently the Don Dale exposure in “Australia’s Shame”.

It was, perhaps, a “rushed job” to put it together for the last show of the year. But that’s an artificial deadline that could (and should) have been extended until they gathered the full story. Even if we

The attempt to throw light on the imbroglio surrounding the sacking of the ABC’s managing director was pathetic – and quite unworthy of ‘Four Corners’, an investigative flagship program for half a century.

accept the deadline excuse, there were some glaring shortcomings.

For example, in her lead in, the host (and reporter) Sarah Ferguson said that the Four Corners’ executive producer (Sally Neighbour) was among those who publicly approved of Guthrie’s sacking. Obviously, she should have been interviewed on camera to give her reasons. That at least would have provided some substance for the dismissal. Then there was the principal trigger for the squabble between broadcaster and government, the hapless reporter Emma Alberici who was accused of making a mistake in an economics report and opinionating when she should have been analysing. What mistake? What opinion? We were never told.

Then there was the head of News, the bellicose Gaven Morris who was allowed

to assert his declarations of blamelessness without even the mildest probing from Ferguson. And the board of directors – those closest to the action – were given leave to decline, yet the next day they wouldn’t shut up.

And what the hell was “Jetstream”, the project costing squillions in “digitisation” said to underline the nervousness of the board about offending the Federal cabinet?

What we were left with was a “he-said, she-said” spat between Guthrie and board chair Justin Milne that left this viewer appalled at the thought that either of them were running the most important news and entertainment organisation in the nation. And this is from someone who never lets a week go by without

confiding to anyone who will listen: “Thank goodness for the ABC!”

Guthrie could barely put two sentences together, let alone articulate a mission statement for her role in the public broadcaster. Milne offered business-speak pabulum that made no case whatever for sacking her. And then, of course, she dropped the accusation of “inappropriate touching” at a board dinner that she assured us was “not sexual”. Milne denies even that, but really, have we finally reached the stage where we so despise and distrust our fellow human beings that the most innocent “touch” is now verboten?

Alas, that’s even more sad and pathetic than the program that delivered the message.

robert@ robertmacklin. com

Time

to get serious about stolen cars

I AM concerned at the apparent complacency shown by our Emergency Services bureaucracy to the dangers of vehicles being stolen and then set alight in remote parking areas such as Paddys River, Point Hut Crossing, Kambah Pool and the like.

Apart from the drivers of stolen vehicles being potential murderers when they try to outrun the police, they have the potential to ignite major bushfires as we saw only too recently.

As someone who lost a home in the 2003 fires, and acted as an advocate for many others who also lost homes, it amazes me that the government has not put cameras on the single roads leading to such reserves.

After all, the perpetrators have to be picked up after torching the stolen car. With summer upon us, it is time the government got serious about this issue.

Ric Hingee, Duffy

The power of reading

READING the article about Judith Shackley helping children learn how to read through the School Volunteer Program ACT (CN, November 8) reminded me of how my daughter used to volunteer to help children learn how to read at her sons’ school, taking her three-year-old daughter with her.

One day, my daughter started reading to her daughter who said: “I can read that.” And she did.

My granddaughter was bright and today she is a physician but, as a former teacher, I know that some children struggle, simply because they don’t have the ability. It isn’t their fault.

It is vitally important that children born without a lot of ability learn to read and SVPACT volunteers are doing a great job.

Rewa Bate, Coombs

SCENE / around canberra

At the ‘CityNews’ Artist of the Year award, CMAG

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THE ROYAL HOTEL QUEANBEYAN

‘This

is a secret here in Queanbeyan that nobody really knows

Revealed: the Royal’s cool,

VINTAGE glamour, a luxe vibe and a very cool events venue has been created upstairs at the Royal Hotel Queanbeyan, as the final stage of renovations at the iconic hotel have been completed.

“We’re here for the Queanbeyan community, they were fantastic supporters for us when we did the first renovation, so we were confident about this next generation,” says owner Anthony McDonald.

The Royal Hotel, located on the corner of Monaro and Crawford Streets, was first built in 1850, but rebuilt after a fire and reopened by the premier of NSW in 1926.

The ground floor section of the hotel was renovated in 2012 and Anthony says many locals didn’t expect the contempo -

“We didn’t pay much for the hotel, but the renovation was extensive,” Anthony

“The vision was sound, past experi ence and a proper understanding of the target market with active management would reinvent the hotel to what it has

become today.”

Anthony says he and his wife Sandy knew what the hotel could be.

“Making sure we executed our plan was important and we had to up our dress standards, our price point and the security in terms of who came in and who came out,” he says.

“We started turning people away if they weren’t dressed appropriately –there was a definite message that went out early on that this was what we expect from our patrons, and if you don’t meet that you’re not welcome.”

And now Upper House, the second storey which once housed 40 bedrooms, bathrooms and storage space, has been given the same treatment.

The upstairs has been revamped into a series of versatile spaces available for hire for weddings, special occasions, conferences and concerts.

Sandy says they were always buying an entire building, so the plan from the beginning was to maximise the whole

Upper House spaces are easily able to be adjusted to fit requests.

“I first saw the empty spaces and heard about the plans, and my role has been such an exciting challenge since then,” she says.

“It’s an amazing place, and so different to what else is around.”

Naomi says the Chicago Bar connects to the main Manhattan Room that can host up to 200 people, and can be divided by a floor-to-ceiling luxurious, marmalade-coloured curtain to create a more intimate atmosphere.

“It opens on to the atrium and courtyard with Japanese maples framing the rooftop terrace,” she says.

There’s the Beadman Room, an opulent, masculine-style private space with a luxe vibe that can seat 24 for a sit-down meal or 50 for cocktails, and the Menzies Room for conferences or dining, that also opens to the terrace. And all have the latest A/V screen technology. Weddings can also make use of the

new world of upstairs luxury

feel and uses vintage furniture to complete the look.

Sandy says the floors have come up beautifully, and the sash windows and leaded, stained glass have been left intact where possible, as well as the soldier bricks framing the doorways.

“We wanted to preserve as many original elements as we could, but make it comfortable,” she says.

Anthony says the pub today is focused on its food, offering quality produce with variety and fusions created by a team of six chefs under Swiss executive chef Beat Ettlin.

“Our menu and quality is fantastic, and we’ve also got a churrasco barbecue on the roof terrace for events, which can feed hundreds of people at once and smells absolutely divine when it’s going,” he says.

The downstairs renovation won the best Redevel oped Country Hotel in Australia, and they say they had aspirations of doing that again.

“We’ve had incredible feedback and people have recognised the efforts we’ve gone to,” says Anthony.

“This is a secret here in Queanbeyan that nobody really knows about, and what we’ve created is of a national standard.

“Canberra needs to know there’s a very cool option out here.”

The Royal Hotel, 85 Monaro Street, Queanbeyan. Contact info@royalhotelqbn.com.au or call 6297 1444.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Now for a little Broadway magic

By Helen Musa

“THE Illusionists” will be back at Canberra Theatre next month with a new show from Broadway.

The show features sleight of hand, levitation, mindreading and disappearance as its performers pay homage to the great illusionists of the past while subjecting their tricks to a contemporary twist.

Master illusionist Jeff Hobson plays the key role of “The Trickster”, and tells “CityNews” by phone from his desert home in Las Vegas: “My job is to keep the show moving along, but you never know what to expect.

“Our show can get quite serious, quite magical and quite dark, so I keep the levity up.”

The show’s promoters proclaim their reverence for the most famous illusionist of all, Harry Houdini, but as Hobson notes, Houdini’s name was also synonymous with danger, sensational escape acts and daredevil challenges with police although he died in 1926 of peritonitis after a ruptured appendix.

Hobson leads a virtuoso troupe that includes “The Mentalist”, mind-manipulator Chris Cox; “The Inventor”, magic consultant Kevin James; “The Showman”, magician Mark Kalin; “The Conjuress”, sorceress Jinger Leigh; “The Manipulator”, sleight-of-hand artist An Ha Lim; “The Warrior”, crossbow exponent Robyn Sharpe and “The Daredevil”, British

escape artist Jonathan Goodwin.

“Your life is a bit short, your career is not that long,” says Hobson of some of the more foolhardy exponents of illusionism.

“I prefer to keep things nice and light, the most dangerous thing I use is a deck of cards.”

He has been besotted with magic since seeing his first illusionist presentation at age 7. He performed his first magic show at age 11, was first paid for doing it at age 12 and by the time he graduated from high school, he was doing so well financially that he didn’t have to get a regular job.

“By 29, I’d moved to Vegas and I’ve been there for 20 years,” he says.

So, we ask, what is the fascination of magic among ordinary punters?

“I think there’s a bit of magic in everyone – children dream of being Superman or Superwoman, it’s a little dream that ordinary people can do superhuman things,” he says.

“The main thing about it is that we can witness something that actually happens and it’s not just a fantasy.”

But make no mistake, he says, the profession requires an extraordinary amount of discipline.

“The old joke among magicians is that a child can do it – with about 30 years’ experience.”

“The Illusionists,” Canberra Theatre, December 6-16. Bookings to canberratheatrecentre.com.au

You say frittata, I say fantastic WENDY JOHNSON

Time to face the final curtain

ARTS IN THE CITY

By Helen Musa

THE very, very, very last farewell concert for retiring Canberra soprano Louise Page will be performed with pianist Phillipa Candy at Art Song’s next concert, “A Celebration!”. The pair will mark their 25-year musical partnership with everything from Viennese classics to modern hits. At Wesley Music Centre, Forrest, 3pm, Sunday, November 25. Book at trybooking.com or cash tickets at the door.

QL2 Dance is staging the 2018 edition of “Hot to Trot”, where Quantum Leap dancers perform in their own short dance works. Patricia Hayes Cavanagh, Rifka Ruwette, Jessica Nicholls, Ruby Ballantyne, Silas Manapsal, Sarah Long, Ursula Taylor, Eve Buckmaster, Lillian Cook and Courtney Tha will be the “trotters” while director Ruth Osborne will be the “provocateur, mentor and producer”. At QL2 Theatre, Gorman Arts Centre, Braddon, 7pm, November 24-25. Book at eventbrite. com or tickets at the door.

IN 2006, Jim Moginie, of Midnight Oil fame, founded his band The

SHELL

Family Dog to promote his first solo album. They’re hitting the road again, showcasing songs and tunes from the new album, “Bark Overtures” and will play Molo Live, ANU, 8pm, Thursday, November 29. Book at moshtix.com.au

SEASONAL fun is on the menu when vocal ensemble Rhythm Syndicate sing jazz, gospel, popular songs and Christmas music at Wesley Music Centre, 12.40pm-1.20pm, Wednesday, November 28. Tickets at the door, no bookings required.

BELGRADE-based critic, director and producer Nenad Dukic selects the contemporary films each year and the opening night of this year’s Serbian Film Festival will feature Goran Markovic’s drama “A Stowaway on the Ship of Lunatics”, about a famous Serb playwright, poet and politician in a city under siege. At Hoyts cinemas in Woden and Belconnen, November 26-December 9.

THE National Capital Orchestra’s final concert for the year will be “Melodies for Kids” with accessible pieces of orchestral music. At John Lingard Hall, Canberra Grammar School, Red Hill, 1pm and 3pm, on Sunday, November 25. Book at nco.org.au

Saturday 1 December, 2018

Lawns of Government House, 6.00pm Gates open at 4.45pm Guy Noble Conductor Morgan Balfour Soprano

Please allow time for bags to be security checked.

Enjoy a family friendly picnic concert stretched out under the trees and launch your summer season in style!

Group bookings available

THEATRE MUSIC

Youth Theatre and creative producer at Warehouse Circus, is now the education program manager at Canberra Theatre and says she believes “Revolt” demands “a radical rethink about how to fix the system in a rapidly changing world”.

So, what happens? A couple just getting together examine the brutality of our sexual vocabulary – seen in words such as “penetration” and “thrusting”, for instance – but the alternatives don’t look promising, either.

The play seems to push for revolution, but shows how that might well destroy the women it is supposed to help. It eventually moves toward cross-generational attitudes to male violence and a grim, apocalyptic

vision of the future for humanity.

Birch wrote “Revolt” in response to a now-famous 1976 assertion by Harvard professor Laurel Thatcher Ulrich that “wellbehaved women seldom make history”, a quote that made its way on to T-shirts and bumper stickers.

The script’s searing social comment is tempered with a good deal of humour and it has proved the perfect fit for an initiative called The Street Company, a professional pilot program that’s seen Conway working with a group of actors (Damon Baudin, Bronte Forrester, Ash Hamilton-Smith,

Hiyab Kerr, Hayden Splitt, and Anneke van der Velde) as well as assistant director Daniel Berthon and lighting designer Jed Buchanan in his first work for The Street. Seen by The Street as “a vital bridge in the transition from full-time training to professional production practice in Canberra,” the program offers a group of young actors intensive work and a chance to make “theatre that speaks to now”.

“Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again”, The Street Theatre, November 28-December 1, bookings to thestreet.org.au or 6247 1223.

Rapper

By Helen Musa

WHEN US artist Oddisee takes the stage at the ANU’s pop-up, live-music venue Molo Live, he’ll be playing to a fan base of soul and hip-hop lovers.

For Oddisee, born Amir Mohamed, is known as a serious music lover who has journeyed deep into the cultural roots of his mixed African-American and Sudanese parentage to create new music that speaks of the here and now.

He’s been to Canberra before and knows the scene well, but this time he’ll be appearing here for the first time with his band Good Company, formed in 2017. They’ll be supported by American singer-songwriter Olivier St Louis, Canberra hip-hop luminaries D’Opus & Roshambo, as well as iLLGato and Melbourne lyricist Remi.

Roshambo, Canberra’s most widelytravelled MC, has been helping “CityNews” to track him down during an Asian tour, but he proves elusive so we talk about him anyway.

He confirms rumours of Oddisee’s qualitystyle rapping, describing him as “one of the US’s most insightful rappers”.

Though raised in affluent Silver Spring, Maryland, he moved to Washington DC after high school and tackles issues such as social inequality, racial divides and everyday life through hip-hop and soul, with one critic describing him as: “A shrewd lyricist and

Always an individual, he was strongly influenced by early east-coast MCs such as Eric B. & Rakim and De La Soul and has said that because these rappers don’t talk about drugs or murder, he could always relate more to their lyrics.

Oddisee is a prolific composer with a burning passion for music of all kinds who stands out on the American music scene for not only writing all his own content but making all of his own music and choosing his “sampling” from his vast knowledge of world music.

Previously when visiting Australia, we learn, Oddisee has performed to backing tapes, but since he’s starting with Good Company he’s found a way to “replay” all the music that he’s written before, now with a live sound.

“His music is quite soulful,” Roshambo says.

“With a nod to world music, it’s suitable to be played by musicians – it’s not electronic stuff.

“There is a softer element to Oddissee’s music, it’s very relatable… like you are having a conversation with a friend; he talks about everything – everyday relationships, the environment and family – basically he has a keen eye for picking up what’s hot in social issues he talks about.

“There are no silly clichés, his music is very warm and he believes what he is singing about.”

Oddisee, at Molo Live, ANU, Saturday

No brouhaha as the Sundance Kid bows out

“The Old Man and the Gun” (M) ( on a good day)

IT’S being touted as his last film appearance, in his 81st year. His movements are a little slower, his hair perhaps chemically restored to a less-ancient shade. But the infectious grin and sparkling eyes are unchanged and he sits a horse as confidently as he did when he and Paul Newman told the story of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

It’s too early for a requiem for Robert Redford, Hollywood acting nobility, founder of the Sundance Film Festival. But we can wish him a long and pleasant retirement and hope that the reports are misjudged.

The old man is Forrest Tucker. Hollywood has two of those. The first Forrest Tucker had a long career on stage and in movies and TV. The second had a criminal record longer than a giraffe’s neck. His specialties were robbing banks and escaping from 17 of America’s most notorious prisons.

Writer/director David Lowery has adapted a “New Yorker” magazine article by David Grann into a story that may or may not be historically precise, but on the screen flows unhurriedly and even affectionately. Tucker and his two companions in crime (Teddy played by Danny Glover and Waller played by Tom Waits) have precision robbery down to a T.

The film begins with one such. It’s a pleasure to watch. No shots are fired. The cops are mystified about whodunit. Particularly Texas police detective John Hunt (Casey Affleck) who happens to be in the bank drawing funds for a day out with his two small children.

A sub-plot involves a lady named Jewel.

Playing her is Oscar-winning Sissy Spacek whose prolific filmography includes 64 feature movies and TV series. Her presence in her late 60s is as limpid as you could hope for. Whether Jewel is real or fiction, she does the film a measure of grace.

“Shoplifters”

(MA)

WHAT comes to mind when you think about Japan? Booming economy? Friendly relations with? Funny way of writing? Funny kind of language?

“The Old Man and the Gun” spends 94 minutes flowing calmly across the screen, delivering well-judged visual Hollywood stock phrases with genial familiarity, dramatic validity and economic delivery. The Redford reputation may earn it awards, but it does not proclaim awards as having high priority. It’s entertainment without brouhaha. Dignified, affectionate, man and movie command respect and deliver satisfaction.

At Dendy, Palace Electric

Bet you’d never list poverty as an important Japanese characteristic. But writer/director Hirokazu Koreeda has made a beautiful, sympathetic film that for much of its 120 minutes shares a derelict, single room with a Japanese family calling itself Shibata, the younger

members of which are not related by blood to each other.

Such plot as the film has concentrates on five-year-old Yuri whom father and 12-year-old son Shota bring into the house after finding her hiding in a cold alleyway. Miyu Sasaki plays this child with amazing gravitas.

The grandmother is the family’s strength, observing events non-judgmentally. Sisters

who may well in time become sex workers learn that trade without physical contact. And Shota takes enthusiastically to being a skilled shoplifter. What happens? Daily poverty almost without exception. Will filmgoers find that tedious? Quite probably. Persevere. Rewards will develop. Does the relative absence of morality, judgement or standards imposed by the community at large carry a message? Yes. But the film is in no haste to introduce those themes. And for good reason. Koreeda is telling us that their absence is to nobody else’s detriment, that while it may be beneficial to impose a majority view, a fringe minority may be free to develop a separate set of values.

“Shoplifters” sets out from its beginnings to tell us that. Moving slowly with low-excitement levels, it has a wonderful ability to send us out feeling emotionally and even spiritually well-nourished.

At Palace Electric and Dendy

DINING / celestino, fyshwick

You say frittata, I say

fantastic

By Wendy JOHNSON

IT was a busy Saturday and we were bopping about Fyshwick, “getting stuff done”. Then the hunger pangs hit.

Luckily, these days Fyshwick is no longer barren when it comes to places to dine, but beware that some are closed weekends. What to do?

We popped by Celestino on Pirie Street. It’s a café, bar and torrefazione (Italian for coffee roasters).

The folks who run it are mad cyclists, which is why Celestino is joined at the hip with the bike shop next door and why bikes hang as decorative elements from the ceiling inside.

It was our first visit and we found a perfect possie outside in the sun, watching a stream of customers move in and out, including with takeaway. It was Saturday and the coffee machine was humming.

At Celestino you can grab a quick toasted sandwich ($6.50 to $8.50), toast (raisin, vegemite, ham, gluten free) for $5 (two slices) or croissants (plain, with jam or with fillings, $5 to $7.50).

We were in for something heartier. It was the frittata salami for me and the poached eggs for my friend.

I have to say that my frittata was one of the best I’ve had in yonks, so much so that it was obvious my friend (after a quick tasting) had a bad case of food envy. Who doesn’t love an Italian omelette packed with salami, onions, tomato and cheese ($16)? It was piping hot, packed with flavour and it hit the spot.

The poached eggs were cooked to perfection… nice and runny. The avocado was a generous serve, ripe and creamy. The candy bacon was delish. Correction – those crispy honey bacon bits are addictive ($15).

Also on this section of the menu was the yummy

sounding Calabrese … slow-cooked eggs in a rich tomato ragu with olives and olive oil ($15.90). I wouldn’t have minded giving the frittata potato a go ($16) or another Italian omelette, this one created with potato, cheese and fresh basil and heaps of passione ($16).

The coffee was great and the staff super friendly and welcoming. The service was a wee bit slow, but the staff made up for it, engaging as we placed our order and all smiles when they brought our brekkie out. They even popped by during our meal to ask if we were enjoying ourselves (trust me, so many places simply don’t bother).

If bigger breakfasts aren’t your thing, don’t fret. The menu includes a bircher muesli ($9.90) and a good old bacon and egg roll ($8).

The décor includes massive wall art (on two different walls) and the place is nice and spacious. As noted, if you’re a cycle enthusiast you can just pop next door when you’re finished and have a browse.

Catherine’s Wholistic approach to financial solutions

FRUSTRATED with the financialadvisory sector, Catherine Smith dedicated over 20 years of study so she could confidently benefit people’s financial needs as a “whole”.

She dreamt up a business called Wholistic Financial Solutions at the age of 21 and, 10 years later, established the unique business, which combines all financial fields into one business model.

With knowledge as a tax accountant, mortgage broker, financial planner, real estate agent, justice of the peace in the ACT, life coach, and masters graduate in the taxation field, Catherine has the ability to develop a wholistic strategy for any client.

Initially based in Dickson, Wholistic Financial Solutions merged with the well-established RAW Accountants in May so it could offer financial services to more clients from its new office based in Mitchell.

“Wholistic Financial Solutions aims to be the future of the financial service industry,” Catherine says.

The industry is plagued with unethical and dodgy advisers and corrupt non-disclosure of commissions, which have been highlighted in the recent Royal Commission, she says.

“It’s fundamentally flawed,” she says.

“Who’s in the middle doing it all? No one except for us.”

Catherine says accountants and tax advisers, financial planners, finance advisers (mortgage) and property advisers, are all separate professions, governed by separate laws, monitored

by separate governing bodies and operate as silos, which is why the financial-advice system prohibits the average person from obtaining quality advice.

“Very often a client will get differing opinions on the same topic from these different professional advisers and this is often because each adviser is tainted by where they are receiving their revenue from,” she says.

“For example, if you want to invest in property the accountant can only tell you the tax consequences.

“The financial planner is likely to say ‘don’t do it’ as he or she gets no commission. The mortgage broker can only get you a mortgage and give no other advice and the property adviser may be a spruiker in disguise and advise you to invest in property so that he or she gets a big fat commission.

“Property is a fundamental investment for the average Australian and a very big financial decision, yet there are no advisers that can advise a client across all aspects of the transaction.”

But, Catherine says Wholistic Financial Solutions was founded to overcome these fundamental flaws.

“Wholistic Financial Solutions offers services in tax returns, tax planning, business establishment and advice, financial planning, superannuation, SMSF, mortgage broking, insurance, property investment advice, property management and more,” she says.

“At Wholistic Financial Solutions we are able to advise across all of the above fields.

“There are currently no other financial firms in Australia licensed, insured and qualified in all the financial fields that Wholistic Financial Solutions offers.

If you want to be in the 10% who achieve wealth, don’t miss our free Pathway to Wealth information sessions.

This presentation will take you through proven strategies for building your wealth. This is not a get rich quick seminar. However, if you want simple, effective and practical strategies for achieving financial success, then this is a must attend.

You will receive valuable information on property, shares, superannuation, negative gearing, debt management and more. You will learn how to put together a plan that is right for you and your individual circumstances and goals.

“The government, with its constant enquiries and reviews, is forcing accountants and finan cial planners to work more closely together and mortgage brokers will be next.

“When they finally crack down on ‘property spruikers’ and introduce rules about property advisers having to have qualifications and ‘ethics’, property advice will be moved into the financial advice professions, [too].”

“A financial adviser should be someone you can trust. Someone you can turn to for help. Someone who has your best interest at heart.

“Wholistic Financial Solutions aims to be that type of adviser. We also aim to level the playing field between the haves and the have-nots by providing affordable, easy-to-understand financial advice to help clients build and protect wealth at all stages of their life.

“Our unique combination of financial services allows us to do just that as we rebate commis sions received to reduce the cost of the advice.

“We aim to have the wholistic model pave the way for the future direction of financial advice and have our model available to all Australians across the nation.”

And, Wholistic Financial Solutions is already being recognised on a national level as finalists in award categories such as the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Women in Finance Awards, the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Optus Business Awards, the 2017 and 2018 Telstra Business Awards, and the 2017 and 2018 SMSF & Accounting Awards and more, making Wholistic Financial Solutions the mostawarded financial services firm in Canberra.

Wholistic Financial Solutions, Level 1, 83-101 Lysaght Street, Mitchell. Call 6162 4546 or visit wfscanberra.com.au

WORKSHOPS WILL COVER

• 10 reasons most people fail to achieve financial success and what you can do about it

• The 7 steps to achieving wealth

• The 4 keys to a successful wealth management plan

• The simple formula for beating procrastination

• Why property, shares and superannuation are all important

• How saving tax can help fund your wealth creation

• Whether you should increase your mortgage repayments or start investing

• How you can make efficient use of your cash flow

YOU SHOULD ATTEND IF

• You are committed to achieving financial success

• You are a homeowner who has built up some equity, but not quite sure what to do next

• You have the potential to save $150 + per week

• You are aged between 28 and 50, and/or have more than 10 years until you retire

Becky Carter

BUSINESS

OWNER

We believe that having someone to support you and offer up-todate product and destination information is exactly why you book with a travel agent.

Of course, we have to keep up with IT developments, as this allows us to offer our clients access to 24-hour support. Luckily, we have a wonderful client base that my team and I are delighted to

have been given the privilege of organising all forms of travel for and so we keep the human touch and strive to ensure that they feel like they are part of our family. They know that we are always looking after their best interests. If you are ever in Braddon, then stop by for a coffee and a chat about your next holiday and then you’ll see what I mean.

Active Travel, Palko, G16/27 Lonsdale Street, Braddon 2612, activetravel.com.au, 6249 6122, askus@activetravel.com.au

Christine Marr

CEO

Bookssorted is a payroll company that has a mission to help long-term IT contractors across Australia manage their income through increased knowledge, understanding, trust and engagement with real people who give a damn.

In addition to a passion for helping contractors, I also bring to the business a passion for

supporting and fostering teams and the community. Owing to this, at Bookssorted, we have a strong commitment to health and wellbeing, and social corporate responsibility. As a growing business in the Canberra community, we continue to maintain a focus on supporting the community that supports us.

Bookssorted Payroll Management, WOTSO House, 490 Northbourne Avenue, Dickson 2602, bookssorted.com.au, 6161 8580, contact@bookssorted.com.au

Ping Gan

PRINCIPAL

Ping Gan has been in the beauty industry for 21 years and has been operating her own salons and lecturing in well-known beauty colleges throughout Sydney.

She has taught students from around the world and, in 2006, published a revision workbook for beauty therapists, designed to meet the industry’s highest standards.

Ms Gan is the principal of Aus-

tralasian Beauty Therapy Academy and holds an Advanced Diploma in Health Science and is an international CIDESCO examiner.

“We have designed diploma courses, certificate courses and short courses, which cover all areas of beauty that strictly comply with the national and international syllabus to ensure training quality is guaranteed,” she says.

Australasian Beauty Therapy Academy, Unit 2-4, 32-36 Colbee Court, Phillip 2606; abtaedu.com.au; 6285 4255; info@abtaedu.com.au

Kristen Pratt

MANAGING DIRECTOR

With a background in occupational therapy, education and fitness, Kristen has been teaching people to Nordic Walk since 2011.

Since launching Capital Nordic Walking in Canberra in 2014 she has watched with awe how Nordic Walking changes lives daily! The benefits of Nordic Walking are proven to be far greater than regular walking, jogging,

swimming and cycling. It’s easier on joints, provides stability, strengthens the upper body and core, and improves posture. It’s suitable for all ages, fitness levels and health conditions such as Parkinson’s, arthritis, osteoporosis and heart disease. It’s perfect to do with a group of friends, is safe, affordable, fun, convenient, and can be done anywhere.

Capital Nordic Walking, 0499 993215, capitalnordicwalking.com.au, kristen@capitalnordicwalking.com.au

Copywriting | Content editing | Communications

Make rapid, meaningful connections with your customers

rachelziv.com.au

Fay Cull

OWNER

A life-long interest in musical performance has inspired Fay Cull, owner of Duratone Hi-Fi, to strive to promote fine music and its performance in Canberra for many years.

Duratone Hi-Fi was established over 50 years ago in response to the clear demand for top-quality, hifidelity sound equipment and later top-quality German televisions.

Staffed by people with direct

knowledge in the field, vast experience and a love of the pursuit of excellence in reproducing recorded sound, Fay and her staff provide an individual and high-quality service second to none. Duratone caters for traditional music lovers, stocking a range of new and classic equipment and thousands of LPs extending to the latest in up-to-the-minute MQA-based streaming technology.

Duratone HiFi, Cnr Botany Street and Altree Court, Phillip 2606, duratone.com.au, 6282 1333, sales@duratone.com.au

Marwa Rida

DIRECTOR /

DESIGNER

Marwa is the director and creator of End2End Events, an event design, styling and planning business, built with the purpose of creating better-connected workplaces, communities and organisations where no-one is ever left feeling alone or not belonging.

Marwa believes in the power of event experiences in creating understanding between our diverse

cultures after her own struggle of belonging and connecting with a community that didn’t welcome her initially.

Marwa recently published her “struggle-to-success” story in the book “The UnStoppable Woman of Unwavering Faith”. It is part of a female movement to empower more migrant woman to follow their dreams and believe in themselves.

End2End Events, PO Box 173, Civic Square, Canberra 2608, end2endevents.com.au, 1300 095123, info@end2endevents.com.au

Holly Diggle DIRECTOR

Holly Diggle is pressing for progress, by providing a space for our young people to access the transformational power of dance.

Holly has been providing quality, age-appropriate, non-competitive and fun dance classes in a safe, supportive and professional environment for 12 years. She says dance has the capacity to create real, positive change to a young

person’s life, how they feel about their physical and emotional selves, and their place in the world. Holly holds a BA in Dance Performance, a Diploma in Dance Teaching and Management and a RYT 200hr Yoga Teacher Certificate. Holly was also named as a finalist in the Canberra Women in Business Awards in 2018 in the Small Business of the Year category.

Julie Ford

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER & GENERAL INSURANCE

I help building company owners, engineers, civil contractors, tradesmen and technical services professionals to implement personal insurances that will provide the financial protection and security they and their families need.

I’m there when I’m needed most, co-ordinating income protection, life, trauma and

Gail Freeman

DIRECTOR

Chartered Accountant Gail Freeman has a unique mix of skills and expertise as a tax specialist, self-managed superannuation fund specialist and financial planner.

Having established her practice in Kingston 30 years ago, Gail loves the challenge of guiding her clients through complex financial matters and helping make their

issues easy to understand.

accidental injury claims so that full entitlements are received quickly. That’s my commitment.

With a focus on continuing to gain new skills, Gail is able to offer clients a one-stop shop for all their financial needs.

Alongside her passion for community organisations and her dogs, Gail says she gets a kick out of putting a smile on her clients’ faces and helping them turn difficult times around.

Gail Freeman & Co Pty Ltd, 9/71 Leichhardt Street, Kingston 2604, gailfreeman.com.au, 6295 2844, gail@gailfreeman.com.au

Dance Northside, Kaleen Community Hall, Georgina Crescent, Kaleen, 2617, dancenorthside.com, 0413 049625, holly@dancenorthside.com HOLLY DIGGLE Director t: 0413 049 625 • e: holly@dancenorthside.com

Freeman & Co Pty Ltd

Chartered Accountant

Ford and Associates Pty Ltd, 25 Wakelin Circuit, Weston 2611; thefordgroup.com.au; 6288 3683; jford@iaa.net.au

Bethany Freeman-Chandler MANAGER

Bethany is passionate about helping her clients and has been doing so for more than 20 years with Gail Freeman & Co Pty Ltd. As a CPA and tax agent she is able to assist clients in many aspects of the financial side of their business. She particularly enjoys finding more efficient and streamlined ways for her clients to do business and run their finances, believing

that a business owner’s time is better spent doing what they do best rather than getting bogged down in messy and complex finance systems. Bethany provides the role of financial controller for a number of her clients and thrives working in a variety of different environments. She likes to give back to the community by volunteering with various organisations.

Gail Freeman & Co Pty Ltd, 9/71 Leichhardt Street, Kingston 2604; gailfreeman.com.au; 6295 2844; bethany@gailfreeman.com.au

DANCE NORTHSIDE

offer classes to students of all ages – including: Contemporary, Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Kids Creative Movement

Community Hall, Georgina Crescent, Kaleen, ACT 2617 REBECCA ALLAN Assistant Director t: 0404 144 128 • e: becallan2582@gmail.com

Danielle Meyer ACCOUNTANT

Danielle has been working at Gail Freeman & Co Pty Ltd for more than a decade. Starting out as the administration officer, keyboard whiz Danielle quickly showed a desire to learn.

On successful completion of her taxation course, Danielle moved from admin to preparing tax returns and then progressed to an accounting role.

Since then Danielle has undertaken specialised superannuation qualifications and has added accounting for SMSFs to her ever expanding role.

In her spare time Danielle loves spending time with her family, friends and her dogs, Quincy and Daisy. She enjoys relaxing weekends at the coast where she gets time to catch up on her reading.

Gail Freeman & Co Pty Ltd, 9/71 Leichhardt Street, Kingston 2604; gailfreeman.com.au; 6295 2844; danielle@gailfreeman.com.au

Kate Meikle

DIRECTOR

Having spent over a decade working in communication management in the not-for-profit sector in Sydney, I have recently moved back to Canberra to join my family business, Macquarie Publishing. Joining the ownership team of the “CityNews” has given me the opportunity to lead, innovate and create a strategy to take our business on an exciting trajectory.

It’s been inspiring to meet so many of our wonderful clients and see such talented and strong women involved in this feature. It’s an honour to represent such a well-respected news magazine that delivers quality journalism and provides a trusted voice to Canberra, working alongside my talented and dedicated female colleagues.

Macquarie Publishing, proud publisher of “CityNews”, 9b/189 Flemington Road, Mitchell 2911, kate@citynews.com.au, 6189 0777, citynews.com.au

Freeman & Co Pty Ltd

Becky Fleming

OWNER/DIRECTOR

I created Kokoloco in 2004 after returning from three years dancing in Mexico. I fell in love with Latin and Afro-Caribbean dance while I was there, and have really dedicated my studio and life to it since.

Apart from teaching dance to all levels of adults and children, we also create amazing shows and events to give everyone the opportunity to perform and share

their love of dance.

Kokoloco is more than a studio, it’s a family, and we’re proud to have created a supportive, fun and friendly community of dancers that welcome everyone!

From dance classes, to stage shows, festivals and music videos, to bridal dance lessons, hens parties and Kids Dance Parties, we do it all! Come and join us!

Kokoloco Dance Studio, 28 Astrolabe Street, Red Hill 2601, kokoloco.com.au, 0421 798490, info@kokoloco.com.au

Margaret Dimoff

GALLERY OWNER & ARTIST

I graduated from the ANU in ceramics and sculpture, but now concentrate only on painting. I opened my own gallery five and a half years ago – the largest contemporary art gallery in the ACT, showcasing my own work. Before then, my work was displayed in 12 galleries in NSW and Victoria. My paintings have been sold to many parts of the

world. My gallery, on the corner of Grey Street and Hopetoun Circuit, is open Friday to Sunday, 10am-4pm. My work is also available for corporate hire, and we also offer a FREE trial for a week in your home.

Margaret Dimoff Art Gallery, 38 Grey Street, Deakin 2600, margaretdimoffart.com.au, 0407 416480, margaretdimoff@gmail.com

Lanette Gavran

DIRECTOR

Pilates Canberra has provided quality personalised Pilates instruction to the Canberra community for 23 years. Pilates Canberra was created by Lanette Gavran whose passion for quality Pilates instruction has led her to bring leaders in the Pilates industry to Canberra for staff of Pilates Canberra and clients to learn from. Lanette is a leader and innovator

in the Pilates industry who has assisted in the creation of a number of Canberran businesses. She pushes her staff and students to be the very best they can and always supports their development.

Lanette would like to see a more cohesive and less-splintered community as “there’s room for all quality Pilates businesses and more”.

Pilates Canberra, 14 Macquarie Street, Barton 2600, pilatescanberra.com.au, 0412 022917, barton@pilatescanberra.com.au

Karen Porter

I am a firm believer that your home is the place to find solace. My business helps you to create solace in your home by providing well-insulated windows and doors.

Windows and doors are often an afterthought and are not the first thing that you think of when you think of insulation. They are very important to the overall comfort of your home as they are an

insulation weakness if you single glaze them.

I have been helping people to have a more comfortable home since 2006 and I am passionate about energy efficient homes. I have a wonderful team, suppliers and installers to help me with my mission to double glaze Canberra. Call us to find out more.

Solace Creations Double Glazing, 1/17 Townsville Street, Fyshwick 2609; www.solacecreations.com.au; 6260 1621; quote@solacecreations.com.au

Janice Bannerman

OWNER

A lifelong love affair with great fashion and a desire to make beautiful clothes accessible for all women has culminated in the Broads brand and Silk Sisters boutique.

Speaking with fabulous women of all shapes and sizes every day continually drives us to source and design flattering and beautiful clothes they love to wear.

At Silk Sisters we know and value the women who produce our clothes. We have a strong commitment to fair trade principles. We have a strong passion for our customers and work incredibly hard to make sure we keep them well supplied with size-diverse clothing in great cuts and natural fibres. We know our women.

Silk Sisters, Bailey’s Arcade, 143 London Circuit, Civic 2600, 6101 7406, forbroads.com.au/collections/silk-sisters, janice@forbroads.com.au

Arety Krikonis

OWNER

HAVING grown up in the family business since I was 10, I watched my parents develop, build and maintain strong client relationships, which has allowed me to develop those same skills and build my own successful businesses.

I started Luscious Glow and Canberra Mobile Spray Tans, specialising solely in chemical-

free and organic spray tanning and eyelash enhancements, which led me to become one of the number-one-voted salons in Canberra.

I am now back in the family business, continuing my father’s legacy of 25 years and continuing to successfully grow stronger and stronger.

Extensive range of fabrics, colours and patterns available in Cosiflor® Pleated and Honeycomb blinds

MORE THAN JUST FASHION FOR

YOUR WINDOWS

German quality for the Australian home.

Slimline, top down/bottom up Cosiflor® blinds incorporate high-quality fabrics and components ensuring a hard-wearing, stylish, energy efficient and affordable solution for your home.

The Cosiflor® honeycomb blind is a great solution for keeping you cool in the summer and warm in winter, whilst also saving you money on energy bills.

The perfect option for a European style tilt and turn window, the Cosiflor® blind also fits perfectly in the reveal of a casement, sliding or wind-out window.

Jackie Warburton

HORTICULTURIST

I have been a horticulturist for over 14 years and founded Terra Solarus to provide garden services, maintenance, consultations, planting, advice and specialist pruning (such as roses, fruit trees and climbers).

We also specialise in elm leaf beetle treatments to protect our beautiful Canberra elm trees. I love helping my customers create

and maintain a garden they can be proud of and admire all year round.

In addition to Terra Solarus, I am a national councillor for the Australian Institute of Horticulture, past president of the Cactus Society of ACT, an avid participant in gardening groups across the capital, and a student of landscape architecture at UC.

Terra Solarus, 0414 845238, terrasolarus.com.au, jackie@terrasolarus.com.au

Catherine Malak

OWNER

Catherine Malak, owner and beautician of Raven Waves, a full-service salon specialising in hair extensions in Mitchell, says she loves making women in Canberra feel good about themselves.

“My team and I are committed to giving our clients a confidence boost,” she says.

The salon has a no-animaltesting rule and is currently in the

process of becoming a sustainable salon, a project that is close to Catherine’s heart.

Catherine says it was a dream come true for her to open the salon last year, after working from home for about seven years as a beauty therapist and make-up artist.

“The experience of running my own salon is incredibly rewarding, thanks to my loyal clients and staff.”

Raven Waves, 25/52 Heffernan Street Mitchell 2911, ravenwaves.com.au, 6262 4696, info@ravenwaves.net

Deborah Long

OWNER

When I purchased my agency, I really wanted to better understand our clients’ needs and find the unique experiences they were asking for. Not long after, I was fortunate to receive an invitation to travel with Scenic. That experience made me realise Scenic would have a strong appeal to our clients – who must have agreed because within a year Weston Cruise &

Travel became the biggest Scenic agency in the country – and we still are six years later.

We wanted to partner with a likeminded and progressive Australian company, and what I love about Scenic is that it leads the way in luxury, innovation and inclusions. Next year my husband and I are taking a group of clients and friends on a Scenic French river cruise.

Weston Cruise & Travel, Weston Arcade, Brierly Street, Weston, 6288 4400, westoncruiseandtravel.com.au, admin@westoncruiseandtravel.com.au

Wanda Wojciechowska and

Aimee Kohler

Rebecca McFarland

CAREER COACH & RESUME WRITER

With more than 10 years of experience in human resources and recruitment, Rebecca McFarland walked away from her role in the public service in July to focus on finding her own personal flavour of career fulfilment.

Less than five months later, Rebecca is thriving in her bold and colourful career coaching and resume writing practice, Pop Your

Career. She started her business to prove that career development doesn’t have to be boring and that career fulfilment is definitely not out of reach.

Rebecca takes great delight in helping clients understand and articulate their strengths, overcome self-doubt and imposter syndrome, and gain clarity about their future career paths.

Pop Your Career, PO Box 6163, Conder 2906, popyourcareer.com, hello@popyourcareer.com

Renata Ryan OWNER

After being an HCF manager for 25 years, my husband and I decided to build a traditional Aussie slabhut cafe to complement our 1840 house. Sadly, my husband passed away from melanoma six years ago but luckily I have the help and support of my wonderful daughters and caring, reliable staff.

The Rollonin cafe has been open for ten years and doing really well.

We get customers from all over Australia and the world and I have been privileged to train and mentor my staff to look after each and every customer in both a professional and friendly manner.

I trust and value my staff to look after the cafe even when on leave.

I feel you need to lead by example for the staff, as they trust your judgment.

Rollonin Cafe, 144 Bowning Road, Bowning, NSW 2582 Call 6227 6507; rollonincafe@y7mail.com

Natasha Janssens

FINANCE EXPERT & MONEY COACH

Natasha wears many hats. Proud mum of two, financial planner, accountant and mortgage broker.

After arriving in Australia as an 18-year-old refugee alone, Natasha learned first hand the complexities of navigating the Australian financial system and the challenges faced by Australian women.

Her passion for education and helping others led her to start

Women with Cents – an awardwinning finance business dedicated to empowering Australian women through education.

With more than 7000 members Australia-wide, Women with Cents offers services to suit every budget – from free financial education and affordable online courses, to one-on-one coaching, financial planning and mortgage broking.

Women with Cents, Suite 37 Kippax Fair, 48 Hardwick Crescent, Holt 2615; womenwithcents.com.au; 0402 098783; tash@womenwithcents.com.au

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT & BUSINESS OWNER | FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATOR & OFFICE MANAGER

We offer a range of services such as personal and business taxation, bookkeeping, business accounting and corporate services catering for individuals, companies, trusts and partnerships.

No job is too small for the team, which is managed by mother and daughter

Wanda and Aimee. Wanda, who has approximately 20 years of accounting experience, is proud to recognise Aimee’s contribution to the team over the past three years.

“Aimee is the first point of contact for our clients. She excels at making our clients happy and manages issues with

WWAccounting, PO Box 42, Red Hill 2603, wwaccounting.com.au, 6295 0364 or 0400 083938, wandaw@wwaccounting.com.au and admin@wwaccounting.com.au

the ATO or ASIC,” says Wanda.

“It’s the personal touch that stands WWAccounting apart. We also offer on and off-site bookkeeping services with expert set up and friendly support, we take the hassle out of managing books for our clients and let them do the things they love to do!”

Chris’ Trees

• Tree pruning

• Tree removal

• Hedge trimming

• Hedge lowering

• Green waste disposal

• General gardening

“Quoting hundreds, not thousands”

Text or call 0468 695 561 Email cgsact@gmail.com Find me on gumtree.com.au

Fully Insured – AAMI Business Insurance

GARDENING Fuchsia grows back into affection

FRENCH botanist Father

Charles Plumier, considered one of the most important of the botanical explorers of his time, introduced fuchsia to the western world.

Plumier (1646-1704) identified and described fuchsia, which he dis covered on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean in 1696-7.

Of the large numbers of migrants leaving Europe for the New World, many were dying from malaria. Father Plumier was in South America looking for the Cinchona tree, which provided quinine to combat malaria.

He published his first description of fuchsia (Fuchsia triphylla) naming it after Dr Leonhart Fuchs (1501-1566), chair of medicine at Germany’s Tubingen University. Plumier was greatly influenced by Fuch’s work, especially in herbal medicines.

Fuchsias were introduced to Australia from England by the early settlers. I know of two examples that are more than 100 years old –both are virtually small trees, one at an old bank building in Gundagai and the other at the old gold store at Beechworth.

reason, they fell from favour. With renewed interest, gardeners are realising how easy they are to grow.

roots in pots or baskets moist. In summer, it’s usually necessary to water every day.

Jottings...

• Deadhead and feed roses now.

These days, fuchsias wax and wane in popularity. In the ‘70s and early ‘80s, when I was growing thousands of fuchsia, there was almost an explosion of interest. Virtually every town had its fuchsia nursery; then, for no apparent

T H E P O D C A N B E R R A

So here are a few hints on growing fuchsias, to which there is no limit to the varieties and colours available:

• In winter they lose their leaves and look like they’ve died. Yet within a few warm days in spring the new shoots start appearing on the old wood. Simply trim off those branches that have not sprouted.

• They require a shady position with the sun off them by 10am in summer. They grow well under shade cloth (75 per cent).

• In pots or baskets always use a premium potting mix. In the garden, a well-drained spot digging in some good compost and or rotted leaves, under deciduous trees or shrubs is ideal.

• Even in winter keep the soil and

• If growing in a pot, raise it off the ground and don’t use a saucer under the pot.

• Regularly deadhead or pinch out new shoots to encourage more flowers.

With the abundance of flowers, feed fuchsias every few weeks with a certified organic fertiliser such as Maxicrop Seaweed Nutrient or Neutrog Seamungus.

And for fuchsias that produce enough fruit (the size of small grapes after flowering) there are recipes for fuchsia fruit cake and fuchsia dessert sauce searchable on the internet.

The Geranium and Fuchsia Society holds meetings at St James Church Hall, Gillies Street, Curtin, 2pm-4pm, on the first Saturday of every month.

• When to plant veggies? If they’re in the garden centres, it’s time to plant.

• Check out the David Austin Rosa “Munstead Wood”, the deepest of red roses.

• Prunus cerasifera “Oakville Crimson Spire” grows to up to six metres tall and two metres wide, not the other way around as published in last week’s column.

PUZZLES PAGE

Joanne Madeline Moore

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Mercury is backtracking through your travel zone until Saturday. So expect some disruptions and delays involving cars, buses, trains, planes, commuting and/or holiday plans. Don’t let that deter you from travelling or embarking on a splendid adventure. With the Sun linking up with Jupiter, your motto for the moment is from birthday great, writer and entrepreneur Mark Twain: “Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

With Mercury still in retrograde motion, some areas of your life (especially involving close relationships and money matters) may appear to go backwards. So tread carefully with loved ones. And make sure you research and process all financial information thoroughly, otherwise things could quickly become very confusing. Saturday looks unpredictable, as Uranus opposes your ruler Venus. So – when it comes to romantic and platonic partnerships – expect the unexpected!

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

Watch what you say on Monday, when words have the capacity to cut like a knife. Expect some communication chaos until Saturday, as mischievous Mercury (your patron planet) reverses through your relationship zone. So you could experience problems with your sweetheart or an unresolved issue could be dredged up all over again. Or a partner from the past could suddenly re-appear (in person or via social media)! But do you really want to go down that rocky road again?

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

Over the next few days, retrograde Mercury could cause problems in your work zone. So do your best to be clear and concise with your boss, employees, colleagues, clients and/or customers. The challenge is to follow through on commitments. If you make a promise – keep it. And if you set a goal – work hard to achieve it. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. With patience and persistence, you’ll get there in the long run. So it’s time to crawl out of your Crab cave and get going!

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

Even though communication planet Mercury is retrograde (until December 7) strive to keep communication flowing with family, friends and work colleagues. A flexible attitude and a diplomatic approach will help you cope with any frustrating dramas that develop this week. Your greatest ally is your sense of humour. So your mantra for the moment is from writer (and birthday great) Mark Twain: “The human race has one really effective weapon and that is laughter.”

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

With Mercury reversing through your home zone, expect some domestic dramas over the next few days. You’ll find the fussier and more fastidious you are, the more annoying the problems will be. Try to relax and go with the (sometimes disrupted) flow. Then Mercury reverses back into your communication zone on Saturday (where it stays until December 7). So, when it comes to social media and mobile phones, double-check you’re sending the right message to the right person!

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

Mercury is causing mischief in your talking, texting and tweeting zone. So be very careful what you put on social media, as it will be easy for others to misinterpret your true meaning. Check (and re-check) before you post. You can look forward to a fabulous creativity surge, as Venus (your power planet) visits your sign and stimulates your fertile imagination. Venus also encourages you to be more social as you host a festive Christmas function or just party like a pro.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

Time-poor Scorpio – you’re keen to plunge into a personal project or a financial matter but make sure you do your homework first. Otherwise there’ll be a major mix-up or delay over the coming week. With gung-ho Mars racing through your romance zone, it’s time to be more proactive about love. Attached? If you want your relationship to develop in positive ways, then you’ll have to be the catalyst! If you’re single and looking for your soul mate, you’ll have to be proactive.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

Mercury is reversing through your sign so expect disruptions, delays and communication chaos. The best way to handle hiccups and hassles? With plenty of patience and Sagittarian style. The Sun and Jupiter hook up in your sign, so have the confidence and courage to be the real you. Don’t modify your personality to satisfy other people’s expectations. Authenticity is the key. As birthday great Bruce Lee declared: “Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself.”

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

Can-do Capricorns prefer things to proceed at a cracking pace but the Sun, Jupiter and retrograde Mercury are stimulating your seclusion zone. So it’s time to slow down and smell the roses as you relax, revise and reschedule. You’ll have to be extra patient, as tasks will take longer than expected (with plenty of distracting detours along the way). Don’t let nagging self-doubts undermine your confidence and sabotage your self-belief. You have to be your number one fan!

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

Mercury is in retrograde mode until December 7 so it’s not a suitable time to start an ambitious new project, solve a tricky problem or launch a group project. Plus expect some annoying disruptions or delays involving travel, cars, computers, communication, mobile phones or social media. A long-cherished dream also needs to be re-imagined and reworked so that it better suits your current situation. On Saturday you’ll feel restless and rebellious as you rock the relationship boat.

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

It’s true that Mercury is currently retrograde, which can slow things down and muddle things up. But that’s no excuse to procrastinate Pisces! Proactive Mars is charging through your sign, and it also makes a marvellous connection with Saturn. So – despite possible delays and inevitable disruptions – it’s definitely time to embrace options, roll up your sleeves and power through projects. Be inspired by birthday great Bruce Lee: “To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2018

4 Which Queensland river joins the Thomson River to form Cooper Creek? (6)

7 Which common mineral is the principal ore of iron? (8)

8 What is an aggregation of persons of the same ethnic family, etc? (6)

9 Name a particular variety of the Welsh corgi. (8)

11 Name a highly poisonous salt of hydrocyanic acid. (7)

13 What is a professed believer who rejects doctrines prescribed by his or her church? (7)

15 What is a poetic or ancient term for clothing? (7)

17 Which large drinking cup has a handle, and sometimes a hinged cover? (7)

20 Name a fire-resistant fibrous amphibole. (8)

23 What is a softer, usually edible part, contained in the shell of a nut? (6)

24 Name an Australian 24-hour emergency counselling telephone service. (4,4)

25 To be swampy, is to be what? (6)

Down

1 Which land form has a flat top, and is bounded with steep rock walls? (4)

2 Which golf attendant is hired to carry a player's clubs, etc? (6)

3 What is another name for the common heather? (4)

4 Name a well-known English comedian, ... Hill. (5)

5 What is a sailor who has no commissioned rank? (6)

6 To be egg-shaped, is to be what? (5)

9 What was one of the ten divisions in an ancient Roman legion? (6)

10 What are international agreements known as? (7)

12 When one puts one in high spirits, one does what? (6)

14 Which North American mammals eject a fetid fluid when attacked? (6)

16 What is a political or financial strength known as? (6)

18 Name an enclosure for sports contests. (5)

19 What is a mass meeting of persons, as for common action? (5)

21 To polish metal to a finish of high lustre, is to do what? (4)

22 Which term describes the noise of a pig? (4)

Gail Freeman & Co Pty Ltd

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT

Mum's art gives Sandy a tax break

Sandy had inherited some artworks from her late mother. At a recent dinner party she was hosting, a guest who works in an art gallery suggested she donate them to the gallery, for which she would receive a tax deduction.

Never having heard of this, Sandy called by to check if her guest was correct.

“Yes, Sandy," I told her. "There is a program called the Cultural Gifts Program that allows tax deductions for gifts to either a public library, the Australiana Fund, a public museum or art gallery or an institution that consists of a public library a public museum and a public art gallery or any two of those.

"The body must be situated in Australia and there are several other conditions that need to be satisfied. Before I look at these the thing that is probably most important to you is how it actually works.”

Sandy agreed, saying she felt the paintings could be quite valuable and that the deduction would be high.

“You can get a deduction for your donation over a period of five years. Before you apply for approval of the gift you determine how you want to claim the deductions. There is no need to claim the donation in equal amounts, which could be effective for tax planning if you are expecting your income to be uneven over the next few years.

“However, the first thing you need to do is to negotiate a potential gift with an approved organisation as set out above. Once the potential gift has been approved you need to arrange for two valuations of the artworks. These valuations need to be made by approved valuers within 90 days of the date of the donation so that they are current. You then use the average value of these two valuations to arrive at the total amount that you can claim over the five-year period.

“There are a number of administrative tasks that need to be completed including a checklist, a certificate of donation and a statement of significance of the artworks. This is when the two valuations are provided together with quality colour images of the artworks. The originals of these documents are then all sent to the relevant government department for approval. The department certifies that the gift meets the program requirements and you can proceed with your donation claims.”

Sandy commented that despite sounding time consuming the end result would be worth it.

“Absolutely!" I said. "We also need to make sure that you have owned all the artworks for more than 12 months, which I know to be the case. Also that you did not acquire the artworks for the purpose of making a donation and they are not subject to any arrangement that the property would be gifted.

"Obviously, it's possible that the Australian Taxation Office may not approve the gift, but I am sure that, with the help of the gallery, everything should go through smoothly.”

Sandy left my office happy in the knowledge that I was there to help her through the bureaucracy.

If you need help on any tax related matter, contact the friendly team at Gail Freeman & Co.