CityNews 190725

Steel bends to market forces

PAUL COSTIGAN

The slow heat of boiling political frogs

MICHAEL MOORE

Piano star coming to play second fiddle

HELEN MUSA

TEA TIME

By Kathryn VUKOVLJAK

IT’S like a chemistry experiment: tea changing from turquoise to royal blue as it brews, then turning bright pink by adding a squeeze of lemon.

This particular blueberry and blue pea flower-infused concoction, “Tea Trick”, was created by co-owner of Adore Tea Nasreen Palekar, who ad mits that until a few years ago her only knowledge of tea was that it came in black and green.

Ex-teacher Nasreen and her husband Aman took over the Gold Creek teahouse in October, after buying the Adore Tea business in November 2016 and running a tearoom and retail store out of their Mitchell warehouse.

“We are glad to be based in Gold Creek now, in a sense bringing the business back together,” says Aman.

Nasreen still blends teas at the warehouse, which she says smells so incredible from all the herbs and flowers of which she’s always inspired to try new combinations.

Her current favourite is “Canberra Breeze”, a caramel black tea with berries and rose, and Nasreen says she loves the creativity of blending.

“I mix and match, it’s like science

INDEX

Arts & Entertainment 23-25

Canberra Matters 6

Cinema 25

Crossword 27

Dining 24

Gardening 26

Horoscopes 27

News 3-12

Politics 12

pink by adding a squeeze of lemon.

and I love to experiment,” she says.

“It just keeps popping into my head to try mixing this with that. The colours and flavours are all natural, nothing artificial. Sometimes it fails!

Some flavours don’t work with specific teas and you have to keep changing and tweaking.

“But the more you spend your time, the more ideas you get. This is where my love and knowledge of tea started and now I’m so passionate about it.”

This passion extends to the menu, also made by Nasreen with almost every last thing, even the butter and jam, blissfully tea-infused, she says.

Socials 18-19

It’s all about tweaking when Nasreen blends tea

“I used to always love cooking for the family. In Asian families it’s a huge thing and every weekend we’d get to gether and cook,” says Nasreen.

“I’d never experienced running a restaurant though. And here everything you can see is made by me, and I love doing that.

“People appreciate it, and I get a very content sort of feeling that what I’m doing is right.”

Nasreen says Adore Tea is very much a family business, with daughters Habiba, 19, and Amal, 15, taking photos, contributing artwork, heading up social media accounts and helping

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Aman, Habiba and Nasreen Palekar... “The colours and flavours are all natural, nothing artificial. Sometimes it fails! Some flavours don’t work with specific teas and you have to keep changing and tweaking,” says Nasreen. Photo: Holly Treadaway

out in the teahouse and warehouse whenever they can.

Aman and Nasreen are also planning to phase out plastic packaging in favour of paper.

“We’re working hard to take Adore Tea to the next level, and there’s a lot happening. I’m always looking to create something new,” she says.

WHEN IT MATTERS

“It’s not always been an easy path, but we’re not ones to give up.

“Whatever we do, it’s with passion and from the heart. And you can see that love on the plate and in our teas.”

Adore Tea Gold Creek Teahouse, Federation Square, Shop 6/18 O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls. Call 6134 6781.

SEVEN DAYS

There’s no stopping the ‘rhino on a skateboard’

ACT Transport Minister Chris Steel was more than happy to spruik the unexpected early arrival of a momentous milestone of light rail.

The tram’s one millionth passenger swiped on way ahead of the business model’s predicted 2021 ETA for stage one. The golden PR gift to the fledgling network came as several collisions between trams and other vehicles dominated the news.

THE coming together of tram and traffic was predicted by a transport expert before the March launch. Dr Mark King , from the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland, warned: “Most light rail or tram networks see an initial uptake in incidents in their first six months before they tended to die down”.

STILL on the safety issue, Minister Steel should have been called on to write copy for the cheesy radio commercial currently airing. A millennial woman fearful of driving around trams is assured by her millennial man that it’s “all good”. Then

off they happily go for coffee, for which she pays because he (silly male) has forgotten his wallet. Steel’s line, light rail should be treated like a “rhino on a skateboard”, brilliantly nails the issue taking considerably less time.

IN the process of spreading the good news and “minimising” the bad, Steel also managed to distance himself and the government from colleague Bec Cody’s negative National Capital Authority comments. Cody is holding firm to her claim that the NCA is blocking stage two of the network, after recently finding herself

dose of dorin

Canberra Sydney Swans supporters are indeed a rare species. They seem to flap and squawk a lot but are prone to fly away when it all gets too hard. I heard of one such individual who travelled from the capital to the SCG for the above-mentioned clash, but left at half time disgusted with his beloved Bloods’ lack of commitment.

NOT known for his diplomacy at post-match press conferences, Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was in vintage form after his charges’ 36-14 win over St George-Illawarra.

further out on a limb by calling for the abolition of the authority.

SEEMS old Labor pollies never die, they just continue to heckle from the sidelines. I copped a surprisingly creative sledge (for a Collingwood fan) from former MLA John Hargreaves . Responding to my post after Carlton’s rare SCG win over the Swans, Johnny dressed up the old “every dog has its day” with “even a blind warthog finds an acorn once in a while”.

STILL on that impressive Blues victory,

“Sticky” was filthy over a charge laid against Nick Cotric’s “spear tackle”. Despite securing a top three ladder spot, an irate Stuart fumed: “If you call that a spear tackle, you’ve only just started watching the game.” Stuart also took particular issue with a journalist’s suggestion the tackle was dangerous: “If you think that’s a spear tackle, you shouldn’t be a journalist in Rugby League”.

BUT Stuart was in a much happier space

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by week’s end at the 30th reunion of the club’s maiden premiership; the 1989 19-14 extra time win over Balmain Tigers. The Raiders, rated as underdogs for the playoff were, apart from Mal Meninga and Gary Belcher, treated as virtual nobodies at a function two days before the game. Stuart vividly recalls being angry at the snub, declaring: “You bastards will know who we are on Sunday”.

TWO local women have published a book on the minefield which is online dating. In “Tales of Tinderella”, 2017 ACT Indigenous Businesswoman of the Year Julie Okely and Behavioural Change Specialist Simone Hamilton , reveal pitfalls and plot lines from the digital dating space. The book shares suddenly single Tinderella’s journey as she blindly negotiates and navigates her way through the modern digital age. Describing one date to her friends, Tinderella says: “I expected to meet Vin Diesel and instead Monty Burns from ‘The Simpsons’ was walking toward me...”

‘Thanks to Kumon’ says Maria one year later, ‘Fiona is now a confident reader and consistently excels with her school work. It made such a difference.’

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CANBERRA MATTERS

Steel starts bending to the forces

ACT Labor politicians seem unable to have original thoughts. They are trained not to listen to residents.

Party ideology wins out every time when the going gets tough.

Here’s an example of ACT Labor’s limited thinking at work.

There was a presentation by Chris Steel, Minister for City Things, at the June Weston Creek Community Council meeting. For most of the evening he did well as a local member. He was impressive.

He knew the streets being discussed, which pedestrian crossing required upgrading, details on the parking around Cooleman Court and had information on stuff the government was doing. He even criticised the Trenerry Street park design. Maybe this is because it is not the green, sheltered space that people had clearly requested.

He was talking as a local. This was an unusual experience as presentations by politicians within the inner-north involve lectures on how good the government

It seems that ACT Labor has a view on how democracy works that no longer aligns with the view of residents.

is – with little relevance to what the locals are looking for.

Chris Steel’s comments did not include an acknowledgment that the recent ACT Budget did little for the Molonglo suburbs. These suburbs are crying out for community facilities that should have been in place years ago.

Sadly, this style of old-fashioned planning is not something being delivered by the Barr Labor/Greens government. The present model is to sell land and then to leave the rest to developers. So while Minister Steel listed initiatives relevant to the general area, with an emphasis on Cooleman Court, there were few signs that the government was taking Molonglo residents seriously.

Significantly, it was later in the presentation that the ideology of markets and neoliberalism kicked in as he responded to probing queries. You could see the change in his persona.

The first tricky question came about the architecture of Cooleman

Court. Unfortunately, the questioner confused things with an attack on the running of the centre, which is popular and well run.

The real question was about how the government should be doing something to make Cooleman Court’s architecture more appealing with more shops and other additions instead of the external blank walls.

Chris Steel said he had spoken to the owners about the centre’s future but there was little more to be done. He explained that design improvements were a market thing – it was not the role of government to intervene.

The next query was about developers not providing commercial outlets in new apartment blocks when provision was there in the approved plans. Again, this is not up to government – but for the developers to decide according to the market.

And then the third, which was about the infamous Coombs shops – where the owners have kept the centre vacant for years, resulting in no main shopping centre for the area. There is now a small convenience store but the centre remains largely unoccupied.

market

Again Steel’s response was that the government cannot do much – it is up to the owner.

So during most of his presentation, Chris Steel sounded like a switchedon local member and a minister with a mission to listen and to get things done in his electorate. Whereas later he sounded like another neoliberal conservative preaching the ideological belief that market forces (Big Money) make the planning decisions that deliver social outcomes and facilities in urban areas. Really!

Given the way this government handles planning and development, it seems that ACT Labor has a view on how democracy works that no longer aligns with the view of residents.

People still elect politicians to government to get things done, not to have them pass that responsibility to the developers. With planning disasters such as the Coombs shopping mess, the ACT government needs to act like a government and change commercial leases and demand that owners honour the purpose of those leases – or lose the lease.

It is time the ACT government got real and honoured its contract with the electorate.

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

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OPINION / Im ‘Licuit Jack

‘I’m alright, Jack’ rules the city’s housing market

THERE has recently been some discussion about the appropriateness of the ACT Coat of Arms which inevitably invites consideration of a motto suited to our city and the times.

Of late, I’ve thought that a motto which might fit the current mood and disposition of we Canberrans is “I’m alright Jack”. The expression has an interesting heritage but is nowadays used to express a self-centred complacency and indifference to the circumstances of others.

The motto came to my mind most recently when I read that the ACT government had announced plans for something like a threefold increase, to almost 50,000, in the population of Civic and the inner-north over the next 20 or so years.

The announcement came out of the blue and has not, so far as I can recall, involved any consultation or modelling or analysis.

A range of significant implications flow from a decision such as this, including: the potential impact on housing choice and affordability; the consequences for development in other parts of the city, including most particularly the other town centres, if development is to be concentrated in one precinct; and good old-fashioned but increasingly ignored triple bottom line social, environmental and economic impacts.

It is indisputable that by concen-

The announcement to increase the population of Civic and the inner-north came out of the blue and has not, so far as I can recall, involved any consultation or modelling or analysis.

trating development in the city centre and inner-north brownfield sites that there will be a dramatic worsening in housing affordability and especially in the detached housing market. There will be associated increases in the cost of rent. A further large cohort of Canberrans will be excluded from home ownership and their children and grandchildren will be similarly left behind. The announcement nevertheless elicited little apparent concern particularly from opinion leaders and Canberra’s dominant middle-class, hence my rather dejected reflections about Jack.

I’m sure it was purely coincidental, but in the same week that the ACT government announced this new plan, the Palarang Council also revealed that it has plans to triple the size of Bungendore.

The Bungendore announcement follows the release of plans some weeks ago to double the size of Sutton; the ongoing expansion of Murrumbateman, Gundaroo and Collector; the commencement of work at Tralee; planning for the release of up to an additional 1000 housing blocks in Yass

and dramatic increases in the number of daily commutes from Goulburn, Cooma and Braidwood.

Not to mention, of course, that the new city of Googong is marching inexorably to its planned population of 15,000 and the ACT government has itself invested massively in a housing development catering for up to 15,000 people across the border in NSW at Ginninderry.

What has been happening in recent years is that the housing market in Canberra and the surrounding region is doing what markets do when a significant inconsonance develops between supply and demand. The market responds in an effort to restore the balance.

The ACT government has for the last six years so constrained the supply of land for detached housing that the median house price has increased by an average of 5.8 per cent or $34,000 a year. While it is true that many Canberra families having been denied the choice of purchasing a detached house have instead purchased a flat, it is also the case that many have moved across the border into NSW and become part

of an expanding diaspora.

This phenomenon demands closer attention than it has been afforded by the government and its advisory bodies.

There should, in particular, be a detailed analysis of the environmental, social and economic impacts of the land supply, planning and development decisions being made in Canberra which should include the cross border and other distributional impacts of those decisions.

In any event, it’s surely well past time that the Climate Change Council took a serious and objective look at the distributional impacts of all of the ACT government’s claimed climatechange initiatives and determine who is bearing the greater relative burden.

Relevantly, both the Federal Liberal and Labor parties promised in the recent election campaign to fund the duplication of the Barton Highway. The duplication was costed at $100 million and its justification is centred on the fact that more than 7000 people a day commute from the Young and Yass Shires to work or attend school in Canberra. The ACT government’s land supply policy has clearly contributed to the need to duplicate the highway.

The duplication will reduce travel times from Yass to Canberra to 30 minutes and will be a boon to the developers who have for years been buying up rural properties all the way from Hall to the Hume Highway and will undoubtedly result in a rapid increase in the populations of Yass and Murrumbateman, as well as along the route. There are worrying implications for the ACT Budget from ever increasing development in NSW. A cry I hear increasingly from the ACT government, as it seeks to justify or explain away planning decisions that are most likely driven by Budget considerations that we have to stop Canberra from spreading to our borders in order to protect our environment. Such claims are specious if they are not supported by credible analysis of the full gamut of social, environmental and economic implications of constraining development in the ACT only to see it occur across the border as people go in search of an affordable house.

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YESTERDAYS Righting the moon-walk record

ALMOST everyone’s a bit “lunaticus” at the minute that is, “moonstruck”.

In case it somehow escaped your orbit, July 20/21 marked the 50th anniversary of the history-altering moment when Neil Armstrong took one small step into a desolate landscape where man is the alien.

As he did, at the foot of the ominously-named Deadman’s Hill, in the deep south of the ACT, a 26m (85ft) antenna beamed footage from hundreds of thousands of kilometres in space, enabling it to be seen around this globe.

Although the part played by a similar piece of technology in a central-west NSW paddock gets most of the attention, the now-abandoned tracking station at the geographic heart of the ACT, Honeysuckle Creek (HSK), deserves its share of the limelight.

According to Mike Dinn, deputy director of the Canberra facility when the “Eagle” landed, it’s only fair the record is righted more broadly.

“That movie, ‘The Dish’, while 60 per cent to 70 per cent correct, does give a false impression of what happened,” he says.

“I was there, one of only a handful left [from HSK], and I know what happened. There’s more to it than what much of the Parkes-centric reporting suggests.”

When a marshmallowy, bulbous-headed spaceman climbed down a ladder before gingerly stepping where none had before, uttering what would become perhaps the most well known phrase ever, the world watched on with collectively-held breath. Those eminently recognisable first minutes, seen by an estimated fifth of this planet’s population (with the exception of Russia and China), came from HSK.

Only as Commander Armstrong ventured further

•

into the Sea of Tranquility –one of numerous pockmarks that define the lunar surface and named because early astronomers mistook the dark patches for water – did the broadcast switch to images received by Parkes, due to their higher quality.

As Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, our only link was a satellite dish in rural Australia with a few bugs (and a few hundred sheep).”

– “The Dish”, 2000.

HSK continued to communicate with and oversee the telemetry (data) of the astronauts and their craft.

“It was all a great team effort,” says Mike.

“An array of people and places all doing their job and, as part of that, bringing it to a worldwide audience.”

A couple of books have helped bolster the ACT station’s reputation, including a 2018 one by politician-turnedauthor, Andrew Tink. And watching over and communicating with Apollo 11 wasn’t its only major contribution.

Set just inside the Namadgi National Park, sheltered by the Brindabellas, from 1967, HSK tracked and supported manned space flights as part of the US Apollo program.

Along with other Australian stations, it provided a “lifeline to the moon” during the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission – its 50th anniversary in April next year.

After the explosion of an onboard oxygen tank, Houston received the now famous relay that there was a problem. As the drama unfolded, HSK staff continued to track the near-disabled

and Astronautics.

The Orroral Valley Tracking Station, operational in late 1965, was deeper south – and even more remote.

Employing a 26-metre antenna along with a variety of smaller ones, its job was to track closer-range, earthorbiting satellites. This included Australia’s first in 1967. Within a decade, it was the largest such station (staffwise) outside the US.

Having provided support for the first Space Shuttle missions, in 1985 it was removed to the Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory in Tasmania.

spacecraft and, in the face of weak signals, acquire critical data.

The US government gave official thanks for the assistance in “saving the lives of our astronauts”.

HSK was among the few singled out.

As big a deal as all this was, the capital can make other claims to fame in the exploration of that most remote of frontiers.

The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex at Tidbinbilla, in a south-west valley between the Murrumbidgee and Paddys Rivers, was built four years before the moon landing. During that event, it maintained communications with Michael Collins in the orbiting command module as he anxiously awaited the return of Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

While modelled on the earlier Parkes design, in 1987 Tidbinbilla’s 64m (210ft) antenna was extended by six metres, making it the largest movable dish in the southern hemisphere.

The last-remaining NASA tracking station of seven in Australia, the complex also became home to HSK’s telescope following its 1981 decommissioning. It continued to be used to monitor spacecraft closer to earth until retired in 2009. The following year, the HSK dish was declared an Historical Aerospace Site by the American Institute of Aeronautics

As for the much older Mt Stromlo (1911), it looked to the heavens rather than tracked man-made objects in them. Its initial specialisation was solar and atmospheric observations. After World War II the focus turned to some of the great unknowns: “the structure and evolution of planets, stars and galaxies, the origin and development of the Universe, and the physics of the tenuous material between.”

With the destruction of its telescopes in the 2003 Canberra firestorm, its capabilities are gradually being regenerated.

Also reduced to a shadow of its former glory, Orroral was razed to concrete footings in 1992. So too, Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station. The name of the thoroughfare leading to its former site –Apollo Road – is one of the few remnants to reveal the significance of the isolated destination at its end.

The sense of aloneness that envelopes you when visiting though, may well be the most fitting emulation of that planetary body with which it was so involved.

And there’s always that very special footage, for which mankind will be forever grateful.

If ever there’s a chance to pick up alien signals, it’ll likely come from another space observatory in Canberra’s backyard – and that’s a column to keep an eye out for in next week’s edition.

For more of the interview with Mike Dinn and author Andrew Tink, see anoverallview. wixsite.com/blog

THE GADFLY How aid and trade trumps war

HUGH White is a pleasant chap. He works at the ANU and thinks a lot about the subject of his latest book, “How to Defend Australia”. And because that’s an issue that concerns us all, his views have been widely read and respected.

Unfortunately, they are just about as old-fashioned and defeatist as it is possible to be.

In a nutshell, Hugh says that since the advent of Donald Trump, we can no longer rely on the US to come to our aid. And you’ll get no argument from me on that score.

While Trump occupies the Oval Office, no one really knows which way America will jump.

But then Hugh’s Big Idea is that therefore we should double our own spending on the engines of war, up to and including a

Just over the horizon is a cataclysm heading our way – it’s the sad and sorry march by land and sea of the climate-change refugees in their multi-millions.

nuclear deterrent. And why? Well, that’s obvious, isn’t it: we are “threatened” – if not now then sometime soon – by either China or Indonesia… that is, our biggest trading partner or our next door neighbour, both of whom have shown not the slightest interest in invading our big, dry continent. In fact, our only “enemies” are those that have been willed to us through our association with America – their idiotic (failed) adventures in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan – and more recently their obsession with the challenge (as they see it) of the rising economic power of China.

Indonesia, of course, is the world’s biggest Muslim nation and China is run by its Communist Party, so in white American eyes both are totally untrustworthy. And Hugh White,

whose working life has been conditioned by American Alliance perceptions, accepts the concept of both nations as “the other” to be feared as potential enemies.

Indeed, Hugh is part of a much larger legacy of the British invasion of the continent that attempted to wipe our Aboriginal forebears out of existence with their declaration of terra nullius.

Yet anyone who has travelled in both Indonesia and China will attest to one simple fact. Their inhabitants are human beings with very much the same desires and attitudes of people everywhere –they want to live in peace, raise their kids in their own home and enjoy life’s pleasures before the inevitable dying of the light.

They don’t want war, anymore than we do. But if the Hugh Whites of their worlds had their way, they too would be arming

against “the other”… us!

The answer is not building bigger guns, and raising the fears of the populace, but expanding the circle of friendship, people to people, country to country. And it’s urgent, because just over the horizon is a cataclysm heading our way – it’s the sad and sorry march by land and sea of the climate-change refugees in their multi-millions.

It’s a movement that will challenge the very notion of territorial sovereignty. And we must be part of the full-hearted co-operation of regional powers – Indonesia and China chief among them – to handle the great struggle to come.

I have no idea how it will resolve itself. But I do know we must prepare: first with urgent policies to slow climate change; then with a treaty with our Aboriginal compatriots to give legal force to our ownership of the continent; and finally with a massive effort of aid and trade within the region, reintroducing Australia as an Asia-Pacific nation, not some colonial hangover of British notions of class and race. We could even call it The Republic of Australia.

robert@robertmacklin.com

BRIEFLY Go the Cats

THE Canberra Cats, the Geelong AFL supporter group, celebrates its 20th anniversary from 3pm on Saturday, August 3, downstairs at the Woden Southern Cross Club. The group will then watch the Round 20 Fox-only game against Freo at 4.35pm after which dinner will be shared in the bistro. Inquiries to canberracats@gmail.com

Bulgarian dancing

BULGARIAN choreographer Tanya Dimitrova will hold folk-dancing sessions at Folk Dance Canberra, 114 Maitland Street, Hackett, 9.30am-5pm on Saturday, August 10 and 7.30-9.30pm on Monday, August 12 (advanced). Cost is $18 a session. Book at folkdancecanberra@gmail.com

The Canberra International Folk Dance Association will host an additional session to be held at Yarralumla Uniting Church Hall, Denman Street, 7.30pm-10pm on Wednesday, August 14. Cost is $10 and book at cmcnally@tpg.com.au

Make an offer

MAKE an offer for unpriced trash ‘n’ treasure at the Bold Bandannas’ charity stall at the Belconnen Markets, 8am-5pm, August 24 and 25. Plus there’s homemade preserves, sugar-reduced preserves plus a range of hand-sewn items, including children’s dress-ups, dolls’ clothes, beanies, scarves and other gifts. The Relay for Life team raises funds for cancer research, prevention and support services.

Book a bargain

THE Woden Seniors’ BIG Book Fair, featuring fiction, cookery, history, music and romance will be held at 12 Corinna Street, Woden, 10am to 4pm, daily on 9, 10 and 11 August. Beyond the pre-loved books, there will be keenly priced magazines, games, puzzles, vinyl records, CDs, DVDs and watercolour paintings. Entry by gold-coin donation.

JERRABOMBERRA PRIMARY SCHOOL

The slow heat of boiling political frogs

IT is said that if a frog is thrown into boiling water it will jump straight out, but slowly increase the temperature and it will remain until cooked. The same can be applied to politicians.

Governments react decisively in crises. However, much more damage is done in the slow heat of political machinations.

Issues such as obesity, corruption, climate change, bureaucratic control, antimicrobial resistance and poor planning form a similar slow deterioration.

In contrast, food poisoning, theft, cyclones, infectious disease outbreaks and a collapsing building spring governments into action.

Politicians are seen to be strong in a crisis when they react quickly and decisively. Reacting to the slowly cooking frog can bring criticism, censure, condemnation and degradation.

After tobacco use, obesity is cause of death

ity in Australia. However, no

Long-term governments, such as Labor in the ACT, suffer from boiling-frog syndrome regarding their approach to maintaining control of the bureaucracy.

substantive action has been taken to address this issue.

Pathetic attempts are made to address obesity even though governments know the role played by unhealthy food. They run campaigns such as two serves of fruit daily and five of veggies along with circulating the “Guide to Healthy Eating” – these play a small part. Establishing the Health Star Rating system also played a small part. The real tools of price controls, such as a 20 per cent tax on sugary soft drinks, are just too hard.

The boiling frog could also explain governments’ tardiness in dealing with Climate Change. Global warming is real and some people, froglike, ignore it. Attempts to deal decisively with Kevin Rudd’s “great moral challenge of our generation” (other than some accounting tricks) have been retarded by delay and obfuscation.

Long-term governments, such

as Labor in the ACT, suffer from boiling-frog syndrome regarding their approach to maintaining control of the bureaucracy. It is not about laziness on the part of specific members or ministers, rather the changes of control are not particularly noticeable in a “business-asusual” environment.

Antimicrobial resistance has the potential to become a huge health issue. Inappropriate use includes overuse of antibiotics in humans, extensive use in agriculture nationally and internationally, and a lack of control by governments. Even “last-line” antibiotics have been widely used in agriculture.

Driven by the profit motive, pharmaceutical companies are keen to sell large quantities to farmers. Interfering with their business practices will be called “nanny state”.

However, good government stewardship means that those in charge have a responsibility to react now to prevent a future disaster. Already, antibiotic resistant infections

such as Candida auris are spreading across the world with little understanding of how they might be prevented. Multi-antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis is already rife on our northern borders.

Poor planning has plagued Canberra for decades. Unlike the town centres that preceded it, Gungahlin did not receive the office complexes appropriate to Canberra’s good planning. They wound up at the airport and in Campbell instead. Many multi-story apartment buildings are likely to be the slums of the future. Why have we not learned the lessons of social issues from overseas and the now demolished ABC flats in Braddon and Reid?

Democracy itself is under threat from the boiling frog. As Evans and others from Canberra University pointed out in “The Conversation” last year, satisfaction in Australian democracy has halved from 80 per cent in 1996 to 40 per cent in 2018. Short-term focus on the next election prevents arousing the soporific frog of government from this stupor preventing decisive action on the critical issues.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.

Hidden dangers of winter’s cold

THE drop in temperature comes with a warning from Fair Trading commissioner David Snowden that injuries across Australia rise because of faulty, damaged or incorrectly used heating products.

According to ACT Fair Trading, multiple children are admitted to hospital with burns sustained from clothing catching fire and more than 50 people across Australia die in house fires.

Mr Snowden says products designed to keep people warm, such as heaters and electric blankets, can pose a safety risk if used or stored incorrectly.

“Keep your heater clean and avoid build-up of dust and debris within the heater enclosure. If your electrical heater repeatedly blows a fuse or has given you a shock, you should disconnect it immediately and have it repaired by a licensed electrician or replace it – never use damaged heaters,” he says.

“Anyone with open-flued gas heaters should have them checked immediately by a licensed gas fitter who can test for carbon monoxide spillage. If gas heaters are faulty, poorly maintained or don’t get enough air to operate, they won’t burn the gas properly.

“In extreme cases they will emit toxic carbon monoxide and other lethal gases which can’t be seen and have no smell. Carbon monoxide poisoning can happen in any home or building which uses gas heating, including newer homes, and can cause death or chronic illness.”

More tips on staying safe in winter at act.gov.au/ accessCBR

Family’s new clinic a

ENHANCE Healthcare has recently expanded its Mitchell-based practice by opening a new, state-of-the-art chiropractic clinic at Denman Prospect, focusing on a whole-of-body approach to sports injury rehabilitation.

Helping more Canberrans keep active and return to sport, co-owners and siblings Pete Garbutt and Celina Miller have worked together to combine their expertise as a chiropractor and massage therapist for almost 20 years.

“Our approach is to work with people to achieve their goals to help them be healthy and active,” says Pete.

Pete says that Enhance Healthcare is proud to be a family business that also includes his wife Rachel who heads up reception. The practice has, over time, grown to include other health professionals such as dietitians, acupuncturists and exercise physiologists joining the team of 10 chiropractors and massage therapists.

Celina and Pete are excited to be expanding into the new Denman Prospect clinic, which Pete says is a conveni ent location particularly for people who live on the south side of Canberra to see one of their talented chiropractors, who will be working across both clinic locations.

For Pete, who holds a masters in sports chiropractic and is the president of the International Federation of Sports Chiropractic, it’s a dream come true to open a sports-focused clinic.

“Sports chiropractors provide a full-body approach to injury management and healthcare, by integrating the treatment to work on the nervous, muscular and skeletal systems,” he says.

It’s all about leading an active lifestyle, Pete says, and the chiropractic team give their patients an individualised treatment plan to help rehabilitate acute injuries or help provide longer-term body management.

The new clinic also has a dedicated gym space with

“The active space lets us see people moving and be specific with our treatment to help get the best results,” says Pete.

“The state-of-the-art fit-out also includes video analysis technology to understand, track and show clients how they are moving as well as laser therapy treatments.”

The team are experienced with treating a wide range of sports injuries from soccer, AFL to pole dancing.

Running injuries are also an area of expertise, and Pete (who is an avid runner) has written a book and launched an international program about correcting running technique to minimise injury.

topic extensively and in turn allows him to run injuryfree every day. He says he is passionate about helping his patients to also reach their goals and return to the sport that they enjoy.

Open six days a week, the new clinic is open to schedule appointments as early as 5am up until 8pm.

“Enhance Healthcare at Mitchell will continue to operate seven days a week, and continue to offer all our wide-ranging services as usual,” says Pete.

Enhance Healthcare’s Denman Prospect Clinic is at Shop 25, 3 Felstead Vista, Denman Prospect. For appointments call 6241 6060 or visit enhance.com.au

Honest Sandy tops female agents in the ACT

SANDY Morris has been voted the “most recommended” female real estate agent in the ACT for the past three years, according to ratemyagent.com.au, and it’s likely due to her honest approach with clients.

“Clients want honesty, which is what I give them,” says Sandy, who’s the principal of One Agency Sandy Morris.

“They want to know the truth all the way through the sales process.

“I always tell my clients that it is not in my nature to tell them what they may want to hear and gloss over any risks or issues that may arise.

“Inevitably, I won’t be the agent that tells them the highest potential sale price or only gives positive feedback from open homes.”

Sandy says clients also want to use her real estate expertise to maximise their sale price and overall experience.

“I use this experience to style, market, negotiate and manage the sale process,” she says.

And, she’s become an expert in the sale process after more than 15 years in the industry, beginning her career with one of the larger agencies in town in 2000.

Following many years of working for the larger agencies, and a break in between, Sandy made the decision to join the One

Agency network in 2014 as the principal of her own agency, One Agency Sandy Morris.

“[I became an agent because] it was a good fit for my enthusiasm, interpersonal skills and my interest in housing,” she says.

“I did not really know what it would be like at the outset but have found over the years that it is perfect for me, and through my experience and care, I can help people achieve their housing needs given their particular circumstances.”

She’s been voted the “most recommended” female real estate agent in the ACT for the past three years on ratemyagent.com.au. On the same website, she’s also been voted in the top five agents in the ACT for three years and the top 50 agents in Australia at the latest RateMyAgent awards.

As well as being honest, Sandy says these accolades could be because she solves a lot of problems for her clients and she supports them through the entire sales process.

“I am extremely responsive in making sure that every conceivable issue is resolved, from the time I meet a client to potentially sell their home until well after the sale is completed,” she says.

“As a result, I have an extremely high level of great testimonials and referred clients.”

Originally, when Sandy decided to run her own business, it was to focus solely on residential sales but it soon became clear to her that there was a similar need for a boutique agent to provide an exceptional property management service too.

And when it comes to buying or selling, Sandy says the market is currently buoyant.

duty for first home buyers,” she says.

“It is a time in the market that personal

0420 380895, email sandymorris@oneagency. com.au or visit oneagencysandy.com.au

Cameron makes buying and selling homes easy

BUYING or selling properties is one of the biggest transactions of a person’s life, which is why McGrath Woden goes to great lengths to instil trust in its clients and make the process as stress free as possible, says principal Cameron Whitnall.

“When people decide to sell their property with us, my team and I are honest and transparent and provide a well laid out sales strategy and marketing plan, which gives them a clear direction of the process,” he says.

“We [also] work towards achieving the best possible price.

“Alternatively, with the buyers we understand that this is one of the biggest decisions they will make and our job is to make sure we help educate them on the process of purchasing real estate, keep them updated at all times and make sure their experience with us is smooth and stress free.”

Cameron, who has renovated and sold a few of his own properties before becoming a real estate agent, knows how big the process of selling a house can be, which is why he’s always available to his clients now that he’s an agent.

“I am always available to my clients seven days a week, morning, noon and night,” he says.

It’s something Cameron’s made a virtue

of since entering the real estate industry in 2004 with one of the top agencies in the country - McGrath Estate Agents.

At the time, he had a personal interest in real estate and was drawn towards a career in real estate after working in the building industry for many years in the ACT.

“[Starting at McGrath Estate Agents] gave me a great understanding of the real estate industry and was a wonderful place to learn,” he says.

Less than a year after starting Cameron was awarded the REIACT Rookie of the Year award in 2005 and was a finalist in the REI Australia Awards 2005 for achievement.

He then went on to open his own office with McGrath Estate Agents in 2011 and says it was the best decision he ever made and, to this day, he still loves working in real estate.

Now, after almost 20 years in real estate, Cameron specialises in established residential property (both sales and leasing) and in more recent years his passion for real estate has really shone through with Cameron placed in the “top 10” agents on ratemyagent.com.au for the last three years.

“I think it is important to instil trust with both sellers and buyers so the experience of buying and selling is exciting and also as stress free as possible,” he says.

“My team and I receive lots of testimonials from clients commenting on the ease of the experience when buying or selling and the fact that it was less stressful than they thought it was going to be.

“This comes down to constant com -

munication and servicing all their needs in a timely manner.”

Living in Canberra’s south, Cameron is a passionate advocate of the area and regards its mountain views and proximity to schools, shopping centres and transport as among the region’s most desirable attributes.

It’s where most of his business occurs but he also regularly sells houses all over the ACT and Queanbeyan region.

Cameron says his intimate knowledge of the local area and pricing trends makes him a valuable agent when it comes to represent ing the sale or purchase of a client’s most valued asset.

And now, after the release of new Federal Government incentives, Cameron says now is a good time to be purchasing property.

“Especially for first home buyers due to two recent interest rate reductions and the exemption of stamp duty for established homes which came into effect on July 1,” he says.

“Also, a typical purchaser is now eligible for 10-20 per cent more in their borrowing capacity as serviceability calculations will be conducted at 5.5-5.75 per cent, versus a previous 7-7.25 per cent.

“Due to these new government incentives we believe that there will be an increase in activity for established homes and this should create an increase in house prices throughout the second half of 2019.”

McGrath Woden, 42 Townshend Street, Phillip. Call 6124 2500 or visit mcgrath.com.au

GREAT AGENTS advertising feature

Andrew’s journey as ‘conductor’

ANDREW Thorpe, the principal of One Agency Andrew Thorpe, discovered his passion in real estate more than 12 years ago but he says it was his former careers that set him up for his success now.

For the past three years, based on customer reviews and feedback through the ratemyagent.com.au platform, One Agency Andrew Thorpe in Conder has been placed in the top 10 most recommended agents and agencies (respectively) in the ACT.

“In 2017 and 2019 over the same platform, I was the most recommended agent in the suburb of Banks,” says Andrew, who compares being a “great” real estate agent with a symphony conductor.

“I’ve heard a good real estate agent is likened to a conductor of a symphony; co-ordinating the different players to make a successful transaction a reality,” he says.

“At different points in the process, the real estate agent is a salesperson, a manager, a consultant, a negotiator, a marketer, and above all a communicator, just to name a few.

“So, I believe a person who is able to juggle all the different roles with empathy, passion, discipline and persistence will become an invaluable and a successful real estate agent, and I am able to display these in every transaction.”

But Andrew says his background in other industries has helped him juggle all

these roles now.

Looking back, Andrew says his path to becoming a real estate agent began as a newly minted school leaver doing a degree in commerce and psychology at ANU.

After two years in the degree, Andrew decided it wasn’t for him so he took a year off and worked in hospitality and retail.

He then went and studied hotel manage ment, which took him to work at hotels in the ACT and the Sunshine Coast. He says it’s also where he met his now wife.

“The job opportunities weren’t the best at the time on the Sunshine Coast, so we decided to head back to Canberra [and] it was at this point I chose to get out of hospitality,” he says.

“I had an uncle and aunt who were in real estate in Hobart, and formerly in hospitality, so I thought that my skills might transpose well in the real estate industry based on their success,” he says.

“I contacted an old school friend of mine who had just taken on the Peter Blackshaw Real Estate Office in Tuggeranong and the rest, as they say, is history.”

Andrew thrived in the competitive environment of real estate and loved helping people achieve their goals so he decided to establish One Agency Andrew Thorpe in 2015, a year after joining the One Agency team.

For the past 12 years Andrew has built an impressive sales record and says his solid sales background and commitment to building strong relationships has meant that

real estate

coming new clients, especially now during a time which is often seen as an undervalued time to sell. “Winter is often under-rated as a selling season,” Andrew says.

“The fact that many competing home sellers hold their properties for the spring often creates a shortage of stock on the market during winter.

“With stock tightening more than demand during these months, there are clear advantages to the winter property sellers.”

Andrew says there have also been some positive boosts for the real estate market in the past month with the ACT First Home Buyer Stamp Duty Concession being brought in on established dwellings (see terms and conditions for this), interest rate cuts (lowest on record), and easing of lending criteria after the banking royal commission.

Andrew Thorpe… “I’ve heard a good real estate agent is likened to a conductor of a symphony; co-ordinating the different players to make a successful transaction a reality.”

more than 50 per cent of his clients come from referrals.

“I’m a firm believer that customer experience impacts all areas of my business and with a lot of negative stereotypes around our industry [that we deliver poor customer service], I think if you want to stand out, you need to rethink how you treat your customers,” he says.

“I aim to build a great rapport with clients, be transparent and communicate efficiently, while building enduring relationships and generating positive testimonials.”

By doing so, Andrew says he has maintained a great reputation in the community, which is reflected in his ratemyagent.com.

au feedback.

One Agency Andrew Thorpe is always wel -

Based in Tuggeranong, One Agency Andrew Thorpe tends to focus in this district although, like most agents, Andrew says he’s happy to take on listings anywhere in and around Canberra because he will always research the area and target market thoroughly before putting any property on the market.

“I guess I also thrive in the established property market as I really enjoy building relationships with the home owners and buyers, but just love selling so am open to all opportunities,” he says.

One Agency Andrew Thorpe. Call 0402 017912, 6293 9587, email andrewthorpe@oneagency. com.au or visit oneagency.com.au

GREAT AGENTS advertising feature

Nick leads real estate in Canberra’s inner south

BASED in Kingston, the sales director of Purnell Citywide Real Estate, Nick Purnell, is leading his peers in the area.

According to ratemyagent.com.au, Nick was named the RateMyAgent Agent of the Year for Barton and Kingston in 2018 and then again in Kingston this year.

“With the agency being established in Kingston and having been born and bred in the area, I’ve naturally gravitated to specialising in the inner south,” Nick says.

“Focusing on a set area allows me to meet buyers and match them to properties I have on the market or ones I know are coming up which can facilitate a seamless purchase for both parties (potentially without the need for advertising).

“Having said that, I have had the privilege of selling houses outside the inner south and our property management portfolio covers most of Canberra.”

Nick, who’s been a real estate agent for almost 10 years, says Purnell Citywide Real Estate was established in 1987 by his parents, so it seemed a natural fit for him to go into real estate after finishing high school.

“Often my school holidays were spent walking around properties or watching dad renovate homes,” he says.

“I think subliminally this is where my love of property came from.”

In 2015, Nick took a year off to work for Bloc, a top-quality local building company, following the completion of his building degree.

“Bloc was an invaluable experience because it gave me an in-depth knowledge of the building process and the ability to identify quality building in Canberra,” he says.

And while it was invaluable, it also made Nick realise that his heart was in real estate, so he decided to go back to his family’s roots, saying the family business was what he wanted to do long term.

“My priority is making sure the legacy of the agency continues into the future,” Nick says.

“I think some agents forget we work in a service-based industry. People come to us to sell their homes and they choose us because of the perceived service they are going to get, and I aim to exceed those expectations.

“Purnell Citywide, as a boutique agency, has focused on personalised service since 1987.

“I am committed to ensuring that both buyer and seller are happy with the result.

“I believe that any given sale should not be looked at in isolation, rather it is an opportunity to build an ongoing relationship with my clients that will span across purchases of future homes.”

And, Nick says, the professional property management team at Purnell Citywide comprises more than 100 years’ experience, which means it can go on to provide property management services for investment properties and build relationships with its clients across every facet of the business.

Nick’s personal approach as a real estate agent is all about being responsive, approachable, professional and knowing the market.

“If someone has [made an inquiry] on a property, then it’s my responsibility to engage

with them straight away so their communication is acknowledged quickly, that their experience with me as an agent is a positive one,” he says.

“This ability to not really ‘switch off’ is something that my girlfriend hates but I am sure it’s something that my clients like.

“I also believe my background in building and construction and strong local knowledge of the history of the area allows me to provide my clients with additional expertise on their purchases and adds to their overall feeling of confidence in their purchase.”

According to Nick there’s no better feeling than helping people make one of the biggest purchases they will ever make, be that a home they may one day raise a family in or an investment property.

“It’s a big responsibility and not something I take lightly,” he says.

Looking at the near future of real estate, with clearance rates showing signs of positivity, Nick predicts the Australian market should see a strong spring season where prices start to move again.

“I have seen a change in the market postelection and since the start of the financial year,” he says.

“There is a definitely a growing confidence with buyers and the changes to the stamp duty concession on established properties means I have been meeting more first home buyers.”

Purnell Citywide Real Estate, Shop 2, 44-46 Giles Street, Kingston. Call 0401 043142, email nicholas@purnellcitywide.com.au or visit purnellcitywide.com.au

SCENE / around canberra

At the launch of Harry Hartog’s ANU bookshop At the ‘Long Way Around’ opening, Acton

COME DANCING

Get moving for fun, friendship and health

WITH so many diverse dance classes and programs in the ACT, everyone is bound to find a style that suits them best.

From ballroom to hip-hop to highland dancing, Canberra even has classes for people who are living with neurological or physical conditions. But no matter why people decide to take up dance, a common theme between all styles is how it gives students an outlet to be creative, expressive, make friends and have fun!

Program aims to help wellbeing

BELCONNEN Arts Centre’s “Dance for Wellbeing” program aims to improve the quality of life for people living with neurological or physical conditions, says program coordinator Philip Piggin.

The program offers classes such as “Offbeat”, for people with Parkinson’s, “Vivacity”, for people with dementia and “Ricochet”, for all people, including people with multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, chronic fatigue and arthritis.

“The benefits of [these classes] are multi-layered and have an impact on participants physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally,” Philip says.

“The programs provide a quality of life experience in a world that can be increasingly compromised because of their condition.

“Within the class there is freedom, encouragement, friendship, exercise and laughter.

“Participants are treated as dancers not patients and for the duration of the class they are not defined

by their respective conditions, which otherwise can dominate their life.”

Held weekly at Belconnen Arts Centre and in Gordon at Uniting Amala, Philip says the classes are accessible to everybody regardless of age, mobility and experience, and they offer a unique way to improve quality of life and form significant bonds.

He also says there is research indicating that programs like “Dance for Wellbeing” have the potential to slow the progression of different conditions, and that there is evidence suggesting these types of classes are a cost-effective way of helping to keep members of the community happy and independent.

Dance For Wellbeing program at Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen. Call 6173 3300, email info@belconnenartscentre.com.au or visit belconnenartscentre.com.au

Dale’s classes make moving fun

TEACHING a range of classic dance styles, Dale’s Ballroom Dancing offers a fun way to get fit, socialise and compete in a friendly environment, says owner Dale Harris.

“You don’t realise how much exercise you’re doing, you’re constantly on the move,” she says.

Dale, who loves seeing her students having fun and improving in her classes, teaches styles such as the 10 traditional ballroom dances: waltz, tango, foxtrot, quickstep, Viennese waltz, cha cha, samba, jive, rumba and paso doble.

“We do adults’ classes on Wednesdays from 8pm to 10pm and on Thursdays we have kids’ classes at 6pm, then social dances at 7pm,” she says.

Backed by more than 20 years’ experience teaching dance, Dale started dancing even earlier, at the age

of 6, when she developed an interest in ballroom dancing.

She’s since received many qualifications in ballroom dancing and is also a championship adjudicator who travels interstate to judge ballroom competitions.

And while it’s not compulsory, Dale says her students have a chance to compete and loves seeing them receive medals for their achievements.

“I enjoy seeing the looks on the kids’ faces when they get their medals,” she says.

But, she says she also loves to see them having a great time and enjoying the classes.

Dale’s Ballroom Dancing, 245 Colishaw Street, Greenway. Call 6296 4009, email dale_harris@bigpond.com.au or visit dalesballroomdancing.com

Leena says it didn’t take long for the eclectic dance project, which combines streetdance, hip-hop and funk, to grow, with the program doubling by the second term.

Now, having tapped into a niche in the Canberra dance scene, Leena says Fresh Funk has about 300 students a week in the program, which is for all ages and skill levels, and helps dancers hone their talent for both personal enjoyment and also on a professional level.

“Fresh Funk stands out because we use music that has meaning,” she says.

“What’s lovely is you incorporate your ideas and explore something special.

“There’s a level of self expression and creativity in the way that we frame and create

“We really focus on creativity and we’ve [since helped] develop some special dance artists from the program.

“[And] for those who want, there are professional pathways to follow and/or [an] initiative to explore choreography.”

Leena says top dancers and tutors in the program also do international trips to train, compete and learn.

But, no matter what a student wants to get out of the program, Leena says the emphasis is always on the creative aspect of dance, saying the Fresh Funk program is ultimately an outlet for young people and their ideas.

Fresh Funk dance program at Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 137 Reed St, Greenway, Tuggeranong. Call 6293 1443, email info@tuggeranongarts.com or visit tuggeranongarts.com

The pipes are calling

NOW taking on new students for term 3, the Canberra Highland Dancing Academy in Acton wants to share its love of dancing with the local community, says teacher Alison Dell.

“Our aim is to increase the number of people having fun and making new friends through highland dancing, both as competitors and performers,” Alison says.

With a combined 60 years’ experience, Alison says the teachers are all fully qualified from institutions which are recognised in Scotland, where highland dancing originated.

She says Canberra Highland Dancing Academy offers classes for students from as early as four, and offers classes to all fitness and skill levels.

If students want to dance competitively, she says there are opportunities to compete throughout Canberra and Sydney.

“Competing and learning dances is brilliant for fitness and fun but the lifelong friendships that are formed through highland dancing are the most rewarding part,” she says.

“We want to help people build great exercise and dancing habits that have a lifelong positive impact.

“The most rewarding thing about dancing is the places you go, the people you meet, and the friends you make.

“We are also the only dancing school in the Canberra region to offer Highland Hustle, a workout that combines highland dancing movements with cardio exercise.”

Canberra Highland Dancing Academy, Kingsley Street, Acton. Email canberrahda@gmail.com

PROFESSIONAL, FUN TUITION IN Ballroom Dancing

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

‘X’ marks the dining spot

WENDY JOHNSON

Piano star plays second fiddle to opera singers

By Helen MUSA

“THEY don’t call it ‘accompanying’ any more, they call it collaborative piano playing,” says Australian star pianist Jayson Gillham as he talks about his impending performance in Canberra, where he will play with husband-and-wife opera stars soprano Nicole Car and French baritone Etienne Dupuis.

“I don’t mind what you call it,” he says.

“It’s about the way things come together – it’s its own thing… I wanted to see what the difference was working with singers, so it really is a collaborative partnership.”

Queensland-born Gillham is a rising luminary on the classical concert platform, so it seems a little unusual to have him perform in this supportive way.

Accompanying, he believes, is a specialised art, with which he’s had “just a little bit of experience… I played for a couple of song cycles at Wigmore Hall and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but it’s something I haven’t done for a few years.”

“It’s a very subtle art,” he says. “You need to do everything played in a concert, you’re Conservatorium and heading to the Royal ABC Classics.

a big deal because it got on to BBC TV –

sundayROAST

Stay in touch with the names making news on Sundays from 10am as 2CC and “CityNews” present Canberra’s only local weekend news and current affairs program.

It’s a revolving panel show that brings to the microphone great “CityNews” commentators and 2CC personalities.

Be part of the conversation and call 6255 1206 between 10am and noon.

these days that’s important.”

The concert coming to Canberra will feature French and Spanish songs, arias and duets and a five-to-six minute solo by Gillham in each half, “to complement the work of Nic and Etienne and to provide a variety of experience”.

“I was invited to Paris where Nic and Etienne are living, who said: ‘Let’s get together and do some of these pieces and get used to working with each other’.”

The program claims he’ll be playing the Granados piano suite, “The Lover and the Nightingale” and some Debussy but he quickly realised the Debussy didn’t fit with the theme.

Determined to have his music complement, not fight the singers, he came up with an extended nocturne by Poulenc instead, arguing: “It’s not fast and loud, but a very intricate piece that shows what I can do in a different way.”

“I’m loving getting into this music, it’s beautiful,” he says, particularly “Invitation to a Voyage” by French composer Henri Duparc.

“It sounds like the waves, I’m like another character in his story… we’re also doing some Spanish-sounding songs but most of those are by French composers.”

Nicole Car, Jayson Gillham and Etienne Dupuis in concert, Canberra Theatre, 7.30pm, Friday, August 9. Book at canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Until 2 November 2019

Explore stories of activism that have taken place in Canberra over the last century. Canberra has a special relationship with activism. As the national capital of Australia, it is not only the location of protest on local issues, but also the site of national and international protest. No matter whether it’s big and dramatic, or quiet and slow, these are stories of people working for change in the Canberra community.

It’s where ‘X’ marks the spot

EAT, drink and be social. That’s what Espresso Warriors X Sugar Rush invites you to do at its new location in Woden’s busy Bradley Street dining precinct, which continues to attract the crowds for breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, desserts, after-work drinks at the bar, and more.

Don’t be confused by the “X” in the name. This establishment is a café and dessert bar rolled into one, a perfect spot to have a quick bite before or after a movie or shopping, or even after work. It’s also the perfect spot to take the kids for a tantalising treat.

The décor is as cheery as the menu. While the Sugar Rush side was tempting, we were in for a hearty breakfast so focused on Espresso Warriors.

There isn’t anything super-duper different on the breakfast menu –eggs your way ($9), avo smash ($16), classic pancakes ($15) but effort is put into producing dishes with their own unique twists.

My Mediterranean eggs ($16) hit the mark. The poached eggs were cooked just so and

$4.50, including bacon or chorizo, grilled haloumi and cured salmon). The coffee was decent (a specialty blend from coffee roasters St Ali, Melbourne) and it was service with a smile. Quality loose leaf teas are on the menu as are fresh juices, frappes and smoothies.

Espresso Warriors is one of several chain operations to open in this new, vibrant Woden precinct. It operates in more than 25 locations, primarily in NSW, and has meticulously applied its formula to Woden (the only Canberra location).

I’d love to see more local cafés in this new precinct, as opposed to the several large chains that have set up business in the area, but it is what it is.

IN THE CITY

Organ scholar bound for Britain

BRILLIANT, raised organist Jonathan Lee is about to head to Britain, where he has been appointed organ scholar at Hereford Cathedral. He currently holds the position of John Perrin organ scholar at Wesley Uniting Church where he will perform organ music under the title “Prelude for a Traveller” on Sunday, August 4, at 3pm. Book at trybooking.com. Proceeds and donations will support Lee’s travel to the UK.

“MACRO Organic” is a group exhibition at Tuggeranong Arts Centre curated by Karena Keys, featuring Clare Poppi, Harry Boyd, Shannon Donahue, Melinda Heal, Elisabeth Kruger, Hayley Lander, Rosalind Lemoh, Chris Sutevski and Lia Tajcner, each artist focusing on the natural world. Meantime, “Diverse Perspectives” is another exhibition highlighting the photographic explorations of teenager Josh Thurecht-Luckham. Both shows open at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre on Thursday, August 1, from 6pm and continue until

August 4.

M16 Artspace, formerly the Griffith Primary School but now a labyrinth of artists’ studios, galleries and community arts organisations such as NatureArt Lab, Canberra Art Workshop, Hands-On Studio, the Artists Society of Canberra and studioMAP, is holding its annual Open Studio, accompanied by bubbly, beer and jazz by Tilt Trio at 21 Blaxland Crescent, from 11am on Saturday, August 3.

THE Australian Haydn Ensemble performs an Australian premiere of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 in a rare chamber version arranged by W Watts for flute and string sextet, along with a flute sextet by Boccherini and Mozart’s String Quartet in D minor, at Albert Hall, 7pm, Thursday, August 8. Book at australianhaydn.com.au or at the door.

Espresso Warriors X Sugar Rush, Bradley Street, Woden. Public holiday surcharge, 10 per cent. Open seven days – Monday to Saturday, 8am10pm and Sunday, 9am-10pm.

RICHARD

what happens when historians take the leap from factual history writing to fiction. At Muse café, East Hotel, Kingston, 3pm, Sunday, July 28. Book at musecanberra.com.au

Nureyev’s tense leap to freedom

“The White Crow” (M)

IN Russian, the term “white crow” denotes somebody who doesn’t conform to the behavioural norms of the many (albino corvid birds sometimes occur in nature but, apparently, stories of them being killed by more conformist black crows are myths).

For a film telling the story of Rudolf Nureyev’s life before June 16, 1961, when he defected to the West at Le Bourget Airport, “white crow” provides a completely appropriate title.

The screenplay for director Ralph Fiennes’s film was written by noted playwright David Hare whose most recent feature screenplay was the powerful “Denial” about David Irving’s libel action against American writer Deborah Lipstadt for “Denying the Holocaust”. Seeing Hare’s name in the credits for any film rings the “sit up and take notice” bell, which it does very much so here.

You might be forgiven for conjecturing that no actor has yet been born who could play Nureyev convincingly. Oleg Ivenko does.

In his first acting role (in languages that he didn’t speak before being cast as the best-known male ballet dancer in history) Ukraine-born Ivenko dances up a fine storm as well as dealing with the restrictive controls that the KGB was imposing on the Kirov ballet company on tour in Paris.

Films about ballet tend toward romantic themes when the dancing pauses. This one unfolds in front of a totalitarian system that brooked no departure from its social rules. You might search the annals of ballet movies far and wide without success to find one with the absolute tension, not alleviated by knowing the outcome, of the morning of the defection.

The whole cast is great. The locations are dazzling. Purists might quibble over niggly little details. But the screenplay, based on the first six chapters of Julie Kavanagh’s “Rudolf Nureyev: The Life”, holds the line and delivers some great cinematic moments.

“Sink or Swim”

(M)

IN March, I gave three stars to a British film about the members of a men’s synchronised swimming team seeking emotional fulfilment by competing in a world championship.

That concept – I can’t imagine a mere two films having the clout to constitute a genre – moves east across the Channel in director Gilles Lellouche’s realisation of a feature debut screenplay by Ahmed Hamidi.

“Sink or Swim” takes rather more time to evolve, deliver its message and wind itself down than did the British “Swimming With Men”.

Its structure involves eight middle-aged blokes from a provincial city who coalesce themselves into a team, endure the rigours of an activity that few would consider to be a sport, travel to a World Championship in Norway, wonder on their return why French media have completely ignored their success then resume the hum-drummity of their previous lives a little bit wiser, a little bit more mature.

For synch-swimming fans, “Sink Or Swim” offers a small collection of moments telling about the run-up to the contest. Its moresubstantial purpose is to lay out the personal stories of its eight characters, together with their families and the two women who train them.

Movies exploring the human condition serve a worthy function but sometimes fail

to satisfy appetites craving entertainment. This is one such.

At Palace Electric

“Apollo 11” (G)

AS I write this review, the National Film and Sound Archive is memorialising the 50th anniversary of the moon landing by screening the three hours of film of the landing that NASA gave to thank CSIRO in recognition of Australia’s crucial role at Honeysuckle Creek near Tidbinbilla in receiving the signals from the mission.

That film, now in the NFSA’s permanent collection, is the only copy of that landing footage held outside the US.

While “Apollo 11” is Todd Douglas Miller’s distillation of all the known audio and visual records of the moon landing is not that longer film, it nonetheless delivers a powerful reminiscence of an event that held the world’s attention half a century ago.

It’s also a tribute to Miller’s perseverance in the editing suite, rendering an event involving many hundreds of NASA staff at Cape Canaveral and Houston into an easily digestible entertainment. It’s beautiful. It’s exciting. As well as contem porary records which have often enough been shown, it’s packed with hitherto unpublished information added during the compilation of its 93 minutes and an unobtrusive musical score.

At Dendy, Palace Electric, Hoyts Belconnen and Capitol 6

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GARDENING

In praise of mighty oak trees

IT is not often I devote my whole article to one plant. This week I was prompted to discuss English oak (Quercus robur) after the disastrous fire at Notre Dame cathedral and an item in the Royal Horticultural Society’s “The Garden”.

More than 100 UK estates have pledged oak timbers to help in the rebuilding. It is estimated the cathedral’s original roof was made of more than 1300 Quercus robur oaks. The trees in the original roof probably started growing more than 1000 years ago.

We refer to this particular oak as English and I always understood the Romans took Quercus robur to England at the time of their invasion, as they are native to the Mediterranean. However, while we still refer to Q. robur as the English oak, modern research suggests they were already growing there at least 300,000 years before humans; possibly when Britain was joined to the continent.

Boudica used oak for her army’s chariots when fighting the Romans in Britain. After the Romans defeated her armed insurrection, the Emperor Claudius placed a crown of oak leaves on Rome’s palace gable to give thanks to the gods. Charles II hid in an oak during the British Civil War to avoid capture. This event is still commemorated as Oak Apple Day on May 29.

popular pub name in Britain. The Cheshire Regiment has oak leaves as its emblem and a branch of oak is the National Emblem of France. It is the emblem of the National Trust. Henry VIII’s flagship, the “Mary Rose” – recovered from the English Channel in the 1980s – was made of English oak.

Oak is one of the hardest timbers in the world. Quercus is the Latin name for oak and robur refers to strength or hard timber. They grow for many hundreds of years with

than 1500 years old. Evidently pollarding, or hard pruning, extends the life of these trees.

Most of the roof timbers of British cathedrals and many other buildings are oak.

For example, the home where I was born in the UK is a two-storey farmhouse built in 1530 by John De Street using an oak frame. It is a heritage-listed building known as “Street Farm”.

Oaks are the most popular exotic park tree in south-east Australia, having proved their worth as a hardy, drought-tolerant tree. Their longevity here is unknown as the oldest ones are still only about 150 years old.

They have been planted here as street trees, often planted for commemorative avenues in country towns after World War I.

Watson has six streets planted with Quercus robur. They provide shade in summer, but shed their leaves in winter, allowing the sun to warm homes. Without oak trees we would not have truffles.

Jottings...

• Oaks are suitable only for large blocks.

• Oaks provide valuable shade in summer for stock.

• Quercus suber or cork oak was the source of wine corks. A cork oak plantation can be seen at the arboretum.

• Acorns are traditionally used as pig food. Farmers can still be seen collecting acorns in Canberra for this purpose.

• Quercus ilex or holm oak, the evergreen oak, can be seen in Bonney Street, Ainslie.

Joanne Madeline Moore

Your week in the stars – July 29-August 4, 2019

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Monday and Tuesday look rather shambolic, as the Sun/Uranus square disrupts your daily routine. Plus, with Mercury retrograde (until mid-week), your need for speed is seriously curtailed. Creative projects, exciting hobbies and sporting activities are favoured, but your patience will wear thin with pedantic people, frustrating family members and muddled communication. For some Rams, a rushed romance could see you jump from the frying pan into the fire!

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

Wednesday and Thursday favour home and hearth, as the New Moon highlights your domestic zone. It’s a good time to clean and de-clutter your living space or tackle an overdue DIY project. Then Venus makes a tricky aspect to Uranus, when Bulls can expect a busy and bamboozling couple of days. Relationships will be unpredictable and life will certainly speed up. You don’t work well when others try to hurry you, so have the confidence to maintain your preferred pace.

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

You’ll be walking a financial tightrope as retrograde Mercury stirs up your money zone and you’re primed for a spontaneous spending spree. But can your bank balance support what your heart desires? In order to avoid future problems, think before you spend… and think before you speak. Thank goodness Mercury (your ruling planet) goes direct on Thursday morning (London time) so communication and common sense should gradually improve as the week progresses.

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

Show me the money! You’ve been talking about saving for something big (like a car, holiday or home deposit) for a long time now. This week, with Venus, Mars and the New Moon firing up your finance zone, resist the urge to be flash with cash and careless with credit. Instead, be a canny Crab as you put your money where your mouth is and actually start saving. Plus do an inventory on your inner wealth, as you nurture your self-esteem and consolidate your core values.

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

Lightning flashes of inspiration could strike suddenly on Monday or Tuesday. But make sure you communicate clearly or there’ll be some crazy chaos along the way. On Wednesday and Thursday the New Moon lights up your sign and Mercury also turns direct. So Friday onwards is a fabulous time to initiate a pet project, refresh your physical appearance, review your personal beliefs or embark on a rollicking adventure. Don’t just dream about it – get out there and do it!

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

On Monday and Tuesday, avoid using words as weapons – or making promises that you later regret. Then the New Moon lights up your solitude zone and Mercury moves forwards in your hopes and wishes zone. So it’s time to recharge your run-down batteries and reflect on your future. Inspiration for the week comes from singer-songwriter-producer Kate Bush (who was born on July 30): “There’s an awful lot you can learn about yourself when you’re alone.”

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

This week conversations will be confusing as Uranus upsets plans and retrograde Mercury muddles your mind, which could result in the tendency to send and/ or receive mixed messages. Uranus also stirs up waves of discontent within a romance, friendship or group dynamic. So plenty of patience and diplomacy are required if you want to get things back on an even keel! The fiery New Moon reactivates a special Libran dream that’s been languishing on stand-by.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

Avoid being a stubborn and intractable Scorpio. Uranus rocks the relationship boat so listen to what a loved one is trying to tell you. The New Moon encourages you to be more independent, creative and adventurous – especially at work. If you stick to old ideas and outdated routines, then stagnation will set in (personally, professionally and romantically). But if you are open to progressive changes and communicate in positive ways, then lucky opportunities will follow.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

Hasty hubris and fiery foolishness could land you in hot water on Monday or Tuesday. So think things through before you speak, act, drive and decide! Thursday onwards looks fabulous for travel and foreign connections, as the New Moon activates your international/adventure zone and Mercury turns direct. Your motto for the week is from Meghan Markle (who was born on August 4): “Travelling gives you some perspective on what the rest of the world is like.”

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

The New Moon stimulates your intrigue zone so no secret is safe, as you uncover clues and pick up on cues that others miss. Be careful what you unearth though! With Mercury retrograde (until mid-week) you could stir up issues from your own less-than-perfect past. Lust and loot loom large, as you work through issues involving trust, intimacy, possessions or joint finances. A relationship may also feel as if it’s treading water but it’s the prelude to a promising fresh start.

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

Inconsistent and contrary… that’s you this week! Love, loyalty, companionship and compromise are the buzz words, as one half of you wants to snuggle up close with someone special. While the other half longs to be footloose, fancy-free and rebelliously independent. You’re also likely to say something totally inappropriate (especially on Monday or Tuesday). It doesn’t take long to blurt something out but it takes a lot longer to repair the damage afterwards.

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

New Moon week is the ideal time to ditch bad daily habits and start afresh. Work, health, fitness and food choices are the main areas where you need to make some long overdue changes and adjustments – the sooner the better. From Friday onwards, try to release pent up Piscean frustrations via a chat with a close confidante or a trusted family member. Spending some quality time with your favourite four-legged friend (in the great outdoors) will also help to lift your spirits. Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2019

General

Across

1 Which horse won the 2008 Melbourne Cup? (6)

8 Which North American nocturnal carnivores have bushy ringed tails? (8)

9 Name an African blood-sucking fly that can transmit parasites causing sleeping sickness. (6)

10 What is a verse sung in response? (8)

11 Which device holds boats, etc, in place? (6)

13 What is a more familiar term for a nark? (8)

16 Name the negatively charged particle of an atom. (8)

19 Which climatic event includes global warming? (2,4)

22 Name another term for a telephonist. (8)

24 Which part of speech is used to modify another part of speech? (6)

25 Which term describes that which is necessary to the completeness of the whole? (8)

26 What is the metallic element with the symbol Ag, and the atomic number 47? (6)

Down

2 Name the Norwegian dramatist famous for “A Doll’s House”, Henrik ... (5)

3 What is a small portable timepiece? (5)

4 To be more gloomy, is to be what? (8)

5 What is one’s share of a payment? (4)

6 Which metallic element has the symbol Cu and the atomic number 29? (6)

7 Name another term for revenue, receipts, etc. (6)

12 Who was the US jazz and pop singer Nat “King”... ? (4)

14 Which ceremonies are connected with the disposition of bodies of dead persons? (8)

15 What, in the Bible, were the three wise men called? (4)

17 Which word implies a relationship to the wolf? (6)

18 What is a collusive syndicate more readily known as? (6)

20 What is a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length? (5)

21 Which person takes care of the sick or infirm? (5)

23 What is the weight of a vehicle without cargo, passengers, etc? (4)

Sudoku hard No. 247

ASK QUESTIONS AND BUY SAFELY OFF THE PLAN

Buyers looking at purchasing off-the-plan need to fully inform themselves, as there are multiple versions of plans up until settlement.

The first stage of “concept selling” means plans are not approved yet, and you should not exchange until you see the ACTPLA redstamped approval plans. I’ve seen side-by-side double car parks turn into tandem parking, balconies shrink and floor heights alter after approval.

With the ACTPLA red-approval stamp, you are buying off-the-plan. You should get a definite lock-in of your car-park and storage location. Buyers can find it is different at move-in time, with another buyer allocated their spot, because it wasn’t locked in at exchange. An “x” on a plan by an agent is not locked in.

The final set of plans appear in the fortnight before settlement – the Unit Title Plans –instigating the Certificate of Completion/ Occupancy. Individual measurements will change from what you saw at off-the-plan, as the Unit Title Plans accurately measure gyprock to gyprock.

For one of my sales, a 55-square-metre, one bedroom unit with a 23 square-metre courtyard off-the-plan morphed into 46 square metres with a 16 square-metre courtyard, causing loan and insurance problems (under 50 square metres is problematic). Please ask your solicitor to give you guidance on the 5 per cent variation clause.

With body corporate fees, cheap is not good. When there is not enough money in the sinking fund at Year 5 to do anticipated work, a Special Levy Notice is issued to owners to top up the funds, which can be catastrophic to your budget.

Buy safe and ask lots of questions.