CityNews 191121

Rapacious land agency fails again

JON STANHOPE

Hospital promises hurt the locals

PAUL COSTIGAN

Urban trees won’t bring firestorms

CRIS BRACK

NEWS / medical cannabis Dope laws distract from cannabis help

Medicinal cannabis lobby group LeafCann is imploring the ACT government not to enact its grow-at-home cannabis legislation until the territory’s doctors are better supported to prescribe the medical form, reports DANIELLE NOHRA.

WHILE Canberra’s Labor/Greens government has been focused on the legalisation of cannabis, advocate for medicinal cannabis Elisabetta Faenza says the current political debate is an unwanted distraction for people seeking to use cannabis as a treatment for their health conditions.

Elisabetta is the CEO of LeafCann, an organisation built on doing research and giving advice around cannabis.

While she understands the ACT government’s desire to minimise harm through the legalisation of cannabis, she says the more pressing issue is access to already legal medicinal cannabis within the ACT.

“At present the ACT has one of the lowest levels of medicinal cannabis prescription due to a lack of medical practitioner education and confidence prescribing,” she says.

“In contrast, the Queensland government has turned around prescribing by making it easier for doctors to gain state government approval of their prescriptions once approved by the TGA and creating a climate where medicinal cannabis is supported by both primary and second-

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Canberra Matters 6

Cinema 34

Crossword 32

Dining 34

Gardening

ary health care. This has led to greater numbers of physicians prescribing.

“NSW and Victoria have also streamlined approvals and as a result we have seen increasing approvals.”

Elisabetta says the ACT government could create a program to assist GPs to become authorised prescribers, educate hospital and hospice staff about medicinal cannabis, fund clinical research and assist patients with the cost of these medications, which because most are imported at present they are too expensive, due to the many costs imposed by middle-men.

“Harm minimisation should always be driven by evidence and expertise, and not be a political football,” she says.

“The evidence does support decriminalisation/personal use legalisation, however experience in other parts of the world show that if this is done before medicinal cannabis is well established, patients suffer. This needs to be a coordinated, well-thought out, roll-out of legislation.

“The risk to the ACT is that legalising recreational use and possession without improving medicinal cannabis access and

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16-17 Cover: “Canberra CityNews” Artist of the Year Michael Dooley. Photo: Holly Treadaway. Story Page 33.

prescribing may lead people to self-medicate with home-grown cannabis, which is far from optimal for patient outcomes and the development of robust data around medicinal cannabis use and outcomes.”

Elisabetta, 54, became aware of the medicinal benefits of cannabis (which doesn’t include smoking it) after a long history of personal health issues, starting during her childhood in Queanbeyan.

“I had four strokes when I was 11, I had every childhood disease multiple times, I had chickenpox six times, I constantly had bronchitis and was in and out of hospital as a young child,” says

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Elisabetta, who has a rare neurocristopathy disorder.

“One of the things I didn’t realise was that I was producing endocannabinoids in my body all the time and my body doesn’t break them down, which is one of the reasons I survived all those strokes,” says Elisabetta, who has had four more strokes as an adult, wasn’t expected to make it to school age, but because of the endocannabinoids, she was healing better and faster than doctors could predict.

“Once I discovered that this was what had helped me to recover from the strokes, I started doing a lot of digging into endocannabinoids and what they do,” she says.

“Some scientists believe that many chronic and acute conditions are caused or made worse by a deficiency in endocannabinoids.

“What cannabis does, is it allows the body to come into balance.”

But when Elisabetta is referring to cannabis, she’s not talking about smoking it and says when it’s administered in the medical form, it’s generally prescribed as a drop or a capsule.

“While smoking is easy for users, it comes with a number of issues, the foremost being the decades-long push to reduce tobacco-smoking rates,” she says.

“Few users smoke pure cannabis and tend to dilute it with tobacco, which then works against public health campaigns to reduce smoking.”

WHEN IT MATTERS

Parks win flags

TWO Queanbeyan parks have achieved national and international recognition at the recent Parks and Leisure Australia National Awards of Excellence.

Queanbeyan Park, pictured, and Queen Elizabeth II Park have joined only eight other parks from across Australia to have been awarded Green Flags.

The Green Flag Award is a nonprofit international accreditation scheme that recognises and rewards well managed parks and green spaces. Originating in England in 1996, today the Green Flag Award flies above more than 2000 places in more than 15 countries around the world.

Masked lunch

WESTON Creek VIEW Club is holding a “friendly” masked luncheon and a Venetian fashion parade to celebrate Christmas at its next monthly meeting of the Canberra Southern Cross Club, Woden, 11.30am, Tuesday, December 3. Visitors and interested ladies are welcome. RSVP to 6286 4626 by 5pm, Thursday, November 28.

Chief Minister takes the time

IT’S been a big week on a personal level for our Chief Minister. Andrew Barr married his partner of 20 years Anthony Toms in Newcastle, Anthony’s home town.

Barr announced the “small family” event on Twitter: “Anthony and I married yesterday on our 20th anniversary and 10th anniversary of our civil partnership”. Barr also thanked family and friends for “love and support”, and the “7.8 million Australians (and especially the 175,000 Canberrans) who voted ‘yes’ to marriage equality”.

CANBERRA businessman Terry Snow won’t lose sleep over slipping down the latest “Australian Business Review’s” Australia’s Richest 250 list. The executive chairman of the Canberra Property Group remains in

the rarified airspace of the list’s top quarter holding #57 with an estimated pile of $1.52 billion after being rated #52 last year. The attached “ABR” blurb says Snow “sold his Capital Property Trust in 1996 and two years later bought Canberra Airport from the Federal government for $65 million in one of the country’s shrewdest property deals”.

HIGH Visibility Policing took on new meaning after a picture was posted on social media of AFP officers conducting an opera tion dressed as tradies. The picture showed three men, fresh from Seears Workwear, surrounding a vehicle in the city. The post quickly amassed more than 500 comments ranging from the “neatness” of the faux tradies to the ethical issue of entrapment. A later police statement said the operation was “sweet as” and “too easy”.

THE Canberra Bubble hasn’t escaped the out-of-control bushfire blame game currently spreading across the nation. “The Australian’s” Alice Workman reported: “It might surprise taxpayers to learn they forked out roughly $559,897 to water Parliament House in the 2018-19 financial year.

“The stark contrast between red dirt and evergreen grass (mowed in a striped pattern and soaked by sprinklers) is often a shock to tourists who have driven through the drought-ravaged bush to get to our nation’s capital.

“Given the people’s house is literally built into a hill, that’s a lot of lawn to keep luscious for our Federal politicians”.

has succumbed to throat cancer. Better known as “Fordo” or “Jack”, the 75-year-old died surrounded by family. But there was one “family” member missing, the first player Fordo managed and often referred to as his “third son”, Ricky Stuart . The “Sydney Morning Herald’s” Andrew Webster tells how when it was clear Stuart, driving from Canberra to say goodbye, wasn’t going to make it, Fordo’s son Nick put him on speaker phone.“They spoke for a few minutes, he was able to say goodbye, it was a highly emotional call,” reports Webster.

ment House’s iconic roof to make a political point: pack a toothbrush and a sleeping bag. A 63-year-old man will face the ACT Magistrates Court next month after climbing to the crest of the building, unfurling a “Free Assange” banner and threatening not to come down until the WikiLeaks founder was freed from a British prison. He reportedly

asked onlookers to send up a sleeping bag, but after several minutes ended the protest and surrendered to police.

A FRESH safety campaign around light rail has been released. Transport Minister Chris Steel has posted Transport Canberra dash-cam footage featuring examples of careless and cavalier behaviour near trams. The latest video shows all the usual close calls with several examples of people using the tramline as a foot/bike path.

MEANTIME, a Gungahlin man has crunched the numbers and detailed what we could have done with the money expended on the project. Working with the “official” government costings of $872 million our armchair economist calculates every second house in Canberra could get a new, four-cylinder car. And all Canberra’s 1500 homeless people could have a fully furnished, three-bedroom unit with enough left over for another 500 units. These figures are not fact checked.

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CANBERRA MATTERS

The changing hospital promise hurts the locals

FIRST the good news. The ACT government is committed to adding overdue facilities to the Woden Valley Hospital.

This is the Surgical Procedures, Interventional Radiology and Emergency (SPIRE) Centre. The proposal was a flagship 2016 election promise made to outbid the ACT Liberals. It worked. But fundamental costings and planning details were missing (anyone surprised?).

The centre was to be located on the north-western edge on the corner of Kitchener Street and Yamba Drive and included a helipad. Unfortunately, as is the case so often for this government, things didn’t work out.

Two years later, reality checks on the chosen site highlighted the lack of appropriate planning and unforeseen costs. But it was an election promise, so another political decision was taken in December. Still no planning and consulta-

The location was moved to the eastern edge, between Hospital Road and Palmer Street, near the

The patronising answers coming from the Chief Minister and the current Health Minister (the school was always next to the hospital – the residents are being precious) do not help.

corner with Gilmore Street. Again, it included a rooftop helipad because it needs to be atop the same building as the emergency centre. These changes meant that the project timelines were put back years and it will be lucky if anything is commenced by the 2020 election. Lack of planning?

Meanwhile, another reality. In making the decision to move, little importance was placed on the obvious fact that the facility would now be on a suburban street.

The school, children and parents and residents will now share their street with the main entrance for ambulances and service deliveries. This part of Garran, including the school, already shares the space with the back of some hospital buildings and is somewhat affected by the helicopters landing on the north-western side of the hospital complex.

It is seriously impacted by the overflow parking from the hospital –especially when parents are dropping

off and picking up children.

Figures obtained by the local residents under Freedom of Information indicate the number of ambulances arriving at the present hospital in 2018 was 19,649 (average 26 a day) with 358 helicopter landings. Given the increase in usage after SPIRE opens, the data indicates that there could be a 50 per cent increase in ambulances fairly quickly – meaning possibly one every nine minutes with possibly three helicopters hovering, landing and taking off every day.

These figures indicate the impact on the school and its access to the street along with the changes to the lifestyle of residents nearby. Everyone in Canberra knows the scene outside a local school at pick up and set down times. For Garran, add the impact of the streets choked with parking from the hospital. Now add to that ambulances arriving with sirens and the occasional helicopter appearing overhead. And while those flying machines are absolutely necessary, they are very noisy when landing and taking off. You stop what you are doing, your windows rattle and you just wait. Best of luck if you are teaching

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or guiding children across a busy street or trying to sleep at night.

now look out at a fence line, with mature trees as a buffer, and through them to the back of buildings. This scene will change to become a main entrance of a tall complex and the introduction of arriving and depart ing traffic, including ambulances, from the emergency entrance.

from the Chief Minister and the current Health Minister (the school was always next to the hospital –the residents are being precious) do not help.

Woden Valley residents, including those from Garran, know that with proper planning and real consultations and community decisions. Is there the will to do so?

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Family begs Police Minister for murder update

FRUSTRATED by the silence from Canberra’s police, Liz Mikita, the daughter of Irma Palasics, a woman murdered in McKellar 20 years ago, is now calling on Police Minister Mick Gentleman to intervene.

Despite the 20th anniversary of her mother’s “horrendous” death and despite media attention, including a story published by “CityNews” on October 31, Ms Mikita says the last contact she’s had from police was years ago.

Left without any other options, Ms Mikita has written an open letter to Mr Gentleman, pleading for him to provide her and her family with an update on the case.

In her letter she describes herself as “nauseated and abjectly disappointed by the inaction of the police” and “despondent about the inability and inaction of the police to get these scum off the streets.”

She’s also pleading for Mr Gentleman to let police do the job they’re passionate about by taking away any constraints stopping them from doing so.

Ms Mikita even offered to pay for phenotyping, which could be used to produce an image of the killer with DNA from the crime scene, but was again answered with silence.

In the letter to Mr Gentleman, Ms Mikita says: “My son has put up signs across Canberra, handed out flyers and done extensive media in an attempt to generate information to solve this crime. Despite this activity, especially in the last week, the last contact from the police was years ago. “I’m sick of hearing that there are staff shortages, the budget isn’t enough and there aren’t enough clues. I don’t believe that these two scumbags were that brilliant that they didn’t leave something behind to incriminate them.

“It galls me that the family and media are keeping this case alive, but with no help from the police.

“I think it is about time that victims of crime were afforded the decency of communication. As Minister, I wish that you would empower the police to

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Below: Irma and Gregor Palasics… “Dad was destroyed – he was beaten and witnessed his wife get murdered.”

do their job they are passionate about.

“My husband and I are getting closer to my parents’ age and are powerfully aware of so much more life they could have lived. We have lived in a cocoon of disbelief and disavowal but daily actions constantly remind us of what happened.

“Dad was destroyed – he was beaten and witnessed his wife get murdered. I still can’t believe how he lived with that night for nearly five years. I often see the act of them being bashed senseless and feeling their pain and their disbelief that this could happen in their own home.

“I still am constantly reminded of what my father said. He said that as he and mum lay there in agony and terror, battered and bleeding, these two scumbags laughed and joked as

they ransacked their home. The way things have progressed over the years, I can see them having the last laugh, laughing at the expense of the police’s inability to catch them.

“To that end, I owe it to my parents that I bring this to a finality one way

or another before I die. But to do that, I need the help of the police force and anyone in the community brave enough to bring these perpetrators to justice. As the Minister for Police, I ask that you provide us with an update on this case.”

OPINION / suburban land agency

Prices up, but rapacious land agency fails again

HANDS up if you’ve read the 2018-19 Suburban Land Agency (SLA) annual report.

I thought as much. The lack of interest in the SLA, despite its importance to and impact on our city, was confirmed by a story I was recently told about a trivia night fund-raising event at which one of the questions was: “Name a member of the board of the SLA?” You guessed right, not a single person in the room could answer the question.

To be fair, the follow up question (for a bonus point) was: “Name the ACT Minister for Housing.” The question apparently caused a near riot when the answer was revealed because half the room, having decided that it was a trick question, answered that there wasn’t one while the other half nominated Nick Georgalis, principal of Geocon, convinced that it had to be him on the basis he seems to be the only person in Canberra building housing and who understands what is going on.

Life is, of course, short and I agree that reading ACT government annual reports doesn’t do much to enhance its quality.

My colleague Khalid Ahmed and I have, selflessly, read the SLA annual report (both of us probably do need to get a life) and I am happy to provide the following summary of what it revealed to us.

In short, the SLA did not meet any

Working-class families, people working in the services sector and others in the bottom two income quintiles simply cannot afford to pay the exorbitant land prices being demanded by the government.

of its targets for land revenue, operating profit, dividend and total returns to the territory, for the year. This is now the second year in a row that the SLA has comprehensively failed to meet its targets.

Revenue from land sales was $484 million which is 31 per cent below the budget target of $701 million. The SLA operating surplus was $191 million or 17 per cent below the budget estimate of $229 million. The SLA’s total returns to the territory were $377 million against a target of $503 million, a shortfall of 25 per cent.

In seeking to explain its poor financial performance the SLA blames, among other things, lower land sales volumes and general market conditions and points to changing housing demand preferences from buyers (from freestanding housing to apartments and townhouses).

The SLA also seeks to make much of the fact that as at June 30 there were 600 blocks of land available for purchase from SLA estates.

Regarding the claim that there has been a dramatic change in housing choice or preference from standalone

dwellings to flats and apartments, I challenge the SLA to produce the evidence that supports that claim.

The only statistically significant research done on the issue in the last decade was the major 2015 survey and report undertaken on the government’s behalf by Winton Sustainable Research Strategies, which found that standalone housing was the first preference of 85 per cent of Canberrans. There is no extant evidence to challenge the central thrust of that report.

The indisputable reason for there being unsold land available for purchase from the SLA is that it is out of the reach of half the residents of Canberra. Working-class families, people working in the services sector and others in the bottom two income quintiles simply cannot afford to pay the exorbitant prices being demanded by the government.

A search of the SLA website in October revealed that the lowest priced land currently available in Canberra, over the counter, is $295,000 or $865 per square metre, for a 341 squaremetre block in Taylor.

Using standard housing industry

calculators of the cost of housing construction in Canberra, the low-end estimate for purchasing this block and constructing a modest three-bedroom house on it would be $550,000.

On the basis of generally accepted criteria of severely unaffordable houseprice-to-income ratios, the price of this land/house package would be beyond all households in the bottom two income quintiles and perhaps half of those in the third quintile. In other words, half the families living in Canberra, and not in the housing market, could not afford to buy and build on the cheapest block of land currently offered for sale by the ACT government. To be honest, they could probably not even save enough for the deposit.

It is instructive to compare the 2018-19 and 2017-18 actual financial and other results of the SLA.

For instance, despite not meeting any of its financial targets, the SLA’s revenue from land sales was 24 per cent higher in 2018-19 and its operating surplus increased by 18 per cent. The increase in revenue was achieved even though the SLA sold 25 per cent, or 999 dwelling sites, less in 2018-19 than it sold in 2017-18.

Let me repeat that: in 2018-19 the

SLA, the ACT government’s monopoly land supplier, reduced the amount of land it sold for housing by 25 per cent but increased its revenue from land sales by 24 per cent.

PS: The SLA annual report contains the West Belconnen Joint Venture (Ginninderry) Financial Statements. If you suffer from insomnia, this is the chapter for you unless, like me, you have an inquiring mind and can’t rest when confronted by a conundrum such as presented by the following sentence in paragraph (o) on page 164 of the report viz: “Up until June 2018 the Suburban Land Agency provided an unsecured loan to the Joint Venture…” Now, what possible reason would the ACT government or a minister have had for granting an unsecured loan to a private land development company?

Jon Stanhope was chief minister from 2001 to 2011 and represented Ginninderra for the Labor Party from 1998. He is the only chief minister to have governed with a majority in the Assembly.

Each month I’ll be holding catch-ups around the electorate and would love to see you there.

O’Connor Coffee Catch-Up The Duxton, O’Connor Shops 10:00-11:00am, Saturday 30 November

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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.

Majura Park Street Stall Woolworths entrance, Majura Park 10:00-11:00am, Saturday 14 December

9:30-10:30am, Thursday 12 December Or otherwise, feel free to contact me anytime at alicia.payne.mp@aph.gov.au or 6277 4168.

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.

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Birthday looms for the spooky ‘Carwoola’ church

ALONG a winding road on Canberra’s outskirts, made lonelier as dusk descends, the Victorian Gothic church sits hidden behind towering pines and hedges, its steeple just visible through the swaying branches.

Adding much to the air of mystique of St Thomas the Apostle Anglican Church is its graveyard. And on stepping within its consecrated bounds, the ghosts of its long past are palpable – from the stained-glass window, featuring the likeness of a lost local soldier, to at least one parishioner who, after almost a century, remains.

A building “greatly longed for”, it was welcomed on a Sunday 145 years ago. Set between Queanbeyan and Captains Flat, in the “well-grassed, undulating country” of the river plain of the Molonglo, it’s part of one of the oldest and once most impressive landholdings in the region, “Carwoola”.

First known as “Carrowillah”, Aboriginal for “where the water meets the plain”, it was the domain of Irish immigrant Thomas Rutledge. He’d become the squire in the 1840s on purchasing it from his older brother, William, who in 1837 acquired portions from Edward John Eyre before he set off to explore the greater continent. The Rutledges came to be landed gentry, Tom greatly expanding

his empire to encompass as much as 36,500 hectares all told.

In keeping up with the Joneses – or at least the most influential landholders on the Limestone Plains, the Campbells of Duntroon – Tom graced his station with an impressive Georgian mansion and a small village for his employees.

Accordingly, along with the land, Tom also provided most of the funds for a church, reminiscent of the Campbells’ St John’s, blessed in 1845.

The foundation stone of St Thomas was laid two decades later, but another seven years would pass before construction began in 1872.

Much put out by the delay was its designer: son of a Portuguese knight, Parisian-trained engineer and rector of the Queanbeyan parish, the reverend Alberto Dias Soares.

The clergyman’s sixth such commission – he’d be responsible for some 30 throughout NSW – it was built over two years, using the nearby coppery-tinged stone. With its octagonal tower, belfry, buttresses and carved dripstones keeping the rain from its numerous ornamental windows, it added further grandeur to the essentially solitary surrounds.

Killed on the Western Front in 1917, Jim Maslin, the 21-year-old son of JF Maslin, “Carwoola’s” owner from 1907, is reflected for eternity in stained glass. There’s also said to have been a

www.facebook/ weberscircusspectacular

World War I honour roll featuring an illustration of “ghostly images of the fallen above the altar whilst a church service is being held”. This seems to have mysteriously disappeared.

Well before St Thomas came into being, it’s believed there was already a burial ground, unusual in a number of respects.

Some sources suggest the earliest interment there was the original Molonglo pioneer and former convict, Owen Bowen, in 1840. Despite his prominence, his is an unmarked grave – one of 242 of a similar nature (at least, those known). Ornate

headstones, iron fences and plaques for more than 160 others are also to be found there.

The church itself though, wasn’t consecrated – that is, “set aside in service of God” – until 1876, suggesting the possibility that the final resting place was unsanctified for more than 30 years. Nonetheless, it was deemed suitable to add a site of worship beside it (rather than the other way around).

Equally outside the norm (according to the Australian Museum’s exhibition, “Death: the last taboo”), the local heritage register notes it’s still possible for people to be buried in the graveyard.

One who lies within is Franc (Bert) Falkiner, “world famous stud sheep breeder” and owner of nearby “Foxlow” from 1920. On his death nine years later, it was recorded in the “Sydney Morning Herald”, that as his cortege passed along the road, in the adjoining field, 13 horses, “as if they had an intuitive knowledge that they were following their master for the last time, formed into a line and for several miles cantered in regular formation alongside the procession”.

Four years on, the ashes of D’arcy Osborne (one of the previous owners

of “Foxlow”), “were sealed in a niche under the framework [of a window of memory]”. According to “The Canberra Times”, the “unusual method of remembrance [was] the first of its kind in the district” – and making his place within, everlasting.

There’s also many a tale told by those who’ve long resided in the area of the tombstones of St Thomas glowing on moonless nights, shadowy figures apparently seen moving in their midst, and even an unknown horseman claimed to silently gallop past its entranceway.

Perhaps it’s Thomas, either the man who built this now heritage treasure, or the saint for whom it’s named, continuing to overlook our own Sleepy Hollow.

There’ll be an anniversary thanksgiving service, 9am, on November 24 followed by a bush band, country fair and tours of the church and cemetery. For more of its story, anover allview.wixsite. com/blog

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Mean government lauds it over disabled

JUST how mean can the government be in dealing with people with a disability?

Debate in the Senate over the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) highlighted a wide range of flaws and challenges that need to be addressed. Is the government streamlining an “improved governance” system to improve the lot of people with a disability? Or is it about efficiency and saving money?

The real vulnerability of the government is the underspend on the Budget by $4.6 billion! An underspend is helpful if the priority is a Budget into surplus. However, when people with disabilities are missing out – it is simply being mean spirited.

The sense of frustration of the nongovernment members was palpable throughout the debate. After all, this was a program that was introduced under a Labor government and left to the Liberal and Nationals Coalition government to implement. The title of the Bill emphasised the government’s goal, National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Streamlined Governance) Bill 2019.

As acknowledged by Greens Senator Rachel Siewert, the government was attempting to solve the “governance frameworks that have created issues in the process of efficient and effective decision-making”. She acknowledged the motivation of this Bill as a remedy.

People with disabilities continue to fall through the cracks. From its launch, the NDIS provided hope for so many people for a life that was more inclusive. However, the challenge remains with too many missing out.

However, it became clear throughout the debate that there was much to be remedied.

Example after example of failings were cited. Senator McCarthy used a moving example from a remote NT community to describe “a child with cerebral palsy sleeping on the concrete floor. They did not have a bed, not because their family didn’t think the child deserved a comfortable place to sleep but because they could not afford to buy the bed frame and mattress”.

She added: “A child with cerebral palsy needs a bed to sleep in; every child needs a bed to sleep in. But the NDIS would not let the family purchase a bed under their package. The package remains underspent.’’ Mean spirited!

Tasmanian Senator Bilyk concentrated on people with disabilities who were falling through the cracks. He heard at a public forum “families also talked about the amount of work they do getting medical reports to justify their claims. Filling in the paperwork and collating the reports is practically a full-time job.

In some cases, these reports were second-guessed by people

not qualified in medicine and, in other cases, they weren’t even read”.

Most speakers identified excessive bureaucracy and red tape. The very thing that the government’s Bill was attempting to address! Throughout the debate it was clear that issues in rural or remote communities for people with disabilities were so much greater than for those in the main cities.

Challenging for senators considering this Bill was the review by David Tune that had been commissioned by the government into the NDIS Act The overlap of the Bill and the review proved frustrating for many. However, the goal was to move quickly to be more efficient in the hope of resolving some of the problems identified in the debate.

Senator Siewert suggested the need for change at the top. She started by identifying the Independent Advisory Council (IAC) Board as being “filled largely with former corporate CEOs from the banking and finance sector”.

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Apply now, start in 2020explore acting technique for film, TV and theatre, how to audition and how to break into the industry.

Next course info session and audition: 1 December. Register online.

She called for more “disabled people on the IAC Board of the NDIS, people with a lived experience who understand the complex nature of disability and who are committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure that every single participant has a positive experience, enabling them to access all the support and services they need to live a good life”.

It is already well known, and it was very clear in this debate, that people with disabilities continue to fall through the cracks. No system is perfect. From its launch, the NDIS provided hope for so many people for a life that was more inclusive. However, the challenge remains with too many missing out.

The way forward is a co-ordinated approach across all jurisdictions and with greater efforts to cross the political divide.

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.

A fun fair in Florey

FLOREY Neighbourhood Watch is collaborating with Florey Primary School to stage the “Fabulous Florey Community Fair” promising a “great day” aimed at promoting government, community, health and sporting services that can be utilised by local residents plus the more traditional offerings of market stalls, food and drink plus free entertainment, jumping castle and face painting. At Florey Primary, 10am-2pm, Saturday, November 30.

Terribly British

BRITISH vehicles from A to Z – Austin to Zephyr – will be on display at the 44th annual Terribly British Day on the lawns of Queanbeyan Park, 10am-2pm, Sunday, December 1. Organised by the Triumph Car Club ACT, Home in Queanbeyan will be the charity beneficiary of the gold-coin entry fee.

Christmas market

CRAFTS and gifts are the big attractions at this year’s Christmas market at Kangara Waters. There’s also the homemade Christmas baking on sale plus Christmas-flowering petunias. All happening at 2 Joy Cummings Place, Belconnen, 8.30am-2pm, Saturday, December 7.

India accelerates on road to economic growth

A RANGE of Indian-made Royal Enfield motorbikes, the world’s oldest motorcycle brand in continuous production, will be showcased at the annual address of the Australia India Business Council ACT chapter.

AIBC is the peak body representing bilateral trade and investment relations between Australia and India and the theme of the annual address at the Hyatt Hotel Canberra on November 25 is “Making India a $5 trillion economy – opportunities and challenges”.

In the current financial year, India will grow to a $3 trillion economy, the sixth largest in the world. The Indian government is setting its sights on making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024–25.

To achieve this objective, India’s exports will have to keep growing. One such market is India’s two-wheeler industry, which has seen export growth of four per cent in the first half of this financial year.

Royal Enfield is a leader in the global, mid-size motorcycle market and has also seen a tremendous growth in the past decade, becoming one of the most popular consumer brands from India in the world.

The cult motorcycle brand has also shown a lift in its export market especially in FY 2019-20 courtesy of soaring demands for its latest models – Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650, its first modern twin-cylinder motorcycles in 50 years.

Royal Enfield’s export numbers reflect its aggressive push into newer global markets. In October its export numbers grew by 987 per cent.

Starting in the UK city of Redditch in 1901, Royal Enfield has challenged the conventions of the motorcycle industry for more than a century.

The versatile Royal Enfield Himalayan, an ode to the Himalayas, built for “all roads and no roads”.

The brand with a strong British legacy of 118 years that includes the two World Wars, has been manufacturing the oldest motorcycle in continuous production – the Bullet.

The limited-edition Royal Enfield Pegasus is based on its popular model Classic, inspired by the legendary Royal Enfield Flying Flea from World War II.

It made its journey from UK to India in the 1950s where it is currently manufactured across three world-class, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in India.

Today, Royal Enfield is one of the fastest

growing motorcycle brands in the world and one of the leading players in the mid-size motorcycle segment (250cc-750cc) globally. It is now available in Australia, with a dealership in Canberra.

More on the AIBC is at aibc.org.au More on Royal Enfield motorcycles at royalenfield.com.au ACT dealer is Team Moto Canberra, 30 Ipswich Street, Fyshwick.

the heritageinspired Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650, with an all new parallel twin engine. So come pick your play.

for the AIBC annual address can be booked at trybooking.com/book/ event?eid=561534 or via premier.ticketek.com. au/Shows/Show.aspx?sh=ACTAIBC19

Royal Enfield motorcycles are available in Australia across 25 cities including Canberra. To book a test drive visit Canberra dealershipTeam Moto Canberra, 30 Ipswich St, Fyshwick, ACT 2609. To book a test drive call (02) 61083479

display at the Hyatt Hotel Canberra at the Australia India Business Council’s Annual India Address, on 25th November 2019, from 6.30 pm till 10:00 pm. Tickets available at Trybooking.com and Ticketek.com royalenfield.com.au

of the accessories are not part of the standard fitment.

At

At the ACT Landcare Awards, Tharwa

At the Ghana Australia Association dance, Phillip

Be part of this incredible resort lifestyle and as part of this new stage enjoy:

• Views of the escarpment

• Single level access

• Quality finishes including Miele appliances and stone benchtops

• Double lock up garage

• An exclusive resident clubhouse with an indoor pool, gym & bar

• Located minutes from Manuka Village and Red Hill Shops

Don’t miss out selling fast

For more information and to book in a personalised tour of The Aerie, contact our Sales Manager Lyn Chambers on ph: 0429 542 839

LETTERS

What is it, Minister, you don’t want us to know?

CONGRATULATIONS are due to Robert Macklin for writing the story “Who is Canberra’s mysterious ‘secret prisoner’? (CN, November 14).

I thought I had reached an age and a point in life at which I was beyond being shocked. I now know I am not.

I find it very disturbing that the ACT government has willingly partnered with the Commonwealth in the implementation of its draconian and authoritarian national security regime.

The “secret prisoner” may very well have been serving a sentence for breaching Commonwealth law but the organs of the justice and correction systems that managed his trial and incarceration are administered by the ACT government.

It is ironic that the revelations contained in Robert’s article come at the height of the Right to Know Campaign, the catch cry of which is “what don’t they want you to know?”.

In this case, Robert reveals that the documents seized by ACT Corrective Services, under Minister for Corrective Services and leader of the ACT Greens Party, Mr Shane Rattenbury, because they clearly did not want them published, were related to a book that the “secret prisoner” was writing about his experiences and observations as a detainee at the AMC.

A further irony about this particular act of suppression of freedom of expression is that it comes at a time, off the back of the Right to Know Campaign, when the Labor and Greens parties, with the support of a range of progressive organisations such as Get Up

dose of dorin

are mercilessly, and appropriately, attacking the Liberal Government of Scott Morrison for suppressing freedom of the press and freedom of speech more generally.

I for one will be very interested to see how Labor, the Greens and Get Up respond to the actions of the Leader of the ACT Greens and Minister for Corrections, Shane Rattenbury, for his decision to confiscate from a prisoner under his control a manuscript of a book about his experiences as a prisoner in the ACT, for arranging a police raid on the home of the prisoner’s brother to search for and confiscate any documents authored by the prisoner as well as refusing Robert Macklin, an esteemed author and writer, a right to visit the prisoner in the AMC.

Exactly what is it, Minister, that you don’t want us to know?

Jon Stanhope, via citynews.com.au

With respect, Bill’s wrong

WITH respect, Bill Stefaniak is wrong when he writes “we should listen to all opinions about climate change from any source” (CN, Letters, November 14). We should not.

The opinions we should listen to are those informed by the overwhelming majority of scientific evidence and research. Which is that climate change is real, is happening, and poses an existential threat.

The Earth is round. Opinion that it is

flat is wrong and worthless. The Earth orbits around the sun. Opinion that the sun goes around the Earth is wrong and worthless. Human-induced climate change is happening. Opinion that it isn’t is wrong and much worse than worthless. It is dangerous, because it delays meaningful action being taken to begin the incredibly long and hugely challenging task of trying to counter the causes and the effects of climate change.

Peter Dark, Karabar

Fire waiting to happen

WE watch with trepidation the fires all over Australia. Last year the fire brigade visited houses backing on to the bush with bags of information on how to clear our properties and be ready for the fires if they come our way.

But in the Majura Parks (backing on to my house) there are dead fallen trees that have been there for years and only metres from the back fences.

I have reported them many times only to be told they are protection for small animals! This could be a bonfire just waiting to happen!

Pat Bourke, Hackett

Write to us

Let loose to: editor@citynews.com.au or write to the editor at: 9b / 189 Flemington Road, Mitchell 2911

Rail time is not right

WHERE does letter writer Clive Williams get the idea that it’s 247km to Sydney? (CN, November 14). This is totally incorrect. It is actually 327 kilometres to Central Railway Station, roughly 30 kilometres longer than by road, the extra distance because of the meandering route around Kowen Forest to Bungendore not to mention the Picton loop. And Andrew Barr does not run this, Clive, it’s run by Transport NSW. The NSW government does have new trains coming for country lines soon that, hopefully, will bring it down to 3.5 hours at least. Additionally, I do not believe it takes longer than in 1970. In them days 4.75-5 hours was the norm until the current Explorer Rail motors were introduced in 1993.

Avenue of overgrowth

THE Northbourne Avenue, governmentowned nature strip in Turner has become overgrown, Mr Barr. I thought you were trying to make it inviting.

Geoff Davidson, Braddon

IN BUSINESS LEADING women

In the last decade of learning my craft, I have turned my life in the direction of somewhere I never dreamed of going.

DETERMINED DEANNA

Award-winning mortgage broker

DEANNA EZZY reaps the rewards of hard work

Deanna puts More into her clients’

TWO years after taking the leap to start her mortgage broking firm, More Than Mortgages, Deanna Ezzy and her team are reaping the rewards of their hard work for their clients.

They love helping clients achieve their dreams, says director and principal mortgage broker, Deanna.

Whether it be purchasing an investment property, a first-home buyer or managing a financial separation, Deanna says her clients tell her that they really do understand the “more” that Deanna and her team bring to them.

“It’s about our service. We genuinely care about the process, we answer questions and go over and above for our clients,” she says.

“We aren’t stuffy. We love what we are doing and bring a lot of guidance and support to our clients… we are on their side.”

Becoming a mortgage broker was a dream-come-true for Deanna, but her life wasn’t always heading on a pathway for success. She says she grew up in NZ with an abusive stepfather.

“Money was non-existent and the constant cause of arguments and fighting. I went to eight different schools, lived in more than 10 rental houses and at one point a women’s refuge. We didn’t have a car for two years,” she says.

“I grew up with no idea that I could travel, there was no talk with my friends at the time that we would go on to further studies.”

At 22, Deanna says she decided to leave her old life behind and joined her mother, Gina, who was living in Canberra in 2005 and make a fresh start.

“Mum and I have always been close,” says Deanna of Gina, who now works part time in the business, managing the website, social media, writing the monthly newsletters and a host of other admin jobs.

“Gina’s job title is CEO – Chief Everything Officer!“ says Deanna.

Determined to own a home and make sure that she and her mum have the stability they always dreamed of, Deanna worked hard in office administrative roles and discovered a love of dance in her free time.

Through hard work, making connections and finding mentors, Deanna was inspired to find a job in real estate after meeting a successful businessman and learning how he built his wealth through real estate investment.

And it so happened that she had the natural ability to be a great mortgage broker when she got her break after impressing her previous boss with her relationship-building skills and drive.

“I was able to learn from the best in the business and I found out that I was naturally good at the job,” she says.

“I was fortunate enough to be mentored by one of Australia’s top brokers at the time. In the last decade of learning my craft, I have turned my life in the direction of somewhere I never dreamed of going.”

Over the decade that Deanna has been a broker, she has been recognised through numerous awards including being ranked

past five years in a row. Deanna is currently ranked number 45 in the country out of a group of about 20,000. She has also just won the BX Xcellence ‘Business of The Year’ award, presented to her and her team in Sydney.

More Than Mortgages now has a team of five and is based in Kingston. Operations manager, Natasha Condi has worked with Deanna for the past six years and Deanna says that she couldn’t have started the business without her support. Broker, Matt Tanner and assistant Elliott Bowyer joined

“I have always wanted to build something for my own and start from scratch. I also want to be a great boss for my staff and in some ways pay forward the opportunity I had,” she says.

More Than Mortgages is dedicated to supporting charities, with Deanna singlehandedly organising a dancing event in March called DANCE (Domestic Abuse Needs Community Evolution) that raised significant funds for Doris Women’s Refuge, a cause close to Deanna’s heart.

“We are also a sponsor of the Reach For Nepal Foundation, Stomp and Cancer Council’s ‘Shit Box Rally’,” says Deanna.

As a leading woman in business, Deanna recommends that those starting out in their own businesses get the support they need – be it at home, or through business coaching to prevent burn out.

“It’s important (as a business owner) to be open with people and not be ashamed to ask for assistance,” she says.

“I don’t believe in a work/life balance. I think that both of them can be combined and that we can blend them rather than keep both completely separate.

“This is easy to do when you enjoy your work, and your team and others in the industry are your friends,” she says.

Deanna says that she’s discovered that it’s important to manage your best asset – your brain – through booking regular weekends away. Deanna enjoys exercise and meditation to make sure she functions at her best, to ensure she does the best job for her clients.

“I am excited about the future,” she says.

“Our mission is to bring clarity and inspiration to our clients by leading them through the labyrinth of residential home loan lending.

“More Than Mortgages turn dreams into reality.”

More Than Mortgages, 2/6 Kennedy Street, Kingston 2604. Call 6188 4555, email heretohelp@morethanmortgages.com.au or visit morethanmortgages.com.au

Suzy Mooney OWNER

ABOUT FACE Beauty & Anti Aging Salon (previously Draga’s Beauty Salon) is under new management with new staff, a new-look makeover, new products, new services and new machines – all at the old prices! Suzy, Kim, Ivana and Elyse share more than 40 years in the beauty and skin-care industry.

“Our combined expert knowledge ranges from basic beauty to

advanced anti aging treatments, after all skin care is an investment in your skin,” says Suzy. “Having experienced bad skin first hand inspires me to help others achieve the same results I have.

“My training, expertise, knowledge and skin obsession is evident as I have previously won the Best Beauty Salon award for WA.”

ABOUT FACE Beauty & Anti Aging Salon, 310 Anketell Street, Tuggeranong Square, Greenway, 6293 2883, Facebook/aboutfacebeautytuggeranongsquare

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

Floraine Henneaux HEAD OF TEACHING

Floriane is Head of Teaching at the Alliance Francaise de Canberra – a local community organisation teaching French to children and adults. Originally from Belgium, Floriane is a native French-speaker who has travelled the world from Asia to Australia teaching French. She is formally trained in teaching French as a second language and, in addition

to teaching students, also coordinates a team of eight teachers. She maximises their different specialisations to create a diverse offering of courses, as well as tailor-made learning programs for individuals and groups.

“We understand when people take time out of their busy lives to learn a language, they want to see results and also have fun,” she says.

Alliance Francaise de Canberra, 66 McCaughey Street, Turner 2612, afcanberra.com.au, 6257 6696, enquiries@afcanberra.com.au

Dale Harris

BALLROOM DANCING TEACHER / COACH

I have been dancing since I was six years old and have completed all my medals. I have done competition dancing before moving on to complete my professional quaifications.

I am now a championship adjudicator with DanceSport Australia also Licentiate/Member in Modern-Latin and New Vogue with A.D.S., A.N.D.A. & S.A.T.D.

Dales’ Ballroom Dancing, Tuggeranong Community Centre, 245 Cowlishaw Street, Greenway, ACT 2900; dalesballroomdancing.com.au; 0407 066110

Lisa Calabria

OWNER

I have been in the travel industry since 1987. I spent 10 years working with Qantas and the last 20 working at Capital Travel. I have recently become the owner of this business, which has been established for more than 32 years. The staff have great expertise and knowledge and this has been the main factor to the success of this agency. My new role is

to enable my staff to have the tools and environment to design personal itineraries and create memories for our clients. We are a member of the Magellan Travel Group and Cruiseco, which gives us access to some unique support, itineraries and pricing. I have always had a love of travel and genuinely excited to share this with our clients.

Capital Travel Manuka, 24 Bougainville Street, Manuka 2603, capitaltravel.com.au, 6295 2733, lisa@capitaltravel.com.au

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

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

Fay Cull OWNER

MORE than 50 years ago, Fay took on the task of matching hi-fidelity sound to suit the tastes of Canberra’s serious music lovers. Her sales approach was not telling customers what would be best for them, but listening to what people told her were their tastes in music, their tastes in furniture, the size of their living rooms and their budget.

Fay still tries to match the customer to the staff member best able to meet their needs, which might include the latest innovations, such as streaming better-than-CD-quality sound from digital files, which are Master Quality Authenticated and in High Resolution Audio, or a budget system sourced from quality vintage equipment.

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

Jane Hiatt OWNER / INSTRUCTOR

When I see the drive a young person has to excel through dedicated study on a daily basis I’m simply inspired. I want my business to strive for excellence in every aspect so students can aspire to a higher standard than anyway else. I’ve learned to do things the smart and efficient way wherever possible so I can spend time doing special things for clients, such

as going the extra mile, doing the unexpected or just being available when needed. If you have the right ingredients and you genuinely care for your clients, the love and respect will abundantly flow. So be kind to yourself and know you are appreciated. In turn, this makes running a business like Kumon all the more fulfilling.

Kumon Tuggeranong Education Centre, Shop 4, Calwell Shops, Calwell 2905, au.kumonglobal.com, 0419 134078, instructor@kumontuggeranong.com

TUITION BY KUMON

60 YEARS OF SUCCESS

Sue Davis leads Kumon Gungahlin Education Centre and has won a Canberra Region Local Business Award, under the category of Education and Training.

Sue has an education degree and more than 30 years of experience in nurturing students in the Canberra Region

For sixty years Kumon has helped millions of students around the world to develop their mathematics and reading comprehension skills through the Kumon Maths and English programmes

Congratulations to Sue Davis and her team at Kumon Gungahlin for their focus and dedication in nurturing students to reach their full potential!

ICONS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

Gail Freeman DIRECTOR

CHARTERED accountant Gail Freeman has a genuine passion for what she does, and loves working with her clients and guiding them through complex financial matters.

She enjoys the mental challenge of the tax environment, as well as staying up-to-date and well-read on the latest developments and frequent changes in the industry. Alongside her work in community organisations and her joy in spending time with her dogs, Gail has a unique mix of skills and expertise as a tax specialist, selfmanaged superannuation fund specialist and financial planner. Gail is dedicated to getting it right for her clients, and achieving the best possible outcome.

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

Deb Long OWNER

MY business is a local boutique travel agency with a team of experienced travel advisers ready to assist with your next holiday, business trip or event.

I encourage my team to consider taking a leadership role in the many aspects within our business. Offering them a mentoring program allows them to enhance their product knowledge, build

their confidence and take a keen interest to grow the business and be leaders in our industry.

As the 2019 winner of the “Most Outstanding Travel Agency” in the Canberra Region Local Business Awards our tip for success is to deliver outstanding customer service. We work to build a relationship with our guests, which leads to a trusted partnership.

Weston Cruise & Travel, Weston Arcade, 11 Brierly Street, Weston 2611, westoncruiseandtravel.com.au, 6288 4400, admin@westoncruiseandtravel.com.au

Bethany Freeman-Chandler MANAGER

BETHANY is an experienced CPA and tax agent at Gail Freeman & Co, and enjoys being able to reduce the pressure and burden on people by making tax less stressful.

With more than 15 years experience, Bethany is skilled at helping her clients in many aspects of the financial side of their businesses, including budgeting, manage -

ment accounting and payroll.

Bethany is an expert in systems, spreadsheets and process design, and loves to find more efficient ways for her clients to do things.

Bethany thrives working as part of a team and with a variety of different clients, and in her spare time she likes to give back to the community by volunteering.

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

Bec McFarland

CAREER COACH

BEC McFarland is creating waves in her coaching practice by launching her clients out of their comfort zones and supporting them as they charge towards their career goals.

With a bold, colourful brand and self-confessed “daggy humour”, Bec is passionate about proving that career advice doesn’t have to be boring and that career fulfilment is definitely not out of reach.

She delights in helping her clients to understand and articulate their strengths, overcome self-doubt and imposter syndrome and gain clarity about the next steps in their careers.

In addition to owning Pop Your Career, Bec is the co-founder of The Timemakers’ Club, which supports women to make time and create space for themselves.

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

Lisa Dart-Grbesa

COMPANY SYSTEMS MANAGER/ACT HR & CORPORATE MANAGER

A Telstra Business Woman Finalist in 2017, I first entered the building and construction industry in 1987. During my career in the industry I have been a business owner and worked on building projects both on and offshore. I joined PCA 10 years ago and have since forged a career in the ACT building and construction industry.

As a leader in the industry, I advocate building quality safely through training and a skilled workforce. I engage with industry to recognise the contribution, innovation and value add of the amazing women I get to meet in this industry. I strive to inspire others to consider a career in construction. I have not been disappointed.

Project Coordination (Australia) Pty Ltd, Level 1, 20 Napier Close, Deakin 2600, projectcoordination.com.au, 6285 1555, ldart@projectcoord.com.au

Weston Creek Children’s Centre is a stand alone community based Early Childhood Service. We provide an emergent curriculum allowing learning activities to arise out of your child’s interests.

• Teacher led Preschool program for both 3 and 4 year olds.

• Educators are strongly committed to the service, several working for the service for over 20 years.

• Rated as Exceeding National Quality Standard in Childcare delivery.

Karen Porter

CEO

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

Catherine Smith

CEO

Wholistic Financial Solutions was founded in 2002 to help the average Australian build and protect wealth. Financial services has become increasingly expensive and is generally not affordable for those who need the advice the most.

Wholistic’s unique blend of financial services overcomes this issue. We can assist with financial

planning, taxation, mortgage broking, property investing, superannuation, SMSFs and business advice.

We are a true one-stop financial shop. We offer free educational seminars and free initial appointments to discuss your goals and needs, and how we can assist. Call for a free appointment now.

Wholistic Financial Solutions, Unit 4/6, Pelle Street, Mitchell 2911, wfscanberra.com.au, 6162 4546, catherine@wfscanberra.com.au

Emily Avery DIRECTOR

Emily did her first massage course in 1999, fell in love with the industry and has been providing remedial massage to the Canberra community ever since.

Emily says continuing education is very important to the CARM Therapies team. She is constantly updating her skills to provide the best possible treatments for her clients and has just completed 18

months study in Rehabilitation Pilates to incorporate exercise prescription to her skillset.

Working with allied health professionals over the years, Emily has honed her skills and knowledge of soft-tissue therapy.

“Our goal is to educate clients about their condition and empower them to take control of their health and wellbeing,” she says.

CARM Therapies Pty Ltd, Shop 5 Higgins Place, Higgins 2615, carmtherapies.com.au, 6278 7302, carmtherapies@gmail.com

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

Edwina Brown PRINCIPAL/DIRECTOR

AFTER working for Yass Real Estate in senior roles for more than 10 years, Edwina took ownership of the agency this year.

Edwina is passionate about all aspects of real estate and is fully licenced as a residential sales agent, stock and station agent, strata manager and auctioneer. She has previously won the Allhomes Property Manager of

the Year Award and this year she and her team were awarded the prestigious Canberra Region Local Business Award for the most Outstanding Real Estate Agency.

Edwina is committed to helping vendors and landlords achieve the best possible outcome from their valuable assets.

Yass Real Estate, 206 Comur Street, Yass, NSW 2582, yassrealestate.com.au, 0429 327059, eb@yassrealestate.com.au

Kate Meikle DIRECTOR

Having spent over a decade working in communication management in the not-for-profit sector in Sydney, I moved back to Canberra last year 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

Wanda Wojciechowska and Aimee Kohler

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT & OWNER | FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATOR & OFFICE MANAGER

WWAccounting is a small accounting business team managed by motherand-daughter duo, Wanda & Aimee. Wanda has been in the accounting sector for more than 20 years.

The company offers a range of services such as personal and business taxation, bookkeeping, business accounting and corporate services catering for individuals, companies, trusts and partnerships – all with a smile and a personal touch.

WWAccounting, PO Box 42, Red Hill 2603, 0400 083938, wandaw@wwaccounting.com.au

“We like to make a difference by keeping up with the old-fashioned service through meeting clients’ over a coffee, enjoying putting a face to

a name and maintaining a personal touch,” says Wanda. “I think the secret of our success is being passionate about helping people, listening to our clients and actually hearing them.”

OPEN GARDEN / Bungendore

Cottage garden goes back to the future

HARD work, care and attention to detail has gone into creating a sustainable new cottage garden to complement owner Anthea Thomson’s 19th century Bungendore home, “Thornleigh”.

Gardener and caretaker Kevin Jones says he’s included plantings that would have been common when the house was built in the 1860s, many of which were uncovered following tree-felling and soil removal on the site.

The heritage-style garden will be open on the weekend of November 23-24 along with three others in Bungendore; “The Old Stone House” and “Fox’s Folly” on Molonglo Street, and “Fieldstone” on Ellendon Street.

The Bungendore event will close the spring season for Open Gardens Canberra.

Kevin, who planned and designed the garden, says that while he only started planting 18 months ago, it already has an established feel and a sense of heritage character.

The front garden features low-walled beds packed with hollyhocks, foxgloves, lupins, delphinium, larkspur, salvia, valerian and assorted daisies, surrounding a lawn that’s been landscaped so it’s slightly higher on the eastern end to disguise a gradient.

Kevin says the garden is water wise, with 15,000 litres of rainwater storage.

“Our first water bill after the plants went in was only $10 a quarter dearer, and that’s thanks to the water tanks,” he says.

The garden features bulbs, annuals, herbaceous perennials, heritage trees and roses, as well as some rare plants, including

Words: Kathryn Vukovljak

Photos: Holly Treadaway

Scaevola from the kangaroo paw family, which Kevin says is hard to grow but rewards with the most beautiful purple blossom late in summer.

Visitors will be embraced by the garden as they walk through the front gate, he says, with climbing roses Pierre de Ronsard and Zephirine Drouhin planted across the path, to eventually intermingle over the top of an arch in two shades of pink.

“Once they grow bigger, the scent will be a knockout,” he says.

The garden would also have been used to grow produce for home use, so Anthea and Kevin decided to include a potager with herb beds, a wicking bed for veggies, a worm farm, two drums of cured cow poo and a compost heap.

There’s a nursery for ailing plants, such as acidic soil-loving gardenias, daphne, jasminoides and cyclamen, which Kevin says will be moved when they start to fare better.

“The garden is a real passion for me,” says Kevin, “I’ve had years of experience with gar dens in Bungendore and I know what works.”

“Thornleigh”, 21 Forster Street, Bungendore, Saturday, November 23 and Sunday, November 24. Four gardens are open from 10am to 4pm. It costs $15 to visit them all including a map. Tickets available from “Fox’s Folly” or “Fieldstone”. Free to under-18s and Open Gardens Canberra members.

It costs $25 to join Open Gardens Canberra and gain free entry to all open gardens until August 31. Visit opengardenscanberra.org.au/members of experience with gardens in

works.”

GARDENING

Trees take gardens to new heights

A GARDEN is not really a garden without trees, with their beauty of the changing seasons from blossoms to leaf colour.

So, while planting a tree might seem obvious to most gardeners, I regularly get requests on how to do it and what type of tree is best for the home garden.

These questions get more difficult every year as the size of building blocks shrink from the old quarter acre (about 800 square metres) down to only 270 square metres. For trees on this size block, forget it!

However, there are still reasonable block sizes where it is possible to plant a tree or two.

WHEN a person plants a tree they, in effect, accept responsibility for that tree, which can live to an incredible age.

From planting day, the tree will rely on its “surrogate parent”, the planter.

It needs to be nurtured with food and water on a regular basis until it is well established, as well as formative pruning and shaping. Maybe then the tree will be able to survive on its own.

In private gardens, trees have a reasonable chance of surviving to adulthood. A garden needs shade not only for us but for many plants and, most importantly, cleaning the air we breathe. The most important aspect of growing

tions need to be taken into account.

With, say, a new home, the owner should have received plans showing the location of all services such as gas, water and sewerage pipes, telephone and electricity lines.

In older homes these services may be hard to locate and it may need a call to the Dial-BeforeYou-Dig program. Also power and phone lines may be above ground.

Anyone considering buying an older home should check the size of existing trees. They may look wonderful, providing shade for the children to play etcetera, but look to see if they are located near overhead power lines. It can be very expensive to have an arborist to clear the lines, maybe on a regular basis as the tree/s grow.

It is a requirement by ActewAGL to have a minimum of 1.5 metres clearance from power lines. I believe this should be at least 2 metres more as a tree may easily grow that much in less than a year.

If trees are near power lines you must use an approved arborist, which ActewAGL can recommend.

TREES need space to grow to their full potential, so it’s vitally important to do your homework. Ask advice from your local garden centre and ask for a catalogue from Flemings Wholesale Nurseries, the largest tree growers in

Australia, which shows the height and spread of trees.

Work on the principle that as with most deciduous trees the height will equal the spread. If a tree grows to 10 metres tall, it will need to be planted no closer than 5 to 6 metres from the home or other buildings.

I HAVE mentioned only deciduous trees for home gardens, which provide shade in the summer and allow light in during the winter months, which is doubly important for anyone with solar panels on the roof.

I have not mentioned eucalypts for the home garden due to the dangers of falling branches (or the whole tree) on the home and power lines. ActewAGL will verify that most power outages are caused by eucalypts.

LOOK for trees with a good straight, strong trunk. If they are tall and whippy they will never grow into a strong well-shaped tree.

Finally, I cannot over em phasise the importance of checking all services before planting and seek advice on the best tree for your garden.

PUZZLES PAGE

Joanne Madeline Moore

Your week in the stars – November 25-December 1, 2019

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

The New Moon activates your philosophy zone so it’s an appropriate time to ask yourself a few important questions. ‘Where am I heading?” What are my aspirations for the future?” Am I all enthusiastic talk and no productive action?” Food for thought for reflective Rams. So your mantra is from actor, director, martial artist and philosopher Bruce Lee (who was born on November 27, 1940): “Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.”

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

Bulls can become very entrenched in a comfortable but boring rut. This week Venus shifts into your travel zone, and next week Jupiter follows. So it’s a terrific time to expand your mind, spread your wings and start planning an adventurous trip for some time soon. Be inspired by birthday great, writer Mark Twain: “Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Love at first sight is a possibility for some singles.

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

Hey Gemini… get ready for a relationship renaissance, as Tuesday night’s New Moon kick-starts your love life. Attached Twins will shift into a serious new phase of an established partnership, while some singles will go on a promising first date. Then your ruler Mercury links up with earthy Saturn on Saturday, which stabilises your quicksilver mind. If you methodically tackle the long to-do list, then you’ll power through the weekend without the usual distractions.

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

Has a romantic, platonic or business partnership been going through a bumpy patch? This week peace-planet Venus races into your relationship zone (where it stays until December 20). So it’s a wonderful time to hold out the olive branch as you sympathise, compromise and crank up your diplomatic skills. Plus the New Moon encourages you to get your body moving via a gym membership, a new exercise program or a vigorous workout in the great outdoors.

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

This week pleasure-planet Venus shifts into your wellbeing zone. So make sure you choose a healthy diet and exercise program that you actually enjoy. But are you having problems with a child, teenager, lover or friend? Focus your energy on that person and make them your number one priority. Energy goes where intention flows. If you combine a positive approach with good listening skills then (from Wednesday onwards) the relationship will start to improve.

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

Tuesday night’s New Moon signals a fresh start involving a domestic matter or a family member. Then (courtesy of Neptune and Saturn) it’s a terrific time to take a creative idea and turn it into a productive project. Venus and Uranus also fire up some divine discontent in your house of love. If you’re attached, you’re in the mood to critique your partner but is that the smartest thing to do? Singles – you could fall for someone who is way outside your comfort zone.

18 What might we call white supremacists? (7)

21 When one smokes a cigar, one is doing what? (7)

22 Which term describes a soldier of the lowest military rank? (7)

23 To feed and nourish during the stages of growth, is to do what? (7)

24 Name a renowned Australian pop and folk group, formed in 1962. (7)

Name a political group whose aim is to protect the environment. (6)

5 Which light is used as a warning in signalling? (5)

6 Name the Italian inventor of the first successful wireless telegraph, Guglielmo ... (7)

7 Which chess pieces resemble castles? (5)

13 What is a modified virus, used for preventative inoculation? (7)

15 Which sea lies to the north of Australia? (7)

16 What do we call one who makes constant petty criticisms? (7)

17 Name some species of poplar which have leaves that tremble in the breeze. (6)

18 What describes the cords used to enclose a boxing ring? (5)

19 What is a rung of a ladder or chair, etc? (5)

20 Which term suggests that one displays religious fervour? (5)

From ‘eco’ to ‘FIFO’. From high-value to high-vis. This art installation encompasses the complex political, environmental and fundamental social issues that are occurring right now and for the visible future.

A collaboration between artists Mandy Martin, Alexander Boynes and musician Tristen Parr, High-Vis Futures is a sequence of sound, video projection and mixed media artworks depicting the intimate connection between industry, carbon emissions and the end of the fossil fuel era.

IMAGE: Alexander BOYNES and Mandy MARTIN, Rewriting the score, 2019. 3 channel digital projection on 10 panel painting of acrylic, oil pigments on linen with sound by Tristen PARR Courtesy the artists. [detail]

Mon–Sat: 10am–5pm | w: cmag.com.au p: 6207 3968 | Civic Square, Canberra City 16/11/2019–01/02/2020

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

This week’s stars maximise your natural charm but beware false flattery, and resist the temptation to be talked into doing something you really don’t want to do. Stand firm and do your best to make your Libran lifestyle a true reflection of your core values and personal beliefs. The New Moon activates your communication zone as you make plans to socialise, study, teach or travel. And are you looking for love? A sudden attraction could come from out of the blue.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

Are you worrying about a money issue? This week avoid being uncharacteristically rash with cash and credit. And don’t let a friend or family member persuade you to get involved in a financial situation that you don’t feel comfortable about. Tuesday night’s New Moon urges you to start a fresh fiscal chapter as you swap spending for saving, and nurture your nest egg for the future. Single Scorps… an unconventional suitor could suddenly rock your world!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

Prepare for a busy week of endings and beginnings. It’s the last week that Jupiter (your power planet) will be travelling through your sign (until 2030). So make sure you capitalise on any lucky opportunities that appear. Tuesday night’s New Moon encourages you to keep focused on your personal journey. If you approach people, projects and challenges in your usual straightforward way, then you’ll make pleasing progress. Fortune favours the bold and the brave!

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

With vivacious Venus visiting your sign (until December 20) you’ll feel unusually flirtatious as you charm the cynics and dazzle the doubters. It will be easier to get what you want if you stop being a Capricorn control-freak and try a double dose of diplomacy instead. Under the influence of Mars, strive to pursue your dreams in a confident and authentic way. Draw inspiration from birthday legend Bruce Lee: “Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself.”

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

From Wednesday onwards, a fresh chapter opens up involving your peer group so make sure you choose any new friends wisely. Lady Luck is on your side on Thursday and Friday, when it’s a fortuitous time to make a spontaneous move involving love, romance, travel, family, friendship or spirituality. Your motto for the week is from birthday great, writer and entrepreneur Mark Twain: “Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience… that is the ideal life.”

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

Do you know where you’re going to? With the New Moon activating your career and future direction zone, you need to have a long, hard think about creative adjustments that could improve your life in 2020. Have the courage to listen to your intuition and follow your true destiny. But avoid the Piscean tendency to get lost in an ocean of emotion and side-tracked by a sea of possibilities. As birthday great Mark Twain reminds us: “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2019

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Michael composes himself to pick up the prize

COVER STORY

By Helen Musa

A CANBERRA composer and pianist, who has unleashed an avalanche of music in the past year, has been named 2019 “Canberra CityNews” Artist of the Year at the 29th ACT Arts Awards, held in the Canberra Museum & Gallery.

Composer and pianist Michael Dooley was singled out by the Canberra Critics Circle judging panel for his extraordinary year, which included recordings, a range of compositions including commissions, choral works, his first piano concerto, film scores and world premiere performances of his works, as well as his own individual performances as a musician.

“CityNews” editor, Ian Meikle awarded Dooley a certificate and $1000 cheque, while “CityNews” craft writer Meredith Hinchliffe presented him with a platter designed by the late Canberra artist Robert Foster of F!NK Design.

On learning of his selection as Artist of the Year, Dooley described himself as “extremely surprised and hopeful for the future that the arts in our city can flourish”.

He thanked his family for their support,

adding that he wanted to encourage others to believe it was possible to live as a full-time artist in Canberra, as he had done for the past 10 years.

Among his international achievements in the past year have been a score for an animated film based on John Bunyan’s “The Pilgrim’s Progress”, released in 850 theatres in the US and in more than 100 theatres in Australia, the premiere of “The Land that is Far Off”, in Wurzburg, Germany, and “The Heavens

Declare”, a commissioned work for two violins premiered at the Canberra International Music Festival by French duo Quatuor.

While his performances as a pianist with the jazz duo In2Deep were noted, it was the past year of composing that attracted the notice of the critics.

From 2018-19 Dooley completed a song cycle “Truth and Beauty” based on the poems of Keats, a classical oratorio “Perpetua”, “Unto the King” for gospel music choir and

soloist, “Rockata” for solo piano premiered by Andrew Rumsey, several works for the Canberra Wind Symphony and his first piano concerto, premiered by the National Capital Orchestra with Rumsey at the piano.

Recordings of his original works included “Wings of the Morning” laid down by Dooley and the Canberra Symphony Orchestra String Quartet, “Epiphany” for clarinet, piano and cello by Melbourne trio Ensemble Liaison and the song “Meeting Place” by Rhythm Syndicate.

Earlier in the evening, the inaugural Helen Tsongas Award for Excellence in Acting was presented by ACT Arts Minister, Gordon Ramsay to Christopher Samuel Carroll for his outstanding, diverse performance work, which included performances in “Howie the Rookie” at Smith’s Alternative, “Metamorphosis” at The Street Theatre, Icarus at The Street and for a striking Malvolio in Lakespeare’s outdoor production of “Twelfth Night”.

The new award is an initiative of the Tsongas family to keep alive the memory of their daughter and sister, the well-known Canberra actor Helen Tsongas (Brajkovic) who died in a motorcycle accident with her husband eight years ago.

The ACT Arts Awards evening, hosted by the Canberra Critics Circle at the Canberra Museum and Gallery, also featured the circle’s own awards.

They were made to: visual artists Julie Ryder, Raquel Ormella, Dianne Fogwell,

Hiroe Swen, Helen Aitken-Kuhnen, Mio Kuhnen, Gilbert Riedelbauch and Keiko Amenomori-Schmeisser; writers Ginger Gorman, Kathryn Hind, Robert Macklin, Moya Pacey, Sandra Renew and Nigel Featherstone; dance artists Zara Bartley, Daniel Convery, Nathan Rutup, Ryan Stone and the Australian Dance Party; theatre artists Jarrad West , David Atfield, Omar Musa , Christopher Samuel Carroll, The Street Theatre and Mockingbird Theatre; musical theatre artists Pippin Carroll, Pee Wee Productions and Charlotte Gearside; musicians Barbara Jane Gilby, Louise Page, Phillipa Candy, Michael Dooley, Christopher Latham, Dan Walker and Super Rats, led by Tim Meyen; film producers Lisa Shaunnessy and Andy Marriott , and film director Tony D’Aquino

Christopher Samuel Carroll… winner of the inaugural Helen Tsongas Award for Excellence in Acting.

Canberra’s biggest family picnic, with all your Broadway and West End favourites. November 30, 6pm Book online at cso.org.au/prom

Do you want to get out of the house and meet new people?

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CINEMA

Torture, up close and personal

By Dougal MACDONALD

“The Torture Report” (M)

THE topic of “The Torture Report” is the conflict between US govern ment agencies over the application of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques on Muslim prisoners in the wake of 9/11.

The principal players in the story, people so high on Uncle Sam’s totem pole as to be newsworthy, were news makers at its time and in its place. Its flavour is documentary performed by actors. Its substance is best described as information overload.

Adam Driver plays Daniel Jones, who was assigned the task of investigating how the CIA was torturing prisoners-of-war.

Adam Driver plays Daniel Jones, to whom Senator Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening) assigned the task of investigating how the CIA was torturing prisoners-of-war with “beating, binding in contorted stress positions, hooding, subjection to deafening noise, sleep disruption, sleep deprivation to the point of hallucination, deprivation of food, drink, and withholding medical care for wounds… waterboarding, walling, sexual humiliation, subjection to extreme heat or extreme cold and confinement in small coffin-like boxes”. The film reconstructs sequences showing several of these (the end credits list many stunt persons).

How does it play in Australia? That will depend on how local

media covered the story and how much attention we individuals gave to it. Characters and agencies in the film may well be household names in the US. Politics at ground level here is tiddlywinks compared with its byzantine American cousin.

I was glad to see the end titles start rolling. Not because the film is ill-fashioned – it certainly is not. But because of that information overload in unfamiliar and complex political territory.

At Dendy and Palace Electric

“Ford v Ferrari” (M)

IN this rev-head thriller based on a conflicting moment in motor-racing history, Matt Damon heads the cast list

DINING / super bao, dickson

playing car-builder Carroll Shelby.

But the real human star is Christian Bale as Ken Miles, the English engineer and driver who drove the Ford-engined GT40 to victory ahead of the Ferrari team in the 1966 Le Mans 24-hour sports car race.

Jez and John-Henry Butterworth have provided director James Mangold with a screenplay that kind-of cleaves to real history in telling the story about Henry Ford II’s determination to defeat Enzo Ferrari at Le Mans. It’s a good story and Mangold has done a good job of staging the racing sequences although purists may complain about little niggly elements such as the large number of close-ups of gear-changes and tachos and speedos as the cars do their stuff.

If there’s a villain, it has to be Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas), the Ford sycophant with ambitions. Caitriona Balfe is a sweet Mollie Miles and Noah Jupe is likeable as young Peter Miles. Ray McKinnon is the workshop genius Phil Remington who could fix anything. And Tracy Letts does great bombast as Henry Ford II striving to be as good as his famous dad.

At all cinemas

“Marriage Story” (MA)

NOAH Baumbach has written and directed this fictive drama exemplifying what can happen

in the US when a husband or a wife feels that it’s time to end the partnership.

Why do theatrical director Charlie (Adam Driver) and actress Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) decide that their marriage is over? The screenplay hurtles down a path defined not by the end of love but by a determination to follow the decision right to its end. In the middle of the dispute, little Henry (Azhy Robertson) adds a poignant dimension.

Divorce can be amicable or a minefield of dispute, recrimination, grief, discomfort, anger and sorrow, delivered in this case with an ongoing discomfort about the absence of causation’s details.

The film makes much of not only the essentially adversarial nature of divorce, but also of the parasitical contribution to the mix of legal advisers lured by breathtakinglyhigh hourly fees.

Driver’s performance is outstanding, manifesting Charlie’s conflicts where he is the more aggrieved participant. Johansson’s performance too is admirable, yet leaving us wondering why Nicole is determined to persist; a sense of predictability often comes close to the film’s surface, without actually coming to fruition. Alan Alda is effective as Charlie’s wise old legal counsel.

“Marriage Story” has brought Baumbach several nominations for peer-group awards.

At Dendy

Bao buns that pack a tasty punch

By Wendy JOHNSON

FOR a long time, Super Bao could only be spotted at some of Canberra’s finest markets and festivals.

In April, owners Paul Xu and Angel Zhang took the plunge and opened

with over a dozen options to choose from – all prepared fresh without egg, wine or MSG.

Imitation ‘meat’ dishes made from soybean. Gluten and peanut free available on request. Party and large group bookings available.

a restaurant in Dickson.

Our group of five gave several types of bao a run. The soft fluffy bao buns are made on site daily, starting around 6am, and the fillings all packed a punch on taste.

There are six types and a couple of “baogers” (bao burgers) on the menu, as well as small dishes and big dishes. Sharing is the go…

The slow-braised pork belly bao came with pickles, coriander and crushed peanuts, the crackling pork with mixed cabbage, cucumber and Hoisin sauce and the Shanghai Duck with sliced carrots, spring onion, cucumber and orange. They’re fabulous value – all $7.50 (the prawn is $8). We could have grazed on bao all day, but were too anxious to try some of the small dishes.

The tuna tartare with tiny, oh-so-neatly-cut avo cubes, was fabulous and the lemon soy dressing perfectly balanced ($13). We drooled over the wonderful wontons stuffed with pork and basa fillet and coriander, served with spicy vinegar ($7 for five pieces).

Equally delish was the rare eye fillet, which we dipped in ponzu sauce ($14). The soft-shell crab, cooked in a light and crispy lemon pepper batter, married well with wasabi cream ($12).

Don’t go past the Yuxiang

Super Bao’s most popular dishes. We couldn’t pinpoint why ($12), perhaps our tastebuds had been too spoiled by then.

The wine list is compact and reasonably priced, including our 2018 Cofield Rose from Rutherglen ($36 a bottle). Super Bao makes cocktails in carafes and its “Super Cocktails” are $15-$17. Beers include Orion Lager from Okinawa and Kirin Ichiban from Tokyo.

The massive artwork on the wall as you enter is by Paul. It explodes with colour. Look closely to spot Super Bao references and runners such as the ones famous basketball

Aside from the artwork, the decor is comfortably minimalist. Walls and ceiling are white, tables a light wood and the light fixtures dark brown or tan. The service was attentive and “super” friendly (there’s that word again). This is a delightful establishment in every sense. We scanned dishes on our phones with the QR code for professional shots of each dish. It’s a great way to decide how much food to order.

Celebrating Hawkie’s cartoonable face

By Helen Musa

WHEN it comes to cartoonable faces of recent Australian prime ministers, the late Bob Hawke’s is the winner.

In a recent survey by the Australian Cartoonists’ Association, Hawke was voted the favourite PM to draw. “Hawkie”, or “the Silver Bodgie”, won with 28.5 per cent of the vote. Tony Abbott was runner-up with 23 per cent and John Howard and Julia Gillard came in equal third.

Caricature artist Mark Tippett will stage an exhibition of Bob Hawke cartoons from November 30-December 14 at the Kurrajong Hotel, once home to many of our former leaders, notably Ben Chifley.

In “HAWKIE! Drawn to politics: Four decades of Bob Hawke cartooning brilliance”, there will be around 75 cartoons from 40 of Australia’s best cartoonists (with the odd New Zealander thrown in), not least Warren Brown, Bill Mitchell, Sean Leahy, Bill Leak, Alan Moir, Eric Löbbecke and Jeff Hook.

As the “Daily Telegraph’s” Warren Brown put it: “In his prime, his face was broad, crevassed and suntanned, his mouth in a kind of permanent scowl, eyes laying aggressively beneath those eyebrows –great scimitars of disapproval – the whole lot topped with a luxuriant shock of immaculate silver hair.”

The exhibition comes in the lead-up to the annual cartooning summit at the Museum of Australian Democracy (MoAD), which features the launch of “Behind The Lines” and the Stanley Awards.

During his time as PM, Tippett says Hawke recorded the highest popularity rating ever measured by an Australian opinion poll, reaching 75 per cent approval in 1984.

The exhibition will showcase his early career, spanning his time with the ACTU to becoming Australia’s 23rd prime minister in 1983 and including cartoon renditions of his now-famous remark as Australia II took line honours in the America’s Cup: “Any boss who sacks someone today is a bum”.

Filling in the gaps, Tippett reminds us that the Hawke government created Medicare and Landcare, brokered the Prices and Incomes Accord, established APEC, floated the Australian dollar, introduced the Family Assistance Scheme and oversaw the passage of the Australia Act, much to the delight of Australia’s cartoonists.

Tippett says the show is “not only a testament to Bob’s ‘everyman’ charisma and powerful identity, but also serves as a time capsule for the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s from some of this country’s best black-and-white artists.”

According to Steve Panozzo, secretary of the

Bob Hawke by John Spooner (“The Independent Monthly”, c.1990).

Australian Cartoonists’ Association, it’s all been Tippett’s own hard work, since the association is busy with the Stanleys’ opening on the same weekend as the show’s formal launch.

“When he was looking around appropriate venues he found that the Kurrajong had been looking around for something different for the season.”

Tippett has devised a special event at the Kurrajong on December 5 featuring Labor powerbroker Graham “Richo” Richardson, with a likely appearance from former Foreign Minister Gareth Evans. And what will the guests be drinking? Hawke’s beer, of course.

HAWKIE! at Hotel Kurrajong, Barton, November 30-December 14. Free entry.

2019 Stanley Awards Weekend, Canberra, December 5-8. Registrations at cartoonists.org.au

ARTS IN THE CITY

By Helen Musa

SPECTRUM Big Band presents “Jazzmas”, a fundraising night of swing, food and dancing at Harmonie German Club, 7pm, Saturday, November 30. Book at harmonieclub. com.au or tickets at the door.

NOËL Coward’s “Waiting in the Wings” is set in a retirement community for former leading actresses. What could possibly go wrong? Director Stephen Pike has assembled a commanding line-up of Canberra’s leading ladies for seasons at The Q, Queanbeyan, November 20-23, then at Canberra REP Theatre, Acton, November 27-December 7. Book at theq.net.au or canberrarep.org.au

“THE Chaser” and “The Shovel” have combined forces to bring audiences “The War on 2019”, promising to relive Australian political mediocrity in all its glory. At The Playhouse, Tuesday, November 26. Book at canberratheatre.com.au

SINGERS Simon Gleeson and Genevieve Kingsford and guest conductor Geoffrey Castles join Canberra Symphony Orchestra to present Broadway and West End numbers in the 2019 Shell Prom summer picnic concert, Government House, Dunrossil Drive, Yarralumla 6pm, Saturday, November 30, gates open 4.45pm. Book at cso.org.au

THE first winner of the Australian International Chopin Piano Competition in 2011, Peter de Jager, will perform a concert called “Heart of Poland” at the Larry Sitsky Recital Room, 7pm, Friday November 29. Book at friendsofchopin.org.au or tickets at the door.

ART Song Canberra’s next concert will be given by popular husbandand-wife duo, mezzo-soprano Christina Wilson and pianist, Alan Hicks. “Journey’s End”, songs by Schumann, Debussy, Sculthorpe and Granados, will take place in Wesley Music Centre, 3pm, Sunday, November 24. Book at trybooking. com or at the door.