Well written, well read
Hospital beds lost as Labor dumps health plan JON STANHOPE Memorial is about people not war machines PAUL COSTIGAN
Community council raises stink on recycling centre BELINDA STRAHORN
New Rotary district governor MICHAEL MOORE wants to share the ‘amazing things’ it
By Danielle NOHRA
SEVENTY household
representatives from the upper part of Goyder Street, Narrabundah, have signed a petition calling on the ACT government to take urgent steps to fix the street’s traffic issues.
Residents living on the top part of the street, which sits between Jerrabomberra Avenue and Dalrymple Street, have been there since before the new developments, and have united to raise frustrations around planning, traffic, speeding, noise, and even safety fears.
One resident, Daniel Harrison, has a seven-year-old daughter, and says she’s absolutely not allowed past the front gate.
“It’s a shame because it’s a residential street but she can’t go past the front gate because of the speeding traffic on the street,” Daniel says. He’s not alone when it comes to these concerns, with another family saying they’re looking into moving because of concerns for their two young children.
The petition claims that the excessive volume of traffic on Goyder Street is “seriously affecting [their] ability to
Arts & Entertainment 19-21
Canberra Matters 10
Cinema 20
Crossword 22
Dining 21
Gardening 23
Horoscopes 22
Letters 11
News 3-15
Politics 14
enjoy living in [their] neighbourhood”.
“These issues affect the safety, enjoyment and amenity of our street. It has made our street unsafe for families,” according to the petition.
Making the issue worse, the ACT government has permitted three developments on the street since 2017 (one finished, one underway and one planned), bringing 220 new homes which the residents fear has worsened, and will continue to worsen, the traffic issues.
“It stems from a lack of planning from the outset,” Daniel says.
“You’ve got a whole bunch of new developments that are going to significantly increase the amount of traffic but there’s not been any infrastructure improvements to handle it. These residences are not even at capacity yet.”
Daniel, who doesn’t believe there’s any government funding to fix these issues, suggests that the building developers could contribute money towards the new infrastructure needed to support their expansions to the street.
“The solution isn’t speed cameras or police,” says Daniel, who has a background in projects and risk management, and from that perspective, suggests that a bus bay could be more effective, and could improve the flow rate of the street.
“People are breaking the rules. They try and get around buses and cross on the other side of the road quickly to avoid getting stuck behind
them,” he says.
“When you put all of the issues together, with inadequate traffic solutions, people start to get frustrated, they make rash decisions and someone gets hurt.
“It’s absolutely a safety concern when you’ve got traffic that’s backing up and taking about 20 minutes to clear at the intersection.”
Lacking proper planning from the outset, Daniel says Band-Aid solutions have been used in an attempt to fix the problems, and he worries that the government will use more.
Another resident, Elizabeth Wetherill, who’s been living on the street for four years says the traffic has got
much worse.
“A lot of it seems to be people using Goyder Street as a shortcut,” she says.
“There’s families that fear that their children will run out on to the street.
“During the planning stages for the retirement villages I don’t think that the government had really paid attention to the amount of traffic that they would generate.”
After speaking with the government earlier in the year, Elizabeth conducted a survey asking the street if they were happy with the government’s response, and out of the 34 people who participated, 74 per cent of participants said they weren’t happy, 21 per cent said they weren’t sure, and
five per cent (two people) said they were happy.
Out of all the issues 70.5 per cent of participants said they want measures put in place to improve traffic flow at the top of Goyder Street (near Dalrymple), which Elizabeth says can often be congested and hazardous.
About 68 per cent said they want a ban on trucks once the developments are complete and about 44 per cent want the speed limit on the street reduced.
At the “hazardous” intersection between Dalrymple Street and Goyder Street, resident Jinglong Chen recommends that the government put in a traffic light or roundabout.
“I have been living in Goyder Street since 2012 [and] the traffic volume has increased dramatically in recent years,” he says.
“With the completion of the Marymead and [another] new retirement village, the traffic is likely to be increased rather than decreased.”
Jinglong also proposes that a new speed limit of 40km/h is implemented on the section of Goyder Street between Jerrabomberra Avenue and Dalrymple Street to reduce the noise and increase safety.
He wants there to be rules or signs to divert the traffic to Hindmarsh Drive via Jerrabomberra Avenue, too.
Elizabeth says the street would welcome a meeting with government officials to address these concerns.
Seven Days 4 Cover: New Rotary district governor Michael Moore.
Photo: Holly Treadaway. Story Page 8.
Highly
Since 1993: Volume 26, Number 32
Managing Director: James Anderson, 0404 077605, james@citynews.com.au
Director: Kate Meikle, kate@citynews.com.au
Senior advertising account executives: David Cusack, 0435 380656
Tracey Avery 0477 939999
Advertising account executives: Damien Klemke, 0439 139001
Tim Rutherford, 0412 933150
Editor: Ian Meikle, editor@citynews.com.au
Assistant editor: Danielle Nohra, danielle@citynews.com.au
Journalists: Belinda Strahorn, belinda@citynews.com.au; Kathryn Vukovljak, kathryn@citynews.com.au
Arts editor: Helen Musa, 0400 043764, helen@citynews.com.au
Production manager: Janet Ewen
Accounts: accounts@citynews.com.au
Please
WOOLIES would like us to, but ACT Health isn’t recommending we wear face masks for shopping or much else at the moment.
“At this stage Canberra has no cases and no evidence of community transmission of COVID-19 and, therefore, there is no current recommendation to wear face masks in the ACT,” is the argument.
But don’t get too comfortable. Chief Minister Andrew Barr is advising Canberrans to be ready for a time when the chief health officer may recommend wearing face masks in the ACT.
“The most effective actions continue to be physical distancing, good hand hygiene and staying at home if you are unwell and getting tested for any COVID-19 symptoms,” the Chief Minister says.
“A further sensible precaution is to avoid crowds. We all have a responsibility to reduce crowding in public areas, shops and
So it seemed a bit unexpected to also get the news from
ACT chief health officer Kerryn Coleman that the casino and gaming in clubs are good to go again, as is food-court dining, steam-based services such as saunas, steam rooms and bathhouses, and strip clubs and escort agencies.
“These changes will see us move to stage 3.1 of Canberra’s recovery plan,” she says, with an optimism that possibly belies the public mood.
FORMER chief minister (and “CityNews” columnist) Jon Stanhope describes the recent announcement by Andrew Barr and Housing Minister Yvette Berry of a “nationleading investment in public housing” as “risible”.
“The government has done little more than re-announce the ‘commitment’ it made two years ago to build an extra 200 units of public housing over five years,” he writes in a comment on citynews.com.au
“The newly announced ‘nation-leading investment’ will now extend that to 260 units (and we can be sure they will be units and not houses) over six years.”
However, he says, the practical effect is that rather than building 40 units of public housing a year for five years the ACT government will now build 43.3 units of public housing for six years.
“To provide further perspective on just
how ‘minimal’ the impact of this risible announcement is, the population of the ACT will, over the six years that the mooted housing is dribbling out at 43.3 houses a year, increase by around 8000 people a year or by 50,000 people in total.
WHAT’s happening at Access Canberra? Apart from mine and a couple of other readers’ recent weird experiences comes this diarised horror show from my Campbell snout, a mature gentleman, trying to renew a driver’s licence due to expire on June 10.
May 15: Reminder letter from Access Canberra (AC) advising the need for the medical certificate validating health and happiness and the ability to drive.
May 20: Complying medical certificate posted to AC and received May 22.
June 15: Very efficient letter from AC, dated June 11, advising suspension of licence.
Yikes, I’ve been driving unlicensed for five days! Urgent call to AC, who said they would investigate and call me back today. No-one called.
Second copy of medical certificate sent electronically and urgently to AC.
June 16: Rang AC again. Refused to hang up until they confirmed both copies of medical certificate received and, at my insistence, send an email advising of my reinstatement as a licensed driver.
Sought a written explanation from AC as to why this occurred via their complaints email system.
August 5: Still waiting.
A FUNNY moment on my radio interview show “CityNews Sunday Roast” (10am-noon, 2CC) with fertility expert and obstetrician Prof Steve Robson poised to speak on air after an ad break when the dulcet tones of the Three Rivers Pest Control owner preceded him with the promise: “You breed them, we kill them”.
ONE of my southern snouts went to recycle a couple of boxes at her local recycling centre only to discover, she says, that Tuggeranong residents don’t seem to get the concept of the cage.
CONSUMER-behaviour researchers Toluna surveyed 1091 Australians and evoked these headlines: with cash payments frowned upon for hygiene reasons, 62 per cent of respondents now use digital or card payments for every purchase, where possible. Although many expect a rise in remote working, 43 per cent of respondents said they’d be happy to, and even want to, return to their workplaces; 11 per cent said they want to return but don’t feel it’s safe yet. Only 13 per cent stated they didn’t want to return at all.
A NEW study (for a blind company) into the most common sleeping habits of Australians has revealed the average respondent polled manages just five hours sleep a night, with “lying on stomachs” the most common position (53 per cent). Furthermore, of the 2000 respondents, 48 per cent typically go to bed after midnight, 30 per cent between 10pm-11pm and 15 per cent before 10pm. Just 15 per cent wear pyjamas, with 42 per cent opting to sleep naked. Heaven knows what the other 43 per cent go to bed in.
AND there’s a covid silver lining for plastic surgeons with noted Sydney practitioner Dr Eddy Dona saying we’re in the grip of a national boob-job boom. “Women are using super and drawing on savings to undertake ‘self-enhancement’ surgery during COVID,” he says.
Ian Meikle is the “CityNews” editor and can be heard on the “CityNews Sunday Roast”, 10amnoon, on 2CC.
At Neilan Stramandinoli Family Law, we pride ourselves in our proven track record, our commitment to excellence, and expert knowledge of family law. We understand how difficult and emotional family law matters can be, we are compassionate and empathetic, guiding you towards the best possible solution for you.
For separating couples:
• Parenting arrangements
• Dividing property and superannuation
• Family violence matters
New or existing relationships:
• Best arrangements for your children
• Protecting assets and yourself
• Preserving entitlements
For a fixed fee initial appointment phone us on 02 6152 0493 Email: info@nsfamilylaw.com.au Suite 2 Ground Floor 11 London Circuit, Canberra City, ACT 2601 nsfamilylaw.com.au
By Belinda STRAHORN
RESIDENTS in Canberra’s inner south will have just over three weeks to raise their objections to controversial plans for a new recycling centre in Fyshwick.
A development application for Capital Recycling Solutions (CRS) materials recovery facility in Ipswich Street is now imminent, after the ACT government accepted the proponent’s environmental impact study (EIS).
Members of the Inner South Canberra Community Council (ISCCC) say a three-week community consultation period is “unacceptable” and a “mockery to the process”.
The council is calling on the government to extend the consultation period from 15 working days to 45 working days, given the “massive” amount of documentation needing to be “absorbed” and “responded” to.
“We will need more time,” ISCCC chair Marea Fatseas said.
“This is a significant development and there will be masses of documents to wade through, we are all volunteers, it’s a mockery.”
CRS, a joint venture between Access Recycling and Sydney-based Benedict
Industries, wants to build its materi als recovery facility on Ipswich Street, adjacent to the rail line, to process the territory’s waste and extract recycla ble materials, with existing kerbside collection trucks transporting gar bage to Fyshwick.
CRS director Adam Perry said the project will bring $30 million worth of investment and dozens of jobs, sup porting the territory’s post-coronavi rus recovery.
He labelled the ISCCC’s calls for a longer consultation period as “dis ingenuous”, and will only serve to “delay” and “frustrate” the company’s plans.
“Community groups have a genuine place in the planning process but I think the ISCCC has become a grandstanding opportunity for a handful of people who would object to anything without offer ing alternative ideas,” said Perry.
“The horse has bolted, the EIS looked at the impact of the proposed develop ment from traffic to odour to impacts during construction, every single ele ment of impact was considered in the EIS and the minister has accepted that.”
Despite 400 objections on behalf of more than 1000 people and a “critical review” commissioned by the government, Fatseas says the ISCCC was “astounded” that the EIS was accepted, late on a Friday afternoon in July.
But a spokesperson for the ACT government said the acceptance of the EIS
DA is lodged.”
The spokesperson added that the proponent has already “altered” their proposal “significantly” in response to local community concerns.
The project – three years in the pipeline and designed to improve the territory’s recycling capabilities – will divert 300,000 tonnes a year of waste from landfill at the Mugga Lane Re -
well in recycling and has one of the worst performing landfill rates per capita and so the ACT government were looking for solutions, and we could offer solutions, so we put our hand up and said this is what we can do.
“We can point to many facilities like what we are proposing, it’s not new technology, we are doing the same thing as everywhere else in the world.”
The ISCCC remains sceptical of the “claimed recycling benefits” and says the cumulative air quality, noise, odour and truck movements of the facility combined with two other recycling centres proposed for Fyshwick would have an “immense” impact on
“The government isn’t listening to the concerns of residents of Narrabundah, Fyshwick, Symonston, Griffith and Kingston, thousands of whom live less than two kilometres from the proposed waste-hub sites,” Fatseas said.
“In allowing this to happen in Fyshwick, has the government sought the views of the 1000 businesses that operate in Fyshwick, the second largest economy in Canberra, worth $2.3
“Has it asked the three childcare centres in Fyshwick and Symonston and the parents of the children who
Perry said: “They [ISCCC] say odour is one of the sticking points but there are two identical facilities in Sydney and you can stand right next to them and they don’t smell, they are built to contain the odour.”
“We welcome comments from the ISCCC, I haven’t heard from them for a long time and I would be happy to answer questions.
“Perhaps they ought to remember we are trying to come up with a solution for their rubbish.”
By Danielle NOHRA
WHEN former ACT health minister Dr Michael Moore was asked by his father-in-law to join Rotary, he answered: “Give me one good reason to.”
And his father-in-law did: “You could be part of getting rid of polio in the world.”
Eighteen years on and Michael, district governor of a new, upsized Rotary district, tells “CityNews” this story over a coffee (hot chocolate for him) at a cafe not far from his home in Reid.
Seventy and retired, Michael shows no signs of slowing down. He recently finished a PhD before taking on this position to govern District 9705, which is the amalgamation of districts 9700 and 9710.
What drew him in has kept him there, and a burst of excited light flashes through Michael’s eyes when he says: “We’re so close to eradicating polio worldwide.
“We’ve only ever eradicated one other disease before with smallpox.
A prominent figure in the world of health (he was the CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia, 20082018), Michael served as health minister – and Australia’s first independent
minister – from 1998, ending a year before he joined the Rotary Club of Canberra in 2001.
It was during his time in ACT politics that he became interested in public health.
“When I got elected I became the chair of the Select Committee on HIV, Illegal Drugs and Prostitution,” says Michael. As part of that role, he was receiving submissions for harm mini misation and for prohibition.
Both submissions made good points and Michael, a former school teacher, wanted a better understanding of these issues so he enrolled into a mas ters in public health at ANU.
Knowledge drove him to take on this degree, and when “CityNews” asks about the challenges he faced studying and being a politician, he modestly shrugs, his distinguished, grey-white beard momentarily droops over his white, collared shirt, and he again says: “I wanted a better under standing.”
In the end, he fell to the side of harm minimisation.
It was this interest in public health that drew Michael to Rotary and its six focuses – peace; fighting disease; providing clean water, sanitation and hygiene; saving mothers and children; supporting education and growing local economies. He’s managed to influence a seventh: environment.
Michael’s proud of the “amazing things” Rotary does, such as supporting education in schools in Africa and PNG, working on clean-water systems in Nepal and his top motivator, eliminating polio worldwide.
guments against immunisation.
“If immunisation doesn’t work, how come we’ve almost got rid of polio?”
He says Rotary will continue to work hard to make change in the world and believes that District 9705, which includes the amalgamation of 83 Rotary clubs and about 2300 members from southern NSW and the ACT,
“The biggest benefit is the power of the number of clubs and the number of Rotarians, wherever the district, who can work together to do good in the world,” says Michael.
But, that doesn’t mean the organisation doesn’t need more members and
“The more members we have, the more good we can do in the world,”
“But my single, most significant goal is to have the clubs seeing themselves as one district and uniting in that way and taking advantage of the
Michael’s term as district governor will end in July next year, and while he doesn’t hint at slowing down any time soon, there are some things that have, such as ice hockey, a game he
Reliable:
Qualified:
“There is a misconception about
“For me, it’s not just an issue of polio
So while COVID-19 has, in some ways, made it harder to tackle polio, Michael says it doesn’t appear to have too much of an effect.
Despite trying to get in a game precovid, his son said: “It’s too tiring.” Turns out the tiring part is racing around protecting dad, not the actual playing!
Michael Moore is also a political columnist with “CityNews”.
An elderly woman with hearing loss came to my clinic for a second opinion, after she had recently been to a hearing aid sales person. I found the cause of her hearing loss was simply the fact that she had build-up of wax in her ears, the salesperson had failed to inspect them. You might be surprised how often this happens!
Here are some things to do to avoid getting ripped off:
1. A visit to the GP may save you from being ‘sold’ something when your only problem is wax in your ears.
Recently I was told by two different patients that they were quoted $16,000 for a pair of hearing aids. This seems a ridiculous amount of money to pay and is most likely not appropriate for the majority of people (or possibly anyone).
5. If you are a pensioner or partpensioner, or a DVA gold or white card holder, you should carefully consider if you want to use the free-to-client government hearing aids or if you’d like to top-up to a different hearing aid.
“In an unregulated market there is a lot of opportunity to take advantage of people. Yes you have read correctly, there is no licensing of people who sell hearing aids.”
2. Look for someone who is independent and can offer you unbiased advice, not just give you a sales pitch.
– Dr Vass
3. There are a range of hearing aid prices. Finding the right hearing aid might save you money and it will also give you the best chance of success.
4. Hearing aids can be expensive.
The free-to-client hearing aids are appropriate for many people, however if you have great difficulty hearing background noise (for example in restaurants) then you might trial the top-up hearing aids, but only if you can afford them. There are a range of top up options and prices, if you are disappointed after a trial, you should return them and trial the free-toclient hearing aids.
If you get the feeling the person you’re dealing with is just trying to sell you something, then take a step back and get a second opinion.
REMINDER: the Australian War Memorial is about people
A lot has been said about the allocation of $500 million to massively reshape the AWM’s building that will largely alter the purpose of this national institution.
To introduce my opinion on this complex topic, I didn’t select an image of a building. I chose an image about people. The image, right, is of a presentation of more than 100 photographs at the beginning of a thoughtfully curated exhibition, “After The War”, that was at the memorial from October 2018 to September 2019.
The exhibition covered World War I to the present day. The curator used photographs of people and families involved, along with objects from the collection to illustrate the effect and the legacy of these awful conflicts on people.
This is what this institution does well –most of the time. There are some parts of the memorial where it is more
The debate about the future of the Australian War Memorial needs to focus on the fact that this institution is a memorial. It is about people. It is about remembering those who served, those who suffered and those who survived.
about honouring the war machines. It is this approach to the War Memorial that seems to be the basis for the proposed grand make-over. This should not happen as the reasons given are totally flawed and misguided.
The building is already more than fit for purpose, provided you agree that the memorial is not about the machines of war. As with the exhibition mentioned, it is a matter of leaving it to talented curators to arrange permanent and temporary exhibitions within the spaces already available. There is already ample space to cover all the events relevant to the memorial. The concept of adding to the building to allow it to become more like a Taj Mahal for war toys is repugnant.
The spaces within the memorial that have kept a solemn nature are a testament to the skills and intellect of staff past and present. This solemnity dissipates when you enter
other spaces that are more about the wonder of the war machines and about making noise to attract attention.
This conservative government was convinced by one of its own, a former politician, that the priority was to replace the new part of the building at the back with even larger extensions. Governments find money when they are convinced rightly or wrongly that there is a priority. If Veterans’ Affairs are not being funded appropriately, then more advocacy is required for that to happen. It is a separate issue.
The fact that other national institutions, the National Gallery etcetera, are being hit hard with cuts, is a separate and very serious matter for the culture of the country. These issues should not be confused with this politically driven and misguided allocation to change the nature of the memorial.
And mentioning politicians. They are a sorry lot. Alicia Payne, federal Labor, wrote an article in the local paper setting out the concerns of those who oppose the allocation of $500 million to tear down the new wing and to rebuild to cater for bigger war toys. She did a good job of summing up
everyone else’s arguments. Unfortunately, she failed to mention where she stood. We therefore assume that Labor is sitting on the fence – again.
Then there is Senator Zed Seselja, federal Liberal, who popped up again to support a stupid decision of his government. The government is pushing ahead despite the overwhelming evidence of being wrong – as provided by professional folk across Australia who care for the future of the War Memorial as a place to honour people (not war machines). That’s Zed for you. He has made it his job not to represent common sense and evidence-based arguments.
The debate about the future of the
Australian War Memorial needs to focus on the fact that this institution is a memorial. It is about people. It is about remembering those who served, those who suffered and those who survived and remain affected by these horrible events. What is happening to the memorial is an insult to those who served, their families and our communities. The $500 million could be better spent.
Paul Costigan is an independent commentator and consultant on the visual arts, photography, urban design, environmental issues and everyday matters.
On July 23, I wrote to “CityNews” voicing my annoyance at the Barr government with regard to the poor state of footpaths in one of the Hughes park commons.
I had initially responded to the government’s invitation to suggest ideas to make Hughes more “age savvy” back in 2018 and the resulting effort was zip.
I persisted with submissions to the Fix My Street portal via Access Canberra and the result was arrow indicators being spray painted on the footpaths for those segments that needed replacing.
That took place back at the beginning of 2019. Over a year later – July, 2020 – workmen appeared to finally replace these cement areas. I could hear a bit of their discussion about which areas were to be replaced – no wonder – the paint had since all but worn off the surfaces over the past year.
With the looming election in October, I can’t help but think that the Barr government is trying to buy my vote: “Look what we’ve done for you! Aren’t we fabulous!”
Well, too little, way too late, Mr Barr. I feel like the Barr government is trying to get my vote by finally performing this long-awaited work and that is insulting to say the least.
Come October, I’m going to give Mr Coe a go. I don’t think my vote would lead me away from the frying pan and into the fire but, at worst, perhaps just a different type of frying pan.
At this stage, I just want the Barr government gone. All Alistair Coe needs to do to be an effective leader of Canberra is to listen to the community eg. when a master plan is drafted after intensive community consultation, don’t change it to suit developers!
Unlike the Barr government, hopefully Mr Coe won’t yield to the grubby, greedy developers that are systematically stripping away our precious bushland replacing it with concrete and sardine-tin residential development.
Oh, and Mr Rattenbury? I hope your time in bed with Labor was cosy because hopefully come October, the doona will be flung off!
Bec Henson, Hughes
WHO could disagree with ClubsACT chief executive Gwyn Rees when he says: “It is time for the hypocrisy to end” (CN, Letters, July 30). However, when it comes to hypocrisy, it is ClubsACT that is the primary culprit.
The fact that ACT gaming venues contribute money to problem-gambling funds may make these clubs feel more virtuous, but this does nothing to detract from the fact that it is the clubs who have created, and who are perpetuating, the problem in the first place.
The ANU’s “2019 ACT Gambling Survey” reported that 17.3 per cent of gamblers in the ACT were at-risk and problem gamblers, including more than 25 per cent of high-frequency gamblers. Nearly 16 per cent of all gamblers in the ACT experienced at least one gambling-related harm in the previous 12 months. More than 5 per cent of the ACT adult population were adversely affected by someone else’s gambling. Poker machines were significantly associated with gambling-related harm. This is no surprise – poker machines are deliberately designed to be psychologically manipulative and addictive.
Imagine a group of restaurants that sold food that made their biggest-spending customers sick. Imagine also that these restaurants justified this food poisoning on the grounds that they provided financial contributions to a fund that provided information and counselling to people suffering from food poisoning. Imagine further that these restaurants argued that their practices were justified because their profits helped to support community activities, such as grassroots sport. Would we allow this to continue?
There are better ways to support community sport than through gambling losses, and responsibility for problem gambling is not erased by contributing to funds designed to help people struggling with the problems that are perpetuated because of clubs’
reliance on poker machine revenue.
If Mr Rees and the clubs sector were genuine about these concerns, and not just crying crocodile tears, they would commit to the types of meaningful reforms that would actually make a difference to problem gamblers and their families.
Karina Morris, Weetangera
WITH all the light Jon Stanhope and colleague Dr Khalid Ahmed have, for some months now, been shining (via “CityNews” and University of Canberra Policy Space) on the ACT’s precarious pre and post-COVID, significantly tram-driven, budgetary black hole, I’m completely at a loss and baffled as to why ABC Radio Canberra (“our” community station) has apparently been studiously ignoring their damning and scary budgetary revelations. If Stanhope and colleague are talking BS, I would expect the ABC to have at least challenged them (is this silence because their critique and analysis is largely factually-based?).
I can only conclude that an ABC Canberra “Cone of Silence” has descended over Messrs Stanhope and Ahmed (as with many other high-priority, publicinterest issues more broadly across “our” ABC).
Wayne Fyffe, Cook
ACTIVE travellers of all ages and backgrounds, encouraged and lauded as the necessary backbone of the “new improved” April 29, 2019 public transport network, seem to be forgotten when coronavirus testing centres are set up and skewed towards those who own or can access private transport.
This may prove to be a very costly oversight. Should local transmission of coronavirus and testing take off in Canberra, health and transport officials need to wake up to the fact that the limited July 18, 2020 public transport changes mean that many inner-north residents, for example, still need to make a lengthy two or three-trip bus or bus/rail journey to and from a walk-in testing centre in Crace, Garran or Weston.
Recent media coverage also revealed how those turning up to the Garran centre were forced to wait for an hour or more outside in wet, cold weather. Why would seeking out such a destination be a motivating undertaking if only “the sniffles” are being experienced, let alone if more debilitating symptoms are evident or if small children are in tow?
Those who do set off might try to avoid others by using local buses at off-peak times. However, these operate at the pre-2019 half-hour frequency during the daytime on week days and only offer very unsupportive two-hourly services all weekend.
Trips that still take longer than those scheduled pre-2019 and routes that still involve longer walks to and from transport stops would be more off-putting if feeling unwell. Taxi fares for long trips to testing centres would be out of the question for the majority, especially for those now unemployed or on reduced hours. Might not too many end up opting for selftreatment in the hope that symptoms will just go away and be passed off as a cold? What are we learning from Victoria in this regard?
Sue Dyer, Downer
DURING what can be an isolating time, Capital Region Community Services (CRCS) is reintroducing its INVOLVE programs to help older Canberrans connect with the community.
Social isolation is one of the tough things about getting older, particularly at a time where people have been asked to isolate because of a pandemic, says the CRCS executive manager of programs and services Jenelle Tinham.
The INVOLVE programs, which are for people aged over 65, originally started in February but were paused due to COVID-19. They’re now back, and over the next 12 months, Jenelle says they’ll be introducing some new ideas, too.
INVOLVE coordinator Claire Manning says the program has a wellbeing, creative and social focus, and includes building skills and knowledge around health and fitness, movie reviewing, IT skills, intergenerational storytelling, the creative arts, and opportunities to use state-of-the-art virtual reality technology.
“The program supports seniors through a wide range of engaging and fun activities that will keep older Canberrans moving, connected to their community, interested in life and expanding their horizons as well as maintaining social connectedness and beating isolation,” Claire says.
“As we age we tend to lose touch with our community and regular contacts and as we may no longer be able to confidently drive and remain actively engaged in work,
isolation can mean loneliness and inactivity.”
The INVOLVE program in August includes the sessions “Walkie Talkies”, a social walking program; “I Can Do ‘IT’ Myself”, where participants learn more about computers; “Not So Rotten Tomatoes”, which involves movie outings; and “Taste of Art” is about the creative process.
From September it will include virtual reality experiences in “Virtually Here, There and Everywhere”, “Timeless Stories”, which includes intergenerational storytelling with schools, and “I’ve Got a Plan”, which features guest speakers and opportunities to learn more about wellbeing.
The program varies, with something to suit everyone, according to Claire, who says that some of the stand-out experiences so far have been walking around the Jerrabomberra Wetlands, hearing “Timeless Stories” from Ireland, Singapore, Sydney and Queensland, building relationships with schools, and taking time to be creative.
“All our programs have something different to offer,” she says.
“We know that our over-65 community value their social interactions and have done a wonderful job coping with all the restrictions that have come their way this year.
“We encourage everyone to come along and try one or two of our programs that might fit with their interests.
“Active engagement and connection with others is vital to keeping well and interested in life.”
Capital Region Community Services. Visit crcs.com.au or call 6264 0200.
OKING FOR SOMETHING EXCITING TO THERE'S SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
WITH ACT Labor’s election pitch on interest-free loans for solar panels, a quick look in my analytical database reveals block-titled, detached houses with market values of $1 million-$1.5 million will qualify, but unit-titled townhouses with market values around $500,000 will not.
A political party that discriminates on an irrelevant, administrative variable rather than something like market value or household income has lost the plot.
Peter Bradbury, Holt
IN January my colleague Dr Khalid Ahmed and I posted a blog to the Policy Space at the University of Canberra in which we explored the causes of the extremely poor performance of the ACT’s public hospitals.
Our interest in doing so was sparked by claims by the Minister for Health, Rachel Stephen-Smith, that the increasingly poor outcomes were a consequence, in her words, of “not only increased presentations but more complex patients”.
On our analysis of the publicly available data, we found no evidence to support either of these claims and concluded that an assessment made at the time by the ACT AMA president Dr Antonio Di Dio, that the Minister’s claims were merely a distraction, were valid, and that the decline in the performance of Canberra’s public hospitals was a result of inadequate staffing, too few beds and the failure to invest in the physical upgrading and enhancement of health infrastructure.
We noted that as early as 2008 the then Minister for Health, Katy Gallagher had, with the full support of the ACT cabinet, developed a detailed plan to meet the future health needs of the territory.
The plan was known as the ACT Health Capital Asset Development Plan (CADP) and it was developed as part of an exhaustive examination of the future health needs of Canberra based on an analysis of population growth, the ageing of the community and all other factors relevant to an increase in demand for health services and inflation in health costs. It was estimated at the
time that there would be a 50 per cent increase in admissions over the decade to 2022.
The ACT government was, therefore, well aware, over a decade ago, of the expected increase in demand and was cognisant of the capacity limitations of the health system to meet that demand.
As a consequence, in 2010 Gallagher committed, as part of a range of initiatives, to provide an additional 400 public hospital beds by 2022.
In our paper Dr Ahmed and I noted that on the data then available from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) that up until 201516 the level of demand for public hospital beds
was closely aligned to the annual increase in bed numbers consistent with the CADP.
However, the AIHW has recently published further data on bed numbers in the ACT and across Australia and it is now clear that a decision was taken by Labor and the Greens in 2015, following the departure of Gallagher to the Senate and the elevation of Andrew Barr to Chief Minister, to abandon not just the commitment to increase bed numbers but to the CADP as a whole.
However, more alarming is that not only did the ALP and the Greens decide to call a halt to the scheduled increase in beds but they actually began to close existing beds.
The chart above, constructed from data included in the latest AIHW report, reveals not only a significant reduction in public hospital beds between 2016-17 and 2017-2018 but that, as at the end of 2018-19, there were 132 public hospital beds fewer than the number projected through the detailed analysis commissioned by Gallagher, and incorporated in the CADP, as the minimum required to meet the needs of the ACT community.
At the end of 2018-19, there were 132 public hospital beds fewer than the number projected in the ACT Health Capital Asset Development Plan of 2008 as the minimum required to meet the needs of the ACT community.
Health for a copy of the CADP. I was hoping to better understand the extent to which the current government had departed from the construction timeline which ACT Health believed, a decade ago, was required to ensure that the people of Canberra who depended on public health services, i.e. the poor and powerless, pensioners, the working class, battlers and others who once trusted the ALP for support, had the level and range of health services that ALP governments traditionally prioritised.
I received the following response:
The 2008-09 Budget allocated $300 million as a first tranche of $1 billion that the then government had committed to the implementation of the CAPD. The Budget also included $63.8 million for feasibility and forward design for a number of projects including the full redevelopment of the Canberra Hospital site.
I recently made an FOI request of ACT
Labor Party from 1998. He is the only chief minister to have governed with a majority in the Assembly.
I know many Canberrans feel the ACT government focuses too much on Gungahlin. In a lot of respects, though, Gungahlin is still playing catch up to the rest of Canberra when it comes to infrastructure and community facilities,” says EDDIE WILLIAMS
I WAS sitting on my own in a gutter, eating a pie from the Mitchell Caltex, wondering what on earth I had done with my life.
That was me on the day I moved to Canberra.
It was a wet Friday in April, 2014. I’d booked two nights at a motel and was banking on my ability to find a more permanent home very quickly.
After visiting my new workplace in Mitchell, I had arranged to see two prospective share houses that evening, both just up the road in Franklin. There was a bit of time in between visiting each house, so I figured I’d grab something to eat.
So there I am, walking the streets of Franklin in search of food, crossing the roundabout into Mitchell, wandering past the cemetery, and eventually finding that only one eatery was open – the servo! Moving to the ACT was starting to seem like a mistake.
Anyway, I had my pie and wandered back to the next share house, which I moved into two days later. I still live in Franklin, albeit in a different share house. And it’s been interesting to
watch the growth of the suburb, and the wider Gungahlin area, over the past six years.
Franklin and Harrison were basically dormitories when I arrived in 2014. People slept there and that was about it. Aside from the Har rison School and the Franklin Early Childhood School, the suburbs were purely full of homes, with not a shop or restaurant in sight.
How things have changed.
Franklin now boasts a supermarket, café, Indian grocer, GP, chemist, hairdresser, Singaporean restaurant and two takeaways. On the other side of the tracks, Harrison has its own dentist, Thai restaurant and Indian restaurant. And don’t forget the drones!
The growth of the Gungahlin Town Centre is plain to see, too – in the past six years, the swimming pool has opened, Eastlake Gungahlin has arrived, and the Marketplace has undergone a significant expansion, with more to come.
I know many Canberrans feel the ACT government focuses too much on Gungahlin. In a lot of respects, though, Gungahlin is still playing catch up to the rest of Canberra when it comes to infrastructure and community facilities (admittedly, with the exception of light rail). Major roads have only recently been duplicated, the cinema is still coming soon, the police station could use an upgrade and the variety of shops is tiny compared to what you find in other town centres. And like much of the ACT, there’s a shortage of sporting facilities, particularly for indoor sports.
The more established Gungahlin suburb of Amaroo has recently added
an Aldi to its local shops. New businesses have also opened in Mitchell, including a second petrol station (I might have to try one of their pies).
The region’s population was one of the fastest growing in the country even before light rail, and the tram has surely accelerated its development.
Unfortunately, all is not necessarily well in the town centre. Two eateries on Hibberson Street have been vacant for about 12 months and the Intersport store on Gribble Street has closed its doors permanently, citing the impact of the coronavirus – or as they described it in an email to customers, “a result of recent events”. So, what will it all look like in another six years? Is Gungahlin out of the gutter, or is it starting to get cold and soggy in the rain? With Yerrabi set to be a key seat in the upcoming ACT election, let’s hope we see candidates putting forward their visions for the Gungahlin of the future.
Eddie Williams is an award winning producer at 2CC.
CAUGHT between a rock and a hard place. The nature of our politics forces our voting decisions to be based on the “least worst” choice.
And so it is with the October election for the ACT. Nowhere is this more obvious than on issues such as planning, accountability, transparency and integrity.
Labor is the “rock”, having been comfortably in power for a couple of decades and seemingly immovable. The Liberals are the “hard place” as voters wonder if they can be trusted to do better? Or is there another alternative?
While the strong links between Labor and the unions have been understood for many years, it is not clear what role the unions have played in influencing the government on planning land development. What remains particularly unclear is the extent to which unions have acted as a go-between, linking big developers with the upper echelons of ACT government. It is an unhealthy alliance that is far too opaque.
Before the last election, the then Liberal Party leader Jeremy Hanson, who is again standing in the seat of Murrumbidgee, revealed a memorandum of understanding between the government and unions. That MoU stated: “Prior to any contract being awarded: The list of tenderers for each contract will be provided to Unions ACT” and later “only providers/performers of works and services who meet the set
What’s particularly unclear is the extent to which unions have acted as a go-between, linking big developers with the upper echelons of ACT government. It is an unhealthy alliance that is far too opaque.
criteria will be pre-qualified”.
There is but a forlorn hope for an inquiry and report by the ACT Integrity Commission before the election as I outlined in this column last week. Land deals and decisions that seem to favour large developers will remain opaque for the foreseeable future. Open and accountable government notions have drifted away.
Strong independents or minor parties may well be the solution to the lack of transparency and accountability.
The Canberra Progressives have seven candidates running in three of the electorates. They are demanding a government based on ethics, evidence and empowerment. Their website indicates a commitment to improving accountability and transparency.
Their take on evidence is interesting, “public policy that is informed by the most recent available data, based on expert advice, research and facts; not ideology or personal opinions”. There is also a focus on empowerment so that “Canberrans have a say and participate in both the community and in government. It is time that the ACT government listened to the people it represents”.
Parallel to this approach is that taken by Yerrabi independent candidate David Pollard. Like other Canberra Progressives, Mr Pollard’s platform includes strengthening the ACT Integrity Commission.
“The Labor/Greens budget will dictate if the commission will have enough resources to move forward properly with their investigations into corruption,” he says.
Independent candidate Bruce Paine is hoping to win the fifth seat in Kurrajong and provide “a new voice in the ACT Legislative Assembly. An independent voice that will champion economically sound, socially responsible policies, and will protect the things that make Canberra such a great place to live”.
One of the concerns that he expressed is that “too many of the current government’s decisions unduly favour developers, the construction industry and unions”. He added, “just look at their plans to fill in West Basin
and build more high-rise units”.
Paine already shares the cynicism of a seasoned politician, perhaps as a result of a career as a federal public servant working in Treasury. He presents as financially responsible but socially progressive.
He argues “the ACT Labor/Greens governments have raised our rates and other ACT taxes much more quickly than the community’s income”.
No doubt there is frustration for the independent candidate David Pollard, who ran an anti-corruption platform in the 2016 election. Although not elected, Pollard did receive the highest number of votes outside of the incumbent parties. His perspective is that “when the government of the day controls their resources, how independent can the commission be? Crossbench scrutiny can help strengthen the independence of the commission”.
Perhaps there is somewhere between that rock and the hard place!
Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly.
BELINDA STRAHORN shares tidbits from the race to rule the territory.
ACT Labor has unveiled its first major October election promise, offering interest-free loans between $2000 and $15,000 to cover costs of installing rooftop solar panels, household battery storage and hot-water heat pumps.
The Canberra Liberals have slammed the scheme, labelling it as just another example of a “tired old Labor dusting off old, existing policies” that will drive Canberra further into debt.
THE Belco Party has announced its own big election commitment to the return of the management of Namadgi National Park to the local First Nation Peoples.
Candidate and party leader Bill Stefaniak says: “For almost 20 years the Labor-Greens government has failed to deliver on this promise and we believe it is urgently overdue.
HUMOUR can be a hit-and-miss affair on the election trail, so hats off to Canberra Progressive’s candidate for Kurrajong Tim Bohm, who’s doing his bit to keep the election trail light. Bohm is running a large slice of his campaign via social media, and every day posts “bad dad jokes”. Most of them are really, really bad, like this one: “What’s brown and sticky?… A stick”.
THE battle of the veggies is alive and well at our house and I have exhausted every trick in the book in my quest to get my son to eat a more balanced diet.
Call it mother’s guilt, but I feel I did it all wrong when it came to our fussy first-born’s food.
As a baby, it was easy to spoon feed loads of the good stuff into his gob, but as he became a toddler it became a very hard sell.
Mind you, he was also a sick little guy and needed three surgeries over the ages of 18 months and 30 months for ear, nose and throat issues.
It resulted in a lot of times when yoghurt was a “good enough” dinner when everything was rejected by my sickly toddler. It was a tough time and I wonder if his blocked nose and ears impacted his taste for food.
That’s when we entered the “beige” phase that lasted so long it became a way of life. I almost tore my hair out. My son only wanted to eat beigecoloured food. Bread, pasta (plain), cheese, fish and chips and white rice
With more time at home, we instigated eating dinner together rather than two sittings and two different menus. Now family meal time has improved how much risk my son takes with trying new food.
were the only things we could get him to consume, despite efforts otherwise.
I envied the smugness of the parents whose kids chomped down broccoli florets like a packet of Twisties. I grew angry and frustrated every dinner time, when I tried to prepare something different with some hidden goodness. I grated and blended any vegetables I could get away with into fried rice, bolognese, rissoles, muffins... And don’t get me started on the vegetable pikelets that ended in the bin! It drove me crazy.
I would get excited that I had found the right recipe and then be so disheartened when it was discarded and I would give up for a period before trying again. Potato gems and sausages featured far too much in his diet and I felt guilty and tense about it.
My mothers’ group friends would share tips and tricks:
“Try soup!”
“Try smoothies!”
“Blend up the bolognese sauce so it’s impossible to pick out the zucchini!”
“I put grated apple into my mini muffins,” they would proffer.
The best our son ever did was eat a token raw carrot and the odd cucumber stick.
Now, at the age of six, I’ve had enough of this fuss and pantomime.
He’s very limited in what he likes. It’s enough to pack a decently healthy lunchbox, the same every day – cheese and ham sandwich, apple, cucumber sticks and popcorn – but just not enough to know that he’s enjoying the variety of healthy and interesting food and flavours.
One fine day, we might just want to take him somewhere that doesn’t serve chicken nuggets!
Sounds obvious, but family meal time has improved how much risk my son takes with trying new food.
extra chocolate frogs but it is doing the trick to get him to eat peas!
So we’re trying an old-school method and noticing a change. Covid has played a part in this – with more time at home as a family we instigated eating dinner together rather than two sittings and two different menus.
My turn to feel a bit smug, sitting round the table with my family, talking about our days while enjoying a stir fry or roast chicken. We still battle, but it’s not as bad if we all are on the same side of the dinner table.
Perhaps I am breaking the rules (tut, tut) but we do offer a reward when he does his best on his veggie challenge. It might cost us a few
His godfather, I’m told, used to only eat carrots, potatoes and apples when he was little, before widening his diet to broccoli “trees” and then becoming a full-blown vegetarian later in life.
So as painfully slow this is, I am heartened that we are taking baby steps, every mouthful making sure we get on the right path for our fussy first-born.
LOCATED south of Canberra’s city centre, the inner south is one of the oldest parts of the ACT. Today, its age and historic charm has found its way into the hearts of residents and businesses alike, with many businesses passionate about the inner south suburbs they work in. Here are some of them…
WITH a love for property management and a knack for keeping both tenants and landlords happy, Little Bird Properties provides knowledgeable, trusted advice to its clients, says director Heidi Russell.
Having started the boutique agency in November 2016, after leaving a larger local real estate company, Heidi says she saw a need for an agency focusing on property management.
“I wanted to attract top-quality staff who are experts in this field, rather than seeing property management as a stepping stone to other areas of real estate,” she says.
“It means that my goals for the business align closely with property owners’ goals for theirs. We have dedicated staff with a low turnover rate and we give property management the love it deserves.”
Heidi has 18 years’ experience in the industry and says she knows how to help guide property owners through the ins and outs of renting property and maximising their return.
She says it’s just as important to look after tenants by providing excellent service and responsiveness, and showing properties at a time that suits them.
Little Bird Properties also works with a range of trusted suppliers and like-minded business owners that can provide complementary services such as tradespeople, mortgage brokers, expert salespeople, tax depreciation specialists and accountants.
“We all love what we do and no day is the same,” says business manager Sharon Dei Rocini.
“Our customer service is excellent and we do what
we say we’re going to do. We’re also proactive, which sets us ahead.”
Little Bird Properties, 4/16 Bougainville Street, Griffith. Email heidi@littlebirdproperties.com.au, call 6153 3173 or visit littlebirdproperties.com.au
PILATES can be done any time and from anywhere, with the support of expert online instructors, says Pilates Canberra owner Lanette Gavran.
Once COVID-19 hit, Lanette acted fast and within four days had adapted classes to an online format.
Pilates Canberra at Hale Health Spa is now open again to restricted numbers, private or duet classes, though Lanette says they will continue with online instruction as it has been so popular.
“We had to completely close all our in-person classes and instead offered one-on-one support in real time, Zoom classes for groups and pre-recorded classes that people could do in their own time,” she says.
“We’ve found that it’s more convenient for many people, who are busy with work and families, or immunocompromised, and prefer to be able to do their class from home.”
With experienced instructors, who are able to watch students very closely and correct them online, Lanette says it’s been successful and she intends to continue.
“It was in the back of my mind to offer classes online at some point but it all happened sooner than I thought it
would,” she says.
“We do general strength and conditioning, as well as injury rehabilitation, and while some people have complex needs and specific conditions, it’s working out really well.”
Pilates training can also help improve flexibility and balance, and Lanette says mat work classes are just as worthy as using the equipment, for people who aren’t able to return to the studio yet.
“We have always had a significant focus on a high standard of hygiene and are following all protocols to create a COVID-safe and spotlessly clean space,” she says.
Pilates Canberra, 14 Macquarie Street, Barton. Call 0412 022917, email barton@ pilatescanberra.com.au or visit pilatescanberra.com.au
Experience specialised property management from our dedicated team in Manuka
Heidi Russell is the owner of Little Bird Properties with over 17 years experience managing properties Canberra wide. With a team of experienced & dedicated property management professionals with her, Little Bird Properties will handle all the day to day requirements for your investment property.
If you are spending more time managing your property than your current property manager is, contact us today for a chat about how our effective, efficient & communicative approach can help you. Making the change is easy.
Total Body Contouring founders Danielle, left, and Suzie Heath.
breaking treatments called the TESLAFormer and TESLAChair.
“The TESLAFormer and TESLAChair use functional magnetic stimulation to stimulate muscle contraction which is much higher than what typically the body can achieve through exercise,” says Suzie.
“The TESLAFormer strengthens muscles such as
By sitting in the chair for a painless and non-invasive 30-minute session, Suzie says males and females can benefit from an improved sex life due to the increase in blood flow.
Total Body Contouring, 3/22 Franklin Street, Griffith. Call 6239 7347 or visit totalbodycontouring.com.au
Mondays 9:10am: Buff Bones
Bone-strengthening & balance enhancing class
• Tone up, enhance posture, improve balance & gain overall strength
• Safe for those with osteoporosis, lower back conditions & arthritis
Tuesdays 7:00: Experienced Pilates
For those who have been doing Pilates for a few years
• Challenging and flowing mat class
Wednesdays 12:05pm: Foundation Pilates
For people with no or little Pilates experience
• A focus on the basics whilst still experiencing a flowing mat class
To benefit from expert tuition phone 0412 022 917 or email barton@pilatescanberra.com.au 14 Macquarie Street, Barton (part of the Hale Health Club at the Brassey Hotel) www.pilatescanberra.com.au
Here at Total Body Contouring we are the Ultimate Body Specialists, we focus only on the very latest in the non invasive medical to create your perfect body. All our weight loss and toning treatments are non surgical, non invasive, and there is no downtime.
One Cooltech treatment kills up to 40% of fat cells in just one 70 minute treatment.
Our new TESLAFormer and TESLAChair use very advanced Functional Electromagnetic Energy to stimulate the muscle contractions. This is much higher than what the body can achieve, and is equivalent to a whopping 50,000 full and complete muscle contractions in just one 30 minute session, which then utilisers the full 100% activation of our muscles total capacity and capability. All non surgical, non invasive, with no downtime and no pain management involved in the treatment. You will love what this technology can do for fast tracking the restorative care processes and your overall total body fitness and transformation.
OPENING HOURS: Mon – Fri 9:00am – 6:00pm Saturday 9:00am – 6:00pm
Shop 3/22 Franklin St, Griffith ACT 2603, Australia
info@totalbodycontouring.com.au totalbodycontouring.com.au
40% OFF TESLA CHAIR TREATMENTS (take your pelvic floor to the gym)
THERE’S a misconception at the moment that house prices are falling but it’s not the case, according to residential salesperson and property manager at Purnell Citywide Real Estate, Nick Purnell.
“If anything, house prices have gone up,” Nick says.
“Recent statistics from Allhomes showed an increase of 9.3 per cent, which is a really strong figure.
“Sellers may be thinking it’s not a good time to put their homes on the market and that they’ll get less for their properties, but as the supply side drops off the demand is increasing.”
Nick says the low supply of homes means prices are high, with strong auction results and suburb records being achieved.
“There’s particularly high demand from first time buyers, so there’s no better time to sell,” he says.
Government incentives are helping to keep the market moving too, Nick says, including the federal government renovation and building grants.
“There are buyers that may be waiting in the wings for a potential opportunity to arise but now is the right time to sell,” he says.
Nick, who was named “Agent of the Year for Kingston and Griffith” through Rate My Agent in January, says Purnell Citywide Real Estate has a good handle on the inner south of Canberra, with 23 properties sold in Kingston in the past 12 months.
Purnell Citywide Real Estate, 44 Giles Street, Kingston. Email nicholas@purnellcitywide.com.au, call 0401 043142 or visit purnellcitywide.com.au
Mon & Tue: 11am - 9pm
& Thurs: 11am - 10pm Fri: 11am - 11pm Sat: 10am - 11pm Sun: 10am - 9pm
LOCATED centrally at Kingston Foreshore, Prohibition: The Bottle Shop and Kingston Corner Store, showcases locally made products and a carefully curated selection of quirky, hard-to-get items, says owners Paul and Michelle Cains.
The husband and wife team say both stores offer a range of mainstream products as well.
As for the unique items, Michelle says the collection at Prohibition: The Bottle Shop features the work of the local brewers, distillers and winemakers.
“There is also an always evolving range of craft beers [and] spirits from small distilleries and artisan wineries,” she says.
Kingston Corner Store has a range of quality household essentials, as well as a selection of gourmet items such as prepared meals, cheeses and small goods.
“We have locally-made chocolate, fudge, honey, oils, vinegars, jams, chutneys [and] candles,” says Michelle.
Both businesses, she says, have adapted to the challenges of COVID-19, with local delivery and a contactless option available.
Prohibition: The Bottle Shop has partnered with key brands to continue to offer its popular, Facebook live “master classes” and Michelle says their virtual gin and whisky tastings have proved popular, too.
“We are working on launching an online wine and cheese tasting, all from the comfort of your own home – follow us on Facebook for more information,” says Michelle.
Prohibition: The Bottle Shop, 148 Eastlake Parade. Call 6295 0864. Kingston Corner Store, 6/81 Giles Street. Call 6260 8102.
By Helen MUSA
CANBERRA is brimming with talent when it comes to classical music, and one of the new bright lights is pianistviolinist, Arianne Tan.
Tan not only has a thriving teaching practice, but she’s been popping up everywhere of late, in a bushfire aid concert, in a Sylvie Stern Memorial Stage gig for the Covideo Virtual Gigfest, where she ventured into more popular music and occasionally playing the “yangqin” stringed instrument with the ANU Chinese Classical Music Ensemble.
Tan, 25, performs regularly in collaboration with the National Film and Sound Archive and has appeared in events hosted by Television Broadcasts Limited Australia, the Malaysian High Commission, Ostar International Media Group and Vivid Sydney as both soloist and a piano accompanist.
On July 24 she won a commendation in the Young Canberra Citizen Awards and is a current nominee of the 7News Young Achiever Awards ACT/NSW and the ACT Multicultural Awards.
A graduate of Yamaha’s perfect pitch course, she’s been studying piano since she was three in her home town of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and came to Canberra to study at the ANU School of Music during the turbulent period from 2013 to 2016. There she was mentored by the late Marretje Ida Sonnenberg-van Wezel, proponent of the “Sound to Symbol” pedagogical approach and decided to stay on.
She threw herself into her new community.
She’s collaborated with up to 16 schools in leading music bands, instrumental programs and private instrumental lessons and in preparing students for the Australian Music Examinations Board and the Associ
Tan is now concentrating on her teaching career in piano and violin, with a casual teaching contract and studio at Canberra Grammar School and another studio within the public school system.
She’s doing a research masters through the University of New England, while marking assignments of undergraduates at the university. She’s also studying with UNE’s Myung-Sook Auh and Professor Jane Fiske in Vancouver under a government training program, looking at how to develop the best practice method for delivering quality music education via videoconferencing.
That’s been raising a few hot questions, because teaching both piano and violin online throws up problems, especially, she says, with violin and piano duos, where time-lapse can occur and when a violinist’s fingers are off-camera.
By Helen Musa
WAVERLEY Council in Sydney has named Canberra photographer, academic and former NGA curator Helen Ennis in the longlist for the 2020 Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award for her book, “Olive Cotton: A Life In Photography” also recently awarded the 2020 Margarey Medal. The Nib is Australia’s only major national literary award of its kind presented by a local council and is judged on literary merit, quality of research, readability and value to the community.
THE National Library has re-opened its galleries to the public with an exhibition, “Australian Dreams: Picturing our Built World”, showing how artists have documented, interpreted and celebrated a variety of buildings from the Opera House and Flinders Street Station, to the inner-city terrace, the humble bush cottage and even The Big Merino. Exhibition Gallery, ground floor, 9am-5pm, until January 31. Free, no bookings required but there is a limit of 75 visitors in the exhibition’s gallery at any one time until further notice.
CANBERRA Writers Festival’s 2020 season runs this week with its usual mixture of power, politics and passion, winding up on Sunday, August 16 with sessions both live and streamed, including at 6.30pm a conversation between journo Rick Morton and 2020 Stella Prizewinner Jess Hill, and in the closing session, “Girls’ Night In”, a line-up of Julie Bishop, Jean Kittson, Bridie Jabour, Lizzy Hoo and Chris Ryan from 6.30pm-
8pm, book at canberrawritersfestival.com.au
CANBERRA Symphony Orchestra’s Kingsland resident artist, violinist Lucy Macourt, will be performing a program of reflective music for the solo violin at Wesley Music Centre, Forrest, from 12.40-1.20pm on Wednesday, August 19. Limited seating, book at trybooking.com/BKSPY or 6232 7248.
EXCITEMENT is mounting at Belconnen Arts Centre with the official opening of Stage 2 slated for Friday, August 21. Newly re-tagged “Belco Arts”, the centre has been doubled in size, with a new theatre, galleries, cafe, resident company offices and rehearsal studio. The first major performance will be a circus extravaganza, “L’entreprise du Risque”, in September.
OPERA Australia, the country’s largest arts employer, is unlikely to return to the stage until 2021 with an announcement tomorrow that the Brisbane “Ring Cycle” and “Aida” and the Melbourne and Sydney concert performances of “Lucrezia Borgia” have been postponed to 2021.
THE Australian Wind Symphony, formerly the Canberra Wind Symphony, is planning a free live music event within safe guidelines soon, but in the meantime has alerted us to its philanthropy page on the Armchair Philanthropy site, where would-be donors can support musicians for as little as $3 a week. Visit armchairphilanthropy. com/music/australian-wind-symphony/
“Black Water: Abyss” (MA)
IN 2007, Andrew Traucki and David Nerlich co-wrote and co-directed “Black Water”, in which a crocodile stalks a group of young adults from down south on a fishing trip on a North Queensland river.
It had slight successes in the awards game. It never came here.
In 2020, Andrew Traucki directed “Black Water: Abyss”, from a screenplay by John Ridley and Sarah Smith. It’s about a crocodile that stalks four young adults from down south who travel to North Queensland for a bushwalk.
“Black Water: Abyss” begins with two young Japanese bushwalkers in North Queensland arguing about which direction is the right direction. They separate. She panics. She follows him. Bye bye. A couple of days later, the four youngsters join up with a local and head north in a rented 4WD. The local bloke reckons he knows about an underground cave system.
Before long, the quintet is exploring an underground river that comes out into a large cavern. What happens next is not hard to guess.
And it doesn’t take long for members of the group, one by one, to fall victim to a crocodile.
In North Queensland and PNG, I’ve seen quite a few real crocodiles, in the wild, at a farm. They’re best when served in a curry.
Traucki’s film doesn’t need great acting and doesn’t get it. Advance publicity has
coupled the word “horror” with it. Horror has numerous derivative words, none of which can be truthfully applied to it. Its best ingredient is the aerial shots of North Queensland and its rain forests.
At Dendy
“Deerskin” (MA)
IS it a thriller? A psychological drama? A black comedy? A story of obsession? A fantasy escape from every restraint that human morality can devise?
Writer/director Quentin Dupieux’s brief (77 minutes) film is all of these and a little more. Since its release last year, it has collected nominations to a short collection
Stay in touch with the names making news on Sundays from 10am as 2CC and “CityNews” present Canberra’s only local weekend news and current affairs program.
It’s a revolving panel show that brings to the microphone great “CityNews” commentators and 2CC personalities.
Be part of the conversation call 6255 1206 between 10am and noon
of awards, as it rightly merits, but no wins.
On the day he gets out of prison, Georges (Jean Dujardin) declares that he never again wants to wear a jacket.
That changes when he sees and buys a deerskin jacket made in American woodsman style and gets a small video camera as a gift. He meets barmaid and would-be film editor Denise (Adèle Haenel) who may not be the sharpest pencil in anybody’s box but never mind, she has the gear and doesn’t ask embarrassing questions.
Georges becomes obsessed with using
the gift camera to make a film, without a script, without a crew. He takes to consulting the jacket about what he should do next.
He and Denise travel about France’s Pyrénnées-Atlantiques looking for stuff to film. In the process, he finds that a blade from a motel’s ceiling fan makes a fine tool for severing human heads. Whose heads? Many people are dying to be in his movie.
This simple and somewhat terrifying raison d’être takes over Quentin Dupieux’s film and might make any fair-minded filmgoer wonder when Georges’ escalating body count is going to bump into retribution.
And why sequences that should make us shudder should, almost against our wills, also make us at least smile if not giggle on the way to a brief sequence involving a character we met earlier and of whom we thought we had seen the last. Roll closing credits.
At Dendy
“We’ll End Up Together” (M)
IN 2011, I gave 3½ stars to “Little White Lies” (for which the original French title was “Petits mouchoirs” – “Little hankies”) the prequel to this, Guillaume Canet’s new movie. I doubt that my failure to remember it diminished the joy I took from meeting its
people again in “We’ll End Up Together”. Restaurateur Max (François Cluzet) is not happy. He’s getting his house on France’s Atlantic coast ready for the agent to start showing it to prospective buyers.
At the nearby town, a small coterie is gathering. They are mostly chums from “Little White Lies”. And they are coming to surprise Max to celebrate his 60th birthday in three days’ time. Which is the last thing he wants. It takes a while to sort out all the characters but the experience is good fun. As their presence becomes established, we sense currents of unease. After not seeing each other for more than a decade, their lives have moved in new directions. It’s going to take hard work from Canet’s screenplay to sort them out. Resentments are begging for resolution in forgiveness. Children ageing from a babe in arms to late adolescents are a distraction.
The film belongs to François Cluzet as Max, re-discovering friendships but, more importantly, his own value. It’s a great performance in a happy-ender made more credible by the close shaves traversed before arriving there.
At Palace Electric
By Nick OVERALL
TELEVISION’S most prestigious awards, the Emmys, were once upon a time duked-out between cable networks eager to put as many wins as possible on the cover of their next DVD box-set before it made its way into the bargain bin of JB Hi-Fi.
Now, like almost all competition in the industry, it’s a heated battle between streaming networks. The trophies get a digital display cabinet next to the descriptions, which give you the premise of TV shows as you’re looking for something to watch.
The nominations for 2020 were just released. Who came out in front? You can probably guess.
Netflix sped into first place with a whopping 160 total nods across all categories. That seems like a ridiculously large amount at first glance but makes more sense when you realise just how many Emmy awards there are.
In the nitty gritty there’s everything from Outstanding Voiceover to Outstanding Commercial. Those minor awards aren’t broadcast to the general public and just as well because these things go on long enough as it is.
I’d say Netflix’s win here very much comes down to its eagerness to pump out as many original shows as possible thanks to its massive budget as the leading streaming platform in the world, something I discussed in this column a few weeks back. Bet on every horse in the field and one is sure to come off.
That’s not to say there isn’t well-deserving
quality on the platform.
Where normally we’re used to seeing Jason Bateman in comedies such as “Arrested Development” and “Horrible Bosses”, he’s secured a Best Actor hat-tip for his leading role in the captivating series “Ozark”.
Here he’s a financial adviser turned money launderer for a drug cartel in exchange for his family’s safety. He’s joined by Laura Linney as his wife and partner in crime who’s also nominated for her performance among the show’s total of 18 including Best Drama.
Other notable mentions from the platform include its streaming phenomenon “Stranger Things” doing well as it usually does. And our previously written-up, crazy friend Joe Exotic would be happy to see “Tiger King” pick up six nominations including Outstanding Documentary.
It’s no surprise that HBO, the platform that funds the biggest of blockbusters such as “Game of Thrones”, produced another of these gargantuan series that ended up with more nominations than any other show this year.
“Watchmen” is the winner here with 26 nominations including Best Limited Series. Based on the DC Comics of the same name, it’s another in the superhero team-up genre, but a dark spin that sees the “heroes” come to be treated as criminals by the general public. This and other HBO series are available in Australia through the new Foxtel Binge.
Amazon Prime has also done well with its 1950s period piece “The Marvelous Mrs Maisel” grabbing 20 nominations, the most for any comedy series this year. It’s about a seemingly ordinary family woman who discovers she has a biting knack for stand-up comedy and follows her journey from small time cafes to the New York stage.
It’s fascinating how clearly the trends of the nominations follow those of the streaming world – how the networks spend, produce and cement their presence in the market. Disney Plus has made a good first Emmys impression, too, with its Star Wars hit “The Mandalorian” getting 15 total nominations.
New platforms are picking up steam in the race as they develop, however Netflix remains firmly in the lead.
Comedian Ricky Gervais summed it up at the Golden Globes last year: “This whole program should be me just coming out and saying, well done Netflix, you win everything. Goodnight.”
Perhaps this might not be the case for a whole lot longer though, this year’s nominations are proof of that.
The ceremony will be held on September 21 and, of course, it’ll be digitally streamed. Who would have thought?
By Richard CALVER
A COLLEAGUE was made redundant. We wanted to have a celebration of note to ease his pain and, to be frank (with whom I’m often confused), to help ease ours.
Flash back to an office sign on a Kiwi colleague’s desk: “Everyone brings joy to this office: some when they arrive, some when they leave.”
Three of us decided to arrange a dinner at a restaurant nominated by our departing mate and to share the cost so that he wasn’t out of pocket. He chose Wild Duck on the Kingston Foreshore where we had the $99 a head banquet, suitably adjusted for a gluten-intolerant member of the party.
The wine was a key to feeling better about the world as the cold grip of COVID-19 affects jobs and job prospects. We did talk about “getting other jobs” but that conversation quickly died when we discussed the unemployment figures which I later desultorily looked up.
They show that compared to early March, before the nationwide lockdown, there are an additional 1.12 million Australians now unemployed or under-employed. Researcher Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 12.5 per cent for July is significantly higher than the ABS estimate for June 2020 of 7.4 per cent.
I said to my friend: “These days, if an interviewer asks me where I see myself in five years from now, I just answer: ‘Hopefully, not dead’.”
At the restaurant, I had forgotten my reading glasses so instead of the painful process of trying to choose a wine that would please all, I handed the list to a mate’s wife and asked her to choose.
She chose a 2014 Mitolo G.A.M. Shiraz. When I blindly peered at the label I said: “Oh, is this a GSM, that’s shiraz driven?
“No,” she said. “He named the wine after his three daughters; we know because we went to the restaurant in the McLaren Vale.”
I checked the website later and, sure enough, in the description of how Mitolo Wines was born is the revelation that: “The first Mitolo wine, the 2000 G.A.M. Shiraz was named after Frank’s children Gemma, Alex and Marco.” Um, close with the daughters but Marco sounds like a boy…
The Mitolo range has resulted from a partnership with winemaker Ben Glaetzer and focuses on fruit from McLaren Vale-Willunga district. The G.A.M is the flagship wine and the winery has now received a five-star rating from Halliday.
The price was a surprise only revealed to me and the other non-choosers when the final tally came around: $119.00 a bottle, and we had the last two in the restaurant’s stock.
I subsequently found it retails for around $58 a bottle, so the mark-up was as would be expected. Mitolo was a potato grower and I had some dealings with the company in the early 2000s when I acted for the National Farmers’ Federation.
Mitolo has now become a producer of this lovely wine; it is always a pleasure to encounter grapes when you expected potatoes, especially made into wine of this quality.
The evening was punctuated by various exclamations of praise for this intense and complex drop. On the nose it had black fruit and bitter chocolate. On taste, it had tonnes of depth and a full finish. When the duck pancakes came out, they and the G.A.M. were a pas de deux of elegance.
This was an expensive night out but a great way to thank a colleague for his support and steadfastness.
We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere – Tim McGraw
The staff at Magoo’s are attentive and want you to be comfortable. There’s nothing they wouldn’t do
to make your visit a happy one,” says dining reviewer
WENDY JOHNSON.
MAGOO’S is a new café and bar on the Kingston Foreshore that lives up to its promise to provide a warm and inviting place to enjoy a drink, a bite to eat and live music on weekends (when COVID-19 restrictions allow).
Staff are attentive and want you to be comfortable. There’s nothing they wouldn’t do to make your visit a happy one.
Let’s start with the pricing. Magoo’s, even though it occupies a prime spot on the expensive Foreshore real estate strip, offers wines by the glass starting at $8 (and $30 by the bottle), cocktails sitting at $16 or $18 and bottled beers mostly $9. It’s great value for the Foreshore where I semi-recently paid $32 for two glasses of ordinary chardonnay at a bar. It’s nice to know you can head out without breaking the bank.
The food is also reasonably priced, with specials on our visit $14 to $20 and
set menu and one from the specials.
The salt and pepper squid ($15) was magnificently tender and tossed with a flavoursome combo of coriander and chilli. It was served with a cream aioli and next time I may order that as a main. From the specials, we indulged in the Spanish garlic prawns ($18). Like the squid, the prawns were super tender, absolutely delicious and worth every bite.
The winning main of the day was the gorgeous potato gnocchi
punch on flavour and the gnocchi wasn’t heavy as it sometimes can be. The dish also looked pretty on the plate.
The beef in the Guinness pie was tender and tasty but my mash was cold and the gravy didn’t seem like it was made in-house ($19).
The panko batter with paprika on the fish was super crunchy and the truffle fries were cold ($22). Staff promptly
By Danielle Nohra
A GROUP of Canberra veterans, almost a year after calling for donations in a “CityNews” article, has recently returned from giving guitars to children who had lost theirs in the summer bushfires.
During the three-day trip from Nowra to Narooma, ex-Navy man Colin Greef says they gave away 30 guitars and 15 ukuleles.
But, since the article, he says they’ve been able to give away 60 guitars, which were donated by “CityNews” readers, to disadvantaged children in the ACT and NSW.
The Soldier On guitar-playing group wants to share the positive power of guitar playing with troubled kids and will continue to take donated guitars (old and new) and guitar parts such as strings.
dealt with the issue by bringing another batch of the fries, which were lovely with bits of truffle.
On our visit, the music was by Mitch Canas who has been on the scene for yonks and is always a joy to listen to. Magoo’s was doing a stellar job controlling social distancing, better than most places we’ve observed of late. Hand sanitiser was available on entry and staff made sure everyone registered. There was even a small red rope at the entrance to help maintain control.
Magoo’s is on the water, across from Go Boats. It’s challenging opening a new venue in COVID crazy times and Magoo’s needs to tweak some operations, which I’ve no doubt it will. The commitment is there for sure.
Magoo’s Café & Bar, Trevillian Quay, Kingston Foreshore. Call 6193 7935 or visit magooscafeandbar. com.au
Would
Joanne Madeline Moore
ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)
Your ruler Mars is racing through your sign and Saturn is sauntering through your career and life direction zone, which can be very frustrating and test the patience of any fiery Ram. So you need to slow your motor, extend your patience and pick your battles. Heed the wise words of birthday great, fashion icon Coco Chanel: “Don’t spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.” Wednesday onwards favours close friendships and creative projects.
TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)
This week’s stars favour home and hearth, as the New Moon and Mercury highlight your domestic zone. It’s a good time to clean and de-clutter your living space or tackle an overdue DIY project. Venus (your patron planet) also links up with Uranus, so Bulls can expect a busy and bamboozling time. Relationships will be unpredictable and life will certainly speed up. You don’t work well when others try to hurry you, so have the confidence to cruise at your preferred pace.
GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)
Mercury and the New Moon activate your neighbourhood zone, so find fresh ways to connect with those around you (whether at home, at work, at play or in your local community). Short trips and education are highlighted, plus expect plenty of phone calls, snail mail, texts, tweets and emails. You could also benefit financially from an innovative idea, a creative friend, a social media post or an online promotion. Use your Gemini versatility to venture into exciting new territory.
CANCER (June 22 – July 23)
You’ve been talking about saving for something big (like a car, holiday, home deposit or renovations) for a while now. This week, with Venus in your sign plus Mercury and the New Moon firing up your finance zone, resist the urge to be extravagant with cash and careless with credit. In this uncertain covid climate, be a canny Crab who is cautious with money. Plus do an inventory on your inner wealth, as you nurture your self-esteem and consolidate your core values.
LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)
This week you could pivot professionally, fall in love very fast or lightning flashes of inspiration could suddenly strike. But make sure you communicate clearly or there’ll be some crazy chaos along the way. The New Moon and Mercury light up your sign so it’s a fabulous time to initiate a pet project, refresh your physical appearance, review your personal belief system or embark on a covid appropriate adventure. Don’t just dream about it – get out there and do it!
VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)
Have you been selling yourself short? This week your ruler Mercury links up with Mars and the Sun, and then Mercury and the Sun shift into your sign. So stop being a critical fusspot who engages in negative self-talk and sabotages success. It’s time to be the creative, clever, bold and beautiful Virgo you were born to be. Draw inspiration from fellow Virgo, actress and entrepreneur Blake Lively (who turns 33 next week): “The most beautiful thing you can wear is confidence.”
LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)
Prepare to be pleasantly surprised! The fiery New Moon reignites a special Libran dream that’s been languishing on the sidelines. Plus the lively Venus-Uranus link turbo charges creativity or speeds up a romantic connection. If you are stuck in a professional or relationship rut, don’t dwell on the negatives. It’s time to innovate and recombobulate. Be inspired by Libran actress Kate Winslet: “The good and bad things are what form us as people. Change makes us grow.”
SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)
There’s no denying you are a smart Scorpion but are you making the most of your cerebral talents? This week it’s time to don your thinking cap and give yourself a vigorous mental workout, connect with work colleagues and keep them up-todate with your current plans. You’ll be especially curious mid-week as you dig up gossip, uncover a secret or study up a storm. As birthday great Dorothy Parker wrote: “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)
Be careful your spontaneous spirit doesn’t land you in unexpected trouble! You’re keen to communicate but, if you rush and say the first thing on your mind (especially at work) then you could find yourself regretting your haste. With the New Moon and Mercury activating your adventure zone, many Archers are keen to head off on an overseas trip, an interstate interlude or a weekend getaway. But COVID-19 is still causing travel and aviation chaos so you’ll have to be super patient.
CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)
Tuesday night’s New Moon stimulates your intrigue zone, so no secret is safe, as you uncover clues and pick up on cues that other people miss. Be careful what you unearth though otherwise you could stir up issues from your own less-thanperfect past. Lust and loot loom large, as you work through issues involving trust, intimacy, possessions or joint finances. A close relationship may also feel as if it’s treading water but it’s the prelude to a promising new beginning.
AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)
Aquarian author Lewis Carroll wrote: “I can’t go back to yesterday – because I was a different person then.” And that’s you this week… consistently inconsistent! Love, loyalty, cooperation and compromise are the New Moon buzz words, as one half of you wants to snuggle up close with someone special. While the other half longs to be footloose, fancy-free and spontaneously solo. So try to find the sweet spot between cosy companionship and invigorating independence.
PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)
New Moon week is the ideal time to ditch bad daily habits and start afresh. Work, health, fitness and food choices are the main areas where you need to make some long overdue changes and adjustments – the sooner the better. From Wednesday onwards, try to release pent up Piscean frustrations via a chat with a close confidante or a trusted family member. Spending quality time with your favourite four-legged friend (in the great outdoors) will also help to lift your spirits.
Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2020
1 To take a decisive, irrevocable step, is to cross the
(7)
2 Name the small, light knife, used in surgery. (7)
3 What are groups of four? (7)
4 Which persons look after the animals in a zoo? (7)
5 To be offensive or disgusting, is to be what? (7)
6 To have worn down by friction, is to have done what? (7)
11 Name the white of an egg. (7)
12 Which hooked device is used for grasping or holding something? (7)
13 Which part of the UK is bordered by Wales and Scotland? (7)
14 When one is present, one does what? (7)
15 The chief function of which officer, is to investigate by inquest? (7)
16 What, in Buddhism, is the ultimate state achieved after a series of reincarnations? (7)
tells the legend of a Tibetan monk who fell asleep below a cliff and dreamt of an intense fragrance. On awakening, he searched and found the plant, which he named Shuixiang (Sleeping Scent), also known as Lucky Scent, which has been grown in China for centuries.
This is just one variety of about 15 we have growing in our garden. Daphne is widely thought to originate in China, but many more varieties grow naturally in Italy.
It is easy to tell the difference; the Chinese daphne has large, glossy, evergreen leaves to absorb as much sunlight as possible in the cold areas of China and Tibet. The Italian daphne has
White’s “Daphnes – A Practical Guide for Gardeners”, he lists more than 200 varieties, almost all of which he grew in his English nursery until he recently retired.
NOW is the time to plant roses. Valentine’s Day is the traditional time to woo a lover with a bunch of red roses, but like many modern roses these are bred for mass production purely for shape and colour; and to hold longer in the florist shop.
David Austin, one of the most famous rosarians in the world, took the subtle fragrance of old-fashioned roses (the term “old-fashioned” generally refers to roses bred before 1926) and crossed them with modern roses, to give stronger bushes and longer flowering.
HELLEBORUS is the perfect winter flowering companion to daphne. They both flower when little else does. There are about 15 species and well over 100 varieties of colour available.
They are so easy to grow and if you have never
grown a plant in your life before, this is the plant to try. A shady spot underneath deciduous trees is ideal, allowing the winter sun to play on them. They spread easily and are almost impossible to kill. Some of mine are growing under a magnolia soulangeana and a Japanese maple.
Often referred to as winter roses, they’re no relation except in the shape of the flowers. Pictured here is H. “Angel Glow”.
IT’S time to prune clematis. There is plenty of complicated advice out there for different varieties, however I always prune mine back to almost ground level, and have done so for years.
The purists would be horrified, but my clematis still flower magnificently every spring and summer!
