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A second opinion on hearing loss

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.

Fast grass fires big threat, says chief

By Danielle NOHRA

THIS bushfire season, fires could blaze closer to home, and ACT Rural Fire Service’s acting chief officer Rohan Scott is urging all Canberrans to have a survival plan in place in case they do.

Rather than the large forest fires seen in the previous fire season, Ro han says this season’s focus will pre dominantly be grass fires that could threaten urban infrastructure, especially in January and February when the grass is likely to dry out.

“This year, after that heavy rain, we’ve had massive grass growth, so the focus will be on grass fires,” he says.

Rohan Scott… “You’ve got to protect yourself if you are going to stay and defend. And that kit needs to be ready before the fire starts.”

and I’ve just completed a big recruitment so I’ve now got a very good team under me, which I’ve been part of selecting so we’ve got some really good subject-matter experts and some very technical skills within the RFS paid staff, and to be able to lead them into a new structure is exciting,” he says.

Through a “bushfire operational plan”, Rohan says there’s been spraying, grazing, slashing and weed control in grasslands to minimise fire risk but it’s not just the fire service that needs to be prepared and he urges the community to do its part and get ready for the fire season now, while the fire risk is still low.

“If your property backs on to a reserve, you can keep the grass down at the back of your fence,” he says.

all areas of your property, and that might include a hose at the front and rear of the property as well.”

But most importantly, Rohan says make a survival plan now.

“Your survival plan is either stay and defend or leave early, and you need to know what your triggers are because everyone’s triggers are different,” he says.

“As soon as the fire starts, you might leave instantly or if it’s a total fire ban day, you might decide to leave in the morning but if you do stay and defend you also need to be properly clothed with long-sleeved cotton shirts and pants, robust boots, a helmet would be preferable, definitely goggles and a P2 disposable face mask as a minimum, and gloves.

Check that charity before giving

THE Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is urging the public to do a quick online charity credential check before donating this festive season, to avoid giving money to “fraudster” charities.

According to Scamwatch, charity scams were up nearly 70 per cent January-July, driven by charity frauds linked to the bushfire crisis.

“It takes a minute to check the ACNC online charity register to see if an organisation you would like to donate to is a legitimate charity,” says ACNC commissioner Gary Johns.

“You simply enter an organisation’s name into the register to find a snapshot of its activities.”

Christmas craft...

New to the role (since April), it’s not a job that Rohan takes lightly, but he says he’s ready to lead during this fire season.

“For me, this is the pinnacle of my volunteering and paid employment with the RFS,” he says.

“When I joined the service 23-odd years ago, I never thought I’d be in this position but I’m incredibly

humbled to be able to be the leader of an amazing group of volunteers and support staff.”

As for being prepared, Rohan says they always prepare for the worst because they never know what’s going to unfold each season.

“We’ve had a challenging offseason with covid, the royal commission, internal and external reviews,

“Try and keep any flammables and combustible vegetation away from your property. If you can, allow access for firefighters because a well-prepared property we can defend, whereas an unprepared property makes our job incredibly difficult and in some cases it’s actually too dangerous for us to try and defend the property.

“If you know a fire’s coming; things like your wheelie bin, fill it up with water or fill up buckets so you can put out little spot fires. And the big thing is, have a hose that reaches

“You’ve got to protect yourself if you are going to stay and defend. And that kit needs to be ready before the fire starts because you don’t want to be looking for something as the fire’s approaching your property.”

Grass fires start and move fast, according to Rohan, which is why he says the community needs to understand how best to respond in an emergency.

He also recommends staying informed by downloading the “Fire Near Me” app and creating a survival plan on esa.act.gov.au

CHRISTMAS craft is featured at St Ninian’s last Market Day for the year, offering fine gifts and decorations. Plus there will be books for sale, plants, jewellery and a white elephant stall with puzzles, games and kids’ things. It’s all happening, plus a sausage sizzle on the church grounds, corner of Mouat and Brigalow Streets, Lyneham, 9am-2pm, Saturday, December 12.

… and goodies

THE Bold Bandannas, a Relay for Life Team raising funds for cancer research, prevention and support, is holding a Christmas charity stall at the Belconnen Markets, 8am-5pm, over the weekend of December 12-13. Among the regular fare of jams, pickles, chutney, lemon butter, and sugarreduced preserves are homemade Christmas puddings, cakes and gift baskets, shortbread and specially packaged chocolate and rum balls.

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Dobbing in the boss, but how fair is Fair Plate?

ONE can only hope the new union for hospitality workers, Hospo Voice, has access to good defamation lawyers.

In a bid to inspire workers to support “each other to make hospo a better place to work” the United Workers Union-backed subsidiary has launched a website called Fair Plate (fairplate.org.au) to allow the public to “see what’s happening under the table” with the promise of sharing what “the staff really think about your local hospitality venues”. And participants don’t hold back in the commentary after ascribing a star rating to restaurants and pubs on “respect for workers” and “correct pay”.

Pressing the “venues near me”, I got 31 eateries around the inner-city rated by current or former staff. Eight places such as Atticus Coffee, The Highball Express and Mooseheads were top rated with five stars. All very purr, purr and unlikely to attract legal attention.

However, when it gets down to the one and two-star ratings (and I’m not legally silly enough to share their names

with you) things change dramatically with unsubstantiated claims against management of sexual harassment, bullying, bill fraud, drugs, racism, tip stealing, underpayment, cash payments and no pay slips.

Here’s one shocker that reads like hearsay to me: “More than one account of staff being reprimanded for attempting to remove patrons doing cocaine in the bathroom.”

And others: “The owners and management are racist towards anyone of Asian descent or whose first language is not English”, “Pays always short. Rips off the customers by under pouring their spirits. Drinks are watered down” and “Staff tips are taken by the owners, public holiday rates aren’t paid despite surcharges being added.”

This isn’t good, either: “I’ve seen multiple times him and his brother tagging $20-$60 extra on people’s bills and making them pay for nothing, to then brag about how much extra they made them pay.”

The comments are brutal and one can only feel some sympathy for the reputational damage to the owners and the establishments, given how much they have risked and lost in this particular year.

However, “CityNews” dining reviewer Wendy Johnson , who’s been on the good and the bad end of Canberra hospitality correctly says: ‘“The hospitality industry has to be one of the toughest gigs, but there’s never any excuse for treating staff badly, not paying them properly for their hard work or work in attire or conditions that aren’t safe.”

But what irks me is there’s no capacity for maligned bosses to directly have any right of reply on the website, which makes Fair

Plate less than fair.

CITYNEWS.com.au reported: “MR Cowdroy did not say exactly why he has chosen to resign, but did say: ‘I think it is timely a successor is appointed so that the new commissioner can maintain the momentum

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of the operations of the commission’.”

And so came the end to a publicly opaque year for the ACT’s inaugural integrity commissioner, Dennis Cowdroy, with nary a scalp to his belt.

The former Federal Court judge started in the role mid last year and, according to ACT Legislative Assembly Speaker Joy Burch , has done a marvellous job of setting up permanent offices in Kingston and recruiting a CEO and staff.

Since the commission began receiving complaints on December 1 last year more than 100 complaints have been received. Not one has seen the light of investigative day.

THE four Bs – “bloody”, “bastard”, “bugger” and “bullshit” – used to be some of the rudest expletives and could earn you a flogging or a fine depending on which century they were used, says Dr Amanda Laugesen in her new book “Rooted”.

The Australian National Dictionary Centre’s chief editor lists “suckhole”, “get rooted”, “no wuckers” and “we’re not here to f*** spiders” as some of the more modern colourful phrases identified as uniquely Australian obscenities.

The book charts the history of Australian bad language and how it was used to defy authority as well as oppress and control groups in Australia’s history. There’s more, but some of it would make a sailor blush.

Ian Meikle is the editor of “CityNews” and can be heard on the “CityNews Sunday Roast”, 2CC, weekly 9am-noon.

Poor suffer as farm land Barr bought stands idle

THERE’S much about the recent ACT election that confounds me and what it says about us as a community.

The campaign turned some of our assumptions about the core principles of the competing parties, the ALP/ Greens and the Liberals, on their head.

For instance, we were confronted by the Liberals campaigning on cost-of-living issues and focusing on the impact of our rates regime on pensioners and people from lower-income households; housing affordability and its impact on the housing choices of working-class and lower-income households, and also the need to invest in public health services to ensure people from lowerincome households, without private health insurance, received timely and quality health care.

The Liberals promised to address these issues with a freeze on rate increases over the next four years; the release of sufficient land to meet the housing choices of all Canberrans (thereby stabilising the cost of land for detached housing) and to reverse the savage funding cuts to health services made by Labor and the Greens over the last six years. The Liberals also promised an inquiry into poverty.

Labor and the Greens opposed all of these initiatives and campaigned, in the main, on their record and socially progressive reputations, and have

What perplexes me is that over the past nine years Andrew Barr has been personally involved in or responsible for the purchase of up to 4000 hectares of urban-capable land at a cost of at least $60 million.

been returned to government.

What interests me is that we, or at least a majority of us, a large proportion of whom, like me, are educated and comfortably middle class, own our homes, have private health insurance and comfortable superannuation accounts have, in re-electing Labor and the Greens, had no qualms about voting to deny pensioners and people from low-income households ongoing rates relief.

We have also sanctioned the continuation of the government’s land-supply policy, which has resulted in a massive reduction in the supply of affordable land for detached housing thereby forcing working-class people and those in lower-income households to either silently accept the ALP/Greens dictate that it is their fate in life to either keep paying rent or to buy a flat or, if they wish to live in a detached house, move across the border and live in NSW.

In relation to access to health services, we have signalled that we’re cool about pensioners and people from lower-income households, including

children, who can’t afford health insurance, having to wait four to five years for elective surgery or to see a specialist at the Canberra Hospital.

I wonder what I’d feel if I was, say, an 80-year-old age pensioner living with my wife of 60 years in our threebedroom matrimonial home in Ainslie, a lifetime Labor supporter but on the verge, for the first time in my life, of accepting charity in order to put food on the table because the rates on our home have more than tripled in the last eight years, while pensioner concessions have been abandoned. Meantime, my well-heeled neighbour in the million-dollar, knock-down rebuild on the vacated public-housing block next door told me he had voted for Labor or the Greens and hence against a freeze in my rates.

I also wonder what those young families in the bottom two income quintiles, that the ACT government through its land supply policy has knowingly excluded from owning a detached house in Canberra, think about all those middle-class people who are privileged to already own a

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detached house and who, by voting for either Labor or the Greens, have effectively guaranteed their continued exclusion from the housing market. I assume that by so voting we have also ensured that the value of our homes will skyrocket in a supply constrained market.

I have written previously about the impact of the major cuts, in real terms, over the last six or so years of more than $100 million a year, to the ACT Health budget, on timely access to public health services by those residents of Canberra who cannot afford health insurance.

As I have said, I simply cannot imagine what a young mother must feel about those of us that have voted for the maintenance of the status quo when she is advised her toddler will still need to wait, as revealed just before the election by Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith, for up to five years for an appointment with a specialist at Canberra Hospital.

Incidentally, the handling during the election campaign by the respective parties of the question of land release for detached housing was the issue that left me most perplexed.

In a Legislative Assembly debate on

July 30 and throughout the campaign, Labor and the Greens lambasted the Liberals for failing to explain where they proposed to provide land for housing.

What has perplexed me is that Andrew Barr has, over the past nine years, in his role as either Chief Minister, Treasurer or as Minister for Economic Development (in which he was responsible for the Land Development Agency) has been personally involved in or responsible for the purchase of up to 4000 or so hectares of urban-capable land across the ACT at a cost of at least $60 million. If that land wasn’t purchased for the purpose of guaranteeing a supply of land for housing into the future then why did we buy it?

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

Can’t Minister Mick be fagged feting the brave?

IN a year when our community owes so much to Emergency Services, you would think politicians would jump at the opportunity to acknowledge the amazing and selfless contribution. To miss such an acknowledgement is really confronting.

For two years in a row the ACT Minister for Emergency Services was an apology at the ACT Rotary Emergency Services Community Awards.

In NSW the Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services, Gareth Ward, attended and spoke at their equivalent awards. The NSW Governor, Margaret Beazley AO QC, attended and presented the ViceRegal Address.

Perhaps Minister Mick Gentleman had a really good excuse on both occasions. But the normal protocol, for someone who cared, would have been to ask another minister to cover for him. Instead, the ACT managed yet again without him. The Minister missed acknowledging all of the finalists – and, in particular, the winners of the local awards, ACT Ambulance paramedic Susith Adikari and ACT RFS volunteer Ian Morey from the Rivers Volunteer Bushfire Brigade. The ACT awards were presented before the local election. Member for Murrumbidgee Giulia Jones was prepared to take time from her campaigning to be present and to acknowledge the contribution of the

Mick Gentleman may be a little crusty and sick of attending community gatherings... however, the fresh and enthusiastic approach of Emma Davidson, in her first Assembly and already a minister, shines through.

men and women who play such an important role

Susith Adikari, a paramedic who is also a volunteer with the ACT Rural Fire Service, went on to be a winner of the National Rotary Emergency Services Community Awards, presented in late November at Government House in Canberra by Governor-General David Hurley. Susith was acknowledged as a person who “has dedicated 13 years to the Emergency Services for both domestic and international causes, most notably the British Columbia Bushfires (Canada) in 2017 and the recent Canberra bushfires in 2020”, and has “an altruistic commitment to protecting the community”.

Hopefully, the Minister for Emergency Services, Mick Gentleman, has

by Governor-General David Hurley.

found a way to pass on his personal congratulations.

Patron of the ACT awards Justice Richard Refshauge expressed the appropriate sentiments regarding the awards, “in recognition of these marvellous men and women of these services”.

At the presentation ceremony he pointed out “with terrifying bushfires, an amazingly short but devastating hailstorm, dreadful floods and more recently a worldwide pandemic creating personal devastation, not to mention economic destruction”.

He went on to say: “It has also shown us the important reliance we can confidently place on our Emergency Services personnel to

protect, support and aid us to survive these challenges and then, with huge community support, more effectively recover from such disasters”.

The awards are an appropriate recognition for people who play these important community roles.

In marked contrast to the approach of Labor’s Minister Gentleman is that of newly elected Greens’ Minister, Emma Davidson. Mr Gentleman may be a little crusty and sick of attending community gatherings, having been an elected MLA since October, 2004.

However, Emma Davidson is in her first Assembly and already a minister and her fresh and enthusiastic approach shines through.

Minister Davidson has extended an invitation to discuss issues around her portfolio of Justice Health and Mental Health “following the ACT Greens co-signing, with ACT Labor, the ‘Parliamentary and Governing Agreement’”.

Her language brims with her

enthusiasm: “I am excited about what we will be able to achieve – together – to make Canberra a better place for all of us, especially those most vulnerable in our community”.

The cynic in me says that this may be the first flush of political enthusiasm and I will watch to see how quickly it tarnishes. I hope her enthusiasm continues.

It is appropriate to acknowledge that over the last decade the ACT government has set up a series of consultative mechanisms and made some effort to engage with the community. However, the prime responsibility lies with the ministers. It will be interesting to see how the new-look government manages to improve its ministerial engagement.

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

Vince won’t put the brakes

By Nathan SCHMIDT

RETIRED Canberra mechanic

Vince Harmer, at 72, is reckoned to be one of the oldest race car drivers in Australia.

He’s just back from racing at the famously tough Mount Panorama track for the ninth time, at a support race for historic cars during the recent Bathurst 1000, in his modified sixcylinder 1972 Volvo 164E race car.

“It’s a buzz to drive anywhere but of all places Bathurst… It’s one of the best circuits in the world,” says Vince, who calls Woden Valley home.

“I never in my wildest dreams would’ve thought I would get there.”

Vince came to motor racing late in life when, at 50, he first got behind the wheel competitively.

“I always wanted to race cars, but never got the opportunity,” he says.

There are few racers Vince’s age still racing and, according to daughter Re becca Harmer, Vince is one of the old est to have tackled Mount Panorama.

“There isn’t anyone still doing it, really. They’d like to, but they’re not fit enough. There’s a good 15 years between [Vince] and the next oldest in his group.”

For Rebecca, her father’s passion for racing in his retirement is inspiring, but she still worries about him being in a sport known for high speeds and high risks.

“It’s that mixed emotion about being super proud and so happy to see him still be achieving at that age, post retirement, and enjoying it, but it is sometimes a bit nerve wracking.”

Vince, who prides himself on the level of health and fitness that has allowed him to continue to pursue his passion so late in life, doesn’t share Rebecca’s concerns.

“People say: ‘Aren’t you worried about hitting the wall’, but you drive out here

and you could get cleaned up by a truck or bus,” he says.

“I feel more vulnerable driving around anywhere than I do on a race circuit.”

Vince and Kerrie moved to Canberra from Cootamundra in 1969 when Vince was an automotive apprentice.

“I was always a Holden man, because of my father,” says Vince, but

the young apprentice fell under the spell of Swedish carmaker Volvo and by the mid-’70s was working almost exclusively with them. A decade later he’d opened up his own mechanical business.

The love for cars and racing has always been a family affair for Rebecca and mother, Kerrie. The pair, joined by Rebecca’s partner, served as pit

crew at Vince’s most recent Bathurst competition.

Kerrie used to take on the track herself when Vince was starting out on the race circuits.

“Kerrie was the fastest woman of the day,” says her husband of 51 years.

Over the years, Vince has owned numerous rare Volvos that have drawn the attention of fans from across the globe and accolades including Summernats critics’ choice.

In 2001, visiting US secretary of state Colin Powell took Vince’s rare 1980 Bertone Volvo Coupe for a spin around Canberra before joining Vince and Kerrie at The Lodge with thenPrime Minister John Howard.

“(Powell) went: ‘Wow, this is the best Volvo they ever made’ and he went ‘pull the hood, pull the hood’,”

Only 100 of the Bertone Volvos were imported by the Italian auto-tuners into Australia.

Vince picked his up from a wrecker in Hall after catching sight of it on a lunch break and, after six years of work, was racing the bright red coupe.

More than 30 years has passed and Vince is still taking to the track in it.

“There’s still a lot of tinkering and perseverance, and you wonder why you do it sometimes, “ he says.

“But, then when you go there and pull your race face on, pull your helmet on and get behind the wheel...”

Kerstin Glomb Estate Planning Special Counsel

CANBERRA MATTERS

Time to care for neglected Commonwealth Park

ATTENTION to a significant piece of national land is being overlooked among the misinformation used to justify the demolition of West Basin.

The official statements have placed emphasis on the hard-edged park thingy that the ACT City Renewal Authority wants to build. How could anyone argue against the conversion of this peaceful foreshore to a new achi-park that will provide all manner of activations? Apparently, a lot of residents, but such aspirations do not matter to the Labor/Greens government.

The truth is that West Basin is being over developed so the foreshore sales will be maximised. Never mind the losses of heritage and biodiversity, or the lost opportunities for enhanced peaceful parklands. Besides the self-serving barbary within the ACT government, the notorious role of the National Capital Authority (NCA) with its Curtin Horse Paddocks land swap (for the area of lake being filled in) will remain as a dark chapter in stories about

Wander through Commonwealth Park and you will see the grass is mown and there are a few works underway here and there, but there’s so much not being done, so much neglect.

Canberra’s 21st century development.

The NCA was supposed to be the steward of the national capital. Sadly, it is viewed as an agency that delivers for the development lobby at the expense of the city’s heritage and cultural significance.

Which brings me to the point of this piece. Commonwealth Park sits to the east of Commonwealth Avenue and occupies most of the open spaces between that bridge and the central axis – below Anzac Avenue. Over the decades it has been better known as a venue for Sunday in the Park (‘70s-’80s), for weird events such as Birdman Rallies, for Food and Wine Festivals, Stage 88 concerts and as the location for Floriade festivals.

This well-designed parkland is not well appreciated for what it is. It’s a park. It has been the role of the NCA to look after this parkland. On this score the NCA barely gets a pass mark.

Wander through Commonwealth Park and you will see the grass is

mown and there are a few works underway here and there, but there’s so much not being done, so much neglect.

Recently, there has been heavy rain yet the former bubbling waterways are dry or, in some cases, clogged with weeds and overgrown plants. The early designers had located artworks throughout the parks, but in more recent years almost nothing aesthetic has been added besides Prime Minister Bob Menzies. A few seats were added in recent years but little else.

Commonwealth Park remains a precious timepiece that honours the creativity and commitment of the designers and planners who made it happen in the ‘60s-’70s (first version appeared on a Walter Burley Griffin plan). It remains incomplete, undervalued and neglected.

NCA bureaucrats and their ACT counterparts have shown little interest in promoting and enhancing this central-city green space. There is little information about Commonwealth Park on either of the government websites.

In their combined efforts to justify

bulldozing trees on West Basin, the ACT Greens, their Labor mates and the development bureaucracies have quietly sidelined the presence of Commonwealth Park. They have avoided mentioning this fabulous, welldesigned lakeside parkland right in the centre of the city – next to West Basin.

My point? If all involved with the initiative to build over West Basin were honest, including the ACT Greens, then why not put the resources into jointly enhancing Commonwealth Park, complete the missing elements set out in Dame Sylvia Crowe’s master plan, and improve the facilities, greenery and access so more people would use the park. There is no need for what is happening to West Basin.

For all those who walk around the

lake, enter Commonwealth Park to wander about and enjoy a park. For the ACT Greens, why not be committed to being “green”. Stop the madness that is destroying the well-designed heritage environment of West Basin and instead work with the NCA and ACT agencies to improve and upgrade the well-designed urban environment that is Commonwealth Park. This challenge could be taken up by the ACT Environment and Heritage minister. Is “being green” and sensible asking too much of the ACT Greens?

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

LASER CLINICS AUSTRALIA TUGGERANONG

‘The technology uses targeted cooling to reduce up to 27 per cent of fat across multiple treatment areas’

‘Popular’, new treatment eliminates fat cells

A NEW technology that eliminates fat cells is available at Laser Clinics Australia in Tuggeranong, says owner of the clinic, Leanne Brewer.

“We’re excited to be offering the CoolSculpting treatment to our clients, which has been very popular so far,” Leanne says.

CoolSculpting uses patented cooling technology to destroy fat cells, without surgery, and little to no downtime, she says.

“Over time your body naturally eliminates these fat cells, providing noticeable and lasting results in the treated area for a more sculpted you,” she says.

With more than eight million treatments performed, CoolSculpting says that it’s “the world’s number one fat freezing treatment”.

“In the weeks that follow the treatment, your body naturally absorbs dead fat cells. So treated fat cells are removed for good,” they say.

CoolSculpting says the technology uses targeted cooling to reduce up to 27 per cent of fat across multiple treatment areas,

including stomach, inner and outer thighs, hips, double chin, upper arms, knees, banana rolls (the roll of fat that sits under the buttocks, at the top of the thigh), bra and back fat.

And, the qualified CoolSculpting therapists at Laser Clinics Australia in Tuggeranong are able to create a tailored treatment plan to help its clients achieve their goals, Leanne says.

“Our best-in-class technology and highly trained therapists will help our clients love the skin they are in,” she says.

“Our ‘CoolSculptresses’ have experi enced the treatment so they know exactly how it feels and the results you can get.

“Some describe it as a cool, tingling sensation, and others don’t report feeling much at all.”

Leanne opened the Laser Clinics Australia clinic in Tuggeranong in 2016. She says consultations for CoolSculpting are free, and usually one to two treat ments are required, but it depends on the candidate and the area being treated.

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Ground Floor, next to The Coffee Club (02) 6140 3247

NEWS PROFILE / Shane Rattenbury Running Rattenbury in the race of his political life

Armed with six seats from the last ACT election, Greens’ leader Shane Rattenbury comes emboldened to the coalition government with Labor, but braced and ready for the conflict ahead. Political reporter BELINDA STRAHORN reports…

GREENS’ leader Shane Rattenbury, 49, is likely to draw heavily on his experience as an endurance runner for the political race of his life.

Mr Rattenbury’s fitness for office will be put to the test following the electoral gift handed to the Greens as a result of the ACT election, where the party trebled its representation in the Assembly.

This is arguably the Greens greatest chance to influence the shape and direction of the new ACT government.

Speaking with “CityNews”, Rattenbury knows he has a delicate balancing act to perform, seeking to appeal to his party’s support base while demonstrating that he and his newly appointed colleagues can be responsible members of the Barr administration.

“Undoubtedly there will be tension throughout the course of the term between ourselves and the Labor Party and the

Opposition will bring issues forward that the two governing parties will have differing views on as well,” he says.

“Our party membership, who wanted us to play a role in the cabinet, also expect us to bring our voice to the table in an independent way, so there will be tension throughout the term, no doubt about it, as there has been in previous terms.”

Mr Rattenbury, the party’s sole frontbencher in the previ ous administration, has been joined in cabinet this time by colleagues Rebecca Vassarotti and Emma Davidson.

ity that extends to politics, he says, where the decade-long Greenpeace activist first cut his teeth on policy ideas and how to implement them.

“The nice thing about coming to ACT politics is a lot of the work I did with Greenpeace was big picture global issues and in the ACT you get to apply those ideas, but at a local level and I really like that part of it,” Mr Rattenbury says.

Growing up in Batemans Bay, Rattenbury says his was an “idyllic” childhood.

“We just roamed, with the rule being, be home before the sun went down behind the hills, it was a great way to grow up,” he says.

A former activist and lawyer, Mr Rattenbury is the ACT’s new Attorney-General, replacing the outgoing Gordon Ramsay, in the most senior government role held by a Green in the Assembly. While the situation presents itself as a golden opportunity to cement the Greens’ place as part of future ACT administrations, it is not without risks for the party and its experienced leader.

Yet, on this light, spring morning, Rattenbury could be found on one of his regular runs up Mt Ainslie, and doesn’t intend letting the burdens of office get in the way of his passion for distance running.

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He says the two governing parties have entered in a “real spirit” of wanting to make it work.

“What I’m most excited about is our ability to get into issues in depth that perhaps we have not been able to in the past, not because we didn’t want to, but through sheer lack of capacity we couldn’t do it,” Mr Rattenbury says.

“I expect the Greens to play a stronger role in the government. With more of us, we will be wanting to prosecute more of an agenda, the simple fact of having three ministers in cabinet reflects that change of dynamic.”

Mr Rattenbury acknowledges there’s lots of work to do, especially in the areas of social housing, where he admits there’s not been enough investment.

“We were very upfront about saying the government has not made enough investment in recent years; there has been investment, but it’s been about renewal of housing stock and that’s been an important process but we definitely need more,” says Mr Rattenbury.

In its power-sharing arrangement, the new Labor/ Greens alliance aims to build 1000 affordable homes in the next five years, 400 of which would be public-housing dwellings.

“We took a very detailed platform across a whole range of policy areas to the election and in that we said these are the areas we want to improve, so we are in that sense unashamedly ambitious in knowing there are all these things we still want to do,” Mr Rattenbury says.

“It’s like painting the Harbour Bridge, you are always at it, there’s always more to do.”

In an almost fortuitous unfolding of events, Rattenbury concedes the election outcome exceeded expectations.

“It wasn’t our most expected outcome but one that we believed was possible,” he says.

“We went into the election thinking we could win six seats. We had said all along that if we got the same vote we got in the federal election that would result in us winning six seats.”

Sitting on the ABC’s expert panel on election eve, the Greens’ leader says the “unexpected” result caught him by surprise.

“The very first result we had was 15.5 per cent in Brindabella, I had to double check the little computers we were given on the panel,” Mr Rattenbury says.

“I thought to myself, don’t get too excited, but as the night went on and the numbers built up it became more and more promising and to finish the night with Antony Green saying it could be six for the Greens... there was a lot of celebrating going on.”

“I grew up as a kid of the ‘80s when a lot of big environmental issues were being debated, the hole in the ozone layer, the treaty to protect Antarctica from mining, the big logging debates in Australia... they were big issues in my teenage and university years, so I feel like I became an environmental activist through that period.”

I grew up as a kid of the ‘80s when a lot of big environmental issues were being debated, the hole in the ozone layer, the treaty to protect Antarctica from mining, the big logging debates in Australia.

Moving to Canberra with his mother and sister in 1984, Rattenbury attended Canberra Grammar School and went on to study at the ANU. He unsuccessfully stood for election to the ACT Legislative Assembly at the 2001 election. However, by the time of the 2008 election, swings were recorded against both Labor and the Liberals and a 6.6 per cent swing towards the Greens, resulting in the election of Mr Rattenbury, Meredith Hunter, Amanda Bresnan, and Caroline Le Couteur. Mr Rattenbury counts former Labor minister and Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett and former federal Greens’ leaders Christine Milne and Bob Brown as his political role models.

Rattenbury, a keen ultra marathon runner, who has been known to knock out a 12-kilometre run on the trails of Mt Majura or Mt Ainslie most mornings before work, says he appreciates the warm reception from voters following the election result.

“People often come to chat to me like they know me, and I like that because it keeps it real,” he says.

Keeping it real is a mental-

“I’ve had the good fortune to get to know Bob over the years and he’s been an excellent mentor, he’s got real integrity, real compassion and I have watched a lot how Bob conducted himself,” Rattenbury says. Now he has the chance to emulate his political mentor and lead his party through an exciting and challenging period in the history of the ACT Greens.

He wont have too long to wait for the verdict, voters will pass judgement on his performance and that of his colleagues in 2024.

Power takes top prize for women in construction

REBECCA POWER, executive brand manager for the Commercial Infrastructure Branch in Major Projects Canberra (MPC), is this year’s National Association of Women in Construction ACT Crystal Vision Award winner.

She was presented with the award at NAWIC ACT Chapter’s formal annual awards dinner, which was held at the National Arboretum, and says she is humbled and honoured to be recognised by her peers and colleagues.

The Crystal Vision Award is NAWIC’s highest recognition of a woman, man, organisation or company that actively promotes and encourages participation and career progression of women in the local construction industry.

Co-presidents of NAWIC ACT, Kim Raysmith and Peita de Boer say that Rebecca is recognised for her efforts in effecting change to improve female participation in the construction industry, both within her organisation and in the creation of programs and policies across the industry.

Through her nearly 30-year career in the private and public sectors as an architect, researcher, project manager and executive, Rebecca says she has taken the attitude that “if you don’t ask, you don’t know” by being the first in her organisation to ask for and receive parental leave and part time, flexible work hours while she was a young mother.

Through her own experience of motherhood, she realised a number of barriers that face women in her profession. She has since paved the way for other women in regards to flexible working conditions, parental leave and recognition of women through promotion into leadership roles.

Since stepping into senior leadership at MPC, she has enabled the promotion of women on

parental leave and increased the proportion of women in middle management, as well as leading a branch with 40 per cent women.

“Young women are definitely encouraged more to participate in construction and with each generation it’s getting easier for them. There is less ‘imposter syndrome’ in the next generation of women entering the industry but there is still a gap and a lot more to do for women,” she says.

Rebecca says that there is still work to be done to get more women in middle-management roles and improve the number of women tradespeople.

“If we don’t get women in middle manage ment, we don’t get integrated change. And on construction sites, the culture still needs to change,” she says.

“Currently, there are 12 per cent women in office-based construction roles and only one per cent in trades,” she says.

Peita says that despite the challenges of 2020, NAWIC ACT has been busier than ever, rolling out new initiatives such as professional-mentoring programs, scholarships and training such as the Women in Construction Pathways Project. This project gave 22 high school girls this year the opportunity to receive work-experience placements, rotating through a number of construction positions to normalise and promote construction as a possible career path for them.

Kim says that this year they have had more entries to the awards than ever before.

“The awards showcase all the many different things women are doing in the industry that support the community such as Vanessa Brady’s work on the design and implementation of the COVID-19 surge centre on Garran Oval, to Rebecca Power’s championing of women to ensure they get promotion while on maternity leave. They are turning the industry around,” she says.

Innovation in the Construction Industry (sponsored by Norman Disney & Young)

VANESSA BRADY

AS the program director of Canberra Health Services’ Campus Modernisation Program, Vanessa is recognised for her leadership of the design and delivery of the rapidly constructed COVID-19 Surge Centre on Garran Oval.

Under Vanessa’s leadership, the project went from design to Certificate of Occupancy and Use in 36 days.

Achievement in Design (sponsored by Aon)

BELINDA BARNES

BELINDA is a skilled and creative architect with 14 years of experience in the design industry. She has been an integral member of the design team at Cox Architecture since 2008. Belinda is passionate about bringing communities together by creating spaces that people care about and take pride in. She combines this with another of her passions for sports and education facilities, resulting in many of her very successful project outcomes – just one of which is the Stromlo Leisure Centre.

NAWIC is THE advocate for positive change for women in the construction industry.

NAWIC lobbies on behalf of the positions it stands for Industry, government and media use

NAWIC as the ‘go to ’authority, both regionally in the Chapters and nationally as a Board

NAWIC has a large tiered stakeholder reach

– including members, non-members, organisations and industry

NAWIC has many individual member success stories

NAWIC awards are considered high profile and sought after

Diversity and Inclusion Award (sponsored by Huon)

KANE CONSTRUCTIONS

KANE Constructions has been recognised for its recent, significant business changes which have rapidly improved the equality ratio between men and women in construction.

Capital Regional Student of the Year (sponsored by Manteena)

ASHLEIGH JOHNSTON

A DEDICATED student who is following her passion, Ashleigh is currently studying a bachelor of building and construction management part time. She works full time as Ginninderry’s SPARK Training and Employment Program co-ordinator, supporting participants who are unemployed and disconnected from the workforce. Her continued learning has allowed Ashleigh to be promoted to the Ginninderry Development team as a Built Form Compliance Officer, commencing in January.

Mentor of the Year

(sponsored by AMA Projects)

LUCIE HASSALL

A CHAMPION of diversity and flexibility, Lucie held senior roles within Lendlease ACT and has led innovative company-wide initiatives that promote women in the workplace. Lucie created the Women in Lendlease (WILL) network which is a supportive, female-led network, focused on the progression and retention of women within all roles in Lendlease. Whether it be the way she has gone about her work or the mentoring she has provided to many Lendlease employees on an individual basis, Lucie has gone above and beyond the requirements of her role.

Tradeswoman of the Year

(sponsored by Ginninderry)

ANITA SOKUNTHEA HAC

THIRD-year apprentice carpenter, Anita Hac holds a degree in architecture but now enjoys learning the carpentry trade and being hands-on by building houses in the residential sector. With a passion for continued sustainability in the design of residential homes, Anita is motivated to encourage and help more women enter the construction industry in a traderelated career.

ACT: ACHIEVEMENT IN SAFETY

Award Sponsor: Monaro Windows

ACT: ACHIEVEMENT IN DESIGN

Award Sponsor: AON

ACT: ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGINEERING

Award Sponsor: Elvin Group

ACT: DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AWARD

Award Sponsor: Huon

Emerging Leader (sponsored by Morris Legal Group)

SATOMI HONDA

SATOMI Honda brings her extensive civil and geotechnical experience in the industry to her role as a site engineer for Kane Constructions. Satomi completed the $12 million National Storage Facility in Mitchell and is now working towards completion of the $25 million Queanbeyan Police Station. As an active member of NAWIC, Satomi is passionate about seeing more women in construction, specifically in engineering roles and is learning to become a mentor to young female engineers and apprentices entering the industry.

(sponsored by Monaro Windows)

Construction Businesswoman of the Year (sponsored by Construction Control)

NTASHA GEREBTZOFF

DIRECTOR and owner of two businesses within the ACT construction industry (gr8 @mosphere design & drafting Pty Ltd & Queen Bee Constructions), Ntasha prides herself on her workmanship and the mutually respectful relationships she has forged with her fellow trades, suppliers and clients. She is an advocate for championing and providing work opportunities to young females interested in pursuing a career within the construction industry.

RHIANNON SUTHERLAND

STARTING her career in the civil and construction industry as a labourer 14 years ago, Rhiannon Sutherland holds a masters in Work Health and Safety and is a site WHS adviser for Kane Constructions. She supports staff working on construction sites to keep themselves safe as well as create an environment where the safety of their peers is part of their daily job.

ACT: CRYSTAL VISION AWARD

Achievement in Engineering (sponsored by Elvin Group)

MICHELLE DIMOSKI

AS a senior geotechnical engineer at ACT Geotechnical Engineers, Michelle is one of only a handful of women in the industry, giving advice on geotechnical matters specialising in stability and dams. Her knowledge and practical thinking assist many projects in delivering quality builds. An active NAWIC mentor, she was up until very recently the chair for Professional Development for the ACT chapter and has been instrumental in driving courses and opportunities for women to enrol in and undertake additional learning.

Award Sponsor: Lendlease

ACT: CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS WOMAN OF THE YEAR

Award Sponsor: Construction Control

ACT: LEADERSHIP IN CONSTRUCTION

Award Sponsor: Built

ACT: EMERGING LEADER

Award Sponsor: Morris Legal Group

NAWIC Awards of Excellence

Leadership in Construction Award (sponsored by Built)

JILLIAN RHEINBERGER

JILLIAN has been a project manager for 13 years, leading projects across the capital region, southern NSW and NZ in the health, education and justice sectors. She is a senior project manager with TSA Management, working on the Goulburn Hospital redevelopment. Jillian actively demonstrates strong leadership, clear communication, strength and tenacity; essential skills in leading teams to deliver projects for diverse client groups.

ACT: CAPITAL REGION STUDENT OF THE YEAR

Award Sponsor: Manteena

ACT: TRADESWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

Award Sponsor: Ginninderry

ACT: MENTOR OF THE YEAR

Award Sponsor: AMA

ACT: INNOVATION IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Award Sponsor: Norman Disney & Young

The remarkable journeys of a pioneer mailman

By Belinda STRAHORN

THREE times a week, pioneer mailman William “Billy” Roohan loaded up his horse and made the trek from Queanbeyan to Canberra and on to Goulburn, covering 560 kilometres, delivering mail and building up legendary status along the way.

This was the 1800s, before the advent of four-wheel-drives, roadside assistance and mobile phones.

Roohan’s life story reflects the character of pioneer Australia, it was not an era for the timid or weak, but a time when hard-working and humbled men such as Roohan thrived and conquered.

When Queanbeyan local Phil Hawke, a retired school teacher turned history buff, stumbled across Roohan’s story he was drawn to his stoic nature, dubbing him “Roohan the Remarkable”.

Hawke, who’s researched Roohan’s life, says he epitomises

the untiring men of the bush, dogged, loyal and resourceful.

“He’s someone that captures the heart and imagination of a generation of Australians that we sometimes don’t know much about,” Hawke says.

“He certainly captured my attention… he was one resilient man.”

Even at the age of 70, Roohan would cover the epic trek with little rest. The mail route was from Queanbeyan to Canberra, then to Ginninderra, upper Gundaroo down to Lake George, via Geary’s Gap to Collector and on to Goulburn, to link with the Sydney mail service.

Delivering mail, initially by horseback then later with a horse and mail carriage, was not for the faint hearted.

Without a bridge across the Queanbeyan River, the mail still had to get through.

“The first bridge across the Queanbeyan River was open in 1858, so Roohan was crossing the river before that,” Hawke says.

In 1870, Lake George was full, so a track had to be cut along the side of the lake range.

“It became known as Billy Roohan’s track,” says Hawke.

A pioneer mailman on horseback... William “Billy” Roohan went from Queanbeyan to Canberra and on to Goulburn three times a week.

History buff Phil Hawke… Roohan’s life, he says, epitomises the untiring men of the bush, dogged, loyal and resourceful.

fagged and glad of this unex-

says.

“He would send his horse with the mailbags into the raging river and would go across holding the horse’s tail,” chuckled Hawke.

While carrying mail on the Monaro, where he was blocked

“In wet weather new tracks had to be made every two or was not put off by the flooding of the Queanbeyan River.

carrying the mailbags on his back and wading through miles of snow to deliver the mail.

“Another time Roohan and his buggy were swept down the river at Canberra and he narrowly escaped with his life,” Hawke added.

John Gale, founder of “The Queanbeyan Age”, politician and “Father of Canberra”, shared a close friendship with Roohan.

In Gale’s history book, “Canberra: history of and legends relating to the Federal Capital Territory of the Commonwealth of Australia”, published in 1927, Gale recalled a conversation he shared with his friend.

“I well remember an occasion when Billy, on a return trip from Gippsland, drew up at my door as we were at breakfast and cooee’d for someone to come out.

“I answered his cooee, and there, seated on the driver’s seat, was Billy minus one of his big boots…his horses were

Roohan explained “I must have fallen asleep and I found myself coming down the stringybark hill (about four miles out of Queanbeyan) being dragged along beneath the under-carriage of my coach with my foot fast, as you now see my boot.

“How far I had been dragged thus I don’t know, not far, or I should have been killed. Luckily, the boot was dragged off my foot and seizing the trailing reins I pulled up my horse and regained my seat with little more hurt than a severe shaking. I thought I would leave the boot where it is till I explained the lucky escape”.

Roohan lived alone, Hawke says, in a slab hut across from Gale’s residence “The Retreat” at 72 Lowe Street, Queanbeyan.

One evening after discovering Roohan was unwell, Gale tried to persuade Roohan not to do the mail run.

“Billy refused to let anyone else deliver the mail,” Hawke

“Apparently he said: ‘I am the Queen’s servant, I will do my best to the end’.”

With an iron constitution, Roohan carried on, saddling his horse he set off and completed the mail run.

But on his way back home to Queanbeyan, he never arrived.

“A search was called and his body was discovered near Roohan’s original mail route near Black Creek [the original road from Gundaroo to Queanbeyan],” says Hawke.

“The Queanbeyan Age” on April 11, 1874, reported his death and ran a tribute piece to the “Pioneer Mailman”.

The story read: “The government never had a more zealous indefatigable and faithful servant as a mail contractor.

“Possessed of a wiry constitution – though battered and bruised and crippled… no state of weather, roads or illhealth ever excused Roohan from fulfilling the arduous duties of his contract”.

“And that pretty much sums him up,” Hawke says.

by Nichole Overall

An award-winning social and pictorial history of Queanbeyan over 175 years.

This full-colour gloss coffee-table book contains 256 pages, more than 300 colour and black & white rare and unique images.

$39 (includes postage).

For information & bookings, 0413 671 123 or visit anoverallview.wixsite.com/blog

OPINION / on car horns and ethnicity

When the sound of a car horn can say so much

I RECENTLY wrote a column about the things that make me grumpy (CN October 20). In a subsequent letter to the editor, Shirley Llorens, of Chapman, took me to task for saying: “Unnecessary use of car horns seems to be linked to ethnicity, so those drivers are probably not retrainable”.

Shirley complained that “Linking the use of car horns to ethnicity is racist.”

Harsh criticism indeed.

The “Oxford Dictionary” definition of being racist is: “The inability or refusal to recognise the rights, needs, dignity, or value of people of particular races or geographical origins.”

My contention is that linking the use of car horns to ethnicity is not racist, but simply a statement of fact.

Let me explain further.

Anyone who has travelled internationally knows that different cultures have different attitudes to the use of car horns. Those ethnic groups have often brought their home attitudes to Australia with them.

In some cultures, the car horn is used as a means of communication or to warn another driver that they are getting too close.

In Cairo, for example, the roads are wide and they have no lanes marked. Cars tend to drift sideways until someone honks them to let them know they are intruding into someone else’s space, leading to a continuous

An important variable is the length of the horn sound. A brief polite toot to get someone off their phone at traffic lights is entirely different to a prolonged angry blast.

cacophony (carcophony?) of different vehicle horns.

In Italy and Africa, the honking of car horns is used as a sign of happiness and wellbeing. In America, it can also be a sign of one’s religious or political commitment. It’s not uncommon there to see bumper stickers saying: “Honk if you love Jesus”.

In other countries, drivers honk their horns when they see a friend walking down the street. In countries where there are fewer vehicles, such as rural South Asia, the horn, often multi-tonal, is used to alert

villagers to the approach of a distant transport vehicle.

The “ACT Road Rules Handbook” (January, 2019) states about horn use: “Only use your horn or warning device to warn other road users of danger.”

That is the culture I grew up in, so I rarely use my car horn. In premulticultural Australia if you used your car horn unnecessarily, there was every chance of you becoming a road-rage victim.

Sometimes the horn can signify both a celebration and warning as

in: “Mummy, what are all those cars’ horns honking for?”

“It’s for a wedding, son.”

“I thought the horn was supposed to be used as a warning?”

“That’s true, son.”

In Western Europe, car headlights sometimes take on the role of car horns. Flashing car headlights behind another on a freeway means get out of the fast lane or give way to me. Confusingly, in the UK it also means I’m giving way to you. Context is therefore important.

In Australia, tooting your horn or flashing your car headlights at oncoming traffic used to be a signal that you had passed a police speed trap. The claim that you were preventing an offence from being committed did not go down well with police if they caught you doing it. But I digress.

Modern life has probably made the “ACT Road Rules Handbook” a little outdated. I think it’s acceptable these days to give the horn a quick tap if you’re the second car at the traffic lights and the first car makes no move when the lights turn green. It’s usually because the driver is fiddling with his or her smartphone. (Note: I am trying to avoid sounding sexist.)

Some Canberra drivers use their

horns to warn grazing curbside kangaroos not to jump in front of them. I’m not sure that’s an effective tactic given the number of kangaroo/ car collisions.

Some do-gooder Canberra drivers use their horns self-righteously as a rebuke to drivers who have done something they disagree with. It’s not uncommon now for Canberrans to honk their car horn twice as they drive off after a visit to a friend’s house. I think that’s because car windows are often so tinted (not permitted when there were annual ACT vehicle checks) that car occupants can’t be seen waving goodbye.

An important variable is of course the length of the horn sound. A brief polite toot to get someone off their phone at traffic lights is entirely different to a prolonged angry blast.

As you can see, there’s a whole lot more to ethnicity and car horns than you might have thought possible.

Clive Williams is a Canberra writer and com mentator.

About Hundreds for Thousands

Hundreds for Thousands is a Christmas fundraiser aimed at helping families in need across Canberra, Queanbeyan, Yass, Cooma and Goulburn.

With your help, our goal is to raise $100,000, allowing us to provide 1000 families with a $100 grocery gift voucher. This voucher will give each family the freedom to choose the food that they like to eat and help to make their Christmas day lunch or dinner special.

10 Salvation Army centres (listed on the website) are involved in the fundraiser, each with a goal of $10,000 which will contribute to the overall $100,000 target. You have the freedom to choose which centre to support so donate today and GIVE WHERE YOU LIVE!

LETTERS

Let’s genuinely do something about planning

ELECTION’S passed, and we have a new Labor-Greens Coalition government. Still in the “CityNews” opinion columns, planning for the city we want to live in continues to be a hot issue.

In the October 12 issue, Paul Costigan suggests it’s time for a “completely new planning system” and an end to sham consultation. Michael Moore wonders if the Greens will be hamstrung by the Parliamentary Agreement. Sue Dyer wonders about the magic of an “improved community consultation” process.

We need a circuit breaker before everyone climbs back into their bunkers.

Another commitment in the Parliamentary Agreement is the Greens’ commitment to Neighbourhood Democracy. They seem to envision a small-scale participatory budgeting exercise. This is to be strongly applauded because there is nothing like having fingers on the purse strings for community members to have some real power.

In 2017-18 the ACT government experimented with a novel form of public consultation in the four-panel, citizen-jury processes it ran. The Canberra Alliance for Participatory Democracy welcomed these, and we have reflections on how these went according to a set of principles we developed with ACTCOSS.

Perhaps a citizens’ jury process might be the circuit breaker we need on planning. No one seems happy with how Canberra is developing (except maybe the Planning

Directorate). Early in the 10th Assembly’s term might be the time to try to get this settled. What do others think?

Peter Tait, convener, Canberra Alliance for Participatory Democracy

Terroir works in mysterious ways

I REFER to Richard Calver’s article on the language of wine critics (CN, November 26).

Mr Calver comments on the “pretentious clap-trap that is written about wine today”.

Having been a professional wine critic in a former life, I can attest to the rather exotic language commonly used to describe wine.

It can be fiendishly difficult to describe the smell and taste of wine, but that is no excuse for using words, such as “it tastes like the sound of cicadas”, that could be described with a four-letter word rhyming with “clap-trap”.

However, I can confirm that it is possible to detect in wine the subtle differences caused by terroir, which can be described as the total environment (including geology, soil, climate and topography) in which grape vines grow. While these differences are relatively easy to find in French wines, for example, they are largely masked by the smell and taste of the grapes in Australian wine.

Being a geologist, my chief interest is the influence of sub-soil geology and soil composition on the qualities that we measure, smell and taste in wine. A few years ago, I carried out research on the subject of

terroir and its influence on wine. I found that there is indeed a relationship, in particular between grape properties (such as sugar content, or baumé) and the calcium content of the soil.

But terroir still works in mysterious ways.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

Bastardising the memorial

I GUESS the beginning of the end of the memorial aspect of the AWM is inevitable in the quest to attract more visitors to what is becoming a war materiel Disneyland by the lake.

Our family has four inclusions on the Wall of Remembrance and it saddens me that the solemnity of our memorial to those who made the supreme sacrifice has been bastardised to the extent that it is now little more that a must-visit (we can do it in an hour or so) tourist attraction.

I had a high level of respect for the work of the former director Brendon Nelson, but even that has diminished somewhat in the light of the legacy of continual expansion with aspects irrelevant to the Memorial proper.

If we must have an exhibition space, expand the Treloar facility and leave the Memorial to perform its primary function – recognition of sacrifice – not a materiel history of the Australian military.

Brian Franklin, Fraser

Keep light rail off Commonwealth Avenue

IT is reported that ACT Light Rail 2 (CivicWoden) will now commence with the installation of the Woden “terminus”. That will give governments the opportunity to recast the current expensive, impractical, destructive and, frankly, naff Civic-to-State Circle section.

To that end, governments need to scrap the foolish “orthodoxy” of using Commonwealth Avenue and relocate the subject section to take in say, Edinburgh Avenue and the ANU campus (various options there), Acton Peninsula’s southern shore, an elegant new design-competition-sourced lake crossing structure for trams, bikes, and pedestrians (echoing Griffin’s missing one), and Flynn Drive connecting to State Circle.

That self-evidently legible route could offer some appropriate “land value capture” development sites and would cater for wider patronage, match currently planned inter-town travel times at peak hours and precipitate a sunny public lakeside precinct at an expanded Lennox Gardens North/Flynn Place.

Most importantly, it would save the vital heritage and integrity of the City Hill precinct, Parkes Way, Commonwealth Avenue Bridge, Commonwealth Avenue’s cultural landscape, and the National Triangle’s symmetry.

The revised route would prevent Commonwealth Avenue’s desecration from inappropriate and view-blocking property development; while avoiding extensive, complicated civil-engineering works, ridicu -

lous underground power lines, dangerously located stations and massive temporary and permanent traffic disruption/congestion.

Jack Kershaw, Kambah

When will they ever learn?

GIVEN ACT WorkSafe’s discovery of an “alarming” number of safety breaches in recent weeks at suburban construction sites in Throsby, Taylor and Ginninderry (“Safety breaches keep coming despite tough talk”, “Seven Days”, CN November 25), we can only wonder how such on-site industry slackness also leads to innumerable building defects and other costly oversights that may or may not get picked up under the current building inspection regimes.

Naming the aberrant companies involved would be in the public interest, as would trebling the fines issued and not using fines as a “last resort” measure.

Much higher fines could support the increased amount of effort required of WorkSafe while developers and builders seem little bothered by workplace rules, regulations, onsite training requirements and the use of basic common sense, let alone the poor impression they are creating in the public domain. Keep up the good work, commissioner Agius; we hope you are resourced sufficiently to adopt the key and now proven COVID-19 response principle of “Go hard and go early”!

Sue Dyer, Downer

HOME DELIVERY FROM CITYNEWS.COM.AU

Centre has it all in one easy location

TUITION BY KUMON

60 YEARS OF PROVEN RESULTS

Jane Hiatt from Kumon Tuggeranong has a passion for helping children achieve their academic potential.

Children from preschool to year 12 benefit from high quaility tuition in Maths and English, through studying material matching their ability rather than their age.

How does Kumon work?

After an initial assessment, an individualised study plan is created for each student, then they practice until demonstrating a sound understanding of the material before progressing.

Children reach a point of learning work beyond their school grade.

What

Learning occurs from carefully prepared work designed in a way that allows students to problem solve.

Examples and explanations are clearly provided encouraging children to self-learn and advance independently.

Advice and guidance is given by the Kumon Instructor where necessary, to allow children to master academic skills as they progress through the Study Program.

CALWELL SHOPPING CENTRE TURNS 30

‘We pride ourselves on our strong partnerships with our tenants and know most of the shoppers, either by name or face’

Centre built on decades of strong relationships

BUILT on paddocks and open space, Calwell Shopping Centre was established three decades ago, before the majority of Tuggeranong Valley’s surrounding suburbs were developed.

Now, Arthur Tsoulias, whose family business Tsoulias Group owns the centre, says the centre is a bustling, friendly shopping centre, with all the conveniences, shops and services that people regularly need in the one easy location, and with free parking.

“We have [more than] 22 retailers, including a car wash,” says Arthur.

His grandfather Nick and father Con bought and developed the site more than 30 years ago, and Arthur says a number of the retailers have been at the centre since day one.

The relationship between the centre, the retailers and customers is what is important and special about Calwell Shopping Centre, he says.

“We pride ourselves on our strong partnerships with our tenants and knowing a lot of the shoppers, either by name or face,” says Arthur, who loves having a “cuppa” from Coffee On The Go most mornings before starting his day at the centre office.

Arthur’s been part of the family-run centre since its beginning, too, and recalls, as a teenager, helping Con do some labour work after school when the centre was being built.

“We have seen people grow as much as we have!” he says.

“I think that the customers like see ing the owners here on a daily basis and know that we shop here, too. Anything they need, we are here to help.”

Calwell Shopping Centre, 7 Webber Crescent, Calwell. Visit calwellshops.com.au

IN a first for Calwell Shopping Centre, Arthur is excited to launch its “Shop and Win” promotion, where the winner of the top prize will take home a Hyundai Venue car.

It’s also the first time a new Hyundai Venue model has launched in the ACT, he says.

The car will be supplied by Lennock Motors and the promotion will run for more than six months.

Arthur says the family is always keen to support the local community and has run Christmas prize draws, markets and other initiatives in the past.

After the bushfires and COVID-19 he says they wanted to do something special to say ‘thank you’ to the locals.

“It’s been a tough year for people and we want to thank people for shopping at Calwell and supporting us and our tenants over the years,” he says.

To be eligible for the draw, Arthur says shoppers need to spend $20 or more.

The winner of the Hyundai Venue will be drawn in six months and there will also be gift voucher prizes drawn each week over this time, he says.

Bustling, friendly and convenient, says Arthur, with shops and services including:

• Calwell Newsagency and Post

• C3 Tavern Family Bar and Bistro

• Giorgios’s Hair and Beauty Bar • Grand Court Chinese Restaurant Ochre Health – Calwell Medical Tsg – Tobacco Station and Gifts

IN BUSINESS Women 2020 EDITION

When I’m asked what is it that’s made my agency so successful, I am adamant about one thing: real estate is not about houses, it is about people, service, respect and relationships.

Maria puts people first

Award-winning real estate agent

MARIA SELLECK is a stickler for getting things right.

Passionate Maria goes

the extra mile for clients ‘I always pride myself on exceeding my client’s expectations.’

REIACT Residential Salesperson of the Year

Maria Selleck is energetic and passionate about Canberra property and believes her reputation for integrity and fair dealing is second to none.

Maria is a self starter and wanted to do things her way. In early 2009 she set out to build an award-winning agency under her own banner with a total focus on customer service and giving her clients value for money.

Before establishing Maria Selleck Properties, Maria had already earned the reputation as being one of Canberra’s leading professional agents for achieving great sales for clients and received multiple achievement awards in the local and national industry.

This year she was awarded the major REIACT 2020 Residential Salesperson of the Year.

“I am honoured to be given this recognition and I want to thank all my wonderful clients that made this award possible,” she says.

“My personal attributes of integrity, passion, tireless energy and genuine helpfulness have consistently given me the competitive edge,” she says.

“I always pride myself on exceeding my client’s expectations.

“As a big believer in always going the extra mile with every single property, I regularly enhance homes with my own works of art and beautiful furnishings, and commissions minor improvements as required on selected properties.

I am honoured to be awarded Residential Salesperson of the Year. I want to thank all my wonderful clients that made this award possible.

“The award represents our ethics of better service, better prices and better outcomes for our loyal customers.

“And to my customers, both selling, leasing and buying, I say: ‘Thank you for your years of support and loyalty’.”

Maria Selleck Properties was also awarded the prestigious Real Estate Institute ACT Small Residential Agency Award of the Year for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2016, plus the national REIA title in 2013.

“The results have been great outcomes and delighted clients.”

In her 18-year-career, she has personally achieved an unsurpassed 65+ record-price sales with 96 per cent of her listings sold at or above the asking price.

A crucial part of Maria’s reputation is built on her extremely high ethical standards – a quality that is cultivated throughout the team at Maria Selleck Properties.

“While getting the best possible result is high on my agenda, so is making sure that each and every client, seller and buyer, is treated with respect and integrity,” she says.

This honest, straightforward and insightful approach is seen by clients as a breath of fresh air that, she says, explains the inordinately high amount of repeat business and referrals.

“When I’m asked what is it that’s made my agency so successful, I am adamant about one thing: real estate is not about houses, it is about people, service, respect and relationships,” she says.

Award-winning real-estate agent Maria Selleck… she has personally achieved an unsurpassed 65+ record-price sales with 96 per cent of her listings sold at or above the asking price.

5 stars

RATE MY AGENT

‘Amazing beyond expectation’

REIACT WINNER OF:

Residential Salesperson of the Year 2020

Best Small Agency of the Year – 6 TIMES

Best Australian Small Agency of the Year 2013 Hall of Fame 2012

With more than 40 years of experience in the industry, I am one of Canberra’s most highly-qualified and experienced studio proprietors and dance coaches focusing on ballroom dancing. I am especially keen on introducing people into ballroom dance, commencing with beginner classes for all ages. We have all ages from juniors to adult/seniors.

Pathways exist to undertake technical assessments and to enter into the competitive arena. I am a qualified championship coach and adjudicator, registered and recognised with the governing body, Dancesport Australia. I have been running classes at the Tuggeranong Community Centre since 1997 and have enjoyed every minute of it!

Dale’s Ballroom Dancing, Tuggeranong Community Centre, Cowlishaw Street, Tuggeranong; dalesballroomdancing.com; 6296 4009; dale_harris@bigpond.com

Deb Long

OWNER

As a travel agency owner, 2020 has been unlike any other in my 38 years committed to providing exceptional value and service to my clients and local community.

I have had to draw on my resilience and expertise to quickly interpret and respond to travel restrictions in order to assist my clients whose travel plans have been thrown into disarray, while

at the same time taking important steps to ensure the survival of my small business. Weston Cruise & Travel is determined to stay the course and adapt to the post-pandemic world. Increased complexity and uncertainty for travel bookings will see our clients require our trusted services more than ever, and I know my agency will be here for them.

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

Catherine Smith CEO

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

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

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

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

Call for a free appointment now.

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

Felicia Darbyshire-Pirie

OWNER

We are very focused on the health and wellbeing of our clients –ensuring they feel mentally and physically good is always at the front of my mind.

When we bring it all together, it’s about caring for people, and that can come in many different forms based on what our clients need – with strong work, with kindness, a bit of fun… whatever!

This year has been tough and resilience in the business has been thoroughly driven by encouragement and support of staff and clients.

Every kind word and deed that has been directed my way has been completely utilised and focused into working out how to keep clients and staff engaged and looking after each other.

Pilates Centre Canberra, 58 Colbee Court, Phillip; pilatescentre.com.au; 6162 1793; info@pilatescentre.com.au

There are so many real estate agents to choose from – my business philosophy is very different to any other. My time in social policy in overseas aid and refugee/humanitarian sectors solidified my core way of life.

After the honour of being appointed on the Deputy Chief Minister’s Consultative Group for Affordable Housing and Homelessness, and the Housing Summit in October 2017, I knew I could contribute more.

I had an idea of incorporating the ethos of social enterprises and community organisations and adapting these principles to a pre-existing sector flooded with the same model.

With huge thanks to Cindy Mitchell at The MillHouse, she helped define my business idea as a “social impact model”. Those who are successful should give back as we all know the gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” is expanding.

I am guided by Diane Kargas Bray and Peter Gordon at Hands Across Canberra as they know where the money is most needed with their 250+ community organisations.

My raison d’être is affordable housing – helping those facing homelessness. (Not housing affordability – see my Blog for the difference.) The United Nations has decreed that having a roof over your head is a basic human right.

My Investors Can Help project showed Canberra has a big heart – so next time you’re looking to sell, contact me on 0405 135 009 for a very different selling experience, and make a difference.

In the meantime read my website to learn more about my model, and look up my RateMyAgent reviews.

Christine Shaw

0405 135 009

Margaret Dimoff

GALLERY OWNER & ARTIST

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

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

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

Rebecca Davey CEO

At Build a Better Me – Arthritis, Pain Support and ME/CFS –that’s what we do: we help people to identify and achieve their goals.

People living with pain and fatiguing illnesses represent a large proportion of people living with invisible illness. You are not invisible to us.

That is what makes the work we do so successful. One by one, individual by individual, we rebuild your confidence, your resilience, your zest for life.

Our team of allied health staff, peer workers and support staff are here with only one goal in mind – to support you to be the person you want to be.

Build a Better Me – Arthritis, Pain Support and ME/CFS ACT, 170 Haydon Drive, Bruce & Building 1, 1 Collette Place, Pearce; arthritisact.org.au; 1800 011041; info@arthritisact.org.au

Kristin Miller GENERAL MANAGER

I have run Trade Guardian for 10 years providing bookkeeping and admin support to a diverse range of small businesses.

My approach to leadership is providing a supportive team and environment for the clients we serve, and being there for them when they need us most.

Our tips for success in business are to set goals and understand

what information and support you need to achieve them. Above all, know your numbers. Having up-to-date books is absolutely critical to making good decisions.

The challenges of this year have brought our team and clients closer. Together we are strongly positioned to get back to business once things eventually settle down.

Trade Guardian, 8/29 Buckland Street, Mitchell 2911; tradeguardian.com.au; 6162 1928; enquiries@tradeguardian.com.au

Sarah Rajic DIRECTOR

Sarah Rajic is the co-founder and director of the Canberrabased recruitment agency, Capital Recruit. They specialise in corporate recruitment, focusing on human resources, accounting and finance, corporate support, marketing and communication, policy and program, and executive positions in both the private sector and government

(procured through SON3538332). Over the past six years Capital Recruit has delivered permanent, contractor, temporary, bulk and scribing recruitment services to meet clients’ needs.

If you’re looking for your next career move or need recruitment assistance for your team, reach out to Sarah and the Capital Recruit team.

Capital Recruit, Unit 2, 1 Pirie Street, Fyshwick; capitalrecruit.com.au; 6154 9309; sarah@capitalrecruit.com.au

Physiotherapy – including the

sports injury

and

and pain condition

Exercise Physiology – Individual exercise prescriptions, small group classes to increase strength and improve rehabilitation, strength and balance classes, hydrotherapy support.

Occupational Therapy – access reports for NDIS and Disability Support Pensions, home modifications, equipment prescriptions.

Dietetics – meal planning, weight management support, food intolerance support.

Gail Freeman & Bethany Freeman-Chandler

DIRECTOR & MANAGER

Mother-and-daughter duo Gail and Bethany say that while they have different skills they’re able to work seamlessly together.

Chartered accountant Gail specialises in tax, superannuation and retirement planning, while Bethany is a CPA and tax agent, and consults on financial accounting and technology solutions.

Having established the practice in Kingston more than 30 years ago,

Gail loves guiding her clients through complex financial matters. This year, it’s also been about navigating the unique financial challenges of the pandemic.

“It has required extra hours of studying legislation, for us to be across government subsidies and ensuring our clients know their eligibility for accessing financial support,” Gail says.

“Covid has made us more resilient in our own business too, from learning

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

Bronwen

how to work from home to taking the majority of our work online, which has been great for sustainability.

“I feel lucky to have such wonderful staff, and take a participatory, nurturing approach to leadership, with a focus on helping the team develop.

“It’s our goal to assist our clients in the best way we can.”

Mackenzie & Rachel Campbell

DIRECTOR & ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

At Bellchambers Music School, the most important things to us are passion, excellence, and family.

Our core values of ‘Build Trust, Share Respect, Nurture Learning, Create Joy’ are at the heart of what we do, and we have built a vibrant community of highly skilled and dynamic musicians who teach our 700 students each week in both individual and group settings.

2020 has shown us that, when the chips are down, we have the ability to rally together as a team to save our business, and keep our building filled with music.

Since beginning our working partnership in 2016, our music school as thrived as we are able to communicate well and take care of one another as we execute our complementary roles.

Bellchambers Music School, 61-63 Colbee Court, Philllip; 6281 6270; bellchambersmusicschool.com.au; admin@bellchambersmusicschool.com.au

As women in leadership, we are able to draw on many of our life experiences as well as our extensive education to inform each facet of our decision making and professional practice. We absolutely love our work and feel so fortunate to be able to join our students on their musical journeys.

Kim Persson & Sophie McLean OWNERS

Kim Persson and Sophie McLean are passionate about two things –real estate and helping people. Luckily, through their company, Your Property Profits, they are able to do both.

Centred in Canberra, Kim and Sophie assess properties and suggest the most economical and beneficial areas to renovate before sale.They then use their

trusted tradespeople to finish the renovation in the fastest time possible.

However, understanding that this initial outlay might be too much for some people, Your Property Profits has come up with an ingenious way of helping. They fund the costs of your renovation and you pay once your house sells (conditions apply).

Your Property Profits; yourpropertyprofits.com.au; 1800 225597; hello@yourpropertyprofits.com.au

By doing this, they are able to help homeowners sell their houses faster and for more money, each and every time.

Wanda Wojciechowska & Aimee Kohler SENIOR ACCOUNTANT & OWNER | FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATOR & OFFICE MANAGER

WWAccounting is a small accounting team managed by mother-anddaughter duo, Wanda and Aimee. Wanda has over 20 years in the accounting sector. The company offers a range services; accounting, bookkeeping and taxation, all with a smile.

“We enjoy keeping with oldfashioned service through meeting

clients, putting a face to a name and maintaining great relationships,” says Wanda. “The main secret of our success is being passionate, reliable, and listening to our clients and actually hearing them. It’s the personal touch that stands WWAccounting apart.” 2020 has been tough for everyone. Prolonged drought, bushfires,

WWAccounting; PO Box 42, Red Hill 2603; wwaccounting.com.au; 6295 0364; wandaw@wwaccounting.com.au

and COVID-19. Patience and understanding are critical during these times. We’ve been consistently soldiering on, communicating with clients the ever-changing government legislations – Jobkeeper, cashflow boosts, etc; while staying on top of our ongoing BAS and tax commitments.

Chris Conway

OWNER

When the opportunity to make my passion my business, I grasped it enthusiastically, and have enjoyed every single second since. They say the purpose of life is to find a life of purpose. So I did, and I’m thankful every day for this opportunity to help others. Our focus is entirely devoted to that goal: enabling you for success. It has been this way for Curves 28

years and my journey has been 14 of those rewarding years. Curves is special; it is a community first, with world-class gym facilities, expert coaches and new support options to help our community during this time of unprecedented change due to the pandemic. This is our message: we are a unique blend of fitness and community.

Curves at Wanniassa, 25 Sangster Place, Wanniassa; curves.com/au; 6296 7415; curveswanniassa@hotmail.com

Kristin Davis OWNER

We have not just survived this year that was COVID-19, but relished the opportunity to adjust our business model to fit the new covid protocols. Our members received more engagement, accountability and support than ever before. With many smaller-sized, tailored circuits throughout the day, our members are happier than ever.

In late 2019, Curves introduced an online strength-training program. With this option, and dedicated staff ready to rise to the challenge and offer Facebook workouts, we were able to keep our members fit and exercising during the threemonth lockdown. We love what we do – and it shows. Come in and give us a try. Fun, fast, safe and a great community.

Curves Weston, upstairs, Cooleman Court, Weston; 6288 8333; curves_weston@iinet.net.au

Anita O’Meara OWNER

The COVID-19 shutdown brought uncharted challenges for me and my amazing coaching team.

The moment our gym doors closed on March 23, I started to think how we could best support our community of mature women now that their place of exercise and, more importantly, social connection was not accessible.

The team and I spent weeks de -

veloping online classes for members and also teaching many to use technology they might never have tried. When we reopened, we discovered members were more open to trying new classes, so we adapted again to offer more variety in our sessions.

Going through the challenges of this year has made me resilient and ready to face the future.

Curves Womens Gym Belconnen, Shop 2, Australia Post Jamison Centre; wellnessliving.com; 6251 1111; info@curvesbelconnen.com.au

Raffy Borg OWNER

The Curves workout is convenient, combining strength training and cardio, plus stretching – all in 30 minutes.

To me, Curves is not only a gym for ladies, it’s a community, a family where nobody judges you by what you wear, look like or where you come from.

Curves provides a friendly and safe environment for women of all ages. Our hydraulic resistance

machines have been specially designed for women and suit all ages and fitness levels.

You workout in a non-judgmental environment with the support and guidance of a Curves Coach.

Covid hit us all hard this year, don’t let it get you down, instead let it encourage you to look after yourself.

Give yourself the gift of health, join Curves!

Curves Gungahlin, 70 Nullarbor Avenue, Harrison; 6255 5916; wellnessliving.com/fitness/harrison; info@curvesgungahlin.com.au

PRINCIPAL DESIGNER/DIRECTOR

I started MMM Interiors in 1989 as a small boutique store, the first business to sell leading products and offer bathroom design. Our survival for 31 years is mainly based on being able to evolve and grow with the changing landscape of the industry and adapting to new technology.

We have extended our services to full interior design, building

design and project management with our specialist renovation building teams, so we are able to offer a true concept-tocompletion service, including soft-furniture curation.

We have highly skilled design technicians, thus we can provide our clients with high-quality 3D visualisation of their project, and fine detail of the bespoke aspects.

MMM Interiors, 61 Wollongong Street, Fyshwick; mmminteriors.com.au; 6280 9980; mimmi@mmminteriors.com.au

Amélie Langevin

GENERAL MANAGER

QL2 Dance is a unique organisation. We run innovative, challenging, diverse and rigorous dance and artist-development programs for young people, with a staged progression over several years of their lives.

We develop the next generation of dance makers supporting, nurturing, mentoring and coaching them through their critical

early years and as they emerge as professionals. We enable growth and development for young dance artists, emerging choreographers and our audiences.

For many young people who have come to QL2 it has been a life-changing experience, opening up new horizons, finding the support they needed and developing lifelong skills.

QL2 Dance, Gorman Arts Centre, 55 Ainslie Avenue, Braddon; ql2.org.au; 6247 3103; admin@ql2.org.au

New

Bathroom,

Building

Inspiration and

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Ravishing works win Julie ‘Artist of the Year’

Canberra has a new “CityNews” Artist of the Year. Arts editor MUSA reports...

A VETERAN Canberra artist who creates ravishing, sophisticated works on paper has been named 2020 “Canberra CityNews” Artist of the Year.

Ainslie artist Julie Bradley was singled out by the Canberra Critics Circle judging panel for a remarkable year, in which she undertook a residency in Ireland then returned to mount a huge exhibition at Belconnen Arts Centre, “Evocation”, of paintings using swirling gouache washes on collaged Japanese papers to convey the emotional effects of place and weather.

Bradley received a certificate and cheque to the value of $1000 from “CityNews”, and craft critic Meredith Hinchliffe presented her with a set of finely-crafted, stainless-steel spoons by Canberra artist Alison Jackson.

Bradley, whose work is held in the collections of the NGA, the ANU, CMAG, Calvary Hospital Birth Centre, Canberra Hospital and the Lu Rees Archives, has been an artist for more than 35 years.

A left-wing surfer girl from the southern suburbs of Sydney, she was urged by artist and critic Geoffrey de Groen to apply to the old School of Art in Canberra and was chosen in 1979 to study under influential printmaker/artist Jörg Schmeisser – “wonderful people there”, she says.

When her folk-musician husband Kevin Bradley

THEATRE

Two new shows for Q season

By Helen Musa

THERE were few surprises at The Q, The Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, during its launch of the 2021 season, themed “Bringing the Magic”.

For one thing, The Q had already posted the first half of its 2021 season online, as we reported on October 27. For another, in July The Q had let go its founding director and program manager Stephen Pike, spearheading the search for a new director, so even while the team at The Q waved its collective magic wand to come up with a 2021 program, there was the option of reprogramming much of the planned 2020 season, paused because of covid.

That season lives on in choices previously planned for this year, including Eddie Daniels’ “Battle of the Voices: Roy Orbison vs Gene Pitney”; the scary “Wolf Lullaby”, staged by Jordan Best; “Lamb”, the story of one family on an Australian sheep farm, an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Jekyll & Hyde” and “Wallflowering”, Peta Murray’s play about two ageing ballroom dancers. But at the launch two new inclusions were announced.

Best takes top job at The Q

ONE of the Canberra region’s best known – and most outspoken – directors has been chosen to replace Stephen Pike at the helm of The Q, the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre.

Jordan Best, pictured, is also the artistic director of Echo Theatre established two years ago by Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council and has a long track record in Canberra’s arts scene. She studied cello at Canberra (now ANU) School of Music and acting at the Victorian College of the Arts, then went on in Canberra to chalk up an extraordinary list of personal performance credits, but directing is her metier.

A strong advocate for women

First up, in March, will be “Margaret Fulton – The Musical”, with book and lyrics by Doug MacLeod. It’s billed as a musical romp that follows the late Fulton’s journey from humble beginnings to super-stardom, directed by Aarne Neeme in his Q debut. Then in May, there’ll be “Love Song Dedications”, where Tom Hogan and Bonnie Leigh-Dodds will take us on a ride through contemporary politics, philosophy and wicked dance moves, one Richard Mercer pop song at a time. For children, comedy duo The Listies will present “Hamlet: Prince of Skidmark”, featuring ninjas, ghosts, swords, dinosaurs, zombies

in theatre, her directorial style is to focus intensely on the text and the characters. She is known not to tolerate fools or boring theatre gladly.

Having mastered the arts of acting, directing, producing and touring, her next challenge will be to learn the art of working for a regional council.

– Helen Musa

and supersonic gags, while “Robot Song” is a family show for any child who has ever felt isolated or pushed to the margins and for parents who want to help.

A quick glimpse at the year’s program shows some apparent clashes. That’s because, as QueanbeyanPalerang Regional Council mayor, Tim Overall, explained, they’ll officially open the refurbished Bicentennial Hall with capacity to house larger audiences, so there could be two shows running at the same time. Book at theq.net.au or 6285 6290.

presented with the Helen Tsongas Award for excellence in acting by Arts Minister Tara Cheyne at the ACT Arts Awards tonight (December 1).

Lainie Hart was singled out by the Canberra Critics Circle for a remarkable body of work over the past year in live and screen performances for Lakespeare & Co, The Q and Canberra REP. The critics praised her “transfixing performances that were at times fiercely

A dedicated actor who has played everyone from Morticia in “The Addams Family Musical” to Olivia in “Twelfth Night”, Hart works by day as a neuropsychologist with the ACT Department of Health and the ANU.

Faced at age 19 with a choice between treading the boards and studying psychology, she opted for “the safe way” and now has five

The Helen Tsongas Award for excellence in acting was

the

family in the name of the

motorcycle accident with her husband, Peter Brajkovic, nine years ago. The Helen Tsongas award takes the form of a cheque to the value of – Helen Musa

CINEMA / reviews

When Miss World pageant got a wake-up call

“Misbehaviour” (M)

PHILIPPA Lowthorpe has directed a skilled cast to tell what happened at the 1970 Miss World pageant in London.

While the screenplay may not satisfy modern women committed actively to continuing the liberation movement, the birth of which this film commemorates.

Nevertheless, there are strong grounds for accepting its authenticity – the closing credits confirm that the actual women whose activities “Misbehaviour” relates were available to vouch for the authenticity of the film’s portrayals.

The comfortable telling of an uncomfortable story about the lead up to and disruption of the Miss World judging depended on getting the writing right before a frame of film got shot. The women, each of whom went on to academic careers proudly sporting a criminal record on their CVs, had had enough of men treating women as subordinates, as inferiors, as flesh to be displayed for satisfaction of male urges, you name it, they’d had enough.

The film doesn’t deal kindly with the men who were running the contest. They were going to make money from candidates whose only qualification for being there was their bodies, exposed to the extent that the law permitted.

England-born movie comedian Bob Hope (Greg Kinnear) had been chosen to MC the final judging. The film exposes his professional weaknesses – the gags that made his reputation were not spontaneous

as a wall of filing cabinets displays.

Keira Knightley delivers some pungent lines as divorced mother Sally Alexander who together with Jo (Jessie Buckley), Sarah (Ruby Bentall), Jane (Lily Newmark) and Abi (Maya Kelly) spent a night in prison after disrupting the black-tie final judging ceremony that awarded the crown to Jennifer Hosten

– Miss Grenada (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) – the first black woman to win the contest.

“Misbehaviour” delivers the story in documentary-ish style that neither overwhelms its message nor diminishes its entertainment value.

At all cinemas

“Happiest Season” (M)

THE IMDb says that writer/director Clea DuVall claims that “Happiest Season” is

sundayROAST

Stay in touch with the names making news on Sundays from 9am 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 9am and noon

autobiographical.

Billed as a rom-com with a Christmas flavour, its plot unfolds among a middleclass family with three daughters. The oldest, Harper (Mackenzie Davis), has moved away from the town where her father (Victor Garber) has mayoral ambitions.

Harper and Abby (Kristen Stewart) have happily been living in a loving lesbian relationship. Harper is taking Abby home to meet her family. But Harper hasn’t told her parents the truth about her and Abby. That little omission is the foundation of the plot. Because Harper and Abby want to marry.

The welcome that Harper’s mother Tipper (Mary Steenburgen) extends toward Abby is the drama’s overpowering stumbling block. She runs the family with a hand that, if not

exactly made of iron, nevertheless has made rules and routines that must be obeyed. For the lovers, this is a five-day burden that must be borne. Because Harper is a bit of a coward.

Few things in movies are as precious as the bloomin’ obvious, the dramatic device held in abeyance, keeping the audience on tenterhooks until the final reel. Ms DuVall is fully aware of this. Her screenplay delivers the bloomin’ obvious in an unremitting display of clichés and filmic platitudes, manifesting an unsubtle creative cleverness that I found discomforting, perverse.

It may be the first film linking lesbian with Christmas, but that doesn’t make it gay.

At all cinemas

“In the Name of the Land” (M)

THIS is writer/director Edouard Bergeon’s narrative feature debut, telling about his, his mother’s and his sister’s experiences of responsibility for the family farm near Poitiers after the suicide of their husband and father when he was 16.

As well as having made a series of documentaries about the issues confronting French farmers, Bergeon knows what farmers and their families must do to survive in the farming business. He understands the farming

environment, and farming’s dependence on climate, season, and weather. He knows about suicide rates among farmers.

The film he has crafted from those elements pleased me most of all for its credibility. Pierre Jarjeau (Guillaume Canet) returns to France from America with ideas about expanding the farm’s activities – mechanisation, economies of large-scale rearing of herds and flocks. He leases the family farm from grandfather Jacques (the actor Rufus) and starts upgrading it. Exterior shots show what growing stuff, animals, crops, involves. That takes place in the framework of the family and its issues.

Pierre’s wife Claire (Veerle Baetens) is a tower of strength as well as mother of his children and manager of the farm’s day-to-day business chores. In the early 1970s, their 16-year-old son Thomas (Anthony Bajon) is learning the craft, the business, of farming. Prospects look rosy for the family. Until disaster strikes, wrecking Pierre’s new infrastructure and leaving his spirit in shreds.

The film’s performances are first class throughout. You don’t have to be a farmer to take satisfaction from “In the Name of the Land”.

At Palace Electric

WATCH IT! / streaming and stuff

Royals not amused by new ‘Crown’

IN the last few weeks, one of Netflix’s biggest shows has returned for another season, and it seems it’s the most controversial yet.

It’s “The Crown”, a drama series that follows the reign of the Queen. An all-star cast portraying household names such as Princes Charles and Philip, Princess Margaret and Winston Churchill just to name a few, have made the show a hit as it attempts to depict what goes on behind the oversized, glittering, closed doors of Buckingham Palace.

Now in its fourth season, it’s covering the 13-year period of 1977-’90 that saw Charles and Diana get together, attacks on Britain from the IRA and the first female prime minister to move into 10 Downing Street.

Gillian Anderson of “The X-Files” fame takes the role of Margaret Thatcher. From paranormal investigator to the Iron Lady, talk about a change of pace.

Another rising British actor, Emma Corrin, plays Princess Diana. Unsurprisingly, it’s brought a huge amount of attention.

Corrin and Anderson are incredibly convincing in their roles, as is the entire cast in playing such spectacularly famous names. Olivia Colman as the Queen looks remarkably similar, as does the former Time Lord Matt Smith as Philip. A show covering this sort of subject matter of course isn’t going to get away without a controversy or two.

The historical accuracy of the events that take place in the series has always been a matter of contention among viewers and commentators, now more than ever with many upset that a lot of their favourite royals don’t come off as heroic as they may like.

winning playwright Peter Morgan. He has openly admitted that he comes at it from a mix of fact and fiction, in his own words saying that people don’t want historic regurgitation but acts of imagination.

The result is more than a little bit of creative liberty here and there, particularly when it comes to the emotional side of things, with the writers on a foundation of in-depth research attempting to imagine what the royals might have been thinking or feeling in these volatile scenarios.

How does the saying go? Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

It’s left to viewers to make up their own minds about how “real” it all is. Either way, the show without a doubt is surfing

the waves of this rolling controversy and commentary. Every time “The Crown” is mentioned, be it a positive or negative reception to its telling of history, it just gets more popular. People want to see what the fuss is about and get to weigh in with their own views.

The attention to detail, analysis and dialogue has come to give it quite the regal place in Netflix’s catalogue of original series. As soon as a new season pops up, it’s quick to take its throne as the most-hyped show of the moment and hits the most watched lists just as fast.

But, fans of the royals and good television aside, considering the cast is playing many characters who survive to this day, the question does arise – what do they think of it?

Well, many news outlets were delighted a few years ago to report that the Queen herself enjoys the series, apparently organising private screenings of episodes on Saturday nights.

However, it seems the future king may not be mooching off the royal Netflix account, having firmly said he does not watch it. Prince Harry, too, apparently wishes to see it stop well before it catches up with the modern day.

Prince Philip also doesn’t give it his royal seal of approval. Those who’ve watched the show probably won’t be wondering why.

More of Nick Overall on Twitter @nick_overall

DINING / The Pits, Phillip

Some like it hot, some don’t

I made a real mess eating it, but isn’t that part of the deal with big burgers?

heavily seasoned (we weren’t told so when we ordered and there’s no indication on the side of the truck). The house-made seasoning is strong on paprika. We were looking forward to plain, hot chips with a good dose of salt.

“It ain’t food if it ain’t greasy.” This isn’t so much a warning for those trying to avoid heart-attack dining, it’s more a reflection of the humour of the place.

The menu is posted on the side of the truck and once you order you can find a possie on one of the picnic tables scattered about. One zone has fake lawn, plants, music, graffiti artwork and a couple of arcade-game machines to play while you hang out for your food. Overall, the vibe is pretty cool.

Six burgers are available, a couple of fried chicken options and some combos if you want beef and bird.

My friend loves a straightforward, but great,

sauce. She wasn’t expecting the sauce to have a strong kick, but it did. Grease Monkey could do well to let customers know about the spice when ordering, for those who aren’t enamoured.

I intended to get my hit of greasy with a beef patty but changed my mind when I saw the “Pit Stop” ($17). It was delish. The bun was stuffed with slow-cooked, barbecue-smoked pork brisket, which was high on taste. The meat was a perfect match for the apple-cider slaw and

ARTS IN THE CITY

The line-up of burgers includes the double deluxe, with streaky bacon for an extra hit of grease ($18), a portobello mushroom burger ($16), a southern fried chicken option ($17) and –for those who can take it – the “Full Service”. This whopper features a beef patty, bacon, egg, cheese, pineapple, lettuce, tomato, beetroot, onion, relish and more of that hot sauce. My, oh, my.

Chaos and comedy at ‘Faulty’

THE long-running tribute “Faulty Towers the Dining Experience”, is coming to Canberra for one show only. Audience members become paying guests at the Faulty Towers hotel and experience two hours of chaos, comedy and action in an original theatrical script with references to the original “Fawlty Towers” TV series. Created in Brisbane in 1997, it’s been performed around the world. Mercure Hotel Braddon, Sunday, December 13, 7pm-9.30pm. Book at eventfinda. com.au, search for “Mercure”.

LUMINESCENCE and the Canberra International Music Festival have joined to host a three-day mini-festival of Christmas music, “A Luminous Christmas”, featuring a performance of Benjamin Britten’s “A Ceremony of Carols” by Luminescence Children’s Choir with harpist Alice Giles. Didgeridoo virtuoso William Barton will join master drummer Simon Barker, while The Pocket Trio will perform “Jazz Up Late”. Verity Lane Markets inside the Sydney building and Wesley Church, December 11-13, program details and bookings atcimf.org.au/a-luminouschristmas

THE Royal Military College Band will return to the Canberra Theatre under the baton of officer commanding/music director, Major Darren Cole for the first live “Music at Midday” concert since

March. It will feature a mix of Christmas classics, big band hits and musical surprises, with all donations benefiting Ronald McDonald House. Since its inception in 1993, the venture has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities. Noon, Tuesday, December 8. Free but registration essential at canberratheatrecentre. com.au or 6275 2700.

FEATURING and devised by vocal students from CIT Solutions and Fleur-de-Lys Vocal Talent, vocal students from CIT Solutions, “Finding Your Voice” is a cabaret spanning world music, rock, pop,

Towers

jazz and classical genres for which students have written about their own journeys to express the voice within and collaborated them into a story about ancestors, memories and personal history. Directed and produced by Fleur Millar, the show features pianist Sam Row, belly dancer Kirsty Duncan and artist Barak Zelig. Smith’s Alternative, 76 Alinga Street, Civic, 3pm-5pm, Sunday, December 6, bookings at smithsalternative.com

ART Song Canberra presents “To Music – An Die Musik”, in which soprano Bethany Hill and pianist Penelope Cashman perform pieces by Britten, Schubert, Quilter and Bernstein exploring our connection to music interwoven with songs of solace. Wesley Music Centre, 3pm and 4.15pm, Saturday, December 12. Bookings here trybooking.com/BMHCU

HELEN MUSA

Time’s running out to find those perfect gifts

WITH a little more than three weeks until Christmas, there’s no avoiding it, it’s time to get some serious shopping done. Whether it is fast and thrilling, soft and cuddly, or something that will grow and last for years to come, “CityNews” speaks with businesses who have unique gift ideas, or fun experiences for the whole family this Christmas.

E-scooters are all the ‘craze’, says David

FROM the busy commuter, to the weekend

“speed junkie”, electric scooters, or e-scooters, are all the “craze” at the moment, making them an ideal Christmas present for everyone, says Cookies Cycles owner David Cook.

E-scooters have plenty of benefits, too, accord ing to David, who says:

“They save on parking and it makes commuting more fun. Or, you can use them for fun and recreation [rather than commuting]. I even have one that does 60km/h.”

Located in Franklin, David says Cookies Cycles stocks the best leading brands in e-scooters, such as Zero, Mearth and Emove.

Cookies Cycles also stocks everything from balance bikes and three-wheel scooters for the little ones, to larger scooters, skateboards, mountain bikes, electric bikes, road bikes, BMX bikes for the racer, as well as street and park riders. And when it comes to shopping at Cookies Cycles, customers can do it with confidence, says David, who, backed with

about 35 years’ industry experience, not only stocks leading products at his store, which he opened in 2015 to cater for the family cyclist, but has the knowledge about the items, too.

Cookies Cycles also has a fully equipped workshop, which David says offers services and repairs.

“We back up and service all products that we sell with our large range of parts and accessories for all products we sell,” he says.

Cookies Cycles, 227 Flemington Road, Franklin. Call 6242 0338, email shop@ cookiescycles.com.au or visit cookiescycles.com.au

GRAB A BRAND NEW ELECTRIC SCOOTER FOR CHRISTMAS

Get celebrating with Mike’s magical decorations

PEOPLE are already getting excited about Christ mas and are buying their decorations earlier than usual, says co-owner of the family-owned Christmas Emporium at Hang Ups, Mike Welch.

“There’s a different dynamic this year – after the year we’ve had, people want a break from everything and to celebrate Christmas,” he says.

“We’re all about bringing the enjoyment of the festive season to our customers.”

Mike says the Christmas Emporium has a vast range in stock, including lights, which he says people are buying up in multiples.

The shop also stocks Twinkly, which are LED light strings controllable via smartphones, that can create unique, magical light patterns.

As a gift idea, Mike says they’ve brought in a range of recycled plastic beach towels by SomerSide.

“They tick every box environmentally and make a wonderful, unique gift,” he says.

“We’ve also got our own range of candles which are made by Canberra-based company Luxewiks.”

Click and collect is available, too, but Mike says the website may not be up-to-date, so it’s worth coming in or calling to see if a particular item is in stock.

Christmas Emporium at Hang Ups, 72 Gladstone Street, Fyshwick. Call 6280 0312 or email info@hangups.com.au

OPENING HOURS: Mon-Fri: 9am - 5.30pm Sat & Sun: 10am - 3pm

CHRISTMAS GIVING

Treats to spoil the family pets

THERE’S no forgetting man’s best friend this Christmas, says Charlie and Chums owner Sandy Borgo, whose range of products cater to pets and people alike.

Based in Tuggeranong, Sandy says Charlie and Chums allow family pets to join in on the festive cheer, with its pet-friendly gifts that range from advent calendars for dogs, to dog and cat stockings that can be stuffed with goodies such as reindeer “poop” snacks and festive squeaky toys.

“Our pets are part of our family. We spoil them just as much as we spoil our children,” she says.

Operating since 2013, Sandy says she’s grown the business out of a love for the dogs and animals that bring so much joy and companionship into people’s lives.

Charlie and Chums sells a wide range of gifts for people, too, such as jewellery, cards, tableware, metal and ceramic figurines, as well as collars and leads for pets.

Sandy says she has a number of outdoor sculptures and figurines to dress up the garden, such as flamingoes, turtles, frogs and birds.

Charlie and Chums, shop 1, 103 South.Point Tuggeranong. Call 0402 097580, email charlieandchums@bigpond.com

at the Canberra Walk-in Aviary this Christmas period, says owner and manager Mick Logan.

Food for dogs, not dog food

“The aviary is great fun for all ages, with the chance to get up-close-andpersonal with a range of friendly, free-flying birds,” says Mick.

“While not all birds will interact with you, visitors get the chance to observe, up close, species of birds that otherwise would be hard to see in the wild.

“We provide a small plate of food and a tub of mealworms and you can wander around and feed the birds.”

The aviary is a 1000sqm planted walk-in enclosure that has more than 500 birds from about 65 different species from Australia and the world, Mick says.

birds, taking photos or just observing our feathered friends,” Mick says.

Gold Creek Village has three other attractions, as well as cafes, gift shops and a garden centre, so it’s a great place for a day out after visiting the aviary, Mick says.

Numbers are still limited for social distancing reasons, but the aviary is still open as usual and over the summer will be open every day including public holidays, except Christmas, from 10am-5pm, with the last admission at 4.30pm.

Canberra Walk-in Aviary, unit 13, Federation Square, O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls. Call 6230 2044 or visit canberrawalkinaviary.com.au

Quality teddy bears that last a lifetime

FOR the young or young at heart, the teddy bears at The Teddy Bear Shop in Majura will make the perfect, quality gift for either, says owner Meg Cutler.

“We’ve got something for everyone. Age is just a number really. We’ve got something for kids of all ages,” she says.

And The Teddy Bear Shop is “the destination” for teddy bears, according to Meg, who says “our bears are for a lifetime”, that’s how good the quality of them are.

Having been in the business for more than 40 years, Meg says she’s helped generations of children pick out teddy bears.

“People who got them as a baby are now buying them for their grandchildren,” she says.

The shop features all sorts of bears, from flat bears, cute and cuddly bears, as well as christening gifts and children’s dinnerware, classics from Peter Rabbit, Paddington and Winnie the Pooh, and popular collectable brands such as Teddy-Hermann and Margarete Steiff, she says.

“[They] are probably our biggest collectible, and we’ve got a lot of collectors from all over the world,” she says.

The Teddy Bear Shop, shop 9, Majura Park Shopping Centre. Call 0418 303448, email hugs@theteddybearshop. com.au or visit theteddybearshop.com.au

CANBERRA’S only dedicated native plant retailer, Cool Country Natives, has plenty of Christmas ideas, including Australian alternatives for trees and some exclusive gift options, too, says owner Karen Brien.

The Adenanthos sericeus, otherwise known as a Woolly Bush, which is a lush and hardy native shrub, is a great choice for a Christmas tree alternative, says Karen.

Or, for anyone after a white Christmas, Karen says there’s the Kunzea ericoides “Snowman”, named for its small white or pink flowers, or for something more bright, there’s the Grevillea “Lady O”, which, with its rich, red flowers, Karen says makes for a self decorating Christmas tinsel alternative.

The best part about these alternatives, according to Karen, who’s proud of her range of “living” native Christmas trees that aren’t harvested or synthetic, is they can be kept, potted or planted once the season is over.

As for gift giving, she says: “There’s plenty of things that are attractive and plenty will grow in pots and on balconies [to be given as presents].”

And, customers can also purchase a gift voucher, she says.

Customers can also find groundcovers, grasses, ferns, climbers and small-to-large shrubs and trees such as acacia, banksia, crowea, daisies, ferns and grevillea, as well as tube stock that is grown on site, she says.

Cool Country Natives stocks and propagates a range of locally endemic species to the Canberra region, too.

Cool Country Natives, 5A Beltana Road, Pialligo. Call 6257 6666, email retail@coolcountrynatives.com.au or visit coolcountrynatives.com.au Kunzea ericoides also known as “Snowman”.

Grasses, ground covers, shrubs and trees suitable

A large range of unusual grafted plants and bush food plants also

Expert staff happy to advise or answer questions.

GARDENING

Time for dahlias and dianthus

DAHLIAS grow extremely well in Canberra, and now is planting time.

Introduced to Europe in the 16th century, following the Spaniards’ invasion of central America, dahlias were grown by the Aztecs for food and medicinal purposes, such as treating epilepsy.

Dahlias are related to sunflowers, both native to the same area, and recorded as grown from 1000BC for their seed and oil. The dahlia has been the national flower of Mexico since 1963.

When considering how a flower comes to look the way it does, factors such as botany, geography, history and even fashions come into play.

Dahlias are hugely popular in Holland for the cut-flower trade. There are more than 20,000 cultivars now registered with the International Register of Dahlia cultivars, founded in England back in 1881.

The book “A Guide To Growing Dahlias” by the Dahlia Society of NSW and the ACT, says it’s important to plant in a friable, free-draining soil, preferably a raised bed. Put the support stake in first, about 60cm apart for smaller varieties and up to one metre for taller varieties, as these can grow to 1.8 metres high. Plant the tuber

close to, but not right up against, the stake. Make a bank around the tuber to stop water run-off and allow fertiliser to go directly to the tuber.

Once the plants are well established, mulch to conserve moisture to about 75mm thick. Tie up the stalks as the plant grows, as it can become top heavy with the abundance of flowers. I prefer the green Velcro reusable tape rather than string, which can cut into the stem.

Insect pests can be a problem, in particular earwigs. Most dahlia growers use organic methods to control these pests, placing an empty cardboard milk carton upside down on top of the stake. The earwigs enter overnight and each morning, just empty them into a bucket of hot water.

COMING into flower now is dianthus, known as pinks and the forerunner of carnations. They were first mentioned by the Greek philosopher and botanist Theophrastus in about 370 BCE, and also got a mention in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”. The name “pink” appeared first in the 14th century, and came from the frilled edge of

the petals, where “pink” meant “to decorate with a perforated or punched pattern”, like pinking shears in dressmaking. At that time, the petals were made into a conserve combined with sugar to combat the plague. Maybe we should try it? Dianthus’ popularity soared in 18th century formal gardens, especially by the French and English. Today there are hundreds of cultivars, with more than 100 given the prestigious “Award of Garden Merit” by the Royal Horticultural Society. Buy them now, when in flower, and plant in groups.

MUSHROOM compost should not be used near acid-loving plants such as rhodos, azaleas and na tive plants due to its lime content, advises the Australian Mushroom Growers’ Association.

PUZZLES PAGE

By Joanne Madeline Moore

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

FREE PUZZLES EVERY DAY AT citynews.com.au

General knowledge crossword No. 762

2020 has been a very challenging year but 2021 looks a lot better. This week mighty Mars is in your sign and forms a fabulous trine to the Sun. Plus Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto are powering through your career and life direction zone. So you need to be more proactive about turning current average opportunities into future good fortune. Where intention flows, energy goes! Your motto is from birthday great, poet Emily Dickinson: “Fortune befriends the bold.”

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

Best day of the week is Thursday, when Venus (your patron planet) makes beautiful music with powerful Pluto. So it’s a good time to snuggle up close with your sweetheart or throw yourself into a special creative project. Passion and purpose will take you far. When it comes to joint finances, taxes and investments, steer clear of people with dubious advice or unclear motives. Make sure you keep a clear head, stick to the facts and double-check everything!

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

Geminis can be rather gullible… especially this week, when nebulous Neptune scrambles your reality radar and deactivates your BS detector. So be very careful you’re not led up the primrose path to plenty of trouble – especially involving work and career or love and romance. If something (or someone) sounds too good to be true, then start running in the opposite direction! However it is a good week to get a new group, club or class up-and-running.

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

With the Sun and Mercury both visiting your wellbeing zone, learn to love the things that are good for you. Like nutritious meals, regular exercise, relaxing in nature and plenty of sleep. You’ll find the simple things in life are definitely the best! Like having a funny conversation with a child or picking fresh flowers to put in your home or office. With the Sun and Mars stimulating your work zones on Friday, being proactive brings long-term professional rewards.

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

The dynamic Sun/Mars trine will help you approach tasks with extra enthusiasm and motivation. Some lucky Lions will also head off on a long-awaited holiday. If you’re still in covid lockdown or restriction mode, then try to be patient and take the time to plan a trip for some time in 2021. Be careful when dealing with a child, teenager or friend though. You could misunderstand their motives or put trust in a person who doesn’t deserve it. So stay alert!

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

Relationships – with family, friends, neighbours and work mates – are on the agenda this week Virgo. Venus and Pluto strengthen an important partnership (of the romantic or platonic variety) and trust levels rise as you share a secret or two. But tread gingerly with a distant relative or a competitive colleague who may be trying to pull the wool over your eyes! On Sunday, be careful you’re not sending out mixed messages which could be misinterpreted by others.

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

Family life looks fabulous this week, as Pluto and your ruler Venus bless relationships with your favourite relatives (and promise a temporary truce with your not-so-favourite ones). It won’t be all fun and frivolity though! Serious Saturn reminds you there’s a backlog of chores to be done at home, so get your cleaning and de-cluttering skates on. Then you can start the following week in super organised style, from the spruced-up comfort of Casa Libra.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

Pluto (your patron planet) provides a welcome energy surge this week, when your words and wisdom have the power to move other people in profound ways. You’re keen to persuade someone to do something on Friday. But are they ready for your intense (and somewhat controlling) approach? Venus is vamping through your sign so smart Scorpios will be an iron fist in a velvet glove, as you utilise your magnetic personality and natural charm to get others onside.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

Mercury and the Sun are moving through your sign, plus Venus and Pluto shine a spotlight on self-respect and core self-esteem. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. It’s time to enjoy being the sassy Sagittarian you were born to be. So your motto for the week is from singer-songwriter (and birthday great) Taylor Swift: “Just be yourself. There is no one better.” Thursday’s stars suit having a long deep-andmeaningful conversation with someone special.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

Prepare to be super charming and make those around you feel extra special. The planets stimulate your love of the good things in life as you enjoy convivial company, beautiful surroundings, the arts, fine food and delicious dining. But avoid the tendency to worry and obsess about something that is totally out of your control. Instead, heed the wise words of Mary Engelbreit: “If you don’t like something, change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.”

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

The Sun and Mars stimulate your communication and eccentricity zones plus Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto fire up your imagination. So it’s time to network within your peer group and extended social circle, as you get your quirky Aquarian ideas out into the world. Be inspired by singer-songwriter Taylor Swift (who was born on December 13, 1989): “If you’re lucky enough to be different, don’t ever change.” A work project or a volunteer program could also take off.

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

It’s time for proactive Pisceans to make exciting plans and set solid goals for the future. Go for gold, as Jupiter helps you envision (and pursue) ambitious dreams and creative schemes over the coming year. But keep a firm grip on reality this week otherwise you’ll delude yourself about a person or situation, especially involving work or money. In order to avoid disappointing yourself (and others) do your best to stay on top of facts and leave fantasy for the movies.

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2020

8 To be present, is to do what? (6)

9 What, generally, is a million times a million? (8)

11 What are Inuits also known as? (7)

13 Which term describes a non-professional person? (7)

15 Name another word for treachery. (7)

17 To deliberately sink one’s ship, is to do what to it? (7)

20 What are naval officers of the highest rank called? (8)

23 To bury or inter someone, is to do what? (6)

24 Name one of the rulers in a form of government in which power is vested in a few. (8)

25 Name another term for a boarder. (6)

Down

1 What is an alternative name for an inheritor? (4)

2 Which style of dancing is characterised by grace, and precision of movement? (6)

3 Name a New Zealand flightless bird. (4)

4 What are heads of medical schools, university faculties, or the like? (5)

5 Name an extremely powerful acid. (6)

6 Name a mild gambling game also known as housiehousie. (5)

9 What is an expression of gratitude? (6)

10 Name the unit of magnetic field strength. (7)

12 By which nickname is either St Kilda or St George known? (6)

14 To be physically robust, is to be what? (6)

16 Name the main trunks of arterial systems. (6)

18 What is one of the larger divisions of a long poem? (5)

19 Name one of Australia’s political parties. (5)

21 Name a less formal term for the high sea. (4)

22 What is an alternative expression for good fortune? (4)

Josefa needed my advice: he's been thinking of setting up a selfmanaged superannuation fund (SMSF), but had heard they can be very costly.

“Josefa, before we go any further, I should check that you have enough superannuation to make setting up an SMSF economic," I said.

"I don’t recommend an SMSF unless you have at least $250,000 in your current super fund or you are likely to achieve that within the next two years.”

Josefa confirmed that his super balance exceeded that amount.

"Good," I said,"because I've just read a report that says once your superannuation balance exceeds $200,000, the costs of running an SMSF are probably less than using the type of fund that your money is in now," I said.

"So purely from a cost perspective operating your own SMSF is a good option."

I asked Josefa what he thought the fund might invest in.

"We've been talking to friends and they told us we could buy a house in the SMSF, rent it out and then move into it later. We thought that would be a good option,” he said.

I told him that there were a lot of rules and regulations governing SMSFs.

"One of them is that you can’t live in property owned by your SMSF," I said.

"So that idea is not going to work. Under current laws, any capital gain you make on the sale of your principal place of residence is not taxable, so I'm not sure why you would want to have your home in the SMSF where you would have to pay a reduced rate of capital gains tax on the sale.

"The other point you need to be aware of is that borrowing in a superannuation fund can be complex; you have to set up a special type of loan called a limited recourse borrowing arrangement (LRBA).

"There are only limited financial institutions that offer LRBAs and the Tax Office has very stringent rules about documentation for LRBAs and what you can do to any property owned with the SMSF.

"In addition, you would need to set up a separate company and trust to hold the property, which adds to costs and is more complex to administer.”

A little downcast, Josefa said he hadn't been aware of so many rules.

“However, I still think an SMSF would be good for your purposes, but you will need to rethink your investment strategy," I said.

"You also need to be aware that you need to review your investment strategy every year to ensure that the fund will be able to pay out retirement benefits when the time comes.

"There are also other requirements of the regulators, however, an SMSF gives you greater control over the investment of your funds and you have many choices going forward.

“I'll give you some documents on setting up your SMSF as well as a summary of the report I mentioned on costs and perhaps we can meet again when you have enough information to be certain that an SMSF is right for you.”

Josefa said he felt much more comfortable and, on the basis of my advice, was certain he'd make the right decision.

If you want more information on setting up or managing your SMSF contact the friendly team at Gail & Co on 6295 2844.

And for a summary of the report on fees for managing SMSFs, email kylie@gailfeeman.com.au

Disclaimer

This column contains general advice, please do not rely on it. If you require specific advice on this topic please contact Gail Freeman or your professional adviser.