CityNews 201210

/ Grand Slam to close in March

Bridge club loses to months of covid disruption

By Belinda STRAHORN

WHEN the covid lockdown hit, members of the Grand Slam Bridge Centre in Fyshwick were forced to play the hand they were dealt.

And while their strategy has seen players become connected online, it’s inevitably dealt them a significant blow.

“It’s time to shut the doors,” says Grand Slam Bridge Centre owner Anne Weber.

“I’m not closing because no one wants to come in, since reopening we have a waiting list of people wanting to play, but I’m never going to get back to what it was unless I spend years teaching new beginners.”

From humble beginnings in the lounge room of Ms Weber’s Griffith home some 31 years ago, the club has grown to a thriving body, at one time boasting a membership of 500 and attracting many a famous face.

“Sir John Overall, the commissioner of the National Capital Development Commission [NCDC] played here,” says Ms Weber.

“Former ACT Chief Minister Rose

mary Follett is a member and so is Bruce Chapman, the architect of the HECS system.

“And Hazel Hawke opened the club in 1989 and played a few games here, too.”

But even a club with a proud history was unable to prevent itself from suf fering the cruel fate that has struck at the heart of many social clubs in 2020.

At the height of the pandemic, more than 300 bridge clubs with over 37,000 members across the country closed for up to four weeks.

And while members have since returned, it has come with new chal lenges including playing behind per spex screens.

“People would prefer not to play behind the perspex screens because they tend to block out talking to your partner, but they understand,” says Ms Weber.

“People have been really scared to come and play in an environment where you are close to people, that’s why we shut down in March and didn’t open till July.

“The majority of our members are over 70 and covid has really scared them. There’s going to be a lot of nervousness around until there’s a vaccine and it is effective.”

In an ironic twist, Grand Slam enjoyed a roaring trade leading into lockdown.

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ing bridge, enjoying each other’s company, drinking coffee and eating cake.

Ms Weber predicts a third of her patronage dropped off as a result of covid.

And while the club has transitioned to online bridge, a move she describes as “encouraging”, for many players face-to-face bridge was a way to con-

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so friendly, it draws people from all walks of life.

“So many friendships have been made here and that’s the biggest thing they are going to miss is the friends.”

There are many things Ms Weber will have good reason to miss, such as the memories of her own family who were keen bridge players.

“I used to play bridge at home with my parents, they have since passed on, my parents taught me how to play when I was 12-years-old,” Ms Weber says.

“My father was an extremely good player and we both played a lot of competition bridge when I was quite young.

“Dad was a fearsome opponent and he used to play here with many of my members, he would give them lessons at the table, whether they wanted them or not… but they were quite fond of him.”

Ms Weber, a former ACT representative bridge player, says closing Grand Slam’s doors will signal the end of an era.

“It’s very sad,” she says.

“There are many reasons why I’m closing, covid is a part of it, people will continue to play online and face to face, but to build it back to where it was in February and all the years I’ve had it, you’d have to start from the beginning and I’m not prepared to do that.”

Grand Slam Bridge Centre will close in March.

“Unless a buyer is interested,” adds Ms Weber. “It’s still a very viable business.”

Anyone wanting to learn bridge online should email gslam@westnet.com.au

Start stockpiling, they’re coming for the ear buds SEVEN

IT won’t be the doctor warning not to use those cotton buds (they compact ear wax, if you’d wondered), the Plastics Police, Single-Use Branch, is coming for them.

City Services Minister Chris Steel will have the nightstick out from July 1 when the covid-crushed hospitality industry will be in the regulatory crosshairs with bans on single-use plastic takeaway food and beverage containers.

Under the legislation, it’ll be an offence to supply a prohibited plastic product, which will include plastic cutlery and drink stirrers.

Heartwarmingly, the minister says it will not be an offence to supply a prohibited plastic product in a non-business setting, for example, from a parent to a child at a picnic. Ahhh.

But there will be more bans and in 2022 it’s goodbye to straws, plastic bags for fruit vegetables, as well as all products made from oxodegradable plastic (me neither).

Plastic-lined,

single-use coffee cups and lids, single-use plastic dinnerware, boutique or heavyweight plastic bags and those darn cotton ear buds with plastic sticks look like being banned from 2023.

Apparently, the emboldened minister says the impending Assembly Bill sends a “strong signal” to the community that we need to move away from single-use plastic and to build a circular economy. And who doesn’t crave a circular economy?

NOTHING says normality like the news of Vincent van Gogh being back in residence at the National Gallery.

But Vince’s 1888 “Sunflowers” won’t be blooming before autumn with “Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London” not opening until March. Tickets are already on sale for the Canberra-only season featuring paintings by some of Europe’s most admired artists, including Titian, Rembrandt , Vermeer, Renoir, Cézanne, Turner and Gauguin

It’s the first major international exhibition in Australia since COVID-19 closed interna -

tional borders in March and NGA director Nick Mitzevich is terribly excited: “At a time when Australian audiences are unable to travel overseas, we are thrilled to be able to welcome visitors to Canberra to see this exclusive showcase of world-class art.”

POLITICIANS always like to stand out and Tara Cheyne did just that in her debut as the new ACT Arts Minister at the Canberra Critics Circle’s gala (socially distanced) annual awards night at the Canberra Museum and Gallery. She was invited to present the Helen

Tsongas Award for excellence in acting to neuropsychologist (another story) Lainie Hart . Which she did, as Peter Robinson introduced her and Circle convener Helen Musa explained the tragic background to the annual award.

Tara was grace itself, smiled and cheerfully presented the prize without saying a single word. Not a syllable. A stand out performance compared with the rest of us (me included) who variously thanked mums, lovers, friends and colleagues for the interminable, but incredibly well-deserved Critics Circle awards.

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

‘The government needs to explain why they decided health was not a priority.’

How the ACT government deserted public health

By Danielle NOHRA

IF the current government leadership hadn’t abandoned the budgeted ACT Health Capital Asset Development Plan, then Canberra would have an almost-built state-of-theart hospital, according to a document released under freedom of information.

The document reveals a detailed three-phase plan that was cabinet approved and had it run its planned course, would have seen Canberra Hospital’s main buildings refurbished or rebuilt by 2022 at the latest.

Y ears of work and millions of dollars had gone into the plan, according to the chief minister of the time, Jon Stanhope, after the then health minister Katy Gallagher, in 2005, requested ACT Health

commence a structured approach to “build a sustainable and modern health system to meet the needs of the population into the future”, the document states.

The response to this request became known as the Capital Asset Development Plan (CADP).

Reflecting on the plan, Mr Stanhope says: “[It’s] probably the most significant piece of planning work done by any ACT government at any time since self government.

“The indicative cost for the entire plan was $2.8 billion to be delivered between 2008 and 2021/22.

“So by next year, $2.8 billion would have been expended on health infrastructure, and accompanying that massive expenditure over the space of 12 or more years, but consistently throughout that entire period, our health infrastructure would be fit-for-purpose, it would be state-of-the-art, it would be meeting all the needs of the people of Canberra.”

The release of this document, which took a “long

and tortuous” five months to be released under the FOI Act (the baseline is four weeks) and only following intervention of the ombudsman, and conveniently was not accessible until after the October election, Mr Stanhope says.

“One is entitled to ask what was it about this document that the government was so determined the people of Canberra not see,” he says.

“What it is, is that this document provides in stark detail a detailed plan for meeting the healthcare needs of the people of Canberra, which the ACT government abandoned about six years ago.

inet-approved, public health infrastructure commitment, was abandoned, and where did the money go instead?

It’s not being cynical or unreasonable to suggest that somewhere around 2013/14, the ACT government took a decision that public transport was a higher priority than public health.”

“If you look at the program, you can see the progress that was made in the early years. We did the multi-storey car park, the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children, we started the walk-in centres and we began the process of providing a health centre in every one of the town centres, and for those that had a health centre, we replaced them or refurbished them,” he says.

be asked is not just ‘why was the plan abandoned’, [but], with the money that was earmarked, ‘what did you spend it on instead?’,” he says.

“If one looks at the government’s major expenditure over the last six years, it has, of course, been on public transport.

“It’s not being cynical or unreasonable to suggest that somewhere around 2013/14, the ACT government took a decision, as it was entitled to do, that public transport was a higher priority than public health.”

“CityNews” put these questions to the current Health Minister, Rachel StephenSmith. She had not replied before the deadline.

Adone,” he says.

“However, not only was the Capital Asset Development Plan abandoned but the second string was a funding formula for recurrent funding for health services in the ACT, which was based on advice from the functional review in 2006/7.

“It took into account the needs of the growing and ageing community, and we had a funding formula that ensured an appropriate growth rate in recurrent funding to staff, [which also funded for] upto-date changes in medical practice, and the government has abandoned that as well.

“This document will be embarrassing for the government, that’s why they fought so hard against its release.”

But the bigger, more important question, according to Mr Stanhope, is why a major cab -

“The most significant part of the plan was the refurbishment and/or replacement of the three major buildings of the Canberra Hospital.

nd now, with plans for the Canberra Hospital Expansion, formerly known as SPIRE, Mr Stanhope says it’s a belated and completely inadequate attempt at meeting the needs that were identified through the CADP in 2008 and 2009.

“An analysis which Dr Khalid Ahmed and I have done, published on ‘The Policy Space’ at the University of Canberra website shows that in each of the last six years, at least – and it’s a minimum –$100 million has been, in real terms, cut from the health operational budget.

Creator and ho

“Sixty-six million dollars was included in the 2011/12 budget, for design and planning, staging, decanting and continuity of services in anticipation of the process for the restoration of the entirety of the Canberra Hospital precinct. The most important aspect of which was to replace the central tower that’s still there, where most of the wards are.

“That’s the big problem with the Canberra Hospital now. That building is way past its use-by date.”

Mr Stanhope, who retired in 2011, not long after the budget, says he doesn’t know what happened after that.

“The government basically realigned their priorities and the question that should

The currently planned Canberra Hospital Expansion is no more than a Band-Aid, according to Mr Stanhope.

“What they’re doing is half-hearted, and is about a quarter or a third of the infrastructure of the Capital Asset Development Plan, which after an exhaustive planning exercise was determined as necessary.

“The minute it’s built, it will be full and will have minimal impact on waiting times or the culture of Canberra Hospital.

“If you can’t afford private health insurance, you and your children wait five years just for an appointment with a specialist at Canberra Hospital, let alone remedial surgery and that’s in large part because this work wasn’t

“Nothing of substance will change until the government actually provides appropriate infrastructure and an appropriate recurrent funding framework to meet the needs of Canberra’s ageing and growing population.

Mr Stanhope recommends reading this document to understand what the health system might look like as opposed to what it does look like.

“Now that this document has become public, it behoves the Minister for Health to explain why it was that they chose to abandon it” he says.

“The major shortfall is, of course, that they have not refurbished or replaced the ‘not-fit-for-purpose’ infrastructure at the hospital and they have not provided the 400 extra beds that the plan anticipated.”

Hat, sunblock, sanitiser…

As the country’s first covid summer holiday approaches, infectious diseases specialist Prof Peter Collignon tells KATHRYN VUKOVLJAK that holidaymakers should enjoy the beach, socialise outside and stick to the basics for a safe summer.

Infectious diseases specialist Prof Peter Collignon... “Entertain at lunch, not dinner. Have a barbecue instead. Outside is better.”

THERE’S less spread of respiratory diseases in summer, says infectious diseases specialist Prof Peter Col lignon, ANU Medical School, but peo ple still need to take precautions.

“It’s not clear why, but respira tory infections are more common and spread more easily in winter, and it may be to do with humidity,” he says.

This applies to air conditioning, he says, which lowers humidity in a room.

“If you’re spending time indoors, don’t put the aircon on,” he says.

“Sometimes you can’t avoid it and you need it, but if possible, open a win dow instead. If you can find a cool spot to sit in the shade, even better.”

Prof Collignon says that depending on community transmission, it’s appropriate to move around safely over

“Much of what we need to do is unchanged – social distancing, wash hands, use hand sanitiser and avoid crowded places, particularly indoors,” he says.

“Australia is currently one of the best places to be in the world, covidwise, and Canberra is one of the best

places to be in Australia, so we’re in a good position but we still need to take precautions and we still need the majority to stick to the basics.”

Prof Collignon says that being outside reduces the instances of spread by a factor of 10 to 20, so, if you want to have people over, do it in the garden.

“Just be sensible. Entertain at lunch, not dinner. Have a barbecue instead. Outside is better. Enjoy the

beach and all that,” he says.

And while spending all that time outside, wearing sunnies might help reduce chances of catching the virus.

“Eye protection is underrated, and while it’s only a risk association at this point, a study in China showed that people who wear glasses are two to seven times less likely to get COVID-19,” Prof Collignon says.

“Masks have a place in indoor

crowded situations, but they’re five to six in the line of defence. It doesn’t mean you don’t need to do the basics.”

It’s important to have rules and enforce them, but by the same token, Prof Collignon suggests “voting with your feet if you see places that aren’t taking them into account”.

“Make your own decisions – if you’re out for the night and you’re looking at a crowded bar, with people cheek-byjowl inside, maybe go somewhere else. Especially if drinking, when inhibitions are lowered,” he says.

“Commercial premises tend to be better policed than homes, but don’t invite 50 people round.”

As government advice and guidelines can change at any time, when planning travel, Prof Collignon says: “We have to accept that rules will vary and see what happens with borders”.

And while it seems to be safer in the summer, of course the virus can still spread, he cautions.

“If you or anyone around you is sick, keep your distance, even in your house,” he says.

“You never know if it’s a common cold or something more serious, and young people can have COVID-19 with no symptoms.”

The ACT government has a dedicated COVID-19 website at covid19.act.gov. au and the helpline is at 6207 7244 (8am-8pm daily).

CANBERRA MATTERS / pressure on parks

Tower block plan to crimp precious Belco park

THE last couple of years has been bad news for parks in Canberra.

The Molonglo residents pleaded for the Coombs Peninsular to be rezoned as a park – Ministers Chris Steel and Mick Gentleman both said no.

More stupidity with Colo Park, besides Cooleman Court, that is to be bulldozed partly for a car park. This one is all on Chris Steel – local Labor. Residents now await the Greens’ new local member Emma Davidson to step up and represent views of the community.

Then there are many cases of parks being reused after Yvette Berry’s barbarians snuck through a change that allows community zoned land (parks) to be taken over for community housing.

That would be section 72 Dickson, Bill Pye Park, Ainslie (thanks to the YMCA), Chapman and others. Which brings me to the latest brought to my attention

– Margaret Timpson Park in Belconnen (opposite the

In 2015, a master plan

The park is important given how little else there was previously. Now it has become a vital piece of greenery to the growing neighbourhood. Extending Margaret Timpson Park is simple logic.

identified the need to improve the park. In 2017 workshops delivered a set of consistent messages about improving Belconnen including that the government should knock down the vacated medical centre on the south of the park and use that land to extend Margaret Timpson Park. Logical. Sensible. The community was very clear. You would have thought!

The response? In August Tara Cheyne MLA (Belco, Labor) proudly posted on her Facebook page that the building was to be demolished and works to begin on a new building to be completed by February. That didn’t happen. She said nothing to acknowledge the views already expressed by the planning sessions with residents. Not a good look for the local member.

Early in 2020 a government notice appeared in the neighbourhood letterboxes announcing that the health centre would be knocked down (good, so far) and would be replaced with

a social-housing apartment tower (surprise!).

Now guess which barbarian minister would be behind this overruling of a clear community wish to extend the park? This housing proposal goes against the clear recommendations identified through the government’s consultation processes in 2015 and in 2017.

The nearby residents are concerned that the government has a negative view of Margaret Timpson Park. The locals will tell you that it is used by all manner of people on different days and at different times. All age groups. Some approached the government to get more seating to allow for grandparents to sit while looking after their grandchildren as well as to encourage more people just to enjoy the cherished open green spaces.

Another big fat “NO” from Chris Steel. Does that bloke ever do anything sensible? And how difficult is it to understand why residents want more parks, not less?

When researching this piece, looking at Google Earth it is clear that this park is precious – as there is very little green

moving into the area. More retirees are choosing to take up residence in the adjacent apartment towers.

The park is important given how little else there was previously. Now it has become a vital piece of greenery to the growing neighbourhood.

Extending Margaret Timpson Park is simple logic.

For the politicians in the ACT Assembly – I provide this note from a website on monuments: “The park commemorates Margaret Timpson for her advocacy for women, and her impressive achievements in improving the status of women, both in the ACT and nationally. Her particular areas of interest included women’s health, women’s participation in sport and education for girls, as well as providing more opportunities generally for

The park was dedicated by Rosemary Follett, as Chief Minister, on March 10, 1994.

This latest horrendous proposal not to extend the park does not build on the former naming of the park to honour a member of the earlier women’s movement.

As Tara Cheyne is showing no interest, maybe this is something the new Belco ACT Greens’ member, Jo Clay, could take up with her colleagues in government. Let’s have more parks! Enhance the honouring of Margaret Timpson.

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

What makes the Assembly’s new faces tick?

“IF you are attempting to influence a member of parliament – start by reading their inaugural speech.” I regularly provide this advice when lecturing on public health advocacy.

New members of the ACT Legislative Assembly explained why they decided to pursue politics at its most recent sitting – and what they said was revealing.

The common theme of new politicians is to make a better world. Just what they mean by a better world varies considerably. These differences frame what a parliament should be – a place where ideas are contested. The first two inaugural speeches of the 10th Assembly were both Liberal Party members. Both are people from challenging backgrounds who have been achievers.

Liberal MLA Leanne Castley started her reflection as “this proud chick from Charny”.

Fundamental to the way she thinks is her background growing up with a single mum in Charnwood. An anecdote she shared of a boss asking her to sound

The common theme of new politicians is to make a better world. Just what they mean by a better world varies considerably. These differences frame what a parliament should be – a place where ideas are contested.

“less Charnwood and more Kingston”, set the framework for how she intends to engage ordinary constituents from Yerrabi.

Sharing personal background is a common part of an inaugural speech and apart from an upbringing by a single mum who managed her and her two siblings, she mentioned her singing career and a couple of failed marriages. However, self-reliance, hard work and the drive for financial success came through very strongly.

In her words: “I can be resilient; nothing can break me”.

Her inaugural speech provides insights into why she joined the Liberal Party: “I once worked as an office cleaner, with shifts starting at 5am and 9.30pm. I strongly believe that people who can work should work, particularly young people. Work is not punishment, nor about control or power. Work is good. It gives dignity and promotes wellbeing”.

There were business successes and failures. But why politics?

“I want to show that someone from

a normal, average background can be elected to parliament and succeed,” she said.

“As for political labels like ‘conservative’ or ‘progressive’, they mean nothing in my part of town”. She prefers the label “battler”.

Another Liberal MLA, Peter Cain, also came from a disadvantaged background in the Hunter Valley. He grew up with no car and burning coal in an open fireplace for warmth. His social transition, like so many of his generation, was completing a degree and a diploma in education. He was a mathematics teacher who progressed to being a principal in SA and ACT schools.

Mr Cain continued his studies gaining a law degree and transition-

ing to practising as a lawyer in the ACT Public Service. Pride in family, including seven children and six grandchildren, provided another insight into his values. He acknowledged wife Claire, “with whom I have journeyed over many years, who has been and remains my primary support and most important counsel”.

He turned to the Liberal Party because he was “becoming very worried for our society” and “a distressing decline in how issues were discussed in the public arena, including the rise of accusatory and insulting language that was intended, or so it seemed to me, to prevent exploration of differing ideas and silence those with a contrary view, rather than engaging openly and respectfully”.

The same self-reliance shines through in someone “deeply committed to core Liberal Party values”.

“The most effective government is the one that is barely noticed, where citizens are free to enhance their own lives and those of their family and the community,” he said.

“The quiet Australians are a very capable bunch.”

And, similarly to Leanne Castley:

“Work is a wonderful benefit and the best form of supporting oneself and one’s family”.

Understanding the background and aspirations of a Member of Parliament provides an insight into what it is that might influence them. An inaugural speech really does provide a special kind of insight. However, it is a minority who have the drive to lift themselves from social disadvantage without significant support.

I look forward to presenting some further insights as other new MLAs present their credentials to the ACT Legislative Assembly.

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.

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THE GADFLY

Chinese may have a point with Australia

MOST of us, I’m guessing, are bewildered by the really angry attitude of the Chinese toward the Morrison Government. And if our perception is confined to the 24-hour news cycle this is perfectly understandable.

In this light, it began with Morrison’s call for an investigation into the genesis of the coronavirus in Wuhan, and the following tit-for-tat powered the descent of relations until suddenly our entire trade with China is under threat. And it’s basically the Chinese government’s fault because after all, they’re Communists.

However, there is a larger context, part historical, part contemporary. The historical touches upon the appalling misreading by Cabinet Minister Alan Tudge who declared: “We have been welcoming Chinese migrants for more than 200 years”.

Some welcome.

Sure, it began about 200 years ago when John Macarthur, the so-called “father” of the Australian wool industry, had at least three “indentured” Chinese labourers on his property in the 1820s.

Then, as the British parliament outlawed the slave trade in 1833, his fellow graziers realised that free convict labour was next in line and followed his example.

The current emperor of the Communist Dynasty, Xi Jinping, has quietly visited all Australian states and territories. He knows the country well.

By 1848, I discovered in the research for my book “Dragon and Kangaroo” (Hachette, 2017) they had imported indentured “coolies” because of their “untiring industry, frugality and perseverance”, which were “the inherited instincts of their race” (“Port Phillip Herald”, December 26, 1948).

Three years later came the gold rush in Victoria then NSW. Prospectors, from around the world – including a Chinese minority – descended on Australia. The resulting racist attacks on the Chinese would culminate in the White Australia Policy that remained in force until 1975.

Meantime, the British were fighting the Opium Wars to open China’s ports to the mass importation of the drug from their Indian poppy fields. British “gunboat diplomacy” brought Hong Kong and trading rights to vast areas of the Yangte to the British crown – the same crown, incidentally, that Australia happily honours today as its Head of State.

posture at a time when a new American president is about to take the reins.

Indeed, Joe Biden told “The New York Times” that “the best China strategy, I think, is one which gets every one of our allies on the same page.

“[That] is going to be a major priority for me in the opening weeks of my presidency.”

Then who better to dangle over-

board the ship of state than a favourite ally with a prime minister who still believes (along with miracles) that Australia’s China policy is best encap sulated in Tony Abbott’s three-word slogan: ‘fear and greed’.

The current emperor of the Communist Dynasty, Xi Jinping, has quietly visited all Australian states and territories. He knows the country well. His 2014 address to the Australian Parliament was mostly diplomatic verbiage. But towards the end, he asked: “What will China be like when it grows in strength?” His answer: “China is a large country of 1.3 billion people. It is like the big guy in the crowd. Others naturally wonder how the big guy will move and act.”

Well, now we know. If our grain and grape growers suffer, well, maybe in Beijing’s view it’s the price we pay for our colonial past… and present.

robert@robert macklin.com

Swift parrots go the wrong way

THE swift parrot is heading quickly towards extinction with fewer than 300 left in the wild, according to new research from ANU.

This is much lower than previous estimates and lead researcher Dr George Olah says this shows that major threats, such as deforestation, needs to be urgently addressed.

“We used DNA extracted from blood and feather samples to estimate the population size of the swift parrot for the first time,” Dr Olah said.

“With our background knowledge of the species from a decade of research, this study has painted a much clearer, and starker picture of how few of these birds are currently left in the wild.”

The researchers hope this study will highlight how quickly the swift parrot is heading toward extinction, with co-author Dr Dejan Stojanovic saying swift parrots are critically threatened by a range of factors, including deforestation of their habitat.

The research has been published in Animal Conservation.

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!

In-home care services

WITH a passion for providing thoughtful, targeted in-home support to older people, Phavanni Kavaliku is launching OFA Homecare Services to provide the kind of care older people receive from family in Tonga, where she was born and raised.

OFA is a Tongan word meaning love, kindness, concern, hope, care and help, she says.

“There are no nursing home services in Tonga. Instead, it’s with ‘OFA’ that the young generation looks after their older family members,” Phavanni says.

“My desire to start this business derives from the joy I got from looking after my older family members when growing up.

“We had my father’s aunty, his adoptive mother, my mother’s mother and my mother’s uncle all living at home, and being there for them was just something we naturally did, and enjoyed doing.

“There’s always someone with the older person and it’s rewarding seeing them so happy, enjoying relationships and being well looked after.”

OFA Homecare Services will provide

aged care in the home, offering services such as refreshing the home, socialisation, help with appointments, companion ship, help with paying bills, organising a gardener or making light gourmet meals such as Welsh rarebit, pancakes with berries, fish cakes with salad, buttered egg with Dijon mustard on toasted fingers, or old-fashioned Victorian beef tea – all beautifully presented, Phavanni says.

OFA can provide a registered nurse if needed, and will also support people with special needs or a disability.

After-hospital care is available, too, for people who may not have anyone to come home to after a hospital admission –providing convalescent meals, restocking the fridge, medication, refreshing the home, changing the sheets, popping on a load of washing, light dusting, cleaning the kitchen, wiping down all equipment (wheelchair, shower chair, walking stick), cutting flowers from the garden and put ting them in a vase, plus day-to-day care.

Mum-of-three Phavanni says this kind of support means older people can stay in their own homes for longer, where they feel safe, comfortable and familiar.

The companionship also helps to combat loneliness, she says.

Phavanni will carefully match the support worker to the client, considering a level of

detail that encourages connection and trust.

“Our point of difference is that it’s not just a job, it’s ‘we’ll be your extended family’ and provide continuity of care. It’s crucial to build a relationship,” she says.

“For example, if the client would like an

Italian speaker, we’ll do our best to support that. If they want to play chess or bridge, we’ll match them up with a support worker that has similar interests.

“One of our clients, an Irish lady in her 70s who’s going blind with macular

SERVICES:

• Aged care in your home

degeneration, specifically wanted an Irish lady to read Irish literature from her

“Another client requested a support worker who was a ‘spiritual Libra’.

“It’s about the details. I want to make people happy and to feel very compatible

Phavanni moved from Tonga to New Zealand to finish high school there, staying with her elderly grand-aunt and uncle until

“It was very natural to me to live with older people, but I saw that the elderly weren’t as fortunate as those in Tonga because of different family structures. That drew me to create OFA Homecare Services,” she says.

Phavanni says she’s looking to take on support workers and nurses with a passion for looking after older people. Training is free, covering cultural diversity, hygiene, infection control, manual handling and arthritis support, she says.

“Our specially trained and selected staff will bring that family love and assistance to clients, making sure people are cared for in a way that comes from the heart,” she says.

OFA Homecare Services, contact Phavanni on 6198 3267, email info@ ofahomecareservices.com.au or visit ofahomecareservices.com.au

• Before and after hospital care

BENEFITS FOR CLIENTS:

• OFA is your extended family.

• We are here to provide love, care and assistance to in-home aged care, and before and after hospital care.

• Our specially trained and selected staff will be like a family member.

• You will receive care and attention with your daily needs at this difficult time.

BENEFITS FOR NURSES & SUPPORT WORKERS:

• Attractive hourly rate

• Free ongoing training

• Flexible working hours

Leave your card and help someone at Christmas

“NEVER pass by the Salvation Army without donating to them,” was the sage advice that my husband’s granny, the much loved Dollie Anderson, used to frequently tell us.

the family, myself included, did – we heard Dollie’s words in our ears as we passed any of the Salvation Army col lectors at the shops. And trust me, you didn’t want to disobey the matriarch!

an important role in helping people in need, especially at this time of year.

family extends back to the 1940s. Dollie’s husband, Alec, served in New Guinea in World War II. Under the constant fear of being killed, at rest times, the Salvation Army used to help the soldiers with a cup of tea

LETTERS

Pokies ‘inefficient’ in helping

BILL Stefaniak’s shallow defence of ACT licensed clubs’ reliance on poker-machine revenue (“’Zealous’ Greens threaten future of clubs”, CN, November 26) displays just about every economic fallacy in the book.

Given the well-documented harms that gambling causes, it is simply not enough to claim that clubs use their poker machine revenue to support local sporting and other community groups and charities.

It is problem gamblers who suffer the most significant losses – with these losses taking the form of the “considerable sums of money” that Stefaniak refers to as being directed to the community.

It has also been shown that the amounts of revenue that clubs contribute to community causes are smaller than most people imagine, and the ACT auditor-general’s 2018 review of ACT Clubs’ Community Contributions raised important questions about the value and benefit of some of these contributions.

As for different forms of gambling, I’ve got news for Mr Stefaniak: it is incorrect to claim that “problem gamblers bet on anything”. Poker machine addicts’ compulsive gambling relates to the psychological manipulation of poker machines and the feelings that these produce, which are not replicated by other forms of gambling.

Researchers have concluded that poker machines, which cause an estimated 80 per cent of gambling-related harm in Australia, provide an extremely inefficient and costly way of funding community sporting and charitable activities.

The actual level of community support provided by poker machines is miniscule compared to the amount of money lost by poker machine users within local communities. Local sporting and community groups exist and thrive in any number of places around the world without relying on gambling revenue. Canberra can be one of those places.

Karina Morris, Weetangera

Libs need to wake up on euthanasia

The useful end-of-life planning feature in CN (November 26) was a timely reminder about the need for the federal government to overturn once and for all Kevin Andrews’ retrograde legislation that still prevents over half a million residents in the ACT and NT, and their governments, from considering and enacting legal support mechanisms to underpin voluntary euthanasia and assisted dying.

Many, particularly in the cohort of older voters, wish to plan and have control over when and how they die. The ACT Liberals now have a chance in the next 12 months to shift significantly their ultraconservative, out-of-date thinking and go into bat for Canberrans who want real and uncomplicated choices in their end-of-life personal decision making.

After all, the Liberal Party of Australia professes to believe “in the inalienable rights and freedoms of all peoples… government that minimises interference in our daily lives… in a just and humane society” and “in individual freedom”.

Both the Liberals in the current federal coalition and the ACT Legislative Assembly need to prove that, as our representatives, they are willing to live and work according to their party’s national, foundational platform.

Sue Dyer, Downer

Distancing… from a smartphone

HOW often are you separated from your smartphone? Sure, you might leave it in a different room sometimes, but do you ever leave the house without it?

For me, the only time I leave without my phone is when I’m going for a swim, mainly because it’s tricky to take calls doing backstroke. And partly to prevent theft (although my phone is quite old and really not worth rifling through my backpack for).

When I’m in the water, I’m trying to forget about everything else that might be going on in life and I figure there’s no point taking my mobile with me for that.

You don’t want to get in the pool straight after reading a work-related email, because you’ll find yourself thinking about work while you swim. And you don’t want to get out of the pool and be confronted by a barrage of missed calls, just when you’ve started to feel relaxed and rejuvenated. So when I’m swimming, the phone stays home.

But when visiting my local pool, re-opened recently, I was asked to scan a QR code on the way in.

When I told the woman at the desk that I didn’t have my phone on me, she gave me a confused look. She then gave me a paper form to fill out, like the ones you’d find in restaurants.

Judging by the look on her face,

I thought she was baffled that anyone could bear to be away from their social-media feeds and messages. But on reflection, perhaps she was right to be surprised. Not having my phone meant I couldn’t scan the QR code, and it also meant that the

Covid Safe app thought I was in my bedroom, not at the pool. On my next visit, I did bring my phone, but I also renewed my membership. Now I can just scan a pass when I visit. But in a world of coronavirus and contact tracing, our mobile devices have become a tool in dealing with the virus. For that tool to be effective, our phones must be with us, not in a different building a few kilometres away.

If the technology makes a difference in stopping or slowing the spread of COVID-19, then obviously that’s a good thing. But I suspect our minds might be better off if we could stay more than 1.5 metres away from our smartphones – just every now and then.

Eddie Williams is an awardwinning producer at 2CC.

Encore exhibition for the first PM

AUSTRALIA’S first Prime Minister, Sir Edmund Barton, is the subject of a new exhibition at Parliament House, now open to the public.

A century after his death, the new show celebrates the life and work of “Toby” Barton, who had an enormous impact on shaping modern Australia and whose government marked the culmination of the drive to Federation for the six colonies.

While he served as the first PM from 1901 to 1903, he resigned to become a founding member of the High Court of Australia, where he served until his death at the age of 70. For almost 17 years, he interpreted the Constitution he had helped to write.

“Sir Edmund Barton: Life, Times and Federation” at Parliament House until February 14. Book at aph.gov.au

New emergency chief

FORMER chief of staff for the Royal Military College of Australia, Anthony Draheim, is the new chief officer of the ACT State Emergency Service. He takes the role following the promotion of former chief officer Georgeina Whelan to commissioner of ACT Emergency Services Agency in October last year. He has been with the ACT ESA since January as director of training co-ordination and management.

New

Bathroom,

Building

Inspiration

Burnt out doctors

ALMOST 80 per cent of junior doctors are suffering burnout in the ACT and almost 70 per cent are suffering emotional exhaustion, according to a report released under freedom of information. The report, “ACT Health BPT Training Program Review”, also revealed that only 37 per cent of trainees passed their exams last year, compared to a national average of 69.6 per cent. The review found that high rates (78.9 per cent) of basic physician burnout were recorded, which is well above the average of 51 per cent.

CHRISTMAS INSPIRATION

Don’t panic, there’s still time to get organised

David’s got gift ideas to get people moving

A RANGE of skatepark scooters for children has recently arrived at Cookies Cycles, just in time for Christmas, says owner David Cook.

But it’s not the only wheeled item at Cookies Cycles that would make a great Christmas gift, according to David, who 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. Electric scooters, or e-scooters, which are all the “craze” at the moment, also make an ideal present for everyone from the busy commuter to the weekend “speed junkie”, says David.

E-scooters have plenty of benefits, too, according 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.

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,” he says.

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

‘Reigniting’ friends through food and wine

HEADING into the festive season, friends, families, colleagues and social groups can “reignite” as part of The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre’s dining and entertainment experience on December 18, says its artistic director Jordan Best.

It’s already proved to be popular, with its first “Reignite” event on December 13 sold out, she says.

“[Starting at 5.30pm people can] smell the aroma, swirl and sip your way through some delicious wines from our local wineries Norton Road, Contentious Character, Corang Estate, and many more, right here,” she says.

“Savour the flavours of the antipasto plate as you tantalise your taste buds by the tannins and fruity aromas of our region’s finest wines and be entertained by our very own local artists Woodface Duo.”

Live performance venues are slowly starting to reopen, too, she says, and the 2021 program is starting the new year with “Battle of the Voices”, debuting on February 4.

And for those searching for a gift idea, Jordan says a gift certificate to The Q makes a fantastic Christmas gift for anyone.

“Or why not a subscription so you can sample everything The Q has to offer,” she says.

“Reignite”, at The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, 5.30pm, December 18. Bookings to theq.net.au or 6285 6290.

GRAB A BRAND NEW ELECTRIC SCOOTER FOR CHRISTMAS

CHRISTMAS INSPIRATION advertising

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 caters to pets and people alike.

Based in Tuggeranong, Sandy says 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.

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 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.

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

The importance of choosing the right tree

IT’S important to choose the right Christmas tree, and the Christmas Emporium at Hang Ups has a range of trees to suit any space or anyone, says co-owner Mike Welch.

Located in Fyshwick, the Christmas Emporium has a vast range of trees in stock, including artificial trees of all shapes and sizes, where people can come and inspect them in person, Mike says.

“Buying one long-lasting good quality artificial tree from us costs less than buying a new real tree every year,” he says.

But he says there are a few things to consider, including space and other needs when choosing an artificial Christmas tree.

“Artificial trees can come with lights already arranged and attached,” he says.

“You can find trees with all the different arrangements and a number of lights.

“They can also come pre-decorated in a few different ways. It can be accented, meaning it can come with artificial pine cones and berries already attached.”

The Christmas trees at the emporium are environmentally friendly, come with a 10-year warranty, and make no mess, says Mike.

The shop also stocks Twinkly, which are LED light strings controllable via smartphones, that can create unique, magical light patterns, as well as other items such as beach towels and candles that can be bought as gifts.

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

PARROTS, finches, doves and quail are among the birds ready to interact at the Canberra Walk-in Aviary this Christmas period, says owner and manager Mick Logan.

“The aviary is great fun for all ages, with the chance to get up-close-and-personal 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.

“Providing the weather is fine you can have a great time feeding the 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

Collectible ‘bears’ from around the world

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.

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 collectible brands such as Teddy-Hermann and Margarete Steiff, she says.

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

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.

Although, she says, it’s the Charlie Bears that still attract the most attention.

“[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

Hang Ups Christmas Emporium

CHRISTMAS IN CIVIC

WITH spots filling fast, now’s the time to book for Briscola Italian’s delicious Christmas party lunch, says owner Gianni Guglielmin.

He says people can choose from flexible banquet options such as one that features complimentary drinks.

Located in the Melbourne Building, Briscola Italian serves wholesome and traditional Italian food in an historical atmosphere, Gianni says.

The beautiful colonnades out the front add to the restaurant’s historical facade, says Gianni, who also describes Briscola Italian as a casual, unpretentious, but nonetheless quality, Italian dining experience.

The family-run restaurant is owned by Italians, Gianni says, which influences their traditional

menu, with signature dishes such as a homemade ravioli recipe that’s made from scratch.

They even hold a number of awards, he says, such as Canberra’s Best Pizzeria in 2014, Canberra’s Best Italian Restaurant, 2015, and in 2016 gained accreditation from the Academy Italian Kitchen, also known as the Accademia Italiana della Cucina, by the Italian ambassador.

Having recently expanded business hours, Briscola Italian is open for dinner seven days a week, with lunch services running Tuesday until Sunday.

Briscola Italian, 60 Alinga Street. Call 6248 5444, email briscolaitalian@gmail.com or visit briscolapizzeria.com.au

A LEADING provider of professional IT support and managed IT, OmniIT has been serving businesses across Canberra, including Civic, for more than 20 years, says partner Michael Warnock.

As well as making IT security simple, Michael says policy and procedure is an increasingly important part of businesses, as many don’t know how to run their business in terms of how to do processes and procedures.

THERE’S something for everyone at Impact Comics with staff on hand to help pick out the perfect gift this Christmas, says co-owner Mal Briggs.

There’s traditional comic books, graphic novels and mangas, as well as young adult graphic novels that tackle relationships and coming of age, and, for the older reader, there are biographies, memoirs and even a graphic novel adaptation of the Mueller Report, he says.

And with many new faces coming through the Garema Place store during the holiday period, Mal says the staff are backed with expertise to match the customer with the comic.

“We can take a vague description from a grandmother, for instance, and we can turn that into the right

around IT is a bigger and bigger issue,” he says.

But as to the day-to-day work OmniIT does with clients, Michael says it’s tailored to them because each client needs something different. It’s about helping them get the most out of their IT, he says.

Michael and a team of nine are based out of Mitchell and help companies across the ACT to start, manage and operate their IT solutions, saying: “We monitor computers, look for things that go wrong and fix them before they do.”

Michael and OmniIT have been in the business for about 23 years and have developed skills in line with a changing industry, he says.

“We started when the internet PC was something on its own in the corner of the room with just email, through till now,” he says.

OmniIT, unit 8, 12 Sandford Street, Mitchell. Call 6230 3839, email support@omniit.com.au or visit omniit.com.au

comic for the person they are shopping for,” he says. There are brand new releases coming in every week so there is something for all sorts of comic fans, new and old, including all the big superheroes such as Batman and the Flash, says Mal.

“And, the big superheros you’re going to hear of next year, we’ve already got them, too,” he says.

Impact Comics also stocks comics that are the basis of many Netflix hits, including Umbrella Academy and the film The Old Guard, starring Charlize Theron, he says.

Impact Comics, 16 Garema Place. Call 6248 7335 or visit impactcomics.com.au

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Cartoon images from a ‘dog’s breakfast’ of a year

By Helen Musa

IT’S been a dog of a year if Australia’s political cartoonists are to be believed, but that makes it the perfect target for their satirical skills, as the latest edition of “Behind the Lines: The Year in Political Cartoons 2020” at the Museum of Australian Democracy shows.

And with the subtitle “A Dog’s Breakfast”, curator Holly Williams has been able to mix lots of doggy jokes with the overall picture of “a year filled with mess, turmoil and failed attempts”.

Visual cues, as Williams points out, have been taken from face masks, spiky balls and burnt trees, as the cartoonists have been sniffing out the dog-eat-dog world of politics, with its top dogs, sly dogs and people thrown to the dogs.

For the second time, Sydney cartoonist Cathy Wilcox has been named Political Cartoonist of the Year for her dogged pursuit of issues through both mini-cartoon essays and simple images with few words.

“Cathy has pricked people’s hearts with her take on events big and small, finding a poignant angle to the summer’s bushfire and wildlife disaster and the COVID-centric humour,” director of MoAD, Daryl Karp, says.

Writing in the catalogue essay, one of the judges for 2020, Nobel Laureate Professor Peter C Doherty, suggested that some cartoonists were pulling their punches on uncomfortable subjects, saying, “We are now facing some very real and dangerous problems… Satirists at least should be able to address them”.

Point taken, but overall, they have played it straight, with bushfires linked to climate change, seen most notably in David Rowe’s Walkley-winning cartoon, “Thoughts and

top dog from the cartoonist’s point of view, Australia has its own star performer too, in Prime Minister Scott Morrison, depicted confronting the country’s crises with Mr Nice Guy affability but not much attention to the underlying causes of the problems.

Curator Williams has plainly enjoyed putting the unwieldy list of 104 cartoons from 36 cartoonists into some shape, with section titles like “Buried Bones”, “Stuck in The Kennel”, “Off the Leash” and “Not Letting Sleeping Dogs Lie”.

Rowe’s Walkley-winning cartoon, “Thoughts and Prayers”, “The Australian Financial Review”, November 11, 2019.

instance, the “Buried Bones” section refers to “the juicy bones that newshounds sniff out and dig up” – things like party infighting, branch-stacking and the robodebt debacle.

Dog lovers offended by the general tenor of the show will be relieved to hear that the feline species has not remained unscathed, seen in Matt Golding’s cartoon, “Herding Nats”.

ART Dairy Road gets a new art gallery

By Helen Musa

AS Canberra’s coolest new entertainment precinct begins to assert itself at Dairy Road, Fyshwick, one thing’s been missing so far – an art gallery.

Not any more, with the opening of Kacy and Richard Grainger’s new Grainger Gallery in building 3.3. Kacy, an ANU School of Art grad uate in painting and printmaking and Richard, a former student of artist history and star of local punk bands in his heyday, have spent two years turning a nondescript corner of a huge warehouse into a chic gallery with a mezzanine floor for art workshops and a framing business to accompany the fine art they’ll be exhibiting and selling.

The exhibition will have to be seen to understand what they’re all about, but for

“I’ve always been passionate about the arts,” Richard says, explaining that for his day job in his post-punk period he worked as a media producer at Parliament House for SBS, later going it alone and travelling in the world doing sound for docos about food and lifestyle.

He and Kacy met at the ANU, married young and had kids early. Kacy ran a small business doing artworks, including a 25-metre mosaic at Manuka Pool, had a wedding-cake business for a while, then worked for six years at Aarwun Gallery in Gold Creek, becoming a

Molonglo Group, which is developing the precinct] showed us the building… when I walked into the space, a massive open warehouse, I could immediately see exactly where my gallery would be,” Kacy says.

Richard did his calculations and said, “we’ll burn the boats – let’s do it”.

It’s the first gallery in the precinct, although there will be a small object gallery opening soon, showing fine furniture. Kacy, who will direct the gallery, believes that more established Canberra artists are well cateredfor by local galleries, so the plan is to exhibit national and international works, while running artist

they’ve made.

Artists in Kacy’s stable so far include Catherine Cassidy, Chen Ping, Gria Shead, George Raftopoulos and Vanessa Stockard, Lisa Cahill, Sian Watson and Rachel Theodorakis.

They’re hoping that Canberra art lovers will have deep enough pockets to buy a piece and support artists but say, “we don’t want to be an exclusive snobby gallery”.

“I am a maker, I’m a hands-on person and I want anyone who comes in to feel comfortable and connected to our space,” Kacy says.

Grainger Gallery, Building 3.3, 1 Dairy Road, Fyshwick, graingergallery.com.au

But the main aim, Williams says, is to look back on a “sloppy mess of a year and send it firmly back to the doghouse where it belongs”.

“Behind The Lines: The Year in Political Cartoons 2020”, at Museum of Australian Democracy, Old Parliament House until November 2021.

Innovations this year are inclusion of digital cartoons and a selection of cartoons on the annual “Closing the Gap” reports curated by Amy McQuire, the outspoken First Nations journalist known for her excoriating report on The Intervention. The popular exhibition, which runs in Old Parliament House for a year, is always targeted to families, so at the entry section there are opportunities for lots of doggy fun.

Battle over bedrooms as grandpa goes to war

“The War with Grandpa” (PG)

THE screenplay for director Tom Hill’s movie is based on the adaptation by Tom Astle of Robert Kimmel Smith’s 1984 novel.

Widower Ed (Robert de Niro) moves to the house occupied by daughter Sally (Uma Thurman) and her family, husband Arthur (Rob Riggle), teenager Mia (Laura Marando), 12-year-old Peter (Oakes Fegley) and six-year-old Jennifer (Poppy Gagnon).

In a 94-minute Hollywoodian view of the American dream, seen through a glass that, if not darkly, is a little murky, the plot rotates around Peter’s reaction to being removed to the attic so that Ed may move into his beloved bedroom.

The action involves Peter’s resentment, spurred on more than a little by advice from his class contemporaries.

A short list of words for the film’s depiction of Peter’s campaign to get his room back includes slapstick, silent-era pratfalls, predictability. Family domesticity involves references to bodily functions that have led American commentators to warn parents. The violence is down-played in that nobody gets seriously injured.

Does it work? The answer to that question is as variable as the folk who wonder about it and their personal attitudes and preferences. None of the actors has his or her skills stretched. De Niro gets the best of the action; Ed understands Peter’s viewpoint but isn’t about to let the boy win. It’s morally uncomplicated. It’s amusing rather than funny ha ha. Few people would

call it clever.

Reflecting the American dream from a variety of angles, the film was actually ready for distribution in 2017 but issues with the Weinstein Company led to release delays until last October. Its distributors have spent $US24 million promoting it. I hope they’re comfortable about its slow progress so far to profit.

At Dendy, Palace Electric, Hoyts Woden and Limelight

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

“The Prom” (PG) I DIDN’T know what I was in for when I decided to review “The Prom”.

Here’s the scant information the dis tributors had provided about it: “A troupe of hilariously self-obsessed theatre stars swarm into a small conservative Indiana town in support of a high-school girl who wants to take her girlfriend to the prom.”

Reading that the cast included Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman kinda influenced my choice (another reason was that most of the new releases for the week were of old movies).

Movie musicals are the 20th cen tury’s version of light opera. This one stars Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Keegan-Michael Key, Andrew Rannells, Ariana DeBose, Kerry Washington and Jo Ellen Pellman.

“The Prom”... big city values collide with mid-west.

another girl as a date.

At age 70, playing Dee Dee, whose Broadway musical about Eleanor Roosevelt got crucified by the critics on opening night, Meryl Streep, cinema royalty, sings and dances with the best.

Dee Dee’s co-star Barry Glickman (Corden) is one of the few people able to restrain her narcissism. She’s pals with chorus girl Angie Dickinson, played by Kidman. Trent Oliver (Rannells) is an actor “resting”.

This quartet of big-city theatrical folk needs a cause celebre to re-energise their careers. Twitter reports how the PTA at a high school in Indiana has just voted to cancel its annual prom rather than allow Emma (Hollywood newcomer Pellman) to bring

WATCH IT! / streaming and stuff

Big city values collide with mid-west as the Broadway folk set forth to bring sophistication. The plot visits a number of minor theatrical issues on the way to focusing on the lesbian relationship that Emma wants to bring out with her girlfriend Alyssa (DeBose), who happens to be the daughter of PTA leader, bigot, caring parent and homophobe Mrs Greene (Washington).

Lesbianism is currently a popular theme in American movies. “The Prom” offers little explanation of or for their feelings. How two women love each other is their business. As it should be.

At Dendy

Tears along the road of short

AS a kid, one of my favourite yearly surprises was when my mother would announce that she had the annual Tropfest finalists for me to watch.

They’d always come via DVD, in a slim cardboard sleeve attached to the newspaper. The disc – in our age of streaming, almost a strange relic of the past – would contain a dozen or so short films that were competing for the top prize of what’s considered the world’s largest such festival.

These short bursts of creative storytelling had quite an influence on me and my interest in all this movie and television stuff I love to dive into and write about.

The thought of it came after watching a new short film on Netflix that’s been stirring up quite the attention, “If Anything Happens I Love You”.

It’s an animated, 12-minute tear-jerker that follows two grieving parents as they struggle with losing their daughter after a school shooting. Its a heart-string plucker and viewers claim it can’t be watched without at least a little bit of mist in the eyes.

It is interesting to see Netflix slowly starting to increasingly dabble in the short-film genre, one that so far as I can see, hasn’t yet been tapped into much by many platforms.

This might in part be due to the short lifespan of “Quibi”, a mobile-only streaming platform that was set to focus purely on short-form content.

“Quick Bites. Big Stories” was its advertising gimmick and it wanted to give audiences small bursts of entertainment of only around 10 minutes, supposedly perfect for a public transport ride or a work-break or the like.

“If Anything Happens I Love You”... an animated, 12-minute tear-jerker.

It attracted nearly 2 billion bucks worth of investment, yet after launching in only April it’s to shut down next month after not meeting subscriptions forecasts.

Seems like the whole “short” advertising model might have actually worked against the platform more than for it. Considering that streaming services are always competing for the biggest and most bombastic libraries possible to give users their money’s worth, the idea of “small” in any capacity seems perhaps a case of shooting oneself in the foot.

However, the attention that “If Anything Happens I Love You” is getting might show there is a market for short works, especially if it’s mixed into the catalogues of the larger platforms.

When you consider the massive success of

films

short-form content such as TikTok, this becomes all the more apparent. Tropfest has in the last few years switched tracks to working with YouTube where the films can be streamed with just a few mouse clicks.

WITH the death of soccer superstar Diego Maradona last month, it’s interesting to see what’s out there about him in the streaming world. Amazon Prime, as mentioned before in this column, excels with its sporting documentary catalogue, has a brilliant doco film on the player, titled “Diego Maradona”, which offers a true insight into the highs and lows of the star’s career.

Netflix also has one up its sleeve called “Maradona in Mexico”. Rather than an overview of his life at large, this focuses on his coaching of the Mexican club, the Dorados of Culiacán, which also happens to be the heart of a major drug-trafficking cartel.

Moving between these new short films to learning about the life of one of the world’s most famous sportsmen in just a few button presses makes it quite a shift from getting my free discs with the Saturday morning paper delivery once a year. Is this what getting older feels like?

More of Nick Overall on Twitter @nick_overall

ARTS IN THE CITY

Bluey steps into the spotlight

By Helen Musa

A STAGE adaptation of children’s TV series “Bluey”, “Bluey’s Big Play” stars the Heeler family, Bluey, Bingo, Bandit and Chilli, in their first live theatre show. Canberra will get a double-whammy, as the cast will be rehearsing at the Canberra Theatre Centre ahead of preview performances here on December 18-19, then they’ll return from January 19-24 after its premiere in Brisbane. “Bluey” is the most-watched series ever on ABC iView. Book canberratheatrecentre.com.au

CANBERRA singer-songwriter Groovy Daughter has teamed up with local hip-hop legend Citizen Kay for her new R&B ballad “Harsh”, which draws inspiration from vocalists like Amy Winehouse. Earlier this year, she performed as part of the Isol-Aid festival. The song will be released on December 17 at soundcloud.com

ARTIST Caroline Reid will be exhibiting new work “Grounded” at

the Helen Stephens Gallery. In this exhibition Reid, who has recently won the 2021 artist-in-residence at the Chateau Orquevaux in north-eastern France, has painted the year of 2020 in the Canberra region, starting with the aftermath of smoke and fires and ending with the vibrant yellow of the canola season. “Meet the Artist”, 39 Murray Street, Collector, Sunday, December 13 from 2pm.

CONCEIVED and directed by Channing Tatum, “Magic Mike Live” is a 360-degree live dance and acrobatic “feverish spectacle” based on the hit movies “Magic Mike” and “Magic Mike XXL”. Coming to Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park, it will be performed in what is billed as the world’s largest Spiegeltent “The Arcadia”, specifically built for Australian audiences. The Sydney season commences on

Thursday, December 17. Bookings ticketmaster.com.au

IN response to the impact of COVID-19 on the arts community, The Street Theatre has selected not its planned six, but seven, artists to develop their ideas right from the earliest stage of inception with the aid of the company and for each, a $5,000 grant. The successful “Early Phase” applicants are Adam Broinowski, Linda Chen, Sally Marett, Joanna Richards, Ylaria Rogers, Kenneth Spiteri and Dylan Van Den Berg.

CANBERRA jazz duo In2Deep, Rachel McNally with pianist Mike Dooley, are ending the year with a bang and release their third album “One Spring Morning”. They’ll be joined by some of Canberra’s top musicians, including Miroslav Bukowsky on trumpet and Con Campbell on tenor sax, for the launch at North Belconnen Uniting Church 30 Conley Drive, Melba, 5.30pm and 7.30pm, December 19. bookings essential at trybooking.com/BNAVU

DINING / Lava Espresso Bar, Eyre Street Market

Lava’s hot for coffee in Eyre Street

IT’S still evolving, but the Eyre Street Market (across from Green Square in Kingston) is an easy destination for quick, tasty food.

Wildflour artisan bakery and café has opened with its mouthwatering pastries, sandwiches, pies and delish Ona coffee. Mochachos is dishing up spicy nachos, quesadilla, enchiladas and more. Noi Noi Vietnam Kitchen specialises in Pho and Bánh mì. Tokyo Canteen is a Japanese-inspired kitchen. More eateries will roll out over time at Eyre Street Market and no doubt the super Supabarn will continue to gain momentum (its cheese section rivals the best in Canberra).

For lunch we landed at Lava Espresso Bar, propping ourselves up at one of the many large, picnic-style tables outdoors (plenty of tables inside, too).

The focus, as it is with Lava’s popular Phillip location, is on quality specialty coffee, made with passion, and a small “eat-all-day” menu, with dishes ranging from $6 to $12 (add sides and extras for an additional cost).

Lava has hooked up with quality suppliers, including Three Mills Bakery, who supply a range of prod -

ucts including their orange and raisin bread, perfect for toasting ($6.50 at Lava). The maple and va nilla granola that another customer was enjoying looked beautiful, with coconut yoghurt and berries ($12).

My friend enjoyed the “BLAT”, which was just the right size for a lighter lunch ($12). Stuffed inside the potato bun was a slice of quality bacon, an egg, smashed avo, feta, sliced (and ripe) tomato and crunchy lettuce. She loved it as much as she did her pretty looking and profes sionally made cappuccino.

The line-up of toasted sandwiches caught my eye.

Another quality supplier Lava uses is Poachers Pantry, with the “HCT” packed with smoked ham, Swiss cheese and tomato ($10). Poachers Pantry also provides smoked chicken, which Lava combines with red pesto, semi-dried tomato, baby spinach and Swiss cheese ($12).

I opted for the Reuben ($12). I’m a fan of corned beef, thinly sliced. It marries so well with seeded mustard, tangy sauerkraut and Swiss cheese. My toasted Reuben hit the spot and wasn’t so large that it was off putting. Next time I’ll settle in for the chorizo toasted sandwich ($12), partly because of my passion for chilli jam.

Lava’s décor is cool, contemporary and minimalist but certainly holds interest with lovely art adorning the walls. Staff were super friendly and obliging, and checked in to see how we enjoyed our lunch.

Eyre Street Market is a hive of

GARDENING

Banksias take the breath away

The scope of the new banksia garden at the Australian National Botanic Gardens will take your breath away.

Like all new gardens, it may look bare at present and will take a few years for these new plantings to mature, but do take a look.

The Friends of the ANBG have been an integral part of the gardens providing guides, propagating plants for sale and funding projects in the gardens. Their latest contribution of $120,000 was for this new garden; a stupendous project with all construction done in-house. This entailed several hundred metres of stone walls, some of the best I’ve ever seen, to create the perfect drainage for many rare varieties.

Although various states have their own native plant gardens, our Botanic Gardens has the largest collection of native plants in the world. And now, this includes the largest collection of banksias.

Incidentally, this year marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Joseph Banks, who was instrumental in introducing so many of our native plants to the world at large.

particularly the abundance of flowers, has been no less than phenomenal. Daphne “Spring Pink”, covered with fragrant flowers, is a real winner. The ground cover alstroemeria “Zsa Zsa”, with its crimson flowers, looks superb. Some would say this is too vigorous, but it’s so easy to pull up pieces and plant in bare spots.

Some salvias, such as S. “Heatwave Brilliance” are in flower now when they’re supposed to flower in autumn. Penstemons, with the flowers resembling someone sticking their tongue out, are also bursting forth. I cut these back to ground level in autumn and now they’re 40-50cm tall, with beautiful lavender flowers. And “wow” is the only word for the clematis “Romantika”, with its deep purple flowers, and C. “General Sikorski” with huge pink blooms. Just how many flowers can one plant produce? Sweet peas in abundance are growing into the clematis. I have chives growing in conjunction with armeria, both with clusters of similar pincushion flowers.

All these plants can be grown with confidence, as I’ve tried and tested them for years. Ours is very much a trial garden, as wholesale plant growers send me plants to see how they survive in our climate.

HERE are a few reminders to consider when visiting a private Open Garden, events which are coming back as restrictions ease: Never take cuttings or remove seedsoff plants without asking permission of the owner. Gardeners are very good at sharing and in most cases, the owners will be happy to oblige. Generally dogs are not permitted, with the exception of guide dogs.

• Ask permission to take photos. Whilst it’s good to take photos of the whole garden I suggest you photograph specific features that can be used in your own. Or photograph plants you could add to your own garden. The owner may not be sure of plant names, so you can always take the photos to your local garden outlet.

• Stop every now and again and look backwards, it’s amazing how many plants or features you may have missed.

CONTINUING thunderstorms are keeping the rainwater tanks full. My last three-monthly water bill was just $113, the lowest ever – thank you, La Niña. The growth in our garden,

PUZZLES PAGE FREE PUZZLES EVERY DAY AT citynews.com.au

By Joanne Madeline Moore

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

This week’s stars encourage you to make some firm and focused decisions about your goals, hopes and dreams for the future. The more ambitious your aspirations, the better! You’ll also shun superficial encounters with others, preferring serious and philosophical conversations with family, friends and colleagues. So your motto is from birthday great, writer Jane Austen: “My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation.”

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

The times are changing and so are you! Saturn moves into your career zone on Thursday, so get serious about your professional ambitions. Then Jupiter shifts into your career zone on Saturday, which bodes well for a promotion, new job or professional break over the next 12 months. Just make sure you are thoroughly prepared for change when opportunity knocks! Draw inspiration from birthday great, director Steven Spielberg: “I don’t think we’re the same person all our lives.”

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

Hey Gemini: get ready for a relationship renaissance as Mercury, Venus and the Solar Eclipse kick-start your love life. Attached Twins will shift into an important new phase of an established partnership, while some singles will go on a promising first date. Then Saturn and Jupiter jump into your travel and learning zone. So 2021 is looking good for a local, interstate or overseas trip, somewhere adventurous, exciting and also covid safe. A fresh education cycle is also favoured.

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

The Solar Eclipse encourages you to eat well and get your body moving via a gym membership, a new exercise program or a vigorous workout in the great outdoors. Then Saturn and Jupiter shift into your ‘money-from-others zone’. So – over the coming year – you could benefit from a gift, inheritance, loan, divorce settlement, insurance claim, bumper tax return or superannuation pay-out. It won’t be a free ride though – there could be complicated strings attached!

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

Saturn shifts into your partnership zone on Thursday. So – over the coming year –you could end a relationship that’s no longer working, With Jupiter also jumping into your partnership zone, aim to be more positive and generous towards loved ones. Plus try to view a troubled relationship from a more philosophical perspective. And are you looking for love? A sudden attraction could come from out of the blue or a long-term friendship could gradually develop into a grand romance.

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

Have you been having problems with a relative? Monday night’s Solar Eclipse signals a fresh start involving a domestic matter or a family member. Mercury and Venus also encourage you to hold out the olive branch of peace as you crank up your diplomatic skills, sympathise and compromise. Then Saturn and Jupiter jump into your wellbeing zone, which is good news for your physical health and emotional wellbeing over the next 12 months (as long as you are extra disciplined).

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

Mercury, Venus and the Solar Eclipse activate your communication and neighbourhood zone as you make plans to study, teach, travel or do community service in the coming year. Some lucky singles could also find their soul mate online. Then Saturn and Jupiter charge into your love, romance, children and friendship zone. So your relationships will expand and bring you much happiness in 2021, but there will also be extra responsibilities placed on your lovely Libran shoulders.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

After a stressful year (and in the frantic lead-up to Christmas) are you feeling tired and fragile? Saturn and Jupiter shift into your domestic zone, so plan to spend the weekend at home, complete with yummy food, relaxing music and your favourite books or TV shows. Follow the sensible advice of writer (and birthday great) Jane Austen: “There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.” However, you may have to fix something that’s broken or do some urgent DIY.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

This week you’re ready to sparkle and shine, flirt and have fun, as Mercury, Venus and the Solar Eclipse all light up your sign! With Saturn and Jupiter moving into your education and communication zone, you could find yourself studying, teaching, publishing or podcasting over the coming year. Your online presence could also really take off, as Jupiter (your patron planet) boosts your social media profile. So make sure you have plenty of topical and interesting things to say.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

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

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

For the first time since 1962, Jupiter and Saturn both transit into your sign. So it’s a momentous week as the world heads into a mini Age of Aquarius, where the primary focus is on community, diversity, equality and change. It will also give you the determination and courage to be the authentic you (and let other people be themselves too). Be inspired by birthday great, anthropologist Margaret Mead: “Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.”

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

Saturn shifts into your self-reflection zone. So, over the next few years, do your best to consolidate your strengths and work on your weaknesses. You could also take up yoga, meditation or some sort of metaphysical study, as Jupiter broadens your spiritual perspective. But be careful that you don’t become a martyr to the never-ending needs of others. Heed the wise words of birthday great Jane Austen: “The more you do for some people, the less they will do for themselves.”

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2020

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Alison McNamara | Director | Chamberlains Law Firm

It’s silly season, which means it’s that time of the year when we let our hair down at the Christmas party and celebrate making it through another year But be warned. With vigorous dancing, excessive alcohol, games and activities, Christmas parties are also a haven for potential injuries.

We often get asked during this period whether there is anything we can do to assist an employee injured

“Is my Christmas party injury covered by the Workers Compensation Act?”

coloured flowers. (6)

9 What is a diligent and systematic inquiry into a subject? (8)

10 To utter a more or less prolonged sharp, shrill cry, is to do what? (6)

11 Which persons have access to exclusive information? (8)

14 Name the US building containing most Defence Department offices. (8)

18 What is another name for an African antelope? (6)

19 Which nearly pure forms of carbon are valued as precious stones? (8)

21 Name a form of headdress of Muslim origin. (6)

22 What is a bitter and violent denunciation? (8)

23 Which grasslike plants are found in wet or marshy places? (6)

Down

1 Which craft carries a flag officer of a fleet? (8)

2 What is another name for the thumb? (6)

3 Name an animal in the second year of its age. (8)

4 Name an Egyptian goddess of fertility and nature. (4)

5 The Australian outback is also known as the what? (6)

6 What is association football known as? (6)

12 Which term indicates the left side? (8)

13 What are grassland regions with scattered trees, also known as plains? (8)

15 Name an alternative term for a panacea or cure-all. (6)

16 Which widely cultivated fruit is used as a vegetable? (6)

17 Name a colloquial term for an electrician (6)

20 Which slender piece of metal is driven into wood as to hold separate pieces together? (4)

Generally speaking, injuries sustained at work Christmas parties will be covered by a worker ’s compensation policy as they are considered to be work events, even

party is an extension of the workplace (perhaps a lot more fun), with the same obligations and entitlements applicable as your usual workplace.

Claims may be accepted for common Christmas party

stage and, of course, falling over while dancing. In some cases, a claim may also be accepted for an injury on the way to the Christmas party

Depending on the circumstances of your injury, your employer may also be considered negligent, for example, where the employer does not ensure there is a responsible service of alcohol, or if the employer fails to enforce workplace policies, including bullying and harassment policies.

It is also important to know when a claim will not be accepted.

onto another venue, any injury will often not be covered. Similarly, if you are disobeying direct orders from your employer or engage in risky or illegal activities you will not have much luck with your claim.

For example, an employee who crashed her car on the way home from a Christmas party was not covered because the employee was found to be under the

her employer not to drive home intoxicated.

when he slipped and fell over a balcony railing, 25 metres to the ground, was not covered as the court found that the after party was not a work function and the employees had already left the original Christmas function.

If you have been injured in the course of your emploment, Christmas festivities or not, contact us for a free first consultation with one of our personal injury experts to discuss your claim and your legal rights.

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.