CityNews 210225

NEWS / Forgotten Phillip Government ‘snubs’ struggling small business

By Danielle NOHRA

SITTING at a cafe table on a deteriorating pavement, next to a broken gutter on Colbee Court, Phillip Business Community president Tom Adam asks where ratepayers’ money is going?

Tom, 41, of Fadden, leases a space on Townshend Street for his business Canberra Martial Arts and Fitness, and is frustrated by the legacy of issues in Phillip.

He’s also frustrated by the lack of ACT government support to small businesses in the past year and, being the head of the business advocacy group, can cite multiple small businesses that have been forced to shut or move during the pandemic.

In some cases, he says, businesses moved because the rent was too expensive, one business bought a building because it was cheaper than renting (over the long run), and other businesses moved or shut because their landlord refused to help during the pandemic.

“The ACT government offered

Since 1993: Volume 27, Number 8

no support. Unless you paid some sort of fee, [such as] a licensing fee or a payroll tax, there was no consideration for you as a small business,” he says.

Landlords were eligible for a concession if they negotiated with the tenants about dropping their commercial rent, however, businesses had to go through a commissioner, and by then some were being sued by their landlord, Tom says.

Meanwhile, he says, other state governments – during the height of the pandemic – offered money to small businesses, and while he’s not asking for hand-outs to each business, he wants to see the ACT government support those that are still hurting financially.

“Where’s the local support? Do an audit and support local businesses that are still struggling post covid,” says Tom, who rejects the Chief Minister’s sentiment that small business is a “federal government issue”.

“Small business is not a federal issue, it’s definitely a territory issue.

“We’re employing local people who spend their money locally, who support their families, who invest in other sporting communities and local shops.”

Tom recommends that the ACT government should go out and sur-

vey businesses and ask: “Are you still suffering from covid?”

“I know there’s a lot of Phillip business owners that are refinancing their homes to pay off tax debts because they still had to pay all their GST and their payroll tax,” he says.

Tom’s also been struggling with debt since covid started, and says he’s had to personally put money into the business from his house to get through.

“And it looks like I have to do more,” he says.

“I’ve still got to figure out where I’m going to find the GST and the PAYG from the last quarter because I quickly made sure that I could afford the previous one.”

He’s now inviting the ACT government to sit down with him and look at his books.

“Go through it and you’ll see what I’m talking about. See what keeps us up at night,” he says.

Small businesses are also fed up with the ACT government talking about what it does for big businesses, such as giving them payroll tax concessions, while giving little support to them, Tom says.

“I feel like the Labor government has anaphylaxis for small businesses,” he says.

“Start talking about small busi-

Break free from Facebook

DESPITE Facebook’s backdown, this past week it demonstrated petulance in cutting off Australia’s access to every news site in the world. That included citynews.com.au

Facebook is not a big part of our economic destiny, but it had shamefully attempted to censor what Australians choose to read.

That’s the real disgrace of its bullying response to the Federal government’s legislation to help Australian journalism.

I wanted to remind you that there are choices beyond being enslaved to an American algorithm dictating what news you see.

The full picture of Canberra news is yours to pick and choose – at no cost – every day at citynews.com.au

Beyond that, we provide a subscriber-only, late-afternoon bulletin of the day’s news and a breaking story alert. You can easily subscribe to these (free) services at the website. Break free and give us a go.

Ian Meikle, editor

nesses and how you can support them.

“Fix the footpaths, do the work to make it look like you actually care, and ensure that you’re really actually engaging with small busi ness groups about the future plan for the ACT.”

For a place with high com mercial rates, Tom wants to know where the money is going?

“If the people are paying the rates then the rates should be in vested into the suburb,” he says.

“The money here doesn’t look like it’s being spent here.

“The suburb is broken. It hasn’t changed in 30 years. There’s very little maintenance done. There’s trip hazards, there’s white marks that have suggested they are going to fix the pavements for three years.

“They’re not fixing the broken gutters, they’re not fixing the foot paths and the roads.”

Rent needs to be reduced, too, says Tom, even though people often say: “You’re paying for the location.”

“There’s no competition so there’s no incentive for the land lords, particularly the older ones that don’t owe any money on their properties and don’t have to spend any money in the upkeep because it’s all the tenants’ work, to innovate,” he says.

DAYS

Gordon slips quietly back to government service

WE heard a whisper that former Attorney-General and Arts Minister Gordon Ramsay, whose one-term political career came to a crashing end in October, had quietly got a new job. In the Chief Minister’s office.

It’s been barely four months since the election that saw the former lawyer and minister of religion, sent packing by the voters of Ginninderra.

Not a great look for Labor, so news editor Danielle Nohra called Andrew Barr’s office. The media flack was all terribly surprised by the news, but invited email questions.

Okay: six questions followed around what’s the job, what’s the pay, how was he selected?

She eventually got a sheepish response that amounted to, yes, Gordon’s back on the government tit as a temporary contractor.

A “staff member” but not a public servant in the Chief Minister’s office looking at, wait for it, “possible reforms to the human rights compatibility assessment process and the Anti-Discrimination Act,” apparently areas of focus for the government this term.

Despite ex-minister Ramsay being a contractor, the salary question came with the news: “The ACT Executive does not disclose personal staff information, such as salary levels”.

There is no suggestion of anything untoward on the part of Mr Ramsay, but the political optics of “jobs for the boys” aren’t pretty.

Fellow Labor flopsters, Deepak-Raj Gupta and Bec Cody, can but only wait for the phone to ring, too… “Is that you, Andrew? Hello…”

THIS year’s multicultural festival has finally been covid kiboshed. No surprise there, except to the shadow minister for multicultural affairs Giulia Jones, who went on the warpath lambasting the government for not coming up with a “creative and safe alternative”.

“Many multicultural communities will be disappointed and the opportunity to raise some much-needed money for small community groups has been lost,” she fruitlessly huffed.

TIME to stop talking and start real action, Work Health and Safety Commissioner Jacqueline Agius.

WorkSafe ACT swooped on Denman Prospect, the scene of two construction-site deaths last year, and again found that, well, nothing’s changed in the suburb’s building safety.

“We are continuing to see the same issues today at Denman Prospect as we did six months ago when we first started Operation Safe Prospect,” Ms Agius said.

“Some of the serious issues we saw today include the risk of falls from heights and unsafe scaffolding, as well as insecure fencing, a lack of site signage, poor housekeeping and a lack of basic facilities for workers.”

She followed up by issuing penalties to almost every site visited plus a couple of fines totalling $7200 and one building site closed.

THE cracked footpath misery continues to echo across Canberra, this time it’s from the south. A reader reckons there’s another

“golden opportunity” for serious injury on the footpath in Anketell Street, Greenway.

“Just outside Aldi there are several paving stones uplifted, leaving holes and providing a great tripping zone,” he says.

“I’ve been expecting legal claims for injury during the two years or more that they have been in this state.”

The reader says people have tried to protect others by placing barricades such as shopping trolleys or plastic markers around, but they don’t last.

PLANNING and development columnist Paul Costigan is diligence itself when it

comes to filing his pieces. They are always each accompanied by a photo.

Knowing that the Planning Directorate had moved from Dame Pattie Menzies House in Dickson to 480 Northbourne Avenue, and planning for a forthcoming piece, he set off one recent Saturday to update his image library with signage from the new HQ.

But there was no sign of where the Planning Directorate was located.

“There were signs for the Suburban Land Agency and for Access Canberra – and I could see through the glass to the main reception, but nothing to indicate that the planners have moved there,” he says.

“I went back to the former building (just across the road) to see if there were helpful signs to let people know where they had moved to... Nothing.

“Are they now in a secret location? Or is it more simply that the planners, being the ACT Planning Directorate, had planned their move but forgot to organise any signage?”

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

Retire to The Aerie at Narrabundah

Spectre of Milat looms over local murder probes

AN inexpensive bracelet may be a missing link in unravelling the unsolved mysteries of the sinister fate of a number of women in the Canberra region – at the same time raising the spectre of one of Australia’s most notorious serial killers, Ivan Milat.

February 26, 2021, falls on a Friday. It’s the anniversary of a Friday 50 years earlier when 20-year-old Keren Rowland vanished from near Lake Burley Griffin. Her remains were found almost three months later in the eerie surrounds of the Fairbairn Pine Plantation.

The numerous unanswered questions surrounding what occurred are echoed in other equally baffling cases that have followed in the wake of that tragedy.

Might any of these callous crimes be somehow connected?

Almost precisely three years on from Keren’s unexplained death, on Sunday, March 31, 1974 – only a few days before her 28th birthday –mother of three, Mary Bertram, left home never to return.

Four days later, her “stripped and strangled” body was found in scrub near Sutton, around 20 kilometres from where Keren had been discovered. As described in the press, Mary was “hidden behind a tree stump”.

A BETTER FUTURE YESTERDAYS / Capital Crime Files

Dianne Pennacchio, was last seen alive before seeking a lift between Bungendore and Queanbeyan late on a Friday night.

Close to two months later, her body would be stumbled across deep in the dense Tallaganda State Forest. Covered with pine branches, Dianne had been stabbed in the back and potentially sexually assaulted.

On November 16, 1991, “Canberra Times” reporter Peter Clack, wrote: “The circumstances of her disappearance and subsequent discovery in bushland mirrors the 1971 death of Canberra woman Keren Rowland”. With a degree of inevitability, the ugly shadow of the now-dead “Backpacker Killer” Ivan Milat has fallen over these – and other – regional cases.

One who’s publicly asserted the potential for Milat’s involvement in the situations is Clive Small – who’d been head of Task Force Air, responsible for the arrest of the murderer.

AFP Sgt Adam Rhynehart, lead detective in the current re-investigation of unsolved homicides in Canberra, says that such a possibility is being

“What associates he had or links to the ACT, reasons why he might have been in Canberra, what motor vehicles he had or had access to, his work history to show reasons to be in the ACT,” all of this is being analysed,

“That is a significant part of the investigation. At the moment where we are, I can’t rule him in and I certainly can’t rule him out. That doesn’t mean we’re not going to try”.

And then there’s that missing bracelet. The only item unaccounted for at the scene of Keren Rowland’s death: a “goldy coloured” bracelet purchased earlier on the night of February 26 as a birthday gift for a friend’s young sister, Lynette, absent from her otherwise untouched handbag.

A killer’s memento, perhaps?

“The mystery of the bracelet is something I’m very keen on,” says Sgt Rhynehart.

“Lynette never received it and family members never saw it, so that’s an outstanding piece of

evidence and we would love to know what happened to it.

“So if anyone has seen that bracelet or remembers hearing about it or seeing anything to do with it, that small bit of info, that will be very crucial to us”.

On December 8 last year – the launch of my Capital Crime Files podcast, exploring Keren’s and other cases in detail – the AFP conducted a new search for the elusive piece of jewellery in the pine forest close by the Air Disaster Memorial.

While they came up empty-handed in that regard, the resulting publicity has generated additional information and prospective leads – including on other local unsolved crimes.

Currently, the re-examination of material that may provide some definitive evidence of Milat’s involvement –or not – extends to anything that might have been found in his possession.

“There’s a fabled video of a search warrant at his house, which we’re hoping still exists, if it ever existed,” says Sgt Rhynehart.

“The Holy Grail of that video is to see if the missing bracelet that we searched the forest for, see if that is sitting on a bookshelf somewhere.”

There is some hesitation about too

much focus on Milat. Certainly, in relation to Keren’s Rowland’s case, the police have a long list of persons-ofinterest that’s again being combed over.

“Thirty or so people were nominated as potential offenders,” says Sgt Rhynehart. “And even today, that list is growing as people are providing us with more information.”

For Keren’s younger brother Steve, the concern is that all efforts and resources aren’t sucked into the black hole of an infamous serial killer nominated in virtually every missing person and unsolved murder case in the country.

“While Milat may well be a serious consideration, I wouldn’t want that speculation to distract from the investigation of all and any possibilities,” says Steve.

For more and to listen to the podcast, see capitalcrimefiles.com.au If you have any information, please contact Crimestoppers or to me directly at capitalcrimefiles@ gmail.com

Village plan to lead the world in dementia care

By Belinda STRAHORN

CANBERRA could be home to what is being touted as a “world first” village designed specifically for people with dementia.

As well as 15 tailored houses, The Neighbourhood Canberra will have a supermarket, cinema, cafe, hair dresser and gardens.

The $40 million project will offer 24-hour care for people living with de mentia, in a “multi-generational” resi dential environment that integrates with the local community.

Greg Fraser, a former ACT Health chief executive and board member of The Neighbourhood Canberra, said the soon to be launched concept was revolutionary and would transform dementia care.

cal of that approach.

Mr Fraser said research had shown entering an aged-care facility could create stress and accelerate the rate of decline for those with dementia.

“Lots of organisations have dementia wards, but it’s usually a locked wing and so there is very little engagement with the rest of the world,” said Mr Fraser.

“There’s a lot of evidence to suggest there is an overprescription of psychotropic drugs to dope them [clients] up.

“There’s a lot of evidence that says a small village-like domestic environment is the best and people do well in that environment.

“And that’s what we are trying to achieve with The Neighbourhood.

This will put Canberra on the world map as far as dementia care goes.”

Nearly half a million Australians live with dementia, and that number is predicted to more than double by 2058.

There are more than 6000 dementia sufferers in Canberra and its prevalence is rising.

and a lack of beds in the ACT, it’s hoped The Neighbourhood will fill a gap in the delivery of services, said Luisa Capezio, board chair of The Neighbourhood Canberra.

“There is a current undersupply of 569 beds for people who need 24-hour residential care and by 2023 that deficit will be 693 beds,” Ms Capezio said.

“The reality is half the people who are in permanent residential aged care have a diagnosis of dementia so this will fill a massive deficit in Canberra.”

The Neighbourhood is modelled on De Hogeweyk village in the Netherlands,

where residents have been found to live longer and take fewer medications.

The ACT village, one hectare in size, will cater for 90 residents in 15 homes of six people, but will be open to the community to come and go.

It will be designed specifically for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia who need 24hour residential care, an option that is not currently available in the ACT.

“The homes will have bedrooms and ensuites, a kitchen, living areas, a dining room and lots of spaces to join in together as a community or to have time on your own; the carer will also be integrated in that model, but they won’t be wearing uniforms,” Mr Fraser said.

“We are looking to co-locate the facility to ensure it’s built in an area where people in that village can use services like a hairdresser, cafe, a medical centre, library and supermarket, all the things you use day to day to maintain a level of normality. Those services will also be available to the wider community to use.

“In short it’s a dementia-friendly community ensuring that people within it have true connections and are not isolated.”

Building on the success of the ABC TV series “Old People’s Home for 4 year-olds”, The Neighbourhood is designed to ease the transition from independent living into high-level care.

A key part of that is trying to rep -

licate a normal family existence with intergenerational relationships.

“It’s how we live day to day; we don’t live just with one age group, we grow up with our grandparents, our parents and with children,” said Ms Capezio.

“By nature we grow within an intergenerational network, so why just because you have a diagnosis of dementia should that be taken away.

“The idea is also to have The Neighbourhood co-located with a daycare centre and a primary school and if that concept does come to fruition it will be a world first in terms of true intergenerational connection.”

The Neighbourhood Canberra will be officially launched on Sunday, February 28, at Dementia Australia’s Memory Walk and Jog around Lake Burley Griffin.

The launch is timely as it coincides with the final report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care being handed down.

“All of the evidence is showing you get a better quality of life being in a home and that has a knock-on effect to everything, like less drugs and less hospitalisation, less visits to GPs and less staff turnover,” said Ms Capezio.

The organisers plan to have the project federally funded, with an agedcare provider delivering the service.

The board is currently looking at various locations across Canberra for the development.

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POLITICS

Greens debutantes share humour and passion

A SENSE of humour brings a breath of fresh air to politics. In continuing my series on inaugural speeches of the newest members of the ACT Legislative Assembly, I discovered two Greens members who bring passion, mirth and drive to the chamber.

Andrew Braddock (Yerrabi) began his speech parrying his colleague, Johnathan Davis (Brindabella), sug gesting his colleague “may be wrong, misguided or delusional”. The debate was over whether or not Tuggeranong is better than Gungahlin. He did concede: “I respect and love him for his passion.”

Mr Braddock revelled in the freedom of an inaugural speech with “unlimited time to speak, every word protected by parliamentary privilege and fellow members restrained from intervening. It does not, and will not, get any better than that”.

And then went on to apologise that his back was pointed at the gallery –although noting some may think it his “best side”.

A sense of humour that is coupled with disclosure of huge family struggles makes Mr Braddock so much more human. Identifying his own challenges adds power to the statement “everyone in the community of

“I am not here to play politics. I will work with anyone here who wants to have a constructive conversation. With self-deprecating humour, willingness to listen, and understated style, I will work to serve”. In the end he has entered politics “because it is the future of my children, of all inequality is the most significant political issue we face”. And this from someone who has worked for property investors for a decade.

with multiple houses and those caught up in the “housing crisis”. It is not something to be fixed “by shaming and guilting people” but more about “government taking leadership to remove systemic advantage and treat housing as a fundamental human right”.

Mr Davis grew up in public housing and had the advantage of public education – although as a primary school student “who fell through the cracks”. Unlike the revelations in the inaugural speeches of the new Liberal members with similar backgrounds who saw making good as personal responsibility, for Johnathan Davis it was being prepared to tackle the systemic issues.

In addition to being openly gay, his personal issues include experiencing homelessness, helping to raise his siblings and being close to someone with drug dependency as well as experiencing sexual assault.

“I am the sum of my diverse experiences”, he told the Assembly, “and those experiences inform my values”. Although, “they will not entirely define my work or my contribution”.

A goal is support for the ACT public education system and to be the “strongest and most passionate

He rationalises the dichotomy between the investors

advocate for an accessible, equitable and secular public health system”.

He went on to say: “My vision is for a public-school system that is the envy of the world and the choice for every Canberra family”.

This is a big challenge! The ACT education system has been declining for the last two decades of Labor governments compared to other Australian jurisdictions!

Apart from thanking his supporters and family, Johnathan Davis concluded by making it clear that he intended to be influenced by his constituents rather than by “the insidious and toxic influence of donations from people or businesses”.

If he does not grow cynical, his idealism and his passion bode well for a future in politics.

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.

Without forcing it, magic can happen, says Grace

By Belinda STRAHORN

IT

would be easy for Grace Tame to view her recognition as Australian of the Year as vindication of her struggle to write a wrong, but that’s not how she sees it.

Grace, a sexual assault survivor who was silenced by an archaic gag law that prevented her speaking out against her abuser, is now a persuasive advocate for destigmatising victims’ experience of sexual assault.

“This isn’t an award that celebrates me,” Grace told “CityNews”.

“By normalising the act of speaking out we are freeing victims from shame and dismantling victim blaming attitudes.

“This is a movement, a paradigm shift that is far bigger than me, it always has and always will be.”

The nation’s introduction to Grace Tame came when she gave an emotional and powerful speech after being named as the 2021 Australian of the Year in January.

“I remember him saying, ‘Don’t make a sound’. Well, hear me now, using my voice amongst a chorus of voices that will not be silenced,” Grace said, opening up about her abuse at the Australia Day awards ceremony.

The 26-year-old’s journey of abuse, fighting the legal system to earn her right to share her story and becoming a voice for many child-abuse survivors made her a meritorious recipient of the Australia Day honour.

Now Canberrans will have the chance to listen to Grace’s inspiring story as part of an International Women’s Day (IWD) event on March 5, hosted by UN Women Australia.

Grace was a 15-year-old schoolgirl battling anorexia when her high school maths teacher Nicolaas Bester raped her on the classroom floor at St Michael’s Collegiate School in Hobart.

Under section 194K of the Tasmanian Evidence Act 2001, she was unable to speak about her experience – despite Bester being able to.

Following her involvement in the #LetHerSpeak campaign Grace helped lead the fight to overturn the law, and won.

Now, she is using her voice to make a difference for others – and encouraging other sexual-assault victims to do the same.

“It’s not your fault, you are

not alone, your truth is your power, it’s not your shame it’s your power,” Grace said.

Unafraid to tackle “heavy” topics, the 26-year-old said she wants to use her new-found platform to highlight the risks and damage of grooming as well as other forms of psychological control and abuse that perpetrators commit.

“We need to get straight to it, we need to go into schools at the primary and high school level and start having these uncomfortable discussions,” she said.

“We need to understand a lot more about grooming and the psychological manipulation that characterises, not only prolonged abuse of children but domestic violence as well.”

She is also determined to use the next year advocating changes to legal reforms, on things such as the definition of consent.

“There’s still a lot of legislation nationwide that enables predators in its structure,”

Grace said.

“We have got eight different jurisdictions between the states and territories and therefore we have eight different definitions of consent, and when you have that kind of inconsistency it inherently undermines the collective understanding of the issue and undermines our ability to take it seriously.

“So a priority is looking at a standardised uniformed approach, at a federal level, to sexual assault.”

Grace, who will appear via video link from Sydney, will join a line-up of live speakers for the International Women’s Day event in Canberra, including Michelle Deshong, CEO of the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute and JulieAnn Guivarra, Australia’s Ambassador for Gender Equality.

Like Grace, these women are using their profile to help others find their voice and speak out against injustice.

“It’s important we allow

every voice the opportunity to be heard because every voice has the power to teach us something different,” Grace said.

“With your knowledge from your unique lived experience you can change the world.”

Beyond her abuse case there’s a lot to be learned about this girl who is starting many pivotal conversations across the country.

A marathon runner and yoga teacher, Grace is also a successful artist, with a surprising link to “Monty Python” and “Fawlty Towers” star John Cleese.

“Not long after I reported what had happened to me at school, I felt broken and depressed,” Grace said.

“I didn’t have the strength to get out of bed so I watched ‘Monty Python’ DVDs on repeat because I associated them with positive memories and laughter and that’s what I needed.

“I would sit and draw whilst I watched those movies and I remember one day mum said to me: ‘Maybe one day you’ll draw for one of the Pythons’.”

In an ironic twist of fate, Grace’s mother’s remark was spot on.

Some years later after finishing school, Grace moved to America, graduating from Santa Barbara City College with a degree in theatre arts and liberal arts. During her stint in the US she met John Cleese’s daughter Camilla, a successful comedian in her own right.

“Camilla asked me to do an illustration of her dad for American Father’s Day, I did and he loved it so I ended up touring with John for part of his ‘Holy Grail’ tour and my sketches became some of the most successful merchandise he sold on tour.

“It’s amazing how life can turn around… it’s worth believing in yourself and sticking to your truth because organically, without forcing it, magic can happen.”

Grace Tame’s best advice for anyone confronting a personal challenge or severe setback is to “trust” in yourself and not to give up hope.

“Trauma never goes away but through sharing your truth you can transcend the darkness and find yourself in a space where the light overwhelms the dark.”

Tickets for the IWD event to be held at the National Convention Centre at unwomen.org.au

Australian of the Year Grace Tame… “We need to go into schools at the primary and high-school level and start having these uncomfortable discussions.”

CANBERRA MATTERS

Sydney lessons bode badly for Canberra future

ELIZABETH Farrelly’s new book

“Killing Sydney: The Fight For a City’s Soul” is a must-read for anyone with an interest in their local planning issues.

While her main focus is on inner Sydney, most of the book is about what’s being done in the electorate’s name by NSW politicians, their planning and development bureaucrats, the attached agencies and the out-of-control developers.

This stuff is truly awful and has been going on unchecked for ever!

Ms Farrelly has lived in Sydney since the late 1980s, has been involved with architecture, planning and the workings of government and has written books and endless articles about inner Sydney.

She now confronts the damage done and being done to the urban environment she loves. Hers has been a handson experience and she tells many tales in great detail. Her experiences and opinions are worth reading as so much of it will be familiar to residents elsewhere –

Anything in public hands is seen by 21st century governments as land banks for development… locally such dubious practices are now entrenched as building the new normal within the ACT Labor/Greens coalition.

especially those in Canberra.

There’s cronyism that operates around government, there’s the ease with which heritage is ignored (think West Basin locally), multiple agencies with worthy sounding names that hide their true role (development at all costs and maximum profits for developers). Canberrans could name one or two.

Then there is a process that the Planning Directorate and agencies such as the City Renewal Authority now specialise in having learnt well from NSW.

As with their seasoned NSW counterparts, government agencies are experts in staging consultations that are meaningless and ingenuous. They consult with contracts already signed (think West Basin) and offer to engage on decisions deemed to be not negotiable (think Curtin Horse Paddocks, new hospital extension location and Common Ground being plonked on to Section 72).

Meanwhile, public places are eroded, trees come down and cherished open spaces and parks are taken over bit by bit. Older suburbs with heritage and abundant biodiversity are under attack. Land and buildings that can be sold are soon on offer to developers.

Anything in public hands (that’s yours and mine) is seen by 21st century governments as land banks for development. This is happening in Sydney and locally such dubious practices are now entrenched as building the new normal within the ACT Labor/Greens coalition.

While it may all sound familiar, and possibly depressing, Farrelly’s story telling is worth the effort – the book is a good read. She writes with a friendly and accessible style, though occasionally spending too much time explaining philosophical points. Given the book is about 350 pages, that can be skimmed through to get back to the intriguing tales and lessons to be learnt (don’t trust any of them).

“Killing Sydney: The Fight For a City’s Soul”... a must-read for anyone with an interest in their local planning issues.

their parties or those with links to the parties.

Likewise, Sydney and Canberra need huge changes of culture and new people within the planning and development bureaucracies and the development agencies.

Canberra and its residents (she does not believe that people love the place).

Possibly she is yet to understand how Canberra is a landscape with a city within. That’s basically the same fault with those who pretend to run the place and, likewise, many architects (not all).

Having praised the book and its author, one warning for Canberrans: Farrelly regularly looks down at

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As with Sydney, Canberra needs political candidates selected not by the few that inhabit the three mainstream parties. Whatever needs to happen, it has to result in having politicians representing voters – not

The big question for Canberra (and Sydney/NSW) is how to have peoplefocused, professional directorates –with real planners. Remember them? For Canberra to survive as a city in a landscape, planning decisions should be focused on the humane interests and well-being of residents. It is about having politicians and professional bureaucrats who have an understanding and passion for landscape and good design.

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

Lunar prediction sums up the state of wine

THIS is the year of the Metal Ox (the Chinese New Year began on February 12). In the Chinese horoscope, the ox is dependable and hard-working, somewhat stolid.

One website concerned with zodiac pontifications tells me that: “This is going to be a year when we will fully feel the weight of our responsibilities, a year when it is necessary to double our efforts to accomplish anything at all.”

It’s as if that prediction were written for the Australian wine industry. The numbers show that since the imposition of up to 200 per cent tariffs or, more precisely, anti-dumping security deposits, on the import of Australian wine into China, Australian wine imports collapsed.

In September and October monthly export figures were $182m and $194m respectively. In December they shrank to $4 million. According to Wine Australia, China was Australia’s largest export market, taking 35 per cent of our exports (if you add in Hong Kong that figure

Since the imposition of up to 200 per cent tariffs or, more precisely, anti-dumping security deposits, on the import of Australian wine into China, Australian wine imports collapsed.

jumps to 40 per cent). In second place is the UK with 16 per cent. The loss of China is a smack in the head to the Australian industry.

That is the crisis. What is the answer?

Well, first it appears that red wine prices and red wine demand is going to be hardest hit.

The Department of Agriculture says: “The average value of Australian red wine exports is expected to fall because high-quality wine formerly expected to be exported to China will be sold into other markets at lower prices. The volume of wine exports is also expected to fall slightly as it is unlikely that all the wine previously expected to be exported to China will be redirected to other markets in the short term. Faced with lower export prices, wineries will likely redirect red wine grapes in the forthcoming vintage into lower-value products and

pay lower prices for red wine grapes.”

Strangely, two factors will be present so that white wine prices are not as likely to be affected. The department tells us that prices of white wines are, in fact, likely to rise as stocks fall, partly due to the COVID-19-related distillation of wine stocks into industrial alcohol in Europe and partly because China didn’t take much of our white wine. So back to the reds. It’s already evident that there are some great deals available. In my email in-box was an offer from Redman’s wines. The vineyard had in 2020 bottled a 2015 Coonawarra shiraz, the Fourth Generation. The vineyard was quite explicit that it has been intended for the Chinese market to oil the wheels of celebration for the Chinese New Year.

As the winemaker Dan Redman said, China’s loss was the Australian

that they were already out of stock. Mixed feelings: bravo to this discount offer and the fact that it was snapped

up; boo to the fact that I missed out! Small winemakers are most at risk of going out of business. That is why consumers should actively support small winemakers so that the range and depth of wines available are maintained. Along these lines, I must applaud Naked Wines for the launch of its Stop the Squeeze initiative. This is a financial commitment to small winemakers who are much more likely to go to the wall (obviously not the Great Wall) from what is happening.

Naked Wines has undertaken to honour its commitments to small winemakers rather than to switch to larger operators who will be able to offer substantial discounts to move stocks that would otherwise have

The Naked chief (and who wouldn’t want a title like that?) Alicia Kennedy says this about the impact on smaller winemakers: “There is a very real danger that many local winemakers will become collateral damage in this situation. As an industry and as a nation, we need to band together now to ‘Stop the Squeeze’ on Australia’s wonderful community of independent winemakers – a large portion of whom exist in heartland regional

Hmmm despite this optimism, I remind myself that oxen are often castrated cattle.

Commercial and Residential Conveyancing for ACT & NSW

LETTERS

Few sitting days to keep government to account

AFTER a recent meeting in the Legislative Assembly with one of the new members, I picked up a copy of the Sitting Calendar for 2021.

I knew they didn’t sit for many weeks, but I was surprised just how little they did. So I did some international and interstate comparison.

In 2018, the House of Commons sat for 122 days, the Canadian Lower House sat for 127 days, the US House of Representatives sat for 124, Japan’s Diet for 150 days, Germany’s Bundestag 104, NZ’s Parliament 93, and Australia’s House of Representatives, 64. The Senate sat for 58 days.

The position in the state legislatures is more dismal. While each jurisdiction uses slightly different nomenclature, the sitting calendar for the lower houses is as follows for 2021: NSW, 51 days; Victoria, 45 days; SA, 51 days; Tasmania, 47 days; WA, 40 days and the ACT, 35 days plus 10 for Estimates.

I pose the question, is this adequate opportunity for the various oppositions, the media and the public to assess performance and hold governments to account?

Colin Lyons, Weetangera

Fudging the FOI requests

“IT’S always a fight for freedom of information” heads Jon Stanhope’s informative column (CN February 11). Yet when FOI was

introduced, the idea was to make it easier for interested members of the public to access details of what governments were doing – or neglecting.

Soon though, the public service (and politicians) realised that freely releasing information might occasionally be embarrassing as well as taking time away from vital civic duties.

So FOI fees became the norm – along with the idea that, the higher the “cost”, the more it might dissuade the more detailed (and more potentially embarrassing) ones.

Thus the noble idea that the public is

entitled to freely know details of what is actually going on has been replaced by long waits and high costs for requests to be fulfilled, plus the more that is redacted, often under the spurious banners of “national security” or “commercial-in-confidence”.

Thanks, Jon Stanhope for again pointing out the self-serving nature of too much of our public service and especially its masters.

Thanks also for gently reminding us the solution lies in the hands of us voters (if we care enough) to insist that the real purpose of FOI is to serve our democracy, not the gatekeepers.

Eric Hunter, Cook

Schools need to help, too

I COMPLETELY agree with Cedric and Gerdina Bryant about motorists needing to obey school speed zones (“Scared for the kids”, Letters, CN February 11).

However, schools need to do their bit as well. A local school regularly has the 40kph signs displayed throughout holiday periods when motorists know that the school is closed. Another one had the sign locked closed when school had started so motorists were not required to slow to 40kph.

It needs ALL schools to show responsibility and to make sure that all signs show the appropriate speed at the appropriate time. It is too late when an accident occurs for school authorities to say: “I thought they were open”. Who would then be at fault?

Barry Peffer, Nicholls

Bring builders to account

I READ Ian Meikle’s column piece about footpaths (“Seven Days”, CN February 4 ).

I want to add another aspect to the situation; I have noticed that indeed many footpaths are damaged, but I wonder if it really is the responsibility of the City Services to fix some of them again.

I have now seen several incidents where a perfectly good footpath is damaged because heavy vehicles of builders, working on an adjoining property, drive over the paths that are clearly not built to withstand such heavy loads. The results are cracked

and damaged footpaths.

I would assume it is the responsibility of these builders to fix the damage again after their job is finished. But this never happens. It then becomes the task of the government (and taxpayers’ money) to fix the paths again.

Perhaps it would be much more cost effective to check and enforce remediation work after a building project is finished rather than leave it up to the government to fix the paths.

Silke Smaglinski, via email

I’d pay to fix path!

IAN Meikle’s “Seven Days” article on the state of our footpaths pointed to some of the main problems. I also have fallen on the footpath outside my home, fortunately not as badly as poor Cheryl Guthrie.

The footpath outside my home has needed repairs for almost 20 years. After my fall a couple of years ago I contacted the relevant ACT department. I too now have some painted arrows to admire.

I grudgingly understand that this is a problem out of control throughout Canberra, but what particularly irritates me is that as it is a government responsibility I am unable to pay a private contractor to do the work. I would gladly pay a private contractor to do the work if only ACT rules allowed me to do so.

Anne

Willoughby, Griffith

Great expectations for Dickson

THE experts in Planning, City Services, Transport ACT and the CRA will be working overtime for the next three years or more to ensure that the construction of a massive supermarket and apartment complex in the middle of the Dickson Group Centre is monitored and managed well from a problem-prevention perspective (“Finally supermarket plan gets to the checkout”, Paul Costigan, February 11).

Some of these authorities have just knocked back a long-running plan for a new McDonald’s in Chisholm for reasons linked to parking, vehicle and pedestrian impacts and attendant

community facility concerns.

So they must have some excellent answers and solutions up their sleeves for addressing the much more major transport, parking and people movement and management issues that are looming for central Dickson and the surrounding residential areas.

Interim replacement parking is not the only issue needing urgent attention. Bus users also need to be reassured that they will be able to get to and from places on time and make connections elsewhere according to published timetables, not just during the long construction period, but

after the complex’s completion, when queues of cars and buses are expected to mount up even more at the many lights on the four sides of the Woolworths/Coles block because there is to be only one entry and one exit for the two-storey underground car park in the new complex. It is 11 years since this Dickson development was formally proposed and no-one impacted negatively by it will have tolerance for spin and superficial and impractical solutions to the real on-the-ground issues that many in the surrounding communities have identified over the years.

Sue Dyer, Downer

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Fatalistic Sue Cantwell feels ‘truly blessed’

Reporter BELINDA STRAHORN

THE first thing you feel when you meet Susan Cantwell, 55, is her warmth. It beams from within and fills the room. There’s her big, blissed-out smile, which makes her eyes crimple, and the way she makes conversation so easily it feels like you’re old friends.

She’s a short lady, impeccably dressed and seems fit enough to race in a marathon. But to do that, feels like I’d be doing her a discredit. In the end, the way she looks is not half as interesting as who she is, what she does and the kindness that’s evident in her daily life.

Susan is the wife of ACT Electoral Commissioner Damian Cantwell. They are a closely-knit team and one can’t help but think of them as two halves of the same coin. Damian, a retired army brigadier and his wife have been a devoted couple ever since they met on a blind date in 1986 during Susan’s first year as a cadet at the Royal Military College (RMC) in Canberra.

“Do you believe in fate?” Susan asks me as we sit down to chat in the boardroom of the ACT Electoral Commission.

“I do,” she says smiling, going on to explain the fortuitous events that led to her meeting Damian.

“When you first arrive at RMC you go to the Q-stores to collect all the things you’ll need… this is before I had met Damian by the way.

“First, I picked up a webbing belt, it had the surname CANTWELL on it, then I picked up a cup, CANTWELL it read, and when I picked up a canteen it said CANTWELL. I remember thinking to myself what are the chances of picking up the same person’s gear?

“Anyway, the year went by and in December I was invited by some friends to attend their RMC graduation, it was a blind date. When I arrived, Damian approached me and said: “Hello I’m your date, my name is Damian Cantwell”.

“CANTWELL… It’s you,” Susan giggled.

“We hit it off, but Damian went back to Puckapunyal, he was a lieutenant at that time, and I went on with my course at RMC.

“I sent him a card soon after we met with a picture of a tank on it. ‘Tanks for a lovely time’ it said… he’s still got it.”

It’s been quite the adventure for the couple who went on to marry in 1987 in an old church in a sheep paddock at Emu Flat, Victoria.

They welcomed a son, Jacob, in 1990 and a daughter, Sarah,

in 1993 and while Susan’s career in the Army was shortlived, deciding to join the defence force public service instead, her biggest role has been the supporting act she performs for her “soulmate” husband whose illustrious career has taken the family all over the world.

“Damian has done so very well, and I have always been happy to give him my sup port,” Susan says.

“It’s never been a case of playing second fiddle, in fact Damian would cringe at that, we are such a partnership, we do everything equally to gether and I don’t mind doing what I do because I believe I am with the person I am meant to be with, and nothing will get in the way of that.”

The couple have been married for 33 years, moved 27 times and spent 37 years in the Defence Forces, with Damian’s postings including chief of defence force’s liaison officer to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs at the Pentagon, a trainer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the US Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies.

While it’s clear their marriage is a partnership, at times Susan has made sacrifices for her husband to take on interesting and challenging roles.

“One of the sacrifices you make of being a defence family is there was no opportunity for promotion for me because I’d keep leaving jobs,” Susan says.

“At times I have felt marginalised in some of the jobs I’ve taken, I know that I am capable of quite a bit.”

But there have been times when the stars have aligned for Damian and Susan’s respective careers when both occupied interesting posts at the same time.

“The best job I got was in the states at the Australian embassy in Washington. Spouses are given a priority for the jobs, so I was lucky enough to get an admin job for the defence attaché and for Damian who was chief defence force liaison officer to the joint chief of staff at the Pentagon. I liaised with staff in the Pentagon and much to Damian’s disgust they would always answer my calls and not his.”

Being married to the army means signing on to a busy, disciplined and hectic life. Much of their time has been spent attending functions and entertaining diplomats, dignitaries and Prime Ministers on behalf of the chief of the army and chief of defence.

Damian and Susan Cantwell… “It’s never been a case of playing second fiddle, in fact Damian would cringe at that, we are such a partnership, we do everything equally together .”

brought her the most pleasure.

“I helped run the US wounded warrior events, it’s such an inspirational thing to do,” Susan says.

“The veterans were amazing. There was one fellow who lost both legs from a mine, it was horrendous, but he was a character. He was so positive, it felt really good to help.”

Kindness has always been a part of Susan’s life. There’s her country upbringing, growing up on a farm near Trundle in western NSW and her charity work including time spent working at an op shop in Leavenworth US, and helping with Meals on Wheels at Queenscliff, Victoria.

But it’s the adversities in her personal life that have given her the empathy to relate to others.

“In 2005 I was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer which was a huge shock,” Susan says.

“I was a fit and healthy 40-year-old and then boom… three tumours at once. It was a nasty cancer, grade three, but luckily it hadn’t spread.

“So, after two years of treatment and losing my hair, I came out the other side and boy did it feel like spring.”

Facing her biggest personal challenge, Damian was beside her side throughout.

“He is the most amazing person, and this still chokes me up today,” Susan says, wiping away a tear.

“It got to the stage where he wasn’t allowed to take me in for chemo anymore because he was so close to me when they were administering the chemo that his hair started to fall out. He was being affected by the chemo, too.

“That was hard not having him there but I’m here today, 15 years in remission and feel-

“She is very tiny and has the most beautiful skin I have ever

“Prince Philip lives true to his character. They were very interesting to talk to and they just wanted to talk to the antipodeans. We were very much a novelty because we were the only Australians at Sandhurst.

“That was a fun time.”

Damian’s career has taken him all over the world, including deployments to Afghanistan. Susan and the family have had to adapt; it’s been worthwhile, but hasn’t always been easy.

“On our first overseas posting to the UK in 1991 we had our sixmonth-old baby Jacob. Damian was a captain then,” Susan says.

“It’s got its ups and downs, it is difficult, but defence is like a

events and functions, the good overwhelmingly outnumbers the bad and Susan has many happy memories of the VIPs she’s met along the way.

“The Queen is the most beautiful woman,” Susan says.

In 2017 Damian left the Army and succeeded long-time ACT Electoral Commissioner Phillip Green. Transitioning out of the Army and into civilian life has had its challenges.

“I’m his confidant, he can trust me,” she says.

“We really are a partnership. In the embassy when I was working for Damian, so many people would say, ‘How could you work for your husband?’, but I thought it was fantastic, it’s like the devil you know. I’m always one step ahead of him because I know how he thinks and I know what has to be done and I’ll do it before there are any arguments.”

Susan and Damian find space for themselves – literally – by road tripping on a motorbike. As a country girl, Susan’s love for wide open spaces is unconditional, so too her animated knack at retelling stories of their motorbike adventures, which have taken them across the US as well as here at home, crossing the Nullarbor Plain.

“I can honestly say I’ve had the best life... it’s been an absolute adventure,” she says.

“I’m so lucky to have met Damian... I’m truly blessed.”

“Going through this first election, I was more stressed than I’ve ever been, because we wanted it to work, but now it’s all over, and the journey really has been very positive,” says Susan. It’s clear that if duty is her first call, then family is her second. Her son Jacob, now 30, is an actor and daughter Sarah, 27, is an environmental scientist. Susan says the key to her successful marriage is learning to listen.

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Caring experts have the best for your pets

it is they do. Whether it’s photography, puppy training, cremation services, pet insurance, veterinarian services or not-for-profit animal-based services, “CityNews” speaks to experts in the ACT region who adore being around animals.

Making ‘vital’ pet insurance accessible

“VETS Choice” is making pet insurance more accessible by offering it at a better deal, says head of marketing for Guild Insurance, Craig Hockley.

With more than 50 years’ experience in the industry, Guild Insurance has partnered with the Australian Vet Association (AVA) to develop the Vets Choice pet insurance product.

A Vets Choice spokesman says they understand people don’t choose their pet for their good sense, predictability and rational thinking, but rather for their silliness and their downright funny moments.

“That’s why we don’t want your pet to change, we just want to protect them,” he says. It’s the only pet insurance that’s backed by the AVA, which represents more than 9000

vets in Australia and whose vision is to “be the health and welfare leader in Australia’s animal industries”, he says.

Celebrating their 100th anniversary this year, the AVA is founded on years of research and expertise, and its president, Dr Warwick Vale, says: “Pet insurance is a vital safety net for pet owners to ensure they can exercise the best treatment and care options for their pets.

“Being long and valued partners with Guild Insurance, we are genuinely excited to offer Vets Choice to the pet insurance market, as we understand the important role that pet insurance can play in the life of a pet and a pet owner if something goes wrong,” he says.

Guild Insurance, call 1800 999738 or visit vetschoice.net.au

Cathy’s peaceful way to say ‘goodbye’

IT’S difficult to lose a pet, which is why Paws to Remember, a “green” cremation service that’s run by animal-lovers, focuses on letting pet owners say goodbye “the right way”, says owner Cathy McIIhoney.

“That’s why we offer a gentle and environmentally-friendly means of cremation that offers a peaceful process,” she says.

The cremation process, which is done locally in the ACT, sees each pet placed in its own chamber while a combination of 95 per cent warm water and 5 per cent alkali gently flow around the body, mimicking the natural process of decomposi tion, Cathy says.

“The gentle nature of the process, which is not as aggressive as fire cremation, means more of your beloved pet’s remains are retained and available to be returned to you,” she says.

“You can choose a velvet bag, a scatter urn, an urn or a wooden box.”

The process also releases zero emissions of harmful greenhouse gases, making the cremation 10 per cent of the carbon footprint

of a flame-based cremation, she says.

“As we understand the strong bond between you and your pet, we guarantee that your pet will be treated with the utmost care and respect,” says Cathy.

“It’ll always be done with love.”

Paws to Remember. Call 0414 107355, email info@pawstoremember.com.au or visit pawstoremember.com.au

0414 107 355

Canberra’s first and only biocremation service to honour the passing of your pet. A gentler process that uses water and Alkali instead of fire. A truly gentle process, with zero carbon emissions and 90% less energy used. Your pet is cremated in an individually sealed container, ensuring that more of your beloved pet’s remains are retained and available to be returned to you.

Paws to Remember is the gentler way to lay your beloved pet to rest.

Kylee’s portraits provide life-long memories

PETS are a part of the family, but they won’t be around forever, so why not memorialise them with a unique portrait, says “pawtrait” photographer Kylee Sharples.

Kylee, the owner of Wilomark Imagery, is an award-winning portrait photographer and says: “It’s nice to have a record of their time with us.”

Her portraits capture the personality of each animal, but she recommends getting the photos done before a beloved dog, cat or bunny is too old.

“I’ve had people say my dog would never sit still for that photo and we’ve got some great photos,” says Kylee.

Whether it’s with their favourite ball or treat, Kylee says she knows exactly how to entice her subject while making sure they’re enjoying the experience.

“I usually start the session just sitting and talking to the owner while the pet goes and sniffs everything,” she says.

“I wait until the animal is nice and relaxed until I even attempt photograph ing.”

The safety of the pet and their wellbeing is also of the utmost importance to Kylee, who says she sanitises the area after every shoot to stop the spread of any disease.

Outside of the pet realm, Kylee also does “glamour shots” of women, with a focus on women over 40.

Or she’ll mix the two, saying: “I’ll do hair and make up on the women and do glamour shots with her pets.”

Wilomark Imagery, Unit 8, 105-119 Newcastle Street, Fyshwick. Call 6280 4220, email kylee@wilomark.com or visit wilomark.com

NO matter the size, breed, age or behaviour of a dog, All Round Good Hounds, a business that offers dog training classes and consulta tions, has the classes to increase the bond between anyone and their dog, says owner Eleni Butler.

“We offer a variety of training services includ ing specialised puppy classes, juvenile classes, adult dog obedience classes, agility for fun classes, and behaviour modification classes,” says Eleni.

Charity’s on the lookout for volunteers

“It gives you and your dog lifelong knowledge and skills that help with development all the way from puppy to adult, and increases the bond between you both.”

Classes are held across Canberra, from Belconnen to Duffy to Latham, which Eleni says means that it’s easy for Canberrans to get to lessons no matter where they live.

All Round Good Hounds also offers “walk and train” programs, where an instructor will teach the dog how to walk on lead, and “board and train” programs, where puppies can stay in a safe environment and learn while pet owners are away.

“If dog owners prefer, we also have private consultations too,” says Eleni

“No problem is too big for us.”

All Round Good Hounds. Call 0409 575492 or email kontos@westnet.com.au

PEGASUS Riding for the Disabled, a charity that delivers therapeutic horse-facilitated programs to people living with a disability, is always on the lookout for volunteers, says executive general manager Matthew

But people don’t have to be “horse-knowledgeable” to apply,

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for retirees who might be looking for an opportunity to give back to the community, get out of the house and get some exercise,” he says.

There are currently 150 volunteers at Pegasus who work within the programs in roles such as leading one of the 14 horses, working with a participant as a side-walker or supporting participants if they need any emotional or physical help.

Serving the ACT and local NSW region, Pegasus has recently restarted their “Hippotherapy” program, a program that means “treatment with the horse”, after a year-long, covid hiatus.

Pegasus is also trialing a new “Horseability” program, which is built around people who might be wheelchair-bound and unable to get on a horse, Matthew says.

Instead, they groom the horse and build the connection without needing to ride it, he says.

A horse can pick up on a human’s emotion, and despite being such a large animal, can be very caring and understanding of a person’s feelings, he says.

Pegasus Riding for the Disabled, 119 Drake Brockman Drive, Holt. Call 6254 9190, email volunteers@pegasusact.com.au or visit pegasusact.com.au

OF FYSHWICK

Busy commercial hub has

items to creative services.

This week

“CityNews” speaks to some of Fyshwick’s proud business owners who love sharing their skills and services with the region.

Competitive prices for quality tyres

LOCALLY-owned and operated, One Stop Auto and Tyres provides complete car servicing and maintenance as well as wheels and tyres.

“We source tyres from all major wholesalers Australia-wide and can provide you with more than competitive pricing, we give you the best on-road experience possible,” says a business spokesman.

“[We also have a range of top brand] wheels to turn heads [and can] fit your car with the best brands at the best prices.”

According to One Stop Auto and Tyres, their industry leading technicians are the only people that work on customers’ cars, delivering services

such as major and minor vehicle servicing, auto transmission service and repairs, brake system disc or drum upgrades, cooling system inspection, wheel alignment, engine diagnostic checks, air conditioning servicing and fleet servicing. They also offer log book servicing on new cars which they say is often cheaper than the price charged by car dealers.

Currently located on Iron Knob Street, One Stop Auto and Tyres will be moving to Collie Street in early March.

One Stop Auto and Tyres. Call 6280 6380 or email admin@onestopautotyres.com

WEARE MOVING... MOVING... to 20 Collie

Programs help kick-start acting careers

PERFORM Australia, a school that brings out ability and passion in aspiring actors, is now offering two new programs to help young actors find a career in the performing arts, says CEO and principal Elizabeth Scott.

“The ‘thrive’ program, running for years 7-10, has students attend the campus in Fyshwick full time, with academic study in the mornings and performing arts programs in the afternoons,” she says.

“Students in years 11-12 can study acting or musical theatre full time with the ‘young professionals’ program which can also count towards their year 12 certificate.

“By the end of the program students will have two nationally-recognised qualifications in performing arts to start their career.

“Perform Australia is having an open night on March 2 that will go into detail about both programs and give some tips in performing a successful audition.”

Perform Australia doesn’t only help kick-start the career of young performers though, says Elizabeth.

“We have a range of programs for children and adults alike, and with our network of agents and other industry

Street in Early March

our

Perform Australia, 11 Whyalla Street. Call 1300 908905 or visit perform.edu.au

EXPERTS OF FYSHWICK

Relocated showroom promises to inspire

“INSPIRATION with guidance” is the main goal at MMM Interiors’ relocated showroom at 61 Wollongong Street, where clients can browse beautiful products, concepts, textures and finishes, says principal designer and director Mimmi Freebody.

“We have a large display of stone slabs for use in kitchens, bathrooms interiors and exteriors,” she says.

“There’s a variety of products [and] finishes for clients to explore, from tiles, bathware, accessories, lighting, mirrors and a variety of decorative items, and those special little feature pieces that can make all the difference.

“[At the showroom] clients can talk to a designer/ project manager, get an understanding on what’s involved in their particular project, where to start, the pitfalls to look out for, and how to set up a budget for their project.”

MMM Interiors will also be running the initiative,

“Talk to a Designer Saturday”, where the client can book in for a free, one-on-one meeting with a designer/project manager, to get some professional advice and guidance, to help in the multitude of questions they may have prior to launching into their project.

“By calling the showroom and making a booking, a designer will advise them on what they should bring along to the meeting, to get the most out of this session,” she says.

“Apart from some design guidance, we cover areas such as how to select a builder suited for your project, why should I get project management, is it an added cost or saving, and what exactly will project management provide?”

MMM Interiors, 61 Wollongong Street. Call 6280 9980 or visit mmminteriors.com.au

Quality office furniture at an affordable price

OWNER of Ex-Government furniture, James Fullerton, says now’s a great time to get designer brand furniture at a fraction of the price.

second-hand products, meaning that customers get the top Australian and global brands without breaking the bank,” he says.

Furniture, a leading dealer in surplus office furniture, always has new items coming through the door such as chairs, tables, bookcases and desks, James says.

supplies to the tip, James and the team take on any furniture from offices that are upgrading, downsizing or

NEW SHOWROOM - Beautiful new displays

New ranges from leading suppliers of top quality products in Australia

Bathware, tiles, flooring, large selection of stone slabs, lighting, mirrors etc

Bathroom, Kitchen, Alfresco and Full Interior Design Packages with high quality 3D imagery

Building Design, Project Management and Renovation specialist teams

Inspiration and everything you need for designing your home

61 Wollongong Street, Fyshwick

Trading Hours: 9.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday, Saturday by appointment

EXPERTS OF FYSHWICK

Margaret shares her passion for art

RENOWNED throughout the region for her panoramic murals and nature-inspired paintings, Margaret Hadfield has been sharing her talents at the Margaret Hadfield Gallery in the Artists Shed

“Here at the studio, people can take classes, admire works, and buy art sets that are hand-chosen and put together for any level of experience,” says Margaret, who embraced her passion for art young, selling her first painting

Since then she says she’s become recognisable throughout Canberra and Queanbeyan and now teaches students a range of mediums and techniques such as watercolour, acrylics, pastels

“We provide students with their own materials during all lessons,” she says.

“We have four tutors working at the Artists Shed, all with different talents and specialisa

“One of our teachers, Julie-Anne Ure, has an amazing knowledge of art history to share. Another, Dennis Mortimer, teaches life drawing

The 660sqm gallery also has an extensive and charming array of works to admire and purchase,

“It’s my dream to be able to do what I do, and I love being able to share it with others,” she says.

Margaret Hadfield Gallery, the Artists Shed, unit 1-3, 88 Wollongong Street. Call 0418 237766, email hadfieldgallery@gmail.com or visit artistsshed.com.au

Thrive

Beautiful Australian hardwood furniture to compliment your home

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Noms heading for the gongs NICK OVERALL

Emotion and love make for an ‘unusual’ festival

By Helen Musa

IT’S l’amour, toujours l’amour at the 32nd Alliance Française Film Festival and much of that love can be attributed to its new curator, Karine Mauris.

Mauris arrived in Australia in October as the cultural attachée to the French embassy, and while her brief is to create a bridge between France and Australia through art, theatre, books and cinema, her first big job on landing here was to direct the biggest French film festival outside France.

She was supposed to land in August, but used the lockout time to start looking at French movies with an eye on what might appeal to Australian audiences – since 90 per cent of the audience don’t speak French.

“Sharing things is one of my main aims and my first mission was to create a line-up of films. I asked myself what Australians would enjoy, what would make them laugh, cry or dream… I’ve seen more than 100 movies and selected 37,” Mauris says.

You might wonder about Mauris’ qualifications to judge what would appeal to us, but luckily l’amour has a part to play – her partner is Australian.

She’s had a chance to speak to her predecessor, Philippe Platel, but Mauris is no novice, having previously headed up communications

4 - 6 MARCH

selections, which include no less than nine world premieres?

France’s equivalent to our APRA AMCOS. She’s also run her own company as a producer of music, TV series and musical comedy.

“I’m in love with the cinema and came here ready to work on the festival,” Mauris says.

“It’s a big challenge but I’m a very enthusiastic person, so it’s a dream job.”

She puts Australians’ fascination with France down partly to its food and partly to the films on the ABC and SBS, but also believes many are attracted to Europe because they’ve come from a European background. Then there’s the Aussie phenomenon of “the gap year”, when students aged 18, 19 or 20 head for Europe at the turning point of their lives.

So, what criteria did Mauris use in her

“First of all, it was emotion, my own emotion,” she says, having cried the whole way through “Fahim, the Little Chess Prince”, the true story of a Bangladeshi refugee boy who became a national French chess champion. Gérard Depardieu plays his coach.

“L’amour, toujours l’amour,” she says, arguing that most of the films chosen involve love.

A love triangle features in “Love Affair”, comedy in “The Wedding Speech”, and tenderness in “Summer of 85”. Even in “De Gaulle”, Gabriel Le Bomin’s film about Charles de Gaulle set in 1940, there’s the matter of what happens to Yvonne, his wife, and three children – “there’s always a question of love”, Mauris asserts.

And in the opening night film “Eiffel”, where the government urges the reluctant Gustave Eiffel to design something spectacu lar for the 1889 Paris World Fair, it’s a case of cherchez la femme, when Eiffel crosses paths with a mysterious woman from his past –”very inspiring, wonderful”, she says.

Not much love is evident, though, when superstar Isabelle Huppert returns to the festival in “The Godmother”, playing Patience Portefeux, a middle-aged police interpreter who becomes a wholesale narcotics trafficker.

A bit of gender-bending adds to the mix, with “Miss” introducing a boy Alexandre/a, who dreams of being Miss France while in complete contrast, the doco, “How to Become an Astronaut”, about French astronaut hero Thomas Pesquet, takes us into space.

Country: An African Childhood” and Beirut in the surreal “Skies of Lebanon”.

“There are no judgements in French cinema,” she says.

“The editors and directors love the characters and treat them with a lot of tenderness, even when the main character is mad.”

2021 Alliance Française French Film Festival, Palace Electric Cinema, March 4-31, bookings and program at affrenchfilmfestival.org/ canberra

“

Sometimes people leave, they go away, and you don’t see them anymore. And then sometimes they come back. LAMB is the story of one family on an Australian sheep farm, over generations — the guilt of those who left; the lost desires of those who stayed behind. It is a story of the land, and of lies told and secrets kept to protect those we love — and to stop them from leaving us.

An absolute heart warming joy. A play about family, the land and being the one who stays.

Living the way Americans do…

By Dougal MACDONALD

CINEMA STREAMING Noms heading for the gongs

“Minari” (PG)

A KOREAN family, after a decade in California where father Jacob (Steven Yeun) supported them by sexing dayold chickens, buys 50 acres in Arkansas and sets about raising vegetables familiar to Korean immigrants.

Jacob, wife Monica (Yeri Han), daughter Anne (Noel Cho) on the threshold of puberty and five-year old son David (Alan Kim) are trying to Americanise by living the way Americans do.

It’s not easy. Monica and Jacob have borrowed to buy land and farming tools, David is being treated for a cardiac condition and her mother Soonja (Yuh-jung Youn) has arrived from Korea to live with them.

Around this family, American-born Korean filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung has woven a story that mixes family warmth

with the tensions of assimilation into a population.

With 152 nominations and 55 wins for audience and industry awards, including winner in each of those categories at last year’s Sundance Festival, “Minari” comes with a robust provenance. Oscars are not far away.

At Palace Electric

“Days of the Bagnold Summer” (M)

DIRECTOR Simon Bird got “Bagnold” as the family name of the mother Sue (Monica Dolan) and 15-year-old Daniel (Earl Cave) from a graphic novel by Joff Winterhart.

Sue’s husband Robert has opted out of the marriage several years ago and migrated to Florida where he has recently sired a daughter. We never see Robert but he is never far from Sue’s and Daniel’s minds.

In a role rather distant from the heavy, often-wicked, characters that

she has made her reputation playing on British TV, Monica Dolan finds herself much put-upon by this 15-year-old boy who thinks of little but Metallica.

The film delivers Sue as tolerating Daniel’s everyday insults and domestic burdens with unmerited calm.

As a two-hander, alleviated only momentarily by a cameo from Rob Brydon as Daniel’s history teacher with a way with women, the film reflects contemporary English suburbia in a credible-enough manner. Its tensions are low-level. Its humour won’t raise belly-laughs.

At Palace Electric

“The Little Things” (MA)

THIS film, written and directed by John Lee Hancock, is a police drama set in Los Angeles in October, 1999. It’s different from most other movies bundled into that category because it’s relatively and mercifully not inflated

DINING / Armada Bar Boat House

by gun battles and high-speed abuse of road safety rules.

Denzel Washington plays Kern County detective Joe “Deke” Deacon sent to LA to collect evidence in a local crime prosecution. He has to wait while the LA cops deal with an outbreak of murders of sex workers.

Deke fills in the time by tagging along with hotshot LA detective Baxter (Rami Malek). As the case develops, it seems probable that Sparma (Jared Leto) is the likely killer.

The good-guys/bad-guys factor in the denouement may not be surprising but its delivery breaches a fundamental element defining the difference between investigating breaches of law enforcement and penalising those responsible.

On that ground, it’s an unusual film, not fitting comfortably into what audiences have long been conditioned to expect, posing an ethical dilemma seldom aired in the movies.

At all cinemas

The top spot by the lake for a catch up

By Wendy JOHNSON

By Nick OVERALL

PREACHY speeches, flat jokes and ceremonies long enough to put viewers into a coma: it’s TV-award season again. If anything, they can certainly give audiences some great new stuff to watch.

Here’s a wrap up of what’s got the gong noms from the streaming world that can be watched right now.

Netflix has nominations falling out of its pockets with royal rumble drama “The Crown”, the Gary Oldman-led “Mank” and the show that’s made chess cool again, “The Queen’s Gambit.” Netflix once again has shown its ability to tick the boxes of almost every type of viewer, whether they want hard hitting historical drama or pithy modern entertainment. The platform continues to stay on top because it continues to back every horse in the race.

That aside, here’s a few slightly more obscure picks of the nominations.

Take two of the most well liked modern comedy actors, put them together as a dysfunctional couple and throw in a Bill Murray “Groundhog Day” style time loop, and the result is “Palm Springs”, nominated for Best Comedy Film.

ARMADA Outdoor Bar at the Boat House has pretty specky views and some pretty spesh food, wine and cocktails. There’s no doubt this is one of the best spots in Canberra to catch up with friends.

It’s a new venture – a large, open-sided marquee pop-up with festive lights, live music and a bar menu created by the talented team in the kitchen at the Boat House. Armada is only open Friday to Sunday afternoons, from 3pm until late, so it’s best to book (online only). Limited seating is available for walk-ins and for those with reservations at the Boat House who might want a pre- or post-dinner experience.

online at the table. If sharing, it might help to work out how to manage the money matters in advance, to avoid confusion.

taste buds dancing and vegetarians will appreciate the eggplant option.

Super fun were the potato fries, taken to the next level with shallots, parmesan and Sriracha salt ($12 for a generous serve). So too was the chorizo dish, although we personally found the Pedro Ximénez glaze a tad too sweet.

The charcuterie plate with quality meats and tangy pickles ($28) was easy to share, as were the manchego and jamon fritters ($16).

Bubbles include Mount Majura’s the Silurian ($19 glass and $75 bottle) and you can indulge in Pol Roger at $173 a bottle.

The wine list, which includes local drops, is compact but delightful. Prices by the glass range from $11 to $14 and bottles around $46 to $59. Cocktails are $20 except for the Golden Armada ($24). Beers are $8 to $13, with Bentspoke heavily featured.

Speaking of Bill Murray, he’s also nominated for Best Lead in a Comedy Film for “On the Rocks”, a story about the bond between parents and aged children with a charming New York backdrop, available on Apple TV+.

Director Regina King has been nominated as one of the best of them in 2020 for her debut film “One Night in Miami...”. A fascinating blend of history and fiction, it sees four actors playing younger versions of boxer Muhammad Ali, social activist Malcom X, American football star Jim Brown and singer Sam Cooke. It can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video. What about the big streaming gong though? That’d be the award for Best Television Drama. These are the most bingeworthy of the bingeworthy, the ones everyone’s talking about.

Netflix takes out three of the five noms with “The Crown”, “Ozark”, and “Ratched”. Production company HBO (whose programs are streamed through Binge) picks up one with “Lovecraft Country” and, of course, the king of streaming gets a nod: Disney Plus’ “The Mandalorian”.

It’s too tight to call a winner.

The menu is divided into three sections – herbivore, carnivore and something sweet. It’s a minimum spend of $40 per person and you can only book for a two-hour period.

We shared a selection of herbivore and carnivore and found several dishes intriguing. A Smartphone

One of our fave dishes was the Wagyu bresaola, which looked as amazing as it tasted. The beef was beautifully presented on one side of the dish, with horseradish, goats curd and tarragon on the other ($18). Stunning.

The steamed bao bun, crispy Szechuan chicken, pickled cucumber and kewpie (two for $13) got the

twinstitch.upholstery

Our only feedback for Armada Bar is the cleaning of tables. Our dirty plates hung about far too long and while we appreciate Friday nights are busy, the bar wasn’t 100 per cent packed out. Eventually we took the initiative to move some of the dishes to an empty table nearby so they were sight unseen.

Armada Outdoor Bar requires a credit card booking guarantee per person.

CONVERSION SERVICE

Would you like to watch those old family videos once again, or listen to your favourite records on CD?

We can take your vinyl records or cassette tapes and put them onto CD and we transfer VHS tapes onto DVD.

It was also fantastic to see the highly underrated show “The Great” nominated as Best Comedy TV. It’s a brutally hilarious retelling of Russian empress “Catherine the Great’s” rise to power. An advocate of the Age of Enlightenment and the scientific revolution, the show dramatises how Catherine famously injected herself with what was one of the first-ever vaccines in history, to fight a smallpox epidemic.

At the time she was considered by much of the world to be bonkers for taking a vaccine she didn’t know about, but wait, hold on a second...

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ARTS IN THE CITY

By Helen Musa

500 years of masterpieces on show

COVER STORY

By Helen Musa

THE National Gallery of Australia is onto a sure thing with its coming blockbuster, “Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London”.

Exclusive to Canberra, the exhibition postponed from late last year because of COVID-19 will now open to the public from March 5, spanning 500 years of art-making with works by 57 of Europe’s most revered artists, now set in “the safe and pristine surroundings of the national capital” – what’s not to like?

Sally Foster, the NGA’s coordinating curator for the show and curator, international prints, drawings and books, is run off her feet when I catch up with her.

“The marketing people, registration, design – everyone here on the team is working hard – it feels like a cast of thousands, although it’s not, literally,” she says during a quick lunch break.

It’s been five years since London’s National Gallery started on the project, originally designed as a handshake of diplomacy with Japan during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Despite covid, it did show in Tokyo and Osaka, to limited audiences.

The director of the National Gallery, London, Dr Gabriele Finaldi, says, “To walk through the National Gallery is to journey through the history of picture-making in Western Europe”, noting that it’s the largest group of works to travel outside the UK in the gallery’s history and that “Sunflowers” has only been lent outside the British capital on two occasions since its acquisition.

The NGA’s Nick Mitzevich says there’s never been a better time to bring the joy and inspiration of a work like “Sunflowers” to Australian audiences.

The paintings won’t all be flown at once –that’s impossible because of insurance – and will be staggered over a period but as Foster says, “it’s such a professional operation at the National Gallery in London, which has moved logically through this enormous task, that there is no possibility there’d be damage to such precious works – it’s a special art how to pace them.”

The main drawcard, she says, is obvious.

“This is a collection from London of some of the world’s most famous artworks… it is

exclusive to Canberra and it’s an option for Australians who normally can’t get to London to see the real masterpieces you see in all the books, and in a time when people who normally do go to London can’t go either.”

Foster is well aware that the setting for the exhibition is very different from that in the venerable English gallery, which holds works up to the end of the 19th century, when the Tate Gallery takes over.

“Here at the NGA, we have a modernist gallery, so our exhibition will be simple, elegant and refined… the labels will be written to be clear for Australian viewers rather than English people,” she says.

But the look of the exhibition is a well-kept secret, so there are no hints as to what colour palette senior exhibitions officer Daryl West-Moore and NGA director Nick Mitzevich have gone for, though they’ve been putting up swatches all over the place.

We do know, however, the scope of the exhibition will include works by Titian, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Velázquez, Goya, Turner, Renoir, Cézanne and Gauguin, explored in seven rooms under the headings: the Italian Renaissance; Dutch Painting of the Golden Age; Van Dyck and British Portraiture; the Grand Tour; Spanish Art from the 17th Century; Landscape and the Picturesque; and the Birth of Modern Art.

Highlights will include Rembrandt’s “Self Portrait at the Age of 34” 1640, Vermeer’s “A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal,” c.1670 and van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”, 1888.

In other words, as Foster puts it, “This is art history 101… all curators have studied this history and now it’s all on display for visitors to see”.

It definitely won’t be going anywhere else in the region and the NGA has refined its expertise in creating a covid-safe exhibition, with timed ticketing meaning, Foster says, that “visitors will be fortunate enough to be able to see the paintings clearly, not the way it is when the big blockbusters are so crowded”.

Every travelling exhibition has a local coordinating curator and she considers herself “very privileged to have been chosen”.

“I will be the overseer, but I’m also responsible for the writing of the very beautiful catalogue, choosing the writers from Australia has been my job,” says Foster.

She’s also been responsible for any writing to do with the show, liaising with the curatorial team and marketing to ensure that information is correct while preparing to do a lot of talking in the public programs associated with this show.

ORIGINAL drawings and paintings by the artists of “The Picturesque Atlas of Australasia” will be on show at the National Library of Australia’s next big exhibition, “A Nation Imagined: The Artists of the Picturesque Atlas”, a staged partnership with the Art Gallery of NSW. “The Atlas”, published between 1886 and 1889, set out to document through illustrations, maps and text a settler-colonial view of Australia’s history, landscape and ways of life and became a catalyst for Australian impressionism. March 12-July 11, 9am to 5pm daily. Entry is free.

CARIBÉ Havana is coming to The Street Theatre with “life-affirming” Cuban jazz, dance, chanting and storytelling. Cuban dancer Adrian Medina intends to get wallflowers and hip-shakers alike dancing in their seats. At 4pm, Sunday, February 28, book at threstreet.org.au or 6247 1223.

THE Fellowship of Australian Writers, Canberra & Region, which meets at 2pm on the second Sunday of the month at the NLA, is compiling an anthology of short stories and poetry entitled “School Days” and invites submissions from past and present ACT FAW members. It is limited to 2500 words for prose and 50 lines for poetry. Free entry. Inquiries to jenniferj. warren@bigpond.com or 0408 434954.

QUEANBEYAN Police Station on Farrer Place is commissioning a “a long, thin painting” with an artist’s fee of $5000 for the public entrance of their new building due to open in April. The chosen artist/s will respond to the theme, “Queanbeyan is the meeting place of two rivers”. Inquiries to 0436 842057 or monaroadmin@police.nsw.gov.au

As for whether she has a favourite painting, Foster says, “I know it will change as we open the crates and see the paintings, but it’s the selfportrait of Rembrandt aged 34 I’m really excited to see – and there’s also a beautiful, tiny, early Renaissance painting by Paolo Uccello.”

“Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London”, National Gallery of Australia, March 5-June 14. To book timed tickets, visit nga.gov.au

THE ACT Porcelain Association will exhibit hand-painted porcelain and ceramics by 12 of its artists portraying the beauty and diversity of Australian flora and fauna in a show at the Australian National Botanic Gardens from March 4 to 28. The exhibition will feature demonstrations of painting on porcelain at 2pm each Saturday and Sunday.

GARDENING

Select the healthiest

Plant bulbs where they fall…

IT WILL soon be time to plant spring bulbs.

I prefer to buy from local garden outlets, so I can see and feel the bulbs, rather than taking the chance of buying online. Numerous growers of top-quality bulbs supply direct to garden centres. Bulbs are graded according to size and some are plant brokers, buying bulbs from the growers and on-selling. Buying locally also supports local business.

March/April is the main planting time for spring bulbs. With a few exceptions, almost all bulbs prefer full sun. This can be under deciduous trees, which in winter will have lost their leaves allowing full sun. But not under evergreen trees. A rule of thumb is to plant the same depth to which the bulbs are thick.

For example, if a daffodil is 6cm thick, plant 6cm under the soil. This may explain why I get asked so often: “I’ve had bulbs in for years and each

mulching and even natural mulching of falling leaves build up, and the bulbs get ever deeper in the soil.

If bulbs are in shade, dig them out now and replant to the recommended depth and sunlight. When planting, give a good soaking with Maxicrop Organic liquid seaweed nutrient to promote root growth. After the initial planting, only water if there’s an extended dry period. Over-watering will cause bulbs to rot; as they store water. Don’t place any sort of chemical or non-organic fertilisers in the hole at planting time, or even round the top.

Bulbs will look most effective if planted in drifts of the same colour or variety as one would see in nature or the wild. I like to throw a handful up in the air and plant where they fall.

The first tulip bulbs brought into cultivation several hundred years ago were a few taken from the wild in Turkey, now sold in their millions. For growing all types of bulbs, the Dutch are the supreme masters. Even in Australia many, if not most, bulb growers were Dutch migrants who settled here just after the war.

A few reminders:

• Polyanthus will flower shortly. Cut back most of the old, tatty, snail-eaten leaves and give a liquid feed.

• It’s not too late to dig, divide and transplant Dutch iris tubers.

• Take out all tired old annuals that have finished flowering.

• Deadhead perennials which have also finished flowering, and think about saving seeds.

PUZZLES PAGE

By Joanne Madeline Moore

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

FREE PUZZLES EVERY DAY AT citynews.com.au

With three planets in your privacy zone, the week starts slowly for Rams as you contemplate and ruminate. Then Venus connects with Uranus, and Mars moves into gung-ho Gemini. So sudden opportunities will be ripe for the picking. However – if you are too hasty and hot-headed – you could find yourself charging into an unpredictable situation that’s hard to handle. By all means be brave and bold, but don’t forget to employ some discretion and discrimination as well!

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

This week Uranus stimulates your latent daredevil side and Mars kick-starts your stagnant motor. So it’s time for bored Bulls to leap out of your usual routine and do something wildly different. Travel and education are particularly favoured, as you expand your mind to include avant-garde friends and adventurous new activities,that are also covid safe. But resist the temptation to embellish stories, tell tall tales or be bossy and bombastic with others (especially work colleagues).

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

You’re keen to connect with others as the planets activate your professional and aspirations zones. It’s a terrific time to converse and communicate; innovate and inspire; text and tweet. Proactive Mars charges into your sign from Thursday until April 23. So it’s time to stop procrastinating, step up to the plate, walk your talk and start delivering! Be inspired by birthday great, writer and illustrator Dr Seuss: “Only you can control your future.”

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

This week you’ll feel sentimental, as you pour over baby photos and reminisce about ‘the good old days.’ Just remember that memories are so seductive because they’re so selective! It’s time to break free from limiting beliefs and transform your life through the power of love. Be inspired by fellow Cancerian, Nelson Mandela: “A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination.” If you’re bored with your peer group, be proactive about introducing some fresh new faces.

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

With no less than six planets in your relationship and intimacy zones, it’s a suitable time to sit down with a loved one and talk through a sensitive issue that’s been bothering you. Clear communication and deft diplomacy are definitely keys to peaceful partnerships at the moment. Attached Leo – it’s a wonderful week to take your sweetheart on a spontaneous adventure. If you’re single, a seemingly ordinary date could head off in a surprisingly unexpected direction!

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

Interpersonal relations should go well this week, as Venus helps you zero in on the specific needs of family members, friends and colleagues. You love to be of service, and others will certainly find plenty of ways to occupy your time and talents. But don’t blow the abundance of goodwill, and positive karma, you accrue by being cranky and super critical. Heed the wise advice of fellow Virgo, writer Samuel Johnson: “We should keep our relationships in constant repair.”

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

When it comes to relationships, Librans can become rather lazy. This week Uranus shakes up your cosy comfort zone. If you’re attached, it’s time to inject some spontaneity into a somewhat stale relationship. Unhappily single? Don’t play it too safe. Be adventurous and look for someone surprising who is not your usual type. Your motto is from birthday great Dr Seuss: “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.”

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

Pleasure-planet Venus encourages you to build bridges with a child or teenager, initiate a fabulous new friendship, start a romance or take up a hobby you’ve always been interested in. But has an old relationship finally run out of steam? Or is a fair-weather friend criticising your behaviour and holding you back? Uranus urges you to review your partnerships and peer group; discard negative influences; and surround yourself with positive people who support your Scorpio dreams.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

Adventurous Archers: are you feeling restless and rather impetuous? This week your ruler Jupiter hooks up with manic Mercury, so you’ll feel impatient as you continue exploring the long and winding road to more personal freedom. The future beckons, and you’re in a mad hurry to get there. But don’t be in such a rush that you miss magical moments along the way. Friday is a fabulous time to get your adrenaline going with some vigorous physical exercise in the great outdoors.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

The planetary patterns encourage you to adjust your home/work ratio so it’s much more balanced and family friendly. But loved ones won’t behave in predictable ways this week, so don’t even try to anticipate what they will do next. And avoid butting in, being a bossy Goat, and offering well-intentioned advice. Close friends, colleagues and relatives need to make their own mistakes and follow their own dreams. So astute Capricorns will back off, calm down and recalibrate.

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

Quirky Aquarians tend to go to extremes. And you’re walking a fine line at the moment as you strive to get the ratio right between being expansive and exuberant in the outside world (Jupiter) and being personally disciplined and focused (Saturn). This week Venus and Uranus send an unexpected opportunity your way, but you must grab it when it comes along, or it will just pass you by. With creative and clever Mercury moving through your sign, prepare for a brilliant light-bulb moment!

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

With the Sun, Venus and Neptune transiting through your sign, you’re emanating some serious charisma this week! So make sure you appreciate and celebrate the creative and compassionate Piscean you are. Be inspired by actress and businesswoman Eva Mendes, who turns 47 on Friday: “I believe you should celebrate who you are.” Mars charges into your home zone on Thursday so it’s time to tackle a domestic problem or a DIY project that’s been on the backburner for a while.

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2021

3 Name a popular television role played by Richard Dean Anderson. (8)

7 Which alkane, existing in two isomeric forms, is used as a fuel? (6)

8 What is another term for a slaughterhouse? (8)

9 Where does the annual international film festival take place? (6)

10 What do we call garbage, etc, deposited under layers of earth, to raise the level of the site? (8)

11 What are appointments, especially between lovers? (6)

14 Name the largest of the Channel Islands. (6)

17 What is the inability to think sensibly? (8)

18 Name an ancient European country, now approximate to Georgia. (6)

19 What is a gradual stage-by-stage withdrawal? (5,3)

20 Which instruments are played by means of keys arranged in one or more keyboards? (6)

21 To behave arrogantly, is to do what? (8)

Down

1 Who is in charge of a museum? (7)

2 Name an alternative term for flags. (7)

3 Which acute infectious disease occurs mostly in children? (7)

4 To become lazy, is to do what? (3,4)

5 What are fiddles more commonly known as? (7)

6 To live a country life is to live how? (7)

11 To have excelled or surpassed, is to have done what? (7)

12 From which part of a ship did they once hang miscreants? (7)

13 Name something given as part payment of a purchase. (5,2)

14 What is a caretaker also known as? (7)

15 Name a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Walter ... (7)

16 What are badges of office, or authority? (7)

Covid-19 has been a reality check – and weirdly even a positive. Realising you can spend more time at home and be just as productive at work is great. I’ve had clients move to the South Coast, still with their Canberra jobs, with less stress and a better lifestyle. For me, the reality check was that working 100+ hours a week running my own business was not for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love selling homes, but the time and energy running a company was not for me. After a wonderful discussion with Andrew Chamberlain at Blackshaw Manuka, my social impact model in real estate has now moved. My Instagram, my Facebook, and my website remain. I don’t have to change how I do things, and I wake up each morning not worrying about company stresses.

Here are Andrew and Belinda’s words:

“We are proud to welcome Christine Shaw, together with Gillian Thorn and Michele Dingle to the Blackshaw Real Estate agency group. Managing Principal Belinda Chamberlain announced the new collaboration as a logical merger of Christine’s outstanding sales ability and commitment to achieving housing equity with the strength and resources of the Blackshaw property network. Operating from our Manuka premises, Christine has over 30 years’ experience in the Canberra community, and is a respected and renowned real estate agent. Known for her enthusiasm, organisation, and ability to always go above and beyond for her clients, Christine’s passion for people and ability to establish strong relationships is obvious from your first interaction. Finding a way to combine the property industry and community initiatives, Christine has used her background in social policy to create real estate with a purpose™. From 2012, her ‘Investors Can Help’ project has assisted the ACT refugee community to secure affordable housing. In 2017, she also became a member of the ACT Government’s Consultative Group on Affordable Housing and Homelessness. Christine’s commitment to Hands Across Canberra also sees her donate 10% of her sales profits to homelessness initiatives, merging two of her greatest passions, clients and community. With increasing levels of repeat and referral business, Christine’s results speak for themselves.

We look forward to what milestones and achievements are instore for 2021, with this outstanding new addition to Blackshaw Real Estate team.”

The lesson for me during Covid-19 was certainly to not worry about what other people think – just do what you want to do each day, and be happy.

an unforgettable wild experience!

Canberra’s National Zoo and Aquarium features a combined aquarium, metropolitan zoo and easily walked open range section, as well as amazing up-close and personal animal encounters and tours.

Explore the recently opened Adventureland, a truly unique playground featuring a total of 55 activities including various sized fibreglass animal sculptures for children aged 2-12 to explore and play on.

Why not become a member today and explore all that the zoo has to offer! Our memberships give you access to the zoo for a full twelve months. If you come once a week, you are just paying $2.50 a visit!*