General news

news news AIS Arena to be stood up as mass vaccination hub

Having sat empty since June last year, the ACT Government is investigating commandeering the AIS Arena at Bruce for a mass vaccination site as they look to expand the local COVID vaccine rollout.

On Tuesday 24 August, ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said a mass vaccination hub at the AIS Arena could open as early as next month. “As soon as we’re able to open bookings for that with the additional supply, we will do that — we expect it to be early next month,” she said on ABC Radio Canberra.

The move to stand up AIS Arena will be tied to access to the Pfizer vaccination for 16- to 29-year-olds once supply makes it to the ACT.

More than 12,000 Canberrans aged 16-29 registered on MyDHR website for a Pfizer vaccine at an ACT Government-led clinic on the first day registrations opened to them.

Bookings for this age cohort will open in September with jabs slated to commence in October.

There are 85,000 Canberrans aged 16-29 of whom 21,000 are already vaccinated as part of earlier priority rounds. “We are leading the nation in the rollout, and I expect that the ACT will continue to be above the national average in the months ahead as supply increases,” Chief Minister Andrew Barr said.

Mr Barr said he anticipated it would take some time to vaccinate that age group based on the available supply of Pfizer.

Given the supply constraints, he said it was “seriously worth considering” an AstraZeneca jab following a discussion with a health professional.

Mr Barr said the vaccine registration process worked “extremely well” for Canberra residents aged 30 to 39 years, with more than 20,000 people in this age group in the ACT booking an appointment on the first day of eligibility.

Meanwhile, children aged 12 to 15 living with a disability were added to Australia’s coronavirus vaccine rollout on Wednesday 25 August.

The decision is expected to affect 40,000 National Disability Insurance Scheme participants across the country who did not qualify under other eligibility criteria.

MyDHR online registration requires a Medicare card and an existing patient record at an ACT public health facility.

For assistance registering or if you do not have a Medicare card, you can call the booking helpline on 5124 7700. For information on COVID-19 vaccine registration in Canberra, visit www.covid19.act.gov.au

Support Sarah’s hope of a cancer-free future this Daffodil Day

For the past 25 years, 43-year-old Sarah McGoram’s life has been an uphill battle, but she is desperate to remain eternally optimistic despite her mountain of challenges.

Diagnosed with a rare stage four cancer called Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumours (GIST) just after her 18th birthday and told she only had 12 months to live was heartbreaking and traumatic for Sarah and her family.

She says the most important thing in life is to make the most of every day because you never know when it will be your last.

Sarah owes her life to the vital medical research funded by organisations such as the Cancer Council through its annual Daffodil Day Appeal, which this year falls on Friday 27 August.

“When I was diagnosed with GIST, I was told there were no treatments and no cure so the doctors sent me home from the hospital and wished me luck,” she said.

“Without Daffodil Day funding medical research, I wouldn’t be alive today so it’s essential for improving the lives of people living with cancer – it’s our ticket out.”

With COVID-19 restrictions impacting all of Canberra, the Daffodil Day Appeal has had to get creative with their fundraising campaign this year.

Cancer Council ACT marketing manager Amanda Fintan says there’s still a number of ways people can get behind the campaign.

“If you are one of the wonderful people who would usually purchase fresh daffodils, we’re counting on you to show your flower power in a different way and help save Daffodil Day,” she said.

Here’s how you can support people like Sarah on Daffodil Day this Friday 27 August: • Make an online donation at daffodilday.com. au/donate • Have fresh bunches of daffodils delivered to your home or workplace for a minimum donation of $100 thanks to the help of

Canberra FM. • Become a Yellow Fundraiser by getting active in yellow, giving up something you love for the month of August and registering at daffodilday.com.au/donatedaffodilday. com.au/fundraise-your-way/ • Join the Game for Good Campaign at tiltify. com/cancer-council-australia/game-forgood • Get the kids involved and enter the

Daffodil Day colouring/scavenger hunt competition with the chance to win their very own daffodil bicycle at actcancer.org/ fundraising-and-events/daffodil-day-2021/ colour-or-find-the-daffodils-for-yourchance-to-win/

- Abbey Halter If you or your loved one is affected by cancer and you are concerned about the impact of COVID-19, please call Cancer Council’s free and confidential 13 11 20 Information and Support line.

news Traffic noise driving Amaroo residents to despair

Constant traffic noise from a Gungahlin arterial road is tormenting residents of an Amaroo street. Houses on Buckingham Street back onto busy Horse Park Drive – and the people who live in the street say they can’t use their backyards, can’t open their windows, and can’t sleep at night.

“The noise just batters you down,” said resident Zeljko Pekic. “You can’t sit outside for extended periods, simply because the noise just gets to you. Your stress levels, your health levels, your ability to enjoy your own home, are decreased. It’s almost like mental torture.”

Mr Pekic and other Buckingham Street residents want the ACT Government to erect a noise reduction barrier along Horse Park Drive, but government surveys have found that the noise is acceptable, so state no noise wall is needed.

Transport Canberra and City Services (TCCS) surveyed noise levels from Horse Park Drive in Buckingham Street from two separate residences – Mr Pekic’s house and another – and determined that the noise level was below the target level of 60 decibels by day and 55 dB by night.

Mr Pekic said he was frustrated with the findings. “The government says the levels are acceptable; have they sat outside and tried to listen to 53 dB car sounds constantly during the day for 15 hours?”

Mr Pekic has measured noise readings in his street himself; the average level seems to be in the mid-50s to low 60s, and reaches 78 dB when a truck went past and 82 dB from a Harley Davidson.

He claims the TCCS report is incomplete; although the TCCS surveyors were in his street for 14 days, the table used only seven days of data. He has asked the government for a more detailed report and for previous reports on Horse Park Drive noise levels. He has also asked Chris Steel, Minister for Transport and City Services, to come listen to the noise himself.

The road surface level of Horse Park Drive is just above Mr Pekic’s fence line. He said his family cannot open windows or sliding doors as “the noise blasts straight in”.

Trucks deliver to nearby building sites and supermarkets every day, Mr Pekic said. Eighteenwheeler semis take off like a bat out of hell from the intersection of Mulligan’s Flat and Horse Park Drive, and police sirens of 100 dB come screaming by his house three or four nights a week, en route to Bonner.

Mr Pekic expects the noise to get only worse. The nearby suburb of Taylor is half-finished, while another 1,000 blocks of Jacka are being built, he said. When they are, traffic volumes will increase.

Mr Pekic and his neighbours believe their street desperately needs a noise mitigation screen, as the government has erected in other suburbs, such as along Gundaroo Park Drive or Pro Hart Avenue.

There is one small screen, constructed before Horse Park Drive was duplicated, at the intersection of Mulligans Flat Road and Horse Park Drive that shields three houses.

“So it was considered essential to put it there – but literally 20m up the road, it’s not essential,” Mr Pekic said.

- Nick Fuller