Canberra CityNews June 10-16, 2010

CityNews June 10-16

CityNews June 10-16

news

Noise inquiry goes clubbing Music isn’t the big issue when it comes to noise, the Assembly’s Inquiry into Live Music seems to be discovering.

ELERI HARRIS reports THE youngest member of the ACT Legislative Assembly, 26 year-old Liberal Alistair Coe, had a night on the town last month with nanna Labor MLA Mary Porter and Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur in the name of “committee business and research”.

Taking pit-stops at the George Harcourt Inn, Lighthouse Bar, Suburban and Transit Bar, the MLAs met owner operators and observed techniques for volume control to assist in recommendations for the ACT Government Inquiry into Live Music.

After 15 months, 46 submissions, one online survey, an unofficial Facebook group with 1506 members – not to mention field research at 10 venues in Brisbane and four in Canberra – the inquiry will close for submissions on July 16 and report back to the Assembly on August 26.

“Subject to the agreement of the Assembly, the committee would like to extend the time for the inquiry, due to a renewed interest by the public, and to allow interested par-

INDEX June 10-16, 2010

Since 1993: Volume 16, Number 23

Arts&Entertainment Body Crossword Dining Horoscope Health&Fitness Letters Movie reviews News Politics Property Social Scene Sudoku

17-19 22 24 19 24 20-21 6 18 3-10 7 25-32 14,16 24

Harley fan Marie “Devil” Stavropoulos. Story Page 8.

Photo by Silas

ties to submit comment before finalising its report,” said Mary Porter, chair of the Standing Committee on Planning, Public Works and Territory and Municipal Services.

She said the venue review exercise demonstrated that it was not live music itself, but the arrival and departure of patrons that caused the most noise pollution in the capital and annoyed the residents in nearby units.

“It was really good to see first hand how owners are running these venues,” Porter said.

“All venue owners have gone to great lengths to lessen the impact of their activities on residents in the area, they closed down quite early to meet the needs of residents.

Suburban hung drapes in windows, Harcourt Inn turned their stage area around.

“What was significant was traffic and patrons coming and going. Sound travels at night and it doesn’t seem to be music that was the issue.”

While Porter said the committee had received a good response from

contact us

Phone 6262 9100 Fax 6262 9111 GPO Box 2448, Canberra City 2601 www.citynews.com.au twitter.com/city_news facebook.com/canberracitynews

General manager: Greg Jones 0419 418196, greg@citynews.com.au Senior advertising executive: Melissa Delfino, 0415 137660 Advertising sales executives: Jonathan Hick, 0415 177345 Sebastien Kriegel, 0438 198701 Mara Stroppa, 0431 245130 Advertising sales co-ordinator: Rebecca Darman, ad@citynews.com.au Sydney advertising sales: Ad Sales Connect, 02 9420 1777

briefly Circuit ‘a waste’

THE ACT Government is spending $3.8m on London Circuit, but not taking the opportunity to improve the design according to Greens’ TAMS and Planning spokesperson, Caroline Le Couteur.

“If you are going to shut down London Circuit and rebuild parts of it, this is the time you should add co-ordinated transport infrastructure,” she says. “London Circuit now has some new, short, on-road bike lanes squeezed in, but they suddenly end in busy traffic. If the Government adds better bike lanes in the future, it will need to demolish its new gutters, making the current work redundant.”

IMB wins again

IMB has been named Australia’s building society of the year for the second consecutive time in “Money” magazine’s consumer finance awards.

It is the fourth time in six years IMB has won the award. IMB has five branches in ACT and Queanbeyan in a network that also includes Sydney, the south coast of NSW, the southern highlands and Wollongong. Established in 1880, IMB is celebrating its 130th anniversary.

Noise committee takes a listen... from left, Mary Porter, Alistair Coe and Caroline Le Couteur. local residents, owners, operators, musicians and patrons in submissions, they were disappointed with the response from developers.

“We’d like a few of the developers to make submissions, they’re the ones who build these units,” she said.

“We are definitely thinking about order of occupancy laws.”

A review of order of occupancy legislation (where the interests of existing venues or residences have priority over those established later) was the first term of reference for the inquiry, followed by options for bill posting on bollards and an examination of building codes for residential and business development in commercial zones.

Green airport celebrates CANBERRA Airport marked 12 years of environmentally friendly development with a celebration at Brindabella Business Park involving tenants, invited guests, politicians and airport staff. Airport MD Stephen Byron said: “Canberra Airport has a history of leadership in the area of environmental development with Australia’s first 5 Star Green Star building, Australia’s largest on site gas tri-generation plant, the first commercial large-scale water recycling system in the ACT and has close to zero reliance on the ACT’s potable water supply for the airport environment.”

Editor: Ian Meikle, editor@citynews.com.au Political reporter: Eleri Harris, 0414 618493 eleri@citynews.com.au Lifestyle editor: Megan Haggan, 6262 9100 lifestyle@citynews.com.au Arts editor: Helen Musa, 0400 043764 helen@citynews.com.au Design and photography: Silas Brown, 0412 718086 Designer: Joran Dilucian Accounts manager: Bethany Freeman-Chandler accounts@citynews.com.au Distribution and circulation: Richard Watson, 6262 9100 circulation@citynews.com.au

42,001 copies a week Six-month audit to September 30, 2009

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Ian Meikle, of Suite 1, Level 1, 143 London Circuit, Canberra.

CityNews June 10-16

community

Giulia’s worth a flutter EVER won a quadrella at the TAB? I did, once.

A quaddie involves selecting the winners of four pre-determined races on the one program. It’s a tough ask.

You can have as many runners as you like in each leg, but the more combinations you have, the more it costs. On this day, my quaddie had cost me $32. I listened to the final leg and heard my horse called first over the line. I was overjoyed: My $32 investment was worth a little over $12,000!

I danced around the room singing: “We’re in the money!” but the celebrations were cut short. The rider of the second-placed horse fired in a protest against the winner… and it was upheld.

Can you imagine? My betting ticket went from $12,000 to zilch in a matter of seconds.

Giulia Jones knows how I felt. That’s pretty much what happened to her when she contested the seat of Molonglo for the Liberals at the last ACT election. Giulia ran a simple but effective campaign

MARK PARTON knows what it’s like to win and then to lose

that involved a lot of time on the ground mixing it with the voters. I was at the tally room on election night where Giulia was being heralded as the newest Liberal member for Molonglo. She must have been going through the process of picking staff and working out what model car she was going to get.

And then it changed. The preference flow from the also-rans wasn’t as conservative as had been anticipated and, all of a sudden, the Greens loomed up as major contenders for the seventh and final seat.

This was partly because the Motorists’ Party had run the full ticket of seven candidates in Molonglo. Many fanatical petrol head Motorist Party supporters stayed true to the cause by staying

entirely within the ticket on ballot paper. Their preferences were extinguished.

It’s always struck me as being rather ironic that this extreme, right-wing party effectively delivered a second Green in Molonglo, but it did.

Giulia is obviously a masochist because she’s buttering up to have another go, this time in the Federal seat of Canberra.

“It did take a bit of getting over, the last time around,” she admitted to me, “it was a bit distressing.”

Most political watchers will have pencilled in the new Labor candidates as “good things” in the two Canberra, lower-house seats, but Giulia points out that even if Fraser and Canberra just became more marginal, the people of Canberra would get a better deal.

To continue the racing parlance: I don’t think I want to back Giulia straight out, but I’ll definitely be putting her in my trifectas.

Singers are grinners...

briefly

Members of the Canberra Grammar School Chorale, with conductor Heather Percy, show off their prizes after winning the John Lamble Australasian Choral Championships for Primary School Choirs in Sydney.

After winning the sacred section and coming third in the Primary School Division, the chorale was one of six finalists invited to compete in the final. The boys were accompanied by Jeannine Keenan.

Bollywood ball

Olympic reunion

THE Canberra School of Bollywood Dancing’s annual gala ball will be held at the Hellenic Club, Woden, at 7pm on Saturday, June 26. Tickets include a three-course Indian meal and entertainment including a DJ playing infectious Bollywood hits. Dress is Indian party wear or formal and tickets are $65 each or $600 for a table of 10.

More information or bookings to 0403 156833.

MLA Steve Doszpot, the former Canberra SOCOG head and his Olympic colleagues Alan Lee, Cindy Young, Graeme Cook, Graham Gittins and Chris Conti are organising a 10th anniversary reunion of the 600 Sydney Olympic Games Canberra-based volunteers at Canberra Stadium, Bruce, 6pm-8.30pm on September 13. Former volunteers and anyone also involved in security, hospitality, entertainment etc should make initial contact by writing to: Canberra Olympic Volunteers Reunion, PO Box 426, Calwell, ACT 2095 or by email to socog10years@hotmail.com

Cake time

Telstra Country Wide celebrated its 10th anniversary in Canberra with local chief Chris Taylor (pictured) coming to the party with a birthday cake.

Highland bling ACT dancer Jessica Girvan (back row, third from the right) won third place in the 16 Years and Over Championship at the ACT National Highland Dancing Championships held at the Burns Club.

The winners pictured are first to sixth placegetters. The championships attracted 75 per cent interstate competitors. Ages ranged from eight to 22 years.

CityNews June 10-16

Giulia Jones... “It did take a bit of getting over.”

Photo by Silas

Correction

In production last week we transposed two photographs in our financial and investment services feature. We apologise to those concerned. The photos and corrected captions are republished below.

Zuraida Ariffen, of Zuraida Ariffen Wealth Creation.

Yvonne Thomas, of Blue Diamond Solutions.

WIN ‘Time Team’ DVDs at www.citynews.com.au/competitions

CityNews June 10-16

a dose of dorin

letters

We’re all linked to the miners

FOR once, I have to disagree with Michael Moore “Stand firm, miners should pay” (CN, June 3). This is a distorted article which fits neatly into the spin and smokeand-mirror advertisements of both the mineral industry and government.

I presume that Michael has had little direct exposure to the mining industry, while I have worked in the mining and energy-policy related fields for 30-odd years.

I will not be allowed the space to refute many of Michael’s assertions, but readers should be aware that the mining industry does give back substantially to the community in the form of various taxes and charges, employment, infrastructure development, a strong Australian currency, community development and support for charities, etcetera. Most importantly, it contributes, through higher share prices and dividends, to peoples’ superannuation and investment fund performances.

And this affects nearly all Australians.

For example, as at December 2008 41 per cent of voting-age Australians were personally invested in shares and as at December 2009 the resource sector made up 33.4 per cent of the $1400 billion total ASX market. Nearly all voters participate in the mining industry through superannuation funds that hold around $120 billion in investments in the resource sector.

So Michael, I suggest that Rudd gets off his high-horse and negotiates with the mining industry which is not against a resource rent tax as such, but has severe problems with its design and implementation. If not, the only winners will be the advertising and media industries.

Ric Hingee, Duffy

Why stop at mining?

Michael Moore (CN, June 3) claims miners should pay the 40 per cent tax because “as the mining companies extract our community resources it is appropriate for them to shoulder their share of community responsibility “.

Why stop with mining, Michael? How about a 40 per cent tax on water taken from our rivers or land taken for commercial or residential development?

Greg Cornwell, Yarralumla

CityNews June 10-16

Sick of shoddy work

METHINKS Stuart Collins protests too much. (CN letters, June 3-9). There are many folk who are sick and tired of having to repair shoddy building work both in units and private houses throughout the ACT. True, there are many damned fine builders around, but there are also too many that are not. If the building industry is so well regulated how can Stuart Collins [HIA CEO] explain the dozens of building defects in blocks of apartments that have been certified as being okay? The current ACT Government certification scheme is failing both owners and the industry and requires a good overhaul.

Murray Upton, Kingston

Civic’s dustbowl THE roadwork/urban rehabilitation program happening around London Circuit has me at a loss.

Three or so weeks ago, the edges of the road were ripped out, for the new gutters, we presumed. The gutters were placed but road edges were not repaired, merely filled with earth.

When the heavy rain came, the new soil eroded, and these instead became troughs, drenching unwary passers-by when traffic came too close and becoming a serious driving hazard, especially for the frequent buses.

A week ago, the road was ripped up and we were left with hard-packed dirt, and for the first few days this was fine. Then, as all the workers came back from their break, they found that the dirt wasn’t so hard-packed anymore, that it was becoming gravel, and that London Circuit had become a dustbowl. People are walking

around with scarves over their mouths, trying not to choke in peak hour.

Where is the completion? How many more times will it have to rain before the roads become corrugated, and how long before someone gets a chunk of rock from a car wheel in their windshield or face?

Dave Ellis via email

Cause for celebration PROBLEMS of politics are not caused by educated atheists, so Andrew Leigh, being a candidate for the Seat of Fraser, is cause for celebration. One who wonders at the reason he named his son Theodore could simply ask him. The letter from Mary Samara-Wickrama (“What’s in a name?”

CN, May 27) was not written to obtain an answer.

John L C Edge, Flynn

Judy had a point JUDY Bamberger was on to something about the electioneering (CN letters, June 3) as the rules “apply to everybody, except Labor”, no surprise here really. I believe that George Orwell summed it up well in the classic lines, “some (animals) are more equal than others” (“Animal Farm”) and “only a socialist could show such contempt for ordinary people”. Enjoyed your letter, Judy.

M. Gordon, Flynn

Letters are invited from “CityNews” readers. Let loose to ed@citynews. com.au or write to the editor at GPO Box 2448, Canberra 2601. Letters of 200 words or less stand a better chance of publication.

politics

Joy of rubbing shoulders with Rudd Politics

By Michael Moore

Columnist Moore and Yuri meet Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Photo by Helen Moore

IT is easy to be cynical about our political system and about our politicians. In previous columns for “City News”, more than my own fair share of scepticism has been demonstrated.

However, a recent experience had me thinking about how accessible our senior Australian politicians are and how fortunate we are not to have succumbed to excessive security.

There was no obvious security for the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the RSPCA’s recent Million Paws Walk. He and Thérèse Rein turned up with Abbey, the family’s golden retriever, with (by my observation) just one minder. When he joined all the doggie families heading around Lake Burley Griffin he was strolling about 10 metres ahead of the Moore clan with their multiple canines. Yuri, my son’s Husky, still had plenty of energy and plenty of pulling power at the beginning of the walk – he believes that this is just part of his breeding. In no time at all he dragged me adjacent to Mr Rudd.

“Prime Minister, would you mind posing with my son’s dog for a photo? He is serving with the Army Reserve as a peacekeeper and would get a kick out of the photo.” Just like that, no security interference, no introduction in terms of previous or current career. Just a citizen looking somewhat like a terrorist in casual clothes, big dark glasses, an Akubra hat and bushy beard.

“I’d love to,” was the response, “and where is he serving?” And so the conversation continued in friendly banter for a few minutes while cameras clicked. Yuri received a few pats and then we moved on as the next citizen struck up a conversation.

Of course, any politician can strike up a casual conversation. They would not have made it through preselection if they couldn’t. I can hear the most cynical saying that there is an election in the wind and the PM is not going to miss a chance.

There is some truth in that, but the reality is that Kevin Rudd since moving to Canberra and into the Lodge has been at local school fetes, is a regular church-goer at St John’s and he and his wife are regularly seen around Canberra.

The same is true for Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope, who I ran into at a coffee shop one Sunday morning a while back. Ordinary people, with important jobs, going about a normal day – as far

as that is possible and mostly happy to have a brief chat.

Our democracy and our society are far from perfect. Of course, precautions are taken around any first minister and their senior ministers.

Judgements are made about the risk level of the functions they are attending and security adjusted accordingly. Even so, it is great to live in a society where the “first amongst equals” is able to walk amongst ordinary people.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health in the Carnell government.

CityNews June 10-16

cover story

Leader of the pack KATHRYN VUKOVLJAK meets a public servant with a weakness for chrome, leather and riding great big motorbikes “YOU don’t have to be butch or look like a dog if you ride a Harley-Davidson,” says Marie “Devil” Stavropoulos, director of the Canberra Harley Owners’ Group.

“It’s fabulous to look fabulous and us girls can ride as hard as anyone else.”

The youthful 50-year-old can be spotted roaring around Canberra on her Heritage Softail, pausing only to fix her lippie at the lights.

“I don’t think people expect there to be a girl under all this leather, let alone a girl who wears make-up and spike heels!” she laughs. “I get a fair few double takes, and I love it.”

The first female director of the Canberra chapter, which has 12 female riders, public servant Marie was handpicked by Harley-Davidson in the US to travel around America for three months as an inspiration to HOGs and wannabe HOGs everywhere.

Marie says that 20 years ago, when she started riding, there were no female riders in Canberra.

“When I joined CHOG I was very new to it all, but I was never made to feel like anything other than just another member,” she says. “I didn’t find it a sexist environment at all.”

She says she does face some prejudice

CityNews June 10-16

though. “My partner is a 6-ft-4in bikie, and when we’re out together people will assume he’s the main guy,” she says. “They’ll turn to me and ask, ‘Oh, do you ride, too?’

“I’ve also been a road captain for 10 years, which involves planning and leading rides, and it took a while for some of the guys to be okay with following a girl!”

Marie says that she first got into bikes on a holiday in Cairns in 1990.

“I fancied hiring a little trailbike to explore the beaches,” she says. “There was nothing available, so the guy in the shop told me to go shopping for a bit while I waited – yeah, right!

“Anyway, it took a while and I just waited, and eventually I asked about a sleek-looking bike in the corner and if I could hire that.

He said it was his, but I told him money was no object and convinced him to let me take it. I took his helmet, too!”

The bike was a Harley lookalike, and it set feisty Marie on a whole new journey.

“I had an awesome time!” she says. “That was that for me. A few weeks later I was walking past the Braddon Harley-Davidson dealership in my suit and heels, and saw the bike I had to have. It was a black, studded, chromey amazing piece of machinery, and I bought it then and there.

Marie “Devil” Stavropoulos... “I don’t think people expect there to be a girl under all this leather, let alone a girl who wears make-up and spike heels!”

Photo by Silas “I’m on my third Harley now, and I’m attached to the old girl. I’ll upgrade eventually, though. I can’t resist more chrome!

“It’s not just a bike to me. It’s a culture, it’s the clothes, the bikes, the passion.”

CityNews June 10-16

mum in the city

Careful when you call the coach MORE and more of SONYA FLADUN’S friends are reaching for their life coaches’ number whenever they face a major decision...

In case you’ve missed the trend, a life coach is a person who, for a fee, advises you on achieving your life goals – whatever they might be.

According to the Life Coaching Institute this is the second-fastest growing industry in the world. A big claim!

Apparently anybody can be a life coach – something I find a bit worrying.

But, it’s not really surprising that many people welcome someone who can apparently give them advice on just about everything and anything – from how to be happy and more successful, how to be a better partner or friend or a better parent for one’s children.

Many of our previous sources of guidance have evaporated. In a world of fast-paced change, with little time to catch up with one’s nearest and dearest, it’s not as easy to canvas advice from our best friends and family like we used to.

At work, few of us have mentors, those invaluable connections and sources of advice developed over decades of working in the same industry or profession, as many of us move

10 CityNews June 10-16

around and change jobs every few years.

We’re also increasingly an irreligious society, many of us only going to church for those big events, marriages and funerals, if at all. We don’t listen to sermons or always heed the various dos and don’ts of religious denominations as we once did. Many of us wouldn’t dream of cornering a member of the clergy for a bit of advice like our grandparents might have done.

Life coaches doubtless are filling a yawning vacuum in many lives and I’m not saying that this is a bad thing. But if your life coach is your new best friend and guidance councillor, you should probably do some serious due diligence.

Anyone can hang out their shingle looking for trade and I certainly reckon one ought to find out all one can about them, their qualifications and how successful they have been in their own lives.

Getting some independent opinion seems essential. After all, it could be said, those who succeed do, and those who don’t, well these days I’m guessing they probably coach!

briefly Chubb to retire AFTER more than a decade leading the ANU, its vice-chancellor Ian Chubb is to retire in 12 months. Making the announcement, ANU Chancellor Gareth Evans said: “When it comes to university leaders, anywhere in the world, Ian Chubb is as good as it gets. He will be a very hard act to follow.”

Jan closes chapter

JAN Fullerton, director-general of the National Library of Australia for 11 years, has announced her retirement after 43 years with the organisation. Appointed director-general on August 9, 1999, she was the first woman appointed to the top job.

Shelley joins Colliers SHELLEY Thomson (pictured), the former owner of Manuka Fine Foods, has joined Colliers International as executive – retail leasing. Paul Powderly, Colliers International Canberra CEO, said: “She is well known and respected in the Canberra community and we look forward to her using her knowledge and experience to help retailers with their leasing requirements.”

news

Intensive interest CHIEF Minister Jon Stanhope is spending a lot of time in hospital this week. Before opening the new intensive care unit at Calvary Hospital on Friday, he earlier inspected the installation of a sculpture titled “Tree of Life” that has been made by G W Bot, Calvary’s inaugural artist in residence. G W Bot is a local artist who is acclaimed nationally and overseas and, the hospital says, her “Tree of Life” is already an integral element of the new ICU. Chief Minister Jon Stanhope with artist G W Bot.

Photo by Silas

Big picture plan deficient The real issues of the ACT Government’s infrastructure plan appear to have been subsumed by merriment over things such as the number of spelling mistakes in the first draft.

However, as an infrastructure plan it is deficient. It is not a long-term plan for infrastructure needs for the city, nor even really a short-term one.

It is just a list of capital works projects the Government intends to undertake over the next two years, with only rough indications of possible future works.

It is also surprising that the Government is forecasting a gradual decrease in infrastructure investment in coming years, despite our growing population.

It is critically important that the Government develop a comprehensive and integrated long-term infrastructure plan for

Property

By Catherine Carter the Territory which looks ahead, over the next 20-30 years, because infrastructure and capital works take long lead times to fund, plan, approve and eventually deliver.

Such forward thinking is what characterises all successful infrastructure plans, and this, first attempt, lacks it.

The ACT Property Council has been requesting an infrastructure plan for the past few years and it has offered specific recommendations for it in its infrastructure priorities paper, launched by Chief Minister Jon Stanhope in 2008.

At the time, the Chief Minister welcomed

our input, saying: “A number of priorities on the Property Council’s list coincide with the ACT Government’s own thinking and planning.”

It is commendable that the Government recognises the need for action on a developing an infrastructure plan, and to take the first steps towards developing and implementing one. But timely, effective and efficient delivery of infrastructure is essential for our future as a community.

Rather than sneering at the Government’s recent efforts, it would be more constructive to regard this paper as a “living document” – as the Chief Minister calls it – to be reviewed and updated each year.

Catherine Carter is the executive director of the Property Council of Australia (ACT).

CityNews June 10-16 11

planning

Halt before city gets a hill too far Stop the sale of the latest City Hill sites and let the public have a say, urges architectural identity JACK KERSHAW BEFORE we rush in and sell two parcels of land opposite the iconic Sydney and Melbourne Buildings, arguably the ACT’s most symbolic City Hill sites, shouldn’t we, as a society, have the opportunity to determine the content, quality, and extent of development there, and its physical and social character?

We need to call these worrying, impending, June 21 sales off, and start again with all of City Hill to achieve a fine precinct befitting the national capital and the ACT’s main municipal, administrative, transport, and cultural centre – part of the central national area, and a key element in the capital arrival experience.

If we don’t, the transitory and pretentious “dross” (notably, the residential) typifying much of the extant Civic development will proliferate, and the ACT Government and the NCA will undoubtedly become laughing stock in the eyes of many visitors and residents.

Planning and development policies for the City Hill precinct since self government in 1989, have drifted away from the original National Capital Development Commission vision.

It saw a fine municipal, cultural, transport, and administrative centre, respecting the character of the national capital setting, supplemented but not dominated by private-sector commercial development, and deliberately quite different in character from the rest of Civic.

12 CityNews June 10-16

Car parks for sale... “We need to call these worrying, impending sales off, and start again.

Such points of difference, especially if generous readily-accessible public open spaces are included, can become major attractions in themselves, to the mutual benefit of the whole city – witness Federation Square in Melbourne.

We’re getting nothing like that in the plans for City Hill, and the hilltop park will remain isolated by traffic.

Selling most of the hill precinct to the private sector will undoubtedly prove to be a failed policy, because the pragmatic “market”, with a few exceptions, apparently treats Canberra as a backwater when it comes to exemplary design and the provision of public open spaces etcetera.

We’re a provincial capital city, and most Aus-

tralians understand that. We’re clearly very good at roads, tree planting, and public buildings and spaces, but not so good at getting great development out of developers.

So why persist with an approach that can’t perform, and in which the public is apparently treated with loathing and paranoia by the Federal and ACT Governments, especially when the latter stands to gain financially, and when they’re both involved in a particular development through the confusing dual planning system? (Just a reminder that the NCA is the planning authority in this case, even though the ACT owns the land.)

The ACT Land Development Agency, now

within the new Department of Land and Property Services, does not even include design in the sale process for Government-owned significant sites.

The National Capital Plan City Hill Amendment (No 59) for City Hill was rejected by the Joint Parliamentary Standing Committee on the National Capital, but was rushed through Parliament. The amendment at least called for matching development each side of Northbourne Avenue south, but the subject sites are being sold separately and are not matching in north-south extent (unequal exposure to Northbourne Avenue).

The amendment, which the public did have an opportunity to review, and mostly rejected, lacks the required detail for adequate public consultation on the detailed aspects of development applications, implied in the subject auction sales.

The urban design guideline information, not binding on developers, can only be seen on the auctioneer’s web site www.capitalprecinct.com. au, in the vital but cryptic “Urban Design Guidelines” section prepared for the National Capital Authority, which has not given the public the opportunity to comment on those guidelines.

So, considering all of the above, apparently and quite likely, we could end up with a rough pair of dense, cramped, poorly orientated, mainly residential structures divided by the existing alienating traffic thoroughfare, a traffic and pedestrian rat-run of sun-deprived slots, and the loss of many important, expansive and familiar prospects, especially of the historic hilltop park itself and the Sydney and Melbourne Buildings, the handsome courts, gallery/museum/library and theatres.

Creative by Design

advertising feature

When less mess means less stress Rosana’s stress-buster tips:

LIVING in a messy or disorganised house can be extremely stressful, says Rosana McLeod, of Creative

by Design.

“It’s especially stressful in the morning when you’re racing to get the kids to school or to care, trying to look professionally groomed for work and get to work on time,” she says.

“If you don’t have a place for everything, you generally find that you waste a lot of time looking for things. It’s not a great start to the day when you’re fighting against the elements, trying to find your stuff!”

The answer, she says, is to design systems in the home in a way which mirrors human behaviour and allows us to be organised.

“At Creative by Design, we say that we put your stuff away for you,” she says.

“We all have a lot of stuff, and that’s fine; we’re certainly not saying that you should get rid of it all. That’s not what we’re about.

“What we do instead is find a home for everything you have, so that you know where it is – and it takes that stress away.”

The company has a team of designers that visit clients’ homes, in the bright pink vans which double as mobile showrooms.

These showrooms display different types of storage solutions to suit different needs – all accessible and easy to use.

“We work with our customers to solve their

Creative by Design owners Rosana and Greg McLeod. specific storage problems,” Rosana explains.

“For example, we won’t offer more hanging space when what you need is more shelves.

Everybody’s different in how they put their stuff away.

“We measure storage areas, and draw everything up so that clients can see a 3D model on our laptop of how their room would look with our solutions applied.

“This makes it all easily visible to the client – and it’s wonderful to help reduce the stress in people’s lives.”

Creative by Design specialises in bedroom storage, as well as rooms suffering from “Spare Room Syndrome” – “that office/guest room which becomes very disorganised as everything gets put in there”.

The company also creates living rooms, laundries and garage storage solutions.

More information at www.creativebydesign. “We find a home for everything you have, so that you know where it is com.au or call 1300 366222.

– and it takes that stress away,” says Rosana.

• Keep your shoes off the floor! It’s too easy for them to become a messy jumble without a dedicated storage space for each pair.

• Make sure there’s a place for everything – not just clothes on hangers. Accessories such as ties, scarves and belts need to have their own home.

• Ban drawers. Deep drawers can “hide” clothes and other items from view, making it easy to forget about them.

• Keep space between hangers, as all that washing and ironing can be wasted if clothes are bunched up too tightly together.

• If it’s broken – don’t fix it! The reality is that torn clothing and broken shoes probably won’t get repaired. Throw them away, and make room for items you’ll wear.

CityNews June 10-16 13

scene

More photos at www.citynews.com.au

At REIACT Young Practitioners’ Chapter networking event, Kamberra Winery

Cassie Cumberland, Jasmine Combe and Adriana Fox

Shirley McCombe, Natasha Gunther, David Williams and Michelle Sanford

Daniel O'Reilly and Greg Oberscheidt

14 CityNews June 10-16

At Linzie Ellis’ ‘A New Body of Work’, Canberra Grammar Gallery

Artist Linzie Ellis and Amber Zocchi

Kareena Ellis with Linda and Graham Gilbert

Mark Larmer, Alex Scott and Michael Wellsmore

Ashley McGregor, David Protas, Hannah Gill and Jessica Lawless

Lee-Michelle Morgan, Natasha Masters and Rebecca Morphett

Tessa Hughes and Monique Fernie

Sue Gascoigne with Peter and Frances Dixon

Robyn Pierce and Susannah Buick

advertising feature

Super Smile

Smiles and why they matter to Michael CIVIC orthodontist Dr Michael Hyde says he loves Canberra – after 22 years in practice here, he enjoys creating beautiful smiles, and seeing how those smiles transform his clients’ lives.

“Canberra’s a wonderful place to be – and it’s easy to become part of the community,” Michael says.

“People smile at you in the street and say hello; and as an orthodontist, it’s wonderful to see people smile.”

At his city-based practice, Super Smile, Michael works with clients of all ages – and he says it’s personally very rewarding to see how his work affects them.

“When you first meet someone, if they don’t feel comfortable smiling, they don’t show their true personality,” he explains. “However, if you’re happy and smiling, people think you’re a lovely, friendly person.

“When people don’t feel comfortable smiling because they don’t like their teeth, they may cover their mouth or do a half-smile, with their lips closed, so they don’t show their teeth. It’s the Mona Lisa smile – and, in fact, it’s been suggested that the Mona Lisa hadn’t any teeth, and she didn’t want to smile in the portrait because of that.

“And when people feel that way, it’s quite sad. There’s also the fact that for young people in particular it’s a fairly competitive workplace, and if a person is confident about their

Dr Michael Hyde... “People smile at you in the street and say hello; and as an orthodontist, it’s wonderful to see people smile.” appearance, it helps them have a better chance.”

Children and teenagers are set at ease with regular fun days – the practice team may come to work in pyjamas or other costumes. “It’s

all about having fun, not being too serious and staying young at heart,” says Dr Hyde.

Michael says he also works with older people, whose needs are quite different. Part of the ageing process

involves greater exposure of the lower teeth instead of the upper – helping to reverse this process creates a younger-looking smile, he says.

Some clients need to have their jaws aligned, to correct underbites

or overbites, but also lack of facial symmetry. “It’s all part of creating a beautiful smile,” Michael enthuses.

Super Smile has just been joined by a new orthodontist, Canberran Ray Te Moananui, and Michael says he’s excited about working with his new team member.

“I have a great team, but as an orthodontist I’ve been doing it by myself for 21 years; and Ray’s a very good orthodontist.”

Services offered by the practice include the Invisalign system, which Michael says is good for many, but not all, clients.

“It’s especially good for adults as it’s virtually invisible – it makes the teeth a little shiny, but most people are okay with that, they think it’s cool,” he says.

“It’s a system of aligners which are replaced every two weeks. One of the best things about them is that they can be taken out to eat, so you don’t need to be self-conscious about what’s caught in your teeth.

“If their jaw is a long way out of alignment Invisalign’s not the right system to use; but we also have clear braces and self-ligating braces, which basically means that the old days of having to go to the orthodontist and have braces painfully tightened have disappeared.”

More information at www. supersmile.com.au or call 6249 7818.

CityNews June 10-16 15

scene

More photos at www.citynews.com.au

At Canberra Airport’s ‘We’re Just Plane Green’ booklet launch, Brindabella Park

MLA Jeremy Hanson, Speaker Shane Rattenbury and Andrew Leece

Michael Brennan and Carolina Dorman

Airport executive chairman Terry Snow, Melissa Foreman and Michelle Knighton

Dave Harley, Marilyn Maunder and Damian Freney

Melinda Dodson, Noel McCann and Karen Emms

16 CityNews June 10-16

At ANU’s annual donors and friends thank you, University House

Cynthia and Bev Harvey with Robyn Watts

Pauline Griffin with vice-chancellor Prof Ian Chubb and wife Claudette

Dr Fiona Rothchilds, Barry Weeden and Anthea Bundock

Catriona Jackson, Darren Boyd and Tracy Chalk

Alexina Hawkins and Margaret Travers

Prof Penelope Mathew and Prof Kent Anderson

all about living

arts | dining | cinema | body | health&fitness | horoscope | puzzles

Guy who loves to sing Too hot ARTS IN THE CITY

By Helen Musa

By Helen Musa

that these musicians played with the original singers like Al Green, Otis Redding etcetera and then were somewhat impressed by what I did, was a real confidence booster… it’s almost as if they are amazed that we even know about blues and soul music here in Oz, let alone have that genre existing here.”

Sebastian is now busy setting up house in Los Angeles and tells “CityNews”: “There is a huge hub over there that feed off each other as writers, and everyone, is very connected. You could be pitching songs for Joshua Groban one day and Kelly Clarkson the next, depending on who you write with.

I’m really enjoying gigging there, too.”

As for “Bring Yourself”, the song that gives its title to his present tour, he says: “I wrote this song after watching a hideous program called ‘Millionaire Match Maker’ in which a ‘relationships professional’ introduces wealthy ‘gentlemen’ to some very ambitious young ladies.”

His song, in part, aims to restore some dignity to those women.

GUY Sebastian is a man who likes to joke, especially about Canberra politicians, but he’s also one of Australia’s most formidable popular singers, with a vocal and stylistic range hard to equal.

Sebastian will be in Canberra on June 23 to perform songs from his album “Like It Like That,” in what will be his last tour in Australia until 2011.

Since becoming the first “Australian Idol” winner in 2003, he has released four multiple platinumselling albums. But his international career is every bit as impressive as his local profile.

Much in the way we claim Russell Crowe as our star, Sebastian is beloved of Malaysians in his family’s homeland, he’s performed there several times to a keen reaction.

“I love Malay food,” he says, “and I think they relate to me when I not only know about the real traditional food, but display a huge passion for it.”

His “Memphis Album” was a tribute to Memphis soul, and he astonished many critics by gaining the respect of blues and soul-musiThe “Bring Yourself” concert is at cians in the US. the Canberra Southern Cross Club, Guy Sebastian... busy setting up house in Los Angeles.

Sebastian tells me: “The fact June 23. Bookings to 6283 7300.

Win tickets to see Tex

Tex Perkins in the role of Johnny Cash.

TEX Perkins will star as Johnny Cash in “The Man in Black”, coming soon to the Canberra Theatre for only four performances.

This is going to be a sell-out season and “CityNews” has three double passes to give away to the opening night on Wednesday, June 30.

Perkins, one of the most electrifying front men of Australian rock ‘n’ roll,

leads The Tennessee Four in a celebration of the life and times of one of the most incredible singers, songwriters and entertainers to ever grace the stage.

Entries close at noon on Monday, June 21 and winners published in “CityNews” on June 24. Full entry details and conditions are at www. citynews.com.au/competitions

to handle

BILLED by Rep as “too darn hot… to handle”, “Jazz Garters” is coming again to Theatre 3 from June 18 to July 10. Directed for the second time by Jim McMullen, it combines comedy, cabaret, jazz, Broadway, vaudeville and magic in more than 20 acts. Some of the stars are Ian Croker, Christine Forbes, Dick Goldberg, Charles Oliver, Graham Robertson and Bronwyn Sullivan. You get the idea, it should be fabulous. Bookings 6257 1950.

APSARAS Arts Canberra is getting rather bold.

In its coming production “New Directions – Puthiya Arangam” it will showcase 12 dance pieces and introduce Neo Bharatham, a contemporary dance form melding existing traditions of Indian classical dance and martial arts, as well as folk and tribal dance forms from various Indian states. It’s on June 13, 7pm at the Erindale Theatre. Bookings 6288 5785.

CANBERRA Potters’ Society’s winter pottery fair is on at Watson Arts Centre in Aspinall Street, Watson, until June 20. Local potters have been firing up their creativity and kilns, so you can be sure there will be fabulous gifts to buy that you can stash away until Christmas. This year there will also be wearable ceramics in the form of pendants and earrings.

Thursday to Sunday 10am-4pm.

YOU have only until June 13 to catch “Hobnob”, the all-female show at M16 Artspace’s main space in Fyshwick of work by recent ANA School of Art graduates Zoe Avis, Kate Barker, Jacqueline Bradley, Rachael Freeman, Sarah Kaur, Tye McBride and Diana Jonston. As for the other gender, the show “Night Perspectives” features paintings of the urban landscape by Ian Dickson in the M16 Foyer Gallery.

THE Queanbeyan Art Society’s latest exhibition, “Along the Molonglo” has linked into the World Environment Day theme, with more than 100 works depicting the spirit of the Molonglo catchment. It’s at the society’s gallery, 6 Trinculo Place (under the bridge) throughout June.

ON June 16 clarinettist David Hatch will perform Mozart’s “Clarinet Quintet in A Major K.581” with Hayley Bullock, Sarah Hendricks (violin), Julia Clancy (viola) and Jack Hobbs (cello), as part of the Wesley Music Centre’s “Lunchtime Live” series. Entry $2, 12.40pm to 1.20pm to perform, no bookings required.

CityNews June 10-16 17

arts&entertainment

‘Sex’? No thank you “Sex And The City 2” (MA)

William Zappa... very excited.

Master of the script

By Helen Musa WILLIAM Zappa, familiar to Canberra audiences for his brilliant classical role as Antony for Bell Shakespeare, has risen from the depths of playing that arch-conniver M. Thénardier, the vicious but life-force-driven Master of the House in “Les Miserables”, to write a one-man show conceived while listening to the show’s music coming through the dressing-room loudspeaker.

“I was very excited by the simplicity and theatricality of what I was hearing… I thought: ‘I must put that in a play’,” Zappa told me.

He then sat down to write “Winter’s Discontent”, a solo play that looks at theatrical artifice, human deceit and disillusionment.

Zappa presents himself as an ageing actor, Robert Winter, not unlike himself.

Seen on tour with the show, “Eleven Episodes from the Torture, Trial and Execution of Monsieur Thénardier”, his character reflects on the peculiar powers of the theatrical craft and the struggles of an actor’s life with all its ups and downs.

“Winter’s Discontent”, The Street 2, June 18-July 3.

Bookings to 6247 1223

18 CityNews June 10-16

AFTER making the “Sex And The City” label his personal fief on TV and the big screen, writer/director Michael Patrick King knows which buttons to push to put girly bums on seats to watch this confection that tosses reality in the waste bin and delivers a self-gratifying tale of chicks in lifestyles and situations that real women might indeed envy, but few will attain.

Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda have husbands, Samantha works hard to attract men able to support her material expectations and satisfy her libido.

The fantasy screenplay stands on a foundation of willing suspension of disbelief in their antics.

The film begins with a gay wedding then segues to an all-expenses-paid week in Abu Dhabi as guests of a hotel-owning sheik who fancies Samantha. There they shop till they drop, quaff champagne and exploit the locals while making no attempt to understand their cultural and social customs.

The film is a kaleidoscope of colour as the four delve into their wardrobes, flamboyance and bare flesh at risk of getting them into trouble.

When Samantha brings trouble on, the plot tries to raise the tension by having the sheik withdraw his hospitality, leaving them to fund their return home.

It really is not a film for men. Its male characters don’t so much energise the plot as wait for the women to announce their demands.

The sex is mostly by implication.

None of the many chick-flicks I’ve watched over the years has made me so anxious to see closing

CINEMA

By Dougal Macdonald credits as this one did. In a backhanded way, it satirises women’s aspirations and slyly evaluates their real-world chances of achieving them – slim or fat, depending on your point of view. Its only element that I found meritorious was Kim Cattrall as Samantha, who knows what services she wants and how she wants them delivered.

At all Canberra cinemas

“Legion” (MA) THE bleak plot that director Scott Stewart cowrote for this film with Peter Schink might have been written on the back of an envelope.

It unfolds in a roadside gas-station diner in a flat, dusty, sere brown and perhaps godforsaken corner of the American west. Monotony rules.

Business is not brisk.

On the horizon, a dark cloud fills the air. It is a plague of suicidal flies. A man arrives with a big stash of military-grade weaponry. He is Michael and we know he is not human. Indeed, he is second in command to the angel Gabriel. He brings the news that God, fed up with humanity’s behaviour, plans to wipe the slate clean and begin again with another newborn saviour. But the building’s occupants have first to deal with antagonism outside.

Poorly crafted cinema, it neither entertains nor offers moral or ethical challenges or any useful message about faith or belief in a deity.

At Hoyts Belconnen

arts&entertainment

It’s all go for pho!

DINING

By Wendy Johnson Matt Kelly... jumping into different characters.

Essence of the party Theatre

“Underage House Party Play”

By David Finnigan, directed by Stephen Barker, performed by Matt Kelly. The Street Theatre, season closed.

Reviewed by Joe Woodward

THIS collaboration between writer, director and actor has resulted in masterful entertainment that captured the essence of the underage party.

Naïve participants struggle to be something more significant than the actuality of their daily lives.

It is hilarious and tragic at the same time.

Matt Kelly displayed great fluidity in storytelling while maintaining a close relationship with the audience.

His jumping into different characters was a source of humour and variation. Like the young Reg Livermore, Kelly was able to draw embarrassed laughter into moments of poignant recognition. The characters who were acting badly were really struggling to fully realise their own vulnerability. Kelly did justice to Finnigan’s word pictures.

As Finnigan emerges as one of Australia’s more significant writers and theatre artists, he is beginning to define our experiences of life through the articulation of new myths. His challenge will be to provide the cutting edges for values and ethics in a changing world. This work is part of a continuum in that direction.

I HAD a craving… a real craving for pho – the beloved national soup of Vietnam.

I will never forget my initial tasting when first in Vietnam, sitting outside on a tiny plastic seat early in the morning, feeling the hot sun on my back.

I was surrounded by dozens of Vietnamese slurping away, all enjoying every bit of their piping hot, nourishing breakfast. Pho (pronounced “far”), is sold everywhere but is best experienced at a street stall, especially in the hustle and bustle of a marketplace.

While pho is primarily a breakfast soup, it is such a nourishing meal that it is eaten any time of day. My craving hit at lunch, so off we went for a traditional Vietnamese noodle experience at the Vietnam Restaurant and Café at Woden Plaza.

I ordered pho tai, rare beef noodle soup (small $11, large $12.50). What I love about the dish is the clean taste and the quality of the broth (no beef stock cubes allowed). It’s a meal in itself, filling you up, but never weighing you down.

The beef is cut ever-so-thinly and dunked in the broth rare. The clear broth is so hot it quickly cooks the beef to perfection. The long, slippery rice noodles can be a challenge to manage the first time, but don’t let that deter you.

The fresh herbs tossed into pho, including Vietnamese mint and coriander, are a wonderful addition in colour, texture and taste. The bamboo shoots add special crunch and the chilli even more

Pho, national soup of Vietnam, at the Vietnam Restaurant and Café.

Photo by Silas flavour. A quality pho also has quality fish sauce (never too much) and, to top it all off, a good, old squeeze of fresh lime. It all adds up to a lovely sweet and sour, slightly salty sensation.

If pho isn’t your thing, don’t fret. The Vietnamese Restaurant and Café has lots of other traditional offerings, including the com do ga da don my friend ordered. Translation? Crispy skin chicken with tomato rice and salad ($12).

We had started with, and thoroughly enjoyed, the Vietnamese spring rolls ($5.50 for 4) and my large thermos of Jasmine tea went down exceptionally well. It was a super lunch.

Vietnam House Restaurant and Café, open seven days for lunch and dinner (except closed for dinner Sunday night). BYO. Take away. Shop G-92, Woden Plaza, Corinna Street. Call 6282 0288.

Winners to see Ennio Congratulations to the double-pass ticket winners to the Ennio Marchetto performance at The Playhouse on June 17.

They are: Cassandra McLachlan, of Kaleen; Jenny Gregory, Murrumbateman; Karin Berrysmith, Belconnen; Sandra Dyson, Kambah; Annette Sharp, Wanniassa; Barry Rollings, Conder; Christine Crosswell, Banks; Jenny Noordhuis, Florey; Robyn Singleton, Braddon; and Kate Gunn, Watson.

CityNews June 10-16 19

health&fitness

Kaboom, they’re off

By Eleri Harris IT’S a case of the Jetsons meets American college kids meets the capital: Ultimate Frisbee.

Local Canberra Ultimate Frisbee team Kaboom are set to hit the Czech Republic next month to battle it out for the World Club title in Prague.

The team of 21 capital kids will play a five-day pre-tour then 13-17 games over the week-long tournament from July 3-10 on their self-funded frisbee junket, hoping to nab the mixed team title.

Kaboom captain Max Wheeler told “CityNews” the self-refereed game has taken off big time in Australia, sending three mixed teams to compete in the club titles in 2010.

The World Club Championships began in Germany in 1989 and is held every four years, alternating with the World Championships, where a team of representatives are individually selected.

“There’s 400 people playing in Canberra every week. Most of them got into it at uni, that’s how I started playing,” Wheeler said.

“The team going to Prague

20 CityNews June 10-16

Kaboom member Heather Tolley trains for the Ultimate Frisbee challenge. is called Kaboom. We’re a mixed team. World has multiple divisions for men’s, women’s, mixed and master’s. We’ll be one of 40 teams from around the world, three Australian teams, and 37 teams from other countries competing at World’s in Prague. It’s the World Club Championship, which is town’s club teams rather than just representatives from each country.

“Kaboom started two years ago with the ultimate aim of going to the World Club

Championships.

“A dedicated group of people really wanted to make it happen, so they put out word to the ultimate Canberra community. We started the team around two years ago at the Ultimate Mixed Nationals and it slowly built up to this point now.

“We’re good enough that we could win, we’re not going there to just hang out.”

Kaboom is presently the number-one seeded Ultimate mixed team in Australia.

health&fitness

Gym calls for food

Curves girls call for food... from left, Anita O’Meara, coowner Curves Weston and Belconnen, Melissa Turner, co-owner Belconnen (front), Julie Griffin, co-owner Weston and Gemma Spence, manager of Weston.

Photo by Silas

THROUGHOUT June, Curves Gyms in Canberra are encouraging the community to support those in need by participating in its annual food drive, part of the 2010 Vinnies Winter Appeal, which aims to raise 2000 kilograms of non-perishable foods.

“Even if you’re not thinking about joining the gym, you can still drop off your donations. There are so many people in Canberra, including single mothers and their children who need our help,”says Julie Griffin, of Curves.

It’s not just food that has been donated, but also other essential items including shampoos and conditioners.

Curves will waive the $249 joining cost to new members who donate a bag of non-perishable food.

CityNews June 10-16 21

body

Orly Matte Couture in Purple Velvet, $18.95.

Maybelline Mini Colorama in Peach Cocktail, $5.95.

Zoya Professional Lacquer in Envy, $17.

Kit Nail Polish in Play Hard, $14.95.

Make Up Store Nailpolish in Agnetha, $26 (via www.makeupstore.com.au).

to bubble and peel straight off.

“It is also important to gently buff the WITH bright colours or matte finishes nail to remove ridges and surface shine.” coming to the forefront of nail fashion, Don’t buff nails to a high shine, though it’s more important than ever that we – this can prevent polish adhering. don’t make mistakes in applying polish, Next, add a base coat to protect the nails says Fiona Hay, Orly Rosemount Australia from staining, create the best base for Fashion Week creative director – as these polish to adhere to, and last longer without types of polish aren’t forgiving! chipping.

Fiona says one of the most common “When applying polish, don’t start right mistakes women make, when doing their at the cuticle: this only asks for trouble! own nails, is not removing surface oils Start a few millimetres away, and then from the nails first. push the brush down close to the cuticle “This can be done by simply wiping the without touching it. nail with a cotton pad and non-oily nail “You should only need two coats of polish remover,” she told “CityNews”. “Not polish – if your polish is nice and thin, you doing this simple step first can cause polish could do three, but you don’t want it to

be too thick. The trick is having the right amount of polish on your brush.”

If you do accidentally “flood” the cuticle area, the only way to fix the mistake is starting again, Fiona cautions.

“You should be able to paint each nail with three strokes maximum – four for the thumb,” she says.

“Starting in the middle, place the brush five millimetres away from the cuticle, then push the brush down towards the cuticle, getting as close as you can without touching it; then pull the brush back to the end of the tip.

“Repeat on the left, then the right, sweeping the brush around the curve while pulling back towards the tip.”

When polish won’t forgive

By Megan Haggan

22 CityNews June 10-16

Jindii Ecospa

advertising feature

Spa with an environmental spirit THE essence of a spa experience is about living in the moment and embracing wellbeing, says Bianca Prichard, owner of the Jindii Ecospa in Duffy.

The spa previously enjoyed success under the name Floressence; and has just been rejuvenated and renovated to better reflect Bianca’s focus on eco-health and wellbeing.

“We wanted to create a new dimension and concept within the spa industry, which reflects our connection with the earth in a way that’s personally and environmentally responsible,” she says.

“The new Ecospa relies on solar-passive energy by design; and we’ve used all-recycled, environmentally sustainable materials as well.

“So we’re unique in concept.”

Located in Duffy, in what Bianca calls an “urban, bush-belt setting”, the spa provides a quiet haven away from the hustle and bustle of the city, she says.

“It’s beautiful. It’s very quiet; enough so that you can hear birds in

Bianca Prichard... “People want to know there’s an alternative; that they can enjoy the spa experience while keeping to environmental principles.” the background – but only 10 minutes away from the city.”

Jindii offers a full range of spa services, including intensive and express facials; massage therapy including kodo rock therapy; deep tissue massage; hand treatments and manicures.

There are also foot treatments and pedicures; scalp massage; eye zone treatment; waxing and tinting; and make-up services using the Jane Iredale range. Special services are available for pregnant guests.

“We have beautiful signature

treatments: our Mala Mayi treatments, which translates to ‘clan food’. We use indigenous healing wisdoms with an array of native ingredients, organic where possible, which aligns with our philosophy very well.”

These treatments make use of the

Li’Tya brand of products, based on indigenous traditions.

Jindii Ecospa is also launching yoga classes, with morning and evening sessions. These will be presented by instructor Rosemary Windhaus; the first round is booked, so Bianca advises those who are interested to inquire well ahead for the next round of classes.

Bianca says more and more people are interested in the concepts of sustainability, and understanding the true essence of the spa experience.

“People want to know there’s an alternative; that they can enjoy the spa experience while keeping to environmental principles. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.

“That’s the true spirit of spa: not pampering, but self-awareness and self-nurture. It’s what we’re all about.”

With a degree in sustainability backing her beliefs, Bianca says she’s very excited to relaunch Jindii in harmony with her passion for the environment.

“It’s elements such as yoga and the indigenous wisdom of Li’Tya that I hope will have people go away, after visiting the spa, better equipped with tools to fit wellbeing into their everyday lives.”

More information at www.jindii.com. au or call 6257 8777.

CityNews June 10-16 23

your week in the stars

With Joanne Madeline Moore June 14-20

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

This week’s stars encourage being impulsive in love (which is an Aries specialty!) Rams fall in love very quickly and are notorious for sudden elopements and shotgun weddings. A little less haste (in all your relationships) will lead to less long-term regrets. Mars and Pluto give you an energy boost mid-week, when well-considered action will take you far.

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)

Bulls - have you been too tough on a loved one? A change of attitude will help you see things from their point of view. Lady Luck is on your side mid-week, whereas Saturday’s an unpredictable day when you’ll have to keep your adaptability muscles well flexed.

Sunday’s all about love and romance, as you cuddle up close with someone special.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)

With Venus in your neighbourhood zone, there are many benefits to be gained through contacts within your local community. So your motto for the moment is “Think global, act local”. There’ll be plenty of opportunities to exchange nail-biting news but be careful about passing on information that was given to you in strict confidence.

CANCER (June 22 – July 22)

Don’t let nebulous self-doubts drag you down. Stressing about something that may happen in the future is not the sensible way to go. Use your common sense to work on practical projects so you can move forwards in a positive new direction. No side-stepping Crabs! If you have to make a big decision, let your intuition be your guide.

general knowledge crossword No. 265 Across

Down

1 Which imperial measure is equal to four pecks?

7 Which word is descriptive of an emperor or empress?

8 Name the season that precedes summer.

9 What are hospital social workers called?

10 To be truthful and candid is to be what?

11 What is a one-wheeled pedaldriven vehicle used by acrobats?

14 The Roman figure XIX is the same as which cardinal number?

18 What are the shoe parts above the sole?

19 What is a small shop selling fashionable articles?

21 To be arrested is to be what (coll)?

22 From which direction does the sun rise?

23 What are extended dramatic musical compositions?

1 Name another term for the tuba (4,4).

2 Which word describes a young cow?

3 In surgery, what is a thread or wire for constriction of blood vessels, etc?

4 What do we call unsolicited emails?

5 Name the spirit distilled from the fermented juice of grapes.

6 Who teamed up with Oliver Hardy?

12 What is an indirect derogatory intimation about a person?

13 In radio and TV, what are separate programs constituting a serial?

15 What is a line drawn on a weather map?

16 Name an alternative term for a piece of landed property.

17 Geronimo was the chief of which Indian tribe?

20 What is an artificial landing place for vessels?

Solution next week

1

2

VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)

Don’t spend so much time weighing up options and worrying about work that you lose motivation and momentum. With Mars marching through your sign, it’s all systems go! Your quote for the week is from Donald Trump (born on June 14): “What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate.”

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)

5

9 10 11

14

15

12

16

13

17 18

19

20 21

22 23

Sudoku hard No.32

With Venus, Jupiter and Uranus all in your work zones, your professional life is about to become extremely interesting. Some Scorpios can expect a promotion or improved conditions, while others will just be very busy. Love and work could also combine in romantic and totally unexpected ways (is that Cupid I see hiding behind your desk?)

Solution next week

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

Sagittarians are spontaneous folk, but don’t overdo it, especially on Friday, when you could suffer (again!) from “foot-in-mouth syndrome”. Think carefully before you speak, otherwise you’ll just upset work colleagues or loved ones with your unique brand of truth serum. Put aside time to nurture (and enjoy) your overseas connections.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

Don’t get stuck in a depressing domestic rut! Jupiter and Uranus urge you to shake things up as you move, renovate, redecorate, change who you live with, or welcome some unexpected guests.

Saturn amps up your perfectionist side on Saturday and it will be impossible for anyone (including yourself) to meet your absurdly high expectations.

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

With Venus now in your relationship zone (until July 10) you’re in the mood for companionship and cooperation (for a change).

Independent projects are temporarily out; and cosy collaboration is in. Just remember – the secret to Aquarian wedded bliss is mental compatibility. Some singles are set to go on a wild romantic ride!

PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)

Prepare to be at your sexy best as Mars charges through your partnership zone. So it’s time to up the sizzle factor and make your (neglected?) spouse feel extra special. Single Pisceans - don’t sit around passively waiting for your soul mate to magically appear.

You need to be passionately proactive as you go out on the prowl, looking for love.

24 CityNews June 10-16

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2010.

6

8

LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)

Librans are fabulous flirters and, with vampy Venus moving into fiery flamboyant Leo, it’s time to give those charisma muscles a workout. Do you want more love and success in your life? Well flutter those eyelashes (or flex those abs) and you shall receive!

Networking and joint ventures are also favoured – especially mid-week.

4

7

LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)

Have you been running around like a Lion on steroids? Perhaps it’s time to slow down, as you re-discover your inner child and throw yourself into fun projects that make your heart sing. Venus (planet of love and beauty) shimmies into your sign this week so get ready for a charisma boost, as others find your luscious Leo charms hard to resist!

3

Solutions

Crossword No.264 B B A L D I A M A P E R A C S T O P R

S C F C K B O N E E L R C T A T O R C C Y C H I N E L A O C M P A R T I A S B R A N D I R A S P A Y E R S

R A N C E L R H I N O S E F G N E T S S A I T A G O N S T E S T O S A H H Y X I A S O

Sudoku medium No.33

commercial property

Rent breaks for smaller tenancies CANBERRA’S stock of smaller office tenancies is expected to increase dramatically over the coming 12 months and agents are bracing themselves for a market which will more

By Tim Humphrey strongly favour tenants.

Property Council statistics indicate that as of January, the ACT’s overall office vacancy sat at 8.7 per cent, which equates to 174,704sqm. By 60 Marcus Clarke Street in Civic. The deal was 2011 this is set to increase to more than 11 per brokered on a five-year term at $410 per sqm pa cent. (gross +GST).

Despite this, improved economic conditions Michael Ceacis, associate director of Colliers have meant there has been steady enquiry International is also seeing continued interest from smaller office occupiers since the start of at the boutique end of the market. He was 2010. This has seen some personally involved in optimism in leasing circles. leasing 261sqm in Suites 2-3 There has been solid on the ground floor of 16 While most agents are quietly accepting an overall National Circuit to NBN Co interest in welldecline in rentals over on a five-year term at $345 presented suites this period, a number see per sqm (Gross +GST). rentals holding firm in a Mr Ceacis is confident number of sub-categories. more deals will come Zoe Vogel, senior negotiator from LJ Hooker through over the coming weeks.

Commercial, confirmed that good quality space A number of tenants are currently looking for has been highly sought after this year. space in Canberra below 700sqm include Logica “There has been solid interest in well-pre(500-650sqm), Centric Wealth (600sqm) and sented suites, especially those with existing fit SMEC (600-800sqm). outs in place. I am finding that tenancies like this in the 100-500sqm range are leasing up Tim Humphrey is Editor of Property Daily, a relatively quickly.” market news and intelligence service focused on Ms Vogel recently signed lawyers Maliganis commercial property markets nationally.

Edwards Johnson to a 425sqm on level 8 of www.propertydaily.com.au

CityNews June 10-16 25

26 CityNews June 10-16

CityNews June 10-16 27

28 CityNews June 10-16

CityNews June 10-16 29

30 CityNews June 10-16