CityNews 210408

JON STANHOPE / PRICING THE YOUNG OUT OF ‘ELITIST’ HOUSING MARKET APRIL 8, 2021

Well written, well read

Toothless, faceless design panel

PAUL COSTIGAN John Bell prepares to bare his soul

HELEN MUSA Kiss-and-tell tips for hot lips

CLIVE WILLIAMS

STEPPING UP Greens minister REBECCA VASSAROTTI on why it was time to be part of the solution

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NEWS / urban air mobility

Dr Wild looks up to a world with high-flying cars

By Nick

OVERALL FLYING to work, school or a social event may seem like something from a science fiction film, but “urban air mobility” is a vivid reality, and one aviation researcher Dr Graham Wild says is closer than we think.

With traffic in major cities increasing, major transport companies such as Uber, Hyundai, Toyota, Boeing and Airbus are investing in unmanned, drone-like aircraft able to fly people to and from destinations.

The technology has taken on a few names: “air taxis”, “personal air vehicles”, even “flying cars”, which all may seem like an episode of “The Jetsons”, but according to Dr Wild, an aviation and aerospace expert at Canberra’s UNSW campus, it’s actually not too far off at all.

“In the last few years urban air mobility has been a very common topic of discussion at both national and international aviation conferences,” he says.

“From what I’ve heard at these conferences, we could start to see these types of aircraft in major cities within the next five years.”

“Uber Elevate” is one example, a

INDEX

Urban air mobility may seem like something out of “The Dr Graham Wild… “The introduction of urban air mobility Jetsons” cartoon series from the ‘60s, but Dr Graham Wild says in our cities will dramatically increase the number of flying vehicles.”

Photo: Lannon Harley it’s not too far off at all. company acquired by Joby Aviation late last year who’ve publicly announced their “urban aviation ridesharing product” is set to launch in 2024, and whose CEO says their goal is to “save a billion people an hour a day.”

The plan is for the service not just to be a wealthy luxury either, with the websites of investing companies claiming prices for air rides will one day be as low as what ride-sharing apps such as Uber cost now.

However, Dr Wild says there are all kinds of issues that must be addressed before the technology can become a reality.

“First and foremost is safety,” he says.

“The introduction of urban air mobility in our cities will dramatically increase the number of flying vehicles.

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If these aircraft are to help replace cars and traffic it’s easy to imagine how crashes could be far less forgiving for people inside the craft, and for those around the crash site.”

Dr Wild is one of the researchers studying “structural health monitoring (SHM) systems, a potential breakthrough technology that could improve the safety of flying worldwide.

Inspired by the human central nervous system, the technology is designed to alert engineers to structural defects before they become dangerous, with aircraft that can “feel through sensory perception”.

“Our research is exploring how acoustic technology, interpreted by machine learning, can ‘listen’ for minor changes in the sound signatures compo-

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nents created in aircraft,” says Dr Wild.

“This technology would allow early detection of structural-fatigue issues, alerting engineers that an aircraft is in need of a health check.”

In February, a catastrophic engine failure grounding a Boeing 777 in Denver made news around the world after footage posted online showed the engine burning up and breaking apart.

Luckily nobody was hurt, but Dr Wild says the incident represents one of the most common causes of aircraft part failure that SHM systems could address.

“Aircraft engines are the number one location of fatigue failure, with significant temperature and rotational or wear forces impacting parts,” he says.

“With most individual components

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only inspected by sight every 100 hours of flying time, it can be very difficult to understand when underlying fatigue issues are happening.

“SHM systems could significantly reduce the number of aircraft fatigue accidents such as this one.”

Dr Wild believes the technology could see wide-scale implementation in aviation within the decade, and as such, it could have a vital link with urban air mobility.

“With urban air mobility comes a large number of flying hours and proximity to populations,” he says “This demands the best in safety, which in part will rely on these vehicles having structural-health monitoring systems.”

When considered in tow with concerns surrounding noise, privacy and cost, it’s easy to imagine a few regulatory roadblocks (or perhaps airblocks is more apt) before urban air mobility really takes off, but the technology charges ahead regardless, and the research Dr Wild is working on in Canberra is paving the way for this world of tomorrow.

“The goal of our research is to develop a system where the aircraft is proactively monitoring its own health,” he says.

“It could tell us when it’s not ‘feeling well’, removing the need for human inspection and increasing aviation safety.”

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SEVEN DAYS

Spare Alex’s spinning soul and rename the jail PENOLOGY hero Alexander Maconochie, the Scotsman with the surname that tests sub-editors, gets a lot of undeserved bad press because our toxic prison is named after him.

Which is a pity because the poor man died in Surrey, England, October 25, 1860.

More of Mr Mac in a moment, because this past week Winnunga Aboriginal Health Centre’s irrepressible CEO Julie Tongs, in sharing this column’s call for a public enquiry into the shameful state of the jail, has suggested the AMC be renamed.

“It’s not fair to the reputation of Alexander Maconochie, one of the greatest penal reformers in history, to have his name associated with the prison,” she said.

Adding that it was a “travesty” to suggest that the AMC

reflects in any serious way the focus on human rights and rehabilitation that was a central feature of Maconochie’s reforms and former chief minister Jon Stanhope’s Alexander Maconochie. intent when he named the place as a nation-leading, human rights prison in 2008.

These days it’s viewed as the worst clink in Australia for drugs and its disproportionate number of indigenous inmates.

And so, said Julie, it was necessary to remove Maconochie’s name from the prison in order to “give his soul some rest from the constant spinning that it must be doing in his grave as a result of the way his name and memory are being misused”.

But what to call it? Hmmm, maybe the Shane Rattenbury Centre would better capture the prison’s reputation and the former corrections minister’s contribution to it (other suggestions welcome at editor@citynews.com.au).

And Capt Maconochie? Born in Edinburgh in 1787, entered the navy

1803 and saw service during the Napoleonic wars. In 1836, as private secretary to his friend, Lieut-Governor Sir John Franklin, Maconochie left England for Hobart Town. By 1840, he was superintendent of the penal settlement at Norfolk Island and left four years later for the Old Dart. During that time he formulated and applied most of the principles on which modern penology is based, though perhaps not as enthusiastically these days at the Alexander Maconochie Centre.

WHAT better time to write a book than in lockdown? That’s what expat Canberran educator Dylan Meikle did while he moved from private schools in Vietnam to Singapore this past year.

Conversely, what worse time to publish a book about managing kids in lockdown when the world is racing to embrace the freedom of vaccinations (and, please, an end to lockdowns)?

But “Learning in Lockdown” (published by Macquarie Publishing, the owner of “CityNews”) still has a market beyond the Lucky Country’s shores (ie America, Canada, South Africa, the UK, Europe… anywhere good English is spoken and still battling coronavirus).

It’s a parental handbook for educating younger children grounded by covid.

Dylan enlisted his sister Kate Meikle, known more locally as our

“Mummy” columnist, to add some “parenting perspectives” to the theory.

The result has been well received, for example Joseph Sharratt writing for “IndieReader” credited the authors as having “succeeded in crafting a fantastically simple but superbly useful guide for navigating the often frustrating and difficult world of home-schooling that the coronavirus pandemic has made a reality for so many.”

“The authors, who between them have a wealth of experience in the fields of education and parenting, do this by exploring the dynamics of home-schooling and its psychological impact on parent and child, as well as by providing lots of useful tips for making the home-schooling experience a rewarding and enjoyable one for everyone involved,” he opines.

“Importantly, it also takes the time to spare a thought for teachers, whose professional world has been turned upside down. As the authors point out: ‘No teacher ever entered the profession thinking: ‘I can’t wait to teach kindergarten online!’”

He gave the book 4.5 stars out of five. I’d give it 10, but they’re my kids.

I really don’t know where all this passion for writing comes from, probably their mother.

“Learning in Lockdown” is available via Amazon, Booktopia, Dymocks and Angus & Robertson.

Author Dylan Meikle with daughters Lucy, 10, left, and Maddison, 8.

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NEWS / cover story

Green Vassarotti steps up to be part of solution

By Andrew

MATHIESON THE frizzy hair, the empathetic tone, the societal wisdom, capped off with wearing a touch of the party’s ideological colour fits the snapshot of a Greens mover and shaker taking her seat in the Legislative Assembly.

But this accidental political mastermind is unmistakably a political novice, despite emerging from the October ACT election as Minister for Environment and Heritage, Minister for Homelessness and Housing Services, and Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction.

Rebecca Vassarotti had once been as partisan as a toss of a coin.

Her life’s work for more years than the 48-year-old can remember was nothing but the community sector, advocating to improve local human services.

The outcomes for vulnerable Canberrans on homlessness and affordable housing, dementia and hepatitis, drug and alcohol services, gambling reform or gender equity was always the priority ahead of taking a side.

Then it clicked. Be a part of the solution or be a part of the problem.

“There was a point in time when I realised that it was really important that people from the community got involved in politics,” Rebecca says.

“We really needed to have people who have done different things that become part of the decision-making process.

“It was sort of an interesting decision, particularly when you’re in that sector and there’s a real desire to be apolitical, really not to align yourself to any political power.

“For me, it got to a point where if you had ideas and you wanted things to change, it was time to really step up.”

So she did. And did she ever.

Beyond the mother-of-three’s aspirations.

It coincided with a watershed day for the ACT Greens.

The rookie was positioned behind Greens leader Shane Rattenbury on the Kurrajong ticket in the same contest that included incumbent Chief Minister Andrew Barr and next Canberra Liberal leader Elizabeth Lee. She had been given little hope of capturing the second seat, but a groundswell of inner-city support for Rebecca gave the Greens an historic second seat in an electorate.

They hold a record six of the 25 seats and at least one in every electorate. Last election, the party won just two.

“I come from a perspective that I am prepared to work with anyone who has strong shared values, good ideas and actually wants to work on solutions for our city,” she says.

That has got a good testing out over the years after first falling out of love with Labor back as a rusted on, rank-and-file supporter.

Somewhere along the line, she went AWOL. The anthropology and political science graduate, who completed a masters in environmental laws, joined the Greens unconventionally.

There was no sordid logging protest of arms linked together, zipped in a puffer jacket, beanie pulled over snugly, but for observing from a distance.

“When I decided to join a political party, it was a really easy choice in terms of my personal values to align with the ACT Greens,” Rebecca says.

“Like a lot of people in Canberra, I have come from a fairly traditional Labor family, but certainly over a period of time I have come to realise that wasn’t really aligning with where I came from.

“There were some really key decisions in the federal realm, particularly around the treatment of refugees, where I was just left disappointed.”

Disappointment at the old party is one thing.

Dismay at the system is another thing entirely.

A BETTER FUTURE

“It made me realise there is still a political class emerging through Australia where they go to the same schools, go to the same unis, go into the same ministers’ offices and later become a minister, but really, they end up not talking to a whole lot of real people,” Rebecca says.

That realisation only began to dawn on the ex-deputy chief executive of the Australian Council of Social Service when working through the period of the infamous 2014 federal Budget.

It was the Budget that proposed a dramatic downsizing of government bureaucracy and changes to welfare.

What stood out in Rebecca’s mind was a policy to deny young unemployed people access to income support for at least six months.

When some parliamentarians on the hill were against preventing the “worse measures being introduced”, it left Rebecca frustrated, scratching her head.

“They were clearly disconnected from most people’s lives and it was in that moment that I realised actually, we need people that are much more connected to their community and heavily involved,” she says.

“I really value that I have had that life experience; being able to draw on a whole lot of things that I have done has actually made me more ready to take on this role.”

Greens minister Rebecca Vassarotti… “It got to a point where if you had ideas and you wanted things to change, it was time to really step up.”

Photo: Holly Treadaway

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POLITICS / house dreams shattered

Pricing the young out of ‘elitist’ housing market “I HAVEN’T found anybody stopping me in the streets, shaking their fists and saying, John, I’m angry that the value of my house has gone up.” former Prime Minister John Howard is reported to have said in 2003.

Regrettably, it’s a pretty safe bet that no member of the current ACT Labor/Greens government will have faced a Canberra homeowner shaking a fist about the fact that Canberra is currently experiencing the highest growth in house prices in Australia.

Nevertheless, there are an awful lot of Canberrans concerned about what the increase in Canberra house prices will mean for their children’s and grandchildren’s chances of ever entering the detached-housing market in their hometown.

It may be that members of the Labor/Greens government share these concerns, but I haven’t ever heard them say so.

I refer specifically to the “detachedhousing market” because that’s where the price increases are, frankly, verging on the obscene.

I was stunned by a recent estimate by a local real estate organisation that on the basis of the current increase of more than 10 per cent a year in the value of detached housing in Canberra that the median price of a detached house could increase from the existing $850,000 to about $3 million within the next two decades.

We, the middle-class, Labor and Greens-voting majority have effectively mandated that working-class people and low and moderate-income families in Canberra live in an apartment or otherwise move, as increasing numbers are, to NSW. While there may be factors relevant to the runaway increase in the value of detached housing, the main cause in the ACT is undeniably the sudden and massive cut in the supply of land.

Without doubt, the law of supply and demand is the most brutal and predictable law in existence. If demand exceeds supply the price will rise just as day follows night.

The ACT government in 2013-14 reversed overnight the land supply ratio of 70 per cent greenfield for detached housing and 30 per cent for infill with apartments and townhouses.

While a cogent argument, based on sustainability, can be mounted to support a change in the ratio of detached and attached housing, a change of this magnitude, namely a reduction of 40 per cent in land for detached housing, without a phase-in period, was guaranteed to produce the outcome that we are now seeing. Namely, the locking out of thousands of low and moderateincome Canberra households from the detached-housing market.

Unfortunately, the situation has

been exacerbated by the inability of the Suburban Land Agency to meet even the meagre 30 per cent target for detached housing.

For example, in 2014-15 only 329 blocks, or 9 per cent of the land released, was for detached housing at a time when the “Winton Survey on Housing Choices”, commissioned by the ACT government, revealed that 91 per cent of Canberrans would, if able, choose to live in a detached house.

The current land-supply strategy is described in the Incoming Ministers’ Brief prepared, in light of the recent election, in the following terms: “The city’s growth is planned to be managed by 70 per cent being within the current urban footprint, with intensification around town centres and transport corridors and 30 per cent being greenfield development (new suburbs).”

The briefing paper (Minister for Planning, P7) also advises that it is proposed to accommodate about 55,000 new residents in the Molonglo Valley over coming decades. It is not clear if this includes the 11,000 people who will

live across the border in NSW as part of the Ginninderry development.

The briefing paper also notes that Labor and the Greens will “continue to develop the ACT’s next urban development front, which is the western edge – 10,000 hectares of land bordered by the Murrumbidgee River and the urban areas of Weston Creek, Molonglo Valley and Belconnen”.

Surprisingly, the fact that this 10,000-hectare housing development bordering the Murrumbidgee River is being actively progressed did not feature in the election campaigns of either Labor or the Greens. Presumably, consistent with the new planning strategy, the Cotter Road will be reserved for high-rise development from Weston Creek to Casuarina Sands.

Obviously, I’m not supportive of the current land supply or housing policies of the ACT government.

The reality is that the decision to deliberately reduce the supply of land in the ACT for a highly sought-after product, namely a detached house, has resulted in a large proportion of the community, possibly as high as 40 per cent, being priced out of the market.

This is elitist and grossly unfair. It is pure Thatcherism and anathema

to the Labor principles I have held dear for 50 years. We, the middleclass, Labor and Greens-voting majority have effectively mandated that working-class people and low and moderate-income families in Canberra live in an apartment, or flat, if they wish to remain in the ACT or otherwise move, as increasing numbers are, to NSW. The reduction in supply of detached housing has also resulted in massive windfall gains to those of us privileged to own a detached house or houses. Our gain is unarguably at the expense of young families and lower-income households.

Current land supply and housing policies are driving a mammoth shift in wealth from lower-income households to the wealthy and a concomitant increase in inequality in the Canberra community.

Jon Stanhope was chief minister from 2001 to 2011 and represented Ginninderra for the Labor Party from 1998.

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CANBERRA MATTERS

Faceless design review panel proves to be a joke ALONG with the wish the government would look after the city’s landscapes, its greenery and its open spaces, a common frustration is that the government does not understand design and does little to encourage good architecture.

Admittedly, historically Canberra is about landscapes – not about architecture. But the two can co-exist if the government was to show leadership in design, heritage and landscape.

A few years ago, residents were offered hope that things may change when the government announced a new committee – the National Capital Design Review Panel. People knew straight away – another committee should do the trick!

Here is an abridged version of what this panel is about: The panel offers the opportunity for peer review of development proposals by independent design professionals with the aim of achieving the best possible outcome for development proposals and public spaces. Panel members will be selected from a pool of experts identified for their skills, expertise and record of achievement in one or more fields relevant to planning, design and development.

Impressed? Unfortunately (for those wanting good design), the main protagonists are the ACT government architect (answerable to the planning chief and the planning minister) and

Following pressure, the developers changed the design concept from a Parisian-style design to accommodate the design panel’s requests for a more contemporary federal capital look. I wonder what that is? often the NCA chief planner (answerable to someone federally). This ACT Labor/Greens government’s version of being independent is to have government appointees as leaders who have a commitment to whatever the government wants done (trash the joint?).

We are not to know who the other panel members are. It is a secret!

But anyone invited on to the panel would be someone that does not rock boats and enjoys being close to this government.

That’s not unusual with the ACT’s Labor/Greens government concept of transparency and democracy. Fun times!

The last time the members’ names were revealed was in 2018 when they assessed the first proposal by Liangis Investments for the Manuka cinema site. Those panel members were all architects. Very diverse!

The Liangis site in Manuka… while the developer maintained an air of being polite, it was obvious what they thought of the review panel.

Photo: Paul Costigan That brings me to the latest development application from Liangis for the Manuka site – lodged in February.

This included a second review by the design panel carried out in May. The panel’s comments and the proponent’s responses are worth reading – to witness the silliness and naivety of the review panel.

While the developer maintained an air of being polite, it was obvious what they thought of the review panel. Several suggestions were knocked on the head simply because they had already been approved or were according to the planning rules.

For instance, the rules encourage almost no setbacks yet the panel were trying to get the developer to allow space around the building for large deep-rooted trees. I would always

encourage more trees, however if the rules say don’t bother, why would the developer consider this?

There was a suggestion to open up the centre of the building to allow for a passage so that people could walk through to the stadium opposite.

Really! I bet the developers laughed all night about that one.

Following pressure from the panel, the developers have changed the design concept from the original Parisian-style design to accommodate the panel’s requests for a more contemporary federal capital look.

I wonder what that is? More glass walls as in the DKSN building where

the Planning Directorate is hiding or what most of the others are doing – cookie-cutter, bland white and grey towers. Please go back to the Parisianstyle or even try some mock Tudor or maybe a little Baroque. Anything would be better than the so-called federal style that has delivered some pretty ordinary stuff.

Well thought out and resourced initiatives to encourage good design in landscape and in architecture are overdue and urgently required. This National Capital Design Review Panel is not doing this, cannot do this and will continue to be regarded as a joke.

Someone in this ACT Greensenabled government needs to think again about how to encourage developers to take landscapes, design and architecture seriously. Bring on the good architecture!

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

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE SILVER IS GOLD

Concert

Thursday 29 April 2021, 12pm

PRESENTED BY: ACT Chief Minister CATEGORY: Special Event

Enjoy an afternoon of music conducted and curated by Captain Shane Gillard from RMC Big Band especially for this event called Music of the Stage and Screen .

This wonderful performance will be performed by the RMC Big Band, which is made up of musicians from the Band of the Royal Military College- Duntroon.

Hear the big hits from your most loved musicals including Westside Story and All that Jazz. Come and experience an 18 piece band live as they play the Abba medley and all your favourite Beatles songs.

Entry is free with a gold coin donation.

All attendees will be required to register their details prior to the performance with the Canberra Theatre Centre. Registration is FREE and is now open!

DURATION: Approximately 60 minutes, no interval SUIT CHILDREN?: This performance is suitable for children.

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NEWS / Demonstration Housing Project

Directorate sees no conflict in housing approval

By Belinda

STRAHORN A SENIOR public servant has been approved to take part in a government initiative that may see the rezoning of her Griffith property to allow for mediumdensity units.

The proposed “Manor House” design.

“I entered this project as an individual with my partner and declared those interests that I worked in the public service,” Ms Cantamessa said.

“I’ve been very open about that side of it and have ensured that I would never ever be involved in the Demonstration Housing Project in my own work environment.”

“CityNews” does not suggest that Ms Cantamessa has been given any preferential treatment in this process and has secured all necessary departmental approvals.

SE

LL

IN

G?

Cindy Cantamessa, who works in the Capital Renewal Authority (CRA), and her husband Kevin Earle, are the proponents of the “Manor House” in Griffith, one of six projects across Canberra adopted by the government in May, 2019, as part of its Demonstration Housing Project, an initiative designed to help urban renewal.

The project would involve bulldozing the couple’s family Blaxland Street home in Griffith, to make way for a two-storey, four-unit “Manor House” with nine car park spaces and requires a variation to the RZ1 criteria to allow for mediumdensity units on a residential block.

Ms Cantamessa is a project director with the CRA, an authority that sits within the purview of the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate (EPSDD) which is responsible for the Demonstration Housing Project.

Ms Cantamessa, who has previously worked with the ACT Housing Taskforce and with the Land Development Authority, told “CityNews” she filled out the relevant paperwork declaring any potential conflicts of interest with the authority and the directorate.

The CRA, comprising planners, designers, infrastructure and project managers, is charged with “shaping the growth of the central parts of Canberra”, according to its website.

The authority sits within the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate (EPSDD), which is headed by directorgeneral, chief planning executive and utilities technical director Ben Ponton.

The EPSDD provides corporate and governance support for the Suburban Land Agency and the City Renewal Authority.

A spokesperson for the ACT government said Ms Cantamessa’s conflict-of-interest declaration was approved by the CEO of the City Renewal Authority in May, 2018, on the basis that the Demonstration Housing Project is “not related to any CRA work” and that the staff member would “exclude herself from any involvement in the assessment process if it was”.

“ACT public service employees are members of our community and most live in Canberra, so they may submit planning applications in the ACT,” the government spokesperson said.

“The ACT government widely communicated the opportunity to be part of the Demonstration Housing Project, which was open to everyone in the Canberra community.”

The spokesperson said all decisions on development applications are made by “independent delegates” in the planning and land authority, with “internal processes guaranteeing” that any “real or perceived conflicts of interest are avoided.”

Jenny Stewart, a Canberra-based professor of public policy at the University of NSW in the Australian Defence Force Academy argues that from a “commonsense ethics perspective” it’s “certainly not appropriate” for a planning public servant to be involved in a development

project of this kind.

“This should never have been allowed to arise in the first place… the perceived conflict of interest is actually quite a bad one,” Prof Stewart said.

“Members of the public could readily take the view that the public servant concerned has had the inside running in relation to this DA, which concerns a one-off re-zoning of a block in the RZ1 area.

“In any case, I would have thought public servants in the planning area would be barred from being involved in development projects.”

Ms Cantamessa’s “Manor House” proposal has also attracted criticism from unhappy residents of the Griffith Narrabundah Community Association (GNCA) who are opposed to any changes to the planning regulations for RZ1.

The six Demonstration Housing projects are proposed for residential areas currently zoned as RZ1 in Griffith, Forrest, Chifley, Weston, Lyneham and Ainslie.

Each will require a “one-off” variation to the Territory plan from RZ1 – the basic residential zoning – to RZ2 to allow for multiple unit dwellings.

“Why can’t ‘Manor Houses’ be built in RZ2 medium-density residential zones, where the character of the area would not be changed,” Dr David Denham, president of the GNCA said.

Dr Denham said the GNCA is worried about the “future intent” of the Demonstration Housing Project.

“With a precedent for allowing the development of random sites, there will be little to stop the ACT government from turning most of Griffith and other suburbs throughout Canberra into higher-density areas, in effect destroying the existing low-density, separate-housing precincts,” Dr Denham said.

“Homeowners will not be able to predict where the next high-density development will appear and whatever trust we have in our planning system will be undermined.”

The two-up, two-down “Manor House” style concept is common in NSW but will be a “first” for Canberra, Ms Cantamessa said of her proposal, which uses a 50:50 ratio of greenspace and building on the one block.

“We wanted to put forward a different dwelling type for people who may want to downsize but don’t want to leave their suburb, particularly if they are elderly,” Ms Cantamessa said.

“We have worked hard to ensure the look and feel fits in with the look of Griffith. What we are putting forward looks like one dwelling but it’s four dwellings; it’s a great concept and it’s close to schools and amenities.”

The Demonstration Housing Project requires proponents to present their project to the National Capital Design Review Panel and consult with the community. If a variation to the Territory Plan is successful, the next step is a development application.

Call Philip Kouvelis today 0412 622 420 OFFICE:

6232 0100

‘The Griffin’, Cnr of Giles & Jardine Streets, Kingston maloneys@maloneys.com.au maloneys.com.au The current site in Griffith.

10 CityNews April 8-14 2021

Photo: Paul Costigan

POLITICS

Time to ponder a place in the process of peace IRRESPECTIVE of religion or belief, the period around Easter is a time to reflect on new beginnings. Most importantly, to think about peace.

The common factor that builds on the Easter symbolism is thinking about what has been and what the future should hold.

Peace is more than non-war between nations and the period of renewal that is Easter provides an opportunity for considering our personal roles in the peace process.

The Chinese philosopher and founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu, wrote: “If there is to be peace in the world, there must be peace between nations. If there is to be peace between nations, there must be peace in the cities. If there is to be peace in the cities, there must be peace between neighbours.

If there is to be peace between neighbours, there must be peace in the home. If there is to be peace in the home, there must be peace in the heart”.

The Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians have been celebrating the period

Reflecting on the appalling conduct of some in federal parliament over many years, we can ask a series of questions. Where is the peace in the heart? Where is the peace between neighbours? What chance is there for peace in the cities and the nations? around Easter for millennia. The ancient Greeks and Romans also had their festivals in the spring. The end of a (northern) winter, the rise of a new future.

For the Ancient Greeks in Athens, the Panathenaea, or “all Athenian”, festival marked the beginning of spring. Similarly, the Romans celebrated the feast of the Lupercalia as a time of fertility. The Iranian New Year, Nowruz, is celebrated on the spring equinox as is the most important holiday in the Zoroastrian calendar. For the Zoroastrians, “the world, fashioned by the Wise Lord, shows forth the divine in all aspects of nature”.

In the Jewish religion, the Passover celebrated how the Angel of Death “passed over” the houses of the Israelites during the tenth plague in Egypt. For the Christians, the death

of Jesus and the resurrection mark a new beginning.

The common factor is a new beginning.

Reflecting on the appalling conduct of some in federal parliament over many years, we can ask a series of questions. Where is the peace in the heart? Where is the peace between neighbours? What chance is there for peace in the cities and the nations?

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of international co-operation. As John Skerritt pointed out in the tenth “Royce Abbey Peace Oration” at a recent Rotary conference in Bathurst, the outcome of pandemics on the opportunities for peace both at home, in Australia, and our region.

These include the impact on jobs as cities go into lockdown and industries close. It also includes dislocation of society with uneven impacts on the poor as well as mental and physical health impacts from social isolation.

“Societies under strain can also ferment conflict”, said Dr Skerritt, “as

Chinese philosopher and founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu… “If there is to be peace between neighbours, there must be peace in the home. If there is to be peace in the home, there must be peace in the heart”. we have seen recently in the US”.

But it is not just in the US. There are good reasons as to why the Black Lives Matter movement extended beyond the US to places such as the UK and Europe. It should have been no surprise to see the reaction in Australia.

Despite a Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and many similar inquiries, our First Nations Peoples are still incarcerated and die in custody disproportionately to other Australians.

The South Pacific nations are our neighbours in need. In New Guinea the spread of the COVID-19 virus is straining the health system beyond capacity.

On March 23, Australia sent the first of our Australian Medical Assistance Teams to our nearest neighbours with personnel and vaccines. It is an important start. But more is needed.

Such assistance helps address the immediate medical problems. However, in Indonesia nearly 30 million people have become unemployed (or significantly under employed) thanks to the pandemic. For those already living in poverty, this has an extreme impact; an impact exacerbated when examining the contrast between the rich and poor.

Within countries, within regions and internationally inequity is a major threat to peace. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored inequity as a major threat to peace.

If the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu were alive today perhaps he would add: “If there is to be peace in the world, there must be equity in our hearts and minds”.

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

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WHIMSY / the facts of kissing

Lots of kiss-and-tell tips for hot lips AUSTRALIANS seem generally confused about kissing protocols, possibly because of multiculturalism and different ethnic norms.

Kissing can of course take several forms, including cheek-kissing, lipkissing, and air-kissing.

It has become common in Australia for a male to kiss a female on the cheek on renewing acquaintanceship and when parting company.

In some ethnic groups a single kiss is the custom, while in others a kiss on each cheek is the norm or, in extreme cases, three or four kisses on alternating cheeks.

The air-kiss is becoming more common, presumably due to American influence. This involves embracing the person and kissing the air near the cheek, while the cheeks themselves may or may not touch.

Following a first date, it’s common for a couple to give each other a quick kiss on the cheek (or lips) to indicate a good time was had by the kisser and kissee – and perhaps to indicate an interest in a more intimate relationship.

Kissing does have some health benefits. It stimulates the production of hormones responsible for a good mood: oxytocin (releases feelings of love), endorphins (releases happiness feelings) and dopamine (stimulates the

12 CityNews April 8-14 2021

The mouth has a higher count of microbial flora (bacteria) than the anus. Someone who hasn’t regularly brushed and flossed their teeth might well have more bacteria in their mouth than there are humans on this planet.

One of the great movie kisses of all time… Rhett Butler kisses Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone With the Wind” with the words: “You need kissing badly”.

pleasure centre in the brain).

Regular kissing is said to protect against depression. Kissing studied in a controlled experiment showed that increased kissing in marital and co-habiting relationships resulted in a reduction in perceived stress, an increase in relationship satisfaction, and even a lowering of cholesterol levels.

However, greeting-kissing can have some adverse health effects. Most notably for the kisser when infected by a virus implanted on a warm cheek or lips by someone else’s kiss. Kissing on the lips can also result in the transmission of various diseases, including infectious mononucleosis and herpes simplex.

Mononucleosis can cause a high fever, swollen lymph glands in the neck and armpits, and a sore throat. The infection is typically not serious and usually resolves without treatment in one to two months.

There’s no cure for herpes simplex, but the good news is that resultant cold sores often clear up without treatment.

Hollywood has perpetrated the notion that kisses should involve lots of tongue-in-mouth activity. The so-called French or Hollywood kiss is

one in which sexual partners use their tongues energetically to stimulate each other for mutual sexual pleasure while simultaneously tearing off the other person’s clothing.

Disturbingly however, the mouth has a higher count of microbial flora (bacteria) than the anus. A typical human mouth contains billions of them.

Someone who hasn’t regularly brushed and flossed their teeth might well have more bacteria in their mouth than there are humans on this planet.

COVID-19 has, of course, limited much of the “normal” kissing activity, but it might be prudent in future to only “greeting-kiss” the cheek of relatives and air-kiss the rest.

As for kissing the lips and mouth, regular partners probably already share the same microbial flora so no harm done, but new-relationship kissing should probably be conducted with caution until the oral hygiene habits of the prospective partner have been established.

Clive Williams is a Canberra columnist.

NEWS Every dog has its (digital) day FROM July 1 dog owners in the ACT will be compelled to update their details on a yearly basis as part of the implementation of a new digital dog database.

The ACT government legislation, with bipartisan support, will “strengthen responsible dog ownership” by replacing the previous lifetime registration system with a new digital system providing up-to-date details on dog ownership.

No additional costs will be involved in the digital registration process, but a government spokesperson initially declined to say whether a financial penalty would apply for owners who didn’t comply with the changes.

The government said the changes to registration will help reunite lost dogs with their family quicker and easier and better target education and compliance activity of dangerous dogs.

The new plan places the onus on the ACT government to remind dog owners about annual registration requirements.

The legislation requires Domestic Animal Services to send dog owners annual registration reminder notices in the form of an email, text or letter at least 14 days before their dog’s renewal date.

The notice will contain details on how to update information in the new digital dog database based on the date the pets were originally registered in the ACT.

ALL ABOUT QUEANBEYAN

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The nearby, fast growing city with a history QUEANBEYAN, which started as a squattage, held by ex-convict and inn keeper Timothy Beard, pre-1838, is now one of the fastest growing inland cities in NSW, according to the QueanbeyanPalerang Regional Council.

It became a township in 1838 when there were about 50 people in the town, and more recently has grown to a population of almost 60,000, according to the 2016 Census.

Its name is the anglicised form of “quinbean” – an Aboriginal word meaning “clear waters”.

Queanbeyan’s economy is based on light construction, manufacturing, retail and agriculture but this continues to grow, with a variety of other businesses settling in the region such as arts organisations.

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Centre line up has something for everyone

Competition brings local talent to art society

THERE’S something for everyone in The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre’s line up of great shows and events, says artistic director Jordan Best. “[There] will be classic stories like you’ve never seen them before [when] a New Zealand theatre company brings two fantastic shows to The Q – ‘Don Juan’ and ‘Jekyll and Hyde’,” says Jordan.

For those interested in a fun night out, a centre spokesperson says “Don Juan”, which will run from May 11-16, follows a “mischievous” cast of badly-accented, pretend Frenchmen.

Meanwhile, “Jekyll and Hyde” is a bonkers rendition of the literary classic and will run from May 18-23 and will be both a delightful comedy and shocking thriller, the spokesperson says.

Ahead of the upcoming shows, Jordan’s also excited to announce that with further easing of restrictions, The Q now has a 110 person seating capacity, meaning more people can come and enjoy the talent on offer.

The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, 53 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan.

Call 6285 6290 or visit theq.net.au

THE Queanbeyan Art Society, now more than 50 years old, has a brand-new competitive exhibition that will make for a fascinating display, says president Barry Cranston.

Located by the picturesque Queanbeyan River in the historic O’Neills Cottage, the Queanbeyan Art Society is the only art society in Australia to run an exhibition every month of the year with an average of 120 works, says Barry. “[For the new exhibition] entrants can paint people, places, animals, or sculpt anything that comes out of their imagination,” he says.

“There’ll be a diverse range of perspectives, styles, and ways of seeing the world on the walls, especially as it’s open to absolutely any age wishing to enter.”

For those inspired to get in touch with their creative side,

The Q artistic director Jordan Best.

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Barry says the art society also offers a range of classes and workshops to enjoy.

“We run classes every day of the week, and we have 12 workshops throughout the year open to anyone wishing to develop their artistic skills,” he says.

“There are also sculpting classes in the evening, as well as life drawing classes.”

The art society is open from 10am to 1pm, every day of the week.

The Queanbeyan Art Society, call 6297 8181 or visit qasarts.org

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capital works fund, Jan says.

“So if something breaks down or the building needs painting, there’s money there to pay for [it], and owners aren’t having to have special levies,” she says.

Jan is also a proud member of the local community, coaching basketball in Braidwood and supporting local charities such as Rise Above – Capital Region Cancer Relief.

She works alongside Bridge Strata’s Canberra branch director, Craig Bowditch, who handles the Canberra area, and with more than 30 years’ experience himself, fashions himself as a “jack of all trades”.

FOR about 40 years, Oatram Finance and Leasing has been specialist brokers in finance and leasing for working equipment such as trucks, earth-moving equipment, forestry equipment and recycling equipment.

“We help everyone get excellent rates, from large, well-known companies to individuals,” says director Andrew Barmin.

“We have a wide variety of lenders where we’re able to obtain finance from.

“We’re able to do older equipment as well as new, and know how to handle private sales.”

As Oatram Finance and Leasing is independent, Andrew says they’re able to give their clients options, especially now as interest rates are the lowest he’s seen in his near 20 years of experience.

“They can negotiate a better price with pre-approved funds or we can negotiate rates on their behalf,” he says.

“We offer finance on second-hand vehicles over 10 years old and, [if, for example], you want an engine rebuild on a truck, we will have a lender who can handle that.”

Andrew says it all comes with an excellent service team, including finance broker Det Barmin, office coordinator Sarah Collins, and administrator Sue Dunn, who are happy to travel to clients at a time that suits them.

Bridge Strata, level 1, 20C Monaro Street. Call 6109 7700, email admin@bridgestrata.com.au or visit bridgestrata.com.au

Oatram Finance and Leasing, shop 1, 78 Crawford Street. Call 6297 8588, email andrew @oatram.com.au or visit oatram.com.au

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Bridge Strata ACT branch director Craig Bowditch with NSW branch director Jan Browne.

Navigating the rules and bylaws of strata WITH more than 30 years’ experience in strata management, Bridge Strata’s NSW branch director, Jan Browne, is not only an expert on the region, but an active member of the community, too.

Jan manages clients in Queanbeyan, Yass, Bungendore and surrounding areas, and believes she now handles about 90 per cent of community strata in that region.

That is in addition to the residential and commercial strata, such as apartments and townhouses, as well as industry.

“Strata management is another type of governance [that] involves community living,” says Jan. “You’ve got rules and bylaws about what you’ve got to do to comply financially.”

That includes the lodging of tax returns and paying arrears, as well as saving money in a

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For a proactive service at a competitive price call NSW/ACT 6109 7700 QUEANBEYAN Level 1, 20C Monaro Street DICKSON 4/55 Woolley Street 14 CityNews April 8-14 2021

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Warrigal Queanbeyan… an affordable option for aged care.

Aged care facility with a focus on lifestyle PERFECTLY positioned to take advantage of everything that the region has to offer, Warrigal in Queanbeyan is an affordable option for aged care, says CEO Mark Sewell.

Located on Canberra Avenue, Warrigal Queanbeyan has been designed with lifestyle at the heart, with facilities on-site such as a bistro, cafe, hairdresser, day spa and wellness centre, says Mark.

“We want the whole community to feel welcome and to come and enjoy spending time with the residents.

Being so close to the Queanbeyan CBD will also help bring greater vibrancy to the town centre.

“Warrigal Queanbeyan offers all levels of support in one location, providing a full transition of care from residential aged care to independent retirement living.”

Late last year, Warrigal also took over aged care

facilities in Calwell and Stirling which means another 288 aged care places in Canberra will join Warrigal’s 11 residential care homes and nine other aged care homes across Illawarra and the Southern Highlands.

“We’re really excited about these homes joining Warrigal and look forward to the contribution Warrigal can make with its significant experience in offering highquality aged care services for over 50 years,” Mark says.

“This expansion will allow us to reach and support older people from these new areas, which aligns with our values and vision of older people living great lives through a comprehensive, local and trusted aged care system.”

Warrigal. Call 1800 927744, email warrigal@ warrigal.com.au or visit warrigal.com.au

For professional service and decades of experience, call Andrew Barmin on 6297 8588 or 0418 624 243

Oatram Finance Come and visit us at: 1/78 Crawford Street Queanbeyan Email: andrew@oatram.com.au | www.oatram.com.au

Members of CAFBA , The Quarry Institute & Financial Ombudsman Service

CityNews April 8-14, 2021 15

KEEPING HEALTHY

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Encouraging people to get fit, healthy and happy MAINTAINING health or going on a journey towards good health means different things to different people. Whether it’s about getting fit, managing a health condition or managing an injury, “CityNews” speaks with experts who are focused on getting people to their fittest, healthiest and happiest selves.

App helps with gestational diabetes

Getting on top of changing health needs

DIABETES NSW and ACT’s mobile application is improving the lives of women with gestational diabetes, according to ACT general manager Natalie Smith.

The Capital Chicks CANberra app, a resource for women with gestational diabetes as well as past sufferers, is free to download from capitalchickscanberra.com.au

“AS we get older, our nutritional, physical and mental health needs change,” says Arthritis ACT CEO Rebecca Davey.

“We know getting on top of them as early as possible can have much better long-term outcomes and we have a suite of services that can help with your approach to health.”

Arthritis ACT aren’t just trained to manage arthritis says Rebecca, who explains they also have dietitians, physiologists, therapists, counsellors, support groups and physiotherapists to help people with their health needs and managing pain.

“It’s important to maintain 30 minutes of physical activity a day,” says Rebecca.

“We also want to try to eat a rainbow each day, with a wide variety of fruit and vegetables to ensure continuous good health.

“All of these things aren’t always easy to maintain, and that’s where we come in, to help people get on top of these bits and pieces to ensure positive outcomes.”

Rebecca also highlights the important link between mental health and physical health, Arthritis ACT CEO Rebecca Davey. something she says Arthritis ACT deeply focuses on. personal needs.”

“Our emotional health and our physical health work together in a very cyclical way,” Arthritis ACT, building 18, 170 Haydon Drive, she says.

Bruce, and building 1, Colette Place, Pearce.

“We look at both these areas when treating Call 1800 011041, email info@arthritisact.org.au clients, to ensure we can cater to their own or visit arthritisact.org.au

Natalie Smith of Diabetes NSW and ACT.

Occurring during pregnancy, gestational diabetes affects more people in Canberra than any other state or territory, appearing in one in seven pregnant women here, Natalie says.

Which is why Diabetes NSW and ACT offers the free app to help address lifestyle needs in a holistic way, with functions in four categories, including: food, movement, mood and “me”.

“There are recipes and snack ideas, online exercises like 10 minute pilates, as well as programs around mental health aimed at reducing stress,” says Natalie.

There are even suggestions as to how women can treat themselves, she says.

When they sign up, women can do a wellness check to see what areas of their lifestyle can be improved.

“The platform has got everything in there to be your health calculator, on your phone and always with you,” says Natalie.

Since its launch in July, Natalie says more than 8000 women have signed up for the app, with as many as 40 per cent of users opening it regularly.

Diabetes NSW and ACT, 19-23 Moore Street, Turner. Call 6248 4500 or visit capitalchickscanberra.com.au

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Check it out online today. It’s free.

www.capitalchickscanberra.com.au #CapitalChicksCANberra 16 CityNews April 8-14 2021

DO YOU HAVE PAIN OR A DISABLING CONDITION? THEN IT IS TIME TO MEET OUR PHYSIOTHERAPY TEAM Jacqui Couldrick: Jacqui is known as the osteoarthritis queen at Arthritis ACT. With a particular interest in hip and knee osteoarthritis, Jacqui delivers the GLAD program designed to reduce the need for joint replacements in particular, or if a joint replacement is unavoidable, to prepare you thoroughly for surgery so that you get the most out of your new joint. Jacqui is currently also studying towards a PhD in the outcomes of this program. Jacqui works exclusively at our Bruce offices.

Richard Costin: At Build a Better Me we see many people from all walks of life who might be struggling to manage their chronic conditions. Richard is passionate about helping people to live better, take control and get back on track with achieving their goals through exercise, education and manual therapies.

Richard is fully trained in GLAD and works exclusively at our Pearce offices.

Kwong yan Cheung: Kwong is trained as a GLAD instructor, he has a passion in treating sports injuries early to avoid arthritis forming later. Kwong is a passionate sportsman engaging especially in Aussie Rules and Soccer.

Kwong works at both Pearce and Bruce, assisting you with sports injuries, back pain and all general musculoskeletal complaints.

CALL FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT – 1800 011 041 Physiotherapy – including the GLAD program for knee and hip osteoarthritis, sports injury prevention and rehabilitation, and pain condition support.

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

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

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

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KEEPING HEALTHY Fitness studio focuses on the individual PURE Will Fitness Studio caters to the health and fitness of every individual, says owner Louise Wilson.

“We understand everyone has different bodies and different goals,” says Louise.

“We modify our exercises to suit each of our members through a welcoming, comfortable and non-intimidating environment.”

Offering services such as a group fitness studio, yoga classes, personal training, and senior and familyfriendly fitness, Louise says Pure Will Fitness Studio prides itself on its special focus on technique.

“As members exercise, our trainers check and correct technique, and give cues to ensure the best possible outcomes from exercise,” says Louise.

She also says the fitness studio’s “Member of the Month” program allows members to choose what they’d like to focus on.

“We’ve had focuses like recovery, where we looked at different ways of prepping and recovering from exercise, we’ve had core strength, and we just finished an important mental health focus.”

And, Louise says Pure Will Fitness Studio offers three free lessons to individuals who are interested, but unsure about joining as a member, and that there’s no lock in contracts.

“It’s all about making our members feel as comfortable as possible,” she says.

Pure Will Fitness Studio, 69 Uriarra Road, Queanbeyan.

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Highlighting the health benefits of hemp “IT’S time we moved away from hemp’s old reputation,” says South Pacific Hemp co-owner Brett Walker.

“While hemp and marijuana both come from the cannabis plant and often get confused, hemp is most definitely not something that can get you high, and actually has strength, medicinal and nutritional value.”

Located in Fyshwick, Brett, alongside business partner Darren Steinhardt, recently opened the store and says the stylish, new concept store makes it easy to incorporate hemp into daily health routines.

He highlights the wide range of conditions it’s being used to treat such as eczema, arthritis, inflammation and injury, and says: “Hemp seeds are one of the few plant-based foods that provide a complete source of protein, meaning that they provide all nine of the essential amino acids required by the body to build proteins.

“Hemp seeds and hemp seed oil also deliver omega 3 and omega 6 in the perfect 3:1 ratio and provide a rich source of vitamin E, magnesium, potassium and iron.

“With a large selection of hemp seed oils, hemp foods and protein, therapeutic balms and skin creams – even hemp pet treats and supplements - we’ve got you and your family’s health covered.”

South Pacific Hemp, 84 Wollongong Street, ​Fyshwick.

Call 0431 318898, email southpacifichemp@gmail.com or visit southpacifichemp.com.au

A tailored approach to pain relief WHEN helping relieve pain, Manuka Woden Physiotherapy and Sports Injuries Clinic treats the individual and not the condition, says principal Greg Nash.

“Age, lifestyle, occupation, previous pain and treatments, and importantly what the person is going to be doing with their body, are all crucial in treatment,” says Greg.

“For example, a painter with a sore shoulder is going to need different care to a swimmer with a sore shoulder, and we tailor our interventions to each person accordingly.”

With more than 30 years’ experience in the industry, Greg says Manuka Woden Physiotherapy works closely with GPs and therapists to carry out recommended treatments and interventions.

“As people get older, a lot believe they can be stuck

with pain with nothing they can do,” says Greg.

“This isn’t true. No matter how old you are we can assist with mobility, strength and overall cardiovascular fitness, which all have huge benefits.”

And, with winter sports fast approaching, Greg says now is a great time for athletes to start thinking about proper preparation.

“Adequate prep can go a long way in injury prevention and help in maintaining the highest level of function possible” he says.

Manuka Woden Physiotherapy and Sports Injuries Clinic, 16 Bougainville Street, Manuka, call 6295 6896, and 48 Corinna Street, Woden, call 6281 1382 or visit manukawodenphysio.com.au

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Bell prepares to bare his soul

By Helen Musa

“ONE man in his time plays many parts”, says Jaques in the speech known as “The Seven Ages of Man” from Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”.

That fits actor John Bell to a T, and in his one-man show, “One Man In His Time: John Bell and Shakespeare”, for once, he’s preparing to bare his soul.

For a notoriously private theatrical personality, Bell’s idea is to show us what makes him tick through the words of his lifelong idol, William Shakespeare.

“I probably don’t care what people think any more,” he tells me by phone from Sydney.

“When you get to 80 you’ve got nothing to hide, but when you’re younger you’re putting up protections or else finding out who you are.”

When we talk, I’ve just come from the National Portrait Gallery where a portrait by Harold David shows Bell and his wife Anna Volska, his junior by four years, confronting the camera boldly, facial lines and all, showing what he means.

“It’s great to be on air again after a year of nothing,” he tells me, “but it hasn’t been too bad because I put a few shows together and wrote a book – that kept me pretty happily occupied.”

It had its genesis in a kind of “my favourite things” selection he did at the Ensemble Theatre in Kirribilli, NSW, which he mentioned to his successor at the helm of Bell Shakespeare, Peter Evans, who said, “why not do it as part of Bell‘s 30th anniversary?” But for covid, we’d have seen it last year.

Administratively, the company was set up in 1990 but its first shows took place in 1991. “Hamlet” and “The Merchant Of Venice” were staged in a tent pitched on the grounds of the National Aquarium, where you had to walk through a tunnel surrounded by stingrays and, Bell swears, take a toy train to each performance – the only time that ever happened to him, anywhere.

A lot has happened since then.

The company in a tent has gone on to become the nearest thing we have to a national theatre company, in which Bell himself has performed all the great roles from Shylock to Falstaff and much in between.

With time to think about it, his one-man show has developed into something less than a “greatest hits” show, to include aspects that will take people by surprise.

“I sense Shakespeare’s empathy and humanity,” he says.

“I wanted to show how this has impacted on my personal life.”

The man himself, he says, “is so elusive, so hidden in the characters”, but Bell speculates through what he’s found in the plays, that “he must have been a very generous person, open to all sensitivities and suggestions… He had a natural empathy for people of all classes and races and a sympathy for the underdog – “think of an Othello, Shylock and a Caliban”, he says.

“And his understanding of women… all the great women’s roles he wrote, to be performed by male actors. I feel he was open and generous.”

Even in a play which has come in for some criticism in contemporary times, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in which he’s played Petruchio, Bell, like his contemporary Germaine Greer, believes it’s a play about the liberation of women, not their suppression.

“He shows a woman trapped in the marriage market and it’s a very funny comedy – it would be a shame to cut it out of the repertoire.”

Shakespeare’s contemporary, Ben Jonson, said of him, “I loved the man and do honour his memory, on this side idolatry”, and Jonson, Bell points out, could be quite bitchy.

In the show, Bell will perform some scenes he suspects audiences may not have heard before from “Timon of Athens”, “Henry IV” parts I and II, and even “Henry VI”.

But he feels it would be mean not to do some of the big showstoppers, favourites like Shylock’s “Hath not a Jew eyes?” and Hamlet’s “To be or not to be”, so without turning it into “Desert Island Discs”, he believes “it’s important that audiences are allowed

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ARTS IN THE CITY

By Helen Musa FREE-RAIN Theatre Company is returning to the stage with a feel-good show in “Mamma Mia!”, told through the story-telling magic of ABBA songs. Jarrad West is directing, joined by Nick Griffin as music director and Michelle Heine as choreographer.

The Q, Queanbeyan, April 13-May 8. Book at theq.net.au or 6285 6290.

CANBERRA playwright Dylan Van Den Berg has made the shortlist of the 2021 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting for his play “Milk”, developed through The Hive and First Seen programs at The Street and due to premiere there from June 4-12. Book at thestreet.org.au.

Queanbeyan-raised playwright Tommy Murphy is also on the shortlist for “Packer & Sons”.

FLICKERFEST’s Canberra screening this year includes the short film “Sunburn”, directed by former Hawker College student Jaslyn Mairs, who went to the Australian Film Television and Radio School. “Sunburn” has already been selected for WA’s CinefestOZ, Brisbane International Film Festival, Bondi Flickerfest and the Gold Coast Film Festival. At Palace Electric, 7pm, Friday, April 16. Book at flickerfest.com.au NEWS is in from the north that Australian Festival of Chamber Music executive director, former Canberran Gavin Findlay, is stepping down after three years to be replaced

by Ricardo Peach, director of the Vrystaat Kunstefees/Arts Festival/Tsa-Botjhaba in South Africa. Dr Peach worked with the Australia Council for the Arts from 2006 to 2012. The Australian Festival of Chamber Music takes place in Townsville from July 23-August 1 and tickets are on sale at afcm.com.au

Actor John Bell in “One Man In His Time: John Bell and Shakespeare”…

“When you get to 80 you’ve got nothing to hide.” to have their jolly”.

There’s no need to persuade Canberra readers to see the show – the theatre has already extended it to an extra performance and as Bell promises, “it’s all great stuff”.

Predictably, he admits, he will finish with Prospero’s mighty speech in “The Tempest”: “Our revels now are ended.

These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air”.

But instead of starting the show with

the baby in the Seven Ages speech “Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms”, Bell has chosen something much more lyrical.

“I open with a little bit of Oberon from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” – “I know a bank where the wild thyme blows” – such poetry!”

“One Man In His Time: John Bell and Shakespeare”, Canberra Theatre Playhouse, April 14-15, book at canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700.

AUSTRALIAN soprano Mirusia Louwerse, tagged by Dutch violinist, André Rieu as the “Angel of Australia”, is making a national tour saluting the music of The Seekers, performing hits like “I’ll Never Find Another You” and “The Carnival Is Over” as well as classics she has performed with Rieu and her own original songs. Canberra Southern Cross Club, 8pm, Saturday, April 17. Book at cscc.com.au AS part of the Canberra International Music Festival’s prefestival program, saxophonist Matt Keegan will join other top musicians to perform a new musical story about the escape of his Viennese great grandfather Heini from the Nazis in “Vienna Dreaming”. The Street Theatre, 8pm, Saturday, April 17, book at thestreet.org.au or 6247 1223.

THE Wiggles are coming to town with Captain Feathersword, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus and newcomer Shirley Shawn the Unicorn to perform their “We’re All Fruit Salad” tour. Canberra Theatre, April 17-18. Book at canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700.

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CINEMA / reviews

A moving film that touches our hearts and souls “The Father” (M) COGNITIVE impairment. It is unlikely to kill you, but if you get it, you probably won’t acknowledge that you’ve got it because you don’t remember things from before you developed it. Got all that? Okay, now read on.

It’s doctor-speak for being unable to remember things – not necessarily everything, but in writer (in association with Christopher Hampton) and director Florian Zeller’s film, it’s people’s names, where everyday items have been left, what arrangements for carers have been made, those little things that mean much to a comfortable daily life.

Does that summary put you off putting “The Father” on your must-see movies list?

That would be a mistake. So what’s so good about it?

To begin with, it’s virtuoso acting by a small cast, led by Anthony Hopkins for whom Zeller wrote its theatrical origin. As 80-year-old Anthony, he’s going to drive his loving daughter Anne (Olivia Colman) nuts unless something major gets done about caring for him. Those two characters pretty much carry the film’s 97 minutes, with support from Rufus Sewell, Imogen Poots and Olivia Williams.

Following what’s going on demands an ability to remember what’s already happened and where passages and characters in the story fit in with each other, presenting a challenge to the viewer’s own brain. Which is another reason for seeing it.

Movies are a product that live and breathe on getting nominated and winning. To date, “The Father” has been nominated for 135

Olivia Colman and Anthony Hopkins in “The Father”. peer-group and audience awards, of which it has already won 21. By the time you read this, it may very well have won one or more of six categories at the Oscars. Winner or not, its quietly impressive production values adorn a film that touches our hearts and souls, for the best of reasons – its absolute humanity, sympathy and credibility, without demanding a box of tissues. But take a few, just in case.

At Dendy and Palace Electric

“The Courier” (M) JUST how much Tom O’Connor’s screenplay for Dominic Cooke’s film depends on two books written by British electrical engineer Greville Wynne, and also how correctly those books tell the story, must be a matter for conjecture at this stage.

“The Courier” tells a story reflecting Wynne’s service as an unassuming

go-between for British intelligence MI6 and Russian spy Oleg Penkovsky at the height of the Cold War. Never formally acknowledged by the British government, Wynne wrote about his experiences in two self-aggrandising books, “The Man From Moscow” (1967) and “The Man From Odessa” (1981). The key word here is “self-aggrandising”.

Nearly half a century ago, in October 1962, in the closest ever approach to nuclear war, US president John F Kennedy demanded the removal of Soviet nuclear missiles from Cuba and announced a naval blockade of the island. Soviet leader Khrushchev acceded to the US demands a week later.

Taking a mere 111 minutes telling how the Western bloc learned about what was going on in Cuba, it’s not unreasonable to acknowledge that “The Courier” cuts

some corners. MI6 and the CIA recruited Wynne and asked him to make a sales trip to Moscow and there contact high-ranking GRU officer Oleg Penkovsky who had made earlier offers to spy for the West.

Wynne smuggled secret Soviet intelligence to London following his frequent trips to the USSR. The KGB eventually discovered his and Penkovsky’s espionage activities and arrested them both in October, 1962.

The following May, Wynne was sentenced to eight years in harsh conditions at Lubyanka prison. In April, 1964, he was released in exchange for Soviet spy Gordon Lonsdale (Penkovsky was executed.)

This is no James Bond spy thriller. It’s a sober telling of a version of actual events, with Benedict Cumberbatch playing Wynne, Russian-born Merab Ninidze as Penkovsky and Rachel Brosnahan as the possibly, probably, perhaps, fictional US agent Emily Donovan who orchestrated the operation.

At all cinemas

“Nobody” (MA) DRIVING home at the end of the day’s movies, I pondered what to say about writer Derek Kolstad’s actioner about a man pushed beyond the peaceful limits in which he has chosen to live out his declining years.

Bob Odenkirk plays retired FBI agent Hutch, who gets heavily pissed off when a couple of young hoodlums invade his family home in search of loot.

Meanwhile, across town, from a club where young adults go to get their rocks off, Yulian Kuznetsov (Aleksey Serebryakov), an inflated ego if ever there was one, leads a coterie of more mature hoods in search of wealth and notoriety unhindered by local law.

After sending his wife and son out of town to shelter with her oldies, Hutch, together with his doting dad (played by octogeneric Christopher Lloyd – remember screwball Dr Brown in “Back to the Future”?) and an Afro-American chum, confronts Yulian and his gang, with scads of violence, blood, bruises and destruction of property.

The film’s mostly that.

Is it fun? Does it have a social conscience?

What worries me most about “Nobody” is the example it might set to young adult males in search of anti-social diversion.

Despite its anti-gun, pro-violence approach to resolving social conflicts, it might almost be called a comedy. As much funny peculiar as funny ha-ha. Which is why it was bothering me as I drove.

At all cinemas

WATCH IT! / streaming and stuff

sundayROAST

Addictions and documentaries beckon

By Nick

Of course, this is only a surface scratcher of the real intricacies of the case that the doco dives head first into, and it makes for a great watch all the while.

OVERALL APRIL is decorated with docos.

IAN

MEIKLE Talking to the names making news.

Join the ‘CityNews’ editor and 2CC personalities Sundays, 9am-noon.

20 CityNews April 8-14 2021

“Are You Addicted to Technology?” is a show that will ask viewers the question in a world-first “interactive documentary”.

Exclusive to SBS On Demand and releasing on April 21, the doco wants to examine our relationship with tech, through tech, by posing questions to each viewer they can respond to via use of the touch screen on the device they’re using to watch.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics might wish to take notes on some of these new, up-to-date methods of recording data… just saying.

The show is hosted by child psychiastrist Dr Kim Le, who himself went through an online video-game addiction and who, as a result, wants to make the connection with our computers more healthy.

Last year’s hit Netflix doco “The Social Dilemma” brought the scientifically based concerns of tech use firmly to the mainstream, reaching close to 40 million households within its first month of release and striking fear into smartphone wielders around the world.

Its success reveals a concern with technology not just in the future world of artificial intelligence, but in the here and now as well.

Following this, the new doco will likely stir up a bit of a fuss, although it should be known, due to the whole interactive nature thing going on, it can only be watched through Apple devices.

That may limit the show’s viewership, but I have a hunch the target audience is the “Apple demographic” anyway.

STAN’S got a new documentary that might get true-crime fanatics excited called “Black Hands”.

It examines a case from Dunedin, NZ, that’s become notorious throughout the world: the Bain family murders.

It saw the tragic shooting of a mother, father, and three out of their four children. The fourth and only survivor, David Bain, became the lead suspect of the case. Whether he did it or not will be left up to the viewer to decide.

The harrowing, yet fascinating story has gone from book to podcast and now into TV series.

Psychiatrist Dr Kim Le poses the question: “Are you addicted to technology?” in a world-first “interactive documentary”.

NETFLIX has a new documentary out, too, that’ll no doubt be making the rounds this month: “Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal”.

The 2019 scandal saw the enigmatic William “Rick” Singer accept bribes from parents to get their kids into the top universities across America.

With the employment of a clandestine team of teaching staff, Rick would buff up the marks of the students’ all-important scholastic aptitude tests, or as they’re better known: “SATs”, that assess their eligibility to make it into college.

He reportedly made around 25 million bucks from the parents involved, and among those revealed to be part of the scheme were a throng of celebrities including Felicity Huffman, star of the always profound “Desperate Housewives”.

AS for Binge, a sporting doco called “Tiger” explores the life and times of a particularly controversial golfing champion. It’s recently pulled in more viewership due to the ongoing news of the athlete’s major car crash that’s thrown the future of his career in the air.

Taking viewers through his contentious past, the two-part show paints the athlete in a new light, one where the tabloid media becomes the bad guys and Tiger the redeemed stoic.

Despite a more favourable angle, Woods himself has still expressed some frustrations with the show, and doesn’t actually offer his own perspective which might turn a few off. Instead, it’s told through the voices of those close to him.

Regardless, it’s a moody, and well produced account of one of the world’s most recognisable sportspeople, although I feel like there was much more room to be creative with the title of this one. “Sad Gilmore” could have been a real hole in one.

BOOKS

Timely tales of a ‘sexist dark age’

By Helen Musa

A TIMELY new book by pioneering diplomat Sue Boyd lifts the veil on one of Australia’s most maledominated professions.

Chicken Don… super moist, and surrounded by loads of scrambled egg, curry sauce and rice.

Photo: Wendy Johnson

DINING / Yaki Boi, Braddon

Japanese with a burst of burgers

By Wendy

JOHNSON “JAPANESE-inspired fusion food”. That’s Yaki Boi’s claim to fame.

Yaki Boi is a new addition to the Braddon dining scene, taking the place of Chaki Chaki on top of the Ori Building. It’s a sunny spot and the rooftop location makes for great people watching.

We weren’t sure what to expect but we definitely weren’t expecting burgers and pizzas. Where was the Japanese influence?

On closer look we uncovered some dishes that fit.

We kick-started lunch with blanched edamame, selecting the spicy version ($6). It was relaxing munching away on these delightful pods.

The deep-fried pork dumplings were delish ($8) and a great dish to share. Ditto the Takoyaki ($8) – octopus balls, Japanese mayo, Okonomi sauce (a delicious condiment and far sweeter and less salty than Worcestershire sauce) and punchy dried Bonito flakes.

We continued our “sharing journey” with the veggie tempura ($9), super light and a lovely mix of eggplant, green beans, okura, pumpkin and sweet potato.

The burger line-up features a fair few non-Japanese classics like a burger with American cheese and a version with bacon and pineapple.

For that Japanese-inspired fusion food, hit the smoky eel burger ($22), loaded with dried seaweed,

Japanese mayo, Kabayaki sauce, free-range scrambled egg and American cheese (Yaki Boi apparently luuuvvvs American cheese).

Another not-so-ordinary burger was the Yaki Vegan ($23) which features an Angus beef-style vegan patty, vegan American cheese, vegan peri-peri and veggies. It looked fab on the plate but wasn’t particularly perky. The chips were piping hot, however.

Three ‘Dons’ are on the menu and two of us selected the curry chicken version ($17). It’s a massive rice dish, so no wonder an oversized bowl was in order.

The generous-sized chicken cutlet was super moist, and surrounded by loads of scrambled egg, curry sauce and rice. One of us fell in love. One of us didn’t, but couldn’t put a finger on why. The curry sauce was a bit too thick and didn’t pack a punch with flavour, but perhaps this is personal preference.

And as for the pizzas? Not available at lunch. They start at 3pm.

Yaki Boi’s wine list is limited (four whites and four reds, both starting at $9 a glass). The place concentrates instead on shaking and stirring colourful cocktails (and mocktails). Asahi beers are on the menu, as are a few sakes and a decent selection of fruit liqueurs.

Yaki Boi’s décor is fun, with splashes of colour everywhere.

Dainty fans are mounted on walls and festive Japanese lamps hung throughout. Outside is a beautiful flower media wall and a HUGE bamboo chair with large, lime-green pillows… both perfect spots for selfies.

Boyd was the head of Australian diplomatic missions in Fiji, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Bangladesh and also had postings at the United Nations as well as in New York, Portugal and the former East Germany.

I caught up with her on a recent visit from her hometown Perth to Canberra, where the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade held a quiet launch of the book, “Not Always Diplomatic: An Australian Woman’s Journey Through International Affairs”.

Boyd’s book isn’t quite a tell-all – no diplomat would do that – but her racy style and direct language (which got her into a lot of trouble at times) leaves no doubt about what it was like to be a young woman embarking on a diplomatic career back in the 1970s.

Gareth Evans, Foreign Minister from 1988-96, describes her as “a real pathfinder in leading our diplomatic establishment out of its sexist dark age”.

The book will indeed arouse memories – different memories for different people.

For me, it was her time in Vietnam and Bangladesh that resonated, along with the negotiations over East Timor for which her fluency in Portuguese equipped her.

For many women readers it will be the feminist trajectory in her narrative, laced with a healthy sense of humour, seen when she describes the difficulty of getting a good support bra while on a posting, or the looks of confusion on the faces of overseas diplomatic counterparts when they discovered that she, a woman, was actually our High Commissioner.

Boyd’s been back in Perth, where she initially rose to fame as a student politician, after retiring in 2003. The book has required exceptional discipline as, every day for 18 months she dressed as if she were going to work, wrote until lunch and then all afternoon.

Her path was eased by the surprising availability of access to Stasi files relating to an early posting.

Hundreds of photocopied documents arrived, which, being fluent in German, she could read.

The Stasi exonerated her of any suspicion of being an intelligence agent, but, typical of the time, commented on her cooking.

“She is attractive and dresses well, with good housewifely skills… she drinks, but not to excess,” her file read.

At the heart of the book is the story of a young diplomat arriving at a time when women were

Sue Boyd... “I worked hard to change the system where there was a barrier.” Photo: Helen Musa thin on the ground in DFAT, but crucially when it was mandated that more women should be assigned to senior positions.

“I was part of all that change,” she tells me. “I worked hard to change the system where there was a barrier.”

As a long-time diplomat, she checked with DFAT who confirmed with her, “write what you like”.

That meant she felt free to cover her 34 years in the department, speaking up about gay diplomats, the situation of working spouses on overseas postings and other matters that will be fascinating to laypeople.

Boyd was born to be a diplomat. As a child she went to 13 different schools and got used to putting down roots quickly, learning several languages. She migrated here from England with her family as a late teenager, just in time to enjoy campus life at UWA, where she beat Kim Beazley to become president of the Guild of Undergraduates.

Boyd has devised what she calls the “Christopher Robin leadership” formula, a way of analysing leadership – “in your team you’ve got to have a gloomy Eeyore, a kind person like Kanga and a disruptive personality like Tigger… most important is to have a solid bear in the team like Pooh.”

But to her surprise, her editors thought the reference to Christopher Robin was obscure. Boyd stuck to her guns and it remains.

Another thing she teaches her students is that “women don’t have a career ladder; they have a career jungle”.

“Not Always Diplomatic” is an entertaining read, full of fascinating episodes covering everything from the 1980s floods in Bangladesh to the Speight coup in Fiji and her time negotiating peace in the Pacific from 1999 to 2003.

But as with all good books, there is a clear theme, summed up by her encounter with the then Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam. He needed someone to brief him on Portugal and asked the 25-year-old Boyd, just back from Portugal’s so-called “Carnation Revolution”.

“What’s going on in Portugal? What does it mean for Australia? And what should we do about it?” Gough boomed.

Those three questions, to Boyd, pretty well sum up the role of a diplomat.

“Not Always Diplomatic: An Australian Woman’s Journey Through International Affairs”, UWA Press.

Available at all good bookstores, RRP $30.

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CityNews April 8-14, 2021 21

GARDENING

Biblical garden is a hidden gem OVER many years as a garden designer, I’ve been asked to create gardens with specific themes, from all-native to English-style, from Shakespearean to a biblical garden.

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As part of the Yarralumla Government Nursery, established by the father of landscape design for Canberra, Charles Weston, in 1914, there’s an English garden which was planned and created

by Jack Moore, the assistant manager of the nursery in the 1960s.

He created it to trial exotic trees and shrubs suitable for urban planting in the ACT. The gardens are now maintained by the ACT branch of the Australian Garden History Society.

Gardens and plants play an important role in the Bible. Some years ago I designed a large garden with a biblical theme on a rural property near Tidbinbilla. Unfortunately, although the homestead was saved, the gardens and an historic 19th century slab hut were destroyed in the fires a few years ago.

However, there’s another biblical garden in Canberra overlooking the lake, almost a hidden gem that not many people know about, at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture in Barton.

The biblical garden in Barton… not many people know about it.

The origins of this garden have a fascinating link with another biblical garden in Wales. In the 1950s, Dr Tatham Whitehead, professor of botany at the University of North Wales at Bangor, decided to establish a biblical garden in the grounds of Bangor Cathedral, one of the oldest Christian sites in Britain. His special interest as a botanist was biblical plants, of which he conducted extensive research, including bringing plants from Israel. Part of his research controversially suggested that Eve did not give Adam an apple because they didn’t grow in Mesopotamia.

The only edible fruits in that part of the world were apricots and quince. So it appears it was an apricot, not an apple.

Whitehead’s botanical research developed

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a list that identified 148 individual plants mentioned in the Bible, which was the basis of the Bangor Cathedral garden.

On a trip to Wales, the deeply religious Gerald Hercules Robinson (1893-1972), a highly successful Sydney businessman, visited Bangor and resolved to establish a similar biblical garden on land he had bought near St David’s Anglican Church, Palm Beach, NSW. He based his Palm Beach garden on Prof Whitehead’s layout and it was opened in 1966. Robinson established a trust in perpetuity with himself and his daughter Beatrice as trustees. He died in his sleep in his beloved biblical garden in 1972.

Beatrice, who had been ordained at St Andrew’s Cathedral in 1965, vowed to continue the work of her father, dividing her time between religious duties and the care of the garden until she died in 1994.

In 2006, the residential property was sold with sufficient funds to maintain the Palm Beach Bible Garden and to establish another at the Centre for Christianity and Culture in Canberra. It was opened on August 3, 2008, by former governorgeneral Sir William Deane.

The garden entry is free and is open to the public at all hours.

All the plants are clearly labelled along with many other features including a labyrinth. It is suggested to park in the top car park at 15 Blackall Street with a short walk of about 100 metres to the garden. During office hours a comprehensive, coloured booklet is available listing 68 of the plants in the garden.

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Your week in the stars

Is a Will worth the paper it’s written on?

General knowledge crossword No. 776

By Joanne Madeline Moore

April 12-18, 2021

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Alison McNamara | Director | Chamberlains Law Firm

Prepare to pivot. It’s one of your luckiest weeks of the year so make the most of it! With four planets in Aries, confidence and self-belief will take you far. You’re keen to make connections with other people, as Mars and Jupiter highlight your communication and networking zones. It’s a terrific time to initiate ideas and make waves within your circle of influence. Powerful and positive collaborations are the keys to future success, so roll up your sleeves and get cracking Rams.

Make adequate provision for your spouse, otherwise the Court will do it for you. That’s the message we are being given from the Courts and it’s a concern commonly faced by our clients. What do you do if you think you have been unfairly left out of a Will or left with inadequate provision?

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

People are looking to you for some sound leadership. Taurus is a fixed sign and you can be a very bossy, stubborn Bull. Aim to be more adaptable and adventurous this week, as you focus attention on helping those around you. Being of service to others sees you sparkle and shine. When Venus shifts into your sign mid-week, it’s time to catch up with close friends and call in a few old favours. When you’re firing on all cylinders, it’s hard for others to resist your bovine charms!

It’s an issue faced by not only spouses or partners, but also by children, siblings and in some cases, grandchildren.

Does a Will really matter anyway?

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

Open, honest and considered communication is required this week. And expect an especially eventful weekend, when Mercury (your ruling planet) links up with Jupiter, Mars and Pluto. But make sure you don’t become the neighbourhood nosey-parker. Passing on unverified hear-say could lead to unpleasant consequences, so think long and hard Gemini before you spread secrets and garrulous gossip.

What’s needed at the moment are kind words, helpful actions and noble deeds.

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

Relationships with loved ones or colleagues will be stressful as Pluto squares the Sun, Mercury and Venus which will increase workloads, limit patience and lengthen frustrations. If you are housebound with sick or bored family members then do your best to keep them comfortable, well-fed, well-hydrated and entertained. The weekend is a good time to don your detective cap, do some research, dig deep and uncover hidden information that other people have overlooked.

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

With the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Pluto firing up your tempestuous nature, you’re amped up and ready to perform as you let your hair down and overdo just about everything! But don’t let bossy overconfidence trip you up this week Cats. Your head’s full of ambitious dreams and spectacular schemes, but they’ll only work if you can persuade other people to contribute to Team Leo. You’ll find creative collaboration will take you a lot further than working as a solo operator.

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

It’s action stations at work this week, as Mars and Jupiter turbo-charge your Virgo motivation and boost your determination. If you’re lacking confidence, then spend time with an Aries friend. Hopefully, some of their chutzpah and self-assurance will rub off on you! So your motto for the moment is from Aries actress, producer and entrepreneur Reese Witherspoon: “Confidence is everything.” The weekend is wonderful for reading, writing, learning, teaching and travelling.

Down

3 What do we call one who moves to action? (8) 7 In which Spanish city is Prado Museum situated?

(6) 8 When one cricket team closes an innings early and voluntarily, it does what? (8) 9 Name a person responsible for one aspect of a newspaper’s activities. (6) 10 When one is going in, one is doing what? (8) 11 Which classes of beings are said to be attendants to God? (6) 14 What, in primary school, is play lunch known as?

(6) 17 To have reduced to a mean, is to have done what?

(8) 18 Name an alternative term for rock salt. (6) 19 What is a penalty imposed by a court? (8) 20 To charge with carbon dioxide, is to do what? (6) 21 Which term implies that something has been emphasised? (8)

1 Name the British politician, and Prime Minister on three occasions, Stanley ... (7) 2 What do we call one who is under the patronage of another? (7) 3 At which place may a person live, or be reached? (7) 4 Which cross features on the logo of the St John Ambulance in Australia? (7) 5 What is another name for a white ant? (7) 6 When one hands in one’s notice, one does what? (7) 11 When one gathers for oneself, one does what? (7) 12 Who was the Premier of NSW 1988-1992, Nicholas ...? (7) 13 What are principal or important editorials, as in newspapers? (7) 14 Name a town south of Charlestown, NSW or a ginger-haired person. (7) 15 What are underground rooms or stores? (7) 16 Which term describes groups of seven persons? (7)

Sudoku hard No. 288

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

Your ruler Jupiter links up with the Sun, Mars and Mercury. So you’re keen to create, activate and communicate (especially within your local community). Some caution is required though otherwise you could be drawn into power struggles with a child, teenager, business colleague or close friend. As actress, writer and birthday great Emma Thompson reminds us: “Children don’t need much advice but they really do need to be listened to, and not just with half an ear.”

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

It’s clear that while you are free to make a Will as you see fit, if your Will is challenged, the Court will step in to decide what your obligations are to your family and amend your Will accordingly. If you have been left out of a Will or inadequately provided for, it is crucial that you seek expert legal advice.

Solutions – April 1 edition Sudoku medium No. 288

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2021

Solution next edition

Crossword No. 775

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

The Courts have recently considered this issue in the matter of Steinmetz v Shannon (2019) NSWCA 114. In this matter the deceased had an estate of approximately $6.8million and left his wife an annuity payment of $52,000 per year for her lifetime, with the balance of the estate left to his children.

In doing so, the Court of Appeal noted that it’s not the role of the Court to worry whether there would be a perception by society that a Will is hardly worth the paper it is written on, but its role is simply to interpret and apply the legislation.

Powerful Pluto is still transiting through your sign, which amplifies your drive and ambition. But this week Pluto squares Venus, Mercury and the Sun, which will crank up your controlling side and encourage ego battles with others. So try to balance steely determination with a deft diplomatic touch. Saturday’s lucky Mars/ Jupiter link brings a welcome reprieve as you charm work colleagues, clients or customers and influence important people with your can-do Capricorn plans.

This week’s difficult Pluto squares (to the Sun, Venus and Mercury) could delay plans, exacerbate a misunderstanding with a friend or frustrate a financial situation. So do your best to proceed with a pragmatic attitude plus plenty of tact and caution. With Venus visiting your neighbourhood zone (from April 14 until May 9) expect increased social and educational activities in your local community. When it comes to an international problem; think global and act local.

If you fail to make adequate provision for an eligible person in your Will the Court may intervene and make adjustments in order to provide this adequate provision.

This is an area becoming more complex particularly in second marriages. What is the appropriate balance between providing for a second spouse and any children of your first marriage?

The Court held that the deceased failed to have sufficient regard to his obligations to his wife of 28 years and held that not only that the annuity was insufficient, but that it was not an appropriate form of provision in any event.

The court had regard to factors such as the size of the estate, the care the widow had provided the deceased and the future needs of the widow and ordered that the widow receive a legacy of $1.75m in lieu of the annuity provided in the Will.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

Some stubborn Scorpios can too easily get stuck in a stultifying daily regime. This week it’s time to ricochet out of your usual routine and do something completely different. Variety is the spice of life, as you experiment with exciting new activities – and welcome sudden detours and disruptions. But the more you try to control others, the more they are likely to resist. So, if you want to avoid ongoing problems and power struggles, then learn to graciously let go and move on.

Jupiter is jumping through quirky Aquarius, so you’ll feel like doing adventurous things. However – with serious Saturn also in your sign – your wings are being clipped by current circumstances (whether it’s covid restrictions, sickness, cash flow problems or relationship dramas). This week Pluto also stirs up resentment in your local community, so be on the lookout for neighbourhood spies and watch what you say. Saturday is super for fashion, friends and fraternising.

This is not a question of fairness or equality, but a moral duty to provide for the maintenance, education and advancement of “eligible people”. Eligible people typically include your spouse, partner, children and other dependants.

What can a widow expect to receive from an estate?

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LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

With the Sun, Mercury and Venus all visiting your relationship zone, the buzz words this week are communication, consultation and cooperation. Your natural Libran talent for negotiation will get you through! Heed the wise words of actress, writer, activist and birthday great, Emma Thompson: “Any problem, big or small, always seems to start with bad communication.” It’s a good week to catch up with family and friends from faraway places, either in person or online.

Solution next edition

Across

While there is a notion that a person should be afforded the freedom to decide who they want to leave their assets when they die (called ‘testamentary freedom’), this is balanced by Family Provisions legislation which requires that a person must make proper and adequate provision for those for whom the community would expect such provision to be made, such as your family.

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